Recipes
Côte de Boeuf with Dauphinoise Potatoes
Here’s a fantastic treat for a romantic night in from the Pipers Farm Sustainable Meat Cookbook by Abby Allen and Rachel Lovell.
Duck casserole with red wine, cinnamon and olives
One of my favourite recipes from my recently reissued book The Wine Lover’s Kitchen which is full of recipes for cooking with wine.
Beef, Stilton and Onion Pie
This is just one of the amazing pies in Calum Franklin’s The Pie Room which will happily give you projects to work through all winter. He says it’s for ‘wintry days when the roads are blocked and you are snowed in’ but I’d be perfectly happy to have it on a grey November day. However one can’t argue with Calum’s conclusion that it’s ‘rich, decadent and best followed by a nap on the couch’.
Puttanesca-style salmon bake
A super-tasty, easy recipe from Ottolenghi’s fabulous new book Ottolenghi Comfort (which you can also find on his YouTube channel if you want to see it being made.
Cavatelli with sausage, mint and tomato
This is one of the deceptively simple recipes in Rachel Roddy’s wonderful A-Z of Pasta.
Tomato and tapenade tart
The most perfect Provençal-style summer tart from Alex Jackson's evocative book Sardine, named after his former London restaurant
Uyen Luu's Vietnamese Chicken salad
I don't know how often you turn to Asian-inspired salads at this time of year but I find myself making them more and more. Here's a classic Vietnamese salad from Uyen Luu's Vietnamese to inspire you.
Charred Tomatoes with Cool Yoghurt, Pomegranate Molasses and Herbs
An irresistibly more-ish recipe from Helen Graves brilliant book Live Fire which you can also cook on a cast iron griddle
Mac & Cheesy Greens Filo Pie
I absolutely love a pie so was immediately grabbed by the idea of this Mac & Cheesy Greens Filo Pie from Anna Shepherd's gorgeous new book Love Vegetables.
Asparagus, hot-smoked trout and pea shoot tart
I love a book that shows you how to make the best of the produce that's in season and Angela Clutton's big, beautiful new book Seasoning really does that to perfection.
Sesame and chilli oil noodles
Anna Jones has written so many great cookbooks you'd think she wouldn't have anything more to say but her new book, Easy Wins, which features 12 hero ingredients including the tahini in this recipe, may be her most inspiring yet. It's exactly the kind of easy, delicious food I want for a midweek meal.
Queen Elizabeth Cake
I remember making a cake like this way back when I started baking when it was known as Queen Mother's Cake which would obviously be consistent with it being called Queen Elizabeth cake. Anyway this version, which contains coconut comes from Rosie Sykes excellent new book Every Last Bite and sounds equally irresisitible.
Roasted Italian sausages with borlotti beans and ’nduja sauce
What nicer place is there to shop than an Italian deli and in Theo Randall's inspiring book The Italian Deli Cookbook you can find out what to do with all those tempting ingredients you find there.
Chicken with Morels & Vin Jaune
This is the kind of cooking that reminds me how wonderful French food still is. It comes from Alex Jackson's lovely book Frontières which has recipes from all the regions of France that border other countries or, in the case of the south, North Africa.
Chocolate, fudge & smoked salt cookies
In many ways this is a bizarre recipe to pick from Gill Meller's wonderful book Time - there are so many inspiring and beautiful savoury recipes in it - but there are times when we all need a cookie and what better than chocolate AND fudge?
Honeyed Wheaten Bread with Jumbled Nuts, Seeds and Fruit
Part of my January #givingupstockingup challenge is not to buy food if I've got the ingredients to make it myself. That applies to bread so I was keen to try Sue Quinn's Honeyed Wheaten Bread from her excellent new book on using up leftovers, Second Helpings. It also, as she points out, uses up half-used packets of nuts, seeds and dried fruit, which you may have in stock after Christmas.
Stichelton, pear and walnut salad
A perfect seasonal salad from Jeremy Lee’s gorgeous book Cooking to use the Christmas Stilton or as Jeremy suggests, Stichelton. I love the touch of using membrillo in it and, if you can get hold of it, quince vinegar.
Celeriac, potato and anchovy gratin
I love the idea of cooking everything in one dish (quick, easy, no washing up!) so Sue Quinn's book Roasting Tray Magic is right up my street.
Brown rice and potato pilaf
Brown food is a bit of a running joke on instagram but the fact is that monotone brown or beige dishes are often the most delicious. That's certainly the case with Sam and Sam Clark's brown rice and potato pilaf from their most recent book Moro Easy.
Spaghetti with Almond Cream, Fresh Crab, Chilli and Marjoram
I've been pouring over the pages of Ben Tish's lovely book Sicilia - it has a really good selection of pasta recipes - and a friend and I decided to give this one a go. We didn't have whole almonds so we substituted ground almonds which made the sauce a bit gritty so follow Ben's recipe and don't make the same mistake!