Our 10 best winter recipes (2024)

Sausage, kale and barley stew

As with most brassicas, wintery kale is an excellent companion to any rich, salty meat – particularly pork – and this warming, fragrant sausage stew is a prime example.

Serves 4
3 tbsp oil, for frying
8 sausages
2 red or white onions, sliced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
240g pearl barley, rinsed with cold water
2 sprigs rosemary, leaves finely chopped
1 litre chicken or veg stock
Salt and black pepper
300g cavolo nero or other kale, leaves stripped from the stalks and roughly chopped

1 Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a large frying pan. Add all of the sausages and fry for 10-12 minutes, turning now and then, until nicely browned all over. Transfer the sausages to a plate and set aside.

2 Add another 1 tbsp of oil to the pan. Gently fry the onion and carrot for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened.

3 Add the barley, stir for a minute, then add the rosemary and stock. Season well with salt and black pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes, then return the sausages to the pan. Simmer for another 20 minutes.

4 Add the chopped kale and simmer for another 5-10 minutes, until wilted. Check the seasoning before serving.

Kirsty Hale, Riverford Organic Farms

Roasted jerusalem artichokes with pomegranate

This is a festival of flavours, the sharp sweetness of the pomegranate pairing beautifully with the soft, savoury tubers and the rich crunch of the pine nuts.

Serves 4
500g jerusalem artichokes
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp nigella seeds
2 tbsp pine nuts
1 tbsp honey
1 pomegranate, halved lengthways
3 tbsp pomegranate molasses
3 tbsp feta, crumbled
2 tbsp flat leaf parsley, chopped
Salt and black pepper

1 Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6. Scrub the artichokes well and then halve or quarter them depending on size. Put them on a large baking tray in a single layer and drizzle with 2 tbsp of the oil. Season well with salt and pepper, then sprinkle with the nigella seeds. Roast for 20 minutes or until crisp around the edges. Add the pine nuts and honey to the artichokes for the last 4 minutes of cooking.

2 Meanwhile, bash out the pomegranate seeds. Using a large bowl and a heavy wooden spoon, hit the side of each halved pomegranate until all the seeds have popped out. Remove any pith. Pour the juice into a small bowl and add the pomegranate syrup and remaining olive oil. Stir together well.

3 When the artichokes and pine nuts are ready, spoon on to a serving platter with the seeds sprinkled over. Pour the dressing over everything and finish with a sprinkling of the feta and parsley to serve.

Jennifer Joyce, jenniferjoyce.co.uk

Mulled quince cider

This warm and spicy alcoholic drink puts the delicious full-bodied poaching syrup to excellent use to create a sweet, spicy and fortifying tipple to beat the cold weather.

Serves 4
500ml water
100g caster sugar
1 cinnamon stick
2 star anise
3 juniper berries
3 quinces, cored and sliced into 8 wedges
600ml dry cider

1 Dissolve 50g of the caster sugar in the water over a gentle heat, stirring regularly. Add the spices and the quince.

2 Cover with a lid and simmer slowly for two hours, topping up with a little water if necessary. You should be left with a saucepan of amber-coloured fruit and a gorgeous spiced syrup. Strain the syrup, setting aside the quince to have with some ice-cream or in your morning porridge.

3 Mix the cider with the syrup and heat gently and briefly so as not to (God forbid) let all of the alcohol evaporate.

Pain perdu with roasted apples

Pain perdu is one of those desserts that can be thrown together at a moment’s notice. Here it’s served topped with honey-roasted apples, but you can use almost any fruit in season. If you happen to have any leftover brioche, use this in place of bread for a luxury version. Pain perdu is always best served as soon as it’s baked, before the bread has time to go soggy.

Serves 4
4 large eggs
275ml milk (or half milk, half cream)
2 tbsp caster sugar
4 tbsp runny honey
Zest of ½ orange, finely grated
1 vanilla pod, split, seeds scraped and reserved
½ tsp ground cinnamon
4 slices white bread
1 tbsp vegetable oil
20g unsalted butter
Icing sugar, for dusting
Handful of toasted almonds (optional)

For the apples
40ml runny honey
20g unsalted butter
Juice of ½ orange
Pinch of ground cinnamon
8 granny smith apples

1 Make the roasted apples first. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Put the honey, butter, orange juice and cinnamon into a small saucepan and heat gently until combined.

2 Place the apples on a baking tray and spoon the honey and orange mixture over them. Roast, basting frequently with the juices for 10-15 minutes, until tender. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the apples to a dish.

3 Pour the honey and orange sauce from the tray into a small saucepan and reduce over a low heat until thickened slightly. Core and quarter the apples, then spoon over the sauce.

4 Lower the oven to 120C/250F/gas mark ½. Next make the pain perdu. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, sugar, 1 tbsp of the honey, the zest, vanilla seeds and cinnamon. Pour the mixture into a deep plate or a shallow dish.

5 In batches as necessary, lay the bread slices into the egg mixture and leave to soak for 2-3 minutes, turning once. Meanwhile, in a nonstick frying pan, heat the oil and butter until hot. Add the soaked bread slices and fry for around 2-3 minutes, turning once, until golden brown on both sides. Transfer to a plate or baking tray and keep warm in the oven while you fry the rest.

6 To serve, dust the pain perdu with icing sugar. Place on warm plates and top with the roasted apples and sauce. Drizzle with the remaining honey and scatter over a few toasted almonds if you like. Serve at once.

Tom Kitchin, Kitchin Suppers (Quadrille)

Chestnut and chorizo soup

This warm soup combines classic flavours of Spanish cooking to produce a comforting and mildly spicy dish.

Serves 4
4 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 medium carrot, diced
1 celery stick, diced
120g mild cooking chorizo, cut into 1cm cubes
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 tsp ground cumin
1½ tsp fresh thyme leaves, finely chopped
2 small dried red chillies, crushed
2 tomatoes, fresh or tinned, roughly chopped
500g cooked peeled chestnuts (fresh or vacuum-packed), roughly chopped
20 saffron threads, infused in 3-4 tbsp boiling water
1 litre water
Salt and black pepper

1 In a large saucepan heat the oil over a medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery, chorizo and a pinch of salt and fry for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until everything caramelises and turns brown.

2 Now add the garlic, cumin, thyme and chilli and cook for 1 more minute, followed by the tomatoes and, after about 2 minutes, the chestnuts.

3 Give everything a good stir, then add the saffron-infused liquid, and the water, and simmer for about 10 minutes.

4 Remove from the heat and mash until almost smooth but still with a bit of texture. Season with salt and pepper.

Sam and Sam Clark, Moro The Cookbook (Ebury Press)

Multi-grain pear bircher museli

As finger-licking good as a jam doughnut but with fresh fruit, lots of grains, creamy yoghurt and the lushness of pear juice: beating the winter morning blues with every bowlful.

Sticky ginger cake

Herewith a truly successful sticky, treacly ginger cake.

Serves 6-8
225g plain flour
1 tsp mixed spice
3 tsp ground ginger
1½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp salt
285ml milk
1 egg
85g butter
85g black treacle
85g golden syrup
115g caster sugar

1 Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Lightly grease a 900g loaf tin and line it with baking parchment.

2 Sift the flour, mixed spice, ginger, baking power, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a large mixing bowl. Measure out the milk in a jug and beat in the egg.

3 Put the butter, treacle, golden syrup and sugar in a pan and heat gently, stirring occasionally, until the butter has melted.

4 Pour this treacle mix on to the dry ingredients, followed by the milk and egg mix, and beat with a wooden spoon until the contents of the bowl are well mixed.

5 Pour the mixture into the loaf tin and bake for 90 minutes or until the gingerbread is well risen and feels firm to the touch.

6 Leave the cake in its tin until it is cool enough to handle, then turn it out on a wire rack and allow it to cool further. Conventional wisdom has it that your ginger cake should now be wrapped up in greaseproof paper and foil and stored for a few days before eating, as this makes it more sticky and gingery, but it’s also pretty good eaten fresh and still warm.

Jane Brocket, Cherry Cake and Ginger Beer (Hodder and Stoughton)

Chicory, walnut and gorgonzola bechamel lasagne

A comforting baked riff on the classic dish, best served with a sharp salad.

Serves 4-6
40g unsalted butter, plus 1 tbsp extra for cooking the chicory
40g plain flour
600ml milk
Nutmeg, for grating
Salt and black pepper
200g gorgonzola, cubed
Extra virgin olive oil
4 heads of chicory (a mixture of white and red works well), hard white cores removed, cut into eight segments lengthways
2 sprigs of thyme, leaves picked
1 tbsp lemon juice
A handful of flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped
80g walnuts, roughly chopped
9 sheets of lasagne egg pasta
150g mozzarella, sliced
20g parmesan, grated

1 Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Grease a baking tin.

2 Melt the butter in a nonstick saucepan over a medium heat, then add the flour and cook, stirring, for a minute or so, until the roux is starting to bubble. Turn the heat down and add the milk, a little at a time, stirring constantly. Once you have a smooth sauce, cook it for about 10 more minutes, whisking constantly while it thickens.

3 Add a good grating of nutmeg to the sauce and a generous grind of black pepper, then the gorgonzola. Melt it over the heat for a couple of minutes, whisking until you have a smooth, creamy bechamel. Season with salt to taste.

4 Heat 1 tbsp of the butter and the olive oil in a heavy-based frying pan and add most of the thyme leaves, the chicory segments, cut‑side down – depending on the size of your pan, you may need to work in batches. Cook for a few minutes, until the underside of the chicory is starting to caramelise, and then flip them over. Grind over some black pepper, add the lemon juice and parsley, and cook for a further five minutes, until glossy and caramelised on each side.

5 Lay some of the chicory on the base of the greased baking tin, packing it quite tightly, and scatter over some of the walnuts, then top with some of the gorgonzola bechamel. Lie three of the pasta sheets on top and repeat the process with the remaining ingredients for two more layers. Top the last layer of pasta with mozzarella, parmesan and thyme.

6 Bake in the oven for 30–40 minutes until golden on top and the bechamel is bubbling up the sides of the tin. Allow it to rest for about 10 minutes and then serve.

Rosie Birkett, alotonherplate.com

Green lentil risotto with beetroot and horseradish

A fragrant, earthy twist on risotto with lentils in place of rice.

Serves 4
5 small beetroot
1 large onion, finely chopped
350g green lentils
2 bay leaves
100ml white wine
2 tbsp truffle oil (optional)
10g fresh horseradish, finely grated
150g creme fraiche
Salt and black pepper

1 First, individually and tightly wrap the beetroot in tin foil and bake for 1½ hours at 180C/350F/gas mark 4 until tender.

2 Sweat the onion in a saucepan, add the lentils, bay leaves and wine, then add enough water to cover. Bring to the boil then simmer.

3 Meanwhile, fold the horseradish into half the creme fraiche.

4 When the lentils are tender, turn up the heat and allow most of the water to evaporate, until that there is just enough to keep it moist.

5 Peel and dice the cooked beetroot and add to the lentils. Fold in the truffle oil and remaining creme fraiche, then turn off the heat. Season, remove the bay leaves and serve in a bowl with a spoon of the creme fraiche.

Andrew Dargue, orchard-kitchen.co.uk

Three-cheese toastie

Sometimes only a cheese toastie will make a wrong afternoon right. And this is the only recipe you need for that, from the master of the toasted cheese sarnie.

Makes 1
80g montgomery’s cheddar, grated
10g comté cheese, grated
10g ogleshield or raclette, grated
2 slices of sourdough bread
2 tsp mixed chopped white and red onions, leek and crushed garlic

1 Assemble the sandwich and place it in a hot, lightly greased griddle pan. Place a frying pan on top of the sandwich and weigh it down with a couple of cans.

2 Cook it for about 3 minutes until the crust starts to brown and the cheese melts through the pores of the bread. Flip it a couple of times so it cooks evenly, but make sure you don’t overcook it, or you won’t be able to taste all the flavours.

Bill Oglethorpe, kappacasein.com