What's for dinner? Healthy comfort food ideas that are perfect for cold winter days

Warming dinners that are full of nutritious ingredients - take inspiration from the dishes we'll be cooking this week 

Cosy comfort food perfect for cold winter nights.

Cassoulet

recipe by:Currabinny Cooks

This is a quick and easy way of making the classic French peasants' stew of sausages, beans and duck - enjoy with crusty bread to soak up the deliciously rich sauce

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 30 mins

Total Time

 40 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 4 large Toulouse Sausages

• 1 duck breast

• 250g smoked bacon or rashers, cut into lardons

• 1 large onion, sliced

• 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

• 1 tbsp tomato purée

• 80ml red wine

• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes

• 2 tins of butter beans, drained

• 2 bay leaves

• 2 tbsp grain mustard

• sea salt

• freshly-cracked black pepper

• a little olive oil

• 60g coarse breadcrumbs

Method

1. In a casserole, over a medium-high heat, brown the sausage and duck breast until they are golden and sizzling on all sides. Take the meat out of the pan and set aside. Add the onions, bacon and garlic to the pan cooking for 5-6 minutes until the onion is softened and the bacon is turning crisp.

2. Pour in the red wine, allowing it to sizzle away until it begins to evaporate and thicken with the cooking fat. Add the tomato purée, stirring it in well before adding the tinned tomatoes. Add back the sausage and duck breast, bringing the whole lot to the boil.

3. Reduce the heat to a simmer and add the beans, bay leaves, mustard and a little sea salt and black pepper. Simmer gently for around 15 minutes.

4. Scatter over the breadcrumbs on top, drizzle lightly with olive oil and sprinkle lightly with sea salt before placing under a hot grill for a minute or two until golden. Serve hot.

Pearl Barley with wild mushrooms

recipe by:Currabinny Cooks

This is a great dish for knocking up mid-week. It has minimum ingredients, takes no time at all and is very filling. The leftovers make ideal lunchbox fillers too

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 5 mins

Cooking Time

 30 mins

Total Time

 35 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 200g pearl barley

• 2 shallots, sliced thinly

• 200g mixed wild mushrooms, torn or sliced thin pieces

• a few sprigs of fresh thyme

• 1 clove of garlic, crushed

• Handful of fresh coriander, chopped

• Handful of fresh parsley, chopped

• Juice of half a lemon

• 50g butter

• Olive oil

• Sea salt and black pepper

Method

1. Cook the barley in a pot of boiling salted water over a medium heat for around 20 minutes until cooked through but still with a little bite. Drain and leave aside while you prepare the rest of the dish.

2. Using a frying pan, heat a little olive oil over medium-high heat and cook the shallots for around five minutes, stirring them around the pan regularly until they have softened and starting to caramelise.

3. Remove from the pan to a plate and wipe the pan clean. Return the pan to a medium-high heat with another tablespoon or so of olive oil and place the sliced mushroom in, seasoning them with sea salt and black pepper.

4. Let them sizzle away for around five or six minutes. Add the butter to the pan along with the crushed garlic and move the mushrooms around the pan so that everything gets coated in butter and garlic. After a minute or two add the thyme sprigs and cook for around 10 minutes at a slightly lower temperature.

5. Remove the mushrooms from the pan and add to the barley and onion in a medium-sized, bowl and mix everything together including the chopped herbs. Squeeze in a little lemon juice and check the seasoning. Serve warm in bowls.
   
   

Cauliflower chicken gratin

recipe by:Darina Allen

Tender cauliflower, chicken chunks and plenty of fresh herbs combine to create a cheesy, comforting dish filled with flavour

Servings

6

Preparation Time

 15 mins

Cooking Time

 1 hours 15 mins

Total Time

 1 hours 30 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 1.5kg chicken

• 4 carrots, sliced

• 4 onions, sliced

• sprig each of thyme and tarragon 

• a few peppercorns

• 600ml homemade chicken stock

• 900g cauliflower florets

• 250g mushrooms, sliced

• scrap of butter

• 350ml milk

• 350ml cream

• 4 tsp tarragon or annual marjoram

• 60g buttered crumbs (mix 28g of melted butter with 57g bread crumbs)

• 50-100g mature Cheddar, grated

• 2 lasagne dishes (25.5cm x 20.5cm) 10in x 8in

Method

1. Put the chicken into a saucepan or casserole with the onions and carrots. Add a sprig of thyme, tarragon and a few peppercorns.

2. Pour in the stock, bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 1-1¼ hours or until the chicken is tender. Meanwhile cook the cauliflower florets in boiling salted water until al dente. Drain and refresh under cold water, set aside. Sauté the mushrooms in the butter in a hot pan season with salt and freshly ground pepper and set aside.

3. When the chicken is cooked, remove the meat from the carcass and carve into bite-sized pieces. Strain and degrease the cooking liquid, add the cream and milk, bring to the boil, add the tarragon or annual marjoram, simmer for a few minutes, thicken to a light coating consistency with roux, then add the chicken to the sauce. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.

4. Butter an ovenproof lasagne dish, put a layer of cauliflower on the base, scatter the mushrooms on top and cover with the creamy chicken mixture. Mix the buttered crumbs with the grated cheese and sprinkle over the surface.

5. Reheat in a moderate oven 180°C for 15-20 minutes and flash under the grill until the top is crunchy and golden. Serve immediately. 

Sweet potato cakes with blue cheese

recipe by:Michelle Darmody

Indulge in these potato cakes with mixed leaves, a hint of mustard and a zesty twist, made from sweet potatoes and kidney beans

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 40 mins

Cooking Time

 16 mins

Total Time

 56 mins

Course

 Side

Ingredients

• 2 large sweet potatoes, about 500g in total

• bunch of coriander, finely chopped

• bunch of spring onions, finely chopped

• ½ red chilli

• 2 tins of red kidney beans, drained and roughly mashed

• 2 tbsp olive oil and an extra dash

• ½ tbsp cider vinegar

• 1 tsp wholegrain mustard

• zest of 2 lemons

• mixed leaves for four

• 1 small bulb of fennel, finely sliced

• 150g blue cheese, crumbled

• 2 tbsp chutney

Method

1. Roast the sweet potatoes with the skin on in the oven heated to 180°C for 30 minutes until they are soft. Once they are cool enough to handle scoop the flesh from the skin and put it into a large bowl.

2. Add the coriander, chilli, spring onions and mashed kidney beans to the bowl.

3. Stir everything together and season. Form into eight patties and set aside in the fridge for ten minutes.

4. Heat another small dash of oil in a flat pan and fry the cakes for four minutes on each side until they are cooked through.

5. Whisk the two tablespoons of oil with the vinegar, mustard and lemon zest. Toss the leaves and fennel in the dressing. Serve the salad alongside the sweet potato cakes topped with the blue cheese and a dollop of the chutney on the side.

Classic lasagne

recipe by:Neven Maguire

This classic family supper is creamy, rich and bursting with delicate root vegetables and tender minced beef flavoured with tomato and fresh herbs

Servings

12

Preparation Time

 15 mins

Cooking Time

 5 hours 0 mins

Total Time

 5 hours 15 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 Italian

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp rapeseed oil

• 1 large onion, finely chopped

• 1 large carrot, finely diced

• 100g button mushrooms

• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

• 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme

• 675g lean minced beef

• 2 tbsp tomato purée

• 2 tins of chopped tomatoes

• 50g butter

• 50g plain flour

• 900ml milk

• 100g Cheddar cheese, grated

• 14-16 lasagne sheets

• salt and freshly grated black pepper

Method

1. To make the bolognese sauce, heat a large saucepan. Add the oil with the onion, carrot, mushrooms, garlic and thyme.

2. Cook for 8-10 minutes until the vegetables have softened and taken on a little colour, stirring occasionally. Add the minced beef and mix until well combined, then sauté until well browned, breaking up any lumps with a wooden spoon. Stir in the tomato purée and continue to cook for another minute or two, stirring.

3. Pour in the tomatoes and season to taste. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to the lowest setting and simmer for 2 hours until the beef is meltingly tender and the sauce has slightly reduced.

4. To make the cheese sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring. Remove from the heat and gradually pour in the milk, whisking until smooth after each addition. Season to taste. Bring the sauce to the boil, whisking constantly, then reduce the heat and simmer gently for 5 minutes until smooth and thickened, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and stir in most of the Cheddar cheese until melted.

5. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line 2 x 2.25 litre ovenproof dishes with a layer of lasagne sheets, breaking them to fi t as necessary. Add half of the bolognese and spread it into an even layer. Spread over half of the cheese sauce. Cover with another layer of the remaining lasagne sheets. Use the rest of the bolognese to make another layer and then pour over the remaining cheese sauce.

6. Scatter the rest of the Cheddar on top and bake for 1 hour or until the lasagnes are bubbling and lightly golden. Serve straight to the table.
   This recipe is from Neven Maguire’s Complete Family Cookbook, published by Gill Books