Midweek meals: Five winter warmers you can cook in an hour or less

These comforting family recipes are perfect for longer evenings

Delicious dinners to warm bellies this winter

Warming Soup

A perfect bowl for winter lunches

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 35 mins

Total Time

 45 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 Irish

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 1 small onion, peeled and sliced

• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped

• 1 tsp harissa paste (I use Le Phar Du Cap Bon which I get in SuperValu)

• 100g pearl barley or dried soup mixture

• 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped into rough chunks

• 1 small turnip (or half a large one), peeled and chopped into chunks

• 300ml hot water

• To serve:

• 1 handful of fresh greens such as spinach, sliced kale, or finely sliced dark green cabbage

• Fresh lemon juice

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan on a medium heat on the hob.

2. Add the onion and stir for 1 minute, next add the garlic and stir again. Cook for 4 minutes.

3. Squeeze in the harissa paste and step away from the saucepan so you don’t inhale the steam – otherwise you’ll get a lungful of spicy steam & make your eyes water!

4. Pour in the pearl barley and stir so that the barley is coated with the paste and begins to toast a little in the heat of the saucepan.

5. Add the chopped carrot and turnip, then pour the water on top of the vegetables and pearl barley.

6. Bring the saucepan to a simmer, then cover and simmer the contents of the saucepan for 20-30 minutes.

7. Once the vegetables are still slightly firm (not mushy!) the soup is cooked.

8. To serve the warming soup, spoon a large ladle of soup into a big bowl, then stir in the fresh greens immediately into the hot liquid so that they wilt a little bit.

9. Squeeze lemon juice on top and eat straight away. As there is pearl barley in the mixture there should be no need to add bread to the dish, although it is nice to dunk if you have some.

 

Beef and carrot hotpot

Comfort in a bowl, this stew is easy and delicious

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 60 mins

Total Time

 1 hours 10 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 25g (1oz) plain flour

• 300g (11oz) stewing steak pieces

• 2 tbsp rapeseed oil

• 1 large onion, roughly chopped

• 4 carrots, roughly chopped

• 1 tbsp tomato purée

• 600ml (1 pint) beef or chicken stock (from a cube is fine)

• 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

• 500g (1lb 2oz) baby new potatoes, halved

• 5g (¼oz) fresh flat-leaf parsley

• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Put the flour in a bowl and season, then add the beef pieces and toss until evenly coated. Heat a flameproof casserole or heavy-based pan over a medium to high heat. Add the oil, then add the beef and quickly sear it on all sides until golden brown.

2. Add the onion and carrots to the casserole, stirring to coat. Sauté for a couple of minutes, scraping the bottom with a wooden spoon.

3. Stir in the tomato purée and cook for 1–2 minutes, then add the stock and Worcestershire sauce. Add the baby potatoes, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour, until meltingly tender but still holding their shape.

4. Strip the leaves from the parsley and roughly chop. Ladle the beef and carrot hot pot into bowls and scatter over the parsley to serve.
   
   'Learn to Cook with Neven' by Neven Maguire is published by Gill Books, priced €22.99.