Comfort food: Cold weather classic recipes to warm you up

Comfort food classics made for cosy winter days 

Recipes from Avoca

Irish Minestrone with Wild Nettle Pesto

Don’t forget to bring thick gloves when you’re foraging for this native Irish wildflower to avoid any nasty nettle stings.

Servings

6

Preparation Time

 25 mins

Cooking Time

 46 mins

Total Time

 1 hours 11 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 Irish

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp butter

• 2 tbsp rapeseed oil

• 6 bacon rashers (fat trimmed and discarded), chopped

• 1 medium onion, diced

• 3 small carrots, peeled and diced

• 2 celery stalks, diced

• ½ large leek, diced

• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

• 1 tbsp tomato purée

• 2 medium potatoes, diced

• 1.2 litres low-sodium vegetable stock

• 2 bay leaves

• 2 sprigs of fresh thyme

• 250ml tomato passata

• 80g macaroni pasta 60g of kale or cavolo nero, leaves stripped from the inner ribs and chopped

• 6 fresh basil leaves, torn

• For the wild nettle pesto:

• 100g wild nettles

• 100g fresh flat-leaf parsley

• 1 garlic clove, chopped

• 1 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving

• 1 tbsp pine nuts, toasted

• 200ml rapeseed oil

• fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. First make the pesto. Use thick gloves to pick the nettles, then wash them thoroughly (a salad spinner would work well here).

2. Bring a saucepan of salted water to the boil, then add the nettles and blanch for 2 or 3 minutes. This will get rid of the formic acid and remove their sting. Drain in a colander, then squeeze out all the water (remember, they should be safe to handle now that the sting has been cooked out of them).

3. Put the blanched nettles in a food processor with the parsley, garlic, Parmesan and pine nuts. With the motor running, slowly pour in the oil. You may need to scrape down the sides of the food processor a few times with a spatula. You want the pesto to be quite thick. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

4. To make the minestrone, melt the butter and oil together in a large saucepan over a medium-high heat. Add the bacon and fry for 3 or 4 minutes, then use a slotted spoon to transfer it to a plate lined with kitchen paper to absorb any excess fat.

5. Lower the heat to medium, then add the onion, carrots, celery and leek. Cook for 10 minutes, until softened, then add the garlic and tomato purée and cook for 1 or 2 minutes more.

6. Add the bacon back in along with the potatoes, stock, bay leaves and thyme. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and cook for 15 minutes, until the potatoes are nearly cooked.

7. Stir in the passata, macaroni and kale (though if you’re planning on cooking this ahead of time, cook the pasta separately and add it to the soup when you are reheating it). Cook for a further 10 to 15 minutes, until the pasta is cooked. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then stir in the basil.

8. To serve, divide the minestrone between warmed bowls, top with a generous spoonful of the wild nettle pesto and scatter over some extra grated Parmesan.

Smoky Chicken & Chorizo

A comforting one-pot wonder for winter nights

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 30 mins

Cooking Time

 60 mins

Total Time

 1 hours 30 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 Irish

Ingredients

• 8 chicken thighs, bone in and skin on

• 100g dry-cured chorizo, diced

• 1 onion, chopped

• 1 large carrot, peeled and diced

• 2 celery stalks, diced

• 3 large garlic cloves, crushed

• 1 bay leaf

• 1½ tbsp smoked paprika

• 1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano (or 1 tsp dried oregano)

• 1 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary

• 1 tsp ground cumin

• ½ tsp chopped fresh thyme

• ¼ to ½ tsp chilli flakes, depending on how spicy you like your food

• a pinch of saffron

• 200ml white wine

• 1 x 700g jar of tomato passata

• 1 x 400g tin of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

• 80g black Kalamata olives, pitted and halved

• 1 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

• fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Trim off any excess skin from the chicken thighs and put a wide, shallow, heavy-based casserole dish over a medium-high heat without any oil. When the pan is nice and hot, reduce the heat to medium and add the chicken thighs, skin side down, to render out the fat.

2. Cook for 5 minutes without moving them around, then flip them over and cook for 5 minutes on the other side too, until nicely browned. Remove from the pan and set aside on a plate.

3. Add the chorizo and cook for 5 minutes, until it has released its oil into the pan and crisped up a bit. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the chorizo to the plate with the chicken. Pour off all the oil that has been released from the chicken and chorizo, as there will be a lot of fat in the pan now, then add 1 or 2 tablespoons back in.

4. Preheat the oven to 180°C.

5. Add the onion, carrots and celery and season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 10 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic, bay leaf, smoked paprika, oregano, rosemary, cumin, thyme, chilli flakes and saffron and cook for 1 or 2 minutes more, just until fragrant.

6. Pour in the wine and let it bubble up for 1 or 2 minutes, stirring to deglaze the pan, then stir in the passata and add the browned chicken thighs and chorizo back in. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the casserole dish and transfer to the oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until the chicken is fully cooked.

7. Near the end of the cooking time, stir in the cannellini beans and olives to warm them through.

8. Taste and adjust the seasoning, then scatter over the chopped parsley. Serve straight to the table.