COOKING FOR CHAPS

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Nichole Drysdale suggests preparing for winter with some warming stews, accompanied by potato boulangere and pear frangipane

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The changing of the seasons brings with it a change of food cravings, so my mind turned to autumnal stews, casseroles and warming comfort food. One pot cooked low and slow, sometimes even the day before. The great thing about casseroles is they can be a bit of a fridge raid, using up a mixture of root vegetables, depending on your taste and the contents of your fridge. Sometimes I make my casseroles with minimal vegetables, so I can make separate side dishes, but here I’ve given you complete recipes. The Coq au Vin includes optional carrots but otherwise I suggest staying true to the recipe. Although marinating the chicken in the red wine the night before isn’t completely necessary, it definitely brings a fuller flavour. The beef stew can be played with by swapping the butternut squash for parsnips, perhaps. Or you could include potatoes in your stew, then it really is a one-pot meal, ready to be dished out into bowls and eaten off laps in front of a roaring fire. The potato boulangere goes well with both stews and is truly delicious and full of flavour, but not as heavy as potato dauphinois. This is actually a great way to serve potatoes with many other meat dishes. It could even be a complete meal, with the addition of leftover ham hock and peas in the bottom of the dish. If I was making a beef bourguignon with red wine instead of Guinness, I’d be more tempted with dauphinois, but I think it’s too rich with the addition of the dumplings. Ah, the dumplings! I love a dumpling, and the ones in this recipe come alive with the cheddar cheese. You could always add some fresh herbs or a little creamed horseradish into the mix too.

With both of these casseroles, I would normally go for green beans or Savoy cabbage to serve alongside. Anything green works well and cuts through the beautiful depth of flavours of both stews.

A heart warming meal wouldn’t be complete without a desert of some sort. Fruit crumbles are perfect for this time of year, using apples, pears, rhubarb or berries, and the same goes for a frangipane. The obvious flavour is apple, but I prefer mine with pears. Peach would also be delicious. Serve your frangipane hot with a good vanilla ice cream, or cold with a drizzle of cream if you need a breather or a little nap after the main course.

I’m not quite ready for the winter woolies yet (in food terms, a full-on roast) but hopefully these recipes offer the feel of a comforting Autumn cardigan.

Prep Time: 20 Minutes plus overnight marinating Cooking Time: 1 ½ Hours

Ingredients 4-6 Large chicken thighs or legs (skin on) 1 Bottle red wine (ideally a Burgundy or Pinot Noir) 200g Bacon lardons 2 Cloves garlic, crushed 200g Button mushrooms 15-20 Round shallots 1 tbsp Plain flour 2 Carrots (optional), cut into thick slices Thyme, a couple of sprigs Salt & Pepper Glug of olive oil

Method 1. Marinate the chicken in the red wine overnight. 2. Pre-heat oven to 180. 3. Peel the shallots but keep whole. Lightly brown the shallots and chopped carrots in a large casserole dish for 5-10 minutes, then remove and set aside on a plate. 4. Remove the chicken from the marinade and brown it in the casserole dish for 5 minutes on each side, then remove and set aside. 5. Add the red wine to the casserole dish and bring to the boil. Add the crushed garlic and thyme. Once boiled for 10 minutes, whisk in the flour, ensuring no lumps. Return the chicken and vegetables to the dish. 6. In a frying pan, lightly fry the bacon and mushrooms, then add these to the casserole dish and season. Pop the lid on and place in the pre-heated oven for around 1½ hours, or until the chicken is tender and the sauce has thickened.

Beef Stew with Cheese Dumplings

Serves 4

Prep Time: 15 minutes Cooking Time: 4 Hours

Ingredients 1kg Stewing steak Drizzle olive oil 2 Carrots, cut into large chunks 1 Onion, sliced 2 Sticks celery, roughly chopped ½ Butternut squash (optional) Couple of sprigs fresh rosemary 1 tbsp plain flour Beef stock 300-400ml (enough to cover) 1 can of Guinness 2 tbsp Tomato puree Salt & Pepper 100g Self-raising flour 50g Suet 40g Grated cheddar cheese Couple of tbsp cold water Method 1. Pre-heat oven to 160. 2. Take a large casserole dish (with lid) and brown the beef in the oil in small batches. Remove from the dish and fry the vegetables for 5 minutes. 3. Return the beef to the dish and stir through the flour, coating the beef and vegetables. Cook for a couple of minutes. 4. Pour in the Guinness and stock, and season. 5. Stir through the tomato puree and rosemary and bring to the boil. 6. Place in the pre-heated oven with the lid on and allow to cook for approx 4 hours. Check after a couple of hours to ensure there is still enough liquid. 7. Once the beef is tender and the sauce has thickened, make the dumplings. 8. In a bowl, combine the flour, suet and cheese.

Season. Add a couple of tablespoons of cold water to form a dough. Shape the dough into small balls. 9. Remove the stew from the oven and place the dumplings around the edge of the dish. Replace the lid and pop back in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove the lid and cook for a further 5-10 minutes until the dumplings have browned slightly.

Prep Time: 20 minutes Cooking Time: 1 ½ hours (approx)

Ingredients 6-8 Large potatoes 1 Onion Couple sprigs of fresh thyme – leaves only 2 Cloves of garlic, crushed Stock – chicken or vegetable, approx 600-700ml Salt & Pepper Couple of knobs of butter Drizzle of olive oil Sprinkling of grated cheese – cheddar or parmesan (optional)

Method 1. Pre-heat oven to 180. 2. Peel and thinly slice the onion. 3. Gently soften the onion in the olive oil. You don’t want to colour it. 4. Peel and slice the potatoes. A mandolin works best for this, otherwise use a sharp knife to slice them as thinly as possible. 5. Take a medium sized lasagne dish and start to layer up the boulangere. 6. Start with a layer of potatoes, a sprinkling of the onion, a little thyme and seasoning. Repeat until layered up to the top. Don’t forget to lightly season each layer. 7. Once you’ve layered up the dish, pour over the boiling stock until it’s just reached the top, dot the knobs of butter on top and place in the pre-heated oven. Once the dish is almost cooked (check the potatoes are cooked all the way through with a sharp knife after 1 hour 20), sprinkle with the grated cheese and return to the oven for a further 10 minutes.

Ingredients 13 Pears 1 Pack readymade sweet shortcrust pastry (or make your own) 115g Unsalted butter – at room temperature 115g Caster sugar, plus extra to sprinkle 100 Ground almonds 30g Plain flour 3 Eggs Couple of drops almond essence

Pear Frangipane

Serves 6

Prep Time: 15 mins Cooling Time: 45 mins

Method 1. Pre-heat oven to 180. 2. Roll out the pastry and line a 9-inch loose-bottomed tart tin. Use a fork to prick tiny holes all over the bottom. 3. Line the pastry with baking paper and fill with baking beans (or dried pulses) and blind bake for 15 minutes, then remove from the oven. Remove the paper and beans. 4. Place the butter and sugar into a stand mixer and combine until smooth. 5. Add the ground almonds and flour to combine. 6. Add the eggs one at a time until mixture is smooth. Stir through the almond essence. 7. Pour the mixture into the cooled pastry case. 8. Peel, half and core the pears. Cut them into slices but keep their shape. 9. Gently place the pears, equal distance apart, on top of the tart. Sprinkle over a little caster sugar. Place in the oven and cook for approx 45 minutes or until the tart has set and is nicely golden in colour.