Nigels Lentil Stew for a Wet Day

This is a great dish for a chilly autumn day and is especially great for cheering you up when it's wet outside and the crisp autumn leaves are turning to mulch. This is a good cure for extreme tiredness as the spices and bacon are likely to warm you back to rights.

Ingredients: (to feed 2)
1 roughly chopped onion
1 roughly chopped carrot
2 / 3 rashers of bacon (cut into pieces)
2 spilling handfuls of lentils (any kind, but puy are great.)
500ml of stock
Chopped parsley
1/2 tsp of: smoked paprika, cinnamon, nutmeg

To Cook:
Fry the chopped onion in bacon, add the carrot and put the lid on.
Add the spices, then the lentils and stock and leave to bubble away until the lentils are cooked, which should take about 30mins.
Add some of the parsley towards the end of cooking and sprinkle the rest on top when you serve.

Potato Gratin

Or Pommes dauphinoise (for the sophisticated.)

This is the culinary equivalent of a big cosy cardigan. It's proper cosy comfort food which originated in Lyon near the Alps and was designed for fending off cold nights on snowy mountains.


Feeds four:
4 baking potatoes (peeled and VERY thinly sliced.)
4 anchovies
600ml double cream (or 300ml cream and 300ml milk)
2 bushes sprigs of rosemary
1 clove of garlic (thinly sliced)
salt and pepper

Parboil the potatoes and garlic for 15 minutes in the cream and milk with the rosemary sprigs and anchovies. Stir occasionally to make sure nothing sticks to the bottom and season with salt and pepper.
Transfer everything (minus the rosemary stalks) to a greased casserole dish and cook uncovered for 45 minutes in a hot oven (220)
Serve with a simply dressed green salad.