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.

Roast Chicken

It's probably one of the best known truths that a roast chicken is comfort, so it really needs little introduction. Everyone loves it and it cures lots of ailments and elevates spirits - it's synonymous with lazy Sundays and feeding someone a roast chicken is one of the greatest acts of affection around.

Of course it's lovely with all the trimmings, but it can be even better when eaten with plainer accompaniments. Roast chicken with mashed potato and gravy is an excellent cure for hangovers, broken hearts and general low spirits. And, roast chicken served with salad and a good loaf of bread to mop up the gravy is an equally as good provider of sustenance for those hungover or melancholy souls.

To Cook
Pre-heat the oven to 220 degrees.
Rub butter, a small bunch of chopped herbs (parsley and marjoram or thyme, etc) salt and pepper all over the chicken (This will give a golden colour and produce really tasty skin.) At this stage you could also stuff half an onion or lemon into the cavity.

Put the bird in a roasting tin and add a glass of water and a glass of wine (this will later become gravy.) Roast for 15 minutes. Baste the bird then turn down the oven to 190 degrees and return the bird to the oven to cook for 45 minutes.
Check it's cooked by piercing a meaty part of the bird with a knife, if the juices run clear then it's done, if not, return to the oven for longer and check at 5 minute intervals (a larger bird will take longer.)
Let it rest for 10 - 15 minutes and carve however you like - even a slap dash manner will be fine for this.

Lady Grey Cupcakes

These are a variation of a Primrose Bakery recipe which uses Earl Grey tea. The flavour is delicate and so they make an especially elegant treat for female guests / housemates. These were made for a certain birthday celebration a week or two ago.

Ingredients:
125 ml milk
4 Lady Grey teabags
110g unsalted butter
225g sugar (caster will work the best)
2 eggs
125g self-raising flour
120g plain flour

To Make:
1. Heat the milk in a saucepan over a medium heat until it begins to boil. Remove from the heat and allow the teabags to steep for 30mins
2. Cream the butter and sugar, then add the eggs - one at a time.
3. Add the flour to this mixture, little by little, then add a little milk and repeat this process until everything is well combined.
4. Put the mixture into cupcake cases and bake in the oven for 25 mins. They will be done when they are springy to touch. Leave in the tin for 10mins then place on a wire rack to cool.

The Icing:
(This is The Humming Bird Bakery frosting recipe - it's really good)
250g icing sugar (seems like a lot, but trust us)
80g unsalted butter
25ml milk
A few drops of food colouring

Beat the icing sugar with the butter in a mixer (this may take a while and the butter:sugar ratio may seem off - but it isn't) Add the milk and continue mixing.
Once it has all been incorporated, it will be smooth - then you can add your food dye and mix it all together.
Smear all over the top of the cupcakes in whichever fashion you wish and maybe add some cake decorations.

Date and Walnut Cake

A little old fashioned, yes. But, really that's what makes this cake so good. It goes down so well with a cup of tea, especially during the autumn months when it's blustery outside and you really want something cosy and nostalgic.

This recipe was passed on to my mum, who bakes this cake a lot, so it really reminds me of home. It's a boiled cake, so unlike most fruit cakes, it's very simple. You will need an 18cm loaf tin (greased.)



Ingredients
60g Margarine
1 packet of slab dates
60g Brown sugar
25ml / 1 cup of water
100g / 1 cup of self raising flour
2 eggs
60g Chopped walnuts
teaspoon bicarbonate soda

To cook:
Put the margarine, dates (broken up,) water, brown sugar and bicarbonate soda into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Then reduce the temperature to a gentle simmer and stir occasionally for about 15mins.
Allow to cool and add the rest of the ingredients (save some walnuts for the top of the cake,) mix together with a wooden and put into your greased baking tin.
Cook in a preheated oven at 150 C / 300 F / gas no.2 for 1hr and 30mins.

The Humble Baked Potato

The humble baked potato - such a no-brainer, cheap and one of the most comforting foods around. It can be as decadent or as humble as you like. And they seem to go with whatever you want to go with them, leftover chili or sausages are especially good..

These are a semi-decadent, twice baked, version (otherwise known as 'cheese boats.') They're great for feeding hungry house guests on an especially wet, autumn evening.


So, so easy. Rub olive oil and salt flakes over the skin of your (scrubbed) potatoes. Either prick their skins with a fork or thread them through metal skewers (this is one of Nigella's tips) and put in a hot oven for about 1 hour.

For our twice baked version, take them out of the oven after 1 hour and when they're cool enough to handle, cut them in half and scoop out the middles and put them to one side in a bowl (keeping the skins in tact may require a little concentration) Roughly mash up the insides with butter, cheese, salt & pepper and a tiny splash of milk (or cream) then refill the skins.
Put back in the oven for around another 30 minutes longer until the tops have started to brown.

Homemade Chilli

This is a fresh and very tasty Chilli con Carne, perfect for these cooler Autumn nights. For extra oomph serve with a handful of grated cheese and some sour cream - but on this occasion I wanted to keep it simple, with a sprinkling of coriander.

Ingredients:

2 large carrots, finely chopped

2 sticks of celery, finely chopped

1 green pepper

1 red onion, finely chopped

1 tin of chopped tomatoes

1 packet of extra lean steak mince

1 tin of red kidney beans

1 cupful of fresh (or dried) vegetable stock

a large bunch of coriander

a dash of cayenne pepper

a (generous) dash of cumin

To Make:

Dice all of your veg; toss the onion, carrots and celery into a pan with a splash of olive oil; stir for ten minutes until softened, before adding the mince. Let this brown before throwing in your chopped tomatoes and stirring again. Add the stock and the chopped green pepper before putting the lid on and letting it simmer for fifteen minutes or until reduced. Season with salt, pepper, cumin and cayenne and add about a quarter of your fresh coriander; in the meantime put your rice on (I had basmati) while the chilli reduces - when done, strain the rice and dollop into a bowl before ladling the hot chilli over and garnishing with a couple of handfuls of coriander. Comfort in a bowl.