3 Simple Recipe Ideas for Warming Winter Comfort Food

Posted on 17 Jan 2017 by Anna Scott
A case can be made for food being far more important in winter than any other season of the year. Not only can the cold weather make us hungrier (that’s our excuse anyway), but in the weeks after Christmas, we also have to pay a lot more attention to how much we’re spending on meals thanks to our over-consumption in December. As much as we would love to indulge in steak and beef stew on a regular basis, our bank balances just won’t allow it, but here are a few better value ideas that we hope might offer some compensation…

 

Chickpea and Cauliflower Curry


One of the easiest ways to cut down the cost is to cut out meat altogether. But if this triggers alarm bells, there are a number of ways you can still make flavour a priority. Vegetable-based dishes really don’t have to be bland at all and one sure fire way to add a bit of, er, fire, it to make it spicy. This dish is based on the classic Channa Masala with a few extras…

 

Chickpeas


 

You will need:

2 medium onions

2 cloves of garlic

1 tablespoon of mild curry powder

1 tin of chopped tomatoes

1 tablespoon tomato puree

1 tin of chickpeas

¼ - ½ cauliflower head

A squeeze of lemon juice

Finely chop the onion and garlic and fry in oil with a sprinkling of salt until soft. Add the curry powder and fry for a further minute, turning down the heat to prevent it catching on the bottom of the pan.  Add the tomatoes along with a small amount of water (fill the empty tin approximately halfway) and bring to the boil. Stir through the tomato puree, add the chickpeas and simmer for 10 minutes, then divide the cauliflower up into small florets and put in, simmering for a further 5 minutes or so until cooked through. The sauce should be quite thick, but add some more water if it is drying out too much. Once ready, stir through more seasoning if required and the lemon juice.

 

Mushroom Risotto


Perhaps the simplest of risottos to make and, yes, another meat-free dish. Don’t worry, your bank balance will thank us for it in the long run.

 

Mushroom risotto


 

You will need:

1 medium onion

2 garlic cloves

150g sliced mushrooms

180g Arborio rice

500-700ml chicken or vegetable stock

A couple of handfuls of grated parmesan cheese

Chop the onion and garlic and fry in some olive oil with a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Just before they are soft, add the sliced mushroom and cook for a couple more minutes. Stir through the rice until all the grains are coated in oil then pour in about a third of the stock. Bring to the boil and simmer, continuously stirring, while the rice absorbs the liquid. Keep gradually adding more stock until the grains swell and cooks through. When it’s ready is should be almost soft, but still with a slight bite. Add further seasoning if required, then stir though half the cheese – save the rest to top each serving with.

 

Roast Chicken


Now, you might think this doesn’t quite fit the remit of ‘good value’ but hear us out. Buying a whole chicken to roast can prove to be much better for your wallet than certain cuts (chicken breast for example), and not only will you get a decent sized meal out of your one purchase, but you can also use it for leftovers and stock. Combine both of these to create a chicken soup and you’re sorted for another evening.

 

Roast chicken


 

But back to your roast chicken. To prepare, place a quartered onion in the centre along with some fresh herbs, season and place some knobs of butter on the skin. Roast at 220 degrees centigrade for 25 minutes, then turn down to the heat to 180 degrees and cook for a further 45 minutes to an hour (this will depend on how large your chicken is). The juices will run clear once it is cooked through. And for best roast vegetable results, cook in duck or goose fat which should be readily available in your supermarket or online at this time of year.

 

Hopefully these will go some way to satisfying your appetite this winter, and as well as benefiting your bank balance, they might also do your Christmas waistline a bit of good too. Well, perhaps not the roast potatoes…

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