Winter is about nourishment and comfort foods.
We crave foods that are more hearty and filling.
But with our busy lives and time limits it gets harder and harder to accomplish this.
Throughout the week I am looking for meals that will fill our tummies while still getting as much goodness into our diet as possible.
It is also about making the most of the robust winter veges and spreading out ingredients to feed us for less.
Here is a collection of meals you can easily create using local seasonal ingredients.
Old-fashioned vegetable soup
Nothing sums up comfort better than a pot of warming soup, and vegetable soup is fantastic as you can pretty much add all the bits and bobs from your fridge and garden to create a fantastic dinner. This is one of those soups where you throw it all in a pot and blend until smooth. It couldn’t get much easier than that!
SERVES 6
Skill: easy
4 carrots, peeled cut into bite sized pieces
4 potatoes, scrubbed, cut into bite sized pieces
1 leek, cut into small rounds
1 celery stick, cut into small dice
1 parsnip, peeled, cut into bite sized pieces
1 onion, diced
Sprig fresh thyme
200g cabbage, cut into chunks
100g butter
60ml pouring cream
Chives for serving
Method
Add 20g butter to a heavy based saucepan, add all the vegetables and saute for 10 minutes without colour, cover with water, add the thyme and season with salt and a little pepper.
Cook over a gentle heat until all the vegetables are soft (40 minutes).
Add the remaining butter and puree until smooth.
Adjust the seasoning and serve with a little cream and chives on top.
Fish baked in paper
This method is one I remember from when I trained as a young chef. It seemed so foreign to me at the time. However, once you get your head around the method you will be so impressed with how easy it is and how tasty and juicy the fish will become. Another bonus is you don’t have any dishes at the end of the meal.
You can be adventurous with this method. Keep it simple with some spinach, olives, and lemon or, as I have done, spice it up with some Thai-inspired flavours.
SERVES 4
Preparation: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Skill: moderate
200g fillet of fish per person (red cod, monkfish, etc) skinned and deboned
2 tsp ginger, julienned
2 red chillies, deseed and cut finely
1 pak choi, separating the leaves
4 spring onions, cut into long lengths
2 shallots, trimmed, peeled and sliced thinly
4 lime leaves (optional) or lime zest
1 tsp coriander seeds
20g fresh coriander
1 tsp sesame seeds
2 limes, cut into thin rounds
80ml rice wine vinegar or
white wine
60g butter
Method
Preheat the oven to 180degC.
Cut four pieces of baking paper or foil into 30cm-wide squares and set aside.
Mix together the ginger, chilli, pak choi, spring onions, shallots, lime leaves, coriander seeds, fresh coriander and sesame seeds.
Add the limes and rice wine vinegar with two tablespoons of water. Toss well to coat.
Fold the paper in half and then reopen and lay on your bench.
Dab over the butter between the papers, place the fillet of fish in the middle of one half of the paper, divide the pak choi mixture and place over the fish.
Fold the paper over the fish and crimp the edges around the paper to create a neat parcel. Allow a little space so you can pour in any juices from the pak choi mixture. Secure the paper allowing room around the fish as the bag will inflate when cooking. It is essential the parcels are secured!
Place the parcels on a baking tray and bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.
Serve immediately in the paper bags. Carefully open the bags as steam will escape.
Green shakshuka
Shakshuka is a medley of braised ingredients with eggs baked into it. Simply serve with bread to mop up the juices.
The base can be made in advance and I used all sorts of green vegetables I had on hand.
SERVES 4
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Skill: moderate
1 (180g) leek, halved and cut into 2cm pieces
½ head (175g) broccoli florets
150g Brussels sprouts, cut into thick slices
2 potatoes (250g) peeled and cut into small diced pieces
2 cloves garlic, sliced
300g silverbeet, leaves removed from the stalks and cut into 2cm pieces
2 large spring onions, chopped
½ green chilli, finely chopped
¾ tsp ground cumin
¾ ground coriander
10g dill, roughly chopped
20g parsley, roughly chopped
1 Tbsp lemon or lime juice
4 eggs
Salt and black pepper
Harissa for topping
Feta cheese, Greek yoghurt or cottage cheese for topping
Method
Put the oil into a large pan (ideally with a lid) over medium heat. Once hot add the leek then reduce the temperature and cook for 5 minutes, covered, or until the leek has softened without colour.
Add the broccoli, Brussels sprouts, potatoes, garlic and silverbeet stalks and cook for about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the leaves of the silverbeet, green chilli, spices and dill and stir well to combine. Continue cooking for a further 5 minutes.
Add about 100ml water, season with salt and pepper, cover with the lid, turn down the heat to medium low and cook for 10 minutes or until the leaves have completely wilted and the vegetables are soft.
Add the lemon juice and stir through.
Make four indentations with the back of a spoon, then break the eggs so they nestle into them.
Sprinkle over a little salt and pepper, cover with the lid and cook until the eggs are cooked but the yolks are runny (4 minutes).
Remove the lid, dollop over the feta, yoghurt or cottage cheese if using and drizzle over the harissa.
Serve on the table in the cooking dish with plenty of good quality bread.
Pot roast chicken
Pot-roasting chicken is one of the best ways to keep your chicken juicy and packed with flavour. I load it with vegetables which cook snuggly alongside the chicken and soak up all the juices.
Once again, keeping it in one pot makes life so much easier — there is far less cleaning up to do and the result is sublime.
SERVES 6
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour 40 minutes
Skill: moderate
1 x 1.7kg (approx) free range chicken
1 lemon
Olive oil
20g butter
6 sprigs fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
8 cloves garlic, peeled
6 shallots, peeled
8 small carrots, scrubbed or 4 larger, cut in half
4 medium sized parsnips, peeled cut into half
12 small potatoes, scrubbed
½ bottle white wine
Salt and pepper
30g parsley
Method
Preheat the oven to 180degC.
Pierce the lemon with a knife and place it inside the cavity of the chicken, then stuff the thyme inside the cavity.
Drizzle enough oil over the chicken and season with salt and pepper.
Add a couple of tablespoons of oil to the base of a heavy based ovenproof casserole dish (with a lid). Place on the stove top over moderate to high heat.
Add the butter and all the vegetables and coat in the oil. Add the bay leaves and white wine and bring to the boil. Turn off the heat.
Place the chicken on top, cover with the lid and cook in the oven for 1 hour, basting regularly.
Remove the lid and continue cooking for a further 30 minutes so the skin browns up.
Remove from the oven. Carefully remove the chicken and set aside.
Remove the vegetables and place on a warm serving dish.
Return the casserole to the stove top and reduce the juices to slightly thicken them up if needed.
Carve the chicken and serve alongside the vegetables and pour over the juices.
