What I've Been Cooking: Winter 2020/2021

Winter is all about comfort food for me and this winter certainly has been no exception. It has been so cold and, of course, we are now stuck in lockdown number three. At least being stuck at home means I have more than enough time for soups, stews, and long-simmering pasta sauces. These are all the things I daydream about in summer when hot and I don’t want to go near my stove, anyway. (Okay, it really doesn’t get that hot in Scotland, but there’s a certain summer laziness that comes upon me regardless.) Much of winter meal planning for me revolves around finding the balance between comforting favourites and stale routine. I am always trying to think of and look around for new recipes and techniques as the limited veg selection in the winter makes things feel repetitive and stagnant fairly early, and I don’t want us to become sick of our favourite meals.

While I generally try to plan for at least half of our dinners being vegetarian/vegan, in the winter sometimes things swing a little meat heavy (though in the height of summer’s bounty this swings the other way). However, beans and lentils abound! One of my go-to lentil dishes for winter is shepherd’s pie, and this samosa-inspired version from Heidi at 101Cookbooks is my absolute favourite. I find the garam masala makes it just that much cosier. My husband makes this red lentil soup from Chef John frequently, so simple but so good. The lemon-mint yoghurt absolutely makes it. He also makes a killer vegetarian chili, and one of these days I’ll have to follow him around the kitchen to share it here.

A soup I love to put in the rotation when things are starting to feel a bit too stodgy is chicken khao soi. It’s such a bright, spicy contrast to many of the dishes we tend to make in the winter but its creaminess still feels comforting. We tend to go with this recipe from Bon Appetit but with a few modifications, namely that we use rocoto chiles which are much hotter than the guajillo chilis called for, so we use a little less.

We are also deep in roast season. Most weeks I like to do a simple roast chicken and root veg, I find the Sunday roast to be a beautiful occasion to sit back while I let the oven do all the work. But other weeks I like to create an occasion, especially since the pandemic started and they so seldom arise now. On one such non-occasion occasion I made this Lacinato Kale Gratin from Renne Erikson’s A Boat, A Whale, & A Walrus. It’s super rich and pretty much the opposite of all the other kale dishes I make, and it instantly makes Sunday night feel like a festive feast.

Sticky toffee pudding is always a favourite of mine and to me is at its best in the winter. The only one I make is from Nigella Lawson. Her version is so dark and decadent. It is absolute perfection in my book.

Craigmillar Castle in the snow