A new year is upon us; one filled with optimism and light. I hope the days ahead bring you something gentle: a few quiet mornings, the comfort of familiar faces, and a kitchen that feels alive again after December’s hurly-burly. January can be a strange, in-between month: the decorations have gone back in their boxes, the house feels a little bare, and yet there’s something hopeful in the clean slate of it all.
This is the time for food that steadies rather than dazzles, the sort that hums softly in the background while you find your rhythm again. A tray in the oven, a spoonful of something fruity stirred into a glaze, a small tart warm from the tin, these are the things that make the month bearable, even beautiful.
So, here’s to a year of simple suppers and small celebrations. Recipes that make the kitchen smell welcoming on cold afternoons, and the kind of meals that remind us that comfort often comes in the quietest of dishes.
Goat’s cheese and blackberry tartlets (Image: Debby Donnelly-Addison)
Goat’s cheese and blackberry tartlets
I do love a warm tartlet: buttery pastry holding the creamy sharpness of goat’s cheese, with a streak of something sweet and purple running through. Blackberries bring a hedgerow note here, the sort that feels right for winter’s end, rich and slightly wild. Serve these with a handful of leaves and something crisp to drink, and supper feels sorted.
Yield: 12 tartlets
Prep time: 25 minutes
Bake time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
1 sheet ready-rolled shortcrust pastry
3 tbsp good-quality blackberry conserve
100g soft goat’s cheese (or brie for a milder version)
1 egg
75ml double cream
½tsp fresh thyme leaves
Salt and black pepper
Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C / 180°C (fan)/Gas Mark 5. Grease a 12-cavity tartlet tin.
Cut the pastry into 12 circles using a mug if you don’t have a cutter (you may need to knead and re-roll the offcuts as you go in order to get 12).
Use a fork to poke several holes in the bases. Blind bake for 10 minutes.
Add a teaspoon of blackberry conserve to each pastry case. Divide the goat’s cheese into 12 portions and crumble into each case.
Beat together the double cream and egg, seasoning with salt and pepper. Pour over the filled tart cases.
Top each tart with a little fresh thyme before baking for 15-20 minutes.
Leave to cool ever so slightly. Serve with crisp salad.
Sausage, apple, and apricot traybake (Image: Debby Donnelly-Addison)
Sausage, apple, and apricot traybake
This is one of those dishes that quietly looks after itself. Sausages roast down with wedges of apple and root vegetables, and the glaze (a spoonful of apricot conserve with mustard and vinegar) becomes sticky and aromatic in the heat. It’s food for when the light starts to fade and you’d rather be anywhere but the washing-up bowl.
Serves: 4-6
Prep time: 15 mins
Bake time: 45 mins
Ingredients
8 good-quality pork sausages
2 red onions, cut into wedges
2 parsnips, peeled and chopped into chunks
2 carrots, peeled and chopped into chunks
1 red apple, cored and sliced into thick wedges
2tbsp olive oil
3tbsp apricot conserve
1tbsp wholegrain mustard
1tbsp balsamic vinegar
Method
Preheat the oven to 210°C / 190°C (fan)/ Gas Mark 6.
Scatter the sausages, onions, parsnips, carrots, and apple across a large casserole dish. Drizzle with olive oil and give the dish a good shake.
Roast in the oven for 25 minutes, turning occasionally.
In a small dish, whisk together the apricot conserve, mustard, and balsamic vinegar.
Remove the dish from the oven and add the glaze. Shuffle everything around to ensure everything is evenly covered.
Roast for a further 20 minutes, or until the sausages are glossy and the vegetables are caramelised.
Serve straight from the tray with a side of seriously buttery mash.
Mango chicken traybake (Image: Debby Donnelly-Addison)
Mango chicken traybake
Time to create a bit of contrast with some bright, cheery mango: its golden sweetness cuts through January’s grey and flatters the chicken with a faint tropical hum. The ginger and lime lend freshness, while the edges of everything catch and darken in the oven, turning dinner into something that feels almost sunny. Serve it with rice or warm flatbreads to catch the sauce.
Serves: 4
Prep time: 10 minutes
Bake time: 40 minutes
Ingredients
4 chicken thighs (skin-on, bone-in)
1 red pepper, sliced
1 small red onion, sliced
1 courgette, chopped
3tbsp mango conserve
1tbsp light soy sauce
1tbsp lime juice
1garlic clove, crushed
1tsp grated fresh ginger
1tbsp olive oil
Method
Preheat oven to 210°C /190°C (fan)/ Gas Mark 6.
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the mango conserve, soy sauce, lime juice, garlic, fresh ginger, and olive oil.
Arrange the chicken and vegetables in a casserole dish. Pour the glaze over the top and give the pan a good shake. Use a pastry brush to coat the tops of the chicken thighs with any glaze that has pooled in the base of the dish.
Transfer the dish to the oven and roast for 40 minutes, giving the vegetables a little shuffle halfway through.
Garnish with a little fresh coriander. Serve with rice, couscous, or warm flatbreads.
Dining and Cooking