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Five simple recipes for welcoming in the cold weather

Now that autumn has arrived, warm up with these easy to make dishes for cosy nights in. 

Spanish-style chorizo and bean soup


A thick, hearty soup full of spicy, smoky flavour. Look out for chorizo ‘dulce’ – a sweeter, milder type of chorizo if you don’t like too much heat. 

Chop one medium onion and 3 chunky cloves of garlic and stir-fry gently in a drizzle of olive oil until starting to soften. Chop a chorizo sausage into chunks (removing the papery skin) and cook for 2-3 minutes. Then add 400g of tinned, chopped tomatoes, 200ml vegetable stock and one teaspoon of sugar. Drain a 410g can of cannellini beans and tip into the pan, cooking gently until the onions are soft and everything is heated through – about 10-15 minutes. Finish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and scatter with chopped parsley before serving with crusty bread. Serves 2-3.


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Sausages with roasted red onion gravy


Try this rich onion and red wine gravy with your bangers and mash. And use the best quality sausages you can find. 

Preheat the oven to 220°C. Lay out 8 thick, good quality sausages in a roasting tray and scatter the slices from one red onion around the sausages. Bake for 25 minutes or until the sausages are cooked through. Take out the sausages and keep them warm. Drain off all but 1 tablespoon of any fat that has accumulated in the roasting tray – and tip the roasted onion slices, with any of the caramelised meat, into a small saucepan. Fry gently, sprinkling over 2 teaspoons cornflour and 1 teaspoon dark brown sugar. Pour in 250ml beef stock, along with 100ml red wine and simmer together, whisking to avoid lumps, until the gravy has reduced to a silky, dark sauce. Serve spooned over the sausages with mashed potato on the side. Serves 4.

Classic beef and ale stew


A classic pub favourite, and easy to make at home. Newcastle Brown Ale is a good ale to start with, but experiment with different varieties as this will dramatically change the flavour of the stew.

Dust 500g casserole steak with 3 tablespoons plain flour. Heat a tablespoon of sunflower oil in a large pan and fry the meat until browned. Slice one medium onion and add to the beef, cooking for 2 minutes more. Pour in 425ml Newcastle Brown Ale and stir gently, scraping up any of the caramelised meat that has stuck to the bottom of the pan for flavour. Throw in 2 bay leaves and a good pinch of salt and black pepper. Turn the heat down to low, put the lid on and leave to simmer for two hours, or until the meat is tender and the gravy has reduced to a thick, dark sauce. Serves 3-4.

Homemade green vegetable soup


There’s nothing like a fresh-tasting home made soup when you come in from the cold. Here’s a healthy vegetable soup that’s easily made at home; also much cheaper than buying in a carton or a tin.

In a large saucepan, heat a tablespoon of olive oil over a medium heat. Throw in 2 chopped garlic cloves and 2 chopped spring onions, including the green parts. Cut the florets off one small head of broccoli, and trim the stalk of any tough areas. Chop and add to the pan. Tip in 250g frozen peas, and gently cook the vegetables for around 5 minutes, until they start to soften. Pour in 700ml vegetable stock and continue to cook until the vegetables are soft. Blend until smooth, seasoning to taste with salt and pepper. This is also good topped with a little grated Parmesan cheese.  Serves 3-4.

Oaty Bramley apple crumble

An apple crumble is the ultimate cold weather dessert – and Bramleys are the best apple for the job, retaining their tangy flavour after cooking. In 2010 we Brits ate 97 million fresh Bramley apples. The Bramley Information Service shares their recipe for an oaty crumble.

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Core, peel and slice 900g (about 5) Bramley apples. Place them, with 75g caster sugar and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon into a large ovenproof dish. Mix 225g plain flour, 100g demerara sugar and 175g jumbo oats together in a bowl. Rub 175g butter into the floury mixture with your fingertips until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Scatter the crumble mixture over the apples in an even layer and bake for 30-35 minutes until golden and the apples are tender.

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