This is a great time of year to get into the kitchen – whether you’re a pro or taking your first tentative steps in cookery. Unlike the summer months - when the last thing you feel like doing is slaving over a hot stove – autumn gives us the perfect opportunity to spend the cold, wet evenings cooking something warm and wholesome.
Over the last few weeks, I have been cooking a lot of soups and stews which have proved to be ideal comfort food when it is cold and raining outside. And surprisingly, they have also been relatively cheap and easy to prepare. One of the dishes I cooked for some friends was a rabbit, tomato and basil stew, cooked slowly with some white wine and stock. I prepared the meal the night before which allowed the flavours to infuse and apart from checking on it every so often, I just left it to cook. Another dish I have been cooking – and which will appeal to vegetarians - is a spicy lentil soup with root vegetables. Again, the meal is very cheap and I made a large quantity to store in batches in the fridge or freezer - for those days when I don’t have time to cook!
catherineallen
