COMFORT food isn’t all slow cooker and hours-long stews – with the right recipes, you can create delicious, comforting meals in under 30 minutes…
Bestselling food writer Jon Watts’ new cookbook, Speedy Comfort (£22, Bloomsbury Publishing) is out next week, and is packed with pies, nostalgic puds and tasty traybakes that remove the fuss from unnecessary steps and ingredients lists.
The result is all kinds of filling, family-friendly meals that are both affordable and quick to pull together.
And as we head into autumn, his comfort food is just what we’re craving.
We’ve chosen three cosycore recipes for you to try – a sausage traybake you can add any leftover veggies from the fridge to, plus a pie that’s perfect for Sunday roast leftovers or if you want to grab a rotisserie chicken from the supermarket for ease.
And if you’re veggie or want a meat-free meal, this paneer curry is just the thing to have in front of your latest TV boxset binge – enjoy!
Paneer Jalfrezi
Serves: 4
Prep time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 15 mins
Ingredients:
*400g paneer
*2tbsp plain yoghurt
*3tbsp curry powder
*1tbsp vegetable oil
*1 red onion, sliced
*1 red pepper, sliced
*1 green pepper, sliced
*2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
*15g root ginger, peeled and finely chopped or grated
*1tbsp tomato purée
*400g can chopped tomatoes
*150ml chicken or veggie stock
*10g coriander, chopped
Method:
1. Cut the paneer into 2cm chunks. Put it in a bowl with the yoghurt and 1tbsp of the curry powder. Mix gently and leave to marinate while you get everything else ready. This will stop the paneer becoming rubbery in the curry.
2. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the red onion, red pepper and green pepper, and cook for a few minutes until they soften.
3. Chuck in the garlic and ginger and cook for 30 seconds, then add the tomato purée and the remaining 2tbsp of curry powder. Cook for another minute.
4. Pour in the chopped tomatoes and stock, then add the paneer. Stir well, then simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the curry thickens.
5. Stir through the chopped coriander and taste for seasoning, adding salt if required (though it probably won’t need it, because of the cheese), then serve.
Rotisserie Chicken & Veg Pot Pie
Serves: 4
Prep time: 5 mins
Cooking time: 25 mins
Ingredients:
*30g butter
*30g plain flour
*500ml chicken stock
*350g cooked chicken, shredded
*250g mixed frozen vegetables
*100g crème fraiche
*2tsp dried mixed herbs
*320g sheet ready-rolled puff pastry
*2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 240°C/220°C fan/gas mark 7.
2. Put the butter, flour and chicken stock in a saucepan and cook over a medium-high heat, stirring with a whisk continuously, until it starts to thicken into a smooth sauce.
3. Add the chicken, frozen veg, crème fraiche and mixed herbs. Bring to the boil, then turn off the heat. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper, if you like.
4. Transfer it to an ovenproof dish, then lay the puff pastry over the top, pressing it around the sides of the dish with a fork to seal. Cut 2 slits in the pastry to help steam escape, and decorate with score marks or shapes cut out of the off-cuts, if you like.
5. Brush the pastry with the egg yolk, then bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown on top and bubbling inside.
6. Leave to stand for a couple of minutes before serving.
BBQ Sausages With Veggies
Serves: 2-3
Prep time: 5 mins
Cooking time: 25 mins
Ingredients:
*1 large courgette, cut into rounds
*2 peppers (any colour), cut into chunks
*2 red onions, cut into wedges
*1tbsp olive oil
*1tbsp smoked paprika
*6 good-quality sausages
*400g can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
*2tbsp BBQ sauce
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan/gas mark 6.
2. Pop the courgette, peppers and red onions in a bowl and add the olive oil, smoked paprika, and salt and pepper to taste. Toss to coat.
3. Lay the veggies out on a roasting tray, then place the sausages over the top.
4. Bake for 25 minutes, turning the sausages over halfway through. Mix through the chickpeas and BBQ sauce for the final few minutes. You can also cook this, in a single layer, in an air fryer, turning halfway through.
5. When everything is cooked and lightly browned, dish it up.
Why are products axed or recipes changed?
ANALYSIS by chief consumer reporter James Flanders.
Food and drinks makers have been known to tweak their recipes or axe items altogether.
They often say that this is down to the changing tastes of customers.
There are several reasons why this could be done.
For example, government regulation, like the “sugar tax,” forces firms to change their recipes.
Some manufacturers might choose to tweak ingredients to cut costs.
They may opt for a cheaper alternative, especially when costs are rising to keep prices stable.
For example, Tango Cherry disappeared from shelves in 2018.
It has recently returned after six years away but as a sugar-free version.
Fanta removed sweetener from its sugar-free alternative earlier this year.
Suntory tweaked the flavour of its flagship Lucozade Original and Orange energy drinks.
While the amount of sugar in every bottle remains unchanged, the supplier swapped out the sweetener aspartame for sucralose.