I know autumn isn't quite here yet, although it may as well be, but people are already digging out the jumpers and thinking about turning on the heating :o. It made me start thinking about lovely warming meals, stews, soups, casseroles etc. Morrisons free magazine has a picture of stew and dumplings on the front cover and it's what i'm making today.

So, what warming meals do you love to make and can you pass on the recipes for them?

Game is my ultimate autumn comfort food. This recipe is for pheasant but works just as well with pigeon or partridge, allow 2 partridge breasts or 2-3 pigeon breasts per person.

Serves 4

4 pheasant breasts
1 large leek, sliced
4oz chestnuts, chopped
Half pint double cream
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

Season the pheasant breasts and fry them in vegetable oil until golden, transfer to oven proof dish. Fry leeks gently for about 10 minutes, stir in the chestnuts, cream and mustard, season with salt and pepper and boil for 1 minute. Leave to cool. Pour the cold sauce over the pheasant and bake at mark 6 (200c) for about 20 minutes or until meat is cooked.

A really nice soup I made last year that I'll be doing again is a butternut squash, honey and sage soup. Cut the squash up into 1cm pieces and slowly cook for ten minutes in a good glob of butter with some chopped fresh sage, salt, squeeze of lemon juice and a large spoon of honey. Cover with a lid and stir occasionally. Then, when the squash has softened add some chicken stock and a bit of double cream and simmer for five minutes. Then, and I find this is the bit that really counts, blend for a long time - 2-3 minutes. This gives the soup a really silky texture. It really tastes fantastic.

Game is my ultimate autumn comfort food. This recipe is for pheasant but works just as well with pigeon or partridge, allow 2 partridge breasts or 2-3 pigeon breasts per person.

Serves 4

4 pheasant breasts
1 large leek, sliced
4oz chestnuts, chopped
Half pint double cream
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

Season the pheasant breasts and fry them in vegetable oil until golden, transfer to oven proof dish. Fry leeks gently for about 10 minutes, stir in the chestnuts, cream and mustard, season with salt and pepper and boil for 1 minute. Leave to cool. Pour the cold sauce over the pheasant and bake at mark 6 (200c) for about 20 minutes or until meat is cooked.

That looks a nice recipe, I'll try it as I like my Game in Autumn. It has an added appeal for me as something I view as absolutely seasonal unlike nearly everything else the supermarket tries to supply 365.
Speaking of Game I made my first Hare casserole last week. Never cleaned a Hare before, so glad I did it outside!!!! The smell is something else.

A really nice soup I made last year that I'll be doing again is a butternut squash, honey and sage soup. Cut the squash up into 1cm pieces and slowly cook for ten minutes in a good glob of butter with some chopped fresh sage, salt, squeeze of lemon juice and a large spoon of honey. Cover with a lid and stir occasionally. Then, when the squash has softened add some chicken stock and a bit of double cream and simmer for five minutes. Then, and I find this is the bit that really counts, blend for a long time - 2-3 minutes. This gives the soup a really silky texture. It really tastes fantastic.

Squash soup is one of my favs. I normally make mine without the honey or sage but use a little cream and just a tiny bit of cinnamon, cloves & chilli. Homemade soup is definitely something magic for me over the colder months.

I had some plums left over last week - the last from our small tree. Not enough to do much with like jam making etc, and we'd had our fill of plum pies/crumble.

Inspired by a Jamie Oliver 'Jamie at home' recipe...

I fried off some chicken thighs and put them once almost cooked through in a casserole dish. Added some new potatoes that had been parboiled and slightly crushed.

I then stoned the plums, and mixed them up with some olive oil, red wine vingear, salt pepper and cinnamon plus a few spoons of demerara suggar and added that to the casserole.

Chucked in a mug of peas, mixed it all up and baked it in the oven for 40 mins or so.

Served it up with the last of the runner beans from the garden.

another fan of butternut squash soup here too, I made one yeserday which is one of my faves


curry butternut squash soup

half a butterbut squash, peeled and chopped
1 onion chopped
half a tin of tomatoes
tbsp curry powder
splash of coconut milk or a knob of creamed coconut
1 pint of stock

chuck together in a pan, simmer till the squash is cooked though then blitz :D

Im using the other half of my squash in a risotto for lunch today, will post the recipe if it turns out nice

Ooooh i love risotto!! :love: Only i put to much black pepper in mine yesterday so it burnt my mouth :roll:

Have never tried Butternet Squash though...

the verdict is yummy!

Roasted butternut squash risotto

half a squash peeled and chopped
1 onion chopped
Risotto rice (i used about a quarter of a packet)
1 garlic clove
couple of spoonfulls of rosemary
olive oil
1 pint of stock
handful of grated cheese to finish

put the squash, onion and garlic in an oven tray, slosh olive oil over to coat everything and sprinkle over the rosemary and roast off for about half an hour. Once roasted add the squash, onions and garlic and any leftover oil into a pan with the risotto rice and give a good mix round. Gradually add the hot stock and simmer until the rice is cooked through. Stir in the cheese, season to taste and enjoy :D

Mmm, I've got a recipe for a butternut squash risotto, but using pearl barley instead of rice. Might have to make that this week now. :)

I make a nice lentil stew, although my quantities are more on sight and feel than accuracy... I put enough red lentils per person (for one it tends to be one layer of the bottom of a small soup size pan...) and the relevant amount of veggie stock for them, plus a little extra - the packet would give you guidelines (you could use beef or chicken tock too).

The rest of the quantities are for 2 people, adjust accordingly:

Then chop 1 carrot, 1 stick of celery, 1/2 an onion, 1 garlic glove, 1 inch-sized piece of ginger, fry off a little in some oil til softened, then add to pan with lentils and stock, and add:

1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 red chilli (chopped and de-seeded/veined) or pinch of chilli flakes
1 good splash Henderson's relish
2 tablespoons tomato ketchup
Grating of black pepper.

Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer til lentils are soft (usually about 15 mins)

In the meantime, grill some sausages (for veggies, Linda McCartney ones work best. For meat eaters, nothing that has a strong herby flavour, something that will work with tomatoey and spicy flavours) - 2 per person. Once cooked, chop into pieces and add to the stew.

Sprinkle some mature cheddar on top of the stew and serve with a good hunk of bread.