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What should you be cooking this month?
February isn't the most exciting month on the food front, but even so there are still some culinary gems: purple sprouting broccoli may start to make an appearance, roots are still full of flavour, citrus fruits are bursting with juice (and vitamin C to keep those colds at bay!) and of course there are plenty of green, leafy veg on offer as well as broccoli and cauliflower, both of which offer plenty of health benefits. We're still feasting on soups, casseroles and braised dishes, all de rigueur for now!
Serves 4-6Cabbage with Bacon, Apples and Cider
The flavours of this recipe combine beautifully, and I think it's an exceptionally good accompaniment to sausages and mash.
Serves 6Oven-roasted Winter Vegetables
Roasting vegetables is a great way of maximising their nutritional benefit as the vitamins don't leach out into the cooking water - and they're full of flavour and texture. This recipe uses all those wonderful root veg in one go.
Serves 4Braised Celery with Cheese and Onion Sauce
I never buy imported celery out of season because it never tastes anywhere near the same as our own. I think it's at its best after a good November frost, and Fenland celery is particularly delicious when the black earth still clings to it and the st
Serves 4Ossobuco
This is a famous Italian casserole: shin of veal cooked in white wine with tomatoes. Try to buy the pieces of shin about 2 inches (5 cm) thick.
Butter Bean, Bacon and Parsley Soup
Butter beans, boiled on their own (as I remember them at school) tend to be dull, but they make a good, thick, creamy soup and have the great virtue of being able to absorb other flavours really well.
Serves 6Curried Parsnip and Apple Soup with Parsnip Crisps
This is such a lovely soup. The sweetness of the parsnips is sharpened by the presence of the apple, and the subtle flavour of the spices comes through beautifully.
Serves 4Shin of Beef Stew in Ale with Crusted Mustard and Chive Dumplings
Nothing beats the anticipation of eating a traditional, slow-cooked stew on a winter's day: sticky sauce, flavourful vegetables and meat so tender it's falling apart, with the added bonus of dumplings!
Serves 4-6Chunky Marmalade Bread and Butter Pudding
Bread-and-butter pudding is one of the highlights of traditional cooking - and gives the family a cheap and filling finale to a meal. This version simply jazzes up an old favourite.
Serves 6Rhubarb and Almond Crumble
Although my own rhubarb crop is only about 3 inches high at present, there is plenty of the early forced rhubarb in the shops and it's never better than in this most English of puddings. On Sundays we serve it with proper custard, an extra luxurious
Serves 4Braised Lamb with Flageolet Beans
Neck fillet of lamb provides very sweet meat that responds perfectly to long, slow cooking and if you add pre-soaked dried green flageolets to cook alongside it these, too, absorb the sweet flavours of the lamb.
