What better way to celebrate the cooler autumn nights than getting stuck into the kitchen for decent, three course Sunday roast?
Try the below out for size if you're stuck for ideas this weekend
Autumn vegetable soup with cheesy toasts
Estimated time of preparation: 35 minutes (serves four)
Ingredients:
- 1 leek, chopped quite small
- 2 carrots, chopped quite small
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 1 potato, chopped quite small
- 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
- ½ tsp sugar
- 410g can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- 2 x 400g cans chopped Italian tomatoes
- 425ml vegetable stock
- For the toasts
- 8 slices of baguette, cut on the diagonal
- 1 garlic clove, cut in half
- 50g Edam, finely grated
Put the vegetables into a large saucepan with the garlic, rosemary, stock and sugar. Season well, stir, bring to a simmer and cover. Cook gently for 15 minutes or until the vegetables are just tender.
Preheat the grill to high. Spin the tomatoes in a food processor or blender until smooth, then tip into the vegetables with the chickpeas and parsley. Gently heat through, stirring now and then.
For the toasts: rub both sides of the bread with the garlic. Grill on one side until golden, turn the bread over, cover with edam cheese and grill. Serve at once with the hot soup.
Jamie Oliver's quick-time sausage cassoulet, with tomatoey beans and chunky breadcrumbs
Estimated time of preparation: 1 hour 25 mins total (serves eight)
Ingredients:
- 2 handfuls dried porcini mushrooms, broken up
- 8 thick slices dry-cured higher-welfare streaky bacon
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large bunch mixed fresh rosemary, thyme and sage
- 2 red onions, peeled and roughly chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 large carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
- ½ heart celery, finely chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ bottle red wine
- 3 x 400 g tinned plum tomatoes
- 2 x 400 g tinned borlotti or cannellini beans or use a mixture
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 24 higher-welfare chipolata sausages, or use 16 larger sausages
- 1 large stale loaf, crusts removed
- 1 small handful fresh thyme, leaves picked
Preheat the oven to 200˚C/400˚F/gas 6. Put your porcini mushrooms into a dish, cover with 565ml of boiling water and allow to soak until soft. Heat a large roasting tray on the hob. Slice the bacon across into strips. Fry in four tablespoons of olive oil until crisp and golden.
Tie your herbs together with some string and add to the bacon in the pan with onions, garlic, carrot, celery and bay leaves. Drain the porcini, reserving the soaking liquid, add them to the pan and fry nice and slowly for about 5 minutes. Add the red wine and simmer until the liquid has reduced by half.
Add the tomatoes to the pan, breaking them up with a spoon, then add your strained porcini soaking liquor and the beans. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Lightly season then lay your sausages on top. Break up your bread into coarse, chunky breadcrumbs, toss with the thyme, a little salt and olive oil and sprinkle around the sausages. Place in the oven for around 40 minutes until the sausages and breadcrumbs are golden and crisp.
Estimated time of preparation: 1 hour and 20 minutes (serves 16)
Ingredients:
- 250g pack butter (this must be very cold)
- 225g caster sugar
- 300g ground almonds
- 140g plain flour, plus 25g/1oz
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking powder
- approx 6 plums, stoned and cut into sixths
- 50g flaked almonds
Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Line a tin with baking paper, Throw the butter, sugar and almonds into a food processor before mixing together until it resembles rough breadcrumbs. Take out half the mix, put it in a bowl and set it aside.
Add 140g flour into the mix in the processor and whizz until it just forms a dough. Tip into the tin and press down with the back of a spoon. Bake for 15-20 mins until golden. Leave to cool for 10 mins.
To make the filling, put the remaining butter and the sugar and almond mix back into the processor, saving a few tbsp for the topping. Add the eggs, the 25g flour, cinnamon and baking powder and whizz to a soft batter. Spread over the base.
Top with the plum pieces and a little extra caster sugar and cinnamon. Bake for 20 mins, then sprinkle with the remaining crumble mix and flaked almonds. Cook for another 20 mins before cooling before slicing.
