Autumn

Indulge in the perfect blend of creamy texture and warming spices with our Chai Kefir Panna Cotta, crafted by our talented Chiara Tomasoni, who you may recognise from MasterChef the Professionals. Infused with River Cottage Organic Chai Kefir and a hint of orange zest, this dessert brings a refined twist to a classic favourite. Try it for yourself and be sure to tag us @rivercottagehq on Instagram!…

This recipe by Gelf Alderson from River Cottage Great Salads was inspired by a lunch concocted from some leftover takeaway…

This richly spiced combination of squash, tomatoes and pulses is based around a traditional Moroccan recipe, harira. That dish is actually a soup but, whenever I make it, I find myself veering towards such a thick and chunky texture that ‘stew’ seems a more appropriate description. It hardly matters – it’s a delicious, belly-filling, one-pot dish….

Blackberry whisky is one of the finest of all infusions, a rival even to sloe gin. Do use cheap whisky for this recipe as there is a special pit in hell for those who drink good whisky in any way other than on its own. For those few who do not like blackberries and the many more who do not like whisky there is some good news. Given time – about a year, but two is better – the flavour mellows into something quite its own, not dissimilar from port, and with never a hint of peat bogs and barely a trace of blackberry crumble….

Labneh is a fresh Middle Eastern cheese made by hanging whole milk yogurt in muslin until it is as thick as cream cheese, but with a tangy, lightly salty flavour reminiscent of feta. If you want to keep it for longer than a week, you can make it into balls and cover these with olive oil, which will keep happily in the fridge for a couple of months. Use it like feta in salads, dotted over a tray of roast vegetables or to make a labneh cheesecake. Utterly delicious….

A chunk of moist, golden cornbread, still warm from the oven, is a great partner to soup or a hearty salad. Hugh adds grated carrot, which keeps the cornbread nice and tender, and contributes a delicious hint of sweetness….

A delicious starter or snack, great for dinner parties….

This is a great way elevate carrots into something quite spectacular! It is such a pleasure to cook, seeing a humble carrot take on so much character….

It may be a bit strange to start by telling you to ignore the recipe, but that’s what we’re going to do here. Well, not ignore it exactly, but do adjust the veg to suit yourself and what you have to hand. Just make sure that you end up with about 700g roots and potato, chopped into 2cm (or so) cubes. No parsnips? Substitute 200g turnips, or up the other vegetables slightly, and so on. This is just a great basic recipe for creating a tasty, satisfying soup and I do hope you’ll make it your own….