Winter has finally kicked in – it’s time to crack out the casserole dish and get stewing
At the risk of sounding like a British cliche, can we take a moment to discuss the change in the weather? This week’s sudden drop in temperature has our house excited for potential snow (the children are giddy), with everything suddenly feeling a lot more wintry.New coats are on the hooks, thermals are being dug out and a casserole dish filled with some sort of soup, stew or stock seems to be permanently ticking away on the hob.These range from quick, warming weeknight dinners to leisurely, slow-cooked weekend meals.The Guardian’s journalism is independent.We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link.
Learn more.Whatever the time of year, I always have speedy packets of wontons and gyozas in the freezer, and cook them depending on how I feel (fried and steamed versus boiled and soupy).At the moment, I am craving warmth and nourishment, and Meera Sodha’s quickish vegan wonton soup hits all the right spots; an added bonus is that it is a soup my children can get on board with, too.I rely on my brothy braised chicory and beans (pictured top) to get me through working-from-home lunches, when I don’t have much time, as well as Rukmini Iyer’s spiced black bean and tomato soup, which is equally speedy and comforting.If we have roasted a chicken on a Sunday, I always make stock with the bones that same evening, and Mandy Yin’s recipe for chicken curry laksa is the perfect way of honouring that liquid gold.
Her laksas are one of my favourite things to devour on a chilly day, so I’m thrilled that she has shared her secrets with us, and that I can now make and devour them from the comfort of my own home.At the weekend, I cook heartier stews – and, if time allows, even indulge in a little meal prep.Any of these stews by Gill Meller would be welcome; I plan to start by making the chicken, chorizo, white bean, olive and preserved lemon number.And I have already shopped for Felicity Cloake’s perfect Irish stew, for my half-Irish husband and lamb-loving kids, picking up an extra-large jar of pickled red cabbage to go on the side.On a day when I know my extended family will pop over, I will give Rachel Roddy’s “sociable” fish stew a go, due at least in part to the number of pescatarians in our midst.
While I appreciate that the name references the stew’s history and creation, rather than a claim on its ability, it’s worth a try, right? I love the idea of a hearty fish stew bringing everyone together on a cold winter day,What I’m reading | I was never fortunate enough to meet Rachel Cooke, but was heartbroken to hear of her death,Like many food lovers, I adored her writing and witty observations about the culinary world, chefs, restaurants and more,Cooke’s 2023 book Kitchen Person: Notes on Cooking & Eating contains 50 of the best entries from her much-loved column in the Observer, and is a wonderful way to revisit her work,A touch of glass | I am a sucker for beautiful serve-ware, and am smitten with all of Ichendorf Milano’s elegant, whimsical glassware.
Even just one piece would bring so much joy to any dining table,The giraffe and baobab jug is already on my Christmas list, as is the tomato tumbler that I would love to live on my bedside table,Both are from Sous Chef, but you can also find Ichendorf stocked in many other places, including John Lewis and Fortnum & Mason,My next meal out | Ever since I first tried Amy Poon’s home-delivery wontons back in lockdown in 2021, I have hungrily followed her journey from those wontons to award-winning Chinese deli products and restaurant pop-ups,She now has a more permanent home, Poon’s, in the stunning surroundings of Somerset House in central London, and I cannot wait to try the entire menu.
I’m particularly intrigued by the siu yeh, which she describes as “a late-night meal in the food culture of southern China”.Perfect for a post-theatre or after-pub feast.Sign up to FeastRecipes from all our star cooks, seasonal eating ideas and restaurant reviews.Get our best food writing every weekafter newsletter promotionRecipes carry stories, and often when they are passed down through families, another chapter is added each time they are made.Grandmas and uncles concoct elaborate treats and seasoning mixes, which in some cases travel across oceans to end up on our dinner tables.
We would like to hear about your family recipes that have stood the test of time, and never fail to impress.Who first made it for you? Was the recipe passed down to you, or did you create it yourself? What are the stories you associate with your favourite family recipe? Click here to let us know, and we’ll feature some of the best in a future edition of Feast.If you want to read the complete version of this newsletter please subscribe to receive Feast in your inbox every Thursday.
Wallabies fans are entitled to be frustrated but it’s not all grim for this tired, talented side
At the end of a frenetic first half, where Angus Bell ran in one of the great tries by a Wallaby prop, where Matt Faessler powered over for a brace, where Louis Bielle-Biarrey scored a solo stunner and Thomas Ramos and Nicolas Depoortère dotted down as well, Tane Edmed gathered a pass at first receiver.The young fly-half, playing in his seventh Test, was having a decent game. He’d slotted two of his three shots at goal. He was brave to the line, carrying with zip, stitching moves together as he tried to spark a backline short on fluency. But with the clock in the red, he attempted a raking kick to the corner
Ireland 13-24 South Africa: Autumn Nations Series rugby union – as it happened
How Brendan Fanning made sense of that, I’m sure I don’t know.But he did in this cracking report of an utterly bizarre and breathless game.That’ll be me for the night. Hope you enjoyed it.And here is Malcolm Marx:As you can tell by the way that I look it was crazy
South Africa make heavy weather of victory over indisciplined Ireland
The IRFU may be disconnected from a chunk of their audience on the price of Test rugby at Lansdowne Road but at least those who paid up can claim to have witnessed a truly crazy event.In the 2013 Six Nations in Rome Ireland had their backline sundered by a freakish run of injuries, leaving holes being filled by men who didn’t know how to hold a shovel. But here, on a perfect night for rugby and with a game promising to develop into a gripping contest, we saw four players banished for crimes and misdemeanours in the first half alone. Mad stuff, at the end of which – after well over two exhausting hours – the world champions stumbled to a win that should have been managed with half the effort.“I’d say it was chaotic,” Andy Farrell said
‘He’s the real thing’: Longley feels Chicago connection as Josh Giddey brings Bulls back to the big time | Jack Snape
Luc Longley chooses his words carefully when talking about Chicago Bulls point guard Josh Giddey, not wanting to heap any more expectation on the young Australian still finding his feet in the ferocious competition of the NBA.He says he doesn’t watch every Bulls game these days – only about half of them. That he hasn’t spoken to Giddey much since his move to Illinois. That Longley’s life in Australia, where he part-owns the Sydney Kings and Flames, takes up most of his energies rather than what is happening on the shores of Lake Michigan.Despite all this, Longley says he can’t help but feel a connection to Giddey’s emergence with the Bulls, one of the stories of the NBA season
Wales 26-52 New Zealand: Autumn Nations Series rugby union – as it happened
Another week, another Welsh defeat. This latest one was 52-26, and if you missed it, it will look like just another in their long list of losses to New Zealand, which now stretches back 34 matches to 1953.But it’s just possible, too, that, for the men who coached it and played in it, for the tens of thousands in the ground, and the hundreds of thousands watching on TV, it may yet come to stand for something more significant than that. Wales did not turn a corner, but they took a little look around one and got a glimpse of what the future might look like with Steve Tandy in charge.That’ll do from me as I take a breather before the Ireland v South Africa game (do join me for it)
Tom Rogers makes hat-trick history in vain as New Zealand surge past Wales
Another week, another Welsh defeat. This latest one was 52-26 and to those who missed it will look like just another in their lengthy list of losses to New Zealand, which stretches back 34 matches. But it is possible, too, that for the men who coached it, and the men who played in it, for the tens of thousands watching in the ground and the hundreds of thousands watching on TV, it might yet come to stand for something more significant.Wales did not exactly turn a corner here, but they took a little look around one and got a glimpse of what a better future might be like. “A lot of what we want to do and what we’ve been working on as a team shone through today,” said their captain, Dewi Lake
Rachel Reeves, please, let’s make budgets boring again | Heather Stewart
Bad season of bird flu in UK hits supply of Christmas turkeys
Meet the AI workers who tell their friends and family to stay away from AI
Bro boost: women say their LinkedIn traffic increases if they pretend to be men
McLaren apologise to Norris, Piastri and fans for Las Vegas GP disqualification
Verstappen back in F1 title race after Norris and Piastri disqualification follows his Las Vegas win