5 ways to shake up your winter cooking routine

Luckily, we’ve teamed up with Countdown to share five easy ways you can make this time of year that little bit tastier.

1 Go seasonal

The key to clever cooking all year round is to embrace what’s in season. While soup may be the first thing that comes to mind for pumpkin, there’s a lot more you can do with seasonal fruit and veg if you get a little creative!

• Pumpkin: Use as a topping for pies or to bulk up vegetarian lasagna.

• Cabbage: This economical, high-yielding vegetable is perfect in salads or teamed up with budget-friendly mince in these cabbage rolls. You can also easily promote it from side dish to star of the meal with recipes like this rosemary chicken and cabbage.

• Carrots: These are one of winter’s most versatile veges. Enjoy raw with dips or grated into salads, sautéed for a sweet side dish or transformed into fritters.

• Citrus: Fruits like lemon and orange provide an instant flavour boost to a range of dishes. Try it in anything from this garlic roast chicken to this spiced pilaf.

• Mushrooms: These are an excellent meat substitute, perfect if you’re vegetarian or trying to get a bit more veg in your diet. Try making mushrooms the star of burgers or giving classic stroganoff a meat-free twist.

Find it tricky to prep pumpkin? Check out this simple technique.

2 Get creative with your slow cooker

If there’s one thing that makes chilly winter nights a bit more bearable, it’s slow cookers. These clever appliances are perfect for busy families. Simply throw in your ingredients in the morning (or even the night before and keep refrigerated), flick it on then go about your day. Come home and voila, dinner is done.

Whether you’re in the mood for a hearty coq au vin or exotic coriander beef curry, your slow cooker can make it happen. It’s also great for whipping up warming vegetarian meals, like this spicy lentil soup.

Top tip:

Slow cookers are excellent for making tough budget cuts of meat melt-in-your-mouth tender. The low and slow approach is perfect for gravy beef, chuck steak and beef shin. Lamb and pork neck also work a treat, along with chicken drumsticks.

3 Mix up your mash

Add variety to the dinner table by swapping traditional potato mash for something a little different. Take your cues from in season veg and try creamy pumpkin mash or nutty parsnip mash. Watch how to steam and mash cauliflower for a lower carb side dish – it’s divine with a splash of milk and cheese.

4 Eat root to stem

It’s almost second nature to toss tough broccoli stalks and celery tops when we’re prepping a meal. Break the habit and discover how delicious it can be to reduce wastage and go root to stem.

• Peel broccoli stalks and grate into slaw or roughly chop and add to soup.

• Add celery and beetroot leaves to salads.

• Throw in any leftover vegetable scraps (green parts of the leek, carrot tops, limp celery, potato peels) when you’re making vegetable stock.

5 Add some excitement to your favourites

It’s easy to get stuck in a routine and make the same dishes you know your family likes week in and week out. Try putting a tasty twist on the classics with these delicious ideas:

• Love pasta bakes? Try subbing pasta for gnocchi like in this gnocchi and meatball bake.

• Love nachos? Ditch the corn chips and give these nacho potatoes a go.

• Love butter chicken? Slurp it down in soup form with this spicy butter chicken soup recipe.

• Love pizza? Give it an Indian twist with this naan pumpkin pizza.

This article was created in collaboration with Countdown.

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