During these cold and dark January days people tend to retreat to their safe nest, enjoying the warmth. The colder it gets, the more we long for comfort food.
The fact that we satisfy our cravings with good and decent food is no coincidence. During winter periods our ancestors already ate hearty meals because the extra calories helped to keep their bodies warm.
The ideal winter dish doesn’t require a lot of preparation though. No wonder soups, timeless stews and casseroles are on top of our list.
Dig into our 2 FAVORITE DISHES :
1. Homemade minestrone soup
Minestrone is originally a rich Italian vegetable soup that contains many ingredients. Simply start by checking which vegetables you have left in your fridge. Make sure you have onions, carrots, potatoes, leek, a zucchini and some peas or beans.
- First chop your vegetables into small cubes and stew them in some melted butter (add your tender vegetables at the end to make sure they’re not overcooked).
- Add some tomato paste and chopped tomatoes and pour in your vegetable stock.
- Check the seasoning and let it simmer for 45 minutes. Meanwhile enjoy the smell of your homemade minestrone soup!
You can serve your soup with parmesan and some drops of olive oil. Or pesto and fresh basil. Either way, it will look sophisticated and taste great!
2. Macaroni cheese & ham
If you have small children at home, this will probably become – if not already – one of you most popular comfort food recipes! It’s very quick and easy to prepare and the whole family will absolutely adore it!
- First cook your pasta al dente in salted water and meanwhile preheat your oven to 175° C.
- To prepare your cheese sauce, you simply melt the butter in a saucepan and sprinkle in the flour. Stir smooth and start adding the milk. Bring to the boil and keep stirring.
- Once your sauce is smooth you can add the grated cheese and stir until it is completely melted. Finally season your sauce with some parsley, nutmeg, salt and pepper.
- Most of the work is done now! Just mix the pasta with the cheese sauce and diced ham. Spoon it into a baking dish and sprinkle with breadcrumbs and A LOT OF cheese.
- When the top is golden, your meal is ready to serve.
This is really a basic recipe, so feel free to add other ingredients such as onions, tomatoes or mushrooms.
What’s not to like!
Winter at its best!
Whatever dish you serve, winter is the season we all enjoy sitting together with the whole family around the dinner table. Nothing can make a cold and dark day more bearable than the smell and taste (!) of some nostalgic comfort food.
Winter is all about creating the right atmosphere. Comfort food contributes to that feeling, but we also want a cozy and snugly home, so don’t forget to check out our blog post on How to outwit the winter blues.
What are your favourite winter comfort recipes or rituals? Post a comment and keep warm!
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