Nigel Slater's top 10 greatest autumn hits

Britain's best food writer chooses his favourite autumnal dishes ... ever

Poached pears with praline ice cream and chocolate sauce

A seductive contrast of textures here. Silky pears, heavy with syrup, cold, nubbly ice cream and warm, velvety chocolate sauce. One can't help thinking all desserts should be as sumptuous as this. Such decadence would follow pretty much anything - one of the delights of having such a contrast of textures - but it would be particularly soothing after a spicy stew.

serves 4

pears - 4

golden caster sugar - 2 tbsp

a vanilla pod

fine, dark chocolate - 200g

praline ice cream

lemon juice - 1tbsp

Pour a good litre of water into a deep, wide pan, add the sugar, vanilla pod and lemon juice and bring to the boil. Peel the pears, tug out their stalks, then halve them and scoop out their cores. Drop them into the sugar syrup and simmer for 10-15 minutes till the pears are translucent and tender. Leave in the syrup to cool. During this time they will become silkily soft and soaked-through with syrup.

Get the ice cream out of the freezer. Chop the chocolate. Bring 200ml water to the boil then whisk in the chocolate, removing from the heat as soon as it has melted - a matter of seconds. Place two pear halves on each of four dishes, add the praline ice cream, one ball per person should be ample, then pour over the warm chocolate sauce.

Chicken patties with (or without) gorgonzola and rosemary

There are two possibilities here. Either serve the patties as they are, dry-fried in a non-stick pan till golden (in which case serve them with quarters of lemon) or stuff them with blue cheese and bake them instead. Whether you take the simple or the rich route, you end up with the most savoury little 'burgers' imaginable.

serves 3-4

a medium onion

garlic - 2 cloves

butter - 25g

cubed pancetta - 100g

rosemary - 3 bushy sprigs

minced chicken

for the optional stuffing:

gorgonzola - 75g

chicken stock - 250ml

Peel the onion and garlic and chop finely, then let them soften and colour lightly in the butter. Stir in the small cubes of pancetta. Strip the rosemary leaves from their stalks, chop finely then add them to the onion mixture, letting them cook for a few minutes till coloured. Let the mixture cool a little.

Add the minced chicken and season generously with black pepper and a little salt (the pancetta and gorgonzola will both contribute to the seasoning). Set the oven at 190 c/gas 5. Now, to make the simple patty, shape the mixture into six little burgers, about the size of a digestive biscuit, leave to settle for half an hour, then fry in a non-stick pan for 4 or 5 minutes each side and serve with lemon. Or, if you want something richer, make the stuffed patties.

Take a heaped tablespoon of the chicken mixture and push a hollow in it with your thumb. Tip a heaped teaspoon of cheese into the hollow then cover it with a second tablespoon of chicken mixture. Squash gently to form a patty and place on a baking sheet. Continue with this till you have used up the mixture - you will have about six - then refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.

Heat up a non-stick frying pan. When hot, brown the patties on both sides, a matter of three minutes on each, then transfer them to an oven-proof dish. Pour in the stock and bake for 25-30 minutes, till the patties are sizzling and the stock is bubbling. Serve two to three patties per person and spoon over some of the hot chicken stock.

Baked onions with parmesan and cream

I normally eat these deeply savoury baked onions as a side dish to cold roast beef, and that is probably when they are at their best. But they make a sound main course, too. I eat them and their cheesy sauce with mounds of comforting brown rice, steamed with a cinnamon stick and a couple of cloves. Wet-weather food of the first order.

serves 2-3 with rice

onions - 4 medium to large

whipping or double cream - 300ml

grated parmesan - a good handful

to serve: steamed brown rice for 4

Set the oven at 180 /gas 4. Peel the onions and bring them to the boil in a large, deep pot of water. Leave them at a bright simmer for about 25 minutes until tender. Lift them out with a draining spoon.

Slice the onions in half from root to tip and put them cut-side down in an oven-proof dish. Pour over the cream and season with salt, pepper and the grated cheese. Bake for 25 minutes till bubbling.

Penne with gorgonzola, walnuts and sage

Supper in 10 minutes: what more could anyone ask on a chilly autumn night? The flavour here is deliberately mild and soothing. The pasta coheres gently with the sauce rather than swims in it. I usually make a chicory salad for afterwards, something crisp and slightly bitter. Even then, all I want to do is to drop off to sleep when I've eaten it. That's what creamy pasta recipes are for.

serves 2

300g penne or other small tubular pasta

creamy gorgonzola - about 300g

walnuts - a dozen or more, freshly shelled

a few sage leaves, about six will do

Put the pasta on to cook in a deep pan of generously salted boiling water. Test it throughout the cooking, but it should be ready after about 9 minutes. I like my pasta to have a bit of bite. Drain the penne in a colander, reserving a couple of tablespoonfuls of the cooking water. Put the empty pan immediately back on the stove and turn down the heat to low. Add the cheese and the reserved cooking water, then stir for a minute or less till the cheese starts to melt and you have an impromptu sauce. Tip the pasta back into the pan with the walnuts and sage leaves, then tip onto warm plates.

Pot roast pigeon

Nothing fancy this, just a sound pot roast pigeon recipe with classic flavourings and a thick, old-fashioned gravy. You will need some bashed or creamed root vegetables to soak up the copious juice.

serves 4

butter - 50g

plump, oven-ready pigeons - 4

plump, herby sausages - 4

a medium to large onion

a large carrot

celery - 2 sticks

a few sprigs of thyme

garlic - 2 cloves

unsmoked streaky bacon - 4 rashers

bay leaves - 2

juniper berries - 12

plain flour - a level tbsp

fruity red wine - 250ml

chicken or game stock - 250ml

to serve: mashed parsnip or potato

Melt half the butter in a heavy casserole, then brown the pigeons and sausages lightly on all sides. Lift them out and set aside. Set the oven at 190 c/gas 5.

Peel the onion, cut it in half, then slice each half into five from root to tip. Melt the remaining butter over a moderate heat and add the onion. Peel the carrot, cut it into large dice and add it to the onion, together with the chopped celery, 4 or 5 sprigs of thyme and the peeled and sliced garlic. Continue cooking, stirring from time to time.

Remove the rind from the bacon and cut each rasher into about six pieces. Stir into the onion and add the juniper berries, lightly crushed, and the bay leaves. Leave to soften, making certain the sausages have the opportunity to colour. After about 20 minutes, the vegetables should be soft and golden.

Stir in the flour, let it cook for a few minutes then stir in the wine and the stock. Bring almost to the boil then return the pigeons and sausages to the pan and roast in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes, until the pigeons are tender but still lightly pink in the centre.

Roast leg of lamb with tomato gravy

Late autumn often produces some of the best tomatoes, sweet-sharp and intensely flavoursome. Some spinach and roast potatoes would be good here.

serves 6

leg of lamb - 2kg

a little olive oil

2 whole heads of garlic

tomatoes - 750g

olive oil - 50ml

balsamic vinegar - 50ml

several sprigs of oregano

Set the oven at 230 c/gas 8. Rub the lamb all over with a little olive oil. Season the fat and any flesh you can get at with salt and black pepper and lay it in a roasting tin, tuck the heads of garlic, halved and tossed in a little olive oil, under the meat. Roast in the hot oven for 20 minutes. Turn down the heat to 200 c/gas 6 and continue cooking for a further 30 minutes.

Cut the larger tomatoes in half and toss them in a bowl with a grinding of salt and pepper, the olive oil, balsamic vinegar and oregano leaves pulled from their stems. When the 30 minutes cooking is up, tip the tomatoes and their dressing around the lamb and continue roasting for a further 25 minutes.

Remove the lamb from the roasting tin and leave it to rest, somewhere warm and with a bowl or tea towel over it. This will keep the flesh moist and allow it to relax. Please, don't skip this resting; it will keep the meat much juicier than if you hack at it the second it comes from the oven.

Turn the oven up to 230 c/gas 8. Return the tomatoes, garlic and pan juices to the oven and leave them for 10-15 minutes while the meat rests. Take the roasting tin out of the oven, remove about a third of the roast tomatoes and keep them warm. Using a potato masher or draining spoon, squash the remaining tomatoes and the garlic into the pan juices. Tip the the lot into a sieve suspended over a warm bowl or saucepan. Push the tomato pulp through the sieve with a wooden spoon then discard the remains. Check the seasoning of the tomato 'gravy' underneath, and correct it with salt, pepper and balsamic vinegar. I tend to heat it up for a minute, too, but then, I like my gravy really hot.

Carve the lamb and spoon and serve with the roasted tomatoes and the tomato gravy.

Baked peppers

There is so much sweet juice you will need plenty of bread to mop it up. No need to skin or seed the tomatoes if you are using cherry tomatoes such as Gardeners Delight; this is rustic, rough-edged cooking and will be less interesting if you do. This makes a fine, light lunch with some Taleggio or Robbiolo cheese afterwards.

serves 4 as a light lunch

red peppers - 4

plump garlic cloves - 3

ripe cherry tomatoes - 16

olive oil

anchovy fillets - 6

basil - about 12-16 bushy leaves

Halve the peppers lengthways, tear out and discard the white core and seeds then lay the peppers cut-side up in a baking dish. They should fit snugly. Peel the garlic, slice it finely and put a few slices in each pepper, together with a little salt and a tablespoon of oil. Halve the tomatoes and tuck them in. Bake for 50 minutes at 200 c/gas 6 until the peppers have almost collapsed and are full of juice. Rinse, dry and roughly chop together the anchovies and basil leaves. Stir a spoonful of the basil and anchovies into each of the peppers, return to the oven for 10 minutes, then serve warm or at room temperature with crusty bread.

Roast halibut with capers, lemon and parsley


serves 2

halibut steaks - 2 x 225g

olive oil

salted capers - 2 tbsp

flat-leaf parsley - the leaves from a small bunch

juice of a large lemon

to serve: steamed spinach, lemon halves



Artichoke soup with ginger and walnuts

This tastes creamy and rich, with only the smallest amount of butter.

serves 4-6

large leeks - 2

butter - 40g

medium sticks of celery - 4

Jerusalem artichokes - 400g

light stock or water - 1 litre

a small bunch of parsley

for the spice-mix

coriander seeds - 1 tsp

shelled walnuts - 30g

fresh ginger - a 30g lump

groundnut oil - 4 tsp

Discard the toughest of the leaves from the leeks then cut into thin rounds. Rinse under running water, then add them with the butter to a heavy saucepan. Let the leeks cook in the butter over a low heat for a good 15 to 20 minutes till they are soft enough to crush between your fingers.

Once they have started to soften, you can finely slice and add the celery, then peel and chop the artichokes and stir them in, too. Cover the pot with a lid so the vegetables sweat and soften without colouring, then pour in the stock and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down so the soup bubbles - partially cover with a lid. It will take about 25 minutes for the artichokes to become tender.

Grind the coriander seeds to a fine powder with a pestle and mortar, then add the walnuts, mashing them briefly to a pulp. Peel the ginger and slice it thinly, then cut into thin matchsticks. Heat the oil in a shallow pan and fry the ginger for about 30 seconds till it is golden and crisp. Toss in the crushed walnuts and coriander, let them sizzle briefly then tip onto kitchen paper.

Blitz the soup through a liquidiser or mouli, stir in the chopped parsley and check the seasoning. The soup should be mild, almost nutty tasting. Ladle into bowls and top with ginger spice mix.

Coffee and walnut cake

Made with unsalted butter, unrefined sugar and free-range, organic eggs you will have something infinitely superior to any shop-bought cake. It will take about an hour from start to finish and will keep for several days if you keep it sealed.

serves 8-10

butter - 175g

unrefined golden caster sugar - 175g

walnut pieces - 65g

eggs - 3

self-raising flour - 175g

baking powder - 1 tsp

instant coffee granules - 2 tsp

for the filling:

butter - 200g

icing sugar - 400g

instant coffee granules - 2 tsp

walnut pieces - 60g

You will also need 2 x 20cm loose-bottomed sponge tins

Beat the butter and sugar till light, pale and fluffy. You could do this by hand but it is far easier and, frankly, better with an electric mixer. Set the oven at 180 c/gas 4. Meanwhile, line the base of two 20cm sponge tins with greaseproof paper and chop the walnuts. Crack the eggs into a bowl, break them up with a fork, then add them a little at a time to the butter and sugar, beating well after each addition.

Combine the flour and baking powder and mix into the butter and sugar, gently, with either the mixer on a slow speed or by hand with a large metal spoon. Dissolve the coffee granules in a tablespoon of boiling water, then stir into the cake. Chop the walnuts and fold gently into the cake.

Divide the cake mixture between the two cake tins, smooth lightly and bake for 20-25 minutes. I have noticed mine are pretty much consistently done after 23 minutes.

To make the frosting: beat the butter till soft and pale with an electric beater, then add the sugar and beat till smooth and creamy. Stir a tablespoon of boiling water into the coffee granules then mix it into the butter-cream. Fold in the walnut pieces. When cool, turn one half of the cake upside down on a plate, spread it with a good third of the butter-cream, then place the second half on top. Spread the remaining butter cream on top and around the sides.

Today's best video

Today in pictures

Britain's best-loved food writer shares his simple, delicious recipes