J.D. Barrett's Favourite Winter Comfort Foods

Being someone who awakes each morning wondering what they might eat today, this is a heavenly question to receive! As we’re circling mid-winter, the food that keeps me warm and snug is a lot of roasts. I adore the smell of a roast dinner… rack of lamb is probably my favourite, with fresh mint sauce, roast potatoes, pumpkin, and perfectly cooked peas (always freshly shelled) and beans, spinach… and doused with homemade gravy. This followed by homemade apple pie and custard is the stuff of ultimate comfort dreams! I also love roast beef, with Yorkshire puddings, and roast chook with stuffing… slow cook casseroles, like Osso Bucco, lamb shanks…. And a lovely glass of red wine (Pinto Noir or Malbec are my sweet spots right now). I also love soufflés, chestnut and armagnac is a standout or a lemon delicious pudding. I can also get stuck into golden syrup dumplings doused with cream … My grandmother used to make them and I can feel her with me whenever I recreate this dish. I always use Lyle’s Golden Syrup – it’s the British one and it’s wickedly good.  Oh and let's not forget how essential a rich self-saucing chocolate pudding can be when you’re devoting yourself to a weekend of girlfriends and rom coms.

Pasta is also the friend of winter… it’s hard to go past beautifully slow cooked spaghetti bolognese on a cold Sunday night… or duck ragu with Papparadelle – soooo good. I like cooking it, I also love how they prepare and present it at Fratelli Paradiso (one of my favourite café/restaurants in Potts Point)…. There’s something about cold weather, the need for comfort and recipes that have been passed down between families over generations. Perhaps this is why I retreat into dishes that I grew up loving during this season more than any other….now I’m thinking of beautifully homemade fish pie (The Gordon Ramsay recipe with oysters is a wonder update on this) followed by… lets see… blood orange soufflé with a chocolate hazelnut sauce. Hmmm, I’m getting hungry.