Mains

Naturally creamy and slightly bitter in flavour, walnuts are the wrinkly, brain-like fruit of the walnut tree and a versatile storecupboard ingredient in both sweet and savoury cooking. Here, they contrast sweet leeks in a creamy blue cheese sauce for pasta – a quick and comforting dish for a cold winter night

Use up any offcuts and leftovers from your Boxing Day ham in this quick dish with tropical flavour. No ham left? It’s just as delicious with cooked prawns or leftover turkey

Roasting grapes intensifies their sweetness, which works well with the creamy Stilton and sharp pickled walnuts in this salad. Heap it on the garlicky toasts for a sofa supper

A Dutch baby is an oven-baked pancake. Blitzing the batter in a blender gives it a lofty rise – even better if you can let the batter rest for 20 minutes

This umami-packed rice is easy to make vegetarian, just swap the chicken for more mushrooms or chunks of roasted butternut squash before baking

By cooking a smaller bird, there’s no need to worry about endless leftovers and waste, especially if you’re short on fridge space

A warming, smoky, spicy chilli is perfect at this time of year, stuffed into baked potatoes or served with rice

Enriched with familiar Christmas flavours, these tender lamb shanks in their rich, boozy sauce are a nice change if you fancy something different this year