Cosy and comforting dishes to share

Otago Daily Times

03-06-2025

Late June brings us the winter solstice — the longest night of the year. This is also when we celebrate Matariki in New Zealand. Twinkling in the winter sky just before dawn, Matariki (the Pleiades or Seven Sisters) signals the Māori New Year. The appearance of Matariki heralds a time of remembrance, joy, and peace, and is an opportunity to come together and celebrate. Throughout the history of humanity, cultures all over the globe have acknowledged this moment, an auspicious date to come together to enjoy a winter feast. Long nights are especially well-suited for reflection and community — with this in mind, we're sharing two delicious recipes for your winter table.
First, we have a gorgeous roasted pumpkin risotto, laced with lovely brown butter and sage to deliver the most satisfying and flavourful dish. Cozy and comforting, pumpkin and sage are a beloved combination — the robust flavours of sage pair wonderfully with sweet, hearty pumpkin.
When you brown butter, you get the most heavenly nutty flavour, with a slight sweetness and rich decadence. It's a great trick to have up your sleeve when you want to add an indulgent x-factor.
We recommend using a butternut pumpkin here — its soft texture and flavour are well suited to this recipe. Roasting the pumpkin with a little maple syrup coaxes out those wonderful caramelised flavours and sweetness, which pair so well with a creamy risotto.
To accompany this, we have an elegant Italian winter salad with orange and anchovy. This beautiful salad is a wonderful way to brighten your plate and celebrate winter's delicious bitter greens, which are great for your liver, aid digestion, and are excellent for balancing out hearty winter dishes.
As with most salads, you can adapt this as you see fit. Use hazelnuts or almonds in place of walnuts, and parmesan or pecorino in place of the manchego. If you are not using anchovies in the dressing, you will need to add a little more salt to taste. This salad is also delicious with the addition of thinly sliced apple or pear. Newsletter
Annabel and Rose Langbein's weekly newsletter, "What to Cook Tonight". New recipes, meal plans, and tips and tricks delivered to your inbox every Sunday. Sign up at: https://langbeinnewsletter.substack.com/ Italian winter salad with orange and anchovy
This beautiful salad is the perfect accompaniment to rich, wintry dishes. If you can't find radicchio or endive, use crunchy cos and a couple of handfuls of baby spinach in their place. Serves 4 Ready in 10mins, plus crisping DF, GF, RSF
Ingredients
2 small bulbs of fennel, base and ends
trimmed, halved and very thinly sliced
lengthways
1 small head radicchio, base trimmed,
leaves pulled apart, larger leaves torn
1 small Belgian endive, base trimmed,
leaves pulled apart
1 small red endive, base trimmed,
leaves pulled apart
2 big handfuls of rocket or watercress,
rinsed, dried, tough stems removed
½ cup roasted walnuts, chopped
60g Manchego or parmesan, shaved using a potato peeler (optional)
Flaky sea salt and freshly ground black
pepper, to taste
Orange and anchovy dressing
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
finely grated zest of ½ orange
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar or chardonnay
vinegar
2 Tbsp orange juice
2 anchovies, finely chopped (optional)
¼ tsp salt
Method
To make the dressing, place all ingredients in a small jar and shake to combine.
Prepare a large bowl of iced water for your fennel to soak until slices start to curl up (15-20 minutes). If you're tight for time, you can skip this step.
Remove the fennel from the water, dry, and transfer to a large bowl along with your other vegetables. Toss to combine.
Transfer a third of your vegetables on to a serving platter, drizzle with a third of the dressing, then sprinkle with a third of the nuts and shaved cheese. Add another third of the vegetables, followed by the dressing, nuts, and cheese. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.
Gently toss the salad, forming a gentle pile in the middle of your serving plate. Season with salt and pepper, and serve immediately. Roasted pumpkin risotto
Knowing how to make a good risotto is a skill you will have for life, and thanks to Annabel's foolproof method, it's also very easy. While there are many schools of thought when it comes to making risotto, Annabel's one-and-done method requires minimal effort (and attention), perfect for busy lives. Serves 4 Ready in 40mins GF, RSF, V
Ingredients
2 tbsp butter
1 large brown onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, smashed with the side of
a knife and chopped
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh sage leaves
1½ cups arborio rice
¾ cup dry white wine
5 cups hot chicken or vegetable stock
½ cup finely grated parmesan
Squeeze of lemon, to taste
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Roasted pumpkin
1 small pumpkin (600g), peeled,
deseeded, chopped 2cm
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp maple syrup
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Sage and brown butter
3 Tbsp butter
20 sage leaves
Method
For the pumpkin, preheat your oven to 180°C fanbake and line an oven tray with baking paper. Place chopped pumpkin in a mixing bowl with olive oil, maple syrup, salt, and pepper. Mix well to combine, then spread out in an even layer on your tray and roast until golden and tender (30 minutes). Use a fork to mash the cooked pumpkin on the roasting tray, and set aside.
While that is roasting, you can get started on your risotto. Heat butter in a large heavy pot over a medium-low heat. Add diced onion and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring, until softened (4 minutes). Stir in garlic, lemon zest, and chopped sage and cook for a further minute until aromatic. Stir in the rice and allow it to toast for about 30 seconds before adding the white wine. Once the wine has evaporated, add the stock. Check seasoning and adjust to taste (this will depend on how salty your stock is).
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cook, stirring frequently, for 15 minutes. Stir in your mashed roasted pumpkin and continue cooking until the rice is creamy and just tender (an additional 3–5 minutes).
At this point, test the rice — it should have a tiny white core in the centre of each grain. At this stage, the rice will be al dente — tender but with a pleasing bite.
If the core is bigger, continue cooking for another few minutes. It needs to be cooked before you add the final ingredients. If the rice begins to dry out, add another ½ cup of hot stock or water — it should be quite soupy.
Stir in parmesan and lemon juice, and adjust seasonings to taste.
Let that sit for a minute while you prepare the sage and brown butter.
Heat butter and sage in a pan over a medium heat. Cook until butter is bubbling and sage leaves are crispy (1 minute).
To serve, portion the risotto into serving bowls and top with brown butter and crispy sage leaves.