10 recipes to cook in December

Though available year-round cauliflower season starts in mid-December, so you’ll start to see heritage varieties in greengrocers – it’s the perfect time to delve into our collection of cauliflower recipes, as they’ll never taste better!

December is your last chance to enjoy some game as well – grouse season is all but over, and prized birds like woodcock, snipe and mallard will be out of season in January. However, you can buy oven-ready pheasant and partridge in lots of butchers for the next month or two, or if you live in the country you can probably find a brace to pluck yourself. Venison season is still in full swing as well and makes a fantastic lean, sustainable alternative to beef.

Want even more inspiration? Read on for a selection of our favourite December recipes.

Nothing cuts through the cold like a cosy one-pot chicken dish, and Pollyanna Coupland’s comes laden with warming harissa and peperoncini to break through those icy winter evenings. Marinating your chicken thighs first gives you bags more flavour, but if you’re looking for a quick meal to throw together at the last minute, you can have this on the table in forty minutes – just roast your chicken with the marinade, mix in your cauliflower florets and garnish when cooked. Simple, delicious winter cooking.

Paul Welburn was the deserved recipient of a Michelin star in 2018, and with dishes like these it’s easy to see why. Game season is still in full swing in December, so there’s plenty of room for a sophisticated partridge or pheasant dish at your dinner table. Paul goes for partridge and pairs it with seasonal accompaniments – sweet parsnip, chestnut and charred Brussels sprouts, all wrapped up in a buttery shortcrust tart. Paul cooks his partridge sous vide, but you can easily substitute for a gentle braise or an oven-roasting method if you like.

If someone made a list of all-time favourite British winter dishes, apple crumble would surely be guaranteed a top ten spot. Marcus Wareing’s spiced apple crumble is a significant evolution from your standard throw-it-in-the-oven job, but the extra effort is more than worth it. Marcus makes a shortbread base for his crumble, then tops it with apple compote and a crunchy crumble topping, creating beautiful layers. Finish the whole thing off with a rocher of good vanilla ice cream on top and you have a classic dessert worthy of any dinner party.

Alyn Williams’ turkey sausage rolls are a fantastic way of using up Christmas leftovers, and putting something impressive on the Boxing Day table – after all, who doesn’t love a sausage roll? Alyn doesn’t just use leftover meat; he's also managed to cram cranberry sauce and stuffing into his sausage mix, alongside onions, mushrooms and spices, before rolling and baking.

Pollyanna Coupland’s ingenious salsify in blankets recipe is a rare thing indeed – a reinvention that might just be better than the original. The original is beloved for its fatty, salty, pork-on-pork delights, but trading the sausage for a baton of butter-roasted salsify gives you a far more balanced bite – the soft, sweet, nutty salsify really enhances the saltiness of the bacon. Give them a try – you might find yourself eating them long after Christmas has gone!

Cranberries are all over the place during December thanks to Christmas. They’re not generally grown in the UK, but they come over the Atlantic in their millions, mostly to go into cranberry sauce at our Christmas dinner tables. There’s more you can do with them though – take advantage of the glut with Adam Byatt’s delicious cranberry blondies. White chocolate and cranberry is a sweet and tart match made in heaven, and these are incredibly simple to make. A perfect way to whip up a little Christmas treat for the family.

We often find ourselves gravitating towards Chantelle Nicholson’s intelligent, vegetable-forward cooking, and this recipe is another that has quickly become one of our favourites. It’s easy to make, too – Chantelle roasts her pears in the oven, whilst caramelising her artichokes in butter and toasting off her walnut granola. Then you just finish your soup with milk and butter, blend to a nice consistency and there you have it – a delicious dinner! The aromatic sweetness of pear plays beautifully with the Jerusalem artichoke, which is given bags of depth and flavour thanks to the heavy caramelisation at the beginning.

Among the many delicious things at Selin Kiazim's Oklava, the chilli roast cauliflower is certainly the most popular – in fact, it lays a good claim to being one of London's great vegetarian dishes. It's dead simple to make too – make sure you rub the chilli paste into all the little nooks, then don't overcook it so it retains some crunch. A red onion and parsley salad provides some brightness to cut through that earthy chilli.

Warm, crunchy and comforting, Adam Byatt's venison bolognese fritters are a brilliant way of extending a simple ragu into something a bit more enticing. If you're anything like us, a ragu is a good excuse to do some batch cooking – once you've had the first lot with some pasta, try freezing the second batch, then breadcrumbing and deep-frying for spectacular results.