With the unexpected cold snap we'll all want to go back to warming and sustaining winter food. This zesty dish does the trick without being dull.

4 lamb shanks, 2 large onions, 4 untreated oranges, preferably organic, 1 lemon, 1 bunch coriander, 60g slithered almonds, 2 cloves garlic, 1 tsp. ground cinnamon, 1 tsp. ground cumin, a pinch of saffron threads, 60g golden raisins, 1 tbsp. caster sugar, 2 tbsp. olive oil, salt and pepper.

Mix the juice of the lemon with a tablespoon of sea salt and rub it all over the lamb shanks. Set aside for 15 minutes, then rinse off the mix and pat dry. Rinse and dry one of the oranges and finely zest the skin. Peel the onions and grate them coarsely. Mix the zest, onion, cinnamon, cumin, sugar and the oil and cover the shanks with this mixture all around. Set aside to marinate for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile lightly toast the almonds in a dry frying pan. Set aside.

Brown the lamb shanks gently for 12-15 minutes in a casserole dish or a tagine with the flattened, unpeeled garlic (crush lightly with the back of a knife). Pour over the juice of the 4 oranges and add half the coriander tied together with cooking string as a bouquet. Cover and simmer for 1h30 turning the meat regularly. Remove the garlic and coriander and add the saffron and the dry raisins to the cooking liquid and cook for a further 30 minutes.

Serve hot with the toasted almonds and remaining chopped coriander scattered over the top.

We have some wonderful vintage cake tins from the North of France in our shop for Christmas. They are in the shape of a gingerbread house and this recipe would work well, although it is meant for a loaf tin. This recipe makes a lovely moist cake which improves after a few days and is served sliced.

First make your own gingerbread spice from: 25g ground cinnamon, 5g ground ginger, 7g cardomon pods and 7 g cloves (the latter ground together in a spice mill or coffe grinder). Sift and keep in an airtight container. The mix is more than you need for this recipe.

For the gingerbread you will need: 200g orange marmelade, 90g milk, 1 level tsp. salt, 2-3 whole star anise, 2 tbsp. ground cinnamon, 80g soft butter, 1 good tbsp. of the spice mix, 175g flour, 25g cornflour, 2 eggs, 1 sachet of baking powder (2 tsp.), 275g acacia honey. 1 untreated orange.

Boil the milk with the star anise and let it infuse for 10 mins. and cool. Warm the honey, whizz the orange marmelade in a food processor and reserve a tablepoon of it for decorating the cake later. Cream the butter, add the flour, cornflour, eggs, cinnamon and the spice mix. Add the honey and marmelade and mix well. Reserve a tablespoonful of the cake mix for later. Pour the mix into a loaf tin and bake for 1 hour at 170C. Meanwhile cut the orange into 5mm slices and cook for 3 mins. in boiling water, drain and reserve. After testing with a skewer take out the cake and spread the reserved dough on top and arrange the orange slices on it. Bake for a further 5 mins., then glaze with warm orange marmelade.

Joyeux Noel!

These brussels are good with roast pork or pork chops.

Wash and prepare 600g of brussels sprouts by cutting a cross into their base. Melt 30g of butter in a sauté pan and add two teaspoons of sugar and cook for 2 minutes. Add a sliced onion and cook for a further 3 minutes. Add the sprouts and cook for a short while before adding 20cl of beer, season with salt and pepper; cover the pan, turn down the heat and cook for 15 minutes.

Illustrations by Alice Ray

This is a savoury version of the classic Tarte Tatin, so it's cooked upside down. Using ready-made pastry it's quick to do and is bound to go down well on a summer buffet or picnic.

1 round of puff pastry around 250g ready-made, ideally with butter not hydrogenated fats, 5 courgettes, 400g fresh soft goat's cheese, such as Petit Billy, 2 shallots, 1 clove garlic, 9 tbsp. olive oil, 1 tsp. ground cumin, 1 tsp. Herbes de Provence, salt, pepper.

Peel and finely chop the shallots. Peel and crush garlic. Wash the courgettes and with a peeler peel of the skin only every few centimetres (roughly 3 strips of skin removed and 3 left on). Cut them into cubes. In a pan heat the oil over medium heat and saute the courgettes with the garlic for about 8 minutes. Scatter the Herbes de Provence over them and set aside.

In a bowl mix the cheese, shallots, cumin and 2 tbsp. of the olive oil with salt and pepper to a smooth paste. Oil a mould suitable for Tarte Tatin (mustn't leak) with the rest of the oil, put the courgettes on the bottom of the tin and spread the cheese mixture evenly over them. Cover with the pastry, pushing it down the sides with your fingers. Bake for roughly 20 minutes at 210ºC. Unmould upside down straight out of the oven and serve immediately.

Illustrations by Alice Ray

This is an easy yet delicious chicken terrine is perfect for outdoor summer lunches and brunches. It can be prepared in advance.

600 g chicken breast fillets, 100ml Port wine or Armagnac, 200g minced veal and 200g pork mince, 200g minced chicken , 70g thin lardons  (if too thick cut in half to get matchstick lardons), 3 eggs, pink peppercorns, freshly ground pepper, salt, 1/2 bunch of chives and 1/2 bunch of flat parsley, 30g pistachios. 2 Fresh bay leaves

The night before cut the chicken fillets into long strips and marinate in the alcohol in the fridge. Take of your rings and get stuck into mixing the three minced meats thoroughly by hand. Add the chicken strips and the lardons, mix again adding the eggs. Season generously with pepper and pink peppercorns and Maldon salt. (At this stage you can fry a small amount of the mixture to check the seasoning). Add the finely snipped chives and the chopped parsley as well as the pistachios.

Put the mixture into a terrine dish with a lid taking around 1.5kg, smooth over the surface with a fork and put two fresh bay leaves on top for decoration. Put the lid on, place the dish into a bain-marie (water bath) and put in a fan assisted oven pre-heated to 250ºC. After half an hour reduce heat to 180ºC and continue cooking for 1 hour.

Serve this terrine cold, ideally with home made chutney, a little green salad and a good slice of country bread and a lovely glass of something chilled.

 Illustrations by Alice Ray