River Cottage Good Comfort: Best-Loved Favourites Made Better for You

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Gelf Alderson has spent years serving up original, veg-centric meals to delight the guests at River Cottage. Put the onion(s), peppers, garlic and chorizo into a large roasting dish with just a trickle of oil (the chorizo will release its own fat so you don't need much). The experience was so inspiring he decided to see if it would work nationwide, and Landshare was created to bring keen growers and landowners together. Add the onion with a pinch of salt and some pepper and fry gently for about 10 minutes until it starts to colour.

After a "strange few years", it made sense for Fearnley-Whittingstall to dedicate his latest book to comforting, nostalgic recipes. Last time we had friends over for dinner, I made a dessert of home-made avocado ice-cream, with brownies. I used to make coffee and peppermint creams and dip them in chocolate - and truffles, things like that," Fearnley-Whittingstall remembers. It's delicious and satisfying, with tangy sweet peppers and tomatoes, and spicy chorizo, to balance the soothing rice, chicken and brothy juices.Even as I say that, I'm aware that is a notion that's under challenge at the moment from the really tough times we're having. Vegans, you could have sold me a meal if you were serving more than chocolate brownies and Impossible Burgers stacked with sheeze and relish.

And we can put tea time treats on the table knowing they will bring our family and friends – and kids in particular – goodness as well as happiness. From hearty beef winter stews that are packed with fresh vegetables to leafy curries, lentil soups and so much more Hugh makes our favourite food healthier, not by taking stuff out of them but by putting more in. Serve straight away, with fresh raspberries or plum compote, and a spoonful of yoghurt or a trickle of cream if you like.

Use a rubber spatula to scrape the last drops of chocolate into the mix, and then to fold the mixture fully together. For these circumstances , it would be a good idea to consistently include advice for such things, as is done for the lasagna. He didn't train professionally, but instead studied at Oxford and travelled to Africa to do conservation work. And Good Comfort is in every way generous, as Hugh makes our favourite foods healthier not by taking stuff out of them, but by putting more the best whole ingredients, celebrated in all their colourful and seasonal diversity.

The perception that the food we love can't also be good for us is swept away by this stunning collection of delicious, heart-warming recipes that also happen to be packed with good things that help keep us healthy.

Solo, in such areas, I'd usually end up going to an omni place and eating something like salade niçoise. The success of the show and the books allowed Hugh to establish River Cottage HQ near Bridport in 2004. It's tempting to move it but try not to: it's better that the base is a little overbrowned than that the whole thing is underdone and sticks to the pan. The introduction in Good Comfort, when mentioning reducing sugar in their café cakes, at least recognises people like us exist and are worth catering to: "the few guests who notice this change invariably comment positively: 'I really like that it isn't too sweet'".

As the colder weather rolls in, there is nothing better than some home cooked comfort food to warm the cockles and that is exactly what you can expect from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's new River Cottage Comfort recipe book.

But the sweetness is adjusted, and other ingredients are added - such as parsnips or carrots into cakes, or a date syrup instead of a "knee-trembling amount of fudgy toffee". To enjoy a taste of River Cottage at home you can choose from the collection of River Cottage cookbooks and handbooks. I think comfort food comes from that moment when, once in a while, there was enough, there was plenty to go around. There are various incarnations of one-pan chicken and rice dishes, originating from all over the world, and this version, which includes some lovely Spanish flavours, is one of my favourites,” says Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. We started taking some of the sugar out of our bakes and treats and desserts several years ago, and nobody even noticed.