Delia's Winter Collection - Delia Smith

I make no bones about the fact that I'm nothing more than an average cook at best and so when preparing meals, I need all the help I can get . Delia Smith may be less than fashionable these days in terms of celebrity chefdom (if there is such a word) but over the years I've found that her recipes never fail.

Delia Smith left school at 16 without a single 'O' level (not even Domestic Science!) and originally worked as a hairdresser. After a brief stint working in restaurants, learning the trade, she became a cookery writer for the Daily Mirror and from there moved into television. Over the years, she's taught the British public how to cook in her no-nonsense style of delivery, making stars of such unlikely ingredients as cranberries on the way.

Delia Smith's Winter Collection was published by BBC Books way back in 1995 to accompany her television series of the same name and the book features 150 original recipes. These recipes are hearty and warming and ideal for keeping the winter chills at bay.

Price and availability:

I received my copy as a present at the time it was first published - yet another (failed) attempt by my family to turn me into a decent cook. Despite the length of time since the original publication date, copies are still available from Amazon Marketplace starting from 1p.

My opinion:

When I first received this book I was still eating meat, although vegetarians shouldn't be put off getting a copy because, unlike many recipe books, this one isn't particularly heavy on the meat recipes and there are plenty of vegetarian friendly dishes here and many of the dishes which include meat or fish can easily be adapted for vegetarians.

This book starts off with an introduction by the sainted lady herself explaining her reasons for creating dishes especially for the autumn and winter, plus an extremely useful conversion table for those who, like me, have never quite got their heads around the metric system.

The thirteen chapters which follow have a natural progression, beginning with soups and ending with marmalades and preserves.

Like most cookery books, Delia first deal with soups, warm salads and starters. The soups, with the exception of two recipes are vegetarian friendly or at the very least easily adapted for vegetarians and certainly aren't the run-of-the-mill varieties of tomato or scotch broth as she treats us to the likes of Polish Beetroot Soup and Chickpea, Chili & Coriander Soup, both of which are incredibly easy to make and very tasty to eat. Likewise the warm salads and starters include tempting and delicious creations such as Baked Egg and Wild Mushroom Tartlets, Blinis with Smoked Salmon and Camembert Croquettes with Date and Apple Chutney.

The following three chapters deal with Seafood, Poultry and Game, and Meat. As a fish eater, I've used the chapter on fish a great deal and some of the dishes in these three chapters are quite easily adapted to suit non-fish or meat eaters too.

There then comes a chapter dealing with the winter vegetarian and there are some stonkingly good and hearty veggie recipes which fill you up and don't leave you feeling as though something was missing from the meal. Included in this section is one of my favourite dishes which turns out perfectly every time; a savoury cheesecake made with Roquefort cheese which is served with pears in balsamic vinaigrette. Delicious!

Of course, autumn and winter is often defined by casseroles and stews and so Delia includes a chapter listing her top ten favourites as well as a chapter on reviving the traditional Sunday lunch. For the Sunday lunches, there are timetables for preparing meals for eight people. Those who aren't used to catering for large numbers would probably find these very useful.

The winter vegetable section has some interesting variations on the humble mashed potato as well as information on how to cook the less common vegetables such as fennel. Then, after a short chapter on winter warming Eastern-style dishes, it's time for the puddings.
Hurray!!

The desserts section has the usual collection of cheesecakes and a Fallen Chocolate Soufflé. I've never made this recipe but have to say that I'd probably only ever be able to make a soufflé that fell anyway! The proper puddings (and, yes, that's how Delia describes them) include the sort of puds that stick to your ribs such as Steamed Treacle Pudding and my favourite dessert of all time, Chocolate Bread and Butter Pudding, which is just to die for. For the non-chocolate fans (I can't believe there are such people in the world!) there is the alternative Chunky Marmalade Bread and Butter Pudding.

After the puddings, Delia urges us to "Return to home baking" and includes some very tempting pies and buns and cakes. She can't escape her 1970s roots though and finishes off with a Black Forest Gateau recipe, which I really will get round to making one of these days, but it's oh so fiddly.

The recipes end with some chutneys and marmalades, none of which I've ever made because, quite frankly life is far too short to be slaving over a hot jam pan!

All of the recipes are extremely well laid out with absolutely foolproof instructions including, not just the ingredients and method, but how many it will serve as well as what equipment will be needed. And Delia leaves nothing to chance, even warning that when making the Polish Beetroot Soup, for instance, it's advisable to wear gloves when prepping the dish or risk having hands dyed a virulent red for days afterwards!

I do have some niggles about the book. The main one is the lack of photographs, a failing I've discovered in many cookery books. I want to see a picture of what the dish is supposed to look like, not just some of the dishes but all of them. In the soup chapter, for instance, there are pictures for only two of the soups. However, there is a double page spread showing a cosy scene of a candle lit room with a blazing fire and table with a soup tureen on it. Very pretty and atmospheric but not much help when you really want to know what your Roasted Pumpkin Soup should look like!

A further double page spread is used to show a table set for Sunday lunch. This just seems to be a wasted opportunity where it would have been better to show a picture of a less well known dish.

As you've seen, I haven't used absolutely every recipe in this book but I've certainly made more than 75% of them over the years and many, especially that Bread and Butter Pudding, have turned into dishes that I've made time and again. This book will provide you with some old favourites, some new recipes to add to your repertoire and some that may well become your signature dishes.

If you enjoy good, wholesome food and no-fail recipes, there is absolutely nobody to compare with Saint Delia.

Also published on Dooyoo under the same user name.