Roasted chestnuts and spiced apple cider

Spiced apple cider and roasted chestnuts- perfect for helping to decorate the Christmas tree or getting through a long list of online Christmas shopping orders. With a rich, almost fleshy and woody flavour, I like to roast a big batch of chestnuts, pinch a couple to fuel Sunday afternoon chores and save the rest for a stuffing mix or pie filling.

Having been lucky enough to try this spiced apple cider recipe for the first time this week, I've decided it's my tipple du jour and will be spurning frowns in the supermarket aisle with my three litre bottle of cider for the rest of winter. I urge you to do the same.

Ingredients for the chestnuts
Bag of chestnuts
Pinch of salt

For the spiced apple cider
Original dry cider
One apple chopped into small chunks
Brown sugar
Mulled wine sachet/flavouring
Extra cinnamon, cloves, or whatever you fancy.

Preheat the oven to 200C, and make a small cut in the pointy end of each chestnut so the flesh can cook and the tough outer shell won't burst. Place in an oven-proof dish and sprinkle over a pinch of salt. Cook for 20-30 minutes.

Heat around 1 litre of the cider, add the mulled wine sachet, around 2 tablespoons of sugar and any extra flavourings you'd like. Stir so it is well mixed through. Place chopped apple in clear glasses and once the cider is heated pour in and share around.

Once the skin of the chestnuts can peel away, and the inner flesh is hot to touch, remove from the oven and de-shell, taking away the tougher pith layer. Snack on them now with a little extra salt, or save for recipes later.

Back to school crumble

Perfect for back to school, college, uni, or even work after a late summer holiday.  Now that apples are finally in season our Growing Communities vegetable and fruit bags are full of Worcester Pearmain apples from Essex- they're small but they are delicious! Even roasted with carrots and rosemary, they just steal the show.

Pick a crumble filling that's in season and your favourite- mine at the moment is apple and blackberry, although I also found some rhubarb stashed in my freezer from summer which worked so well with this recipe. I think flavours like cinnamon and a little vanilla work really well with blackberries, while rhubarb with apple and ginger. I've left the topping mix plain for this recipe, so add whatever else you fancy.

Ingredients

For the topping:
200g plain flour
200g rolled oats
Glug sunflower/vegetable oil
A few dots of Vitalite or Pure spread

For the filling:
As much seasonal fruit that fills your chosen crumble dish when washed and chopped up.
2 tbsp sugar (you could use golden caster sugar, brown sugar, anything you think will work with the flavour of the fruit).

Preheat the oven to around 160 degrees. Place the fruit in a pan, adding water to about half way up the level of the fruit. Add the sugar- you might not need any if the fruit is really ripe. While this is happening, mix the flour, oats, oil and any spices or flavourings together in a bowl.

Once the fruit has softened down, pour into the crumble dish. Add the topping and then dot little amounts of Vitalite on top- this makes the topping extra chewy and tasty once it's been cooked. Bake in the oven for about 15-20 minutes. Don't worry if the liquid runs to the surface- this isn't the most elegant of puddings! But if you want it extra brown on top, just switch the grill on and leave the oven door open for the last five minutes or so.