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But why are we so drawn to comfort food? "I've got a slightly highfalutin answer to that, I hope you'll bear with me," says Fearnley-Whittingstall. In the same year, Hugh published The River Cottage Meat Book to wide acclaim and won a second André Simon Food Book of the Year Award. I used to make coffee and peppermint creams and dip them in chocolate - and truffles, things like that," Fearnley-Whittingstall remembers. About 150-200g cooked potatoes or cold mash (you can also use a mixture of roots such as spuds and celeriac or parsnips), ideally still skin-on It was actually spot-on. (As far as is possible, given they don't have a dairy-free book - although there is a gluten-free baking one.)
He continues to write as a journalist, including a weekly column in The Guardian and is Patron of the National Farmers’ Retail and Markets Association (FARMA). We shouldn't be guilt-tripping people into eating healthy food, we should be tempting people to healthy food," he says. He has just finished filming his most recent series, which accompanies his most recent book, River Cottage Every Day. Serve hot, topped with a fried egg if you like. Mustard or chilli sauce are also very good on the side.The success of the show and the books allowed Hugh to establish River Cottage HQ near Bridport in 2004. I also love the presentation and design; neo-70s you might call it. It has tones reminiscent of 1970s to early-80s books, but is glossier and more visually appealing, and with cleaner lines. Therefore more appetising, than, say, my mum's copy of Cookery in Colour by Marguerite Patten, which I used to look through as a kid. It's an early-autumn colour scheme, with lots of green and brown: the start of my favourite time of year, and also when keen cooks are gearing up to make exactly this kind of food.
We can have all those things and they can be truly delicious - and yet better for us than perhaps some of the old-school or conventional versions of those recipes." Turn the mixer down to a low speed and, with the motor running, slowly pour in the tepid melted chocolate and butter mixture (or whisk it gently by hand). Use a rubber spatula to scrape the last drops of chocolate into the mix, and then to fold the mixture fully together. Combine the ground almonds and salt. Add to the chocolate mixture and fold in carefully, using the spatula.Dialling down the sugar and the refined ingredients is part of it, but dialling up the whole ingredients is what the book's more about," Fearnley-Whittingstall adds. For the duration of that meal, everybody could relax, everybody could tell a story and everyone could smile." But what I found is even my sweet tooth is completely satisfied by much less sugar than conventional recipes, and certainly industrially produced biscuits, cakes, sweets and puddings tend to include. We definitely need a sugar rethink." For millennia, that was the human race's relationship with food, and it was pretty much all you thought about all day. Actually, we can have both on the same plate and both in the same dish. We can enjoy treats, foods that are really well balanced - they've got lots of good things in them. Often that means a few little tweaks, and sometimes there are some bigger tweaks, but it's all very doable."
Cooked greens: About 150-250g cooked kale, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower and/or broccoli, roughly chopped or shredded During River Cottage Spring (2008) Hugh helped a group of Bristol families start a smallholding on derelict council land. We've been conned into eating more sugar than we even have a genuine appetite for," he says, good-natured outrage bubbling from his words.
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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.
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 in: the best whole ingredients, celebrated in all their colourful and seasonal diversity.The concept of this book - healthy comfort food with plenty of vegan options - is a perfect fit for the sort of cakes and puddings I want to make: heavy on fruit, lower added sugar, but not full of niche American vegan ingredients. (The best approach I've found so far is to make the cakes in The Seasonal Vegan by Sarah Philpott and reduce the sugar by up to half as per this excellent and methodical advice; see under blended cakes.)
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