Oven bakes, I’m not the first to point out, are hugely popular, and it’s not hard to see why. Meals that can be “thrown together” in a single tray or pan, and served straight from the oven to the table, will always have strong, practical appeal. It’s not just about the practicalities, though: another advantage is the extent to which all the different flavours meld together. It’s also a way of cooking that’s as old as time and, the less time we all have, the more it makes sense.
Herby cabbage pudding with feta (pictured top)
This is a bit like an effortless savoury clafoutis or crustless quiche. Serve with your favourite chilli sauce.
Prep 20 min
Cook 40 min
Serves 4
1 large hispi cabbage (500g), cut in half, core and tough stems removed
2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
Fine sea salt and black pepper
1 tsp caraway seeds, lightly crushed in a mortar
10g dill, finely chopped, plus 1 tsp extra to finish
5 spring onions (60g), trimmed and cut into 1cm-thick slices
50ml whole milk
50g Greek yoghurt
150ml double cream
50g unsalted butter
25g plain flour
3 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
80g feta
Heat the oven to 220C (200C fan)/425F/gas 7. Separate the cabbage leaves, put them in a large bowl and mix with the olive oil and a half-teaspoon of salt. Pile the cabbage into a 24cm ovenproof pan and roast for five minutes.
Using tongs or two long-handled wooden spoons, give the cabbage a stir, then roast for another five minutes. Stir in the caraway seeds, roast for five minutes more, until the cabbage is wilted and charred in places, then take the pan out of the oven and turn it down to 190C (170C fan)/375F/gas 5. Arrange the leaves so some of them poke out at the top, then scatter over the dill and spring onions.
Put the milk, yoghurt, cream, butter, flour, whole eggs, egg yolk, a quarter-teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper in a blender, and blitz smooth. Pour this mix all over the cabbage and herbs, crumble the feta on top and return to the oven for 25 minutes, until the top is golden in patches and set. Scatter the reserved picked dill on top, drizzle over some olive oil, and serve hot.
Chipotle, celeriac and tomato traybake
With some rice and a green salad, say, this is a meal in itself, but it also works as part of a larger spread.
Prep 10 min
Cook 40 min
Serves 4-6
2 small brown onions, peeled and quartered (270g)
55g sunflower seeds, plus 10g extra to finish
10g ginger, peeled
4 garlic cloves, peeled
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp chipotle chilli flakes
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 lemon, zest finely grated, to get 1 tsp, then halved
150ml olive oil
Fine sea salt and black pepper
2 small celeriac (1.3kg), peeled and cut into roughly 5cm pieces
300g baby plum (or cherry) tomatoes
Heat the oven to its highest setting – 240C (220C fan)/475F/gas 9. Put the first seven ingredients and the lemon zest in a blender or food processor, add 100ml of the olive oil, a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper, then blitz to a paste.
Put the celeriac in a large oven tray, add a third of the paste, then toss to combine. Spoon over the rest of the paste, to coat. In a bowl, mix the tomatoes and remaining 50ml oil with a quarter-teaspoon of salt, then scatter all over the top of the celeriac mix.
Cover the tray with foil, then bake for 25 minutes, until the celeriac is cooked through. Remove the foil, sprinkle the extra sunflower seeds on top and bake uncovered for another 10 minutes, until the oil splits from the sauce and the tomatoes are nicely charred. Squeeze the lemon halves on top and serve straight from the pan.
Creamy leeks and butter beans with za’atar breadcrumbs
This works just as well without the ham, if you prefer to leave it out. It’s a meal in itself, perhaps with a green salad alongside, and also works as a side for roast chicken, particularly when made without the ham. Either way, meet your new go-to autumn comfort traybake.
Prep 20 min
Cook 1 hr
Serves 6-8
500g leeks, trimmed and cut into 1½cm-thick rounds
4 shallots (160g), peeled and cut into 1cm-thick rounds
7 garlic cloves, peeled
60ml olive oil, plus 1 tbsp extra to finish
Fine sea salt and black pepper
1 x 600g jar butter beans, drained and liquid reserved (you should be left with about 200ml)
300g cooked ham hock, or any other cooked ham, roughly chopped or shredded
2 slices sourdough, crusts cut off, the rest blitzed to coarse breadcrumbs (60g)
1½ tbsp za’atar
For the cream mixture
2 x 125g balls mozzarella, drained and roughly torn; set aside 50g to finish
150g creme fraiche
100ml chicken stock, or water
1½ tsp cornflour
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
1 tbsp dijon mustard
10g chives, finely chopped
15g picked flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Heat the oven to 220C (200C fan)/425F/gas 7.
Put the leeks, shallots, garlic and oil in a shallow 30cm ovenproof pan, toss with a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of black pepper, then roast uncovered for 25 minutes, stirring once halfway through, until soft and lightly charred in places.
Meanwhile, put all the ingredients for the cream mixture bar the reserved mozzarella in a medium bowl, add the 200ml butter bean liquid and mix well.
Take the leek pan out of the oven, then turn up the heat to very high – 240C (220C fan)/475F/gas 9. Use a spoon to smoosh and squash the garlic cloves in the leek pan, then pour in the cream mixture and stir in. Scatter over first the ham hock and then the butter beans.
In a small bowl, mix the breadcrumbs, za’atar, the extra tablespoon of oil and a pinch of salt, then scatter this on top of the butter beans. Dot the reserved 50g of mozzarella over the top, then bake uncovered for 25 minutes more, until the cheese is golden and bubbling furiously. Set aside to rest for five minutes, then serve hot.
