Nothing beats heading home to a warm and hearty meal after a long winter’s day. When one thinks of winter warmers, dishes such as beef stew, warm soups and other satisfying meals come to mind. Comfort food is an absolute essential in cooler months, and a delicious, hot meal truly hits the spot when the weather outside is frightful, for lack of better words. Today, we’ll share with you our top 5 winter warming dishes that are sure to have you feeling warm and fuzzy inside. Read on to get a taste of the comforts that these wondrous wintry dishes can offer you this winter season.

1. Hearty Pumpkin Soup

There’s really nothing quite like a hearty bowl of pumpkin soup on a rainy winter night, and considering that this classic seasonal dish can be made in rapid time with modern food processors, it’s now easier to make this dish at home than ever before. Gone are the days of using an inversion blender to painstakingly try and get the right consistency, or even hand-mashing pots full of pumpkins, which can often extend your overall cooking time by an extra hour or so. 

Of course, saving time on prepping your ingredients, means more time that you can spend on perfecting your dish with a winning combination of additional sources of protein like pepitas, and some well-balanced spices. Even so, it’s recommended that you follow a pumpkin soup recipe to ensure that your base stays to an even consistency, but from thereon, feel free to treat your pot of soup like a blank canvas!

2. Korean Barbecue Chicken Fried Rice

As fried rice can be such a quick and refreshing dish, this one can work just as well for summer dinners than it can in the winter season. Even so, there’s no denying that Korean barbecue fried chicken in itself is an ultimate comfort food, and when prepared correctly, can be so much more satisfying than fast food!

All you need is a good old-fashioned wok – to ensure your oil is heated correctly and your flavours and seasonings maintain a perfect balance -, and a well-stocked spice rack and herb garden. Some fresh chilli, spring onion, coriander, and lemon juice will be sure to elevate your Korean BBQ chicken fried rice in ways you’ll have to taste to believe. 

3. Classic Macaroni & Cheese

The ultimate comfort food and the quintessential winter warmer, mac and cheese is a must-have this winter season, as it honestly is every season! This dish was designed to be eaten by a warm fire and in good company. It’s a dish that you pull lovingly out of the oven only to be surrounded by eager faces, grabbing bowls and forks and spatulas so that everybody can have their fill.

With the wide availability of artisanal Italian pastas, sauces, and spices, there’s no denying that there are many ways to make this beloved dish. There is, however, arguably only one way to make a ‘classic’ mac and cheese, and that is with at least 2-3 different types of cheeses minimum. This is simply to ensure that your dish attains a dynamic taste profile, and that every bite brings with it a symphony of sweetness, nuttiness, pepperiness, all balanced out by the underlying creaminess in your bechamel base.

4. The Best Beef Bourguignon 

If you love bacon, you will absolutely go gaga for this next winter recipe. The heartiest dish of all our winter warmers, beef bourguignon is a rich stew that, whilst complex in its taste profile, isn’t too tricky to perfect right at home on a chilly winter’s evening. 

The one minutely discernible con of this dish is that if you’re looking to create the best beef bourguignon you’ll ever have, you’ll need to make the beef broth from scratch, which means you’ll be looking at a couple days of prep. If you are time poor, you can still put together a hearty beef bourguignon using a beef stock in just a matter of hours, and incorporate a variety of spices and other seasonings to ensure that your broth doesn’t compromise on taste.

5. Tasty Spaghetti Carbonara

If you’re a fan of bacon, but are craving something a little more, then a classic spaghetti carbonara may be just the dish to warm your belly this winter season. This simple yet elegant Italian pasta dish is generally made with high-quality pancetta, or salt-cured pork belly. Unlike bacon, pancetta is not raw and can be eaten without cooking, so the preparation time for this dish can be as little as 10-15 minutes, making it an absolute staple for this winter season.

A classic spaghetti carbonara can also be made with as little as five ingredients, so it can be made virtually year-round and on nights where it may be too stormy out to head to your local supermarket. So long as your household has a good stock of emergency spaghetti and cream, there should be nothing stopping you from putting together a pasta carbonara tonight, if you feel like it.

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Making winter meals is all about ensuring that your friends and loved ones leave your dinner table with full bellies and warm hearts. The five dishes we’ve outlined today are some of the most awe-inspiring, hearty winter dishes that will undoubtedly be enjoyed by the whole family. So put some time aside this evening to warm yourself up in the kitchen, as you prepare any of the five meals highlighted above, and settle in for a cosy winter’s night in!

All photos: Shutterstock

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