A simple roast, spicy squash in a bun, a five-ingredient pasta – Nigel Slater’s recipes for the end of winter

Creamy leeks, smoked fish, pearl barley – comfort cooking for the colder months. There are certain recipes to which I turn each winter – recipes that somehow feel right only when the weather is cold and cupboard supplies are low. The smoky notes of poached haddock and a creamy leek mash; soft buns stuffed with grilled squash and spiced-up creme fraiche, and a soupy dish of pearl barley and dried mushrooms are just three that spring to mind.

A simple midweek roast has become something of a winter staple in this house. Not the full bells and whistles Sunday lunch but something I can do in less than an hour on a Wednesday evening. I pop a few chicken thighs in the oven, then make a side dish of bread sauce, seasoned with thyme leaves and the delicious crusty bits from the roasting tin. Cheap and quick, but it feels almost as special as the Sunday roast.

Another regular visitor to my kitchen at this time of year is a straightforward pasta and greens recipe. I like to use one of the hollow pastas that hold olive oil and grated parmesan, and any greens that look particularly fresh and crisp. This is a great time for greens and I tend to go with whichever look best in the shop, cavolo nero and purple sprouting broccoli being two of my favourites. A simple dish, with barely a handful of ingredients, but one of which I never tire.

The jars of dried ingredients in the cupboard have an important role to play right now. One recipe that I have repeated all winter has been a risotto-style dish of pearl barley and mushrooms. The grain is cooked separately, as it needs a rolling boil. It is at its best left until it is tender but still slightly chewy. I use several types of mushrooms, usually bought in mixed boxes, but there is no reason why you couldn’t make it with chestnut mushrooms alone. The dish, with its deep umami notes, is always a calming presence after a busy day.

The kitchen takes on an especially nurturing role at this time of year. Our daily cooking becomes as much about keeping people warm as it does about having a good time around the table. Shopping expeditions may be less than exciting right now, even something of a challenge, but we can still come up with something good for everyone.

Bread sauce polarises opinion, but it is one of my favourite accompaniments for a roast chicken or game bird. I make it in the roasting tin after the chicken has come out, stirring in the deliciousness left behind by the roasted bird, together with chopped thyme and a little butter. My feeling is that it should be served piping hot or not at all, like porridge. A good sourdough produces a thicker, more flavoursome sauce than a plain white loaf.

Serves 2. onion 1, medium. olive oil 2 tbsp. butter 50g. thyme leaves 2 tsp, chopped. chicken thighs 4. For the sauce. milk 300ml. double cream 100ml. fresh white breadcrumbs 150g. sage leaves 2 tsp, chopped. Preheat the oven to 200C fan/gas mark 6. Peel the onion and cut in half, then cut each half into four segments. Put the olive oil and butter in a roasting tin and warm briefly on the hob till the butter has melted. Add the thyme leaves, some salt and black pepper and the chicken thighs, skin-side down. Turn them over in the thyme butter so they are nicely coated on both sides, then transfer to the oven and bake for about 35 minutes till golden.

Warm the milk in a saucepan and set aside. When the chicken is ready, remove it and keep it warm, leaving the roasted onion in place. Put the tin over a moderate flame and pour in the milk, scraping at the bottom of the roasting tin to dissolve any sticky residue from the roasted chicken into the milk. Pour in the cream and stir in the breadcrumbs, the thyme and sage and bring to the boil, stirring all the time. Taste for seasoning then serve with the chicken.

Butternut squash is the cut-and-come-again vegetable. Unless I am due to use it all at once for roasting or soup, I just take off a few slices as I need them and return it to the fridge. Makes 2 buns. onions 2 medium. olive oil 2 tbsp, plus a little extra. butternut squash 8 thin slices.

creme fraiche 6 tbsp. grain mustard 1-2 tbsp. brioche buns or baps 2. tomato 1. Lao Gan Ma crispy chilli oil 2 tsp. Peel the onions and slice them thinly into rounds. Warm the olive oil in a shallow pan, stir in the onions and leave them to cook over a moderate heat for about 15 minutes until soft and deep golden in colour. Set them aside.

While the onions are cooking, peel and thinly slice a chunk of butternut into rounds about the thickness of a £2 coin. Place them in a single layer on a grill pan or baking sheet, brush on both sides with a little olive oil and season with salt and black pepper. Heat an overhead grill and cook the butternut slices for about 10 minutes till golden, then turn and cook the other side. Make sure they are soft and tender.

Mix together the creme fraiche and mustard. Split the brioche buns in half and toast the cut surfaces until golden. Slice the tomato. Divide the onions between the buns, place slices of tomato and butternut on top of the onions followed by a spoonful of the mustard creme fraiche and a little of the Lao Gan Ma. Place the second piece of brioche on top.