When the nights draw in and the air gets chilly, the mind inevitably turns to warming, full-flavoured comfort food. Whether you have a distinctly sweet tooth, or revel in life's more savoury pleasures, this collection will have a dish for you.

Tom Aikens cooks lamb shoulder in balsamic and onions for a whopping 6 hours, until the lamb is richly glazed and falling apart - perhaps the perfect winter warmer. You can't get much more comforting that a big bowl of pasta, so Dominic Chapman's ham hock macaroni cheese should fit the bill.

For pudding, why not serve up a hearty blackberry and apple crumble by Adam Gray, a big slice of Galton Blackiston's sticky toffee pudding, or Paul Ainsworth's bread and butter pudding.