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Doing dry January? Use languishing bottles of wine to make the ultimate comfort food

Doing dry January? Use languishing bottles of wine to make the ultimate comfort food

Whether you’re abstaining or just cutting back, a glass of red, white or rosé can elevate everything from risottos and stews to pasta and puddings • Sign up here for our weekly food newsletter, Feast Hands up, who is dry Januarying? While it’s not something I do explicitly, I do like to cut back a bit at the beginning of the year. The marathon that is Christmas socialising can be fun but relentless, and I imagine there are many others in the same boat. When it comes to wine, at least, the problem with cutting back is what to do with the rest of the bottle. Sure, I’ll have a glass or two if I fancy it one evening, but it’s pretty much a wasted bottle if you don’t finish the rest within a few days. Fear not – I have a plethora of recipes that will ensure you never need to waste a drop – enjoy a glass or two, then use the rest in the dish of your choice. Winner, winner, chicken Marbella dinner (one of my all-time effortless favourites – scroll the link for the recipe). There are lots of excellent suggestions in this wonderful feature on how to incorporate wine into everything from pasta to pudding. In particular, the braised short ribs from James Ramsden immediately caught my attention, as this is precisely the kind of food I want to be making and eating right now. Preferably with a pan of oozy, buttery polenta on the side. Another dish that is ticking all the cold, winter boxes is Tom Hunt’s meat stew , an all-round great braising method. If you are more of a white wine drinker, then Italian classic chicken cacciatore is equally comforting and would also be perfect with creamy polenta or mash . And let’s not forget about rosé – whoever says you can only drink it in the summer has clearly not read Fiona Beckett’s strong case for this delicate pink drink being enjoyed year-round. While the recipe for these prawns with garlic and chilli calls for white wine, I am confident you could happily switch for rosé. Continue reading...