My center had some jiggle and that slightly gooey warm center with the crustier outside is my favorite. The photography in this book is dark and contrasty, really brings out the color and textures of these baked dishes. We add some harissa with the olive oil to the veg and chicken at the start, which brings more depth of flavor once roasted. I added red onion to the veg in place of olives (because we have a few and the silver fox doesn’t like olives). Also it cooked down quite a bit so at the midpoint of the baking time so I added about 3 tablespoons more sake and I was only making a half recipe.

Packed with hearty, highly flavoured dishes, it's the perfect winter cookbook for those days when you need sustenance without putting in too much effort. Very little prep work - soak dried mushrooms, rinse rice, chop veg (I used butternut squash rather than pumpkin) and then it goes into the oven. Served the meat with the salad on bao buns - I think an aioli and some cilantro would have made them even tastier. The second night I made the pistachio relish and that added extra interest though the raw garlic flavor was too strong for me.

I prefer cavolo nero cooked quite slowly, so I ignored the method and cooked the vegetables, covered, on a lower heat for 45 minutes, then did the raisin/pinenut/garlic garnish. We had it as a side dish with pork kebabs, but I think next time I will have it with a salad as a main meal. I served it with the purple sprouting broccoli with cream and parmesan from the same book - they have the same cooking temperature and it was easy enough to figure out the timing for them cooking in the same oven.

In that case I would recommend you start with one of Jamie Oliver "5 ingredients" cookbook just to get a feeling how to deal with food and work in a kitchen. What is brilliant about Diana is that not only does she give you recipes but ideas to make the recipes your own. The cauliflower took another 15-20 minutes to brown, but that was no problem as I was quite occupied with making the other elements.Diana Henry's "cod with zesty crust" from Pure, Simple Cooking is a favorite and, I think better than this recipe. There is a quote of mine on the cover of Diana Henry’s tremendous new book saying “For bung-it-in-the-oven cooks everywhere, this is a must-have book. Instead of actively cooking, standing at the stove I used that time my dinner was roasting or baking to tidy-up the kitchen and have a quick sit down in my favourite chair by the window.

I was a bit concerned that cooking the sausages like this would be a bit rubbery, but they weren't at all. The herb relish is excellent and finishing the dish in one pan in the oven makes it a really easy weeknight dinner.

My husband likes potatoes so I halved the meat (and used less cheese) but kept the other measurements the same for two and it was very satisfying! I love spicy food and love to cook, but unfortunately Henry's recipes prove that the best food is often the simplest, letting simple flavors shine. It's meant to be made ahead and then cooled before eating but I thought it was just as nice eaten straight from the oven too. This is a great recipe and I think you could use the same base switching out ingredients that you might do in a quiche or a gratin.