Feel-Good Recipes from Peter Sidwell
Known for his vibrant approach to cooking, every month Living North's chef Peter Sidwell creates seasonal recipes using local ingredients
First up is a tamarind and chipotle butternut squash soup – a bowl that packs a delicious punch of sweet, sour, and smoky. Paired with a feta and pumpkin seed bread, it’s the kind of lunch that turns a quiet winter afternoon into something special. For those days when you fancy something lighter but still full of personality, my Thai-style gyoza soup is just the ticket. It’s fresh, fragrant, and keeps you on your toes with layers of flavour. Soft dumplings simmering in a vibrant broth – perfect for busy weeknights or when you need a quick dose of comfort. And because January shouldn’t all be about restraint, I’ve also included the ultimate quick and easy garlic pasta recipe. This one is a real favourite of mine – simple, satisfying, and ready in the time it takes to set the table. What ties all of these dishes together is the joy of cooking food that feels good. From my kitchen to yours, let’s make this year one to savour.
Butternut Squash Soup with Feta and Pumpkin Seed Bread
There’s nothing quite like a bowl of butternut squash soup to warm you up on a chilly day. Sweet, earthy squash paired with gentle spices makes for a silky, comforting dish that’s simple to cook and full of flavour. Serve with crusty bread, toasted seeds, or a swirl of yoghurt for a delicious finish.
- 1 medium butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into cubes
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 carrots, peeled and sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
- 1 tsp Chipotle and tamarind paste from Mr Vikki
- 1 litre vegetable stock
Heat the olive oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Add the chopped onion and garlic, season with a pinch of salt, and cook for three to four minutes until they begin to soften.
Add the carrots and butternut squash to the pan, stirring everything together. Cook for a further five minutes to allow the flavours to develop.
Sprinkle in the cumin and smoked paprika, then stir to coat the vegetables in the spices. Pour in the vegetable stock and chipotle paste in and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until the squash is tender.
Once the vegetables are soft, blend the soup using a hand blender or countertop blender until smooth and silky. If it’s too thick, add a little more stock or hot water.
For the Bread
- 500g strong bread flour
- 10g salt
- 7g dried yeast
- 320ml water
- For the topping
- 100g feta cheese, crumbled
- 4 tbsp pumpkin seeds
- 1 tsp nigella seeds
- 4 tbsp olive oil
Pop the flour, salt, and yeast into a mixing bowl and give it a quick blend together with your hand. Nice and simple. Make a well in the centre, pour in the water, and mix with your hand until it comes together into a soft ball of dough.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for about 10 minutes, until it’s smooth, stretchy, and feeling alive. Drop it back into the bowl, cover, and leave it to prove until it doubles in size. Let the dough do the hard work for you.
Once proved, scoop the dough out and knock the air out gently. Shape it into a 12-inch round and place it onto a non-stick baking tray. Crumble the feta generously over the top, then scatter over the pumpkin seeds and nigella seeds. Finish with a good drizzle of olive oil and leave to prove again for around 30 minutes.
Bake in a preheated oven at 190C for 30–40 minutes, or until beautifully golden and sounding hollow when tapped underneath. Serve warm with a bowl of soup — the flavours together are proper cosy and will really warm you up!
Gyoza Soup
There’s something wonderfully comforting about a bowl of steaming broth, especially on those chilly days when you need warming from the inside out. This gyoza soup brings together the fragrant flavours of Thai red curry, the creaminess of coconut milk, and the freshness of lime-pickled carrots for a dish that feels both vibrant and soothing. It’s quick to prepare, packed with colour, and perfect for those evenings when you want something wholesome without spending hours in the kitchen. With soft vegetable gyoza, bright green peas, and a fragrant finish of coriander, this is a bowlful of cosy, feel-good cooking.
- 400g coconut milk
- 200ml water
- 1 tbsp Thai red curry paste
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp mango chutney
- 1 packet (12) vegetable gyoza dumplings
- 70g frozen peas
- 4 spring onions, chopped
- 1 tbsp coriander or coriander cress
- 2 large carrots, peeled and cut into fine matchsticks
- Juice of 2 limes
Pour the coconut milk into a shallow pan, then half-fill the empty can with water and add it to the pan. Stir in the Thai red curry paste, soy sauce, and mango chutney. Heat the pan until the mixture comes to a boil. Add the gyoza dumplings straight from the freezer, place the lid on, and cook for five minutes.
Meanwhile, pour the lime juice over the carrot matchsticks, stir, and leave to lightly pickle. Once the dumplings are cooked, stir in the frozen peas and scatter in the chopped spring onions.
Simmer for one further minute to cook the peas. Serve topped with chopped coriander and the lime-pickled carrots.
Roasted Garlic Spaghetti
Some dishes prove that simplicity really can be spectacular, and this roasted garlic spaghetti is one of them. By gently roasting whole bulbs of garlic until they’re soft, caramelised, and mellow, you create the base of a beautifully rich sauce that coats every strand of pasta. It’s the perfect weeknight supper—quick, comforting, and full of flavour, using ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen.
- 350g dried spaghetti
- 1 tbsp salt
- 2 bulbs garlic
- 50g butter
- 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp mini capers
- 60g grated parmesan cheese
- 2 slices stale bread, blitzed into breadcrumbs
Place the garlic bulbs on a small baking tray and drizzle with olive oil. Roast for 40 minutes at 160C, or until soft and squidgy. Allow to cool. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook the spaghetti for nine minutes. Meanwhile, heat a shallow pan and toast the breadcrumbs with a little olive oil until golden. Transfer to a bowl.
Return the pan to the hob and add the butter and olive oil. Slice the roasted garlic bulbs in half horizontally and squeeze the softened garlic into the pan. Gently heat and mash the garlic into the butter using a wooden spoon.
Add two ladles of pasta cooking water to create an emulsion. Stir in half the parmesan cheese and the capers. When the spaghetti is ready, lift it straight from the pot into the sauce using tongs.
Stir everything together until the pasta is well coated. Serve topped with the toasted breadcrumbs and the remaining parmesan. This dish is my ultimate favourite for this time of year. Rich, warming, healthy – what more could you ask for from a recipe.
