A stew that has brewed for hours is exactly what's needed after a long walk in the chilly autumn weather. It is the ultimate comfort food, with all the vegetables juicy and soft, and the meat so tender you can cut it with your fork. Fill up the casserole and invite over some friends you haven't seen in a while. Below a recipe for moose stew with plenty of herbs to give it added character.

Organic root vegetable and elk casserole

800 g elk sirloin, in bite-sized pieces
100 g smoked slab bacon, finely diced
3 medium-sized organic carrots (around 270 g)
1 medium-sized organic parsnip (around 170g)
1 organic celery stalk (around 500 g)
8 small shallots or 16 baby onions
200 g organic shiitake mushrooms
400 ml full-bodied red wine
600 ml beef stock
3 tbsp blackcurrant jelly
2 tsp blue cheese
15 juniper berries
3 bay leaves
12 black peppercorns
3 tbsp plain flour
rapeseed oil for frying
fresh parsley leaves
1 tbsp sea salt

For the bundle of herbs:
15 sprigs of thyme
1 sprig of rosemary
10 sprigs of parsley
- Tie together with cooking or sewing string.

Leave the meat and vegetables at room temperature at least an hour before you plan to begin preparing the casserole.

Peel the root vegetables and cut into 2 cm cubes. Peel the onions but leave the stems on to hold the layers together. Lightly brown the root vegetables in a frying pan over a high heat in a small amount of rapeseed oil in two or three batches. Place a cast iron casserole dish over medium heat and put in the root vegetable batches once browned.

Next fry the bite-sized meat pieces in a small amount of rapeseed oil in two or three batches and put in the casserole. Sprinkle the flour on top of the meat and vegetables and mix lightly. Use the wine to rinse the juices off the frying plan and pour into the casserole. Add the beef stock, mushrooms and finely diced smoked bacon and bring to the boil. Add the blackcurrant jelly, blue cheese, juniper berries, black peppercorns, bay leaves, bunch of herbs and sea salt. Stir and make sure the meat and vegetables are just about covered with the stock. (Add water if necessary.) Put on a lid and place in a preheated oven at 125 C for 2.5 hours. Taste and add salt if necessary. Finely chop the parsley leaves and sprinkle on top just before serving.

Two side dishes for casserole

Onion and potato mash

750 g almond (or other floury) potatoes
100 g butter, at room temperature
250 ml organic milk, warmed
3 medium-sized organic onions
50 g butter for frying
salt

Peel, halve and slice the onions and fry over a medium heat until golden brown.
Peel and boil the potatoes in salted water until done. Pour out the water and mash the potatoes. Add the butter, warm milk and browned onions. Add salt to taste.

Marinated red cabbage

250 g organic red cabbage
85 g organic cane sugar
250 ml rapeseed oil
50 ml red wine vinegar
0.5 tbsp fine sea salt
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper

In a bowl mix the sugar, black pepper and red wine vinegar until the sugar is dissolved. Add the oil in a thin trickle, mixing all the time.
Finely slice the cabbage and mix well with the marinade. Marinate in the fridge for at least 12 hours. The flavour will improve if you allow the cabbage to marinate for two days before serving.

Apple cake for happy moments

Almondy apple cake with cinnamon mousse

For the base
280 g unsalted butter (at room temperature)
280 g icing sugar
280 g organic ground almonds
55 g plain organic flour
5 organic eggs (at room temperature)

For the filling
4-5 tart apples
40 g dark brown soft sugar
1 organic lemon, zest and juice
1 tbsp cinnamon powder
1 tbsp ginger powder

For the syrup
Marinade drained from the apples
100 g apricot jam
50 g Calvados

Peel and cut the apples into 1 cm cubes and place in a bowl. Add the soft dark brown sugar, grated lemon zest and juice as well as the cinnamon and ginger powder.

While the apples are marinating, prepare the base mix:
Whisk the butter and icing sugar in a bowl until light and fluffy. Combine the ground almonds and flour. Add the flour mixture and eggs to the butter and sugar mixture, alternating between eggs and spoonfuls of flour until all the ingredients are blended together. Spread the mixture evenly onto the bottom of an Teema dish. Drain the apple marinade and reserve for the syrup. Sprinkle the apple pieces evenly onto the base and press in lightly. Place the dish in a preheated oven at 190 C for around 45 minutes or until the cake is nice and golden and cooked in the middle. You can check if the cake is cooked by inserting a toothpick in the middle of it. If the toothpick appears dry when pulled out, the cake is done.

Mix the marinade, apricot jam and Calvados until smooth. Allow the cake to rest for a couple of minutes after removing it from the oven. To finish use a pastry brush to moisten the top of the cake with the syrup. You can also sieve icing sugar over the top of the cake just before serving.

For the cinnamon mousse:
200 g organic Turkish yoghurt
200 g whipping cream
75 g icing sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon powder

Mix the yoghurt, icing sugar and cinnamon powder until thoroughly combined. Whip the cream and gently fold into the mixture.