Top Casserole Recipes

Ireland's national dish is Irish stew. A traditional Irish stew was always made with mutton, but more often nowadays, is made with lamb. Controversy reigns over whether vegetables other than potatoes should be added; adding onions, leeks and carrots not only adds extra flavor but also nutrition to the stew. The choice is yours.

No dish has ever seemed so perfect for a winter's day than Beef Stew and Dumplings. It has kept the Britain and ireland on its feet during hard times and through winter storms. It always brings a smile to my family when I serve it for dinner. Dumplings are made with suet and for this dish there is really no alternative. So if you can't find suet (easy in the UK) then just omit the dumplings.

Long, slow, braised Lamb Shanks are perfect comfort food, so welcome on a chilly autumn or cold winters day. There are many recipes for Braised Lamb Shanks but this is one of my favourites. The Lamb Shank is cooked very slowly in a good red wine (I emphasise good, never cook with wine you wouldn't drink), which tenderises the meat until, when it is cooked, the meat will quite literally fall from the bone.

This Venison Casserole recipe is based on the filling for the Venison Pie from Valentine Warner. The filling for the pie is so delicious it is worth also making it as a casserole, great for those who don't want to eat pastry.

Lancashire Hotpot is probably the most famous dish to come from the county of Lancashire and as you can see in this Lancashire Hotpot recipe it is very simple and straightforward to make. It is a long, slow cooked recipe, yet unlike many stews, it is still quite light and suitable for eating year round (save perhaps on a really hot summers day).

This Rabbit with Bacon and Turnips Recipe comes courtesy of Nigel Slater, the renowned British food writer, from his book Tender.

Nigel explains " Whereas most meats give us the choice of cooking on the bone or not, wild rabbit is one that really needs its bones if it is not to be dry. It is not the meatiest of choices, so you need to be generous with quantities here. Rabbit bones are small, and it's important to watch out for the more fiddly ones. The turnips in this provide all the carbs you need to soak up the sauce. It just needs some sprouting purple broccoli on the side.

Beef, leeks and mushrooms, what a great combination for a warm and comforting winter stew. For this recipe I use a chunk of tender rump steak but you can use any beef from rump to stewing beef as this is a long, slow-cooked recipe, so well suited to less tender cuts.

Tomato and White Bean Casserole is a hearty, filling, vegetable casserole, perfect for chilly days. The casserole is packed with beans and with the addition of tomatoes is a very healthy dish as a main course or as an accompaniment to other dishes.

Tomato and White Bean Casserole makes a wonderful side dish for roast and braised meats.

This tomato and white bean casserole recipe uses canned white beans but you can also use frozen beans as long as they have been precooked before freezing.