Credit: Dan Jones
Stylist Loves
Country Comfort: 3 Italian-inspired comfort food recipes that take less than 20 minutes in the kitchen
By Stylist Team
5 months ago
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6 min read
Hari Beavis, one of TikTok’s favourite foodies, shares three quick and easy recipes from her debut cookbook, Country Comfort.
Summer didn’t fade out this year so much as get washed away in a sudden thunderstorm. But autumn’s abrupt arrival isn’t all bad news – as it means we can barrel headfirst into comfort food season.
Of course, everyone has subtly different opinions about what constitutes comfort food. For some, there’s nothing more comforting on a grey autumn day than a warming curry, while others prefer a classic savoury pie. Others believe a comfort meal is incomplete without a retro dessert like fruit crumble to finish.
Credit: Carnival / photography by Dan Jones
For Warwickshire-based content creator Hari Beavis, accessibility is one of the most important ingredients in any comfort food recipe. She’s built up a devoted fanbase thanks to her easy “comfort food for the soul” recipes, which she shares across Instagram (272,000 followers) and TikTok (518,500 followers and counting). Many of her recipes require surprisingly little time in the kitchen, and overall her focus is on wholesome, country living-inspired dishes that will make you feel nourished rather than sluggish.
Below, Beavis shares three Italian-inspired recipes from her debut cookbook, Country Comfort (which shot up the bestseller charts when it was published last month). Each recipe requires only 20 minutes in the kitchen, and where possible a list of alternative ingredient swaps is provided – reducing the risk of having to make a last-minute dash to Tesco Express in the rain. It’s the little things.
My Loved Ones’ Carbonara
Hari says: “My sister and I used to ask our mum for carbonara every day. The creamy spaghetti with salty bacon would comfort us and fill our bellies, and we’d have a great night’s sleep. My partner, Jake, started to make it for me when I had had a long day and didn’t want to turn the oven on.
“It’s always been made for me by loved ones, and even if they scrambled the egg (it’s happened) I will still eat the bowlful. There is something about a dish made with love that just hits the spot. This version combines my mum’s recipe, my sister’s recipe and Jake’s recipes to make the ultimate Loved Ones’ Carbonara.”
Serves 2
Ingredients
- 3 egg yolks
- 45g parmesan cheese, grated, plus extra to serve
- salt
- 230g bucatini pasta
- 300g unsmoked pancetta, diced
- 1–2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
- truffle oil, for drizzling
- crushed black pepper
Equipment
grater, chopping board, knife, bowl, fork, saucepan, frying pan, spoon
Method
Get the egg mix ready and cook the pasta
Mix the egg yolks and parmesan in a bowl with a twist of black pepper and set aside. Bring a saucepan of salted water to the boil and add the pasta.
Fry the pancetta then add the pasta and egg mix
Fry the pancetta in the frying pan over a medium-high heat until crispy, then reduce the heat to medium-low and throw in the garlic (if the garlic starts to burn the pan is too hot).
Reduce the heat again to low and, when the pasta is al dente, spoon it into the pancetta (setting the pasta water aside) and garlic and mix it around over a low heat. Gradually add the eggs so that the sauce thickens and doesn’t scramble (do it little by little if you’re worried it might).
Add a splash of pasta water and keep mixing the pasta until the sauce is thick and glossy, and coating all of the pasta.
Serve
Serve the carbonara in a pasta bowl with a generous drizzle of truffle oil and extra grated parmesan on top, finishing with a good crack of black pepper.
Gnocchi Bake
Hari says: “Mouthfuls of soft dumplings mixed with your favourite Italian flavours? Yes, please! I’m not sure there is anything more comforting than a large spoonful of gnocchi coated in a tomato and basil sauce, brought together by stringy mozzarella and delicious salty ham.”
Serves 4
Ingredients
- a glug of olive oil
- 1 white onion, peeled and finely diced
- 6 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
- 2 tbsp tomato puree
- 2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
- 150g ham or gammon, cut into 2cm pieces
- 1 tsp salt, plus extra to serve
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- a handful of fresh basil, roughly chopped
- 400g fresh potato gnocchi
- 125g ball of mozzarella
Equipment
chopping board, knife, deep frying pan, wooden spoon, 17 x 27cm ovenproof dish
Method
Preheat the oven and make the sauce
Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan/400˚F/gas mark 6). Heat the oil in the deep frying pan over a medium-low heat, add the onion and garlic and cook for a few minutes until softened, then stir in the tomato puree.
Throw in the chopped tomatoes and stir, then sprinkle in the ham, salt and pepper. Stir in three-quarters of the basil and all the gnocchi, then transfer to the ovenproof dish.
Bake!
Thinly slice the mozzarella and lay it over the gnocchi, pop in the oven and bake for 10 minutes, until it starts to bubble, the gnocchi is cooked and the mozzarella is melted.
Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and the remaining basil and serve!
Alternative ingredients
- Instead of ham or gammon: use any sliced ham
- Instead of chopped tomatoes: use passata (pureed tomatoes) or a jar of tomato and basil pasta sauce
- Instead of mozzarella: use cheddar cheese, parmesan or feta
‘Time to Impress’ Mushroom & Prosecco Risotto
Hari says: “There were a few years, when I was a teenager, that my mum would request that I made this for every special occasion, whether for a birthday or for friends, and she had good reason. It’s creamy, it has indulgent truffle oil, and above all else it has an undertone of prosecco. This is defo one to make when you have people over – it’s incredibly simple yet makes you look fancy pants!”
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp truffle oil, plus extra for drizzling
- 2 shallots, peeled and finely diced
- 1 bulb of garlic, cloves peeled and finely chopped
- 500g variety of mushrooms (I like chestnut, portobello and shiitake), sliced
- 200g arborio rice
- 600ml prosecco
- 500ml chicken stock
- 225g parmesan cheese, grated
- a handful of fresh chopped chives, plus extra to serve
- 2 tbsp butter
- large pinch of salt (you can use garlic or truffle salt here)
- large pinch of freshly ground black pepper
Equipment
chopping board, knife, grater, deep frying pan, wooden spoon
Method
Make the base
Heat the truffle oil in a frying pan over a medium-low heat, add the shallots and garlic and cook for 5 minutes until soft (be careful because the garlic will catch quickly, cook them low and slow).
Cook the risotto
Add the mushrooms to the pan and cook for 8-10 minutes until they start to shrink and wilt. Add the risotto rice and stir it around for a minute or two then add the prosecco.
Simmer for a couple of minutes then add the chicken stock and let it simmer, stirring often, for 6-8 minutes until the rice has soaked up 90% of the liquid. Throw in the parmesan, chives and butter and keep stirring, loosening with more stock if necessary.
Your risotto is cooked when it is rich and creamy, and the rice is al dente with a slight bite. Season to taste with the salt and pepper.
Serve
Remove from the heat and serve, drizzled with a little extra truffle oil and sprinkled with more chopped chives.
Alternative ingredients
- Instead of truffle oil: use olive oil or garlic oil (just be aware that the flavour will carry through the dish so something like a sesame oil that has a rather distinct flavour probably wouldn’t work here)
- Instead of shallots: use onion but I really think that shallots complement this dish beautifully, they’re not as potent and are slightly more mild and sweet throughout this dish
- Instead of chicken stock: use vegetable stock or beef stock
Country Comfort: Hearty, Wholesome Meals In Minutes by Hari Beavis (£26, Carnival) is out now
Photography: Dan Jones
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