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As the long summer evenings make way for cosy nights in, we’re changing what we eat – and Mary Berry has some great ideas to make the transition easy and delicious.

We’re dusting off the roasting tins and casserole pots to hunker down with warming dishes full of root veg and succulent meats, and Mary Berry’s Simple Comforts is coming to 91�ȱ� Two on Wednesday 9 September at 8pm to help.

We spoke to Mary about the series and what she loves about comfort food…

Why comfort food?

“It’s great food to come home to, lovely and warming”, says Mary, when asked what comfort food means to her. We’re chatting on the day Storm Francis has arrived and, with wind swirling outside, it very much feels like casserole weather. Something Mary agrees with: “We’ve had some wonderful sunny weather all through lockdown and now it’s beginning to get chilly and it’s pouring with rain outside. It’s time for soup and warming foods. I think it becomes natural to think about comfort food as soon as the weather chills and the nights become darker.”

“I love a good slow roast of maybe pork or lamb and all the trimmings, I think that certainly makes you feel glowing.” So what do the trimmings entail? “We used to always have roast potatoes, but now we have other roast veg, like beetroot and sweet potatoes. I love sweet potatoes and we’re always adding things. You know, 60 years ago, when I was setting out, you didn’t have things like butternut squash or kale – though I’m not very keen on kale – but there are many more vegetables and they are all very plentiful. I think of root vegetables in the autumn, which are perfect for comfort food.”

Many people’s favourite comfort food is based on what they ate as a child. The same applies to Mary’s beloved roasts. “We used to have a roast on Sunday and then the meat was used in different ways throughout the week. But now when we have a roast, it’s usually smaller and we have it all on Sunday, and I don’t do something with it on Monday.”

Just as roast trimmings have moved on over time, so has the roast itself. “A slow roast has changed our lives in as much as, if family come half an hour or an hour late, it’s perfectly all right because it’s beautifully tender and keeps very well.”

Mary spent a lot of time thinking about what she wanted to serve up on Mary Berry’s Simple Comforts, and how some recipes might be updated for 2020 – as our eating and cooking habits having changed. “So if I make a casserole, [I’d be] adding a bit less meat and more vegetables and doing things that were a bit quicker. And nearly all of the dishes I wanted to be able to be prepared ahead, because that’s how life is.

“When people come home from work, they want something quick but don’t necessarily want to do a stir-fry [every evening]. They want to come in and have something they started off the day before, or perhaps something you can pop in the freezer and have half tonight and freeze the other half.

“I’ve got lots of favourites. I’ve done a lot of all-in-one dishes that you put in a roasting tin and it saves on the washing up!”

You’ll find recipes from the series here.

While two episodes see Mary heading to Ireland and France, the other four see her focus on foodie destinations in the UK. And while they were filmed before the health crisis, it fits with the current mood.

“It’s very appropriate at the moment, because everyone’s travelling around Britain. You don’t have quite the same climate as destinations abroad, but if you wrap up you’ll really enjoy it. We live in a beautiful country and there are lots of different things to explore.”

Mary meets experts who pass on their tips, and she learns to make ����ê���� in Paris. She gushes about her trip to the Scottish highlands. “I went to a forest with a ranger, a lovely girl who absolutely adores her job. She explained all the fauna, the animals, the habitat and that the hares turn white in winter.

“Oh and the huskies. I was driven along the snow with them. A wonderful chap called Graham was in charge of them and you could tell they all really respected him.” Going on a husky ride was a new experience for Mary. “It’s not something you do every day of the week, I certainly hadn’t [been on a husky ride before].”

Mary’s tips for comfort food on a budget

“Now people can get out and about, I’d say buy local. It’s often more reasonable… and I think we should support our farmers. I enjoy meat, but using less meat and adding a few more vegetables helps.”

Mary also suggests always going to the fridge before the shop. “Use up anything that’s there. If, for example, you’ve got a whole head of celery, often if you follow a recipe for a good casserole you can stick lots of sliced celery in it, or if you’ve got a couple of potatoes you can put those in it. It’s all about thrift and really good food that the family is going to enjoy.”