When you’ve just returned home from an afternoon stroll through the countryside, you’ll no doubt be ravenous and craving a generous meal. Surely a richly-filled, golden-crusted pie is going to be high on your list of options, especially if you need to warm up as well! Try combining spinach and goat’s cheese, with some seasonal butternut squash to serve up something a little different from the usual pie fillings. Some roasties and buttered greens make for perfect companions to complete this comforting autumnal feast.

Indulgent, comforting meals don’t come much better than a slow roast belly of pork with crispy crackling. To ensure the meat is succulent and tender, in a foil-lined tray, lay the meat on a bed of sliced onions and apples, then tuck the foil in so that it encloses the sides but doesn’t cover the rind. This will ensure the meat sits in the juices, but the rind crisps up properly. Cook for around three hours at 150°C then for one hour at 140°C before cranking up to 220°C for the last 20 minutes to crisp the crackling. For the mash, boil peeled potatoes until tender then drain and return to a very low heat for a couple of minutes to ensure they’re dry. Mash with butter, milk, salt, pepper and wholegrain mustard for the perfect homely accompaniment.

Blackberries are synonymous with autumn, with September being the most fruitful harvesting month. If there’s bramble near your home, you could even go out and pick the blackberries yourself. One of the blackberry’s most complementary fruits is apple, and the two combine fantastically when baked in a crumble. Simply start off by layering slices of apple with blackberries and adding sugar and cinnamon. Then for the crumble topping, pour flour and cinnamon into a bowl then stir in sugar and oats. Cut butter into small cubes, then rub the mixture between your finger tips until it forms the texture of breadcrumbs. Bake for around 40 minutes until the crumble is golden and serve with ice cream, cream or custard!