It’s designed as a New Year dish in the latest issue of Delicious but the combination of chestnuts and kale has a particular winter feel; one that went down exceedingly well last Sunday.

The sauce is the important component – De-glaze the pan in which the pork loin was roasted with 100ml Madeira (which I didn’t have so used an Amontillado sherry), add the chestnuts (200g) and cook until the liquid is reduced by half. Add 600ml chicken stock and again reduce by half. In a small bowl mix 1 tsp flour with 20g butter to give a thick paste then whisk it into the sauce and gently cook until thickened. Then add sliced Braeburn apples and cook until tender.

The potatoes were the new Roast Potatoes Basted in Goose Fat by McCain. Eating Leeds wasn’t that impressed but seeing as I hadn’t had a roast for an absolute age I thought they were great. Oddly they have a wheat flour/rice flour batter cover not that I realised until I read Eating Leeds post. They were certainly crispy on the outside with a fluffy, light interior. Goose fat? I couldn’t tell.

The wine is an unusual American red, Tusk ‘n Red, which went fine.