Rose Prince’s round-up of refreshing dishes to give your taste buds a spring clean

After the lavish excesses of the festive season, Rose Prince draws on chicory, beetroot and mango for comforting dishes that are light, yet crisp, refreshing and full of flavour. Photography by Yuki Sugiura. Food styling by Valerie Berry

Post feast, after richness and fullness, I look for tang in my January suppers. Not officially a taste, like sweet, bitter or umami, tang is more an effect, an uplift from the acidity in an ingredient. It seems odd to seek to cook something refreshing in the darkest month, but it does not have to be cold. I call it warm refreshment: for example, I make a soup with sweet-but-tart white chicory, the ‘pearl of the north’ as the vegetable is known in France. Chicory is underappreciated in Britain, where it is sold in the salad section in supermarkets and mainly expected to crop up on a dish with blue cheese and vinaigrette. But I understand chicory as a treasure with hidden sugars. Cook it slowly and they will be released. Cut a bulb in half lengthways and place cut-side down in a frying pan with butter. Fry over a low heat for up to 15 minutes and then turn it. The result is a silky soft, sweet – but tangy – side dish to eat with fish or roast chicken, its singed cross section beautiful as a botanical study.

There are other beauties in the endive family to which it belongs. The many types of radicchio, from common frilly red to pale pink, spotted green and white or Tardivo, which is deep burgundy and white, the tips curled like cockerel

Grilled radicchio with walnuts, feta and honey

serves 4 A warm salad with plenty happening: bittersweet leaves, salty and rich feta, toasty nuts and sweet honey – an immaculate January recipe. 2 radicchio heads (Treviso or Tardivo varieties, if available) 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil 150g walnut halves 200g feta 2 tbsp runny honey

for the dressing

1 tbsp Dijon mustard 1 tsp red-wine vinegar 3 tbsp grapeseed, groundnut or sunflower oil Preheat the oven with grill to 190C/gas mark 5. Cut the radicchio heads in half, place them cut-side up on a lined baking sheet then brush with the oil. Season.

Grill until the leaves have part softened and are tinged brown. Remove to a warm serving dish.

Mix together the dressing ingredients with a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of water. Spoon over the radicchio. Toast the walnuts in a pan with a little oil over a low heat. Scatter over the radicchio with the feta, then drizzle with honey.

Chicory and yogurt soup

serves 4 The ‘pearl of the

north’, forced white chicory, may be available all year round but is actually a January seasonal vegetable. The flavour transforms from bitter to sweet in this velvety soup, but yogurt lends a clever tang. 2 tbsp butter 2 onions, roughly chopped 1 garlic clove, chopped 4 white chicory heads, chopped 50g potato, diced 1 litre chicken or vegetable stock 500ml whole-milk yogurt

for the chilli oil

2 tbsp parsley, very finely chopped 1 tbsp medium-heat red chilli, very finely chopped 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

to serve

8 pancetta slices, fried until crisp Greek yogurt a few crisp baby salad leaves Melt the butter in a large pan and cook the onion and garlic until soft. Add the chicory and cook for about 20 minutes until very soft and pale golden, then add the potato and stock. Simmer for about 10 minutes until the potato is tender.

Blitz in a liquidiser, in batches, then blend with the yogurt until very smooth. Season to taste (I use white pepper).

Combine the chilli oil ingredients, using

feathers. As yet hard to buy except via mail order (try natoora.com), their wintry colouring fits the mood of the season neatly – and mine.

We find tang in other ingredients for January. It is in yogurt and beetroot, both of which I have been inspired to use for marinating chicken by the arrival of a new Battersea restaurant, Nutbourne. Its chef and co-owner, Oliver Gladwin, marinates pork with these ingredients, grilling it over embers on Nutbourne’s indoor barbecue.

It may sound superficial, but the impact of bright colour on something basic like grilled meat is immensely welcome in winter, sparking with optimism, and vaguely humorous. Not a lot brings a great deal of cheer at this time but at least in my kitchen, I’m feeling in the pink, and refreshingly so. Have a very tangy new year. a pestle and mortar if you have one.

Ladle the hot soup into warmed bowls, crumble over a few pancetta shards, add a little yogurt and a few drops of chilli oil, then scatter a few small salad leaves on top. Beetroot-marinated chicken with almonds, young leaves and verjuice dressing serves 4 The idea for this came from the Gladwin brothers’ new restaurant in Battersea, Nutbourne. Wood-roasted pork marinated in beetroot was not just pretty, but sweet and piquant. Serve this version, made with chicken, with fried potatoes, or baked sweet potato and butter. 1 red beetroot, finely grated 1 tsp malt vinegar 150ml Greek yogurt 4 skinless chicken breasts with wing joints (supremes), scored with a knife 2 tbsp flaked almonds 4 handfuls young leaf salad 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

for the dressing

1 tsp wholegrain mustard 1 tsp turmeric 2 tbsp verjuice, or 1 tbsp white balsamic vinegar 1 tbsp runny honey 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil 1 garlic clove, crushed Mix together the beetroot, vinegar and yogurt then coat the chicken with it. Marinate for two hours.

Mix together the dressing ingredients and infuse for 30 minutes. Toast the almonds in a pan until golden and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 200C/gas mark 6. Line a baking sheet with baking parchment and place the chicken pieces on it. Roast for 15 minutes then turn and roast the other side for about 10 minutes, turning down the oven to 160C/gas mark 3. Check the chicken is cooked through by making a cut on the underside into the centre of the flesh – the juices should run clear.

Remove from the oven and rest in a warm place for a few minutes. Serve with the dressing spooned around the chicken, the almonds scattered over and the salad to one side, drizzled with a little oil.

Mango with balsamic syrup and iced yogurt

serves 4 Puddings in January should cheer even if they’re not overly naughty. You need a good, thick sweet balsamic vinegar for this (I use Belazu Balsamic Vinegar of Modena, or the amazing La Vecchia Dispensa Red Label Balsamic Vinegar, from oilmerchant.co.uk). 300ml Greek yogurt 3 tbsp honey 2-4 ripe mangoes 1 tbsp syrupy balsamic vinegar Stir the yogurt and honey together in a container. Freeze for 30 minutes and stir again. Freeze for another 30 minutes then give a final stir and freeze until solid. Remove from the freezer 10 minutes before serving.

Peel the mango, then cut the flesh into long strips and dress with the balsamic vinegar. Place in pretty bowls or cups with a scoop of iced yogurt.

The impact of bright colour on something basic like grilled meat is immensely welcome in winter, sparking with optimism