Hazelnut meringue layer cake, with rhubarb and clementine compote

I am yet to meet a meat-eater who does not become emotional over the sight of a buoyant dumpling

Serves 8

Squidgy, flavoured with nuts and lovely with winter fruits, this will bring joy to Sunday lunch. The meringue breaks easily because of the high nut content, but it does not matter. — 100g shelled, skinned hazelnuts

— 5 long stalks Yorkshire forced rhubarb, leaves removed, cut into 3cm bits — 5 clementines, peeled and split into segments — 2 dstspn caster sugar — 4 egg whites

— 270g icing sugar, sifted, plus extra to serve — 200ml double cream, whipped Preheat the oven to 180C/ 160C fan/gas mark 4.

Put the skinned hazelnuts on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 8-10 minutes, until golden – keep an eye as they burn easily. Remove them from the oven and allow to cool, then grind to a powder.

Turn the oven down to 150C/130C fan/gas mark 2.

Line a baking sheet with parchment. Lay on the rhubarb and clementine segments, sprinkle with the caster sugar and bake for 15 minutes. Remove and allow to cool.

Whisk the egg whites and icing sugar in an electric mixer for 8-10 minutes, until you have a stiff meringue. Fold in the ground hazelnuts.

Line three baking sheets with paper, then spoon equal amounts of meringue on to each. Spread into 15cm discs.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the meringue is crisp and beginning to rise with bubbles around the base. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Turn one of the meringue discs over, place on a flat plate and peel off the baking paper. Spread on half of the cream then scatter over half of the fruits. Repeat with the second meringue disc, adding the rest of the cream and fruit.

Peel the paper off the third piece and lay it on top. Dust with icing sugar.

Lastly, be very choosy about the meat itself. Traditionally only the flesh of older animals was used for stewing, not just for economical reasons, but because mature beef, lamb or chicken holds together well during the slow-cooking process and the connective tissue turns to gelatin, which improves the texture of the gravy. So ask your butcher for meat from animals that – if possible – have grown old gracefully. If you can obtain a few rounds or split lengths of lightly roasted marrow bone, the juices will glisten even more.

The joyful part, of course, is what to drown in or mop up the gravy. In February it has to be dumplings made from suet; bubbly and unctuous, mine have added horseradish for extra heat and mustard for companionship. I am yet to meet a meat-eater who does not become emotional over the sight of a buoyant dumpling; they are well worth the extra effort.

My February menu contains a decadent, diet-defying pudding and two other warmth-giving dishes: pots of smoked haddock baked with cream, plus potatoes and Parmesan; then a comforting slab of cornbread to eat with roasted vegetables. I have decided to make this a year when every meat meal is balanced with something with fish or purely vegetable. We are reaching a moment when each morsel we eat must be respected. I’ll be thinking of this as my stew nearly bubbles.