Put the apricots into a stainless-steel saucepan. Using a vegetable peeler, slice thin strips of zest from the orange and drop them into the pan. Add the star anise, brandy and sugar and bring to the boil. Stir until the sugar has dissolved.

Cut the leeks into rounds about 1cm in length and wash them in plenty of cold water. Bring the butter and water to the boil in a wide pan with a lid, then add the leeks. Cover with a piece of greaseproof paper, or baking parchment, and a lid. The paper will encourage the leeks to steam rather than fry. From the BBC1 presenter and bestselling author of Eat, The Kitchen Diaries and Toast comes a new book featuring everything you need for the winter solstice. This is one of those good-natured recipes that can be multiplied successfully for large parties, or made earlier and reheated as necessary. The best food writers combine beauty with practicality, and no one does it more elegantly than Nigel Slater' Jane Shilling, Daily Mail - BOOKS OF THE YEARDH went to a Nigel Slater book signing last December - he told me that he told Nigel that I read the relevant bit every night and apparently he looked delighted and said “that’s exactly how I intended it to be!” Note: Reading by candle light can be particularly enjoyable. Cire Trudon may be one of Nige's candle of choice, but it's somewhat pricey. We don't discriminate against other less expensive brands - even if they are NVN (Not Very Nigel)

Bring together into a ball, then turn out on to a wooden board dusted lightly with icing sugar. Roll into a fat cylinder or cake and wrap in kitchen parchment or clingfilm. It has long been a tradition in our house to have a fish pie on Christmas Eve. Every imaginable fish-in-a-crust – from a deep dish of creamy fish sauce with a crumble top to whole fillets of salmon wrapped in puff pastry – has been on the table the night before Christmas. This year we are having a new version with a filling you make in advance. Hot smoked fish and leek pie Using the base of the cake tin as a template, cut a disc of baking parchment to fit neatly into the base. Now cut a long, wide strip that will fit not only around the inside of the tin, but a good 9cm above it. Place it around the inside of the tin. Once the cake is completely cool, remove the paper from the base and pierce all over with a skewer or knitting needle. Spoon over enough brandy to moisten the cake but not to make it soggy – I suggest three or four tablespoons at a time. Don’t use your best cognac. Wrap the cake in greaseproof paper and tin foil and store in a cake tin. Feed the cake every few days with the same amount of brandy.Slowly mix in the ground almonds, toasted hazelnuts and all the dried and vine fruits, the brandy and citrus zest and juice. Now mix the baking powder and flour together and fold them lightly into the mix. Scrape the mixture into the prepared tin, smooth the top gently, and put it into the oven. While the butter and sugars are beating to a cappuccino-coloured fluff, cut the dried fruits into small pieces, removing the hard stalks from the figs. Break the eggs into a small bowl, beat lightly with a fork, then add a little at a time to the butter mixture, beating continuously. (If it curdles, add a little flour.) Spoon the figs into a sterilised storage jar, then pour over the liquor. Pour in the vodka, then seal and place in a cool, dry place for three or four weeks, or, better still, until Christmas. Making the cake: Set the oven at 140C fan/gas mark 3. Using a food mixer and a flat paddle beater attachment, beat the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Don’t forget to push the mixture down the sides of the bowl from time to time with a rubber spatula. Toast the hazelnuts in a dry pan until light brown, then cut each one in half. N O T E S, S T O R I E S A N D R E C I P E S F O R M I D W I N T E R. I have always loved the winter months, with their crisp mornings, candlelight and promise of snow. The Christmas Chronicles is the story of my adoration of the cold months, my fondness forthe winterlandscape with itspale blue skies and bare trees; forautumn and winter baking and the season's rituals and feasting. At theheart of the book is Christmas, its fables, folklore and of course, its food.