Chicken stew, rhubarb trifle – Nigel Slater’s comforting recipes best eaten from a bowl

Aromatic sticky rice, cheese and bacon soup, cannellini beans with aubergine – the perfect way to lift the spirits on a wintry day

There is much joy to be had in holding a bowl of food in your hands, your fingers gradually warmed by the dish and its fragrant contents. Dinner in a bowl, be it thick soup or stew, spiced rice or creamy pasta, feels instantly informal and relaxed – always a good start. There is an intimacy, too: you feel closer to your supper than when eating from a plate with a knife and fork.

A bowl is particularly good for cold-weather food. This is the occasion for recipes where lamb or chicken is simmered until it can be effortlessly pulled from its bones with a spoon, and where there is as much broth to your dinner as meat and vegetables. I often stand, glazed stoneware in hand, eating with just a fork or soup spoon. A dish of rice for one, maybe – sticky rice seasoned with pickles and fresh herbs – or a thick soup of plump beans and bacon.