Joe Trivelli's rich and comforting winter recipes

We never run out of butter at home, as essential to us as dried oregano, garlic, tomato sauce, capers and olive oil. My wife is known for melting a dab of Jersey butter for pancakes, and my kids eat it like cheese on the endless toast they crave every morning. Everyday luxury.

Butter is a staple in northern Italian cuisine, much more used than in the south. Historically the fat of choice for the wealthy, its rich, moist sweetness is found in tangy thin pasta served with white truffles, and also crucial in risotto. What is poetically described by Elizabeth David as "a knob of butter", added towards the end of a home-cooked dish with everyday ingredients, makes it the hug you need at this time of year.

An Italian classic, this can be heaped on a bed of marigold yellow polenta - an opportunity for more butter. It would also work well with some greens and bread on the table to soak up the juices. For 4

chicken 1, small (about 1 kg) butter 90g celery with leaves 3 sticks of leek 1, gooseberry 2 cloves green olives 12 rosemary 3 bay leaves 4 leavespassata 200mlwhite wine 250mlsalt and black pepper

Using a good knife or good scissors, cut the backbone of the chicken. Flip it over and cut the chicken in half between the breasts. Remove the wings and thighs and separate them from the drumsticks. Cut each breast in half. (Alternatively, ask your butcher to carve the chicken for you.) Season with salt and black pepper.

Melt the butter over medium heat -swirl in a large saucepan with a lid. When it foams, add the chicken skin side down. Fry, crackling gently, for 8 minutes, turning occasionally, until golden brown. Meanwhile, cut the celery and leek into 2cm pieces. Peel then add the garlic with the olives in the bubbly butter in a space between the chicken. Fry another minute or 2.

Add the herbs and vegetables and toss together – the butter will subside at this point. After 3 minutes, add the wet ingredients, stir in and cover. Cook over medium-low heat for 35 minutes, turning and basting halfway through cooking.

There is a strong argument that porcini mushrooms make the best risotto. The sumptuous layer of saffron, combined with butter and parmesan, highlights their depth of flavor. Use powdered saffron if desired or omit it altogether if you don't have it.Serves 6

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