Smoked haddock, baked gammon: Nigel Slater's winter recipes that make the most of your oven

The oven has always been at the heart of this kitchen. The glow from its glass door fills the space with a sense of warmth and hospitality. An oven can provide possibilities that are different from open-fire cooking, the roasting and crisping elements that make baking and roasting so welcome at the table and unlike anything you can produce with a pan on the hob. That said, we need to think carefully about how often we turn on the oven and for how long.

Energy consumption features more than ever in our kitchen . I find myself batch cooking several things at once, just like my grandmother used to. Long gone are the days of cooking a single potato or pizza for dinner. I make cakes that last several days, by putting a tray of apples in the oven at the same time as the gingerbread. I prepare a piece of ham which will be served hot and, later, as a charcuterie. I cook fish to eat with mashed potatoes and cream, but be sure to cook enough to use tomorrow in a different recipe. Good old fashioned home economics, updated for today's food conditions.

Rather than a deep apple pie that takes the better part an hour to cook, I opted to make ultra-thin pies that can be popped out in 20 minutes and possibly use that time to bake a tray of cookies as well. And while I don't like to share a sweet oven with savory, I found less flavor transfer than you might expect between main course and pudding. Remember not to cook your garlic bread at the same time as a victoria sponge.

So glad I'm jumping, baking steaming and frying, taking something out of a hot oven is kind of the essence of hospitality. Bringing a dish to the table, oven mitts in hand, will always be the ultimate welcome gesture.

Smoked haddock, parsley puree

I find it useful and saves heat from cook enough smoked haddock for two meals at a time. The first, a dinner for two of smoked haddock and mashed potatoes with marbled skin, then for the next day, a smoked haddock risotto. The fish will keep in good condition transferred to a bowl in its cooking milk, and stored in the refrigerator. Of course, you can just make smoked haddock and mash for four if that suits you.

Makes 2-4smoked haddock fillets 1 kg milk 500 ml water 500 ml black peppercorns 8 sprigs of parsley 6 ½ onion, small cloves, peeled 4

For the potatoes potatoes 500g-1kg, white-fleshed parsley a small handful of chopped haddock milk 100mla little butter, to serve

Preheat the oven to 180°C fan/thermostat 6. Check haddock fillets carefully for bones, removing if necessary. Arrange the fillets in a roasting pan. Mix milk and water and season with peppercorns (without salt), parsley stems, peeled onion cut in half and cloves.

Pour over the fish then cook for 30 minutes until the fillets are firm. Test by teasing a large flake of fish from one of the fillets. It should be pearly inside and easy to separate. Remove from oven and set aside.

Scrub the potatoes (you will need 500g if serving 2 or 1kg for 4), then cut into halves or quarters and cook in a pot of boiling water for 15-20 minutes until tender. Drain the potatoes then mash them with the back of a spoon or potato masher, breaking the skin as you go. Add the parsley and 100ml of hot milk from the haddock, letting the milk soak the mashed potato.

Serve the fish, about 250g per person, in deep plates , pour a little cooking liquor as you go, then add a knob of butter. Divide potatoes between bowls and serve.

Smoked Haddock and Broccoli Risotto