Ask me what I can’t live without at Christmas and the answer’s easy: meatballs. Here they’re dressed for the season with warming spices and soft buttery onions that make them extra comforting. SERVES

SERVES 4 Ingredients 125g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing120g dark chocolate, broken into small piecesPinch of sea salt100g Amarena cherries, roughly chopped, plus3 tbsp of the cherry syrup10

PHOTOGRAPHY ISSY CROKER Brilliant celebrity chef Paul Ainsworth ...

Journalist and cookbook author Janet Mendel on how the region’s flavours have influenced Spanish cuisine

MAKES 16-20 pieces PREP 20 mins plus 3 hrs chilling COOK 8 mins EASY 50g butter, plus extra for the tin400g blonde white chocolate (or use500g regular white chocolate),broken into pieces100g white cho

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