Pull out your beanies and pop on your ovens, for winter has set in for another year. While Australia’s colder months may not be quite as icy as those in other parts of the world, the season is still ideally spent hibernating. The kind of hibernation that involves plenty of slow-cooked meals, hearty stews, nourishing soups and (naturally) generous glasses of wine. The July issue of delicious. reads as a winter handbook for the home cook; our curated collection of comforting recipes will keep you warm (and well-fed) until warmer temperatures herald spring.

Celebrating winter’s best when it comes to produce is Aussie-trained chef Nick Honeyman. The Auckland-and-French-based restaurateur proves that French feasting is the perfect antidote to the season’s chill in his Hand Picked feature; picture a hearty main of coq au vin followed by creamy coconut creme brulee. Wine expert Mike Bennie reveals that it’s not just a big glass of red that’s the perfect winter companion – white can be a worthy ally through the cooler months, too. Provided you pick the right one of course!

Accompany your winter wine of choice with slow-cooked beef cheeks, say Anthony Puharich and Colin Fassnidge of The Chef and The Butcher. The best way to enjoy them? Braised and cooked till tender, partnered with greens in a pot pie. But fellow contributor Matt Preston tells us to forgo meat this issue, focusing instead on the joys of silverbeet. Among his exploration of all the ways you can savour the vegetable, the MasterChef judge suggests a silverbeet and chickpea puttanesca.

Sydney creatives Nikki and Adam Yazxhi throw open the doors to their Northern Beaches home for July’s Entertaining feature. Fresh and flavoursome is the duo’s mantra of the day when it comes to feeding a crowd. That includes deep-fried olives stuffed with vermouth-whipped feta and a particularly opulent warm salted chocolate cake with sherry-spiced prunes to finish.

Silvia Colloca turns the focus onto pulses and legumes, celebrating with hearty recipes that make the most of the pantry favourite. Dig into a steaming bowl of mussels with borlotti, tomato and pangrattato, or slurp on the smoky cannellini bean and speck fish soup.

Husband-and-wife duo Carla Jones and Richie Dolan follow a similar passion for reinvigorated takes on old favourites. The former 4Fourteen and Chiswick chefs have set up shop in coastal Sawtell, restoring the town’s former general store into a casual eatery, all with a baby in tow. In this issue they share their seachange tale, alongside a collection of flavoursome recipes from their NSW north coast venture.

Slow and steady wins the race, says star Sydney butcher Anthony Puharich, who delivers a collection of six slow-cook recipes starring meat. These dishes are winter indulgence at their finest, from a show-stopping three-meat, three-cheese lasagna to equally luxurious red wine beef ribs with creme fraiche mash and apple salad.

Darren Robertson of Three Blue Ducks takes a vastly different tact to Puharich, placing winter vegies in the spotlight. Think brussels sprouts chilli chips and a flu-fighting winter greens bone broth.

Noodles are the main attraction of the cooler months for Phoebe Wood. She demonstrates how versatile the ingredient is with recipes that range from midweek favourite mee goreng to our cover star, coconut chicken noodle soup.

Legendary chef (and delicious. Produce Awards judge) Alla Wolf-Tasker has just welcomed 30 years of regional fine dining at her award-winning Lake House. In celebration, she launched her new book, Three Decades On, recipes from which feature in our July issue. All are reflective of the produce-driven focus of her Daylesford venue, including a rather tempting truffled triple cream brie and honey French toast.

Sam Coutts shakes things up on the breakfast front using oats. But these aren’t your typical bowls of porridge; instead, think along the lines of turmeric and coconut, almond milk quick oats with panella bananas, and a bacon porridge with soft-boiled eggs for the savoury inclined.

Sugar addicts will find a friend in Charlotte Binns-McDonald, who has conjured up a collection of caramel-based recipes in this issue. The dishes aren’t short on decadence, from a pear and honey caramel cobbler to pistachio and tahini caramels. A fellow fan of the sweeter side of the palate, Anna Polyviou, also makes an appearance in July’s magazine. An extract from the pastry chef’s first book, Sweet Street, shows how to create show-stopping treats with minimum skill (we promise).

Perhaps a winter escape is on the cards? Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula reveals just why it’s proved one of the most alluring local destinations of late, in our gander through the art-and-wine-laden coastal stretch that takes in new design-dedicated properties Jackalope and Pt. Leo Estate. Those with a penchant for the far-flung can turn instead to adventures in tropical Zanzibar and the Canadian ocean playground of Nova Scotia.

With the delicious. July issue to hand, hibernation has never looked so good.