Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2021 i Good Food

‘Sharing food with friends and family is a tonic – it lifts the spirits and acts as a soothing balm. So whenever you can, share a meal with others. Set a welcoming table. Pencil in some dates with people you’ve missed.’ As we head into 2021, we’re embracing columnist Joanna Blythman’s advice on page 132. While it may be some weeks before we can get everyone together, we’ll use this time to plan a meal like no other. Influencing this menu will be ingredients we’ve not cooked with before, thanks to Melissa Thompson’s suggested top 10 (p126), cooking skills we’ve acquired in the updated Boost section (p109), and, finally, the dessert to end all desserts: Liberty Mendez’s self-saucing sticky toffee chocolate pudding (p32). What will be on the menu for…

Biggestandbest We’re proud to be Britain’s biggest-selling food magazine and the UK’s No 1 food website, bbcgoodfood.com. Our contributors – BBC chefs, our in-house cookery team and confident, outspoken columnists – are experts in their fields. Meet us at the UK’s biggest food shows (visit bbcgoodfoodshow.com for dates and details). Our best-selling cookbooks feature our trusted recipes – you’ll find these in bookshops. Recipesforeveryone There are at least 70 new recipes in every issue – that’s more than any other food magazine in Britain. We always include quick, easy dishes, ideas for relaxed entertaining and more challenging recipes for when you want to take your skills up a notch. Look out for our regular easiest-ever recipes. Testedandtrusted All our recipes are all thoroughly tested by experts to ensure they’ll work…

Did you know that a third of the food produced globally is thrown away? In fact, in the UK alone, the average family throws away £700 worth of food each year. Enter Olio, a free food-sharing app, set up in 2015 by Tessa Clarke and Saasha Celestial-One. The concept is simple: rather than throwing away surplus or unwanted food, you share it. Anyone can download the app for free and post a picture of any food they have going spare, or browse to see what’s available in their area, then arrange a pick-up. Got a bunch of bananas going brown in the fruit bowl, or a bag of onions you know you won’t get through? What might have previously ended up in the bin can now easily be shared among…

This special new sea salt is made in a unique and highly sustainable way: sea water from the west coast of Scotland is slowly trickled through a large graduation tower (the only one in the country) made from tightly packed blackthorn branches (pictured left). As the water drips slowly down the twigs and thorns, this maximises its exposure to the powerful coastal winds and sunshine, meaning that the droplets partially evaporate and any remaining liquid becomes a more concentrated brine. This brine is then gently heated to leave the sea salt crystals. This results in a really natural finished product, which has an off-white colour, delicate texture and unique taste – when blind-tested against other sea salts, we found it to have a more prominent taste of the sea and…

Study with BBC Good Food experts Barney and Cassie to grow your skills and culinary knowledge. The live virtual classes include pre-recorded video lectures, guides, and a community area where you can chat to your peers and share tips and advice. It’s a step up from simply following recipes – with our online masterclasses, you can get creative with others online while being coached by the pros. Choose Essential Cooking Skills with Cassie Best to learn knife skills, make spice mixes, cook fish and seafood, and improve your bakes. In Make Sourdough at Home with Barney Desmazery master the sourdough basics in your own kitchen. Or, take both courses! Book now for your place in the virtual kitchen learningwithexperts.com/gfcollection1 TERMS & CONDITIONS Our site, learningwithexperts.com, is owned and operated by…

Asian Green: Everyday plant-based recipes inspired by the East by Ching-He Huang (£20, Octopus Books, out 21 Jan) Taiwanese-born chef and food writer Ching-He Huang’s latest cookbook is a reflection of the food she cooks daily at home. After her husband, Jamie, became vegan, she was challenged to create delicious and easy dishes using Asian pantry ingredients. The recipes are nutritious and packed full of flavour, drawing inspiration from right across Asia – from Indonesian-style satay seitan with courgetti noodles, to Sichuan-influenced Yuxiang aubergine with shiitake mushrooms and Thai-inspired tom yum soup. Must-try recipe: Spicy chilli French bean mapo tofu (above)…

Cinnamon custard pie SERVES 12 PREP 15 mins plus cooling COOK 1 hr 10 mins MORE EFFORT V 3 large egg yolks (freeze the whites for another recipe) 2 tbsp caster sugar 2 tbsp custard powder 100ml whole milk 300ml single cream 1 tsp vanilla paste 320g ready-rolled puff pastry 50g unsalted butter, melted 50g granulated sugar 1 tbsp ground cinnamon 1 Mix together the egg yolks, caster sugar, custard powder and milk in a bowl. Pour the cream into a saucepan set over a medium heat, bring to the boil, then gradually pour into the egg yolk mixture, whisking until smooth. 2 Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and cook over a low-medium heat for a few mins, whisking all the time to keep it smooth. It should…

Back when I had to smuggle vegetables into my greens-averse daughter, I concocted ways to secretly pack meals with good stuff. My ragu (p59) contains more veg than meat, but it’s chopped small and cooked down, so no one will ever know. I double the recipe and freeze it for quick midweek dinners. And, my fridge-raid fried rice, below, is really quick and versatile – you can use most veg from the fridge, and it’s a surefire winner. Fridge-raid fried rice SERVES 4 PREP 15 mins COOK 15 mins EASY 2 tbsp vegetable oil 1 white onion, finely chopped 1 carrot, finely chopped 100g green beans, chopped 1 red or yellow pepper, finely chopped ½ medium broccoli, chopped into small florets 150g cooked chicken (or any other meat), roughly chopped…

Baked banana porridge Start the day right with this healthy baked banana porridge containing walnuts, banana and cinnamon. SERVES 2 PREP 5 mins COOK 25 mins EASY V 2 small bananas, halved lengthways 100g jumbo porridge oats ¼ tsp cinnamon 150ml milk of your choice 4 walnuts, roughly chopped 1 Heat the oven to 190C/170C fan/ gas 5. Mash up one banana half, then mix it with the oats, cinnamon, milk, 300ml water and a pinch of salt, and pour into a baking dish. Top with the remaining banana halves and scatter over the walnuts. 2 Bake for 20-25 mins until the oats are creamy and have absorbed most of the liquid. GOOD TO KNOW healthy • #ibre • 1 of 5-a-day PER SERVING 405 kcals • fat 15g •…

Stellar 24cm chef’s pan This 24cm chef’s pan from Stellar is versatile and functional, and will be your new go-to for so many of your favourite dishes. Its flat bottom allows for frying and the curved sides for easy stirring and mixing, while the pan’s depth lends itself to boiling pasta and vegetables, too. The riveted handle creates a solid, reassuring grip and the polished, easy-to-maintain stainless steel also looks stunning in any kitchen. HOW TO ORDER Search‘Stellarchef’s ’ pan at horwood.co.uk , select size 24cm and add to basket your , then enter code BBCGOODFOOD25 at checkout JUST £37.50 (RRP £50) inc P&P…

Whenever I put together lists of useful storecupboard ingredients, many of them are relatively ‘new’ to cooks in the UK. Japanese miso, Middle Eastern date syrup, Italian nduja – I wasn’t buying these 10 years ago. Not everyone will think they’re necessary, but if you’re making simple food, the flavours these ingredients deliver are transformative. There are others, though, that nobody gets excited about because we’re so used to them. Take dried fruit: raisins, currants, sultanas, tubs of prunes and boxes of dates. We associate these with Christmas, old-fashioned bakes (my mum used to make wonderful dried fruit pastry squares) and, not to put too fine a point on it, keeping our bowels in order. But, I couldn’t cook without dried fruit. It’s ancient – the first mention of dried…

In 2020, veg box subscriptions were more popular than ever before. During the week that the first national lockdown was announced, one unnamed veg box company saw an influx of 10 times their average daily order volume, resulting in its website shutting down for three weeks. With more and more of us receiving these boxes every month, I’ll explore the veg I usually have in excess thanks to my own veg box subscription, and show you how to transform it. This month, I’m talking all things onion. There are almost always a few onions in my veg box, and after pulling out all my other goodies, they’re left at the bottom, rolling around in all their golden glory. But what do you do when you have a few too many?…

Blanching is partially cooking fruit and vegetables to ensure they retain bite, prepare them for further cooking (such as roasting), or make removing the skin easier. To blanch, drop the fruit or vegetables into boiling water. After 20-30 seconds, lift out with a slotted spoon and drop straight into ice-cold water. Blanching helps retain colour and nutrients, and at home it’s a good way to prepare veggies for the freezer. Almost all vegetables can be blanched, then flat-frozen on a tray before being tipped into a container or bag for storage. Try storing root veg, beans and potatoes in this way, then they can be roasted or boiled straight from the freezer. (For more tips on cooking from the freezer, turn to page 53.) “Blanching retains colourand nutrients, and it’s…

Food writer Shivi Ramoutar on her kitchen hero “My Nutribullet, now 50 shades of fading grey, is a vital organ in my kitchen. As someone who heavily relies on marinades, pastes and spice mixes – from jerk and Scotch bonnet pepper sauces to almond broccoli pesto – these little blades blitz so many heady flavours in seconds, making light work of heavy ingredients. Given the amount of Scotch bonnets those containers have seen, though, I’m shocked that my Nutribullet piña coladas don’t leave a chilli tingle on my tongue…”…

I learned to joint a chicken a long time ago. As a dad of three on a budget, making food go further was a mission, so I bought a big knife and poultry scissors and set to work, severing the legs from the carcass, breaking them down into thighs and drumsticks, easing the breasts from the ribcage, before boiling up the carcass for stock. I thought I had it nailed, until Carl Clarke’s book came along. Within its pages, Carl, the co-founder of the ‘next-level fried chicken’ restaurant Chick ’n’ Sours in London, uses all of the bird – feet, skin, fat, offal – to ensure the chicken is respected. ‘Always buy the best you can afford’, Carl says. But whatever price you pay (free-range at least, please – it…

Brandy sour SERVES 1 PREP 5 mins EASY V 25ml lemon juice, plus 1 lemon slice to serve 1 maraschino cherry, plus 15ml syrup from the jar few drops of Angostura bitters ½ egg white 50ml brandy or cognac ice 1 Tip the lemon juice, cherry syrup, bitters, egg white and brandy into a cocktail shaker with a large handful of ice. Shake until the outside of the shaker feels very cold. Double strain into a tumbler filled with ice. 2 Thread the lemon slice and cherry onto a cocktail stick, rest across the rim of the tumbler and serve. GOOD TO KNOW gluten free PER SERVING 170 kcals • fat none • saturates none • carbs 13g • sugars 13g • fibre none • protein 2g • salt 0.08g…

Did you know the team behind Good Food also creates olive magazine? It has all the easy recipes you love, added inspiration from the UK restaurant scene and foodie destinations, plus contemporary kitchen interiors ideas to make the most of your time at home. olive magazine has three new sections: Cook Stunning and seasonal recipes, all beautifully photographed. Discover Try something new with global recipe ideas. Unwind Relax while learning new cooking skills. You can pick up a copy at magsdirect.co.uk, or see page 147 for a subscription offer.…

Your letters ‘I was thrilled to see the recipe in the Christmas issue for Finnish spoon biscuits by Maria Armishaw. I loved making them, and my family loved eating them! It took us right back to our hotel in Lapland, where they were served every day. These will now be a yearly tradition in our house!’ Jo Hall, Bedford ‘On receiving my first subscription copy of Good Food (December), I sat down and turned it over page by page. What a surprise to find page 56 [Christmas dinner pie for one]! Because of covid-19 rules, my eldest son and I had to spend Christmas on our own because my other son lives in Nigeria. So, we made two of the pies. It’s so good to find a magazine that thinks…

Nooj nut pastes (150g), £3.50, Sainsbury’s These clever, creamy almond and cashew nut pastes can be diluted to make nut milks, or used in curries, smoothies and porridge. Oatly Greek-style oatgurt (400g), £2.20, Tesco This dairy-free, oat-based Greek yogurt alternative works well in curries, smoothies, or with granola. Flora plant butter (250g), £1.80, Tesco This plant-based butter alternative comes highly recommended by our food editor Cassie Best – it’s the most butter-like and creamy of the alternatives we’ve tried.…

Butter bean & broccoli Italian-style bake SERVES 6 PREP 15 mins plus cooling COOK 40 mins EASY V 2 tbsp olive oil 1 onion, finely chopped 1 broccoli, stem and florets cut into bite-sized pieces (about 250g) 2-3 garlic cloves, grated 15g, basil leaves and stalks separated, chopped 50g chopped black olives from a jar, plus 50ml of the brine 400g can chopped tomatoes 150g tomato passata 700g large butter beans from a jar or cans (500g drained weight), drained and rinsed 100g mature cheddar, grated 150g mozzarella, grated 1 Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/ gas 4. Put the oil in a large frying pan and fry the onions gently until soft but not brown, about 3-5 mins. Stir in the broccoli, garlic and basil stalks, and fry for…

Gabby works closely with our art directors to produce the beautiful photographs that fill this magazine and bring bbcgoodfood.com to life. As well as commissioning new images for every issue, she also maintains our archive of more than 20,000 images. Gabby has also spent a good amount of time exploring the depths of our archive, and has chosen our most stunning images to pair with Each month, we introduce you to the experts who create content for your favourite food brand our best-loved recipes, which you can use to create your own customised Good Food cookbook. If you want to make one for yourself, visit mycookbooks. bbcgoodfood.com – your one-of-a-kind cookbook will make a gorgeous addition to your shelf, or a great gift.…

Noodles with crispy chilli oil eggs This dish is all about the crispy chilli oil. I’ve been addicted to this stuff for ages, spooning it over everything from scrambled eggs to seared steaks. My obsession started with the Lao Gan Ma version (a Chinese brand you can find in large supermarkets, Asian food shops or online), but making your own is easy and really satisfying. The crispy bit comes from garlic and shallots, which are sizzled until crisp. However, once submerged in oil, they only stay crispy for a day or two. You can add peanuts for extra crunch, although I prefer sesame seeds in mine. This, tossed through noodles and used to baste a crispy fried egg, is my comfort food de jour. Cassie Best SERVES 2 PREP 25…

Salted caramel & apple pudding Our indulgent twist on clafoutis – a classic French dessert – this combines apples, vanilla and salted caramel instead of using cherries or other stone fruits. Serve hot from the oven with a scoop of ice cream. SERVES 6 PREP 15 mins plus resting COOK 35 mins EASY V 1 tbsp butter, softened 3 large eggs, and 2 egg yolks 50g dark brown soft sugar 200ml whole milk 300ml double cream 375g can caramel, beaten until smooth 2 tsp vanilla extract 75g plain flour 3 apples (we used Pink Lady) ice cream, to serve (optional) 1 Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/ gas 4. Butter a 30 x 20 x 4cm baking dish. Put the eggs, extra yolks, sugar, milk, cream, 200g of the caramel,…

“I always make double of our family’s favourites and freeze half. The washing-up is the same, and it means there’s a whole meal packed away for when I don’t have time to cook. My freezer is also a larder of flavour boosters that can be added straight from frozen.” The 5 rules of freezing 1 Label everything Clearly label containers with the date on which the food was frozen. I also write roughly how many portions there are, and what it could be used in. 2 Airless Ever defrosted something, then found it’s got a weird skin on it? That’s freezer burn, and it comes from exposing frozen goods to the cold air. To combat this, fill containers fully before covering, or push all the air out of freezer bags…

HEALTH “Inspire the kids to get out and get moving this winter” Quick after-school snacks Keep hunger pangs at bay until dinner time with these quick and nutritious bites. • Apple doughnuts Slice an apple into discs, about1/2cm thick, through the core. Use a small cookie cutter or apple corer to make a hole in the centre and remove any pips. Spread cream cheese over the slices, and top with raisins, flaked almonds or sprinkles. • Cucumber ‘sandwiches’ Peel a chunk of cucumber and cut into1/2cm slices. Sandwich two pieces together with a little ham or cheese (or both), and secure with a cocktail stick. • Oatcakes with mackerel or salmon paté Mash some flaked smoked mackerel or hot smoked salmon with a few tablespoons of natural yogurt, mayonnaise or…

Vegan nut butter cups You can keep these bite-sized treats in the freezer. MAKES 12 PREP 15 mins plus freezing COOK 15 mins EASY V * 100g walnuts 100g dairy-free dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa solids) 1 medjool date, stoned and finely chopped You’ll also need 12-hole mini mu in tin 12 mini paper cases 1 Line the holes of the muffin tin with paper cases and set aside. Heat the oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. 2 Spread the walnuts out in a single layer on a baking tray and roast for 12-15 mins, or until fragrant and slightly darker in colour. Tip into a small food processor and blitz in 1-min bursts, scraping down the sides between each burst. When you have a buttery, mostly smooth paste, the…

January is a month full of exciting produce, making it the perfect time to hide yourself away in the kitchen and explore the delights on offer. It’s one of my favourite months to spend a little more time experimenting with the theatrical bright pinks and sharp, bold purples of seasonal pomegranate, passion fruit and beetroot. These special ingredients are made all the more interesting for their short winter season. Passion fruit brings a little tropical sunshine to winter, and has always been a favourite of mine. I like to set it in a simple posset, or serve it swirled into yogurt over some granola. When I was at cookery school, I learnt how to make curds, and soon found out how transformative a passion fruit one can be. My indulgent…

Apple & custard doughnuts with maple syrup MAKES 6-8 PREP 50 mins plus at least 1 hr resting and proving COOK 15 mins MORE EFFORT V 1 tsp dried yeast 2 tbsp caster sugar, plus extra to coat the doughnuts 120ml whole milk, warmed 280g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting 45g unsalted butter, melted 1 egg, beaten sunflower oil, for deep-frying and for the baking parchment about 4 tbsp apple sauce (shop-bought or homemade) about 4 tbsp custard (shop-bought or homemade) maple syrup, to serve 1 Stir the yeast and sugar into the warm milk. Set aside for 10 mins – the mixture will activate and become frothy. 2 Meanwhile, put the flour, melted butter, beaten egg and a pinch of salt in a mixing bowl, or…

MYTH BUSTER YORKSHIRE PUDS We dispel the smoking-hot oil  theory Watch our skills videos at bbcgoodfood.com/video We love to see what you’re making, too: share your recipes on our BBC Good Food Together Facebook page and on Instagram #wearebbcgoodfood THIS MONTH Make perfect roast chicken, p111 Seville orange marmalade, p112 The food of Montserrat, p117 The lowdown on brandy, p119 Expert butchery tips from Jessica Wragg on p117…

Salt the skin before cooking. This helps extract moisture and dry out the skin so it gets lovely and crisp. You can season your skin 1-12 hrs prior to cooking, and remember to season inside the cavity as well. Pack in the flavour Try chopping some thyme, lemon or sage, mixing it into softened butter with crushed garlic then stu›ing under the breast skin. Stuff any remaining fresh herbs into the cavity with half a lemon or onion (this creates steam that helps to keep the chicken moist). z › Choose the right tin Choose one deep enough to collect all the delicious cooking juices and make sure there’s enough space so the heat can circulate freely around the bird while roasting. z › Check it’s cooked through Pierce the…

THE MYTH THE PAN AND OIL YOU MAKE YORKSHIRE PUDDINGS IN NEEDS TO BE SMOKING HOT BEFORE YOU POUR IN THE BATTER BARNEY SAYS I’m as guilty of this as anyone else. The most popular recipe I’ve ever written is for Yorkshire puddings and, yes, it states that the oil in the pan should be smoking hot. First off, there isn’t anything wrong with doing this, it gets good results but can also be dangerous. We’ve all been there, it’s the last part of the roast, you’re already spinning roasting trays, boiling veg and jugs of gravy, and now you’ve got to heat oil in a mu›in tray! Well I’m here to tell you, it ain’t so. You can get brilliant individual Yorkshire puddings without having to heat fat until…

Montserrat is one of the small islands that arcs down from the bottom of mainland North America before you reach South America, just off the coast of Antigua. When my granddad lived there in the 1920s, he used to travel back and forth between Montserrat and Antigua selling fruit and vegetables – that’s very normal, if you can’t get what you need on one island, you can go to the next one. Goat water is a stew with influences from Africa and the Irish population that also lived on the island. I made it with my aunty when I was little, but, growing up in England, it wasn’t a thing we’d have often. It was always associated with occasions – weddings, funerals, that sort of thing, because there’s certain food…

1 WHAT’S THE BEST WAY TO SERVE BRANDY? When I drink, I always try to choose the right vessel for the spirit. For refined spirits, I always try to choose a glass with the finest rim possible. The vessel is one of the most important things there is – it gives a value to a cognac, for example. At home, I love to use a balloon glass. When I watch television and it’s cold, and I’ve got the fireplace on, there is nothing more beautiful than caressing a nice, large balloon glass filled with a refined cognac. 2 HOW SHOULD YOU GO ABOUT CHOOSING A GOOD BRANDY? Just go for what’s natural to you – after all, we all know what food we like. So, if you tend…

1 THE PESTLE AND MORTAR, 35,000 BC One of the oldest tools known to man, the pestle and mortar, has barely changed in millenia. Evidence of the first breads were discovered in pestle and mortars, and it continues to be – despite electric blenders – used to prepare everything from grain for bread and gruel, to guacamole, gado-gado and, of course, a panoply of spice blends. 2 THE CASSEROLE, 1710 Though it’s best known here for slow cooking, the casserole (or Dutch oven in the States) can be used to fry, roast, bake and create all manner of dishes, and iterations can be found all over the world. In 19th-century America, Dutch ovens were considered so valuable that the inheritor would be spelled out in the will; something that is…

Dhana-jeera ‘A 50:50 blend of ground coriander and cumin used to finish dishes. Literally, two teaspoons stirred-through, off the heat. Mum taught me to brown whole spices first but not powdered spice. It burns instantly.’ Aubergines ‘This is the king of Gujarati veg. Almost like a Sunday roast, every week Gujarati families will have aubergine and potato curry, dhal and farsan.’ Alphonso mangoes ‘What we proclaim to be the best mangoes. In season, people go mad for them. They are £15-20-a-box here but every Asian family stocks up. The skin is as intensely perfumed as kids’ sweets.’ Gram flour ‘Chickpea flour is massive. It’s so versatile for frying and steaming, and in so much stuff: bhajis, dhokra, all Bombay mix elements, except the peanuts.’ Jaggery ‘This is boiled and set…

Keshia Sakarah Watch Keshia make Montserrat’s national dish, goat water (see p117), as part of our World in Your Kitchen video series. Find it at bbcgoodfood.com. Nadiya Ziafat Nadiya makes Persian basmati rice chelo with tips from Sabrina Ghayour on page 110. Tune in to the Rookie Chef podcast on Acast, Spotify, iTunes and more. Mayur Patel Restaurateur Mayur shares his method for Gujarati dhokra, a fermented batter recipe (and his ultimate comfort food), on page 136. Esther Clarke Our deputy food editor makes the most of January produce with her seasonal recipes, including a dark chocolate & passion fruit tart (p90).…

HAPPY NEW YEAR Brand new start Bring in 2021 with fresh ways to cook, eat and drink. From new cookery techniques to fun weekend kitchen projects (homemade dumplings, anyone?), there’s sure to be something you haven’t tried yet 6 new year, fresh start easy ways to refresh your food routine  by ANNA LAWSON Stuck in a food rut? Forget unattainable goals – we share six ways to gently shake up how you cook, eat and drink this year, from eating more mindfully, to trying new ingredients. Lift your mood, improve your health or sharpen your kitchen skills with these tips 1 PRACTICE MINDFUL EATING Mindful eating is rooted in the Buddhist practice of mindfulness, and involves giving your full attention to your food in the moment, without external…

Vadasz raw kimchi (400g), £4.50, M&S We bet even those who are on the fence about kimchi will love this – it has just the right amount of spice and acidity without being overwhelming. Try it in everything from fritters, pancakes and scrambled eggs, to fried rice and cheese toasties. Moving Mountains plant-based mince (260g), £4.50, Ocado Super meaty in both taste and texture, this is an impressive plant-based alternative. Great for ragus, lasagne and noodle dishes. En Root’s Raja Bonnet hot sauce (250ml), £5, enrootldn.co.uk Using fiery scotch bonnet, Kesar mango and Gujarati spices, this packs a real punch spice-wise but it’s nicely balanced out by sweet, fruity mango, warming spices and a good level of acidity. Tim’s Dairy kefir (450g), £2.20, Waitrose & Partners Kefir is a…

VODKA Wry vodka From the team behind Surrey-based Silent Pool gin, Wry vodka is produced from 100 per cent rye grain spirit, and filtered through charcoal made from locally sourced hornbeam wood. This results in a smooth, creamy, clean-tasting vodka, with a slight malty sweetness and subtle peppery finish. Smooth enough to sip, it also makes a great vodka martini – just stir 60ml wry vodka with 15ml vermouth, then garnish with a twist of lemon peel or an olive. Or, try in a vodka tonic if you fancy a change from your usual gin. 40% ABV, £22 (70cl), silentpooldistillers.com GIN Hospitality gin This ‘drink with a mission’ was created to raise money for the UK hospitality industry, which has been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic. Industry veteran Tom…

Rick Stein’s Cornwall A real treat, Rick Stein returns to the county he loves to explore the land and sea that shapes Cornwall. Along with championing local food, history and culture, Rick will be cooking simple dishes inspired by his travels. Weekdays at 6.30pm on BBC Two from 4-22 January, and on BBC iPlayer. Celebrity Best Home Cook Claudia Winkleman, Mary Berry, Angela Hartnett and Chris Bavin return with 10 competing celebrities, including Ed Balls, Desiree Burch, Ed Byrne, Welsh rugby star Gareth Thomas and journalist Rachel Johnson. Starts this month on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. RADIO HIGHLIGHTS The Kitchen Cabinet Restaurant critic Jay Rayner and his panel of food experts are back with anecdotes and advice inspired by listeners’ questions. Listen at 10.30am on Saturdays and 3pm Tuesdays…

Chinese Takeaway in 5 by Kwoklyn Wan (Quadrille, £15, out 21 Jan ) After growing up working in the kitchen of his family’s Cantonese restaurant, Kwoklyn Wan became a chef and author. His latest cookbook contains 80 recipes for takeaway favourites, which can be recreated at home using just five ingredients. Master classic starters like pancake rolls, crispy wontons and prawn toasts, as well as popular mains such as Singapore king prawn fried rice and chicken chow mein. Must try recipe: Chinese-style buffalo wings Use It All by Alex Elliott-Howery (£18.99, Murdoch Books) Alex Elliott-Howery is co-founder of Cornersmith, a Sydney-based café and cookery school with a focus on sustainable cooking. She’s teamed up with co-worker Jaimee Edwards to create a book that helps reduce food waste by structuring it…

Chorizo & chickpea tagine SERVES 6 PREP 10 mins COOK 50 mins EASY 1 tbsp olive oil 200g spicy chorizo, thinly sliced 2 fennel bulbs, trimmed and thinly sliced, fronds reserved 1 large onion, halved and sliced 2 garlic cloves, crushed ½ tsp smoked paprika 1 tbsp harissa paste 2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes 2 tsp honey 2 x 400g cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed 4 handfuls of baby spinach 1 lemon, zested couscous or flatbreads, to serve 1 Heat the oil in a large pan over a medium-high heat and add the chorizo. Cook for a few minutes until slightly crispy, then transfer to a plate, leaving the oil in the pan. 2 Turn the heat down and add the fennel, onion, garlic and paprika, and cook for…

esther My ultimate lasagne uses beef shin rather than mince, which makes a much richer sauce. This recipe is a favourite in our house, and it’s so easy that everyone in my family can make it. My must-haves in a lasagne are plenty of herbs and smoked pancetta in the ragu, a generous grating of nutmeg in the white sauce, and a combination of parmesan and melting mozzarella on top. I think lasagne should be paired with a punchy, peppery well-dressed salad, to help cut through the richness of the dish. Esther Clark, deputy food editor cassie A classic meaty lasagne will always have a place in my heart (it’s the stuff I was raised on), but these days, I’d take a veggie version. I love the different flavours and…

SERVES 4 PREP 10 mins COOK 30 mins EASY V * 2 tbsp olive oil 1/2 onion, finely chopped 1 carrot, finely chopped 1/2 red pepper, finely chopped 1 garlic clove, crushed 400g can chopped tomatoes 1 Knorr Smoked Chilli & Tomato Stock Pot 400g can chickpeas, drained 4 tbsp yogurt a few mint or coriander leaves, chopped (optional) 1 Heat the oil in a pan and fry the onion, carrot and pepper over a low heat for 5 mins until tender. Add the garlic and fry for 30 seconds more. 2 Tip in the tomatoes, then fill the can with water and add that along with the Knorr Smoked Chilli & Tomato Stock Pot and 500ml more water. Bring to a simmer. Cook for 10 mins, then blitz until…

what are the benefits? We’re bringing back some of your favourite comforting and healthy recipes, so whether you’re hoping to lose extra pounds or simply re-energise, you can start this year looking and feeling your best The food we eat not only affects our physical health, but also our mental well-being. Providing your body with the right nourishment through a healthy diet can improve your mood, give you more energy and also help you think more clearly. As such, we’ve ensured that our plan contains key nutrients such as protein, fibre and healthy fats. For more information on how diet affects how you feel, visit bbcgoodfood.com/mood-diet-plan. Following this plan can also help you to cut down on sugar, lose excess weight and boost your energy levels. All of our menus…

SALMON is a great source of omega-3 fatty acids, which are important for brain and heart health, while miso is a fermented condiment rich in essential vitamins and minerals, offering a healthy source of probiotics. OLIVE OIL is rich in polyphenols, which support gut health by enhancing growth of beneficial bacteria PROTEIN contains amino acids, which are required to make up the brain chemicals that regulate your thoughts and feelings. When cooked ‘al dente’ (with a bite), pasta retains higher levels of resistant starch, which acts like a prebiotic.…

Emma Crawforth is a qualified horticulturist, trained at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and is the gardening editor for BBC Gardeners’ World. Each month, she’ll answer questions on seasonal produce. This month, beetroot... BEETROOT How do you know when it’s ready? Start harvesting when the swollen roots are at least 5cm in diameter. Their shoulders, just poking out of the soil, should be visible to help judge size. Small ones are sweetest. Are there different varieties? There are striped, yellow or white, and the usual red ones. Nutritional content and flavour vary a little too. Longer ones are better for slicing than round ones, and red-leafed beetroots look ornamental. You can harvest the leaves too when young. How easy is it to grow your own? Beetroot is one of the…

Oxtail soup SERVES 6 PREP 25 mins plus overnight marinating and chilling COOK 4 hrs MORE EFFORT 1½kg oxtail, cut into 4 pieces small handful of thyme sprigs 2 bay leaves small bunch of parsley, leaves and stalks separated ½ tsp black peppercorns, roughly crushed 1 small star anise ½ bottle red wine 4 tbsp sunflower oil 1 onion, roughly chopped 2 carrots, roughly chopped 2 celery sticks, roughly chopped 2 garlic cloves, bashed 1 tbsp plain flour 1 tbsp ketchup 2 litres beef stock, plus extra if needed 1 Up to two days before serving, tip the oxtail into a bowl and season with a little salt. Tie the thyme sprigs, bay leaves and parsley stalks together, and drop in along with the peppercorns and star anise. Pour in…

This episode sees Persian chef and author Sabrina Ghayour share a classic Persian rice recipe and reveals how to create the perfect tahdig crust. Her latest cookbook, Simply, is out now (£26, Mitchell Beazley). SABRINA’S TOP TIPS Choose the best quality basmati rice you can. Aged basmati is even better. z› Use a combination of oil and butter for best results (either a light olive, vegetable or sunflower oil). z› Use a sturdy non-stick pan. Cast iron pans conduct too much heat and can burn the crust. z› Draining and rinsing the rice after parboiling is key. Rinse the rice thoroughly under cold water then leave to drain completely before moving on to the next stage. z› Read the recipe before you start! Tune in to the Rookie Chef podcast…

Seville oranges have a very short season so need to be gathered and preserved in January. There’s something exciting about a glut of them sitting on a kitchen worktop, ready to be turned into gleaming sunshiny jars of marmalade. Dollop on toast or crumpets, swirl into cake batter or churn in ice cream. Here’s how to make it, plus some delicious added flavourings. WHAT FLAVOURS CAN I ADD TO MY MARMALADE? HERBS Bay and rosemary both pair well with marmalade, giving it a slightly savoury edge. Just add 3 large sprigs of rosemary or 5 fresh bay leaves in step 1. GINGER Peel 100g ginger and slice thinly. Tie in 2 muslin bags and bruise with a rolling pin. Add 1 bag to the pan at step 3, once sugar…

This month, we’re concentrating on cuts that have fallen out of favour. Scarcely utilised and under-appreciated, these three (see right) represent meals of times gone by. Nowadays, they usually end up in burgers and sausages thanks to their decline in popularity, but ask your butcher for them and you’ll be well rewarded with flavour. Ox heart Get past the look of this cut and you have one of the strongest, beefiest flavours on the entire carcass – and it won’t cost you more than a fiver. Ask your butcher to slice it thinly, then griddle it hot and fast. Serve alongside pickled walnuts and rocket, or with a salsa verde. Lamb breast Lamb fat is one of nature’s delights, and it’s the star of the show in the lamb breast…

No New Year’s resolutions here. Not anymore. I’m old enough to know that I never, ever stick to them, so I save the effort and inevitable disappointment of failure, and instead channel that energy into positive things. I see each year as an opportunity to fill the following 12 months with new delights – adventures, education and, of course, food. The pursuit of foods unfamiliar to me has enriched my mindset and diet. Some are completely new, while others re-imagine familiar ingredients in completely different ways. I live in a city and realise that not everywhere has access to global foods. But, the internet is essentially a massive larder, and most things are available there. If not, there are shops serving diverse communities. Here are some of the ingredients that…

What a year 2020 was! Last January we had no idea that the tectonic plates of our lives were about to shift and affect us all so profoundly. For the first time since World War Two, we worried for a time about finding enough food to eat. Weak points were exposed when our modern food supply system was put to the test. Anyone want to revisit that unsettling experience? Not me. Our shopping and eating habits had to change abruptly. We cooked and baked more at home. We ate out less. Now, my heartfelt wish for this year is that we’ll move forward, having learnt from our collective experience how to build more food resilience into our daily lives, fuelled by a plucky determination to retain the good features of…

Fragrant coconut, salmon & prawn traybake SERVES 4 PREP 10 mins COOK 30 mins EASY 1 tbsp sunflower oil 5 tbsp Thai red curry paste 2 garlic cloves, grated thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled and finely grated 2 x 400ml cans coconut milk 1 red chilli, halved 1 tbsp fish sauce 3 lime leaves (optional) 4 thick salmon fillets, skin left on 4 baby pak choi, cut into quarters 150g mangetout 150g raw king prawns ½ small bunch of coriander, roughly chopped 2-3 limes, cut into wedges, to serve cooked jasmine rice, to serve 1 Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/ gas 6. Heat the oil in a deep frying pan or wok, and fry the curry paste, garlic and ginger for 1 min. Stir in the coconut milk and…