Delicious UK January 2016

The best winter morning breakfast SERVES 2. HANDS-ON TIME 20 MIN Heat the oven to 220¡C/200¡C fan/gas 7. Lay 4-6 British free-range streaky bacon rashers on a foil-lined baking tray and cook in the oven for 15-20 minutes, turning once, until crisp. Meanwhile, halve, stone and roughly mash 1 large ripe avocado. Stir a finely chopped red chilli, some roughly chopped fresh mint or coriander and the juice of ½-1 lime to taste, into the mashed avocado. Season generously with salt and a little pepper. Fry 2 free-range eggs to your liking in a drizzle of vegetable oil and toast 2 slices of good, chewy bread (the sourdough on p114 would be ideal), then spread with butter. Divide the avocado mixture between the toast slices, then top with the bacon…

Food-wise, January means conflicting emotions. Week one: most of us want an antidote to the rich eating of Christmas. Week two: after seven days of abstemious behaviour, it’s cold, it’s wet, work is hectic and I want comfort food (I’ve a feeling I’m not alone here). Yet almost everything you read reminds you a new year should mean a ‘new you’, and there’s an underlying theme to all things food-related: guilt – or, rather, how to avoid feeling guilty about what you eat. This issue rejects that mind-messing notion, in a way that satisfies the yin and yang of the January mood. Prepare for good-for-you recipes that also happen to be comforting… Yes, please! Our team have become expert at creating great-tasting, less calorific dishes for midweek. So…

“Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home”EDITH SITWELL WINTER RAMBLE Snow settling on a beach… It doesn’t happen in the UK that often, but when it does, it’s magical – and the weather-watchers are predicting an icy January to come. Exhilarating spots to head for a bracing, appetite-charging coastal walk… • No1 choice: Sandwood Bay in Sutherland, Scotland• Camber Sands, East Sussex• Bamburgh, Northumberland• Whitesands Bay, Pembrokeshire, Wales• Holkham Beach, Norfolk• Godrevy, near St Ives, Cornwall• Ballymastocker, County Donegal, Ireland HUNKER DOWN Three simple ingredients for happiness: book, duvet, sofa. The cover of this novel may look like chick lit (what were the publishers thinking?) but bear with me – Sophie’s Bakery for…

RECIPES THAT WORK Every recipe is rigorously tested by our food team, using state-of-the-art Electrolux ovens, so you can be confident they work every time. INGREDIENTS We aim to use easy-to-find seasonal ingredients. We’ll tell you where to find any unusual ingredients and/or what to substitute them with. We use higher-welfare meat supplied by The Ginger Pig (thegingerpig.co.uk). This symbol next to an ingredient means there are more ideas for using it on our Loose Ends page. HONEST COOKING TIMES Unlike many magazines, our timings include prep such as chopping. Hands-on time is when you’re chopping, stirring or frying. Oven/simmering time is when you can leave the dish in the oven or on the hob. Indicates a vegetarian recipe. Indicates a gluten-free recipe. KNOW-HOW Whenever you see this symbol, you’ll…

We’re offering you the chance to win a dining set in Emma Bridgewater’s modern-classic Black Toast pattern, with a baking dish and serving bowl, as well as four dinner plates and four pasta bowls. The set is smart, practical and generously sized – ideal for serving comforting wintry fare. For a chance to win: make our cover recipe meatballs dish, take a picture and share it with us (see how to enter, right). TO ENTER, GO TO deliciousmagazine.co.uk/cookthecover…

SUBJECT: Many happy returns FROM: Leanne Macdonald (and baby Parker) I took the Christmas 2014 issue of delicious. with me on a short holiday to Iceland. I was a new subscriber and I happily planned my festive menu from the magazine, unaware that I was pregnant (needless to say I then had to tweak the recipes I’d chosen, taking out the yummy soft cheeses and alcohol!). I now have a little boy who loves to look at the pictures as I read the magazine to him. To top off a great year, my brother travelled to Iceland at the end of 2015, where he got engaged. I was delighted when I re-read the August issue to find a recipe for Icelandic happy marriage cake. I know what I’ll be baking…