Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2016 i Delicious UK

The easy one… ROAST GRAPE & GOAT’S CHEESE TOASTS HANDS-ON TIME 10 MIN, OVEN TIME 20-25 MIN Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/ gas 6. Lightly oil a baking tray, then add a few small bunches of grapes and lightly drizzle with clear honey. Roast for 20-25 minutes until the grapes are blistered and bursting. Toast slices of good quality bread, then spread thickly with soft goat’s cheese or ricotta. Top with the roasted grapes, allowing the juices to run into the cheese, then drizzle over a little more honey and scatter with fresh thyme leaves. Season well with salt and pepper, then eat immediately.…

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 for testing, 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. KNOWHOW Whenever you see this…

More than 20,000 fans of the brown stuff will be heading to Olympia in west London on 14-16 October for The Chocolate Show . It’s a celebration of chocolate in all its forms – bars, truffles, cakes, desserts, ice cream, baking, cocktails, sculptures and more. As well as demonstrations by celebrity chefs and Bake Off winners, the delicious. team will be there… And you can meet top chocolatiers from chocolate companies around the world. Learn about bean-to-bar chocolate and get stuck into hands-on workshops, tastings and masterclasses – and don’t miss the legendary chocolate fashion show. Adult tickets: £15 on the door (£12.50 in advance); children aged 4-12: £10/£8; thechocolateshow.co.uk…

Enthusiastic home cooks have for years now been running pop-ups and supper clubs from their homes. These are restaurants without overheads – dinner parties, pretty much, with a (modest) profit. The professional chef’s response? Collaborations: low risk, high publicity, a break from the quotidian, and a fun way of bouncing ideas around with someone new. Tom Harris of The Marksman Public House (marksmanpublichouse.com) in Hackney runs the Cookbook Dinners series, where guest chefs produce a dinner inspired by their favourite cookbook. It has so far seen chefs such as Fergus Henderson (St John restaurant, Smithfield), Lee Tiernan (Black Axe Mangal in Islington) and Jeremy Lee (Quo Vadis in Soho) in the kitchen. Down the road at Lyle’s (lyleslondon.com), chef James Lowe’s Guest Series has invited chefs from Mexico, Paris and…

CUTLERY AND TABLECLOTHS Mum liked us to use a knife and fork properly – with the pinkie up. I love posh restaurants with things done the way my mum would have liked. THE CHOICE OF FOOD NOW Diversity has opened up our palates and that’s wonderful. Supermarkets have had to change and so many different ingredients are at your fingertips. ALLSPICE It’s almost Jamaica’s national spice with a rustic flavour that’s great for sauces and marinades. My gran would put it in porridge – sounds weird but it’s good. PORK If you speak to any Rasta man he will tell you never to put pork on his plate. It’s against a Rastafarian’s integrity and beliefs. COMMUNAL EATING I went to The Gambia recently and saw some guys all enjoying a…

“These pages are about us doing the hard work so you don’t have to… Joy! We’re sent anything from 40 to 100 new products a month, and we really do try them all: tasting, smelling the aromas, testing gadgets. Only if they’re useful, good-looking and value for money do they get the delicious. seal of approval.” KAREN BARNES, EDITOR ONLINE DISCOVERY We love the Nisbets website. Glamorous it isn’t but the catering retailer sells some quality kit – tough enough for restaurant kitchens. It has it all, from crisp, £13.99 tablecloths to this Magimix Vision toaster (£145), which lets you see when your toast is done. nisbets.co.uk ARTY china Daubed with brushstrokes that look like a summer sky, this hand-glazed Indigo Storm earthenware by British designer Faye Toogood…

THE COOKBOOK Flavour: Eat What You Love by Ruby Tandoh (£20; Chatto & Windus) TESTED BY Susan Low Ruby Tandoh is one of the more thoughtful food writers to emerge from the small screen in recent years. She was a finalist on The Great British Bake Off in 2013 when she was just 20, and subsequently went on to write a weekly baking column in The Guardian , record a documentary for Radio 4 and pen two cookbooks (this is her second). Oh, and Radio Times readers voted her the most popular GBBO contestant ever. Ruby’s approach to food and cooking is refreshingly down to earth. The ingredients called for in the recipes, she assures us, are easy to find in supermarkets and don’t cost a fortune. She has steered…

Melt-in-the-middle mozzarella beef burgers SERVES 4. HANDS-ON TIME 30 MIN, OVEN TIME 10 MIN, PLUS COOLING AND CHILLING MAKE AHEAD Make the patties up to 48 hours in advance, wrap individually in cling film and chill. They will freeze for 1 month. •  Olive oil• 1 onion, finely chopped• 2 garlic cloves, crushed• 500g British 20 per cent fat beef mince• 1 medium free-range egg• 2 tsp mustard powder• Pinch cayenne pepper• 50g fresh breadcrumbs• 125g ball mozzarella, sliced into quarters TO SERVE • Buns and toppings of your choice 1 Heat a glug of oil in a large frying pan and add the onion. Fry for 5 minutes until starting to soften, then add the garlic. Fry for a further 2-3 minutes, then remove from the frying pan to a plate and leave to cool completely. 2…

“Whether it’s the wild coast of Cornwall (first love of editor Karen), or the breathtaking beaches of Northumberland (my choice), I’m willing to bet everyone has some cherished memories of happy times spent at the British seaside. And no matter which one it was, we probably all ate the same food. Fish and chips, ice creams and lollies, crab sandwiches, the obligatory bag of fudge. We love them as they are, but we also thought it was time for an update, using the flavours from around the world that are now so wonderfully accessible in Britain. We hope you enjoy the tweaks. We aren’t saying they replace the originals, but we’re confident they’re every bit as good.” REBECCA WOOLLARD, FOOD EDITOR THE NEW PASTY Beef empanadas MAKES AROUND 15. HANDS-ON…

“In my household, no piece of British roast beef is ever eaten without a dollop of homemade horseradish sauce on the side. But this fiery member of the mustard family isn’t from Britain – in fact, Armoracia rusticana (its botanical name) is native to Eastern Europe and grew wild in Russia, Poland and Finland. Yet it’s been grown here since the 16th century and become part of British culinary heritage, probably as a result of its use in Jewish and eastern European dishes. The key to the root’s heat lies in the preparation – the spicy bite is almost absent from the white fleshy root until it’s finely grated or ground. It’s only on contact with the air that the volatile compound isothiocyanate (a type of…

Coconut milk and lemon thyme ice cream SERVES 15; MAKES 1.5 LITRES. HANDS-ON TIME 10 MIN, PLUS 3 HOURS INFUSING AND 12 HOURS FREEZING MAKE AHEAD The ice cream will keep in the freezer in a lidded container for up to a month. FOOD TEAM’S TIP If you can’t find lemon thyme, regular fresh thyme will also work. •  220g caster sugar• 400ml can coconut milk• ½ bunch fresh lemon thyme, a few sprigs reserved to decorate (see tip)• 1kg full-fat greek yogurt• Waffle cones to serve (optional) YOU’LL ALSO NEED… • 1.5 litre freezerproof container 1 Begin the day before you want to serve the ice cream. Put the sugar, coconut milk and thyme in a saucepan over a medium heat. Bring to a simmer, stirring until the sugar dissolves, then remove from the…

Dear reader If you love your delicious. magazine and have been pondering whether to subscribe, now is the time. When you’re a member of our special subscriber’s club, your magazine arrives several days before it hits the shops, which means you get first dibs on reader events (they often sell out within an hour), discounts and offers. Plus you have the assurance of knowing your magazine will be waiting on the doormat when you get home, ready to take outside into the sunshine and enjoy with a glass of frosty rosé in your hand. It’s a recipe for summer evening perfection… I only wish we could pour the wine for you, too! DON’T MISS OUT – SUBSCRIBE TODAY THREE EASY WAYS TO SUBSCRIBE Call the hotline now on 0844 848…

MIDWEEK PROMISE Your guarantee for every recipe in this section: NO MORE THAN… • 10 ingredients• 30 min hands-on time• 650 calories per portion (but many of the recipes have fewer)• 10g sat fat per portion PLUS… • No unnecessary added sugar• Minimal washing up GERMANY Chicken schnitzels with quick fennel and apple sauerkraut SERVES 4. HANDS-ON TIME 30 MIN FOOD TEAM’S TIP Pork escalopes also work very well for the schnitzel. •  4 British free-range skinless chicken breasts• 100g plain flour, seasoned well with salt and pepper• 1 large free-range egg• 80g fresh breadcrumbs• 4 tbsp olive oil• 1 small onion, finely sliced• 2 fennel bulbs, finely sliced• ½ tbsp mustard seeds• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar• 1 granny smith apple, coarsely grated TO SERVE •  Green salad and lemon wedges 1 Heat the oven to 180°C/ 160°C fan/gas 4. Put the chicken breasts…

Whether it’s dinner or a pudding, time taken over a culinary treat is a surefire way of letting your nearest and dearest know they’re loved. And when it comes to cooking, you won’t want to make any compromises. Philadelphia cream cheese has a lovely fresh taste and a satisfyingly creamy texture that produces sweet and savoury dishes everyone will fall head over heels for. That’s why MasterChef finalist Dean Edwards uses it. Something of an angel in the kitchen, Dean knows what to cook in the name of love. Try a couple of his favourite simple recipes starring Philadelphia to let your special someones know you care. Philadelphia is the perfect consistency for making the most indulgent icing for cupcakes, while its freshness perfectly complements the rich crab and fiery…

Making yogurt isn’t difficult. Here’s what you need: • Fresh milk (cow, goat or sheep; whole or skimmed)• Powdered milk• Small tub of natural yogurt (preferably organic)• An accurate thermometer 1 PUT THE MILK IN A SAUCEPAN and add 25g powdered milk for every 500ml fresh milk. 2 HEAT to 80°C, then remove from the heat and leave to cool to 45-46°C. 3 WHISK in 3 tbsp room-temperature yogurt for every 500ml fresh milk. 4 KEEP IT WARM at about 45-46°C for 5-8 hours. There are several ways to do this: pour into a vacuum flask (warm it with hot water first, then drain); cover with cling film and wrap in a towel next to a warm hot-water bottle; put in an airing cupboard or next to an Aga; put in a lightly warmed…

1 Heat the oven to 190°C/ 170°C fan/gas 5. Line 2 baking sheets with nonstick baking paper and lightly oil a rolling pin. 2 Gently melt 60g butter in a small saucepan, then set aside to cool. 3 Put 2 large free-range egg whites into a bowl and use a fork to beat in 125g caster sugar until just frothy. Sift in 60g plain flour and mix in ½ tsp vanilla extract. Add the cooled butter and mix well. Cover and chill for 15 minutes to firm a little. 4 Cut out your preferred shapes from sheets of non-stick baking paper, then use as templates to spread the mixture thinly (1-2mm thick) onto more baking paper [A & B] with a palette knife. Bake the tuiles in batches of 4…

“This is one of those recipes that people think of as tricky, but in fact it’s simple – it just takes a little time. Done well, it’s full of flavour and will last for days in the fridge. The confit process of cooking meat slowly in lots of fat harks back to a bygone era that many modern-day chefs have left behind, but there’s a part of me that needs to keep these methods alive before they are completely forgotten. Rillettes is great for sharing at the dinner table – and luckily my four kids love it too.” MEET THE CHEF Allan co-founded Piquet, a restaurant in the heart of London’s West End. His pedigree is hard to beat: he’s worked with Marco Pierre White and the Galvin brothers, and…

Not everyone loves the great British seaside (sand getting in everything and sticking grittily to sun-screened legs), but the idea is rich with promise. It makes me think of special moments, just me, my brother and my grandma, on Gwithian Beach in Cornwall. In those days we didn’t have to think about much apart from splashing in rock pools catching tiny crabs, competing over who’d brave the cold Atlantic water first, and how cool the sand felt when you dug your toes down into it. Food was significant, too. Usually there was a pasty, still warm, made by my baker grandad and wrapped in a paper bag, see-through on the bottom with grease. And, if we were lucky, a 99 Flake from the ice cream van on the…

Cook the cover this month and you could win this sleek ProCook X100 VG10 Damascus eight-piece knife set, complete with stylish knife block. Beautifully designed, the knives are crafted from Japanese steel, considered to be the world’s best. Each blade has a super hard core supported between 66 layers of steel, a type of construction that makes for impressive sharpness. The set includes a paring knife, utility knife, small and large santoku (traditional Japanese-style) knives, small and large chef’s knives, a bread knife and a carving knife. It’s completed with a glass and acacia wood block. For a chance to win, make the ice cream sandwiches on our cover, then take a picture and share it with us. • For more details on ProCook cookware and accessories visit procook.co.uk. JUNE’S COOK…

1 Cool Down by The Untouchables Works well by the barbecue on a hot summer’s day with a few beers… to help you cool down. 2 Salad Days by Mac Demarco Have a few friends over, listen to a Mac Demarco album and make a huge salad. 3 Pink Moon by Nick Drake I have great memories of making a risotto for myself, alone in the flat, listening to this album. Both extremely soothing activities. 4 Sunny Dedications by Lewis Parker For late summer evening cookouts. 5 Lost in the Supermarket by The Clash Best for shopping excursions, obviously. 6 Shhh/Peaceful by Miles Davis Elaborate, mystical, midnight feast music. • sardine.london Did you know…? There are vast caverns under the City of London, dug out by Swiss entrepreneur Carlo Gatti…

13 AUG Clitheroe Food Festival The team behind this free festival carefully handpick the best Lancashire producers to fill the streets of picturesque Clitheroe. Book ahead for wine and gin masterclasses, chocolate tastings and children’s cookery classes. Entry free, classes from £2.50; clitheroefoodfestival.com 20-21 AUG Great British Food Festival, Wiltshire The beautiful Bowood House and Gardens are the setting for a weekend of foraging walks, children’s cookery and demos from Nadiya Hussain (see p19) and others. There’s free entry for all who put their bakes into the Cake-Off competition, with Kenwood goodies up for grabs. Adult day tickets from £9; greatbritishfoodfestival.com/  bowood.asp 29 AUG Newlyn Fish Festival, Cornwall Expect the harbour to be heaving with more than 100 stallholders serving top Cornish fare. Cookery students from…

1 THESE BANGERS ARE MUSTARD! Look out for Debbie & Andrew’s new buttered onion and mustard sausages. Deeply savoury, the top quality pork is complemented by the tang of the mustard and the rich onion flavour. All you need is buttery mash… RRP £3 for six, Asda, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury’s and Tesco 2 HEAVENLY CHEESE MATCH Savoury biscuits come in all sorts, but these fruity ones from Paxton & Whitfield were a big hit in the office. The sweetness works perfectly with a powerful montgomery’s cheddar or comté. Apricot, Date & Sunflower Seed Cracker Bakes, £3.75 for 85g, paxton andwhitfield.co.uk 3 OLIVES PLUS... Bodega is known for its olives but it’s now selling little grain salad bowls (Italian, Spanish and Moroccan-style). They’re packed with flavour – we’d recommend tossing into…

HOW WE TEST Our panel are taste experts. We conduct our tests without packaging, so our tasters don’t know who produced each product or how much it costs. And to prevent one tester influencing another, the panel isn’t allowed to confer during the tests, so the results you read below are unbiased. WHAT WE LOOKED FOR More than just a vegan alternative to the traditional dairy offering, coconut milk ice cream should deliver a rounded coconut flavour with a refreshing edge. It shouldn’t be too sweet or synthetic tasting, and it needs to have a satisfyingly smooth and creamy texture. WINNER Smooze! Simply Coconut Fruit Ice, £2.55 for 5 x 65ml, Ocado, Sainsbury’s and Holland & Barrett Despite a tendency to separate, these coconut ice pops had a clean taste…

When Stephen Cronk had the idea of moving his life and family to France to make wine, his wife Jeany was hesitant. The couple had successful jobs in the UK (Stephen used to work in the wine trade), but they’d also both nurtured a dream to make wine in Provence. Then something happened that made the pipe dream seem possible… A timely redundancy offer felt like fate giving them a push. So, with barely a word of French between them, the family set off for the town of Cotignac (opposite) in the south of France to live la vie en rose – literally in their case, as they planned to make an awful lot of rosé. LIFE IS LOOKING ROSÉ Seven years on, Mirabeau wine (mirabeauwine.com) is winning awards. When…

“I come from a huge family of foodies. My mother’s name was Luz Catalina Arronte de Carrillo – she was a beautiful redhead with a strong character and soul, and the skills of an artist. She painted, played the piano and made gorgeous flower arrangements. She was an artist in the kitchen, too. One of the things my mother cared about most was passing on the family’s recipes and wisdom to my sister and me, as my grandmother did to her. My father loved and encouraged this ritual. From a young age I was willing to help and learn. My grandmother, who was also a wonderful cook, organised cookery classes for her nine granddaughters, because she thought cooking well was important to keeping a good marriage. She taught us everything…

GRAB A BARGAIN • Exquisite Collection Côtes de Provence Rosé 2015, France (£5.99, Aldi) A prize winner at the 2016 International Wine Challenge, this is a cheerful drop of pink with a refreshing, red-cherry note. • Tesco Finest Manzanilla, Spain (£5.50 for 50cl) Green apples and a bracing sea-salty tang mark out this bargain, bone-dry sherry. Serve chilled with roasted nuts, green olives, anchovies or cold prawns. • Truly Irresistible Viognier 2015, Pays d’Oc, France (£6.99, The Co-operative) Viognier is juicy and ripe but dry, and this is tinged with scented apricots. A summer white for barbecued chicken. FRIDAY SPECIAL • Stemmari Pinot Noir 2013, Sicily, Italy (£7.99, Waitrose) A soft, fruity pinot, all raspberries and black cherries with a smooth layer of chocolate. One for duck or a simple grilled steak. • Nékora Verdejo…

“Intermittent fasting could have a range of additional health benefits” Fasting for religious or spiritual reasons dates back thousands of years, but skipping meals to shift pounds flies in the face of the advice doctors have given us for years that going hungry is not a sensible route to long-term weight loss. These days, however, growing numbers of people are claiming weight-loss success by alternating short bouts of eating very little with periods of eating normally, known as intermittent fasting (IF). It’s an eating pattern praised by celebrities such as Hugh Jackman and Benedict Cumberbatch – and it appears to be winning some scientific favour, too. Many variants have grown out of the core idea of intermittently restricting calorie intake. The 5:2 diet, the subject of the bestselling book The…

Red onion and thyme cheesecake SERVES 12. HANDS-ON TIME 30 MIN, PLUS CHILLING AND OVERNIGHT SETTING HOW WE DID IT We reduced the fat and cals by using fat-free yogurt instead of double cream, and gelatine rather than eggs to set the filling. •  250g rough oatcakes• 1½ tbsp dried thyme• 90g slightly salted butter, melted FOR THE FILLING • 2 gelatine leaves (we used Costa Fine Leaf, from Waitrose & Ocado)• 150g soft rindless goat’s cheese• 70g parmesan, finely grated• 600g 0% fat Greek yogurt• 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh thyme leaves, plus extra to decorate• 1 large garlic clove, crushed• 7 tbsp red onion chutney YOU’LL ALSO NEED… • 23cm diameter springform or loose-bottomed cake tin, greased with sunflower oil and base-lined with non-stick baking paper 1 Whizz the oatcakes and dried thyme into fine crumbs in a…

1 Heat the oven to 200°C/ 180°C fan/gas 6. Put a baking sheet on a shelf in the top of the oven. Brush inside 6 x 150ml ramekins with melted butter, then coat with dried white breadcrumbs. 2 Melt 30g butter in a saucepan, then stir in 30g plain flour. Cook for 1 minute or until it smells biscuitty. Whisk in 290ml whole milk, bit by bit, then cook, stirring, until the mixture bubbles. Cook for 2 minutes more until it has the consistency of Greek yogurt. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in 85g finely grated extra mature cheddar, 4 free-range egg yolks, ½ tsp English mustard powder, a pinch of cayenne pepper and plenty of salt and pepper. Taste the mixture – it should be slightly too…

1 CORONATION POTATO SALAD Mix curry powder with mayonnaise, yogurt, mango chutney, lemon juice, sliced spring onions, plus chopped fresh mint and coriander. Stir into cooled and halved boiled new potatoes. 2 PEPERONATA Grill red and yellow peppers until charred, put in a bowl, cover with cling film and leave for 10 minutes. Peel, then deseed and slice into 1cm strips. Soften chopped onions and garlic in a pan with olive oil, a pinch of dried chilli flakes, bay and thyme leaves and salt. Add chopped tomatoes, a dash of red wine vinegar and sugar to taste. Cook until thickened, then stir in the peppers and cook until soft. Add a handful of basil leaves. Serve at room temperature. 3 BEAN, SPELT AND CHEESE SALAD Mix lightly cooked runner beans…

“When I witness food being thoughtlessly proffered, I find it offensive” We’ve all been there: you’re standing in the queue in a branch of a coffee shop chain, waiting to place your order. You’ve already decided that your belly doesn’t need a slice of the lemon drizzle cake or one of those cleverly designed giant custard creams, and you ask for what you do want: an earl grey tea, perhaps, or a small white americano. Plain and simple. No frippery. But at this point, instead of a friendly acknowledgement and request for payment, there’s often an unwanted enquiry: “Would you like a doughnut/muffin/slice of cake with that?” Every time it happens I’m surprised – and cross. I have just walked past all these offerings. I have successfully battled with the…

SUBJECT: Keep on keeping me inspired FROM: Bernadette Gibson I wanted to say thank you for your wonderful magazine. Every month I get excited about the next issue plopping (that really is the noise it makes) through my letterbox. My brother and I inherited a love of cooking from our father. In 2014 we lost Dad to motor neurone disease and cancer. Recently I also lost my brother, who was only 42. It’s been very difficult, but cooking allows me to escape briefly from the upset. When I feel too sorrowful, I create something in the kitchen. I feel a bit closer to Dad and my brother there. This month I made the lemon curd cheesecake [July, p54]. So again, thank you for keeping me inspired… You’ve no idea how…

1492 Columbus set sail to find a new route to Asia on 3 August. In the Caribbean he had his first taste of chillies, writing how the locals ate their food “with many spices which are far too hot”. 1693 Dom Pierre Pérignon is said to have invented champagne on 4 August. On his first sip, the French Benedictine monk supposedly shouted: “Come quickly, I am tasting the stars!” 1889 The Savoy Hotel opened its doors on 6 August. It was Britain’s first luxury hotel, amazing people with hot and cold running water, electric lights and the cooking of Auguste Escoffier. 1932 The first Mars Bar went on sale in the UK on 1 August. Frank Mars had success in the USA with the Milky Way, but it was his…

MILK MADE £20; Hardie Grant (out 11 August) Aussie cheesemaker Nick Haddow is an alumnus of Neal’s Yard Dairy in London and “has made, aged and sold cheese everywhere from Ireland to India”. Part manual and style guide, part recipe book, Milk Made covers the spectrum, from milk, butter and yogurt to cheeses from Europe, the USA, Australia and beyond. One for serious fromage-ophiles. LAND OF FISH & RICE £26; Bloomsbury Author Fuchsia Dunlop trained as a chef in China and is an authority on the country’s cuisine. Shanghai and the region south of China’s Yangtze River provide the inspiration here. There’s information on the local history, ingredients and approach to food, and the recipes, including West Lake fish in vinegar sauce and dongpo pork, are deceptively easy to make.…

A FAMILY OF COOKS My nan, mum and dad spent a lot of time in our family kitchen, and they were all very different cooks. Nan had a no-fuss approach, throwing everything in a pot and hoping for the best. My dad was experimental and messed around with flavours, but my mum was traditional and only cooked Bangladeshi food. WEEKEND FEASTS I’m one of six siblings and we had a huge extended family. Every weekend felt like a party at our house, as Dad would cook half a sheep for us all to eat. My parents would squabble over who was doing it right or wrong – we knew to stay out of the kitchen! AN OVEN OF MY OWN I married when I was 20 and that was when…

Our intrepid tester puts the Kamado Joe Junior through its paces; £378, from outdoorgourmet.co.uk WHY BOTHER? A quality, US-made ceramic barbie for all types of outdoor cooking. From low, slow and smoky to classic barbecuing, roasting and wood-fired pizza cooking, this pretty baby cooks it all. WHAT’S GOOD ABOUT IT? It does everything it claims, and does it well. The ceramic lining retains the heat, so it’s ideal for extended grilling sessions and it’s economical on coals. It has a built-in thermometer – helpful for roasting and baking pizzas – and it comes with a heat distributor for even cooking. The body is so well insulated, you won’t sear your skin should you brush past it. And it’s easy to clean. DRAWBACKS? It’s pricey and heavy – 31kg – but…

“My first memories of tomatoes are of the ones my granny grew – and still grows – in her greenhouse. Their sweet, grassy aroma instantly takes me back to my childhood, and every summer I look forward to savouring them again. They’re perfect just as they are but they’re also the ideal companion for meats, the star of salads, and a great sidekick to cheese and fish dishes.” LOTTIE COVELL, DEPUTY FOOD EDITOR WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR The best tomatoes are ripened on the vine and are fragrant, with firm, tight skin. During high summer you’ll find tomatoes in all shapes, sizes and colours. Generally, the smaller and deeper in colour, the sweeter they will be. We used a mix of varieties for our recipes – we love the…

British cuisine, once the butt of many a joke (usually to do with vinegary chips and warm beer) has gone from culinary zero to gastro-hero in recent decades. London has established itself as a prime dining city, shoving aside the likes of Paris, New York, Tokyo and Sydney to top ‘world’s best food city’ lists. It’s where savvy travellers want to come to eat, and where top chefs want to make their name. Much of the capital’s success stems from chefs from around the globe who came bearing gifts of fresh skills, new ideas and keen talent. They’ve helped to cook up the rich cultural stew that defines London’s dining scene. PUNK ETHOS Theodore Kyriakou arrived in London when the British food revolution was just kicking into gear. He had…

“A whole roast aubergine is a beautiful thing – the crisp skin giving way to soft, juicy flesh that soaks up flavour like a delicious sponge. And if you’re the sort of person who thinks they need meat to feel full, I bet you an aubergine will do just as good a job as a chicken breast. These aren’t new or groundbreaking flavours, but the combination is so perfect there’s no reason to mess with it. This is a glorious roast for high summer, and will work just as well on the barbecue as in the oven.” REBECCA WOOLLARD, FOOD EDITOR Whole roast aubergines with tahini sauce and Greek salad SERVES 4. HANDS-ON TIME 30 MIN, OVEN TIME 1 HOUR MAKE AHEAD If you want to serve these at room…

“The food I’ve created for my new book is the kind of food I like to cook to share with friends and family. It’s relaxed and informal, and the recipes are easy to make – I promise. Most of the recipes here are for two people, but they can be scaled up to feed a crowd. At Duck & Waffle restaurant, where I work, the dishes are intricate, but at home I want to chill out – and these recipes reflect that. Breakfast and brunch are the meals I see people getting most excited about, and I’m keen to share some of my favourite recipes with you. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.” “The reuben is a classic. Either from Nebraska or, as is more commonly…

It’s not the first spirit we associate with Scotland but the country produces 70 per cent of the UK’s gin and has a long heritage. In 1777 there were eight licensed gin distilleries in Edinburgh alone. Now there are Hendrick’s, Caorunn from Speyside, Rock Rose from Caithness, Daffy’s Gin, Gordon Castle and more. The trend is for small-batch gins, made with unique sets of botanicals (distilled flavourings), often local ingredients such as sea kelp, blaeberries (wild blueberries), heather and thistle. I often spot a herbal, slightly salty dab in a Scottish gin. Herbal and smooth, The Botanist Islay Dry Gin (£34.99, selected Waitrose, Selfridges, Fortnum & Mason) is a hip gin from the Bruichladdich whisky distillery on the Hebridean isle. Kirsty Black, the talented young distiller at Arbikie in Arbroath,…

If the exterior of your fridge-freezer is covered with a mass of souvenir magnets and shopping lists, we have a stylish alternative for you… Miele’s Blackboard Edition Fridge-Freezer lets you draw directly on the surface with traditional or liquid chalk to create a focal point for your kitchen – one with a uniquely personal touch. The new Click2open handle is recessed, too, which means the sleek design (and your handiwork) isn’t interrupted. Inside it’s just as impressive, with touch-screen controls, frost-free technology and dynamic cooling. The special new CompactCase neatly stores your favourite condiments, while the DailyFresh drawer adjusts humidity levels automatically to keep fruit and vegetables fresh for longer. It’s the ultimate hardworking family fridge – with a quirky fun factor. And it could be yours! See left for…

“Our attitude towards meat and vegetables is changing. More of us are questioning how we farm, how we treat animals and whether the food we eat is sustainable, good for the environment and good for our health. My aim is not to preach: it is to inspire you to cook a fresher, vegetable-led type of Indian food, to honour the seasons and what grows in our fields… It’s also to celebrate the way hundreds of millions of Indians eat. Happy cooking.” MEERA SODHA A BIT ABOUT MEERA Her parents moved to the UK from Uganda, but their forebears were from the state of Gujarat in western India. Meera was born in Lincolnshire and moved to London 12 years ago. Her mother’s ingenuity with seasonal vegetables was the main source of…

MAKE THE BOUNTY LAST RUNNER BEANS Runners are best when home-grown and smallish (less than 20cm long). Eat them as fresh as you can, and preserve the rest rather than letting them go limp in the fridge. FREEZE Trim beans and remove any stringy edges (a veg peeler is good for this), then slice into 2-3cm lengths. Bring a large pan of well salted water to the boil. Plunge in the beans and boil for 2 minutes. Drain and run under a cold tap until completely cold. Spread on a tray to freeze, then pack into freezer bags for up to 6 months. PRESERVE Runner beans take well to powerful flavours, so this piccalilli-style chutney is ideal. Prepare 1.2kg runner beans as for freezing (see above). Chop 500g onions and…

One of the country’s leading publishers of cookery books, Octopus, is running a series of monthly events, and delicious. is delighted to be the media partner. Over the coming months, top cookbook authors and culinary experts will share their wisdom and stories. The evenings are being held at Foyles’ flagship store in London’s Charing Cross Road. Choose from any (or all!) of the following evenings… LAST CHANCE TO BOOK! WEDNESDAY 7 SEPTEMBER, 7PM An evening with Diana Henry The author is loved for her recipes and her evocative writing, and this marks the release of Diana’s 10th cookbook, Simple. WEDNESDAY 5 OCTOBER, 7PM How to make it in the restaurant business with Dan Doherty, Palomar and Bone Daddies Hot-right-now chefs such as Mr Doherty (centre left), chef at Duck &…