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WELCOME TO March

It’s never too early for a hot cross bun.

IF YOU COOK ONE THING THIS MONTH…

Rich, smooth, dark and indulgent. How can you resist?

A feast of colour, spice and joyful abandon

There’s a time of year in India when everyone is in the mood for celebration and unity. Colour is the theme, paint is splashed around and, of course, there is great food to eat. Chef Vivek Singh of The Cinnamon Club and Cinnamon Kitchen restaurants remembers the traditions of the annual Holi spring festival from his childhood growing up in India. These days, he celebrates in London with the best kind of feasting – and these are his special recipes

”It was one of the most sublime puddings I ever tasted”

You can tell by the title of certain recipes that they’re going to taste stunning. Such is the case with this chocolatey Delia classic, a happy fusion of British and American influences

“I make this bread every St Patrick’s Day”

Chef Robin Gill followed in the footsteps of his food hero Richard Corrigan in bringing top-class, innovative Irish food to London. This is Robin’s tribute to the chef who taught him so much

Comfort food with a healthy twist

In that chilly period before winter ends and spring arrives, comfort cooking remains the order of the day. These satisfying, easy-to-pull-together recipes rate highly in the flavour stakes yet are full of wholesome ingredients

Sausagemeat

This versatile and flavourful ingredient isn’t just for scotch eggs and sausage rolls

FRIDAY NIGHT

Here’s one for Easter Friday (or any Friday night you fancy): a feelgood musical from Hollywood’s golden age. Fred Astaire and Judy Garland, with a swell (but easy) menu

3 energy-boosting salads

Crunchy, herby, zingy, spicy, savoury and lively… Each

YOUR delicious.

When children cook, it changes their perspective

Chocolate is changing lives

Too often, young people with autism lack confidence and have difficulty finding work. Now there’s a social enterprise that gives them hope in the most appetising of ways

”I WAS SCARED TO BE ON TV AND GIVE OVER CONTROL”

The reigning Bake Off champ writes Wikipedia articles for his food heroes, loves crafts and has had nine bouts of malaria. Phoebe Stone finds out there’s much more to this star baker than baking

THE BEST OF March

WHAT’S FRESH, HOT AND HAPPENING RIGHT NOW

EDITOR’S CHOICE

Welcome to my new selection of favourites: places to

HOT ON THE SHELVES Easter egg special

We’ve done the hard work for you by choosing the best of this year’s egg-shaped treats. Here’s what we hope the Easter Bunny brings in 2020

In the moment…MARCH

Easter is coming… Feast on one-pot pork or a goey, f laky cheese and leek pie, and choose a celebration bake (Mother’s Day is first up, on 22 March), from Nutella buns to hot cross millionaire’s shortbread. Add in a top brunch and new ideas for eggs, and cookery bliss awaits

CROWD PLEASERS Hot cross bu ns…w ith a twist

Freshly baked, wafting scents of cinnamon and spice, with a tell-tale cross on top, hot cross buns are emblematic of Easter. It’s a brave thing to meddle with such a classic, but sometimes new ideas can be (dare we say it) even better than the original

THE BIG EASTER LUNCH

Here it is: spring’s finest feast, brought to you by

THE MENU FOR SIX

ALEX MACKAY

“Eggs represent spring, new growth and the cycle of life”

This month’s recipes champion an everyday ingredient too often taken for granted. Look past the bunny-delivered, foil-wrapped variety and take a moment to appreciate the brilliant versatility of the simple hen’s egg, says Gill Meller

The oozy-cheesy centrepiece

For a winning veggie main course this is a star recipe. It makes enough for two pies because it’s tricky to make a smaller volume of the pastry. If you only want to make one pie at a time, freeze half the pastry and halve the quantity of filling

Best meal of the weekend

Brunch is what long, lazy days are made for: a late start, then a half-brekkie, half-lunch feast for family or friends. Make it sweet, make it savoury, mix and match your favourites and take your time – this is cooking the laid-back way RECIPES AND FOOD STYLING KATY MCLELLAND PHOTOGRAPHS KRIS KIRKHAM STYLING OLIVIA WARDLE

Star bakes

The lengthening days usher in brighter times and gentler temperatures – as well as plenty of reasons to get together and celebrate. These beautiful bakes will see you through from Mothering Sunday on 22 March to Easter and beyond

In praise of GOOD PLAIN CAKE

Has the Bake Off effect made us value fancy fondant fripperies over the solid baking credentials of tried-and-true lemon drizzles, victoria sponges and simnel cakes? It’s these simpler recipes rather than the crèmes fatales that deserve their place on the cake stand, argues Debora Robertson

FAKE NEWS

Did you know the Cornish pasty isn’t really Cornish? Shocking but true… The food world, it turns out, is full of culinary tall tales – and for the romantics out there, the truth about many of the popular stories and origin myths may be hard to swallow. Food historian Annie Gray separates the folklore from the fakelore

Sophie Grigson writes to Claudia Roden

The words, stories and collected recipes of her food hero’s left-behind homeland in the Middle East were a source of infinite inspiration to the young Sophie Grigson. Decades later, her passion for Claudia’s voice and recipes undimmed, Sophie at last has a chance to say thank you

WHAT TO DRINK

Susy Atkins picks best buys for March and finds an Italian grape making a comeback

THE HEALTHDEBRIEF

• FAD-FREE insight • DEBUNKED food & health news • HEALTHFUL ways to eat better • COMPILED BY SUE QUINN

COFFEE Friend or foe?

It’s had an unhealthy reputation in the past, but recent studies suggest your daily fix of java might protect against certain medical conditions… Sue Quinn filters the facts from the froth

NEW ORLEANS the city that has it all

It has jazz, it has Mardi Gras, it has some of the best food in North America – and it loves to party. Olivia Potts arrived hungry for adventure and found plenty to please in this high-spirited Southern city

The Fish Hotel: a fairytale idyll

WHY IT’S GREAT If you want to ‘get back to nature’

Lamb at Easter? I don’t think so

If you’re thinking of having lamb for your celebration

COOK IT LIKE delicious.

…and WIN a collection of high-end knives

Cuppa time

There are prizes to be won and foodie fun to be had

SUBSCRIPTION ORDER FORM

I love these bamboo bowls. Not only are they good looking

A SELLOUT SUCCESS

When we announced we were hosting a special January dinner with Tom Kerridge and Delia, it sold out so quickly we had to add extra seats – twice. What a night it was

The joys of spring

• James Martin’s proper Sunday lunch – a cracking roast…

SOLEMEUNIÈRE

The French name of this dish makes it sound like posh restaurant fare (and tricky to make), but it’s simpler than you might think to cook at home. Buy the best quality, fresh-as-possible-fish, then follow our recipe for a fabulous supper for two

Boulangère potatoes (with a twist)

The name of this dish is derived from the French tradition of slow-cooking dishes in the residual heat of the local baker’s bread oven. We’ve wrapped the potato layers in streaky bacon, transforming it into a showstopper side fit for a star turn

Learn to cook Thai

Kay Plunkett-Hogge was born and brought up in Bangkok. Here she shows how to master the pillars of Thai cuisine using authentic techniques and ingredients. This month it’s soup, and how to create a harmony between the typically Thai flavours: hot, tart, salty and bright

THE KNOWLEDGE

Tips, hacks and know-how in the kitchen, key techniques explained step by step, plus in-depth appreciation of the best food and drink. Find it all and more, right here each month

HOW TO FILLET A LEMON SOLE (TO MAKE 4 FILLETS)

CJ JACKSON, SEAFISH AMBASSADOR AND PRINCIPAL OF THE

CHEESE EXPERTISE Comté

Patrick McGuigan knows a thing or two about cheese

LOOSE ENDS

Don’t let this month’s special ingredients linger in your kitchen. Instead make the most of them with these smart and easy ideas