The thrifty cook’s guide to weeknight meals

WELCOME TO January

One of the things I love about January (and I’m guessing

January moments…

Heritage restaurant Bibendum, in the iconic Michelin

THE HEALTH DEBRIEF

* FAD-FREE insight * DEBUNKED food & health news

ENERGY BARS Are we being hoodwinked?

Protein and energy bars and balls have sprinted to the front of the pack in terms of ‘healthy’ on-the-go snacks. They tempt us at the supermarket checkout, in health food stores and gyms as a wholesome energy boost. But does the evidence back up the claims? Sue Quinn chews it over

THE QUICK-FIX MEAL FOR ONE

Visit a good butcher and pick up a juicy free-range chop to make this fuss-free, filling meal

THE 5:2 RECIPE

Leftover ungrated celeriac and fennel will keep well

THE BATCH-COOK RECIPE

Invest some time on a free evening or at the weekend and make a big batch of this richly comforting beer-laced ragù. It will go with mash, pasta or into the filling for a cracking pie

LASAGNE

Made traditionally, this crowdpleaser can pack a heavy calorific punch. Time for a fresher take

THE PLANT-BASED MEAL

A seriously simple supper with the warming spices and comforting aromas of the Eastern Med

TAKE A TIN OF… MANGO PURÉE

It might be an unexpected choice but it’s a fast, inexpensive way to brighten up winter – in dishes sweet and savoury

HOW TO SATISFY YOUR WANDERLUST one recipe at a time

Check in here for a soul-reviving virtual holiday of the tastiest kind. Food writer and chef Peter Kuruvita whisks you away on a culinary journey with vibrant, intensely flavourful dishes from the Indian subcontinent. Prepare for a distinct brightening in your winter kitchen – the next best thing to being there

They’re not just for summer

A good salad is all about your favourite ingredients meeting and mingling in the same place, with a punchy dressing to pull it all together. Think of it as a party on a plate and you’ll never consider it dull again. To show the heights salads can hit, we’ve gathered a trio of very different creations from three of our favourite chefs – all designed to brighten up your winter table

FROM OUR INBOX…

This year was my first Christmas in my own flat and

FOR STARTERS

NEWS, NIBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE AND GOOD THINGS TO DO RIGHT NOW

Wish list

How do you decide what to buy? Everything you see and read about here has been chosen from the hundreds of products we see and test each year. Only the most useful, most beautiful and best value for money make it onto these pages

DON’T GIVE UP THE TWIGLETS JUST YET…

Your happiness is at stake!

Yasmin Khan

The cook and campaigner talks about the healing power of food, culinary rituals and her love of mangoes

Traybake suppers

We’ve taken inspiration from bold flavours around the world to create these dig-in, please-all recipes. Choose from veggie nachos with a Mexican vibe, a Greek lamb and feta pasta bake and a stonking French-inspired cassoulet. Tray bien!

Staying in is the new going out

Great films and brilliant homemade food are made for each other. Starting this month, Kay Plunkett-Hogge and her partner Fred Hogge (a serious movie buf) are going to give you the makings of the best night in: a great film and a recipe inspired by it

SLOW-ROAST LAMB SHOULDER

A shoulder of lamb or hogget is a winter treat that’s best cooked long and slow. Served with polenta and brightly coloured veg, it brings a little Italian colour to a British winter

THE RESULTS!

PRODUCE AWARDS 2018

WHAT WE ALL NEED RIGHT NOW… A toasty-cosy fireside feast

January is the time to pause for thought, slow everything down and revel in the warmth and comfort of home. This menu is the perfect excuse to invite a couple of friends over for feasting of the best fuss-free kind. Gather round…

The scent of happiness

We eat with our eyes, so the saying goes, but long

‘‘We need sustenance for the body – but also for the heart’’

Gill Meller has dedicated his career to showing how to get the best from seasonal ingredients. Here he talks about how January brings a different tone to the kitchen

The dish you need to try…

This is the result of a joint love afair I have for

PITHIVIER

This famous pastry from the Loire in France, which resembles the galette des rois, is traditionally made for Epiphany to mark the Three Kings’ visit to the baby Jesus. Debbie Major shares her classic recipe and gives it a seasonal savoury twist

“January is all about simple pleasures”

A huge delicious. welcome to food writer Georgina Hayden who, every month, will be bringing enticing recipes from her kitchen table to yours. To kick things of she’s cooking hearty but wholesome dishes suited to the irst few weeks of the year – food that feeds body, heart and soul

If you make one pudding this month…

…It has to be our fruity take on kheer, the spiced Indian rice pudding that epitomises sweet comfort food. Impossibly thick and creamy, it makes the most indulgent dessert when the frost is twinkling outside. Although it’s usually simmered on the hob, oven baking creates a caramelised skin to break through with your spoon, revealing the silky pudding beneath

WHAT TO DRINK

Susy Atkins’ best bottles for January, plus great accompaniments for roast pork

WIN! The Chef’s Table Event tickets

Take your love of cooking to new heights with expert equipment, inspiration – and a pair of tickets to the new cooking event everyone’s going to be talking about

COOK THE COVER

…and win luxury Viners pans, cutlery and knives

JANUARY

FROSTY-MISTY MORNINGS, MAYBE SNOW; INVIGORATING WALKS

FREE! COFFEE POT AND MATCHING CUPS

• Vintage-style slate-grey enamelware to adorn any

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

Make the weekend last all week…

• Keep cosy with the ultimate toasted sarnies &

walk, eat, RELAX

A frost-encrusted stile, rolling fields beyond and a trusty OS map in your rucksack… Nothing shakes of that post-Christmas lethargy like a bracing winter’s walk in the countryside – and it’s even better when, at the end of it, a crackling fire and top-notch dinner await. Turn the page for four great options

PRIZE CROSSWORD

Complete the puzzle, take a picture and email it to

What’s our problem with quinoa?

It’s fflavoursome and nutritious – so why do so many of us struggle to embrace the divisive South American seed? Writer and unapologetic quinoa fan Rhodri Marsden reckons that, basically, it’s because we’re British

THIS MONTH IN THE delicious. KITCHEN…

While the delicious. team are testing recipes, they’re often debating the best ways to do things, as well as answering questions that arise in the test kitchen. What do you do with all those leftover festive nuts? Is it safe to reheat rice? Is British lamb in season at this time of year? And what do you do if your shortcrust pastry fails? It’s the kind of information you won’t find anywhere else, and it will take your food and cooking to the next level

CHEESE FONDUE

This month we challenged cookery assistant (and seasoned skier) Olivia to perfect her recipe for the ultimate fondue. Take it from us: she’s cracked it. Meanwhile, we’ve eaten a lot of cheese in service to her pursuit of perfection. Yes, it’s time to hunker down with friends to indulge in one of the best cold-weather feasts ever invented (and don’t miss our twist on fondue, baked in the oven with potatoes –the cover recipe on p63)

INDIAN SAMOSAS

If there’s an Indian street food that’s known all over

TEST REPORT

“I WAS AFRAID OF MAKING PASTRY”