SPROUTS

welcome.

PORTRAIT: PAUL MITCHELL. FOOD PHOTOGRAPH: INDIA WHILEY-MORTON Extreme

The recipes I’m making first…

SAVOURY It has to be Pollyanna’s ultimate lasagne

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Make it your new year’s resolution to subscribe

WHAT’S ON THE MENU?

Food editor Tom Shingler combines this month’s dishes for pure comfort

If you make one thing…

Fragrant turmeric, smoky tinned kippers and a lick of chilli take rice to a new level

APPETISERS

Inspiration, bite-size news, reviews and great stuff to do

PUB OF THE MONTH

THE GLOBE INN, DUMFRIES

Ikea goes greener

If a post-checkout hotdog is an important part

NEW YEAR, NEW GROW-YOUR-OWN INSPIRATION

PHOTOGRAPHS: ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES If you’re a gardening novice,

MATCH THE SHOW TO YOUR MEAL

A recent study by Freeview reveals a strong

ON STAGE AND SCREEN

For a dramatic night out there are two big-ticket options, both with food at their heart

OVER TO YOU

STAR EMAIL ★ Subject: The food of love

MEET THE READER

PHOTOGRAPHS: ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES. *CONTRIBUTIONS MAY BE EDITED FOR

Grow your own

Love gardening? Got an allotment? We asked on Facebook for your grow-your-own successes and challenges – and what you’ll be growing this year. Turns out you’re a green-fingered lot

WIN NORTHCOTE STAY WORTH £1,000

We have a night at Lancashire’s Michelin-starred Northcote

delicious. discoveries

Tried and tested new goodies from producers large and small

SUBSCRIBER OFFER

Easier healthy eating Holland & Barrett is a

NOT ANY OLD CHEDDAR

Regenerative farming is about managing the health of

Hot on the shelves

The products to get you waltzing and whistling down the supermarket aisles (real and virtual)

HOT LIST

It’s all about warmth and at-home vibes this month… Here’s what editor Karen Barnes is loving for January – for kitchen, for dining, for hunkering down, plus a must-book restaurant in the capital

GOOD KIT

tried & tested. IT’S FROTHY, MAN I’m particular

The book list

Rewarding baking projects, fermenting skills, a fresh look at leftovers… Whatever your kitchen resolutions are for 2024, find inspiration in Mark Diacono’s pick of useful new cookbooks

A coffee (and biscuits) with Ravneet Gill

The star pastry chef is back on screens this month as a judge on Junior Bake Off, runs empowering hospitality platform Countertalk and has just released her third cookbook, Baking for Pleasure – she certainly keeps busy. Ravneet talks about levelling the playing field, pregnancy cravings and her love for chocolate cake

Country bakes from the heart of RELAND

Baking is a key part of Irish culture, providing sustenance through high times and hard times alike. Celebrated photographer Andrew Montgomery got together with Irish food writer Cherie Denham, one of our delicious. guest experts, to create a stunning book of recipes. The bakes celebrate the time-honoured skills of the Irish farmhouse – including those from Cherie’s own family, featured here

Turning over a new leaf

It might not sound sexy, but cabbage is the greatest of all winter veg, says columnist Debora Robertson. There’s no better time to get creative with it

“This dish helped us let go of our anxieties living in a foreign land”

Food writer Ching He Huang had never seen an avocado when she moved to South Africa, but eating the fruit helped her and her family connect to an alien culture. Ching’s story is featured in These Delicious Things, a new book published to raise money for the charity The Magic Breakfast, which is working to help children living in food poverty

The joy of CARBS

THE (EXTREME) COMFORT FACTOR 

The easy one-pot

The sophistication of this comforting, heart-warming dish belies the simplicity of its preparation – all the ingredients cook together in a single vessel, meaning less washing up after your juicy roast

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January Recipe index

110 STARTERS, SIDES, SNACKS & BRUNCH • Avo

IN THE FEBRUARY ISSUE OF delicious

The comforts keep on coming

PUZZLES PAGE

There’s a prize to be won and food knowledge to be tested with Hugh Thompson’s crossword and food quiz. They’re what a cuppa and cake were made for

THE FOOD QUIZ

1 The famous veal sausage from Bra in

Be a better cook.

BOOST YOUR KNOW-HOW AND KEEP IT SUSTAINABLE... OUR

5 skills for 2024

New Year brings with it the urge to be more virtuous and to work on self-improvement in all aspects of our lifes. In the kitchen, try tackling these core techniques: they’re small, achievable skills that will have a big impact on the food you make and eat

LASAGNE

No shortcuts. No cheat ingredients. Our best of the best series takes the view that if something’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right. Each month we take a deep-dive into a classic dish, delving into the processes and analysing why it tastes so good, then we’ll give you our ultimate recipe. This month: Pollyanna Coupland peels back the layers of lasagne

Gianduja chocolate tart

Everyone loves a silky smooth, wobbly custard tart – but how can you improve on that? Pastry chef Ravneet Gill knows how. Here she adds a special Italian ingredient to transform a favourite into the best tart you’ve ever made

The Roti King’s ROTI CANAI

Food-loving Londoners in the know queue up for Sugen Gopal’s superlative, freshly made flatbreads – and once you’ve mastered the technique, your family and friends will also be getting in line for a taste

DON’T BIN IT!

Bananas A staple of most shopping baskets, bananas

BE BOLD IN YOUR CITRUS CHOICE!

Year-round demand means speciality varieties of citrus have been forgotten while ‘easy peelers’ fill supermarket shelves. Clare Finney looks at how smallscale farmers are striving to preserve some of the more interesting fruit and grow them sustainably, while Emily Gussin shares zingy new recipes

Icy does it WHAT TO KEEP IN YOUR FREEZER

A well stocked freezer is an invaluable resource for the home cook, so we’ve pulled together the top 10 ingredients our food team always have in theirs, plus a few nifty ideas on how to use them

Sue Quinn writes to Florence White

Letter to my food hero.

The food I cook at home

When food writer Angela moved from Beirut as a child, she left happy memories of family meals behind. Growing up abroad she avoided Lebanese food, fearing the emotions it might stir. It took the loss of her mother to reawaken Angela’s culinary nostalgia

WIN! A two-night stay in Cornwall

It’s your chance to win a break for you and a friend at The Alverton Hotel in Truro, with a fine dinner included

Drinks

Lighter w ines and beers, plus a glamorous cocktail

Susy’s best buys

Even if you’re not doing Dry January, after all the festivities it’s good to choose lower alcohol drinks occasionally. Try some of expert Susy Atkins’ top picks – you’ll be surprised how good they taste – and get ready to toast the haggis later this month with her Burns Night whisky suggestion

The heights of low ABV

In 2024, says beer expert Mark Dredge, big flavour doesn’t have to mean high strength

Make it every day.

Comforting midweek meals, ready in a flash – plus the hottest cookies in town 

Good mood food

Simple, comforting dishes, packed with great flavour combinations and guaranteed to bring weeknight happiness

Pan-bang cookies

make it every day.

Health NEWS

News, nuggets of knowledge and advice you can trust.

5 WAYS TO EAT BETTER IN 2024

Looking to improve your diet and health in 2024? With so much nutrition advice to digest these days it’s difficult to know where to start. Sue Quinn talks to experts who offer practical suggestions, based on the latest science, to nourish mind and body

FALMOUTH

My town.

I’ll go with the cupboards, thanks

If you’re in a ‘new year, new kitchen’ kind of mood, former delicious. food editor Rebecca Woollard has some advice: ignore the social media-led fashion for form over function