Celebrating Vaisakhi

Welcome

Laura Rowe Editorial director, delicious. Follow me on

Join us for shellfish and stories

In the first of a new series of

Looking back with RICK STEIN

The national culinary treasure is celebrating 50 years in the restaurant business. We caught up with Rick to talk seafood, mobile discos and getting drunk in Croatia

NUGGETS

Choice bits of knowledge, food news and seasonal inspiration. Compiled by Anthony Noonan

delicious. DISCOVERIES

The best new bites and homeware delights from producers big and small, as tasted and tested by the delicious. team – including our top picks for Easter treats

Make it special

Fill your Easter with colour – try Ottolenghi’s feast, Indo-Chinese delights, deluxe sides and sweet popcorn sensations. Plus: the best dips ever and Rosie Mackean’s menu with this fun twist on a brûlée

Elevated everyday

Casual weeknight brilliance, speedy ideas for pasta and

APRIL IN AMSTERDAM

When could be a better time to visit the Dutch capital than now, with its famous tulips in bloom and innovative restaurants making the most of all that wonderful seasonal produce. Travel writer Melanie O’Shea heads canalside to soak up the sun, wolf down the eats and catch the vibes in this chilled oasis of culture

Over to you...

STAR EMAIL ★ Subject: Happy distraction From: Jo

MEET THE READER

Rachel Jones runs wellness retreats and lives in

YOUR 2025 EASTER EGG EDIT

Discoveries compiler Anthony Noonan embarked on a selfless quest to find the very best choc treats on the market

The booklist

Traverse India, Venice and the South Caucasus with Mark Diacono’s top spring picks – or stay closer to home to host vegetarian feasts and anticipate summer’s barbecues

Easy spring feast

This prep-ahead three-courser from Rosie Mackean is perfect for a long weekend and takes the comfort level to the max so you’ll be able to enjoy yourself as much as your guests

Rosie’s get-ahead plan

I believe you should be doing minimal cooking

Cook Indo-Chinese with Fatt Pundit

This deeply delicious cuisine is a common sight across India, combining elements of Indian and Chinese cooking to create the ultimate snack food. Owner Huzefa Sajawal and chef Bijay Lama of London restaurant group Fatt Pundit share three key dishes that showcase the food at its very best

The BIG LUNCH with Yotam

RECIPES YOTAM OTTOLENGHI

sideshow

Pollyanna Coupland’s springtime sides are dialled up to 11, stealing the show at any Easter table with even the most grandiose of centrepieces. Best of all? The hard work is done long before you dish up

POP culture

Ah, the aroma of popcorn – guaranteed to evoke memories of childhood trips to the cinema. And those sweet-salty-buttery notes work wonders in cooking, says the food team’s Emily Gussin – so get popping!

DIVE IN!

An essential part of a picky-bits supper or gathering, dips are also great as a canapé, snack or light starter. These three deluxe recipes are a fun way to keep a crowd happy and they look fantastic to boot. What are you waiting for? Crisps and crudités at the ready…

SAM NEILL

A glass of red with…

In a class of its own

After getting a bad rep in the 1980s, chardonnay has reclaimed its crown, says Helena Nicklin. Plus: decanting know-how, a celebratory softie and a gin erupting from Northern Ireland

SOFTIE OF THE MONTH

Producers have been trying to create a non-alcoholic

Feasting friends

Beer fan Mark Dredge has the perfect ales to partner your Easter favourites, from the centrepiece roast to the hot cross buns

Totally fab

Drink in the nostalgia of mixing fizzy drinks, ice cream and other sweet delights with our cream of the floats and sodas for big-weekend fun

Be a Better Cook

Increase your knowledge with the experts. This month:

Adam Byatt’s Michelin-level cookery course

THIS MONTH: BRINING AND CONFITING WHITE FISH

Trad vs twist

CHICKEN MARBELLA

The grand fınale

BIG WEEKEND BAKE

How to make your own salad cream

A century ago it was the upstart disruptor of all-conquering mayonnaise, but these days the tangy joys of salad cream often go unappreciated. Not in Pollyanna Coupland’s household…

3 great ways to enjoy lamb

YOUR EASTER ROAST GUIDE

Cheeses have a season too

mindful cook

Full of the joys of spring

Rejoice in the bounty of new produce used in these simple, flavourful recipes, elevating your weekday cooking with a few clever additions and techniques

Squidgy, fudgy and “mmm”

Beans aren’t just for savoury recipes, as these joyful brownies prove. They have a little bit of welcome Mexican-inspired spice too

CHOCS AWAY!

It may be pushing it to say having lots of chocolate hanging around after Easter is a ‘problem’, but if you want some fun and speedy ideas for using it up, look no further

Hot cross magic

A toasted hot cross bun spread thickly with butter is a beautiful thing, but head of food Tom Shingler has found more radical ways to enjoy Easter’s essential treats: in a treacle tart, a salad – and even forming the base of a mackerel sandwich (you need to try it!)

NEXT MONTH ONLY IN delicious

FRIENDS COMING ROUND? • The best brunch you’ve

The shortcut lasagne

This simple dish has all those familiar comforting layers of flavour without the effort – creative cookery at its best

In my TRUG

Times are lean in the Cotswolds veg patch for grow-and-cook-your-own expert Kathy Slack, but fear not, our monthly columnist is saved by a surprising wild harvest – and the sudden appearance of jewel-like saviours in the rutted earth

WIN! A glorious getaway to the New Forest in Hampshire

Enter our competition for the chance to win a two-night stay for two at the splendid Stanwell House in the historical seaside town of Lymington

Fishcakes in a flash

These light, crisp, flavoursome bites deliver so much reward for so little effort. They’re sure to become a regular on your midweek cooking rota

woodland WONDER

A true harbinger of spring, wild garlic is highly prized by cooks because of its short season and aromatic taste – and best of all, you can forage it for free. Follow our wild garlic guide, then use your bounty in our four fragrant recipes

RECIPE INDEX

April

PUZZLES PAGE

Test your food knowledge for a chance to WIN with Hugh Thompson’s culinary crossword

Why is the food so bad when you’re trapped?

Whether the big bank holiday finds you in a British airport, motorway service station or theme park, you might want to take your own lunch with you, says food and travel writer Laura Goodman