Nostalgia for trifle has led to a “sudden resurgence” in sales of the classic British dessert, said The Times. Made with layers of “sherry-soaked sponge, fruit, custard, whipped cream and jelly”, the traditional pudding is even popping up on the menus of fancy restaurants.

The origins of the dish go back to the late Tudor period but the cake base layer was only added to the recipe in the mid-18th century. Today, the dessert is no longer “just a festive centrepiece” but instead the “ultimate nostalgic crowd-pleaser” embraced “all-year-round”, Charmaine Katz, chef tutor at Waitrose said in The Times. Its popularity comes down to how “versatile” the dessert is: recipes can be either “quick and easy” or “dramatic and technical”.

Chefs are finding ways to put innovative spins on the traditional dish. At Restaurant Roots in Bournemouth, for example, the “bitter chocolate millionaire’s trifle” is “laced with Rémy Martin cognac”. Nowhere is “seemingly too posh for a trifle” as five-star hotels and restaurants, including The Ritz, have found their own “twists for a modern palate”.

Want to try making one yourself? Nigella Lawson’s showstopping “Anglo-Italian” trifle recipe is a “delightful summer pudding” perfect for “garden gatherings”, said WalesOnline. The recipe calls for soaking trifle sponges in limoncello then layering – the “shiny black of the berries” and “soft whiteness of the mascarpone”, topped with the “golden toastiness of the almonds” making it look ”beautiful”.

For a “gloriously pink” version, try Georgina Hayden’s “twist on the traditional Greek dessert ekmek” on the BBC. Swap sponges for “crisp, buttery kataifi” as your base, then drizzle over rhubarb syrup and top with custard and whipped cream.

A good trifle, however you make or eat it, is a “self-indulgent concoction” that will have you “sink into a pleasurable, full-sated stupor”, said Rowan Pelling in The Telegraph. “It’s the food stuff of hedonists: innocent-looking, nostalgic, yet laden with booze, not to be underestimated or (forgive me) trifled with. Edible heaven.”

This dish is loosely inspired by my go-to Thai order: som tam, or papaya salad, said Ella Risbridger – except that I use mango instead, because I find it hard to get hold of good papaya. Apparently, one of the ways that fast food makes itself irresistible is by hitting most of the base flavours simultaneously: salty, umami, sweet. This dish does exactly that, except in the rather healthier form of an enormous bowl of mostly vegetables. It is peak summer food: zero cooking, 100% refreshing.

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp caster sugar
• 1 red chilli
• 2 medium carrots
• 3 baby cucumbers (or ½ a big cucumber)
• 50g green beans
• 1 long red pepper
• 300g chopped mango
• 10g mint
• 10g Thai basil
• 10g coriander
• 1 romaine lettuce
• 150g cooked prawns or fried tofu, or chopped chicken or crispy chicken thighs
• 30g chopped roasted peanuts
• 1 lime
• sriracha, if liked

Method

• In a much-too-big bowl (it will hold everything!), whisk together the fish sauce, vinegar and sugar until the sugar dissolves. Thinly slice the red chilli and add it too (easy to omit).
• Peel the carrots and use a julienne peeler to turn them into thin, pretty little strips. Toss the carrot strips into the bowl and let marinate for a minute. Halve and thinly slice the cucumbers: if you’re using half a big boy, split it in half, and use a teaspoon to drag out the seeds. Discard the seeds, and thinly slice. Toss the cucumbers in with the carrots and stir.
• Chop the green beans. If you can do this on the diagonal, so much the better (discard the stringy ends). Add to the bowl. Deseed and finely slice the pepper; add to the bowl.
• Tip: this is a good point to stop at if you’re making in advance.
• Finely chop the mango into little dice. De-stem and finely shred the herbs, then shred the lettuce (wash the leaves; stack the leaves; roll the leaves in a bundle; slice the bundle across). Mix the leaves, the mango, the prawns into the pickled vegetables.
• Roughly chop the peanuts; quarter the lime. Divide the salad into bowls; drizzle with sriracha, if liked; scatter with peanuts; set the lime quarter at a jaunty angle for individual squeezes.
• Tip: if you keep the components separately in the fridge – so pickled vegetables and vinaigrette in one container, chopped lettuce and herbs in another, prawns in their packet – it is a phenomenal make-ahead lunch for the week.

Taken from The Kitchen Book: Good Food For Every Day by Ella Risbridger.

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An sweet, icy treat is exactly what you need when temperatures peak on a hot summer’s day. From fruity to creamy to outrageously chocolatey, here are some of the coolest-tasting supermarket options around.

Waitrose No 1 Santo Domingo Chocolate Ice Cream

Supermarket ice creams no longer come with a regulation “cocktail of gums and emulsifiers”, said Tom Hunt in The Guardian. Brands are using “fewer additives” and prioritising a more “rich and complex” taste – and Waitrose has really hit the mark with this “dark and deeply chocolatey” tub. “Voluminous, super-rich, smooth and creamy”, it includes Rainforest Alliance-certified Dominican Republic chocolate, free-range egg and “no stabilisers”. It is “remarkably good”.
£4.50 for 480ml; waitrose.com

Häagen-Dazs Matcha Ice Cream

This one is for “devotees of the powdered tea”, said Giulia Crouch in The Times. It “delivers big time”, even for a “matcha snob”, with a “proper hit of green tea flavour” where most similar products tend to “fall short”. Its “intense” flavour has “sweet, grassy, slightly bitter notes”.
£6 for 460ml; waitrose.com

Hackney Gelato Banana Caramel & Pecan Gelato

This “deservingly” won two stars in the Great Taste Awards 2024 and the flavour combination still “plays beautifully” for me, said Crouch in The Times. The “deep, buttery richness” of caramel pairs wonderfully with the “sweet creaminess of the banana”. A sprinkle of toasted pecans adds a layer of “welcome crunch”.
£5.50 for 46ml; ocado.com

M&S Pineapple, Coconut & Lime Ice Lollies

Ice cream may be what you crave when the temperature rises but your body actually generates more “metabolic heat” when it works to digest food, said Sophie Morris in The i Paper. Luckily, lollies are “mostly made from sugar, water, fruit juice and flavourings”, so there isn’t as much to digest. These M&S ones are a “frozen dream” of “pineapple juice, coconut milk, sugar and lime juice.”
£4.75 for six 80g lollies; ocado.com

This is a dish for one of those days where you blinked somewhere around 9.45am and now find that it’s somehow 8.30pm, said Richard Makin. It requires zero cooking, uses supermarket-stocked ingredients you may already have to hand, and can be on the table in 10 minutes. Crisis averted!

Ingredients (serves 2)

• 190g thin rice noodles
• 40g kale, destemmed and roughly chopped
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 2 tbsp tahini paste
• 2 tsp gochujang (or substitute with harissa paste)
• 2 tbsp soy sauce (or substitute with tamari sauce)
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 1 small garlic clove, finely minced
• 1⁄2 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
• 160g cooked edamame beans
• 1⁄2 cucumber, sliced
• 2 spring onions, sliced
• 2 tsp crispy chilli oil
• 1 tsp sesame seeds

Method

• Place the noodles in a large bowl and cover with boiling water. Let them soak for 5-7 mins, until tender. Drain and set aside.
• While they soak, put the kale in a separate bowl, drizzle with sesame oil and massage until it softens slightly.
• In a small bowl, mix together the tahini, gochujang, soy sauce, lime juice, garlic and ginger for a creamy dressing.
• Add the noodles to the kale. Pour the dressing over and toss everything together until well coated.
• Divide the noodles between two bowls. Top with the edamame, cucumber, spring onion, chilli oil and sesame seeds. Serve warm or cold.

Taken from “Stress-Free Dinners” by Richard Makin.

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There is no paucity in veganism. Plant-based eating — phenomenally delicious plant-based eating, that is — has long existed in many of the world’s great cuisines. As with any kind of cooking, how a dish tastes is all in how it is cooked. Cook it poorly, with mediocre ingredients, and you get an insipid meal. Prepare it with care, smart technique and sublime ingredients? Welcome to the world of top-tier vegan cooking. These six cookbooks all show you how to achieve that goal, from six different angles.

‘Cool Beans: The Ultimate Guide to Cooking With the World’s Most Versatile Plant-Based Protein, With 125 Recipes’ by Joe Yonan

An adeptness, a fluidity, a knowingness with beans is a godsend when cooking vegan. It is akin to learning a new alphabet, then hurtling toward fluency using that new language’s architecture. With “Cool Beans,” the author, Joe Yonan, convinces you to “handily add beans to your cooking arsenal,” said Eater. Over the course of the book, he “evokes the incredible versatility of the bean,” said Daniel Modlin at The Daily Beast, with recipes like Nigerian Stewed Black Eyed Peas with fried plantains, Tunisian Chickpea Stew that “will change your winter” and Cuban Style Black Beans that will have you gladly not “make any other kind of black beans” again. ($33, Ten Speed Press, Amazon)

‘The Korean Vegan Cookbook: Reflections and Recipes from Omma’s Kitchen’ by Joanne Lee Molinaro

If you pay the slightest attention to food or cooking on social media, you may already know Joanne Lee Molinaro, aka The Korean Vegan. Her lush videos lure and enjoin viewers to try their hand at her style of vegan cooking.

Molinaro, in her debut, namesake book, “masterfully intertwines delicious recipes with intimate moments from her life, sharing how her Asian American identity has been shaped by her family’s cooking,” said Julia Duarte at Bon Appétit. Americans might think of Korean food as meat-centric, but Molinaro learns from a Korean monk that “Korean plant-based eating is not a new idea. Korean temple food, the cuisine prepared by Korean Buddhist monks, has been around for a thousand years, predating Korean BBQ and bibimbap.” Korean vegan food being novel or a bastardization? As if. ($37, Avery, Amazon)

‘Provecho: 100 Vegan Mexican Recipes to Celebrate Culture and Community’ by Edgar Castrejón

Let us begin with aguachile. Bright, supple and plucky, it is a staple seafood treatment in some coastal regions of Mexico. Author Edgar Castrejón, when he decided to no longer consume animal products, realized an apt substitute for fish, shrimp and their kin is young coconut. The same slip and bite, nary an animal employed.

Such is the galvanizing approach that anchors “Provecho,” a book that proclaims the monumental possibility of Mexican veganism. There are jackfruit tacos, cauliflower roasted in the semi-style of carne asada, pozole rojo loaded with mushrooms. These are “quick, relatively straightforward recipes,” said Library Journal, that are a “solid starting point” for people who want to play in a vegan remodel of the Mexican-cooking playground. ($35, Ten Speed Press, Amazon)

‘Superiority Burger Cookbook: The Vegetarian Hamburger Is Now Delicious’ by Brooks Headley

Come for the recipe for the New York City restaurant’s legendary vegetable burger, stay for the monstrously delicious dishes that orbit that burger’s well-deserved fame. What with a battery of ingredients, making the burger is an ordeal of sorts, but the result is a paragon of the genre: “crisp outside and a soft but not-boring inside that’s lightly spiced and spicy, with plenty of vegetables and meat-free umami,” said Josephine Scott at Edible Manhattan.

Not every recipe in the text is vegan, but most are — or can be made so. Dishes like burnt broccoli salad, salt-and-vinegar string beans and BBQ carrots with cashew cream and corn chips are “infinitely craveable, combining textures and flavors in unexpected ways,” said Library Journal. 224 pages of incontrovertible evidence that vegan cooking can electrify. ($30, Norton, Amazon)

‘The Vegan Chinese Kitchen: Recipes and Modern Stories From a Thousand-Year-Old Tradition’ by Hannah Che

Hannah Che discovered that her present-day vegan approach to eating has a centuries-old history in China. The book she created as she pulled the thread from her present to her ancestral past is “as much a cookbook as it is a historical document and educational resource to turn to time and again,” said Dayna Evans at Eater.

There is, of course, a chapter on tofu that shows readers how to treat it like both a hearty stew and an invigorating salad, among endless other treatments including an additional chapter on tofu skin. Bonus: “Many of the dishes are served room temperature or cold — which means that not only are they great for do-ahead entertaining, but also that they’re great for summer picnics and potlucks,” said Leslie Brenner at Cooks Without Borders. ($35, Clarkson Potter, Amazon)

‘Vegetable Kingdom: The Abundant World of Vegan Recipes’ by Bryant Terry

In “Vegetable Kingdom,” Bryant Terry, a food justice advocate and author, skips across the Black and African diaspora, pulling inspiration from boundless sources. Spinach salad with blackened chickpeas, a panko-crusted cauliflower take on the Kenyan chicken and coconut curry called kuku paka, jerk tofu enveloped in collards — this is a book for “anyone who wants to expand their vegan cooking repertoire and make their beans and greens more exciting,” said Bettina Makalintal at Bon Appétit.

For people with children, know this: Terry wrote “Vegetable Kingdom” in part to show kids, including his own, how thrilling vegetables can be. The book is a tool to “provide a few recipes for vegetables — something that’s simple and easy — that might be a way to sneak a vegetable in as an initial contact” for picky kids, he said to The Kitchn. ($30, Ten Speed Press, Amazon)

The perfect summer cocktail used to include “enough sugar to make a dessert blush”, said The Times. Now, though, “Britain’s drinks cabinets are taking a decidedly saltier turn” as people opt for a “splash of pickle juice” or a sprinkle of chilli flakes in their cocktails.

Waitrose has enjoyed “rising sales of sauces, citrus juices and seasonings” as shoppers turn to savoury cocktails, said Grocery Trade News. With shopping lists full of items like hot honey and chilli crisp, it's only natural that drinks follow suit.

Savoury cocktails are far from new but their “recent momentum is impossible to ignore”, said Rachel King on Forbes. Not confined by any rulebook, these drinks can be “earthy, briny or smoky”, and all are complex and bold. While one may be tempted to dismiss savoury drinks as “gimmicks, they have “moved from the margins to the spotlight” because of the “steady refinement of ingredients and techniques”.

Many drinks highlight East Asian flavours through ingredients like “nori, sesame, soy, dried mushrooms and teas”, which have become “common in modern bar programmes”. Other savoury ingredients like “pickled vegetables, spices like basil and thyme and bacon fat” are also appearing in cocktails that appeal to “adventurous” bar customers, Jen Jackson, from Thompson Restaurants, told Forbes.

If you want to delve into the world of savoury cocktails but don’t know where to start, try the gibson cocktail. The “punchy tipple” is “garnished with a pickled onion that’s been charred in a hot, non-stick frying pan”, said Good Food. Similar to a classic martini, the drink is made by mixing dry vermouth and gin. Pour them into a glass or jug and add some ice cubes. Give it a stir “for around 30 seconds” before straining into a “chilled cocktail glass”.

Another twist on a classic is a Mediterranean savoury gin and tonic, which adds tomatoes and ginger to the traditional recipe. Add a halved cherry tomato on a cocktail stick and sprinkle in some drops of “good-quality extra virgin olive oil” before serving for an “elegant finish”.

I must have eaten a masala omelette every other day when I went on a four-week trip in India, and unsurprisingly I never got bored, said Emma Petersen. It’s spicy, savoury and so delicious, and it’s a brilliant way to switch up your usual breakfast. Serve simply alongside some leaves, or tuck it into a roti for a more substantial masala egg wrap.

Ingredients (serves 2)

• 6 eggs
• ½ tsp ground coriander
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp ground turmeric
• ½ onion, finely diced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 salad tomato, finely diced
• 1 green chilli, thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp roughly chopped fresh coriander
• salt and pepper
• olive oil, for cooking
• dressed salad leaves, to serve

Method

• Crack the eggs into a mixing bowl and add the ground coriander, cumin, turmeric and a generous pinch of salt and pepper.
• Whisk until the yolks and whites are completely combined.
• Fold in the onion, garlic, tomato, green chilli and fresh coriander, so everything is evenly distributed.
• Heat a drizzle of oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium heat.
• Once hot, pour in half the egg mixture and use a spatula to spread it gently to the edges of the pan. Cook for about 3 minutes until the underside is golden and the top is mostly set, then flip and cook for another couple of minutes. Slide onto a plate.
• Wipe out the pan, add another drizzle of oil and repeat with the rest of the egg mixture to make your second omelette. (Or, if you’re working to the clock, cook both at once using two pans.)
• Serve warm with dressed leaves.
• Alternatively, cool and place in an airtight container, storing in the fridge for up to 2 days. Enjoy cold, or reheat gently in a pan or the microwave until warmed through.

Taken from “Healthyish High Protein: Full-on Flavour, All-day Energy” by Emma Petersen.

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Vinho verde, which translates literally to “green wine”, is northern Portugal’s gift to those looking for a light and refreshing tipple to enjoy in the scorching summer heat.

The wine takes its name from the lush, verdant Minho province where it is made. With its “ocean breezes”, “cool nights” and “high rainfall”, the “Atlantic maritime climate” provides the perfect environment for indigenous grapes to flourish, said Mina Holland in The Guardian. Many producers blend together several grape varieties, including the “aromatic loureiro, softening trajadura and arinto for acidity”.

The result is wine with a “vibrant” flavour and “notes of ripe lime and orchard fruits” that excels at “gluggability”. With their “high acidity, low ABV” and slight effervescence, these “young wines” are ideal for “summer frolics”. Despite the name, they “aren’t actually green”; as well as the Minho countryside, the “verde” also refers to the wines’ “inexperienced” and youthful character.

The northwest region “shot to fame” in the 1980s and its wines have been a “dinner party staple” ever since, said Sarah Neish in The Drinks Business. But now producers are entering a new era, with an “increased focus on premium single-varietal, and often single-vineyard” wines. With so much choice it can be tricky deciding where to begin, but here are three bottles worth trying.

Quinta do Ermízio Chin Chin Vinho Verde 2024

This is an “inarguably delicious and nattily labelled” wine, said Holland in The Guardian. It uses a “blend” of the traditional loureiro and trajadura grapes varieties and has notes of crisp green apples and tropical fruits. Chin Chin rose in popularity during the pandemic and gave way to “several dupes” but the original remains a “cult” favourite.

£13.99, Selfridges

Bowl Grabber 2024

Made primarily from alvarinho (also known as albariño) grapes, this refreshing vinho verde is “light, zesty and dangerously easy to drink”, said Will Lyons in The Times. Expect a gentle spritz and a “mouthwatering purity giving way to a long, saline finish”.

£9.50, Ocado

Casal de Ventozela Arinto Vinho Verde 2024

This “zippy” wine is made from the “lesser-known but interesting” arinto grape variety, said Susy Atkins in The Telegraph. The delicate notes of “yellow apples, pear and passion-fruit” pair nicely with “bitter salad leaves or baked fennel”.

£10.75, Majestic

This dish felt like a permanent fixture on our menu during the late 1970s and early 1980s, says Rick Stein. I probably first had it in Paris, during one of our early trips, which would have been around 1978. When my then wife Jill and I were on holiday, we made a point of testing things out and picking up recipes and ideas for the kind of restaurant ours should aspire to be. When fish conservationists began discouraging people from fishing for skate, we discovered that ray was OK – so this dish was born.

Ingredients

• 4 skinned ray wings, about 225g each
• 15g nonpareilles capers in brine, drained and rinsed

For the court-bouillon

• 300ml dry white wine
• 85ml white wine vinegar
• 2 bay leaves
• 12 black peppercorns
• 1 onion, roughly chopped
• 2 carrots, roughly chopped
• 2 celery sticks, roughly chopped
• 1 tsp salt

For the black butter

• 175g butter
• 50ml red wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley

Method

• First, make the court-bouillon. Put all the ingredients into a large pan with 1.2 litres of water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Set aside to cool, which will allow the flavour to improve before using.
• Put the ray wings into a large pan. Pour over the court-bouillon, bring to the boil and simmer the wings very gently for 15 minutes until they are cooked through.
• Carefully lift the ray wings out of the pan, leave the excess liquid to drain off and then place the wings on to 4 warmed plates. Sprinkle with the capers and keep warm.
• For the black butter, melt the butter in a frying pan. As soon as it starts to foam, turn quite brown and smell very nutty, add the vinegar, then the parsley. Let it boil down for a minute or so, until slightly reduced. Pour the butter over the ray and serve.

Taken from “The Seafood Restaurant Cookbook” by Rick Stein and Jill Stein, published by Jon Croft Editions at £35. To buy from The Week Bookshop for £31.99 (incl. p&p), visit theweekbookshop.co.uk or call 020 3176 3835.

As the heatwave burns on, “the last thing people want to do is turn on the oven”, said the BBC. Sweltering weather can suppress your appetite and make it harder to concentrate or sleep. Could tweaking your diet help?

Crucially, it’s important to “drink more” to replace the liquid lost through sweat. But there are other ways to rehydrate than keeping your bottle topped up. “We need to eat our water as well as drink it”, said Aisling Daly, senior lecturer in nutrition at Oxford Brookes University. Fruit and vegetables like watermelon, celery, cucumbers, grapes and tomatoes have a “very high water content” of over 90%, making them great to snack on.

Sweating also “depletes our electrolytes”, said The Telegraph, which play an important role in helping our nerves and muscles to work properly. Instead of relying on powders or gels, try stocking up on coconut water or the yoghurt-based drink lassi, which are both natural sources of electrolytes and packed with magnesium.

It’s worth making yourself a cup or two of mint tea, or mixing the fresh leaves through a salad. Mint contains menthol, which scientists have found activates your mouth’s cold sensitive receptors and “triggers the same response as touching ice”.

Spicy foods can also be beneficial as peppers and chillies contain capsaicin – a compound that “tricks the nervous system into thinking the body is hot, encouraging you to sweat and cool down”. Avoid heating up the kitchen by having a barbecue outside instead and marinating your kebabs in a spicy marinade.

And what should you steer clear of? Salty nuts and crisps, caffeinated artificially sweetened drinks like Diet Coke, or a glass of wine might sound appealing in the heat but they “won’t leave you feeling your best”, said Metro. Their high salt content can “encourage water retention” and make you “bloated and uncomfortable”, said nutritionist Lola Biggs. Instead, for a “satisfying crunch”, try whipping up a batch of paprika-roasted chickpeas.

To me, chakalaka is the ultimate South African classic, says Nokx Majozi. It’s one of those dishes that reminds me of summer braais and big family get-togethers. The mix of peppers, onions, tomatoes and spices is just so vibrant and full of flavour, it enhances any meal you add it to. Whether I’m pairing it with grilled meats, spooning it over eggs or avocado toast, or just enjoying it on its own, it’s always a crowd-pleaser. I like mine with a bit of heat, but you can easily make it milder.

Ingredients (serves 8)

• ½ spring cabbage (hispi), finely sliced
• 1 yellow pepper, deseeded and diced
• 1 red pepper, deseeded and diced
• 4 large carrots, peeled and grated
• 5 tomatoes, finely chopped
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 8cm ginger, peeled and grated
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tbsp curry powder
• 1 x 400g tin of baked beans
• sea salt and black pepper
• chopped parsley, to serve (optional)

Method

• Start by preparing the cabbage, peppers, carrots and tomatoes and set to one side.
• Put the oil in a large saucepan and set over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook for about 6-8 minutes, stirring regularly until soft and translucent.
• Add the ginger and garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes to soften, then add the curry powder and cook for a further minute until it smells fragrant.
• Add the cabbage, peppers, carrots and tomatoes and cook for 6-8 minutes, stirring regularly to ensure nothing sticks.
• Add the baked beans, including their juice, cover with the lid and cook for a further 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
• Serve it on toast, on baked potatoes or with chicken or fish. Scatter over some parsley if you’d like a hit of green, but it isn’t strictly necessary.
• You can keep any leftover chakalaka in the fridge for five days.

Taken from “The South African Cookbook” by Nokx Majozi

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As the scorching weather returns, the best way to cool down is with an ice cream by the sea. The UK’s coastal towns are peppered with parlours serving everything from rich, creamy gelato, to refreshing sorbets and conefuls of quirky flavours. Here are some of our favourite spots.

Joe’s Ice Cream, Mumbles, Swansea

This century-old family run parlour in Mumbles is a “local cult”, said Felicity Cloake in The Times. It also has branches in Cardiff and Llanelli. There are rules: “always order the vanilla” which is “churned fresh every day” and has a “distinctly savoury edge”. You’ll also find huge sundaes here, and a knickerbocker glory that present owner Adrian Hughes thinks is “far too big for one person. Believe me, it’s not.”

joes-icecream.com

Jannetta’s Gelateria, St Andrews, Fife

“If you’ve ever visited St Andrews in winter, you’ll appreciate just how good Jannetta’s gelato must be to have stuck it out in South Street for the past 118 years,” said Cloake in The Times. When it comes to choice you’ll be hard pressed to find better: the parlour serves 54 different flavours that make use of locally sourced ingredients like Fife tayberries and Dundee marmalade. Expect long queues when it’s hot but the samples on offer while you wait “sweeten the deal”.

jannettas.co.uk

Hive, Aberaeron, Wales

Master ice cream makers Kevin and Mateuz make their “legendary” honey ice cream at Hive, said Portia Jones on Wales Online. The “distinctive, creamy” confection is “hands down my favourite ice cream” in the country. “One scoop, and you’ll see why it has a cult following.” Located right by the picturesque harbour in Aberaeron (with branches in Cardigan and Saundersfoot), it’s a great place for a sunny afternoon stroll.

thehiveaberaeron.com

Rossi’s Ices, Weymouth, Dorset

“Forget your standard vanilla”, said Judy Cogan in The i Paper. At Rossi’s, the Figliolini family “let the natural taste of the cooked milk shine”. They’ve been scooping here since 1937 and certainly know a thing or two about how to make and serve ice cream properly. Expect everything from banana splits and chocolate sundaes to affogato and ice cream sodas.

rossisweymouth.com

Moomaid of Zennor, St Ives, Cornwall

Milk is supplied by the cows at the on-site family farm to the parlour at this charming spot in St Ives, said Cogan in The i Paper. In keeping with its Cornish location, every scoop of ice cream is “topped with a dollop of clotted cream”. Flavours are creative but not “heinously quirky”: things like orange and mascarpone or almond and cherry ripple. “Watch out for circling seagulls”.

moomaidofzennor.com

Naples is in what is still a poor part of Italy, and meat doesn’t play a huge role in its traditional cookery, said Tom Parker Bowles. But this slow-cooked ragù, which I’ve adapted from Arthur Schwartz’s “Naples at Table”, is a masterpiece – the pride of every Sunday lunch. And it will taste even better after reading “Naples ’44”, Norman Lewis’ magnificent memoir about the time he spent in this most magical and seductive of cities, as a young intelligence officer.

Ingredients (serves 6-8)

• 1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 250g rindless pork belly, cut into large chunks
• 250g stewing veal
• 250g beef shin, cut into chunks
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 1⁄2 bottle (37.5cl) of punchy red wine
• 3 x 400g cans of chopped tomatoes
• big pinch of sea salt
• big pinch of dried chilli flakes
• handful of fresh parsley, finely chopped
• cooked fusilli or spaghetti, to serve

Method

• Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large heavy pot over a medium-high heat and brown all the meat, in separate batches, until well browned – around 5 minutes for each batch. Start with the pork belly as it will release some fat, but add more oil if the meat starts to stick.
• After removing the final batch of meat, tip the onions into the pan and cook over a low heat for about 10 minutes, until soft, stirring and scraping up the crisped bits of meat stuck on the bottom of the pan.
• Return all the meat to the pan, add the wine and reduce over a high heat.
• Add the tomatoes, salt and chilli and simmer very gently for 3-4 hours. Stir every 15 minutes or so, skimming off any excess fat. You may need to add a little water, 100ml at a time, if the sauce begins to stick in the last couple of hours.
• The Neapolitans would remove the meat and serve the sauce with pasta to start, then serve the meat separately for a next course. But I like it all together. Scatter on the parsley and serve with a pile of cooked fusilli, spaghetti or pasta of your choice.
• Tip: when making a ragù the Neapolitan way, “you must stay with it, guide it, caress it for hours, so that the aromas of its various components can be released and mingle with each other,” writes Jeanne Caròla Francesconi in “La Cucina Napoletana”.

Taken from “Let’s Eat Meat: Recipes for prime cuts, cheap bits and glorious scraps” by Tom Parker Bowles.

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“Is this the summer of the can? I’d say so,” said Jane MacQuitty in The Times. Gone are the “dull, tinny, beery and oxidised notes” common in the canned wines of years gone by. Now, thanks to advances in technology, quality is “on the up” with more choice than ever before and “roaring” sales. Easier to transport and with better “sustainability” credentials than hefty glass bottles, these red, pink and white wine tins are ideal for “a picnic, the beach or a festival”.

Vinca Organic Red Wine

“Fuller-bodied, more robust” reds with higher alcohol content “take best to the canning process,” said MacQuitty. This Sicilian offering is made of “summery nero d’avola and frappato grape”. It is bold in flavour and boasts “red berry pizzazz”. And of course, it’s organic and vegan.

£3, ocado.com

Most Wanted Pinot Grigio

This can lives up to its name if you are looking for a “vaguely floral and fruity” wine, said Tina Gellie in Decanter. The palate remains true to the Pinot Grigio tradition; and it tastes a little “like pears in soda water with a dash of peach syrup”. There is also a tinge of “green apple acidity” for balance. Light-bodied and highly drinkable, this is a vegan wine that will satisfy a Prosecco lover’s needs.

£2.55, tesco.com

Mirabeau Prêt-à-Porter Rosé

If you’re in the market for a “pale and pink” wine, this one is for you, said Rosamund Hall in The Independent. Coming from renowned Provençal producer Maison Mirabeau, this organic wine is “delicate” in taste and has “aromas of ripe raspberries”, alongside notes of rose petals and “a lick of cream”. One for the next grocery run.

£4, waitrose.com

When in Rome Pecorino

Italian wines are summertime’s best bet and a refreshing can of Pecorino is an “uncomplicated, fun” way to drink your grapes, said Hall. It is “packed full of soft nectarines, ripe pears and a lemon sherbet twist”.

£3.50, ocado.com

In south Lebanon, this was always a weekend favourite, says Jad Youssef. Served from a big tray in the middle of the table, it was the kind of dish that brought the neighbours in, uninvited but welcome. You can use chicken thighs or drumsticks if you prefer – but whichever cut you choose, remember that bone-in chicken will always have better flavour. For even more garlicky punch, leave some of the garlic cloves whole in the traybake and mash the roasted garlic into the potatoes before serving.

Ingredients (serves 4-5)

• 1 whole chicken (about 1.4kg-1.6kg), cut into 6-8 pieces, skin on
• 16 large garlic cloves, finely grated
• 250ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 150ml olive oil
• 1½ tsp fine sea salt, or to taste
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1½ tsp baharat (Lebanese seven-spice seasoning)
• ½ tsp ground coriander
• ½ tsp ground turmeric
• 800g Maris Piper or chipping potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1cm-1.5cm rounds
• 1 large bunch fresh coriander (about 80g), washed, picked and finely chopped

Method

• Preheat oven to 200C fan/220C/425F/gas mark 7.
• In a bowl, toss the chicken pieces with half the grated garlic, half the lemon juice, half the olive oil, and all the spices, salt and pepper. Leave to marinate for at least 30 mins (or up to 2 hours in the fridge).
• Rinse the sliced potatoes under cold water to remove excess starch and pat dry. Layer them in a large baking tray and season lightly with salt and pepper.
• In a separate bowl, mix the remaining garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil with the chopped coriander and 200ml water to make a fragrant dressing. Place the marinated chicken pieces on top of the potatoes, skin-side up. Pour the dressing all over the traybake, making sure that the potatoes are well coated.
• Use your hands to rub everything in gently. Wash hands thoroughly.
• Cover the tray with foil and bake in the oven for 45 mins. Uncover, baste the chicken in all the juices, then roast for another 25-30 mins, until golden and slightly crisp on top.
• Serve hot in the tray alongside Lebanese rice with vermicelli or a simple salad, and lemon wedges.

Taken from “Lebnani: a journey through family, food and the flavours of Lebanon” by Jad Youssef

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Visit the “specialist aisle in most British supermarkets” and you’re almost certain to find a “red jar with the kindly face of a middle-aged Chinese woman staring back at you”, said Ammar Kalia in The Guardian.

These are jars of Lao Gan Ma chilli crisp – a “spicy, crunchy and moreish umami condiment” that has made the woman on the label, Tao Huabi, a fortune. Generously dolloped on top of everything from dumplings to fried eggs, chilli crisp has become a “social media sensation” and inspired countless spin-offs from independent producers.

It is usually made by “pouring hot oil over chilli flakes, spice mixes and fresh ingredients such as spring onions, garlic and peanuts”, resulting in a “multi-sensory flavour bomb”.

Both “comforting and punchy”, Lao Gan Ma is “stupendously addictive and can be added to basically anything”, said Dusty Baxter-Wright in Cosmopolitan. “Fiery yet sweet”, it’s “crunchy with soybeans and tingly on your tongue”.

Lao Gan Ma is a “classic for a reason”, said James Park in Eater, but there are other options. As a “self-proclaimed chilli crisp hype man”, I discover “creative” new brands almost “daily”. Momofuku Chilli Crunch is “full of umami with a surprising level of heat”; what “sets it apart” from other jars is the addition of shiitake mushroom powder. Try serving this with baked brie and “you will be hooked”.

Other stand-out jars include Barnacle Foods Kelp Chilli Crisp, which features “salty” Alaska-grown kelp, in addition to spicy chilli flakes, fried onion and garlic. Fermented black beans add an extra “layer of depth” and it goes perfectly into a “light vinaigrette to top off fresh oysters”.

Or you could try making your own. Start by heating a neutral, high-heat oil then add sliced garlic and shallots, and fry “until golden”, said Great British Chefs. Remove the crunchy bits from the oil before mixing in dried chilli flakes and Sichuan peppercorns. Then return the fried garlic and shallots to the oil, “allowing everything to infuse together”.

There are so many dishes a drizzle of chilli crisp can lift to another level. Consider “using it as a topping for pizzas and tacos” or even folding it into bread dough to make a “spicy, aromatic loaf that pairs wonderfully with savoury spreads”.

If you love feta as much as I do, I reckon this dip will be a winner, says Marina Georgallides. Think tzatziki made with courgette instead of cucumber, and with feta cheese as well as yoghurt. The result is creamy, tangy and silken – and extremely moreish.

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 1 courgette
• 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 200g feta cheese
• 100g Greek yoghurt (10% fat)
• 1 garlic clove, grated or crushed
• handful of dill fronds, finely chopped
• ½ a lemon, juiced
• salt to taste

Method

• Preheat the oven to 180C fan/200C/400F/gas mark 6)and line a large baking tray with baking paper. Slice the courgette into rounds roughly 5mm thick. Place the slices on the baking tray and drizzle with 2 tbsp of the olive oil. Toss to coat them evenly in the oil then bake for 25-30 mins, until soft.
• Transfer the courgette to a serving bowl and add the feta and yoghurt. Mash with a fork to a smooth consistency, mixing for about 2 mins to ensure everything is combined. Add the garlic, dill, lemon juice and remaining oil and mix until well incorporated. Check the seasoning and add salt to taste.
• Serve the dip at room temperature or chilled – it will keep until the next day stored in the fridge. Enjoy with flatbread or pitta.
• Tip: another way to cook the chopped courgette is to place it in an air fryer and coat in 1 tbsp of olive oil and the pinch of salt. Air-fry for 12 mins at 180C, turning halfway through.

Taken from “Eat Like a Greek”by Marina Georgallides

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“Tropical fruit and chilli sauce” is a tried-and-tested flavour combination that “works”, said Lucy Knight in The Guardian. The zingy mix of fruity and spicy – “fricy” – flavours has been around in South American cuisine for years. Now, though, it’s being tipped as the food trend of the summer here, with “more fresh, spicy, exciting flavour combinations” appearing on UK menus.

‘Fricy’ may sound like a “silly word” but the demand is real, Holly Thomson, food editor at online food retailer Sous Chef, told the paper. The website has seen a 19% year-on-year increase in sales of the “hero product” of the trend: a Mexican lime, salt and chilli spice blend called Tajín.

“The hashtag #fricy hasn’t quite gone viral” yet, said BBC Bitesize, but there are “plenty” of posts celebrating the flavour combination. The Mexican drink mangonada, more traditionally known as chamoynada, a mix of mango with chamoy, a condiment made from pickled, spiced fruit, has “more than 47k TikTok posts with people trying the fricy taste for themselves”. Spicy fruit bowls that mix “fruit such as pineapple and mango covered in spices like chilli” are also having a moment.

Food trends usually rely on “emotional pull” and “visual appeal”. Just as the “striking purple” hue is responsible for the rise of ube, or purple yam, the “vivid yellows, oranges, reds and browns” of the mangonada makes people “curious” to taste it.

The mangonada has lured many customers into Mango Twist, a London café founded by Peru-born Dominic Vargas, which sells its own version of the drink. The “tangy, spicy, sweet, salty” combination is “something you wouldn’t find in the UK that easily”, Vargas told The Guardian.

But this isn’t the first trend marrying the sweet and savoury. People have been “endlessly seeking umami” flavours in their food, Marks & Spencer food trends lead Annette Peters told The Times. She added that this explained the increasing demand for miso-infused desserts because the “balance of sweet and savoury gives you such a depth of flavour”. As long as the dish doesn’t “tip into cloyingly sweet”, the pairing can be “delicious”.

This lovely summer dish is one to prepare if you – or someone you know – has a glut of courgettes, said Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. But it also brings out the best in shop-bought courgettes. It only takes about half an hour or so, and contains lots of fibre and other nutrients. Perfect for a weekday lunch, or as a simple dinner-party starter.

Ingredients (serves 2)

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 2 firm, medium courgettes (about 350g total weight)
• 1 garlic clove, slivered
• 2 tsp baby capers or chopped larger capers
• 2 tsp finely chopped preserved lemon, or finely grated zest of ½ a lemon
• 400g tin cannellini beans, drained with 1-2 tbsp liquid saved (or from a jar, about 240g drained weight)
• 2 large slices of wholegrain bread
• sea salt and black pepper

To finish:

• a squeeze of lemon juice
• extra-virgin olive oil, to trickle
• a small handful of parsley, chopped (optional)

Method

• Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan (ideally at least 28cm) over a medium heat. Add the onion, season with salt and pepper and fry, stirring regularly, for about 10 minutes, until soft and golden. In the meantime, slice the courgettes about 5mm thick.
• Add the courgettes to the pan and fry for 10-15 minutes, until they are softening and colouring in places, turning up the heat a little if you need to.
• Toss in the garlic, capers and preserved lemon or lemon zest and cook, stirring now and then, for a minute or two.
• Now add the beans with the saved liquid (a nice way to lubricate them a little). Stir well, then put the lid on the pan and cook gently for a few minutes to heat the beans through. Taste to check the seasoning and add more salt and/or pepper if needed.
• Meanwhile, toast the slices of bread.
• Pile the bean and courgette mixture onto the hot toast. Spritz with lemon juice, trickle with extra-virgin olive oil and scatter with chopped parsley, if you like. Serve straight away.
• Tip: you can switch in any tinned beans or chickpeas here. You can also use frozen edamame beans: put them into a pan, cover with boiling water and simmer until tender while you cook the onions and courgettes; drain and add at the end.
• Tip: for a crunchy finish, toast 2 tbsp pumpkin and/or sunflower seeds in a dry pan before cooking anything else; set aside. Scatter over the courgettes before serving.

Taken from “High Fibre Heroes” by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

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Though caffeine remains the world’s most widely consumed drug, some people are turning to a smaller dosage to achieve their morning kick. A slew of lower-caffeine drinks are hitting the market as consumers look for ways to shake the negative effects of caffeine, while still having their daily cup of coffee.

‘Experimenting with a new range of options’

Even as millions of Americans consume mass quantities of caffeinated drinks, some question their caffeine intake. Many started “experimenting with a new range of options beyond the traditional cup of hot java, paying heed to caffeine’s impact on their sleep, mood and energy level,” said Bloomberg. Some people still consume multiple caffeinated drinks per day, but others are “becoming more cognizant of ‘energy management’ in their beverage choices,” Daniel Jhung, the president of the coffee and beverage division of Nestlé USA, told Bloomberg.

Many of the options are changing to accommodate shifting preferences. Younger consumers have begun to “embrace cold, canned beverages over hot coffee,” said Bloomberg. The change is not only evident in “rapid growth of energy drinks but also in less-supercharged options.” Sales of ready-to-drink, low-caffeinated bottles of coffee and tea were “up almost 15% in the 52 weeks ending March 22” of this year, while “sales of coffee beans and cocoa fell nearly 10%,” according to data from market research group Spins cited by Bloomberg.

A number of companies are also moving toward this trend. Panera Bread began “rolling out a new line of lightly caffeinated drinks,” said Business Insider, which comes about two years after the company’s discontinued, ultra-caffeinated Charged Lemonade was “linked to two deaths and multiple lawsuits.” While the Charged Lemonade had about 260 milligrams of caffeine, or the equivalent of three Red Bull cans, Panera’s lighter caffeinated drinks “contain about as much caffeine as a can of soda.” There has also been a resurgence in sales of Coca-Cola Zero Zero, which has no sugar or caffeine, said Bloomberg.

‘There are also some concerns about excessive consumption’

Many doctors seem to be happy that caffeine is trending the way it is due to potential health issues. Caffeine can “have positive effects on alertness, cognitive function and athletic function,” but there are also “concerns about excessive consumption and potential health risks,” said the American Medical Association (AMA). “One of the things that people don't realize is, if you think of it as a medicine, then the best way to use it is in small, frequent doses,” Dr. Shannon Kilgore, a neurologist, told the AMA.

Most people, despite the shifting tides, are consuming too much caffeine, which could have negative health effects. About 85% of adults “consume 135 milligrams of caffeine daily in the U.S.,” approximately “equivalent to 12 ounces of coffee, which is the most common source of caffeine for adults,” said the AMA. While drinking up to three cups of coffee per day “can reduce dementia risk and slow cognitive decline,” according to a recent JAMA study, even that would still be over the recommended daily dosage of caffeine.

The shift toward low-caffeine is because “health and wellness trends have persuaded many consumers to scrutinize ingredients more closely, with many trying to cut back on artificial dyes, added sugar, processed food and, in some cases, caffeine,” said Bloomberg. The anxiety of Jeremy Clark, an engineering professor in Montreal, has declined “almost to negligible levels” since he cut back on caffeine, Clark told Bloomberg. “So I think it was worth it.”

It’s the ice, people! Yes, ice is central to the making of any cocktail — unless it’s a hot one. In the playland of frozen drinks, though, ice plays an all-the-more crucial role. It doesn’t simply chill then bolt for the sink. Ice becomes integral to the lush texture of a blended cocktail. These frozen reconsiderations of classic cocktails are summer manna.

Frozen Banana Daiquiri

An instant coconut cordial is made by combining coconut milk and sugar. Then you’re off to the banana-daiquiri races by blending together two kinds of rum (1 part each) with fresh lime juice (¾ part), half a way-ripe banana, that cordial (2 parts) and a load of pebble ice. (Get the recipe)

Frozen Caribbean Coffee

What happens when Irish coffee, tres leches cake and spiced coconut syrup take a trip to the islands? You get a lively, luxurious blended drink that merges a mixture of sweetened condensed milk and whole milk (2 parts) with an egg, coffee liqueur (¾ part), rum (½ part), brandy (½ part) and a heady masala-coconut syrup (¾ part). (Get the recipe)

Frozen Gin & Tonic

In this brain-freeze-y adaptation of a G&T, the tonic water is substituted by a tonic syrup. Because no one wants a watery frozen cocktail. A touch of that syrup (½ part) tangoes with gin (1½ parts), simple syrup (½ part) and lime juice (¾ part). (Get the recipe)

Pink Frozen Margarita

Campari (1 part) provides the pink element in this animated variation on a classic margarita. The tequila (3 parts), triple sec (2 parts), lime juice (2 parts) and agave nectar (2 parts) all play their roles like they typically would. The blender and ice step in for this performance, turning everything the right kind of chill. (Get the recipe)

Frozen Mojito

All that you admire about a mojito is present here. The mint (1 part), the rum (2 parts), the simple syrup (1 part), the fresh lime juice (1¼ parts). Start the four together in a blender so the mint is properly blitzed. Then add ice (8 parts), zap away and pour a few out for your pool mates. (Get the recipe)

Frozen Moscow Mule

You know the quartet — vodka (2 parts), ginger beer (3 parts), lime juice (¾ part), simple syrup (¾ part). Pour the lot into a blender, add ice, and your Moscow mule becomes even more of a warm-weather lounge-fellow. (Get the recipe)

Frozen Negroni

A Negroni is always an appetite-whetter. Come summer, one wants it to do double duty by dragging it into refreshing territory too. Freeze the base combination of gin (4½ parts), Campari (2½ parts) and sweet vermouth (2½ parts) for at least eight hours. Then whir that with ice in a blender. Zip, hunger, poolside nap. (Get the recipe)

Paloma Slushy

A handful of ingredients turn a classic paloma into a summertime icon for you and three pals. Start by freezing together grapefruit juice (2 parts) and lime juice (1 part) for a chunk of time. Toss the frozen juices in a blender along with tequila (1½ parts), sugar (¼ cup) and ice (4 cups). And if you like, line the rims of those glasses with salt. (Get the recipe)

Instead of reaching for biscuits or chocolate to “combat the 4pm slump”, people are turning to a “more natural sweet alternative: dates”, said The Guardian.

The wrinkled fruit has been “thrust into the snacking spotlight” thanks to a slew of viral online recipes and a growing demand for alternatives to ultra-processed foods. Ocado reports that sales of Medjool dates have soared by 100% year-on-year and searches for date butter have shot up by 458% over the same period.

Some fitness experts are suggesting their followers swap “additive-laden” protein bars for energy balls made with a mix of dates, nuts and oats. And TikTok is bursting with ideas for comforting yet nutrient-dense snacks like “sticky fried dates drizzled with olive oil and served with tangy yoghurt”.

First cultivated in the hot, arid climates of the Middle East and North Africa, “dates have had a place in culinary culture for millenniums”, said The New York Times. Traditionally used to break the fast during Ramadan, they are a staple ingredient in everything from tagines to sticky toffee pudding.

With more consumers interested in adding fibre to their diet, dates are “emerging as a simple vehicle for the macronutrient”. One serving of dates (around two to three large Medjools) contains about 5g of fibre – “a helpful step towards the daily recommendation of 25g per day for women and 38g for men”.

Brands like Date Better are opting for “bold flavour choices” to stand out in the crowded market. Varieties include dates stuffed with cashew butter, coated in chocolate infused with lime and dotted with toasted quinoa “for texture”.

But it’s important to “manage your health-related expectations” if you’re reaching for a jazzed-up version of the fruit. “If it’s stuffed with peanut butter and covered in chocolate, enjoy it!” said nutritionist Maya Feller. “But don’t think it’s going to support gut health. Right? That’s a dessert.”

If you don’t want to splash out on pricey on-the-go packaged snacks, consider adding the fruit when baking cakes, said The Times. Dates can be “chopped or blended” and “stirred through the batter instead of sugar, substituting the weights like-for-like”. They also make a delicious caramel sauce: simply soak them in boiling water before “blending them with butter” and “adding enough hot water until you have a smooth sauce”.

Dates aren’t only suitable for sweet treats, though. “I do a simple but brilliant lemon, chickpea, feta and date traybake,” said author and cook Melissa Hemsley. “The sweetness of the roasted dates with the salty feta is amazing. I’ll have that in a wrap or toss it into a warm salad. It’s perfect.”

I always say you get more flavour from the shells of a crustacean than you do from the meat, said Theo Randall. That is why, for this risotto, I start by making a stock based on the prawn heads and shells: it’s very easy to prepare and uses up all the parts of the shellfish that usually go to waste. The resulting risotto is intense and delicious.

Ingredients (serves 4)

For the prawn stock:

• 500g frozen shell-on prawns, defrosted
• 1 carrot, roughly chopped
• 1 leek, washed and chopped
• 2 celery sticks, halved
• 6 parsley stalks
• 2 litres water

For the risotto:

• 2 courgettes
• 5 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, sliced
• 300g tomato passata
• 2 celery sticks, finely chopped
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 300g carnaroli risotto rice
• 100ml dry white wine
• 50g unsalted butter
• 1 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

• Remove the heads and shells from the prawns and place in a saucepan with all the prawn stock ingredients except the water. Cook over a medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the heads and shells turn red.
• Add the water and cook for about 20 mins to reduce by a third. Strain through a fine sieve, season with salt and keep to one side.
• Slice the prawns in half lengthways, keep to one side.
• Cut the courgettes into 1cm rounds, then stack three rounds on top of each other and cut into 1cm matchsticks.
• Put 2 tbsp of the oil, the garlic, courgettes and a pinch of salt into a small frying pan over a medium heat and cook for 5 mins, stirring occasionally, so the courgettes have a little colour. Add the passata and cook over a low heat for 5 mins. Check the seasoning, then set aside.
• Put the remaining oil, the celery and onion into a large, hot, straight-sided saucepan and cook for 3 mins over a medium heat. Add the rice and cook for 3 mins until the rice absorbs the oil and turns translucent. Add the wine and cook until absorbed.
• Start adding the prawn stock, ladleful by ladleful, stirring until the rice is just covered before adding more. Do this for 10 mins, then add another ladleful and check the seasoning. The risotto should be wet, almost soupy; the rice should have a good bite.
• Add the courgette and tomato sauce and stir until the risotto starts to thicken. Give the pan a shake, and when you feel the risotto is becoming emulsified, add the prawns, butter and parsley. Stir until combined, then remove from the heat, add a lid and set aside for 2-3 mins. Remove the lid, add some black pepper and give it one last vigorous stir. Serve in warmed pasta bowls.

Taken from “The Italian Table: 100 Classic Recipes Celebrating the Spirit of Italy” by Theo Randall

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“It wasn’t long ago that chilling red wine was the sort of niche sommelier activity everyone laughed at,” said Will Lyons in The Times. “How times change.”

Chilled red wines are popping up in trendy bars and on supermarket shelves. Aldi recently launched its first “chill-to-reveal” red, in a bottle with a “clever” thermodynamic label that turns blue when the wine is at the perfect temperature to drink.

Cooling down lighter reds with a brief spell in an ice bucket brings out their “vibrant, fruity notes and makes them all the more refreshing”. While it’s more traditional to chill beaujolais or cinsault, “adventurous” wine merchants are introducing a wide variety of other grape varieties to the “chilled-reds lexicon”, including frappato and nerello mascalese from Sicily.

But not all red wines should be put in the fridge, said Rosamund Hall in The Independent. “I would avoid overly chilling big, heavy reds with high tannins”, like malbec or cabernet sauvignon, as you’ll risk bringing out “astringent” notes.

Instead, try chilling Gerard Bertrand’s Le Chouchou Syrah – a “dangerously moreish” blend of grenache, syrah and cinsault that’s like a “posy of pretty scented flowers” and “bright red cherries”. Or grab a bottle of The Interlude Pinot Noir and “chill it down for an easy BBQ summer sipper”.

You can’t go wrong with Domaine de Vavril Cuvée de l’Ecluse 2024, said Victoria Moore in The Telegraph. This “silky” beaujolais “smells of redcurrants” and has a “very seductive ease and brightness”.

And if you want to try chilling a “slightly heavier” red, I’d recommend Araldica Barbera d’Asti 2022, said Lyons in The Times. Packed with vivid notes of black fruit, spice and a “smidge of oak”, it’s “gloriously drinkable” and pairs well with “robust salads, cold sausages or pizza”.

Whichever you pick, avoid serving it “ice cold, as you might a sauvignon blanc”. Chilled reds only need “an hour or two in the fridge door, or half that lying down at the back”. The bottle should just “feel cool to the touch”.

When I first tasted elderflowers, I fell in love, said Jerusalem-born chef Sarit Packer. The combination of strawberries and elderflower in this recipe is just perfect, and makes a light, fresh dessert.

Ingredients (serves 6)

• 1 large gelatine leaf
• 400ml single cream
• 140ml elderflower cordial

For the macerated strawberries:

• 200g strawberries, trimmed and quartered
• 2 tbsp elderflower cordial

Method

• Soak the gelatine leaf in cold water for about 5 minutes, until it is soft. Bring 50ml of water to the boil in a small pan and add the softened gelatine. Mix until completely dissolved.
• Pour the cream and cordial into a large jug and add the gelatine solution. Stir.
• Pass the mixture through a sieve into another jug so there are no lumps, then pour into six small serving glasses. Place in the fridge for at least 3 hours to set.
• To macerate the strawberries, mix them with the cordial in a small bowl and set aside for at least 30 minutes. You can do this up to 4 hours in advance.
• Just before serving, top each glass of elderflower cream with a couple of spoonfuls of the macerated strawberries, along with some of their liquid.

Taken from Honey & Co. Daily by Itamar Srulovich and Sarit Packer.

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We all have our favourite neighbourhood pub but if you want to be more adventurous, visiting a beer festival is the way to go. These events are spread across the UK and feature an array of beers that may help you find your next go-to pint. Here are a few of the best ones taking place this year.

St George’s Hall Beer Festival, Liverpool

This festival in Liverpool promises a long list of “real ales, craft beers, continental lagers” and a “specialist gin and rum bar”, said the Liverpool Echo. There is no shortage of drink options and the event “blends respected national breweries with some of the most exciting local names in the region”.

Port Sunlight’s Hulme Hall has staged the last 21 festivals but the organisers, the Ship & Mitre pub, is bringing its celebration of beer to the “historic” St George’s Hall, marking a “new partnership between two Liverpool institutions”.
Tickets from £3
24–27 September, liverpoolcityhalls.co.uk

Chelmsford Beer and Cider Festival

As summer approaches, most of us are looking forward to soaking up some sun. This festival takes place at the perfect time of year to enjoy a “refreshing pint” in the “largest beer garden” in the city, said Chelmsford City Life.

Taking place in Admirals Park, the festival will offer a wide range of “ready to enjoy” beers and ciders. If you get peckish, there are several food options, including “burgers, sausages, Caribbean and African food, pizza and ice cream”.
Tickets from £17
13–18 July, cbcf.camra.org.uk

Bristol Craft Beer Festival

Lloyds Amphitheatre in the “heart of Bristol” is the venue for a festival that gives the “craft beer revolution” a platform to promote local brewing communities, said The Drinks Business. More than 300 beers will be available to try, alongside cocktails, ciders, wine and a range of specially curated food options.
Tickets £62
12–13 June, bristolcraftbeerfestival.co.uk

London Craft Beer Festival

Whether your drink of choice is “a funky sour, cheeky saison or a fruity IPA”, London’s “biggest beer celebration” has something for you, said Time Out. The event takes place in Southwark Park over two days and “promises four-hour sessions of non-stop-beer-drinking bliss”. There will be more than 800 brews to choose from, including “London’s best beers as well as some international standouts”. Keep an eye out for the drool-worthy food stalls with menus from the likes of Meltdown Cheeseburgers, Bone Daddies and Chick N’ Sours. The price of the ticket covers all the beers and there are group discounts available. “Happy drinking, folks.”
Tickets from £59.50
17–18 July, londoncraftbeerfestival.co.uk

Cooking in paper is nothing new, but it makes for a super-simple way of serving delicate fillets of fish, said Nathan Outlaw. Marrying fish and shellfish with beer may sound a bit strange, but trust me – it works so well. I use a wheat beer because it is not too bitter, but has a touch of acidity and freshness that works beautifully with the fish.

Ingredients (serves 4)

For the leeks and bacon:

• 100g unsalted butter
• olive oil
• 8 slices smoked streaky bacon, finely sliced
• 2 leeks, washed and shredded
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 150ml wheat beer

• 4 x 150g skin-on hake portions
• 2 tsp coriander seeds, ground
• 20 live mussels, cleaned and beards removed
• 4 sprigs of thyme
• zest of 2 oranges
• 8 tbsp wheat beer
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

• To cook the leeks, heat a large pan over a medium heat and add the butter and a drizzle of oil. When the butter is bubbling, add the bacon and cook for 5 mins, stirring occasionally. When the bacon has started to brown, add the leeks and cook for another 5 mins. Season with salt and pepper. Now add the garlic and cook for 1 min, then pour in the beer. Cook for about 5 mins until the beer has reduced, then remove from the heat and leave to cool.
• Preheat the oven to 200C fan/220C/425F/gas mark 7. On a clean work surface, lay out four large sheets of baking parchment (roughly 30 x 30cm/12 x 12 inches). Divide the leek and bacon mix into equal portions and arrange over one half of each sheet of parchment.
• Season the hake portions with salt, pepper and ground coriander seeds and place on top of the leeks together with five mussels in each parcel, a sprig of thyme and an equal share of the orange zest.
• Fold over the paper and crimp the edges so they are firmly sealed, leaving you with four parcels.
• Make a small opening to allow you to pour 2 tbsp of beer into each parcel. Seal the hole by folding it down tightly. If the quality of the paper isn’t great, you may need to use two sheets for each parcel or add a layer of foil on the outside. The aim is that the moisture inside doesn’t escape – this is crucial.
• Place the hake parcels onto a baking tray or two and bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Then remove the parcels and serve immediately. Allow whoever is eating to open their own parcel – that’s the magic and the drama.

Taken from “On Fish: a Seafood Handbook”, by Nathan Outlaw.

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“Maxed out on matcha lattes?” said the Financial Times. Try swapping the trendy, green-hued drink for its “toasty cousin”.

Hojicha has many of the same benefits as matcha but with much less caffeine. Made from green tea leaves roasted at a high temperature over charcoal, it has a distinctive “nutty” flavour. While it’s not traditionally paired with milk in Japan, in the UK hojicha lattes are starting to appear in cafes up and down the country.

At London matcha chain Jenki, for example, sales of hojicha lattes were 55% higher between January and April than the same period last year, said the BBC. The popularity of hojicha “feels like where matcha was two or three years ago”, Rashique Saddique, director of How Matcha, told the broadcaster. “It’s moving from niche to mainstream quite quickly.”

Less bitter and more earthy than matcha, hojicha also contains “significantly lower” levels of caffeine, with around 7.7mg per cup, compared to matcha’s 70mg, said Country & Town House. But it still boasts a range of health benefits; hojicha is “packed with antioxidants” like catechins and polyphenols which help to protect cells from damage, and the amino acid L-theanine which may help to calm the nervous system and improve sleep quality while enhancing focus.

The roasting process also breaks down the tannins and lowers the acidity, making it perfect for aiding digestion after a meal as it’s “gentler on the stomach than raw green tea”.

Traditional hojicha is “steeped like a loose-leaf tea” but it can also be mixed with milk and served hot or cold in a latte, said Vogue. “Look out for organic, shade-grown hojicha from Japan to avoid contaminants and ensure purity”, nutritionist Rhian Stephenson told the publication. And if you don’t fancy a latte, try adding the powder to smoothies or mix it into cakes, cookies or even ice cream.

The briefest spell of sunshine sends Brits rushing to the park or pub. But if you’re looking for somewhere a bit more special to soak up the rays, try a buzzy terrace with a view. From trendy, canal-side spots to swanky rooftop bars, these are some of the best places to catch up over a cocktail.

The Gun, Docklands, London

The waterfront terrace at the Gun “feels a little like one of many harbourside restaurants in Amsterdam”, said London’s The Standard. Open all year round thanks to the retractable roof and glass walls, the views are “superb”, looking out “where the river bends around the O2 on its way to the Thames Barrier”. Sip a glass of rosé and “feast on oysters” or, come summer, enjoy a pizza from a van in the riverside garden.

Lock 91, Manchester

This “charming canalside garden” is one of the city’s “best-kept secrets”, said Secret Manchester. The fashionable bar is set within a carefully restored 19th-century lock-keeper’s cottage, and you can usually “snag a spot” on the “intimate” outdoor terrace. Once you’ve settled with a drink and begun soaking up the “serene” views, it’s hard to “pull yourself away” from this “addictive little suntrap”.

Blackstock Roof Garden, Liverpool

Set atop the newly revamped Blackstock Market, this “Mediterranean-inspired rooftop brings a slice of coastal Europe to Liverpool”, said Condé Nast Traveller. “Sun-drenched” breaks can be spent here enjoying brunches, afternoon teas and cocktails, while in the evening the terrace transforms into “the perfect place to dance under the stars”. Inside, there’s a “chic” lounge, ensuring the party continues “rain or shine”.

The Raeburn, Edinburgh

This “smart boutique hotel” is “often unknowingly overlooked”, said Condé Nast Traveller. Its “secret rooftop terrace” becomes a “real suntrap” over summer, and there’s also a first-floor mezzanine looking out over the historic Raeburn Place sports grounds for an “out-of-the-city type view that you won’t find anywhere else”.

Rockwater, Hove

“A beach bar with a rooftop terrace, what more could you possibly ask for?” said The Telegraph. Rockwater offers a “huge wine collection, along with cocktails and spritzes”, all with a sea view. And if you’re feeling peckish there’s a great selection of “luxurious seafood dishes” and handmade pizzas. Down at the beach, you’ll find “extra food shacks”, too.

In Istanbul, beetroot is often served in salads, mixed with garlicky yoghurt, said Özlem Warren. This easy meze is inspired by such dishes. The pomegranate molasses in the dressing adds a natural sweet-and-sourness that goes well with the beetroot, complementing both the cooling yoghurt and the heat of the pul biber oil. You can replace the hazelnuts with any nut, if you wish.

Ingredients (serves 6)

For the garlic yoghurt:

• 170g full-fat Turkish or Greek yoghurt (use a plant-based version, if preferred)
• 1 small garlic clove, finely chopped
• salt

• 650g beetroot, raw or pre-cooked
• 4 spring onions, trimmed and finely chopped
• 85g stoned green olives, halved
• 55g shelled hazelnuts, coarsely chopped
• small handful parsley, finely chopped, to garnish

For the dressing:

• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• salt

For the pul biber oil:

• ½ tsp pul biber
• salt and freshly ground black pepper 

Method

• For the garlic yoghurt: take the yoghurt out of the refrigerator about 45 mins before serving, to bring it to room temperature. Stir in the garlic, season with salt and set aside.
• If you are cooking the beetroot, preheat the oven to 200C fan/220C/425F/gas mark 7. Wash the beetroot, trim and pat dry. Wrap each beetroot in foil (first cutting small ones in half lengthways and large ones into quarters), place on a baking tray and bake for about an hour. Allow to cool before peeling and cutting into 5mm-thick slices. If using pre-cooked beetroot, drain the excess liquid from the package, halve any large ones, then cut into 5mm-thick slices.
• Place the beetroot in a bowl, add the spring onions and olives and combine well.
• Toast the hazelnuts in a small, dry pan over a medium heat for 2½-3 mins, until they start to turn golden, stirring often. Remove, and set aside.
• For the dressing: pour the olive oil, pomegranate molasses and lemon juice into a small bowl, season with salt and pepper and give everything a good mix.
• For the pul biber oil: pour the olive oil into a small pan, stir in the pul biber and allow to infuse over a low heat for about 45 seconds.
• Stir most of the hazelnuts into the beetroot mixture, reserving some for garnish. Pour on the dressing, stir to combine, then spoon onto a wide serving dish and top with dollops of the yoghurt, swirling it to reveal the shades of red. Sprinkle with the reserved hazelnuts and the parsley, and drizzle with the pul biber oil.

Taken from “İstanbul: Delicious Recipes from the Heart of the City” by Özlem Warren

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Most standard-size cookbooks showcase between 100 and 150 recipes. In 2008, the author and cooking teacher Raghavan Iyer said “pshaw” and published his magnum opus, “660 Curries.”

“To us Indians, a curry is a sauce-based dish,” said Iyer, meaning “curry” as employed in Western instances like all-purpose “curry powder” is a term so general as to lose all significance. Curry instead is both the alpha and the omega. It’s both a saucy dish across the subcontinent and a hyper-regional way of preparing said saucy dishes.

Name your cooking weapon

Pick a base, and you are nearly guaranteed at least one recipe for it in “660 Curries.” More often, you will be bombarded with an array of options.

Consider the legume. Yellow split peas, horse gram, chickpeas, brown lentils and moth beans — Iyer assembles an armada of more than 15 different types of legumes for the Legume Curries chapter. The hits are present, including a faultless recipe for the restaurant icon, dal makhani, with its whole black lentils opulent with Punjabi garam masala, yogurt and heavy cream.

A behemoth is forever going to do the absolute most, so lesser-known regional specialties are everywhere across the book. Toovar dal (split yellow pigeon peas) is softened in a bath of unripe green mango, green bell pepper and coconut milk in a dish from the southwestern state of Kerala. Stressing the omnipresent influence of the Portuguese colonizers, chorizo cooks with red kidney beans and black-eyed peas in a spunky chile-vinegar tomato sauce in a Goan adaptation of Brazilian feijoada. Here and in the book’s other chapters on vegetables, seafood, poultry and eggs, meat, and paneer, curry is no catch-all. It slips, shifts and adapts.

To the curry-sphere and beyond

Iyer cheated a touch with the book’s title because some chapters exist outside of the sauce world. The opening chapter, Spice Blends and Paste, provides a constellation of building blocks and endless masalas with seven types of garam masala alone.

The final chapter, Curry Cohorts, dabbles in a touch of everything: rice preparations, including a Maharashtrian-style fried rice with peanuts and curry leaves; all manner of breads, such as poori, roti and naan; and even a mango cheesecake and saffron-licked green tea. “660 Curries” is an imposing endeavor. And, oh, how the book’s recipes work.

Iyer died, too young, at 61 in 2023. He was an admired teacher and an indefatigable researcher. And almost 20 years later, “660 Curries” remains as essential as it was when it first appeared. Scratch that. “660 Curries” is all the more pertinent now. The world needed time to embrace its sweeping, detailed grandeur.

“Is it a red wine, or a white?” said The Economist. “It is both.”

Trendy “blouge” wines have started popping up in bars around the world. A mix of white (blanc) and red (rouge) grapes, the resulting tipple is “light and refreshing, like a white, but with the structure and depth of a red”.

Mixing red and white like this is “not a new idea”. Winemakers have long been making champagnes from different coloured grapes. But recently producers have been “breaking new ground” with a growing number of “fresher” blouge wines often with “playful names to emphasise their novelty and expand their appeal”.

While rosé is made from red grapes alone with limited skin contact, and orange wines are made from white grapes in the style of a red with extended contact with the skins, blouge wines are a hybrid made by co-fermenting both red and white grapes. They are targeted at “younger, more adventurous” consumers keen to try something new.

Combining grape varieties gives producers more “flexibility” in the face of climate change. Hotter weather can lead to red grapes accumulating sugar faster, while the “ripening of skins and seeds can lag behind, causing a mismatch”. By adding white grapes to the mix, acidity is boosted while the high alcohol level found in ripe red grapes is diluted.

The pretty colours “tempt the Instagram lens”, said The Telegraph, luring “aperitivo-hour drinkers” on the lookout for wines with the “appeal of a light cocktail; often fruity and chilled, perhaps with a vestige of florality and a tinge of either astringency or sweetness”.

BoogieWoogie from Aubert et Mathieu is due to arrive in the UK this month, said The Guardian. A “light and juicy blend of red and white grenache grapes”, this is the “perfect match for tapas, pizza and picnics”.

Or try Domaine Lucas Madonia: The Blouge 2024, a “high-quality, natural” wine that uses grapes grown at a vineyard nestled on a “steep mountainside in the Swiss Alps of Valais”. Best enjoyed “cold on a sunny day after work”, the “fruity, aromatic blend” of chasselas white and gamay red grapes has a “clean, lively finish” with hints of “juicy strawberries and raspberries”.

Everyone in my family is a fan of bread studded with salty briny olives, and this recipe takes that craving a step further, said Joe Woodhouse. Feel free to add a block of grated halloumi to the mix. You can also cut the flatbreads in half and freeze them. Just put them in the toaster to defrost and crisp from frozen.

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 400g self-raising flour, or plain flour with 1 tbsp baking powder
• 200g wholemeal flour, plus more to dust
• 250g yoghurt, or kefir
• 3 tbsp olive oil, or oil from the sundried tomatoes, plus more (optional) for cooking
• 200g jar of sundried tomatoes in olive oil, drained and sliced
• 50g black olives, pitted and sliced
• 25g basil, stalks finely chopped, leaves chopped
• 3 tbsp drained capers
• 1 tbsp dried oregano

Method

• Put the flours in a mixing bowl. Mix the yoghurt or kefir in a jug with the oil and 200ml water. Add to the flour and knead to combine. Knead in the sundried tomatoes, olives, basil, capers and oregano.
• Divide the dough into 4 and roll out each piece on a floured surface to a diameter of about 20cm.
• Heat a griddle pan over a med-low heat. Add the flatbreads one at a time, brushing with olive oil first to get them extra crispy. Cook for 4-6 mins on each side until puffed and cooked through. To check if they’re ready, break a chunk off one, pull it apart and see if it is fluffy in the middle.
• Serve as is or spread with pesto, harissa or tapenade, or with a bowl of pickled chillies.

Taken from Weeknight Vegetarian by Joe Woodhouse

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Long used as a “staple” in Filipino desserts, ube is now “increasingly appearing on the menus of UK cafes”, including “big hitters” like Costa, Starbucks and Pret A Manger, said Country & Town House. Native to the Philippines, the colourful yam is similar to a sweet potato, with an “aesthetic purple hue”.

As a "key part of the country’s food culture", it is used to make halaya (a sweet jam crafted from ube with milk and sugar) as well as pandesal, which is essentially a “fluffy bread roll”. Now, it’s popping up in the UK in all kinds of lattes, cocktails, pastries and more.

A root vegetable may not sound like the most inviting ingredient. “I remember the faces people used to pull when they saw the purple ice cream,” said Filipino restaurateur Omar Shah. Many would “walk in and walk straight back out” of Mamasons, his dessert shop in London, when they realised familiar flavours like strawberry or vanilla weren’t on the menu.

Now, the tide has turned and the “majority of our customers come specifically because we do ube”. Its natural nuttiness and vanilla notes work well in “European formats” like pastries and tiramisu, said Shah, adding to the visual appeal “without feeling gimmicky”.

Now, high street chains are investing in ube-flavoured menu items in an attempt to “replicate the viral success of matcha among younger, higher-spending customers”, said the Financial Times. As brands tap into social media trends, ube’s “unusual and vibrant colour” is appealing to big brands, said Kiti Soininen, a food and drink analyst at Mintel.

Companies are in a “flavour arms race”, actively investing time and money finding novel ingredients, said The New York Times. Most of these new flavours are offered for a “limited time” and Gen Z customers “rush to become one of the first to review the new summer drink or fall snack”. However, unlike the Dubai chocolate trend, ube is more of a “slow burn”, said industry veteran Mark Webster.

There are some “mixed feelings” about ube “going mainstream”, said Philippines-born bakery owner Maria Leyesa. She hopes the “proliferation of ube brings greater awareness to Filipino cuisine” but worries most people engaging in the trend won’t understand its origins.

If you do want to try it for yourself at home, strain and whisk ube powder with a “splash of hot water until in forms a paste”, said The Times. Then add your milk of choice (coconut milk works “exceptionally well”) to a glass and pour in the lavender-coloured mixture.

Something special happens when cinnamon and puff pastry come together, says Moroccan chef Nargisse Benkabbou; it’s like culinary alchemy. And these knots are extra special because they include amlou, often referred to as “Moroccan Nutella”, a paste traditionally made with roasted almond butter, honey, and argan oil. The amlou in this recipe is slightly thicker than normal, so that it can be used to fill the knots without risk of it running out of the rolls during baking. Eat while warm – but they will keep in a sealed container for up to three days.

Ingredients (makes 12 knots)

For the amlou:

• 120g natural (ideally, roasted) almond butter, or substitute with peanut butter
• 1 1⁄2 tbsp (35g) honey
• 1 tbsp argan oil, or substitute with walnut or groundnut oil
• 1⁄4 tsp fine sea salt

For the knots:

• 2 sheets puff pastry (about 400g each)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 100g granulated sugar
• 3⁄4 tsp ground cinnamon

Method

• Combine the almond (or peanut) butter, honey, argan (or nut) oil and salt in a medium bowl and stir together until smooth and well blended.
• Unfold one of the puff pastry sheets on a lightly floured work surface. Use the back of a large spoon to spread the amlou over the sheet in a thin, even layer, about 3mm thick. The layer shouldn’t be thicker than a coin, as too much amlou will leak out when you slice the filled pastry.
• Place the second puff pastry sheet on top, making sure that the edges are aligned. Use a pizza cutter or sharp knife to cut the pastry rectangle lengthways into 2.5cm-wide strips.
• Line two baking trays with baking paper. Pick up one strip and shape it into a knot: hold the opposite ends of the strip, pull on them slightly, then roll it up into a spiral and tuck the end of the strip into the centre of the knot. Place the knot on a tray and shape the rest, dividing them between the two trays and leaving about 5cm between them.
• Cover the knots and transfer to the fridge. Let them rest for at least 45 mins, and as long as overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 180°C fan, with the racks in the upper and lower thirds. Brush the knots with the beaten egg and transfer to the oven. Bake for 30 to 35 mins, switching the positions of the trays about halfway through, until the knots are puffed up and golden. Meanwhile, combine the sugar and cinnamon in a medium bowl.
• Remove from the oven and let cool on the trays for 1 to 2 mins. Gently transfer each knot to the bowl of cinnamon sugar and turn to coat thoroughly, then transfer to a plate. Serve the knots warm or at room temperature.

Taken from Madaq: Simple Everyday Recipes with the Flavours of Morocco by Nargisse Benkabbou.

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“There are few better ways to immerse yourself in the great outdoors than to forage,” said Connor McGovern in National Geographic. As the countryside springs to life with an abundance of edible plants, now is a great time to start keeping an eye out for ingredients on your next walk.

April is “peak nettle season”. Packed with minerals and vitamins, the herbaceous perennial is surprisingly versatile and can easily be added to soups or used to make tea. Best harvested “sooner rather than later”, make sure you wear gloves to avoid getting stung and only pick the “top few leaves”.

Look out also for wild garlic, which “often grows in dense clusters on the floor of damp woodland and along shaded hedgerows”, said Helen Keating on the Woodland Trust. The leaves and flowers of the native bulb have an “unmistakable” garlicky smell, and can be used to whip up a “wild garlic pesto” or mixed with butter to make a “delicious version of garlic bread”.

Cow parsley, also known as wild chervil, is an “excellent all-round” ingredient. The perennial herb features tiny white flowers in “umbrella-like clusters” and “fern-like” leaves, and can be used in the same way as parsley when cooking. A word of warning: be careful not to mistake it for poison hemlock, which has distinctive purple blotches at the base of its stems, and an unpleasant musty odour.

Now is also the time dandelions “explode across fields, verges, scrubland and any patch of your garden they can set down roots in”, said Carys Matthews on BBC Countryfile. The petals of the bright yellow wildflower can be used to make desserts and “look lovely sprinkled on a cake”.

Be sure to look out for blackcurrant leaves, too, which have palmate lobes and a “serrated margin”. A handful of “fresh, young leaves” from the deciduous shrub can be used to make a “tasty tea with antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory” properties.

And if you’re on a health kick, try swapping out spinach for common mallow leaves or using the edible weed to thicken up soups. Identifiable by its “five-lobed leaves”, it’s rich in vitamins A, B, C and E and come summer its mauve-coloured flowers can be used to garnish cocktails and salads.

You can’t go wrong with a meatball, says chef Georgina Hayden. Light, lemony and spring-like, this brothy meatball recipe is both comforting and fresh – and a gorgeous way of getting greens into your dinner. My kids love it, especially when I roll the meatballs really small.

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 1 bunch spring onions
• 1 garlic clove
• ½ bunch flat-leaf parsley
• a few mint sprigs
• 50g breadcrumbs
• 400g minced meat (beef or pork, or a mixture)
• 1 unwaxed lemon (zest and juice)
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• olive oil
• 1 litre chicken or vegetable stock
• 180g mini pasta shells, or other small pasta shapes
• 150g peas, frozen or freshly podded
• 40g pecorino or parmesan (optional)

Method

• Trim and finely slice the spring onions.
• Peel and finely slice the garlic.
• Finely chop the herb leaves.
• Place half the sliced spring onions in a food processor with the sliced garlic clove, the breadcrumbs, half the chopped herbs and the minced meat.
• Finely grate in the lemon zest, season generously with salt and pepper and blitz until it all comes together. (You can of course do this by hand and mix well in a bowl.)
• Roll the mixture into small meatballs, around 2.5cm wide.
• Set a large casserole over a medium heat, drizzle in 3 tbsp olive oil and fry the meatballs for around ten minutes, turning, until they are browned all over.
• When the meatballs are browned and gnarly, pour the stock into the pan, bring to the boil and then stir in the pasta shells and the peas.
• Return to the boil, and simmer for 5-7 minutes, or until the pasta is tender.
• Remove from the heat and squeeze in the lemon juice.
• Taste the broth and adjust the seasoning as needed.
• Finish by stirring in the remaining herbs and spring onions, and serve in warmed bowls, finely grating over the pecorino or parmesan cheese, if using.

Taken from MEDesque: Everyday Recipes with Mediterranean Roots by Georgina Hayden.

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“It wasn’t long ago that crunchy or smooth was the sum total of our nut butter options,” said Sue Quinn in The Telegraph. But there is now more choice than ever and the “humble peanut is jostling for shelf space with almond, cashew and pistachio” spreads.

Sales of peanut butter overtook jam in the UK for the first time in 2020, and nut butters are “now making a bid to unseat honey from its long-held perch as number one”.

Filled with “fibre and healthy fats, it’s easy to see why nut butters appeal to the health-conscious among us,” said Lauren Shirreff in The Telegraph. They are a fantastic source of protein, “especially for people who are following plant-based or vegan diets”, nutritionist Jenna Hope told the paper.

A 30g serving of peanut butter contains around 8g of protein, which is “roughly the same as that in a large egg”, and a large spoonful “would also contain nearly three whole grams of fibre”.

One of the best alternatives to peanuts is almond butter, said Shirreff. It ticks lots of boxes, having the “most fibre” of any nut butter, and “fewer calories” too. Though it has “marginally” less protein than peanut butter, it’s “packed with magnesium and calcium”.

Pistachios have been all the rage as TikTok-viral sweet treats – think Dubai chocolate – but the best way to unlock their “bold, subtly sweet, roasted-nutty taste” is in savoury dishes, said Autumn Swiers on Tasting Table. A dollop of pistachio butter can be “placed under the skin of a chicken breast pre-roast for extra crispy, sweet-nutty moisture”, or as an “elevated candidate for homemade salad dressings”.

It is important to check the label for additional ingredients, said nutritionist Brianna Sommer on Delish. “I would look for a pure nut butter that has no added anything.” It is much better to add a pinch of salt, or a dollop of honey yourself than relying on whatever the “manufacturer has decided to include”.

The easiest way to eat nut butters is “on a slice of sourdough” or “poured over porridge”, said Stacey Smith in Women’s Health. But we all know they taste just that bit better “sneakily spooned straight from the jar”. For a “treat day” indulgence try Pana Organic Cashew Caramel Spread. “Packed with good stuff”, it includes coconut sugar for a hint of sweetness, while maca and sesame seeds bring “extra oomph”.

And if you’re looking for a classic peanut butter, try the M&S range, said Martha Roberts on Which?. Its smooth version is “rich”, “creamy” and “high-oleic” with the highest fibre content of the 56 items tested. Not only is it "reasonably priced”, it contains high levels of protein, and is “extremely low” in salt. Its crunchy alternative “comes a close second to its smooth sibling” because of its higher calorie and lower fibre content, but it’s “still high-oleic and with the same keen price”.

There’s always one person in a family that makes the best version of a particular dish, said Brin Pirathapan: and in my family, everyone knows that my mum’s fried aubergine is the best aubergine dish around. There would be a full-on revolt if anyone turned up to a party at our family home and there wasn’t a vat of it waiting to be demolished. Mum passed on the recipe to me, but there’s an element of intuition that can’t be written down. None of us can fully live up to her famous dish, but we can try.

Ingredients (serves 4-6, as a side)

• 3 aubergines, cut into 1cm cubes
• vegetable or sunflower oil, for deep-frying
• 6 garlic cloves, 3 peeled and left whole, 3 grated
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3 dried red chillies (optional)
• 1½ red onions, finely diced
• 10-15 curry leaves (fresh, if available)
• 2.5cm piece of fresh ginger, grated
• ½ tsp hot chilli powder (or more if you like it spicy)
• 3 tomatoes, diced
• sea salt (optional)

Method

• If you sprinkle the aubergine cubes with salt to draw out a bit of moisture before frying, it can really enhance the flavour of the aubergine, but this is up to you.
• Heat enough oil in a deep-fat fryer (if you have one) or in a heavy-based saucepan (don’t fill the pan more than two-thirds full) to 180C (or until a small piece of bread browns in 30 seconds).
• Add the aubergine cubes to the hot oil in batches and then remove (using a slotted spoon) when the flesh turns a deep golden brown colour and the skin is shiny. Transfer them to lots of kitchen paper to soak up the excess oil, while you fry the remaining batches.
• When the aubergine is cooked, turn off the heat, add the whole garlic cloves to the hot oil and leave to soften and colour for 5 minutes, then add to the cooked aubergine.
• Heat the olive oil in a large pan or wok over a medium-high heat, then once it’s hot, add the cinnamon stick and whole dried red chillies (if using). After about 30 seconds, add the red onions and curry leaves. Give it all a decent mix and cook for a couple of minutes.
• Add the grated garlic and ginger along with the chilli powder and tomatoes. Mix, then add the fried aubergine cubes and whole garlic cloves. Give it a good stir and pop a lid on, then let that cook over a medium heat for about 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Plate up and enjoy!

Taken from Elevate: Everyday Ingredients, Incredible Flavours by Brin Pirathapan

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With its “green, rolling hills” and “patchwork of pinot noir and chardonnay vineyards”, Oregon’s Willamette Valley has been compared to Burgundy, said National Geographic.

The valley is home to 11 designated grape-growing regions with diverse terroirs, spanning all the way from Portland to Eugene. In recent years, the “cool nights and warm summer days” here have provided the perfect conditions for some “top-notch sparkling wines”. Grape varieties used in champagne like pinot meunier have been “thriving” here.

Method Oregon is a non-profit established by a coalition of producers to ensure high standards and help place their wines on the map. Bottles carrying the stamp must be “100% fermented, bottled, riddled, and disgorged in Oregon”, use the traditional method that requires sparkling wines to go through a “natural secondary fermentation in a bottle”, said National Geographic, and be aged for no less than 24 months en tirage (“the crucial stage where wines are aged on yeast”) to develop a complex flavour.

Gran Moraine’s sparkling brut rosé is “exquisite, rich and lovely”, said Clive Pursehouse on Decanter. The delicate wine spent six years en tirage and is bursting with “floral notes of apple blossom, sweet lemon cream, and ripe, fleshy pears”.

But chardonnay remains the “king of Oregon white wines”, said Mike Desimone on Robb Report. For a special occasion, consider splashing out on a bottle from Eyrie Vineyard where winemaker Jim Maresh makes “small-batch, high-quality wines from estate-grown grapes under his family label”.

Or, you can’t go wrong with a Résonance chardonnay, said Vine Pair. When renowned French winemakers come to Oregon “you know to pay attention”. That’s exactly what happened when Thibault Gagey and Jacques Lardière embarked on their “first project outside of Burgundy” in the Willamette Valley – and this bottle is an “excellent example” of how the chardonnay grape variety is flourishing in the cool climate. Expect refreshing mineral notes, hints of “ripe pear and crisp apples”, with a “wonderfully balanced” palate.

This is an incredibly quick way to get your spicy-oily noodle kick, said chef and Japanese-cookery fan Tim Anderson. Three ingredients, about five minutes of cooking, and the flavour is like pizza, in udon form. Embellish it however you like: it’s nice with spinach, mushrooms or artichoke hearts.

Ingredients (serves 2)

• 75g ’nduja
• 1 heaped tsp fennel seeds
• 2 portions udon noodles, par-cooked according to the packet instructions
• a few leaves of fresh basil (optional, to serve)
• grated Parmesan (optional, to serve)

Method

• Place the ’nduja in a frying pan set over a medium-high heat.
• Break it up into small chunks and, when it starts to melt into a scary red puddle, add the fennel seeds and let things sizzle for 1-2 minutes.
• Add the par-cooked udon and sauté for a few minutes to coat the noodles (a splash of the udon cooking water, or just tap water, may help to liquefy the ’nduja and form a sauce).
• Dish up and garnish with basil and grated parmesan, if you’ve got it.

Taken from JapanEasy Kitchen: Simple Recipes Using Japanese Pantry Ingredients by Tim Anderson

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Be it as a coffee companion or a frozen yoghurt flavour, “small, gently spiced” Biscoff biscuits “appear to be everywhere this spring from Easter eggs to hot cross buns”, said Emine Saner in The Guardian.

Biscoff is a modern take on the “traditional Belgian speculoos”: a biscuit dating back to the 17th century made with the glut of spices brought to Europe by the Dutch East India Company. The individually wrapped biscuits have “nostalgic relevance”, Lisa Harris, co-founder of the food and drink consultancy Harris and Hayes, told the paper. The distinctive caramelised flavour is “quite old-fashioned”; it feels like the type of sweet treat that would be served “on the side with a cup of tea”. Crucially, Biscoff’s relatively affordable price means they are an “accessible indulgence”. In the midst of the cost of living crisis, “people are looking for simple ways to feel as if they’ve done something special”.

In recent years the sweet treat has become a “Gen Z obsession”, said The Times. Ice cream sellers now often offer to “roll your scoop in Biscoff crumbs”, while “armies” of social media influencers are cooking up viral recipes for everything from mousses to milkshakes.

The latest hype is “Japanese cheesecake”: a two-ingredient recipe that involves immersing layers of Biscoff biscuits in a pot of yoghurt and leaving it in the fridge to soak overnight. As a result of the viral TikTok trend, Biscoff sales “rocketed 30% year on year”, said The Grocer. Supermarkets also joined in as Morrisons posted their own version of the dessert and Sainsbury’s went so far as to give “various yoghurt and biscuit products their own dedicated landing page” on their online shop.

And in a move sure to “delight Dairy Milk enthusiasts” the confection giant Cadbury is launching an indulgent new chocolate bar featuring crumbled Biscoff biscuit pieces, said The Mirror. A hard one to dislike.

I first ate this in Jerez in the south of Spain, and it’s now a regular on the menu at my restaurant Bar Lourinhã, says Matt McConnell. We haven’t messed around with it too much: it’s all about the classic flavours.

Ingredients (serves 6)

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 300g free-range, hand-picked chicken livers, cleaned
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 dried bay leaf
• 1 garlic clove, finely sliced
• 2 shallots, finely sliced
• 1 tbsp sherry vinegar
• 60ml dry sherry
• 125ml chicken stock
• 2 tbsp cold butter
• 10g flat-leaf parsley leaves, torn
• 30g flaked almonds, toasted, to garnish

Method

• Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan, then place the chicken livers face down in the pan. Cook over a high heat until brown, turning with tongs.
• Season the livers well before adding the bay leaf, garlic and shallot. Cook until the liver is well browned.
• Add the vinegar, sherry and chicken stock and cook until slightly thickened. Reduce the heat to low and add the butter and parsley, stirring until the butter has been incorporated into the sauce.
• When the livers begin to feel slightly firm – around 4-5 minutes – remove them from the pan and arrange on a serving dish. Cover with the sauce and garnish with the flaked almonds.

Taken from Lourinhã by Matt McConnell with Jo Gamvros

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Britain is a “dip-obsessed” nation, said The Guardian, and hummus is at the top of the list. The chickpea-based Middle Eastern dip first hit UK supermarket shelves in Waitrose in 1987 and has since become a “staple” of shopping baskets across the nation.

Social media has added fuel to the hummus craze in recent years thanks to TikTok’s “obsession with #grazingboards and #girldinners”. These trends focus on the massive appeal of finger foods. As for offline, bread and dips have become a “culinary calling card” at restaurants. A good dip makes sure meals “start on the right foot” and shows customers you’re “serious about detail and sourcing”, said restaurateur David Carter.

Being a “handy source of fibre and protein”, hummus’ growing popularity also reflects Britain’s “efforts to become a physically healthier nation”, said The Times. In a sign of its “importance in the national diet”, hummus was recently added to “that ultimate consumer accolade”: the Office for National Statistics’ virtual shopping basket of popular goods used to measure the cost of living in Britain.

With so many varieties to choose from, picking a pot of supermarket hummus can be a “minefield”, said Tomé Morrissy-Swan in The i Paper. Stand-out options include Waitrose’s No. 1 Extra Virgin Olive Oil Houmous, which has a “smooth, moussy” texture with a “strong but not bitter” tahini taste, and Sainsbury’s Organic Classic Houmous, which isn’t as smooth but has a “very strong, pleasing tahini flavour”. I could “happily eat the whole lot”.

But for those keen to avoid the “long list of unnecessary ingredients” sometimes found in store-bought tubs, it is fairly straightforward to make hummus at home, said Phoebe Cornish in the Daily Express.

If you’re looking to “forgo additives, preservatives, and added sugar”, Jamie Oliver’s 10-minute recipe is a good place to start. He uses just five ingredients. Drain and wash a 400g tin of chickpeas, and throw them into a food processor along with a small clove of garlic, a tablespoon of tahini, olive oil and a “generous squeeze” of lemon juice. Blitz until smooth, top with a “sprinkling of paprika” and “get dipping”.

This method of cooking chicken breast is sure to become a favourite, said Ed Smith: it’s speedy, self-saucing and – perhaps surprisingly – succulent. Although sage is not typically involved in a piccata, I like the way it imparts its flavours into the cooking fats, and subsequently the pounded, dredged chicken. Typically, I’ll serve sautéed spinach and mashed potatoes with this. But it’s great with a lot of combinations of potato, green vegetable, leaves and/or bouncy bread for soaking up juices.

Ingredients

• 1 shallot, finely diced
• 4 garlic cloves, finely sliced
• 12 sage leaves
• 2 tbsp baby capers nonpareilles
• 100ml chicken stock or water or white wine
• zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 2 large skinless chicken breasts (370g-425g)
• 3 tbsp plain flour
• 2-3 tbsp neutral oil
• 40g butter, cubed
• flaky sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste

Method

• Before you start preparing and cooking the chicken, make sure any sides you plan to serve alongside are in hand. Dice and slice the shallot and garlic, pick the sage leaves, locate your capers and stock, and zest and juice the lemon.
• Butterfly the chicken breasts. Hold them flat on a board with one hand and use a sharp, long knife to cut them in half horizontally. Cut each breast in two and use a rolling pin or meat tenderiser to bash the thicker parts so it’s an even 1cm thick all over. Season all sides of the chicken very generously with salt and pepper.
• Spread the flour over a plate, then dredge the chicken pieces in it, dusting off any excess.
• Set a heavy-based skillet or frying pan over a medium-high heat. It probably won’t be big enough to hold all the chicken at once, so cook it in two batches. Add the oil, half of the butter and half of the sage leaves. Once the butter has melted and begins to foam, push the sage leaves to sizzle on one side and begin to fry the chicken for 1 1⁄2 minutes per side, plus another 30-60 seconds for luck. It really doesn’t take longer than 4 minutes in total. Transfer the chicken and sage leaves to a warm plate and repeat.
• Once the chicken is resting and the sage leaves are out, add the shallots to the fat that remains in the pan. Fry for 45 seconds, stirring occasionally, then add the garlic and lemon zest and cook for a minute more. Pour in the stock, bring to the boil, then simmer energetically for 2 minutes to deglaze the pan and reduce the liquid by a third. Whisk in the remaining butter, then add the capers and lemon juice. Pour over the chicken breasts and serve.

Taken from “Peckish: An Inspirational Collection of Winning Chicken Dinners” by Ed Smith

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The ingredients themselves are the luminaries of spring. They are often verdant — peas, leeks, asparagus, spinach. A pink (rhubarb) or brown (lamb) jumps in too. These recipes center the season’s finest ingredients, using techniques and sauces to complement, not overwhelm, their pristine gestalt.

Asparagus Pakoras

A tender asparagus stalk is a perfect specimen. It needs little to twinkle. Then you go and coat it in a chile-spiked batter made from chickpea flour, fry it til it shatters, and dust it with salt, and suddenly the spear downright scintillates. Get the recipe.

Braised Leek with Chile Bean Sauce

Searing long leek halves turns them charred, sweet-bitter and melting. Braising then softens them into willing submission. They soon clamor for a finishing complement, which a frisky combination of Sichuan chile bean paste, soy sauce, garlic and black vinegar readily provides. Get the recipe.

Broccoli, Bacon and Boursin Quiche

Quiche is always the right idea. It’s all the better when loaded with smoky bacon, lush Boursin cheese and nubbins of Broccolini. Serve the entire entity for a brunch gathering, or parcel it into meals for days on end. Get the recipe.

Lowland Celery Salad

Celery, please step center stage and into the spotlight. No, more to the right and pick up some dates, toasted walnuts and extra-sharp cheddar. Close, but to the left a touch, that mustardy sherry vinaigrette can join you. There! You made it. Feeling the love and attention you have always merited? Get the recipe.

Rhubarb Crisp

A crumble topping is loaded with oats, pecans and Chinese five-spice powder. Rhubarb done two ways: unadulterated and treated with baking soda to shave away some of the plants’ sharp edge. A rhubarb crisp is classic springtime, and this variation nudges the dessert into the modern age. Get the recipe.

Sabzi

We are just on the other side of the spring equinox, but the hunger for an ongoing, explicit spring jubilee persists. Spinach has the tonic earthiness the season necessitates, and lamb is the holy protein of now. This Afghan braise stars not just spinach as the green blast but also a wallop of green onions and cilantro. Steadying and lush, sabzi is a spring headliner. Get the recipe.

Shakshuka

Shakshuka, that stewy egg dish, is everywhere. You may as well have a baseline recipe for your home kitchen. This one from chef Yotam Ottolenghi is basic with no frippery to speak of — just tomatoes, harissa, red peppers, cumin and final filip of yogurt. It’s an optimal diving board for shakshuka-fiddling. Get the recipe.

Spring Peas with Mint Butter

Nearly every possible kind of pea shows up here. Snow peas, English peas, snap peas have all come to play. That means frolicking, after a quick blanching, in a butter bath loaded with chives and mint. Use the best butter you can find, and finish with chopped toasted hazelnuts and flaky salt, just because. Get the recipe.

Supermarkets have long been obsessed with the “novelty” hot cross bun, filling shelves with takes “that skew from genuinely delicious to properly weird”, said Sadhbh O’Sullivan in The i Paper. This year’s “array”, including everything “from Cheddar and carrot cake to tiramisu, Neapolitan ice cream and Marmite”, simply brings on cravings for the traditional “lightly spiced, sweet bun, studded with currants and candied peel, and topped with a cross”. Here are our favourites.

Honey & Co. Hot Cross Buns

These “utterly delightful” buns are so good, all of them were “gone within half an hour”, said The i Paper’s O’Sullivan. They are flavoured with “deep and warming” spices and the “subtle nuttiness” of spelt. Dried fruits are “generously shared” and “the crumb is light and fluffy”. I scored it 10 out of 10.
From Honey & Co outlets in London or mail order at catering@honeyandco.co.uk

Aldi Specially Selected Luxury Fruited Hot Cross Buns

Aldi’s buns are “neat, fat” and “square”, said Xanthe Clay in The Telegraph. They have a “lovely chewy heft, delivering a heady mix of citrus and spicy flavours”. They’re the “perfect bun to scoff after a long country walk”.
aldi.co.uk

Costa Classic Hot Cross Bun

“When a hot cross bun craving strikes, make a beeline for Costa,” said Stacey Smith in Good Housekeeping. Our panel of experts crowned these the “tastiest classic”: the “cinnamon-spiked” dough is dotted with a “generous helping of juicy dried fruit” and candied lemon peel.
From Costa Coffee stores or costa.co.uk

Asda Exceptional Extra Fruity Hot Cross Buns

Asda’s buns had the “most appetising appearance” of all those we tasted, and the flavour, texture and amount of fruit were all “spot on”, said Brianna Watson in Which?. “Great flavour at a great price.”
asda.com

Gail’s Hot Cross Buns

Gail’s buns are “hard to beat”, said Alice Reynolds in The Independent. They are “stunning” on the eye, with a darker, heavier look than most supermarket offerings. The “artisanal” cross perches on a “crispy” shell of clove, star anise and nutmeg syrup “that’s oh so moreish”. The dough inside is “perfectly” spiced, with candied orange peel giving it a “complex citrus hit”. Stand-out buns that bring a “ray of sunshine on each bite”.
From Gail’s bakery outlets or gails.com

After the boozy beverages of winter, spring requires, or at least requests, a lighter approach. So the coming months are a period for cocktails in bigger glasses that welcome more liquid for more leisurely sipping. Let’s get tall, baby!

Batanga

Blanco tequila, lime juice, cola and salt — welcome to the Batanga, a low-key icon of La Capilla, the “oldest cantina in the town of Tequila, Mexico,” said Imbibe magazine. There are easy drinks, but the Batanga is so effortless you could make it while horizontal in a hammock.

Caribeño

Take a daiquiri, and make it long and tall, and now you have yourself a Caribeño. The rum, lime juice and simple syrup are there, of course. Coconut water does the heavy work, creating a cocktail that will not knock you on your rear.

Champ-Ale

You can have your cocktail and beer, too. The Champ-Ale has you pour a light cream ale and sparkling wine into a big ol’ glass with ice and then shake it with sweet vermouth, lemon juice and cane syrup in a separate vessel. Pour the second mixture into the glass, stir and embrace the best of two booze worlds.

Earl Grey-Aquavit Spritz

Throw some Earl Grey tea leaves and a chunk of lemon peel in a bottle of aquavit, the caraway-seed-flavored spirit. Let infuse for 20 minutes or so, then combine with honey syrup, lemon juice and sparkling wine. Serve this plucky spritz to a crowd of pals.

Kombucha-Vodka Highball

The best of the basics, this highball combines vodka, ginger-flavored kombucha, lime juice, simple syrup and, oh yes, ice. Garnish with a lime wedge to prove you bothered a little.

Oita Chu-hi

A touch of future-thinking is required for this shochu-based highball. You will need to infuse a bag of barley tea in a bottle of shochu and blend sweet, herbal pandan leaves with coconut water, then carbonate the mix to make yourself a coconut soda. From there, it is all about assembling — a little rigmarole for much rejuvenescence.

Serpent-less Swizzle

A drink with ballast, the Irish whiskey base of the Serpent-less Swizzle is a hearty anchor. Sweet white vermouth, lemon juice and grenadine provide contrast and sharpness. Swizzles, a genre of cocktails served over crushed or pebbled ice, are meant for sipping. You may find yourself guzzling.

Watership Down

The “flavors make me think of fields,” said bartender Jeremy Oertel to Punch magazine about his Watership Down cocktail. Yes, its name is an homage to the classic leporine book, with grassy notes a rabbit might adore. Gin, dry vermouth, celery shrub and ginger syrup guarantee a balanced and refreshing drink.

Move over, protein. There’s a new dietary trend that’s doing the rounds. Fitness aficionados and wellness influencers are now “fixated” on how to “increase your daily fibre intake”, said Amelia Bell in Harper’s Bazaar.

Fibremaxxing is the latest addition to the “wellness glossary” and for good reason. Apart from its role in “digestion, weight management and gut health”, fibre also helps “stave off diseases” and reduce inflammation. A high-fibre diet can be highly beneficial but like any other TikTok-fuelled obsession, there is always a risk of “overdoing” it if one does not proceed with caution.

Fibre acts as “food for the microbiome”, said nutritionist Rhian Stephenson. Eating fibre-rich food “slows gastric emptying and carbohydrate absorption”, which helps stabilise blood sugar levels and provides metabolic support by “increasing the feeling of fullness”. This is why those with a healthy fibre intake often see “less weight gain and easier weight maintenance”.

According to NHS data, “most adults don’t come even close to hitting the daily recommendation of 30 grams”, said Dean Stattmann in GQ. Such a low level of consumption could take an “insidious toll on our collective health”.

Fibre is the indigestible part of plants that gives them their structure. It works as a gut cleanser by “shuttling away things that might otherwise overstay their welcome”. Without it, unmoving stools can “create little ‘pouches’ in the colon, called diverticuli, which can trap bacteria”, said Dr Dana Ellis Hunnes, a clinical dietician at UCLA Health. The bacteria can “potentially increase the risk of colon cancer, irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, and just inflammation in general”.

Consuming plant-based foods is a great way to increase fibre intake. Lentils, beans, chia seeds and almonds are all rich in the nutrient. There are also many oral supplements available to help reach the recommended 30g daily intake level.

However, it is important to note that these supplements “don’t behave in the body in the same way that fibre from a whole food does”. Apart from fibre, whole foods have vitamins and minerals as well as water. This makes them more “synergistic” and less dehydrating.

The fibremaxxing trend certainly “carries a message” that many health professionals have been “banging the drum about for years,” said Polly Weeks on the BBC. But there’s a lot “we still don’t know about the gut and its microbiota” and one should be wary of “uninformed views, extreme advice and miracle quick-fix claims”.

Kieran Tuohy, a professor of energy metabolism and microbiome at the University of Leeds, said trying to “fibremax” on powders could be a “worrying” trend but “self-regulating” fibre levels by consuming plenty of whole foods is a great step to take.

Long-standing claims of verbal and physical abuse at world-renowned Copenhagen restaurant Noma have finally “come back to haunt” its founding chef, René Redzepi, said The Times.

The “culinary god” has stepped down after shocking details of his “toxic” kitchen culture were revealed by a damning new investigation. “An apology is not enough,” Redzepi said in a statement on Instagram. “I take responsibility for my own actions.”

Empire built on ‘pain’

Redzepi has been “rewriting the rules of fine dining” since Noma opened in 2003, crafting “jewel-like plates” from sustainable and foraged local ingredients, said The New York Times. His innovative approach scooped him three Michelin stars, and Noma has topped the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list on five occasions. He became a revered figure in the culinary world: in 2013, Anthony Bourdain proclaimed he was “without a doubt, the most influential, provocative, and important chef in the world”.

In 2024, Noma transitioned from restaurant to “full-time food laboratory”, developing new dishes and running fine-dining pop-ups in different locations around the world. But an upcoming residency in Los Angeles, with a tasting menu priced at $1,500 (£1,300) a head, “sparked a public conversation” about Redzepi’s treatment of his staff, some of whom came forward to claim his “empire” was built on their “pain”.

Thirty-five former staffers, employed between 2009 and 2017, gave accounts of serious abuse, alleging that Redzepi “punched employees in the face” and “slammed them against walls”. Several claimed he would “crouch under the counters” and “jab them in the legs with his fingers or a nearby utensil, like a barbecue fork”. They also described verbal threats, including to have staff members “blacklisted” from other restaurants or to “have their families deported”. Until 2002, Noma had over 30 unpaid interns, working 16-hour days and covering their own living costs. The restaurant’s “one-woman human resources department” also “happened to be Redzepi’s mother-in-law”.

‘Signs’ were all there

This will come as no surprise to “anyone who has followed modern restaurant culture”, said former restaurateur Richard Crampton-Platt in UnHerd. I visited Noma a decade ago and found it “suffocatingly self-regarding”. It developed a reputation as an “enlightened kitchen” and the “progressive future of fine dining” but the “signs of what was really going on” were all there. Redzepi was filmed “screaming at chefs” in the 2008 documentary “Noma at Boiling Point” and, in 2015, he wrote an article in a food magazine admitting that “I have been a bully for a large part of my career”.

“The backlash was inevitable,” said US chef Andrew Gruel in the New York Post. But it’s “ironic” that a lot of the “outrage is coming from the same elite food world that helped build a culture of abuse”. For years, fine-dining kitchens have been “run like military brigades”, with long hours, unpaid or poorly paid workers and a culture of harassment. The tacit “bargain” aspiring young chefs accept is to “endure the brutality, work the hours, and maybe one day earn your place in the hierarchy”. The price of the excellence that food critics and “elite diners” demand is professional kitchens marred by exploitation, burnout and alcohol and drug abuse.

“It’s dehumanising” and it’s been going on for too long, French food journalist Nora Bouazzouni, author of “Violence in the Kitchen”, told CNN. Her work “exposing the extent of physical, emotional and psychological abuse” in professional kitchens across France “has helped spark a national reckoning” that’s “reached the ears of the country’s lawmakers”. Last year, a motion to create a commission of inquiry into violence in professional kitchens was tabled in the French National Assembly.

Undoing this entrenched “French system” that kitchens around the world have “replicated” won’t be easy. But a 2021 paper which drew on 47 interviews with elite chefs, and was published in the Journal of Management Studies, offers one “compelling, but simple solution: create more open kitchens”. A shift away from the “isolated, closed, hidden spaces” where “regular rules don’t apply” could help to establish a healthier work environment.

Before Redzepi’s resignation, tickets for Noma’s LA pop-up had sold out. This only demonstrates, said The Times, that there are “plenty who can happily separate the art from the artist” as long as “the kitchen is thoroughly soundproofed”.