November inspiration
This month’s best kitchen shelf buys, must-book restaurants and foodie events, plus a malt loaf with a delicious spiced chocolate twist
This glorious next-level hotpot – loaded with succulent lamb neck fillet and onions in a rich gravy, topped with slivers of crispy Pink Fir potato – from Brixton bistro Bottle + Rye is ideal for a family Sunday lunch. Try the recipe below and follow our favourite eating-out trends using the #olivecraving hashtag on Instagram. bottleandrye.com
Bottle + Rye’s braised lamb boulangère
Made using small iron croque pots at the restaurant, this recipe uses one large dish which is perfect for a family Sunday lunch. If you do want to make into individual portions, as pictured, you will need fewer potatoes and a shorter cooking time.
SERVES 8 | PREP 35 MINS | COOK 2 HRS 50 MINS | MORE EFFORT | LC
500g lamb neck fillet, trimmed
1 whole garlic bulb, halved through the middle, plus 4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp whole black peppercorns
1 bouquet garni (thyme, bay leaf and rosemary)
1 litre chicken stock, warmed
50ml rapeseed oil
500g onions, finely sliced
3 thyme sprigs
70g unsalted butter
800g Pink Fir potatoes, thinly sliced on a mandoline
1 Heat the oven to 150C/130C fan/gas 2. Put the lamb in a high-sided 23cm baking dish along with the garlic bulb halves, peppercorns and bouquet garni, then pour over the stock. Cover with foil and cook in the oven for 2 hrs until soft, checking after 1 hr 30 mins – if a knife goes through the meat easily, it’s ready. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely. Strain off the stock, discarding the bouquet garni, peppercorns and garlic. Dice the meat into 1cm chunks and pour over a few tablespoons of the stock. Season to taste.
2 Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat and fry the onions and garlic cloves with a large pinch of salt for 10 mins until softened. Add the thyme and 50g of the butter, then reduce the heat and cook for 50 mins, stirring often until nicely caramelised. Season and leave to cool.
3 Rinse the sliced potatoes to remove any starch, then drain and season with salt. Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 6. Arrange a layer of onions in the base of a large baking dish, followed by the meat. Repeat this to make four layers, with about 1cm left at the top for the potatoes. Starting from the outside, spiral the potato slices into the middle. Melt the remaining butter and brush over the top of the potatoes, then bake for 45-50 mins or until the potatoes are cooked through and golden. For individual dishes, you’ll need around 20 mins.
PER SERVING 375 kcals | fat 20.8G | saturates 7.9G | carbs 24.7G | sugars 4.8G | fibre 4.2G | protein 20.2G | salt 0.8G
What are YOU craving? Share your favourite eats on social media using #olivecraving and by email at oliveweb@immediate.co.uk for a chance to receive £100 towards a meal out.
Make a reservation
3 must-visit restaurants
JUST OPENED
Dulse, Edinburgh
Chef Dean Banks puts the spotlight on Scottish seafood at his first-floor neighbourhood restaurant in Edinburgh’s West End. International twists liven up the fish that’s straight off the boats, including lobster crumpet with yuzu brown butter, seared hake with kimchi hollandaise and baked North Sea cod in Goan curry. The wine and cocktail bar downstairs is great for a pre-dinner aperitif, such as the signature pepper dulse and Lunun Gin martini. dulse.co.uk
REVISITING
Owl, Leeds
Liz Cottam’s market restaurant upped sticks from Kirkgate Market to a new waterfront spot, Lockside, earlier this year. With double the space, there is more opportunity for Liz and her team to get creative with the modern British menu, that includes Scottish salmon with sea buckthorn, North Yorkshire red deer and Granny Smith apple tart. There’s a chef ’s table experience as well as a more casual bar and canalside terrace for walk-ins. theowlleeds.co.uk
COMING SOON
Mollis, Nottingham
Later this year, chef Alex Bond will launch a new and exciting concept next door to his Michelin-starred restaurant, Alchemilla. A high-end spin on fried chicken brined in Japanese marinade shio koji will be served with a variety of fermented sauces and glazes. Plus, soft-serve ice cream alongside pre-bottled cocktails, local beers, ciders and wine.
Kitchen shelf
This month’s must-try goodies
Ben & Jerry’s Chocolatey Love A-Fair ice cream
In collaboration with Tony’s Chocolonely, this has dark chocolate rounds and honeycomb-like caramel bits with chocolate ice cream and a salted caramel swirl. Serve with sour cherries for extra luxuriousness.
£4.90 (465ml), Tesco
Belazu Ve-du-ya
A vegan take on classic ’nduja paste, this spread is made by fermenting Calabrian chillies and adding lemon juice, red peppers and smoked paprika. It’s salty and tangy, and channels the original. Toss through pasta or blend into hummus.
£4.35 (170g), belazu.com
Tofu Tasty Craft Tofu Knots
Soft and chewy but almost filo-like on the outside when baked, these knots are a great vessel for sweet chilli sauce, gochujang or black bean sauce. With 45% protein and naturally gluten-free and vegan, these are the next big snack.
£3.29 (300g), Waitrose
Harvey Nichols Fruity cherry curd
An elevated raspberry jam taste with a good sour cherry tang, this cherry curd is delicious on anything sweet, from hot buttered toast or a trifle, to brunch waffles.
£4.95 (295g), Harvey Nichols
BoTree black kampot pepper
With a citrussy flavour and tingling heat, this pepper packs a punch. Enhance classic pepper dishes including steak au poivre or cacio e pepe.
£9.95 (90g), botreefarm.co.uk
Tabasco Sweet & Spicy Sauce
With soft heat from ginger and red pepper, plus the sweetness of pear concentrate, this mild chilli sauce is satisfyingly thick, and perfect for dipping pizzas and burgers. Or drizzle on a sandwich, tacos or fried chicken.
£3 (256ml), Tesco
Melt Maldon sea salt caramels
Buttery smooth caramels with a pinch of Maldon sea salt – perfect alongside a digestif.
£10.50 (bag of 10), meltchocolates.com
Waitrose Cooks’ Ingredients deggi mirch spice blend
Containing 40% kashmiri chilli powder alongside red peppers, paprika and chillies, this Indian spice blend adds a soft kick of heat to roast potatoes, veg or paneer kebabs, or chicken curry.
£2 (50g), Waitrose
Ping Pong Ready to Steam range
Ping Pong restaurant group has relaunched its Ready to Steam range – acollection of its best dim sum and restaurant favourites, all ready in under five minutes. Try the spicy chicken or veg dumplings, or the prawn har gau.
From £6.50 (six dumplings), shop.pingpongdimsum.com
Croquetas from José Pizarro
Our favourite Spanish chef ’s selection of restaurant-quality croquetas includes spinach and blue cheese, jamón from acorn-fed ibérico pigs, and prawn and squid ink options. Get the fino chilling!
£28 for 18 croquetas, dishpatch.co.uk
What’s happening in November
Food and drink events around the UK this month
Our sister brand BBC Good Food will be back from 24-27 November with BBC Good Food Show Winter at the Birmingham NEC. There will be plenty of festive recipe inspiration with expert masterclasses and hands-on workshops to help you perfect your culinary skills, as well as lots of great food and drink to taste and buy. The Big Kitchen theatre will see demos from some of the UK’s best talent including James Martin, Nadiya Hussain, Ainsley Harriott, Michel Roux, Jane Dunn, Gennaro Contaldo and many more. Full info at bbcgoodfoodshow.com.
This month sees the return of the UK’s biggest indoor vegan gathering as VegfestUK London returns after a three-year hiatus. The festival will highlight brand new products and vegan businesses as well as some exciting developments in the plant-based world. The day will also include talks and advice for anyone new to plant-based lifestyles. There will be artisan food producers and street food on offer. The event also hosts a Cop27 conference focussing on solutions to climate change challenges. london.vegfest.co.uk
Sustainability
Residual or carry-over cooking
You probably already know about residual cooking, you already do this when you rest a roast or steak after cooking it. When you take the meat out of the pan or oven, the outside of the meat is hotter than the centre and the heat will continue to transfer inwards until the temperature equalises – it keeps cooking until this transfer is complete.
The residual heat within an oven or pan will also keep cooking the contents as it cools down. Some ovens with probes will switch themselves off before the cooking time is finished to take advantage of this and give more energy efficiency. Dense food and liquids hold heat well, as do cast iron and other heavyweight pots and pans, ceramic and glass dishes. This residual heat is something you can take advantage of. Hardcore fans work out how much earlier they can turn off an oven, leaving whatever is inside to finish cooking (no door opening) but there are some easier first steps. When cooking pasta, boil it for 1 minute, stir the pasta to stop it sticking, put the lid on and turn off the heat. The residual heat is enough to cook the pasta during the remainder of the time recommended. Cook poached eggs in the same way, and greens and other veg. As you get used to the principle you’ll get better at judging for yourself, saving a little bit on fuel each time you do it.
Your olive favourites
Recipes readers are sharing online
CAULIFLOWER AND BANANA CURRY
“The banana and cauliflower curry from olive was a delicious curry to make. It was so simple, and easy to follow using a variety of spices to produce a really complex flavoured dish! Perfect for a midweek meal.” @pinch_of_panther
CARROT CAKE CHEESECAKE
“I wanted a twist on carrot cake because I have made carrot cake several times for a colleague’s birthday, and this fitted the bill. I really liked it, though I was surprised the base truly was just a carrot cake.” @bakingspirits
HEALTHY COD AND RICE ONE-POT
“I’m always looking for new recipes for fish, especially ones that I already have some of the ingredients for. This is tasty, an easy way to cook fish and there’s less washing up.” @cejacksonn
Find these recipes at olivemagazine.com and share your favourites on #olivemagazine
Trends expert Gurdeep Loyal discovers…
Chocolate bitters
What is it?
Chocolate or cocoa bitters is made by infusing alcohol with cocoa beans and botanicals such as cloves, cinnamon and liquorice.
How to use it?
It can be used to add spiced chocolaty notes to cocktails, pairing well with whiskey-, vermouth- and cognacbased drinks. It’s loved by mixologists at bars including The Goring Hotel in Mayfair, Seed Library in Shoreditch and Amor y Amargo in New York, where it’s used to enliven classics such as the old fashioned, manhattan and negroni. You can also use bitters in the same way as vanilla or rosewater in baking to add a herbalchocolaty dimension to sponges.
Date and pecan loaf cake with chocolate bitters
MAKES 1 LOAF | PREP 20 MINS | COOK 1 HR | EASY
200g self-raising flour
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
100g toasted pecans, finely chopped, plus extra to serve
200g date syrup
225ml extra-virgin olive oil, plus 2 tbsp
1 tbsp chocolate bitters (I used Fee Brothers), plus 2 tsp
100g soft light brown sugar
4 eggs, beaten
125g icing sugar
1 Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and line a 900g loaf tin (12cm x 20cm) with baking paper.
2 In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, bicarb, pecans and ¾ tsp of fine sea salt. Set aside.
3 Put the date syrup, olive oil and 1 tbsp of chocolate bitters in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Whisk on high speed for 2 mins until combined, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl, if needed.
4 With the mixer turned down to medium, add the brown sugar a tablespoon at a time, then very gradually pour in the beaten eggs. Whisk for a final minute until a smooth, consistent batter forms.
5 Remove the bowl from the stand and fold in the dry ingredients a little at a time with a spatula until there are no dry patches. Pour the batter into the loaf tin.
6 Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 1 hr or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Check in after 30 mins and, if it’s overly browning on top, cover loosely with foil. When fully baked, leave to cool completely on a wire rack.
7 For the glaze, whisk together the icing sugar, 2 tsp of chocolate bitters, 2 tbsp of olive oil and 2 tbsp of hot water. Drizzle over the cooled cake and sprinkle with chopped pecans.
PER SLICE (10) 543 kcals | fat 34.1G | saturates 4.8G | carbs 52.3G | sugars 35.7G | fibre 1.8G | protein 5.8G | salt 0.8G
Gurdeep Loyal is a food and drink trends specialist who built his career working at Harrods Food Halls, Innocent Drinks and M&S Food. He’s also a food writer and curator of online platform Mother Tongue, with his first recipe book set for release next spring. @gurd_loyal
Support small
Weyfish fishmongers: connecting a community through selling fish
Sean Cooper had been looking for a pub to run in retirement but found Weyfish instead. “It was started by Colin Horne and Bob Goodwin in 1985. I invested in 2017 and worked to change the relationship between Weyfish and the inshore fleet of Weymouth.” By doubling the price paid for local fish, an armistice between the fishmongers and fishermen was quickly set. “Since, 30 inshore boats have returned to land with us. We invested in our own boats to ensure a greater supply, too. We buy from day boats in the harbour that fish using sustainable methods – if we have to source from other markets, we employ our own buyers who, where possible, choose fish not caught on beam trawlers or dredgers.” Serving the community is important, too: “This fishmonger is a cornerstone of the fisher community. We support a wide group of fishers and provide full-time careers to 10 people in-house.” Weyfish contributes to the economy in both the local fishing industry and within town. “It’s fantastic to be able to tell customers where the fish was caught and on which boat, with what method. Most times we can even tell them the name of the fishermen who caught it.” weyfish.com
Listen up!
WHAT’S NEW on the olive podcast?
Have you heard our weekly podcast? Each episode, O’s deputy editor and podcast host, Janine, asks characters from the food world to share the top 10 things we need to know about their specialist subject, and there’s also a bonus effortless! episode where they give us their best kitchen hacks and tips. Brand-new episodes are released every Friday: listen out for Urvashi Roe on Gujarati food and cooking, and Zuza Zak on the magic of pierogi.
olive deputy editor Janine Ratcliffe 
Urvashi Roe 
Zuza Zak
COMPETITION
Share your ideas with us and WIN!
Each month on our effortless! feature we share genius buys and clever tips to make entertaining a breeze. Tell us your own that you use at home for the chance to win a casserole set worth £279.
Senior food editor, Nadine Brown, says:
“This month, we’re showing you how to create a special yet simple three-course menu, making use of good-quality jarred storecupboard staples (see p34).”
HOW TO ENTER:
1. Tell us your best effortless! idea that you use at home.
2. Send a photo showing us what you do.
3. Use #oliveeffortless! or email us on oliveweb@immediate.co.uk.
4. We’ll feature the winner in a future issue.
Win this stunning ProCook cast iron casserole set
A ProCook cast iron casserole dish is the perfect vessel for cooking casseroles, soups, stews and sauces, roasting various meat joints and even baking bread. Enamelled inside and out, each dish has a rich, glossy, premium finish, making it highly covetable cookware that looks great in any kitchen. ProCook’s cast iron casseroles boast exceptional non-stick qualities, even heat distribution and incredible performance on all hobs (including induction), and come with a 25-year guarantee.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS Competition open to entries from residents in the UK, over the age of 18. Send us your entries by 26 October 2022 at 23.59. For full terms and conditions, visit olivemagazine.com/effortlesscomp.
The winner of September’s effortless! competition is olive reader Claire Lawley-Woods, whose pud is easy enough for her grandchildren to help make. Crush 8 shop-bought meringue nests and mix with 1½ tsp mixed citrus zest, 2 tbsp orange juice and 300g mascarpone. Freeze in ramekins until set. Simmer a bag of sliced physalis in 250ml orange juice and 1 tbsp each lemon and lime juice. Sweeten to taste. Thicken with 1 tsp cornflour. Spoon the sauce onto plates and top with the puds.