Olive Magazine January 2019

This time last year I was embarking on my first ‘dry January’. I was inspired by another food writer, who quite rightly pointed out that it’s perhaps the easiest time of year to cut back because “everyone is doing it”, so there’s far less peer pressure to “oh, go on, have one”. I succeeded, in the most part – we’ll skip over a Dubai brunch that descended into debauchery – but I realised that cutting things out of my diet just isn’t for me. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – we’re all about the joy here at Olive . That doesn’t mean we’re constantly gorging ourselves. It means that we take pleasure from food and drink in all its forms – whether that be from a thick…

One of the big trends we have identified in our annual Trend Report (on page 66) is that retro foods are officially back. Be it vol au vents, devilled eggs or faggots in gravy, we can’t get enough of nostalgic nosh. And it was on a recent trip to the Lake District that we realised just how important the good old-fashioned quiche still is, where you can get it in every deli, café and supermarket. Golden, buttery crust. Wibbly, wobbly, eggy centre. That, friends, is what lunchtime dreams are made of. And while there’s nothing wrong with a traditional quiche Lorraine – cream, bacon, cheese, what’s not to love – it is 2019. And so here’s a contemporary twist with even more good stuff in it to get your chops…

What’s it about? Bread! Richard Bertinet has spent a lifetime making bread for his bakery in Bath and teaching bread-making at his cookery school, and his latest book brings together that knowledge – covering all of the stages, step by step – mixing, fermenting and working, never kneading. Bertinet is famous for the unique way he works the dough – lifting and folding rather than pummelling, which gives his bread its distinctive texture. Why you should read it. It’s a brilliant book for anyone starting out in bread-making. Master the basics in the front half of the book, then you can attempt some of the more inventive recipes including savouries such as saffron and seaweed buns and green pea flatbreads to the sweeter chocolate, pistachio and orange loaf and cinnamon knots (£25, Kyle…

Taking the adage of ‘waste not, want not’ to the next level, Gail’s bakery chain is now making sourdough loaves using left-over bread. The process turns surplus bread into a ‘porridge’ which is then added to the dough prior to baking. The resultant loaf is made up of roughly one-third leftover bread – and having tested a loaf at Olive HQ we can testify it was delicious. Gail’s donates its most of its left-over food to more than 40 local charities, but any bread not sold or distributed this way goes towards making the Waste Bread. If you want to give it a try, the loaves are available (batches vary from day to day) in the company’s 43 bakeries across London and the South East for £3.70 a loaf. gailsbread.co.uk…

Rhubarb compote is a brilliant storecupboard standby for mixing into yogurt or using as a porridge topping. It also works really well in this cake, which is based on an American apple sauce cake. The compote adds extra body to the cake and keeps the crumb beautifully moist. It’s even better if you let it sit overnight, so a good one to make ahead. £2.99/385g, Waitrose and ocado.com Rhubarb and ginger cake 1 HOUR + COOLING MINUTES | CUTS INTO 16 | EASY Bonne Maman rhubarb compote 385g jarplain flour 250gbicarbonate of soda 1½ tspground ginger 1 tspgolden caster sugar 200gsoft brown sugar 75geggs 2vegetable oil 150ml ICING butter 100g, at room temperature, plus extra for the tin icing sugar 200gvanilla extract 1 tsp • Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Butter and line the base…

Mindful Chef meal box With 12 gluten- and dairy-free recipes to choose from each week, this healthy meal box comes complete with easy-to-follow instructions. Try chimichurri steak and baked sweet potato; pulled barbecue jackfruit with avocado salsa; or teriyaki salmon with crispy chard and pak choi. From £4 per portion with a four-person box, mindfulchef.com Yeo Valley strawberry kefir Good for your gut and packed with organic strawberries, try adding banana and nuts to this creamy kefir for a wholesome breakfast. £1.50/350g, Sainsbury’s Merchant Gourmet chestnut and red pepper dip Sweet, smoky and super smooth, try serving with falafel or as an alternative to hummus. £2.19/100g, Sainsbury’s The Spice Tailor Fast Paste creamy tandoori Marinade chicken, cauliflower or paneer in this rich, mildly spiced tandoori paste for an easy dinner. £2.50/ 170g, Sainsbury’s Booja-Booja honeycomb caramel truffles Indulgent dairy-free…