Olive Magazine Easter 2018

The combination of time off and tradition makes Easter hugely appealing to me. Toasted (hot cross) buns for days, crushed by the weight of cold, salted butter. Chocolate eggs and marzipan eaten until your teeth hurt. Great hunks of ceremonial roasted meat – bones picked until they’re bare. Movie marathons, box-set binges and bracing walks punctuated by beer and crisp packets torn down the middle for sharing. And so we’ve put together an issue that will hopefully make all of those activities even more tempting. From big family roasts with a twist (Cuban pork or garlic butter chicken, anyone?) and cheesy feasts (buffalo chicken mac’n’cheese and deep-fried goat’s cheese) to the next-level, trendy bakes you can dedicate the whole weekend to, there is plenty of recipe inspiration. I’m just going to…

Croque monsieur galette 1 HOUR + CHILLING SERVES 6 EASY whole milk 150m1 gruyère 200g, grated cornflour 2 tsp white pepper all-butter puff pastry 500g block dijon mustard 1-2 tbsp thickly sliced ham 200g, fat trimmed egg 1, beaten with a pinch of salt • Heat the milk in a large pan until just simmering. Gradually stir in the cheese until melted. Mix the cornflour with 1 tbsp water then add to the pan and bubble up gently until thickened. Season with salt and white pepper, then pour into a clingfilm-lined, round 18cm solid cake tin or baking dish. Put in the fridge for 2 hours or until completely chilled. • Heat the oven to 220C/fan 2000/gas 7. Halve the pastry and roll into two 23cm circles. Put one piece on a baking sheet and spread over the mustard in an…

TRENDS TRANSLATOR Each month the Olive team spots a new trend appearing in restaurants, street-food stalls and supper clubs across the UK, and then translates it for you to cook at home. This time it’s all about giving meaty meals a veggie boost. 50:50 According to recent research by Sainsbury’s, a quarter of us are trying to eat less meat during the week. Not content with just #meatfreemonday, it seems many are turning a bit more flexitarian and taking a balanced approach to the recent trend for plant-based dining. The supermarkets have duly responded and are now offering a smart/sneaky way to up our veg intake even if we’re craving meat. Sainsbury’s has released a Love Meat & Veg! range that includes pork sausages loaded with roasted red peppers, sweet potato, onion, sundried tomatoes…

What’s it about? Time and the role it plays in creating the food and flavours we love is the subject of Jenny Linford’s quirky book, from the split-second timings of caramelising sugar to the slow, unhurried processes of fermentation. Divided into chronologically themed sections – seconds, minutes, hours, days, months and years – the book explores the relationship between time and food through encounters with ingredients, cooks and producers. Why you should read it Thoughtful and absorbing, what distinguishes the book is how fluently it touches upon numerous different, and diverse, subjects. One chapter alone – ‘Months’ – takes the reader from a visit to a Regent’s Park beekeeper on a summer day to the preserving powers of fat and the workings of a herbalist in Sussex. Linford often goes into intricate detail…

Janine Ratcliffe’s favourite products We are big fans of Clarence Court eggs in the Olive test kitchen. We use its Burford Browns a lot for their guaranteed rich flavour and deep-orange yolk, so I was excited to see its new Cornish Blue duck eggs, which are frankly so pretty they are almost too good to eat – almost. Laid by wild mallard ducks, these rich eggs have extra creamy yolks which are brilliant for cake baking or for an indulgent baked brunch recipe. £2.75 for six, Waitrose. Coddled duck eggs with smoked haddock and spinach 40 MINUTES | SERVES 4 | EASY baby spinach 300g double cream 200ml gruyère 100g, grated butter for the ramekins skinless smoked haddock fillets 300g, cut into pieces duck eggs 4 chives chopped to make 1 tbsp sourdough 4 slices, toasted, buttered and cut into soldiers •…

Winner ASDA Extra Special Belgian dark-chocolate egg We loved this dark-chocolate egg studded with tangy bits of dried cherry. The chocolate is slightly sweeter than usual for dark, with a great glossy, professional finish. The extra truffles that come on the side are filled with a smooth, cherry-flavoured ganache. £8/290g Runner-up WAITROSE Dark Chocolate Avocado A fun option for chocolate and avocado lovers. The chocolate – a mixture of dark and white – has a strong cocoa flavour and a good snap, with a suitably millennial design. £8/250g Winner MARKS & SPENCER Luxury Hot Cross Buns With a soft bread crumb, plump juicy fruit, delicate spice and a distinctive cross on top, these hot cross buns were our standout favourite. We think they’d be great to eat on their own with their slightly sticky texture, or toasted and slathered with butter.…