Olive Magazine Easter 2019

When I look back on what were the greatest foodie memories of my life, I know which will rank highest. It won’t be the 10-course tasting menus or the meals that have caused my fiancé to wince as we hand over the credit card. It will be the meals my mum made (sorry, dad). Those that I’ve had a hand in making – the samosas we used to patiently stuff and roll when I was barely tall enough for my nose to reach the worktop – and those that were the handiwork of mum alone. The juiciest roast chicken, cooked in her terracotta chicken brick (if you know, you know), lemony new potatoes and spring salads with all the herbs and chive flowers she could find from the garden. The hand-cut…

No knead hot cross buns 1 HOUR OVERNIGHT PROVING | MAKES 12 | EASY plain flour525g plus 3 tbsp for the cross and extra for shapingsoft light brown sugar 75gmixed spice 2 tspfast-action dried yeast 7gunsalted butter 150g melted and cooledwhole milk 200ml plus 3 tbspeggs 4 largeraisins 150gmixed peel 25g (optional) The day before you want to serve mix the 525g flour, sugar, mixed spice 1 tsp salt and yeast in a large bowl until evenly combined In a large jug mix together the butter, 200ml milk and 3 of the eggs Make a well in the flour bowl and pour in the milk mixture Use your hands to mix into a shaggy dough making sure there are no dry pockets of flour. Cover and set aside for 1 hour. Use a wet hand…

HOW WE CHOSE THE WINNERS The Olive team chose six categories having researched which products you, our readers, would be most likely to buy this Easter. We invited all the big supermarkets to select the products they wanted to nominate (just one entry per category, so they had to choose carefully). Our expert panel of judges blind-tasted them, rating each on taste, texture and appearance. We then awarded gold, silver and bronze awards to our favourites. Look out for these Olive badges as a mark of excellence. BEST CLASSIC HOT CROSS BUN Iceland Luxury hot cross buns, £1/4 pack These gently spiced bargain buns with plump fruit and a glossy glaze are great eaten fresh, or try toasting and slathering with salted butter. BEST ALTERNATIVE HOT CROSS BUN Booths chocolate & ginger hot cross buns, £1.30/4…

Asparagus gnocchi with prosciutto crumbs 15 MINUTES | SERVES 4 AS A STARTER | EASY prosciutto 4 slicessalted butter 75ggarlic 1 clove, crushedasparagus 250g, trimmedgnocchi 300g packparmesan 25g, finely grated • Heat the grill to medium. Cook the prosciutto on a non-stick baking sheet, turning, until really crisp. Cool, then crumble. • Heat the butter in a frying pan, add the garlic and gently sizzle for a few minutes, then take off the heat. • Cook the asparagus in a pan of boiling salted water for 2-3 minutes or until just tender, then scoop out with a slotted spoon and drain well. Add the gnocchi to the same boiling water and cook following pack instructions, then drain. • Put the pan with the garlicky butter back onto the heat, then add the asparagus and gnocchi, and…

Chris Boustead, chef-patron of Linden Stores “Growing up in Scarborough as one of five boys, Easter and Christmas were the rare occasions we would sit together for a meal with our mum joined by our grandma, who would cycle over with a basket full of yorkshires (our yorkie tray deemed inferior for the job). Once I trained as a chef the baton for preparing these family meals was firmly passed to me and the pressure to make such occasions special as well as pleasing my picky brothers was on. Duck was a meat my mum always enjoyed and the less adventurous members of the family were willing to take a chance on, so it’s become something we’ve eaten for special occasions ever since.” lindenstores.co.uk Roast duck with layered potato cake and spring…

Kid is very young goat (so more akin to lamb) and can be cooked fast as chops or kebabs or braised slowly in stews and curries. Buy it online at cabrito.co.uk. Choricero peppers are dried sweet Spanish peppers available from Spanish delis and online at brindisa.com. Salted duck eggs are a Chinese speciality and can be bought both cooked and raw. You can use regular boiled duck eggs and just toss with extra salt. Chinese aubergines are longer and thinner than regular aubergines – use baby aubergines if unavailable. Coconut palm vinegar, Chinese aubergines and salted duck eggs can be found in Chinese grocers. Calasparra rice is a type of paella rice from Murcia, southern Spain. It is available from brindisa.com, but bomba paella rice will work in its place. Cyprus potatoes have…