Olive Magazine February 2020

Comfort for me means soft socks. It means heavy duvets, cats snuggling in nooks, and cwtches under cold blue skies. It also, most satisfyingly, means pies – too-much-is-never-enough kinda pies. And our cover star, this issue, ticks all kinds of comfort boxes for me. Beef shin is slowly cooked with butter, onions and red wine (hello!) until it’s so tender that a winter cough could risk its collapse. It’s topped with Marmite-y, cheesy cobbler, whose generous bottom acts like a dumpling, while the top goldens to a crisp crust. Get. In. My. Belly. We’ve also got crumble (boozy apple, you’re welcome), an oozing cheese toastie, fiery, lip-tingling, chops-smacking Sichuan, cakes (brown butter or rhubarb and ginger) and we’ve got roasts. More specifically, six new ways to roast a chicken. Now, you…

Rich beef pie with cheesy Marmite cobbler crust 4 HOURS | SERVES 6 | EASY boneless beef shin 1kg, cut into chunks and fat trimmedplain flour 3 tbsp, well seasonedolive oil 2 tbspbutter a knobonions 2 large, halved and slicedred wine 200mlbeef stock 200mlstar anise 1bay leaves 2 MARMITE COBBLER CRUST self-raising flour 400g, plus extra for dustingbutter 100g, chilled and cubedmature cheddar 150g, gratedwhole milk 200mlMarmite 1 tbsp, plus extra to serveegg beaten to glaze • Dust the beef in the seasoned flour then shake off the excess. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan. Brown the beef all over in batches and scoop out into a large lidded casserole when done. • Wipe out the pan then add another tbsp of olive oil and a knob of butter. Cook…

RAVIOLI STAMP Homemade ravioli in a brown butter sauce with crispy sage is the way to our hearts. £6, souschef.co.uk HOT CHOCOLATE Warm up this winter with a mug of Chococo’s dark, bitter hot chocolate. £7.50/125g, chococo.co.uk MUG Madrid-based English potter Laura Thomas creates simple yet stylish hand-thrown tableware. £35, lauraaymara.com DINNER PLATE Add a splash of gentle colour to your winter dinner table with this stoneware plate. £31, donnawilson.com GELATO There’s a reason Swoon’s hazelnut gelato won the most coveted Great Taste Supreme Champion Award this year – silky smooth and as richly nutty as it gets. £20/1 litre, from Swoon stores across South West England CRACKERS Love the crispy bits on a grilled cheese? You’ll love these buttermilk crackers topped with off-cuts of Quicke’s mature cheddar and black pepper. £4/200g, Gail’s COOKING POT Designed in collaboration with Indian craftsman Mathew Sasa,…

Cheese and balsamic shallot toastie 45 MINUTES | SERVES 4 | EASY olive oil for fryingechalion (banana) shallots 8, finely slicedbalsamic vinegar 2 tbspsalted butter 50gsourdough bread 8 large slicesdijon mustard 1 tspcheddar 100g, gratedgruyère 100g, gratedmozzarella 100g, sliced • Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a non-stick frying pan. Gently cook the shallots with some seasoning for 25-30 minutes or until soft, golden and caramelised. Splash in the vinegar and bubble until evaporated, then cool. • Butter both sides of each bread slice, leaving half the butter to fry the toasties. Spread four of the slices with a layer of dijon mustard followed by the cheeses, the balsamic shallots and some seasoning. Top with the remaining slices of bread and press lightly together. • Heat a large non-stick frying pan over a medium…

Cold sesame noodles 20 MINUTES | SERVES 4 EASY | V LC Peanuts and sesame are big factors in Sichuan cooking, as is a love of cold savoury dishes to cool off on hot days. crunchy peanut butter 2 tbsptahini 2 tbsprice vinegar 3 tbsplight soy sauce 1 tbsptoasted sesame oil 1 tbsp, plus extra to servecaster sugar 1 tbspcooked egg noodles 2 x 275g packscucumber ½, deseeded and cut into very thin 8cm stripsroasted peanuts a handfulchiu chow chilli oil to serve (see cook’s notes) • Put the peanut butter, tahini, rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil and caster sugar into a large bowl with 50ml of water and whisk. • Tip the noodles into the sauce and gently mix until everything is well coated. Divide between four bowls. • Put a small pile of…

Rosemary salt roast chicken 1 HOUR 40 MINUTES + OVERNIGHT SALTING SERVES 4 | EASY | GF Salting the skin overnight draws out moisture and gives you a golden, crisp skin after roasting. whole chicken 1.5kgrosemary leaves picked to make 1 tbspsea salt crystals 2 tbspolive oil • Put the chicken on a rack over a roasting tray. Clear a shelf at the bottom of the fridge that the chicken will fit onto in its tray. • Use a pestle and mortar to crush together the rosemary and salt. Rub this mixture all over the chicken and chill, uncovered, overnight. Take the chicken out of the fridge 30 minutes before you want to cook it to come up to room temperature. • Heat the oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Brush any excess salt off the chicken…