Olive Magazine Easter 2020

Has anyone else got more into baking the older they’ve got? I used to always be the one to say, “I’d rather have two starters, rather than a dessert”, but nowadays any spare hour I have in the kitchen on the weekend, you’ll find me whipping up a batch of cookies (chocolate, salted, thank you). Throw a long weekend into the mix and I’ll be making banana bread with over-ripe bananas saved from the compost by way of the freezer, or batch-cooking brownies for a rainy day. And so, Easter is a time – after the long, bleak (and unnecessarily wet, this year) winter – that I long for. A chance to get my serious bake on, to spend time with friends and family, and indulge in the season’s finest. Whether…

HOW WE CHOSE THE WINNERS The Olive team chose eight 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 winner and highly commended accolades to our favourites. Look out for these Olive badges as a mark of excellence. (Prices correct at time of print.) BEST MILK CHOCOLATE EGG Aldi Moser Roth Giant Dragon Egg, £14.99/800g An all-round showstopper. This enormous egg impresses with its complex, toffee undertones, creamy texture and delicate shell. Lidl Deluxe Extra Premium Easter Egg, Valencian Orange Milk Chocolate, £4.99/210g Buy this orange blossom…

Spring frittata with crispy chorizo 45 MINUTES | SERVES 4 | EASY | LC olive oil 1 tbsp, plus a drizzleonion ½, finely choppedasparagus 250g, trimmed and cut into 6cm piecesfrozen peas 100gfrozen broad beans 100geggs 8, beatenspinach 2 large handfulsdill a handful, choppedflat-leaf parsley a handful, choppedparmesan a handful, finely gratedmini cooking chorizo sausages 190g, halved lengthwaysgarlic 1 clove, thinly slicedsherry vinegar 2 tbsp • Heat the grill to high. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a 28cm non-stick ovenproof frying pan over a medium heat and cook the onion with a pinch of seasoning for 5 minutes or until beginning to soften, then add the asparagus and cook for another 5 minutes. Stir in the peas and broad beans, and mix for 2 minutes, then add the beaten eggs, stirring…

Tim Anderson is a chef and author specialising in Japanese cuisine. He is the owner of Nanban, a Japanese soul food restaurant in Brixton and has written four cookery books: Nanban, JapanEasy, Tokyo Stories and Vegan JapanEasy. Listen to Tim on episode 190 of the Olive magazine podcast. Sichuan-style hot and numbing tofu with ancient grains (mapo tofu) 1 HOUR 40 MINUTES | SERVES 4 | EASY | LC A couple of years ago, I was so hell-bent on making the perfect mapo tofu that I cooked it four times a week. I tried many recipes but kept coming back to the classic pork version – a shame really, because mapo tofu is so nearly vegan. Then I realised that it was the meat’s texture, not its flavour, that was so important to…

Giant sausage roll wellington 1 HOUR 20 MINUTES + CHILLING SERVES 6 | EASY A budget-friendly main that packs in the flavour. Serve with a big jug of the onion gravy and the usual roast trimmings. olive oil 2 tbspleek 1 large, finely choppedfennel seeds 1 tsp, crusheddried chilli flakes a good pinchchestnut mushrooms 300g, choppedbutter a knobbaby spinach 200ggarlic 1 clove, crushedherby pork sausages 12ready-rolled puff pastry 2 x 320g sheetsdijon mustardegg 1, beaten to glaze ONION GRAVY butter for fryingonion 1 small, gratedplain flour 2 tspred wine a small glassstrong chicken stock 300mlworcestershire sauce a good dashdijon mustard 1 tsp • To make the gravy, melt a knob of butter in a pan then cook the onion until golden and soft. Stir in the flour, cooking until it darkens a little. Stir in the…

Edd Kimber was the first Great British Bake Off winner and is one of the UK’s best-loved bakers and the author of three baking books. Find his recipes on Olive magazine.com and follow him on Instagram@theboywhobakes. Nutella swirl buns 1 HOUR 30 MINUTES + PROVING + COOLING | MAKES 8 A LITTLE EFFORT BRIOCHE DOUGH strong white bread flour 340g, plus extra for dustingcaster sugar 20gsalt3/4 tspfast-action dried yeast 5gwhole milk 165mlegg 1 largeegg yolk 1 largeunsalted butter 65g, diced and at room temperatureoil for the bowl FILLING Nutella 300g, room temperaturehazelnuts 50g, choppedchocolate chips 50gunsalted butter 25g, melted • To make the brioche dough, put the flour, sugar, salt and yeast into the bowl of an electric stand mixer and briefly mix together to combine. With the dough hook attached, add the milk, egg and egg…