Pork is an underrated barbecue meat, and this taste of Thailand pairs perfectly with a fiery mango salad

I tend to start grilling food the second I catch a glimpse of the sun. After all, even if the temperature drops or the clouds threaten, I can always resort to my griddle pan indoors. Pork is an underrated meat for the barbecue, and a slow-cooked shoulder or loin is a wonderful thing. When I’m short on time, however, I often go for mince: it’s reasonably priced and has enough fat for a deliciously juicy skewer. Here, I’ve infused it with Thai seasonings that take me back to the heady experience of eating grilled street food in Bangkok. A feisty mango salad and some rice on the side are all you need for a feast.

From beans, lentils and tofu to chicken, pork, beef and fish, experts weigh the health benefits and potential drawbacks

Do you think you’re not getting enough protein? Debbie Fetter, an associate professor in nutrition at the University of California, Davis, likes to ask her students this same question. In a lecture hall of more than 500 people, “almost every hand shoots up”, she says.

Protein is top of mind for consumers. A 2024 survey of 3,000 Americans suggests most are trying to eat more of it, and research shows that foods labeled “more protein” are especially appealing to consumers.

Cheesy vegetarian sliders with pickles and slaw, and caramelised cheesy cabbage wedges

Cabbage is one of my favourite ingredients. I love it for its versatility, and also because it’s nutritious and incredibly satisfying to cook with. I’ve been putting cabbage on my menus for more than two decades now, and at Our Farm in Cartmel, Cumbria, we grow hundreds of varieties to use across my restaurants’ kitchens throughout the year. For me, cabbage has always been one of the real heroes in the kitchen, and today’s recipes are about creating generous, seasonal dishes to share with it at their centre.

This simple Spanish classic will convince even staunch fava-phobics to give beans a chance

I always feel sorry for broad beans, the lumpy cousin perpetually overshadowed by the charms of slender, elegant asparagus and sweet, bouncy, little peas. They’re in season at roughly the same time, but asparagus in particular gets all the glory, perhaps because so many of us are scarred by childhood experiences of large, grey wrinkly beans served in a floury white sauce (my own parents are so averse to the things that I vividly remember the first time I came across them on a Sunday roast as a teenager and had to ask a friend what they were).

Unsurprising though it is, given our general scepticism with regard to pulses, the British lack of enthusiasm for the broad bean is a particular shame, because it’s been an important part of the European diet since ancient times. As the Oxford Companion to Food explains, however, they are also linked to a “superstitious dread” possibly associated with “a general belief that the souls of the dead might migrate into beans”. Having eaten a lot of the things in the process of writing this piece, I can reassure nervous readers that no haunting has yet taken place, and that this Spanish way with them is all but guaranteed to convince even the staunchest of fava phobics. Go on: give them a try.

Smoky peppers, spices, soy and oil all help with that fatty, salty, deeply savoury flavour, breadcrumbs and mushrooms add texture

I’ve recently given up eating pork, but I’m struggling to compensate for its umami. How can I recreate the taste and texture in, say, carbonara or my beloved chorizo dishes?
James, by email
For Joe Woodhouse, author of Weeknight Vegetarian, there’s just something about white beans: “Whether cooked from dried, then dropping chopped onion, garlic, sage and thyme into the broth, or just dumping a jar or tin into a pan with fried garlic and sage, the smell that fills the kitchen is like that of sausagemeat,” he says. “It tastes a bit like it, too – or at least the memory of it, bearing in mind I haven’t eaten the stuff for 30 years.”

The quest for that umami savouriness could start with soy sauce, Woodhouse says (“or Slow Sauce’s oat shoyu”), while chef Mike Davies’ first port of call would be Totole’s Chinese mushroom seasoning powder: “It’s super-effective in replacing the richness and fattiness that comes from cooking with any meat, and especially pork,” says the chef-director of the Camberwell Arms, south London. “Honestly, it’s such a cheat-code ingredient.”

This marvellous staple of the Portuguese kitchen is a rich bean stew with pork and sausages that makes an excellent one-pot feast. You might find it’s perfect for midweek …

If you are trying to incorporate more beans and pulses into your diet, as I am, then this robust, one-pot feast, which food writer Edite Vieira describes as “a marvellous standby of the Portuguese kitchen”, is one to bear in mind. Though each region has its own variations, “basically”, she explains, “feijoada is a rich bean stew with pork and sausages”. The Brazilian version, often cited as that country’s national dish, is the product of the West African “love of beans”, according to the Oxford Companion to Food, with some suggesting that it’s a South American creation that travelled to Europe along with returning colonisers. Others insist with equal fervour that the dish was “born in the north of Portugal, and imported and adapted to what was available in Brazil”. Like so many such homely favourites, its precise history will probably ever remain a mystery; what’s important is that it’s simple to prepare, easy to adapt according to taste and budget, and very satisfying.

I can’t get enough of cabbage right now, and it’s the perfect wrap for this warmly spiced picadillo filling

I love stuffed vegetables. When I was young, I came across a recipe for stuffed aubergines in an old book of my mother’s and must have cooked it a score of times. Later, in the early 1990s and to the echoes of nouvelle cuisine, Delia Smith showed us how we could work similar magic with peppers and tomatoes. Then the technique went deeply out of fashion, but I stayed loyal, and continued quietly stuffing tomatoes, pumpkins and courgettes, all no doubt influenced by my travels in Mexico. Thoday’s stuffed cabbage is inspired by the most delicious tongue in a tantalisingly light escabeche that I once had at Nicos in Mexico City, and also because I can’t get enough of cabbage at the moment.

Maiale al latte pairs tender pork with a creamy, caramelised sauce – and saves old milk from a down-the-sink fate

According to the Sustainable Food Trust, “the milk from 40,000 cows (300,000 tonnes) is tipped down the kitchen sink each year – a real slap in the face for the farmer”. Even though some supermarkets have now swapped use-by for best-before dates on their milk, those dates can still be confusing, so always do the sniff test before binning it: even if it’s a little sour, you can still cook with it.

Social media’s latest trend is a reminder that perfectionism isn’t always the best way forward. If we want to make change, maybe we need to give ourselves a bit of a break

You might at first be tempted to mark the date and write down the exact time, certain that this was the moment we really had heard it all. A new hypothesis is doing the rounds on social media, and it’s called Vegan but Bacon. Yeah, I thought flexitarian was annoying enough too, but apparently not.

Vegan but Bacon. Whatever next, eh? Virgin But Sex? Hang on though, because there might actually be something to this. A plant-based content creator called Liz kicked it off, replying to somebody who said they’d join her culinary crusade if it wasn’t for their relish for rashers. “So do it,” she told them, “Go vegan but bacon.” Three million views later, many had shared how they didn’t eat any animal products 95% of the time, or only at home, or allowed themselves a hall pass item. “Harm reduction is harm reduction,” said Liz (which is vegan for “it’s better than nowt”), before pointing out that most people make progress a step at a time rather than all at once.

Citrus brings vibrancy and zing to savoury and sweet dishes alike

Citrus season brings an entirely new dimension of seasoning – a way to add vibrancy, nuance and brightness far beyond the standard squeeze of lemon. For me, citrus isn’t just acidity: it’s a complex alternative to sugar and vinegar, with varieties that offer bitterness, floral tones, sweetness and sharpness in equal measure. With more than a hundred types of lemons, clementines and limes now available, I find it easiest to think of them in two groups: sour citrus and sweet citrus. Once you know which you’re working with, you can explore each variety’s complexity and decide how best to use it.

Marbled flesh and fat are key to this rich, succulent and dense ragu, boosted with powerful notes of bay, sage and rosemary

It’s 10.30am and steam carrying the smell of onions, beans, cabbage and braised meat escapes from the kitchen in the corner of box 37 on Testaccio market. In the small kitchen is Leonardo Cioni, a tall chef from San Giovanni Valdarno, midway between Florence and Arezzo, who, for the past three-and-a-half years, has run box 37 as Sicché Roba Toscana, which roughly translates as “therefore Tuscan stuff”. The escaping steam is effective advertising, leading eyes to the blackboard above the counter to discover exactly what is going on in the back.

Always on the menu is lampredotto. The fourth stomach of the cow and the most tender, delicate tripe, lampredotto looks like a damp dishcloth crossed with a heavily ruffled shirt. It is prepared by simmering it in broth made from onion, carrot, celery, tomatoes, parsley and basil for about an hour and a half, then seasoned with salt and pepper, and served in a roll, maybe with a spoonful of salsa verde. Also made daily by Leo, and many times over, are trays of torta di ceci, a baked chickpea flour pancake much like farinata that is sandwiched in a flatbread called schiaccia, which can also be filled with salumi or cheese. The rest of the menu changes daily, but always includes a bean dish, at least one legume and vegetable soup (often thickened with polenta or bread), some sort of long-braised stew and maybe a ragu.

Heaven in a bowl: sweet-and-sour peanut with pasta, Burmese noodle soup with coconut, noodles and myriad garnishes, and an easy and flavourful dumpling soup

One of the best things for lifting deflated spirits is a deep bowl of steaming, restorative soup – perfect for warming the places your old woolly jumper can’t reach. I love the romance and cosiness of creamy European soups drunk straight out of a mug around a fire in November, but in the icy tundra that is January I need something with more heat and intensity, something sustaining, spicy, gutsy and textured, so that I need a fork or chopsticks to eat it, rather than just a spoon. These punchy soups are simply rapture in a bowl, and make for extremely satisfying slurping.

Discover the joys of creamy soy bean curd in this spicy Sichuan dish that comes together in minutes

Mapo tofu is a Chengdu favourite typical of the “spicy generosity” of Sichuan food, Fuchsia Dunlop explains, though it’s perhaps better not translated as “pock-marked old woman’s tofu”. It may even convert you to the joys of tofu itself, should you still be on the fence about the stuff, because its creamy softness is the perfect foil for the intensely savoury, tingly seasoning involved here. It’s also ready in mere minutes.

Prep 10 min
Cook 7 min
Serves 2

These hearty, warming dishes will brighten up the dark cold months – and remind you there is a world of flavours out there

You can’t get much more than this tender chicken by way of comfort and pure deliciousness

Caramelised sprouts with onion, thyme and sweet vinegar, served on a crisp open sandwich with soft cheese and pine nuts

Brussels sprouts are perhaps not the first thing you think of when you think about Spanish food, but they do have a little history in my homeland. They arrived in Spain in the 16th century, through trade with Flanders, and were often paired with pork, which we love. Here, however, I caramelise them with onion, thyme and sweet vinegar, then serve on crisp baguette with soft cheese and pine nuts. A small bite with big flavour, and just right with a glass of oloroso – perfect for festive times.

Hundreds of police, rangers and military personnel deployed to tackle virus threatening pork export industry

Spanish authorities have deployed hundreds of police officers, wildlife rangers and military personnel in an effort to contain an outbreak of highly infectious African swine fever (ASF) outside Barcelona before it becomes a major threat to the country’s €8.8bn-a-year pork export industry.

Officials believe the virus, detected in the municipality of Bellaterra, may have begun to circulate after a wild boar ate contaminated food that had been brought in from outside Spain.