WeekendFREE Issue 686 | 22 February 2024 MUSICAL MAESTROS Rod Stewart and Jools Holland on joining forces for new album p10 PRUE LEITH Why cocktails at the cinema and pub grub is her perfect weekend p35 BOOK IT IN Author Paula Akpan selects the top 10 literary festivals for 2024 p36 OFFERS Great savings on selected products from Waitrose p44 THE BEET GOES ON Bring colour, avour and zing to your midweek dinner with this quick and easy roast squash & beetroot warm salad with crispy halloumi, p16
2 22 FEBRUARY 2024 News&Views The trend for cooking over fire is igniting the imagination of top chefs. Sarah Barratt reports RESTAURANTS REKINDLE AN OLD FLAME People have harnessed the power of flame to transform raw ingredients into mouthwatering delicacies for millennia. Now the ancient art of live fire cooking is being rekindled for the modern age, with chefs across the country switching their hobs for hot coals and wood. Amsterdam-born fire restaurant Nela, due to open an outpost in London’s Bayswater later this year, is stoking excitement. But the hottest ticket in town is a table at Mountain in Soho, where chef Tomos Parry prepares Basque-inspired dishes over crackling flames. Similarly, at Edō in Belfast, tapasstyle sharing dishes are forged in a Bertha charcoal oven, while at Bank in Bristol, even the roast dinners are cooked over fire. But the trend is no flash in the pan – buzzy east London barbecue joint Smokestak has been blazing a trail since 2013. Guests flock there to feast on the famous brisket bun, gochujang wings and rotisserie flatbread, cooked over flames or in a hot smoker. “The flavour you get is impossible to replicate,” says founder David Carter. Itamar Srulovich and Sarit Packer, founders of Middle Eastern restaurant Honey & Co, agree. “Cooking over fire imparts a flavour profile that enhances everything. It is almost primal, this idea of a few bits of wood and charcoal allowing you to transform something simple like a cabbage or a pear into something magnificent and complex,” they say. The pair are such fans of fire that they wrote a book (Chasing Smoke: Cooking Over Fire Around the Levant) and dedicated a restaurant to it (Honey & Smoke, in Great Portland Street, London). Elsewhere, MasterChef: The Professionals winner Stuart Deeley is firing up appetites at his restaurant Smoke. Situated in an old There’s a lot more to live fire cooking than meat, too. At Acme Fire Cult, which is drawing crowds in east London, vegetables are the stars of the show, with aubergines, leeks and other earthly delights charred over a wood-fired grill, becoming sumptuously soft and smoky in the process. “We want to break the barbecue ‘dude food’ stereotype, showing how versatile fire cooking can be,” says cofounder Andrew Clarke. “In the UK, we tend to use ‘barbecue’ as an umbrella term, but I’m keen to challenge this,” says Stuart. “I’ve always thought of my style being closer to a Turkish ocakbasi or Argentinian grill.” A love of fire also burns deep in Genevieve Taylor, author of Seared: The Ultimate Guide to Barbecuing Meat and Scorched: The Ultimate Guide to Barbecuing Fish (out in March). Genevieve, who o ers fire cooking courses in her Bristol garden, began playing with fire “to make day-to-day cooking more interesting” when her children were young. “For me, a love of fire cooking is born from a love of being outside, enjoying nature and the environment,” she says. Fire cooking is not just a summer pursuit. “Barbecuing is a year-round activity and I’ve been known to stand over the grill with a brolly in hand,” says chef and food writer Helen Graves, whose cookbook Live Fire shows how to make the most of your grill in all seasons. “In winter, I use it at least twice a week, to bring the extra dimension of flavour only live fire cooking can.” ‘Cooking over fire imparts a flavour that enhances everything. It can transform simple things into something complex’ HOT STUFF (Clockwise from left) Andrew Clarke of Acme Fire Cult; Genevieve Taylor cooks in her garden; Stuart Deeley in the open kitchen at Smoke; Smoke’s starter of burrata, beetroot gazpacho and hazelnut furikake; green peppers getting blistered furnace at Hampton Manor, a 45-acre estate near Birmingham, he focuses on seasonal produce cooked simply over flames. “It’s an informal experience where we let the produce do the talking,” says Stuart. “As I’ve gotten older, I’m less into foams and gels. I just want a nice piece of meat and some veg.” The trend signifies a turn away from fine dining towards age-old techniques that allow ingredients to sing. Most live fire restaurants o er a relaxed atmosphere, invoking the conviviality felt by our ancestors as they shared meals and told stories around the fire. But there’s also an element of drama – at Smoke, guests can sit at the counter overlooking the kitchen, watching sparks fly as their Hereford côte de boeuf or Shetland cod is cooked over hot coals. Likewise, at The Gunton Arms, a muchloved gastropub in Norfolk, visitors watch as their sausages and steaks sizzle over a roaring fireplace. Cover: Recipes: Rebecca Woollard, Photographs: Ant Duncan, Food styling: Jennifer Joyce, Styling: Max Robinson, Art Direction: Sharon
3 22 FEBRUARY 2024 GOOD NEWS IN BRIEF This week’s uplifting stories from Anna Shepard Net gain for women Britain has three female tennis players in the world’s top 100 for the rst time in ve years after Harriet Dart (above) reached her rst Women’s Tennis Association semi- nal at the Transylvania Open in Romania. The Londoner, 27, won ve matches at the event before losing to Karolina Pliskova, and has risen 12 places to world number 91 and Britain’s number three. She forms an elite trio with fellow Brits Katie Boulter (ranked 50) and Jodie Burrage (88). Spuds are the stars Ben Newman – Spudman to his 2.3 million TikTok followers – has been selling up to 1,500 jacket potatoes a day from his trailer in Tamworth, after his daily videos went viral. With his pink mohawk and chatty nature, Ben has attracted customers from as far as Australia and Malaysia, raising the reputation of the humble potato. But customers now face three-hour queues stretching through the Sta ordshire town. Hooray for hedges England’s hedgerows would stretch almost 10 times around Earth if lined up end to end, according to a new map which uses laser scanning from the air to reveal England’s 390,000 hedges. This is likely to be more than anywhere else in the world, according to the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, which created the map. It hopes the data will encourage protection for these wildlife-friendly havens and highlight any gaps in the network. Pet project Dog walkers want to buy 140 acres of woodland near Peebles, Scottish Borders, to increase community access. The Friends of Broughtonknowe bid for the popular spot with help from a Scottish Land Fund grant. Debbie Walbaum from the group said: “It can’t be underestimated how important these woods are to people.” It’s become the norm to subscribe to everything from streaming services to letterbox cake, co ee, owers and books. Now – in a UK rst – you can take out a solar energy subscription. With latest research revealing that 70% of UK households are interested in installing solar panels, but only 4% have taken the leap, Sunsave’s subscription model removes the two most-cited barriers – pricing and complexity of the process. Backed by almost £2 million in government funding via the Green Home Finance Accelerator, the Sunsave Plus package provides panels, batteries, monitoring and maintenance, all for a xed monthly payment – starting from £69 and promising to slash energy bills – and no one-o lump sum. Brand founders Alick Dru and Ben Graves (above) met at Oxford University in 2011, where they discovered a shared interest in the climate. The pair say they were motivated to ‘democratise’ solar in the light of its ability to provide ‘near-limitless clean energy’. Alice Ryan NOW YOU CAN SUBSCRIBE TO SOLAR ENERGY It’s a wrap for diners with a taste for fish Retro, luxurious and comforting, fish in golden pastry with a layer of something creamy may have headlined menus during the 80s, but a growing number of home diners are tucking into its charms once again. Salmon en croûte sales are up 14% at Waitrose, while a recipe at waitrose.com for easy salmon en croûte (above), made with four ingredients, is the most popular in the website’s Meal Maths section. For restaurants still serving something similar, the watchword is theatre, from the ‘work of art’ bar en croûte (whole sea bass in pastry) served with langoustine bisque at London’s Pique Nique, to Manzi’s monkfish Wellington with sauce Americaine in Soho. Meanwhile, one of the capital’s oldest restaurants, Wiltons, serves 1.4M That’s the number of breadmakers going unused in UK homes, according to research by the charity Recycle Your Electrics. This year’s Real Bread Week, which runs until Sunday (25 February), is encouraging people to use them, or pass them on to someone who will. Real bread – produced without additives or processing aids – can easily be made by machine, says Chris Young, from the Real Bread Campaign, which is behind the initiative. “The cost of basic ingredients and energy to run a bread maker amount to pence, so adopting one is an a ordable and accessible way of more people being able to enjoy real bread,” he says. GOLDEN OLDIE Whole sea bass en croûte at The Connaught (right) a salmon coulibiac with pickled cucumber every Friday lunch. Mayfair’s Connaught Hotel o ers a sharing Cornish sea bass en croûte, and its assistant director of food and beverage Andreas Cortes says: “Pastry is the most important element –it’s responsible for creating a moisture seal that ensures the fish is steamed.” Mary Berry features mini versions in her new book Mary Makes It Easy. Her salmon and herbed hollandaise pavé involves individual salmon fillets on pu pastry bases. Anna-Marie Julyan Photographs: Steve Ryan, courtesy of Smoke, Jason Ingram, Getty Images
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5 22 FEBRUARY 2024 News&Views Visit trailƂnders.com/wa for more information ESCAPE DOWN UNDER Honey bees buzz towards the entrance of a hive near a stream in a thick forest in Chimanimani, south-east Zimbabwe. When beekeeper Primrose Sithole removes the top to inspect the hexagonal honeycomb, the insects react with a sharp, loud buzzing. Primrose, 26, is one of 11 young people in Chimanimani who have been helped by the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation with beekeeping training that in turn creates jobs. Natural honey is in demand across the world and keeping bees o ers new opportunities for smallholder farmers to diversify and sustain livelihoods, which have been hit by floods and drought caused by climate change. Mum-of-one Primrose, who has been selling her honey locally since last year, says: “When we cut down gum trees to make hives, we plant more. We have planted 3,500 gum trees covering more than two hectares and are also planting bushy trees within the apiary to keep the forest intact and help prevent land degradation.” Admire Munjuwanjuwa, project coordinator for social enterprise Honeyworld Zimbabwe, says that as well as helping to preserve the forests, honey is a good food source. “We spread it on bread and use it as a sweetener in tea. It is also a medicine and helps us as a cough syrup,” he adds. “It’s great to cut down on plastics in the house, but have you thought about the garden? Plastic products eventually break apart, leaving fragments in the natural environment for hundreds of years, which will then break down into microplastics. So try this tip: when sowing legumes, such as peas, beans and sweet peas, use cardboard inners from loo rolls. Stand them in rows on a waterproof tray and ll them with compost before sowing and watering. The long tubes encourage strong lengthy roots and you can plant the whole thing in your growing bed or pot – it will protect the seedling and naturally decompose in the soil.” Anna Shepard DO ONE GREEN THING Garden without plastic, says Louise Boland, author of The Plastic-Free Gardener Out of 48 hives, 13 have so far been colonised with the Western honey bee. Primrose and other women beekeepers are also changing a traditionally male-dominated sector. “Earning a living from beekeeping gives me joy. I bring something to the table in my marriage,” she says. Farai Shawn Matiashe Photographs: Shutterstock, Farai Shawn Matiashe BEE HAPPY Primrose with one of her hives (top); a honeycomb from an apiary in Chimanimani (right) GROWTH INDUSTRY GIVES FARMERS A NEW BUZZ Have you been watching John and Lisa’s Food Trip Down Under? This wve-part series sees John Torode and Lisa Faulkner enjoy the stunning landscapes, wildlife and food and wine of Western Australia. Watch their journey on ITVX, and follow in their footsteps on a driving holiday of a lifetime with Trailwnders, the travel experts.
6 22 FEBRUARY 2024 News&Views Cornish Pasty Week begins on Monday, offering a chance to celebrate the West Country’s finest export, wherever you are in the world. Paul Dring reports from Mexico A VERY TASTY SUCCESS STORY In focus It seems that we all love a Cornish pasty. This heritage recipe, which began life more than two centuries ago as a handy lunch for West Country tin miners, is now a national favourite – last year we polished o more than 120 million of them. Our appetite for them generates an estimated £300 million of trade for the Cornish economy each year. It’s no wonder, then, that the recipe – featuring the four permitted filling ingredients of skirt steak, potato, swede and onion – is closely guarded by Protected Geographical Indication status. That being said, we’re not averse to ringing a few changes. To fit in with modern demand, you can now pick up vegan and gluten-free pasties, while a visit to one (admittedly Devonian) pasty maker unearths flavours as diverse as chicken and chorizo, Moroccan lamb and vegetable curry. While these variants aren’t allowed to be sold as ‘Cornish pasties’, they do underline the fact that the basic pasty template, as with any pie, is eminently adaptable, a great userupper of whichever ingredients are to hand. And it’s not only Brits who like a nice pasty. Real del Monte is one of Mexico’s highest towns, almost 9,000 feet up in the Sierra de Pachuca mountains in the state of Hidalgo. On first glance, its well-tended town square seems like any other Mexican zócalo. But take a closer look and you’ll notice something strange. Is that the black and white standard of St Piran, the flag of Cornwall, fluttering in the breeze? That can’t be a red telephone box on the corner? And what’s the deal with shop after shop dispensing what look very much like Cornish pasties? The answers to these questions are rooted in the region’s history. In the 1820s, Mexico had been ravaged by its War of Independence, which had left Hidalgo’s lucrative silver mines derelict and flooded. The Mexicans needed expert help to reopen them, so they appealed to the tin miners of Cornwall, who brought with them their know-how and their stateof-the-art, steam-powered equipment. Back then, the miners’ journey was a lot more hazardous than it would be today. When the first 130 Cornish men, women and children landed at Veracruz in 1825, they had to traverse the 400km inland to Real del Monte on foot, hacking ever upwards through dense vegetation, lugging their 1,500 tonnes of equipment with them by rope and on mules – a trek that took more than a year. Over the course of the 19th century, these intrepid pioneers were joined by more expats fleeing their county’s by-then dwindling tin industry, establishing a thriving Cornish presence in the high sierra. The Englishmen brought with them more than professional acumen – they also introduced football to the country. The miners’ after-work kickabouts eventually coalesced into the founding of Mexico’s first o cial team, Club de Fútbol Pachuca, set up in 1901 by men from Redruth and Camborne – both towns are now twinned with Real del Monte. The sport soon caught on – it is now the country’s most TALES OF TRADITION Cornish pasties being made in 1936 (above); St Piran’s ag adorns Cornish pasties (far left); Christopher Ludlow (left, centre) in Real del Monte in 1915
7 22 FEBRUARY 2024 In my opinion NIHAL ARTHANAYAKE M y father had retirement all mapped out. He aimed to avoid the cold UK winter months at his home in the tropical warmth of his native Sri Lanka. I remember talking to him about his post-retirement strategy. He outlined how he would spend the period back in Blighty consulting for di erent companies, who would remunerate him for providing his experience in the telecoms industry. These laudable intentions never came to fruition, because my father died of a heart attack at 62. This terrible event, more than two decades ago, helped shape my attitude to work and retirement. My father was a grafter, who spent weeks, sometimes months, away on business. He had clearly accepted the trade-o between family time and building a better life for us. We accepted it – we had no choice. When I think of all the hours he put into his job – his sacrifices, his plans – it upsets me. Ultimately, he made sure that my mother wasn’t saddled with debt when he died, but they were denied a retirement spent together and I don’t want that to happen to me. There has to be a point to being employed that doesn’t involve working for the sake of it, or because you’re scared of terminating your employment. I recently spoke to a London taxi driver who was still picking up fares at the age of 69. He feared retirement, believing it would lead to his untimely demise. He enjoyed his job, and was full of energy, but it concerned me that fear was keeping him in the driving seat. There has to be a life beyond the occupation that has defined us. Retirement will mean di erent things to di erent people, and I’m trying to work out what it will mean for me when and if it comes. It will be vital to keep my mind engaged, and writing is one of the best ways to do that. But I also want to wake up with no plans, to a day full of as-yet-unrealised possibilities. I cannot work until I drop without having known the experience of wholly focusing on my own wants and needs. As I begin to glimpse the retirement years on the horizon, I want an exit strategy that involves freedom. What shape that emancipation takes has not yet revealed itself, but I want to embrace it and not be terrified by it. My parents never got to be truly free together. I hope to avoid that outcome. Nihal’s book Let’s Talk: How to Have Better Conversations (Trapeze) is out now. @therealnihal ‘Retirement will mean different things to different people, and I’m trying to work out what it will mean for me if and when it comes’ The broadcaster and author airs his views Paul Hollywood visited in 2022, the town’s bakers organised a bake o , pro ering their finest pastes for his appraisal. Tactfully, he decided it was handshakes all round and the contest was declared a draw. Other signs of the British influence on the town include the Panteón Inglés, or English cemetery, where many of the original Cornish miners are buried in graves that all point north-east to the mother country, and the occasional Anglo-Saxon surname. Pachuca-born Ricardo Ludlow is the greatgreat grandson of Christopher Ludlow, who arrived from Camborne in 1875, and he recalls his mother and grandmother making pastes when he was a child. “Each one would be personalised with our initials in pastry,” he recalls. “But we wouldn’t have any chilli in ours.” He also has fond memories of ‘Cornish breakfasts’. “My grandmother would fry up yesterday’s pastes, which we would eat in the morning with scrambled eggs.” It wasn’t until he visited the UK a few years ago that he realised this thrifty tradition was no longer practised in Cornwall. As the years passed, the Cornish men and women of Real del Monte became Mexican. “They still had to practise Methodist religion in private,” says Ricardo. “But, gradually, they fell in love, married and had children. For those who did so, integration was quicker, easier and happier.” The tale of Real del Monte’s pastes is one of assimilation – of something from overseas, su used by local influences to create something new and distinct. Neither Cornish nor Mexican, yet both. Cornish Pasty Week, 26 February to 3 March BEYOND CORNWALL Five tempting Mexican paste llings to try Tinga de pollo Shredded chicken in a tomato sauce avoured with smoky chipotle peppers. Mole rojo A classic Mexican red sauce avoured with tomatoes, chocolate, and chillies such as ancho and guajillo. Hawaiana If you thought pineapple on pizza was controversial, then this pineapple, cheese and ham pasty ups the stakes. Cajeta A Victorian tin miner’s pasty might well have comprised sweet and savoury halves separated by a pastry wall. This exclusively sweet version is made with goat’s milk dulce de leche. Papa con carne Aka potatoes with meat – the closest you’ll nd to the originals made by Cornish settlers. They’re usually made with minced beef, not skirt steak, and poblano chillies (right) instead of swedes, which aren’t grown in Mexico. popular sport and Mexico is one of only five nations to have hosted the World Cup twice (1970 and 1986). But it’s the pasties that remain Real del Monte’s most vivid Cornish legacy. Called pastes (pronounced ‘past-ay’), they are made the same way as those you’ll find in Cornwall, right down to the trademark hand-crimped edges. Fillings, though, have been varied in accordance with local tastes and ingredient availability. At Pastes el Portal, one of around 70 paste shops in Real del Monte and the neighbouring town of Pachuca, varieties include the spicy chocolate and chilli mole, tinga de pollo (chipotlemarinated shredded chicken), and zarzamora con queso (blackcurrant and cheese). “We don’t get many British visitors here,” says owner Ciro Peralta, a former miner who set up the shop in 1975, “but Mexican tourists love our pastes.” One British visitor who did put in an appearance was a rather eminent one. HM The King, then HRH Prince of Wales, visited the town’s pasty museum (Museo del Paste) in 2014. And The King isn’t the only famous Brit to have dropped by. When ‘Pastes are made the same way as those in you’ll find in Cornwall, right down to the hand-crimped edges’ HOME FROM HOME The then HRHs The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall on a visit to the Museo del Paste in Real del Monte in 2014 (left); a silver mine in Hidalgo, Mexico, near to where Cornish miners settled in the early 19th century (below) Photographs: Alamy, Getty Images
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9 22 FEBRUARY 2024 News&Views Photographs: Rory Lewis A BUG'S LIFE This jaunty blue-tailed damselfly perched on a rain-spotted daisy was photographed at the Cotswold Water Park near Cirencester, Gloucestershire. The image by Rory Lewis – called Top of the Morning – was a finalist in the International Garden Photographer of the Year competition. It’s backed by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and a selection of the higher-placed images are on show there until 10 March. The big picture
10 22 FEBRUARY 2024 TRACKS OF OUR YEARS Rod Stewart and Jools Holland tell Paul Kirkley how they bonded over a shared love of music – and model railways Photographs: Jonas Mohr
11 22 FEBRUARY 2024 News&Views It’s not unusual for Jools Holland to pick up the phone to rock royalty. Or, indeed, actual royalty (this is a man whose friends and acquaintances include everyone from Sir Paul McCartney to His Majesty The King). But when the musician and TV presenter took a call from Sir Rod Stewart a couple of Christmases ago, neither of them had any idea it would be the start of a beautiful new friendship. “I was minding my own business on Christmas Eve, or thereabouts, and the phone rang, and it was Rod. I thought: ‘Wow’,” recalls Jools. “He said: ‘I’m thinking of doing a new record, and I’d really like to get your band to do it. What do you think?’ I thought about it for about a millisecond, then I said: ‘Yeah, great.’” Rod, sitting next to Jools in a London hotel room, takes up the story. “I’d been making a swing album, and it wasn’t turning out how I’d wanted,” he explains. “It was a bit too polite. It just didn’t have all the edges that I wanted. So I called up Jools…” “And I said: ‘If you want rough around the edges, you’ve come to the right bloke,’” laughs Jools. “But it happened so quickly. After I put the phone down, I thought: ‘Did that actually just happen, or did I imagine it?’” Two years on, the result of that brief (but very real) conversation is an album, Swing Fever, recorded with Jools’ celebrated Rhythm & Blues Orchestra, that serves as a joint love letter to the glory days of the American big band era. From the early swing of Fats Waller’s Ain’t Misbehavin’ to the New Orleans jazz of Louis Prima’s Oh Marie, via well-loved classics such as Sentimental Journey, Frankie and Johnny and Pennies from Heaven, it’s a record, says Jools, “filled with joy” (they had a strict ‘no ballads’ rule), designed as a fingersnapping counterweight to these frankly trying times. The album was recorded in Jools’ quirky south-east London home studio, Helicon Mountain. A mock railway station assembled from an assortment of stables and lockups, and rendered in an Italianate style inspired by the Welsh village of Portmeirion, it’s no Abbey Road. There’s barely room to swing a cat, let alone record a swing album with an 18-piece band. “It’s a bit of a squash,” admits Jools. “When Rod first came in, he was quite surprised by the... cosiness of everything. But I assured him we’ve been making records there for years. By that point, we’d gone away and arranged two or three songs, but I didn’t know if it was what Rod was really after. I was thinking: ‘If this isn’t right, I don’t know what we’re going to do.’ Then I looked over and saw him having a dance in the control room. And from then on, it’s honestly been the most enjoyable process of collaborating and making music that I’ve ever known.” Jools is on record as saying that Rod can “sing anything”. Is that true, Rod? “Well, I wouldn’t say I could sing opera but… yeah, more or less. God has given me a very flexible instrument. And I’m talking about my voice there,” he adds, with a schoolboy snigger. (By this point, it’s clear that Jools, 66, is here to do the expository heavy lifting, while Rod – as cheerfully down-to-Earth as you could reasonably hope for a 79-year-old global superstar – is the joker in the pack.) As if a big band wasn’t enough personnel, the album’s opening track, Lullaby of Broadway, also features real live tap dancers, inspired by the song’s use in Busby Berkeley’s film Gold Diggers of 1935.
12 22 FEBRUARY 2024 News&Views “When Rod said he wanted tap dancers, I thought: ‘I suppose we can fake something in the studio,’” says Jools. “Then he rang me and said: ‘I don’t want any fake stu – everything on this record’s got to be real. So I’ve got them all here, now.’ I said: ‘Got all who here now?’ And he said: ‘The tap dancers – they’re here at my house.’ So I went to his house and, sure enough, there were about a dozen dancers, all with their tap shoes, all ready to go.” Rod recalls: “It was in my gym. It’s got a wooden floor, so it sounded great.” Both men have enjoyed a lifelong love a air with jazz, rhythm and blues. It was the music Jools learned to play as a child, on a beaten-up pianola in his grandmother’s front room in south-east London, and to which he’d eventually return after his years on the post-punk circuit with Deptford heroes Squeeze. North Londoner Rod, meanwhile, started out singing the blues with the likes of Long John Baldry and The Faces – the foothills of a globe-conquering journey that’s taken him to all corners of the musical map, applying his trademark smoky croon to everything from rock ‘n’ roll, R&B and country to Great American Songbook standards. But while both will happily rhapsodise about their musical influences, it soon becomes clear that what they really, really enjoy talking about is their shared love of model railways. Three years ago, Rod chartered two shipping containers and a couple of freight planes to bring his vast track layout – modelled on 40s New York and Chicago – from his home in Malibu, California, to the Essex mansion he shares with his third wife, Penny Lancaster, and their teenage sons (the youngest of his eight children). Meanwhile, Jools – who has a daughter and a stepson with his wife Christabel McEwen, and a son and a daughter from his first marriage – has spent the best part of 50 years assembling a sprawling re-creation of the London of his childhood. Rod once claimed that being featured on the cover of Railway Modeller magazine was a bigger thrill than being ‘People may laugh, but you’ve got two guys here who feel exactly the same about our hobby – we love it to death’ GOING PLACES Rod on stage in the 70s (top left); the pair staged a surprise gig at St Pancras station in December last year to launch the album (above); Jools with fellow Squeeze band members Glenn Tilbrook, John Bentley, Gilson Lavis and Chris Di ord (left) Photographs: Shutterstock, Getty Images, Alamy
13 22 FEBRUARY 2024 or talking about being pals with Donald Trump in the past. Although he probably wouldn’t hang out with Trump any more, he says. “He’s not the guy I met 20 years ago. I used to go to his house every Christmas and New Year and do concerts for him. He was a good guy. But he’s turned into somewhat of a monster, in my eyes.” And for Julian Holland OBE, the working-class south London boy who started out as a bit of a jack-the-lad – famously getting suspended from Channel 4’s The Tube for dropping the F-bomb on early evening TV – but who now owns a manor house in the grounds of a 14th-century Kent castle and gets invitations to stay at Highgrove, does it all seem a bit unlikely? “It seems completely unlikely,” he says. “And also, just playing music. If somebody had said you’ll make a living out of playing boogie-woogie piano, and running a big band… that wouldn’t have added up at all. Learning piano in my nan’s front room introduced me to a whole world, where I often can’t believe that I’m doing what I’m doing. “If somebody had told me, when I was listening to Rod when I was 12 years old: ‘Some day you’re going to make a record with him,’ I’d have been like: ‘Well how does that work?’ I wouldn’t have believed it five years ago, actually. But that’s the great thing about life. You never know what’s around the corner.” So it really is the start of a beautiful new friendship? “Obviously, we both hope this record will be a success,” says Jools. “But even if it’s not, I think we’ll be continuing our relationship, because of our shared interest in the world of our hobby.” “Yeah,” nods Rod. “The railway will go on forever. So even if the album tanks, we’ll still be mates.” Swing Fever (Warner Music) by Rod Stewart with Jools Holland is out tomorrow (23 February) FOOD BITES always thinking of others, because they know people are looking up to them, and they like to set an example.” Rod’s certainly been making a habit of helping others in recent years, with stories emerging of him putting up Ukrainian refugees, sending money to struggling families, and paying for people to have MRI scans at his local hospital (not to mention helping to fill in potholes in the road near his house). Is he just trying to spread a little of his good fortune? “Not only that, but a bit of my wealth,” he says. “I try to do as much as I can, but it’s a double-edged sword, because it gets into the papers, and then people are like: ‘Oh, he must have an album coming out.’ Also, since I’ve had my knighthood [in 2016], I feel I should. I want people to know I don’t take it lightly. I want to help people.” Rod will turn 80 next year, and he’s been incredibly famous for more than 50 of those years. With up to 250 million record sales, a string of iconic hits such as Maggie May, Sailing and This Old Heart of Mine, a haul of lifetime achievement awards, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and all the other trappings of superstardom, does it all just feel normal to him now? Or does he still sometimes stop and think: “How did this happen?” “Every day,” he insists. “Every day I think: ‘How come I’m so lucky?’ You know, I’ve got a bit of talent, I must admit. But it’s all about those simple twists of fate. I was in the right place at the right time when Long John Baldry discovered me singing when I was 17 or 18. You need a bit of luck.” He doesn’t seem like a man who grumbles about the pressures of fame, suggests Weekend. “No, I don’t grumble,” he says. “I don’t turn people down if they want a picture, as long as they’re polite, and not drunk. The public put me where I am – nobody else.” Nor is he a man who lives in fear of being cancelled by the court of public opinion – happily expressing, for example, his unfashionable admiration for former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, on the front of Rolling Stone. “That’s true. I’ve been on the front cover four times now,” he beams. “And I’ve not been on the cover of Rolling Stone since I said that… People may laugh, but you’ve got two guys here who feel exactly the same about our hobby – how much into it we are, and how much the rest of the world can just bugger o . We love it to death.” “I don’t know if you, or your readers, have a particular hobby,” says Jools. “But for us, there’s no better way to relax. The best advice I was ever given, probably about anything, was when I first met Rod years ago, and he said: ‘You’ve got to put your layout in a much bigger room. In fact,’ he said, ‘put it in the biggest room you’ve got, because it will make you much happier. And he was right.’” “It didn’t make his wife happier, though,” chuckles Rod. “He put it in the dining room.” An attempt by Weekend to discern who’s got the biggest layout gets exactly the answer you’d expect with Rod in the room. “Sorry,” he says. “I couldn’t resist. But it’s not about the size, it’s about the authenticity.” “Each layout is somebody’s artistic study of the world around them,” agrees Jools. “When someone’s spent a lot of time doing that, it’s like you’re seeing a part of them – the contents of their brain, spread out on a shelf.” As well as collaborating with everyone from former Beatles to Motown legends on records, Jools has welcomed hundreds of the world’s greatest artists onto his long-running Later… TV show over the past three decades. During which he’s often observed that, the bigger the star, the more courteous and less demanding they’re likely to be. “I think that’s because they’ve been through it all,” he considers. “It’s often when people are a bit nervous, or a bit less confident, that they aren’t so gracious. Whereas people like Rod are whisky mix you can buy at The Ritz Hotel in Piccadilly (below). I also like a small glass of rosé with half a Guinness. Jools: A pint of London Pride in my local pub. And there’s a very good wine bloke in Waitrose – I think his name’s Oliver – who’s put me onto some super things. They taste great, and are a quarter of the price of some of the grand French ones I’ve tried. What are you like as cooks? Rod: I’d struggle doing a boiled egg. Jools: I’m twice as bad. I do like buying the ingredients, though. Where do you shop for them? Jools: I like Waitrose in Belgravia. The sh counter is very good. Rod: I’m going to Waitrose tomorrow to shoot an ad for my whisky [Wol e’s]. The co ee’s nice there. I sometimes take my boy to the co ee shop after school. What’s your poison? Rod: I do like my whisky. I like an appletini, a special WITH A LITTLE HELP Jools performs with Sir Paul McCartney on Later... in 2013; Rod with his wife Penny Lancaster (below)
15 22 FEBRUARY 2024 Food&Drink ALISON OAKERVEE Partner & food and drink editor One word sums up the kind of food I want right now – comfort. Whatever the February weather – snow, rain, that interminable drizzly grey – it makes tucking into something hearty and warming more of a treat. So this week, we’ve got all the comfort food you need. Diana Henry’s menu has a twist on one of Italy’s great gifts to winter eating – aubergine parmigiana, but with velvety pumpkin for added comfort factor. Ed Smith has a sausage ragù inspired by his skiing holidays, and Martha Collison has the ultimate wet weather treat – sticky to ee pudding. What’s For Dinner? p16 Meal Maths p20 Too Good To Waste with Elly Curshen p21 The Best with Martha Collison p22 Very Important Producer p24 Weekend Menu with Diana Henry p26 What I’m Cooking with Ed Smith p29 Wine List with Pierpaolo Petrassi MW p30 Photographs: Ant Duncan, Food styling: Jennifer Joyce, Styling: Max Robinson, Art Direction: Sharon Davis CRUNCH TIME Elly Curshen adds texture to a parsnip and grape salad using leftover hazelnuts, p21
16 22 FEBRUARY 2024 Recipes: Rebecca Woollard, Photographs: Ant Duncan, Food styling: Jennifer Joyce, Styling: Max Robinson, Art Direction: Sharon What’s for dinner? Take the stress out of midweek meal planning with these quick, easy and delicious dishes
17 22 FEBRUARY 2024 Serves 4 Prepare 15 minutes Cook 45-50 minutes 1 small butternut squash, halved, deseeded then cut into 3cm chunks (no need to peel) 500g bunch beetroot, peeled and cut into wedges 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 200g giant wholewheat couscous 90g pack wild rocket 2 x 25g packs coriander, leaves roughly chopped 250g pack Essential Cypriot Halloumi, cut into 8 slices 4 tbsp pomegranate molasses 1 Preheat the oven to 200°C, gas mark 6. Toss the squash and beets with 1 tbsp oil and spread out in a single layer over 1 large or 2 regular baking trays. Roast for 45-50 minutes, turning once or twice, until caramelised and soft. 2 Meanwhile, cook the couscous according to pack instructions, then drain, transfer to a large serving dish and toss with 1 tbsp oil. Once the vegetables are cooked, toss them through the couscous with the rocket and coriander. 3 Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Fry the halloumi for 2-3 minutes, carefully turning once, until golden and crispy. 4 Toss the remaining 1 tbsp oil and 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses through the salad, then top with the halloumi. Drizzle over the remaining molasses and serve immediately. V Per serving 3416kJ/817kcals/38g fat/14g saturated fat/ 81g carbs/47g sugars/22g bre/27g protein/2.1g salt Roast squash & beetroot warm salad with crispy halloumi Serves 4 Prepare 15 minutes Cook 25 minutes 1 tbsp olive oil, plus 2 tsp extra for brushing 1 onion, thinly sliced 350g tub arrabbiata sauce 3 x 400g cans Essential Butter Beans In Water, drained and rinsed 500ml pouch Truefoods Chicken Stock 600g pack Essential British Chicken Breast Fillets, each attened to 2cm thick 260g pack Essential Spinach, washed 150g feta, crumbled 1 lemon, scrubbed, juice and zest 1 Heat 1 tbsp oil over a medium heat in a large sauté pan. Fry the onion for 5-6 minutes, stirring often, until lightly coloured. 2 Stir in the arrabbiata sauce, butter beans and stock, then bring to a simmer and cook for 10-12 minutes, until reduced and saucy. 3 Meanwhile, set a large heavy-based frying pan or griddle over a high heat. Brush the chicken with 2 tsp oil and season with salt. Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side, until golden and cooked through with no pink meat and juices that run clear. Leave to rest on a plate for a couple of minutes, covered in foil. 4 Stir the spinach into the beans and sauce in 3-4 batches until wilted in. Season to taste, then divide between bowls. Slice the chicken into thick strips, then add to the bowls with the resting juices. Scatter over the feta and lemon zest, then squeeze over the lemon juice and serve immediately. Per serving 2135kJ/510kcals/20g fat/7.5g saturated fat/ 31g carbs/8.3g sugars/15g bre/45g protein/2.1g salt/ 2 of your 5 a day Butterbean casserole with griddled chicken COOK’S TIP Flattening out the chicken speeds up the cooking, keeping the middle juicy while colour builds on the outside. Put the chicken between sheets of baking parchment, then bash with a rolling pin, heavy pan or similar. COOK’S TIP You could substitute the squash with cauli ower (add it after the beetroot has been cooking for 10 minutes), and 250g feta instead of the halloumi. Just crumble it through the salad when you add in the pomegranate molasses. Food&Drink DID YOU KNOW? You can read Waitrose Weekend online Scan the QR code below or go to weekendonline.com
19 22 FEBRUARY 2024 Serves 4 Prepare 10 minutes Cook 20 minutes 2 tsp olive oil 400g pack No.1 Free Range 6 Pork Sausages 1 large bulb fennel, thinly sliced, fronds reserved to serve 300g cavatappi or another twisty pasta shape 4 tbsp Madeira, plus an extra splash to nish (optional, see tips) ½ x 250g tub Essential Italian Mascarpone ¼ x 25g pack basil, leaves picked and torn ¼ tsp chilli akes, to serve (optional) 1 Heat 1 tsp oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the sausages with skins on, then break up into small chunks with a wooden spoon. Fry for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until browned, cooked through with no pink meat and juices that run clear. Remove to a plate, leaving the fat in the pan. 2 Add the fennel to the pan and fry over a medium heat for 5-6 minutes, stirring often, until a little coloured. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in salted water according to pack instructions until al dente. 3 Return the sausages to the pan, turn the heat up and pour in the Madeira, if using. Bubble for a couple of minutes until reduced completely. Stir in the mascarpone, then set aside. Once the pasta is ready, add 2 ladles cooking water (about 150ml) to the sauce, then drain the pasta and add it in. 4 Stir, then sizzle over a medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes until the sauce has reduced and clings to the pasta. Add another splash of Madeira (if using), then season to taste. Scatter with the reserved fennel fronds, basil and chilli akes, if using. Per serving 3205kJ/767kcals/42g fat/18g saturated fat/ 60g carbs/4.7g sugars/4.7g bre/33g protein/1.1g salt Sausage, fennel & mascarpone cavatappi Serves 2 Prepare 10 minutes + draining and steaming Cook 20-25 minutes 280g block extra rm tofu, cut into triangles, 1cm thick 300g pack Tenderstem broccoli spears 2 tbsp sun ower or vegetable oil 4 tbsp Cooks’ Ingredients Teriyaki Sauce 2 x 130g packs Veetee Steam Filtered Sticky Rice 2 British Blacktail Medium Free Range Eggs Cooks’ Ingredients Shichimi Togarashi 1 Spread the tofu over sheets of kitchen paper or a clean tea towel. Top with more paper or another tea towel. Press down and let it drain for 30 minutes. Put the broccoli into a colander set in the sink and pour over a kettle of boiling water. Cover with a plate and leave to steam for 10 minutes. 2 Heat a large wok over a high heat and add 1 tbsp oil. Fry the tofu for 3-4 minutes on each side, until lightly golden. Drain on kitchen paper. Add ½ tbsp oil to the wok, then stir fry the broccoli for 5-6 minutes, until al dente. 3 Add the teriyaki sauce and 50ml water, then simmer briskly and reduce for 1 minute. Add the tofu and gently stir fry everything for 2-3 minutes, until hot and well coated. Keep warm on the lowest heat, then cook the rice according to pack instructions. 4 Heat the remaining ½ tbsp oil in a frying pan over a high heat. Once hot, crack in the eggs and fry for 2 minutes, until bubbled and crisp at the edges, with set whites but soft yolks. Divide the rice between bowls and top with the tofu, broccoli and eggs. Finish with a sprinkle of shichimi togarashi. Serve immediately. V Per serving 2831kJ/675kcals/29g fat/4.7g saturated fat/67g carbs/19g sugars/4.4g bre/34g protein/1.7g salt/ 1 of your 5 a day Teriyaki tofu with crispy eggs & Tenderstem COOK’S TIP Pouring boiled water over the broccoli and trapping the steam with a plate gently softens the spears ready for stir frying. It’s like blanching, but a bit more hands o . COOK’S TIP If you don’t have Madeira, try dry sherry or white wine, or add a squeeze of lemon instead before tossing the pasta and sauce. To further boost the fennel avour, add ¼ tsp crushed fennel seeds to the pan, if you have some, at the same time as the fresh sliced fennel.
20 22 FEBRUARY 2024 Food&Drink Essential Chickpeas In Water Cooks’ Ingredients Green Tikka Masala Paste Spiced sweetcorn & potato soup Gut Health: Ke r Natural Yogurt Serves 2 Ready in 10 minutes Drain the chickpeas and pat ½ dry with kitchen paper. Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a frying pan. Sizzle the dried chickpeas with some salt for 5-6 minutes, stirring often, until golden. Add 2 tbsp green tikka masala paste, then cook for 30 seconds. Meanwhile, heat the soup according to pack instructions and the remaining chickpeas in a saucepan. Roughly mash the chickpeas into the soup, then ladle into bowls with a swirl of ke r yogurt, the hot tikka chickpeas and some extra tikka paste. A nishing burst of heat, from cracked black pepper or chilli akes, works well. Spiced tikka chickpea soup with kefir Scan the QR code below or go to waitrose.com/recipes for more quick and simple Meal Maths recipes like this one. Using no more than ve timesaving ingredients, you can create delicious midweek suppers or family meals easily. MORE INSPIRATION S i d t Photographs: Maja Smend, Food styling: Bianca Nice, Styling: Julie Patmore, Art direction: Corrie Heale
21 22 FEBRUARY 2024 Food&Drink Serves 4 as a starter or 2 as a main Prepare 15 minutes Cook 40 minutes 500g parsnips, scrubbed 1 tbsp olive oil 1 tbsp red wine vinegar 40g hazelnuts 100g red or black seedless grapes, stalks and stem removed (prepared weight) 140g pack red chicory, leaves separated Parsley, to serve (optional) For the dressing 60g mayonnaise 40g Greek style yogurt 1 clove garlic, nely grated 2 tsp lemon juice 20g Parmigiano Reggiano, nely grated Few shakes Worcestershire sauce (to taste) ½ tsp Dijon mustard Roast parsnip & grape salad with hazelnuts, chicory and parmesan dressing When it comes to salad, I expect a lot. Crucially, I want contrast. Elements that are salty, something sweet, bonus points for notes of umami – and lots of texture. I want a sharp or creamy dressing, or even better, a dressing that’s both. This warm salad has got it all. The dressing is like a lighttextured Caesar. The sweet, sticky roasted grapes are an incredible contrast against the (oil and vinegar) roasted parsnips and the hazelnuts add the perfect crunch. Hazelnuts, like all nuts, contain oils that can oxidise over time, leading to rancidity. This gives them an unpleasant taste, so always try one before tipping any open packets into a recipe. To maximise the shelf life, store them in an airtight container in a cool, dark place. They can also be stored in the freezer for several months. When ready to use, you can thaw them overnight or use directly in recipes from frozen if they are going into baked goods or cooked dishes. @ellypear HAZELNUTS Too good to waste with Elly Curshen 1 Preheat the oven to 220ºC, gas mark 7. Trim the parsnips, then cut into nger-sized wedges. Spread them out on a large baking tray, being sure to not overcrowd them. Drizzle the olive oil and vinegar, season generously, then shake the tin or toss with your hands to evenly coat. Roast for 30 minutes, turning halfway through. 2 Meanwhile, put the nuts into a small roasting tin. Toast them in the oven for 6-7 minutes, until darkening in colour. Tip onto a clean tea towel and rub away the skins (don’t worry if you don’t get them all o ). Leave to cool, then roughly chop. 3 When the parsnips have had 30 minutes, add the grapes to the tray, toss everything together and roast for 10 minutes more, until the parsnips are golden and tender and the grapes have started to burst. 4 To make the dressing, add all the ingredients to a food processor or high-speed blender and then pulse until creamy and smooth. Add MORE LEFTOVER IDEAS 1Nutty bean & herb salad Toss lightly steamed green beans in a hot pan with a softened, nely diced shallot. Add a big squeeze of lemon juice, a big spoonful of crème fraîche, toss and allow to warm through. Top with plenty of chopped toasted hazelnuts and parsley. 2Pesto with a twist You don’t need to stick to the classic basil and pine nut pesto alla Genovese – you can make a deliciously vibrant version with blanched cavolo nero and hazelnuts instead. 3Toast a handful of hazelnuts in a dry pan, nely chop, then stir into a tub of Cooks’ Ingredients Roasted Dukkah. Dip some bread into olive oil, then into the nutty dukkah for a great snack. S C A N T HI S CODE F OR MOR E R E CI P E S Photographs: Ant Duncan, Food styling: Jennifer Joyce, Styling: Max Robinson, Art Direction: Sharon Davis a little water, if necessary, until you reach a double cream consistency. 5 Pile the parsnips and grapes with the chicory on a platter and drizzle with most of the dressing. Add the hazelnuts, then nish with a drizzle of dressing and some parsley, if using. Per serving (for 2) 2905kJ/700kcals/48g fat/ 7.2g saturated fat/46g carbs/25g sugars/17g bre/ 13g protein/0.6g salt/2 of your 5 a day
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