Table of contents for June 2025 in Delicious UK

If you're a regular reader of these pages you'll know we love to go deep into a subject at delicious. And, if we're going to explore a cuisine with you, we like to share as much inspiration and knowledge as possible. Has anyone still got our French and Italian issues from previous years? I cook from both of mine all the time. It was inevitable, then, that we'd dedicate an entire magazine to Spain. Having been lucky enough to travel there three times already this year (Bilbao and San Sebastián – see p120 for a travel feature on the latter – Gran Canaria and Barcelona), I can confirm there are so many incredibly good ingredients and dishes. From the pintxos of Basque Country (who doesn't love things on toast?) and…

SEASON'S EATINGS STRAWBERRIES Summer doesn't start until you've eaten your first British strawberry. I'm a huge advocate of macerating strawberries to tease out their sweetness; toss them with a few spoonfuls of sugar, then wait 15 minutes to intensify the flavour. Leave for a few hours and you'll get a sort of compote, with the fruit swimming in a syrup. COURGETTES In-season courgettes are snappy and intensely flavoursome. Look for smaller ones, as they tend to be sweeter, and eat them every way you can think of: raw, shaved into ribbons and dressed with lemon juice and garlic; flash-fried in olive oil; or slowly cooked down into stews and sauces. GOOSEBERRIES These do require some tracking down – be it from your garden, a neighbour's or a good greengrocer –…

1. SAVE YOUR IDEAS IN A HANDY PLACE Pinterest is your modern scrapbook – 60% of your pins might not get used but it's a start. 2. PRACTICALITY FIRST, BEAUTY SECOND – BUT YOU ALWAYS NEED BOTH Live in your house for a year before touching a thing. You'll learn where the shadows fall and where you bump into things. Layout matters – for example, a dining space near the kitchen for flow and sociability. Kitchen appliances are the ‘engine room’ – splurge if you can. 3. LIGHTING IS THE UNSUNG HERO OF GREAT DESIGN Light is everything. It changes the mood, the colours – even how you feel in the room. Your lighting should be adjustable – ideally on timers – and should ease you into the night. Utilise…

‘Less and better’ is now a common approach to eating meat (especially beef) while reducing one's environmental impact. It's relatively easy to adopt at home by eating higher quality meat less often but it can be tricky when you're out. Mexicaninspired restaurant chain Wahaca (co-founded by Thomasina Miers, pictured) has made a bid to tackle this issue by serving regeneratively farmed beef. It's sourced via the collective Grassroots and wholesaler The Ethical Butcher, with the meat farmed in a way that repairs the land, promotes diversity and captures carbon in the soil. Following its removal of steak from the menu in 2023, Wahaca buys whole animals to decrease waste, dramatically reducing the number of cows the beef comes from to just 10 per week (from 420). Let's hope more restaurants…

STAR EMAIL Subject: Keeping it local From: Mike Rosamond How true Dara Klein's article is [Here's To Local Restaurants, May issue]. As an ex-restaurant proprietor, the local customer was always welcome. It made you feel you were doing something right. It always came with a price, though. Resistance to change (“Don't alter the menu”), habit (“That's my table!”) and dreading the day you have a change of staff. Who do you train: the new member of staff or the customer?! But more to the point, internet access, supermarkets and magazines like yours make it so much more accessible and enjoyable to create that restaurant feel and experience at home. We all love to be spoiled now and again but it comes with a price. Some things have to be sacrificed…

A BIT ABOUT ROSIE MACKEAN A chef, food stylist and dinner party revivalist, Rosie trained as a chef before spending two years working in London kitchens. Obsessed by cookery books and TV programmes, she turned her passion into a career working on cookbooks and shows such as Nadiya's Family Favourites. She has a popular Substack, The Dinner Party, and published her first book, Good Time Cooking (Pavilion Books £26), in 2024. Follow Rosie on Instagram @rosiemackeanpastaqueen ROSIE'S SPANISH-INSPIRED MENU FOR 6 Marinated peppers with gordal olives and anchovies Roasted hake with salsa verde and clams Torrijas with orange zest and custard “I love the Spanish technique of marinating roasted peppers in garlic and vinegar to serve as a nibble. Here they come with fried padrón peppers, gordal olives and excellent…

JOSÉ PIZARRO'S MENU FOR 4 Spinach and walnut croquetas Chilled tomato soup with roasted grapes Salt-baked sea bass with citrus salad Strawberries marinated in PX sherry and black pepper with fresh cheese ice cream A BIT ABOUT JOSÉ PIZARRO With London establishments including a restaurant and bar in the Royal Academy, plus a Surrey pub-with-rooms, an Andalusian guesthouse and an outpost in Abu Dhabi, José is the UK's best-known Spanish chef. He made his name on London's Bermondsey Street, where he's king of the strip with three restaurants. He's a regular on shows such as Saturday Kitchen and his latest book, The Spanish Pantry, goes on sale on 19 June (see a review on p19). Follow José on Instagram @ jose_pizarro “Croquetas are the perfect snack; I always make a…

A BIT ABOUT JONATHAN VARDON Inspired by a 15-year-old auslese riesling in 2017, Jonathan began blogging about wine as a hobby. The blog led to career roles and WSET qualifications. He now writes for a variety of publications. Follow Jonathan on Instagram @EverSoGrapeful “With age, tempranillo wines will develop earthy notes like leather and tobacco” A FRUITY SUN-WORSHIPPER THAT LOVES THE OAK A dark-skinned, sun-loving grape variety, tempranillo is native to the Iberian peninsula. Its flavours are generally red fruit – cherries, red plums, strawberries – but they can take on more dark fruit notes depending on ripeness. With age, tempranillo wines will develop earthy notes like leather and tobacco, and oak cask maturation adds flavours of vanilla, charred wood and coconut. In general, tempranillo is versatile, approachable and smooth.…

The three western European foodie powerhouses are France, Italy and Spain. The culinary strength of France lies in its food culture; for Italy it's the simplicity of its cuisine; and for Spain it's the ingredients. Spain has an ingredient profile like no other nation. I've visited San Sebastián in the Basque region many times and love heading into Bilbao for a fine lunch. I have fond memories of a trip to Barcelona and dined fabulously in Rioja. Spain has it all. The olive oil, the sun-ripened vegetables, the anchovies – don't get me started on the tinned fish [see p34]! This fabulous recipe feels like a union of these culinary journeys. A BIT ABOUT ADAM BYATT Born in Essex, Adam won an apprenticeship to train with the Royal Academy Of…

A BIT ABOUT NICOLA LAMB Nicola trained as a pastry chef with some of the best in the business, including Dominique Ansel and Little Bread Pedlar. She's also worked with modern legend Yotam Ottolenghi and her 2024 debut baking book, Sift, was many people's food book of the year. Find Nicola's popular pastry newsletter at kitchenprojects.substack.com NICOLA'S TIPS WEIGH YOUR EGGS A medium egg weighs about 50g, but with baking it's all about precision so you may as well weigh them and get everything spot on. EMBRACE THE FAT! You need lots of butter or, traditionally, lard on your work surface, your hands and on the dough to help you stretch it out as thin as it will go. It's a satisfying dough to work with but if you skimp…

UPGRADE YOUR SUMMER ROAST with this chorizo and almond butter. It bastes the chicken as it cooks and adds a flavoursome crust – and all the delicious juices are soaked up by the rosemary potatoes underneath One-tray chorizo roast chicken Serves 4-6 Prep time 25 min, plus 30 min dry brining Cook time 1 hour 55 min BE A BETTER COOK Seasoning with salt ahead of cooking (dry-brining) gives tender, better seasoned meat (even if it's left for just half an hour). KNOW-HOW Cooking chorizo is softer and more like a regular sausage than cured chorizo – it should say ‘cooking chorizo’ on the packet. DON'T WASTE IT Any leftovers will keep well in a container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat or enjoy at room temperature in a salad.…

Search all the recipes at deliciousmagazine.co.uk Massive congrats to dear delicious. friend and regular contributor Ravinder Bhogal, who has been named Cookery Writer Of The Year at the Fortnum & Mason Food And Drink Awards for her work in delicious. Remind yourself just how gorgeous Ravinder's recipes are by visiting deliciousmagazine.co.uk/ravinderbhogal…

THE FOOD HISTORY BIT While the Iron Lady was known for her no-nonsense direct leadership, Margaret Thatcher was briefly a chemist for food manufacturer J Lyons & Co and the legend persists that she helped to develop a method for whipping extra air into ice cream to create the ‘soft serve’. While the image of Mrs Thatcher as a kind of Willy Wonka is appealing, most sources agree that the soft-serve innovation happened in the US about 10 years before her time at Lyons. In fact, Lyons entered the soft-serve market by partnering with the American company Mister Softee and importing the franchise model. So, while Thatcher may have stirred the pot in the lab, the true origins of soft serve lie across the Atlantic. Want to whip up some…

A SPANISH CHEF'S PICKS OMAR ALLIBHOY, paella king (see p74), recommends three Spanish products you need to get your hands on 1 PICOTA OF THE BUNCH I have to recommend a seasonal fruit that's precious to all Spaniards and one that, in the past few years, you've been able to find in every major supermarket. That's the picota cherry, which grows in the Jerte Valley in Extremadura, near where our beloved pimentón (smoked paprika) comes from. These cherries are harvested from June to early August. They naturally separate from their stalks when picked (so you're not paying for the stalk) and they're sweet, juicy and full of flavour. £1 for 100g, sainsburys.co.uk 2 JAMÓN IT UP Something less seasonal and more year-round is jamón ibérico. The crown jewel of Spanish gastronomy, it's…

This month's star email wins an easy-to-use, quiet and cool Magimix Blender Power 3 worth £180. It helps you make light work of everything from gut-healthy drinks to nutritious soups, nut butters and milks. With a 1.2 litre working capacity and a 1,000 watt motor (guaranteed for 30 years) it's ideal for small kitchens, and with a built-in Auto-Clean Function it's easy to maintain. magimix.co.uk FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN A MAGIMIX BLENDER POWER 3… Let us know your thoughts on this month's issue by emailing us at info@deliciousmagazine.co.uk*…

Pintxos (pronounced peen-chos) are a cornerstone of northern Spanish – but particularly Basque – cuisine, a bit like tapas in other parts of Spain. Like this one, they're often served on bread with a skewer on top Pintxos de txaka Makes 6 Prep time 10 min Cook time 10 min EASY SWAPS You can add a pickled guindilla chilli as well as or instead of the prawn; decorate the pintxos with strips of roasted red pepper instead of olives, or make your own mayo from scratch to make these snacks even fancier. KNOWHOW Seafood sticks are made with surimi, a paste of minced white fish, which is shaped and coloured. They used to be called crab sticks but since they don't contain crab they've been renamed in the UK. • 1 medium…

A BIT ABOUT ANDRES ALEMANY Barcelona-born Andres opened Pulpo Negro in New Alresford, Hampshire, with his wife Marie-Lou in 2014. It's consistently cited as one of the best Spanish restaurants in the UK, serving a menu that celebrates the breadth of regional Spanish cooking and the best British produce. The couple are opening a gastromonic retreat in Andalusia later this year. Follow them on Instagram @pulpo__negro Pan-fried hake with chorizo and chickpea stew Serves 4-6 Prep time 25 min, plus 45 min brining and overnight soaking Cook time 1 hour 15 min MAKE AHEAD You can make, cool and chill the stew in the fridge for up to 3 days, then gently reheat before serving. The alioli will keep in the fridge for 24 hours, but keep the surface covered with…

So simple it almost isn't a recipe, tinto de verano (summer red wine) is one of those drinks that just works. Perfect for balmy-evening sipping, it's a long drink you can enjoy without overdoing it. It's basically sangría without the fruit-salad faff! Tinto de verano Serves 1 Prep time 1 min EASY SWAPS Replace the lemonade with cola to create kalimotxo – popular in the Basque Country. (Don't knock it ‘til you've tried it…) KNOWHOW In Spain, the brand of gaseosa (soda) often used here is La Casera, which is a little more tart and a less sweet than Sprite. It's hard to get in the UK but if you find Sprite too sweet you can always add a little more soda water. But we think it tastes great as it is.…

A BIT ABOUT NIEVES BARRAGÁN MOHACHO Raised in Bilbao, northeast Spain, and inspired by her mother to become a chef, Nieves moved to London in 1998. She was head chef at pioneering tapas bar Barrafina when it won its Michelin star and she now has her own restaurant, Sabor, in Mayfair, which also has a star. She's about to open a new restaurant, Legado, in London's Shoreditch. Follow Nieves’ progress on instagram @nieves_barragan1 and @sabor_ldn NIEVES’ TOP TORTILLA TIPS The tortilla has become such an iconic Spanish dish because everyone has eggs, potatoes and onions at home in their cupboards. Anyone can make tortilla whenever they want – and we eat it at any time of day: breakfast, lunch, merienda (an afternoon snack) or dinner. Whenever you go out there's…

Migas (chorizo breadcrumb hash) Serves 4 Prep time 15 min Cook time 30 min Every Mediterranean country has its own recipes for using up stale bread – in Spain migas reigns supreme. A pile of chunky breadcrumbs fried in plenty of oil with chorizo, bacon, peppers and garlic studded throughout is, as you'd imagine, delicious, while fresh grapes offer pops of refreshing sweetness. It's a fabulous brunch dish. NEXT TIME The beauty of this dish is that it's designed to use up whatever's left in the fridge. Provided the base is breadcrumbs and you have a decent amount of fat in there to fry them in, you can throw in practically any veg you like. KNOWHOW This cooks surprisingly well in a wok as you're basically stir-frying the bread. It's important to…

I am, generally, indiscriminate in my enthusiasm for vegetables. But not when it comes to potatoes. I don't cook them often, so I never bothered growing them in my veg patch. They take up too much space and, in my experience, homegrown spuds don't taste strikingly different from shop-bought ones. Or so I thought. Then I got an allotment. And becoming the guardian of more space than I can reasonably manage made me think I may as well bung in a few potatoes, simply to use the ground and break up the careworn soil (which they're wonderful at). Since then, my opinion of them has changed completely. I REALLY DIG POTATOES Yes, potatoes require space, but if you do have room, they're really no effort to grow. The best thing…

• Nobu Hotel is the fanciest recent opening, with a terrace (left) overlooking the beach and a Japanese-ish menu that's like nothing else in town. The minimalist rooms with their paint-splash murals are a calming refuge. Doubles from £338 with breakfast; nobuhotels.com/san-sebastian • Room Mate Gorka is a boutique option in a great, central location with compact but stylish rooms, some with balconies. Doubles from around £160 room only; room-matehotels.com GETTING THERE Flights from London to Bilbao in June cost from £150 (skyscanner.net). You then take the Avanza bus (1 hour 20 min, €17 return) to San Sebastián. Find more inspiration at deliciousmagazine.co.uk/travel…

Q You started your career in filmmaking. How did you get into food? A While I was studying film, I used to watch a lot of food shows in the evenings. Like Two Greedy Italians with Antonio Carluccio and Gennaro Contaldo, travelling through Italy and looking at the dishes from home they'd been missing. It showed me that food could be storytelling as well. For my graduation project, instead of doing a fictional film, the idea was to do a food story and, somewhat ironically now, it turned into a documentary about British cheddar. Q As a social media influencer, who's had the biggest influence on you and your food? A I have to mention my mum because she's an amazing cook so I grew up eating delicious food. She…

Inspired by George Orwell's classic memoir Down And Out In Paris And London, Chisholm's revelations on life as a waiter in the City Of Light give readers a glimpse behind the kitchen doors and throw you into the grimy depths of the Parisian underworld inhabited by the city's chefs, porters and service staff. Fuelled by little more than caffeine, nicotine and bread pinched from the pass, Chisholm gets by with no money, no sleep and very little French as he strives to become a waiter. Never has such a seemingly ordinary job seemed so dramatic – and it makes for a gripping read.…

SPANISH FOODIE DAY TRIPPER THE LOW-DOWN If you're visiting Barcelona for a long weekend this summer, heading into the surrounds for cava, the Spanish sparkling wine, is a must. A 35-minute drive from the airport (or 45 minutes by train from the city) you'll find Cava Central: the village of Sant Sadurní d'Anoia. I visited three corking wineries… GO UNDERGROUND AT FREIXENET In Freixenet's ancient subterranean cellars, engaging English-speaking guides and clear visuals detail the process of how the prized fizz comes to fruition. The best bit, of course, is the tastings. A 90-minute tour with two glasses of cava is €19.50. My favourite was the Catalonian cheese and cava pairing (€36). SMELL THE FLOWERS AT CODORNÍU Just north of the village is Codorníu, Spain's oldest sparkling wine producer, a…

A BIT ABOUT MARK DIACONO If there's anyone more obsessed with growing, cooking, eating and writing about food than Mark, we're yet to find them. His books, such as Sour (2019), have won awards, so he knows a goodie when he sees one. Read his Substack, Mark Diacono's Garden To Table, or follow him on Instagram @mark_diacono BOOK OF THE MONTH BOUSTANY Having written two cookbooks with delicious. favourite Yotam Ottolenghi, Sami Tamimi's first solo effort is a celebration of Palestinian food and culture, taking vegetables as its focus. There is so much here I want to eat: the red lentil, dried mint and lemon soup was a joy; the asparagus, leek and hazelnut galette was perfectly elevated by a generosity of za'atar; and I'm now not sure I can…

Kathryn Meadows lives in Whitley Bay, Tyne & Wear, and owns a butcher's shop and deli When did you get into cooking? From a very early age – because we had a food-related family business it was part of our childhood. Most treasured food memory? Eating my first fondue on a family ski holiday. The oozy cheese, the bread… and the views! Favourite family recipe? Roast dinner – but we'd never know what meat it would be until Saturday night, as it depended on what was left in our butcher's shop. Your signature recipe? Pasta – using a sauce made with good quality tomatoes. My secret ingredient is smoked paprika. Your secret weapon in the kitchen? My knife – a butcher's boning knife. Your biggest cooking adventure? Trying hot and…

Tins of seafood, known as ‘conservas’ in Spain, are a prized delicacy Juicy summer tomatoes and flaky sardines – it's a classic for a reason Pan con tomate with sardines Serves 4 as a starter or 8 as a snack Prep time 15 min Cook time 2 min BE A BETTER COOK This recipe is all about great tomatoes – choose ripe ones for the best flavour. Cutting them horizontally makes grating easier – grate the cut side and you should get down to the skin without any issues (but do take care). • 400g large ripe tomatoes • 200g rustic, wide and flat  bread (such as ciabatta),  ideally a day old • 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil • 1 garlic clove, halved • 120g tin sardines in olive oil 1…

NEXT MONTH A fruity mocktail with entrepreneur and podcaster Spencer Matthews French was my first language. My mother is very French. She has the strongest French accent on the planet! This gave me access to two different cultures – different poetry, literature, cooking… The French part of my family was centred around the kitchen and we had a lot of good cooks – strong women who felt the kitchen was the heart of the house, so I drew a lot from those influences from an early age. My first sensory memories were of fruit. I lived in Barnsley, then during the holidays I went to France, where there'd be things we couldn't get in England, like ripe melon. I'd look forward to the French markets and seeing fresh local fruit,…

Spanish lager has taken over in the UK, representing some of our best-selling beers – and providing inspo for British-brewed equivalents. Spanish lagers have a little more malt depth and fullness of flavour compared to those from other European countries; Spain is also known for making ‘tostada’ beers (often as alcohol-free versions), which have a toasted malt character. The extra malt brings sweetness alongside the classic carbonation of a lager, and that naturally works with savoury snacks such as tortilla, ibérico ham, croquetas and patatas bravas. The popularity of Spanish lager in the UK is partly a holiday halo effect: we drink cañas (small glasses) of cold, crisp lager while away and try to evoke those same feelings when we're home. Food has a similar conjuring power, so this month…

ABOUT OMAR ALLIBHOY So obsessed is Omar with paella, he released a cookbook about it (called, aptly, Paella) in 2023. He worked with Ferran Adrià at El Bulli in Spain before moving to the UK to start his restaurant empire, Tapas Revolution. Omar has a new book coming out next month (Spanish Made Easy) and offers cookery lessons and private event catering (including HUGE paellas!) at thespanishchef.com. Follow Omar on Instagram @omarallibhoy OMAR'S TIPS FOR PAELLA MASTERY PAN SIZE MATTERS A paella pan is, unsurprisingly, the best thing to cook a paella in. You can use a wide frying pan too, but you want as wide a surface area as possible to cook the rice (which should almost be in a single layer). For a paella to serve 4 people,…

WHY BEANS ARE THE BUSINESS They're one of the best natural sources of dietary fibre and a rich source of protein and complex carbohydrates. Growing beans is good for improving soil health and biodiversity, and reducing greenhouse gases. Plus, they're affordable and taste great! Fill up on fabulous pulses at deliciousmagazine.co.uk/beans Murcia-style salad with cannellini beans and flaked trout Serves 2 Prep time 15 min, plus cooling Cook time 15 min Using ripe, in-season tomatoes is crucial as the dish relies heavily BE A BETTER COOK on their flavour. Good quality Spanish olive oil is key too. • 2 trout fillets (about 120g each) • ½ tsp dried oregano • 2 medium eggs • 2 vine tomatoes or 1 large beef tomato (see Be A Better Cook) • 400g tin cannellini…

BROAD BEAN CHEAT SHEET • Also known as fava beans when dried, broad beans are at their best in the UK from late spring to late summer. Although originally from the Middle East, they've been grown in the UK for thousands of years and formed an important part of the peasant diet in medieval times, usually as a type of porridge. • You get the tenderest, sweetest beans from smaller, younger pods, and after podding you can leave the skin on these beans if you like. When the beans get bigger, their skins get thicker so it's best to remove them. To do so, drop the beans in boiling water for 30 seconds, then put straight into cold water. The pale skins should now slip off easily between finger and…

Across 1 Small, almost sour orchard fruit often made into a jelly (4,5) 8 Wrinkly type of nut José Pizarro puts into his 10 down in this issue (6) 9 Far ______: custardy regional French pudding, often made with prunes (6) 12 Bomba, albufera and calasparra are types of this (4) 13 Cereal grass with a high-protein seed that's often used to make bread or pasta (5) 14 Paste made from fermenting soybeans (4) 17 To cut 23 down, say, into four same-size pieces (7) 18 A golden sherry with rich, nutty notes (7) 19 Full _______: a classic cooked breakfast (7) 22 Underground root of a plant such as ginger and turmeric (7) 24 Spanish for tuna (anagram) (4) 25 Famous cured Italian ham comes from this city (5) 26 Type of fat you could use to make ensaïmadas (4) 29 Condiment,…

WHAT DO YOU THINK? Are you irked by what restaurants charge for some things these days? Let us know on our social channels or at info@deliciousmagazine.co.uk I love restaurants but there are a lot of things that irk me about them. They're a bit like family in that way. I was once charged considerably more for an affogato (espresso poured over ice cream) than the combined prices of an espresso and a scoop of ice cream. Regrettably, I only noticed after ordering. I hate ‘flatbreads’ that are essentially small pizzas but cost the same as a large pizza. The north London pub whose pricey burger comes without chips? Don't get me started. None of these things grind my gears as much as olives, though. Nothing personal. I like olives, they…