Delicious UK

An award-winning magazine, delicious. features 50-plus triple-tested, foolproof recipes and astounding complementary editorial and photography every month.

If you make one thing… • Salty bacon, sweet maple and fluffy gingerbread pancakes; it's a breakfast to thrill the heart

Looking forward, looking back…

WHAT'S ON THE MENU? • Food editor Tom Shingler mixes and matches this month's dishes

APPETISERS • Inspiration, bite-size news, reviews & great stuff to do

OVER TO YOU

MEET THE READER • Lucy lives in Cornwall with her husband and cocker spaniel. Her love for cooking began when she started her own family

Happy birthday to us! • Our friends in the food world have been sending messages and memories. Read more on p76

delicious. discoveries Christmas special • We've tasted, sipped, broken apart, crumbled and examined all the festive products from small producers we could get our hands on, then whittled the list down to the very best of them – just for you

5 OF THE BEST FESTIVE THREE-STAR GREAT TASTE WINNERS • These heroes of the recent 2023 Great Taste Awards, judged by food experts including our very own Karen Barnes, are well worth seeking out to top up your festive haul

3 HANDY FESTIVE STANDBYS

MINCE PIE PERFECTION

YOUR 2023 CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE • Take your pick from our edit of presents for cooks, hosts, foragers and growers – or anyone who just loves to eat!

The booklist • Mark Diacono seeks out new releases food lovers would be thrilled to find under the tree this Christmas, from inventive ways with veg to a collection of kitchen memories compiled by stars of the food world for an important cause

A glass of fizz with Angela Hartnett and Nick Grimshaw • The renowned chef and popular radio presenter teamed up last year to co-host hit podcast Dish, in which Angela steps away from her restaurant Murano to cook for a special guest each week – while Nick keeps the conversation flowing. The dynamic duo talk festive essentials, dream interviewees and what not to eat on air

Get ready for Christmas

Rick Stein takes it easy • When time is of the essence in the run-up to Christmas, recipes that are impressive yet require less effort come into their own. Making cooking simpler became Rick's aim while he was recuperating from open heart surgery in summer 2022. After “a lifetime making ingredients from scratch”, he embraced readymade ingredients, delighted at how high-quality they'd become. He worked on simplifying his sauces and cutting out unnecessary steps, and discovered the wonders of tinned beans and frozen fruit and veg. The result is new book Simple Suppers, from which these recipes come. And when Rick Stein does simple, you know it'll still be special

THE flavour OF CHRISTMAS 2023 • Mulling spice is packed with warming fragrance from cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg. Sadly, it has a bad rep these days as it's often used to mask cheap red wine, sold scalding hot for eye-watering prices at Christmas events. We think it's time mulling spice reclaimed the festive throne it clearly deserves, which is why we're making it our flavour for Christmas 2023. It has so much to offer beyond warm plonk, working wonders in sweet and savoury dishes, and adding a festive sensory sparkle to everything from meaty stews to sweet syrups. Try these (and enjoy the pictures, cleverly shot over a vat of mulled wine) to see why mulling spices are a must-have in your festive cooking – and beyond!

THE MOST MOREISH FESTIVE SNACKS • River Cottage's Gelf Alderson is a master of down-to-earth, let-me-eat-that-right-now-please home cooking, and these anytime snacks tick all the crowdpleaser boxes

THE SIDE SHOW • Few dinners put as much importance on the sides as a roast – and Christmas is the most important roast of...