The dump dinner: spaghetti is now being served straight on to the table – but why?

Name: Dump dinners.Age: Horribly new.Appearance: Feeding time at the zoo, but for humans.I’ve just Googled this. Apparently a dump dinner is a make-ahead slow cooker recipe

How to make mulligatawny – recipe | Felicity Cloake's Masterclass

I have yet to see anyone eating mulligatawny in an Indian restaurant – perhaps unsurprisingly, given that it’s a product of the British occupation, and the very name has an off-putting Victorian feel, which is a shame, because it’s aged a lot better than imperialism. Based, historians think, on the Madrassi broth molo tunny, it’s a lovely, gently spiced winter soup that’s well worth rediscovering.Prep 15 min Cook 50 min Serves 4-61 onion 1 carrot 1 parsnip 1 celery stick 2 tbsp ghee, or oil (eg, coconut)4 garlic cloves 1 knob fresh ginger ½ tsp cayenne pepper or mild chilli powder 2½ tsp madras curry powder (see step 5) 1½ litres good-quality chicken stock, or vegetable stock1 chicken thigh, bone in. skin on (optional; see step 1)150g masoor dal (AKA split orange lentils)4 tbsp flaked almonds (optional; see step 7)100ml hot milk, or water1 tbsp lemon juice Salt 1-2 tbsp fruity chutney (eg, mango; optional)1 small bunch fresh coriander, roughly chopped, to servePlain yoghurt, to serveThough often made with chicken, mulligatawny was also traditionally prepared with mutton or goat, and works well with lamb, too; any fairly tender cut of either will be fine (or, indeed, you could just add some cooked meat at the end). For a lighter dish, leave it out; to make it plant-based, just swap the fat and stock as suggested below

Guinness Open Gate Brewery, London WC2: ‘Absolute “will-this-do?” nonsense’ – restaurant review | Grace Dent on restaurants

The new Guinness Open Gate Brewery, with its tours, gift shop and dining options, has appeared in Covent Garden, slap-bang in the centre of London’s most nosebleedingly expensive real estate.This multi-multi-million-pound paean to “the black stuff”, where Guinness disciples can make pilgrimage, has been on the capital’s horizon for what seems like an era. The project has been tantalisingly dangled as an opening for some years, then delayed umpteen times, because, quite understandably, erecting a purpose-built, gargantuan, multi-floor Willy Wonka’s Booze Factory in the West End of London for a corporate behemoth is no easy feat. Imagine the layers of global, bureaucratic, cross-platform multi-media team Zooms that had to happen to hone the ultimate Guinness experience. So many Is to dot and Ts to cross, particularly, because food is a central part of the venture, with two restaurants on site – The Porter’s Table and Gilroy’s Loft – where exec chef Pip Lacey is serving non-challenging yet hearty menus, as well as a courtyard pie stall by Calum Franklin

The rise of ‘beef days’: why even meat lovers are cutting back

“I love beef,” says Vlad Luca, 25. But unlike most other self-proclaimed steak lovers, Vlad eats it only four times a year, on designated “beef days”.The “beef days” phenomenon has been popularised by the brothers John and Hank Green, known collectively as vlogbrothers on YouTube. John, 48, is better known for his YA fiction, including The Fault in Our Stars, while Hank, 45, is a self-described science communicator and entrepreneur.They have been making videos on their shared channel since 2007, and have more than 4 million subscribers

How to convert kitchen scraps into an infused oil – recipe

All those odds and ends of chillies, garlic skins and rind can be used to flavour oil for dunking, dipping and marinatingToday’s recipe began life as a way to use up garlic skins and herby leftovers, all of which contain a surprising amount of flavour, but it has evolved over time. Infused oil has countless uses – drizzle it over carpaccio, pasta or salad, use it to marinate meat, fish and vegetables, or simply as a dip for chunks of sourdough – and some of my favourites include lemon rind, garlic skin and rosemary; star anise, cacao and orange rind; and makrut lime leaf, lemongrass husk and coriander stems, which I found especially delicious drizzled over some noodles and pak choi. Freshly infused oils of this sort aren’t suitable for long storage, however, so use them up within a day to two.As I look around my kitchen, I’ve got a two-year-old jar of remarkably tasty chillies gathering dust, a bowl of clementines (I think of citrus rinds as harbingers of incredible flavour, rich in essential oils and highly aromatic terpenes) and a small jar of long pepper, a pungent, complex spice that’s been sitting on my kitchen shelf for years without a purpose. When put together, however, and left to bubble gently on the hob, they fill my kitchen with a wildly aromatic and exotic aroma

José Pizarro’s recipe for slow-roast celeriac with rosemary and crisp chorizo

Celeriac is easy to ignore or overlook, but it really deserves a bit of attention in winter. January is a time for turning on the oven and cooking without having to think too much, and this is the sort of dish that more or less looks after itself while you get on with your evening. The kitchen feels warmer, the smell changes and you know that dinner is sorted. This is simple, honest food, and not remotely trying to be clever. It’s just something to put in the middle of the table, cut into and share, which is exactly what you want when the days are cold and nights are long