José Pizarro’s recipe for nettle (or wild garlic) and goat’s cheese tortilla
When I was growing up in the small village of Talaván in Extremadura, Spain, we never ate nettles.They were wild plants that grew along the edges of the fields, and the sort you tried to avoid: like many children, I learned about them the hard way, brushing against them while playing and getting stung.It was only when I came to the UK that I first saw nettles used in cooking, which surprised me: suddenly, this wild plant had a place in the kitchen.Now, whenever I visit my mum, Isabel, I see them everywhere.It makes me smile to think that at this year’s Chelsea flower show I will be cooking among a world of magnificent plants and gardens.
Perhaps not too many nettles on show, but who knows?Prep 10 minCook 25 minServes 6500g new potatoes, cut into 3mm-thick slices (about the width of a £1 coin) 175ml olive oil 150g nettle leaves (young ones, ideally), or wild garlic leaves6 large eggs Sea salt and black pepper 100g soft goat’s cheese, crumbled2 tbsp chopped chivesPut the sliced potatoes and oil in an 18cm nonstick pan and cook gently for five or six minutes, until the potatoes are tender to the point of a knife.Lift out the potatoes with a slotted spoon and pour the oil into a jug.Meanwhile, blanch the nettles (or wild garlic) in boiling water for 30 seconds, then drain, refresh under cold water and drain again.Once they’re cool enough to handle, roughly chop the leaves.Beat the eggs in a large jug, season generously, then add the warm potatoes and chopped greens.
Mix well, then stir in the goat’s cheese and chives.Pour two tablespoons of the reserved oil back into the pan and put it on a medium-low heat.Add the egg mixture and leave to cook gently for six to eight minutes, until the tortilla is just set round the edges but still quite juicy in the centre.Run a spatula around the outside to loosen, put a flat plate over the top of the pan and flip the tortilla on to the plate.Quickly but carefully slide it back into the pan uncooked side down, and use the spatula to tuck the edges in and under the sides, to give it that lovely, rounded, traditional tortilla shape.
Leave to cook for another two to three minutes, then slide out on to a clean serving plate, slice and serve, perhaps with a sharp green salad.
Ben Stokes plays down talk of McCullum disagreement but plans ‘different’ path to success
Ben Stokes has moved to play down suggestions of a disagreement between himself and Brendon McCullum, insisting he and the England head coach remain aligned despite an Ashes defeat that, at times, suggested otherwise.In a video released by the England and Wales Cricket Board on Tuesday, the England Test captain stressed that he and McCullum agreeing with each other all the time would be “unhealthy”.They continue to share the same overall vision for the team, he added, but things will look “different” this summer.Stokes said: “As similar as me and Brendon are, we’re also dissimilar in other areas as well. But the thing we both want is to be as successful as we possibly can
Boss of the Bronx: the turbulent reign of George Steinbrenner, baseball’s ultimate showman
A new book looks at how an eccentric shipping magnate ushered in a long run of success for the New York YankeesGeorge Steinbrenner could be quite the pitchman – whether selling New York to free agents or starring in Pepto-Bismol TV ads alongside Billy Martin. And now a new book remembers the late Yankees owner and the dynasty he founded.The Bosses of the Bronx: The Endless Drama of the Yankees Under the House of Steinbrenner flows from the pen of sports journalist and author Mike Vaccaro. As the New York Post’s lead sports columnist for more than two decades, Vaccaro has witnessed the Steinbrenner dynasty from a rarefied perspective – the journalistic equivalent of a seat along the third-base line.Vaccaro remembers the first one-on-one phone call he got from Steinbrenner
The Masters, the Premier League run-in, the National: is there a better sporting month than April? | Sean Ingle
The thought struck me on the last rattler back from the Grand National, as Avanti’s wifi faltered somewhere outside Crewe and the Masters stream on my phone froze yet again. I was watching the world’s best golf tournament, on a train journey back from the world’s greatest steeplechase, having seen the best football match of the season – Real Madrid against Bayern Munich – earlier in the week. Is there a better month in the sporting calendar than April?Augusta always delivers. Club football hits peak levels of drama and jeopardy. Then there is Aintree, Paris-Roubaix, the start of the County Championship cricket season and the World Snooker Championship
Azzi Fudd taken first in WNBA draft by Dallas Wings in UConn reunion with Paige Bueckers
Azzi Fudd was selected by the Dallas Wings with the first pick of the WNBA draft on Monday night, capping a 12-month ascent from NCAA champion to the top overall choice and setting up a reunion with former University of Connecticut teammate Paige Bueckers.The 5ft 11in guard, who led UConn to last year’s national title and was named the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player, is the seventh player from the program to go No 1. Bueckers, the top selection by Dallas in the 2025 draft and the reigning WNBA rookie of the year, watched Fudd’s name called from a sold-out crowd at the Shed, the $500m cultural center at Hudson Yards on Manhattan’s west side.“I’m not really sure I have words to describe the feeling, what that meant,” Fudd said. “I don’t think it’s fully sunk in
WNBA draft: Azzi Fudd goes No 1, UCLA smash record and Flau’jae Johnson traded – as it happened
And with that, the draft is complete. Thanks for joining me. A big night for No 1 pick Azzi Fudd, the record-setting UCLA Bruins, the Washington Mystics and their six (!) picks, fashion and the future of women’s basketball.With that, all eyes turn to 8 May, the first day of the season. We’ll have an opening-night triple-header: Connecticut Sun v New York Liberty, Washington Mystics v Toronto Tempo, Golden State Valkyries v Seattle Storm
‘Carelessly squandered’: Wisden scolds England’s tumultuous Ashes tour
The latest edition of Wisden is unsparing in its criticism of England’s Test team, describing their Ashes defeat in Australia as a “wing-and-a-prayer” campaign that ended up “feckless, reckless and legless”.Published this Thursday, the sport’s longstanding bible has a strong Indian flavour to its awards. Haseeb Hameed, captain of title-winning Nottinghamshire, is the sole Englishman among the five players of the year, with Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Siraj recognised for their roles in last year’s memorable 2-2 Test series draw in England.But the nature of England’s 4-1 defeat in Australia – a tour derailed by a poor buildup, lurching tactics, and accusations of an unprofessional approach off the field – leads this year’s notes, with the editor, Lawrence Booth, saying it is “hard to think of a privilege so carelessly squandered, a chance so blithely spurned”.Booth writes: “Much of the misery was self-inflicted: from the paper-thin preparation, via a string of schoolboy dismissals, to the revelation of Harry Brook’s scrape with a nightclub bouncer in New Zealand
Reeves arrives at IMF with little leeway to prove its UK downgrade wrong
BP’s new boss to overhaul structure after retreat from green strategy
AI companies make powerful tech – but they’re also savvy marketers
Don’t make Marshal Foch’s mistake on AI | Letters
Nicky Henderson on Constitution Hill and the yips: ‘The best jumper you’ll ever see and he lost it’
The Breakdown | Will Bath or anyone else stop the Bordeaux Bègles juggernaut in Europe?