Beetroot, Chickpea and Feta Fritters with Mint and Lemon Yoghurt

January is surely the time to cut back on luxury items like meat and focus on fruit and vegetables. Winter ingredients can seem a little boring at first but the way to get around this is to try different ways of cooking them. Grated beets make a gloriously red fritter with earthy chickpeas, sharp feta and herbs. They’re very simple to prepare too, particularly if you use ready-cooked beets (just avoid the ones preserved in vinegar).

Spanish Persimon recipes

Fragrant Spanish persimon are in season from October until mid January. It has a sweet, firm, orange flesh, similar to a peach or mango and can be eaten fresh, or used in sweet and savoury dishes. Here are three great recipes including one from Sam and Sam Clark at Moro

Rabanadas by Miguel de Almeida

Rabanadas are one of many traditional desserts that are served in Portugal for Christmas. I can describe them as being a very moist rich slice of fried crusty bread, a bit like the “pain perdu” of the French cuisine. Warm or cold, as a dessert or for Christmas day’s breakfast they are always present on my family table. I have great memories of the preparation of “rabanadas”.

Make home made food your Xmas gift with Miele

Why not make some food gifts for Xmas? There’s still time thanks to these great ideas from Miele. Red onion jam, Florentines and pistachio and ginger biscotti – beautifully wrapped – will bring more pleasure than the usual quickly-bought bottle.