Ravneet Gill’s recipe for quince and hazelnut tart | The sweet spot

It’s a good idea to poach the quince in advance, not least because it takes a fair old while, which is also why I’d recommend poaching extra, as I have here. When stored together, quince enhance each other over time, and develop a richer flavour and colour. Also note that roasting and grinding the hazelnuts yourself will give the frangipane a deeper, more intense flavour compared with store-bought. And if you prefer almonds, feel free to use them instead.Prep 10 min Cook 3½ hr Makes 1 x 20cm tart 400g granulated sugar ½ lemon, juiced (shell reserved) 4 quince 10g whole hazelnuts, halved, to finishCreme fraiche or creme anglaise, to serveFor the pastry175g plain flour 50g caster sugar 120g unsalted butter ¼ tsp fine salt 1 egg yolkFor the hazelnut frangipane100g unsalted butter 100g golden caster sugar 2 eggs 100g roasted ground hazelnuts, ideally toasted and ground at home 25g plain flourIn a large saucepan, combine 1

Armagnac: the secret bargain of the spirit world

The seemingly staid world of armagnac was well and truly disrupted earlier this year by the arrival of a brand called Hogsworth that blends bourbon whiskey with brandy from Gascony. It’s the creation of American entrepreneur Raj Bhakta, who in 2020 began buying up aged armagnac, and the name is a mischievous dig at his former company WhistlePig, a rye whiskey distiller in Vermont that he left in 2019. As you can imagine, Bhakta has ruffled a few feathers by combining rare 42-year-old brandies with young bourbons – and that’s even before we get on to the accompanying sales pitch video, which can only be described as Trumpian.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link

‘I’ll be making my own’: UK’s most expensive mince pie divides opinion

Orford, a picturesque pocket of the Suffolk coast, has a storied and rather bizarre history. It is home to an impeccably preserved medieval castle built by Henry II to see off dissenting barons, and for much of the 20th century the rugged seafront was sealed off and used as a top-secret military testing site, prompting rumours about death rays and UFO sightings.Now, the area may have another claim to fame, as home of the UK’s most expensive mince pie.In the area’s main village, filled with picture-book houses and dainty walkways, lies a bold, bright pink building: the Pump Street bakery. Six mince pies at the cafe will set you back £25 – just over £4 each

Noodle Inn, London W1: ‘Queue, order, pay, get out’ – restaurant review | Grace Dent on restaurants

Should you ever wait in line for a restaurant? That’s a question many were pondering outside Noodle Inn on Old Compton Street in Soho. Hand-pulled, oil- and chilli-drenched Xi’an biang biang noodles are the draw at this viral internet sensation, invariably involving a lengthy wait near the corner of Charing Cross Road. The place opens at midday on the dot, but the queue starts forming at about 11.25am – yes, even on a drab, cold Monday. By 11

‘Make the beans your bitch’ – how to join the leguminati, plus five great recipes

Beans can seem a little intimidating. That plastic bag of funny-looking pebbles at the back of the cupboard, bought in a fit of good intentions, seems to defy food logic. But really it’s quite simple. Here’s how you can initiate yourself into the leguminati. “We don’t soak our beans, because they’re so fresh they don’t need it,” says Steve Sando, the founder of the California-based bean company, Rancho Gordo

How to cook the perfect aloo bhorta

Bhorta is, Kolkata-native chef Asma Khan explains, the Bengali pronunciation of the Hindi word bharta, meaning mashed – it’s an important distinction, too, because, although spiced mashed vegetables, seafood or meat are found in many regions of the Indian subcontinent, bhorta is particularly dear to Bangladesh and the neighbouring Indian province of West Bengal.Indeed, according to British Bangladeshi food writer Dina Begum, it’s the “quintessential soul food of Bangladeshi cuisine”, repopularised by post-independence efforts to rediscover the country’s culinary traditions and served with panta bhat, or fermented rice, at Pôhela Boishakh (Bengali New Year) celebrations each spring. Adiba and Arafat, the husband and wife team behind the Spice Odyssey website, write that: “In Bangladesh, a country marked by a huge chasm between the rich and the poor, the once austere mishmash of vegetables … has become the gamechanger – marking the return of the privileged to the food of their forefathers. The gradual incorporation of bhorta … as a celebratory food at home and abroad is a tale of how sharing common food as a ritual can become a marker of cultural and national identity.”Begum describes the premise of bhorta as “a straightforward one