Ludovico Einaudi: ‘The way you blend the elements you eat is similar to composing a piece of music’

I live in Torino [Turin], a town where I grew up, where I was born. There’s a famous dish from there called bagna cauda. It’s a meeting of the garlic from the area of Piedmont, the mountains, with the anchovies coming from the sea in Liguria. It’s a very simple dish, a bit like a broth, perfect in winter, and you eat it with raw vegetables of the season. But there’s so much garlic in it that, when you eat it, you need a couple of days away from other people

How to turn leftover cooked pork into a classic Spanish bean stew – recipe | Waste not

Fabada Asturiana is classic Spanish cooking at its simplest and best. This stew of creamy white beans cooked slowly with pork and cured meat is traditionally made with fabes de la Granja (or judion beans), morcilla (Spanish black pudding), chorizo and lacón (cured pork shoulder, and similar to pancetta); it’s also the perfect dish for using up leftover roast pork.Meat bones are packed with incredible flavour and nutrition, so I always save them, along with cooking juices and fat, in the freezer to create dishes such as this glorious Spanish stew – leftover ribs, chop bones, ham hocks or roast pork shoulder, together with any fat, will all work beautifully here.In 2016, I went to a fiesta de matanza in northern Spain with my friend, the cook Oliver Rowe – the term translates literally to “the slaughter festival”, and it’s an annual village event where a pig is slaughtered and butchered from nose to tail. While it’s admittedly a bit gory and hard to watch, it is nevertheless a respectful, community-focused ritual that helps people connect to the origin of their food, and just witnessing proceedings made me reflect deeply on how I want to live and eat

Benjamina Ebuehi’s recipe for honey nut galettes | The sweet spot

A toffeeish, caramel cream delight all wrapped up in buttery flaky pastryWhenever I think of sweet galettes, my mind usually goes towards something fruity and jammy. However, I’ve decided to break the rules and go in a different direction with a nutty, buttery filling that feels reminiscent of a florentine. I think these fit the bill for a good Sunday lunch pudding, too. Serve warm and still a little gooey with some cold cream.Prep 10 minChill 1 hr 20 min Cook 1 hr 15 min Makes 4For the pastry180g plain flour, plus extra for dusting 130g unsalted butter 20g caster sugarSaltEgg wash 2 tbsp demerara sugar Cold cream, to serveFor the filling100g honey 30g unsalted butter 30g light brown sugar 60ml double cream ½ tsp flaky sea salt 1 egg yolk 10g plain flour 100g toasted flaked almondsTo make the pastry, put the flour, butter, sugar and a pinch of salt in a bowl

Why wine is going to start costing you more – plus four inflation-friendly bottles

At the start of this month, the new wine duty was fully implemented by our current government, having been introduced by the previous one. Cheers, guys. But what, exactly, has happened, and how have things now changed?The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more

Stark, Mersea Island, Essex: ‘Quite unlike anything I’ve ever been served’ – restaurant review | Grace Dent on restaurants

Not many dinner reservations require me to check the tide tables first, but getting to Stark, a small, tasting menu-only restaurant on Mersea Island in Essex, on a full moon or a new moon when the Strood causeway is flooded can be a bit tricky. But don’t let that put you off; in fact, I found the jeopardy rather exciting.Stark by Ben and Sophie Crittenden is the latest reprise of the pair’s former 12-seater in Broadstairs, Kent. The couple, seeking a better work/life balance, upped sticks here to the Côte d’Azur of Colchester, to open this brand-new Stark, which has slightly more covers (20 or so) and is, frankly, about as “independent” as a restaurant can get. We made the trek one Saturday evening, and were originally booked in for 6pm, until the Crittendens called to ask if we’d not prefer to eat later, because we’d be dining alone, a sweet attention to detail that only small operations such as this have time to pick up on (see also the Troublesome Lodger in Marlow)

Nearly 500 cat figurines stolen from Gordon Ramsay’s London restaurant

Nearly 500 cat figurines were stolen in one week from Gordon Ramsay’s new London restaurant, the TV chef has said.The restaurateur, 58, recently launched Lucky Cat 22 Bishopsgate by Gordon Ramsay in one of London’s tallest buildings, which features the beckoning Japanese cat models called maneki-neko.He told ITV’s The Jonathan Ross Show there had been numerous thefts.Ramsay, known for his Hell’s Kitchen and Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares reality TV programmes, said: “The cats are getting stolen. There were 477 stolen last week – they cost £4