Si King’s secret ingredient: yellow split peas

Yellow split peas are a staple up here in the north-east. My dad was from Lambeth, south London, so when he came up during the war and married me mam, they were a complete revelation to him.They’ve been in my cupboard all of my life. I use them all the time for pease pudding, which is boiled in ham stock. We call it Geordie hummus

Sarah Perry: faith, telescopes and the perils of pigeon-holing writers

The Essex Serpent novelist discusses the connection between astrophysics and her religious upbringing … and over-doing all you can eat sushiIt seems appropriate that Sarah Perry chooses to meet in a road named Tombland. The author of The Essex Serpent is very much alive to the echoes of the dead. “My approach to time,” she says, cheerfully, “is that I have never felt the present is particularly important.”We are in Norwich, where she lives, in Shiki, a Japanese restaurant directly opposite the cathedral. Perry has been a regular here for years

The crunch, the flavours, the rituals: how crisps became a British snack obsession

In May, the UK government launched its “Prepare” emergency awareness campaign, ominously encouraging people to stock up on things such as bottled water, a wind-up radio and non-perishable foodstuffs. I’ve collected a few cans of soup but, more successfully, I’ve quietly been stockpiling the Co-op’s sea salt and chardonnay wine vinegar crisps (in the big bags), just in case. Like millions of British people, when I say I love crisps, I really mean it.Crisps are the ideal survival product, sealed and salted, but a great packet can also function as a private restaurant where you dine alone, crisp by crisp, intensely scrutinising the crunch, flavour and execution, like a Michelin inspector of snacks. They are as transporting as they are comforting – and unsurprisingly, they had a good pandemic, with Britons buying £441m more bagged snacks in 2020 than they did in 2019

Thomasina Miers’ recipes for slow-cooked pork belly with chipotle and Mexican-style smacked cucumbers

Mexico’s love of pork is well documented, but how the country is influenced by so many different food cultures not so much be that exotic ingredients from the east such as sesame, tamarind and cloves, the importation of kebab cooking from the Lebanese or the use of French techniques from the short reign of Maximilian. Here, the scraps in the pan, a mirepoix and the classic pairing of smoked chillies and tamarind would work well with any cut of pork but, with belly, its flavour melts into the beautifully tangy, smoky sauce.Cooking the skin separately ensures a delightfully crisp and light scratching that’s perfect for scooping up the rich sauce.Prep 10 min Cook 3 hr 30 min+ Serves 6-81½ kg pork belly, skin and meat separated (ask the butcher to do this for you, if need be) 4 tbsp olive oil 1 large onion2 medium carrots 2 celery sticks1 medium leek, cut in half lengthways and washed20g butter4 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped1 large thumb ginger, peeled and roughly chopped 2 tbsp tamarind puree – the best you can get1½ tbsp chipotle in adobo 60ml sherry300ml pineapple juice 3 bay leavesFor the rub1½ tbsp coriander seeds 1 tsp black peppercorns 2 star anise 2 tsp fennel seeds 1 small cinnamon stick 2 tsp ancho chilli flakes SaltAn hour or two before cooking, take both the belly and skin out of the fridge to come to room temperature.To make the rub, put a small frying pan on a medium heat for a few minutes, then gently toast the coriander seeds, peppercorns, star anise, fennel seeds and cinnamon for a few minutes, until fragrant

Notes on chocolate: a bar you can trust in the long run

Whatever it’s called, a Marathon is always guaranteed to get the crowds cheeringFavourite chocolate bars have such a hold on us. Every time I get a delivery of chocolate, and the driver makes a comment about it, and I ask: ‘Would you like to try some?’ the answer is invariably: ‘Ah no, I’m a Dairy Milk/Fruit and Nut kinda person’ (these are the most likely to be mentioned, although occasionally it might be a Twirl).As I said a few weeks ago, one of my favourites was always a Snickers, or Marathon bar, as it was once known. I used to tell myself that the nuts added an extra nutritional layer (indeed, a whole campaign has been made about that). Flake was the glamorous choice (eagle-eyed readers may remember it was one of my first, heady buys with my own money)

Go orange: distinctive wines made in unusual ways

Makers break with the norm to produce sweet, citrussy bottles with floral notesThe Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.M&S Found Organic Verdil, Valencia, Spain 2023 (£9, Marks & Spencer) Almost all the white wines available in the UK’s supermarkets today are made in a remarkably similar way. The basic recipe goes a little like this: white grapes are first picked and pressed, and then the clear juice is separated from the skins before being fermented in chilled stainless-steel tanks after the winemaker has added some yeast