Paper Palate

What a scary picture of Gordon Ramsay! And the whole twelve stars thing … all a bit dull, but at least we do get some of his recipes, and I particularly like the sound of roasted fillet of beef with a truffle and root vegetable infusion and the risotto of ceps with spring onions and truffle.

The rest of the magazine is largely focused on Christmas - no surprises there. Nigel Slater lays on oysters, roast turkey with wild rice, pomegranate and proscuitto salad and baked root vegetables and porcini, followed by a prune and Armagnac parfait. If that sounds like too much hassle, there’s the Donna Hay guide to a ‘fuss-free’ Christmas: red onion and potato gratin, glazed ham, roast pork loin and a range of ‘easiest’ side dishes.

Well-known food writers then choose their ‘perfect’ recipes: baked camembert from Nigel Slater, Bohemian roast goose from Nigella Lawson and Simon Hopkinson’s roast potatoes are amongst the ideas.

As usual, the OFM isn’t just focused on good food, but also on the ethics of eating well, so there’s an article about Kelly Bronze turkeys that are reared ethically in Essex, followed by a few more turkey recipes. This includes the turkey leg with spinach, which makes an attractive alternative for anyone not having to feed a huge family on Christmas Day.

Oliver Rowe heads down the seafood route, including lobster, crab and crayfish.

You’ll have noticed we’ve neglected desserts so far … but there’s more food yet as Bill Granger covers pudding. The puffed apple pancake looks gorgeous, but there’s also chocolate almond cakes, steamed date puddings and a hazelnut and fig cake.

There’s a quick review of rugby player Mike Tindall’s diet and an interview with Raymond Blanc and a quick visit to the Amazon to look at açai berry farming. There’s also extensive coverage of food suppliers for Christmas and the magazine wraps up with Mourad Mazouz testing chocolate for Christmas. Interestingly, in the plain chocolate selection it’s Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference which comes out in front … so it needn’t cost a fortune after all.

This is a very recipe rich issue - but as the focus is on Christmas, a lot of the recipes feed large groups. I guess the rest of us could just feast on left overs for most of January!