Four great wines from northern Italy

Gavi di Gavi DOCG – Fontanafredda
One of Italy's most fashionable whites, it is noted for acute dryness and fresh, flinty acidity. This is a bright straw-yellow wine with greenish highlights. It has a full, delicate, elegant bouquet which brings flowers and fresh fruit to mind – mostly lemons, lilies of the valley and green apples. Its palate is attractively young, dry, fresh and well-balanced. £16.65

San Vincenzo IGT – Anselmi
Fruity, youthful style, reminiscent of hazelnuts and peaches. No wood maturation just clean crisp flavours with a long finish. £12.75

Vintage Edition Secco – Bertani
This fascinating limited edition wine deliberately goes back to the way that the top wines of Valpolicella were crafted historically between the 1860s and 1930s, before the invention of Amarone. Intriguingly, this is aged 100% in barrels, but there is 0% oak, as the barrels are made entirely of chestnut and cherry wood – a tradition going back centuries in this part of Italy. 

What does it taste like? In short, amazingly complex, without being overbearingly heavy. Cocoa, espresso, dried cherry, tobacco, truffle and antique wood greet the nose, while on the palate there is liquorice, spice, roasted chestnuts, cranberries and more than a hint of forest floor. All this is knit together by spritely acidity, and there is an overlay of gentle tannin, giving it beautiful old-school elegance. A must-try wine! £18.85

Barolo di Serralunga d'Alba DOCG – Fontanafredda
From the Piemonte region this is a deep red with ruby highlights, a truly superb Barolo with a clear-cut, intense nose with overtones of vanilla, spices, withered roses and underbrush. The palate is dry, but soft, full bodied, velvety and well balanced, and is engagingly complex throughout the lengthy finish. Showing great personality. £44

Explore Italian Alpine Wines at The Great Wine Co 

The deeply satisfying combination of sweet and savoury flavours in this homely, comforting pie offer the ultimate keep-chills-at-bay autumnal supper.

Ingredients (serves 4)

For the pastry lid:
300g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
75g mature cheddar cheese, grated
150g cold butter, cut into cubes
1 egg, beaten

For the filling:
30–40g butter
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 large onions, peeled and finely sliced
1 level tbsp dried thyme
1 generous tbsp plain flour
500ml vegetable stock
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
450g potatoes (Maris Piper work well here), peeled and cut into 2cm chunks
3 apples, peeled, cored and chopped into 1cm chunks
150g mature cheddar, grated

Method

1. Make the pastry by tipping the flour, cheese, cubed butter and a pinch of salt into a large bowl, or the bowl of a food processor. Using your fingertips, rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs or pulse in the food processor until you've achieved the same result. Add enough very cold water to create a dough (around 4–5 tbsp), bring together into a ball, wrap in cling film and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, while you get on with making the filling. 

2. Melt the butter and oil in a medium saucepan over a medium heat and gently sauté the chopped onions for 10–15 mins or until just starting to caramelise, adding the thyme for the last minute or so of cooking time. 

3. Add the flour, stir well to combine, and continue to sauté for around 1 minute before gradually adding the stock, stirring continuously to prevent lumps forming. Allow the mixture to simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, and adding the the mustard and vinegar for the last couple of minutes.

4. While the sauce is cooking, preheat the oven to 180ºC/gas mark 6 and put the cubed potatoes in a large pan of cold, salted water, bring to the boil and cook for around 6–8 minutes until just cooked but still holding their shape. Drain well and add to the sauce with the chopped apples and the cheese. Season well with plenty of freshly ground black pepper before pouring the filling into a greased baking dish (20cm x 30cm approx).

5. Roll the pastry on a lightly flour-dusted surface to the thickness of a £1 coin. Cut a strip of pastry and place it all around the edge of the baking dish. Glaze with some of the beaten egg before using the rest of the pastry to cover the pie in one sheet. Trim off any excess pastry and crimp the edges to create a seal. Make three slashes in the top of the pie to allow steam to escape while baking, brush the surface with the rest of the beaten egg and bake the pie for 35–45 minutes, or until the pastry is golden. 

6. Leave to cool in the dish for at least 10 mins before serving with steamed, buttered savoy cabbage.

Night-in Nachos (vegetarian/vegan)

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/gas mark 6. In a large baking dish, tumble 200g lightly salted tortilla chips with 100g grated mature cheddar (or vegan alternative) and a handful of sliced jalapeño peppers (from a jar.) Distribute the mixture evenly across the base of the dish to form an even layer. Top with 2 x 435 tins of refried beans and top again with another 200g of lightly salted tortilla chips mixed with 100g grated mature cheddar and more jalapeño peppers. Bake for 10 minutes until the cheese has melted. Serve hot topped with splodges of tomato salsa, guacamole, soured cream (or vegan alternative) and a handful of freshly chopped coriander leaves.

Grown-up Popcorn (vegan)

Heat 1 tbsp vegetable or rapeseed oil with 1 tbsp butter in a small frying pan and sauté 2 peeled, crushed garlic cloves with 1 tbsp finely-chopped fresh rosemary and a smattering of chilli flakes for 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to infuse for at least 30 minutes. When you're ready to pop, cook 200g popcorn kernels in a large according to pack instructions (really easy; should take around 4-5 minutes.) Strain the flavoured oil through a small sieve across the hot popcorn, shake to coat each kernel with the oil, tip into a big serving bowl and serve immediately.

Baked Onion Rings (vegetarian)

Preheat the oven to 200ºC/gas mark 6. Tip 50g plain flour into a large, sealable plastic bag, season well and add one large onion, peeled and cut into 1cm slices and separated into rings. Shake the bag well to coat the onion rings. In a large bowl, whisk two egg whites until thick and foamy (but not stiff – we're not making meringues!). Pour 100g breadcrumbs (panko breadcrumbs work well here) into another bowl. Take one seasoned, floured onion ring from the plastic bag and coat first in egg white and then in the breadcrumbs before placing on the baking sheet. Repeat until all the onion rings have been used up then bake, in a single layer, for 25–30 minutes (turning halfway through) until the onion rings are tender and the crumb coating is crispy and golden. Serve hot. NB. these onion rings are delicious served with the Blue Cheese Dip in the Buffalo Chicken Wings recipe; if you're serving both dishes together (and why not?), simply double up on dip.

Buffalo Wings with Blue Cheese Dip

Preheat the oven to 190ºC/gas mark 5. Tip 1 kg chicken wings into a large roasting tin, toss with around 1–2 tbsp oil, season well and roast for 30 minutes. Mix 30g melted butter, 2 peeled, crushed garlic cloves, 1 tbsp paprika or cayenne pepper, 1 tbsp white wine or cider vinegar and 3 tbsp Sriracha (or similar) hot pepper sauce. After the wings been roasting for 30 minutes, take them out of the oven, toss them in the sauce and return to the oven for another 30 minutes (shaking/shoving them around occasionally) until the chicken has thoroughly cooked through and the skin has turned sticky. Meanwhile, combine 4 tbsp mayonnaise with 6 tbsp soured cream or crème fraiche and 50g crumbled blue cheese. Serve the buffalo wings hot with the blue cheese dip on the side.

What is it? An unrefined natural sweetener, common in many Indian and South East Asian recipes.

What does it taste like? Not as sweet as typical white or brown sugar, with a complex fruity, earthy flavour similar to maple syrup or muscovado.

Why is it trending? Great British Bake Off, season 12, episode 1: Crystelle infused her mini rolls with Jaggery sent directly from her grandmother in Goa... and online purchases of Jaggery soared overnight.

How should I use it? Working in a similar way to Palm Sugar, Jaggery adds depth, flavour and balance to Indian or South East Asian curries and dahls. It's also perfect in Peshwari Naan, Meethi Roti (sweetened wholewheat flatbread), fruit cakes or good old rice pudding. But is it good in mini rolls? Prue wasn't quite sure...

Additional benefits: Jaggery is an Ayurvedic medicine mainstay, recommended for balancing doshas (the bodily elements that influence wellness.) In India and Sri Lanka, Jaggery is thought to aid digestion and contribute to general wellbeing.

Where can I buy it? Perfecto International Food Market, Avon Street, Bath BA1 1UN; perfectomarket.com

Vero's

Opened at the end of July by proud owner Veronica, Vero’s presents a new concept of Spanish-inspired cafe/deli that is not just tapas! With a chilled, welcoming and bright atmosphere, guests are greeted with top quality service. Although Spanish born, Veronica has lived in Bath for 22 years and is co-owner of sister company, The Colombian Company.

Using her links to Spanish food and culture, Veronica uses fresh, top-quality Spanish ingredients to make her best-selling toasties, baguettes, Spanish omelettes and filled croissants. Vero’s also boasts a great range of drinks and both new and traditional Spanish products that you can take home with you! Always growing and expanding, Vero’s hopes to bring in seasonal foods such as soups in the winter.

Milsom Place, Milsom Street and Broad Street, Bath BA1 1BZ
Tel: 01225 789040 Web: milsomplace.co.uk

Scallop Shell

The Scallop Shell is a much-loved AA Rosette fish restaurant, serving lightly battered and grilled fish and chips and seasonal seafood. Flying the flag for a fresh, sustainable catch from UK waters, the menu changes daily depending on the coastal landings, with fish and shellfish displayed for customers to see in an ice-filled roll-top bath. Opt for classic North Atlantic cod loin, served with mushy peas and homemade tartare sauce, or make it more of a foodie experience with shared shellfish plates or the likes of oysters followed by Cornish monkfish tail or line-caught wild seabass, with a great selection of wines sold by the bottle and glass. There’s also a beautiful indoor/outdoor space, The Upper Deck, which is bathed in light during the day, and intimately cosy after dusk, with a retractable roof for those warm, summer days and fully heated during the cooler months.

22 Monmouth Place, Bath BA1 2AY
Tel: 01225 420928 Web: thescallopshell.co.uk

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Netflix: Maid (2021)

Single mother Alex turns to housecleaning to make ends meet as she escapes an abusive relationship and overcomes homelessness to create a better life for her daughter, Maddy.

With Four Weddings and a Funeral star, Andie MacDowell, leading the cast alongside Margaret Qualley and Nick Robinson, this powerful drama inspired by Stephanie Land's memoir Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive is definitely worth a watch.

Released on Netflix today – watch it here!

No Time To Die (12A)

Yes, after endless anticipation it's finally here. In No Time To Die, Bond has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica. His peace is short-lived when his old friend Felix Leiter from the CIA turns up asking for help. The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology.

Director Cary Joji Fukunaga and starring Daniel Craig, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Rami Malek and Léa Seydoux.

Until 7 October; various showing times; book your tickets here: picturehouses.com

Review by Saskia Hayward, Topping & Co. Bookshop

Checkout-19 by Claire-Louise Bennett

Claire-Louise Bennett’s previous book, Pond, marked her out as one to watch; an author who’s landed something akin to cult status. This is a hypnotic, absorbing chronicle of one woman’s solitary existence on the edge of a town by the sea in Ireland. For many of our booksellers it was a revelation, demonstrating a knack for writing that is hard to pin down and contain, but settles firmly under your skin.
Hence why her latest novel has arrived with such anticipation. Much like Pond, it’s hard to say exactly what the subject of Checkout-19 is. In part, this is thanks to a defiant resistance against simple forms of storytelling. Instead, the book spirals between subjects: from school years to adolescent employment in a supermarket (at the titular Checkout 19) to a brilliant Calvino-esque story within a story about a character she invents called Tarquin Superbus.

It’s a story of a life lived through books both read and written, of what it means to misremember a novel, and of how the written word can spill out and overtake our reality. Watching a man’s hands browse the canned section of a supermarket spurs a story of an orchestral conductor seducing the wives of fin de siècle Vienna. Books are understood as both material and transcendent – they are scattered around apartments, unopened; they are a means of trying out new identities; they are the lens through which you see and are seen.

Inevitably, I suppose, a book about books is always equally a book about life itself. Life, equally, resists a singular narrative. Checkout-19 captures it in all its excess and profundity, its superfluous detail and symbology – all recorded with sharp humour and a shrewd eye. Vintage, £14.99

Review by Saskia Hayward, Topping & Co. Bookshop

Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney

Arguably the most anticipated literary release this year, the latest novel by Sally Rooney does not disappoint. It’s hard to build upon the foundation of success she has created with Conversations With Friends and Normal People, and what feels most admirable about Beautiful World, Where Are You is that it seems to signify a change in direction for Rooney’s work, whilst remaining as a novel her fans will love.

The book focuses on Alice, a wealthy young novelist who has retreated to a remote town in Ireland, and goes on a date with Felix, a man working at a nearby warehouse. Meanwhile, back in Dublin, Alice’s friend Eileen and her old friend Simon grow closer and the boundaries of their friendship begin to change shape.

What has remained is her familiar muted, spare prose style and her brilliantly precise, true-to-life dialogue. The first suggestion of a new direction comes in the initial chapter: a sudden change in tense transforms the scene from an interior world to one rendered entirely in exteriority, like a camera slowly panning out. It’s a shift in register that is unexpected and transformative, perfectly capturing Rooney’s ability to take you by surprise. Faber, £16.99

toppingbooks.co.uk

Curated by Daniel McCabe - Magalleria

I'm sure it's not news to you that we live in a time of flux. I think magazines are particularly illuminating in this regard because they provide well-digested and verifiable reporting that's agile enough to cope with rolling events. Arguably everything is interesting right now but we can recommend one of our favourite magazines, Ark Journal, for a measured and informative take on design and architecture, a subject area it treats as 'people and spaces'. Volume VI is just out, and as always this sleek and luxurious Danish magazine has marshalled an impressive array of designers, makers and thinkers to give us a very useful steer on new creative directions.