When roasting duck, it is important to drain off the fat that will accumulate in the tray. Remove the tray from the oven, put the duck on a plate, then carefully pour off the fat into a bowl. Return the duck to the rack and continue roasting. Repeat a few times during cooking.
Serves 6-8
Preparation: 30 minutes
Cooking: 90 minutes

INGREDIENTS
1 whole duck, roughly 2kg

This was an accidental salad, the kind that you throw together with the contents of your fridge, but instantly love. For the best flavour, use a young, summer beetroot and follow the instructions below. You can also use a packet of pre-cooked beetroot, but I would steer away from the pickled variety. My favourite goat’s cheese is made on Childwickbury Farm in St Albans, also available online.

I srael’s world-leading technology is hardly news. But now Israeli scientists are making huge strides in an unexpected sector — wine-making.
The Golan Heights Winery was a collective founded in 1993 by a group of kibbutzim and villagers who settled in the north of Israel.

If there is one thing the shopkeepers at Tel Aviv’s Shuk Hanamal Farmers Market share — apart from a love of good food, obviously — it is a passion for what they do. The indoor market — Israel’s first commercial green building, costing seven million shekels — opened in November 2010.

At the time of writing, the view from my window is of a grey, chilly, rain-filled sky. With luck, you are currently looking at blue, warm, and sunny. But this summer, who can ever guess? There is a saying in Wyoming, a state notorious for its rapidly changing meteorological conditions: “If you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes”.

Nothing ruins a good pudding so much as making it parev. The question of whether dairy or meat-friendly desserts taste better comes up time and again in kosher circles and it is a debate almost as polarising as how to pronounce “bagel”.

Many of the sacrifices made in the name of a kosher home have little impact on our lives. No seafood? Less chance of violent food poisoning. No pork? One less unhealthy animal fat to ingest. Hardly a disadvantage.

Chateau Golan is one of Israel’s top wineries, but also one of the country’s best-kept secrets. It is just down the road from the huge Golan Heights Winery, where Israel’s premium wine industry was born. But apart from the fabulous fertile soil of the Golan and the fact both make wonderful wines, they are as different as chalk and cheese.