Supermarkets are reporting surging sales, with customers apparently willing to spend more on exotic versions of the Italian festive bread

It was once the preserve of the bougie delicatessen, but panettone has fast become a British festive staple, with supermarkets reporting soaring sales and customers apparently willing to pay increasingly large sums for the Italian sweet bread.

“A few decades ago, the panettone would have been decadent and exotic, but now it’s as much a mainstay of the British Christmas as favourites like mince pies and turkey,” said Leyla Page, a seasonal bakery buyer for Waitrose.

Starmer says he prefers a toastie over steak after Badenoch claims ‘lunch is for wimps’ and sandwiches are not ‘a real food’

In a row likely to generate more debate than many of their exchanges over the dispatch box, the prime minister has hailed the humble sandwich as “a great British institution” after Kemi Badenoch denounced the lunchtime staple as “not real food”.

In an interview with the Spectator, the leader of the opposition channelled her inner Gordon Gekko to declare: “Lunch is for wimps. I have food brought in and I work and eat at the same time. There’s no time…Sometimes I will get a steak,” she said.

In this week’s Feast newsletter: The next big recipe on Instagram and FoodTok can be a great way for the uninitiated to find new favourite flavours

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I was asked recently which food trends I think will take over in 2025. Personally, I don’t get caught up in trends. Or maybe it’s that I’m a bit sceptical of them: if something is good – really good – then it’s timeless. Sure, we all get excited about the next big thing, but I don’t believe something’s value should be determined by how much attention it gets on Instagram or TikTok.

But food trends can bring certain ingredients into the spotlight. I can’t help but find it intriguing when something suddenly has its moment, much as harissa did 10 or so years ago. Harissa has been a kitchen staple for a very long time for me, a familiar ingredient with depth and history, but I can see why it would be an exciting discovery for others.

The cookbook author transforms leftover noodles into a chunky vegan salad that can be served cold or fresh out of the pan

• Check out more Alice Zaslavsky recipes

Sticky, sweet, textural, meaty and it just happens to be vegan, this bowl is gloriously glistening with eggplant that’s fried until it yields to silky strips, sponging up the sticky teriyaki sauce. Speaking of sponges, that’s exactly what tofu puffs are – and they get even juicier in the salad dressing overnight.

I’d better address the eggplant in the room: this is on the edge of what a “salad” can be according to my new definition (at least a few things in a bowl, well-dressed). If you’re looking at it and thinking “Isn’t this just cold noodles?” The answer is … yes! I hope this gives you permission to turn last night’s leftover noodles into salad by adding some fresh herbs or leafy bits and dressing it decisively to keep everything slippery.

Access to balanced diet also affected by inflation and Brexit, hitting most vulnerable households hardest

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Hungry and malnourished households in the UK are on the rise because of climate breakdown and inflation, government figures show, with poorer, younger and disabled people hit hardest.

Many households worry about food running out, cannot afford balanced meals, experience hunger and have missed meals in the past 30 days, the figures reveal.

In the US, versions of these chewy, dense, customisable cookies turn up at just about every festivity, so how could you possibly distil the perfect version? You’re about to find out …

Gingerbread aside, we don’t tend to celebrate Christmas with biscuits here in the UK, unless you count the entire tartan variety tin of shortbread you eat by mistake in a low moment in mid-January. In the US, however, biscuits (cookies) are A Big Deal, and almost a competitive sport. Taking their cue from the Germanic and Scandinavian tradition of plätzchen and lebkuchen , the American holiday cookie platter is, Chicago-based food writer Tim Mazurek explains, “a generous fantasia where butter cookies decorated like angels mingle with rugelach and rum balls. The cookie platter doesn’t care about your religion, or lack of one. It welcomes everyone and promises that you’ll find something you like.”

I was completely unaware of this custom until an American-born friend appeared on my doorstep last December bearing a handsomely wrapped package of no fewer than seven varieties of biscuit, so count me a convert, Lord. Less divisive than mince pies and fruitcake, and considerably easier than panettone, biscuits keep and travel well, and are open to all manner of glitzy customisation, making them the ideal edible present. Here I’ve stuck to the simplest sort, the rolled vanilla cookie, but once you’ve mastered that, the world is your glittery gift platter.

Harnessing wind, hydro and maybe geothermal power, the tiny Canary Island of El Hierro is blazing a trail for sustainable energy – and the secret is all in the mix

• Words and photographs by Ofelia de Pablo and Javier Zurita

A vertiginous outcrop with more than 500 volcanoes , El Hierro, the most westerly of the Canary Islands, is less than 12 miles (20km) wide but features elevation differences of more than 1,500 metres. Swept by strong Atlantic winds and pockmarked with volcanic craters, it has spent the past decade harnessing its natural features to create clean electricity – with the goal of being the first island to reach self-sufficiency in energy.

Now, the island is reaching new milestones. Energy generated by wind and water has enabled its 11,000 inhabitants to be completely self-sufficient in electricity for 10,000 hours this year.

Wind turbines not only produce most of the energy needed for islanders’ daily use, but also El Hierro’s three desalination plants, which supply water to the island

Sweet treats to delight friends and family without breaking the bank

It really pays to devote a few hours on a Sunday afternoon to prepare homemade gifts. Both these recipes come together with minimal hands-on time and at a fraction of the price of shop-bought versions – there’s no sugar thermometer required, either! The sweetness of the rich toffee is tempered by tart barberries and bitter lemon peel, while the marmalade shines with floral meyer lemons and the green notes of fresh bay. Both recipes double up well, if you have many giftees.

Scientists say climate crisis and poor agricultural practices to blame with serious implications for crop yields

The extent of the world’s land affected by excess salt is set to increase rapidly with potentially devastating impacts on food production, research has found.

About 1.4bn hectares (3.4bn acres), amounting to 10% of global land, is affected by salinity, with a further 1bn hectares classed as “at risk”, a report from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization has found.