I recently started a new job so have been trying out restaurants near my new offices in Farringdon. As part of this I took my girlfriend out for a nice romantic meal at a French place that came highly recommended (the person who told us about it was sworn to secrecy by a guy who took her there on a date, it turns out she likes us more than him!)
The restaurant is hidden down a side street just off a quaint square halfway between barbican and farringdon station.
It definitely feels like you have made a special discovery when you walk through the door into the brick lined walls, there is a piano in the centre which was being played by someone when we arrived giving the whole place a warm and friendly feel.
Whenever I go to a new restaurant I am alway nosey and look at what the other guest have ordered, just so I can get an idea of size and also to maybe give me a hint about what I may have order myself, looking quickly from table to table I couldn't see a single thing I wouldn't want to eat, beautiful cuts of meat, fresh poultry and salads where pretty much everywhere accompanied by some very nice looking wine.
Once we were seated (right next to the aforementioned piano) we got to peruse the excellent menu, which offers 2 course for 28.50 or 3 courses for around 35 we also got told about some really very interesting specials, including quail and partridge. For started I went for the gratin of black pudding, which tasted sensational while my girlfirend chose the mushroom tartine. These were both generous in size and passed the clean plate test (there was nothing left of the tartine for me to try again, although I am told it was really good).
For mains we both went for specials, I chose to pay a supplement and had partridge, which was suuculent, tender and very tasty, servered with some chips and a salad while my girlfriend went for the quail, I did manage to get a mouthful of the quail (as I have never tried it before) and I have to say it was even better than my partridge, with a really nice flavour and texture.
I would highly recommend the Cafe du Marche as a great place for a date, it is everything you would expect from a quaint little french restaurant in the side streets of Paris, but stuck in the middle of London.
Tuesday, 22 November 2011
Sunday, 13 November 2011
Foxtrot Oscar: restaurant review
What better way to follow an Evening with John Torode than with a spot of Sunday lunch with Gordon Ramsey at his Foxtrot Oscar restaurant (obviously we saw neither of them, but you know what I mean)
Foxtrot Oscar is set in the heart of Chelsea, right next door to Ramsey's head office and I think it could be considered a perfect location for Sunday lunch after a leisurely stroll through Battersea Park and along Chelsea Embankment. I have to say I have been before and I really like the small intimate feel, it is more gastro pub than fine dining, but I really do enjoy the experience.
Currently you can get some really good deals on the Sunday lunch menu, we managed to get a deal for on 3 courses for 25 quid. The selection is slightly limited, but if it isn't for you you can always go for the very reasonable a la carte menu (which comes in at about 8 pounds for a starter and 15 for a main).
The starter I chose was a very tasty French onion soup, my only issue with it was I would have preferred a bit more soup. My girlfriend and the friend who came with us chose to have the roasted marrowbone, although my girlfriend didn't particularly like hers, I think this was mainly because she hadn't tried it before and was surprised by how fatty it was (our guest was rather more glowing about it, pointing out, quit rightly, that the best bits for flavour are in the fat)
The main course options were roast sirloin, roast pork belly, a cheese burger or an aubergine pasta dish. Being the carnivores we are we ordered the first 3 options, I went for the burger as having had a big slab of pork the night before I fancied a lighter option, I was given a chance to choose how I wanted it cooked (pink or well done) which was a nice touch and also a good sign of the quality of the meat (I chose pink and it certainly didn't let me down). Our guest was also given the option on how cooked he wanted his sirloin to be, which, like any one of taste would chose, was as rare as the chef recommended. He was treated to an excellent piece of beef, slightly bloody in the middle, but with crispy fat around the outside. The port belly my girlfriend was served up also looked amazing (again a good sign is that I can't comment on the taste because despite its generous size she finished the lot!)
This bought us onto the desserts, where accompanied by a really quite excellent Hungarian Tokaji we had a cheesecake and sticky toffee pudding. My vanilla cheesecake really was tasty (although by this time I was starting to feel slightly full) and again I am assured that the sticky toffee pudding was also good (I could have tried this but I have to be honest, I ran out of space to fit it in!).
So in summary I would highly recommend a trip to Foxtrot Oscar as good value and with its calm laid back and comfortable decor one of the best locations for Sunday lunch I have found in London
Foxtrot Oscar is set in the heart of Chelsea, right next door to Ramsey's head office and I think it could be considered a perfect location for Sunday lunch after a leisurely stroll through Battersea Park and along Chelsea Embankment. I have to say I have been before and I really like the small intimate feel, it is more gastro pub than fine dining, but I really do enjoy the experience.
Currently you can get some really good deals on the Sunday lunch menu, we managed to get a deal for on 3 courses for 25 quid. The selection is slightly limited, but if it isn't for you you can always go for the very reasonable a la carte menu (which comes in at about 8 pounds for a starter and 15 for a main).
The starter I chose was a very tasty French onion soup, my only issue with it was I would have preferred a bit more soup. My girlfriend and the friend who came with us chose to have the roasted marrowbone, although my girlfriend didn't particularly like hers, I think this was mainly because she hadn't tried it before and was surprised by how fatty it was (our guest was rather more glowing about it, pointing out, quit rightly, that the best bits for flavour are in the fat)
The main course options were roast sirloin, roast pork belly, a cheese burger or an aubergine pasta dish. Being the carnivores we are we ordered the first 3 options, I went for the burger as having had a big slab of pork the night before I fancied a lighter option, I was given a chance to choose how I wanted it cooked (pink or well done) which was a nice touch and also a good sign of the quality of the meat (I chose pink and it certainly didn't let me down). Our guest was also given the option on how cooked he wanted his sirloin to be, which, like any one of taste would chose, was as rare as the chef recommended. He was treated to an excellent piece of beef, slightly bloody in the middle, but with crispy fat around the outside. The port belly my girlfriend was served up also looked amazing (again a good sign is that I can't comment on the taste because despite its generous size she finished the lot!)
This bought us onto the desserts, where accompanied by a really quite excellent Hungarian Tokaji we had a cheesecake and sticky toffee pudding. My vanilla cheesecake really was tasty (although by this time I was starting to feel slightly full) and again I am assured that the sticky toffee pudding was also good (I could have tried this but I have to be honest, I ran out of space to fit it in!).
So in summary I would highly recommend a trip to Foxtrot Oscar as good value and with its calm laid back and comfortable decor one of the best locations for Sunday lunch I have found in London
SOS: restaurant review
Smiths on Smithfield was the venue for a friends party on saturday night and as we were there I thought it would be a good idea to try John Torode's eating establishment for a spot of dinner first.
SOS is an interesting place, split into four levels with restaurants and food for different occasions on each floor. The ground floor is a nice bar with some good snack food, the first floor has an impressive stocked wine room where they serve pizza and more simple fayre. There is also a private dining room on the first floor that caters for parties.
The top floor is the fine dining room, with views of St Paul's and most of the city of London, but sadly we were a little short of time for a full tasting menu so we had settled on the second floor which specialises in grilled meats.
I started with chicken liver parfait which was served on a toasted brioche
with a homemade pickle, the whole ensemble worked well together, with the pickle cutting through the richness of the parfait. My girlfriend was less impressed with her choice of French onion soup, although it was solid it was a little acidic.
For main course I settled on the pork belly and mashed potato, while my girlfriend went for a classic steak frites. The pork was well cooked and the meat was tender and juicy, although some of my crackling had failed to crackle properly (which always a bit of a disappointment) it was served with an interesting parsley garnish which really complimented the fattyness of the meat.
My girlfriends mild disappointment continued with her sirloin steak, although it was cooked exactly to order she said it was the meat was good, not great.
The wine list was also pretty darn good, and in reality it would have been nice to have a red wine with the meal but as we were there for a night out afterwards we ended up going for a very nice 2008 Izadi white Rioja.
To sum up I personally thought that the food was good, and the general decor was really cool as was the night out later, I would recommend it as a solution to a number of eating and night out conundrums. I am definitely keen to go back and try the top floor soon.
SOS is an interesting place, split into four levels with restaurants and food for different occasions on each floor. The ground floor is a nice bar with some good snack food, the first floor has an impressive stocked wine room where they serve pizza and more simple fayre. There is also a private dining room on the first floor that caters for parties.
The top floor is the fine dining room, with views of St Paul's and most of the city of London, but sadly we were a little short of time for a full tasting menu so we had settled on the second floor which specialises in grilled meats.
I started with chicken liver parfait which was served on a toasted brioche
with a homemade pickle, the whole ensemble worked well together, with the pickle cutting through the richness of the parfait. My girlfriend was less impressed with her choice of French onion soup, although it was solid it was a little acidic.
For main course I settled on the pork belly and mashed potato, while my girlfriend went for a classic steak frites. The pork was well cooked and the meat was tender and juicy, although some of my crackling had failed to crackle properly (which always a bit of a disappointment) it was served with an interesting parsley garnish which really complimented the fattyness of the meat.
My girlfriends mild disappointment continued with her sirloin steak, although it was cooked exactly to order she said it was the meat was good, not great.
The wine list was also pretty darn good, and in reality it would have been nice to have a red wine with the meal but as we were there for a night out afterwards we ended up going for a very nice 2008 Izadi white Rioja.
To sum up I personally thought that the food was good, and the general decor was really cool as was the night out later, I would recommend it as a solution to a number of eating and night out conundrums. I am definitely keen to go back and try the top floor soon.
Saturday, 12 November 2011
Simple stir fry sauce
My girlfriend is a big fan of stir frys and slowly I am being converted to her way of thinking, after all they don't take much time to cook, are healthy quick and relatively easy, in fact most of the skill is making sure that the vegetables are the right sort of crunchy.
To try to make it a bit more complicated I decided I was going to create my own stir fry sauce. This is not particularly difficult or inventive, infact I basically looked at the ingredients which a couple of those in the supermarket used and went from there.
You will need
a lemon,
a lime,
White wine vinegar
Mirin
vegetable stock cube
ginger
chilli
black pepper
honey
soy sauce
worcester sauce or fish sauce
Finely dice some fresh chilli, peel the ginger and garlic chopping finely. Fry these in some olive oil for 2 or 3 minutes before turning the heat down and adding the juice if the lemon and lime along with a couple of tablespoons of white wine vinegar, a tablespoon of the mirin.
Crush the stock cube into the sauce and add a tablespoon of honey, a few drops of soy sauce and a couple of drops of the fish or Worcester sauce.
Sprinkle in some black pepper and leave this to simmer for 10-15 minutes stirring occasionally, this should be enough time to chop up the veg for the stir fry.
To try to make it a bit more complicated I decided I was going to create my own stir fry sauce. This is not particularly difficult or inventive, infact I basically looked at the ingredients which a couple of those in the supermarket used and went from there.
You will need
a lemon,
a lime,
White wine vinegar
Mirin
vegetable stock cube
ginger
chilli
black pepper
honey
soy sauce
worcester sauce or fish sauce
Finely dice some fresh chilli, peel the ginger and garlic chopping finely. Fry these in some olive oil for 2 or 3 minutes before turning the heat down and adding the juice if the lemon and lime along with a couple of tablespoons of white wine vinegar, a tablespoon of the mirin.
Crush the stock cube into the sauce and add a tablespoon of honey, a few drops of soy sauce and a couple of drops of the fish or Worcester sauce.
Sprinkle in some black pepper and leave this to simmer for 10-15 minutes stirring occasionally, this should be enough time to chop up the veg for the stir fry.
La Rueda: restaurant review
It doesn't always have to about fine dining, I really appreciate somewhere that is a bit different, has a decent atmosphere and also offers good value for money. With that in mind I thought I'd write a bit about La Rueda on Clapham high street, which me and a small group of friends visited for a Friday night meal before heading out for a few drinks.
The restaurant itself feels fairly authentic with a number of the staff who's first language actually appears to be Spanish, which we took to be a good sign. there was a wide array of tapas on the menu, covering many of the usual favourites (causing one of the group to comment that it was a fairly English style menu, although I would suggest that this is more because of the crowd they are catering for rather than a genuine lack of authenticity).
The wine list was certainly authenic with a decent number of both very nice red and white Rioja's (we went with the Marques of Carcares Red and White at around 15 pounds a bottle each).
We all ordered the recommended 3 or 4 dishes each (21 dishes between 6 of us) but I would say that this was far too much food, I suspect we could easily have fed another person and still have had something left over.
I always think that a good bell weather at all tapas restaurants, regardless of the claimed quality, is the calimares. They are always the first thing I try as I like to know how skilled the chef is. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised as they were excellent, tender and tasty, which set the tone for the rest of the meal really. The seafood was all really well cooked and I thought the sausage in wine and several of the other dishes were very good. I was slightly disappointed by the patatas bravas but on the whole I would recommend it to a larger group who want to try something different before going out for a few beers elsewhere.
The restaurant itself feels fairly authentic with a number of the staff who's first language actually appears to be Spanish, which we took to be a good sign. there was a wide array of tapas on the menu, covering many of the usual favourites (causing one of the group to comment that it was a fairly English style menu, although I would suggest that this is more because of the crowd they are catering for rather than a genuine lack of authenticity).
The wine list was certainly authenic with a decent number of both very nice red and white Rioja's (we went with the Marques of Carcares Red and White at around 15 pounds a bottle each).
We all ordered the recommended 3 or 4 dishes each (21 dishes between 6 of us) but I would say that this was far too much food, I suspect we could easily have fed another person and still have had something left over.
I always think that a good bell weather at all tapas restaurants, regardless of the claimed quality, is the calimares. They are always the first thing I try as I like to know how skilled the chef is. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised as they were excellent, tender and tasty, which set the tone for the rest of the meal really. The seafood was all really well cooked and I thought the sausage in wine and several of the other dishes were very good. I was slightly disappointed by the patatas bravas but on the whole I would recommend it to a larger group who want to try something different before going out for a few beers elsewhere.
Thursday, 20 October 2011
I love the London Festaurant Festival: Gauthier Soho
Gauthier soho is one of the newer Michelin starred restaurants in Soho and in terms of ambience, in my opinion, it is one of the best.
From the moment you ring the door bell to gain access you feel like you have entered a really exclusive club, the staff are exactly what you would expect, efficient, knowledgeable and slightly reserved.
The dining room is small and cosy but there only a few well spaced tables adding to that exclusive feel and private dining like experience.
The festival menu had a good selection and there were generous amuse bouches provided in between the courses.
I settled on scallops while my girlfriend went for the lobster ravioli. We followed this with sea bass and duck marget. The food itself was all stunningly arranged and beautifully cooked. My scallops were some of the best I have ever tasted, I would recommend what my girlfriend ordered but it was so good she was in no mood for sharing!
As ever a very helpful sommelier was on hand to recommend some excellent accompanying wines for this.
I would have to say this is probably my favourite fine dining experience to date and I am already thinking that it would be really good to drop in and try the taste of winter seven course menu which is available for 70 pounds at present.
From the moment you ring the door bell to gain access you feel like you have entered a really exclusive club, the staff are exactly what you would expect, efficient, knowledgeable and slightly reserved.
The dining room is small and cosy but there only a few well spaced tables adding to that exclusive feel and private dining like experience.
The festival menu had a good selection and there were generous amuse bouches provided in between the courses.
I settled on scallops while my girlfriend went for the lobster ravioli. We followed this with sea bass and duck marget. The food itself was all stunningly arranged and beautifully cooked. My scallops were some of the best I have ever tasted, I would recommend what my girlfriend ordered but it was so good she was in no mood for sharing!
As ever a very helpful sommelier was on hand to recommend some excellent accompanying wines for this.
I would have to say this is probably my favourite fine dining experience to date and I am already thinking that it would be really good to drop in and try the taste of winter seven course menu which is available for 70 pounds at present.
Sunday, 16 October 2011
I love the London Restaurant Festival: review of L'escargot
Apparently a lot of London restaurants have pulled together a set of special offers and special menus in honour of London Restaurant Festival, and not being one to turn down a really good offer my partner booked us a couple of nights out at restaurants we'd been meaning to go to for a while.
L'escargot is part of Marco Pierre White's WhiteStarLines group and is to be found nestled on Greek Street in London's lively Soho. The restaurant itself feels fairly classic, well appointed and modern, however in some places the tables are a little closer together than I have seen in any other Michelin starred restaurant, my partner and I felt occasionally like we were sharing a table with a small group of people sitting next to us (this was also disappointing because it was a Monday night and there were a fair number of spare tables dotted around).
Getting over the seating arrangements the festival menu was a couple of courses for 25 quid, which is pretty good value in a place where an a la carte main course will set you back in the region of 20 pounds. I started on the Tian of Trout while my girlfriend carried on her recent fois gras thing by having the ham hock filled with the delicacy and served with a brioche. My trout was excellent, however the ham hock was a little short of fois gras for my partners taste
For main course I had the duck which was excellent, crispy skinned and in a wonderful sauce, My girlfriend decided to go for the bream which was excellently cooked and
For accompaniment we did the usual when faced with a monumental wine list, panicked and asked the sommelier, he was really great, giving us some good advice, we ended up ignoring the currenttrend of pairing a dessert wine with the fois gras and instead settled on a bottle of Chablis (from one of the minor appelations) to go with the trout, Fois gras and Bream and a glass of very nice red (which I forget) to go with my duck.
All in all it was a good experience and I really enjoyed my meal which unlike some other places doing special set menus had very generous portion sizes and gave a really good view of the menu, I think the only minor issues were the table layout and the fact that my partner was disappointed with her starter.
For main course I had the duck which was excellent, crispy skinned and in a wonderful sauce, My girlfriend decided to go for the bream which was excellently cooked and
For accompaniment we did the usual when faced with a monumental wine list, panicked and asked the sommelier, he was really great, giving us some good advice, we ended up ignoring the currenttrend of pairing a dessert wine with the fois gras and instead settled on a bottle of Chablis (from one of the minor appelations) to go with the trout, Fois gras and Bream and a glass of very nice red (which I forget) to go with my duck.
All in all it was a good experience and I really enjoyed my meal which unlike some other places doing special set menus had very generous portion sizes and gave a really good view of the menu, I think the only minor issues were the table layout and the fact that my partner was disappointed with her starter.
Sunday, 2 October 2011
Recipe: Turkey meatballs in tomato sauce
I am still trying to be healthy and in that vein I have found myself cooking with a lot of turkey recently. My latest recipe attempt was to create turkey meatballs in a tomato sauce served on wholewheat pasta for me and my girlfriend.
I put a thick slice of wholemeal bread, cut the crusts off and then gave it a quick whizz in the blender. I then put these crumbs on a baking tray and placed them in oven at a heat of 100 degrees for 15 minutes.
While these were in the oven I finely chopped quarter of a red onion, half a chilli and a clove of garlic. I also chopped some fresh coriander (and if I had some I would have thrown in some fresh basil and oregano for good measure, instead I put in the dried variety). These all went into a mixing bowl with 250 grams of extra lean minced turkey breast and the now dried out bread crumbs. I also seasoned this mix with ground black pepper and some sea salt adding a splash of milk and some olive oil to help the binding. I then formed these into 10 balls the size of table tennis balls, I put these on a foil covered baking tray under a medium grill while I prepared the tomato sauce (you should probably turn them after 5 minutes and leave them under for no longer than 10).
The tomato sauce is a pretty standard affair, fry a base of the rest of the onion, a red pepper, finely chopped, a clove of garlic, a stick of celery and some chilli in a pressure cooker or frying pan (which has a lid, that will be used later). After a few minutes turn the heat down adding some chopped mushrooms, a tin of chopped tomatoes, some tomato puree, a squirt of tomato sauce and a splash of Worcester sauce, after about 5 minutes of letting that bubble get the meat balls from under the grill and carefully (without breaking them up) mix them into the sauce, cover with the lid and leave to cook.
At this point I usually put the spaghetti into cook, for this I used wholemeal as that is what I had in the cupboard but any spaghetti will do.
Ingredients:
250g Lean Turkey mince
1 Thick slice of wholemeal bread (with crusts removed)
50 ml of milk
Chopped Coriander, Basil and Oregano
Chopped chilli
Chopped Garlic
1 Red onion
1 Red capsicum pepper
Wholemeal Spaghetti.
I put a thick slice of wholemeal bread, cut the crusts off and then gave it a quick whizz in the blender. I then put these crumbs on a baking tray and placed them in oven at a heat of 100 degrees for 15 minutes.
While these were in the oven I finely chopped quarter of a red onion, half a chilli and a clove of garlic. I also chopped some fresh coriander (and if I had some I would have thrown in some fresh basil and oregano for good measure, instead I put in the dried variety). These all went into a mixing bowl with 250 grams of extra lean minced turkey breast and the now dried out bread crumbs. I also seasoned this mix with ground black pepper and some sea salt adding a splash of milk and some olive oil to help the binding. I then formed these into 10 balls the size of table tennis balls, I put these on a foil covered baking tray under a medium grill while I prepared the tomato sauce (you should probably turn them after 5 minutes and leave them under for no longer than 10).
The tomato sauce is a pretty standard affair, fry a base of the rest of the onion, a red pepper, finely chopped, a clove of garlic, a stick of celery and some chilli in a pressure cooker or frying pan (which has a lid, that will be used later). After a few minutes turn the heat down adding some chopped mushrooms, a tin of chopped tomatoes, some tomato puree, a squirt of tomato sauce and a splash of Worcester sauce, after about 5 minutes of letting that bubble get the meat balls from under the grill and carefully (without breaking them up) mix them into the sauce, cover with the lid and leave to cook.
At this point I usually put the spaghetti into cook, for this I used wholemeal as that is what I had in the cupboard but any spaghetti will do.
Ingredients:
250g Lean Turkey mince
1 Thick slice of wholemeal bread (with crusts removed)
50 ml of milk
Chopped Coriander, Basil and Oregano
Chopped chilli
Chopped Garlic
1 Red onion
1 Red capsicum pepper
Wholemeal Spaghetti.
Thursday, 29 September 2011
Artichoke, it’s all about the foam on the Michelin Watch list.
On Friday we happened to find ourselves in the suburbs
in North West London, Rickmansworth to be precise. While we were there my partner and I decided to try a restaurant which was recommended to us by a couple of friends who live locally. Apparently it is on the way up and is on the Michelin watch list, which means they are on best behaviour in case that scruffy couple in the corner area couple of inspectors seeing if their staff are always courteous regardless of the apparent dress of the clientele.
As this was a slightly special occasion for us we decided to give the tasting menu a whirl, if you have never tried a tasting menu I have to say it is a
really good experience when done well. The theory behind this you get to try
the best of the menu and experience what the chef can do. The food bit is great
although I have to say that the best bit about any tasting menu in my opinion
is the matching wine.
I am a late convert to this way of eating, I think I had my first one just over a year ago but since then I have been making up for lost time. In teh past I had always assumed that I would never be able to eat all of the food served up as these tend to be 6 or 7 courses which may sound like a lot but the portion sizes tend to be relatively small.
I am a late convert to this way of eating, I think I had my first one just over a year ago but since then I have been making up for lost time. In teh past I had always assumed that I would never be able to eat all of the food served up as these tend to be 6 or 7 courses which may sound like a lot but the portion sizes tend to be relatively small.
The Artichoke was the location for the latest meal, it is
apparently on the Michelin watch list, which as a friend succinctly put it
means that there is going to be "a lot of foam".
The amuse bouche and starters were interesting and very well paired with the wine, although the first starter probably had a few too many types of beetroot but was interesting and worked really well with the wine. The second starter was a couple of curried scallops with carrot and coriander, this was interesting and unusual but very tasty, the pairing with the wine was also very good.
The only complaint I could really have was the middle course for the evening, which was a shot glass full of fois gras, a pickled Victoria plum and an apple foam. The foam and the fois gras worked really well together, I could even get over the fact we were served a very sweet dessert wine with it but the Victoria plum in the middle of it really didn't work well.
After that we were served a couple of excellent main course, first a very tasty rock salmon, this was followed by a pork main course, this consisted of belly and a couple of fillets which were amazingly tasty but probably were a little bit too much (in terms of quantity) for my girlfriend.
I would have to say that the whole meal was a really good experience helped by friendly, knowledgeable staff. and would recommend the restaurant for any upcoming special occasions. I would also suggest that it is not quite Michelin star worthy yet, but I imagine its time will come fairly soon if the food and service continue to be of such a high standard.
Friday, 16 September 2011
Shopping while hungry – Recipe: rosemary and mint Lamb chomps with ared wine jus.
I am a firm believer that going to a supermarket while hungry is a terrible idea. However I really couldn’t decide what to cook last night (and the cupboard was pretty bare, so to speak) so I risked it. Usually when I try this I end up coming back with a lotof things that I would never usually buy (bags of cookies and various other bakery products are the norm) but last night I was pretty good.
What I did end up buying were some nice looking lamb chops. Theidea being I was hungry and I wanted something that I could cook quicklywithout too much effort while watching the football (Kiev vs Stoke) on my laptop. To go with this I decided I would throw in some herbs, as it was lamb I purchased fresh Rosemary and Mint. As an accompaniment I decided to keep it simple, Vivaldi potatoes (they were on offer) and Chataney carrots (they weren’t but I have developed a liking for them recently). I also had some other veg lying round at home to supplement this.
I made a quick marinade for the lamb (for 4 smallish chops),this consisted of
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 stalks of rosemary – Stripped and finely chopped
2 stalks of mint – finely chopped
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon of red wine
2 teaspoons of runny honey
1 clove of garlic
Sea salt and Black pepper
I left the lamb chops to sit in this for about 30 minutes stirring it occasionally as there wasn’t really enough marinade to cover all ofthe chops. (feel free to leave this longer but I was hungry)
Just before putting the lamb under the grill I put the potatoes on to boil on a medium heat (these take 16-20 mins) after 7 or 8 minutes I put the rest of the veg (in this casetenderstem broccoli, fine beans and carrots) on my jerry rigged steamed (read: colander resting above the potatoes with the pan lid on top)
I grilled the lamb under a moderate heat on a normal grill pan, I placed half a red onion which I had cut into hunks and brushed with olive oil under the grill rack while thelamb was cooking. The lamb took about 6 minutes per side to cook (when turning drizzle more of the marinade over the chops). After about 10 minutes of cooking I took the lamb out from under the grill at which point I poured a mug full of boiling water into the tray before pouring all of the mixture (red onion plus the fat from the chops) into a frying pan to make the sauce. I added a couple more tablespoons of wine and a lamb stock cube to this before simmering for 8 minutes (while I finished cooking the chops and serving the vegand everything else).
Anyway, coupled with the relatively reliable 2010 McGuigan’s Merlot the whole thing tasted really good.
Wednesday, 14 September 2011
Restaurant Trip: Maharini on Clapham High Street
Like catching up with an old friend for a drink and discovering
that it is just like old times.
Before I moved to Balham 4 years ago I spent a happy year
living in Clapham North with some close friend, all of whom were big fans of an
occasional curry. While there, one of the regular places to get our Bhuna fix
was the Maharani (http://www.maharani-clapham.co.uk/), now since the move
(slightly) south I haven’t really been back and it was really nice to take my
girlfriend there with the promise of a good, traditional English curry and find
that I really wasn’t disappointed.
Now I am not saying this is the most up to date place in
terms of décor, however if you can look past the fixtures and fittings the
service was excellent and attentive and the atmosphere was pleasant enough
(although obviously it is a big restaurant on Clapham high street so
occasionally on a Friday and Saturday night I imagine you get a football or
rugby team in there which may cause a few problems if your plan was for a
romantic meal for two).
As well as fast and polite service, the food was excellent. We
ordered a couple of specials not on the online menu ( a Rajistani chicken and a
lamb dish which I forgot to make a note of) along with a Saag Paneer which according
to my foodie girlfriend was one of the best she had ever tasted.I have to say
both of the curry dishes were also really tasty and we’re delivered to the
table still sizzling. The lamb was tender in a thick gravy, the chicken was
also really tasty, neither was excessively hot, but they definitely packed a
little bit of a punch. The food was also pretty good value for money,
nearly all of the mains cost less than a tenner and the assorted sundries came
in at about 3 quid each. As is the norm with curry houses 2 dishes and a
vegetable side were probably a bit too much for two of us when you add in a
portion of rice and a Naan but we really weren’t complaining and ended up
finishing the lot.
The wine selection is somewhat limited (I know what you are
thinking, who goes to a curry house and orders a bottle of red, the answer
would be “my girlfriend”). The 2007 Saint Emilion we eventually settled on was
under 20 quid and very nice (although it I hard to talk about wine complementing
food when that food is curry) and obviously they also serve the usual array of beer
if you prefer to use that to douse the spice fire.
Cost for two of us (including half a bottle of wine and tip)
came in at a very reasonable 55 quid and I’d definitely recommend a visit as
part of a night out.
Healthy Eating - Chicken breast stuffed with spinach and ricotta
At the minute I am trying to be healthy, mainly because I can't do as much exercise as I normally do as I have injured my knee. So hopefully most of the things I am cooking in the next few months should be relatively healthy (although if you disagree about this please tell me).
Last night’s meal was a bit experimental, The plan was to do a simple chicken breast stuffed with Spinach and Ricotta cheese, which is straight forward enough, you simply butterfly cut the chick breast and stuff with about 2 table spoons of cheese (per breast) mixed with about 1 handful of roughly chopped spinach leaves. For extra taste you can the wrap these with a slice (or two) of bacon (depending on the size of the breast) before wrapping them in foil and putting them in a pre-heated oven (to 200 degrees C) to bake for 30 minutes.
I was going to do this with a few new potatoes and some fresh steamed veg (Broccoli, Fine Beans and chantenay carrots) again nothing too tricky here. My concern was that this would be fairly bland and dry, what it really needed was a sauce.
This is where the experimentation kicked in. I decided I was going to try to make a roasted Vegetable puree/sauce to go with the chicken. Not having any idea how to do this I cooked half a roast red pepper (or if you prefer capsicum) (I sliced the sides off the pepper), about 10 pomodorino tomatoes, quarter of a red onion, a couple of bits of chilli (no seeds) and a clove of garlic on some foil, covered them in olive oil, salt and black pepper and then put them in the oven with the chicken.
Last night’s meal was a bit experimental, The plan was to do a simple chicken breast stuffed with Spinach and Ricotta cheese, which is straight forward enough, you simply butterfly cut the chick breast and stuff with about 2 table spoons of cheese (per breast) mixed with about 1 handful of roughly chopped spinach leaves. For extra taste you can the wrap these with a slice (or two) of bacon (depending on the size of the breast) before wrapping them in foil and putting them in a pre-heated oven (to 200 degrees C) to bake for 30 minutes.
I was going to do this with a few new potatoes and some fresh steamed veg (Broccoli, Fine Beans and chantenay carrots) again nothing too tricky here. My concern was that this would be fairly bland and dry, what it really needed was a sauce.
This is where the experimentation kicked in. I decided I was going to try to make a roasted Vegetable puree/sauce to go with the chicken. Not having any idea how to do this I cooked half a roast red pepper (or if you prefer capsicum) (I sliced the sides off the pepper), about 10 pomodorino tomatoes, quarter of a red onion, a couple of bits of chilli (no seeds) and a clove of garlic on some foil, covered them in olive oil, salt and black pepper and then put them in the oven with the chicken.
After about 20 minutes I removed the vegetables and threw them into the blender with the left over spinach and ricotta from my breast stuff effort earlier. My first attempt at blending failed, nothing got chopped, after some head scratching my house mate suggested I tried to add some more liquid to the mix so I added some of the juices from the chicken (which was by now relatively well cooked) as well as a bit of water and tried again. This was more successful however I have to say that the pepper/capsicum needed to be fished out of the sauce and fine chopped by hand. Once this had been blended I put this into a frying pan on a medium heat to reduce (keep stirring to avoid burning). Depending on how much water you added this will probably take around 5-10 mins. Next time I think I will add some paprika as this is cooking to take the colour from the yellowy brown it came out to something a little bit redder.
Ingredients (per person)
A small/medium Chicken breast
2 tbl spoons ricotta
1 handful of spinach leaves
1 or 2 rashers of smoked bacon or that fancy Italian equivalent
New Potatoes
Chantenay Carrots
Fine beans
Broccoli
½ red pepper (capsicum)
10 pomodorino tomatoes
1 clove garlic
¼ red onion
¼ medium chilli
Olive oil, Salt and pepper to taste
Tuesday, 13 September 2011
Fine dining
This is my first blog post so I figured it would be sensible to tell you a bit about why I am blogging and what the purpose of this blog is. I should also mention a bit about me, I have always been interested in food, like most people I was initially interested in the consumption of it (as the photos of me as a fat 14 year old will testify to) but in recent years I have found that cooking is a really good way to unwind after a stressful day in the office and it has become more and more of a passion of mine (to the extent that when I cook something I am proud of I have started taking photos!)
Which brings me to the idea behind this blog. I want to create a collection of my own food experiences with food I have cooked (mainly because my memory is terrible and I should really start writing down what worked and what didn't so that I know for next time) and also to give me somewhere to record about the restaurants I have eaten in so that I can remember in years to come if they were any good.
Now, apparently, according to today's Evening Standard, the only people who can afford fine dining are the uber rich and there is no point in most average people even thinking about going to those restaurants. I have to say that I completely disagree, I am certainly not uber rich and although the average "fine dining" meal out is now in the region of 100 quid (apparently) I have to say that in London in general there are still some excellent eating experiences to be found which won't break the bank. So my aim is to blog about these so that more people can enjoy the experience.
Which brings me to the idea behind this blog. I want to create a collection of my own food experiences with food I have cooked (mainly because my memory is terrible and I should really start writing down what worked and what didn't so that I know for next time) and also to give me somewhere to record about the restaurants I have eaten in so that I can remember in years to come if they were any good.
Now, apparently, according to today's Evening Standard, the only people who can afford fine dining are the uber rich and there is no point in most average people even thinking about going to those restaurants. I have to say that I completely disagree, I am certainly not uber rich and although the average "fine dining" meal out is now in the region of 100 quid (apparently) I have to say that in London in general there are still some excellent eating experiences to be found which won't break the bank. So my aim is to blog about these so that more people can enjoy the experience.
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