Archive for September, 2009
Autumn Cooking
Posted: 23 September '09 by Kelly
Its official, summer is over….. I can hear you ask did it ever even begin?!! BUT lets not dwell on that. This week is officially the start of Autumn. The nights are getting shorter and I am already ordering the coal and wood for the fire. Whenever I think of Autumn food I think of more substantial main courses, richer flavours, and big bubbling pots of stew or soup. Here are some recipes that are perfect for this time of year – give them a go and enjoy.
Cream of Cauliflower Soup
I love nothing more than coming in from the cold to a big pot of soup in the Autumn. One of my favourites is Cream of Cauliflower Soup, its really comforting and delicious. Niall garnishes the soup with a few slices of Clonakilty black pudding (which is the best black pudding I have EVER tasted) which adds so much flavour and texture to the dish.
Ingredients
- 1 large cauliflower (about 1.3kg/3lb), stalks discarded and florets chopped
- 1 large potato, peeled and chopped into large chunks
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 25g butter
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1.2l light chicken or vegetable stock
- 600ml full-fat milk
- 142ml carton double cream
Method
- Put the cauliflower, potato and onion in a large saucepan with the butter and half of the oil. Gently heat the contents until they start to sizzle, then cover with a lid and sweat over a low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. The vegetables should be softened but not coloured.
- Pour in the stock and bring to the boil, then pour in the milk and return gently to a boil. This way, there will be no scum forming from the milk. Season to taste then simmer, uncovered, for 10-15 minutes until the vegetables are soft. Pour in half the cream.
- Blend everything in a food processor or blender, in batches. For an extra creamy texture, push the purée through a sieve with the back of a ladle. Stir in the rest of the cream. (If preparing ahead cool, cover and chill for up to a day.)
- To serve, slice the black pudding and fry gently until cooked and enjoy.
Penne with Gorgonzola
This main course of Penne pasta with gorgonzola, walnuts and sage is a Nigel Slater recipe I read in the Guardian. Its not only quick and easy to make, just want you want after a long hard day at the office, but its really tasty and soothing also.
Ingredients
- serves 2
- 300g penne or other small tubular pasta
- creamy gorgonzola – about 300g
- walnuts – a dozen or more, freshly shelled
- a few sage leaves, about six will do
Method
- Put the pasta on to cook in a deep pan of generously salted boiling water. Test it throughout the cooking, but it should be ready after about 9 minutes.
- Drain the penne in a colander, reserving a couple of tablespoonfuls of the cooking water. Put the empty pan immediately back on the stove and turn down the heat to low.
- Add the cheese and the reserved cooking water, then stir for a minute or less till the cheese starts to melt and you have an impromptu sauce.
- Tip the pasta back into the pan with the walnuts and sage leaves, then tip onto warm plates.
Oat Plum Crumble
This is another Nigel Slater recipe for Oat plum crumble and it is really tasty. Plums or Damsons are perfect for this kind of dessert and they are available during autumn which is great. If you are not a fan of Plums or Damsons then simply replace them with pears or apples.
Ingredients
- Plums or Damsons - 750g
- Golden caster sugar – 4 tablespoons
- A large knob of butter
For the crust - - flour – 150g
- butter – 100g
- ground almonds – 50g
- golden caster sugar -70g
- rolled oats – 50g
- Set the oven at 190˚/Gas 5.
Method
- Stone the fruit, though you will probably want to avoid stoning damsons. Put them into a deep pan with the butter and sugar and leave them to soften slightly. This will ensure they are meltingly soft and squishy.
- Meanwhile make the oat crust by rubbing the butter into the flour till it resembles fresh breadcrumbs. Stir in the ground almonds, the demerara sugar and the oats.
- Pile the fruit into a baking dish, the tip the oat and almond topping onto the fruit and bake for 30-35 minutes till the crust is crisp and golden, the fruit soft and tender.
- Serve hot, with cream.
Categories: Recipes
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Restaurant Review: St John Restaurant – It’s offal-y good
Posted: 20 September '09 by Niall
St John Restaurant
I think that the first time I heard about Fergus Henderson and the St John restaurant was in Anthony Bourdain’s “Les Halles Cookbook / A Cook’s Tour”, and I’ve wanted to go to the restaurant ever since. I check the online menu on a weekly basis, bought Fergus Henderson’s “Nose to Tail Eating” cookbook and salivated over the recipes, and talked dreamy-eyed about how good the food would be.
So you can imagine how excited I was to FINALLY be going to St John on a recent trip to London.
The sun was getting low as we walked up to St. John Street from the Farringdon tube station, and the expectation was building.. All of those reviews I’d read, and the glowing references from Bourdain et al, were running through my head. But as we turned the corner I’ll admit to being somewhat surprised. For a Michelin-starred restaurant (which usually means some pretension and shirty-ness) the relaxed and friendly atmosphere was immediately noticeable – the large double-doors were wide open, and people from the bar casually chatted out on the pavement in the summer sun.
The restaurant is located, rather fittingly, in what was previously a bacon smokehouse next to London’s most famous meat market, Smithfield. The interior is minimalistic and bare, with white tiles and black paint-work predominating – it’s been described as ‘abattoir-chic’ by those in the know. From the description it might sound austere and sterile, but far from it – it’s cosy, comfortable, and honest, and leaves you in no doubt – you’re there to eat!
The crowd in the bar looked to be casually enjoying a drink in their local bar, and that was exactly the easy-going, welcoming vibe that I picked up. But as we made our way up the small staircase to the restaurant proper, the atmosphere changed – a buzz of conversation from our fellow diners, and the sound of some serious digesting going on. The dining room put me in mind of a Victorian refectory – rows of wooden tables, white walls, and grey flooring.
The focus is entirely on seasonal and traditional British dishes, simply cooked and presented. I’ve read elsewhere, and from experience it’s important to bear in mind that, what is states in the menu is exactly what you get – for example, “crispy pigs’ tails and green salad” means you get pigs’ tails and salad, no more, no less. As you can already tell, the menu is an eye-opener: dishes that have fallen out of fashion, with ingredients that might make the meat-comes-in-cellophane-from-the-supermarket types blanch but which are full of flavour and don’t waste a single speck of the animal, are in abundance. The waiters all seem to be extremely approachable, and are certainly knowledgeable – ours explained dishes and suggested accompaniments as we navigated through the menu, which was really appreciated.
Starters
Kelly choose Foie Gras with Sourdough toast to start. Luckily for me that we have a long-standing agreement – we always get to taste each other’s dishes – and the foie was certainly worth it. The rich, butter-y, slightly game-y flavour was complemented perfectly by the tangy sourness of the bread for an indulgent “pate on toast”.
I chose Fergus Henderson’s signature Roast Bone Marrow and Parsley Salad. Eating there for the first time, I think it’s a “must have”. Four roasted bones duly arrived, served oven-hot with a fresh salad of parsley, capers and shallots and two slices of toasted sourdough. Our waiter provided me with a fork-like utensil with which to extract the unctuous marrow, and placed sel gris onto my plate. The rich, meat-y aroma was almost too much to endure and I eagerly attacked the plate. Half the fun of the dish is rooting around in the bone to find every morsel of marrow, and I made sure that they were picked clean by the end. The combination of marrow, parsley salad, sel gris and toasted sourdough is simply phenomenal: sticky, rich, fatty marrow, against the fresh and bitter parsley, the sweet shallots, and the sharpness of the capers and salt is heaven. Your tastebuds literally explode!
Main Course
I LOVE offal, but it’s something that you rarely see on menus in Northern Ireland – and one of the reasons why St John is such an attraction for me. The Tripe, Sausage & Chickpea main course confirmed that we really are missing out here – the bowl-like dish was swimming in a rich, meaty, tomato-based broth, with tender, spicy sausage (very like chorizo) and chickpeas bobbing on the surface, and a bed of tripe in the centre. I’ll admit, tripe has a bad reputation, but I’ve always found it to have a subtle liver-y flavour which, with the spicy sausage and tomato was just heaven. Even the slighty sponge-y, honeycombed texture gives the dish a new dimension – a tactile treat as your tastebuds savour the combination of flavours.
Kelly’s Chitterlings (or “Chitlins” in America) with chicory and butter beans was a new one on me – neither of us knew what to expect – but we needn’t have worried! Chitterlings are pigs’ intestines and have a sort of creamy tenderness to them – the texture reminded me slightly of Calamari, but more meaty in texture. The flavour is also difficult to describe: there’s a subtle pork taste, some mild saltiness. Together with the butterbeans they were delicious – I was lucky to get a taste, to be honest, as the next time I looked Kelly mopped up every morsel.
Dessert
Kelly has a real penchant for anything lemon (and vodka!), so the Lemon Sorbet and Russian Vodka leapt out from the menu. The combination was certainly interesting: the bitterness of the vodka was balanced by the slight astringency and lingering sweetness of the sorbet; the cold of the sorbet giving way to the warm blast of alcohol from the vodka. It was also a great way to end the meal – satisfying but light enough so you didn’t feel as if you’d need the waiter to roll you out the door.
For me, the dessert has never really been the attraction – I much prefer savoury flavours, and usually go for a cheese-board rather than some confection. But, just like the Bone Marrow and Parsley Salad the Eccles Cake & Lancashire Cheese is a part of St John’s personality – and hey, it has cheese in it! The cheese was good – a wedge of salty, soft and mellow Lancashire cheese served at room temperature to release the aroma and flavours. It was also a perfect partner for the pastry: a puff of crisp and butter-y pastry filled with a thick layer of intensely sweet, gooey raisins. By themselves the two components were extremely good – together, they were superb.
Wine
Cotes du Rousillon (2008) – You can read the review of the Cotes du Rousillon (2008) here.
| Starters: | |
|---|---|
| Bone Marrow and Parsley Salad | £6.90 |
| Foie Gras & Duck Liver with Toast | £6.70 |
| Main Courses: | |
| Tripe, Sausage, and Chickpeas | £14.90 |
| Chitterlings and Butter Beans | £15.00 |
| Desserts: | |
| Lancashire Cheese and Eccles Cake | £6.50 |
| Lemon Sorbet and Russian Vodka | £5.70 |
| Sundries: | |
| 2 Bottles of Cotes du Rousillon | £24.15 ea. |
| Total: | £104.00 |
Our Verdict
St John is excellent – really. Everything you should admire and love about good food and eating out. Go. Eat there. Again and again and again.
St. JOHN Bar & Restaurant Smithfield
26 St John Street
London
EC1M 4AY
Tel: 020 7251 0848 (reservations)
Fax 020 7251 4090
w: www.stjohnrestaurant.com
e: reservations@stjohnrestaurant.com (reservations)
You can also see St John Restaurant Smithfield on Google Maps
There is a sister restaurant called “St John Bread and Wine” in Spitalfields (94-96 Commercial Street, London E1 6LZ)
Categories: England > Restaurant Reviews > United Kingdom
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Wine Review: Cotes du Roussillon 2008
Posted: 17 September '09 by Niall
Wine Review: Cotes du Roussillon 2008
Along with the interesting menu in St John (more of that later) you’ll also find a lengthy and mouth-watering wine-list.
The choices for our main courses, which were offal-y good (sic), cried out for a full-bodied red – and the Cotes du Roussillon 2008 certainly fit the bill.
The Details
- The Wine: Cotes du Roussillon 2008
- Producer: Domaine Boudau Le Clos
- Region: Roussillon, South-West France
- Grape: 50% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 30% Carignan
- Alcohol: 14%
- Cost: £7.99
Tasting Notes
The wine is juicy and rich, with jammy, spicy notes on the nose with a hint of minerals, while there are definite flavours of herbs, black cherries and damsons on the palate.
The 2008 is a little young, and the texture is slightly rough when compared to the smoother, older vintages of the same wine, where the tannins and acid mature into a smoother combination.
Food Pairing
Meat, meat, and more meat. The wine is very full-bodied and needs strong flavours to stand up to it – beef, boar, and venison will all be complemented by the dark-fruit flavours of the Cotes du Roussillon.
Other Information
These full-bodied reds always benefit from being served at or just above room temperature, and from being allowed to breathe in order to release all of those mature fruit flavours.
Our Verdict
I have to confess to a fondness for French reds, and the Cotes du Roussillon 2008 is a fine example of the price-to-quality wines coming out of the Languedoc-Roussillon regions recently. An extremely enjoyable wine – in aroma, flavour, and in price.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Categories: Red Wine > Wine Reviews
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TV Chef Keith Floyd has died
Posted: 15 September '09 by Niall
Keith Floyd, the charismatic television chef known as “The Giddy Gourmet”, has died of a heart attack. He was 65.
He was the first tv chef that I truly felt a connection with, who inspired me to give cooking a go – and to enjoy a glass or two of wine. His autobiography “Out of the Frying Pan” is one of my most treasured books, and is a really honest, charming look into his life.
He had written at least 25 books and presented countless TV series which showcased his flamboyant style and his love of foreign cuisine. Floyd was seen as the forerunner of modern TV chefs such as Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsay. I’ve followed his television career from the early days of “Floyd on Fish” to the more recent “Floyd on India” and enjoyed every minute. My particular favourites, however, were “Floyd on France” and “Floyd on Spain”, both of which showed how good the traditional recipes and cooking from both countries is and left me with an abiding love of both cuisines and a desire to travel through their countrysides. “Floyd Uncorked” is also a much-loved programme, with Johnathan Pedley and Keith glugging their way through the French wine lake.
Keith life was beset with blessings and challenges, from business success to failure, from marriage to divorce. But despite these difficulties, I’ll always remember the bon viveur as he was known best: standing in a borrowed kitchen, glass of wine in hand, berating Clive the Cameraman.
We’ll miss you Keith.
Categories: News
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Event: The Cataplana Experience 2009
Posted: 15 September '09 by Kelly
The Cataplana Experience event
During our holiday in Portugal (it seems like a distant memory already!) we were lucky enough to stumble upon the Cataplana Experience, part of the Algarve Gourmet 2009 event.
A Cataplana is a hinged, metal pot which is used on a stove. The whole basis for Cataplana cooking seems to revolve around the “single pot” idea – a particularly healthy and flavour-infusing way of cooking. Although the term “cataplana” refers to the cooking utensil, it has become closely associated with the bouillabaise-type, stock-based stews that it commonly is used for.
The festival, which ran for a week, had several events including the display of prototype catapalanas, wine-tastings, cookery schools, and a cooking programmes broadcasting live from the Cataplana Experience event – all of which was free to attend and participate in!
On the night that we attended we were lucky enough to get a great position at the front of Chef Nuno Diniz’s cookery school, and to get a brief chat with him after the class. Having been tantalised and teased with the sight of the meaty lobsters and the fantastic aromas from the cookery school for over an hour, we rushed through the crowds to one of the participating restaurants along the Vilamoura marina for our own fish-filled cataplana – and certainly weren’t disappointed. It’s quite a spectacle when the pot is brought down to your table and the top removed to reveal the mounds of fish and shellfish as the steam billows out.
Here’s the recipe from his demonstration: lobster in it’s nage with spinach and vitelote brick. You can view the slideshow hereImage 1Image 2Image 3Image 4Image 5
Thanks again to Chef Diniz for the demonstration and the recipe!
Ingredients
For the brik:
- 300g of vitelotte potatoes
- Salt and bayleaf
- Olive Oil
- Chives
- 4 brik sheets
- Summer truffle
For the lobster in nage:
- 2 lobsters
- A bowl of iced water
- Olive oil
- butter
- 6 shallots
- Half bulb of fennel
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 3 tomatoes without skin and seeds
- 40g of tomato puree
- 2 bunches of tarragon
- 5 cloves of garlic
- A good glug of vermouth
- 2dl dry white wine
- 0,5l water
- 5 grains of dry fennel
- 20 grains black pepper
For the Spinach:
- 300g spinach leaves
- Butter
- 2 cloves of garlic
- Fine salt
Method for the brick:
- Cook vitelote in water with salt, garlic and bay leaf
- Peel and to jam coarsely with a fork
- Mix oil and cebolinho
- Extend a sheet of brik and to brush with clarified butter
- Place in the way a little it purée of vitelotte and a slice of truffle
- Make a bundle with brik and to cook in the oven 195º for 3 minutes
Method for the lobster:
- If you have bought a live lobster, you should kill it just before cooking it. The most humane way to do this is to put it in the freezer for two hours, or put in a container and cover it with crushed ice for the same amount of time – this will render it unconscious
- Put the chilled lobster in a large pan of cold, salted water and slowly bring it to the boil. It will die before the water boils
- When the water has reached boiling point, lower the heat and simmer the lobster for around 10 minutes for the first 450g. Simmer for a further 3 minutes for each extra 450g (so a 1kilogram lobster should cook for between 10 and 13 minutes). When the lobster is cooked, its shell will turn a deep brick red
- Remove the lobster from the water, and plunge them into iced water to arrest the cooking
- Twist off the claws, then break into sections, crack the claw shell with a hammer or a pair of lobster crackers, then remove the flesh
- Twist off the legs from the body, flatten with the back of a knife and then use a pick or a teaspoon handle to remove the flesh
- Next, split the lobster in half along its length by inserting a large, sharp knife at right angles to the edge of the head and press down firmly. The body and tail should split lengthways
- Then cut through the head in the same way. You should now be able to separate the two halves. Remove and throw away the pale stomach sac, the gills and the dark intestinal thread that runs the length of the tail. The green liver (known as tomalley) is considered a delicacy
- Remove the meat from the tail, and scrape out the soft flesh from the shell
- Put all of the meat in one bowl, and all of the larger pieces of shell in another
Method for the broth:
- Place the cataplana over a low heat
- Put the olive oil into the cataplana, and add the lobster shell
- Add the butter
- Add the shallots, garlic and fennel and sweat them until the ingredients become translucent
- Cut the tomatoes into rough chunks and add to the cataplana
- When the tomatoes have started to break down, add the vermouth and flame it to burn the raw edge of the alcohol off
- Add the tarragon, the wine, the dried fennel and the pepper
- Add the water and close the cataplana, cooking for 35 minutes
- Remove the cataplana from the heat and pass the contents through a sieve, pressing firmly to extract all of the liquid
- Return the liquid to the cataplana, and return to the heat to reduce slightly
Method for the Spinach:
- Place the butter into the frying pan, and place the frying pan over a low heat
- When the butter has melted, push a fork into a garlic clove and rub it across the surface of the frying pan
- When the butter starts to make foam, add the spinach leaves
- When the spinach has wilted, sprinkle the salt over the leaves and remove from the heat immediately
To assemble the dish
- In the bottom of your dish, add a bed of spinach
- With a ladel, add some of the stock over the spinach
- Place some of the lobster meat on top of the spinach
- Slice the brik diagonally, and place each half on the plate
Other Information
Chef Nuno Diniz is the Executive Chef at the York House hotel, Lisbon
- Langoustine could be used instead of lobster
- “Nage” is the aromatic broth in which crustaceans are cooked. The shellfish is then served with this broth.
- Vitelotte is potato with blue-violet flesh.
- Black olives could be used instead of truffle
Categories: Things to do
