Foody blast!

Sake it to them

noreply@blogger.com (JL) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 13:15:00 +0000

I'm back: stop talking about me.

So, you'll be glad to hear that I found out what Honami is doing (remember, she was the wonderful sommelier at Cocoon).

She's now the wonderful sommelier at NOPI, Ottolenghi's latest place. I haven't been yet, but the menus and wine list look perritty good, so it's surely just a matter of time, eh?

New favourite restaurants

noreply@blogger.com (JL) — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 20:27:00 +0000

My favourite restaurant - Cocoon - has closed down. But what can replace it?

I haven't yet had a chance to try out Senkai, the Japanese restaurant opened in Cocoon's place by the same team. I'm sure I'll love it, but I don't think it'll hit the top spot.

So step up to the plate good old Gordy! Gordon Ramsay at Claridge's bobbles on the horizon as the epitome of a swanky, luxury restaurant in London. Celebrity chef influence, plush hotel, good location, classic food ... and a hell of a reputation to live up to. But it does, with an almost irritating amount of ease!

Then there's kooky old Joel Robuchon. We ate at the first floor, La Cuisine, rather than at the well-known ground floor L'Atelier. But it's the same fantastic, brave food with eye-popping presentation and great wine. A slight lack of atmosphere and some rowdy fellow diners mean it isn't my favourite, but it's close.

Incidentally, this is the time of year when our friends, family and loved ones all seem to celebrate birthdays. And either of these excellent restaurants would be a prime celebration location, even though they come at a hefty old price. You'll need to sell a major organ for an a la carte dinner with wine and a well-deserved tip. But I'm here to tell you it's worth the money - so start dusting off that Wurlitzer and book now!

And have happy birthdays.

Alive and well and eating

noreply@blogger.com (JL) — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 11:59:00 +0000

I'm sorry - I haven't been in touch. I've been an erratic blogger. I said I'd be here with news, dear reader, and I wasn't. I didn't even tell you more about Madrid!

But I'm alive and awfully well. And I'm discovering the eating delights of Smithfield. If I were the kind to use the phrase foodie heaven (which I'm not), I'd use it to describe the Smithfield area. It's a gastronomic delight, and no mistaking.

Never mind the fact that every famous, modern lunch chain has a branch right on my doorstep. And never mind the fact that there's a plethora of beautiful traditional old pubs to hand. I'm not even counting those things.

A short walk away I've discovered The Modern Pantry - a cutesy, wholesome restaurant with a fantastic choice of takeaway options for lunch. If you haven't tasted their aubergine quiche and soba noodle salad you don't know real happiness.

Then there's Farm, home of the fish finger bap. There's lesser known chain Benugo, with their excellent Parisian panini. There's Abokado for wonderful sushi.

When evening rolls on, you can choose from Hix Oyster and Chop House (also a good lunch venue, for small snacks at the bar), posh old Club Gascon, and any number of swanky bistros and brasseries.

I might be some time.

Another one bites the dust

noreply@blogger.com (JL) — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 11:54:00 +0000

Remember when I listed my favourite restaurants earlier this year? Remember how there were three I added at the bottom - ones that would have been at the top of the list but had closed down?

Well, it would appear to be a curse.

Cocoon, my number one choice, has now closed. A modern Japanese restaurant is opening in its place this month, but that's not the same. Really, it's not the same.

Cocoon - I salute you. We had many a happy evening with you and you opened our eyes to Wagyu beef, black cod and (most importantly) good sake. Boo hoo.

PS: If anyone knows what's happened to Honami (used to be Cocoon's sommelier) please do let me know.

A slice of Madrid at home

noreply@blogger.com (JL) — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 15:16:00 +0000

So you knew it was just a matter of time, right? Before I got ideas above my station? And felt the need to recreate the Estado Puro tapas at home? Don't you hate always being right?

I didn't feel adventurous enough to try the tortilla in a glass. But I did try out the cute little patatas bravas with a swirl (or in my case, dollop) of sauce.

I consulted the Book of Tapas - otherwise known in my house as the 'big yellow book of chomps' - for a standard salsa brava recipe and followed it to begin. It's a bit of white wine vinegar, a dash of worcestershire sauce, some crushed garlic, chilli flakes and a whole load of paprika mixed together. But it wasn't thick or rich enough, so I took drastic steps.

First I added one teaspoon-full of salmorejo mixture, which I was making at the same time. Salsa brava doesn't traditionally contain tomato, but it feels as if it should! To thicken the sauce I heated it intensively, stirring constantly until it made a deep red paste. A quick taste - similar enough to the restaurant's original. I selected same-size, neatly shaped small potatoes (I can't remember which kind, but ones suitable for baking, not boiling). Once the potatoes had baked in their skins for about 40 minutes I took a scoop out of the top of each and plopped in some sauce. Another five minutes in the oven unites potato and sauce nicely, and they're ready to serve.

Also on my twee plate (pictured above): a small ramekin of salmorejo, asparagus spears, slices of tortilla, jamon iberico and onion-stuffed mushrooms. Yum, eh?

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The best tapas in town

noreply@blogger.com (JL) — Tue, 31 May 2011 12:47:00 +0000

I could say so much about Madrid. And I will, I promise! But just while I have a moment, there's one place that deserves a mention before everything else.

Of course one expects tapas. And of course one expects some places with a touristy pictures-on-a-board menu and others full of locals. A mixture of basic, sophisticated, over-priced, cheap as chips, over-Spanish, traditional, understated and hidden gems. But I still wasn't expecting Estado Puro (by the way, watch out - the website plays music!).

Plonked on the edge of a roundabout just opposite the Prado, it's slap-bang in tourist territory. Despite the busy road running by, it has a tourist-trap outdoor terrace. It's just down the road from McDonalds. Yet it's the classiest place I saw in the whole of Madrid.

Sit at a high table just inside, facing the window. It's quiet but affords a great view of the bustle outside. The menu is printed on a little pouch housing cutlery and a napkin. At first glance it lists traditional tapas - patatas bravas, jamon, ensaladilla rusa, tortilla. But look again: it's tortilla siglo XXI (21st century). And ensaladilla rusa with pear mayonnaise. Little twists on a standard tapas menu.

And when the food arrives you'll be bowled over at how different it is. The tortilla is an egg foam in a glass, punctuated by the sweet taste of caramelised onion. The Russian salad is smooth, creamy and rich in taste. Patatas bravas arrive on a long slab - six tiny baked potatoes with a deep, flavoursome swirl of spicy sauce. The ham's unpolluted, excellent ham, but it's brutally cut and arranged in sharp-edged squares.

Add sophisticated decor, good wine, smart service and reasonable prices and you'll have a brilliant, relaxing but speedy lunch. This is a classy surprise and well worth a visit if you've been to one of the galleries, or have a bit of time waiting near Atocha station. It's like Spain, but on a great day.

Lunchtime creativity

noreply@blogger.com (JL) — Fri, 27 May 2011 12:20:00 +0000

One of the best things about having some time at home is access to my kitchen at lunchtimes. And, of course, a little bit more time to be creative about the food I prepare. I'm not a sandwich fan so I've challenged myself to make a lunch I love every day, from whatever I've got in the cupboards. And I've come up with some delicious results.

Roasted tomato soup

Easy as pie (or even soup), this one. Put a handful of either cherry or baby plum tomatoes into an ovenproof dish with a drizzle of olive oil and a splash of balsamic vinegar. Roast them in a hot-ish oven for about 20 minutes. Once they've cooled enough not to give you Freddie Krueger burns, decant them into a bowl with fairly high sides. Add half a slice of bread torn into chunks, a small spoonful of creme fraiche, a squeeze of tomato puree and a splash of water. Blend it all with a hand blender and you're done. If you prefer soup to be piping hot you can heat it a little at the end (add a splash more water if it starts to thicken).

Leek and parmesan risotto

Chop one leek very finely and soften it with a bit of butter or spread in a large frying pan. Add a large handful of either risotto or paella rice and stir it around to coat the rice with the butter. When it's starting to look and sound squeakily dry, add half a pint of either chicken or vegetable stock. Put a lid on and let the whole thing simmer until the rice grains are puffy - check now and again, because you might need to add more water. Once it's done, add a spoonful of creme fraiche (detecting a theme?) and as much grated parmesan as you fancy. Smother it with black pepper before tucking in!

Salmon noodles

Heat some chicken stock with soy sauce until it reaches boiling point. Add a salmon fillet, broken into large flakes, and some sliced shiitake mushrooms. Once the salmon is cooked, turn off the heat and add slices of spring onion and a forkful of ginger (the kind you can get in a jar is easiest). Either cook noodles in the microwave or add them straight into the salmon broth, depending on what kind of noodles you have. Serve the whole thing with a last drizzle of soy sauce.

So that's my top three, for ease of preparation and satisfaction at the end product. Can you inspire me further? What's your favourite lunchtime feast? Ah go on - tell me!

Edinburgh festival

noreply@blogger.com (JL) — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 15:28:00 +0000

Oh, Edinburgh.I love you so, even though our acquaintance is so new and our time together was so brief!

Edinburgh certainly gets a lot of hype and that's normally hard to live up to. But I fell in love with it as soon as I stepped out of the station at 7am on a frosty late January morning (the sleeper train is the best way to travel). Every street steeped in history, winter sunlight glinting from every tower and turret, buildings seemingly crammed into every available space.

As usual, my time visiting a new city focused heavily on what I could eat and drink. Our long weekend was something of an epicurean food festival, trawling the streets for Michelin-starred restaurants, hearty gastro pubs, traditional cafes and fancy cocktail bars.

So, what did we find?

First on my must-visit list was 21212, a cute and quirky restaurant for which chef Paul Kitching received a Michelin star. We ate slightly-cheaper lunch here and I was impressed from the moment we arrived. The dishes are complicated, many-ingredient plates with plenty of style and interest. Our food was cooked well, although a few touches seemed a bridge too far. But that's a minor detail in the whole plush experience, eased along with kitsch table decorations and delicious amuse-bouches.

Next we discovered afternoon tea at the Tower Restaurant, at the top of the Museum of Scotland. This is a high-class affair with imaginative cakes, delicious mini quiches, plentiful smoked salmon sandwiches and a glass of champagne. Get a seat by the window to admire a view of the castle by sunset.

For cocktail connoisseurs, try a cocktail tasting flight at the Balmoral Bar, within Edinburgh's most iconic hotel. Laid out like a menu, you're presented with an amuse-bouche and your choice of starter, main and afters cocktails. The menu changes regularly and each cocktail is presented in an original way.

In nearby Leith there's more in the way of Michelin stars. Restaurant Martin Wishart and The Kitchin both serve impressively showy menus for an affordable (just about) price, if you feel like splashing out. Unfortunately both were closed on the day we visited Leith. But that did mean we discovered Mimi's Bakehouse - a glossy and cheeky new tea room. Order the afternoon tea, as long as you haven't eaten a large breakfast! It comes on a huge cake stand, heaving under lurid cupcakes, crammed sandwiches and hearty scones with heaps of cream. It's all served by fun-loving, friendly staff and you'll spend your whole time craning your neck to admire the cutesy cartoons and photos on the walls!

Our second-best find in Edinburgh was the much-reviewed gastro-pub, The Dogs. Darling of the food magazines, it's all the rage at the moment, which means it's cram-packed on weekend evenings. We went for Monday lunch and had the place almost to ourselves. Consciously mis-matched glasses, crockery and chairs add to the rustic feel and the food is wholesome, comforting and filling. I particularly liked being able to order wine by the carafe instead of by the bottle.

Which brings me to my number one choice: The Dogs' quirky, stay-at-home sister. You'll find The Underdogs down a shady-looking set of stairs just underneath the main restaurant and it's next-door neighbour Amore Dogs (detecting a theme?). The mis-matched theme is used to full effect here, in a cosy living-room style bar. Again wine is served by the carafe and hearty-sized nibbles are served quickly and efficiently. Get there early to grab a comfy seat near the little fireplace, or book ahead if you're going with a big crowd. We drank a delicious Spanish red, Las Corazas, and ate huge bruschetta with tomato tumbling off quicker than we could eat it. We also ordered a delicious salad of pear, walnut, pecorino and honey. It's perfect for relaxing after a day walking up all those Edinburgh hills. And, if you like dogs you'll love the decor!

Fastest cake in the world

noreply@blogger.com (JL) — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 13:35:00 +0000

I felt a bit domestic goddess-like this morning - up and about very early and in the mood to fuss aeound in the kitchen. I was also starving by about 10am so I decided to rustle up some scones, one of the easiest cakes to make.

To start I rubbed 60g of slightly salted butter into 220g of self-raising flour. This is the messy bit where you need to take all the rings off your fingers and end up with something resembling breadcrumbs. Next mix in 50g of golden caster sugar and a handful (your hands or mine? Who cares?!) of sultanas. Then use a wooden spoon to mix in 150ml of semi-skimmed milk until it makes a soft but held-together dough. If it's too gooey to lift out of the bowl in one piece, add a sprinkling of flour.

Knead it very lightly for hardly any time at all on a floury surface, then roll it out to a thickness of about 2cm. I prefer square, rustic-looking scones so I used a bread knife to cut it into 8 pieces. I baked them on a non-stick tray for about 15 minutes at 180 degrees.

Of course, the real reason for making them is the joy of butter or spread sinking slowly into hot, crusty scones. And to use up the last of the Fortnum and Mason luxury cherry jam from Christmas!

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Not just snacks

noreply@blogger.com (JL) — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 21:51:00 +0000

It's tapas time again. Well, it was for me on Saturday. A friend and I cooked up a storm using recipes from The Book of Tapas.

This meaty tome, by family act Simone and Ines Ortega, is a bit of a tapas bible. It cuts straight into business-like and easy to follow recipes for everything under the lovely Spanish sun.

We made patatas bravas, potato salad with tuna, crab and tomato bites, asparagus and ham toasts, spicy chicken brochettes and some delicious stuffed potato skins. All within an hour and a half while avoiding an 18-month-old baby playing with cars underfoot!

It's a pretty expensive book and perhaps not as visually appealing as some cookbooks, but well worth it. If you like tapas. Which I do.

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My favourite restaurants

noreply@blogger.com (JL) — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 14:02:00 +0000

We don't have much spare time where I work. But everyone needs a bit of down-tools, water-cooler time on a Friday afternoon. In ours just lately we've been talking trivia and making lists - top ten films, books, etc. A colleague suggested we listed our top ten restaurants, and some eyes glazed over slightly. Not mine, of course - that's a list right up my strada (as Gregg Wallace would say).

So here it is - my favourite ten restaurants. Not the greatest, highest-ranking restaurants or any kind of a recommendation - just places where I've had a great experience. And ones where I remember specifically what I ate.

1. Cocoon (near Piccadilly, London) - pretty tables, the best beef in town, great dim sum and an amazing sake list. The sommelier, Honami, is wonderful.

2. La Sacristia (Tarifa, Spain) - attractive, good service and interesting food with a Japanese influence.

3. Texture (Portman St, London) - too cool for school Scandinavian style place with the most exciting ice cream I've ever been served, and bacon-flavoured popcorn.

4. 21212 (Royal Terrace, Edinburgh) - a cutesy, cosy, Michelin-starred place that serves imaginative and complicated five-course meals.

5. Lemon Tree (Bishops Stortford, Herts) - comfy and reliable restaurant with great puddings and locally-sourced ingredients.

6. Cinnamon Club (Westminster, London) - refined Indian dining in a beautiful old building with delicious cocktails and a constant buzz.

7. Busaba Eathai (several branches in London) - essentially a chain, but I love their decor, welcoming incense smell, fresh food and tempting soft drinks.

8. Rhodes 24 (Tower 42, London) - fantastic location and comfortingly simple food from good old Gary.

9. Delicatessen (Tarifa, Spain) - a lovely outdoor restaurant with great salmorejo, ham, cakes and cava.

10. Marine Ices (Camden, London) - strangely genteel amid the piercing parlours, this Italian place has an impressive history, huge range of pasta dishes and fantastic ice cream.

Special mentions to the Albannach and The Chancery in London, the Village Inn and The Dogs in Scotland and Ma Salle a Manger and Les Fous de l'Ile in Paris.

Sadly, three restaurants that'd be right at the top of my list have closed down. RIP St Alban (Piccadilly, London), Brian Turner's place in the Millenium Hotel, London and 1893 (in Stansted). You're missed.

New year, new pie

noreply@blogger.com (JL) — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 21:46:00 +0000

So, it's a new year and we've all survived the Christmas come-down again. We're a few pounds heavier, a few pounds poorer. And what have we learnt?

Well, I've learnt that chestnuts are delicious and that a jar of them at Christmas will leave me with a few left over in January. Cue frantic hunting through my recipe books and files for interesting ways to use them up. And just look what I found (erm, and adapted)! Yes siree - it's pie-shaped.

The pie-ness of it is actually beside the point. What I made to begin was a rich and creamy mushroom and chestnut sauce/filling. Chop a few shallots and fry them in a large pan until they're going a bit transparent. Add a good slosh of brandy and let it reduce a little before adding plenty of chopped mushrooms. Any kind will do - I used half chestnut mushrooms and half shiitake. Add the chestnuts themselves to the pan, broken into pieces. Finally add a little double cream to bind the whole thing into a creamy whole. You'll probably need a decent old grind of black pepper in there too.

With this base the world's your lobster. I piled it into an ovenproof dish and topped with readymade puff pastry*. Bake it for 20 minutes and eat it with steamed broccoli, sugar snap peas or asparagus (or all three). I think filo pastry may work instead, if you prefer it.

If pies aren't your bag, baby, stir it through some penne pasta. Or serve it with grilled polenta. Or heap it on topp of jacket potatoes. Like I say - world, lobster. It's fereezable for a couple of months, too. And if I screw up my eyes and go 'la la la' I can probably ignore the calories in the cream, too!

*Twee pastry decorations, as depicted, are optional.

Spanish food for Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (JL) — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 18:20:00 +0000

Christmas time, ho ho ho. I'm quite traditional about the whole yuletide thing, particularly when it comes to food. Each year I fend off suggestions of a goose, chicken, pheasant or duck for Christmas dinner because turkey's just what you must have. Similarly, satsumas, sprouts, chocolates and cheese are the order of the day (not necessarily together, but certainly in rapid succession).

This year, however, we decided to create our own hamper for Christmas full of indulgent things we love. And for me that means breaking slightly from tradition. The things I love includes Spanish ham, olives, marcona almonds and cava.

So, this afternoon I went to Brindisa in Borough Market to stock up on luxury Spanish food for Christmas. I've never been there before - clearly a serious oversight! It's the best shop in the world, bar none. I mean, I love Fortnum and Mason, particularly at Christmas, but they don't feed you samples of ham, cake and olives the second you walk through the door!

Brindisa smells like a delicatessen in Spain and every surface is heaving with bottles of olive oil, pulses or nuts. There's an obliging young man expertly carving a leg of delicious ham on one side, a young girl handing out cake on the other and a stack of chillies in the middle. My eyes were on stalks the second I arrived. I bought some of the delicious ham, carved for me and lovingly wrapped. I also bought melt-in-the-mouth olives, almond cake and some plan marcona almonds. Simple food, not messed-with or fussed-over.

So, this year we'll have a little slice of Spain in with our ever-so-English Christmas fayre. Feliz navidad.

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Floret. The best a man can get.

noreply@blogger.com (JL) — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 20:26:00 +0000

I've been awfully busy lately and busy often means little time to cook or eat out. I haven't had many particularly noteworthy food experiences for a while.

This evening, though, I stumbled upon an unexpectedly delicious find. A recipe in Waitrose Food magazine caught my eye and I did my usual adaptation jobbie.

I love cauliflower, so I'm always tempted by cauliflower cheese. But this had the added bonuses of broccoli and bacon lardons too.

So, steam some broccoli and cauliflower florets (fairly small ones) for 3 or 4 minuted - or longer if you prefer vegetables a little bit mushy, like I do. In the meantime fry bacon lardons for a few minutes until they start to brown. Drain the vegetables and put them in a big ovenproof dish with the lardons and plenty of black pepper. Pour over some cheese sauce (you could make the sauce, but it isn't really a particularly rewarding thing to make and shop-bought ones are pretty good). Top it all with some breadcrumbs mixed with loads of parmesan shavings. I sprinkled even more parmesan on top as well, because I was in a cheesy mood. And that's it - stick it in the oven for 15 minutes.

I ate it with a roasted chicken breast, but I bet it goes well with loads of things. Ok, I know it isn't haute cuisine but it was completely delicious - try it!

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Snap happy

noreply@blogger.com (JL) — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 21:39:00 +0000

By the way, you've probably noticed that I've started adding photos. My new fancy phone makes life a lot easier: when I take a photo it asks if I want to blog it! Simples.

If you hadn't noticed, do keep up, please!

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Hot off the press

noreply@blogger.com (JL) — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 21:34:00 +0000

I didn't like bread when I was a child. I wasn't very keen on sponge cake either; my childhood was a non-stop succesion of left crusts and party food forced down with a cup of tea (not a big fan of fizzy drinks either).

As a grown-up I've learned to tolerate bread, although I still don't much like the flabby sliced stuff. So, no sandwiches for me, which means lunchtimes are a constant challenge of imagination and resourcefulness!

Since discovering the panini press in our kitchen at work I've worked out that almost any kind of bread is better if you toast it. Even an uninspiring cheese and tomato sandwich becomes bearable after 2 minutes of heat and squishing. But, of course, the strong suit of the press is the panini itself. Oh, the endless variations of fillings! I've become so addicted to making paninis that I've even bought a press for my kitchen at home, too.

So, what should you fill it with. Well, funny you should ask! You know how good Thai food has a perfect balance of the four flavours - salty, sweet, sour and spicy? I've worked out the formula for a perfect panini: something meaty, something tangy and something melty.

Try it: you can't go wrong! The meaty thing doesn't have to be meat, it's essentially anything with a lot of umami, like mushrooms. The melty thing is usually cheese, and a particularly robust cheese could be both meaty and melty. To get you started, here's my five favourites.

Bacon, brie and onion relish.
Chicken, goat's cheese and yellow pepper.
Ham, mozzarella and sun-dried tomatoes.
Tuna, mozzarella and rocket.
Portobello mushroom, mozzarella and spinach.

There, that'll get you on your way. Now, go and be creative. Then come back and tell me your favourite inventions.

Pig-adilly

noreply@blogger.com (JL) — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 17:31:00 +0000

I started my evening at The Athenaeum at Picadilly by learning that Michael Winner had recently hated it and slated it. Strangely comforted and encouraged by this news, I looked forward to great things!

The evening began in the hotel bar, a plush, tucked-away little affair covered in mirrors. We were served plenty of canapes and nibbles with our cocktails. The cocktail I chose was amazing; in fact I had a second one to double-check and it's definitely delicious.

My first thought as we moved onto the restaurant was 'gosh, how tiny'. The small, rectangular room is strangely laid out, with American style banquettes and booths in the middle. It doesn't generate much atmosphere but ensures a quiet, private meal.

And what of the food? Well, my starter of chicken liver parfait with brioche toast was excellent, as was my husband's chilled beetroot soup. The amuse bouche and bread was also great. the wine list was pretty interesting and the service prompt, friendly and knowledgeable. But. The main course was average, bordering on forgettable. I ate sea bream with courgette mousse and something else which obviously traversed the border of forgetability! It was all ok, but could have been any fish, any mousse, any restaurant.

This is surprisingly common: restaurants with fantastic, showy trimmings and sub-standard mains. I won't hold it against the Athenaeum (7 out of 10 overall). On the other hand, it probably won't leap to the front of my mind next time I'm booking dinner.

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Tarty piece

noreply@blogger.com (JL) — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 18:45:00 +0000

The apple tree in our garden has been looking a bit over-burdened lately. Some branches hang out onto the road and we'll only need one pretty windy day to cause a traffic nightmare. Not to mention the fact that our garden's a bit of a kitty highway, and an apple on the head probably wouldn't do a cat much good.

So it's nice to see a glut of apple recipes in the food magazines this month. October's delicious. magazine arrived last week featuring a tempting French-style apple tart. On closer examination it turns out to be a quince and apple tart from Rick Stein's latest book. Helpfully, though, it does give an apple-only alternative.

It's dead easy: make an apple puree with some apples, caster sugar and a splash of water. Roll out some ready-made puff pastry and cut around a medium sized plate (the magazine recipe does give exact sizes and quantities, but I just used a large-ish side plate and about 4 small apples for the puree). Lay the pastry onto a greased baking sheet, prick it with a fork all over the centre and spread the apple puree over the top. Leave a little perimeter round the edge. Stick the whole thing in the fridge for a while.

In the meantime put the oven on - about 200c or whatever that is for gas ovens. Peel and thinly slice another 2 or 3 small apples. Take the tart out of the fridge and lay the slices on top in circles, overlapping slightly. Sprinkle a hefty amount of caster sugar over the top and bake it all for 30 minutes.

And that's it. There's something in Rick's recipe about glazing it with jam, but life's too short. It's nice hot, but better cold with a cup of tea or hot chocolate. Just sit back and think of Paris!

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Look what I won!

noreply@blogger.com (JL) — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 09:08:00 +0000

I always enter a couple of delicious magazine's prize draws without giving much thought to whether I'll win. So I was delighted when I recently won a copy of Yotam Ottolenghi's fantastic new book, Plenty.

Ottolenghi isn't a vegetarian but has become well-known for his sumptuous meat-free recipes. His upbringing in Israel and Palestine has armed him with fulfilling recipes starring vegetables and pulses in abundance.

The book is divided into chapters based on the main ingredient, such as squashes or aubergine, so you can base your choice on what's in season or what you've got growing in the garden.

The recipes seem straightforward and don't require masses of extra speciality ingredients. My favourite so far is 'tomato party' - a jumble of tomato varieties, some cooked, some raw, with couscous and fresh herbs.

Even if you aren't in the mood for cooking the book provides a great teatime read, the words just as sumptuous as the beautiful photos. It may not turn me into a vegetarian but it'll certainly encourage me to make vegetables the star turn more often.

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Salmorejo is obviously in fashion

noreply@blogger.com (JL) — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 16:06:00 +0000

Well, blow me down! I was thinking about salmorejo for weeks before I did some research and wrote my recipe. A couple of days later I noticed that Delia has written her own version for Waitrose's free weekly newspaper thing.

She gets right up my nose sometimes.

Delicious but disappointing

noreply@blogger.com (JL) — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 15:34:00 +0000

I'm a subscriber to delicious magazine; this is my third year as a regular reader. I'm not a big magazine reader, but I do enjoy articles about food. Plus I collect as many recipes as I can, and theirs are usually appealing and easy to follow.

I feel like it's been in an ever-so-slight rut just lately, though and I've noticed two worrying trends. For the first I blame Delia and her 'I'm too old for this - let's all cheat instead' campaign. To illustrate: I saw a recipe for jerk chicken with Caribbean rice. I though "ooh, I'd like to learn how to make jerk seasoning - that'd be handy". Imagine my disappointment when the first listed ingredient turned out to be jerk seasoning! Well, I'm not stupid - I know that if I buy some jerk seasoning and add it to chicken it'll become jerk chicken. What I don't know is how to make the seasoning from scratch. I do understand: the magazine is catering for all kinds of cooks, from the highly skilled to the 30-minute-throw-together-after-work. But wouldn't it be better to give the full recipe, then mention that there's a cheat if you can't face mixing and grinding spices?

The second trend is a strange reluctance to dictate food choices. Recipes end with a sentence along the lines of "Serve it with some mango chutney, if you like". If I like? Well yes, I can do anything I want if I like. I could serve my chicken curry with strawberry ice cream if the mood took me. When I buy a food magazine I'm really hoping it'll recommend the best accompaniments, or tell me how a chef has or would serve the dish. Not just give me permission to have chutney. I'm old enough to decide that myself!

NB: I'm still a delicious subscriber and I still thoroughly enjoy the magazine, which now has a brand new editor. Perhaps she'll help to brush it over the recent mini-rut.

Cinnamon, spice and all things nice

noreply@blogger.com (JL) — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 16:19:00 +0000

I'm a big fan of The Cinnamon Club in London, just near Westminster. It's consistently excellent and it's a pleasure to take people there for the first time, as I did last week.

Alarm bells rang when the restaurant phoned to confirm my booking and reminded me about the two-hour limit for the table. I hate feeling pressured to get off a table, and two hours passes quite quickly when you're talking and eating. We were actually there for almost three hours, though, and service was at a good, leisurely pace.

As for the food ... well, it didn't disappoint us. For my main course I ordered tandoori king prawns with saffron almond cream and rice. You've probably got an image in your head of a king prawn, and the chances are it's a pretty large and succulent one. I can promise you it's nowhere near as large as the ones I ate! Three prawns were enough to constitute a main meal, along with a very small portion of rice. The tandoori sauce was spicy without being overpowering and the almond cream provided some counter-balancing softness.

An honourable mention must also go to the delicious lime and mint sorbet accompanying my bitter orange tart for pudding.

My only gripe is that the special offer menu is never tempting enough to keep us away from the a la carte. It's a clever marketing ploy: offer a deal at a reasonable price to get people through the door, but make sure they'll spend more once they're in. But how about just offering 25% off the bill, so that we can experience the restaurant's signature food without having to remortgage the cat?

Not even apple day!

noreply@blogger.com (JL) — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 16:31:00 +0000

It's ages since I reviewed a product. But I've been moved to action by Cawston Press and their apple and ginger juice.

It's delicious, refreshing and feels as if it's doing all kinds of good!

Go on - give it a try (as Neil Hannon would say).

Cous cous I said so

noreply@blogger.com (JL) — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 11:05:00 +0000

Since I got back from Morocco, the question I've been asked most is "how was the food?" People ask it in an envious, anticipatory way as if I'm going to tell them tales of world-class cuisine. I'd expect such hushed reverence if I said I'd returned from, say, Paris or rural Italy. But Morocco?

Many of my holidays are based around food experiences: you've probably noticed by now I'm quite partial to food! But when I booked the trip to Morocco I wasn't expecting world-beating cuisine. It turns out I was astute in my expectations.

Ok - Moroccan cuisine has the potential to be fantastic. The country grows fantastic fresh produce and makes use of a wonderful array of spices. There's a few well-known national dishes - tagine, cous cous, pastille, kefta, harira - and they're often cooked very well indeed. But ... it's all a bit....well, samey.

We travelled quite extensively around the country, from the west coast across to the Sahara in the east, across the Atlas and back over to the southern west coast. We experienced busy modern towns, old medinas, small villages, tiny outposts and touristy ports. We ate in fancy restaurants, family-run riads, remote service stations, small cafes full of locals, tourist traps and mock-European places. And my overriding food memory of the country can be summed up in one word: tagine.

There's a few exceptions. The 'Berber pizza' is worth a try, and reminded me of a lamb pasty. Some of the traditional Moroccan salads presented as appetisers in all the typical riad restaurants are delicious. The seafood in places like Essaouira makes a real change and is perfectly cooked. But these things stick in my mind primarily because they're exceptions. Most lunchtimes, wherever we'd just arrived, the menu choices were tagine, cous cous or kefta. Always in the same order, too - "tagine, cous cous, kefta" - like a menu mantra!

I did have one outstanding tagine: spiced chicken pieces with onion and tomato topped with a fried egg. It made a change from the standard chicken and lemon, lamb or meatball ones. Of course, I can't for the life of me remember the name of it! Anyone?

During our stay we found a leaflet listing the top restaurants in Morocco. I don't know who did the choosing! We were fortunate enough to visit three of them during our stay. One was completely overrated, one was pretty good and one - Le Patio in Essaouira - was outstanding. I ate fish with an olive cream followed by a delicious apple tart. The food was a fusion of traditional Moroccan and European; it still made use of excellent local ingredients but broke away from the menu-mantra. I feel a bit sad that my favourite food experiences in the country were the non-authentic ones, but that's the way it was.

Before I went, I asked someone on Twitter how he'd enjoyed the same tour a few years ago. He said it was excellent but "there's only so many tagines you can eat". My sentiments precisely.

Chilled out Spanish style

noreply@blogger.com (JL) — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 14:52:00 +0000

It's a while since I've been to Spain and I'm suffering from withdrawal symptoms. I can barely hear a flamenco guitar without developing the shakes and starting to salivate.

There's one dish in particular I've had a craving for lately: salmorejo, a thick tomato soup-like sauce similar to gazpacho. I've never made it before but a quick search online gave me all the information I needed to fill the gaps in my knowledge.

The first thing I did was to tear a slice of stale bread into small pieces. I soaked it in one dessert spoon of white wine vinegar, a splash of water and a drizzle of olive oil. In the meantime I hard-boiled two eggs and cooked some asparagus (two minutes in a centimetre of boiling water with the saucepan lid on).

The only laborious bit is peeling tomatoes, a messy and tedious task. Next time I'm going to try with the skins on, and I'll let you know if it made a difference. Anyway, I chopped the peeled tomatoes, along with two small shallots.

Then comes the fun bit: blend the tomatoes, shallots and bread together with a little bit more olive oil, some black pepper and some paprika. A big electric blender would be ideal for this, so that you can drizzle in the extra oil and some water, if necessary, while it's going. I've only got a hand blender and a mixing bowl, however, so I got splattered quite a bit. My kitchen looked like a scene from a slasher flick by the time I'd finished.

After a few moments I wiped the tomato mush from my eyes and checked the consistency. You're looking for something like a very thick but smooth soup. Serve it in a shallow dish with the asparagus placed in the centre. For the final touches I grated the hard-boiled eggs over the top and added a few flakes of Serrano ham.

You absolutely have to serve it with crusty bread (a bit on the stale side if you want the authentic Spanish experience...) and a Spanish rose wine.