IN SEARCH OF THE PERFECT GAZPACHO, JAZZ NURSERY PROJECT

Tomorrow, 5th July, I'll be donning my chef hat for the new and fabulous Jazz Nursery - an exciting new Jazz night held once a month under the railway arches in Southwark. Eccentric, underground, and trendy with a penchant for variety: Pintxos seems an ideal food accompaniment. Inspired by the pintxos bars of Barcelona, I'll be serving miniature tapas in an entirely unique atmosphere.

First on the menu are some refreshing gazpacho shots. Delicious! Thinking of doing this at home? Be warned: many gazpacho recipes you find suggest adding cream, eggs, stock, and even mayonnaise. GRIMSBY. Gazpacho should be made from easily available ingredients and served nice and cold, perfect for the heat we all long for this summer.

I've been given two recipes by two of my most esteemed chef friends: one a head chef at a two michelin star restaurant and the other a clever git who has cooked in some incredible michelin starred places and now teaches at Leiths School of Food and Wine.He's not really a git at all but his recipe caused me some serious pain and this is his punishment. 

The first recipe demands the best tomatoes around - you want them to be slightly soft. Whizz them up in a food processor with basil and sherry vinegar, loosening with water if your tomatoes aren't juicy enough. Then pass it through a seive and add salt, pepper and olive oil to finish. 

Love it. Simple, delicious, fresh and so distinctly without peppers. I hate peppers. But is this now simply tomato juice?! As far as I'm concerned that's a joy.

Second recipe calls for twenty tomatoes, two red onions, two cucumbers, two red peppers, one red chilli (deseeded) basil, thyme, salt ketchup and cab sauvignon vinegar. The idea is to chop everything chunky and leave it over night in the salt. In the morning the salt should have released all the juices. Then blend and pass it through a seive.

I got excited about this plan mainly because I love salt; the effect it has on things is magical. But tragedy truly struck during the chopping process. Yes...I put my finger in my eye after deseeding the chilli and then while blowing my nose I somehow got chilli up both nostrils. I then cried a lot, which in turn hurt more. Turns out water and chilli are a no-go: lesson, very painfully, learned. The result? After scanning the internet threw bleary eyes for chilli burn remedies I sat for 40 minutes (that is not an exaggeration) with two olive oil soaked tissues one held to my eye and one to my nose until the burn went away. The recipe creater proved himself to be even more dislikable when he said I'd obviously been tricked by a joke remedy web site. Rubbish. Olive oil totally works.

Pain aside, it's looking pretty cool. To find out how this one turns out come along tomorrow, the rest of the menu will include:

Traditional spanish tortilla

Chorizo skewers

Chicken liver pate

Olive and Goats cheese loaf cake

Gazpacho shots (!)

Prawn and Octopus skewers

See you there!

7:30pm, Arch 61, Ewer Street, SE1 0NR. Nearest tube Southwark Station (Jubilee Line), 5 mins walk down Union Street

MUM'S THE WORD

I think it's fair to say that my mother has never taken much interest, or found much enjoyment, in cooking. Even now, it seems more whimsical phase than raison d'être. That said, it's mad how good she's always been at the Profiterole. Her eternal party piece, these gorgeously creamy creations have given my little sister and I mouth-watering joy since earliest childhood.

Unless you have a Kitchen Aid, which thankfully I do, these require energetic commitment to say the least. This is something my mother has in spades - hers have always been light, fluffy and while they may be a little higgledy piggledy they're purely perfect. Good one Mum.

I know the cream/crème patissière is usually discreetly piped inside, but how pretty it is to see it! Don't you think? I was recently asked if I could make a croque-en-bouche for my best friend's wedding next year so profiterole practise starts now.

Fill me with cream.

 Ingredients

Choux Pastry
85g unsalted butter
270 ml water
140g plain flour, sifted
4 eggs, whisked with a pinch of salt

Chocolate Sauce
200g chocolate
50g butter
1 tbsp golden syrup
2 tbsps cream


Filling
250ml double cream
2 tbsp sugar

How to...
Make the pastry
Preheat the oven to 200^oC, line a baking tray with silicone paper.

Dissolve the butter in the water and bring to the boil. Switch off the heat and quickly throw in the flour, beating fast. When it's all absorbed put the dough on a plate. Spreading it out over a large surface area will help cool it down faster - you don't want the dough to cook and scramble your eggs. When it is cool, add the eggs little by little, whisking like a demon. This will be tough at first (maybe you'll be fine, I am catastrophically weak) but don't give up. When the mixture is a little less stiff and starts to look glossy, stop adding the eggs. Discard any extra egg mix.
Choux goes annoyingly hard if you leave it, so quickly spoon blobs onto your tray. Turn the oven down to 160^oC and bake for 15 - 20 mins. Do NOT open the oven door to check on them, or slam it shut when you put them in. These babies have loads of air in them and those are two sure-fire ways to knock it out. Love your choux!!

When they come out gloriously puffed up and filled with air leave them to cool down before you start assembling them


Make the filling
Easy peasy pudding and profiterole - beat the cream with the sugar until it can hold a nice peak.

Make the chocolate sauce
Melt all the ingredients in a double boiler. The bottom of the bowl should not be touching the water - just let it be hit by the hot steam. This can be made earlier and then reheated before you serve.

Assemble
Cut the profiteroles in half and pipe in the cream filling.
Pour over the chocolate sauce. 

Eat. 

LET'S WOK!

Good Lord it's been a long time...

I started writing this a few weeks ago just as I became inundated with working an abominable amount. It's been great but exhausting, anyhow this is what I'd cook when I just can't be arsed.

Indeed, this one was whipped out just the other night when dinner was requested after a long day's slog. Boyfriend Matt, like so many others, becomes an emotional wreck when he's hungry (describing this as 'h-anger') so it's important to placate him as soon as possible. Anything vaguely East Asian has his mouth watering so with that in mind, and following a speedy trip to the supermarket, dinner can be on the table within 20 minutes.

This is a total winner. A one pot wonder and totally delicious, not to mention fresh. I was given the recipe by my best friend's mother some years back. I suspect, however, that I've lost some of the original ingredients and gained others along the way, but the basic concept is there. Easy peasy limey squeasy.

Curry in a hurry

Serves 2-3

Ingredients
1 seabass, gutted and kept whole
4-5 chilis, kept whole
1 onion
100g cherry tomatoes
2 limes
4 spring onions
1 tbsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp cinnammon
2 inches ginger finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
3 tbsps dark soy
2 kaffir lime leaves
1 stick lemongrass
1 tbsp caster sugar
1 can of coconut milk
hefty handful of coriander leaves


Recipe
There's a lot of "whacking in" in this recipe. Slice the onions, fry in oil on a low heat and when they're softening down (remember to keep water at the ready in case the pan gets too hot!) add the turmeric, cumin and cinammon. Make sure these are nicely cooked out and absorbed by the onions - takes about 3 mins. Add the ginger and garlic, cook for maybe 30 seconds - definitely no more than a minute. Throw in the tomatoes and stick the heat up, adding a splash of water and the sugar. At this stage you can add the zest and juice of one of the limes and the chilis. Now add the sot, followed by the coconut milk, lime leaves and lemongrass and bring to the boil. Whack in the sea bass and cook for 3 minutes on each side. Garnish with coriander leaves, spring onions and the other lime, cut into quarters. Beginning to end 20 mins - done!

SPUNTINO

My chief lover took me to Polpo and I loved it. Buzzing atmosphere, quirky with easily executed, delicious food made for a very happy time. So, when I found out it was a chain I was a bit amazed. In fact, I'm not sure I'm over it yet.

A foodie friend from America came to visit from across the pond and, curious about meeting Polpo's relatives, we chose Spuntino in Soho for lunch. At about 1pm Spuntino is the kind of place you could easily miss if you didn't know it was there. It's the real life equivalent to the easily overlooked Leaky Cauldron from Harry Potter! Thankfully I was led by a highly observant crew, each armed with iPhones and all was well. Note: It's easily spotted after 6.30pm thanks to the queue of people clamoring for a place.

Let's talk about the decor. Gloriously dingy with New York speakeasy dinge-factor 30. In keeping with this vintage vibe they haven't even got a phone! (And no reservations as a result.) Make sure you can grab a corner for groups larger than two - the at-the-bar dining experience can stifle easy conversation - no-one wants a creaky neck after lunch. At this juncture I must warn you of the bar stools. No problem for youthful limbs but I shan't be bringing granny.

Having a quick glance at the menu I noted to my friends that this seemed like a tapas style sharing joint. The American half of our party refused to believe me (fools), so we Europeans braved on, sharing to our hearts and stomachs content.We were right by the way.

The food here is intelligent, simple and tasty. I could happily eat my way through their menu....

Fennel encrusted aubergine chips! Pungent. Yum.

Mouth watering pulled pork slider.

Buttermilk chicken wings.

My favourite!!! Truffled egg toast. Break into the middle an yolk oozes!!

Beetroot, anchovy and soft boiled egg salad. Sublime.

Roast cauliflower, chermoula and smoked almonds.

This has swiftly become a favoured haunt thanks to their delicious food and reasonable prices. I've been twice now (within a few weeks), eaten indulgently and not spent more than £15 either time! Fan bloody tastic. Get yourself there.



Spuntino
www.spuntino.co.uk

61 Rupert Street W1D 7PW

CRAZY FOR KOREAN

When I was at school, Henry J Beans was The Place To Be, thanks entirely to their chicken wings. I never really understood it - even as a fatty lover wings always seemed a miserable combination of grease and mess. They're bleeding fiddly buggers resulting in ruined clothes every time! I just couldn't get on board with the wing-fanaticism, that is until I discovered Korean food in Japan - where else?! The chicken was so delicious, so sweet, so crispy and with a wonderful whallop from the chili. The flavours ran all the way through, from the crisp exterior to the melting juiciness of the meat itself. Suddenly chicken wings made a LOT of sense, and I'm not ashamed to say with all of Tokyo's culinary delights (I still salivate at the memory) I became a frequent visitor to that Korean restaurant. Since then I've been on a quest to find a London Korean that's as delicious. My father has taken me on endless trips round the delights of New Malden's 'Korea Town', but while the supermarkets are incredible (well worth a trip) and many of the restaurants delicious, I still couldn't find the chicken winged heaven I was searching for.

Then by accident I came across Holborn's 'Asadal'. Tucked away next to the station, I was convinced I'd discovered a secret taste haven - so unbelievably delicious, but sadly with a price tag to match. Also, it's the largest Korean restaurant in London and full all the time, so a rubbish secret. Finally, my craving taste buds were placated and the restaurant became a small obsession of mine. The thing is I simply can't afford to eat there as often as I'd like, and I need my fix of that chicken! So after a lot of desperate research I can share this recipe with you. Joy to the world! Chicken wings are cheap!

Korean Fried Chicken!

Korean Fried Chicken Recipe

How to...
Marinade
Traditionally there is no marinade - they season the chicken with salt and pepper and that's it. My way makes for a tasty interior AND exterior, hurrah.

Ingredients
6 chicken wings
4 tbsps soy sauce
1 onion chopped
1 inch ginger chopped
1 tbsp Chinese rice wine
2 tbsps honey
a handful of chopped coriander
pinch of salt and a grind or two of pepper

Mix all the marinade ingredients together and cover the chicken in it. You can marinade it for an hour or leave it over night.

Batter it!
The Korean's secret to perfect delicious chicken is that it's twice fried. MMmmmm delicious, BUT also less than healthful so I'm gonna suggest that you fry it once and finish it off under the grill. This also means that the sauce reduces more and becomes extra sitcky on the wings.

Ingredients
2 tbsp plain flour
2 tbsp corn flour
2 tbsp rice flour
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all of the batter ingredients. Drain any excess marinade and then cover the chicken in the dry mixture. The marinade will help the flour mix to stick to the chicken.

Fry it!
Ingredients
2 tbsps vegetable oil

In a frying pan heat the oil over a high heat until it is smoking, and then turn it down to a medium heat.

Place the battered chicken in in batches of three, cooking for about 3 minutes on each side or until the flour is becoming crispy and golden

Sauce it!
Put the oven on the fan/grill setting at 220°C.
 
Confession time. In the picture I've not used what I should and would normally use, gojujang (Korean chili paste.) Please forgive me. I didn't have any, and the chili flakes worked fine. I still recommend the gojujang, it has a much deeper and more intense flavour than chili flakes, which just give off a bit of heat.


Ingredients
2 tbsps soy sauce
3 tbsps honey
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp Chinese rice wine
2 cloves of finely minced garlic
5 tbsps tomato ketchup
1 tbsp gojujang

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl before gently reducing them over a medium heat in a frying pan for 2 minutes.

Pour the sauce over the fried chicken and roughly cover all the pieces. Place all the chicken onto a baking sheet and put it in the oven for 10 minutes.

HEAVEN!

DEHESA - referring to a grassy haven in Spain's Extremadura

Ever since a friend who worked in the kitchens of Dehesa introduced me to it I've been a major fan, though in the last year my visits have dwindled somewhat. So when I walked by it on my way to Nopi it was like bumping into an old friend but walking straight on without properly inquiring after each others health - devastating for all parties involved. This tragedy, however, was the catalyst that strengthened my resolve to return and at first opportunity I was dining once more at this familiar favourite.

Dehesa, sister restaurant to The Salt Yard and Opera Tavern (neither of which I've yet been to), is a Spanish/Italian charcuterie and tapas restaurant with a difference. The difference is that it doesn't stick to the traditional world of Spanish cuisine - though a loving nod is certainly made - they branch off, whisking the lucky taster into new, uncharted terrain of tapas dishes. Although the menu doesn't seem to have evolved too much since I've frequented it, this does make for a lovely cozy familiarity with the place. To be honest, I'd be furious if I returned and the deep fried courgette flowers (stuffed with goats cheese and slathered in honey) had been replaced by anything else, ever.

I've never booked, and been happy for them to take my name and number and call me when a table is ready - but the popularity of the place means it can be a long wait. Still, I've always found that a drink at one of the nearby bars and pubs does the trick!

Our journey started with these unbelievably delicious courgette flowers.

Pork belly, beautifully cooked sitting on rosemary scented cannellini beans.

This was a new one from the last time I'd been, lamb chops with lambs tongue, girolles and a mint alioli.

Malfatti with sage butter, trompette and parmesan

Hake with chorizo mash, clams and cider sauce

Salt cod crequetas with romesco sauce, crisp and creamy delicious!

We didn't have dessert. We were both quite full and had just enough room to have another plate of those to-die-for courgette flowers. Stuffed to the brim and with a bottle of wine this came to just about £30 per head. I'm sure I'm biased - I love this food, but I think that's pretty reasonable for such delights!



www.dehesa.co.uk/

25 Ganton St  London W1F 9BP

020 7494 4170

BRIOCHE CUSTARD EXPLOSION

I hereby bequeath this recipe to Gillian who requested it's feature on this blog and to Bart, living downstairs, whose main excitement of my friends coming over for dinner is that THIS might be in the oven. To his joy it often is.

This pud bounded into my life when I threw a 'food heritage party' - pretty geeky I know, but look what I learned! Huge thanks go to William who brought it along and more to Lily who confided her family recipe in him all those years ago.

This is my kind of food. Negligible faff and positively bursting with flavour. Boxes are ticked with incredible gusto: so simple, so sweet, so luxuriously indulgent and so bloody quick! This is perfect dinner party fodder. It takes 5 minutes to whip into the oven and then you can forget about it while you eat your meal. Yet another of this pudding's many accolades is that it really can't go wrong. How could it when it's core ingredients are brioche, cream, chocolate and raspberries?! The key is to keep the oven on a nice low heat so that the eggy custard thickens without splitting and the chocolate doesn't burn. Of course, this is calorific hell but Fat Is Flavour - just enjoy it!

Fresh from the oven, and dusted in icing sugar

2 minutes later and there were just 3 of us! Check that Ooozing Chocolate.

This has served 6 people and it has served 3, it depends how greedy you are!

Ingredients
300g brioche
150g creme fraiche
One punnet of raspberries
100ml double cream
4 tbsp caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Lindt extra creamy chocolate bar - all in!
2 large eggs

Recipe
Preheat the oven to 140°C.
First make a custard by mixing the eggs, sugar, cream and creme fraiche together with the vanilla extract.
Tear up the brioche into large-ish chunks (enough for a small handful) and leave them to soak in the glorious custard mix. Meanwhile, break the chocolate into half squares.

Assemble
In an oven-proof dish, layer it up. Half of the wet brioche is followed by the chocolate which is followed by the raspberries (keeping a handful behind) and then the other half of the brioche on top. Pour the rest of the custard mix over and sprinkle with raspberries.
Cook for about 45 minutes before giving it a quick dusting of icing sugar et voila. Serve it hot, so all the chocolate is still oozing M&S food porn stylee.