If we leave aside the fact that summer has disappeared, rain and cold have returned with a vengeance and I’ve had to put my central heating on again … well, foodwise, this is a wonderful time of the year: there’s nothing like English asparagus and English strawberries, both in season, and you just have to grab as much of them and enjoy them in season while you can.
One of my favourite pizzas on the old Pizza Express menu – I was in one in Mayfair on Friday night and the menu had changed significantly – was Pizza Parmese. As the name suggests, there was a strong ‘Parma’ theme. It was basically a pizza topped with fresh asparagus, Parma ham, soft cooked egg and Parmesan cheese. Well, of course, you can see where I’m going with this …
I couldn’t resist the lovely organic asparagus I saw yesterday so decided on this simple supper tonight.
The whole thing is ready in minutes. I steamed the asparagus, with just a sprinkling of salt over the top, till just tender; slightly al dente. Meanwhile, I soft-boiled two eggs. You could fry them but I’m not into fried eggs; you could also poach them, but I seem to have forgotten how to do it. I remember being able to poach eggs well as a teenager; my father taught me. I came from a family of pub owners and caterers and all the men in my family can cook well. Even the ones who have chosen different careers … My father was my partner in gastronomic crime when I was growing up and it came down to hunting out good food and wines.
Back to supper … just assemble it all: put some slices of good Parma ham on the plate; lay the cooked asparagus carefully beside it. When the eggs are ready, run cold water into the pan till you can handle them and take the shells off. Then lay them on top of the asparagus and carefully break them open so the soft egg yolk inside nicely spills across the asparagus. Drizzle over a little extra virgin olive oil. Then shave some Parmesan on top and finish off with a good grating of black pepper. I also had some nice crusty French bread to mop up the juices. And there you are: a simple and very delicious supper, ready in just a few minutes.
Pasta Salad with Tuna, Tomatoes, Capers & Olives
OK. This is just about the quickest and easiest salad imaginable. And it definitely doesn’t require full-blown ‘chef’ skills. It was inspired by two things: left-over pasta from last night – some lovely orechiette pasta that always reminds me of my holiday in Puglia with daughter Nicola about eighteen months ago, and a lunch that Nicola herself made for me on Sunday when I arrived in Birmingham to visit her, though she used black chickpeas instead of pasta. The unusual black chickpeas were the last of a packet of dried ones she’d bought on the same holiday.
The salad I put together, light and summery for this glorious weather we’ve been enjoying over the past week or so, is almost a ‘store cupboard’ supper as the ingredients are all things that I regularly have to hand.
Gather everything together. The amount of leftover pasta I had was just enough for one (of course, you may have to cook some if you don’t have leftovers!). I used a small tin of sustainable, good-quality tuna packed in olive oil, a handful of cherry tomatoes – in this case a mix of red and yellow, which I cut in half; 1 teaspoon capers; a few olives – I had some small black ones that I cut in half; half a small red onion, finely chopped; and some parsley – I had flat leaf and picked the leaves off separately because I thought that would look nice, but if you have the curly variety just chop some to add.
I put everything straight into the bowl I was going to eat from, draining the oil from the tuna and flaking it. Then I made a dressing from 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil and 1 tablespoon lemon juice, which I seasoned with some salt and pepper. I poured the dressing over the salad, added some more black pepper (because I love it so) but not salt because of the olives and capers, and then gently tossed the whole thing – and hey presto! Supper ready in just a few short minutes.
I’m not a great fan of those big American-style salads where everything lurking in the fridge is thrown in, and generally I don’t like to add too many things to one salad (it’s the Italiaphile in me that likes to keep things simple and true to their flavour), but all these ingredients combine well. The essential base is the tuna and tomatoes and the other ingredients are really flavourings. An added bonus is that it’s pretty healthy too!
MAC Food Festival, Birmingham
I had to postpone a visit to daughter Nicola by a week but it turned out to be fortuitous as it meant I was in Birmingham yesterday for the MAC Food Festival. MAC is an arts centre and this was its first ever food festival featuring stalls by local artisan bakers; makers of chutneys, cupcakes, sausages, spice mixes; local delis and a whole range of lovely food stuffs.
A food and craft fair I’d been to a few months ago in Birmingham turned out to be a be of a non-event, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect yesterday. However, there was plenty here to keep The Single Gourmet Traveller happy. From the smell of Caribbean barbecue when we arrived as the Soul Food Project had taken over the MAC’s cafe for the day, to the stalls inside displaying a wonderful array of foods. First up we talked to a stallholder whose sausages looked fantastic and he told us he’d made them that morning and ran sausage-making classes. We bought two of each of the three choices – and later they’d go on the barbecue.
Next stall along I spied a row of chutneys to taste. I like a good chutney with cheese for lunch sometimes, but a really good chutney is hard to come by. I’ve made my own in the past, though not for many years, but it was by some strange coincidence that only a couple of days ago, after another disappointing and far too sweet shop-bought chutney, I’d been contemplating getting my preserving pan out of storage. So, tasting the samples at Cuffufle Chutney’s stall was a must and they were delicious enough for me to come away with a Spiced Apple Chutney.
There was raw chocolate to try at Trishul Chocolate and vegan food at ChangeKitchen – whose owner Birgit Kehrer later did a cookery demonstration and talked about the classes she runs privately, for businesses or in schools.
Then we moved on to Lewis’s Deli‘s stall. I have to say this was my absolute favourite stall and I spent ages talking to the friendly Lewis, while Nicola persuaded me we just had to busy some of his raspberry and white chocolate muffins (sorry … we ate them before I remembered I should have got my camera out!) and buy bottles of lovely La Mortuacienne artisan lemonades.
I could have happily filled a large shopping bag with goodies from Lewis’s stall; his range of foods was of the highest quality. Nicola and I also discussed afterwards that a big part of the whole ‘deli’ experience is buying foods that are different and special from a knowledgeable and friendly person who will talk to you about what they sell and recommend things. Lewis definitely fits the bill and although I didn’t buy much from him yesterday, I’m definitely heading to his Moseley shop next time I’m in Birmingham – with a large cool box!
Our final stop was at Capeling & Co’s cheese stall. They have a shop in King’s Heath and Nicola said it was very good. There was a good choice but we settled on buying some Genievre de Cremier cheese, made from ewes’ milk, with a nice nutty flavour.
Back at Nicola’s we decided to stay in to eat and put together an evening meal from some of the things we’d bought. We started with some filled spinach and ricotta pasta that Nicola had bought from Lewis’s shop. They were without doubt the best bought filled pasta I’ve had.
When Nicola showed me the packaging I immediately recognised the Camissa name – Camissa is one of the oldest and best Italian delis in London’s Soho. No wonder it was so good. We then barbecued the sausages – you can see the quality here:
They were wonderfully meaty with the different herb and spice flavourings cleanly shining through, making these top-notch sausages. Nicola made a delicious pea, baby broad bean and mint salad to go with them … which sadly I was too busy eating and enjoying before I thought to find that camera – again!
Back home today, after a trip down the M40 to London, the last couple of the sausages went into my freezer for another time and I enjoyed the lovely Genievre de Cremier cheese with the Spiced Apple Chutney, a crunchy fresh flute of bread from Paul in Richmond and a tasty tomato. Like all simple meals, when you buy the highest quality ingredients then the result is something special and wonderful.
Affogato – Heavenly Coffee & Ice Cream
Just when we’d all given up on summer following the wettest April on record and a dull, cold and miserable May … the sun decided to make a comeback. And hey! What a comeback. The temperature has soared, the sky is blue with not a cloud in sight, and the garden has burst into a riot of colour. When the sun is hot and I want to take a break on a deckchair in the garden then there is no treat that pleases me as much as an affogato.
Regular readers of this blog will know of my coffee addiction; that I’ll walk an extra mile for a good coffee – as found at Taylor St Baristas in Richmond, or New Row Coffee in Covent Garden. If you read my posts from Rome in March, you’ll also know of my love of ice cream and how being in Rome means at least one gelato a day from one of the many fabulous gelaterias there. Therefore, it goes without saying that affogato is one thing The Single Gourmet Traveller can never resist: ice cream, literally ‘drowned’ (affogato) in coffee.
I first experienced – yes, one experiences good food and drink - affogato in Venice about twelve years ago. These were the days of family holidays and we were there with another family, enjoying lunch in the sun in a cafe in Campo Santo Stefano, near the Accademia Bridge. I can’t remember who first spied a succession of little dishes of vanilla ice cream, accompanied by espresso shots, being delivered to a number of tables, but the coffee lovers amongst us soon decided we had to join in. All I can say is that the marriage of a good strong espresso and good vanilla ice cream is one made in heaven – and where affogato is concerned, I’ve never looked back.
To put it together really couldn’t be simpler. But you do need some excellent coffee and some very good ice cream to get the best experience.
I still have coffee beans from the wonderful Caffe Sant’Eustachio that I bought in Rome, so I ground enough for one cup and got my espresso machine ready to be turned on.
I then put a couple of scoops of vanilla ice cream into a glass cup, turned on the coffee machine and made my espresso. Now you want to bring the two components together quickly, but if you’re serving it to others, then allow them to pour the espresso over themselves when they’re ready to eat.
Gently pour the hot coffee over the cold ice cream. As you eat the ice cream, the coffee will melt it and the two gorgeous flavours combine to make a creamy, rich, ambrosial treat. This is perhaps the easiest dessert imaginable, yet it is also one of the most wonderful.
Top Ten Cookery Books: Paul Merrett
I met Paul Merrett at The Victoria this morning; a critically acclaimed gastro pub in South West London, close to Richmond Park. Chef Paul and restaurateur Greg Bellamy opened the pub in 2008 and since then it has gained a reputation for serving excellent food. The Times described it as ‘an absolute treat for foodie familes’ and also named it one of the best 50 places to eat al fresco in 2010. With its seven bedrooms, it’s recommended as a Special Place to Stay by Sawday’s and in 2011 was voted Best Gastro Pub in London at The Great Pub Awards.
Paul earned his own fine reputation as a great chef long before The Victoria opened. He’s seen frequently on TV shows like Saturday Kitchen and Market Kitchen, and is the author of two cookery books, Economy Gastronomy and Using the Plot: Tales of an Allotment Chef ; he is currently writing a third book on Asian/spicy food, one of his passions. Paul’s road to TV and gastro pub fame has come via an impressive route and includes him achieving two separate Michelin stars at former restaurants.
Paul admitted that he didn’t achieve much academic success at school and it was his mother who suggested he went to catering college to learn to cook; it was a life skill and would also enable him to travel if he wanted. He didn’t cook as a child but he came from a foodie family where he learned to enjoy and appreciate good food. After three years at college, he wrote to The Ritz and was offered a three-year apprenticeship there. It was much easier in those days, Paul said, to get those kind of breaks. But even now, he continued, one of the joys of cooking is that it’s still a profession where you don’t need qualifications in order to succeed; if you’re good and apply yourself, you can achieve great things.
From The Ritz, Paul moved to Le Souffle restaurant at the Inter-Continental Hotel, at the time one of the best restaurants in London, and while The Ritz had provided him with the building bricks to becoming a chef, it’s at Le Souffle under Peter Kromberg that Paul really learned to cook. From there he moved to one of Gary Rhodes restaurants, and then he became head chef at the young age of 27 at a Meridian Hotel, where he worked with a fantastic general manager who had great faith in him and where he learned to manage people and budgets. Later, at Interlude in Charlotte Street, London, he gained his first Michelin star; following this he gained another Michelin star at The Greenhouse. This was ‘high octane cooking’ he told me. He left The Greenhouse to open The Victoria.
We then moved on to Paul’s choice of books.
1. Crust, Richard Bertinet (2007) – Paul said when he took over the gastro pub, it was a new arena for him and he wanted to make as much of his own stuff as he could. He was a novice baker and this book proved invaluable in honing his baking skills. It begins, he told me, by assuming you don’t know much about baking and by the end, it assumes you’ve learned a lot. It’s full of lots of good tips and Paul said the pub’s bread making is influenced more by this book than any other.
2. The Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson (2nd edition 2006) – You can sit down, Paul told me, and open any page in this book and find something interesting to read. If you want to know anything about food, recipes, ingredients, then here you’ll find its history and uses and anything you need to know. Paul likes to browse through it; uses it as a reference book; and will refer to it when briefing waiters about the specific details of a recipe or ingredients.
3. The Man Who Ate Everything, Jeffrey Steingarten (1999) – Steingarten was a lawyer until 1989 when American Vogue offered him a job as a food writer. The title of the book reflects Steingarten’s decision to become a ‘perfect omnivore’ at the time and eat everything and anything, which required him to overcome food dislikes and phobias. Paul told me the book is a series of essays Steingarten wrote for Vogue. What he loves is Steingarten’s attention to detail; how he becomes obsessed by a particular subject and considers all angles. If he was looking at salt, for instance, he’d order salt from all over the world and turn his kitchen into a laboratory and become completely immersed. Paul loves the way he writes; the way he writes about food, himself and displays a fabulous wit and is so amusing. Paul said the book had influenced his own writing and he likes to convey the passion and story behind his recipes.
4. White Heat, Marco Pierre White (1990) – Paul said he’d challenge anyone to find a chef in their forties who didn’t put this book in their list. When he was starting out at The Ritz, Paul said the big name chefs of the day were people like Anton Mosimann and the Roux brothers. Great chefs, but it was hard for a young chef to identify with them. Then along came the crazy, rule-breaking Marco Pierre White who was absolutely and instantly a role model. White was a mixture of food and rock ‘n’ roll. It was incredibly motivating, Paul said. It made him want to be a chef more than anything. White has written other books but Paul likes White Heat because of the way you see White smoking in photos, black and white photos of what’s going on in his kitchen, and in this book more than any other White’s voice comes through and he’s telling you what to think.
5. How to be a Domestic Goddess, Nigella Lawson (2000) – Paul said at home in his kitchen he had shelves full of at least 600 cookery books. Many are by the finest chefs in the world, but many he’s only looked at once. The one book at home that he and his family use again and again is this one by Nigella Lawson. It’s all about home cooking, said Paul; all those nice family things likes cakes and biscuits. He likes the way she writes; she demystifies food well and lots of her recipes have nice twists, although she always respects a classic recipe.
6. On Food and Cooking, Harold McGee (2004) – subtitled, ‘The science and lore of the kitchen’, this isn’t easy reading, said Paul. It’s about culinary science. The book has been around a long time and has been updated, its popularity growing with the current interest in molecular cooking. It’s a great book for the non-scientist who wants to understand what’s happening in the kitchen; the whys and hows of cooking practices. McGee exposes many practices that have gone on a long time, for instance, sealing meat before cooking it, and explains why this isn’t necessarily the best approach. Paul uses the book often for reference or for hints on cooking certain things.
7. El Bulli, Ferran Adria (2006) – Paul said when he was at The Greenhouse this book had a huge effect on him. ‘Looking at the food scared the life out of me as it was so amazing.’ This was a man (Adria) at the summit; it was intimidating. Paul got the book at El Bulli where he was taken by a journalist along with other celebrity chefs, including Gordon Ramsay and Heston Blumenthal. It was an awesome meal, he told me, and they sat with Adria and were taken into the kitchens and so the book sums up a special moment for him and the way it jolted him into seeing what could be achieved. Paul said what he really likes about Adria’s cooking is not just the discipline of this kind of molecular cooking but the wit and quirky humour behind it. You look at the food and your mind takes you one place; you taste it and your senses pick up something else. It’s fun food.
8. Beef and Liberty, Ben Rogers (2004) – Rogers closely analyses the development of food and cooking in Britain by contrasting it with what was happening in France at the same time. He makes a strong case, Paul told me, for Britain having a far more important role in gastronomy than previously recognised. Things are changing, Paul said, but there’s still an underlying belief that British food will never be as good as French, but this book shows that the great French chefs came to Britain to cook and enjoyed a much more flexible attitude to the development of their craft than their country’s strict adherence to formal practices allowed. Going back to Marco Pierre White, Paul said, he loved the way that White, an Englishman, won his three Michelin stars without ever going to France to work.
9. Barrafina: A Spanish Cookbook, Sam Hart, Eddie Hart & Nieves Barragan Mohacho (2011) – Paul said he goes back to this restaurant more than any other. He loves Spanish food and their way of eating and he likes to go with his son and sit at the bar and order six or seven dishes; then order some more. Some restaurant cookbooks, Paul said, are changed to fit the domestic market but this one isn’t. He refers to it time and time again to bring ideas to dishes. There are some great photos and the recipes are well written.
10. Asian Flavours of Jean-Georges, Jean George Vongerichten (2007) – Vongerichten is chef and owner of 18 restaurants around the world specialising in Asian-fusion cuisine. One of his New York restaurants, The Spice Market, is one of Paul’s favourite restaurants (he said at first it was his favourite restaurant in the world, but then qualified it as ‘one of’ – these decisions are hard to make!). It’s a restaurant where everything comes together: the interior with its wooden decor, low ceilings, hanging lanterns and funky New York feel; the amazing atmosphere – but, what really knocks you out, said Paul, is the food. This is Asian street food taken to a fine dining level. The book is full of great dressings, marinades and quirky ideas. He knows he could open any page of the book and there’d be something he’d love to cook.
So, I asked Paul, which of these would be his overall number one? A difficult question. The professional chef in him, said Paul, would choose White Heat but the cook at home would choose Domestic Goddess or Barrafina.
I had a great time talking to Paul, finding out about his career and the experience and passion he brings to The Victoria. I haven’t, I’m rather ashamed to say, been to The Victoria yet, even though I’ve heard so many good things about it. I must put that right soon because it’s clearly a lot more than your average – even good – gastro pub and I can’t wait to try it out.
Serendipity: ‘the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way’ (Oxford Concise Dictionary). And it was thus by chance that we happened today upon The Cock in the beautiful Cambridgeshire village of Hemingford Grey. The ‘development of events’ was what happened due to my getting us lost on our way to a kennels near Huntingdon. It doesn’t require many navigation skills to take one up the A1(M) from London and as we approached Huntingdon where we were supposed to briefly join the A14 before scooting off onto the A141, I rather carelessly said to Jonathan, who was driving,’Oh it’s just straight on.’ Umm. No actually. It might look like that on the map but it’s not how it works in practice. Fortunately he worked out my mistake pretty quickly. All three mobile phones came out as we each asked our own where we were and how did we get to Doddington. In our attempt to cut across a triangle of roads we found ourselves driving through Hemingford Grey, a pretty village with thatch-roofed cottages and in which I first spied The Cock, thinking, That looks a good place. However, having already caused some delay to our journey, I judged it an ill moment to cause further delay by saying, Hey, let’s take a look at that pub.
All travel mishaps were forgotten once we met Zeph, the Yorkshire Terrier puppy Jonathan and Lyndsey are buying.
From shaking nervously when he first saw us, Zeph was soon a happy and friendly little fellow enjoying all the love and attention being lavished upon him. How Jonathan and Lyndsey will wait out the two weeks to bring him home, I don’t know. However, by the time we set off back to London my thoughts were inevitably turning to my stomach. The Single Gourmet Traveller’s thoughts rarely stray from food for long – even with a beautiful puppy to distract her. It was definitely lunchtime. I started to say, We passed a nice looking place … And Jonathan interrupted, The Cock. Yes, he’d seen it too. So, how did we find this pub that we’d stumbled upon by chance while lost? Step in the iPhone. ‘The Cock near Huntingdon’ I asked it, and soon a website and map appeared. And we were on our way.
The car park was so packed we were a bit worried they might not have a table. But they did. And how nice it was to sit down in such a welcoming and cosy place. As we looked at menus a plate of good bread and olive oil with balsamic was put before us.
As a place to eat that caught our attention in passing, it turned out to be a remarkably good piece of luck. As we entered, I noticed signs saying it was in Michelin 2012, The Good Food Guide and I see from the website it was recently featured in The Times as one of the top ten dining pubs in the country. Well … isn’t it a good thing I got us lost!
The Cock’s menu is guided by the seasons and the fish dishes were all on the blackboard, from which I chose Salmon with Beetroot Mash and Pea Puree (£14). Jonathan and Lyndsey went for sausages and mash (£11.50). There was a choice of four sausages – and they went for one of each! There was Pork and Apple, Pork with Stilton and Spinach, Beef and Mustard and Traditional Pork. There’s a choice of mash and sauces to go with them: Jonathan chose Spring Onion Mash with Red Wine Sauce and Lyndsey had Hemingford Mash (horseradish & mustard) with Onion Gravy. They also come with seasonal greens. The sausages are made in house by Richard Bradley (co-owner), mainly from Gloucestershire Old Spots pork. Jonathan gave me tastes and they were really delicious; some of best sausages I’ve had. My salmon was good too and I liked the mash and puree with it.
When eating somewhere good the gourmet in me always turns to a little bit of a glutton and wants a pud. Well, they did sound good (all priced £6): Raspberry & Elderflower Jelly with Clotted Cream Ice Cream, Creme Brulee with Shortbread and – which both Lyndsey and I chose – Chocolate & Pear Brownie with Hot Chocolate Sauce and Pear & Vanilla Ice Cream. If you’re going to be a glutton, you might as well go the whole way!
I have to say it wasn’t quite as good as I expected: I was expecting warm brownie but it was cold, as was the ‘hot chocolate sauce’, and a little heavy. But it tasted nice and chocolatey; I liked the classic pear and chocolate combination put into a brownie, and the ice cream was good.
The Cock was a great serendipity find. And isn’t it great when one happens on a good place to eat by chance? And it did happily distract from my rather poor navigational skills today …. Unfortunately, for a South West London girl, it’s a little far for an easy return visit, but if you’re in the area, then take a detour, go there for lunch (Monday-Friday there’s a good set price lunch menu of £12.50 for 2 courses; £16.50 for 3). And next time I’m in Cambridgeshire, I’m definitely going back!
Restaurant Review: Sam’s Brasserie, Chiswick
I’ve always loved going to Sam’s. It’s my kind of place: a delicious blend of informality and sophistication with great food and excellent wine. As soon as you go into the brasserie, a large open dining area with bar that’s housed in a former warehouse (or so it looks from outside), there’s a kind of welcoming buzz that’s instantly appealing. The staff are always exceptionally friendly and efficient without in any way being obsequious, and the food is the kind of eclectic brasserie mix that means anyone should be able to find something to please them: from a Goat’s Cheese, Swiss Chard & Cherry Tomato Strudel, to a Goan Fish & Prawn Curry to an Aged Rib-Eye Steak. That said, it’s not a particularly large choice – nine main courses – but for me that’s a good sign. It says, this is what we’re cooking freshly today and indeed our menu tonight had today’s date printed on it.
Sam’s Brasserie is open for breakfast, coffee, light lunch, snacks, to a full three-course meal. Some nights they have live jazz or soul music or other events. It’s the kind of place that if you were lucky enough to live nearby you might find yourself taking up semi-residence.
I was introduced to Sam’s about five years ago by a friend who lived near and at that time I went quite regularly. I hadn’t been back for a while, though I’ve spoken of it often and recommended it. It was definitely time for a return visit so I suggested to my friend Liz that I pick her up in Kew and then it was a short trip across Kew Bridge and into Chiswick High Road where the brasserie is situated in Barley Mow Passage right near Turnham Green.
We arrived in time for their Early Bird Dinner Menu – two courses for £13.50/three courses for £16.50 – which is available Sunday to Thursday from 6.30-7.30. There’s a choice of three starters, three main courses and three puds. Liz went for the Cream of White Cabbage & Crispy Pancetta Soup while I chose Seared Chicken Livers on Toast with Tarragon Jus.
Liz found her soup a little too strongly seasoned but my chicken livers were perfection: they were deliciously soft and tender, delicately pink still and with a totally glorious, rich taste from the jus.
We both had Seared Sea Bream with Crushed Jersey Royals, French Beans and Salsa Verde for main courses. There was also a pasta or chicken choice.
The attractive looking plate lived up to its appeal. The fish was perfectly cooked and tasty; gorgeous little potatoes and al dente beans.
The desserts sounded good but being girls out midweek we decided we shouldn’t … another time … but we did have peppermint teas that nicely came in pots, so we had plenty. We’d also had glasses of wine with the meal. The bill at the end, £47 for two including 12.5% service, was good value I thought.
Sam’s is suitable for all kinds of occasions and there was a mix of ages there too. I really mustn’t – indeed, won’t – leave it so long before I go back again.
