Miso Mackerel

There was once a time when all you’d ever hear about was Nobu and that black cod miso dish. That was until “The End of the Line” exposed it to be the bluefin-plundering, money-grabbing, z list hang out it really is. Still, you can see why the dish was such a winner. That deeply savoury rot of the marinade, sweet and salty against oily flesh was and still is pretty genius.

I applied the same treatment to some super fresh mackerel fillets from the Chelsea fishmongers (which were of course a lot cheaper and a tad more sustainable) and they turned out a treat. After an overnight marinade, the fillets blistered to a shiny, burnished caramel in a hot oven and went beautifully with some steamed rice and an emerald mound of stir fried morning glory. Nobu charges £32.75 for a single portion of its black cod with miso. Once I’d bought the marinade ingredients, this cost me less than £1.00 a portion, and the leftovers went into sushi rolls with fresh cucumber strips and lashings of wasabi mayonnaise.

Ingredients

- 6 fl oz/185 ml mirin

-4 fl oz/125 ml sake

- 8oz/225g miso paste (you’re meant to use white but I only had brown)

- 8 oz/225 g sugar

- 4 fresh mackerel fillets

pickled ginger to serve.

Method

• Combine the sugar, sake, mirin and miso well.
• Slather the mackerel fillets in this mixture and marinade overnight.
• When you are ready to eat, pre-heat your oven to  200 C/400 F/Gas mark 6 and wipe any excess marinade from the fillets.
• Bake for around 15 minutes, until just opaque in the centre and nicely caramelised on the surface.

Filed under: lunch, tea

Paramount Review – Eat Me Magazine

I’ve written a review of Paramount restaurant for Eat Me Magazine  you can read it here

Filed under: publications , restaurant reviews

Due Sardi

I enjoyed one of the tastiest pizzas I’ve had in yonks last night. Due Sardi is a tiny little Sardinian gem specialising in stone baked pizzas and fresh pasta just next door to Jaguar shoes, on Kingsland Road. Using family recipes and ingredients from back home, they deliver and offer take aways that you can eat at Jaguar Shoes (if you can bear all those solipsistic fashion students).  I’d heard plenty of great things, and my friend Rosie (who’s lived in Cagliari and is a bit of an expert on these matters) told me she’d overheard Italian customers putting in orders for off-menu Sardinian specialities – always a good sign.

Luckily they deliver to my flat, and unlike so many delivery orders, this arrived piping hot and just shy of 20 minutes – not bad for a Saturday night. With the very first bite of her Sardinian sausage, rosemary and olive strewn beauty Rosie declared herself transported back to the island.  I was intrigued at the idea of a “patatina” a pizza crowned with tomato, mozzarella and chips, and was informed that this is also achingly authentic. My olive, anchovy, caper and tomato pizza was an absolute delight. Not overly cheesy, but generous with the other toppings, the base was light, chewy and slightly salty – I could have wolfed it down unadorned.

Our 12 inchers were just £7.75 and £7.95 each, and they also do a fantastic little line in pasta dishes.  If you go between 12-5pm it’s a fiver for any pizza or pasta, but you do have to eat it in the bar next door. I’d say it’s definitely worth enduring any number of ironically leather leiderhosen clad “hipsters” for and have already circled the spaghetti bottarga for my next Sardinian fix.

www.duesardi.com

32 Kingsland Road

London

E2 8DA

Filed under: great find

Fasting and Sausages- Eat Me Magazine

I’ve written an article about Ramadan, fasting and the Serious Sausage Company for Eat Me magazine. You can read it here

Filed under: publications

Potato and Lentil Patties

Mark Hix certainly seems to know his Asian food – I’ve had my eye on the mutton chop curry recipe in his latest cookery book for some time now. I chanced upon his recipe for these lentil and potato cakes on a yellowing scrap of old Independent I’d ripped out around, ooh seven years ago. Gently spiced potato cakes filled with a piquant mango chutney and  lentil mix and rolled in coconut, they are the perfect packed lunch fodder and definitely taste more intense the next day. I used fresh coconut instead of desiccated and added some bay and grated ginger to the potato mix. I think a spot of fresh green chilli in there wouldn’t go amiss, or if you can get hold of it, the weeniest dollop of Mr Naga hot chilli sauce.

serves 4-6

1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped

1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1/2 tsp ground cumin (I used 1)

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds

1/2 tsp ground turmeric

1/2 tsp black mustard seeds

600g floury potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped

600ml vegetable stock

100g split lentils (dhal)

1 tbsp good quality mango chutney like Geeta’s which contains cardamom seeds

salt and freshly ground pepper

flour for dusting

1 large egg, beaten

4-5 tbsp dessicated coconut

vegetable oil for frying

METHOD

• Gently cook the onion and the garlic (I also added an inch of grated ginger) in the vegetable oil until soft and mix in the spices. Add the potatoes and vegetable stock and season with salt and pepper.
• Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes or so or until the potatoes are just cooked (I added the bayleaf at this point).
• Turn off the heat and leave them in the pan. Meanwhile cook the lentils in boiling salted water for about 15 minutes until they are just cooked. Drain them and return to the pan.
• Pour the liquid from the potatoes into the lentils, leaving the potatoes to drain in the sieve and cook the lentils on a medium heat until the liquid has almost evaporated. Add the mango chutney and continue cooking until the mixture is quite dry, stirring every so often, then leave to cool.
• Return the potatoes to the pan and evaporate any excess water by heating over a low flame, then mash them coarsely. Leave to cool.
• Once the potatoes are cool, mould them into 8 round flat patties, about 1 1/2 -2cm deep. Make a hole in the middle with your thumb and put about a teaspoon of the lentil mixture in the centre. Carefully mould the edges over the middle and re-shape with the help of a palette knife or spatula.
• Have four dishes ready, one with the flour, one with the egg, one with the coconut and a spare one for the finished patties.
• First put the patties through the flour, dusting off the excess, then through the egg and finally through the coconut. They may need reshaping before cooking.
• Heat about 1-1/2 cm vegetable oil in a frying pan and cook the patties on a low heat for 3-4 minutes on each side until nicely coloured. Drain on kitchen paper and serve with any good quality Indian pickle like aubergine or mango.

Filed under: lunch, snacks, starters, tea

Flavour Behaviour – The Evening Standard/The Guerilla Scientist’s Flavour Feast

Hello. I’m delighted to have been featured in an Evening Standard article about the behaviour of flavour and eccentric food combinations written by the brilliant Liz Hoggard. You can read all about it here.

Sampling a crazy feast at The Secret Garden Party I was given a lesson in how key the whole orchestra of smell, sight, sound, texture and hormones really are when it comes to flavour.

Seated around a dining table in the middle of a field with the beautiful and the bedraggled we devoured a gigantic jelly brain, section by section whilst engaging young neuroscientist, Zarinah Agnew explained the differing functions of each – an unforgettable experience.

We were then instructed to clamp our nostrils in a blind tasting of Skittles, and found our tastebuds rendered completely numb. We painted our tongues with blue dye and poked them out at one another in order to count the number of undyed tastebuds – an abundance was indicative of a “supertaster” (one with a heightened palate and increased sensitivity to flavour).We sniffed fruitlessly at lurid green test tubes of raspberry and electric blue ones of apple in an attempt to identify what on earth these might be. When served dishes of tender scarlet spheres of agar agar, without its familiar healthy crunch, it was impossible to pick out the intense taste of celery. Our heads were further messed with when we were poured and asked to describe glasses of red wine. The ever-predictable “berries”, “leather” and “tobacco” were suggested, and we were later  astonished to learn that we had in fact been sipping a crisp dry white, that had been dyed. An absolutely genius way of being forced to confront our visual preconceptions and the dominance of the brain over the tongue.

Filed under: good times, publications

Tom’s Terrace

I don’t know about you, but the merest rumour of sunshine and eating outdoors suddenly becomes an absolute priority. This sounds great in theory,  if you’re in Hampstead say, or in a nice patch of green,  but let’s face it, here in le smoke you’re more often than not going to find your plate attacked by some anabolic pigeon and your bag pilfered by that soap-dodging type who’s been surreptitiously loitering around all evening. The chorus of sirens wailing in every direction generally renders any thoughts of conversation to little more than lip reading and that rogue gust of wind means its pretty much game over before the waiter has even started offering your starter to the wrong table. Suddenly, locking yourself indoors with a nice valium sandwich starts to seem like a champion idea. When I was invited to check out Tom’s Terrace, a pretty little spot in the majestic grounds of Somerset House I was relieved to note that it harboured absolutely none of these elements.

Presented with a table denting spread cooked by Mr. Aitkens himself on a golden summer’s evening I was prepared to be thoroughly spoilt and not reminded of just how spoilt I have become.

Filed under: Uncategorized , restaurant reviews

Cider Rye Bread

I’m rubbish at making bread. Cakes, quiches, pies, I can happily churn out these things with varying degrees of confidence, but bread? Forget it.  I can’t even do it using a machine (my crust is inevitably anaemic and the texture all dense and doughy).  As for the “longhand method”, I can’t be done with all that kneading and proving and knocking back – life’s too short. So I was dead chuffed to find this recipe from Dan Lepard. Involving no kneading whatsoever and just a few ingredients I’ve made it about five times now, each time with great success. And I just adore the fact that you bake it in a saucepan.

Filed under: baking

Hashi Cooking Class

Let’s face it, a lot of cookery classes can be a bit of a let down can’t they? Far too often you have all the exciting, fun bits done for you, while you’re left feeling more than a little bit patronised and relegated to stir, perhaps. Like some sort of small child, “your” finished dish is praised and cooed over, even though you  both know that you haven’t really made it at all.

Thankfully, the Hashi cooking class is nothing like this. Yes, some of the stuff is prepped (after all, you’d be there all night otherwise) but there is an immediate feeling of engagement and passion – I came away feeling like I’d genuinely learnt something new and useful. In Reiko’s beautiful Wimbledon kitchen, along with Su-Lin, Carly, Kavey , Cara , Denise and Luiz Hara (her trusty assistant for the evening)  I learnt how to shape gyoza correctly (instead of my usual Cornish pasty type creations), how to balance flavours and the best place in London for sashimi-grade fish (Atari-ya). We cooked up a garlicky beef tataki with creamy sesame sauce, some of the finest gyoza I’ve had in the West, zaru soba with velvety spicy aubergine and her signature dish of scallops with creamy spicy sauce on sushi rice. All this was washed down with copious amounts of green tea and a selection of fine wines to match, lovingly chosen by @winesleuth.

Filed under: good times, great find

Fire and Knives

The latest issue of Fire and Knives is out, and it’s easily the best one yet – positively choc full of meaty sparkling prose from the likes of Henrietta Lovell, Tom Parker Bowles, Catherine Phipps and Craig Butcher. In addition to the super cool design there’s also a rather natty photo shoot from @unwholey

I’ve contributed a piece about the lost world of Anglo-Indian cuisine. Here’s a little taster….

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Filed under: publications

Cafe Kaati

Living around the corner from Brick Lane means I’m always getting hassled for decent curry house recommendations. Despite being surrounded by a multitude, there really aren’t many in this area that I would actually rate. Most serve up dishes that are either creamed and sweetened beyond recognition or are so authentic, that no one but the most  local of Bangladeshis would really want to eat them (dried fish curry is definitely an acquired taste). I quite liked Chaat when it first opened, a little place on Redchurch Street, but my last visit was disappointing. Tayyabs is the main reason I live where I do, and I’ve eaten there regularly for the past few years – so it’s nice to have a bit of a change now and again.  I was therefore performing all manner of double take when I spotted “Cafe Kaati” from the top deck of the 205 the other day.

Filed under: great find, lunch, snacks, tea

Halloumi Majestic

So the Great British Summer is upon us and of course it’s all grey and drizzly out there.  I always swear by a big steaming cup of tea, with a good book in one hand and a plate of fresh bhajis to munch on as the most comforting way to counteract the dreaded June mizzle. But today I discovered something a little bit different, something that turned out to be astonishingly delicious….

Filed under: snacks

Green Valley

There are very few things in life that give me quite as much of a thrill as stumbling across a new deli. All those cheeses and cold meats you’d never find in your local supermarket, the artisan breads, the teas, the lovingly sourced condiments,  those little tubs of pickled garlic and smoked artichoke hearts – it always makes for the most satisfying of browses.  Seriously, nothing excites me more. Except perhaps finding a good charity shop, that is.

So imagine my delight when I discovered Green Valley, a veritable Aladdin’s cave of Middle Eastern treats, tucked away in a side street off the Edgware Road. Apparently it’s been here for years. When I asked the owner if it was ok to take a few pictures, he just smiled and nodded in a way that said he had absolutely no idea what I was talking about.

Filed under: great find

Waitrose Kitchen – Tandoori Chicken

I’m super chuffed to report that I’m in this month’s Waitrose Kitchen. They’ve run a rather splendid piece about food and nostalgia, which includes the story behind my not-so-secret family recipe for tandoori chicken. It’s also on the waitrose website here and the recipe’s here. My gran would be so proud…

Filed under: publications

A Dish Served Cold

“I want the bastards that tortured my grandmother to bleed” spits Susan, her face contorting and reddening to match the hue of our food. “I want them to feel just a fraction of her pain.”

We’re in a tiny izakaya in Saitama-ken, just around the corner from my flat and Susan is explaining her dark reasons for being here over a bowl of  kimchi ramen.  “So your grandmother was a…a comfort woman then?” asks Manola, who teaches in the town next door.  Manola is dead cool. The other JETs we’ve met are an assortment of private school tossers and downright weirdos, so we’ve made a point of only befriending Japanese people and each other.  We spend our weekdays teaching English and our weekends in throbbing clubs and bars in Tokyo, grabbing steaming 5am bowls of ramen and larking about in purikura booths before catching the train home to the suburbs… Her Kanji count is enviable and she’s definitely the sensible one. I, on the other hand manage to unwittingly get us into countless dodgy situations, like the time we find ourselves in the car of a minor yakuza who tries to press pills upon us and entice us to some warehouse party with his mafia pals.

We love it all, but Susan has made it clear she’s purely here for vengeance.

She’s a towering half Texan, half Korean model type, and she fascinates us with tales of growing up in a trailer with anorexic friends. She’s like something out of a JT Leroy novel. She confirms that yes, her grandmother was one of the comfort women Japanese soldiers famously took “refuge” in during the war. A group of young Japanese men nearby openly ogle her, one plucks up the Asahi-powered courage to saunter over and tell her how “sekusi” she is.  She tosses her hair and casts out a murderous look before archly turning her back on them. “Wow this kimchi’s great” murmurs Manola. Susan scowls and tells us about the proper stuff her gran used to make in huge earthenware pots which she’d bury in the garden for months. Years later and faced with a superabundance of cabbage I come across the napkin with her recipe scrawled over it.

Filed under: breakfast, lunch, sides and salads, snacks

Wahaca

When did it all get so manic? I find myself with so little time on my hands these days that I rarely make it to foodie launches or parties anymore. In fact, I hate to admit it, but I’m rapidly becoming more of a bolted-salad-on-the-way-to-the-next- board-meeting kind of woman. Last night however, I decided to ditch the shoulder pads and found myself at the launch of Wahaca’s new summer menu. The thing I love about Thomasina’s food is the way in which the dishes are all so unpretentious, authentic and secretly quite good for you.

Highlights included a mouth popping ceviche tostada, a ridiculously intense hibiscus and passionfruit jelly and my favourite fryer-fresh, cinnamon-scented churros y chocolate. I do luff the fried dough.

I’d never tried cornbread before- our seemingly endless feast included warm buttercup yellow hunks of the stuff. The texture was lovely, like savoury Madeira cake which came replete with a fat slick of rich mole sauce.  I also loved the new cactus taco with courgette and cheese – the cactus flesh was a revelation; subtle, savoury and yet simultaneously bursting with freshness. What’s more 20p of the cost of each of these beauties goes to the EDNICA Charity, supporting the street children of Mexico.  Never before has doing it for the kids been quite so delicious…

Filed under: good times

Le Burger

I’ve written a little something about the Joe Allen burger in this week’s Le Cool

You can read all about it here:

Filed under: Uncategorized

Riverford Field Kitchen, Burts Chips and Barbers 1833 Cheddar

An ophthalmologist friend of mine has this theory that myopia is far more prevalent amongst city dwellers than country folk. I suppose this makes sense when you think about it. In the countryside you frequently get to cast your gaze out far and wide over huge vistas of emerald and azure; while – let’s face it, in the city any hopes of visual exercise are swiftly mugged by the inevitable urine stained brick wall no more than arms length away at any given time.

Filed under: good times

My Dining Room

My dining room is in Fulham, tucked around the corner from Fulham Broadway station to be more precise. Now, I rarely visit this part of town, but if I lived around here and wanted to eat somewhere that was a bit less manic than say the Harwood Arms, this would definitely be my regular haunt. Formerly a gastropub called “The Farm” it’s been recently refurbished and they’ve recruited head chef Julian Marshall who’s also done time at Anton Mosimann’s and The Lanesborough. The interior is adeck with coffee and cream tones of plushness. Whilst I’m not too sure about the name, it’s very well designed in a spacious-and-sophisticated-without-being-stuffy sort of way –designer Jason Hwang is a bit of a genius.

Filed under: great find , restaurant reviews

Tarte Tatin Emile Henry

It does make me laugh when people go on about “super foods”. I mean, surely all fruit and vegetables are good for you, aren’t they? What makes a blueberry so much better for you than say a carrot? Or some nice runner beans? We fork out for fancy pomegranate seeds and goji berries, when you can get just as many health benefits from the humble apple, and for a fraction of the price, at that. From perfumed crunch, to complex tartness and rich vanilla scented flesh, the varieties and nuances of this most English of fruits run deep and wide. These shores have borne countless breeds that have been sadly aborted in favour of a few sickly sweet, mushy types and we continue regardless to import our bland, flawless varieties.

Filed under: afters