LONDON PRODUCE SHOW

Last week saw the launch of a new event in London - The London Produce Show set up home in the Grosvenor House Hotel for 3 days, filled with fruit and vegetable producers from all over the world. The lovely ladies organising the event invited me down, via amazing boxes of fruit and veggies that arrived at my house, to the opening cocktail evening and the show the following day.

The first I knew about the show was when Liz got in touch via Twitter to ask if I'd like to come and if yes, what my postal address was. This was followed by a box waiting on my doorstep, that contained a bottle of rum, a cocktail shaker, dragon fruit, grapefruit, limes, mint and lychees. I made a dragon fruit and lychee mojito, which was just like a super healthy fresh fruit juice (with added rum!)

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HOP VIETNAMESE

I've been eating out a lot more than normal recently, which I've been really loving (it's always nice to be cooked for!) Last Tuesday I was very kindly invited to go and check out a new pop up - HOP Vietnamese. The lovely Liv from Grub Club was due to go, but after not being able to rearrange a meeting that clashed she asked if I wanted to go along instead. Which I did!

This was HOP's second pop up, at House of Wolf, a cool cocktail bar set over several floors on Upper Street, near Highbury and Islington. We were greeted at the door and taken to the 1st floor, where a man resembling Ludo Lefebvre from The Taste was serving up delicious cocktails. Sadly, as it was a Tuesday evening and the middle of an already busy week for me, I had decided to not drink, so I stuck to the non-alcoholic versions, which were still really good - refreshing and tasty. I had a raspberry mint fizz, but could've had a chilli and lemongrass Collins or a coconut crush.

 

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SQUID INK, SPINACH, PESTO & SEA BASS

I wasn't actually going to post this recipe up on my blog - it was just something I threw together for a weekday supper for me and the boy, and the title of it's a bit long winded. But the photo I posted on Instagram of our meal went down a treat, so I thought I'd put the recipe up here in case any of you want to make it.

You can substitute any ingredients you don't have for what you do have - my recipe was influenced by the contents of my fridge!

Serves 2:

150g squid ink spaghetti
50g spinach pasta

Handful frozen peas
2 tbsp pesto - I used Pisco pesto (I think that's what it's called, although can't find any info online about them), which was a homemade brand I picked up at Battersea car boot sale at the weekend
Packet of spinach
Lemon juice
Black pepper

2 fillets of sea bass

Get 2 pans of water on to boil - 1 large for the pasta, one smaller for the peas. 

Add salt to the larger pan once boiling and add your pasta. This needs to boil for 10 minutes. In the meantime, add the peas to the small pan, and boil for 1 minute, then drain and leave to one side. 

Heat a frying pan until hot, rub the sea bass fillets with olive oil and season. Place in the frying pan, skin side down and cook for a couple of minutes, until the skin is golden and crispy, and the fish is cooking through. Flip the fillets and cook for 1 more minute. Remove from the pan and leave to one side.

When the pasta is cooked (taste to check it's to your liking), drain, leaving a tiny amount of the cooking water, and return to the heat. Turn the heat right down and add the bag of spinach, stirring it through the pasta until it has wilted. Add 2 tablespoons of pesto and the peas and continue to stir. I drizzled some really nice olive oil through the pasta at this point as well; just to loosen the whole thing up a bit.

Put the pasta in shallow bowls and the fillet of fish on top. Squeeze a nice amount of lemon juice over the whole thing, and serve. A perfect, quick weekday dinner for 2!

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HOMEMADE LAMB SHISH / HUMMUS

Despite my attempts at vaguely healthy and responsible eating, there may have been occasions, after a few pints at the pub, that I've ducked into the local kebab shop for a lamb shish on the way home, normally at around 2am! I don't do this often, in fact probably only about once a year, but I've still done it. The alcohol normally fuels the hunger, but I do actually really like the taste of lamb shish! So here's my recipe for those naughty kebabs, which you can now make at home (although maybe not at 2am after the pub!)

I can't promise that this version is massively healthier than the kebab shop's, but at least you know exactly what's gone into this one! The thing that makes homemade kebabs super tasty is the marinade, so you'll want to get your lamb out of the fridge, ready to marinate a couple of hours before cooking.

Serves 2

For the lamb:

250g diced leg of lamb (I get mine from the excellent Wyndham House butcher in Chiswick)

1 tsp coriander seeds

2 tsp cumin seeds

2 tsp paprika

1 tsp ezapote (Mexican herb)

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp coriander leaf

1 tsp dried chilli flakes (I didn't use these in mine, but would've done if I wasn't sharing with the chilli-allergy one!)

2 cloves garlic, crushed
Squeeze of lemon juice

Large glug of olive oil

Black pepper

For the hummus:

130g tinned chickpeas (one of the mini tins)

1 tbsp tahini paste

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp water, more if needed

Pinch of sea salt

Black pepper

1 tsp cumin powder

For the garlic sauce:

2 tbsp natural yoghurt

1 tsp mayonnaise (I cheated and used shop bought, which I don't normally do, but it actually works best in this sauce)

1 large clove garlic, crushed

Squeeze of lemon juice

Half tsp salt

Everything else:

Flour wraps

Salad leaves

Pickled red cabbage

Sliced tomatoes

Jalapenos

Get things started by getting your lamb in the marinade. Heat a dry frying pan over a medium heat and add the coriander and cumin seeds, toasting for a minute or so until you can smell the aromas - be careful not to burn them though as they turn very fast. Tip the toasted spices into a pestle and mortar and grind into a powder. Add the paprika, ezapote, oregano, coriander leaf, chilli flakes, crushed garlic and black pepper. Pour this into a dish with the olive oil and lemon juice, and mix it all together. Toss the lamb pieces in the marinade and put the bowl back in the fridge until you're nearly ready to cook.

Ideally you want to leave your lamb to marinate for at least 2 hours, so give it the time it needs to absorb all those delicious flavours. After a couple of hours, remove the lamb from the fridge and leave it on the side, to allow it to come to room temperature. Whilst that's happening you can make your hummus, and garlic sauce.

You do really need some sort of blender to make the hummus. I use my magimix, but anything with a blade and motor will be fine. Stick the chickpeas, tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, water, salt, pepper and cumin into the blender and whizz for a couple of minutes, until it's really quite smooth. Taste the mixture at this point, and adjust the lemon/salt/cumin ratios to your liking. If it's a bit gluey, add some more water, a little at a time. Put to one side.

To make the garlic sauce, simply combine the mayo and yoghurt, crush the garlic into the mix and stir in the lemon and salt. Taste, and add more garlic/lemon/salt if needed.

I like to layer up the wraps at this point, before the lamb is cooked, so that once the lamb's ready you can just add that, and eat the kebab nice and warm. A stripe of hummus and a stripe of garlic sauce, with salad leaves, tomatoes, pickled cabbage and some jalapenos.

Then on with the lamb. Heat a large, wide frying pan over a medium to high heat, and once hot, add the lamb pieces. I start at the edges and place in a circle so that once all the lamb is in the pan I can start turning the cooked pieces over. My chunks were around 2.5cm square, and I cooked them for a couple of minutes each side, to leave them tender and a little pink in the middle.

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LEFTOVER CHEESE RECIPES

I'm not sure about you, but leftover and cheese aren't normally 2 words that go together in our house!! However, there is normally that bit of rind that ends up at the back of the fridge - not enough cheese on it to put it on a cheeseboard, but still too much to warrant throwing it away!

So here are a couple of ideas of what you can do with any of those nearly just rind bits you've got lying around.

First off, CHEESY POTATOES.

400g potatoes
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Fresh herbs
Leftover cheese (I used cheddar, brie rinds, a small piece of reblochon and some of the Montgomery Ogleshield I had)

Preheat your oven to 200C.

Start off by parboiling your potatoes - you want them nearly cooked, so chop into bite size pieces and boil them in salted water for about 10 minutes.

Once boiled, drain and add to a tray with plenty of olive oil, salt and pepper. Now take all your leftover cheese (including the rinds) and slice thinly. Spread over the potatoes, and bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbling and potatoes a little golden.

Chop whatever herbs you have to hand - I like to use parsley and basil but you can use whatever soft herbs you have. Sprinkle over the cheesy potatoes and serve. I served ours with leftover pulled pork and an avocado and tomato salad.

Perfect grub for Sundays spent watching movies!

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CHILLI CHERRY TOMATO CHUTNEY

I've posted a chutney recipe before, but as it's getting towards the time of year when we start thinking about Christmas presents I thought I'd put this recipe up, as gifted in jars it's a wonderful present to give.

The main difference between this chutney and the last one I posted is the level of sweetness. The last chutney recipe I put up was made with green tomatoes, raisins and other bits and pieces, and makes quite a sweet chutney. This chutney is a little sharper, and spicier, and is perfect with cheeses and cold meats. As with the other chutney, you can also eat this one straight away, although it does improve with time, so is at its best around 3-4 days after you make it. This version is also redder in colour than the other chutney, so is prettier to look at!

Makes 2 jars of chutney

1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp dried chipotle chillies
1 tsp dried ancho chillies
500g ripe cherry tomatoes
1 red onion
2 cloves garlic
Knob of ginger
150ml red wine vinegar
200g golden caster sugar
1 tsp Worcester sauce

Preheat the oven to 60C.

Put the coriander and cumin seeds and dried chillies in a dry frying pan and heat for a couple of minutes until you can smell their aromas. Remove and crush up in a pestle and mortar.

Chop the larger cherry tomatoes in half and leave the smaller ones whole. Dice the onion finely and crush the garlic and ginger. Add all the ingredients to a wide saucepan and heat until bubbling.

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COOL CHILE COMPANY

I've come across the Cool Chile Company before, as I was given a jar of their Chipotle in Adobo sauce for my birthday, but last weekend I was lucky enough to meet the ladies who run the company and get more of an insight into what they do, and their excellent products. Whilst working for the boy at Vegfest, Olympia, our stall was opposite the Cool Chile Co, and when they presented me with all their samples from the weekend to take home I was so excited about getting in the kitchen and having a go with them! 

The first thing I tried was the Tomatillo salsa (made from small, green, sour tomatoes) - mixed with mashed avocado and a squeeze of lime, as recommended on the jar. If you ever want a quick dip to eat with flatbreads or crisps, then I really recommend this. It was so good. The creamy avocado is cut by the tang of the salsa and sharpness from the lime. I nearly polished off the whole jar! The salsa/avocado mix would also be brilliant with fajitas or tacos.

The Cool Chile Company are based in London and import all sorts of delicious chillies, herbs, chocolates and spices from Mexico that they then sell on. In my box of goodies I also got Chipotle chillies - dried and powdered, which have a smokey tobacco flavour, ancho chilli (tobacco and dried fruit, and used to make mole sauce), habanero chilli (fiery with a tropical fruit flavour), chilli de arbol (hot with a grassy essence), pasilla (herbaceous and fruity), some Mexican herbs and powdered smoked paprika. It really is amazing how different all the varieties of chilli smell and taste.

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SEARED TUNA with PUTTA POTATOES

My cooking abilities are still limited. 6 weeks post bike fall, 5 hospital visits later and my wrist is still broken. In fact, one of the bones has healed but that's no use when the other one hasn't! So a quick change of plaster cast and the wait to be able to cook, clean, wash properly, and all those other things I took for granted, continues!

However, I was pretty pleased with myself when I managed to make this last night, home alone, and without anyone to help peel, cut or lift trays. It's not ground breaking, but it is delicious, and pretty easy to assemble. If you wanted to have this with meat instead of fish it would be great with thinly sliced rare steak. And if you don't want meat or fish, this is perfectly yummy on its own - just leave out the anchovies too.

I've called these putta potatoes as they have a lot of the same ingredients as the Italian puttanesca pasta sauce.

Serves 4.

4 large potatoes

1 pack green beans

1 pack of English mini red peppers

Handful black olives

4 cloves garlic

1 tbsp capers

6 anchovy fillets

2 tomatoes

Paprika

Good olive oil

2 lemons

Basil

Salt and pepper

4 responsibly sourced tuna steaks 

Get a pan of water on to boil, and turn the grill onto a medium high heat.

Peel the potatoes and slice into 3cm cubes. Boil in salted water (they should take 12-15 mins).

Slice the peppers in half, remove seeds and stalks, toss in olive oil and grill for 5 minutes.

When the potatoes are nearly cooked (soft when poked with a knife), chop the green beans in half and add to the potato pan. Cook for 90 seconds and drain.

Take the peppers out of the oven and sprinkle with paprika. Add the drained potatoes and green beans, and the crushed garlic, sliced black olives, capers and anchovies. Slice the tops and bottoms off the tomatoes and slot these in too. Top with a good grind of pepper - you don't need salt as the olives, anchovies and capers are all quite salty anyway, and a generous glug of olive oil. I did all of this on a foiled baking tray, so there would be less for the boy to wash up (I'm definitely still off washing up with my cast on!)

Put the tray of vegetables under the grill for around 8 minutes.



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TRESCO FOOD

One of my favorite things about Tresco and the Isles of Scilly is the food! There is such a diverse range of locally sourced, homegrown produce, the majority of which you can see growing and developing around you as you explore the islands.

On Tresco there are 2 shops. One is the main and official shop where you can buy toiletries, drinks, Cornish cheeses, cereals and all the normal things you'd find in a food shop, but you can also buy Tresco beef, that comes from the very free range cows on the island, and Troy Town Farm ice cream that's made on St Agnes, another of the islands. On the other side of Tresco, up a track is the other 'shop'. It's not your normal shop though, this is the Tresco Farm shop - an open shack stocking whatever has been pulled fresh from the ground that morning - there's new potatoes, fresh garlic, green beans, salads, strawberries, courgettes, homemade jam and lots more - and an honesty box where you leave your money.

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HOMEMADE ELDERFLOWER CORDIAL

Elderflower cordial is one of my favorite soft drinks. I've never been one to drink fizzy drinks and occasionally have a Ribena, but I always make sure we have a bottle of elderflower cordial at home. So last year, when the elderflowers were out and blooming I was determined to make some cordial. Unfortunately it rained and rained and rained during their flowering season, so the flowers didn't seem as fragrant as they normally do, and I left it, promising myself I would make some this year. Which is exactly what I've done.

Elderflowers are best picked on a sunny late May/early June day, when the flowers are creamy white.

Elderflower cordial is pretty easy to make. Other than the initial mixing process, all it then involves is the patience to let the flowers stew in the syrup for 48 hours - our fridge smells delicious when I open the door!

You want your flowers as fresh

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FRESH SALSA VERDE

Well made salsa verde is one of my favorite things. It is great with white fish, such as coley and pollack, and with oilier fish like mackerel and sardines. It also really compliments cooked and cold meats, and is fab with roast chicken, slow roast pork belly, barbecued lamb or Spanish hams. It is equally as good tossed through buttery pasta for an easy mid-week supper. Or just a dip with some nice homemade bread.

Make a lot of it, as you will want to put it on everything you eat (if you're anything like me!), and as long as it is covered with a thin layer of oil in an airtight jar it will last for a couple of weeks in the fridge - not that it ever lasts that long in my house!

1 large bunch of parsley
1 large bunch of basil
Either 1 bunch of tarragon, 1 bunch of corainder, 1 bunch of mint or 1 bunch of spinach
Handful of capers and a bit of their juice
1 tin of anchovies
1 clove of garlic
2 spring onions
Olive oil
1 lemon, juice and zest

Roughly chop the parsley and basil. Depending on what you will serve your salsa with you can also add a bit of tarragon or coriander (great with chicken), mint leaves (for lamb) or spinach (for serving with white fish). It's up to you what variety of flavour combination to go for. 

Next chop the semi drained capers, spring onions and anchovies. Add this to the herbs and blitz for 2 seconds in a food processor with one crushed clove of garlic. When blitzing, try not to over blitz the salsa as it will become a bit slimey if it's chopped too much. Add a glug of good olive oil and the oil from the tin of anchovies, the juice and zest of a lemon and some black pepper. Blitz for ten seconds and transfer to an air-tight jar, cover with a thin layer of olive oil and it's ready for whenever you want it!

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PERFECT STEAK TARTARE

When I'm in France, there are 2 things I make sure I eat while I'm there - mussels with frites, and steak tartare. And if raw meat is up your street, then there's no reason you can't make it at home. As long as you have good quality meat (see my post on good meat suppliers here), and fresh, free-range eggs, then it's actually really easy, and you can adjust the seasonings to your own taste.

Serves 2.

200g fillet steak, free-range, organic
2 ping pong ball sized shallots
3 cornichons (about 3cm long)
2 large caper berries
Half a handful of parsley
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper
1 free-range egg yolk

All this recipe really requires is a lot of chopping. Chop the steak into small cubes, about 3mm square. Chop the shallots, cornichons and caper berries into slightly smaller cubes, about 2mm square. Chop the parsley as finely as you can.

Mix the oil together with the mustard and Worcestershire sauce, and stir in the chopped steak. Add the rest of the chopped ingredients, season, and mix together. 

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TIBITS - VEGETARIAN in the WEST END

Tibits is a purely vegetarian restaurant, nestled just off Regent Street, in the Heddon Street food court, and is a cross between a sit down restaurant and a fast food take away place.

I was invited to try the food at Tibits and chose to go on a weekday evening. Despite it being a school night, it was really busy, and although it's right in the middle of tourist-ville, it felt like there were quite a lot of regular customers there too.

We started the evening with a fresh fruit juice cocktail - both going for the Apple and Cucumber mojito, that I thought was really good. It was really refreshing and I can imagine how good it would taste sitting in the sun outside the restaurant (the day we visited was sadly not one of the 3 sunny days we've had so far this year!)

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