SAFFRON - TALES FROM THE PERSIAN KITCHEN

A friend of our friend is on a mission, and she needs your help!

Yasmin Khan is raising money via Kickstarter to fund a cookbook and television documentary project offering a unique window into contemporary Iran, through the food the people love to eat. In order to make her project a reality, Yas needs to raise another £5k on top of the £3.5k she has already raised, and you can help her, by funding her through her page on Kickstarter http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/46403768/saffron-tales-from-the-persian-kitchen.

Yas's mission is to travel around Iran asking locals to share their favorite recipes, in order to show a different side of Iran - one that doesn't often make the headlines. Yas will be cooking recipes with locals Iranians and getting the stories behind the recipes from them for her book. The money she is aiming to raise will cover, amongst other things, the costs of a professional photographer who will be on hand to capture the beautiful landscapes, stunning scenery and gorgeous dishes they'll be cooking. As she says on her Kickstarter page, "At a time of increased military tensions, a project which humanises Iranian people and promotes cross-cultural understanding could not be more important. Saffron aims to do just this, guiding readers on a fascinating journey into the hearts (and stomachs) of Iranians today."

I, personally, am a big fan of the flavours used in Iranian cooking - think fresh herbs, fruits cooked with meat, and flavours such as pomegranate, saffron and lots more of my favorite things. Sample recipes quoted on her page include Mirzeh Ghasemi - smokey roasted aubergines, gently fried with plum tomatoes, garlic, turmeric, eggs and olive oil; and Shirin Polo - buttery steamed rice jewelled with carrots, orange peel, pistachios and saffron - YUM!!

So if you want to see more of these delightful recipes, get involved and pledge some money to make it happen!

Kickstarter is an online platform for creatives to raise money for their projects. In order to protect the project manager and investors, the money is only invested if the full amount requested is reached, so please do get funding!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/46403768/saffron-tales-from-the-persian-kitchen.

Good luck Yas!

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MY FAVORITE BUTCHERS....

I love cooking and eating meat. When I got with the boy, he claimed to be a vegetarian, but a few meat meals cooked by me soon changed that, much to my family's relief (my brother declared that he liked him a lot more now that he knew he wasn't a proper veggie!) That being said, we don't eat meat everyday, as I think it should be a treat, not a staple of our diet. I am also very strict about where the meat we eat comes from. It HAS to be free-range, and ideally organic, although I'm less strict about that, as the regulations to become organic certified are so difficult for farmers to comply with, and often beyond the control of an individual farm.

So, I thought I'd put together a list for you of my favorite UK butchers/meat suppliers. Most of the list are London based, as that's where I am, but there's a couple in there from further afield, and the majority of them also do deliveries.

The list is not in any order of preference - I really like all these butchers.

LONDON:

Wyndham House Butchers

Wyndham House are my local butcher of choice. They have various branches in London; Borough Market (poultry only), Fulham Road and Chiswick High St, which both stock their full range of beef, lamb, pork, poultry, cheeses and pickles and biscuits. As it's close to me, I visit the Chiswick branch most often, and feel like a kid in a sweet shop in there. Not only do they have all the cuts of meat my heart desires, but they make fantastic sausages and burgers that they sell as well. Add to that their fine selection of cheese and it's almost a one stop shop for my food needs!

I am lucky enough to live within delivery distance of Chiswick's Wyndham House, and as long as the order is over £10 then delivery is free. You really can't get better than that!

Wyndham House in Chiswick are at 229 Chiswick High Road. For details of their other branches, go to www.wyndham-house.com.

The Ginger Pig

The Ginger Pig have 5 branches in London; Shepherds Bush, Marylebone, London Bridge, Hackney and Waterloo. All the meat they sell comes from their own farms in Yorkshire. Their London outlets sell beef, pork and lamb, and they do an excellent range of handmade sausages, in flavours like prune and brandy, sage and onion and the more traditional Cumberland. Their handmade pies are also worth sampling!

The Ginger Pig run butchery classes at their Marylebone branch, where for £135 per person you can spend an evening, or Sunday afternoon, learning about how to butcher an animal, how to cook the various cuts, and where the meat comes from. The butchery courses also include a meal, cooked from the meat you've butchered, as well as a very generous piece of meat to take away with you. I think it's great value for what it includes, and you can pick which animal you'd like to do the course on.

For more info on the butchery courses, and details of where to find their shops, visit www.thegingerpig.co.uk. The Ginger Pig do not do deliveries themselves, but they are part of www.hubbub.co.uk - who will collect all your shopping from your local high street and deliver it to your front door!

Allen's of Mayfair

Allen's are based on Mount St in Mayfair, and although it's been a couple of years since I visited their store in person, I can spend hours browsing their website, and particularly their really good value boxes of meat. http://www.allensofmayfair.co.uk/products/selection-boxes. They deliver across London and stock a whole range of raw and smoked meats. Allen's of Mayfair also do butchery courses, for £150, and must be booked with a voucher, that you can purchase online or in store.

Chiswick Farmers Market

Chiswick Farmers Market takes place every Sunday morning from 10am til 2pm, and is on Market Drive, W4 2PX, near Hogarth roundabout. It's a funny little setting for such a great market - tacked on to the side of the market is a Masonian bar...!! But they've got some fantastic produce on sale at the market, and it's definitely worth a visit. They've got beef, lamb and pork from March House Farm - http://www.marchhousefarm.co.uk/, raw, organic milk and cream from Hook and Son - http://hookandson.co.uk/, and poultry from Paul's Poultry.

Details of how to find the market are at http://www.thefoodmarketchiswick.com/.

J Parsons (The Cookery)

J Parsons are on Stoke Newington High Street, and stock all the regular meat you'd expect to find in a good butcher, plus various smoked meats and condiments as well. When I lived in the area I would always go to J Parsons for good value, free range shoulders of lamb. J Parsons are at 113 Stoke Newington High Street.

OUTSIDE LONDON:

Colleton Red Ruby Devon

These are not really butchers as such, but more producers from whom you can order your beef for delivery. Simon and Grania Phillips rear Red Ruby Devon beef on their North Devon farm, where the cows are reared naturally and the meat is then hung for 3 weeks before being sold. They have animals ready throughout the year, and if you email them, then they will let you know when they have meat for sale. You can buy a quarter box (100lbs) or an eighth box (50 lbs), and it costs £4.40 per lb. A standard box contains fillet and rump steaks, sirloin, topside, silverside and rib for roasting, brisket, forequarter and roasting joint for pot roasts, and mince, shank, braising and stewing steak. So if you've got a big freezer, it's a great investment to make! Especially if you have a family to feed.  They also do a smaller BBQ box. Their beef is some of the best I've ever tried.

For contact/ordering details, recipes and more information about their happy cows, go to www.colletonredrubydevon.co.uk.

Oxenpark Farm, Devon

Another Devon farm who supply fantastic meat is Oxenpark Farm. They are a small farm, found just over the Somerset/Devon border, where they rear hardy native breeds of cows, sheep and pigs, as naturally as an animal can be reared. Although they don't have certification, they farm organically, and you can really taste it in the delicious meat they produce.

I recently had a delivery of 2kg beef topside, 2kg of mince and 2kg of braising steak from them, as well as some of their homemade salami, and some trotters and hocks. Including delivery it only came to £75. For a price list, contact the farm at www.oxenparkfarm.com. You can order various size meat boxes from them, or half an animal. They also sell local honey and some delicious looking preserves - I'm going to be ordering their primrose and muscadet jelly and chilli jam made with victoria plums next time, to play about with in recipes. 

Lush's Butchers, Somerset

The local butcher near the village where I grew up had something of a reputation for their fine produce. Lush's in Castle Cary sold locally bred, well cared for meat, and was sure to have a queue out the door pretty much every Saturday morning. However, they have recently closed down, much to many people's dismay. It's not all bad news though. They have announced that they will be opening a farm shop close to where they were based in Castle Cary. They'll soon be opening their farm shop doors at the farm where you turn off the A37, towards Babcary, which isn't far from Podimore roundabout on the A303. 

With such easy access to really well reared and cared for meat, there really is no excuse to be buying wet-aged, vacuum packed meat from supermarkets anymore. 

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SUPER FAST PRAWN CURRY

Sometimes (in fact quite a lot of the time) when I get home from work, I really want to cook something for supper that’s easy to make, full of flavour, and has some of my 5 a day in. There are lots of things I could cook that require an hour’s love, or 2 hours slow cooking, but often I just want to get home, put something on that will be ready within half an hour, or less, and eat before it gets too close to bedtime!

This is my go to recipe for exactly that. It’s super quick, very easy, packs a massive flavour punch, and goes down equally as well on sunny evenings as it does on cold winter ones.

Serves 2 or 3

Olive oil
1 onion
Half teaspoon of coriander seeds
Black pepper
1 clove garlic
1 stick of lemongrass
1 teaspoon medium curry powder
½ teaspoon turmeric
Pinch of saffron
1 tin coconut milk
Juice and zest of 1 lime
400g raw prawns
1 pack bean sprouts
Handful coriander leaves
1 red chilli
Lime, to serve

Heat a small amount of olive oil in a deep frying pan, over a medium heat. Add the finely chopped onion and fry for 3-4 minutes until it is turning translucent. Reduce the heat slightly; add the coriander seed, black pepper, crushed garlic clove, and finely sliced lemongrass, and fry for a further 2 minutes. Now stir in the curry powder, turmeric and saffron strands, and pour in the coconut milk (try to avoid the half fat stuff – I don’t know what they do to it to reduce its fat content, but whatever it is, it means it doesn’t cook as well, and tastes pretty strange).

Once the coconut milk is gently simmering, mix in the zest and juice of a lime, and the raw prawns. Stir everything together and simmer for 2 or 3 more minutes, or until the prawns have turned pink. Remove from the heat, chuck in the bean sprouts, and serve in bowls with rice noodles or rice, a few thin slices of chilli, a sprinkling of coriander leaves, and a wedge of lime.

And there you have it – supper ready in less time than it takes to get home from work.

What’s your go to meal when you want a super speedy supper?

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COCK N DOODLE WITH MUMMA SCHNITZEL

Last Friday I spent the first vaguely sunny evening of the year on a rooftop in London Bridge. With the last of the sun’s rays shining through, I joined about a hundred others at Mumma Schnitzel’s latest venture. I had heard of Mumma Schnitzel before, as they’ve popped up at various street food events over the past year or so, but I hadn’t actually got round to trying their food myself. I was really impressed!

The Cock-N-Doodle evening was put on by Platterform, who bring food, drink and entertainment together to create pop up food events (www.platterform.com). This time, it was cocktails, Mumma Schnitzel’s chicken and a doodle wall to draw on. Mumma Schnitzel is run by 2 brothers and one of their girlfriends, who are a really lovely bunch. It was really nice to meet not only these chicken wizards, but their mum’s too, which felt wholly appropriate given the name of the venture!

Tickets for the event cost £15 and this included a cocktail on arrival, chicken schnitzel bun and sides, and a Mumma’s 99er for pudding.

The evening took place at the Skyroom, between London and Tower Bridge, on a 5th floor rooftop with amazing views. I started off with a Jerk n Stormy cock-tail, which was Pampero Especial rum with Jamaican Jerk bitters, lime and ginger beer – my perfect kind of drink!!

 

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A NIGHT OF GAME AT PUTNEY'S DUKES HEAD

You might have read my recent post about supper club coordinators extrodinaire, Grub Club. Well they very kindly organised for me to go and try out one of their supper clubs, so I invited my brother and his fiance, her sister and boyfriend, and the boy along, to try it out. We had a raucous Wednesday night, full of game dishes and excellently chosen wines. My little brother is a wine salesman and came along to choose appropriate wines to match our meal. He's written a few words for my blog about the wine - see the end of this post.

The night took place at The Duke's Head in Putney in the private upstairs room. A lovely, tranquil (until we arrived) space, that suited the occasion perfectly.

This particular evening was all about game meats. We started the meal with an amuse bouche to share of duck rillettes, carpaccio of duck and smoked duck egg yolk with asparagus. This was my favorite course of the meal, with all 3 components presented beautifully.

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WEEKEND WONDERS - DUCK SALAD / STICKY CHICKEN THIGHS / CAKE

One of my favorite things to do on lazy, quiet weekends is to make a den/nest out of as many duvets and quilts as I get my hands on, in front of the fire, and then serve picnics of delicious food to the members of the nest! Most of this weekend was just me and the boy - perfect - and I cooked up lots of yummy treats for us. Here are just some of them.

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A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS....

If you fly with RyanAir this month, you might see me in their inflight magazine talking about the lovely Princess of Wales pub in Primrose Hill.

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GRUB CLUB - SUPPER CLUBS GALORE!

Grub Club is a brand new website, that has been sent to answers my prayers... kinda! It lists most of the supper clubs in London and allows you to easily book places at any that take your fancy. I managed to catch up with Liv, one of the co-founders of Grub Club, to ask her a bit about her inspirations, aspirations and food influences. Here's what she had to say:


What is Grub Club and what was your inspiration behind setting Grub Club up?

Grub Club is a platform for food entrepreneurs. We help creative chefs find underused spaces in order to set up temporary restaurants. Foodies then search and book delicious, unique meals through our site. 

The idea of organising dinner parties for people to eat delicious food and meet like-minded people seems so simple, yet it was incredibly difficult to find these places online; it felt like the type of niche event only open to those "in the know", whereas we believe everyone should have the opportunity to eat great meals in relaxed, social surroundings.

How long has it taken you to get to this stage?

Sid and I decided to get the platform built in August, but we only officially launched Grub Club in mid-January this year.  

There are various websites doing a similar sort of thing to Grub Club - what sets you apart?

The idea behind Grub Club is to create connections amongst the foodie world, so everyone can benefit from being part of a group that shares the same passion. Although it's a complex web of collaborations behind the scenes, the platform we have built is intended to make it simple for anyone to use. So as a foodie, you can find interesting and enticing meals within a couple of clicks. Simplicity is key!

What are the future plans with Grub Club?

The idea of Grub Club is to bring people together around a table. Food is what connects us all as human beings and breaks down barriers. We would like to bring Grub Club to a wider audience than London within the next 12 months, so that next time you go abroad, instead of relying on your Lonely Planet and following the same tourist trail as everyone else, you can book yourself into a Grub Club meal anywhere around the world and get a glimpse of local life in any city you travel to.

What's the best supper club you've been to?

It's difficult to compare them. What's exciting about these meals is that each one is utterly unique and full of the passion and creativity of the host. Whether it's a Michelin-level meal by a top chef unleashing his creativity or the traditional home-cooked food of a Brazilian woman, the experiences I've had at the various meals have all been exciting and unforgettable in their own ways. There's always something to suit my mood and I continue to be blown away by people's talent, warmth and imagination at these meals. 

Favorite restaurant?

The old traditional Pizzeria, "La Siesta" that was by my school in France. Best pizzas ever! I'm still looking for somewhere in London that comes anywhere near. Always looking for suggestions! 

What makes a successful supper club?

Passion and belief in what you do. When chefs want to share the love of the food and culture they are transmitting, it's usually a recipe for success. Of course good food is essential, and is a key reason for attending, but it's about more than the food - it's what hosts want to share with their guests, which is why it's so much more than a restaurant experience. The people you share your food with, will be people you share your experience with, and this can lead to unforgettable memories and long term friendships. 

What would your last supper be?

My mum's Vitello Tonnato followed by the Yoghurt cake she and my little brother used to bake together when he was 3 years old.  

Where is your favorite fresh food market?

I still love going to Portobello Road. As a West Londonner, I'm envious of all the upcoming and buzzing markets popping up around East and South East London, but I love the buzz and unpretentious vibe of Portobello road fresh food market on a Friday, before all the weekend crowds arrive. 

Weirdest thing you've ever eaten?

A banana. Give me fried brains or chocolate-dipped ants any day and I'll find it less weird than eating a banana. I get very upset if someone is eating one within a 10-metre radius of me, especially on the tube.  

Favorite cookbook?

My mum's cookbook! It's full of all our favourite recipes as children, as well as stories of her growing up on a farm in Lancashire. Her strong connection to food in its most natural state is what has inspired her simple yet delicious way of cooking and is the only thing that would unite us a family. I had 3 brothers growing up, and my mum's food is just about the only peacekeeping element she could bribe us with to try to make us get along. 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
This Wednesday I'm going to a supper club at the Duke's Head, which I arranged via Grub Club. Hosting their first game pop up, with this month heavily focusing on duck, local butcher, Parson's Nose is supplying beautiful quality birds and have inspired double rosette winning chef, Daniel Kelly to create a mouth-wateringly excellent menu. Expect elegant canapes, snippets of tender wood pigeon and rich and intricately balanced flavours of duck. A true taste of end of season game - I can't wait! There are still tickets available, so if you fancy joining us, book yours at http://www.grubclub.com/Event/Details?eventId=87&utm_source=Users+for+Newsletter+First+names&utm_campaign=2a5d331bb1-Mar_Newsletter3_2013&utm_medium=email.

And for information and tickets for other up coming supper clubs, go to www.grubclub.com and take your pick!

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FEAST!

On Sunday just gone I spent a freezing cold afternoon eating as much as I could at London's food festival, FEAST. It was the first time I had been to Feast, and apart from the cold weather and loooong queues for food, I thought it was a fantastic afternoon.

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EASY BREAD - NO YEAST NEEDED

I first came across this recipe a few months ago via Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's River Cottage, and have since made many variations of it, ending up with the perfect, fail-safe loaf of bread.

I can't stress how easy this is to make - no kneading, no yeast. Just mix and put it in the oven. The most difficult part of the recipe is remembering to turn the oven on BEFORE you start making the bread, as it takes such a short time to make, your oven might not get hot enough, quick enough!!

Makes 1 loaf

Preheat the oven to 170C (160C fan)

220g self-raising wholemeal flour (my favorite is Allinson flour, made in the UK)
180g self-raising white flour
2 teaspoons table salt
1 level tablespoon caster sugar
50g sunflower seeds
100g walnuts
75g dried cranberries
50g sultanas
50g dried apricots
400ml San Miguel

Mix the flours, salt and sugar in a bowl. Break up the walnuts, either with a rolling pin or a quick blitz in the magimix. Chop or magimix the dried apricots. Add the nuts, seeds and dried fruit to the flour mix and pour in the beer. Mix it all together.

Butter a bread tin, then dust with self-raising flour. Pour the bread mixture in.

Cook for 70-80 minutes, or until golden brown.

Leave to cool then serve with butter and salt, or a lovely creamy goats cheese.

I wrap my bread in greaseproof paper to store it, and although it normally gets eaten within 48 hours, it will keep for up to 4 days, although the crusts will get crunchier.

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LONDON'S FINEST with VIVI IN STILE - WIN FREE DRINKS!

A few months ago I read an article in a London magazine about a new style guide app that had just launched. I promptly downloaded it, won a competition through the app to go to an outdoor rooftop cinema (which I was actually unable to make) and forgot all about it, until last week. I have a habit of downloading lots of new, exciting apps, only for them to fill up my screen, get filed away in folders and for me not to look at them again. So I had a bit of a clear out, and rediscovered this brilliant app.

The app is easy to use, super stylish, and if you follow its advice, you're in for a great night at some of your local city's finest eateries and bars. Click here to download the app for free and see for yourself. It currently covers London, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Glasgow, Leeds and Liverpool.

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FAT CHEEKS LOVE BITES

Friday night saw my first ever visit to a Fat Cheeks pop up restaurant, and I was not disappointed.

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