Raspberry and lemon thyme macarons

I think that after the last few recipes that I have written for this blog, it’s about time that I did a bit of baking again. Although I have really focussed on savoury food recently, baking is how I got into cooking in the first place and still is a real passion of mine. I just love the happiness that a cake or other baked good creates in people. Even those like me without a real sweet tooth often can’t resist a slice!

I bit off a little more than I could chew with this recipe though. I had been wanting to have a go at making macarons for quite a while, but being relatively out of practice and slightly blase about how tricky they might be, I found them a real challenge. In hindsight this is really no surprise; the immaculate macarons that appear in patisseries are perfected and laboured over for years before getting right - what sort of chance was I going to have on my first go!? My first effort was far from perfect, with the finished macarons a little cracked on top instead of that lovely flat glossy look. But practice makes perfect, and I will definitely try again.

For the base of this recipe I turned to Felicity Cloake’s ever useful Guardian column. It was reassuring to find that she also had problems with her efforts, and I was intimidated by the amount of flack that she received from the macaron police in the comment section. But as a guide or introduction to a dish I find columns like hers very helpful, and from there you can change ingredients to suit what you are making. 

Her original recipe is posted on the Guardian website here: 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2012/may/17/how-to-cook-perfect-chocolate-macarons

Instead of the chocolate flavouring used by Felicity, I went for something a little different. I love using raspberries in desserts, especially where anything meringue based is concerned. A meringue topped with whipped cream and stewed raspberries is often the perfect end to a summery meal. To incorporate them in this recipe I thought that dehydrating them in a low oven and them powdering them would work. This would intensify the flavour of the berry, and at the same time remove the chances of liquid getting into the macaron mixture and destabilising the finished result. Lemon thyme works really well with berries in sweet dishes, and I left the leaves whole so that the odd leaf could be seen on the surface (back off you macaron purists!)... 

Despite the imperfections they went down a storm and were quickly devoured. Surely that’s what baking is really all about.

Makes about 20

Ingredients:

125g raspberries 

2 tbsp lemon thyme, leaves picked and left whole

130g ground almonds

170g icing sugar

150g egg whites

120g caster sugar

Pinch of salt

For the filling:

150ml double cream

2 tbsp icing sugar

1 vanilla pod

125g raspberries

2 tbsp caster sugar

1 lemon, juice only

The night before baking, line a baking tray with greaseproof paper and scatter 125g of the raspberries on top. Put into a low oven heated to 60-70ºC and leave overnight. In the morning the raspberries should be completely dried out. Tip the raspberries into a small food processor or coffee grinder and blitz until you have a fine powder. Add the thyme leaves and set aside.

Line 2 baking trays with greaseproof parchment. Using a pencil, draw 3cm circles a couple of centimeters apart (I used the top of a squash bottle for this). This will really help with the piping later. Set aside until needed later.

Sieve the almonds, icing sugar and raspberry powder together into a bowl and set aside.

Weigh out the egg whites and pour into a large bowl. Using an electric whisk, mix the egg whites until they reach soft peaks then slowly add the caster sugar, a little at a time. Whisk on a high power until the meringue goes shiny and thick and forms stiff peaks. To test this, you should be able to tip the bowl upside-down without the contents tipping out. 

Fold in the icing sugar, almonds, lemon thyme and raspberry to the meringue, then mix well to knock out a little of the air. Spoon the mixture into a piping bag and carefully pipe inside the circle templates on the baking sheet. Try to keep the piped macarons as flat as possible, you don’t want little peaks rising from them. Once all the circles have been filled, drop the baking tray onto the surface from about 6” a couple of times, which will help knock the bubbles out. Leave to rest for between 45mins - 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 170ºC (Fan).

After the macarons have rested and formed a skin, carefully place in the oven for 17 minutes. Open the oven door a couple of times during this cooking time to help the steam escape. Once cooked, slide the macarons on the greaseproof paper onto a cooling rack and leave to cool completely. 

While the macarons are cooling make the filling. Put the remaining raspberries, the lemon juice and caster sugar into a small saucepan and cook on a medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, until the sugar has dissolved and a lot of the juices have escaped from the raspberries. Sieve the mixture into a bowl, pushing down on the raspberries with a spoon to get all of the liquid. 

Pour the liquid back into the saucepan and bubble away on a medium heat for a couple of minutes, until it thickens and forms a syrup. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Scrape out the seeds from the vanilla pod and place in a medium bowl with the double cream and icing sugar. Whisk until soft peaks form, then fold in the cooled raspberry syrup.  Spoon into a piping bag.

Gently peel the cooled macaron halves from the baking sheet with a palette knife. Pipe a little of the filling mixture onto one half and sandwich carefully with the other. They will be quite crunchy if eaten straight away, but will become very soft, light and chewy if put in the fridge for a couple of hours. Devour at will.

Mackerel with pureed and pickled beetroot, smoked mackerel pate, apple and horseradish

For this monday lunch I have gone back to an old favourite, mackerel. I have cooked some fairly long winded recipes for the last few blog posts, so this time I wanted to do something a little less time consuming for a light and tasty lunch. 

Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall has recently championed the use of three key ingredients as the formula of a great dish, and this recipe goes along those lines. The combination of mackerel, beetroot and horseradish has been tried and tested and works so well, with the oily mackerel, sweet beetroot and the hot horseradish. The only thing that I have introduced are a couple of different ways of preparing the fish and beets to make the finished dish a little more interesting. 

Recently I have been really into focussing on a few ingredients and using them in different processes in the same dish. I have done this previously on this blog with lamb and salmon recipes, and I like how you can achieve a variety of tastes and textures within a meal. In this dish the beetroot adds both sweet and smooth elements in the puree and sharp and crunchy when pickled. With the mackerel, the fried fillet gives the cooked heat whilst the pate gives a smokey, creamy backnote. The horseradish is not a dominant flavour, like everything else it just balances with the other ingredients. The apple with the pickles gives much needed refreshment, and can be combined with mackerel to make a dish in their own right. 

Serves 2 

Ingredients:

1 large mackerel, filleted and pin boned

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp butter

Salt and pepper

For the beetroot puree:

2 beetroots

2 garlic cloves

5 sprigs thyme

1 tsp thyme leaves

2 tsp caster sugar

2 tsp butter

Salt and pepper

For the smoked mackerel pate:

1 smoked mackerel fillet, skin and bones removed

2 spring onions

1 tbsp butter

2 tsp horseradish, finely grated

2 tbsp cottage cheese

2 lemons, juice only

Salt and pepper

For the pickled beetroot:

1 white or golden beetroot, peeled and finely diced

250ml white wine vinegar

2 garlic cloves

5 sprigs thyme

10 peppercorns

1/4 braeburn apple, finely diced

1 tsp horseradish, finely grated

1/2 lemon, juice only

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

Salt

For the peashoots:

1 handful peashoots

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp lemon juice

Salt and pepper

To serve:

Hot bread and butter

The first thing to make is the beetroot puree. Preheat the oven to 200ºC. Put the unpeeled beetroot, garlic cloves and thyme sprigs into a small oven dish and rub with a little olive oil and seasoning. Seal with kitchen foil and put into the oven for 1 hour 15 minutes.

To make the pickled beetroot, put the white wine vinegar, sugar, garlic, thyme and peppercorns into a small saucepan and bring to the boil. When hot add the finely diced white or golden beetroot and cook for 2 minutes. Spoon the beetroot into a bowl with a little of the pickling liquid and allow to cool. When cool, drain the liquid away and mix in the apple, horseradish, lemon, olive oil and salt. Taste and set aside. 

Now make smoked mackerel pate. Put the spring onions and butter into a food processor and blitz until smooth. Add the smoked mackerel, horseradish, lemons, cottage cheese and seasoning and mix again until everything is combined. Remove from the mixer, taste and add horseradish, salt or lemon as required. Set aside. 

Make the dressing for the peashoots by mixing the lemon juice with the extra virgin olive oil and seasoning. Set aside to dress at the last minute.

The roasted beetroot is cooked when they can be easily pierced by a knife. Peel the beets whilst they are still hot then put into a food processor with the butter, thyme leaves, sugar and seasoning. Blitz well then taste and adjust the seasoning. Pass the puree through a sieve and keep warm. 

Put a large non-stick frying pan onto a medium-high heat and add 2 tbsp olive oil. Cut the mackerel fillets into 3 pieces and pat dry with kitchen paper. Season well on both sides and then place skin side down into the frying pan, pressing down for a couple of seconds to stop them from curling. Fry for 3 minutes on the skin side then carefully flip over. Add the butter and take the pan off the heat. The fish will finish cooking in the residual heat while you plate up. 

Spoon a little of the puree onto the middle of each plate and top with the mackerel pieces. Quenelle the pate and the pickled beetroot and add around the fish. Dress the peashoots in a little of the dressing and arrange on top of the mackerel. 

Rump of lamb with confit carrots, purple carrot and anchovy puree, carrot crisps, flageolet beans and red wine sauce

I can’t believe that this is the first time that I have cooked lamb for this blog! I absolutely love it, and there is nothing better than a roasted leg of lamb filling the house full of amazing smells on a cold Sunday afternoon. To be honest though I don’t really eat that much red meat on a week to week basis; as I’ve said before on this blog, good meat is pricey and always a treat, and I’d rather eat better quality meat less often and vegetable-based dishes the rest of the time. It has to be said though, I work opposite an amazing fishmongers, so when payday comes around I have often earmarked a fish or two to buy before even thinking about anything else. 

At this time of year though, lamb in particular comes into it’s own and I couldn’t resist ordering some from my local butchers. Purists will say that spring lamb is best, but for me lamb that is a little older holds much more flavour yet can still be soft and tender. Living in Stoke Newington, I am really lucky to have a great butcher just around the corner in the shape of Meat N16. Although still relatively new, they have already won awards and are always really friendly when I have shopped there. More importantly, the meat is great quality. There are a number of different lamb cuts that suit a variety of cooking methods, and for this recipe I decided to use the rump. This cut is off the bone and is cooked in a similar way to a steak; crusty on the outside and pink and tender in the middle. 

The carrots stand side by side with the lamb as stars of this dish. I have recently seen purple and yellow carrots in my local greengrocers and have been eager to do something with them. Often carrots are just boiled to death and plonked on the side of a meal to add a bit of colour, but I wanted to try and make them more interesting and stand up in their own right. Making them different textures and flavours might seem like unnecessary work, but each part adds to the finished dish. 

The rest of the flavours and ingredients in this recipe; the beans, anchovies, mint and red wine are all classic accompaniments to lamb. There is quite a lot of acidity in this dish from the use of lemons, but these help cut through the fattiness of the lamb and the sweetness of the carrots. As with anything it’s all about everything working together and the flavours balancing. 

Although lamb stock isn’t that widely available, it’s dead easy to make and really worth it. Even using the leftover bones and scraps from a sunday roast with some root vegetables and water will produce something delicious. Failing that, good chicken stock can be used as a substitute. 

Don’t be put off with the amount of butter needed for the confit carrots. This is all used to make the clarified butter, and hardly any of this finds it’s way into the finished carrots. It’s mostly just to make sure the carrots are fully covered whilst cooking. Do not discard the clarified butter once finished, it can be used to make lovely roast potatoes!

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 lamb rump, approx 400g, sliced into 2 pieces

For the purple carrot and anchovy puree:

2 purple carrots, peeled and chopped into 1” pieces

3 anchovy fillets

1 lemon, juice only

1 tsp butter

Salt and pepper

For the flageolet bean puree:

400g (or 1 tin) cooked flageolet beans

1 large handful mint, leaves picked

1 handful watercress, washed

1 - 1 1/2 lemons, juice only

1 tbsp olive oil

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

Salt and pepper

For the confit carrots:

6 carrots, 2 of each colour if using, trimmed and peeled to an equal size

750g butter

2 garlic cloves, crushed

3 sprigs thyme

Salt and pepper

For the carrot crisps:

3 carrots, 1 of each colour if using

Vegetable oil for deep frying, about 1ltr

Salt

For the red wine sauce:

2 glasses red wine

500ml lamb stock

1 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp butter

Salt and pepper

The first thing to make are the confit carrots. Heat the oven to 80ºC. Put the butter into a saucepan and cook on a medium heat, without colouring, until the butter has separated. Strain the butter through kitchen paper (you may have to be patient with this) and discard the solids caught in the paper. Put the peeled and trimmed carrots into a small, deep oven dish with the thyme, garlic and seasoning and cover with the clarified butter. Put into the oven and bake for around 2 hours, or until just tender. This can be done in advance and reheated when serving.

To make the flageolet bean puree, bring a small saucepan of water to the boil. When hot, drop in the mint and watercress and blanch for ten seconds before removing to a bowl of very cold water. Squeeze out the excess liquid when cool and transfer to a food processor with the flageolet beans, garlic, oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper. Blitz until very smooth, then taste and add more seasoning or lemon as needed. Pass through a fine sieve and set aside.

For the purple carrot and anchovy puree, bring a small saucepan of salted water to the boil. Add the chopped purple carrots and cook until tender, about 6-8 minutes. Drain well and transfer to a food processor with the anchovies, lemon juice, butter and seasoning, and mix until very smooth. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed. Pass through a fine sieve and set aside. 

Now make the carrot crisps. Using a speed peeler make long shavings across the middle cross section of the carrots. Heat up the frying oil in a medium - large saucepan until it reaches 140ºC, then fry the carrot shavings in small batches for a minute or two until crisp. Transfer to kitchen paper and drain well, then sprinkle with a little salt. 

To make the red wine sauce, put a dry medium saucepan on a moderate - high heat. When hot, add the red wine and allow to boil and reduce by half. Pour in the lamb stock and add the sugar and a little seasoning and allow to reduce right down until the sauce starts thicken and becomes shiny. Be careful not to reduce it too much at this point or the sauce will become bitter. Taste and season. 

Pre-heat the oven to 190ºC (fan).

For the lamb, heat up a heavy non-stick saucepan to a high heat. Season the lamb well on all sides and rub with a little oil. Fry the lamb for a minute or two fat side down until golden brown, then seal the rest of the meat for 20-30 seconds on each side. Transfer to an oven tray and cook in the oven for 9-10 minutes for medium-rare lamb. Use your fingers as you would with steak to test how the meat is cooked inside. Move the cooked lamb to a chopping board, cover with foil and allow to rest for about 10 minutes. 

While the lamb is resting, heat up the confit carrots, the sauce and the the purees (very gently). Add the butter to the sauce and stir well until incorporated. Check the taste and seasoning again.

To plate up, spoon some of the flageolet bean puree onto the middle of the plate and arrange 2 thick slices of the lamb on top. Add a bit of the purple carrot puree on the side, arrange the confit carrots around and spoon over some of the sauce.

Spinach farfalle with mushrooms, celeriac puree, parma ham and a crispy hen’s egg

It feels like ages since I wrote my last blog entry. With December and Christmas being really busy, my Mondays off were spent rushing around sorting presents and preparing for the holidays and time in the kitchen was minimal. Now that we’re back into January I’ve been really looking forward to doing some proper cooking again, and this week was the first time that my Monday lunches got back on the road again. 

I am always thinking up different dishes to make on my days off, and I have been wanted to make this particular one for a while. As always, the dish started off as a simplified version, just some fresh tagliatelle with mushrooms and parma ham, but the more I thought about it, the more bits were added to it until it became the finished meal. No doubt I will think of other ways to further change it as time goes on... 

I have been making fresh pasta for many years now, but have always made ‘cut’ pasta or cannelloni. I have always wanted to have a go at making pasta shapes, but have never got around to it until now. The same goes for making a flavoured and coloured pasta dough. The idea of making farfalle with different coloured halves it not my own. I first saw it whilst watching Masterchef last year, when one of the finalists learned how to make it whilst placed in a London Restaurant (I seem to remember it being with Alain Ducasse but I’m not positive). It seemed like a great idea and fairly straightforward to make, but after making the batch for this recipe it definitely takes a knack to get the pasta just right. I found that the most important thing is making sure that the seam between the two dough pieces is properly sealed before running it through the machine, otherwise the seam can split which makes the finished dough look really messy. It’s well worth trying though as the little bow ties look great once finished. 

The inspiration for this dish came from eating plain pasta (not even any butter or oil!) with breaded chicken as a small child. I used to love the crispy bits of breadcrumb that would find their way into the pasta, and this is replicated with the deep fried egg. It’s funny how childhood eating memories influence the way we eat now, although I’m not sure I’ll be rushing back to syrup sandwiches any time soon!

The key with getting this dish right is balancing the flavours properly. The richness of the egg yolk and saltiness of the parma ham is cut by the acidity in the puree and the earthiness of the mushrooms. No one taste really dominates, they just come together and compliment one another when eaten at the same time. 

This dish can be changed slightly to make it vegetarian. In this case, swap the parma ham for a salty, tangy cheese such as a mild goat’s cheese. 

Serves 2

Ingredients:

For the pasta: 

200g ’00’ strong pasta flour, separated into two 100g amounts, plus more for kneading

2 eggs

50g spinach leaves, tough stalks discarded

1 tbsp olive oil

Salt

2 tbsp dried cous cous

For the crispy eggs:

3 large eggs

100g plain flour

75g panko flakes

Salt and pepper

2 tbsp white wine vinegar

Vegetable oil for frying, about 1.5-2 litres

For the celeriac puree:

1/3 of a large celeriac (about 300g), peeled and chopped into 1in pieces

3 tbsp whole milk

1 tsp wholegrain mustard

40g butter

Salt and pepper

200g fresh girolles, trimmed and cleaned with a brush

100g brown beech mushrooms, trimmed

15g dried porcini mushrooms

20g butter

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 a lemon, juice only

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

To finish:

2 slices parma ham

A few shards of parmesan

A few rocket leaves

First make the pasta. Bring a medium saucepan of water to the boil, and when hot, blanch the spinach leaves for a minute. Immediately put the cooked spinach leaves into iced water and leave to cool. Thoroughly squeeze out the water from the leaves so that they are fairly dry. Place into a food processor and blitz until very finely chopped (they should be too dry to really form a puree). Add 1 of the eggs and a pinch of salt and blitz again until will combined. Tip in 100g of the ’00’ flour and mix again until the dough resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Pour onto a work surface and knead really well, until a smooth and elastic dough is formed that is not wet or sticky. Wrap with clingfilm and put in the fridge to rest for at least 30 minutes. 

Now make the plain pasta dough. Put the second 100g portion of flour into a cleaned food processor bowl and add the second of the eggs, the olive oil and a good pinch of salt and repeat the blitzing / kneading / resting process as the spinch dough. 

Using a pasta machine and a little extra flour, roll each dough through each of the thickness settings until you get to the second finest (I only really use the finest setting for filled pasta). Cut each sheet of pasta in half so that you have two narrow pieces of each dough, then cut each piece so that it is about 30cm long; this will make it much more manageable. Carefully brush one long edge of each spinach sheet to about 1cm in, then very gently position the long edge of one of the plain pasta sheets on top. Seal with your fingers. Roll the sealed combined sheet through the second thinnest setting on the machine and you should be left with a sealed sheet with one side spinach dough and the other plain. Cut into 4cm strips, then use a large circular cutter to form the outer edges. Try to make this as even as possible so that the join between the two doughs is in the centre. Squeeze the centre of the strips to form the bow tie shape. Gently flour the completed farfalle, then pour the cous cous onto a plate and position the pasta on top. The cous cous absorbs the moisture but will drop off in the pan whilst boiling. Set aside to dry whilst you prepare the rest of the recipe. 

While the pasta dough is resting, make the crispy eggs. Bring a pan of water to the boil and lower in 2 of the eggs. Cook for 1 minute, then turn the heat off, cover and leave for another 5 minutes. Remove the eggs and place in iced water mixed with the white wine vinegar. Allow to cool thoroughly, then peel the eggs very carefully. Set up 2 small plates and 1 small bowl. Put the flour on one plate, the panko on the other and beat the egg into the bowl. Season each element. Roll the eggs one at a time very gently in the flour to cover then dip into the egg. Finally transfer the eggs to the panko and roll around until fully covered with the breadcrumbs. Set aside until needed.

To make the puree, bring a large saucepan of salty water to the boil and when hot, add the chopped celeriac. Boil for about 10 minutes, or until tender before draining and putting into a food processor with the milk, butter, seasoning and mustard. Blitz very well before tasting and adjusting with milk/butter/seasoning as necessary. Pass through a fine sieve and into a bowl. Keep warm if near to serving, or cool and refrigerate if making in advance to reheat later. 

Put the porcini into a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave for 20 minutes to soak before draining, keeping the strained liquid for later. 

While the celeriac is cooking, make the crispy parma ham. Preheat the oven to 190ºC (Fan). Line a baking tray with baking parchment and lay the parma ham on top. Cook in the hot oven for 6-8 minutes or until very crisp. Drain on kitchen paper and break into small shards. 

Fill a large saucepan with water, add salt and bring to the boil. In a separate medium saucepan heat the deep frying oil to 170ºC. Finally, put a large frying pan onto a medium heat. 

When everything is hot, melt the butter with the olive oil in the frying pan. Add the soaked porcini and the garlic and fry for 1 minute, before adding the girolles and season well. At this point, put the farfalle into the boiling water and carefully lower the crumbed eggs into the hot oil. Add the beech mushrooms and lemon juice to the frying pan and cook for a minute, by which point the pasta should be ready. Lift the pasta using a slotted spoon and transfer to the pan with the mushrooms and gently stir everything together. Add a couple of tablespoons of the porcini liquid and cook for another minute, at which point the egg should have turned a golden brown in the oil. Remove from the oil and drain. 

To serve, spoon a little of the puree onto the middle of the plates and top with the crispy eggs. Arrange the farfalle around the egg and top with the mushrooms. Spoon a little of the buttery pan juices over the pasta. Scatter the parma ham, parmesan and rocket around the pasta and serve. 

Restaurant review: Feast, Islington

This blog entry is more like Sam Eats Food, and a pop-up review instead of an actual restaurant. But a very interesting experience it was. 

I always get a bit lost in Islington. It’s too easy to think of the largely middle of the road restaurants that squash between the estate agents and overpriced miscellany shops of Upper Street and feel uninspired. But if you take a walk into the network of streets around Barnsbury and Canonbury there are some little gems to be found. The most recent discovery was this weekend, when I was guided down a quiet dark backroad into a fairly demolished shell of a building. I had forgotten all about Feast since I bought the tickets, and with some busy weeks at work the event crept up quickly. I didn’t really know what to expect, but for some reason I had an underwhelming image of a large village hall with a couple of scattered stalls, and perhaps a tombola in the corner...

As usual I was proved very wrong indeed. Situated in the old Royal Mail building which is currently being shelled and developed, it reminded me why I love London for the little tucked away events that make you feel a million miles away from the daily hubbub and congestion. The first thing I noticed were the globes that illuminated the girders and crumbling bricks amidst the rising steam and bustle of the busy bar, performing band and rows of delicious looking food. So far, so good, and after a ten hour day without a scrap to eat, my stomach was groaning in sweet relief.

As with my earlier expectations, I also had a few concerns about pop-up events such as these. Sometimes events like this are overwhelmed in ‘trendiness’, and I was worried that my lack of facial piercing and wonky haircut would make me stand out like a sore thumb. I was also worried about the vast array of food choice. To put it bluntly, I am crap at making food decisions, and I always seem to choose the wrong thing to eat. And at normal inflated market prices, this means that there is no way back. The sight of a row of portaloos with random puddles surrounding them also stirred up those old festival memories. Don’t get me wrong, I cherish the times that I have had at Glastonbury, but the cuisine is never something I want to go back to. 

Basically, all of these thoughts just went to prove my old short mindedness, and how I should really get out more. After quickly buying a bottle of the lovely Camden Hells from the efficient and quick bar, I was soon pottering around marvelling at the sheer variety of great looking food. There really was something for all moods, from comforting burgers and pastries to refreshing cerviche (from, naturally, Cerviche), dumplings and oysters. Initially I was looking forward to getting chops around a fish dog from the Hix stall, but this seemed like far too safe a choice considering what else was being cooked up. The best thing was the prices, which were refreshingly affordable. Most of the food sold was under £5, so I was really going to have a good taste of what was on offer. The proportion of stalls to customers was also well managed, and there was very little wait whether waiting at the bar or for food. Some stalls were far more popular than others though, and it must have been so painful sitting on a quiet stall whilst everyone piled in next door. 

When I finally made my choices, the food in general was great. As soon as I approached The Modern Pantry’s stall, a plate of steaming pork loin with miso mash was thrust into my hand. And it was delicious. I expected the flavours to be strong and overpowering, but found a delicate and superbly balanced dish instead. That, and the truly wonderful salt caramel and tamarind truffle that I had from the same stall later on certainly provided the most interesting food of the evening. I must make a trip to their restaurant soon for more.

After another beer and a natter I was ready to sample some more, and this time I couldn’t help but go for something a little more familiar. I first encountered Yum Buns at Broadway Market a couple of years ago and have wanted another ever since. They are quite simply just the thing that you want on a cold day after a drink or two. A beautifully light steamed bun is filled with dirty tender pork belly and refreshing spring onions and cucumber before finishing with hoisin and hot sauce. A simple yet classic combination, and much lighter than it all sounds. And at £2.50 each they were a bargain. 

There was only one choice for Katie, and she bolted straight for Anna Maes. As a self confessed mac and cheese connoisseur her standards were high, and unfortunately on this occasion she was left slightly disappointed. Although it tasted good, her timing was rubbish and she was given the last scrapings of a batch before a fresh and creamy one was started. As a result her mac was dry and crusty, and she was left with a feeling of what could have been. There were pieces of genius amongst the crunchy pasta however, such as the basil pesto which gave a lovely herby kick to each mouthful. Had she caught it right then I think it could have been a winner. Her second choice proved better with a Big Dog from the guys at Big Apple Hot Dog. This had all the best bits of a late night dog, but through it all you could really taste the quality of the meat and bread. At last a triumph. 

A few bites of potentially the best meringues I have ever tasted from the Meringue Girls rounded off a brilliant evening, where all of my dodgy preconceptions were flattened. If Feast have more events lined up in the future then I would urge you to rush to it.

Octopus with courgette, prawn, clams and a tomato consomme

I love it when I finally get round to cooking something that I’ve had on my mind for ages. Ever since watching Raymond Blanc create his ‘tomato essence’ during the Kitchen Secrets series, I’ve had it down on my ‘to do’ list but have never got round to it. This recipe involves loads of long winded processes and planning, but this weekend I got my act together and it was well worth it.

I have followed similar stages to Raymond in making it, but have tweaked the ingredients slightly. I thought that oregano would add a nice citrus element that would give the basil and tomatoes a more rounded flavour. Although the consomme is quite intense on it’s own and would make a lovely elegant starter (or even be great in a cocktail or bloody mary), I wanted to use it as part of a bigger dish. Enter another ingredient that I had been wanting to use: octopus. I recently spotted some Cornish octopus at my local fishmonger, and that was too good an opportunity to miss. It was time to tell if the dish that I had in my head would come together into something good. 

I have had octopus a couple of times before in Spanish restaurants to mixed results. Most of the times it has been beautiful and tender, like a meatier version of squid. However, on one time it was awfully tough and quite unpleasant, so even though I wanted to cook it, I knew that I had to approach it with care. After doing some research, it appeared that freezing the octopus for 48 hours was recommended before some long slow cooking and a final flash fry. Flavour-wise, octopus is again similar to squid in being subtle and almost tasteless, and it needs something adding to it. I thought that the tomatoes, basil and shellfish would go perfectly with this to create a dish that was light and not too overpowering.

Although this meal took a lot of time to prepare, most of the steps were really simple and didn’t feel like the massive slog that I expected it to be. The main thing is patience, especially with the consomme where I had to resist the urge to squeeze the bag of muslin. In order for the liquid to be a pure, clear colour, it must gently drip out without being forced.   It might seem like a lot of tomatoes to waste just to collect the liquid, but don’t throw them away - they can easily be turned into the base for a sauce or stew on another occasion. 

The other parts of the dish are all quite simple, and can easily be prepared whilst the octopus is poaching. The only difficult thing is right at the end when a lot of pans are used to cook everything before serving. But it was worth it in the end, and unlike many recipe combinations that I dream up in my head, the finished dish worked really well. 

Serves 2 

Ingredients:

For the consomme:

1.2kg cherry tomatoes

1/2 fennel bulb, sliced

1 shallot, sliced

1 garlic clove, finely sliced

1/2 bunch basil, leaves torn roughly

10 sprigs oregano, leaves picked

2 sprigs thyme

1 bay leaf

Large pinch of salt 

2 tbsp caster sugar

For the octopus:

2 medium octopuses, around 300g after being cleaned

1 fennel bult, chopped roughly

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 bay leaf

1 shallot, chopped roughly

1 carrot, chopped roughly

3 sprigs thyme

1 lemon, zest only

Salt and pepper

For the marinate:

3 tbsp olive oil

2 sprigs thyme, leaves picked

1 lemon, juice only

1/2 red chilli, sliced roughly

For the chilli oil:

5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

3 red chillies, finely sliced

4 strips lemon zest

Shells from the prawns, roasted

3 large prawns, shells kept for the chilli oil

1 courgette

200g clams

To finish:

Salad fennel, basil and oregano leaves

Prepare the octopus and tomato consomme a couple of days in advance of serving. 

Gut and clean the octopus, wrap in cling film and freeze for 48 hours. This will help to tenderise the octopus which can sometimes be tough.

For the tomato consomme, halve the cherry tomatoes and put in a large bowl with the fennel, shallot, garlic, basil, oregano, thyme, bay, salt and sugar. Stir well to combine, seal with cling film and put in the fridge for about 6 hours. 

When the marinating time is up, remove the tomatoes from the fridge. Using a food processor, pulse the tomatoes in batches until they are roughly chopped. Wrap the mixture with 2 layers of muslin and carefully hang above a large bowl overnight. Let the juices gently drip from the muslin bag without moving or squeezing; you want the consomme to be clear and not cloudy. When all of the liquid has been collected, set aside and chill until needed. 

On the day of cooking, again the octopus needs to be thawed out and put on first. Put the fennel, shallot, carrot, garlic, bay, lemon zest and pepper into a saucepan and cover with a good amount of water. Bring to a simmer then add the octopus and continue to simmer for between 1-2 hours, or until very tender. While the octopus is cooking make the marinate by combining the oil, lemon juice, chilli, thyme and seasoning. When the octopus is ready, remove from the saucepan (keeping about 250ml of the liquid), cut each tentacle away and the body into pieces and add to the marinate. 

While the octopus is cooking prepare the rest of the ingredients. Peel the prawns, reserving the shells, and cut into 1cm pieces. Set aside until needed. Heat the oven to 200ºC, and when hot, roast the shells for a couple of minutes until lightly coloured.

To make the chilli oil, pour the extra virgin olive oil into a small saucepan and add the roasted shells, sliced chillies and lemon zest. Gently heat the oil on a low heat for about 5 minutes, without letting it get too hot. You just want to warm the ingredients up enough to infuse the oil without cooking them. Turn the heat off then allow the oil to cool down in the pan. Strain into a bowl and set aside. 

Using a mellon baller, cut out circles of the courgette leaving the skin still on one side. If you don’t have a mellon baller then cut the courgette into 1/2” pieces. 

When the octopus is cooked and marinating, get everything ready to finish up.  

Put three quarters of the finished consomme into a small saucepan and bring up to just before simmering. 

Heat up a saucepan to a medium temperature and add the remaining quarter of the consomme. When the liquid is hot, add the courgette pieces and cook for a couple of minutes. Tip in the prepared prawns and continue to poach gently for another two minutes, until the prawns are cooked and the courgettes still have a little bit of bite. 

At the same time as the courgettes are cooking, put another saucepan on to a medium - high heat. When hot add the reserved octopus stock and bring to the boil. Add the clams and cover the pan, giving it a little shake. Keep covered for about two minutes, or until the clams open. Season with a little salt and pepper.

Finally, finish cooking the octopus by heating a non-stick frying pan on a high heat. When hot, add the octopus pieces and a little of the marinating juices and fry quickly for a minute on each side. Season well.

To plate up, arrange the octopus in the centre of a shallow bowl. Surround with the cooked courgettes, prawn pieces and clams, and drizzle with a little of the chilli oil. Top with some of the salad fennel, basil and oregano leaves, then carefully pour in some of the warm consomme.