Japanese Stir Fry

I've always struggled with stir fry. Traditionally I've had it as a low fat option, finding it edible but not exciting. Upon proclaiming my disappointment on Facebook a few weeks ago I was given a few suggestions on how to perk it up and give it some new flavors. The most interesting was from by brother who has traveled to Japan in his time and has turned out some amazing Japanese dishes at his place over the years. He suggested kobu seasoning (that I couldn't find), bonito (which I did. I think might also be called dashi when mixed with water - a Japanese stock), mirin and sesame oil.

So, I took myself off to the local Asian supermarket and found almost all of those things that I didn't have already and found a noodle recipe on the Japanese Center's website. I adapted it a bit and came up with this.

It had a more savory stock based backdrop, whilst at the same time being sweet (from the mirin I guess), The main appeal is that it got away from that over powering taste of soy sauce. I also loved the fact that things like ginger were different, because I got pickled sushi ginger. Also, spring onions too because I sprinkled them on the top rather than cooking them in.

This is what I did. I'll be doing this basic idea again but taking the chance to experiment further with sesame oil, ground peanuts, lime juice and maybe different vegetables.

Prawn and Scallop Yaki Udon

Serves 1

For the stir fry:
Peanut oil (or something like ground nut oil)
1/4 red pepper
1/4 yellow pepper
1/4 red onion
Handful of beansprouts
3 chestnut mushrooms
1 packet of ready cooked udon noodles
50g of tiger prawns
30g of scallops
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp of mirin
1.5 tbsp of dashi (which I made out of 1 tsp of bonito flakes dissolved in about 80 ml of boiling water)

To topping:
pickled ginger
1 spring onion
1/2 red chili
coriander
crispy onions
more bonito granules

I started by heating the oil in a very hot pan for a few minutes. I then added the next five ingredients, all thinly sliced, and frying fast for a few minutes. Then add the noodles, prawns of scallops (you could easily use any seafood or chicken). Then, after a few minutes, I added the soy, mirin and dashi.

Once warmed through and some of the liquid has boiled off, tip into a dish and garnish with the topping ingredients.

Whilst eating it I ran out of the topping ingredients very quickly so would either recommend adding loads of them, or having bowls of extra on the table.

I loved this. You should definitely make it.

Next challenge is to find kobu and work out how to use that.

Restaurant Review: Franco Manca

I've known about Franco Manca's for ages. Their first branch is down in Brixton Village and I tried to go a few times when I lived down that way. Of course, it being Brixton Village, it was almost always shut and when it wasn't, the queues were mega!

The great thing is that they're expanding, and they're expanding into units where they are more reliably open and at more convenient times, reducing the queues significantly. Also, interestingly they're generally not opening in town centre locations (except one on Tottenham Court Road) but instead keeping it local in places like Southfields, Balham, Chiswick and Clapham Junction. Hopefully this means that they'll be immune to the faddiness of the London restaurant scene. I don't think an amazing pizza restaurant 'around the corner' would ever go out of business. Our visit was in Chiswick.

So, the pizza. There's no messing about. No pasta, no salads. I'm not even sure they do starters, but Jesus they do pizza bloody well. Their selling point is that they do sour dough bases. They're really nice but to be honest I've had pizza in other places that pride themselves on their bases and I couldn't tell the difference. That's not a criticism though. Thin, great tasking, chewy bases, with simple but great toppings. They're also stupidly affordable, clocking in at under £7 a pizza.

I think that's kind of all there is to say. It's a simple concept, well done. GO! 9/10

Restaurant Review: Grain Store

I've yet to cook anything at home, well anything of note. But the amazing restaurants continue. Grain Store is a restaurant which opened in one of the new areas created around the Kings Cross redevelopment. Granary Square is lovely. It's been created next to Regents Canal an contains a beautiful water feature which is lit up a night. I love what they've done around Kings Cross. They've really prioritised public outside space and they've done it really well. You really notice stuff like that when you live in a city and being in Granary Square is one of those rare moments in London were you don't feel surrounded by people.

Grain Store is a concept restaurant. I believe it was opened by a French Chef who was frustrated by how classical cooking focuses on the meat elements of the dish and doesn't put the vegetables first. I get this. I think that Western cooking is always trying to put a big slab of meat at the heart of each dish. Not such a problem but perplexing when you're cooking for vegetarians as they quite often seem to get a meat substitute like 'a mushroom', which I think is weird!

This was a late night visit, maybe after a few drinks so the memories and the photos are maybe a little fuzzy. I believe this place does actually take bookings but we turned up and chanced it and waited about 45 minutes for the table. Whilst we waited we both decided we'd like a classic margaritas. It wasn't on the list but we were assured it was fine. What turned up was a very small and deeply average margarita which was £1.50 more expensive than the margarita variation they had on the menu. I suppose that's just a lesson to not go off list. If someone isn't confident to make you a margarita you probably shouldn't let them. It's a classic but easy to fuck up.

When we were seated, the food was much better. The menu was a little confusing, because they really do 'put the veg first'. By that I mean that they list all the vegetable components of the dish first in the menu and the meat last. In my half cut state this was, to say the least, a little confusing. I'm terrible for skim reading anyway and by 9pm, in a dark restaurant, starving hungry and semi inebriated, I wasn't paying that much attention.

Once we'd ordered the food turned up quickly and the service was friendly and attentive. Glen had a pea mouse tartlet which was light and flavoursome but a little bland for my liking. My salmon, peach and fennel salad was interesting, zingy, light and flavoursome.

We both had the same main which was Corn & millet tamale, apricot barbecue sauce, chilli braised pork belly. Tamales are little Mexican bundles which comprise of a dried corn husk wrapped around a maize dough and filled with all sorts of deliciousness, in this case corn and millet (i think there was some red pepper in there too). This was definitely the highlight of the dish. The piece of pork belly that accompanied it was nicely cooked and tasty but hey, pork belly is pork belly.

We managed to resist pudding because it much have gone 11pm at that point and after a week at at a new job I needed my bed.

My verdict on this place is... the veg first thing is a bit of a gimmick, I was underwhelmed by my cocktail and the bill hit the wallet fairly hard considering we were there for a quick bite. However to be fair, I don't often have starters. On the plus side, the locale is very nice and there's space to sit outside which would be magic on a warm evening. The service was good and the flavours were all interesting. I'd go back if I was looking for a nice meal in the area.

6.5/10

The search for the ultimate cheese board

So, I promised you more on the cheese. Oh my word, cheese. It's been one of my latest obsessions. Well, more precisely cheese boards and even more precisely the accompaniments to a cheese board.

It's something that I've been interested in for a while. Cheese boards have appeared more and more in the last few years, as a late night snack at events, which I think is great. It's also become my pudding of choice, mainly because you can keep on drinking red wine when you have the cheese option. The interest became an obsession at my last job. There would be a monthly birthday celebration which used to include a little bit of cheese, Cava, cake and Percy Pigs (got to love a Percy!). As time went on I gradually gained control of this little event. I got rid of all the sweet stuff and pimped the cheese option beyond recognition.

This culminated last week, when the cheese was in recognition of my leaving do *sniff*. I wanted to go out in style, so, as a number of us were leaving I secured a little more budget and put on a spread to end all spreads. I added a few home made options like potted venison, seeded crackers and rosemary and paprika almonds.

But what I really wanted to tell you was my list of ultimate cheese accompaniments:

• Celery 
• Sun blushed tomatoes 
• Gherkins
• Pickled onions
• Chutney (as many types as possible we had chilli jam, caramelised chutney and apple/ginger)
• Grapes
• Apples
• Selection of unsalted nuts and dried fruit like cranberries and apricots
• Parma ham

Rosemary and paprika almonds

One of those things you make and then have to hide before everyone robs them before the party. I would add a lot less oil next time. Apart from that they would amazing...

200g/7oz blanched almonds

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp sea salt

2 tbsp finely chopped rosemary needles

½ tsp smoked paprika

Add the almonds to a wide-based pan, heat over a very high heat and fry for a minute. Add the oil, salt and rosemary then fry until crisp.

Remove from the heat and sprinkle in the paprika, toss together and serve. If preferred, roast in an oven preheated to 220C/425F/Gas 7 (200C fan).


Seeded oatcakes

I wanted to do something with seeds as part of the super food challenge. I got bored of this but made these anyway. They ended up being really really good. I'd highly recommend them as they're really quick and people will be really impressed you've made your own crackers. I also think that you could flavour them with all sorts of other things.

50g butter
100g medium oatmeal
100g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp poppy seeds
2 tbsp sesame seeds

Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Melt the butter in a small pan, then allow to cool slightly. Tip all the dry ingredients into a bowl, with ½ tsp salt, then pour in the butter. Add 5-6 tbsp boiling water and combine to make a firm dough.

Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface, then roll out until about 0.5cm thick. Cut into small squares, then bake for 12-15 mins until golden. Leave to cool for a few mins, then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.

Thanks for a cracking sign off LINERS. I miss you all, almost as much as I miss the cheese! Big love xx

Recent restaurant visits

It's been a long time since my last entry. There have been many reasons for this. The first being, that I've really struggled with my super food challenge. I've found it really uninspiring for some reason. This is mainly because the whole concept of super foods seems to be rubbish. I might put this on the back burner for now.

The other reason for a lack of cooking has been my almost constant stream of restaurant visits of late. What can I say? It’s summer and it’s time to sit by the river drink wine and let someone else do the cooking! Anyone that’s seen me recently will know that my two latest food obsessions have been a) cheese (more on this later) and b) ‘The List’.

‘The List’

This started out as a few places I jotted down that I wanted to try. It grew, then it was refined, then it grew some more, then some strict rules were applied. Sufficed to say, it’s still growing and has become a total obsession. I’m quite proud (not to mention poor and fat) that I've managed to cross seven eateries off in the last month or two. I promise you, I meant to blog about them at the time. My problem with eating out is this: When the food turns up, I get so excited that it’s already half eaten by the time I remember to take a photo. Blogs without photos are dull, and no one needs to see a photo of anyone’s half eaten dinner.

But with a little bit of fudging it, managing to take photos of bits and bobs and revisiting some places. I've managed to get a few shots together.

Polpo (Soho)

I think the best way you can describe Polpo would be to call it ‘Italian tapas’. There seems to be a tapas option for every country these days but it’s basically small food. It’s a bit of a gimmick and a way of making you spend loads without realising it, but as I love trying different flavours in a meal, I still kind of like it.

My trip with the lovely Theresa was peak time on a Saturday night and as is common in London, it’s not possible to book. However we waited in their tiny subterranean bar drinking tiny cocktails for an hour before being seated so it was fine. You just have to remember not to turn up starving.

Our food consisted of Spinach, parmesan and soft egg pizzette; pork and fennel meatballs; asparagus, broad bean and mint salad and other things I can’t remember.

All tiny but all very nice. Service was pretty decent. I would recommend it. 7/10

Homeslice Pizza (Covent Garden)

This was an early addition to the list so I was very glad to cross it off. I also, at this point, discovered that Chang too had ‘A List’ and this place was on hers too. Other crossovers coming up.

Again, you can’t book so it’s good to turn up early to nab a table. You can order certain pizza by the slice or a greater selection if you order a whole pizza. The whole pizza however only comes in one size, dustbin lid size (20”)! We were hungry (and can both eat at Olympic standard) so we went for it and at only £20 for the pizza it was pretty good value. The choice of toppings is also quirky and interesting. We had pulled pork, radish and parsley and walnut pesto which was mind blowingly good!

Where they get you, is the wine. It’s a clever little tactic. They sell wine by the glass. They do this by plonking a 2 litre bottle of the stuff on the table and letting you help yourself. When you’re done they measure how much you’ve had (with a ruler). Obviously with a massive bottle in front of me I saw it as a challenge, drinking more than I would otherwise. When the bill came it turned out that it was £4 for a small glass of wine (125ml). Considering that the wine was drinkable but pretty average, this felt expensive to me. Sufficed to say, the wine bill was bigger than the food bill.

Great pizza, expensive wine. Would recommend to moderate drinkers. 8/10

Copita (Soho)

Restaurant buddy number three was Martyn. This place was second choice for the evening due to the first option having an hour’s standing queue (dam you London!). Deciding that we still wanted tapas (Spanish this time), wandered across Soho to Copita which was half empty. When we got our food it was hard to see why this place didn’t have a massive queue too! It was awesome!

Decent wine by the glass, a massive gin and tonic menu (went down with Martyn very well) and the food was 95% amazing (if a bit pricey). Garlicy king prawns with a sauce that had us ordering more bread almost immediately, some amazing flat iron rare beef with some sort of herb paste, morcilla sausage and (the highlight) fried paprika potatoes with slow cooked onion compote and a runny duck yolk on top. The liquidised almond ‘soupey thing’ with some beetroot on top was a bit weird but everything else was ace!

Easy to get a seat and lovely food if a bit expensive. Go! 8/10

Flesh and Buns (Covent Garden)

Again another early addition and also another cross over with Chang. This place opened last year serving (amongst other things) platters of roasted meats, with sauces, salads and Chinese style steamed buns. It sounded like an interesting concept and I was keen to try. Unfortunately I had trouble getting anyone to go because of the reputation the place had for tiny portions and high prices.

The game changer was the introduction of the most amazing Sunday lunch deal EVER. This place is a really odd mix of Chinese, Japanese, Korean and South American cuisines which saw us eating: Ceviche, spicy chicken, sushi, prawn crackers, edamame, then the signature Flesh and Buns, we had char grilled salmon and slow cooked duck leg and then some beautiful Asian inspired puddings of filled doughnuts and a crème brulee flavoured with black sesame which was lovely but disconcertingly grey! But the best thing about this deal is the bottomless prosecco! We were stuffed and you’re allowed to order more if you’re not, and all for £29!

Having been really excited about the actual Flesh and Buns aspect I found this part just being OK. What really stood out for me were the starters and puddings. The fusion of the menu seems odd but it’s executed very well and everything went together. The service was great and the bottomless prosecco is not only decent quality but they staff are really not shy of filling you up. I have to admit to leaving the place pretty hammered.

Great service, great example of fusion and with this offer it’s amazing value. There's also some seriously cool manga porn in the toilets. It’s a loud clattery environment which makes chatting a bit hard but all in all pretty great. 8/10

Augustus Harris (Covent Garden)

I love this place. It looks tiny from the outside but has a whole downstairs with more seating. The toilets are beautiful and the whole place smells great. I went during a world cup match so it was pretty quiet and we got very attentive personal service from the owner. It’s beautifully decorated, done out with wood panelling. The menu is mainly focused on drinks and finger food making this definitely more of a bar. I think we should have much more of this type of bar in the UK though. The type that serves amazing small food to soak up the booze.

We had dates wrapped in bacon, mozzarella with pesto and tomatoes (the pesto looking suspiciously like whole basil leaves) and some sort of mushroom crostini. It wasn’t really enough to call a meal and plates were beautiful but a bit small and pricey so the bread and oils filled us up enough to carry on a night on the town.

Searching around for a real downside... London seemed to go Campari mad last year and this seems to have lead to almost all the cocktails on the menu being that way inclined which is a shame because I’m not the world’s biggest fan of it.

However, I would definitely go back. Great place to have a leisurely snack and drink wine in Covent Garden. 7/10

Roti Chai (Marylebone)  

I was proud of my dining companion at Roti Chai. Emma is a confirmed Putney lover and after months of teasing her about this I’ve dragged her to a few places I wanted to try. I always make sure that it’s either somewhere with a cracking deal, or somewhere I think it going to be good value so Roti Chai fit the bill perfectly.

On a back road behind Marble Arch station is not where I would expect to find Indian street food but this place is ace. It wasn’t too crowded and we got a seat straight away. Dishes in included chicken lollipops, some lovely slow cooked lamb and some delicious bhel puri. Great quick food and the bill was about £20 each with a drink.

You should go if you’re in the market for a tasty quick bite and you’re in the area. 7/10 

Pizza Pilgrims (Soho)

This place started as a street food vendor and got a lot of positive write ups for doing really good, simple pizza with thin authentic chewy bases using really quality ingredients. These pizzas live up to the hype and are simple but very very tasty. The location on Dean Street in Soho is convenient but they don't have a huge amount of room inside. Their second branch in Kingly Court is supposed to be opening up soon and will hopefully have more seating.

The staff are super friendly and it's not too expensive. You should definitely go if you're passing and you can get a seat. 7/10

It's been an eating out bonanza! I think I need to go on a diet now.

Superfood list: Squash

So, here's a recipe I found that showcases butternut squash in a slightly different way. It's shepherds pie using turkey as a base and the squash on top, making the whole thing a good deal lighter than the traditional version.

So, why is squash thought of as a superfood?

Squash

• Are they a Superfood? - They're rich is a bunch of vitamins, minerals like: Folic acid; magnesium; vitamin A, fibre and potassium. Oh, they also seem to have omega 3's*.
• What's the hype? - Cancer and heart disease prevention. Protects against muscular degeneration and even against inflammation.
• What's actually proven? - Not really any of the above are proven.
• Is it worth going out of your way to eat it? - Of course! It's amazing! I eat squash all the time. They're packed with nutrients, low in fat, delicious, comforting, sweet and you can spice it up with some lovely different flavours. It's great in salads, with roasts and mashed.

*Omega 3's..... What are they? 

Much like the constantly reference 'anti oxidants' I see omega 3's (or essential fatty acids) mentioned all the time. But what are they and what do they actually do for you? The answer is that they're polyunsaturated fats that can't be synthesized in the body. They seem to be important for everyday metabolism and also linked to brain function. Many other claims such as cancer prevention and helping with cognitive ageing seem to be inconclusive.

So, anyway...  here is my turkey and squash shepherds pie. It's a Nigel Slater recipe. People tend to bang on about Nigel Slater because his recipes are simple but tasty. I do find that when I actually cook them they always seem pretty nice, but the simplicity never appeals to be me on paper. I always pimp them a bit!

For this I used turkey breast mince. I think it would have been more flavoursome if I'd used one that was more thigh meat. The only other thing I changed actually worth mentioning was that instead of flavouring the mash with orange zest I actually added a little lemon zest and ground mace. I did this because I find orange zest in savoury food a bit over powering. I was a bit unsure at first when I tried the mash on it's own but when the dish came together it added a nice complexity which balanced the savoury of the meat mixture and the sweetness of the butternut squash.

Squash and Turkey Shepherds Pie

Serves 2

250g Turkey mince
1/2 While onion
1 clove garlic
7 chestnut mushrooms
200ml Red wine
Dash of Worchester sauce
2 tsp Plain flour
1/2 tsp dried thyme
Salt and pepper
1/2 Large butternut squash
2 tsp Butter
A sprinkle of orange zest (or a pinch of mace and lemon zest)

Preheat the oven at 200C/400F/Gas 6. Peel, seed and roughly chop the butternut squash. Put the pieces of squash in a steamer basket and place over boiling water. Steam for 20-30 minutes until fully tender. They must be soft enough to mash.

Peel and roughly chop the onion. Peel and finely slice the garlic. Warm a little olive oil in a large pan, then add the onion and garlic and cook until pale gold. Cut the mushrooms into thick slices or quarters and add to the pan with the thyme. Fry until softened, then transfer to a mixing bowl.

Add a little more oil to the pan, then, as soon as it starts to sizzle, add the minced turkey. Season generously with salt and pepper and then stir in the flour. Cook for 2-3 minutes, then pour in the red wine and a few shakes of Worcestershire sauce. Simmer at a low temperature for 5 minutes then add the mushrooms and onions. Continue cooking for 5 minutes then tip into a baking dish.
Mash the cooked squash with a potato masher then stir in a generous knob of butter and the grated orange zest (or nutmeg and lemon zest) to taste. Season with salt and pepper.

Pile the mash on top of the turkey, dot with more of the butter, then bake for 35-45 minutes, or until the mash is lightly browned and slightly crisp on top.

Superfood list: Turkey and Red Peppers

So, here I go on my Superfood challenge. Are they worth it? Are they a total waste of time? What's the deal?!

To avoid boredom and save time I've decided to work a few together. This week is the turn of red peppers and turkey. Like I said before I'm not even sure if these are actually Superfoods but they're on the list, so they're getting researched and made.

Red Peppers

• Are they a Superfood? - Doesn't seem to conclusively be one no, but it's definitely not bad for you.
• What's the hype? - The main brag with peppers is that they have anti oxidants (as with many Superfoods), also that they are really high in vitamin C (more in one pepper than one orange).
• What's actually proven? - Well, there's no denying either of these things. However, the main doubt around anti oxidants seems to be whether they really do anything for you. This will take more research. Which I can't be bothered with today ;-)
• Is it worth going out of your way to eat it? - Probably not no. There are plenty of other ways to get these particular benefits. However, there's absolutely no way they're going to do you any harm, quite the opposite in fact.

Turkey

• Are they a Superfood? - Seem to be a few more benefits than peppers, but still don't appear on every list I've found.

• What's the hype? - This one doesn't fly the anti oxidant flag but does seem to boast a good deal of other benefits, including: Great source of lean protein, 8 amino acids, minerals including phosphorus, potassium, iron, magnesium and zinc, lots of B vitamins. I've also seen claims that it can reduce the risk of cancer.

• What's actually proven? - The cancer thing is probably bollocks.
  
• Is it worth going out of your way to eat it? - It does seem be a pretty good all-rounder in the 'low fat and full of other good stuff' camp. I've always been a bit 'meh' when it came to turkey but after this I might try and work it in a bit more.

This week's recipe is one I've done before. It's from Ottolenghi's first book. I was given this for a present a few years back, and after ripping the piss out of the 'lifestyle' photos and actually started to cook from it, I have to say it's one of the best books I have. Nothing in there is too complicated but are just packed with flavour and innovation.

I think this recipe was actually the first one I cooked from the book and it just great. It's pretty healthy if you forego some of the oil too. I love the spicy pepper sauce which seems to go miles and I always enjoy having leftovers of. It goes nicely with rice or with cold meats or cheese.

The meatballs are great too. I love how the recipe stipulate vast amounts of salt, pepper and cumin. Not just left to chance or taste as in my opinion most people are far to conservative with such things. The toasting of the sweetcorn is also a great touch as you really do get a subtle smoky flavour from it.

I normally look for modifications to recipes, but I have to say when it comes to Ottolenghi, I just don't find the need. The one thing I did do here was try and reduce the amount of oil. To this end I cut the oil in the sauce to 1 tablespoon and it was totally fine. I also shallow friend the meatballs which worked well.

Turkey Meatballs with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

100g sweetcorn kernels (fresh or frozen)

3 slices of stale white bread, crusts removed

500g minced free-range or organic turkey breast

1 free-range egg

4 spring onions, finely chopped

2 tbsp finely chopped parsley

2 ½ tsp ground cumin

1 ½ tsp salt

½ tsp black pepper

1 garlic clove, crushed

Sunflower oil, for frying

Roasted pepper sauce

4 red peppers

3 tbsp olive oil 

1 tsp salt

25g coriander, leaves and stalks

1 garlic clove, peeled

1 small mild chilli, deseeded

2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce

2 tbsp cider vinegar or white wine vinegar

Quarter and de-seed peppers, then grill skin side up on high until the skins are blacken. Pop them in a bowl covered in cling film and allow to cool. You can remove the skins if you want to but it's not necessary . Blitz with rest of sauce ingredients.

Dry fry corn for 2-3 mins until lightly blackened and the set aside to cool.

Soak bread in water, squeeze and crumble in bowl, add everything else except oil, making golf ball size balls of mix. Fry in oil til brown then bake in a hot oven for about 15 minutes to cook through.