Ways to make your dough last longer

Week 8

Firstly, I stand corrected that a pancake is generally tossed and not flipped. Unfortunately tossing just didn't sound right at the time so I stuck to flipping. Hope you understand.

In preparation for the Great British Bake Off which is soon to hit our screens, I have taken up baking (much safer than flipping or tossing) my own bread. It's very cheap (about 60p a big loaf) but so far my results would be better used as weapons of mass destruction. So until I've cracked the light and fluffy thing, I'm happy to pay for the privilege of having it ready made so this week's Food of the Week is...

Bread!

For years and years I'd been happily buying supermarket bread until one day when I splashed out on some bread from The Flour Station.

Initially I thought it was really expensive. But then I realised that I didn't need to eat as much of it as supermarket loaves because it had substance to it rather than big bubbles of air. It also tasted really good (rather than of air) and remarkably, lasted a lot longer.

I've since discovered that The Flour Station was born out of Jamie Oliver's Fifteen project and was designed to bring new standards of baking to London. Which I would say they have achieved.

So what's the difference?

Their breads are sourdough or 'levain' and use a massive 24 hour long fermentation process with wild yeast (clearly where I've been going wrong as packet yeasts state just 30 minutes fermentation). I'm a big fan of their multigrain bread but recently tried their rye bread which is delicious - apparently their master baker is Polish so knows what he's doing with rye. Whatever your taste, they have loads of different breads so if you normally buy supermarket bread, try one and make your own decision!

n.b. they use some organic ingredients but focus on locally sourced so aren't always 100% organic. What is important is that they don't use anything artificial so you know it's good for you.

Best Way to Serve

With butter! Also good with jam, soup, cheese, scrambled eggs and just about anything else.

Where can I buy Flour Station bread and what's it going to do to my bank balance?

Price: £2.50-£3.50 for a big loaf

Flour Station is sold at a number of markets across London including, Wimbledon Farmers Market (Saturdays), Queens Park (Sundays), Parliament Hill (Saturdays), Borough Market (Thursday, Friday and Saturday) and the new Clapham Market (Venn Street, by Clapham Common on Fridays and Saturdays)

It's also available through Selfridges, John Lewis Food Hall, selected London based Waitrose stores and a number of delis

Restaurant of the Week

Dehesa

This week's choice is Dehesa, a charcuterie and tapas bar inspired by the cuisine of Spain and Italy (but more Spain than Italy in my opinion). It's website says that it is the sister restaurant to Salt Yard in Fitzrovia, offering sharing dishes served in a relaxed environment
www.dehesa.co.uk

Why is it good?
1) Great location - just off Carnaby Street so Oxford Circus tube is a stone's throw away
2) They have an unusual menu that mixes the best of Italian and Spanish food and wine from stuffed courgette flowers to fino sherry to iberico ham.
3) It's around £20-£40 for a meal so you get great food in a really central location for a reasonable price

Originally you couldn't book tables but this has now changed which helps as it's not the biggest of restaurants and was often packed out. It's intimate but you can also end up sharing tables so check when you book to ensure your table is suited to the occasion you are planning.

Flipping Marvellous!

Week 7

Phew, Valentines is over for another year. It's a quick blog this week as I'm actually away and all things permitting, the magic of technology will publish this automatically in my absence!

So as Cupid wings his merry way back to his cloud, Shrove Tuesday arrives! Yes it's PANCAKE DAY tomorrow!!! Time for the annual gorging and flipping that we spend the other 364 days waiting for

So no prizes for guessing that this week's Food of the Week is...

Pancakes

So everyone has their special dish for pancake day. In Italy they eat bugie (lies of fried sweet pastry) which are quite nice; in Finland they eat pea and ham soup and in Scotland they eat a festy cock apparently. Each to their own but I'll stick with the good old pancake!

Now some people are scared of pancakes and resort to premixed packs of batter. Please don't. Really they are very easy to make and much nicer and more fun.

All you need for about 8 slightly thick pancakes is 100g plain flour, 200ml milk and 2 eggs. Skoosh in a liquidiser or whisk with a hand mixer until it's all frothy and everything is mixed in.
That's it - you've done it!

Then put a knob of butter into a frying pan and melt. Pour in a decent quantity of batter to cover the frying pan base and cook until it's brown on the bottom. Then start flipping which is always a disaster the first time and then you get the hang of it. But that's part of the fun!

The first pancake will taste of whatever was last in the frying pan. Don't know why and it doesn't matter how much you wash it. It's just one of those things that we have to live with. Cover with copious amounts of lemon and sugar and you won't notice.

The second pancake will have been brilliantly flipped and will taste delicious. I'm very loyal to lemon and sugar but you can add Nutella or ham and cheese or creamy mushrooms to your pancakes. Have a laugh - you've got 40 days of abstinence coming up!!!

Price: cheap as chips

Restaurant of the Week

Tough one this week.

I looked at all the pancake shops in London and thought long and hard. But they're just not that great and I'm very sorry, but the best place for pancakes isn't actually in London - you have to go round to my Mum's house where you will find the legendary pancake maker and flipper. Mum's is always the best!

Hot & Cheesy

Week 6

Is it me or is retro the one thing that never goes out of fashion? From Abba to flares to Dynasty style shoulderpads, it's always the rage. Depending on how long her new husband will last, maybe Katie Price's next target will be Peter Stringfellow, so she too can be on trend. Do we care?!

And apparently the retro thing is happening in food too. From the ubiquitous prawn cocktail (slightly updated to include crayfish now) to the comfort food of fish fingers (but this time made of real fish) to the nostalgia of jam roly poly, it's all back in vogue.

So in keeping with that retro theme, and in response to a request, this week's Food of the Week is...

Cheese Fondue!

For anyone lucky enough to be able to go skiing, this is a fairly predictable menu choice. Apparently it was also fairly predictable on dinner party menus in the 70's (as was throwing your keys in the middle of the table) and is back in fashion once more (key swapping non-obligatory). So dust off those skewers and get melting.

Like anything, the final result will depend greatly on the ingredients that go in and the official recipe for a fondue is a combined weight of 600g made up of three Swiss cheeses (important to be authentic), about half a bottle of white wine (leaves plenty for the cook), a bit of cornflour and a few tablespoons of kirsch. Plus some pepper, garlic and accompaniments (Abba compulsory). Full recipe below



Three really good Swiss cheeses to use in a proper cheese fondue are gruyere (6 parts), vacherin fribourgois (2 parts) and bergkase (2 parts). The best gruyere that I have found in London is at KaseSwiss. With the best balance of salty/sweet/creamy/nutty-ness, I am officially addicted. And after two weeks' additional storage due to snow delayed flights, friends still raved over the vacherin fribourgois from the same supplier.

n.b. for those who can't get to London, Waitrose's gruyere is acceptable - it's just not nearly as good as this one!

So what's the difference?

KaseSwiss sources the best quality traditional cheeses from Switzerland by working with small owner operated cheese makers. Because of this, the flavours are much more distinct than those of cheeses large supermarkets can source on a large scale.

Really, you have to go and try some and then you'll know what I mean!

Best Way to Serve

Once your fondue is bubbling, serve with pickled baby onions, gherkins and chunks of white bread to dip into the cheese

Health warning! Don't drink water with fondue as it doesn't mix well with the cheese. Stick to the white wine! (A Swiss person told me that)

Where can I buy them and what's it going to do to my bank balance?



Price: £25 for 1kg
You can also get a fondue mix so you don't have any of the faff which costs £12.

KaseSwiss is in the Jubilee part of Borough Market on Thursdays. Fridays and Saturdays

Restaurant of the Week

Brindisa

This week's choice is Brindisa, now at three locations at London Bridge (Tapas Brindisa), Soho (Tierra Brindisa) and South Kensington (Casa Brindisa).
www.brindisa.com



You may recognise the Brindisa name as the makers of La Chinata paprika which I mentioned a few weeks ago. Their restaurants are great - don't waste your money on big commercial chains when you can eat here!



I've only eaten at the London Bridge branch but everyone I know who has eaten at the others says that they are even better so I would have no hesitation in recommending them. Cost-wise it's medium spend at about £30 per head

Why is it good?
1) The food is fresh, you can see it being made/carved/chopped and it's a great atmosphere
2) They have interesting and more authentic tapas than any chain could offer
3) They have a good selection of wines by the glass

A must is the pimientos del padron (watch out for the 1 in 15 which blows your socks off), the tortilla and any of the hams.

n.b. you can't book at London Bridge

Fondue
Cut a clove of garlic in half and wipe around the inside of the fondue pot
Add the white wine and heat, then gradually add the grated cheese. Mix some cornstarch and kirsch into a paste and add in slowly.
Keep stirring and add more wine if the mixture gets too thick.

Have you seen the Mushroom Man?

Week 5

Yes - it's true - not all children insist on chips and turkey twizzlers. This week I discovered a three year old with a penchant for Mummy's duck pate, as well as my orecchiette and most other things that kiddies aren't supposed to like!

Fact of the week is that 80% of the world's plants require an external source for pollination and 80% of those plants use honeybees as their pollinating agent so plant some lavender to keep them happy (and hopefully stem the massive decline in their numbers).

Eating seasonally

Everyone always talks about eating fruit and vegetables in season (and preferably locally produced). But during the winter months, that's not always so easy because there aren't very many options available, and potatoes do get a bit dull after a while.

And then I noticed this week's Food of the Week which (you might have guessed from the title!) is...

Mushrooms!

I don't know much about mushrooms. In my world, mushroom are white, sometimes chestnut brown, sometimes small and wiggly and sometimes dried. The first two types always seem fairly good value. The second two are a bit more expensive and a bit mysterious which inevitably means I rarely buy them.

And then, as if by magic, the Mushroom Man appeared!



Wild mushroom are in season for only a few months of the year (mainly October to February). And those months just happen to be at the time when not much else is around. Eureka I thought until I saw all the different types and realised I had no idea which ones to choose, how to cook them and in which dishes.



So what's the difference?

Rather than go into a detailed explanation of each mushroom type, the best idea is to just go and try some. You don't need many (fortunately as they are more expensive) as wild mushrooms have much more flavour and can be mixed in with your standard whites. Always cook them rather than eat them raw and if you go and see the Mushroom Man, he'll tell you which are best for what you need.

Ones to try right now include
Wood Blewitt (taken from the old English for blue as it has a blue tinge), Chanterelles and Morels.



Best Way to Serve

Applicable to all types of wild mushrooms!
Fry wild mushrooms in some butter with lots of garlic. Add to a risotto about 5 minutes before it's cooked through for a dish that not only tastes great but looks amazing with weird and wonderful shapes.

Alternatively, do the frying bit with lots of garlic again and then add some cream or creme fraiche to make a really quick and easy pasta sauce. Serve with tagliatelle or linguine.

Where can I buy them and what's it going to do to my bank balance?

Price: £5 for 100g wild mushrooms (yes they are more expensive but lots of recipes only ask for 50g bulked up with the cheaper white or chestnut mushrooms)

The Mushroom Man is at Borough Market on Saturdays
Alternatively, if you want to cheat and have it all done for you, go to Spore Boys for a wild mushroom risotto or a legendary mushroom and cheese sandwich on Fridays at Exmouth Market (near Farringdon) or Saturdays at Broadway Market (Hackney)

Restaurant of the Week

Busaba Eathai

This week's choice is Busaba Eathai at three locations now in central London.
www.busaba.com



According to the website 'it's a Thai casual dining venue that offers a single course eating experience devised to feed you with minimal fuss' and I have to say that it is true to its word.
Set up by Alan Yau (also responsible for Hakkasan, Yauatcha, Cha Cha Moon and setting up Wagamama (which he then sold out of) and one of the people I most admire in the restaurant industry)



Why is it good?
1) Consistently tasty Thai food in a very cool environment across three great locations: Soho (Wardour Street), Oxford Street (Bird Street) and Tottenham Court Road (Store Street)
2) Very good value for money - main courses £6-£11 so medium spend
3) Quick and very good service

Try the Thai calamari with ginger and peppercorn!

Note that you can only book tables at Store Street (Tottenham Court Road). The others are walk in only so you may have to queue but it's a quick turnaround so shouldn't be for long.
Also note that you will probably share a table with other people which can be a lot of fun but you're probably better to go to Yauatcha for a cosy candlelit dinner for two!


urbanspoon rocks