Month: June 2017

Lucky Dip Challenge

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This was a dish made from ingredients selected from a whole range of random items suggested by people on Instagram. It was a lot of fun and turned out really great in the end. The smokiness of the paprika in particular was very delicious with the duck and nicely interacted with the smoked water mellon sauce which though quite sweet was also nicely balanced by the acidity from the pickles and balsamic. Ingredients: (Serves 2) Some of the best followers on Instagram ever 2 Duck breasts 2 asparagus spears Handful of Green peppercorns Splash of Balsamic vinegar A water mellon Half a small Cauliflower Hand full of Samphire Hand full of Polenta Hand full of Parmesan Sweet Paprika Splash of ruby port Method: 1.  Season the duck heavily with salt, paprika and green pepper. But in a sous vide for at least 2 hours at 54c. 2.  Make the polenta. Pour the grain into a pan and cover in water. Season with parmesan and salt and cook until smooth. Then pour into a sheet pan …

Pork Fest

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Pork is such an amazingly versatile meat and one from which many of my favourite things are derived. Black pudding, jamon, brawn, and pork chops! You can literally use every thing on this noble beast from head to tail, and after all if you are going to kill an animal to eat it, the least you can do is to make use of every single last bit.

Vermeer

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(17/20)  Thoughtful dishes full of flavour, with a heavy focus on vegetables, presented in a calm and well proportioned dining room. This is a little oasis of fine dining right in the middle of one of the most raucous parts of central Amsterdam, and on this performance certainly in the top few of the one star restaurants in the city. 

Le Cinq

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(18 / 20)  A fortress of French fine dining left happily unscathed by widely shared but very silly review from a critic who should have known better. There are certainly things that one can find to criticise about Le Cinq, but the food is good, often great, and to my mind it gets the balance mostly right between respecting classic tradition and embracing modern techniques. The wonderful service here is the real star; It is attentive, warm and sincere, and that as much as anything else will bring us back.

80s mackerel

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Around the time I was growing up in London dishes a little like this were all the rage at the poshest restaurants. I know because I spent a large part of that childhood studying a book my parents had on their bookcase, the first Roux brothers cookbook. This is not a Roux brothers dish – I made this one up – but it is well within that 80s nouvelle cuisine style.