One of the biggest gastronomic sacrifices I've made in moving from the hustle and bustle of London to the wilds of a Cambridgeshire village is the ease of access to an abundant supply of fine take away establishments. I often get a hankering for an authentic curry, especially at the weekend and although I enjoy cooking curries the joy of a curry is in all the condiments and extra sides and I haven't braved making my own Naan bread to give the true curry indulgence experience.
This recipe for Pilau rice (or "Classic Pulao") goes some way towards softening the blow of having to fake the authenticity of the indian dishes we eat and helps to recreate the proper curry house takeaway experience. Coupled with the Slow cooker Kashmiri Chicken this rice makes for a wonderful meal.
I found this recipe in a'Flipcook' book that my mum bought for me from 'The Book People'. It's in a genius flip chart format and is called "Curries of the world". I haven't really used it for much else but this recipe is well fingered (and oiled) as it is easy to make after you've made it once. Don't be put off by the long list of ingredients, as with a lot of Indian cooking the amount of different spices is plentiful but the amount of each spice is small.
The recipe is easily halved or doubled but when halving I do tend to keep the amount of onion, cashew nuts and sultanas the same, but that's just because I'm a greedy guts!
The recipe states that "...the secret of a perfect pulao is to wash the rice thoroughly, then soak it briefly. Soaking before cooking softens and moistens the grains, enabling the rice to absorb moisture during cooking and resulting in fluffier rice." I tried this once and now always soak rice before cooking, it totally eliminates the possibility of bad rice (whether water logged or sticky) and it reduces the cooking time but about half as well!
Classic Pulao
Serves: 4 - easily halved or doubled
Ingredients
600ml hot chicken stock
A generous pinch of saffron threads
50g butter
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
2.5cm piece cinnamon stick
6 green cardamom pods
1 bay leaf
250g basmati rice, soaked for 20 - 30 mins
50g sultanas
15ml vegetable oil (optional)
50g cashew nuts
Method
1) Pour the hot chicken stock into a jug and add the saffron threads then set aside.
2) Heat the butter in a large saucepan and fry the onion and garlic for 5 minutes.
3) Stir in the cinnamon stick, cardamoms and bay leaf and cook for 2 more minutes.
4) Drain the rice and add it to the saucepan, then cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.
5) Pour in the stock and saffron and add the sultanas. Bring to the boil, stir, then lower the heat. Cover and cook gently for 10 minutes or until the rice is tender and all the liquid has been absorbed.
6) Meanwhile, fry the cashew nuts in a wok or frying pan. You can fry them in the vegetable oil but I prefer to dry toast them. Sprinkle the nuts over the rice to serve.
Enjoy!
Sunday, 10 January 2010
Slow Cooker Recipe: Peppered Venison with Gorgonzola Scones
This recipe caught my eye with the alternative to dumplings: the mighty scone!
It was another Christmas holiday experiment which was engineered to use up a packet of diced Venison I had bought, reduced months ago and stored in the freezer. I didn't actually have enough Venison so I made up the quantity of meat with some diced beef. I think this was a wise move as I can't imagine how rich this stew would be if made purely with venison! I also halved the recipe as there were only 2 of us eating it and it still yields a very generous amount of stew and scone.
We ate this for dinner on New Years Eve and it set us up for an evening of sipping champagne and dancing around like fools. The main catch to this recipe, or the hardest part for me to do after a night of too much red wine, was pouring red wine into the slow cooker before I'd even had breakfast. I'm sure the more self restrained amongst you won't have this problem!
Peppered Venison with Gorgonzola Scones
Serves: 4-5
Preparation time: 35 mins
Cooking time: 8-11 hours
Cooking temp: Low
Ingredients
For the stew:
25 g butter
1 tbsp olive oil
750g diced venison shoulder (I used 350g venison and 400g beef)
1 large red onion, sliced
125g cup mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp plain flour
200ml red wine
250ml lamb or chicken stock
2 tsp tomato puree
2 tbsp redcurrant jelly
1 tsp peppercorns, roughly crushed
salt and pepper
green beans to serve.
For the Scone:
250g self-raising flour
40g butter, diced
125g Gorgonzola cheese, rind removed and diced
3 tbsp chopped parsley or chives
1 egg, beaten
4-5tbsp milk
Method
1) Preheat the slow cooker.
2) Heat the butter and oil in a large frying pan, add the diced venison (and other meat if using) a few pieces at a time, until all the meat has been added, fry until it is evenly browned. Transfer to a plate.
3) Add the onion to the frying pan and fry for 5 minutes.
4) Stir in the mushrooms, garlic and flour and cook for 1 minute.
5) Stir in the stock, wine, tomato puree, redcurrant jelly, peppercorns and salt and bring the mixture to the boil.
6) Spoon the venison into the slow cooker, add the hot wine mixture and press the meat below the surface of the juice. Cover and cook on low for 8 - 10 hours.
7) To make the scones: Place the flour in a bowl, add the butter and rub in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs (TOP TIP: If you're not sure if you have reached this stage, give the bowl a shake and any large, un-rubbed-in lumps will rise to the top)
8) Stir in to the flour and butter a little salt and pepper, the cheese and herbs.
9) Reserve 1 tbsp of egg for glazing the scone and add the rest to the flour mix.
10) Gradually stir in enough milk to make a soft dough (TOP TIP: it is best to add the milk a teaspoon at a time to avoid getting a soggy mix)
11) Lightly knead the dough on a floured surface then pat it into a thick oval or round which is a little smaller that the top of your slow cooker. Cut the dough into 8 wedges and arrange them, spaced slightly apart, on top of the stew. Cover and cook on high heat setting for 45 mins - 1 hour.
12) Brush the scones with the reserved egg and brown under the grill. Serve with green beans.
Enjoy!
This recipe was taken from Ultimate Slow Cooker by Sara Lewis.
It was another Christmas holiday experiment which was engineered to use up a packet of diced Venison I had bought, reduced months ago and stored in the freezer. I didn't actually have enough Venison so I made up the quantity of meat with some diced beef. I think this was a wise move as I can't imagine how rich this stew would be if made purely with venison! I also halved the recipe as there were only 2 of us eating it and it still yields a very generous amount of stew and scone.
We ate this for dinner on New Years Eve and it set us up for an evening of sipping champagne and dancing around like fools. The main catch to this recipe, or the hardest part for me to do after a night of too much red wine, was pouring red wine into the slow cooker before I'd even had breakfast. I'm sure the more self restrained amongst you won't have this problem!
Peppered Venison with Gorgonzola Scones
Serves: 4-5
Preparation time: 35 mins
Cooking time: 8-11 hours
Cooking temp: Low
Ingredients
For the stew:
25 g butter
1 tbsp olive oil
750g diced venison shoulder (I used 350g venison and 400g beef)
1 large red onion, sliced
125g cup mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp plain flour
200ml red wine
250ml lamb or chicken stock
2 tsp tomato puree
2 tbsp redcurrant jelly
1 tsp peppercorns, roughly crushed
salt and pepper
green beans to serve.
For the Scone:
250g self-raising flour
40g butter, diced
125g Gorgonzola cheese, rind removed and diced
3 tbsp chopped parsley or chives
1 egg, beaten
4-5tbsp milk
Method
1) Preheat the slow cooker.
2) Heat the butter and oil in a large frying pan, add the diced venison (and other meat if using) a few pieces at a time, until all the meat has been added, fry until it is evenly browned. Transfer to a plate.
3) Add the onion to the frying pan and fry for 5 minutes.
4) Stir in the mushrooms, garlic and flour and cook for 1 minute.
5) Stir in the stock, wine, tomato puree, redcurrant jelly, peppercorns and salt and bring the mixture to the boil.
6) Spoon the venison into the slow cooker, add the hot wine mixture and press the meat below the surface of the juice. Cover and cook on low for 8 - 10 hours.
7) To make the scones: Place the flour in a bowl, add the butter and rub in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs (TOP TIP: If you're not sure if you have reached this stage, give the bowl a shake and any large, un-rubbed-in lumps will rise to the top)
8) Stir in to the flour and butter a little salt and pepper, the cheese and herbs.
9) Reserve 1 tbsp of egg for glazing the scone and add the rest to the flour mix.
10) Gradually stir in enough milk to make a soft dough (TOP TIP: it is best to add the milk a teaspoon at a time to avoid getting a soggy mix)
11) Lightly knead the dough on a floured surface then pat it into a thick oval or round which is a little smaller that the top of your slow cooker. Cut the dough into 8 wedges and arrange them, spaced slightly apart, on top of the stew. Cover and cook on high heat setting for 45 mins - 1 hour.
12) Brush the scones with the reserved egg and brown under the grill. Serve with green beans.
Enjoy!
This recipe was taken from Ultimate Slow Cooker by Sara Lewis.
Slow Cooker Recipe: Kashmiri Butter Chicken
When I live in London we had 3 take away restaurants across the road from our flat. One was a kebab shop which claimed to be "the second best kebab shop in London" which always provided us with brilliant and much needed greasy, spicy food to soak up the booze after a long night on the tiles. The second was a Chinese take away that produced the most awful food known to man (a shame as it was the weak link in what could have been the holy trinity of takeaways). Last in the row was an excellent and cheap Curry house. We bought many a takeaway from them over the years of living there: me with my love of a Korma and Peshwari Naan and my house mate with the more adventurous palate of someone who had travelled around India always chose something a little different...
One day a new chef's special was listed: Butter Chicken. My friend ordered it, I tried some and it was delicious. Like a more tomatoey version of a Korma but without the almonds (so I'm guessing less calorific too!) very mild with lots of subtle flavours I have searched for this dish every time we have a take away curry but to no avail. So you can imagine how pleased I was when I found this recipe in my new slow cooker book*!
Kashmiri Butter Chicken
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 30 mins
Cooking time 5-7 hours
Cooking temp: Low
Ingredients
2 onions, quatered
3 garlic cloves
4cm fresh root ginger, peeled.
1 large red chilli, halved, seeds discarded
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 tbsp sunflower oil
25g butter
1 tsp cumin seeds, crushed
1 tsp fennel seeds, crushed
4 cardamom pods, crushed
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
300ml chicken stock
1 tbsp light muscavado sugar
2 tbsp tomato puree
5 tbsp double cream
salt
Method
1) Preheat the slow cooker.
2) Blend the onions, garlic, ginger and chilli in a food processor or liquidizer or chop finely.
3) Cut each chicken thigh into 4 pieces. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and add the chicken, a few pieces at a time, until all the meat has been added. Cook over a high heat until evenly browned. Lift the chicken pieces out of the pan with a slotted spoon and transfer to a plate.
4) Add the butter to the frying pan and when it has melted add the onion paste. Cook over a more moderate heat until it is just beginning to colour. Stir in the crushed seeds, cardamom seeds and pods and ground spices. Cook for 1 minute, then mix in the stock, sugar, tomato puree and salt. Bring to the boil, stirring.
5) Transfer the chicken to the slow cooker pot, pour the onion mixture and sauce over the top and press the chicken below the surface of the liquid. Cover and cook for 5 - 7 hours.
6) Before serving, stir in the cream and garnish with toasted flaked almonds and sprigs or coriander.
Enjoy!
*recipe from Ultimate Slow Cooker by Sara Lewis.
One day a new chef's special was listed: Butter Chicken. My friend ordered it, I tried some and it was delicious. Like a more tomatoey version of a Korma but without the almonds (so I'm guessing less calorific too!) very mild with lots of subtle flavours I have searched for this dish every time we have a take away curry but to no avail. So you can imagine how pleased I was when I found this recipe in my new slow cooker book*!
Kashmiri Butter Chicken
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 30 mins
Cooking time 5-7 hours
Cooking temp: Low
Ingredients
2 onions, quatered
3 garlic cloves
4cm fresh root ginger, peeled.
1 large red chilli, halved, seeds discarded
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 tbsp sunflower oil
25g butter
1 tsp cumin seeds, crushed
1 tsp fennel seeds, crushed
4 cardamom pods, crushed
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
300ml chicken stock
1 tbsp light muscavado sugar
2 tbsp tomato puree
5 tbsp double cream
salt
Method
1) Preheat the slow cooker.
2) Blend the onions, garlic, ginger and chilli in a food processor or liquidizer or chop finely.
3) Cut each chicken thigh into 4 pieces. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and add the chicken, a few pieces at a time, until all the meat has been added. Cook over a high heat until evenly browned. Lift the chicken pieces out of the pan with a slotted spoon and transfer to a plate.
4) Add the butter to the frying pan and when it has melted add the onion paste. Cook over a more moderate heat until it is just beginning to colour. Stir in the crushed seeds, cardamom seeds and pods and ground spices. Cook for 1 minute, then mix in the stock, sugar, tomato puree and salt. Bring to the boil, stirring.
5) Transfer the chicken to the slow cooker pot, pour the onion mixture and sauce over the top and press the chicken below the surface of the liquid. Cover and cook for 5 - 7 hours.
6) Before serving, stir in the cream and garnish with toasted flaked almonds and sprigs or coriander.
Enjoy!
*recipe from Ultimate Slow Cooker by Sara Lewis.
Slow Cooker Recipe: Venison sausage and Puy lentil Stew
I got 2 copies of the same slow cooker recipe book for Christmas, just goes to show how well my nearest and dearest know me! I was able to use my holiday time productively and try out a few of the recipes from the book which all turned out really well.
The book is Ultimate Slow Cooker by Sara Lewis, published by Hamlyn.
I'm still trying to get over the disappointment that came from realising most of these recipes require you to "brown the meat" and "fry the vegetables" before adding them to the slow cooker - that shattered any naive illusions I had of this being a piece of wonder kit that toiled silently turning raw ingredients into delicious dishes. However delicious dishes have come forth from it and it also fills the house with a delicious aroma too. So, it's not all bad!
I chose this recipe to use up some Venison sausages I bought, reduced, in November and had stashed in the freezer. It also had a lovely festive feel with the cranberries and at this time of year I was easily able to buy fresh ones. The only snag to this recipe was getting hold of the Puy lentils: I had to send the other half on a special mission to Waitrose as our local Tesco doesn't stock them. However every cloud has a silver lining and through my search for the perfect (or correct!) lentil I've stumbled across the Merchant Gourmet website which I will be frequenting from now on...
Venison sausage and Puy lentil stew (I halved this recipe which worked fine)
Serves: 4
Cooking time: 6-7 hours
Cooking temp: Low
1 Tbsp Olive oil
8 Venison sausages
1 large Onion
2 Garlic cloves, chopped
2 tbsp Plain flour
900ml Chicken stock
3 Tbsp Brown Sugar
2 Tbsp Tomato puree
2 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar
200g Puy lentils
250g Cranberries, defrosted if frozen
2 Bay leaves
salt and pepper.
Method:
1) Preheat the slow cooker.
2) Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the sausages and cook on a high heat until browned all over but not cooked through. Transfer to a plate.
3) Add the onion to the pan and fry until lightly browned, add the garlic, then the flour.
4) Stir in the stock, sugar, tomato puree and vinegar, season with salt and pepper and bring to the boil.
5)Put the lentils, cranberries and bay leaves in the slow cooker pot, pour over the hot stock mixture and add the sausages.
6) Cover with a lid and cook on low for 6-7 hours.
7) Stir well then spoon into shallow dishes, discarding the bay leaves, serve with warm crusty bread or a selection of green vegetables.
I also stirred in a little redcurrant jelly as we had a jar open from Christmas, cranberry jelly/sauce would go well and just take the edge off the tart cranberries in the stew.
Enjoy!
The book is Ultimate Slow Cooker by Sara Lewis, published by Hamlyn.
I'm still trying to get over the disappointment that came from realising most of these recipes require you to "brown the meat" and "fry the vegetables" before adding them to the slow cooker - that shattered any naive illusions I had of this being a piece of wonder kit that toiled silently turning raw ingredients into delicious dishes. However delicious dishes have come forth from it and it also fills the house with a delicious aroma too. So, it's not all bad!
I chose this recipe to use up some Venison sausages I bought, reduced, in November and had stashed in the freezer. It also had a lovely festive feel with the cranberries and at this time of year I was easily able to buy fresh ones. The only snag to this recipe was getting hold of the Puy lentils: I had to send the other half on a special mission to Waitrose as our local Tesco doesn't stock them. However every cloud has a silver lining and through my search for the perfect (or correct!) lentil I've stumbled across the Merchant Gourmet website which I will be frequenting from now on...
Venison sausage and Puy lentil stew (I halved this recipe which worked fine)
Serves: 4
Cooking time: 6-7 hours
Cooking temp: Low
1 Tbsp Olive oil
8 Venison sausages
1 large Onion
2 Garlic cloves, chopped
2 tbsp Plain flour
900ml Chicken stock
3 Tbsp Brown Sugar
2 Tbsp Tomato puree
2 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar
200g Puy lentils
250g Cranberries, defrosted if frozen
2 Bay leaves
salt and pepper.
Method:
1) Preheat the slow cooker.
2) Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the sausages and cook on a high heat until browned all over but not cooked through. Transfer to a plate.
3) Add the onion to the pan and fry until lightly browned, add the garlic, then the flour.
4) Stir in the stock, sugar, tomato puree and vinegar, season with salt and pepper and bring to the boil.
5)Put the lentils, cranberries and bay leaves in the slow cooker pot, pour over the hot stock mixture and add the sausages.
6) Cover with a lid and cook on low for 6-7 hours.
7) Stir well then spoon into shallow dishes, discarding the bay leaves, serve with warm crusty bread or a selection of green vegetables.
I also stirred in a little redcurrant jelly as we had a jar open from Christmas, cranberry jelly/sauce would go well and just take the edge off the tart cranberries in the stew.
Enjoy!
Wednesday, 28 October 2009
The Slow Cooker
Now Autumn is well and truely upon us I've dusted off the slow cooker we purchased last year and with the encouragement of a great slow cooker feature in November's issue of Delicious magazine my love for the long and lengthy cooking process is renewed.
In my pork experiments I made a slow cooked belly of pork but keen to experiment with other meats yesterday I purchased some Lamb Shanks from the butcher.....
I used the slow cooker to cook the Lamb Shanks (recipe below) which I was hesitant about at first, not being a fan of meat on the bone, but it turned out so tender and meltingly gorgeous that it fell off the bone. it was also so visually impressive whilst being low maintenance that I could be easily persuaded to cook them again perhaps for sunday lunch or a dinner party.
Most importantly it went down well with the boy and earnt me more than a few brownie points.
I'll be trying the Creamy Pot Roast Chicken later in the week and hope that this method of cooking helps me get over my dislike of bones in meat... finger crossed.
If it does work I'll post the recipe here soon....
Lamb Shanks
Serves 4
460 kcals per serving
Takes 10 minutes to prepare and 8 hours in the slow cooker.
2 red onions, finely sliced
1 garlic bulb, cloves separated
2 fresh rosemary sprigs
400g can of chopped tomatoes
20ml good quality balsamic vinegar
125ml red wine
200ml lamb or chicken stock
4 x 350g lamb shanks
1) Place the onion, whole garlic cloes and rosemary in the slow cooker. Add the tomatoes, vinegar, wine and stock. Season well and stir well to mix together.
2)Brown the lamb shanks all over in a large frying pan over a high heat, then add them to the slow cooker, pushing them into the sauce so they are covered.
3) Cover with a lid and cook on the low setting for 8 hours. Skim off any fat that has risen to the surface, then serve with creamy mashed potato.
In my pork experiments I made a slow cooked belly of pork but keen to experiment with other meats yesterday I purchased some Lamb Shanks from the butcher.....
I used the slow cooker to cook the Lamb Shanks (recipe below) which I was hesitant about at first, not being a fan of meat on the bone, but it turned out so tender and meltingly gorgeous that it fell off the bone. it was also so visually impressive whilst being low maintenance that I could be easily persuaded to cook them again perhaps for sunday lunch or a dinner party.
Most importantly it went down well with the boy and earnt me more than a few brownie points.
I'll be trying the Creamy Pot Roast Chicken later in the week and hope that this method of cooking helps me get over my dislike of bones in meat... finger crossed.
If it does work I'll post the recipe here soon....
Lamb Shanks
Serves 4
460 kcals per serving
Takes 10 minutes to prepare and 8 hours in the slow cooker.
2 red onions, finely sliced
1 garlic bulb, cloves separated
2 fresh rosemary sprigs
400g can of chopped tomatoes
20ml good quality balsamic vinegar
125ml red wine
200ml lamb or chicken stock
4 x 350g lamb shanks
1) Place the onion, whole garlic cloes and rosemary in the slow cooker. Add the tomatoes, vinegar, wine and stock. Season well and stir well to mix together.
2)Brown the lamb shanks all over in a large frying pan over a high heat, then add them to the slow cooker, pushing them into the sauce so they are covered.
3) Cover with a lid and cook on the low setting for 8 hours. Skim off any fat that has risen to the surface, then serve with creamy mashed potato.
The Fungal Foray
It was an overcast Saturday in October, my friend Charlie drove me up to Thetford to join a group of nature enthusiasts to forage around the forest floor in search of fungus.
We met up with the group and after a few words from our 'guide' we dispanded to forage in our pairs with instructions to meet back in a couple of hours with any fungus that we found.
Although it hadn't been a very wet autumn so far and hadn't created an idea growing habitat for fungus the group as a whole found a massive array of mushrooms. They ranged from the edible to the deadly poisonous and everything in between. The guide talked us through all of our finds and spent a long time telling us about the 'Death Cap' which a member of the group had found. This mushroom is so deadly it can kill you within 36 hours and one hand-sized mushroom contains enough poison to kill about 6 adults.
You can distinguish the Death Cap from the false death cap by the 'sack' it grows out of at the base of it's stem however it's never a god idea to eat a mushroom unless you're 100% sure what it is!
The Death Cap Mushroom
The guide also told us about the 'Fly Agaric' or magic mushroom. It gets it's name from being sliced into milk to keep away flys. But it is better known for it's looks: it is the traditional toadstool from childrens fairy tales; white stem, red cap with white flecks on it.
According to our guide people in Scandinavia feed slices of dried Fly Agaric to their reindeer, wath them stuble around then drink the reindeer urine which contains a filtered version of the psychoactive compounds muscimol and ibotentic acid. You've got to wonder how that was first discovered.....
Apparently the story of Santa Claus, his flying reindeer and his red coat and white beard originate from this mushroom and its powers as a natural high....
Fly Agaric
We had planned to eat whatever mushroomy goodies we turned up. Sadly our haul only contained one edible mushroom: Charlie spotted it growing all alone on a tree trunk. This specimen was apparently very rare and a relation to the oyster mushroom; a small white mushroom with a bend in the stem, it had ribbed gills that stretched all the way from underneath the cap right down the stem.
So, we fried it in a little butter and ate it on top of toasted brioche with a squeeze of lemon. It was good.
We met up with the group and after a few words from our 'guide' we dispanded to forage in our pairs with instructions to meet back in a couple of hours with any fungus that we found.
Although it hadn't been a very wet autumn so far and hadn't created an idea growing habitat for fungus the group as a whole found a massive array of mushrooms. They ranged from the edible to the deadly poisonous and everything in between. The guide talked us through all of our finds and spent a long time telling us about the 'Death Cap' which a member of the group had found. This mushroom is so deadly it can kill you within 36 hours and one hand-sized mushroom contains enough poison to kill about 6 adults.
You can distinguish the Death Cap from the false death cap by the 'sack' it grows out of at the base of it's stem however it's never a god idea to eat a mushroom unless you're 100% sure what it is!
The Death Cap MushroomThe guide also told us about the 'Fly Agaric' or magic mushroom. It gets it's name from being sliced into milk to keep away flys. But it is better known for it's looks: it is the traditional toadstool from childrens fairy tales; white stem, red cap with white flecks on it.
According to our guide people in Scandinavia feed slices of dried Fly Agaric to their reindeer, wath them stuble around then drink the reindeer urine which contains a filtered version of the psychoactive compounds muscimol and ibotentic acid. You've got to wonder how that was first discovered.....
Apparently the story of Santa Claus, his flying reindeer and his red coat and white beard originate from this mushroom and its powers as a natural high....
Fly AgaricWe had planned to eat whatever mushroomy goodies we turned up. Sadly our haul only contained one edible mushroom: Charlie spotted it growing all alone on a tree trunk. This specimen was apparently very rare and a relation to the oyster mushroom; a small white mushroom with a bend in the stem, it had ribbed gills that stretched all the way from underneath the cap right down the stem.
So, we fried it in a little butter and ate it on top of toasted brioche with a squeeze of lemon. It was good.
Wahaca - Chandos Place, London
On Saturday whilst visiting friends in London I took the boy to Thomasina Miers's Mexican market style restaurant Wahaca for late lunch.
http://www.wahaca.co.uk/
It was much busier than I had (naively) presumed having just won the Observer Food Monthly award for best cheap eats and the Zagat Best Mexican Restaurant award so we had a short wait at the bar.
Whilst we waited I had a generous (in size and ancohol content) 'Wahaca mule' cocktail and himself had a Corona, we perused the menu and watched the food being delivered to other people - a good way to gauge portion size and popular dishes!
By the time we were seated we were more or less ready to choose our food:
We opted for the 'Street Food' which is small, tapas like sharing plates which are brought to you as and when they are ready. We had:
Pork Pibil Tacos: "Soft corn tortillas with slow cooked pork in our special Yucatecan marinade"
Tender, Marinated Chicken Taquitos: Corn Tortillas wrapped around chicken with lettuce, cheese and tomato salsa then deep fried and served with crema"
Beef Saipicion Tostadas: "Crisp tortillas piled high with cold shredded aromatic beef with spicy habanero and red onion salsa"
Chorizo and potato Quesadillas: "Toasted flour tortillas oozing with melted cheese and homemade mexican chorizo and potato"
Frijoles with crumbled cheese and crema: "Rich creamy black beans cooked twice for flavour".
All the food was delicious, fresh and really flavoursome, our favourite was the Pork Pibil Tacos. The quesidillas were a bit too hot and greasy compared to the rest of the food, I wish I hadn't ordered them and gone for the Churros and hot chocolate for pudding but I'll save them for next time!
The service was swift and friendly and the prices certainly reasonable: our meal plus a beer and an gorgeous, cooling long drink of Almond and rice milk with cinnamon came to less than £24.
We will definitely be going back and recommending it to friends... and planning a holiday to Mexico...
Oh, if you do go, and you should; on the way out make sure you pick up one of their "match books" which are infact chilli seeds to plant at home - I had some last year and they grew great chillis!
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