Author: georgiabateman123

Le Menar, Fitzrovia

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Where Le Menar, Fitzrovia What Le Menar is North African food with a difference. Combining core ingredients with modern cooking techniques, Chef Vernon Samuels also brings a fresh approach to presentation. The Experience Le Menar is tucked away on Cleveland Street in upmarket Fitzrovia. Seated at the low round Moroccan brass tables, you sink down into giant colourful pillows in a room that glows with warm tones of red and orange. The mezze sharing platter, served with delicious Lebanese flat bread, is filled with hummus, tabbouleh, baby okra salad, moutabel, falafel, moussaka, wareq enab (stuffed vine leaves) and mini kebbeh. Each element has intense flavour. The baby okra salad with pomegranate and coriander was particularly mouthwatering. The menu showed traces of Chef Vernon Samuels’ time spent working in Italy, and the Za atar burrata with heirloom tomato salad, sumac and baby basil was a fine example of this. Unable to leave a morsel of the starters, we were all-too-soon presented with our mains. The delicious Green harissa monkfish was served with batata harra (a sauce of …

Fish & Chips by Des McDonald, City

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Where Fish & Chips by Des McDonald, City What Fish & Chips by Des McDonald is a posh, modern-day, neighbourhood fish and chip shop. Besides the perfect cod & chips, you can order oysters, sea bass a la plancha, shrimp burgers and old fashioned fish finger butties. The Experience The new City location is tucked away in St Botolph Churchyard, just minutes from Liverpool Street, Moorgate and Bank stations. The restaurant recently opened for breakfast from 8am daily and, when invited, I couldn’t wait to sample the food. The menu in the bright floor-to-ceiling windowed dining room offers everything from a Full English Fisherman’s Breakfast to Boiled eggs and ancient bread soldiers, Cornish crab and chilli eggs, Manx kippers, and Sausage & egg butties. I was excited to see they had the classic breakfast Manx kippers on the menu – I have no idea why more places don’t offer these. The kippers came de-boned on toast with a poached egg and the perfect amount of horseradish. My breakfast buddie went for the full-blown Fisherman’s Breakfast …

Picanha Mini Roasts with Miso Glaze

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 I was recently treated to a hamper of goodies from Simply Beef and Lamb, which included the picanha cut of beef – the corner cut of the rump, a recipe and the ingredients to make picanha mini roasts with miso glaze. This recipe was created to match this particular cut of beef.  Having had this cut before, when I slow braised it for a steak pie, I knew the meat had a wonderful flavour so I was excited to be cooking it again. The miso glaze made a delicious addition and went really well with steamed winter cabbage and wild rice. Unfortunately, I think my oven may have produced a higher heat than the suggested one as, after cooking for the recommended 25 minutes, the meat was completely overcooked and chewy. I would like to try this recipe again but, as ovens often vary in temperature I would like to fry the meat on a griddle and drizzle with the miso glaze before serving. Recipe Serves 4 Preparation time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 25-30 minutes …

Valentina Fine Foods, Chiswick

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Where Valentina Fine Foods, Chiswick What Valentina Fine Foods is an Italian delicatessen and restaurant group owned and run by the Zoccola and Arcari families. The original Valentina opened in East Sheen in 1991, followed by Putney, Sevenoaks, Notting Hill Gate and finally Chiswick, which opened in October 2014.  The Experience You enter the restaurant on Chiswick High Road through a delicatessen filled with a huge range of Italian delicacies such as pastas, cheese, cured meats, olives, pastries, traditional antipasti, and olive oils (including an own-label olive oil in a large stainless steel barrel with a tap, where customers are encouraged to bring their own bottle for refill). If you can pull yourself away from this initial enticement, and up a few small steps, you will find the Valentina restaurant at the top. A charming photo wall of the various family members looks over the dining area and a classic Moto Guzzi Lodola motorbike hangs from the right wall – an item I am told is found in many of the Valentina restaurants. Manager Carmine …

Recipe – Winter Vegetable Stew

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A healthy mix of vegetables, pulses and spices makes this an ideal dish for warming your cockles on a cold winters day. It’s quick and easy to make, and very filling too. Serves 4 Ingredients Glug of Olive oil 1 large onion, chopped 2 garlic cloves, chopped 1 celery stick, chopped 1 carrot, peeled and chopped 1tsp ground turmeric 1tsp spicy paprika 1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and chopped 1 tin chopped plum tomatoes 500ml water 1 tin butter beans Handful broccoli, chopped Handful green beans, chopped Sea salt and black pepper, to tste To serve Yoghurt Fresh Coriander Method Heat oil in a large saucepan and add the chopped onion and garlic. Lower the heat and cook for a few minutes until the onions have softened. Add the celery and carrot for a few minutes, before stirring in the ginger, turmeric and spicy paprika, ensuring that they do not burn. When the spices smell fragrant, add the tomatoes, lentils, butter beans, water, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir in all …