MACELLAIO RC, SOUTH KENSINGTON

Last weekend I had a massage at home (from Urban Massage). It was my first one in a long time and it was utterly amazing. I love beauty treatments but I rarely have them anymore as my life has been overrun by a very demanding toddler. The same goes for eating out, my daughter Olympia is not keen on sitting in her push chair or a high chair, so that makes going to restaurants quite a tricky experience. I remembered from when my other daughter Arabella was young, that Italian restaurants are always great with kids, so a couple of weekends ago we tried out Macellaio RC on the Old Brompton Road.

Macellaio RC is basically a butchers with a restaurant - you can even choose which steak from the counter that you want to eat. Plus it is not just an ordinary steak - it comes from the Fassona breed in the "special mountain valleys"  north of Genoa. Every cut of meat is hung for the exact right amount of time and precise care is taken to ensure the meat tastes incredible.

We were short of time due to Olympia's attention span and so we quickly perused the menu. It is quite simple - there are a selection of small bites, starters, charcuterie and cheese, offal, mains and grill or pasta. 

We started with lardo bruschetta with honey and walnuts and stracciatella served with rocket.

Both were unbelievably mouthwatering and utterly delicious. The stracciatella was incredibly creamy and I think the best I have ever tasted. I adored the lardo but it was a little too much for me, however Pascal demolished the very generous portion.

For mains, I ordered the rump steak served with sweet gorgonzola and walnuts and I can honestly say I have never had a steak quite like this in London. I loved the way it was was sliced and cooked perfectly rare. Pascal ordered rump steak with Tuscan extra virgin olive oil and salt. His was cooked blue and was also faultless.

We had fries and spinach as sides which were great although the steaks were definitely the stars of the show.

Unfortunately there wasn't time for pudding, Olympia had half terrorised and half charmed the restaurant and it was time to go home after an incredible meal.

There are four Macellaio RC restaurants on London, this one in South Ken, another in Battersea, one in Clerkenwell and another in Bankside. The menus are very similar in all of them and each offer a butchery and bakery masterclass. 

I will definitely be adding this restaurant to my favourites list.....perfect for all carnivores.

Macellaio RC

84 Old Brompton Road,
London
SW7 3LQ
Tel: 020 7589 5834

BEEF & AUBERGINE FATTEH

My baby Olympia is very different to my first child Arabella. I know I am probably looking back with rose tinted glasses but I know for sure we never needed cupboard locks and stair gates etc. It is not the same with Olympia however.....I know she is going to be one of those children who will draw on the walls!!! Anyway our kitchen is now equipped with cupboard locks and even though they were initially super annoying, they are very beneficial health wise for us adults. It is such a hassle to open the cupboards, we have stopped eating so many biscuits and chocolate......extremely helpful for my husband!!

This recipe is from the Sunday Times magazine and it took about 50 minutes.

Ingredients for 4-6 people:

For the base:
4 (approx 250g) pitta breads, split open and cut into nacho-sized triangles (we actually used mini pittas)

For the topping:
500g Greek yoghurt
5 tbsp / 75g tahini, at room temperature
1-2 lemons, to give 3 tbsp of juice
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

For the aubergine-beef layer:
3 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 aubergine (250g-300g), cut into small cubes
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp Aleppo pepper or paprika, plus more for sprinkling
500g minced beef

To sprinkle over:
125g pomegranate seeds
50g pine nuts, toasted
1 tbsp finely shredded mint leaves

The recipe says to preheat the oven to 200C / 180C fan. Split open and cut the pittas into triangles and then spread them out onto a large baking sheet and toast for 10-15 minutes, or until they are crisp. I actually skipped this part and popped my pittas into a toaster and cut them after. Do whatever is easiest for you! Put them on a large plate and set aside.

Beat the yoghurt, tahini, lemon juice, garlic and 1 tsp sea salt flakes together in a heatproof bowl that will later sit over a saucepan. I actually used a large china bowl that was easy to mix in and then transferred it to a smaller bowl after. It is really important the tahini is at room temperature, otherwise it is very hard to mix.

Warm the oil in a wide, shallow, heavy-based saucepan and cook the onion, stirring occasionally, over a medium to low heat for 5 minutes. Then reduce the heat to low and carry on cooking, stirring every so often, until a soft pale colour. This will take another 4 minutes or so. I obviously didn't read the recipe properly, I used a frying pan and I think my heat was too high and so they were cooked through by about 5 minutes. We then had to move onto the next stage so they didn't burn!

Turn up the heat to medium and add the aubergine cubes and stir well to mix in with the onions. Cook for around 7-10 minutes, stirring regularly so it doesn't catch.

Stir in the cumin, coriander, Aleppo pepper / paprika and season with salt. Increase the heat to high and then add the mince. Use a fork to break it up a little in the pan, until it has lost its red colour. Turn the heat down to medium and cook for 10 minutes until the meat is cooked through, stirring occasionally. Taste to see if you need anymore salt and then take off the heat while you return to the tahini-yoghurt sauce.

Meanwhile dry fry the pine nuts in a frying pan for a few minutes....keep your eye on them as they burn quickly!

Pour some freshly boiled water into a fresh pan, to around 3cm depth and put over a low heat. Ideally you want to sit the bowl with the tahini-yoghurt sauce on top, making sure it doesn't touch the water. My bowl didn't do this so I just plonked it in the water! Beat well until the yoghurt is slightly above room temperature and resembles a lightly whipped cream. My husband did this manually however I think it would have been easier to use an electric whisk.

Top the pitta triangles with the aubergine-beef mixture, followed by the tahini-yoghurt sauce. Sprinkle with the Aleppo pepper / paprika to give a light dusting. Scatter over the pomegranate seeds and toasted pine nuts and finally strew with the finely shredded mint leaves. Eat with your fingers, nacho-style or keep your fingers clean and use a knife and fork.

Just before we served this Pascal said to me - I don't like yoghurt! However he changed his mind once he started tucking in. It was really delicious, such great flavours and I love the way the pomegranate seeds literally pop in your mouth. It was quite messy though and we absolutely needed some cutlery. 

I would definitely do this again - I love Middle Eastern food but normally it needs an abundance of spices whereas this was quite straightforward. I will admit when I cook this next, I will make it even more simple and just use hummus rather than the tahini-yogurt sauce. A perfect quick supper or even dinner party starter. 

ITALIAN SEARED BEEF

I have many Jamie Oliver books although I will admit I am not crazy about his recipes. They generally taste very good however I find he always needs so many ingredients and they aren't written in a very straightforward way.....not like my beloved Fay Ripley!! Anyway - good news - in the Sunday Times last week, Jamie shared a few recipes that only need 5 ingredients - heaven for me. Plus they are quick ones too, this one took about 15 minutes. I did alter it slightly as my husband thought it looked a little "light"!

Ingredients for 2 people:

2 tbsp pine nuts
400g rump steak
2 heaped tbsp green pesto
90g rocket
40g Parmesan

Put a large non stick frying pan on a high heat, toasting the pine nuts as it heats up, tossing regularly and removing when golden. This is quite a quick process so watch the pine nuts carefully.

Cut the fat off the rump and chop it finely. Place it in the pan to render and crisp up.

Meanwhile place some cling or greaseproof paper over the steak on a chopping board and bash with a rolling pin or mallet until the steak is about 1cm thick. This tenderises the meat as well. Season generously.

Scoop the fat out of the pan and place to one side. In the same pan, sear the steak for 1-2 minutes on each side (depending on how you like your steak cooked) but ideally you want it golden on the outside but still blushing in the middle. I did Pascal's for a couple of minutes as he likes his steak as rare as possible (still mooing in fact) whereas I prefer mine a little more cooked. Once ready, remove to a board/plate and cut into strips.

Spread the pesto between two plates, add the rocket and steak, and finally scatter over the Parmesan, pine nuts and crispy fat (if you like). Drizzle with some olive oil and serve.

This was a beautiful dish, so simple yet so flavoursome. Individually all the ingredients are strong flavours, yet they mesh so well together. Whilst it felt like a proper supper, it didn't sit heavily in your tummy due to the lack of carbs. Perfect for my husband as he needs to increase the protein intake and cut the carbs which isn't easy when you are a pasta fiend!!