SALMON WITH PEAS AND BACON

This week has not been the healthiest so far - lunch out on Monday and then last night I had crisps, foie gras on toast and then some pork pie and wine for supper - weird combination but utterly delicious.

Today I was back on tracks - bikram yoga, a light lunch and then of course, our weekly fish supper - salmon with peas and bacon. Salmon is one of Arabella and my favourite fish and we have it regularly, we both love it with a splash of soy sauce and peas or Waitrose creamed spinach (I have yet to learn how to cook that). Pascal says he is not a fan and is totally bored by fish especially salmon!

I am constantly trying to find new recipes for fish to keep it interesting and thankfully I picked a winner here.

Ingredients for 4 people:

300g lardons
600g frozen peas
2 tbsp chopped fresh mint
2 little gem lettuce, shredded
200ml vegetable stock
30g butter
4 x 175g fresh salmon fillets

As always start by preheating the oven to 220 C / gas mark 7.

Fry the lardons in a large pan over a medium heat for about 3-4 minutes until they soften. Then add the peas, mint, and lettuce for a couple of minutes and season (more pepper than salt as the bacon is salty). Pour in the stock and bring to simmering point and then set aside. It is amazing how much the lettuce reduces.

Next heat the butter in a non stick frying pan and cook the fish on one side for a minute or two until lightly browned. It doesn't matter which side you fry - I cooked the skin side down although in hindsight I probably should have cooked the other side down as neither Pascal or Arabella like the skin.

Finally transfer the salmon, cooked side up, to a small roasting tin (I used a ceramic dish as my roasting tin was too small) and then surround with the pea mixture.

Roast for 8-10 minutes until tender and serve immediately.

Arabella was not enamoured when she saw that there was lettuce in the recipe and turned her nose up, but just like the sceptic Pascal, she adored the meal. The mint really makes it, everything tastes very fresh. I think peas and bacon are one of my favourite combinations and they work really well with the salmon. Plus the salmon is so soft and tender and literally melts.

It was really simple and quick to make (about 25 minutes in total) so I would definitely recommend this as a mid week supper. It is so important to eat foods like salmon each week as they are filled with omega 3 fatty acids that are full of health benefits. It can lower your cholesterol, reduce high blood pressure, protect you from heart attacks, ease joint pains, fight wrinkles and skin ailments, and improve your memory. It will even boost your mood! So what's not to like!

It is not the most filling of meals so you might want to add some new potatoes or some form of carbs or even just some more vegetables.

Another successful fish dish - Pascal gave it the big thumbs up so it must have been good!

THE RIVER CAFE, HAMMERSMITH

For once I did not have my usual Monday morning dramas of "I'm so fat", "I need to try and lose a stone this week", "my diet starts today". Instead I was off for a lovely lunch at the River Cafe for my gorgeous friend Joanna's birthday.

I run past the River Cafe regularly and always dream of being there having a fabulous meal so I was very pleased about it all. I have eaten there a couple of times in the past and really enjoyed it although I have to say Pascal did not rate it (as a HUGE pasta fan he was disappointed that there was not more pasta on the menu) and he did not think the food was worth the extortionate prices (main courses are around £37.00).

The restaurant is located on the north bank of the River Thames in Hammersmith in the former Duckhams oil storage facility and it opened in 1987 as an employee café. Within 10 years it had earned a Michelin Star and is also famous for the amount of successful chefs that have trained in the kitchen such as Theo Randall, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and probably most popular of all Jamie Oliver. 

Despite it being a miserable day, very grey and lots of rain, the restaurant is full of light and there is a huge open kitchen. We started off by sharing a glass on prosecco at the little bar area until moving to a lovely round table by the window looking out on to the little garden and river.The restaurant changes the menu twice a day as they like to use completely fresh and seasonal ingredients so I couldn't do my research online much to my dismay. Then when the menu arrived, it needed some concentration!!

Some things on the menu I had never heard of so had to ask and I have to say the waitress was very helpful and attentive and not at all snooty like some places.

I did find it quite hard to order off this menu as nothing jumped out immediately as a favourite so in the end I went for the Mozzarella di Bufala with trevise hearts, pecorino, chickpeas and olive oil to start (the most cheesiest dish on the menu).

Now I have to say I wasn't enamoured by the choice of ingredients together, I am a simple girl who loves a mozzarella and tomato salad but I guess it is good to try new things as this was absolutely delicious. Everything came together perfectly and complemented each other and every mouthful was divine. 

The birthday girl had the same as me but everyone else had the chargrilled Scottish scallops  with fresh red chilli, parsley, braised cicoria and lemon and they all said it was incredible - there was not a clean plate in sight!

I nearly had the scallops but was very pleased with my choice in the end, as I would have been disappointed to only receive two as I am such a greedy piggy!

For mains a couple of us had pasta and the rest had fish. You could have had the pasta as a starter if you fancied - I was even tempted by pasta and then pasta! I was torn between the ravioli with fresh chestnuts, buffalo ricotta and thyme or the taglierini with cornish crab, parsley, chilli and lemon. As I had the cheese to start, I ended up going with the crab. Once again it is not something I would ever choose when having pasta but I was very very pleased I did as it was great.

And for the first time in my life ever I did not ask for cheese on it!!! There was the right amount of sauce, the pasta was cooked al dente and the crab tasted incredibly fresh and there were no crunchy bits which is a pet peeve about crab.

Joanna had the ravioli and said it was amazing.

The rest of our group were very healthy and all had fish.

Ruth had the wild sea bass chargrilled with olive, anchovy and capers with Italian spinach and rocket.

Anna and Maresa had the Cornish monkfish roasted over potatoes with fresh porcini, thyme and livio feluga sharis (I am not actually sure what that is)!

And finally Sue had the wood-roasted whole Dover sole with capers and marjoram and roast violetta artichokes. This is a signature dish for the restaurant as it is smoked in their own wood stove (I have to admit when I saw the stove I thought it was a pizza oven)!

Absolutely everyone waxed lyrical about their food and not a bite was left so I can safely say it was all very very good.

Since it was a birthday celebration we just had to have some cake and we ordered two portions of one of the River Cafe's other signature dishes - the chocolate "Nemesis" cake.

As you can see from my previous posts I am not a pudding person but this was incredible and I couldn't stop myself eating more and more - very rich but it literally melts in your mouth - it is far far superior to a regular chocolate cake.

What a fantastic meal. It is by no means cheap, I eat out regularly yet I was shocked by the prices however I have to say the food is excellent and you pay for what you get. The restaurant is beautiful and it is even more so in the summer as there is a gorgeous little garden over looking the Thames and you can even sit outside (depending on the English weather)! 

I think it is a perfect place for a special lunch, I have yet to come here for supper however I expect it can be romantic too - one of my very good university friends got engaged here over the summer and I think it must have been a perfect spot.

The River Cafe

Thames Wharf,

Rainville Road,

London

W6 9HA

Tel: 020 7386 4200

Email: info@rivercafe.co.uk

PROSCIUTTO & PORCINI LASAGNE

Last night I went to the most amazing dinner party at our friends Jack & Joanna's - they seriously raised the bar with the cooking - we had the most phenomenal meal. Starters of fried halloumi, pimentos de padron and pork belly with the most incredible crackling. Then for mains we had a Turkish dish called Karniyark which translates as Split Belly Stuffed Aubergine which was one of the best things I have ever eaten - I have already found a recipe online so I can cook it myself. Jack owns a restaurant in Queen's Park called Jack's ( http://www.jacks-cafe.com/index.html ) so I guess it is not surprising he put on such an amazing spread! I am kicking myself for not taking photos.

We followed this with a lemon tart and cheese - I literally rolled / crawled out - although that was probably due to the copious amounts of wine I drunk, the rhubarb vodka and of course the jaegerbomb!!

As Arabella is with her father, I made the most of having a lie in and then all I could think of was carbs, cheese and more carbs. I managed to squeeze in a bikram yoga workshop and then it was all about food and Pascal and I decided on Prosciutto & Porcini Lasagne. I love a lasagne but it is something I rarely have - this recipe for example I ripped out of a Grazia magazine about two years ago - I am very pleased I finally got round to cooking it!

Ingredients for 4 people:

25g dried porcini

3 tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 tbsp fresh thyme, finely chopped (I used dried and I don't think it made that much of a difference)

200g button mushrooms, finely chopped

400g beef mince

150ml red wine

400g can of chopped tomatoes

1 tbsp tomato puree

pinch of caster sugar

salt and pepper

6 slices of Palm ham

4-6 lasagne sheets (we used 4 but I think it depends on what size dish you use)

500ml of shop bought bechamel sauce or cheese sauce (we used cheese as Pascal doesn't like béchamel)

500g grated mozzarella cheese (you can use less if you want but you know me I am a cheese fanatic)!

One of the first things to know about this recipe is that it takes 1.5 - 2 hours - so be prepared!! For once I actually read the recipe beforehand so wasn't in a mad frantic rush.

First of all place the porcini in a bowl and add 100ml of boiling water. Soak for 20 minutes, drain (reserving the liquid) and chop the porcini.

Whilst the porcini is soaking, heat the oil in a large saucepan and gently fry the onion, garlic and thyme for 5 minutes until just softened. I used dry thyme as I didn't want to buy 50g or something of fresh thyme to only use 1 tablespoon. Add the mushrooms and fry for another 5 minutes. It was a little dry for us so we added some water and a little more oil.

Next add the mince and fry for another 2-3 minutes. Once it has browned, add the wine and the porcini liquid and bring to the boil. Finally stir in the chopped tomatoes, chopped porcini, tomato puree, sugar and season.

Cover and simmer over a low heat for 30 minutes. Check on it regularly - we didn't and our heat was too high so it was boiling - whoops! It didn't make a difference though and instead decreased the cooking time.

At this point you need to think about when to put the oven on to 200 C / fan 180 C / gas mark 6 and grease a suitable dish.

If you have followed the recipe correctly after 30 minutes you remove the lid and cook for a further 30 minutes until the sauce is thickened - we only cooked for another 10. At the same time heat the bechamel / cheese sauce until it bubbles.

Finally arrange 3 slices of Palma ham in the dish and top with half the Bolognese, a couple of lasagne sheets (you can use 3 if necessary), half of the béchamel sauce and half the mozzarella. Repeat the layers to finish with a layer of béchamel / cheese sauce and the rest of the cheese. 

Finally bake for 30-40 minutes (we did 30) until golden and enjoy! We served it with a crisp green salad - YUM!!

I don't want to blow my own trumpet but wow - that was amazing!! As I said earlier I love lasagne, but I adore love and covet this one, it is an incredible recipe, the slow cooking, the mushrooms and all the cheese make it spectacular. I always find lasagne tastes even better the next day so I cannot wait to have our leftovers (we had to restrain ourselves from gobbling the whole lot).

This is a great family recipe or would also work well for a dinner party, especially as you can make it the day before and/or freeze it. You can dress it up or down. The salad was perfect with it or you could also make your own garlic bread as an accompaniment....lasagne is the Little Black Dress of food...trustworthy, easy and reliable and this is a fantastic version. Don't be an idiot like me and wait 2 years to cook it!!!

HONKY TONK, HOLLYWOOD ROAD

Last night was date night for Pascal and I - Chez Bruce has been top of my restaurant list for ages but it was full and so instead booked Koffman's at the Berkeley Hotel as well as Honky Tonk on the Hollywood road. I had never been to Koffman's before and while it looked elegant, romantic and had a great menu, we decided to go to Honky Tonk as it is more "fun".

I had been here once before last year when it first opened with my friend Ceri and we had a cracking night. The bar was heaving, the atmosphere buzzy and the food was fab. The place was so busy we had to be enticed off our table with shots of tequila.

Pascal and I had got carried away shopping at Spirit of Christmas at Olympia so had to delay our table by an hour, I was surprised but delighted they could easily accommodate us. We finally made it to the restaurant - very hungry and very thirsty! It certainly wasn't as busy as I was expecting as there was space at the bar and not all the tables were taken but it still had a fun atmosphere, lots of chatter and laughter and good music (although a little two loud for Pascal's old ears)!

The waitresses are all dressed in denim shorts and lumberjack shirts - when I went last year they all looked like Abercrombie models which was a bit off putting when you are tucking into fat laden food - this time they were a lot more normal!

The service was very attentive and we immediately ordered some dark and stormy cocktails while we perused the menu. They were delicious and really hit the spot.

The menu is a dream come true for me - starters such as crab cakes, ribs, potato skins and chicken wings, and mains such as burgers, hot dogs, ribs, steaks and salads. 

Menu

Pascal and I ordered the nachos and quesadillas to start. I had my phone on the table ready to take pictures but we were so so hungry that we munched them down and totally forgot!!!....in true piglet style we then just ordered the nachos again as they were so good!

They weren't like normal nachos and instead were formed more like the quesadillas but with crisps rather than tortillas. They were absolutely delicious - full of cheese and plenty of sour cream, salsa and guacamole. The quesadillas were also excellent and were filled with chicken, cheese, peppers and onions and served with plenty of guacamole but unfortunately no photo.

For mains I was torn between a a hot dog or a burger or even mac and cheese - I wanted it all! I ended up choosing a hot dog covered with cheese and bacon - incredible!!

It was fab - so much cheese (even enough for me), little bits of bacon, ketchup and American mustard - it had my name all over it (it kicked the sh*t out of Bubbledogs)! The fries were good but we ordered mac n cheese and onion rings as well that were even better.

The mac n cheese actually comes with roasted wild mushrooms, porcini bechamel and truffle oil - omg, Pascal and I ended up scorching our mouths as we were trying to shovel it in. I would be very tempted to have this as a main (and then maybe another on the side)! The onion rings were also very good - they didn't taste deep fried and instead more bread-crumby - they must have been tasty as Pascal liked them and onion rings normally are not his thing!

Pascal had the Honky Tonk Burger which is a 7oz patty topped with cheese, bacon, caramelised onion, guacamole, salsa, lettuce and tomato and a special burger sauce in a toasted burger bun served with rosemary fries.

Unfortunately it didn't do it for him - the onions, guacamole, salsa and salad were all too cold and it ruined the burger. I have to say I had a burger the last time I came here and it wasn't memorable although I had considered having one today. However Pascal would still definitely come back as he loved the starters so much.

We washed the meal down with a very good bottle of Malbec.

Despite a great selection of puddings such as cheesecake and brownies American style, we made the terrible decision of of having the pickleback shot - I don't know what it was but it was revolting!!! Ugh!!!

It was a fun night - easygoing, mostly fab food and lots of people enjoying themselves - I will definitely be back, I think it's a great place to come with a group as they cater well to big tables and there is something on the menu for everyone - unless you are vegan!

HONKY TONK

6 Hollywood Road,

London

SW10 9HY

Tel: 020 7627 6257

Email: reservations@honkytonklondon.com

STICKY GINGER CHICKEN WITH ROAST BROCCOLI

I love a Chinese and always have done. I grew up in a place called Sevenoaks in Kent and the best restaurant in town was the Sun Do so every single birthday or special occasion my family and I would always go for a Chinese...in fact whenever I go back to Sevenoaks now, the Sun Do is always my first port of call. It hasn't changed in the past 30 years and the food and service remain excellent.

As I do not have a Chinese regularly, (maybe once or twice a year), when I do, I get terribly overexcited and always over order and then feel violently ill and barely sleep as I am so dehydrated from too much soy sauce! So while it is fun at the time, the after effects aren't great - although I never learn my lesson!! I can't resist the prawn toast, spring rolls, salt and pepper squid, spare ribs, chicken chow mein, sweet and sour pork, aromatic duck.....and so on....

One way to get a Chinese fix that is actually healthy is to cook it yourself and Fay Ripley has a wonderful recipe for Chinese chicken. It is really easy to make as long as you remember to marinade, preferably the night before. I serve it with roasted broccoli but you can also add rice, noodles and even buy a few mini starters from the supermarket if you fancy. However I am being strict as it's only Wednesday and so it's just the broccoli for us!!

Ingredients for 4 people:

4 globes of stem ginger (I had never heard of these before but they are from a jar)
3 tablespoons of runny honey (I just used whatever honey we had in the house, it wasn't runny which makes "mixing" difficult but tastes the same)
3 tablespoons of light soy sauce (I used dark as I didn't have light and once again I don't think it matters)
8 chicken thighs, skinned
3 garlic cloves crushed
2 limes
350g head of broccoli
2-3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp coriander seeds (I sometimes don't bother to add these)!

As I mentioned earlier, it is best to marinade the chicken the day before and refrigerate overnight - this is not essential, an hour or so will do, but the longer the better.

Drain and finely chop the ginger, if you are feeding this to kids, I recommend you try and chop it as small as possible. Put it in a shallow ovenproof ceramic dish with the other ingredients - the honey, soy sauce, garlic, zest of two limes and the juice of one lime. (Thanks you once again Sally for my zester - it's changed my life)!

Put the chicken in and mix all together and refrigerate - for as much as 24 hours.

When you are ready to eat, preheat the oven to 210C fan / 230C / gas mark 8. Spread out the thighs in one layer and cook for 30-40 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. I would suggest checking them at 30 minutes as I have cooked this before for 40 minutes and burnt the hell out of my dish!! This time they did not take longer than 30 mins.

For the broccoli, cut it into florets and lay in a roasting tray. If you are using the coriander seeds, crush them and sprinkle over the florets and pour over the olive oil, then bake in the same oven for 20 minutes. Do not worry if they burn a little, that is the best bit!

And then serve the chicken and broccoli together, delicious!! Perfect with a dash or two of soy sauce.

Another successful meal, devoured by all three of us. I love cooking with chicken thighs, they are always so tender. I also think this would make a nice change for a dinner party if you added some rice as well as it's so easy preparing it the day before. 

According to fitness pal, it's only about 440 calories per serving.....so that leaves room for some Halloween leftover treats!! Uh oh, my good intentions are already going out the window!

ROASTED HADDOCK ON CHICKPEA & CHORIZO SAUTE

Another Monday morning of feeling like a whale!! I don't know why I do it to myself - I am super good for half the week and then roll on Thursday and I go food and wine crazy - gone is the soup, salad and fish and instead it's crisps, dips, saucisson, full English breakfasts, burgers, cheese, three course meals and buckets of wine. 

Every Monday I have the same conversation with my best friends about how they have done the same and we pledge to each other that we are turning over a new leaf and from now on we are going to know our limits with alcohol, not gorge on food until we feel sick and instead are going to ooze health.......unfortunately our good intentions have yet to last!!!

Anyway I took myself straight to the gym on Monday and then had a healthy lunch of soup and it was fish for supper. Pascal was so unexcited by the prospect, he refused to help and tried to persuade Arabella and I to go out for pizza but I stayed strong and I am very pleased I did as I felt almost human again today.

One of my pet peeves about recipe books, such as Jamie Oliver's, is that you need an industrial sized kitchen to hold all the ingredients that you might only use once, or twice if you are lucky. Therefore I am quite a fan of Ainsley Harriott's "Just Five Ingredients" cookbook. Some of the recipes could do with a little something extra but most of them are really good, especially this one.

Ingredients for 4 people:

4 x 150g skinless haddock fillets (you could use any white fish to be honest)
1 large red onion, finely chopped
200g raw chorizo sausages, finely diced
2 x 400g cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
15g roughly chopped coriander leaves
4 tablespoons of olive oil

Preheat the oven to 200C / gas mark 6 and place the haddock fillets on a non stick baking sheet / tin foil, season and drizzle with about a tablespoon of olive oil. Roast in the oven for about 12 minutes or until just tender but moist in the middle.

While the fish is cooking, heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan. Add the onion and saute for about 4 minutes until softened but not coloured. Add the chorizo and cook for another few minutes until the colour has started to bleed into the onion.

Next add the chickpeas and cook until they are completely heated through - this took about another 5 minutes.

Finally stir in the coriander with the remaining oil and season to taste I felt it needed some salt).

Serve with the roasted haddock on top and tuck in.

It was delicious - Pascal as always complains about having fish but absolutely loved it, and Arabella finished every last morsel - her only comment was she would have liked even more chorizo in the dish! Normally I am quite tight about buying fresh herbs as you never use all of them and so end up throwing them away but the coriander is a very important part of the recipe and really compliments the different flavours.

The chickpea and chorizo saute will last in the fridge for a couple of days and makes a delicious lunch on it's own however there was not a bite left from ours - typical!!

SUKHO THAI, FULHAM ROAD

I was very lucky as after university my best girlfriends from school all moved to South West London and we always met every couple of weeks for a lovely meal, a good old natter and too much wine. However fast forward ten years & one is in New York, one in Singapore & another in LA so now there are only two of us left! 

Thankfully Ceri & I live about 5 minutes from each other so last Thursday night we decided to get together for supper and a gossip somewhere local (far too lazy to schlep across London). 

We chose Sukho Thai which is a fantastic very authentic Thai restaurant in Fulham. It also has two sister restaurants, one in Wimbledon and the other in Chelsea. It is decorated in "Thai style" with lots of dark wood and antique-looking artefacts, silk panels and leather banquettes. The waiters/waitresses are traditionally dressed and the service is literally perfect, very attentive.

I am normally a bit fussy about Thai as I don't like spice or a curry much to be honest, but then again the few times I have been to this restaurant I have had a fabulous meal. I am not very adventurous with my ordering as my knowledge of Thai food is pretty limited. I did go to Thailand travelling many years ago and all I ate was a combination of diet pills and spring rolls so did not really embrace the culture!

Unfortunately there is not a menu online but there are many different starters, mains of meat, fish and curries and then plenty of sides of rice, vegetables and noodles. Some dishes are spicy, others are much more mild and some are very exotic such as the pla tod sam rod (whole, de-boned sea bass with a chilli, tamarind & lemongrass sauce) or plah tuna (a salad of thinly sliced tuna in lemongrass & fresh mint vinaigrette), although I stuck to what I knew!

Ceri and I devoured two dishes of prawn crackers and then we decided to share 3 starters as they are not very big. We had grilled squid, dim sum and rolls of vegetable, crab and prawn. It was all delicious - I had thought the rolls were going to be in Vietnamese rice paper but they were spring rolls - not that it mattered as the ones we had were yum, especially the prawn ones. 

The squid came with a dip - unfortunately I cannot remember the exact ingredients - but it was fruity with some chillies. Ceri liked it, I preferred soya sauce. The dim sum were excellent and were stuffed with a combination of chicken, prawn, pork and vegetables. The presentation of the food is excellent, the staff obviously put a lot in effort into it.

For mains Ceri & I both had Pad Thai - incredibly run of the mill but it is so delicious I didn't want to try anything new - it is cooked to perfection and filled with prawns, vegetables, chicken and tofu. Everything is so fresh and full of flavour. My only complaint is I could have eaten more!!!

We didn't have puddings or even look at the menu again as we were more keen to waste the calories on a couple of cocktails at Locale.

If you like Thai, I would really make the effort to come to this place, I read a few online reviews and some people go as far to say it is one of the best Thai restaurants in London and the prices are not astronomical which makes a nice change from some Asian restaurants. You will need to book though as this place is very popular every night of the week! There is always the take away option but that is collection only.

Enjoy!

Sukho Thai

855 Fulham Road,
London
SW6 5HJ
Tel: 020 7371 7600