FETA, CHORIZO & SPRING ONION QUESADILLAS

We had the most wonderful time at Penshurst Place today - it had something for all of us - a historical house, a toy museum, beautiful gardens, an adventure playground, a maze and a cream tea - best day ever!!

By the time we arrived home, I wasn't in the mood to cook anything complicated and so decided to try and "knock up" these quesadillas. I love quesadillas and will regularly order them in restaurants although I have never cooked them before.

They took about 35-40 minutes in total.

Ingredients for 3 people:

12 cherry tomatoes, chopped into quarters
2 spring onions, chopped including the green bits (I only had a continental onion which also worked)
10g coriander, chopped
4 slices of jalapeños from a jar, finely chopped
Juice from half a lime
4 tortillas
120g feta cheese, crumbled or diced
150g chorizo, diced

Optional to serve
Guacamole

There is a bit of prep to do for this recipe. Firstly cook the chorizo in a dry frying pan over a medium heat for 5 minutes and then set aside.

Chop the tomatoes, spring onions and coriander, season well and mix in a bowl.

Take out 4 tablespoons and set to one side (this will be used in the quesadilla). 

With the remainder, mix in the jalapeños and lime juice to make the salsa.

To make things easier, I then created two even separate piles of the tomato, coriander and spring onion mix, feta and chorizo.

To make the actual quesadilla, heat a large frying pan and put one tortilla in the bottom.

Sprinkle over half the feta, half the chorizo and half the tomato, spring onion and coriander mix.

Top with another tortilla.

Cook until the bottom is coloured and the cheese is starting to melt. I kept on checking the bottom by lifting it up with a fish slice. Now for the complicated part of flipping it over! Pascal actually did this and he used a plate to flip it on first and then slide back into the pan.

Cook for another few minutes until it is brown on the bottom.

Once ready, we put it in the oven under a very low heat to keep warm while we cooked the second quesadilla - this cooked quicker than the first as the pan was hotter so keep an eye on the bottom of the tortilla to make sure it doesn't burn.

Then cut (we used scissors) and serve with a dollop of salsa and guacamole (if you fancy).

These were so much better than I was expecting and I absolutely loved them. The combination of the feta, chorizo and tomato was incredible and the salsa gave it a real kick…..too much of a kick for Pascal though. His reaction to the jalapeños kept Arabella and I in fits of giggles. I much preferred these to normal quesadillas and I will definitely be doing these again as they weren't complicated and nor did they need too many ingredients - just the way I like to cook!!

THE ONLY RUNNING FOOTMAN, MAYFAIR

The weather was so wet on Thursday, I felt we were in the depths of winter rather than the middle of August….another wonderful English summer! I could have easily stayed in and watched reruns of Gossip Girl however I had a table reserved at The Only Running Footman and I had been looking forward to it all week.

I had been here for drinks before as it was my brother's old local when he worked in nearby Berkeley Square and as I arrived I could see it hadn't changed in the 7 years since I had last been, the pub was absolutely heaving! Ladies -  I reckon it would be a great place to meet men…..I was however meeting my husband.

Downstairs is the pub and then upstairs is a smart but cosy dining room. We were shown to our table and ordered a drink while we perused the menu. I was starving so I was very grateful for the freshly baked bread to nibble on.

There was so much I wanted to order and I found it hard to decide. For starter I wanted the crispy squid or the risotto Milanese or the falafel with homemade hummus but I ended up ordering Dorset crab with toast, broad beans, pea shoots and lemon dressing. For main I was torn between the pan fried sea bass with Jerusalem artichoke puree, girolles, wilted spinach and sauce vierge or the shepherd's pie but I then chose the Chateaubriand to share with Pascal which came with fries, mixed herb salads, roast tomatoes, mushrooms and a green peppercorn sauce.

The food was beautifully presented and I was delighted with my crab when it arrived. It tasted so fresh and light and the broad beans were a perfect addition - I don't know why I don't have them more often, they are delicious.

Pascal chose the burrata with heritage tomatoes, asparagus and truffle dressing and I will admit, I had slight food envy when his arrived as it smelt amazing….I love truffles. This starter was exceptionally good, the burrata was soft and creamy and went really well with the tomatoes, asparagus and of course the truffle dressing. It was so much more special than a usual tomato and burrata salad.

As I had already checked out the pudding menu and knew exactly what I was going to order, I was thinking I should have fish as a main so I wasn't too full however Pascal and I were too tempted by the Chateaubriand and when it arrived we knew we had made the right choice.

We had it served rare and the meat was excellent - cooked to perfection (even my fussy french husband was impressed). I thought it was just as good, if not better than the well known steak restaurants around London but much more reasonably priced plus we loved the sides and sauce too. Even the simple mushroom was a delight and I couldn't stop picking at the fries even though I was full to the brim.

I could not resist the ferrero rocher cheesecake, it was rich, chocolatey and decadent and worth every single calorie. I am a huge fan of the Cheesecake Factory in the States and wish more restaurants served such enticing cheesecake flavours. 

Wow - what a meal! Service was friendly and efficient - nothing was too much trouble for the staff and judging by the full restaurant we weren't the only people impressed by the Only Running Footman. 

If you are in the Mayfair area, ignore the usual ostentatious places (there are many) and head for the Only Running Footman for breakfast, brunch, lunch, supper or even just a drink - it is a gem and not to be missed.

(The restaurant also has 2 private dining rooms).

The Only Running Footman

5 Charles Street,
Mayfair
London
W1J 5DF
Tel: 020 7499 2988

BISTRO BY SHOT, PARSON'S GREEN

I love having beauty treatments and my all time favourite is a 90 minute rose facial at The Organic Pharmacy - it is amazing and a real treat. Although after a facial I never look my best as my hair is super greasy from the oil and my face is blotchy from the extractions. So when I arranged to go for supper with my lovely friend Ceri on Saturday night after my treatment, I requested that we go somewhere low key as I wasn't looking particularly glam!

We decided on Bistro By Shot, a petite, cosy French-Italian all day dining venue in Parson's Green. It is relatively new and I had read good reviews in local magazines. It also has two very popular sister restaurants/cafes in Fulham Broadway.

We perused the menu - it was different than the one online which confused me as obviously I had already chosen what I wanted to eat!

Anyway I easily chose again - the seared foie gras with red onion jam and toast followed by the saddle of lamb, olive mash, confit shallots, curly kale and garlic puree. Ceri also chose the foie gras and then she decided on the duck breast, polenta croquette, broccoli puree and honey sauce.

Unfortunately there was only one portion of foie gras left and so we decided to share the one dish as well as having a cheese and charcuterie platter.

While we waited for the starter to arrive, we were given some asparagus tempura which were great, very light, and I always believe a complimentary extra course is a very nice touch.

The cheese and charcuterie platter was a delight - plenty of cured meats and saucisson, cornichons and 4 different cheeses….I am not sure what they exactly were but they were all delicious, especially the soft blue cheese. There was more than enough for two of us and I expect I will be back very soon to share this with my husband Pascal - he would love it.

The seared foie gras was very good, it melted in your mouth, however the portion was minuscule and after we mentioned this to the waiter, he immediately offered to take it off our bill. Unfortunately they were seriously running low on foie gras that night!

I adored my main - the lamb was cooked pink and was so tender, the mash was soft and flavoursome with lots of olives, and the kale with garlic puree was out of this world.

Ceri's duck breast with broccoli puree and honey sauce was also delicious however the croquettes had a funny flavour to them - we couldn't work out what spice had been added but neither of us were keen on it (obviously I had to taste it too)!

The pudding menu looked good especially the macaroons and the chocolate fondant but we were stuffed. We did however finish off with a couple of chocolate truffles which were the perfect way to round off the meal.

All is all the food was excellent, we really enjoyed it. The service was extremely friendly and polite but it was also very, very slow - there weren't enough staff working. Hopefully this was just a one off occurrence. The restaurant is reasonably priced and I expect it is also a good venue for breakfast and lunch (they also do a set menu). I am also keen to join them on a Friday night (6pm-8pm) for "aperitivo" where you can eat as many canapés as you like for £4…..I will be there in elasticated trousers so I can really get involved!!

Bistro By Shot

28 Parson's Green Lane,
London
SW6 4HS
Tel: 020 7371 7533
Email: info@bistrobyshot.com

STEAK AND BLUE CHEESE SALAD

Sorry for the silence however my daughter is away with her father and my husband has been in France and so I have been home alone. Despite the fact I LOVE food, cooking for one is hard - firstly because I become so unmotivated and secondly most recipes are for 4 people which means you end up with tonnes of leftovers. Although I did make my quick pita pizzas one night and they were very good.

Anyway Pascal is now back and so it is time to cook again. As it was super hot today we wanted a barbecue but we also wanted something quite light so this recipe card from Waitrose was the perfect option. It took about 20 minutes in total.

Ingredients for 2 people:

Around 350-400g beef sirloin steak
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
75g Roquefort 
5tbsp soured cream
100g fine green beans, chopped into bite size pieces 
4 thick slices of mixed olive ciabatta
1 tbsp olive oil
1 sweet Dolce Verde Romaine lettuce, roughly torn (you could use iceberg if easier)
2 tbsp snipped chives

Crush the garlic cloves and rub one on to each steak.

Roughly mash the Roquefort in a bowl and then stir in the sour cream. Place in the fridge until ready to serve.

Boil the beans for 3 minutes (or according to the packet's instructions).

Drain and cool (I rinsed them under cold water). Cut into bite size pieces.

Brush the bread with oil.

Cook the bread and steaks on a barbecue or in a griddle pan for a couple of minutes on each side (you may want to cook the steak longer if you prefer it more well done).

Place the lettuce and green beans in a large serving bowl.

Slice or cube the steak and add to the salad.

Tear or cut the toasted bread into pieces and add to the salad.

Add the blue cheese dressing and mix well.

Serve with a sprinkling of chives.

Wow this was really good! I am a big fan of the steak and blue cheese salad at Sophie's Steakhouse in Chelsea but this was even better. Very simple but full of flavour. I never realised it was so easy to make blue cheese dressing - I will definitely be making this again and / or variations of this salad starting with an iceberg wedge with blue cheese and bacon - another favourite of mine!

You can enhance this recipe by marinating the steak in a couple of tablespoons of Jack Daniels whiskey for a few hours or even overnight.