AMERIGO VESPUCCI, CANARY WHARF

Every winter I turn into a very keen ice skater, I am not particularly talented but I can make it round and round the rink without falling over (touch wood) and I find it a lot of fun. Arabella and I went to the Natural History Museum rink with friends, then Pascal, Arabella and I always go to Somerset House and The Delaunay as our Christmas tradition. Finally last night Pascal and I went to the Canary Wharf ice rink for the first time as it has a "skate path". In fairness, it was a hell of a lot smaller than I was expecting, but it definitely added some excitement to the skating experience. 

I remembered eating in an incredible Italian over in the Canary Wharf area 5 years ago and luckily managed to get a table at late notice (Canary Wharf is wonderfully peaceful at weekends - a great place for Christmas shopping)!

Amerigo Vespucci is one of the longest established restaurants in Canary Wharf and has the main restaurant area, a private dining area, as well as terraces with fantastic views of the docks and it is next to the water.

The menu is vast (anti pasti, pasta for starter and main, meat, fish) and I wanted several different dishes but I also didn't want to end the meal by exploding so I had to restrain myself!

I started off with some marinated olives as a pre-dinner snack.

I was tempted to have lasagna for starter and then steak with a blue cheese sauce for main but I reined it in and instead chose crostini di funghi selvatici e caprino which was wild mushrooms, pan fried with fresh garlic, served with crisp ciabatta bread, topped with creamy goats cheese and grilled with grated Parmesan cheese. What a great choice!

It was just as described and so tasty - a great selection of mushrooms and plenty of cheese - right up my street. 

Pascal was also equally impressed by his starter. He ordered tortellini con mozzarella, pomodorini e basilica which was parcels of pasta filled with ricotta cheese and spinach, served with a light butter sauce seasoned with fresh basil, ripe cherry tomatoes and chopped mozzarella cheese. He claimed it was one of the best pasta dishes he has ever had.

For mains I chose the lasagna alla Siciliana which is fresh homemade Sicilian lasagna made with salami, garden peas, ham, mozzarella, and laced with tomato and chopped Parmesan. 

This was good however it needed some seasoning and extra Parmesan and then was absolutely perfect - it made me realise that lasagna is really one of my favourite foods.

Pascal went for scalloppa alla bolognese which was veal escalope, pan fried, and topped with Palma ham, mozzarella cheese, seasoned with garlic, fresh oregano, laced with sliced asparagus and tomato.

Even though he was expecting something bigger and for the veal to be in breadcrumbs, he raved about his meal and could have eaten it all over again, he said all the ingredients were so fresh and flavoursome.

As a side we ordered a rocket and Parmesan salad, our new favourite, which was yum.

The pudding menu looked good but we were fit to burst unfortunately. It was quite a trek home but the journey had been worth it. If you are ever in Canary Wharf, I would recommend this place, the service was delightful, incredibly friendly, the food highly commendable, it is very reasonably priced and I expect it is a perfect place for a lazy lunch in the summer, I look forward to coming back.

Amerigo Vespucci

25 Cabot Square,
Makenzie Walk
Canary Wharf
London 
E14 4QA
Tel: 020 7513 0288

MUSHROOM, CHORIZO & THYME PASTA

Arabella is a really good eater however she puts her foot down over a few things - aubergines, duck and mushrooms. I don't know what she has against these 3 ingredients as Pascal and I love them all. However I don't force them down her as she eats pretty much everything else and she has been known to even enjoy the odd mushroom if it is covered in breadcrumbs and garlic mayo!!

Anyway as Arabella was with her father last weekend, I thought it would be a good opportunity to cook a mushroom pasta and as Pascal and I are huge chorizo fans, this definitely hit the spot.

Ingredients for 4 people:

350g of penne or other pasta like conchiglie, farfalle or fusilli
2 tbsp olive oil
400g button mushrooms, sliced
250g chorizo, cut into 5mm slices
150ml single or double (we used double)
150ml chicken stock
1tsp chopped fresh thyme leaves
80g Parmesan, shaved, to serve

Slice the mushrooms and chorizo, make up the stock and chop the thyme. 

If you are using dry pasta, you will need to start cooking this first in salted boiling water. We had fresh pasta which only took a few minutes so we didn't start yet.

Instead we started by putting a frying pan on a high heat, adding the oil and then the mushrooms once it was hot. 

Cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they are softened and lightly golden.

This is when I started cooking the pasta (which took 3-4 minutes). Once the pasta is cooking, drain and set aside, retaining about 50ml of the cooking water.

Back to the mushrooms, add the chorizo to the frying pan with them, and fry to 1-2 minutes.

Stir in the cream, stock and thyme and then season. Reduce the heat to medium-low so the sauce is bubbling.

Finally add the pasta and cooking water to the sauce and mix well.

Serve in bowls and scatter with Parmesan.

This was absolutely delicious  - the chorizo gives the pasta a bit of a kick and the cream just adds a little flavour without being rich. Plus I adore mushrooms…I just used button mushrooms but you could mix it up a bit with oyster or wild mushrooms, like chanterelles, or even a combination. Another alternative would be to turn it into a pasta bake by baking it in a dish and covering it in cheese….I will definitely try this next time!!!

FLESH & BUNS, COVENT GARDEN

I had a really good weekend - shopping, theatre and lots of eating!! Pascal and I went over to Covent Garden on Saturday and it is wonderfully Christmassy, sparkling lights and Christmas trees everywhere and even Santa in his sleigh with all the reindeer built out of Lego. We saw The Woman in Black which was just as scary as it was when I saw it 20 years ago (gosh I am getting old) and wonderfully acted…Pascal did amuse me as he thought we were seeing a musical…obviously never listens to a thing I say!!

We went for supper at 6.30pm and despite the early hour all the restaurants were heaving, thankfully we had made a reservation at Flesh and Buns as I had wanted to go there for ages. As we were shown to our table, Pascal's face dropped - they wanted to seat us at a HUGE central shared table - Pascal's idea of hell (I am not too keen either). We asked if we could sit elsewhere which they thankfully quickly arranged - knowing how much we normally eat, we would have annoyed the other diners by taking up too much room.

The menu is full of sushi staples such as maki rolls, sashimi, ceviche and so on and then they also serve "flesh and buns" - a meat or fish, sauce, lettuce all in a Bone Daddies bun. (Bone Daddies is their hugely successful sister restaurant, both created by the ex head chef of Zuma and Nobu).

Like always we could have ordered the whole menu but actually we were quite restrained (for us). We started with chips and dips of rice crackers, avocado shiso and tomato jalapeño.

This was absolutely delicious - a perfect way to start a meal, light but tantalising for the taste buds. We then had the tuna tataki jalapeño ponzu and garlic chips. 

I was slightly worried when it arrived that Pascal wouldn't like it as he doesn't like sauce but it was very fresh and full of flavour - a favourite of mine.

We then had the fried squid with Japanese pepper and lime.

These were good but had quite the kick to them. Surprisingly Pascal adored them but they were a little spicy for me - at least they increased my water intake!!

We then had the chicken yakitori which are Pascal's favourite - these were great, very tender chicken with a sweet and spicy, sticky sauce.

I could have ordered every maki roll on the menu but ended up just ordering the soft shell crab one with jalapeño mayo and chives, as I was trying not to overdo it. 

These were incredible and I resented sharing them!! 

For "mains" we had the flesh and buns - the crispy piglet belly with mustard miso and pickled apple and the crispy duck leg with sour plum soy and beetroot pickle.

The pork was the best I have ever tasted, so moreish - it was crispy yet also melted in your mouth. Unbelievably good. Unfortunately the duck didn't fare as well - it was a bit dry and tasteless - I would have much preferred to have more maki rolls or the tuna tataki again.

Unfortunately we were too full to order pudding which was a massive shame as the majority of people in the restaurant were toasting marshmallows over their own personal "fires" and it looked delicious, especially when they were then squeezed in between chocolate crackers - I think orgasmic is the only word…..

Anyway an AMAZING meal, I would really recommend this place, delicious food, efficient service, buzzy atmosphere and a great venue for groups. There is no reason not to go!!

Flesh and Buns

41 Earlham Street
London
WC2H 9LX
Tel: 020 7632 9500

BLUEBIRD, CHELSEA

I was so chuffed last week as I managed to book a table at Berners Tavern on a Friday night…or so I thought. They called me a couple of days ago to confirm my table at 8.30….for breakfast not supper…duh!!! No wonder they had space at such short notice!!

Anyway I thankfully then reserved a table at the Bluebird. I used to be a real regular here, Arabella even had her christening party in the private rooms however I haven't actually eaten here for about 5 years so it was long overdue.

We arrived at 8.30 (pm) and the place was heaving - a real party atmosphere in both the bar and the restaurant, something I was not expecting. I thought the Bluebird had had it's "moment" and would be lacking in ambiance…how wrong I was (again). 

I was truly torn over what to order as it is a good menu - as they always have fabulous fresh seafood, I went for the crab. Pascal was tempted by the oysters but ended up having the foie gras.

Now for another error on my part, I didn't read the menu properly as it is "proper" crab in the shell, not dressed crab. Duh.

It was very good, but I do hate the fiddly bit of taking the crab out the shell & I had a Pretty Woman moment where I flicked crab everywhere…not very ladylike.

Pascal ordered foie gras ballotine with pickled grapes, raisin puree and hazelnuts and unfortunately he didn't fare any better with his starter.

It was delicious but it was too rich for him, he was expecting the foie gras itself to be plain and not so "mousse like". Luckily for me, I can handle rich food, so I helped him out!

Thankfully our luck changed with the main courses - we both ordered burgers with a side of mac and cheese (each of course) and a rocket and Parmesan salad.

The burger was delicious - it was 200g of brisket and short rib Galloway beef, lettuce, tomato, monterey jack and the house sauce. I am not sure what the sauce was but it was incredible - randomly it reminded me of a pimped up big mac but in a very good way (I love a big mac but never eat at MacDonald's as I am too scared to think about what the burger is actually made of etc). The burger was so good, it didn't need any extra sauces which is a very rare occurrence for me.

The mac and cheese was cheesy with a crispy crust, not as tasty as mine but enjoyable. Whereas the rocket and Parmesan salad was spectacular - we were fighting over the last lettuce leaf at the end and even contemplated ordering another!! A very pleasant surprise!!

The pudding menu looked good but we were fit to burst. Despite disappointing starters, the mains more than made up for it and I can safely say we will be back. There was plenty more on the menu to try - I had my eye on the burrata for my next starter - and the brownie and marshmallow sundae has my name all over it.  Although probably for lunch rather than dinner as it was so noisy that we couldn't hear each other talk which isn't ideal for a chatterbox like me (although Pascal properly enjoyed not having to listen to my endless drivel)!!

Bluebird

350 King's Road

London

SW3 5UU

Tel: 020 7559 1000

Email: enquiries@bluebird-restaurant.com

PEA, BACON & GOAT'S CHEESE RISOTTO

After the success of my Crab & Truffle Risotto I wanted to cook another one and today was the perfect day for it. Poor Arabella was home from school with a terrible cough and sore throat and so needed to eat something soft and warming….plus she is a goat's cheese fanatic (her illness certainly hadn't affected her appetite)!

This is an old recipe of mine and was the first risotto I ever cooked and at the time I remember thinking I would "save calories" by using margarine rather than butter - what an error - definitely use full fat butter and lots of cheese!!

Ingredients for 4 people:

1 litre of chicken or vegetable stock
70g butter
1 onion, finely chopped
200g lardons
A bunch of thyme
400g risotto rice
150ml white wine
200g frozen peas
Salt & pepper
150g goat's cheese
150g Parmesan cheese, grated

Chop the onion and remove the thyme leaves from their stalks.

Heat a knob of butter in a saucepan and add the bacon, onion and thyme.

Cook for 10 minutes until the onion is soft and the lardons are cooked. While this is cooking, heat the stock in a saucepan.

Once the 10 minutes is up, add the rice to the bacon, onions and thyme. Turn up the heat so it almost fries.

After a minute the rice will look slightly translucent. Next add the wine and keep stirring.

Next for your exercise!! Add a ladle of hot stock and a pinch of salt and turn down the heat to a fairly high simmer. Stir and stir until the stock is absorbed completely, and then add another ladle, and then stir some more.

When there are only a couple of ladles left, add the peas to the stock and then add them to the risotto along with the stock.

Keep on going until all the stock is used up and the rice is soft but still has a slight bite. Season with salt and pepper.

Remove from the heat and stir in the butter, half the goat's cheese, and the Parmesan.

Serve with the remaining goat's cheese and eat as soon as possible while it retains it lovely moist texture!

Oh my goodness, this was delicious, so creamy but so fresh - peas, bacon and goat's cheese is a winning combination. For once I didn't even need to add extra cheese! Finally, if you are veggie, you can leave out the bacon and use vegetable stock rather than chicken. This is time consuming with all the stirring but very simple to make.

I am already looking forward to the leftovers tomorrow!!