Ebi Sushi

Ebi Sushi occupies  unassuming premises on Abbey Street, in a part of Derby that feels strange to me.  In the decade or so that I've lived here the area has been completely reconfigured, houses that friends once lived in have been knocked down and new roads added.  It felt like a slightly odd place to have a restaurant but the good things I'd heard about Ebi Sushi overrode my misgivings about the location.

Once inside you might as well be in Japan, it really is that authentic.  There were four of us and we were seated towards the back of the restaurant, which really is quite small, with the sushi bar running down the right wall as you walk in.  When I phoned to book a table I'd tried to book for six, then five, before managing to secure a table for four.  In the front of the restaurant a party of sixteen Japanese were seated, so on a more usual night they might be able to accommodate a larger booking.

The staff were really friendly and very helpful when it came to ordering, they were happy to make recommendations.  They didn't bat an eyelid at our terrible manners or at the amount of sake we drank.

 

We had a selection of sashimi to start with, then a selection of sushi, before moving on to a cooked course of chicken teriyaki, for which I really felt too full.  Highlights were the tuna belly, scallop sashimi and flying fish roe.  This is food as an art form, so beautifully presented I (almost) didn't want to eat it.  All the fish was exquisitely fresh and apparently the owner goes himself to Billingsgate fish market to select it every day.

 

I'd been reading up on etiquette before our visit and had read that you should use the blunt end of your chop sticks if passing sushi to someone else.  I tried to do this when passing a bit to the boy and dropped sushi in his sake which is probably the biggest faux pas ever.  You're not supposed to cut the sushi up, you should eat the whole piece in one go, fish side down, but we all wanted to taste the different kinds of fish so that rule went out of the window.  Apparently you shouldn't really drink sake with sushi as it is rice and rice, but the hot sake is sooo tasty, we got some to begin the meal and then just kept ordering more!

My experience of sushi encompasses a few trips to the conveyor belt gaudiness of Yo Sushi and the odd M & S lunchtime snack so this was really next level.  The one disappointment was that the big party had consumed all the available edamame beans.  Ebi Susi is the place to take someone special for a meal which has an implicit sense of occasion.  This truly goes down as one of my most memorable meals ever :-)

London on the end of my fork...

Today I am sitting up in bed with a stinker of a cold, and bored of watching episodes of Revenge (my media player keeps buffering, how annoying?) I decided to blog my trip to London last weekend whilst it is still fresh in my mind, because it was certainly a gourmet weekend if ever there was one!

On Friday afternoon I arrived in Peckham when I should have arrived in Camberwell, but no bother, this allowed for a trip to a very nice pub in little brother's former hood; The Montpelier:

http://www.themontpelier.net/index.html

This is a nicely renovated back street boozer just round the corner from Peckham Rye tube station and away from the hustle and bustle of the high street, they even have an in-house cinema.

We then had a long walk home to contend with (in the rain, which may have contributed to the current cold situation) before drying off and heading out into Brixton

We had a drink at the new Craft Beer Co. pub:

http://thecraftbeerco.com/location/brixton-london/

right in the centre of new, trendy Brixton, where the farmer's market is held.  If you like real ale and locally brewed stuff this pub is for you, with a mind boggling selection of beers, lagers and ciders on tap, which change daily.  I tried the Bristolian Pheasant Plucker cider which went down a treat.  They also had very tasty looking bar snacks on display but we were saving our bellies for a feast at Negril in Brixton Hill.

Negril is a no frills bring your own booze Caribbean eatery.  The chicken is all free range and for £25 we got a massive platter for two to share with chicken, coleslaw, chips, plantain, salad, saltfish fritters, chili sauce, rice and peas and delicious gravy.  This isn't an upmarket place (there is one toilet which you reach by going  through the kitchen ) but it was friendly, everyone was having a good time and the staff had a smile and a joke with you, we finished our meal with a bottle of Ting and felt positively festive.

The following morning the rain had gone and it was a beautiful sunny autumnal day as I ventured further afield into London to Caravan Kings Cross for brunch and a catch up with my uni girls.

http://www.caravankingscross.co.uk/

We had great coffee, a couple of glasses of the on tap prosecco and brunch.  I went for a cheesey, spinachy french toast concoction which was lovely and gooey.  Served with crisp, streaky bacon, this was everything brunch should be.  The place had a nice New York village vibe, we were there for hours.  I was sad not to have tried the jalapeno cornbread though, next time.

A few hours and a couple of pints later I had worked up enough of an appetite to be ready for a meal at Sagar, a South Indian Vegetarian restaurant in the heart of Covent Garden.

http://www.sagarveg.co.uk/

This was properly authentic South Indian food, I tried some things I'd never had before including a weird and wonderful curry that contained gherkins!

Finally, I couldn't leave Brixton without having at least one meal in the amazing, vibrant market.  In order to regenerate the market the council let some of the pitches for free for a short period of time and it has attracted scores of restauranters, you can get every cuisine imaginable in here!  We decided to give Okan, a Japanese place, a try, as I'd read about it recently, Time Out having named it as one of their top five cheap eats in the capital.

http://www.okanbrixtonvillage.com/

They specialise in  Okonomiyaki ( a sort of cabbagey pancake - sounds weird but trust me) I had pork and kimchi in mine, it was the best comfort food ever and totally filling, I did read later that they are usually for sharing but we all managed to scoff one each!

I did enjoy my weekend, it was lovely to catch up with good friends and relatives over some fantastic food, I'll be back down again soon, once my waistline and wallet have recovered!

The Droste Effect.

Yes, I've been given more chocolate, this time a selection from Droste's range.  Droste are a Dutch company of long standing, they've been around since 1863 to be precise.  They make quite a range of chocolate products but the thing they are possibly best know for in this country are Newberry Fruits, a large, soft, jelly fruit sweet beloved of grandads the world over (well, mine!)

Droste are quite big in Holland and even have a weird visual effect named after them; "The Droste effect" refers to the recursive picture on their cocoa powder tins, which show a picture of a nurse holding a box of Droste cocoa powder illustrated with a picture of a nurse holding a box of Droste cocoa powder illustrated with a... you get it....mind bending.

Droste pastilles made up the bulk of my selection, a pastille being marginally larger, glossier and more satisfyingly "snappier" than a giant Cadbury's button.  The pastilles come in milk and dark chocolate, and also in a range of 'half and half' mixtures.  The dark chocolate pastilles are very smooth and being high in cocoa and low in dairy are good for those who are lactose intolerant.  The dark and milk mixed pastilles went down well, with the addition of milk chocolate softening the edge of the dark chocolate but retaining the richness.
I really liked the milk chocolate but I think it may be too sweet for some, I think my chocolate palate is used to the extra sugar having lived in Germany for many years where they also like a slightly sweeter milk chocolate.  It isn't anything like as sweet as, say, Galaxy though.

My favourite Droste product by far has to be the XXL pastille with milk chocolate and hazelnut.  This is a chocolate and hazelnut button the size of a digestive biscuit, with snappable grooves to divide it into quarters, a joy to absorb with a cup of tea.

Droste's tagline is "Where tradition meets quality" and I'd certainly agree with that, but alongside the tradition and quality there as a pleasing dose of European quirkiness.  You can buy Droste chocolate online, or I'm reliably informed you can pick it up at T J Morris (Home  Bargains) and B & M stores.  I've still got a fair few pastilles to scoff, but I'll certainly be seeking out some more of the XXL pastilles.  With all this free chocolate and the transition from walking to driving everywhere I fear that I'll be an XXL pastille myself soon, see you down at Slimming World in January...

Cocoa Boutique offer

If anyone is hankering after a box of Cocoa Boutique chocolates after my last blog, you can order the box at the reduced price of £9.95 instead of nearly thirty five quid.

Just follow this link for the offer:

http://www.cocoaboutique.com/blog

Cocoa Boutique

It isn't every day that I receive unsolicited emails offering to send me large boxes of luxurious chocolates in exchange for a few words, so naturally I said yes when Cocoa Boutique asked if I would be interested in receiving a free chocolate tasting box to review.

Cocoa Boutique are a Nottingham based "Luxury Artisan Chocolate Club" who are "truly passionate" about chocolate.  They have sourced chocolates from chocolatiers all over the world to include in their tasting box.

Said box dropped through my letterbox on Saturday morning:

Pretty classy.  As I was off camping for the weekend I decided to take it with me, hey presto, glamping.  The boy wasn't complaining.

It didn't take us long to pop our chocolate cherries.  Tent pegged and al freso lunch devoured, we decided to see what the box of delights had to offer...

We decided to go for this fruity little number first:

So perfect, we (almost) couldn't bear to eat it, but we did.  This was a white strawberry cream, resplendent with a soft pink sugar dusting, its crispy shell filled with a creamy, subtle and delicately strawberry flavoured centre.  

Next we opted for the antithesis of the strawberry cream, dark chocolate buttons made from fine Ecuadorian chocolate.  We really liked the nibble-ish size of these rich, glossy little buttons.

We tried the milk choc coated honeycomb pieces next, and enjoyed the thick chocolate coating but felt the honeycomb itself was a bit insipid and chewy, lacking the required powdery crunch.  The combination of thick milk chocolate and honeycomb was also overly sweet for my taste.

Over the next couple of days we gorged on chocolatey morsels.  A highlight was the "Pamela".  Why Pamela?  Not sure, but we'll let the random naming slide because it looks so pretty.  Pamela is a cassis and pear ganache, capturing the floral pear note well, with a nice hit of booze and dark chocolate.

We went a little bit mad on the chocolate coffee beans, which had a lovely roasted flavour, not too strong or bitter, these were just right and maybe my favourite thing in the box....until I tried the salted caramels that is!  (Watch out when you bite into these as the caramel is very runny, but oh so delicious).

This is a very comprehensive box containing fifteen different types of chocolate, and at least two of each, sometimes four, and sometimes five, allowing me to sneakily scoff the odd ones, with the boy being none the wiser.  I liked the fact that the rich and extravagant affairs are off set by some plain yet very well executed favourites.

Each box comes with a scoring card, feedback is welcomed.  To be in with a chance of receiving a free tasting box yourself, just follow this link...http://www.cocoaboutique.com/free-chocolates

Tapas del Paradise

About time we cooked some blogworthy food.  We've been getting spoilt throughout June and have had some great food cooked for us by friends, but we've not entertained for a while.  Last night the boy's parental units came for dinner which gave us the impetus to plan and execute a most enjoyable menu.  This consisted entirely of recipes from a book I've mentioned previously, Carlos Horrillo and Patrick Morcas's tapas book, a bible of beautifully simple recipes and tapas in its broadest scope.

Knowing that our fishmonger in the Guildhall Market has a steady supply of the largest, most succulent prawns imaginable, we opted for a Gambas starter.  Gambas al Romero to be precise:
I've never thought to put rosemary with seafood before but it works beautifully:

Gambas al Romero:
12 uncooked tiger prawns - heads off, shells on
olive oil
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
3 sprigs of fresh rosemary
Maldon sea salt and cracked black pepper, to taste
30g butter
lemon wedges to serve

With a sharp knife, carefully make an incision down the back of each prawn and remove the dark line that runs along the spine.
Place them in a large bowl with 150ml olive oil, the garlic, rosemary and pepper.  Combine well, cover and leave to marinate for up to 12 hours (we left them for about 5 hours).
When you are ready to cook, turn your grill on to high or preheat your oven to gas mark 7.
Place a large, non-stick frying pan on a high heat (you are going to be putting it under the grill or in the oven so make sure it doesn't have a plastic handle) pour in two dashes of olive oil and tip the pan to coat the base.
When it is smoking hot drop in the prawns, garlic and rosemary, add a generous pinch of salt and cook for 60 seconds turning the prawns so they all cook evenly.
When the shells start to turn pink drop the butter in and stir it around so that it melts, then place the pan under the grill or in the oven for 30 seconds (we used the grill).
Serve straight away with lemon wedges on the side.

Strictly speaking, the boy cooked these and they were absolutely delightful and infused with rosemary.

 A hard act to follow, but follow it we did, with Panceta Asada, or slow roast belly pork with fennel seeds and garlic.  We got pork belly from the butchers, again in the Guildhall market (on the corner by the poultry man, if you're interested, he does the best pork).  The butcher scored the fat for us and we pierced the flesh with a skewer.  We then marinated it overnight in the fridge, wrapped in clingfilm with olive oil, garlic and crushed fennel seeds rubbed into the meat, and a shit load of salt rubbed into the fat.  Not an artery pleaser but makes for the best crackling ever.

When you are ready to cook, it needs half an hour in the oven at gas mark 8, followed by two hours at gas mark 5.  The recipe said you could put the pork under the grill for a few mintues at the end of cooking time to get the crackling even crisper, but we didn't need to, it was done perfectly in the oven.  Leave to rest for a few minutes before slicing.

We served this with Brecol del Parador, or broccoli pan-fried with baby carrots, roasted cherry tomatoes pumpkin seeds, harissa and cumin oil, the trace of fennel in the harissa perfectly complementing the sweet and salty aniseed of the pork.

Finally, room for some Manchego cheese from the fabulous G Morgan and sons cheese counter in the Eagle Centre Market, pricier than the supermarket but tastes of really good cheese, not plastic.

Tapas is so much more than the lumps of chorizo swimming in oil or morsels of overchilled tortilla that give it a bad name in certain establishments, if anyone would like more recipes from this book let me know, I'd be happy to have the excuse to try them out :-)

The start of a Sardegnan Summer

When the boy and I first met, he took me to a lovely little place on Irongate called The European Restaurant, for a memorable birthday meal. 28 years of age I think. Sigh... For some reason we haven't been back since, although it has always been on my radar.
http://www.theeuropeanrestaurant.co.uk/
I was checking out their website a few weeks ago and noticed that they hold a monthly Italian evening, focusing on a different region each month, with a 5 course menu for £19.90.  The next one was due to be held on 31 May, conveniently this is our anniversary so this seemed like a perfect excuse to go out for a 5 course meal!  The theme this month was Sardinan food, which felt even more appropriate as we have fond memories of a holiday in Sardinia and the wonderful food we ate.
The European is situated directly opposite the cathedral with great views.  The atmosphere when we arrived was buzzy and lively, there was definitely a sense of occasion and people obviously come back every month.  The staff were lovely, and owner and chef Gian Carlo came out of the kitchen a few times to greet returning customers and friends.
The menu was as follows:

No, I couldn't understand it all either.
To start with we had a kind of seafood kebab with prawns, mussels and peppers, drizzled with a spicy, piquant sauce.

This was followed, as is the tradition, by a small bowl of orzo pasta (like small conchigli) with a very tasty lamb ragu.
Next up was a fish course, expertly cooked grey mullet wrapped in a steamed cabbage leaf, again with a delicious sauce (sauces seem to be a strong point here).
Then came tender pork escalopes with crushed potatoes and the freshest broad beans.
All this was washed down with a crisp pinot grigio, the wine list isn't huge but still manages to be comprehensive.  You can get a half litre carafe or wines by the glass but we had a bottle.

Dessert was a wonderfully orangey, panna cotta-y concoction, which we wolfed down.

Despite the five course action, portions were perfectly judged, so that we felt full but not uncomfortably so and managed to do each course justice.  For the price this is fantastic value, and a really good experience, they certainly know their Italian food here, and you can't beat it for a special occasion.
The next Italian evening is 28 June, with food from the Emilia-Romagna region (the capital is Bologna).  See you there.

Lebanese London

For the boys birthday this year (which was on Thursday) I planned a magical mystery tour down to London town.  We went and checked out the Lucien Freud exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, which was superbly wonderful and moving.  We ate ice cream and drank beer in the sun and mooched around in arty book shops.  All very lovely but we certainly worked up an appetite.  I had been planning the trip for ages and had come up with all sorts of options for eating out.  I'd even booked a table at St John Hotel because it was so close to the gallery, but the pre-theatre menu looked uninspiring on the day, and that's all I could afford!  http://www.stjohnhotellondon.com/

My London brother very kindly posted me his Tastecard and having gravitated towards Soho, we found ourselves on Greek Street (where I saw Mark-Francis from Made in Chelsea!) and in a tiny, bustling, Lebanese restaurant called Kaslick.  

 http://www.kasliksoho.com/Kaslik/Kaslik.html

We were brought delicious olives to nibble on, and I ordered a glass of Coteaux du Liban Syrah whilst the boy went for the Lebanese beer.  We started with a few Mezze; melting, tender aubergine slices with yoghurt and pomegranate, grilled halloumi cheese and cucumber and a lip smackingly sour Fattoush salad (with sumac and toasted pitta bread chips).

Mains were from the charcoal grill, I chose a chicken shawarma and the boy went for lamb.   Both were served with salad and a deliciously moreish garlic sauce, both were basically a kebab but a very, very good one.

The Lebanese wine was also very moreish and we stumbled out into Greek Street feeling very jovial.  Some Tripadvisor reviews I checked out briefly moaned about surly staff.  We noticed that some of the customers were very rude to the staff, we were polite and they couldn't have been nicer back, so I do believe you get the response you deserve.

Fifty percent off all food with the Tastecard (except Fri and Saturday evenings) made it very good value indeed.

Crumble Bum

Since the success of celeriac remoulade our veg box adventures have known no bounds.  We have eaten many strange and wonderful organic items including three different types of kale; every veg box is a challenge and so far we've risen to it.  However, when we were left last week with swede and pumpkin I've got to admit I was a bit stumped.  Until I had a eureka moment and stumbled across a savoury crumble... 

I've made two rhubarb crumbles this year and had decided to lay off them as they are not good for the bottom....but the savoury version didn't seem quite so bad, plus we had a veggie guest for dinner.  Crumble is really easy to make, and the sweetness of the squash, swede and pumpkin with the saltiness of the cheese and the crunch of the chopped nuts made for a most satisfying mouthful.  The dressing is for drizzling over the crumble and I went a step further and added a green salad for a bit of contrast and freshness.  The recipe is from the esteemed Michel Roux Jr; veggie friend asked for the recipe....so here it is:

 

You will need

• 100g butter
• 150g plain flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 100g grated mature cheddar, use the nicest cheese you can afford
• 75g chopped mixed nuts
• 300g pumpkin
• 300g swede
• 300g butternut squash
• These quantities can be varied as long as you have 900g of them all
• 1 onion, chopped
• A sprinkle of grated nutmeg
• 2 sprigs rosemary
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped or crushed
• 30ml balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
  
  
  1.      Sift the flour and rub in the butter until you have a breadcrumb like consistency.
  2.      Mix in the salt, grated cheese, and roughly chopped nuts.
  3.      Peel and cut the pumpkin, squash and swede into 1 cm cubes.
  4.      Cook on a high heat in olive oil, stirring occasionally until the vegetables are slightly browned, around 5 minutes.
  5.      Reduce to a medium heat and add the chopped onion, rosemary, nutmeg, salt and pepper, cover with a lid and cook for 20 minutes.
  6.      Add the garlic, replace lid and cook for 10 minutes.
  7.      Remove the rosemary sprigs, and put the mixture into a dish and spread the crumble on top.
  8.      Bake in a 180C oven for 20 minutes until the top is golden brown.
  9.      Mix up the dressing and serve with a green salad on the side. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Celeriac Remoulade, thank you Soundbites.

I have been meaning to make a celeriac remoulade for ages but for some reason it hasn't happened. Then today I took delivery of my first organic fruit & veg box from the fabulous Soundbites and there it was, staring me right in the face, celeriac! Now I had no excuse. 

http://www.soundbitesderby.org.uk/

I had some rather wonderful mayonnaise in the fridge that I purchased from Jack Rabbits recently, so according to Nigel (Slater; we're on first name terms in this house) all I needed was dijon mustard, parsley and a touch of double cream (I also had double cream in the house, larder with the emphasis on lard). Oh, and the dreaded mandolin of course.

I actually had a small panic attack on the way home thinking about using the mandolin. Luckily the boy stepped up to take charge of this small but crucial part of the process.

Once you have your shredded celeriac, douse with lemon juice (to stop it discolouring). Mix two parts mayo to one part mustard and cream, add a bit of chopped parsley and fold the mixture into the celeriac. Season to taste with salt and pepper. I haven't included quantities as (I'm lazy) it depends on how you like it and how much you are making.  I have included the link to Nigel's recipe.

End result; France on a plate. Thank you Nigel and Soundbites. Goodnight.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/feb/27/nigel-slater-classic-celeriac-remoulade

Grindleton Gourmets.

The occasion was the weekend of my mum's 60th birthday.  We rented a spacious cottage and had a surprise party planned for the Saturday night.  On Saturday afternoon we stocked up at Booths (the Northern equivalent of Waitrose I think!)  We also visited an absolutely amazing specialist wine shop, D Byrne & Co in Clitheroe, to stock up on party booze. This is an award winning fine wine merchants and family business which has been trading in Lancashire for 130 years!  As well as every wine you can imagine, there are shelves full of every different kind of rum, gin, vodka, specialist beers and ales...cave after cave of alcoholic delights.  Obviously there is some super pricey specialist and exclusive stuff here, but also some brilliantly priced wines.  The shop is very atmospheric with walls lined floor to ceiling with bottles, many of which have hand written labels describing the contents.  No need for any "drink me" labels here!  I was convinced.  If you are ever in this area and you fancy a tipple, this is a must visit.
http://www.dbyrne-finewines.co.uk/

My next recommendation is the wondeful catering provided to us by Cathy at the Cobbled Corner cafe in Chipping.  Cathy is a midwife but somehow finds the time to run a successful cafe and catering business as well.  We wanted to cater for up to twenty people in a rented cottage so cooking wasn't really an option; no matter how well equipped the kitchen, not knowing where anything is makes it a nightmare!
Cathy turned up in a van with vats of chicken curry, Lancashire hotpot, and all the trimmings, with trifle and the biggest cheese board you have ever seen for pudding.  The food was delicious and is all homemade from locally sourced produce.  Cathy holds regular events at the Cobbled Corner, so again if you are in the area, pop in and try her hotpot, you won't be disappointed.
http://www.cobbledcorner.co.uk/index.php

Finally, to round off my trio of Lancashire delights, I'd like to point you in the direction of The Duke of York Pub, Grindleton.   They didn't bat an eyelid when I phoned up on Saturday night, somewhat tiddly, to book a table for 16 at lunch the next day.  We received a warm welcome on arrival and our coats were taken at the door.

The pub has various rooms but we were seated in a light, airy and spacious dining room at the front of the building.  I loved the printed curtains and blinds and a strip of mirror the length of one wall added to the spacious feel.  Lunch was busy but we were looked after, with attentive table service for drinks

The food was, I felt, far better quality than what you'd expect from pub lunch, two courses at around £15.50 proved very good value.  We were brought baskets of delicious home made bread to nibble on.  I had a starter of smoked salmon, with a salmon mousse and pickled cucumber, just the kind of taste bud tickler you want before Sunday lunch.
 
For my main I went for breast of Goosnargh chicken, with chanterelle mushrooms, savoy cabbage and rosti potato.
 
Lots of us had the roast Ribble Valley beef, I tried it and it was fantastically tender, served with cauliflour cheese and a home made horseradish cream, amongst other things.
 
Others tried the Fleetwood fish pie, and recommended it highly.  The Sunday lunch here offers a fresh, modern and inviting take on proper British pub food.  The Duke of York is well worth a visit and for us it was the perfect, sociable way to round off a great weekend.


A weekend in deepest, darkest Lancashire, perhaps not a place which you would consider to be a foodie mecca, but you'd be wrong!

http://www.dukeofyorkgrindleton.com