Manderley...Escabeche

Last night (I dreamt) I went to Escabeche again, this time with the boy in tow, to sample the new, summer menu that they have created.  The restaurant is really doing rather well and is packed every weekend.  The turn out on a Tuesday evening after bank holiday was impressive.  Thankfully the building site next door has gone and a terraced area has been set up with chairs and tables in front of the restaurant for al fresco dining, and possibly even some barbecues later in the year.  They have also completed work on their upstairs area where they have held some live music events and a wine tasting, I hope to sample both of these kinds of events in the near future! 
We drank a crisp and fruity white rioja from the impressive wine list and our venerable host, Jon Perkins, ordered a rather decadent number of dishes for us to sample.  A selection of breads came first, cheese focaccia with garlic butter and fresh, warm pitta with home made hummus, sunblush tomato pesto and a rustic tapenade.  All the dips positively zinged with flavour and freshness.  at under £3 each the breads are a cheap and filling starter.  Next came a courgette, basil and Parmesan gratin which had been fiercely recommended by front of house protege Kat, athough she claims that she dislikes courgettes!  This pleasingly understated dish tasted of pure summer, and was one of my favourites.  We had a board of cured meats with cornichons and what was described on the menu as seasonal slaw but was actually a delectable celeriac remoulade, a bonus indeed.  We also sampled marinated halloumi fritters with a harissa dip, a tuna and Tuscan bean salad, fish and chorizo croquettes with ravigote dressing (tomatoes, capers etc) which were the right side of crunchy on the outside and melting potato inside, with smoky chorizo perfectly complementing the fish.  We moved on to a dense and flavoursome Spanish omelette, light as air tempura squid and the piece de resistance for the boy; crispy skinned pork belly with cauliflower and manchego puree, mustard leeks and a rich jus, a kind of mini roast dinner, bursting with concentrated flavours (and morsels of fabulous crackling).  All the dishes range in price from £2.85 to a maximum of £7.95 for tapas of beef or scallop and smoked salmon.  The average is £5 and the portions are generous for tapas.  Two to three dishes per person are recommended plus bread or potatoes.  Yes, purists, this isn't Spanish tapas, but as I said in my first blog about Escabeche they have taken the concept of tapas and turned it on it's head and the result is some of the most inventive, creative and delicious cooking I've sampled in ages.  We finished our meal with tiny shots of amaretto with warm cream and churros with chocolate sauce that any self respecting churerro would be proud of.  Burp.  There is also an extensive breakfast menu including interesting dishes like Kedgeree and Piperade, fine coffee, lunch offers and an afternoon tapas menu.  Why anyone is still going to cafe nero across the road I don't know.  If you haven't been yet, why?  I'm aware my opening line echoes Daphne du Maurier, and actually no, I didn't dream it, it really was that good!
 http://www.perkins-family.co.uk/?i=214141

Animals...to eat or not to eat?

Last weekend was taken up by the 10k, I made another veggie lasagna to carb it up the night before.  I also tried my hand at making some bread.  I used a sundried tomato and herb bread mixed that the folks left me when they returned to France.  It was really tasty but as usual my bread turned out doughy and stone heavy.  What am I doing wrong?  Too much kneading?  Not enough time proving?  Not enough time baking?  I'll keep experimenting....
I started reading a book which I fear is going to change my life, or at least my eating habits.  Jonathan Safran Foer's Eating Animals has had me in tears more than once.  The author takes you on a journey to find out what meat is and where it comes from, exposing some extremely unpalatable truths along the way.  I'm only a third of the way through this book, but I feel like my thoughts on eating meat have been totally churned up.  Or, more accurately, that I have actually forced to think about what I put in my mouth for the first time in a lot of years.  (I was a vegetarian for 10 years, but after I started to eat meat again I conveniently forgot about my reasons for stopping in the first place.)
As a result of what I have been reading I felt like if I was going to eat meat this weekend I wanted it to be as locally sourced, free range and ethically produced as possible.  I did a bit of research and found a wonderful Derby based box scheme: Zest Express.
http://zestexpress.co.uk/
They deliver meat, poultry, fruit veg and lots more, sourced from suppliers who are as local as possible.  Delivery is free and next day, in a two hour slot like your usual supermarket type of delivery.  The food came in brown paper grocery bags and it looked amazing.  We got a huge bunch of beetroot and lots of other veg, a big lump of lush stilton cheese from a local dairy and lamb shanks from Barry Fitch Butchers in Little Eaton.
http://www.barryfitchbutchers.co.uk/
I will let you know how they taste.  I'm not sure how many more lamb shanks I'll be eating at this rate.....
With the Stilton and beetroot we made a salad with peppery leaves, walnuts and a mustardy dressing.  Delicious, fresh beetroot is worth the kitchen looking like you've been doing some at home butchery!

 Mmmmm, roasted roots.

Mango Tango.

After my last post I suffered a week of snuffly cold, followed by a busy and decidedly non-gourmet weekend that involved drum and bass dancing and an all you can eat Chinese buffet.  (Not both on the same evening).  The squash lasagna was very good but it didn't ward off the plague.  For the boys birthday on 29 March I was still feeling a bit rank, but there was no way I was going to miss eating out at Mango Tang.
http://www.mangotang.co.uk/ 
Mango Tang opened around June last year and does "contemporary Caribbean cuisine"; a new concept in Derby.  I was worried I might have somewhat over hyped it in my own head, but fortunately the food really was as good as I had hoped.  The decor is maybe a tiny bit strange, a lot of brown, a lot of Egyptian themed bits and bobs going on, reggae music piped in.  The restaurant is set in one huge room, and on a Tuesday night with only four or five parties dotted around the room the lone waiter could have done with some Rollerblades to get around.  However he did a sterling job, nothing was forgotten nor did we have to wait long for our food, and what food it is!  I really couldn't fault anything either of us had. 

 We commenced with an appetiser of jerk seasoned flat bread, mango chutney and plantain and sweet potato crisps, washed down with a large glass of Shiraz (for me) and a very large bottle of Red Stripe (for him).
My starter was Salt fish fritters with sauce chien (dog sauce?) a dish apparently known as "stamp and go"!  The fritters were light and crispy and the sauce was a moreish blend of chilies, shallots,coriander and allspice in a red pepper vinaigrette.  The boy went for crab and yam cakes with a garlic, orange and lime salsa.  Nice as mine was, I had total starter envy.  Those were some delicious crab cakes.

For my main I went for prawns with jerk butter, served with rice and peas, fried plantain and a jerk gravy.
The boy had a jerk snapper fillet.  I sipped my Shiraz whilst he moved on to a bottle of Jamaican Dragon Stout, apparently a great complement to jerk.
We skipped the pudding (having technically had two starters) safe in the knowledge that we had a big wedge of Jamaican cheesecake waiting for us at home from Mamuska, the Cheesecake Shop in Nottingham.


It is a real novelty eating Caribbean food like this in restaurant surroundings; my previous experience being from a stall at a festival or carnival, or at home, cooked ourselves with varying degrees of authenticity. 
I would really recommend the food but perhaps prices were a little on the high side. We got fifty percent off the food bill thanks to our Tastecard.  However for a special occasion it is worth it, I'll look forward to going again.