Seville Orange Tart to celebrate the citrus

Seville Orange Tart

The season for Seville oranges is fleeting so we need to make the most of them.  Harvesting begins in December and the fruits are over by February so it's easy to miss them.  If we're organised we gather some up for marmalade making, but it's a shame to restrict them to our favourite toast topper. 

Despite their association with the Mediterranean, all members of the orange family originated in China and were brought to Europe by Arab traders.  Reaching for my invaluable Jane Grigson's Fruit Book I learn that the present day citrus groves stretching from India across to Spain mark out the trajectory of conquering muslim armies in the the sixth and seventh centuries.  The first oranges grown were the bitter Citrus aurantium.  Too bitter to eat from the tree, they were cultivated for the scent of their blossom, for perfumes and for distilling into orange blossom water to flavour food.

Seville Orange Tart

Sweet oranges, Citrus sinensis, arrived much later, coming from China to Europe via Portugal in the 17th century.  There is now a wide variety of citrus fruits, but the bitter orange continues to be grown in Spain as the 'Seville orange', mostly to satisfy the British taste for Marmalade.  There is more to the bitter orange than marmalade though.  The juice is an excellent variant for lemon flavoured dishes and the following recipe is essentially an orange curd tart.

Seville Orange Curd Tart

It is based on the Tarta de naranjas sevillanas from 'Moro The Cookbook' written by Sam & Sam Clark (which reminds me that I haven't yet introduced you to this book - a serious omission I will remedy soon).  I first ate the tart in their restaurant Moro several years ago and was very pleased to find the recipe in their first book.  The filling is entirely theirs and, I think, is perfect.  The pastry here is similar to theirs but is the one I often use for sweet tarts, being light and easy to work with. The pastry recipe will make twice as much as you need so use half and freeze the rest for next time.  To reduce the chance of curdling the eggs, I thicken my curd in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water rather than over direct heat.

The tart is aromatic, rich and creamy yet well balanced and light.  You could, if you have any, top each slice off with a little candied peel.  Don't throw away peel as you can candy it for use in cakes or ice creams.

Seville Orange Curd Tart

The texture of the curd can vary a little.  If you use slightly too much juice, as I sometimes do, stick to timings given but bake the tart in the oven for an extra 3-4 minutes.  You will get a little browning of the curd but the tart is none the worse for that.

Seville Orange Tart
(Serves 8)

PASTRY (makes 2 x 22cm tart cases):
250g (10oz) plain flour
25g (1oz) ground almonds
Pinch of salt
150g(5oz) butter
60g (2oz) icing sugar
Grated rind of half a lemon
1 egg yolk
3 tablespoons milk

SEVILLE ORANGE CURD:
170ml (6fl oz) Seville orange juice (about 5 fruits)
170g(6oz)  unsalted butter, in small dice
4 egg yolks + 2 whole eggs (large)
140g( 5oz) caster sugar
Finely grated zest of ¼ orange (Seville is fine)

Sift the flour into a mixing bowl and add the ground almonds and salt. Add the butter and rub in with fingertips. Sift in icing sugar and add grated lemon rind and mix. Lightly beat the egg yolk and milk together and stir into the dry ingredients. Mix until the dough just comes together then turn out and knead gently to smooth the surface.  Wrap half of the pastry and rest in fridge for just 30 minutes (wrap and freeze the other half for another time). 

Pre-heat the oven to 200C (180C fan oven) Lightly butter a 23cm shallow, loose-bottomed tart tin.   Roll out the pastry and line the tin, smoothing off the top and pricking the base several times with a fork.  Rest in the fridge for a further 15-30 minutes.  Line with greasproof paper and dried beans and bake the tart blind for 10 minutes.  Remove the lining and beans and return the tart to the oven for a further 5 minutes to make sure the base is well cooked and lightly browned.  Remove from the oven and put to one side.

Increase the oven temperature to 220C (200C fan).  Mix all the filling ingredients in a glass bowl over a pan of simmering water (the bowl should not touch the water as too much heat will curdle the mix).  Stir constantly for about 20 minutes until the mixture thickens - this will happen right at the end, so don't give up hope.  It's ready when it has thickened but is still pourable - you are not looking for a stiff curd.  Should you detect little white albumen globules forming towards the end, pass your curd through a sieve into the tart, otherwise just pour the curd into the base and bake on the top shelf of the oven for 10 minutes until set.  Cool before serving.  Moro serves this tart with yoghurt or crème fraîche but, for me, it's delicious on its own.

January spirit lifters - Food Find

The days are slowly beginning to lengthen but it takes a little more than that to raise the spirits in London in January.  The arrival of seasonal foods helps me get through the winter.  I was cheered to find the first Yorkshire rhubarb at Tony Booth's arch (Tayshaw) on Druid Street SE1 today.  This is, of course, the "forced" variety grown by candlelight in the atmospheric gloom of a Yorkshire forcing shed.  These delicate pink stems call for careful poaching in sugar to retain their texture and deliver a delicious sweet/sharp compote -  here's a link for more info and a recipe for Rhubarb Mess.  A few weeks from now you'll only be able to get outdoors-grown rhubarb, which is quite different.
Also at market today, the first Seville oranges I've seen this season.  Get them while you can, they'll be gone by February.  Recipe coming soon - there's more to Seville oranges than marmalade!
http://www.maltbystreet.com/

My Ribollita

My Ribollita

Ahh Christmas, season of meat, fat and sugar.  We may look forward to it but after several days of excess even we carnivores start to yearn for a meatless day.  The new year has arrived and this is the perfect antidote to over-indulgence.

We may have passed our shortest day in the northern hemisphere but that only marks the start of true winter in the UK.  Our options for home-grown vegetables shrink, including for those of us who are lucky enough to have an allotment, and thoughts turn to warming soups.  With a good mix of vegetables, some beans, bread, a little cheese and a big hit of iron-rich greens, you have a whole nutritious meal in a bowl.  What's more its flavours simply get better should you have any leftovers for the following day.

The Italian word ribollita means re-cooked, or re-boiled, and in Tuscany refers to a dish of leftover minestrone with the addition of cabbage and bread.  I prefer to make it from scratch as I like pesto and pasta in my minestrone but prefer my ribollita without either.  I also like to grate just a little parmesan over my ribollita which would make some people throw up their hands in horror, but I agree with chef Jacob Kenedy.  In the introduction to his BOCCA Cookbook he points out that in Italy "...each city, hamlet and household has its own version of a dish ..." and "...it would be a hard task to find two ... who could agree on how to make (it) ..". 

So this is my version of ribollita and I admit to some culinary licence.  It's not prescriptive and if I have other vegetables to hand which I think will work, I will use them - celeriac or squash perhaps.  The soup should be quite thick and hearty.  The bread can be completely submerged in the liquor, which is more traditional, but I prefer to keep its crunchy texture so go for the half submerged option. 

Ribollita, the perfect way to banish all memories of turkey or goose for a twelve-month.

Ribollita
(makes about 12 servings)

250g dried Borlotti or cannellini beans, soaked overnight, brought to the boil and simmered for 1-2 hours depending on quality, or 1 x 400g tin of cooked beans
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, diced
2 large carrots, diced
3-4 sticks of celery, diced
1-2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
2 medium  leeks, halved and sliced
2 medium potatoes
2 large handfuls (about 500g) of cavolo nero (or other dark cabbage), shredded
1 x 400g tin of plum tomatoes
Water to cover
Slices of good sourdough bread
Best quality extra-virgin olive oil
Parmesan

Having first prepared your beans, fry the onions carrot and celery on a medium heat for 5 minutes.  Add the leeks, garlic and the potatoes and fry for a further 5 minutes.  Add the plum tomatoes, broken up, with their juice and add water to fully cover the vegetables.  Add the cooked beans, bring to the boil, season, then simmer for 30 minutes.  Add the cabbage (and diced courgettes if using) and simmer for a further 15 minutes, top-up with more water if necessary but keep the soup quite thick.  Check your seasoning.

Allow the soup to cool a little to appreciate the full flavours.  When ready to serve, fill the bowls, top with toasted sourdough bread (or pour the soup over the bread) and a good slick of your best olive oil.  Put parmesan on the table for anyone who wants it.

Where to eat in London in 2012

Crabs at Gergovie Wines
@ 40 Maltby Street

I love visiting other European towns and cities.  The food I eat is almost almost always the local style, and that is what I want.  It is just as well because, with the exception of Berlin and Paris, local cuisine is mostly what's on offer.  International hotel restaurants, serving standard "European dishes they fondly believe we visitors want, and the inevitable burger chains hold no appeal for me.  Good as 'local' usually is, if I were to stay longer than a few weeks I'm pretty sure I'd be scouring the back alleys for something a bit different.  That is, I think, the result of living in London.  London is different.  Here you can eat your way across the globe in a few square miles.  That's not to say British food isn't desirable.  The bad reputation it acquired after the 1940's has long gone but we do seem to be uniquely open-minded in our food tastes.  There's good food to meet all budgets in London, if you know where to look, and your palate need never be jaded. 

You do need a little help to sort the wheat from the chaff though.  Of the printed guides, Hardens is pretty good as the reviews are based on punters' reports as as well as those of the editors.  It's the one I mostly find myself agreeing with.  Food blogs give a more personal view and an internet search can turn up some very up-to-date reports, which is what we really want.  Here is my personal view looking back over 2011together with places on my radar for 2012.

2011 has seen Bermondsey Street blossom into a great place to find good food at fair prices - Josẽ and Pizarro, Zucca, The Garrison, and more.  London has developed an appetite for both Mexican and Vietnamese food but the rise in popularity of Street Food, Pop-ups and Supper Clubs was the big story of 2011.  Closely, and laudably, aligned with an interest in foraging and food miles, they have a fleeting existence in any one place - which adds to the excitement.  It has to be said they are a mixed bunch, spawning some crackers along with the inevitable duds.  The writer Richard Johnson's site is worth checking out for its annual Street Food Awards.

The biggest buzz has probably been around the collaboration named Young Turks - being James Lowe (former head-chef at St John Bread & Wine), Issac McHale (a spell at Copenhagen's Noma and development chef at The Ledbury), and Ben Greeno (Noma and Sat Bains in Nottingham).  Currently offering £39 set four-courses at The Ten Bells pub in Spitalfields until 25 February.  Celebrated Portuguese chef Nuno Mendes is exciting similar interest with his Loft Project.  Though even these outfits divide opinion. It's an ever-changing picture and part of the appeal is finding out where they'll pop-up next.  The Mexican street food van Luardos is parked at Whitecross Street market each weekday 11-3. La Grotta Ices superb freshly made ice creams are sold from a tiny Piaggio van on Maltby Street some Saturdays (check site for updates).  Last, but far from least, is Street Kitchen.  Chefs Jun Tanaka and Mark Jankel park thier Airstream van in the heart of the City on Finsbury Avenue Square EC2 and have a second home, The Hatch by Ransome's Dock SW11 - both Monday-Friday lunchtimes. 

As I'm looking back here as well as forward, it's a good excuse to use my favourite photograph of those I took in 2011.  This is apt as it was taken in the place which has served me the most consistently good food and wine this year.  So, where to eat in London in 2012?

The places in London I'm certain to return to regularly in 2012:

Gergovie Wines at 40 Maltby Street Natural wines and David Cook's food.  Consistently good.

Pizarro  Jose Pizarro in the kitchen, in Bermondsey - this makes me very happy

St John Bread & Wine  for when you need steadying in Spitalfields

Zucca  River Cafe style at Bermondsey prices

Arbutus  Great value unfussy Michelin * lunch in the heart of Soho


The places I hope to visit more often in 2012:

Bocca di Lupo  Jacob Kenedy's exceptionally good Italian-influenced food in Soho

Brawn  Straight-up unpretentious British/French/Italian food in Bethnal Green

Barrafina Arguably London's best Spanish tapas bar in the heart of Soho

Roti Chai  Unpretentious Street Food from around India re-located to Marble Arch

Gauthier Soho  Seasonal, great flavours, good value classic French Michelin * from Alexis Gauthier

Le Gavroche  Michelin ** in Mayfair, Michel Roux Jnr in the kitchen.  Exceptional value 3 course set-lunch menu but book ahead.


Places I want to try in 2012:

Magdalen  So many friends have recommended this one in Bermondsey

Tinello  Giorgio Locatelli's influence but more affordable prices in Pimlico

Duck Soup  Natural wines and simple food in Soho - sounds tempting

Elliot's  Showcasing Borough Market traders - I like the ethos here

Pied a Terre  Fitzrovia Michelin **.  Straying from the good value set-lunch menu may call for someone else's wallet


If you get to any of these before me, let me know what you think.  Meanwhile,

Happy New Year

Brockwell Bake's Bolo de Mel de Cana - Food find

Not content with milling biodynamically and organically grown wheat and baking great breads, Brockwell Bake have now introduced Bolo de Mel de Cana afrom their bakery in London.  On sale today at Jacob's Ladder Farms shop on Druid Stret SE1, this particular cane honey cake recipe comes from the Lambeth Maderian community.  It's a speciality which is particularly associated with Christmas, but actually available all year round on Madeira.  Using Weald light flour milled in Lambeth, this dense, sticky cake is full of other good things including sugar cane syrup, almonds, candied fruit, cloves, ginger, cardamom and Malmsey wine.  It will keep wrapped for up to a year and its texture and flavour should get even better.  Brockwell Bake is a wonderful community association in South London - take a look http://www.brockwell-bake.org.uk/

21 Christmas gifts for food lovers

January Snowfall

Looking back over some of my posts this year made me think of all the things I, and I think other food lovers, would like to receive for Christmas.  Here are a few of my favourite things.  Most of these suggestions are to be found in London but for those of you living elsewhere, they might give you some ideas. 

1. A ceramic coffee filter holder and papers, and don't forget some coffee from Monmouth Coffee c£15.
2. A Jesus Salami from The Ham & Cheese Company at 1 Ropewalk, London SE1 (open 22, 23 & 24 December) £24.
3. A 100g tin of Nardin Smoked Anchovies from Brindisa at Borough Market £6.25.
4. A jar of Romanengo Rose Petal Jam (new stock on 21 Dec) from La Fromagerie £11.40.
5. Wooden-handled Nutcracker from Labour & Wait, 85 Redchurch Street E2 £9.50.
6. A box of Classic Chocolate Brownies from Paul A Young - shops in Soho, Islington and the City - £3.75 each.
7. A burr grinder for coffee beans - manual from Prufrock Coffee, Leather Lane EC1 c£40; electric (Krups) from John Lewis £40.
8. A bottle of "Sassoscuro" Emilia Rosso (a perfect accompaniment to roast goose) from Gergovie Wines at 40 Maltby Street £22.
9. 'A Late Dinner - Discovering the food of Spain' by Paul Richardson, from Daunt Books £7.99.
10. A jar of Pains et gourmandises Crème de caramel au beurre salé Real France at Borough Market £6.
11. A side of Smoked Salmon from Hansen & Lydersen at the Bermondsey Railway Arches (you can buy less) £70.
12. A crate of beer from The Kernel Brewery  at 1 Ropewalk, Bermondsey SE1 and many stockists (open 22, 23 & 24 Dec) c£30.
13. A tin of Peter's Yard Scandinavian Crackers from the John Lewis Food Hall, Oxford Street (and on-line - last orders 21 Dec) £7.75-11.25.
14. A 'Kitchen Aid' Mixer from John Lewis, and other stores, c£400 - maybe wait for the sales?
15. A quarter of Stichelton and 3 packs of oatcakes from Neal's Yard Dairy £42.50.
16. An Ulcigrai Panettone from Leila's on Calvert Avenue or at Arch 104 Druid, Bermondsey SE1 (open 22, 23 & 24 Dec) or from Monmouth Coffee £16.00.
17. A box of preserved Elvas Apricots from Rainha Santa at Borough Market c£12.
18. A Stollen from Sally Clarke on Kensington Church Street £11.75.
19. A pure linen teatowel designed by Lucienne Day from TwentyTwentyOne in Islington £16.50.
20. A Vacherin Mont d'Or from The Borough Cheese Company at Borough Market and at the Bermondsey railway arches 55 Stanworth Street SE1 from £10.00.
21. A voucher for a course at The School of Artisan Food from £25

Happy Christmas Shopping

Frangipane Mince Pies

Frangipane mince pies

If your only experience of mince pies at Christmas comes from the ones your boss brings into the office as a contribution to seasonal cheer you probably have a pretty negative view of this traditional Christmas pastry.  They will invariably have come from a supermarket, will have pastry that would sink a battleship and a meagre offering of filling.  The only taste sensations you'll get from them will be sweet and fatty and they'll leave you with a lingering regret that you didn't have the willpower to just say no.  There are a few exceptions, of course, but a mince pie should not have a long shelf-life.  It should have thin crisp pastry, be bursting with juicy, spiced fruits and be eaten the same day it is made.  Fresh from a good baker they are worth waiting all year for but best of all is to make your own and eat them still warm from the oven.

Bath-based baker, Richard Bertinet, introduced me to the idea of a frangipane topping to mince pies instead of sandwiching the filling beyween two layers of pastry and it is, I think, a wonderful idea.  I've made them this way for the past couple of years and am hooked.  The lemony pastry in my recipe is the one I always use for mince pies.  The sweet mincemeat is home made but you can buy good mixes now if you don't want to make your own.  There's nothing wrong with using a good jar of mincemeat for this recipe but if you live in London, Neal's Yard Dairy keep a particularly good mix which you can buy in whatever quantity you want.  Sally Clarke in Kensington Church Street sells her own mincemeat, and mince pies by the half dozen which are filled to the brim.  Claire Ptak at Voilet Cakes also sells very fine mince pies if  you'd rather let someone else take the strain. 

As food historian Ivan Day says, a lot of nonsense has been written about the history of mince pies.  You can read what he has to say about their origins here.  His reproduction of the recipe Minc't Pie published by Gervase Markham in 1615 in his book The English Housewife is worth checking out to see how much the recipe, and our taste, has changed in four centuries.

It's important to get the balance right for mince pies. The pastry must be thin and, in this version, the mincemeat and frangipane of roughly equal proportions.  If you don't want to make the frangipane, topping the pie with a pastry star - as Sally Clarke does - or a crescent moon will give you a lighter result than the usual mincemeat sandwiched between two pastry discs. 

Frangipane Mince Pies
(makes 24)

About 350g mincemeat
50g almonds, skinned and flaked
Icing sugar for dusting

PASTRY:
250g (10oz) plain flour
25g (1oz) ground almonds
Pinch of salt
150g(6oz) butter
75g (3oz) icing sugar
Grated rind of half a lemon
1 egg yolk
3 tablespoons milk

Sift the flour into a mixing bowl and add the ground almonds and salt.  Add the butter and rub in with fingertips.  Sift in icing sugar and add grated lemon rind and mix.  Lightly beat the egg yolk and milk together and stir into the dry ingredients.  Mix until the dough just comes together then turn out and knead gently to smooth the surface.  Cover and rest in fridge for just 30 minutes.

FRANGIPANE:
75g (3oz) softened  butter
75g (3oz) caster sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
75g (3oz) ground almonds


Mix butter until soft.  Mix in the sugar until the mixture becomes pale.  Add the egg gradually while still beating.  Add ground almonds and mix well for 1-2 minutes. 
Heat oven to 180C(gas 5).  Lighly butter 24 shallow patty tins.  Roll pastry out thinly on a lightly floured surface.  Use a 6cm(2½ inch ) cutter to stamp out 24 rounds to line the tins.  Add a heaped teaspoon of mincemeat and top with a heaped teaspoon of frangipane.  Scatter 3-4 flaked almonds on each pie.  Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden.  Serve dusted with icing sugar. 

Nb. Richard Bertinet's new book on baking is due for publication around the middle of 2012.  He also runs a cookery school, in Bath  of which I've heard very good reports.  http://www.thebertinetkitchen.com/customer/about

Sweet Mincemeat

Sweet mincemeat

My favourite food shops are smelling heavenly and my first Christmas party is under my belt (apple tarts and amazing choc ices) so I can no longer ignore the fact that Christmas is upon us.  Christmas puddings are squirrelled away (if they taste good I'll post the recipe in 2012) and attention turns to mince pies.  But let's not get ahead of ourselves, there's the mincemeat filling to be considered first.
 
There's nothing wrong with using a good jar of mincemeat, and you can always add some extra ingredients to make it more to your taste.  This year I was persuaded to make my own, whereas I would normally buy it from Neal's Yard Dairy .  If you live in London, they keep a particularly good mincemeat at this time of year and you can buy it in whatever quantity you want.  The fact I had some lovely lovely lemon peel which I'd candied in summer and some dried fruit from Christmas pudding making convinced me to have a go.

Mincemeat has been popular since the middle ages and originally included meats such as tripe, beef or tongue mixed with dried fruits and spices. Having friends in Alaska, I know that Reindeer meat is still used in some of their mincemeat recipes. These days beef suet is more commonly added. This, of course, makes it a no-go area for vegetarians, although you can buy a 'vegetarian suet' now.  I've used butter instead in my recipe to provide the necessary fat content and keep everyone happy, and it works very well. 

For those of you who have the time and inclination - the list of ingredients looks long but it takes little effort - here is my recipe for mincemeat.  You can use either butter or suet and if you prefer one fruit over another then just change the recipe to suit your taste.  Once mixed, cover the bowl and let it mature for a couple of days.  You can then keep it in the fridge for a week or so or fill sterilsied jars for longer keeping.

Sweet Mincemeat
(makes around 900g)

150g (6oz) raisins
75g (3oz) sultanas
75g (3oz) currants
50g (2oz) dried figs (or apricots or glace cherries if you prefer)
75g (3oz) mixed peel
50g (2oz) blanched almonds, chopped
100g (4oz) apple (I prefer cooking apple), peeled and diced small
100g (4oz) Muscovado sugar
75g (3oz) melted and clarified butter
1 teaspoon ground Allspice
½ teaspoon grated nutmeg
½ teaspoon cinnamon
Zest and juice of 1 orange
Zest of 1 lemon
2-3 tablespoons brandy(or rum if you prefer)

Mix together all the ingredients.  Taste - add a little lemon juice if you think it needs sharpening up.  Cover the bowl and leave to macerate for 2-3 days, then keep covered in the fridge for a week or so, or pack into sterlised jars for longer keeping. 

*** Check back in a couple of days for a recipe for mince pies with a twist ***

Hansen & Lydersen join Bermondsey Trail

You wait all year then two fish traders come along at once.  Joining Les of Christchurch Fish down at the Bermondsey arches on Saturday was Hansen & Lydersen salmon smokers.  With a Norwegian family history in the business stretching back to 1923, Ole Hansen now takes salmon farmed sustainably in the Faroe Isles and smokes them in his Stoke Newington Smokehouse using his great-grandfather's orginal recipe.  Smoked over wood, incuding Juniper, within 48 hours of being caught, Ole sells the smoked salmon cut in thick slices, the Norwegian way.  Lovely dense texture with a deep, aromatic flavour - for those who like a heavily smoked salmon.

Hansen & Lydersen

Pizarro lives up to expectations

Pizarro
Bermondsey Street SE1

Well, the soft opening is over.  Yes, I know I failed to alert you to it, but really the place has been packed.  Such is José Pizarro's hospitality that the guy's been working flat out trying not to disappoint anyone in the lead up to the formal opening this week.  I don't think I would have been doing him any favours by putting more pressure on the kitchen.  Anyway, Pizarro is now formally open, so get down to Bermondsey Street asap.  Informal and welcoming, the place looks a picture with much burnished wood, beautiful Spanish tiling and soft lighting.  You can take your pick of seating from cosy booths which could take as many as six slim people, tables for two or four, a long communal table and and a long table against the window facing the street.  At the back of the restaurant there's what I'd describe as a family table (pictured below) complete with shuttered window and lit by a chandelier.  Then there's the long inviting cava bar, running from the entrance to the open kitchen.  I'd say some 60 covers in all.  There's a private room too.

Family table
at Pizarro

Eating there last Wednesday, when dishes were being tried out, we feasted on  meltingly soft Ham Croquetas, Quail with Romesco sauce, Squid, potatoes & alioli, Anchovy, pimentoes and soft boiled egg and Cured Salmon 3-ways topped with an egg yolk.  Out of all of these dishes we could only fault the Romesco and Alioli for not being punchy enough.  A succulent Lamb and lentil dish and Secreto Iberico with mashed potato & pimento followed along with the star dish of tender Partridge with casseroled beans.  After all that, we could only manage Pear Sorbet with cava - a delicious ice which, for me, didn't quite work with the cava.

Despite the fact there was little room for improvement with the meal, it was striking how focused Jose and his staff were on getting feedback so that they could do better.  We left extremely well-fed and happy, but I've learned to eat at a restaurant at least twice before passing judgment so here is how my second visit went.

Pizarro plating
Secreto Iberico

8pm and after adding our name to the list for dinner (Pizarro has a no-booking policy) we join the crush at the cava bar.  There are about 75 people clearly enjoying themselves in a room entirely made up of hard surfaces, yet it feels buzzy rather than noisy.  The lighting casts a flattering glow but can be a tad too low for reading the menu.  Half way through a glass of cava, somehow, they conjure up two seats at the food end of the bar.  We've scored ring-side seats for chatting to the chefs and observing the care they take in cooking and presenting the food.  It's a masterclass.

The daily-changing menu offers a plate of Manuel Maldonado Jamon Iberico, at £20 the most expensive dish on the menu (with reason). Small dishes priced between £5.50 and £7.50 include Artichoke soup with truffle oil, and a choice of either crispy ham or manchego cheese; Butternut squash, Cabrales cheese and almonds; Duck livers, capers and fino; Prawns, cecina, chilli and garlic.  I have to check those Ham croquetas again - lovely flavoursome soft yielding inner and crunchy outer; and the marriage of Boquerones, red peppers and olives ticks the boxes of both delicious and virtuous.  Mains are priced between £12-15 and are large.   With our glasses of house red Jumilla (spicy and good), a Seabream dish comes as two beautifully cooked crispy-skinned fillets on a bed of fried potatoes.  Any oiliness is cut by a hot, sweet Vizcaina sauce (of onions, choriceros peppers and fish stock which comes from the Spanish Basque country, I think) and a few capers.  Pink-roasted Lamb comes on a bed of lentils and radicchio.  The piquancy and looseness of the lentil mix is a nice twist on the dish served to me a week ago.  We could have chosen Hake, black cabbage and clams; Secreto Iberico pork (a cut between the shoulder and loin), olive oil mash and piquillo peppers; or a dish of baked Manchego cheese canelones, silver chard and pine nuts. 

Watching so many plates of Chocolate, toast and caramel ice cream being lovingly prepared, I think I know what to expect.  We share one.  A thin slice of crisply-toasted bread is topped with a scoop of chocolate mousse and another of caramel  ice cream - a tiny pinch of salt on which is not forgotten.  There's a a scattering of what looks like grated chocolate but turns out to be chocolate breadcrumbs. Lovely flavours and textures. A couple of good cafe cortados set us up for the walk home with a bill of less than £70 (excl service) for two.

Service is excellent from an attentive and already pretty cohesive team and, despite the pressures of the kitchen, the chefs are enthusiastic and communicative.  The only problem now is choosing between Josẽ, just a few doors down, and Pizarro.  Choices, choices.

Pizarro
194 Bermondsey Street
London SE1 3TQ
http://www.josepizarro.com/