Moro Restaurant

Wood roasted pork
at Moro

Yes, this is a terrible photograph, but quite honestly I was far too interested in eating the food on the plate to worry about such aesthetics.  If you'd been there to experience the aromas coming from this dish you would have felt the same way.  What's more, it lived up to its promise.

There's a confidence about the food at Moro that's been there from the first day they fired-up the wood-burning oven and opened the restaurant doors.  From your first taste of their distinctive bread, the wood fired oven imparting an almost liquorice flavour, you sense these people know what they are about.  It's a confidence borne out of apprenticeships at the River Cafe for both husband and wife Sam and Sam Clark.  Having learned all about the very best food of Italy from Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers, almost 15 years ago they took the decision to pursue their own shared passion for Spanish and Muslim Mediterranean food.  After much travel and many experiences Moro was born to marry the robust style of Spanish food with the exotic lightness of the Muslim cooking they encountered.  As at The River Cafe, the emphasis is on good ingredients simply cooked.

So why have I been absent from Moro for so long?  The fault is mine.  I have a bad habit.  I don't like to pre-book a meal if there is the option of eating at a convivial bar.  I like spontaneity, though I seem to be in the minority on this judging by many of the food critics.  OK, so sometimes you're going to be turned away, and that's disappointing, but it's not the end of the world.  Mostly it works out.  That said, after failing to secure seats three times in a row at the 'no-bookings' bar I flounced out.  Well, more fool me.  A return this week (and I still hadn't learned my lesson so I didn't book) reminded me just how good this noisy, vibrant, unfussy restaurant is.  The long, narrow room is furnished plainly, a splendid bar running virtually the whole length of the room.  An open kitchen spans almost the full width at the far end.  Moro engenders loyalty and a sense of family.  Some of the staff have been here many years, and so have many of the diners. 

The wood-fired oven not only bakes the daily loaves but some of the dishes too.  The menus are seasonal, currently starters might include a Lebanese spring vegetable soup, Salt cod with broad beans and mint or English Asparagus with almond sauce and sherry vinegar.  On our visit, mains embraced Wood roasted chicken with méchouia and chermoula, Charcoal grilled mackerel with tomato, celery, lemon and red chilli salsa with fried potatoes, and there was a Mixed vegetable mezza.  The dish I swooned over was not Iman Bayildi, it was a plate of Wood roasted pork with lentils, asparagus, peas and broad beans with grilled onion salad and thyme.  Succulent meat, melting, crispy crackling, the sweetest of onions and a mix of lentils and vegetables pepped-up with a stunning sherry vinegar sauce.  It didn't stop there.  A rosewater and cardomom ice cream, made with condensed milk, came with poached rhubarb and mulberries and scattered with preserved rose petals.  It was a heavenly assemblage and made the Malaga raisin ice-cream with Pedro Ximinez seem ordinary - but only by comparison.  Other desserts on offer included Yoghurt cake with pistachios and pomegranate, Chocolate and apricot tart and Alfonso Mango (a rare fruit this year thanks to poor weather).

Service was as good as ever and the wine list as solid and interesting as I remember.  You can also eat small dishes at the bar for most of the day.  A three course meal with a glass of wine and service will cost you around £45.  It's not cheap but you won't come away hungry, and may not even make it to dessert - though I will find the rosewater and cardomom ice cream dish hard to resist if it's on offer next time.  Oh yes, there will be a next time, and I might even book ahead to avoid disappointment.

Moro
34-36
Exmouth Market
London EC1R 4QE
Tel (to book a table): 020 7833 8336
No bookings taken for the bar

Moro has a baby which I reviewed earlier, Morito, right next door and serving tapas sized dishes
You can also read my review of Moro the Cookbook

Purple Artichokes with black olives

Purple Artichokes

As the spring broad beans and peas begin to appear at market you might expect me to be regaling you with stories of abundance on the allotment by now.  Well, it doesn't work quite like that.  Some domestic growers do manage to bring in Spring crops early, but that's because they've raised their plants under glass before planting out.  For those of us who have to sow our seeds directly in the ground things happen a little later, especially if the weather is as unreliable as it has been this year.  For biodynamic growers there is the added complication of planting to the biodynamic calendar in less than ideal conditions.  Generally, the best guide for starting to sow can be taken from the weeds.  Once they start to appear you can start to plant the hardiest of your seeds - broad beans, peas and spinach.

The positively hot weather in early April saw me sowing seeds for three types of spinach.  All grew happily through a cool, wet May and are currently my only harvestable crop.  A first planting of broad beans and peas the second week in April is just flowering, so I'm a little behind.  The next few weeks should be much more productive with Charlotte potatoes, broad beans, peas, onions, shallots and garlic all growing well.  My gooseberries will soon be ready for a first picking and the blackcurrant bushes are laden with unripe fruit.  I'm determined to get the currants before the birds strip every last one, as happened last year.  Pink Fir Apple potatoes, carrots, parsnips, Borlotti beans, courgettes and squash have now been planted and my nursery bed of brassicas is, as yet, untouched by slugs, flea beetles or pigeons.  I'm particularly looking forward to my Long Red Florence onions which I grow from seed.  Harvested when thick-necked, they are gorgeous to the eye, sweet in flavour for salads and silky in texture when gently fried.

Purple artichokes with black olives

Artichokes are a crop I've never tried to grow as they are perennials which need quite a bit of space.  If you have the ground to devote to them, they require very little attention.  Plant rooted offsets in spring rather than seeds which can be very variable.  The deep purple varieties are, unfortunately, not very hardy.  Cover the crowns with dried leaves in winter to protect from frost.  You should divide the plants every three years to keep them healthy.  Growing them in a flower border is a good option as they are tall, stately and compact with blue-grey thistle-like leaves.  Leave a few unpicked and purple thistles heads will appear from the choke to add a bit of drama to your planting.  As well as the main heads they produce smaller satelllite buds which are perfect for the recipe given here. 

While I wait for my own vegetables, I couldn't resist buying some of the beautiful egg-sized Italian purple artichokes pictured above.  The heads were tightly closed indicating freshness and their small size meant they had very little hairy choke.  I wanted to serve them as simply as possible and this recipe is based on one in 'Chez Panisse Vegetables' by Alice Waters. I piled the stuffed artichokes onto salad leaves for a light lunch but they make a good accompaniment to roast or grilled lamb.  They would probably be good with green puy lentils.  You can keep them in the fridge for a couple of days in the cooking juices.

Purple Artichokes with black olives

(Serves 2)

6-8 small purple artichokes

A handful pitted black olives

1 garlic clove

A few parsley sprigs (plus the stalks)

1 Bay leaf

A splash of white wine

A splash of good olive oil
Salt & pepper
A little lemon juice or vinegar

Strip off the outer 2-3 rows of leaves (more if the artichokes are larger), trim the stalk end. Slice off the top third of the artichoke and use a teaspoon to remove the hairy choke from the centre.  Artichokes contain tannic acid so, once prepared, stop them turning brown by popping each in a bowl of cold water with a good squeeze of lemon juice or a tablespoon of vinegar while you prepare the filling.

Chop stoned black olives, a clove of garlic and a few parsley leaves, mix together and stuff the artichokes.

Put about 1 inch of water in a pan, add a splash of white wine, the parsley stalks and a bay leaf and add the stuffed artichokes, standing upright.  Season and pour a tablespoon or two of olive oil over.  Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer for about 30 minutes.

Serve at room temperature with the juices spooned over.  A few parings of parmesan on top would be a good idea unless you want to keep it totally vegetarian.

The Butchery in Bermondsey

Nath The Butcher
at Spa Terminus, Bermondsey

A version of this article appears in The Foodie Bugle  (Winner of the Guild of Food Writers New Media of the year Award 2012)

The last railway arch in the row which houses a little enclave of artisan food businesses is rather hidden.  A raised-bed of herbs and a butcher’s block outside alerts you to what lies within.  OK, so it’s a butchery, The Butchery in fact, but Nathan Mills is no ordinary butcher.   Sourcing rare-breed, free-range animals from small farms, either direct or via the Traditional Breeds Meat Market, the emphasis is on pasture-fed native breeds.   These include White Park, Red Poll, Hereford or Dexter beef, Tamworth or Gloucester Old Spot pigs, Llanwenog lamb, hogget and mutton when in season.  Sourcing  from farmers such as Michael Bancroft in the Midlands for Dexter cattle; Sue Money-Kyrle farming Llanwenog lamb in the Wye Valley bordering Wales; and Nick Ball and Jacob Sykes of Fosse Meadows Farms in Leicestershire for free-range chickens.

The Butchery is about more than ticking the ‘careful sourcing’ boxes.  They buy whole carcasses, taking seriously the traditional practice of ‘nose-to-tail’ or whole-carcass butchery.  This means every part of the animal is valued, not just the prime cuts, for, as Fergus Henderson puts it in his seminal book ‘Nose to Tail Eating’, “… it would be disingenuous to the animal not to make the most of the whole beast …”.  This commitment to respecting the animal is at the core of The Butchery.  It requires the customer, or chef, to approach the counter with an open mind.  Of course we can buy fillet and loin but rather than insisting on a Rib-Eye steak, maybe we should try a Pope’s Eye and if there’s no shin beef left opt for some Bolar (from deep within the shoulder).   

The Cold Room at
The Butchery

Being brought up in a family immersed in the art of butchery in his native Australia, Nathan has 20 years’ experience at every level of the meat trade from abattoir to counter.  This means he knows exactly how long, and under what conditions, he should age (or not) his carefully raised meats as well as all the ‘sneaky butchers cuts’ he can get from them.  Cuts you may never have heard of include Teres Major, Goose Neck, Pope’s Eye, and Bolar.  The blog page of The Butchery website explains all.

Arriving in London in 2005, Nathan’s experience includes spells at the highly respected Ginger Pig, Jamie Oliver & Adam Perry Lang’s Barbecoa Butchers and Whole Foods UK flagship store in Kensington.  Nathan and partner Ruth Siwinski  opened the doors to The Butchery in 2011, initially from a temporary home amongst the Maltby Street group of businesses.  All these award-winning enterprises are gradually moving to their new location, the little centre of excellence off Spa Road, Bermondsey, known as Spa Terminus, where The Butchery is established.  All the businesses here sell directly to restaurants, cafes and other outlets, opening their doors for retail trade on Saturdays. 

The plan for The Butchery is to allow the business to grow organically, gradually and steadily without any compromises to the ethos.  Ruth and Nathan cite Joshua and Jessica Applestone, who in 2004 opened their own uncompromising butchery store in New York State,  as an inspiration for The Butchery.  Their book ‘The Butcher’s Guide to Well–Raised Meat’ tells the story of how and why, against all the odds, they came to do it and is packed with helpful advice.

The Butchery arch

The Butchery arch is also the location for popular courses where you can learn everything from knife sharpening or sausage wrangling to how to butcher a whole pig, lamb, or even, a whole cow.  It’s a great opportunity for chefs, customers and enthusiasts to learn more about the meat they cook and eat.  You can take your cuts away with you or leave some of them for a while in the perfect conditions of Nathan’s ageing room.  Nathan and Ruth also cure bacon, make their own sausages, and their burgers are 100% beef.  They even stock sustainably produced British charcoal to cook them over.   

Debate is currently raging over how to increase food security whilst reducing the environmental impact of its production.  Some argue that raising cattle intensively on a cereal-based diet results in a reduction of methane gas production.  However, recent studies carried out at 10 National Trust farms in the UK have reached a quite different conclusion.  The National Trust report, ‘What’s your beef?’, issued this month concludes that feeding cattle on grass throughout their lifecycle is the most environmentally sustainable way to rear beef.  The report states "The results are contrary to recent thinking that livestock farming methods must intensify further in order to lessen carbon emissions to feed an ever-increasing world population.”  You can read more about this on their website www.nationaltrust.org.uk

Studies have shown that lamb and beef raised slowly on pasture have higher vitamin content than intensively-reared meat.  A report funded by the Economic and Social Research Council states that “Cattle and sheep raised on natural grasslands help maintain biodiversity and produce tastier, healthier meat”.    It’s known that higher rates of Omega 3 fatty acids, essential for physical and mental development, and lower levels of saturated fat  are present in pasture-fed beef and lamb. 

An old recipe book from William Douglas & Sons
butchers shop Farringdon Road, London

If you are going to follow the sustainable ‘nose to tail’ approach to eating you need to develop a relationship with your butcher.  It’s interesting to hear the customers at The Butchery debate the merits of particular breeds.  We all have our preferences, in my case I love Dexter beef and when Rib-Eye is available I will home-in on that, but because I trust Nathan I will try other cuts from the same animal.  Nathan and Ruth are more than happy to give advice on cooking and if you need more help, try Fergus Henderson’s books  ‘Noseto Tail’ and ‘Beyond Nose to Tail’.  Another useful book is ‘OddBits: how to cook the rest of the animal’  by American author Jennifer McLagan.  The writer concentrates on “all animal parts we have forgotten not only how to cook but also how to eat” and poses the question “Why is it stranger to eat a beef cheek than a cow’s back?”  There’s also a rather wonderful blog out there at www.nosetotailathome.com

Purebred Certification

 

If you care about well-raised British meat and you’re shopping for a good butcher in London, I recommend you check out The Butchery.  They’re bringing the best of British farming to London.


Short Q&A with Nath the Butcher:

Q WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT YOUR JOB?

A “Banter with customers and watching a progression of meat from a chat with a farmer about their breeds and raising methods to delivery of a whole carcass, aging in my coolroom to cutting up a beast, then having a customer come back and say how much they enjoyed it.”

Q WHAT QUESTIONS WOULD YOU ASK A BUTCHER?

A “What breed is it ? What has it eaten and where was it killed ? Do you know the real history of your meat in other words. In the UK meat is stamped with a number that can give you all this information and more if you want to know.”
Nb. The website www.tracingpaper.org.uk is where to go to make sense of these codes

The Butchery

Arch 13 Dockley Road

Spa Terminus

Bermondsey 

London  SE16 3SF

www.thebutcheryltd.com

Spanish Flavours by José Pizarro

Spanish Flavours
José Pizarro

Most of José Pizarro's recipes use admirably few ingredients.  Recipes can, I think, display a lack of confidence when lists are too long.  There is no such problem with those in Spanish Flavours, or in Pizarro's first book Seasonal Spanish Food.  Seeing Spain, from a culinary point of view, as many countries rolled into one, he has organised the book into five chapters covering North, East, Centre, South and the Balearic and Canary Islands.  It's not an original concept but it works.  Fish and seafood, of course, plays a major role throughout Spanish cuisine but regional specialities are brought into the mix and inspire these recipes.  Pizarro is also happy to credit his present home, London, where he owns restaurants José and Pizarro, as an influence on how he uses certain ingredients.

The North of Spain, which has high rainfall, is a dairy and farming region so as well as Griddled scallops with cauliflower puree and chorizo oil, there is a recipe for Baked cheesecakes with blueberries.  The East is rich in funghi, game and rice, demonstrated by Caldoso (meaning soupy rice) with quail, wild mushrooms, artichokes and black olives.  The Centre is where Pizarro is most at home, being a son of Extramadura.  Peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, saffron, and Manchego cheese are celebrated along with the products from the magnificent Iberico pig and Jamόn de Teruel.  A recipe for Braised Iberico pork with tomatoes, chorizo, thyme and black olives is the region personified.  The South has the Moorish influences represented here in dishes such as Spicy lamb albondigas, a take on kofta meatballs, flavoured with North African favourites cumin and coriander.  The final region is the Islands, where Pizarro found "simplicity, freshness and strong flavours" summed up the cuisine, inspiring dishes such as Lobster caldereta (stew) and Avocado with prawns and tomato vinaigrette. 

Puddings throughout rely heavily, and deliciously, on fruit.  Even the Spanish version of eggy bread manages to incorporate some orange.  Almond and honey creams with lemon verbena peaches and Orange-scented apple buñuelos are must-trys.

The atmospheric photography by Emma Lee successfully captures the rustic style of the dishes and the little explanatory drawing in the introduction is delightful.  This book certainly makes me want to get cooking - Braised peas and Jamόn with eggs, perhaps.


Spanish Flavours by José Pizarro
Published by Kyle Books
Book courtesy of Kyle Books

Paris Spring 2012 - Comme à Lisbonne and more

Hôtel de Sully
Le Marais, Paris

Hôtel de Sully is one of my favourite places in Paris.  In spring, birds make full use of the ivy-clad walls to nest.   At this time of year, the courtyard is full of birdsong and the hungry cries of baby birds.  History permeates this quiet and peaceful space in the heart of the Marais.  It was built in the late 1620s as a Hôtel Particulier, or private mansion, for the financier Mesme Gallet.  Soon afterwards Henry IV's former surintendant des Finances, Maximilien de Béthune, duc de Sully, acquired it.  At quiet times, like the one above, it has a still, ghostly air and makes you feel that you wouldn't be a bit surprised if M. Gallet were to appear in the doorway. 

These days Hôtel de Sully is a state-owned monument historique.  You'll find the entrance on the busy rue Saint-Antoine, close to Métro Saint-Paul.  In one corner of the building there's a lovely tranquil gallery where some fantastic photographic exhibitions are curated.  Walking out of the other side of the courtyard takes you into the historic Place des Vosges.

On this spring visit, a short walk from Hotel Sully, I came across Comme à Lisbonne on rue du Roi de Sicile (parallel with rue de Rivoli).  Instantly recognising the name from one of David Lebovitz's excellent posts on his Paris-based blog I stopped off for, coffee.  The shop is tiny but has a couple of stools where you can perch.  They offer one of the best Pastéis de Nata I've ever tasted.  The pastry was not quite the one I expect from this little Portuguese custard tart - maybe this is because the baker hails from the Azores rather than mainland Portugal  -  but it was undeniably good.  The custard filling was all the more delicious for not being thickened with cornflour, as is the norm.  The baking is done on the premises.  Fresh batches of tarts regularly arrive from the kitchen and there is an optional sprinkle of canelle (cinnamon).  The owners are charming and the take away trade is brisk.  Apart from stocking a small handful of Portuguese products, that's all there is to it - and it's all the better for it.  I'll definitely be returning.

Another find on this trip was a small, unassuming place on rue Oberkampf called Aux Deux Amis.  Serving natural wines at reasonable prices this neighbourhood cafe bar proved well worth seeking out.  Lunch was over by the time we got there but its aroma lingered enticingly.  I noted that it would be a good place to try for lunch on a future visit. On this occasion it was a welcome pitstop and reminder of genuine 60s cafe style.  

I still haven't had my fill of Pierre Cluizel's chocolates at Un Dimanche a Paris, which I've written about previously.  A cup of hot chocolate as you browse the chocolate, pâtisserie and glaces is a must.  The shop's a two minute walk from Métro Odéon on Cour du Commerce Saint-André in the 6th arondissement.  Take care not to turn an ankle on the the ancient cobblestones.

A ten minute stroll from here to the stylish rue Bonaparte brings you to Pierre Hermé's fantastic pâtisserie.  Although you can buy Hermé's macarons and chocolates in London now - from Selfridges and a Pierre Hermé shop at 13 Lowndes Square SW1 - to taste his baked goods you  have to go to Paris.  If you can bring yourself to disregard the fabulous pâtisserie, walk to the back of the shop to seek out an individual Kugelhopf.  Fluffy, coated with sugar syrup and spiked with excellent quality fruit, it is outstanding baking.  Take it to the nearby Luxembourg Gardens and enjoy amongst the collection of apple, pear and vines.

Hôtel de Sully
62 rue Saint-Antoine
(Marais 4th arondissement)
Paris

Comme à Lisbonne
37 rue du Roi de Sicile (4th)
Paris
Open: Tues-Sunday 11-8pm

Aux Deux Amis
45 rue Oberkampf
Paris 75011
Metro: Oberkampf
Open: Tuesday-Saturday

Pierre Hermé
72 rue Bonaparte
Paris 75006
(and other branches)

Other Paris postings on this blog that you may find useful:

Les Fies Gueules, Paris

Rose Bakery, Paris

Le Cristal de Sel

Du Pains et des Ideés

 Un Dimanche à Paris

The True Price of Fish

The Christchurch Fish stall

This is a very short but important post about the sad loss of two of our young fishermen.  Christchurch Fish from Dorset, which is a collective of 7 inshore fishing boats, bring their catch to London's Maltby Street (Ropewalk) and Kensington and St John's Wood Farmers' Markets every Saturday.  Please take the time to read the note from Les Lawrence below which brings home the true price of fish.

"dear customer

You may have seen the news a few days ago about the terrible loss in Weymouth last thursday of the three fishermen on "Purbeck Isle." Christchurch Fish has four boats in Christchurch and three in Weymouth,and Rob, one of the youngsters lost had been working working on one of them  for the last few years leaving to join the " Purbeck Isle" just last month. Jack, the other youngster crewed on another of our three Weymouth boats until a couple of years ago. Both were in their early twenties and Rob leaves three kids, all under 5. A fund has been set up with all monies going to the kids at 21, we will have a collection tin at the stall tomorrow for amyone wishing to contribute and if you aren't at the market tomorrow and wish to contribute you can send a cheque payable to " Weymouth and Portland Licensed Fisherman's and Boatman's Association " to

Purbeck Isle Appeal

Dorset Echo

Fleet House

Hampshire Road

Weymouth

DT4 9XD"

Taylor St Baristas

Taylor St Baristas
at Brooks Mews

Mayfair has long been a bit of a desert for good coffee.  So often, it seems to me, the pricier the area the poorer the food and drink choices.  My antennae are finely attuned to coffee and I'm always on the lookout for something good.  Passing through the west end a few months ago and glancing down Brooks Mews, at the back of Claridges Hotel, I spotted a new branch of Taylor St Baristas. 

Starting out with a single shop in Richmond this independent coffee shop now has 5 more branches in London, including a garden shed in Shoreditch, and one shop in Brighton.  Using Marzocco and Nuova Simonelli machines, they produce excellent coffee from Union Coffee Roasters 100% arabica beans.  They describe their espresso as a "constant work in progress" and although the blend does change, it is always very drinkable.  Last week I sampled their introduction of a delicious Union single origin Tanzanian bean at the Mayfair branch.

All of the branches are different, from the primped-up smartness of Mayfair to the dress-down trendiness of the East End 'shed'.  What they have in common is the consistency of the coffee and the knowledgeable, genuinely friendly staff.  At the Mayfair branch they offer a good selection of sandwiches and cakes, preparing everything on-site.  It's off the main drag but close to Bond Street and a very welcome arrival in an area not well served by good coffee spots.

Taylor Street Baristas
22 Brooks Mews
Mayfair
London W1K 4DY
(and other branches)

New Park Farm Asparagus - Food Find

New Park Farm
Asparagus

Usually you can rely on the UK asparagus season starting on 1 May, sometimes a few days early, occasionally a few days late.  This is proving to be the strangest year for asparagus growing in the UK that I can recall.  There is always the odd grower who manages to get some to market a week or two early, but the long-term health of the plant depends on not over-stressing it by harvesting for more than about six weeks.  This year some Wye Valley spears could be bought in very early April due to an unseasonably warm March.  A cold wet April then plunged the crop back into dormancy.  I stubbornly resisted the temptation to buy the few, weedy stems on offer.  Until last week, that is, when one of my favourite restaurants, Rochelle Canteen, put some lovely, fairly plump, Essex-grown spears on their menu.  Finally the season has properly started with the arrival of my favourite Kent grower, New Park Farm.  Setting up stall at Borough Market today, they also expect to be at Marylebone Farmers Market tomorrow.  Offering three grades of asparagus, every year, normally from 1 May to mid-June, New Park Farm bring some of the very best asparagus to London's markets.  Buy it while you can as who knows whether the season will end prematurely this year.

Rochelle Canteen

Rochelle Canteen

I've just been told Tim Hayward has a review of Rochelle Canteen out today.  Damn the man's eyes, he writes like a dream!  Well, here goes anyway.  I really don't know why it took me so long to go back to Rochelle Canteen.  Maybe it had something to do with the fact you have to go through a school door to get to it - my relationship with learning was complicated.  You buzz for entry through the 'Boys' gate to find yourself in a small, partly-lawned school yard.  Ignoring the Victorian red-brick building you follow your nose to the bike shed.  That's more like it.

The door opens straight into the small, plainly stylish dining room set for communal eating, with the kitchen off to the left.  As you can see from the photograph it's quite a small space, around 30 covers, so it's best to book ahead.  In summer, tables are set up outside amongst a few pots of herbs and the odd bike.  This is Spitalfields so don't expect fancy.  I would say it's classy.

The menu changes daily and there is a blackboard of specials.  Rochelle Canteen's food is reliably seasonal and has the knack of being just what you want to suit the weather.  Chorizo and Potato Soup matched the stop-start feeling of spring this year.  Jersey Royal potatoes, Watercress and Soft Boiled Egg acknowledged the welcome appearance of the first potato of the year and the return of the peppery cress.  We ate a generous, creamy, portion of Brandade on Toast, a perfect balance between salt cod and potato.  Poor weather has caused the Asparagus season to get off to a haphazard start so a few Essex-grown spears simply served with clarified butter and a mound of sea salt was gratefully devoured. 

Mains of Boiled Meats and Green Sauce, Wild Sea Trout, Kohlrabi & Cucumber were on offer but Pollock Chips & Tartare Sauce proved too hard to resist for one.  The fish was fresh and flaky, the batter crispy, the chips just what you hope for.  The tartare sauce alongside was a bit too punchy for the Pollock but the traditional option of malt vinegar suited better.  Lamb, Artichoke and Rocket Salad was a plentiful plate of silky, pink roast, possibly hogget, given its good flavour, with well-dressed fresh artichokes and leaves.  We never made it to pudding but could have had Merinques and Poached Rhubarb, Lemon Posset and Strawberries (presumably Gariguette), or ice-creams.  You do need a good appetite if you're going to manage three courses here. 

Rochelle Canteen is run by Melanie Arnold & Margot Henderson (wife of Fergus Henderson of the St John establishments).   The cooking is gutsy and unflashy, less full-on than at St John.  It has no drinks licence but you can take a bottle - they charge a very fair £5 corkage.  When we were there a group of wine buffs were having a whale of a time pairing wine with the food.  It was nice to see them leave the unfinished bottles on the lunch table being set up for the chefs at the end of service.  The staff care and it's a good team.

You can't help wondering, as you look out onto the schoolyard, where all the kids are.  Rochelle School was built to educate the children of The Boundary Estate which replaced the Victoran slums centred around Old Nichol Street.  Arthur Morrison drew inspiration for his book A child of the Jago from the area.  Head for the distinctive landmark of Arnold Circus with its bandstand raised high on a mound.  It's midway between trendy, neat Hoxton Square and vibrant, dishevelled Brick Lane.  There is still a school in the Circus but the main Rochelle building now houses arts and media businesses and provides exhibition spaces.  The former bike shed serves as their Canteen but there is more around.  Calvert Avenue, running off Arnold Circus is home to the lovely Leila's Shop and Cafe.  Trendy Redchurch Street is a 5 minute walk away and you can go East to Columbia Road flower market in 10. 

Now, time to read Tim Hayward's review - damn his eyes.

Rochelle Canteen
Rochelle School
Arnold Circus
E2 7ES
Tel: 020 7729 5677

Open Mon-Fri for breakfast, lunch & tea (NOT DINNER) 9am-4.30pm 
Bring your own wine - corkage is a reasonable £5.
Around £60 for two including corkage
NEAREST TUBE STATIONS: Liverpool Street
http://www.arnoldandhenderson.com/

Cannellini Bean and Escarole Soup

Cannellini Bean and Escarole Soup

Having woken to London's first sunny day in weeks, I considered not publishing this recipe for a warming soup.  However, just as one swallow does not make a summer, one sunny day does not mean we are out of these dismal weather troughs yet.  So here is a really simple, healthy bowl of 'beans and greens' to get you through the next few days.

I have to own up to stealing this recipe a couple of months ago from Dave Cook.  He passed on some of his vast kitchen knowledge to a handful of keen amateurs, of which I was lucky enough to be one.  Like all simple dishes, it relies on good ingredients.

For the 'beans' element, I prefer to soak and cook dried ones for this soup but you could use the bottled Spanish Alubia beans which come in excellent cooking stock.  The freshness of packaged dried beans is difficult to judge.  The 'best before' date on the packet sitting on your supermarket shelf will lead you to believe they will keep for a year or more.  Well, yes they will but the longer they are kept the longer they will take to cook, and they will not taste so good.  Italian and Turkish food shops are good places to shop for dried beans as they are used a lot in the cuisines of both countries.  For this reason there is likely to be a fast turnover of stock.  If the locations are good for you, I can recommend Leilla's shop in Spitalfields or Lina Stores in Soho.  Any white bean will work in this recipe. 

The 'greens' in this recipe is escarole, a broad-leaved endive which looks a bit like a large, frilly romaine or cos lettuce but it is a bit more robust.  Escarole is sweeter and less bitter than its endive relatives with which you might be more familiar.  You could use something like turnip tops (cima di rapa) if you blanch them in boiling salted water for a minute or two first then plunge into cold water to retain the colour.  As I had some turnip tops, this is what I used for the soup photographed.

Cannellini and escarole soup

250g dried cannellini beans (500g cooked)
1 whole carrot
1 whole stick of celery
Half a white onion
2 plump garlic cloves, sliced
1-2 small dried chillies, deseeded and crumbled
A handful of basil leaves, torn
a handful of parsley, roughly chopped
6 or more roughly torn escarole leaves
50g parmesan, plus more to serve
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt & pepper

Soak the beans overnight in plenty of cold water.  Drain and bring to the boil in a large pan of fresh water with the whole carrot, celery stick and half onion.  Boil fast for 10 minutes to remove toxins, skim off impurities then reduce to a simmer for an hour or more (depending on freshness of the beans).  When the beans are soft, discard the vegetables.  Remove a quarter of the beans, puree and then return them to the pan.  This will thicken the soup and give it a silky texture.

Fry the garlic and chilli in olive oil and cook without browning.  Add the basil, parsley and escarole and cook for 1 minute to wilt.  Add all to the beans pot.  Add grated parmesan and salt and pepper.  Serve with a drizzle of good olive oil and shavings of extra parmesan.