Meat Glorious Meat

We moved to Highgate in October and I've been loving getting the know the area. 

We are pretty well versed on the pubs in Highgate Village, which we started getting to know as soon as we moved in and in the last 2 months I've enjoyed getting to know Muswell Hill a lot better. 

Highgate is for drinking and eating in the fantastic selection of pubs and coffee shops and then walking it off round the post card village. Where as Muswell Hill is for your shopping. It's inundated with a wide variety of shops from well known high street shops to little boutiques and it is the best place to do your food shop. 

One thing I always felt it was missing was a butchers. It has a fantastic fish mongers which I mentioned in this recipe and the big supermarkets M&S, Planet Organic, Sainsburys (Unfortunately to my dismay only a tiny Waitrose Local !DEVASTATED!) I mourn the loss of my huge St Katherines Dock Waitrose daily.

But NO butchers (the supermarket meat selections are super basic), and then I heard, on the Muswell Hill grapevine (being Tilly mainly) that one was coming... 

It arrived in all its glory!! Doesn't that window of well hung meat just made you go all tingly??!! 

(If you are a vegan/vegetarian perhaps not) 

All too soon it was open and we could feast our eyes (and stomachs) on its delights!! I had already been buying copious amounts of meat when I was invited to the official opening! 

An evening of wine, canapés and perusing the shop. Lots of Muswell Hill locals seemed to be there so it was a pleasure to meet people in the community, be them blogging mums, twitter aficionados or people who were involved in the making of the new shop. 

Dan and I helped ourselves to the delicious canapés made at the shop. Showcasing their famous sausage rolls which they sell every weekend. We had already heard about these so were very excited to try them and they very much lived up to their reputation! 

(I do apologize for the terrible photo)

Selections of their charcuterie and cheese 

and fabulous dips! 

There was a vast platter or smoked slow cooked brisket making the rounds too as well as wines from the in-house selection. We left with 2 bottles of the Cote de Provence Rose. 

It was a delight to meet Phillip, the man behind it all. With a background in the hospitality industry, when Phil moved to Hampstead he felt there was something missing in the Village. When a space opened up the original Hampstead Butcher was born in 2010. West Hampstead followed and now finally Muswell Hill can enjoy its delights. 

There isn't any doubt as to why the shops are so successful. They are beautifully designed, well lit and present their goods so well. Plus you can almost do your entire shop in here. 

As Phillip explained, everything in the shop is deigned to compliment the main event of the shop. The meat. 

As you may suspect you can get any cut of meat from here. From any animal and all at the most amazing quality. You can taste the difference I promise you.

There is a huge selection of 'ready to go' meat in homemade marinades and a BBQ selection to die for. I have had the lamb kebabs and I can't recommend them enough. 

I've got my eye on the ribs next (inserts drooling face)

Like I say all the shop is beautifully designed and well lit to show off all the produce in its best light. From the lambs hanging in the fridge at the back 

To the charcuterie 

and the concise but broad selections of wines and craft beers. 

This truly is a dinner party one stop shop! 

The wide range of cheeses, pates and hams  

to the chiller section which houses fresh veg, all sorts of cured meat, a VAST sausage selection, foie gras, fresh pastas and sauces. The list goes on. Really you have to just go see for yourselves. 

There is a fabulous chocolate selection and all sorts of dry goods to round out your table.

The shop, like the others holds wine tastings and is just about to start butchery classes. If you ever needed a good dad/husband present, who are always so notoriously hard to buy for, this is probably it! 

Head to the website for all the information on events and classes they hold. 

This post is something a little different to what I usually do but I feel it's pretty important. Like I said at the end of my previous post I do believe it is so important to support our high street and independent traders. Plus, I can't tell you how much I like feeling part of something, even living in the notoriously unfriendly London.

I use supermarkets a lot, of course but there is nothing I like more than going into this shop. It's so much nicer to say Hello Vince! and have a bit of a chat. The quality of the meat as well just shines through. It is fresh, well handled and you can get the most unusual cuts (which quite often are much cheaper!) The proof is in the pudding as they say! Plus if there is anything you are unsure of the guys are always on hand for tips or preparing meat the way you need it.

Stay tuned for Ox and Pig Cheek recipes and next time, opt for a butchers. Get a piece of Bavette steak (I got two huge pieces for £8!) or try something new for a dinner party.  

One Pan Wonder

Home alone for supper. This means indulging in my vacuous american TV show habit, and having whatever I want for dinner. Usually that would be a big oozy pile of mac and cheese but as I'm trying to be better I wanted something equally as simple but delicious. 

So I turned to my next true love, a pork chop. Now, some of you may have seen from my instagram that a new butcher has opened in Muswell Hill. Making it's way from over the heath The Hampstead Butcher and Providore is a very welcome addition. It's all Tilly, who is a born and breed Muswell Hill lady, and I have been able to talk about and I have it on firm authority from her the bacon is to die for.

Not only is the shop beautiful, it is rammed full of amazing goodies from wine and cheese to baked goods and fresh pasta, bbq packs with homemade marinades and, of course, pretty much any cut of meat from any animal you can think of. Safe to say I'm already on first name terms. If they don't have it, they will get it for you. What more could you want?

So, back to my dinner. I never want to spend time on elaborate meals when I'm alone, there is too much washing up and faffing. Plus I want to keep one eye on the telly whilst I cook. So here is the easiest a one pan wonder, minimum effort, maximum satisfaction.

Roasted Pork Chop with a Sweetcorn, Red Pepper, Pesto Salsa*. 

You will need:

One beautiful pork chop

1 Red Pepper

6 Cherry tomatoes 

1 Fresh Sweetcorn 

Pesto (homemade or from that jar that's been lurking in the back of the fridge)

1 glass of white wine

Spinach 

*I dont know if technically this is a salsa, but thats what I've called it

Now this literally all happened to be hanging around in my fridge. A great way to use up tomatoes that are a bit past their best, or that bottle of wine thats been open just a touch too long (surprising that's in my fridge I know)

Turn on your oven to 200 degrees. Season your pork chop, a thing of beauty, all over and put a frying pan on the heat. This pan is going to go in the oven so use a metal handed one or perhaps a skillet.

Whilst your oven and pan are heating. Chop your pepper into slices, cut the corn off the cob and your tomatoes into quarters. If you are using big tomatoes then perhaps cut them into eight. Keep one eye on the Kardashians. 

Now your pan should be really ready to go, sear that beautiful chop really well on both sides and down the rind. Scatter your veg around to make a pan full of sunshine. 

Now throw the whole lot in the pan, in the hot oven for 10 minutes and go back to the sofa. 

*Please only do this if you have a metal handle pan! Plastic and hot ovens don't mesh well*

It should come out all nicely roasted, a slight caramelisation on the corn, the peppers beginning to soften and the tomatoes making the base of a sauce.

Now remove your pork chop onto your plate you are going to eat off. Remember we are keeping washing up to a minimum. So far you should only have one dirty knife, chopping board, the frying pan and tongs, and to be honest you had time to wash up that knife and board whilst the chop was searing, didn't you? Yes, you did. 

Turn off the oven, and turn the heat back on under the pan and pour in your wine. Now you don't have to go and get a whole bottle, unless you want to drink the rest (which is totally legit), just get one of those mini ones in the fridge section.  

It should bubble up straight away! We need to get rid of that harsh alcohol favour so reduce it down to a nice sticky sauce. I moved my veg to one side and tilted the pan slightly just to leave my peppers with a bit of crunch. 

After a couple of minutes it should be perfectly reduced so add a teaspoon or so of pesto. Turn off the heat and give it a good stir. Check the seasoning.

That's it! All done!! 

Put your pork chop back in the pan briefly to line your plate with spinach, scoop out all that sticky wonderful salsa and place your pork chop, like a marvellous meaty crown on top. 

Hey presto. Dinner is served. You didn't even miss anything because of the stupidly long adverts we have to suffer. 

Look at that plate of colours!! 

Here's a close up. 

The best thing? When you have finished eating, all you have to did is wash up a frying pan and that just takes up another ad break. Genius. 

This would also be easy enough to do for 2 people, and actually I guess if you go a big enough tray, and didn't mind some extra washing up, you could turn it into a tray bake for larger numbers. You can always put metal dishes on the hob to make the wine and pesto sauce. 

If you have a butcher near you, go and make friends! Supermarkets are all well and convenient but nothing beats the taste of proper, well reared and looked after meat. Plus, you are supporting independent traders, what's better than that!  Go on, treat yo'self. 

Padella, Borough Market

Padella has been knocking it out of the park since it opened in back in April 2016. A simple pasta spot on the outside of Borough Market and from the folks behind Trullo, an Italian restaurant in Islington with an exceedingly good reputation of its own. 

Just serving up homemade pasta with exceptional sauces, it has a small, concise menu with a few starters, the pastas and a couple of desserts. If carbs aren't your thing, I'd give this one a miss. 

This is another spot I went to back when it opened and never wrote about. To busy stuffing my face to think about recording it. 

 Harri and I decided it was high time for another lunch date, the sun was shining and it was a perfect day to try and bag a spot in their lovely window. Harri and I have probably tried to go to Padella about 5 times together, Harri very much has Italy in her heart and so when I (and all of London) raved about the pasta we knew we had to go together. I certainly wasn't going to pass up another chance to visit! 

Being the footloose and fancy free freelancers that we are, we picked to go for a later lunch to avoid the queue and the rush. For those that hate a queue, Padella is deceptive. They have another, much larger, dining space downstairs. So if the queue looks huge, fret not, not only is the pasta worth the wait, it will also probably go quicker than you think. 

Inside you take you seat at the marble counters, either in front of the chefs, or at the big window. Not only are they a part of the wonderfully simple decor but the counters also become the pasta making benches when the doors are closed. If you pass by in the morning you might very well see the pasta taking shape. Downstairs they have another bar but also larger tables that are easier to fit a group around. 

Arriving late as usual, Harri had already bagged a great spot at the window. Even though we arrived at 3 there were still a fair number of people finishing up their lunch. We eyed up the menu and obviously wanted to order everything, but that would be greedy, so we just settled with 3 pastas.

The pastas arrived in a flurry and Harri got to work... So I sat, like a drooling puppy watching her, and took a picture of her doing her thang.

The first guy I shall introduce is the Fettuccine with nduja, mascarpone and parsley (£6.5). This was a knockout, seriously punchy with the earthy, chilli nduja and a fabulous fluffy mound of parmesan. 

For anyone who is afraid of spice this isn't the one for you, nduja is not for the fainthearted. The pasta though is the real star of the show. So well made and so far removed from dried pasta you wonder why you even bother eating the stuff at home.

Next was the Tagliarini with nettles, nutmeg, parmesan and egg yolk (£10.5). This was superb, the nutmeg was so well judged. The yolk breaks to make the sauce that much richer, winding its way down over the pasta. I assumed nettles would be slightly like spinach, but the flavour is much more delicate making it a very light dish. 

Gratuitous yolk shot with some dreadful pasta twirling by me. Terrible assisting.

Then 3rd up, this guy who has gotten a strong reputation as being the best cacio & pepe sauce in town. Wriggly, fat worms of pici in the creamy pepper sauce that literally has me salivating now just writing this. Harri had to be coaxed into trying this as the fat doughy pasta shapes aren't really her thing, she likes a thin pasta. However, judging by the grin on her face when she'd taken a mouthful, I'm pretty sure she's a convert. 

Again, perfectly made, exceptionally cooked. These guys can do no wrong when it comes to pasta. "Best pasta outside of Italy " - Harriet Raper (and this girl knows what she's talking about)

We wolfed down pretty much everything. We left a touch of the strong njuda pasta, it was a really punchy sauce! I was pretty much licking the plate of the pic cacio & pepe clean. I could eat it 100x over! 

We finished up with a couple of macchiatos and took our leave. Strolling out into the sunshine for a wander around Borough Market and Bermondsey, which has such a striking mix of old and new buildings. Tiny pubs hidden down little roads and big old factories now being made into chic flats. Through Kings College Campus and back over Tower Bridge onto the right side of the river. Definitely the perfect way to walk off our pasta bellies! 

If you haven't been to Padella I suggest you just drop everything and go now. Honestly it's an order. 

If you love the photos on here as much as I do, you can see more of Harri's photos on her website here or give her a follow on instagram too, for daily uploads of a perfectly captured world. 

Bao - Fitzrovia

In this current climate, if you have yet to eat a bao, you are SERIOUSLY missing out. 

Little fluffy white pockets stuffed with the most outrageously tasty fillings. The kind of food that makes you close you eyes and murmur 'mmmmmmm' to nobody in particular but just in a deep appreciation of what is happening on your tastebuds. 

I mean, if you don't look like this guy ⬇ below when eating bao, you're doing something wrong. It's a pretty accurate representation.

Bao started life as a food truck making the rounds on London's ever growing street food scene. It then set down slightly more permanent roots in Neil Market with the Bao Bar. Finally, in March 2015 they opened their first permanent site in Soho with the help of the Sethi family (who has backed the likes of Lyle's and Gymkhana) 

The trio is comprised of sister and brother Wai Ting, Shing Tat Chung, and his girlfriend Erchen Chang and, after taking Soho by storm, they are now well into their new venture in Fitzrovia. 

Like the bao's they serve, their restaurants are equally small and perfectly formed. The Fitzrovia site is slightly larger than the first, 46 covers to Soho's 32, and HUZZAH! There is limited booking for the seats downstairs at Fitzrovia. 

Yes, Bao does mean queueing, but the turn around is speedy with the dishes flying out the kitchen (it is street food at heart) and the bar style eating does not encouraging lingering. Which is excellent news for those standing along the windows, mouths open in anticipation to be stuffed with bao. 

Now you must be asking yourself, why I am writing about Bao now? I did go back in May 2015 (I can't believe it's already that long ago!) but never wrote it up. Silly me - the worst kept secret in London. 

Now though they have recently launched a fantastic new idea to use up offcuts of their dough. Mini bao. 

These are served at lunch in Fitzrovia and it means you can eat all the bao on the menu for a grand total of £16! For someone like me, who likes to always sample as much of the menu as possible, it's a dream. So when I heard about it on the instagram grapevine I immediately gathering a partner in crime, Harri, and set a date to get down and BAO. 

Sadly, as the mini bao are made with the offcuts, by Friday, they were SOLD OUT. Devastating because the bao are not only divine but beyond CUTE! To have a look, visit their instagram here. 

Nevertheless this did not deter Hazzle and I and on a blustery spring Friday we met, armed with Harri's camera for a bloody good catch up and a munch.

For those of you that don't know, Miss Harriet Raper is the most fantastic photographer as well as an all round dreamboat. Her instagram is incredible and this is her website - http://harrietclarephotography.com (available for weddings and bar mitzvahs, literally.)

So this is why the photos in this blog are about 3 million times better than my own but back to the food. In defiance to not being able to have all the mini bao we just ordered all the regular bao and then two other dishes. 

First up - Confit pork with crispy shallots and plumy spicy sauce and behind that is the Beef Short Rib with a sort of mayo. What can I say except 'mmmmmmmm'

Next in line was the Diakon Bao, a piece of diakon (chinese radish, utterly divine) breadcrumbed and deep fried topped with a pickled slice. When cooked it goes all deliciously glutinous in a way that has you questioning if it is really a vegetable as they aren't meant to taste that good. The classic bao, just peeping into the corner of the photo - pork with crushed peanuts is just the most lovely combination and didn't disappoint. 

What was slightly disappointing - hence not making the final photo cut was the Black Cod in Sesame Bao. I mean, I know these are small bites but the cod was practically non existent in its squid ink batter.

Last to show up were our other dishes. All of Bao is small plates, designed to be shared and we plumped for the Fried Chicken Chop with Soy Cured Egg and the Soy Pork Loin with Ginger and Chives. 

Fried chicken is also having a moment, not complaining, anything crumbed and fried and spicy is always a firm menu choice of mine. (Korean Fried Wings - can I get an AMEN!) This was no exception, still being on the bone meant the chicken was perfectly moist and the spicy sauce it comes with really packs a punch. Utterly divine and has us picking up every last scrap. 

The pork loin were the thinnest slices of cold pork that were beyond moorish! The ridge of fat, despite being cold, was still perfect amongst the soy. Taiwanese charcuterie if you will.

Gratuitous yolk shot. Good for taking the edge off the spicy sauce! This was all washed down with the tiniest pots of Chin Shin Oolong tea. The perfect lunch. 

Haz and I took our leave and gave up our seats to those hungry in line and skipped out, as light as the pillows of bao we'd just eaten. 

For those of you that work on Charlotte Street, or near Charlotte street or TCR. I suggest early week you find a reason to leave the office at 11.45 and get down to Bao to get in line for the Minis. 

Like I said we missed out on these, apparently they ran out on Wednesday! However it will be happening each week on lunchtimes. 

Even if you don't work round there, get to a Bao anyway if you haven't been! 

Find them here Soho and Fitzrovia or, for something different on the weekend, here - Neil Market. 

Super Easy Speedy Mussels

Finally, going full circle, we come back to the starter. If you haven't been following the posts, jump back 2 and you'll understand. It is a bit of a seafood heavy menu I will admit but actually it made such a change from always cooking meat. 

This is a sort of Moules Mariniere - I say sort of because being such a classic french dish I have tweeked it and I wouldn't want to offend the purists by calling it a Mariniere. 

There is also a huge lack of photos on this post because I was talking whilst cooking. It was so good, and so easy, I decided to use what little I had anyway to share with you. I was watching Jamie Oliver's Friday Night Feast program and they had a whole piece on mussels, how we, England, find them on our shores in abundance and export almost all of them! Most people are scared to cook them and I will admit this is the first time I've cooked them at home. I don't know why I thought it would be any different from work. Impress your guests, give it ago and show off the finest of British produce! 

For 4 as a starter, or 2 main courses you will need:

2kg Mussels 

4 Shallots 

4 sprigs of fresh Thyme 

1 Bay Leaf

Bunch of parsley 

160ml of dry white wine 

160g of low fat creme fraiche 

To start with you'll need to clean your mussels, throw them in a sink full of cold water and then just pull their 'beards' off. This is the ropey looking bit hanging off in the join of the shells, just give it a good yank. If you spy any broken shells, throw them away and if they are open give the mussel a squeeze. If it doesn't close itself then chuck this one away too. Dead mussels are not your friend. Thats it all done, just leave them in the fridge until you're ready to cook! 

Slice up your shallots and pick your thyme. Then whack a good sized, and I do mean good sized, knob of butter in the pan and sweat the shallots, thyme and bay together. You will need a large pan with a tight fitting lid as the mussels will expand as they steam open and you need to keep the lid on! I did this ahead and then just turned off the head and left the pan on the stove. If anything this is the hardest bit.

Once you are ready to cook, get the pan super hot, throw in the mussels and pour the wine over the top. Quick! Clamp your lid on tight! 

Wait.... Chat... Sip Wine

In about 3-4 mins you will have gorgeously cooked mussels. Give the pan a little shake and check they have all opened. Now scoop them out with a slotted spoon as you want to leave all the wine/mussel juice behind. 

Keeping the heat high, as you want to reduce the wine a little. Then add in your creme fraiche and give it a good stir. I let my bubble for a minute or so then switched off the heat and put in the finely chopped parsley. Do try and chop this as small as you can, chowing down on a massive piece of parsley is not the one.

Now all that is left is to ladle that delicious sauce over the portions of mussels and remember to fish out that bay leaf. You do not want to eat this, trust me. 

Divvy out to your guests, give a final salt bae sprinkle of pasley and serve with the crustiest of bread to mop up all that divine juice! 

Isn't that just as pretty as a picture! 

I used low fat creme fraiche instead of the traditional double cream to try and ease up on the calories, it still worked just as well and was totally delicious! You could also swap out the white wine for a dry cider for a different taste or add fennel, just soften this up with the onions.

I'm also going to try and recreate an incredible lemongrass mussel dish I had in a pub a couple of months ago. Lemongrass, coconut, chilli type affair which was probably the best hangover cure I ever had. I shall let you know my findings...

Remember to put out finger and shell bowls! 

The Most Decadent Chocolate Tart

Moving onto dessert and this time I got it from my Mama.... 

This what I always consider as Jane's classic dinner party dessert. Jane and Tim are a formidable force of socialising and entertaining, throughout my life they have been and still are a whirlwind of social activity. So I have no idea where I get it from....  

Anyway back to pudding and this guy takes no prisoners, it is a full steam a head, calorie stuffed, straight to the hips kind of tart. Exactly what a dessert should be. If you are going to indulge, make it count! 

For 12 inches of pure naughtiness, you will need: 

Pastry - 125g Butter 

100g Icing Sugar

250g Plain Flour

2 Egg Yolks 

2 tbsp Cold Milk

A Pinch of Salt

Filling - 315ml Double Cream

2 tbsp Caster Sugar

115g Butter

455g Dark Chocolate

100ml Milk

A Pinch of Salt

You need to start by making the pastry, don't panic, it is a full proof sweet crust. Super easy I promise. 

Mix the flour and icing sugar together. Then cut your cold butter into little cubes and begin rubbing the butter into the flour/icing sugar mix much as you would do making scones. I'm pretty sure scones where the first thing I learned to bake, I remember standing with both Mum and Grandma whilst we rubbed in the butter, You don't want to over work the butter so it becomes soft, you just want to use the tips of your fingers gently so you make a breadcrumb like constancy. The key to good scones is well rubbed butter! I applied the same to the pastry. 

Next add your beaten egg and start to bring everything together, add your milk a drop at a time just to make sure it won't get too wet. It doesn't look like it is going to work and then all of a sudden, voila! A nice little ball of pastry. Don't work it too much as you want it to be nice and crumbly and short! Working it stretches the gluten and will make it elastic and chewy. Wrap the pastry in clingfilm and put it in the fridge to rest for at least half and hour! 

While your pastry is having a nap, grease up your tin. Do this even if you tin is non stick trust me, and go to town, don't scrimp!

Once the pastry has rested. It is time to roll it out, I would say to about 1cm thick. Use icing sugar on your surface as it is a sweet crust remember! 

Gently line the tin and use a little of the excess pastry to make sure you get in all the way into the creases. Using pastry means that you can really push without leaving uneven finger marks.

Trim the excess pastry, though not too much! It will shrink a bit in the oven so leave some room. 

The first step is to bake blind. I have baking "beans" ceramic balls, however you can use anything, rice lentils... You just need something in order the weigh down the pastry as it can puff a little when it first goes in. Remember to line the tart with baking paper first, I can't tell you how annoying it is to pick pieces of rice off a pastry tart. 

After 15 mins in a 180 degree oven whip the baking paper and beans off the tart and cook for a further 5. As you wont be baking the pastry again you need to make sure it is cooked through!

Once cooled you can trim down the edges. Use a peeler to really neaten up those edges once you have knocked the bigger bits off. Mine certainly isn't perfect but then I think it adds to its rustic charm. 

Now the pesky pastry is out the way you can start on the filling. Break up the chocolate, it is always best to use a good quality high cocoa content one, as it is the main taste i.e not brownies, it's one time I wouldn't scrimped. I went with Green and Blacks.  

Always melt your chocolate over a bain-marie (metal bowl over boiling water) so it isn't on direct heat. Chocolate can be tricky and it is an expensive pain if it splits! Always use a spoon, never a whisk. A whisk aims to put air into whatever it is you are whisking and you don't want that with chocolate, it form clumps and be ruined. I pretty much use a silicon spatular for everything. So melt your chocolate and butter, heat the cream salt and sugar separately and then add them together.

Now as you can see, my mixture looks exactly like I described above - spilt ruined and awful. DONT PANIC it goes like this. You need to leave it to cool. Then add in the milk....

You will see it starts to come together. Once its cooled further add the rest of the milk.

Eh Voila, I promise the picture below is the same as the mixture above. The milk works it's magic and brings it all back together. I cant tell you why this happens, or why someone needs to invent a recipe that incites so much panic, but it does, and it's perfectly normal.

Now just pour the mix into your tart case and done. That's it just leave to set in your fridge! 

Now I will explain the appearance of my tart. It looks like I've spread it in like icing, not pouring as I have just described. I did, because.... I got over excited and decided to make my filling whilst I was baking my tart and, of course what is the filling meant to do? It is meant to set. So obviously it started to set and by the time my tart case was cool enough... I was spreading in my mixture. So it doesn't have that glossy, smooth shiny top like Mum's usually does. 

What it lacks in sleekness though, it makes up for in taste. Goes with my rustic pastry too. I liberally sprinkled Malden Sea Salt over the top to give it a little edge over Mums. If you don't fancy this you can leave it be, or dust it with cocoa powder. 

I served this up with strawberries and they cut through the richness of the chocolate perfectly! I highly suggest serving it with some sort of fruit. 

There was so much left this could easily do a dinner party of 10-12. If you can manage a large slice then you are better than I am! We were eating this for about 4 days before I finally packed the rest of it up for Dan to take to the office. They promptly scoffed the lot thank god!