Posts Tagged ‘Sourdough’

When Hand To Mouth Met The Meatwagon

Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010

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I first heard about The Meatwagon a few months ago on the BBC 4’s Food Programme, and subsequently on a number of blogs. It seems to have become the stuff of legend pretty quickly, and for those into their food, you can understand why. The story goes that the owner of the wagon, Yianni, quit his job and headed for the US to research the perfect burger. He toured the length and breadth of the country (I may be embellishing here) picking up recipes, tips and tricks until he thought he’d cracked it. He then returned to London, formula in hand, bought a food truck and then hit the road spreading the good burger word. Insane and inspiring in equal measure.

Until last week, his burgers had evaded my jaws, but when I heard that he was pitching up at The Ship pub near me, I knew I had a date with meaty destiny, particularly as Yianni had picked up ‘Best Sandwich’ at the British Street Food Awards the previous weekend. As we approached the wagon, for some reason we felt a sense of trepidation, the kind you get when approaching an illegal rave. Would there be a huge queue? Would there be any meat left? What were we going to do if we couldn’t get our fix?

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A Year Of Highs & Lows

Thursday, August 5th, 2010

Having recently turned one, I’m in a reflective mood, so I thought I’d list my top 10 food highs and lows of the year. In no particular order.

Photo: MrLerone

Photo: MrLerone

Highs

1.Polpo – my new favourite restaurant. Very good Italian style tapas eating.

2.Sydney Breakfasts – just the bomb. I wish i could start every day Sydney style.

3.Whole Foods Market – the big one on Ken High Street is like heaven on earth.

4.Good Coffee – being shown what real coffee should taste like by Campos and Kaffeine.

5.Stuffed Courgette Flowers – still really chuffed about making these bad boys in France.

6.Engagement Dinner at Brasserie Balzar – the perfect Parisian place to pop the question.

7.Ramond Blanc’s Kitchen Secrets – for my money, the best cookery show of the past year

8.The Santa Barbara Shellfish Company – one of the standout meals from our California road trip.

9.Good Mexican Food – from Benitos Hat to La Super Rica the Mexicans have been killing it. Me gusta.

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Garlic & Chilli King Prawns

Tuesday, July 20th, 2010

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Whilst my Mac is being re-habilitated I don’t have access to my holiday pics, so I’ll have to come back to the stuff I rustled up in France at a later date. But my camera is still working, and I’ve bought my schizo old mac back from the dead, so I can do a bit of posting in the meantime.

This recipe is my take on the tapas classic Gambas al Ajillo, and It’s pretty simple and quick too. Buy the biggest, fattest prawns you can afford. Serves two as a main course.

Ingredients

8 King prawns / Tiger prawns

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 dried or fresh red chilli, chopped

20g unsalted butter

35ml extra virgin olive oil

Juice of 1/2 large lemon

Salt to taste

Handful of flat leaf parsley, chopped

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Italian Asparagus

Thursday, June 10th, 2010

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The Asparagus season in the UK (apparently) runs from 24th April to 21st June, and its a time of year that I love because I can’t get enough of the stuff. I often think the best way to eat it is to keep it simple with a bit of melted butter and seasoning, but sometimes it doesn’t hurt to mix it up a bit.

This ‘recipe’ gives the Asparagus a tasty Italian twist, and is as quick as a very fast thing to put together.

Ingredients (serves 2)

20 spears of Asparagus

Juice of half a lemon (30ml)

70ml Extra virgin olive oil

20g grated parmesan

Freshly ground black pepper

2 slices of bread (sourdough)

Method

First up, put a pan of lightly salted water on the heat, and then prepare the asparagus. The ends of the spears will be quite woody, so snap them off. The spear will break naturally at the right point when bent between your fingers.

Next prepare the dressing. Juice the lemon, pour into a bowl, and add the olive oil and Parmesan. Whisk together vigorously to form a creamy dressing.

The water should be simmering by now, so drop in the spears. They’re going to cook for around 5 minutes until tender. Whilst they’re simmering away, cut and toast two slices of sourdough.

When ready, drain the asparagus and plate up. Place the toast on the plate, and rest the asparagus tips on it. Give the dressing one final whisk, and then spoon over the tips.

Serve immediately. Eat the asparagus and then the delicious dressing soaked toast.

Bonne Année

Monday, January 4th, 2010

Happy New Year from Hand To Mouth. Hope you all had a good one.

I had the good fortune to be in Cornwall for Christmas, and then Paris for New Years. Good food was eaten accross the festive period, more on this in subsequent posts, but first of all something for the bread geeks out there.

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Whilst in Paris I made a pilgrimage to Poilâne. It may not be a familiar name, but if you love good bread it should be. It’s a bakery in Saint-Germain, and makes the most insanely tasty ‘miche’ or traditional French sourdough loaves. Set up by Pierre Poilâne, a young baker from Normandy in 1932, the shop has been knocking out these beautiful large round loaves ever since to Parisians hungry for something a bit more interesting than the regular baguette.

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