This turned out very well. Excellent cuttlefish, fresh from Cornwall, thanks to Jonathan Norris (fishmonger to Cher, when she’s in town, apparently). Minimum faff for delicious, soft, melty cuttlefish. Yum.
Apologies for the terrible photo which doesn’t do this justice again. Green salad out of shot.
On the cuttlefish adventure, we also discovered Bottle Apostle and a rather tasty Austrian Pink, a Zweigelt I think. A happy preprandial.
Recipe here (caution: gross pun).
This salad split a crowd. Some of us found it delicious; a wholesome hit of tart sharpness and crisp acid against the bland, slightly bitter, quinoa balanced with the salty creaminess of parmesan. Others could only muster up a “health food shop rabbit fodder” slur.
The prawns, being good quality prawns wrapped in bread and deep-fried, were a more certain winner and we even found a celeriac convert through the remoulade. An extra blob of sweet chilli on the side might have disguised the subtlety of the dish but it all went down rather well in the end.
Sorrel from Tayshaw, Druid Street (highly recommended and very good value), quinoa from Alara (snooty health food in Bloomsbury, only good in a red quinoa emergency), Thai sweet chilli sauce from (perhaps incongruously) Green Valley.
Recipes here.
Normally we find asparagus so delicious, that we would serve it in the simplest way possible, either with a good hollandaise or just olive oil but these recipes looked so delicious, we tried them both.
Asparagus and chive bread pudding
We served this with a chicken as recommended, but it would have been delicious on its own. A bit like a fancy quiche, lots going on but not so much to overpower the delicate asparagus which still came through very strongly.
Asparagus from Wheeler’s (the most honest Borough Market trader), bread from St. John, everything else from Waitrose.
Grilled asparagus with avocado and horseradish
Really tasty, delicious egg providing a good creaminess and mouthfeel to the dressing, strong flavours and well balanced.
Horseradish from Whole Foods.
Recipe here.
Blogolenghi 