Sea Bream en Papillote

Cooking fish en papillote (literally translated from French as ‘in parchment’) involves wrapping it up the very tightly in parchment paper to ensure that the moisture stays in the parcel as it cooks. The wrapping process is very important as you don’t want even one bit of steam to escape! You can tell if you get it right because the parcel puffs up in the oven.

Many recipes involve using fillets of fish but there’s nothing to stop you using a whole fish, just adjust the cooking time accordingly. The fish steams as it cooks and ends up wonderfully moist and tender. It does have enough water in it to help the steaming process but it’s always good to give it a bit of a helping hand with some fish stock or white wine, as this adds to the flavour. In fact, if you do try the recipe with a fillet of fish, adjust the cooking time accordingly and put the vegetables inside the parcel – beans and cherry tomatoes work well. When doing a whole fish for 2 people you may need to cook the vegetables separately as it could be a struggle getting everything to fit.

When you cut the parcel open you’re initially treated to a burst of steam – watch your hands! – and then the wonderful smell of the delicately cooked fish. It’s so simple – just put it in the oven, sit back with a glass of wine and let the magic happen.

Sea Bream en Papillote
Serves 2
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Prep time: 20 minutes

1 sea bream (approx 500g), gutted, washed and patted dry.
8 new potatoes, sliced to the thickness of a pound coin
dash of white wine
olive oil
salt and pepper
a lemon
a few sprigs of fresh rosemary
vegetables, to serve

Preheat the oven to 200c. Boil the potatoes for 6 or 7 minutes until tender but not completely cooked. Drain and leave to cool briefly whilst you prepare the fish.

Score the skin of the fish a with a sharp knife, leaving 2-3cm gaps, then season all over (inside and out) with the salt and pepper. Stuff some long slices of lemon zest and a few sprigs of rosemary inside the cavity of the fish, then do the same on top, putting the rosemary in the scored parts of the fish and laying slices of lemon on top.

Get a large piece of parchment paper and oil it slightly. Put the potatoes on the parchment in one layer so that they form a base for the fish, then place the fish on top. Wrap it up as tightly as possible leaving one end open, pour the wine in (not too much, maybe 30ml?) then seal the parcel. We got a bit paranoid with the parcel and stapled it together along the top – there’s no need to do that yourself! Place in the oven for about 30 minutes, depending on the size of your fish, until cooked through completely.

Serve on a warmed plate with the vegetables.

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Vegetable Kebabs with Griddled Corn on the Cob

We both love corn on the cob (especially done on the barbeque) and as July marks the start of the season, we’ll most likely be having it a few times over the coming months. This time, we decided to keep everything very simple, griddling the corn and serving it alongside grilled vegetable kebabs.

The kebabs were made up of cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, corguette, red onion and red and yellow pepper. They were brushed with a mixture of olive oil, garlic, rosemary and thyme before going under the grill for about 20 minutes, which turned out not to be long enough – the corguette was still a little raw and the onion hadn’t lost all of its kick.

Other than the undercooked kebabs, it was a good dinner – fresh-tasting, light and easy to prepare.

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Bank Restaurant

On Friday, Erika and I found ourselves in Zander Bar, home to the longest bar (48 metres) in Europe and quite possibly some of the best cocktails in London. They can’t be too proud of the longest bar accolade as on this and a previous visit only 1/4 of it was open; the remaining 36 metres, stretching down to the light, airy restaurant at the back was uninhabited.

The bar itself is a place you’d be happy to spend an hour or two, sipping away at their glorious espresso martini (£7.80) or perhaps a ‘perfect blossom’ (also £7.80), a mix of mandarin blossom vodka, elderflower, fresh strawberries and apple juice. The staff are attentive and friendly, although this is not too surprising given there could only have been thirty five people there, and certainly know how to mix drinks. The area itself is a bit dark, and being 6ft 2 I’m not a fan of the low tables but you soon forget about that, quite possibly due to the ease with which the cocktails go down.

After a couple of drinks we took our seats in the restaurant. Many of the tables are situated in a conservatory which affords wonderful views over a courtyard (complete with fountain) and the three 19th century mansions which make up the adjoining hotel and apartment complex. It wasn’t a busy evening with only a few other diners but the restaurant felt neither empty nor quiet and it ensured that we got a good table and had our waiter’s attention throughout. The menu is modern European with a good selection of pasta, fish and meat dishes, priced on average at around £16 for a main.

The waiter was quick to bring some bread (a choice of foccacia or ciabatta – neither of which were worth writing home about) and take our orders. For starters, Erika had tempura of king prawns with chilli and lime jam and I ordered crispy duck spring rolls with a plum and pineapple dipping sauce. The prawns were gigantic and perfectly cooked, encased in a light and crisp tempura batter. My spring rolls were very densely filled with duck and and the spring roll casing was crispy but not oily. The plum and pineaple sauce was disappointing; I much preferred Erika’s chilli jam.

The plates were cleared away and our main courses arrived quickly. I had tandoori baked lamb cutlets with bombay potatoes, whilst Erika had salmon with an asparagus, crab and pea shoot salad and citrus dressing. The lamb was really well marinated: I could taste the ginger, cumin and coriander and it restored my faith in ordering lamb at a restaurant. So many times in the past I have ended up with just two mouthfulls of chewy meat. The accompanying bombay potatoes (served with some thick slices of onion too) were nice but not exceptional, although well cooked and spicy, and complemented the lamb well.

Erika’s salmon was perfectly cooked as was the asparagus it sat on. The citrus dressing, with pieces of orange and grapefruit, really lifted the whole dish. Erika also had a side order of the most delicious, creamiest mashed potato – the type of mash you can only ever get in a restaurant because you could never allow yourself to use so much butter at home!

There’s a lot of choice on the dessert menu and we were nearly tempted into ordering but were put off by the arrival of a large noisy group sitting near us. When ordering dessert I have an internal countdown timer which starts when given the menu. At first I want to order the most sickly sweet pudding but I eventually begin to feel full and come to the realisation that more food probably isn’t a good idea. Thankfully for my waistline our waiter was busy seating the group and by the time he came over, we’d both changed our minds (however, from previous experience Kitty definitely recommends the sticky toffee pudding!). The bill was requested, dutifully delivered and paid and then it was off out into the streets of St. James’. I’d have quite liked to swap the tube journey home for a quick walk to one of their apartments!

Bank Restaurant and Zander Bar
45 Buckingham Gate
London
SW1E 6BS

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Chicken Dhansak

For years and years I’d always order the same dish whenever I went for a curry. Chicken dhansak, a hot and sour parsi dish of chicken in a thick, spicy sauce with lentils, was recommended to me by a friend and afterwards I never tried anything else. Lentils make the sauce healthier than when cream is used, add to the fibre content of the dish and fill you up faster so you don’t eat as much… except that never happens to me when I go for a curry – papadums, naan, rice and of course a refreshing cold beer are all accompaniments and I rarely leave without consuming an entire day’s calories in one sitting.

I’ve tried cooking chicken dhansak few times in the past, but never with much success. The first time was when I was at university and after tearing the packet of lentils when trying to open them (and covering the floor with tiny red blobs) I eventually ended up making enough to feed an entire household as I got my quantities wrong and forgot to consider that lentils absorb water and expand. Sadly it didn’t taste too great either and I begrudginly ate the leftovers over the forthcoming few days, mostly because I couldn’t afford not to.

There’s a pack of split red lentils in the cupboard so I thought put them to good use and try making dhansak for dinner tonight. Whilst browsing the internet for inspiration and recipies, I came across a video on videojug called ‘how to cook chicken dhansak‘. Initially I wasn’t that impressed – there are plenty of recipes online and this one didn’t appeal – but after watching it again I realised that I know the restaurant that the lady in the video came from. It always used to be busy so, taking that into account, I thought it must be worth a try.

The recipe was simple to follow although I was confused about the order of some of the steps in the method. It states to start frying the chicken (which takes 20 minutes) before boiling the lentils (which take 30) and as such I ended up cooking the chicken for thirty minutes. Although it was over a low heat this was way too long and not surprisingly it ended up quite dry.

After an hour or so of cooking it was time for dinner. I was very impressed – it was the best dhansak I’ve made by far. There wasn’t as much sauce as I’d have from a takeaway so next time I’d add a few more lentils and a bit more water, but apart from that (and the dry chicken) there was not much wrong. In the future, I reckon it would be better frying the chicken 5 or so minutes before the cooked lentils are added.

Still not as good as the takeaway but it’s a start!

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Berries with Meringues

If you read yesterday’s making meringues post, you’ll know that we had a dessert that included meringue, redcurrants and blackcurrants that was inspired by something we found in the weekend’s Observer Food Monthly. Here it is:

Berries with Meringues
Serves 2
Prep time: 15 mins (+ 1 hour cooling/steeping)

75g blackcurrants
75g redcurrants
150g strawberries
30ml caster sugar
40ml water
1 star anise
meringue
clotted cream

1) Wash the berries. Remove the redcurrants and blackcurrants from their stalks and hull the strawberries (cut them up if they are large). Put all the fruit into a bowl.
2) Pour the water into a pan and add the sugar and star anise. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 5 minutes, stirring the sugar into the water until it has dissolved to form a syrup.
3) Pour the syrup over the berries and stir it through. The leave it for an hour or so to cool and for all the flavours to blend – go back and stir it every now and then.
4) To serve, split the berries into two bowls, break over some meringue and add a dollop of clotted cream.

This was such a perfect summer dessert and a great twist on a classic Eton Mess. The addition of the star anise was a stroke of genius from the recipe’s creator, Chef Jason Atherton, offering warm exotic undertones to complement the dessert’s sweet, hedonistic flavours.

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