delve into laid-back portland’s quirky food & drink scene

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bring on
BER 2019 • UK £4.65

the comfort
food!

irveanlace !
f
felicity Cloake's
take on regional
French food

Go with
your gut
easy ways to improve
your gut health

INDIAN
INSPIRATION
Discover the tropical
flavours of Goa

Britain's best arde

Croûte savdoyalpine
(wine-spike toast!)
burger joints cheese on

52 of the best supermarket

wines to buy, now!
CAN $13.99 US $12.99 AUS $14.50
 September When it comes to food shopping, colour me predictable. I’ll often
have the same storecupboard staples, my favourite fruit and veg,
and the odd rogue ingredient that I need for a specific recipe.
But when it comes to heading down the wine aisle, shelf after
shelf groaning with bottles that I don’t recognise (and, dare
I say it, even understand), I always panic buy. I’ll look for
what’s on offer, fooling myself that I am bagging a bargain
and not just being manipulated by a marketing message, or
I’ll look for a familiar grape in a familiar country. I think
I’m playing it safe, but the results don’t always pay off.
And so, continuing our bid to make your life easier (and mine, too) we
have launched the O Supermarket Wine Awards so that you can shop
with confidence. After researching how you currently buy wine, we created 20
categories to find the best, easy-drinking wine for midweek (our under-£8 bottles),
best for special occasions and weekend parties (over £8, proseccos, champagnes
and sparklings), and wines that you might not ever think to grab (because they
aren’t a bestselling grape/region) but you really should – they’re our wild cards.
PHOTOGRAPH: ANT DUNCAN. STYLING: TONY HUTCHINSON. FOOD STYLING: SARAH COOK

We’ve done all the hard work for you, tasting 173 wines over two days with our
brilliant wine writer, Kate Hawkings, so that all you have to do, next time you
shop, is look out for the O Supermarket Wine Awards gold, silver and bronze
stickers. Trust in us!
And then to balance out all that wine we’ve got a gut health special. It’s
something I’ve certainly become more aware of and passionate about over the
years (especially during periods of ill health) and how important it is to physical
WHY CHOOSE O ?
and mental wellbeing. Let deputy food editor Adam and nutritionist Kerry We have the industry’s
guide you on easy ways to improve yours without compromising on flavour most passionate team of
food and drink experts,
or convenience (and listen to their special podcast series on the subject, too). gorgeous photography,
Start your journey to better digestion and better boozing today, people! and inspired tried-and-
tested (three times!) For more
recipes. Whether you’re recipes visit
O
cooking at home, eating
out or travelling with
mealtimes in mind, O
is the place to start. Plus,
our editor Laura Rowe
was named the BSME
Food and Drink Editor of
Laura Rowe, Editor the Year for 2018.

@Omagazine @lauraroweeats
September 2019 Omagazine.com 3
WIN 1 OF
2000
JARS
 O SEARCH FOR Need to know 60 3 WAYS WITH…
Work wonders with peanut butter
magazine PODCAST
6 SUPERMARKET WINE
AWARDS 63 WEEKEND PROJECT
The best bottles in the aisles, Make your own paneer
whatever the occasion or budget
Have you listened to our weekly podcast? 64 BACK TO BASICS
It’s free and features exclusive content 10 OLIVE LOVES Master zingy Mexican salsa
including chef interviews, chats on the This month’s must-have goodies
latest trends and more. Listen via
Omagazine.com, Acast, iTunes,
107 LAST BITE RECIPE
Spotify or your favourite podcast provider.
84 THE MEASURE Red velvet cake

Eat
An updated negroni and three
English aperitifs worth trying

85 WINE 66 MEAT YOUR MAKERS

The dynamic wines coming out
of the US’s Washington State
ep 162 Slovenia foodie guide
104 THE LOWDOWN
Pork cuts explained and how
best to cook them
Get your burger fix courtesy of
Britain’s finest patty purveyors
73 CHEF’S TABLE
Delicious sharing plates from
Notting Hill restaurant, Gold

113 RECIPE INDEX 78 PRO VS PUNTER

Critic and reader compare notes
ep 163 Brewing craft beer in the

cook
on Flor in Borough, London
Loire Valley with Tommy Barnes
81 TABLE-HOPPING
14 IN SEASON
Don’t miss...
Our latest restaurant and street-
Enjoy courgettes, mussels, grapes food recommendations
and blackberries this month
82 HOT OFF THE PASS
80 SUBSCRIBE TODAY 22 GET GOAN! Alex Peffly and Z He on redefining
Five issues for £5! Maunika Gowardhan’s tropical Cantonese food culture in London

Explore
recipes transport us to India’s Goa
86 READER OFFER
Cruise the beautiful rivers 30 TOUR DE FRANCE
of Europe on MS Arena Felicity Cloake shares her favourite 90 COOK LIKE A LOCAL:
iconic regional dishes JAMAICA
99 IN NEXT MONTH’S O This island has married diverse
38 #BANANABREAD foods from across the globe
CHEESECAKE
ON THE COVER Indulge in this glorious mash-up 94 ON THE ROAD: PORTLAND
Croûte savoyarde (p36) Graze your way around this
40 GET IT RIGHT chilled-out US West Coast city
Get crunchy pork belly crackling
and meltingly soft meat every time 100 FOODIE GUIDE TO
LJUBLJANA
For more
recipes visit 42 CHICKEN TONIGHT Hidden gems in Slovenia’s capital
Perk up a pack of breaded
O chicken with these inventive ideas 101 SMALL BUT MIGHTY
magazine. The finest tiny UK foodie towns
com 44 COOK EVERYDAY
Quick midweek meal inspiration 102 FOOD MILEAGE
Recipe Felicity Cloake Latest global foodie travel trends
Photograph Ant Duncan 53 HEALTHY KICKS
Styling Tony Hutchinson Six delicious gut-friendly recipes, 103 INSTATRAVEL
Food styling Lottie Covell including kimchi-baked tofu Turkey’s Aegean Coast

September 2019 Omagazine.com 5

 i Supermarket
Awards 2019
From midweek winners to left-field discoveries, we’re celebrating the
brilliant (and bargain!) bottles you can find only in the supermarkets

W
e are thrilled to announced the launch of the O
Supermarket Wine Awards. After undertaking research
we discovered that 89% of you lovely lot buy your wine at
supermarkets. But navigating those aisles isn’t always easy, is it? Do
you instinctively grab your favourite grape or look for what’s on offer,
and blindly hope it will cut the proverbial merlot? We created these
awards to help you make the best choices during your weekly shop.
Whether it’s an affordable vintage, a special-occasion showstopper or
a hump-day deal, these awards will help you drink better and will give
a shout out to the supermarkets at the top of their wine game.

HOW WE CHOSE THE WINNERS

MAGAZIN MAGAZIN MAGAZIN
The O team chose 20 categories for own-brand and retailer-exclusive supermarket wines, covering
SU PERMARKE SUPERMAR E
KET AWAR
SUPERMAR E
KET AWAR
ET AWARDS DS DS
GOLD SILVER BRONZE different grape varietals, styles and price points. The supermarkets were invited to enter one wine per
category (so they had to choose carefully). Every wine was blind-tasted by a panel of O judges
(led by O wine columnist, drinks author and sommelier Kate Hawkings) and we awarded gold, silver and bronze winners. In some categories,
where the standard was high, we awarded joint winners. So if you see these labels on your next shop – trust in us. These bottles are banging!

Best full-bodied red Best full-bodied red Best medium-

wine under £8 wine £8 and over bodied red wine
MAGAZINE
Waitrose under £8
The
SUPERMARKET AWARDS
GOLD
Hedonist Ocado Proudly Vegan
MAGAZINE
Shiraz 2017, £14.49 Merlot, £7.29
SUPERMARKET AWARDS
GOLD
Waitrose Carménère Reserva Fragrant rosemary This is autumn in a bottle,
MAGAZINE
2017, £7.49
SUPERMARKET AWARDS and sage aromas, fruits smooth with stewed plum notes
GOLD
Enjoyably peppy and lively, with of the forest notes and a whiff of bonfires along with
fresh green pepper, smoke and liquorice and a bouncy, spicy a balancing freshness.
notes – a great-value red. character with subtle Perfect pairing: Porchetta.
Perfect pairing: Beef stroganoff or astringency make
game stew. this Australian shiraz Lidl Chianti Riserva
MAGAZINE
a must-splurge. 2015, £6.99
SUPERMARKET AWARDS
SILVER
Asda Extra Special Selection Perfect food pairing: An easy-drinking number,
MAGAZINE
Valle De Colchagua Carménère,
SUPERMARKET AWARDS A roast plus all the with blackcurrant, liquorice and sweet,
SILVER
£6.50 trimmings, or a tray of woody spice. Top tip – decant this and
Another zippy number – fresh, clean and slow-roasted root veg. the flavours will get even better.
fruity with earthy notes, restrained smokiness Perfect pairing: Moussaka.
and a lovely silky texture. Asda Extra Special
MAGAZINE
Perfect pairing: Spaghetti bolognese. Valpolicella Ripasso, £9.50
SUPERMARKET AWARDS M&S Merinas Old
SILVER MAGAZINE
A complex, velvety wine with Vine Tempranillo, £7
SUPERMARKET AWARDS
BRONZE
M&S Tapa Roja Old Vines herby cured meat (think speck or coppa) Fragrant and fruity
MAGAZINE
Monastrell, £7
SUPERMARKET AWARDS and sweet fat on the nose, and layers on the nose and on the palate;
BRONZE
Evocative notes of blackberry and of red fruit and smoke on the palate. generous and rounded with a
apple crumble make this a cracking wine One to savour. very silky texture.
for autumn. Perfect food pairing: Charcuterie platter Perfect pairing:
Perfect pairing: Tagine. or bangers and mash. Aubergine parmigiana.

6 Omagazine.com September 2019

 Best medium-bodied red wine £8 and over Best light-
bodied red
wine under £8
Lidl Barbera
MAGAZINE
Tesco Finest Viña del Cura Rioja Ocado Veramonte d’Asti, £4.99
SUPERMARKET AWARDS

MAGAZINE MAGAZINE GOLD

Reserva 2014, £8.50
SUPERMARKET AWARDS Merlot, £11.15
SUPERMARKET AWARDS Light and clean,
GOLD GOLD
A great winter red, this is a spicy Light and fresh, expect with violet and refreshing
and herbaceous rioja, with liquorice and blackcurrant leaf notes combined with cherry fruit flavours – this is a
vanilla aromas. Pour yourself a glass of this ripe berries, subtle spiciness and an highly gluggable, versatile
and hunker down until spring. enjoyable warmth – this wine will really wine (try drinking it chilled
Perfect pairing: Lamb kofte. open up when drunk with food. during the summer months).
Perfect pairing: Pizza. Perfect pairing: Goat’s
M&S El Duques de Miralta Rioja cheese and beetroot salad.
MAGAZINE
Crianza, £10
SUPERMARKET AWARDS Waitrose Saint Clair Hawkes
SILVER MAGAZINE
We loved the concentrated raisin Bay Syrah 2018, £12.99
SUPERMARKET AWARDS
BRONZE
aromas (similar to Pedro Ximénez) and Bursting with rose and violet
aniseed/caraway notes of this silky, smoky, aromas, this is a summer posy of a wine,
Best
pinot grigio
well-balanced rioja. A sultry red for the soft and opulent. With ripe yet tart,
festive season. summer-pudding-like fruit notes, try
Perfect pairing: Stewed spiced red
cabbage – or sip as a post-dinner night cap.
drinking this slightly chilled at a barbecue.
Perfect pairing: Chargrilled courgettes.
under £8
Ocado Casalinga
MAGAZINE
Pinot Grigio,
SUPERMARKET AWARDS
GOLD

Best light-bodied red Wild-card red

£7.69
Fruity with pear and flat
wine £8 and over peach notes and flavours,
and a limey zing – a
super-chilled glass of this
on a summer’s day would
Tesco Finest South African be just the ticket.
MAGAZINE
Fairtrade Cinsault 2018,
SUPERMARKET AWARDS Perfect pairing: Grilled
GOLD
Ocado McManis Estate Pinot £7.50 chicken with lemon
MAGAZINE
Noir, £15.15
SUPERMARKET AWARDS A pretty summer red, light and whispery, and herbs.
GOLD
A really special, complex pinot noir, with tempting rose and violet notes.
this was headily aromatic, with delicate Perfect pairing: Rabbit ragu.
stewed fruit, clove, cardamom and violet
Best pinot
grigio £8
notes. Well-balanced, it really dances around
the palate.
Perfect pairing: Char siu pork and
pak choi. M&S Pisano Cisplatino
and over
MAGAZINE
Tannat, £10
SUPERMARKET AWARDS
Waitrose St
GOLD MAGAZINE
Asda Extra Special New Zealand Moreish sour cherry aromas, Michael-Eppan
SUPERMARKET AWARDS

MAGAZINE GOLD
Pinot Noir, £10
SUPERMARKET AWARDS and a meaty, savoury finish – this would Pinot Grigio
SILVER
Expect subtle stewed blackberry also drink well chilled. 2018, £11.99
fruits, with cigar box fragrance and a Perfect pairing: Crispy duck pancakes. Complex and rich, this
savoury, almost meaty edge. Very quaffable. had a floral nose, zestiness
Perfect pairing: Christmas Day and a savoury, almost
roast turkey. buttery taste.
Perfect pairing:
Waitrose Les Nivières Saumur Ocado Purato Siccari Grilled sardines.
MAGAZINE MAGAZINE
2017, £9.49
SUPERMARKET AWARDS Appassimento, £9.99
SUPERMARKET AWARDS
BRONZE GOLD
This fruit-driven cabernet franc Seductive, complex and
sings with woody herb and black pepper layered, with fragrant mountain herb
notes, with plenty of body. and strawberry jam aromas.
Perfect pairing: Pork, sage and apple. Perfect pairing: Mushroom risotto.

September 2019 Omagazine.com 7

 Best sauvignon Best chardonnay Wild-card
blanc under £8 under £8 white
Lidl Ocado Txomin
MAGAZINE MAGAZINE
Winemaker’s
SUPERMARKET AWARDS Extaniz Txakoli,
SUPERMARKET AWARDS

GOLD
Selection
Awatere Valley Sauvignon
Blanc, £6.99
Fresh, zingy and lively,
this wine is bursting with
tropical passion fruit and
gooseberry flavours, with a
savoury grassiness at the
finish. Ticks all the Kiwi
sauvignon blanc boxes.
Perfect pairing: Ceviche.
Best sauvignon
GOLD
£15.15
We loved this subtly
Lidl Winemaker’s Selection effervescent, lip-smacking
MAGAZINE
Coonawarra Chardonnay, £5.79
SUPERMARKET AWARDS Basque vintage, which had
GOLD
This subtly creamy chard is heady a savoury, saline character
with incense-like aromas, and exotic mango, – an intriguing, interesting
papaya and warm vanilla notes. white wine.
Perfect pairing: Sweet and sour pork. Perfect pairing:
Seafood paella.
M&S Burra Brook
MAGAZINE
Chardonnay, £7
SUPERMARKET AWARDS M&S Atlantis
SILVER MAGAZINE
Petrolly and vegetal on the Santorini, £12
SUPERMARKET AWARDS
SILVER
nose, expect ripe fruit and a little zestiness. Greece has been
This was a lighter take on the grape, making exciting wines for

blanc £8 and over perfect for those who prefer less

full-bodied chardonnays.
some time now and this gorgeous assyrtiko
from volcanic Santorini is a corker, with
Perfect pairing: Gammon and pineapple. fragrant wood smoke and eucalyptus
aromas, and peachy stone fruit.
Perfect pairing: Fish pie.
Best chardonnay
Tesco Finest North Row Vineyard £8 and over MAGAZINE
Morrisons The Best English Dry
White, £14
SUPERMARKET AWARDS
BRONZE
MAGAZINE
Sauvignon Blanc 2018, £13
SUPERMARKET AWARDS With ripe passion fruit,
GOLD
Aromatic gooseberry, passion fruit gooseberries and wet stone notes, we loved
and raw green pepper notes – everything this light and summery wine’s pretty nose.
you want from a New Zealand sauvy b. Perfect pairing: A mild, coconut-based
Perfect pairing: Salmon and new potatoes. Waitrose Rustenberg Thai curry.
MAGAZINE
Chardonnay 2018, £14.99
SUPERMARKET AWARDS
GOLD
Waitrose De Grendel Sauvignon With great length and opulent
MAGAZINE
Blanc 2018, £11.99
SUPERMARKET AWARDS notes of buttered toast, vanilla and oak,
SILVER
There’s passion fruit, green pepper
and lime zest here, but also a stoney, steely
plus balancing citrus and stone, this is
the chardonnay equivalent of a hug.
Best rosé under £8
edge (and a lovely acidity) to this zippy wine Perfect for those who love the classic Ocado Proudly
MAGAZINE
that we found very appealing. rich expressions of this grape. Vegan Rosé,
SUPERMARKET AWARDS
GOLD
Perfect pairing: Caesar salad. Perfect pairing: Chicken kiev. £6.99
Fragrant with strawberry,
Asda Extra Special Pouilly Fumé Morrisons The Best Chablis rose, jasmine and violet
MAGAZINE MAGAZINE
Sauvignon Blanc £12.50
SUPERMARKET AWARDS 1er Cru, £15
SUPERMARKET AWARDS (think Turkish delight) –
BRONZE SILVER
Proof of how much variety you can This had a clean nose, floral this had a enjoyably
find in this grape, this is a muscular, manly with ripe, peachy fruit and elegant long finish and nice
number with woodiness, nuttiness and blue balancing acidity that snaps it into shape. balance. Drink as a
cheese notes. Perfect pairing: Peach, goat’s curd and summery aperitif.
Perfect pairing: A waldorf-style salad. mint salad. Perfect pairing:
Seared salmon
M&S Chablis 2016, £12 or Greek salad.
MAGAZINE
Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Fresh and mineral, with
SUPERMARKET AWARDS

MAGAZINE SILVER
Pouilly Fumé 2018, £13
SUPERMARKET AWARDS tropical guava and lychee
BRONZE
Steely and balanced with a stoney notes, this easy-drinking number
minerality and peachy fruits – this had lovely is a lovely example of a classic Chablis
length and texture. chardonnay.
Perfect pairing: Oysters, or spaghetti Perfect pairing: Steamed red mullet
with clams. and lemon.

8 Omagazine.com September 2019

 Best rosé £8 Best own-label Best prosecco
and over champagne Sainsbury’s Taste
MAGAZINE
Asda Extra Special the Difference
SUPERMARKET AWARDS

MAGAZINE
Selection Sangiovese
SUPERMARKET AWARDS
GOLD
Rosé, £9
Spice and dark stone fruits –
plums and cherries – on the nose,
and savoury, herbaceous notes
on the palate. A sophisticated,
complex rosé.
Perfect pairing: Salty snacks.
Tesco Finest Provence Rosé
MAGAZINE
2018, £8.50
SUPERMARKET AWARDS
GOLD
Conegliano
Prosecco 2018, £10
With pear and peachy
Tesco Finest Vintage aromas and flavours, a zingy
MAGAZINE
Champagne, £26
SUPERMARKET AWARDS lemon curd hit at the finish
GOLD
A yeasty, biscuity nose, buttery and a fresh, sharp acidity –
with lemony freshness and moussy this is a classic example
bubbles – everything you’d want and a of a great prosecco.
great price for a vintage champagne.
Morrisons The Best Conegliano-
MAGAZINE
Asda Extra Special Vintage Valdobbiadene Prosecco, £10
SUPERMARKET AWARDS

SILVER MAGAZINE SILVER

With floral rose notes and the palest Champagne Brut 2007, £25
SUPERMARKET AWARDS
SILVER
A slightly unusual example of
of pink hues, this is a classic Provençal rosé. Yeasty, with biscuity, brioche prosecco, with more toasty flavours along
Perfect pairing: Salade niçoise. tones and ripe, opulent fruit. with those classic pear fruits. Not too sweet,
this was nicely complex.
Waitrose Provence Rosé Sainsbury’s Taste the
MAGAZINE MAGAZINE
2017/2018, £9.99
SUPERMARKET AWARDS Difference Blanc de Noirs
SUPERMARKET AWARDS Tesco Finest Prosecco
SILVER BRONZE MAGAZINE
Subtly floral, with a strawberries-and- Champagne, £21 Valdobbiadene, £10
SUPERMARKET AWARDS
SILVER
cream fruitiness and an herbaceous edge, this Fresh and easy to drink, with delicate Clean, with summer-garden-like
was clean, refreshing and easy to glug. bubbles, and lemon meringue notes. rose aromas, subtle notes of celery and a
Perfect pairing: Strawberries. savoury taste.

Best sparkling wine Best in show: the star of a wine collection

Asda Villa Waitrose
MAGAZINE MAGAZINE
Vincini
SUPERMARKET AWARDS Kilikanoon
SUPERMARKET AWARDS
GOLD GOLD
Governo Grenache Shiraz
Rosso Toscano, £9.50 Mataro 2017, £10.99
Morrisons The Best English A voluptuous winter Wine lovers looking for
MAGAZINE
Sparkling Grand Vintage Brut
SUPERMARKET AWARDS red, sultry and something unusual should
GOLD
2010, £25 intense, with dark seek this out – layered
Deliciously savoury, with a buttery nose and a chocolate and and earthy with
rich toastiness (think champagne), a mineral vanilla notes. mushroom notes,
edge and a long, lingering finish. Pour a glass of yet still lifted, elegant
this and drink and fresh tasting.
Asda Pendium Moscato Sparkling in front of a Perfect pairing:
MAGAZINE
Wine, £9
SUPERMARKET AWARDS roaring fire. Grilled steak and
SILVER
If you prefer a sweet fizz that’s also Perfect pairing: mushroom sauce.
low in alcohol then this is the wine for you – this Beef wellington
had a light, delicate rose petal scent and or smoked tofu.
well-balanced, not too cloying sweetness.

Co-op Irresistible Eight Acres

MAGAZINE
Sparkling Rosé, £18
SUPERMARKET AWARDS
SILVER
Dry, savoury with salty aromas, and
delicate, crushed cranberry fruit on the palate
– an elegant pink fizz. Tesco Finest Amarone Lidl Saint Emilion Grand
MAGAZINE MAGAZINE
Valpolicella 2016, £18
SUPERMARKET AWARDS Cru, £10.99
SUPERMARKET AWARDS
SILVER BRONZE
Tesco Finest English Sparkling A full-on, dark and muscly Smoky, intense, velvety and full
MAGAZINE
Wine, £19
SUPERMARKET AWARDS number, with raisiny intensity, earthiness bodied, this is a moody, brooding red
BRONZE
Nutty, buttery, dry with saline notes, and spice. bordeaux with classic clove notes.
a clean and super-refreshing sparkling wine. Perfect pairing: Duck with cherry sauce. Perfect pairing: Burger.

September 2019 Omagazine.com 9

 Chocolates
Pierre Marcolini’s latest
collection infuses rich
ganache with rare tea for a
dainty box of chocs. £19.90/
190g, eu.marcolini.com
Chocolate cups
Salty almond or hazelnut butter coated in smooth chocolate
makes for a sweet vegan snack. £1.35/30g, Whole Foods
10 Omagazine.com September 2019
Crackers serving board
We love the snap of Super lightweight and
these seeded sourdough sustainably made compact
crackers – pile on the laminate – serve your sliced
cheddar and chutney. sourdough on this stylish
£2.45/135g, Waitrose board. £30, linddna.com
Water bottle
Compact and leak-proof, this
nifty bottle collapses when
you don’t need it. £25,
anthropologie.com
Coaster
Take David Shrigley’s Chewy fruit-packed bars
advice and make with dark chocolate and
yourself another brew.
£3.50, shop.tate.org.uk
Teapot
Delicate white lines on this 70s-style teapot make for
a retro kitchen addition. £34, oliverbonas.com
Nuts
You can thank the
crockery Philippines for the little-
Colourful side plates known and ridiculously
inspired by paper-cut buttery pili nut. £2.99/50g,
collages. £5, Habitat Sainsbury’s
Brownies
Gorgeously squidgy
handmade brownies,
Cereal bars
WORDS: ELLIE EDWARDS
available for delivery. We
loved the dark and white
chocolate with salted
a salty kick. £2/45g, caramel. £16.05/box of 4,
Sainsbury’s thestateofbake.com
 Woven basket
These grass baskets are made
by women’s co-operatives –
perfect for storing fresh fruit, Food bags
house plants or kitchen linens. Fill these smart-looking bags (complete with removable waterproof
From £30, thefuturekept.com lining) with food or foraged finds. £28, chalkandmoss.com

Spice blend
Rooted Spices has joined forces with Tenderstem
and food writer Meera Sodha to create this fiery
Brassica blend. Sprinkle on broccoli and roast for an
impressive side dish. £3.95/35g, rootedspices.com

Bacon
Free-range pork, reared in
Norfolk and cured in small
batches with natural ingredients
– your breakfast sarnie will
thank you. £4.50/250g,
threecountiesfieldkitchen.com
l oves...
This month’s must-
haves including a
collapsible water
Crisps bottle, Filipino nuts
Cookies
Crunchy lentil chips seasoned and a spice blend
with big flavours: sweet sriracha An Oreo – but better.
chilli will liven up your lunchbox. Chocolate makes everything
for broccoli
80p/20g, ocado.com better. £2/164g, Sainsbury’s

September 2019 Omagazine.com 11

 COOK
Every recipe you’ll need this month,
including classic regional French dishes
Let’s get
cooking...
and spicy Goan curries. PLUS loads of
easy, quick and healthy weeknight dinners

Tomato tarte tatin

MAIN PHOTOGRAPH: MIKE ENGLISH. STYLING: OLIVIA WARDLE. FOOD STYLING: ADAM BUSH

PBJ blondies

Super-seedy salad
with tahini dressing

September 2019 Omagazine.com 13

S so l Ma tomatoes, c
broccoli, grapes and blackberries this month
,

Recipes ADAM BUSH Photographs VINNY WHITEMAN

Gazpacho with
cheesy pesto
croutons
p20

14 Omagazine.com September 2019

 COOK

’nduja mussels
p20

September 2019 Omagazine.com 15

 Greek lamb-
stuffed courgettes
p20

16 Omagazine.com September 2019

 COOK

mackerel with pickled

grape salad
p21

September 2019 Omagazine.com 17

 Roast broccoli
wedges with kecap
manis and peanuts
p21

18 Omagazine.com September 2019

 COOK

blackberry and
yogurt cake
p21

September 2019 Omagazine.com 19

 Gazpacho with
cheesy pesto
croutons
35 MINUTES + CHILLING
SERVES 4 | EASY | V LC
tomatoes 1kg very ripe, chopped
cucumber ½, diced
green pepper 1, diced
garlic 1 clove, chopped
extra-virgin olive oil 3 tbsp, plus extra
to serve
sherry vinegar 4 tbsp, plus a little extra
Tabasco a few dashes
caster sugar 1 tsp
black peppercorns crushed to make ¼ tsp
sea salt flakes 1 tbsp, plus a little extra
basil a small bunch, chopped
CROUTONS
sourdough 2 thick slices, cut into
chunky croutons
garlic 2 cloves, bashed
extra-virgin olive oil 2 tbsp
fresh pesto 4 tbsp
manchego (or veggie alternative)
50g, finely grated
• Tip all of the ingredients for the gazpacho
into a large bowl and mix well. Cover and
chill for 4-5 hours or overnight.
• Use a stick blender or food processor
to whizz the gazpacho mixture until very
smooth, adding more salt or sherry vinegar
to taste. Chill.
• Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6.
Put the sourdough croutons and garlic onto
a baking tray, drizzle with the oil, season
and toss well. Roast for 12-15 minutes
or until really crisp. Add the pesto to the
tray and toss really well again, then sprinkle
over the manchego and cook until crisp
and bubbling.
• Spoon the gazpacho into bowls, then top
with the cheesy croutons and a drizzle of oil.
PER SERVING 383 KCALS | FAT 25.8G
SATURATES 6.3G | CARBS 25.8G | SUGARS 10.8G
FIBRE 4.9G | PROTEIN 9.3G | SALT 4.7G
20 Omagazine.com September 2019
’Nduja mussels
25 MINUTES | SERVES 2
EASY | LC
olive oil 1 tbsp
fennel 1 small bulb, thinly sliced
garlic 1 clove, thinly sliced
fennel seeds ½ tsp, lightly crushed
’nduja 50g (see cook’s notes)
white wine 150ml
mussels 1kg, cleaned
coriander ½ a small bunch, chopped
toasted sourdough to serve
• Heat the olive oil in a pan and cook the
fennel for 10 minutes until caramelised and
soft. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute
before adding the fennel seeds and ’nduja,
and breaking up with the back of a spoon.
Pour in the white wine, add the mussels
and stir really well. Put on a lid and cook
for 5 minutes, shaking the pan until all of
the mussels have opened (discard any
that stay closed). Stir really well, add the
coriander and stir again, then serve with
the sourdough.
COOKÕS NOTES
’Nduja is a spicy spreadable salami
from Italy which can be eaten spread
onto bread or crackers, or used in
cooking. Find it in Italian delis and
larger supermarkets.
PER SERVING 394 KCALS | FAT 21.4G
SATURATES 6.1G | CARBS 8.4G | SUGARS 2.8G
FIBRE 3.6G | PROTEIN 28.2G | SALT 2.5G
Greek lamb-stuffed
courgettes
45 MINUTES | SERVES 3 AS A
MAIN OR 6 AS A STARTER | EASY
LC GF
courgettes 6, halved lengthways
extra-virgin olive oil 4 tbsp
lamb mince 500g
onion 1, finely chopped
garlic 4 cloves, finely chopped
ground cinnamon 1 tsp
dried oregano ½ tsp
chopped tomatoes 400g tin
raisins 100g
pine nuts 60g, toasted
flat-leaf parsley a small bunch,
finely chopped
feta 100g, crumbled
mint leaves to serve
• Use a teaspoon or melon baller to hollow
out the courgette halves, ensuring there is
a 1cm border left. Finely chop the scooped-
out courgette flesh.
• Heat 2 tbsp of the olive oil in a non-stick
frying pan over a medium-high heat and
fry the lamb mince until really crisp. Turn
down the heat and add the onion, courgette
flesh and a pinch of salt. Cook gently for
10 minutes or until softened. Add the garlic,
cinnamon and oregano, and cook for a
few minutes before tipping in the chopped
tomatoes and simmering for 15 minutes or
until thickened. Season and stir in the raisins,
pine nuts and flat-leaf parsley.
• Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6.
Put the courgette halves onto a baking tray
and fill with the lamb and tomato sauce.
Crumble over the feta and drizzle over the
remaining olive oil. Bake for 25-30 minutes
or until the courgettes are cooked through.
Sprinkle with mint and serve with a green
salad, if you like.
PER SERVING 449 KCALS | FAT 29.5G
SATURATES 9.1G | CARBS 19.1G | SUGARS 18.1G
FIBRE 4.4G | PROTEIN 24.6G | SALT 0.6G

Mackerel with
pickled grape salad
20 MINUTES + PICKLING
SERVES 2 | EASY | LC GF
red wine vinegar 2 tbsp
caster sugar a pinch
echalion shallot ½, finely chopped
red chilli 1, deseeded and finely chopped
red seedless grapes 200g, sliced
coriander seeds 2 tsp
mackerel fillets 2, deboned
extra-virgin olive oil 2 tbsp, plus a
little extra
rocket 2 handfuls
• Whisk together the vinegar, sugar, shallot
and chilli with lots of seasoning, then add the
sliced grapes and mix well. Cover and chill
for 2 hours.
• Toast the coriander seeds in a pan until
smelling fragrant, then crush lightly using a
pestle and mortar.
• Heat the grill to high. Put the mackerel
fillets onto a baking tray, skin-side up, drizzle
with oil, season and grill for 3-4 minutes or
until the skin is crisp.
• Spoon out the grapes onto 2 plates.
Whisk the olive oil into the remaining
dressing, add the rocket and toss well.
Tip into a serving bowl.
• Put the mackerel on top of the grapes,
sprinkle with the coriander seeds and serve
with the rocket on the side.
PER SERVING 360 KCALS | FAT 20.8G
SATURATES 4.5G | CARBS 23.5G | SUGARS 19.3G
FIBRE 3G | PROTEIN 18.3G | SALT 0.4G
Roast broccoli
wedges with kecap
manis and peanuts
40 MINUTES | SERVES 4
EASY | LC
vegetable oil 1 tbsp
broccoli a large head, quartered lengthways
ginger a thumb-sized piece, finely grated
garlic 2 cloves, grated
dried chilli flakes a pinch
kecap manis 4 tbsp (see cook’s notes)
rice vinegar 3 tbsp
toasted sesame oil 2 tbsp
spring onions 2, thinly sliced on an angle
salted peanuts a handful, roughly chopped
ready-made crispy onions a handful
(see cook’s notes)
coriander a handful, chopped
cooked jasmine rice to serve
• Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6.
Heat the vegetable oil in a large non-stick
pan and, in batches, fry the broccoli on both
cut sides until really caramelised. Put it
cut-side up into a deep roasting tin that will
fit all of the wedges snugly.
• Add the ginger, garlic and chilli flakes to the
pan, and cook for 1 minute, before tipping in
the kecap manis, rice vinegar, sesame oil
and 50ml of water. Bring to a simmer, then
pour all over the broccoli. Cover tightly with
foil and roast for 15-20 minutes or until
cooked through.
• Mix together the spring onions, salted
peanuts and the crispy onions. Scatter over
the broccoli, followed by the coriander.
Serve with jasmine rice.
COOKÕS NOTES
Kecap manis is a sweetened and
lightly spiced soy sauce from Indonesia
– buy it in large supermarkets and online.
Ready-made crispy onions can be bought
from Waitrose and Indian supermarkets.
PER SERVING 257 KCALS | FAT 12.8G
SATURATES 1.9G | CARBS 22.5G | SUGARS 14.9G
FIBRE 6.9G | PROTEIN 9.4G | SALT 0.9G
EAT
Blackberry and
yogurt cake
1 HOUR 10 MINUTES + COOLING
SERVES 8-10 | EASY
caster sugar 150g
olive oil 100ml, plus extra for the tin
eggs 3
self-raising flour 200g
greek yogurt 225ml
vanilla extract or paste 1 tsp
lemon 1, zested
blackberries 150g
double cream 300ml
icing sugar 1 tbsp
COULIS
blackberries 200g
icing sugar 2 tbsp
lemon ½, juiced
• Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4
and oil and line a deep 20cm springform
cake tin. Whisk together the sugar and
olive oil in a bowl. Add the eggs, one at a
time, with 1 tbsp of flour until completely
incorporated. Whisk in the remaining flour
and 1/2 tsp salt. Whisk in 125ml of the yogurt,
the vanilla and lemon zest, then pour into the
tin. Push the blackberries into the cake, then
bake for 40-45 minutes or until a skewer
poked into the middle comes out clean.
Cool completely in the tin.
• To make the coulis, put 150g of the
blackberries, the icing sugar, lemon juice and
2 tbsp of water into a small pan. Cook very
gently until the berries have just burst and
are saucy and syrupy, then stir through the
remaining blackberries. Remove from the
heat and cool.
• Put the remaining 100ml of yogurt, the
double cream and the icing sugar into a bowl
and whip to soft peaks. Take 2 tbsp of the
blackberry coulis and fold this through the
cream to create a ripple effect. Pile the
cream onto the cake and spoon 1/2 of the
remaining coulis on top. Cut into wedges
and serve with the rest of the coulis.
PER SERVING 454 KCALS | FAT 30.2G
SATURATES 13.5G | CARBS 37.9G | SUGARS 22.8G
FIBRE 2.3G | PROTEIN 6G | SALT 0.5G
September 2019 Omagazine.com 21
 eg t go a n!

Hirwa Kolambi
Kalwan
p28

Maunika Gowardhan transports us to India’s Goa

state with heady spice mixes and creamy coconut
Recipes MAUNIKA GOWARDHAN Photographs ANT DUNCAN

22 Omagazine.com September 2019

 COOK

Beef chilli fry

p28
STYLING: LUIS PERAL FOOD STYLING: KATY GREENWOOD

September 2019 Omagazine.com 23

 Fish Fofos
p28

24 Omagazine.com September 2019

 COOK

Kombdi Masala
p29

September 2019 Omagazine.com 25

 Pork Balchao
p29

26 Omagazine.com September 2019

 COOK

Brinjal Pickle
p29

September 2019 Omagazine.com 27

 Hirwa kolambi
kalwan
35 MINUTES | SERVES 4
EASY | LC GF
A vibrant green coconut
prawn curry with chilli, coriander and curry
leaves. I’ve used shell-on prawns as they
add so much flavour, although you could
make this with shelled prawns as well.
large whole shell-on raw prawns 12
ground turmeric ½ tsp
vegetable oil 2 tbsp
green bird’s-eye chilli 1, slit lengthwise
curry leaves 10-12 (see cook’s notes)
coconut milk 400ml
caster sugar a pinch
tamarind paste 3 tbsp
coriander leaves chopped to make 1 tbsp
PASTE
onion ½, roughly chopped
coriander a large bunch, leaves and
stems chopped
garlic 5 cloves, roughly chopped
ginger a thumb-sized piece,
roughly chopped
green bird’s-eye chilli 1
• Put the prawns, turmeric and a pinch
of salt into a bowl and toss well.
• Put the paste ingredients and 70ml of
water into a blender or food processor
and whizz to a smooth paste.
• Heat the oil in a large, lidded, heavy-
bottomed pan over a low heat. Add the
green chilli and curry leaves, and, as they
begin to sizzle, add the paste and fry for
3 minutes. Add the prawns, stir well and fry
for 1 minute. Add 100ml of water, season
and cook with a lid on for 2 minutes. Add the
coconut milk, sugar and tamarind paste. Stir
well and simmer for 4-5 minutes or until the
curry has thickened slightly and the prawns
are cooked through. Scatter over the
coriander and serve with rice, if you like.
COOK’S NOTES Kashmiri chillies and
chilli powder are a vivid red and have a
milder flavour. Jaggery is an unrefined
brown sugar with a deep caramel flavour
most often sold in blocks. Find all of
them, and curry leaves, at Indian grocers,
larger supermarkets and online.
PER SERVING 262 KCALS | FAT 22.8G
SATURATES 15.1G | CARBS 6G | SUGARS 3.4G
FIBRE 1.7G | PROTEIN 7.2G | SALT 0.2G
28 Omagazine.com September 2019
Beef chilli fry
1 HOUR 15 MINUTES +
MARINATING | SERVES 4
EASY | LC GF
Traditionally eaten with poi,
a Goan bread, to mop up the masala, this beef
chilli fry is cooked with cinnamon, pepper
and ginger. The two-step cooking ensures
that the spices add flavour to the beef.
chuck steak 800g, sliced into very thin
strips (see cook’s notes)
vegetable oil 3 tbsp
mild green chillies 2, slit lengthwise
onions 2, thinly sliced
ground turmeric 1 tsp
jaggery or soft dark brown sugar 1 tbsp
(see cook’s notes, left)
coriander leaves roughly chopped to
make 3 tbsp
lime ½, juiced
MARINADE
black peppercorns 1 tsp
cloves 8
cinnamon stick 6cm piece
ginger finely chopped to make 1 tbsp
garlic finely chopped to make 2 tbsp
malt vinegar 4 tbsp
mild chilli powder 1 tsp
• For the marinade, use a pestle and mortar
or spice grinder to grind the black pepper,
cloves and cinnamon to a fine powder.
Put into a large mixing bowl along with the
ginger, garlic, malt vinegar and chilli powder.
Add the beef, mix really well and marinate
for 2-3 hours or overnight.
• Put the beef and any marinade liquid into
a large pan and cook without any oil for
35-40 minutes, stirring often as the meat
seals and the moisture evaporates. Turn the
heat off while you char the onions.
• Heat the oil in a large wok or frying pan
over a medium heat. Fry the green chillies for
a few seconds. Add the onions and cook for
14-15 minutes or until charred and soft. Add
the turmeric and mix well. Add the beef and
sugar, and season. Cook for 5 minutes until
the beef is piping hot. Stir through the
coriander and lime juice before serving.
COOK’S NOTES Order chuck steak
slices from the butcher.
PER SERVING 339 KCALS | FAT 15.7G
SATURATES 3.4G | CARBS 11.1G | SUGARS 8.3G
FIBRE 2.3G | PROTEIN 37.2G | SALT 0.4G
Fish fofos
50 MINUTES + CHILLING
MAKES 15 | EASY
These fish croquettes are
based on the Portuguese
fofos de bacalhau, made using salt cod.
Goans have adapted this using boneless
fish, potatoes, ground spices and chilli.
skinless haddock or cod fillet 600g
boiled potatoes 300g, coarsely grated
green bird’s-eye chilli 1, finely chopped
coriander leaves finely chopped to make
3 tbsp
cumin seeds 1 tsp, coarsely ground
black peppercorns ½ tsp, coarsely ground
garlic 3 cloves, finely chopped
ginger 2 thumb-sized pieces, finely chopped
rice flour 2 tbsp
eggs 3
dried breadcrumbs 75g
vegetable oil for frying
mango chutney to serve
ONION SALAD
red onions 2, thinly sliced
coriander leaves a small handful,
finely chopped
lemon 1, juiced
• Put the fish into a lidded pan and pour over
enough water to cover. Bring to a simmer
and gently poach for 10 minutes over a low
heat with the lid on. Drain and flake the fish.
• Put the fish, potato, green chilli, coriander,
cumin, black pepper, garlic and ginger in a
large bowl. Season, add the rice flour, mix
well and break in 1 egg. Stir the mixture and
divide into 15, then form into small logs.
Break the remaining eggs into a bowl and
whisk lightly. Put the breadcrumbs into
another bowl. Dip each fofo in the beaten
egg followed by the breadcrumb mixture.
Chill for 20 minutes.
• Heat 1cm of oil in a large frying pan over
a medium heat. Fry the fofos in batches for
2 minutes on each side, turning gently to get
an even golden brown colour all over. Drain
on kitchen paper and repeat with the
remaining fofos.
• For the onion salad, mix together the
onion, coriander and lemon juice with a
pinch of salt. Serve with the fofos and
mango chutney.
PER SERVING 124 KCALS | FAT 4.8G
SATURATES 0.6G | CARBS 10.1G | SUGARS 1.4G
FIBRE 0.9G | PROTEIN 9.7G | SALT 0.2G

Kombdi masala
2 HOURS | SERVES 4 | EASY |
A hearty curry that uses
classic spices synonymous
with west India.
vegetable oil 3 tbsp
kashmiri chilli powder or mild chilli
powder 1 tsp (see cook’s notes, opposite)
ground turmeric 1 tsp
chicken legs 4, jointed and skins removed
coconut milk 100ml
lime juice 2 tbsp
chapatis or naan breads to serve
SPICE MIXTURE
dried kashmiri chillies 6, deseeded
(see cook’s notes, opposite)
black peppercorns ½ tsp
coriander seeds 2 tbsp
star anise 2
cloves 6
black mustard seeds ½ tsp
cinnamon stick 6cm piece
caraway seeds ½ tsp
cumin seeds ½ tsp
fennel seeds 1 tbsp
ground nutmeg 1 tsp
COCONUT PASTE
fresh coconut 150g, grated
vegetable oil 1 tbsp
onion 1 large, thinly sliced
garlic 4 cloves, roughly chopped
ginger a thumb-sized piece,
roughly chopped
coriander chopped to make 2 tbsp
• Tip all of the spice mixture ingredients,
except the nutmeg, into a large frying pan and
cook over a medium heat for 8-10 minutes.
Stir the spices then, as they become
fragrant, turn the heat off and cool. Use a
spice grinder or pestle and mortar to grind
to a fine powder, and stir in the nutmeg.
• For the paste, fry the coconut in the
spice mixture pan over a low heat for
15-20 minutes, then tip out into a bowl.
The colour of the coconut will turn light
brown and dry out slightly. Add the vegetable
oil to the pan followed by the onion, garlic,
ginger and coriander. Mix well and fry for
10 minutes over a medium heat until the
onions and garlic have browned slightly and
softened. Cool, then tip into a blender or
food processor with 150ml of water and
the coconut, and whizz until smooth.
• Heat the vegetable oil in a large, lidded,
heavy-bottomed pan over a medium heat.
Fry the coconut paste for 2-3 minutes.
GF Add the chilli powder, turmeric and spice
mixture. Fry for 1 minute, stirring well. Turn up
the heat slightly and add the chicken pieces.
Fry for 5 minutes, mixing well as the chicken
cooks. Season and add 400ml of water, bring
to a boil and simmer over a low heat for 25
minutes with the lid on, stirring halfway. Add
the coconut milk, remove the lid and simmer
for another 15-20 minutes or until the sauce
has thickened and the chicken is tender. Stir
in the lime juice and serve with chapatis or
naan breads, if you like.
PER SERVING 626 KCALS | FAT 44.4G
SATURATES 20.2G | CARBS 8.2G | SUGARS 6.3G
FIBRE 7.8G | PROTEIN 44.5G | SALT 0.4G
Pork balchao
1 HOUR 40 MINUTES
SERVES 4 | EASY | LC GF
Balchao is a classic in
most Goan homes. Often
made with prawns, this pork version is divine.
Cooked with chilli, vinegar and black pepper,
the resultant balchao has a rich consistency,
with the spiced gravy clinging to the pork.
vegetable oil 4 tbsp
onion 1, finely chopped
pork shoulder 700g, diced
jaggery or soft dark brown sugar 1 tbsp
(see cook’s notes, opposite)
malt vinegar 100ml
chapatis or rice to serve
PASTE
cumin seeds 2 tsp
black peppercorns 1 tsp
garlic 8 cloves, roughly chopped
ginger 2 thumb-sized pieces, chopped
kashmiri chilli powder or mild chilli
powder 1 tsp (see cook’s notes, opposite)
ground turmeric 1 tsp
• To make the paste, use a pestle and
mortar to grind the cumin and black pepper
to a rough powder, then tip into a small
blender or food processor with the remaining
paste ingredients and whizz until smooth.
• Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed, lidded
pan over a medium heat. Fry the onion for
18-20 minutes, stirring well, until deep
golden and soft. Add the spice paste and
fry for 2 minutes. Add the pork, mix well
and cook for 8-10 minutes. Add the sugar,
vinegar, 100ml of water and some seasoning.
COOK
Lower the heat and simmer for 40 minutes
with a lid on, stirring halfway through. Remove
the lid and cook for another 15-20 minutes.
Cool slightly and serve with chapatis or rice,
if you like.
PER SERVING 393 KCALS | FAT 25.4G
SATURATES 5.7G | CARBS 9G | SUGARS 6.9G
FIBRE 1.8G | PROTEIN 31.1G | SALT 0.3G
Brinjal pickle
1 HOUR + SALTING | MAKES
500ML | EASY | GF
Most pickling in India is
done in summer as the
heat assists the process. Cooking on the hob
results in a similar flavour for this pickle.
aubergines 500g, cut into wedges
vegetable oil 150ml
garlic 10 cloves, sliced lengthwise
curry leaves 12 (see cook’s notes, opposite)
jaggery or soft dark brown sugar 150g
(see cook’s notes, opposite)
mild chilli powder 1 tsp
MASALA PASTE
dried kashmiri chillies 12 (see cook’s
notes, opposite)
garlic 10 cloves
malt vinegar 120ml
black mustard seeds 1 tsp
ground turmeric 2 tsp
cumin seeds 1 tsp
• Put the aubergines in a colander over a
bowl and sprinkle with a big pinch of salt. Mix
and leave for 1 hour to drain the moisture,
then squeeze out as much liquid as you can.
Put all the paste ingredients into a blender or
food processor and whizz to a smooth paste.
• Heat the oil in a lidded kadhai or wok over a
medium heat. Fry the garlic for 1 minute. Add
the curry leaves and the masala paste, and fry
for 5 minutes, stirring. Add the sugar and stir
until it dissolves. Add the drained aubergine
and the chilli powder, and stir well. Season
and fry for 4-5 minutes. Turn the heat down
and simmer with a lid on for 20-25 minutes,
stirring halfway, until the aubergine has
cooked through and oil rises to the surface.
Cool and decant into a sterilised jar. Chill for
a week before opening.
PER SERVING 52 KCALS | FAT 3.7G
SATURATES 0.3G | CARBS 4G | SUGARS 3.4G
FIBRE 0.5G | PROTEIN 0.4G | SALT 0G
September 2019 Omagazine.com 29
To u r d e Felicity Cloake spent
weeks cycling and eating

e
her way around France in

Fra n c
search of iconic regional
dishes – here she shares
some of the highlights
Recipes FELICITY CLOAKE
Photographs ANT DUNCAN

Calvados
and apple
granitƒ
p36

STYLING: TONY HUTCHINSON FOOD STYLING: SARAH COOK

30 Omagazine.com September 2019

 COOK

Cover
recipe
CroÛte
Savoyarde
p36

September 2019 Omagazine.com 31

 Macaronade
SÉtoise
p36

32 Omagazine.com September 2019

 COOK

Tomato
tarte tatin
p37

September 2019 Omagazine.com 33

 Chicken and
vegetable
couscous
p37

34 Omagazine.com September 2019

 COOK

Teurgoule
p37

September 2019 Omagazine.com 35

 Calvados and
apple granité
30 MINUTES + COOLING +
FREEZING | SERVES 4 | EASY |
I had this light,
surprisingly punchy, dessert after a platter
of local fruits de mer in Normandy, a region
that certainly knows its fruit. It’s also
surprisingly good served with another
regional delicacy, camembert. Note that
though calvados, or apple brandy, is the
best choice, any brandy will work here.
Bramley apples 800g, cored and cut
into chunks
apple juice 900ml
demerara sugar 60g
cider vinegar 1 tbsp
calvados to serve
• Put a shallow metal roasting tin into the
freezer. Put all of the ingredients except the
calvados into a pan and bring to the boil.
Simmer gently until the apples have broken
down to a pulp, then push through a fine
sieve, getting out as much juice as possible.
• Cool to room temperature, then pour
into the frozen roasting tin and spread out.
Freeze for 30-45 minutes or until starting
to solidify round the edges, then scrape up
with a fork and return to the freezer. Repeat
at regular intervals until you have a fluffy
mound of granité.
• Serve in glasses or bowls with a shot of
calvados or brandy poured on top.
PER SERVING 227 KCALS | FAT 0.6G
SATURATES 0.1G | CARBS 52.7G | SUGARS 52.7G
FIBRE 3.4G | PROTEIN 1G | SALT 0G
36 Omagazine.com September 2019
Croûte savoyarde
30 MINUTES | SERVES 6
EASY | LC
GF Alpine cheese on toast,
basically, and just the thing
to warm your cockles after a hard morning
cycling up mountains, or falling over in
snowdrifts – or alternatively, just a bracing
autumnal walk. If you don’t have stale bread
to use up, you can make this with fresh stuff,
just toast it first to dry it out.
butter
crusty stale bread 6 thick slices
garlic 1 clove, cut in half
dry white wine 300ml
cooked ham 6 slices
gruyère, beaufort or comté cheese 300g,
finely grated
eggs 6 (optional)
butter for frying
nutmeg a good grating (optional)
• Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6.
Butter 6 ovenproof bowls just large enough
to hold a slice of bread (alternatively, use
a large baking tray).
• Rub both sides of the bread slices with
the cut side of the garlic and then divide
between the bowls. Pour over the wine and
then top with the ham and then the cheese.
• Bake for 20 minutes. If you’re serving
the eggs, fry these in a little butter in the
meantime and then add to the top along with
a grating of nutmeg, if you like, before
serving, preferably with a green salad.
PER SERVING 391 KCALS | FAT 20.1G
SATURATES 11.7G | CARBS 22.4G | SUGARS 2G
FIBRE 1.3G | PROTEIN 20.7G | SALT 1.8G
Macaronade sétoise
3 HOURS | SERVES 4 | EASY
The area around Marseille
has some truly excellent
Italian food, thanks to
the many migrant sailors and dockers who
settled there. This robust pasta dish, a
speciality of Sète, a little way along the coast,
was very welcome indeed on a stormy
summer night after a day battling city traffic.
chuck steak 4 thin slices (about 600g – see
cook’s notes)
pork sausages 4
flat-leaf parsley finely chopped to make
4 tbsp
garlic 2 cloves, crushed
pine nuts 1 tbsp (optional)
golden raisins or sultanas 1 tbsp (optional)
olive oil 2 tbsp
onions 2, finely chopped
fennel seeds 1 tsp
piment d’espelette (see cook’s notes) or mild
chilli powder ¼-½ tsp, according to taste
red wine 100ml
chopped tomatoes 2 x 400g tins
macaroni 400g
parmesan finely grated, to serve
• Put the chuck slices between sheets of
baking paper and use a rolling pin to bash
the steaks out as thinly as possible (the
butcher could also do this for you). Heat the
oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4.
• Slit the sausages and spoon the meat out
into a bowl, discarding the skins. Stir in the
parsley, garlic and pine nuts, and raisins if
using. Put a line of sausagemeat at the short
end of one of the steaks and then roll up and
secure with a toothpick, cutting off any
excess meat at the end. Repeat with the
rest. Roll the remaining stuffing into balls.
• Heat the oil in a large casserole over a
medium-high heat and brown the beef in
batches, followed by the stuffing balls and
excess meat. Scoop out onto a plate.
• Turn down the heat and fry the onions until
very soft and golden, adding a splash more oil
if catching, then stir in the fennel seeds and
chilli powder, and fry for another 2 minutes.
• Stir in the wine, scraping to dissolve any
crusty bits on the bottom of the pan, and
then add the tomatoes. Season, arrange the
meat on top and bring to a simmer. Cover
and put in the oven for 2½ hours or until the
meat is very tender.
• Towards the end of cooking, cook the
pasta in plenty of salted water following
pack instructions. Serve with parmesan on
the side for sprinkling over.
COOKÕS NOTES Piment d’espelette is
a mild, fruity chilli powder from south-
west France – it’s easy to find online but
regular mild chilli powder will do instead.
Order chuck steak slices from the butcher.
PER SERVING 751 KCALS | FAT 24.9G
SATURATES 7.8G | CARBS 70.7G | SUGARS 14.2G
FIBRE 7.8G | PROTEIN 52.6G | SALT 0.9G

Tomato tarte tatin
1 HOUR 15 MINUTES | SERVES 4
EASY | V LC
This is inspired by a dish
I was desperate to try at
Cafe Les Philosophes in Paris, only to find
they’d run out, so I decided to make my
own. The pastry is a buttery shortcrust, as
used at the Hotel Tatin, where the original
dish was created – I think it soaks up the
juices better. You can use 300g ready-made
shortcrust if you prefer.
butter 30g
caster sugar 25g
balsamic vinegar 2 tbsp
garlic 2 cloves, finely sliced
herbes de provence or thyme leaves
1 tsp
cherry tomatoes 650g
capers 1 tbsp
basil leaves a small handful
PASTRY
plain flour 210g, plus extra for dusting
butter 100g, cold
egg yolk 1
• To make the pastry, put the flour and
a good pinch of salt in a large bowl. Grate
in the butter and rub it into the flour with
your fingertips. Mix the egg yolk with 2 tbsp
cold water and stir into the mixture to make
a dough. If you need to add any more
water to bring it together, do so very
gradually. Shape into a disc, wrap and
chill for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat the oven to 200C/fan
180C/gas 6. Melt the butter in a 20-22cm
ovenproof frying pan and stir in the sugar
and vinegar. Simmer for 5 minutes or until
thick and looking like caramel.
• Take the pan off the heat and scatter
over the garlic and herbs, then arrange the
tomatoes in one layer in the pan (be careful
as the caramel will be hot).
• Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured
worksurface until it’s about 1cm larger
than the pan, then put it on top of the
pan, tucking it in around the edges and
cutting a few small vents in the top to let
steam escape.
• Bake for 35 minutes or until the pastry
is golden, then run a palette knife round
the edge and leave for 5 minutes. Hold the
pastry gently with one hand and carefully
tip the pan so any juices run out into a jug,
then carefully invert the tart onto a lipped
plate. Scatter with capers and basil, and
serve the cooking juices alongside as
a dressing.
PER SERVING 527 KCALS | FAT 29.7G
SATURATES 17.7G | CARBS 54.3G | SUGARS 13.5G
FIBRE 4.4G | PROTEIN 8.2G | SALT 0.8G
Chicken and
vegetable couscous
1 HOUR 30 MINUTES
SERVES 4 | EASY
North African food
occupies much the same beloved place
in the French diet as Indian cooking does
in ours: indeed, couscous was actually
voted the nation’s favourite food in one poll.
Most French towns will have at least one
restaurant serving it but it’s also very easy to
make at home.
saffron 1/8 tsp
olive oil 3 tbsp
chicken legs 4
red onion 1 large, finely sliced
ground ginger 1 tsp
black peppercorns ground to make 1/2 tsp
coriander a small bunch, stalks and
leaves reserved
butternut squash 350g, peeled and cut
into 3cm chunks
courgettes 2, cut into chunky slices
chickpeas 400g tin
couscous 150g
butter or extra-virgin olive oil 2 tbsp
flaked almonds a handful
• Soak the saffron in 50ml boiling water.
Meanwhile, heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a
large lidded casserole over a medium-high
heat. Brown the chicken legs on all sides
until deep golden, then take out.
• Turn the heat down, add the rest of the
oil, and fry the onion until soft and starting
to brown. Stir in the dried spices and 1 tsp
salt, cook for 1 minute, then add the chicken
back in, along with 700ml of cold water and
the saffron and its soaking water. Cut the
stalks from the coriander, tie loosely with
string and add to the dish, saving the leaves
as a garnish.
• Bring to a simmer, cover, turn down the
heat and cook for 40 minutes. Add the
squash and courgettes to the pan, cover
again and cook for 20 minutes or until the
vegetables are tender. Remove the coriander
COOK
stalks, tip in the chickpeas and season
the broth if it needs it.
• Cook the couscous following pack
instructions and toss with 1 tbsp of butter
and some salt. Fry the almonds in the
remaining butter until just golden and then
scatter on top of the chicken with the
coriander leaves before serving with the
couscous on the side.
PER SERVING 825 KCALS | FAT 42.2G
SATURATES 10.7G | CARBS 51.1G | SUGARS 10G
FIBRE 9.1G | PROTEIN 55.7G | SALT 1.7G
Teurgoule
2 HOURS 15 MINUTES
SERVES 4-6 | EASY | GF
The name of this slow-
cooked rice pudding,
which I found sold from vast earthenware
dishes in a market in Cherbourg, means
“twist-mouth” in Norman dialect – apparently
a reference to the large amounts of spice in
the recipe. Soft and creamy, it’s as good cold
as warm, and particularly nice with stewed
apples on the side.
butter 25g
pudding rice 150g
caster sugar 125g
ground cinnamon 1 tsp
vanilla extract ½ tsp
whole milk 1.5 litres, preferably Jersey
• Heat the oven to 160C/fan 140C/gas 3.
Melt the butter in a wide ovenproof pan over
a medium heat, and then toss the rice in it
until well coated. Stir in the sugar, cinnamon
and vanilla along with a pinch of salt, then
add the milk.
• Put in the oven, uncovered, and bake
for 2 hours until it has a thick golden crust.
Cool slightly before serving.
PER SERVING 364 KCALS | FAT 12.7G
SATURATES 8G | CARBS 52.2G | SUGARS 31.9G
FIBRE 0.5G | PROTEIN 9.8G | SALT 0.3G
September 2019 Omagazine.com 37
COOK

#bananabreadcheesecake
Indulge in this glorious mash-up
Recipe JANINE RATCLIFFE Photograph MIKE ENGLISH

Banana bread cheesecake

50 MINUTES + OVERNIGHT CHILLING | SERVES 10 | EASY
Using half wholemeal and half plain flour
gives a classic banana bread texture – you
can use all plain although it will give you a
lighter coloured base.

soft cheese 350g

double cream 150ml
icing sugar 75g
vanilla extract 1 tsp
lemon 1, zested
salted caramel 5 tbsp
bananas 2 small, to decorate
BANANA BREAD BASE
butter 40g, softened, plus extra for the tin
soft light brown sugar 50g
plain flour 60g
wholemeal flour 50g
baking powder 1 tsp
egg 1
bananas 2 very ripe, roughly mashed

• Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. To

make the base, beat the butter, sugar, flours,
baking powder, egg and bananas together
with a pinch of salt. Spoon into a base-lined
and buttered deep 20cm springform tin.
• Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a skewer
comes out clean. Release from the tin and
cool completely. Wash and dry the tin as
you’ll need it to assemble the cheesecake.
• Put the cheese in a bowl and briefly beat
to loosen it. Gradually beat in the cream and
sugar – the mix will thicken as you go. Stir in
the vanilla and lemon zest.
• Put the cooled banana bread back into
the base of the tin. Spread over 2 tbsp of
caramel then dollop on the topping and STYLING: MORAG FARQUHAR. FOOD STYLING: ADAM BUSH

smooth it flat. Put in the fridge overnight to

chill and set.
• Release the cheesecake from the tin and
transfer to a serving plate. Decorate with
banana slices and drizzle with more caramel
Share your gorgeous
creations with like-minded before serving.
foodies by tagging
your photos with PER SERVING 345 KCALS | FAT 21.8G
#Omagrecipes SATURATES 13.7G | CARBS 31.7G | SUGARS 22.3G
FIBRE 1.4G | PROTEIN 4.5G | SALT 0.5G

38 Omagazine.com September 2019

 Get it right
pork belly
Here’s how to guarantee crisp, crunchy
crackling and meltingly soft meat every time
Recipe ADAM BUSH Photograph MIKE ENGLISH

The perfect pork belly is all about the contrast between crunchy, snappable strips of crackling, and delicately soft meat
underneath. But how to get the former without overcooking and drying out the meat, or the latter without ending up with

c c e s s . . .
tough, chewy, unappealing skin? Follow these simple rules and you’ll be serving up flawless pork belly to an eager crowd.

steps t o s u
1. CRACKING THE CRACKLING
To get the perfect crackling, the skin needs to be as dry as
possible. Keeping the joint in a cold, dry fridge overnight will help 2. WORTH ITS SALT
the drying process, and keeping it uncovered will ensure no Salting the meat well before
condensation forms. Scoring the skin increases the surface area cooking does two things:
exposed to the heat of the oven, so that more of it crisps up, and it draws moisture from the
not scoring too deeply prevents any meat juices from bubbling up surface, allowing salt to enter
and making the skin soggy. the meat and season it, along
with any flavourings; and the
salt also affects the protein
structure, which softens and
tenderises the meat.

3. MATTER OF DEGREES
Bringing the meat to
room temperature before 4. HIGH TIME
roasting is important with The blast of high heat
a large piece of meat – at the start of roasting 5. STICK TO THE RIBS
it ensures even cooking lifts the rind from the Roasting belly with the rib bones
throughout, preventing the meat, moving it away still intact protects some of the
outside from over-cooking from the moisture-rich internal meat from the fierce heat
STYLING: MORAG FARQUHAR. FOOD STYLING: ADAM BUSH
and drying out before the meat and keeping it of the oven. As the bones heat up
inner meat is fully cooked. dry for crackling they will gradually transmit heat
to form. to the meat inside. Along with the
onions and celery on the bottom of
the tray, the ribs also act as a trivet,
propping up the meat and enabling
6. REST ASSURED heat to circulate underneath while
Resting the pork belly will allow the juices to thicken and then redistribute also allowing the meat to braise in
within the meat, meaning they won’t all flood out when carved. the cider and the crackling to roast.

40 Omagazine.com September 2019


Ultimate roast pork belly
3 HOURS 30 MINUTES + OVERNIGHT DRYING
+ MARINATING + RESTING | SERVES 4 | EASY
Higher-welfare pork will help ensure good
crackling as it is likely to have been dry aged
and have a lower water content.
rib-in pork belly 2.5kg
sea salt flakes 1½ tbsp
thyme 10 sprigs, leaves picked
black peppercorns crushed to make ¼ tsp
vegetable oil a drizzle
onions 2, thickly sliced
celery 2 sticks, halved horizontally
chicken stock 300ml
dry cider 330ml bottle
wholegrain mustard 1 tbsp
• Put the pork belly in the fridge overnight,
leaving the skin exposed to dry. The next
day, use a sharp knife to score the skin
in 1cm intervals, being careful not to go
through to the meat. Mix together 1 tbsp
of the sea salt, the thyme leaves and black
pepper, and rub thoroughly onto the meat
but not the skin. Chill, uncovered, for 1 hour,
then remove from the fridge for another hour
to come back to room temperature.
• Heat the oven to 230C/fan 210C/gas 8.
Rub a drizzle of oil over the skin and season
with the remaining sea salt, making sure to
get it between the scored cuts.
• Put the onions and celery sticks into a
large, deep baking tray, then sit the pork on
top, skin-side up, and roast for 45 minutes,
until starting to crisp.
• Turn down the heat to 160C/fan 140C/
gas 3, pour the chicken stock and cider
around the meat (being careful not to touch
the skin), and roast for a further 3 hours. The
COOK
meat should be very tender and the crackling
crisp – if it’s not quite done, turn up the oven
to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6 and roast for a
further 15-20 minutes or until really crisp.
• Move the pork onto a serving or carving
plate with the onions, and loosely cover with
foil. Pour the juices into a jug and allow them
to settle. Skim off the fat, then pour the
cooking juices into a pan and top up with
just-boiled water if it tastes a little strong.
Whisk in the wholegrain mustard.
• Carve the meat and serve with the onions,
celery and gravy.
PER SERVING 1,114 KCALS | FAT 76.9G
SATURATES 26.2G | CARBS 7.5G | SUGARS 6.1G
FIBRE 2.3G | PROTEIN 91.3G | SALT 7G
September 2019 Omagazine.com 41
 e
Chick 1n to n i g ht !
Perk up a pack of breaded chicken
with one of these inventive ideas
Buffalo chicken buns
Cook a 300g pack of breaded chicken
mini fillets on a sheet of baking paper on
DUNCAN
Recipes JANINE RATCLIFFE Photographs ANT a baking tray following pack instructions.
Mash 50g dolcelatte with 8 tbsp coleslaw,
and season. Melt a large knob of butter in
a pan with a few dashes of hot sauce.
When the chicken is cooked, spoon the
butter over each piece and toss to coat.
Add some shredded Little Gem to the
base of 4 toasted buns, then top with
the chicken and a spoonful of the cheesy
coleslaw. Serve with chips, if you like.

2 Crunchy chicken
pesto melts
Cook 4 breaded chicken breast fillets
following pack instructions. Spoon over
4 tbsp fresh pesto and add slices of
mozzarella. Grill until bubbling and golden.
Serve with a rocket salad, if you like.

3
Chunky chicken salad
with ranch dressing
Cook 2 breaded chicken breast fillets
following pack instructions. Cut 1 Little
Gem and ½ an avocado into chunks. Halve
12 baby plum tomatoes, slice ½ a small
red onion and dice ¼ of a cucumber. To
make a dressing, mix 3 tbsp mayonnaise,
3 tbsp soured cream, 1½ tbsp white wine
vinegar, ½ tsp garlic granules and 1 tbsp
chopped dill. Arrange the salad in 2 bowls,
slice the chicken and sit on top. Spoon over
the dressing and some extra dill, if you like.

4 Crispy chicken rice bowls

Cook 100g brown basmati rice in boiling
salted water, adding 100g of peas just before
draining. While the rice is cooking, cook
2 breaded chicken breast fillets following
STYLING: TONY HUTCHINSON. FOOD STYLING: LOTTIE COVELL

pack instructions. Drain the rice and peas,

then toss with 4 chopped spring onions,
1 tbsp chopped sushi ginger and 1 tsp
toasted sesame oil. Divide between 2 bowls.
Slice the chicken and sit on the rice. Drizzle
over teriyaki sauce and sprinkle with more
spring onion and some sliced red chillies.

42 Omagazine.com September 2019

 COOK

2
3

September 2019 Omagazine.com 43

 CO Midweek menu falling flat?
food director, Janine Ratclif lift your
appetite with these quick and easy ideas
Recipes JANINE RATCLIFFE Photographs MIKE ENGLISH

44 Omagazine.com September 2019

 COOK

One-pot creamy lemon

and spinach ravioli
20 MINUTES | SERVES 2 | EASY | V LC

ravioli 250g pack (any kind will do)

frozen peas 100g
baby spinach 100g, chopped
vegetable stock 200ml, hot
soft cheese 4 tbsp
lemon 1, zested and juiced
parmesan (or veggie alternative) 50g,
finely grated

• Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6.

Put the ravioli in a baking dish and scatter
over the peas and spinach. In a jug, whisk
together the hot stock with the soft cheese,
lemon zest and juice, and 1/2 the parmesan.
Season well, pour over the ravioli, cover with
foil and bake for 10 minutes.
• Take off the foil, sprinkle with the remaining
parmesan, then bake for a further 5 minutes
before serving.

PER SERVING 496 KCALS | FAT 25.9G

SATURATES 16.3G | CARBS 37G | SUGARS 6.3G
FIBRE 7G | PROTEIN 25.1G | SALT 1.3G

Garlic-mushroom-and • Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6 and

brie-stuffed pancakes
40 MINUTES | SERVES 3 | EASY | V LC
butter for frying, plus extra for the tray
STYLING: OLIVIA WARDLE. FOOD STYLING: ADAM BUSH
butter a baking dish. Heat a large knob of
butter in a frying pan and fry the mushrooms
with seasoning until tender, adding the garlic
halfway through. Stir in 3 tbsp of the crème

chestnut mushrooms 250g, sliced
garlic 1 clove, crushed
half-fat crème fraîche 6 tbsp
basil a handful, chopped
brie 100g, sliced
large flour tortilla wraps 3, halved
parmesan (or veggie alternative) finely
grated to make 2-3 tbsp
olive oil
dressed green salad to serve (optional)
fraîche and the basil. Divide the mushrooms
between the wraps, top with the brie and
fold up into triangles. Dot the rest of the
crème fraîche on top. Scatter over the
parmesan, drizzle with oil and bake for
10-15 minutes or until golden and bubbling.
Serve with a green salad, if you like.
PER SERVING 391 KCALS | FAT 24.9G
SATURATES 14.9G | CARBS 22.4G | SUGARS 2G
FIBRE 2.1G | PROTEIN 18.4G | SALT 1.4G

September 2019 Omagazine.com 45

 Warm chorizo, avocado feta 100g, crumbled • Scatter over the feta and avocado, then
and feta salad avocado ½, sliced spoon over the tomatoes and chorizo.
30 MINUTES | SERVES 2 | EASY | LC crusty bread to serve Eat with crusty bread, if you like.

mini chorizo cooking sausages 8, halved • Fry the chorizo until browned and cooked PER SERVING 394 KCALS | FAT 33.4G
baby plum tomatoes 100g, halved through. Add the tomatoes to the same SATURATES 12.9G | CARBS 4.3G | SUGARS 3.3G
watercress 2 handfuls, woody pan, season and cook until they just start FIBRE 3.2G | PROTEIN 17.3G | SALT 2.6G
stems discarded to soften.
sherry vinegar 2 tsp • Put the watercress onto 2 plates. Whisk
dijon mustard 1 tsp together the vinegar, mustard and olive oil,
olive oil 1 tbsp season, and use to dress the watercress.

46 Omagazine.com September 2019

 COOK

Shanghai noodles
35 MINUTES | SERVES 3 | EASY | LC

ready-cooked udon noodles 300g pack

trimmed pork medallions 2 (about 250g)
soy sauce 4 tbsp
shaoxing rice wine 2 tbsp
cornflour 1 tsp
groundnut oil 1 tbsp
spring onions 5, chopped
ginger a walnut-sized chunk, shredded
shiitake mushrooms 150g, sliced
pak choi 2 heads, shredded
toasted sesame oil 1 tsp

• Put the noodles in a colander and pour

over a kettle of just-boiled water to remove
any starchy coating and refresh them.
• Slice the pork into thin strips and put
in a bowl. Mix together the soy sauce,
shaoxing wine and cornflour, then pour
over the pork and marinate for at least
15 minutes.
• Heat 1/2 the groundnut oil in a non-stick
wok or large frying pan until very hot. Scoop
the pork out of the marinade with a slotted
spoon (leaving behind as much marinade
as possible) and stir-fry on a high heat for
2-3 minutes or until caramelised, then
scoop out.
• Add the rest of the oil to the same pan and
fry the spring onions and ginger for 1 minute,
then add the mushrooms and cook for
3-4 minutes or until softened.
• Add the noodles with the pork marinade.
Fry until the sauce has thickened slightly.
Add back the pork and pak choi with a
splash of water, and toss until wilted.
Toss through the sesame oil and serve.

PER SERVING 333 KCALS | FAT 8.8G

SATURATES 1.8G | CARBS 33.7G | SUGARS 7.2G
FIBRE 5.2G | PROTEIN 27.2G | SALT 3.4G

September 2019 Omagazine.com 47


Tomato, lemongrass
and rice soup
30 MINUTES | SERVES 2 | EASY | LC GF
vegetable oil 1 tbsp
garlic 1 clove, crushed
ginger 2cm piece, finely grated
red chilli 1, finely chopped
lemongrass 2 stalks, woody outer leaves
discarded, finely chopped
cumin seeds 1/4 tsp
ground coriander 1/4 tsp
chopped tomatoes 400g tin
tamarind purée 2 tbsp
basmati rice 3 tbsp
coriander a handful, finely chopped
48 Omagazine.com September 2019
• Heat the vegetable oil in a pan and cook
the garlic, ginger, chilli and lemongrass for
2 minutes.
• Add the spices and cook for 1 minute,
then tip in the tomatoes, tamarind and 600ml
water, and simmer for 5 minutes. Blitz with a
stick blender until smooth, then season.
• Heat the soup again, add the rice and
simmer for 10-12 minutes or until the rice
is cooked. Stir through the coriander
and serve.
PER SERVING 187 KCALS | FAT 6G
SATURATES 0.4G | CARBS 27.2G | SUGARS 7.5G
FIBRE 2.1G | PROTEIN 5.1G | SALT 0G
Stroganoff steak and
sweet potato wedges
40 MINUTES | SERVES 2 | EASY
sweet potatoes 2 large, cut
into long wedges
olive oil
sirloin steaks 2
chestnut mushrooms 150g, sliced
garlic 1/2 a clove, crushed
smoked paprika 1 tsp
sherry vinegar 1 tbsp
strong beef stock 100ml (a cube or
concentrate is fine)
soured cream or crème fraîche 6 tbsp
flat-leaf parsley finely chopped to make
1 tbsp
watercress dressed, to serve
• Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6.
Toss the wedges with 1 tbsp olive oil and
lots of seasoning. Spread out on a non-stick
baking tray and cook for 25-30 minutes or
until tender.
• Meanwhile, heat a large non-stick frying
pan over a high heat. Oil and season the
steaks then sear for 11/2 minutes on each
side. Remove to a warm plate, cover with
foil and rest.
• Keeping the heat high, add the
mushrooms to the same pan and cook,
stirring, for 5 minutes until deep golden,
softened and all their liquid has evaporated
(add a tiny drizzle more oil if the mushrooms
are sticking). Add the garlic and paprika, and
fry for 2 minutes. Pour in the sherry vinegar
and bubble for 1 minute until it disappears,
then add the beef stock and simmer for
3 minutes. Turn down the heat and stir in
the soured cream and any resting juices from
the steak. Simmer for 2 minutes then season
with pepper. Stir through the parsley then
spoon over the steak and serve with the
wedges and some watercress.
PER SERVING 662 KCALS | FAT 33.5G
SATURATES 13.6G | CARBS 50G | SUGARS 27G
FIBRE 9.4G | PROTEIN 35.3G | SALT 0.5G
 COOK

September 2019 Omagazine.com 49

COOK
Chicken, jalapeño and
black bean stew
1 HOUR | SERVES 4 | EASY | LC
olive oil 1 tbsp
onion 1 small, chopped
garlic 2 cloves, crushed
red pepper ½, cut into chunks
mild chilli powder 1 tbsp
cumin seeds ½ tsp
skinless chicken thighs fillets 6, cut
into pieces
tomatoes 4, chopped
50 Omagazine.com September 2019
tomato purée 1 tbsp
chicken stock 300ml
black beans 400g tin, rinsed and drained
pickled jalapeños 2 tbsp of drained
and chopped
coriander ½ a small bunch, chopped
soured cream to serve
mature cheddar grated, to serve
• Heat the olive oil in a pan and cook the
onion and garlic for 5 minutes until softened.
Add the pepper and cook for 5 minutes until
softened. Add the chilli powder and cumin
seeds, and cook for 1 minute. Add the
chicken and cook for 5 minutes until opaque.
• Stir in the tomatoes, tomato purée and
stock, and bring to a simmer. Cook for
10 minutes then add the beans and jalapeños,
and cook for another 15-20 minutes or until
thickened. Stir in the coriander and serve in
bowls with soured cream and cheddar.
PER SERVING 285 KCALS | FAT 11.9G
SATURATES 2.7G | CARBS 13.5G | SUGARS 5.1G
FIBRE 7.7G | PROTEIN 27.2G | SALT 1.3G
 100% True Italian for Over 160 Years!
Premium quality as voted by Italians

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A Cooperative of 14,000 Italian Farmers' companies

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Make it quick
No time to cook? It’s easy to make delicious
and speedy meals with Uncle Ben’s rice
L
ooking for everyday meal inspiration?
During a busy working week, coming
up with quick and simple, flavour-
packed dishes that everyone will love can
be tricky. But with Uncle Ben’s flavoured
rice varieties, whipping up speedy and
delicious midweek winners is easy.
Whichever family favourite you’re making,
there’s a perfect Uncle Ben’s rice to go with
it – from Spicy Mexican and Roasted Garlic
to Savoury Chicken and Tomato & Basil.
For more quick and easy recipe inspiration visit bit.ly/unclebens2019
Whether you have the rice on the side
of a chilli con carne or curry, or use it
to make egg-fried rice, stuffed peppers
or burritos, you can cook all your tried
and tested meals with a delectable
Uncle Ben’s twist.
Or, why not try something new, like this
hearty herby cauliflower salad? Brought
to life with Uncle Ben’s Special Golden
Vegetable Rice – dinners don’t get much
better than this!
Charred cauliflower
and herby rice salad
30 MINUTES | SERVES 4 | EASY | V
cauliflower 1 large, separated into florets,
leaves reserved
olive oil 3 tbsp
pine nuts 50g
walnuts 50g, chopped
Uncle Ben’s Special Golden
Vegetable Rice 2 x 250g pouches
pomegranate seeds 3 tbsp
dill a small bunch, roughly chopped
flat-leaf parsley a small bunch,
leaves picked
greek yogurt to serve
• Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6.
Spread out the cauliflower florets and leaves
on a large baking tray, drizzle with the olive
oil, season and toss to coat. Cook for 20
minutes, turning the florets regularly, until
the edges are dark brown and crispy.
• While the cauliflower is cooking, scatter
the pine nuts and walnuts across another
baking tray and cook for 6 minutes or
until they turn golden.
• Heat the Uncle Ben’s Special
Golden Vegetable Rice following pack
instructions, then spoon out onto a large
serving dish. Scatter the cauliflower on
top of the rice, then sprinkle over the pine
nuts, pomegranate seeds and herbs.
Serve with greek yogurt.
 COOK

health kicks O’s deputy food editor Adam Bush shares six
delicious gut-friendly recipes, including kimchi-baked
tofu and crispy spud and sauerkraut salad
Recipes ADAM BUSH Photographs MIKE ENGLISH

low cal

LOOK OUT FOR

THE FOLLOWING
HIGH FIBRE
HIGH PROTEIN
LOW CAL
LOW FAT
LOW SALT
LOW SUGAR
This feature is in Check out our special gut-health podcast Vanilla yogurt
Ingredients listed as series this month with deputy food editor cheesecake pots with
partnership with
serving suggestions Adam Bush and O’s nutritionist Kerry flapjack crumble
are not included in Torrens. Listen via Omagazine.com, and raspberries
Acast, iTunes, Spotify or your favourite
the nutritional analysis podcast provider. p54

September 2019 Omagazine.com 53

 Vanilla yogurt cheesecake
pots with flapjack crumble
and raspberries
25 MINUTES | SERVES 4 | EASY | LC

One of the easiest ways to add fermented

foods to your diet is to include yogurt.
We’ve used a probiotic variety in this
indulgent-tasting cheesecake pot.

unsalted butter 2 tbsp

jumbo oats 75g
runny honey 1 tbsp
raspberries 200g
Activia 0% fat vanilla yogurt 125g pot
soft cheese 120g
whole milk 2 tbsp

• Melt the butter in a frying pan and cook

the oats for 5 minutes or until golden and
smelling toasty. Stir in the honey, cook for
1 minute, then cool completely.
• Tip the raspberries and 2 tbsp of water
into a small pan and cook for 2 minutes until
the raspberries are saucy and have softened
slightly. Cool.
• Whisk together the yogurt and soft cheese,
adding enough milk to make it spoonable.
• To serve, fill 4 glasses with alternating
spoonfuls of crumble, raspberries and
cheesecake mixture.

PER SERVING 247 KCALS | FAT 14.8G

SATURATES 8.8G | CARBS 21.3G | SUGARS 8.6G
FIBRE 2.7G | PROTEIN 5.9G | SALT 0.3G

O NUTRITIONIST KERRY
TORRENS ON THE BENEFITS OF...

STYLING: OLIVIA WARDLE. FOOD STYLING: ADAM BUSH. PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPH: DAVID COTSWORTH
PROBIOTICS
Probiotic bacteria is key to
keeping our gut and immune
systems healthy. We can
support these helpful bacteria
by including probiotic-rich
fermented foods in our diet
such as kimchi and miso. Kefir, banana, almond mixed frozen berries 75g
At the supermarket, check labels for and frozen berry smoothie whole almonds 40g
descriptions such as “naturally 10 MINUTES | SERVES 2 | EASY maple syrup or runny honey 1 tbsp
fermented” or “raw and unpasteurised”. Kefir is a fermented milk drink perfect for
Some brands also add probiotics to
making smoothies. Fermented by lactic • Put everything into a blender or food
products such as yogurt.
acid bacteria and yeasts, kefir has been processor and whizz until completely
These recipes will help beneficial gut
bacteria flourish, and also include associated with improved cholesterol smooth. Pour into 2 glasses and serve.
prebiotic ingredients such as onions, management.
bananas, nuts and seeds, which supply PER SERVING 228 KCALS | FAT 12.3G
non-digestible fibres that fuel the bacteria. banana 1 ripe SATURATES 3.9G | CARBS 16.2G | SUGARS 15.8G
kefir 350ml FIBRE 2.6G | PROTEIN 9.8G | SALT 0.2G

54 Omagazine.com September 2019

 COOK

Miso and chilli

chicken noodle soup
30 MINUTES | SERVES 2 | EASY | LC

We’ve combined two fermented condiments

here – miso made by fermenting soya beans
with salt and koji (a type of fungus), and
gochujang made from red chilli peppers,
sticky rice, fermented soya beans and salt.
Add these condiments towards the end
of cooking to optimise levels of beneficial
bacteria in the finished dish.

toasted sesame oil 3 tsp

ginger a thumb-sized piece, finely grated
garlic 2 cloves, crushed
chicken stock 750ml
pak choi 1, quartered
mangetout 100g
ready-cooked udon noodles 150g pack
cooked chicken thighs 2
white miso 1 tbsp
gochujang 1 tbsp
sesame seeds 1 tbsp, toasted to serve
coriander a handful of leaves, chopped

• Heat 1 tsp of the sesame oil in a large pan

and cook the ginger and garlic for a few
minutes. Pour in the chicken stock, bring to
a simmer and add the pak choi, mangetout
and udon noodles, and simmer gently for
2-3 minutes or until cooked.
• Heat the remaining sesame oil in a
non-stick frying pan and shred the chicken
meat, discarding the bones and skin. Fry for
high protein
2-3 minutes or until crispy, then add the miso
–
and gochujang, and fry for another minute.
low cal
• Divide the veg, noodles and broth between
–
2 bowls, then top with the chicken, sesame
seeds and coriander.
low fat
PER SERVING 538 KCALS | FAT 13.4G
SATURATES 3.1G | CARBS 66.4G | SUGARS 8.3G
FIBRE 6.3G | PROTEIN 34.8G | SALT 3.6G

September 2019 Omagazine.com 55


low cal
– frozen peas 75g, defrosted
low fat
Kimchi-baked tofu
35 MINUTES + MARINATING | SERVES 2 | EASY |
A traditional Korean food, kimchi (spicy,
fermented cabbage and vegetables) adds
flavour and health kudos to this tofu dish.
Studies suggest regularly eating kimchi has
positive effects on the immune system, gut,
brain and skin.
firm tofu 280g block, cut into chunky pieces
sesame seeds 2 tbsp, toasted
long-stemmed broccoli 75g,
halved horizontally
sugar snap peas 75g
baby sweetcorn 75g
jasmine rice 100g
spring onions 2, thinly sliced
coriander a handful, leaves picked and
stalks reserved
KIMCHI SAUCE
kimchi 100g, drained
ginger a thumb-sized piece, chopped
garlic 2 cloves, chopped
rice vinegar 1 tbsp
soy sauce 1 tbsp
56 Omagazine.com September 2019
• Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6.
LC Put all the kimchi sauce ingredients and
the coriander stalks into a blender or food
processor and whizz until completely
smooth, then pour in 75ml of water and
whizz briefly again. Pour into a small, deep
baking dish and add the tofu pieces, tossing
to coat. Chill for 30 minutes.
• Put the sesame seeds onto a plate then lift
the tofu out of the marinade and roll in the
seeds. Put the broccoli, peas and corn into
the baking dish, mix with the sauce then add
the tofu on top. Bake for 20 minutes until
golden and the vegetables have cooked.
• Meanwhile, put the rice, 200ml water and
a pinch of salt into a small pan and bring to
a simmer. Put on a tight-fitting lid, turn the
heat to low and cook gently for 10 minutes.
Remove from the heat and leave to steam
with the lid on for another 10 minutes, then
fluff up with a fork. To serve, sprinkle over the
spring onions and coriander leaves.
PER SERVING 412 KCALS | FAT 11.6G
SATURATES 1.7G | CARBS 55.3G | SUGARS 6.8G
FIBRE 3.8G | PROTEIN 20G | SALT 1.4G
Crispy spud salad with
sauerkraut, ham hock and peas
1 HOUR | SERVES 4 | EASY | LC GF
Choose your sauerkraut (fermented
cabbage with caraway seeds) wisely
– shop-bought versions are often
pasteurised for a longer shelf life –
needless to say this destroys many
of the beneficial bacteria. Look for an
unpasteurised sauerkraut from speciality
or health-food shops.
new or Charlotte potatoes 400g, halved
and large ones quartered
spray oil
smoked paprika 1 tsp
lamb’s lettuce 95g pack
sauerkraut 100g
ham hock 90g pack
flat-leaf parsley ½ a small bunch, chopped
DRESSING
olive oil 1 tbsp
dijon mustard 2 tbsp
white wine vinegar 2 tbsp
caster sugar a pinch
• Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6.
Tip the new potatoes into a bowl and spray
with oil, then add the smoked paprika and
lots of seasoning. Put onto a non-stick
baking tray and roast for 40-45 minutes,
turning halfway, until really golden.
• Whisk together the dressing ingredients in
a bowl then tip in the hot potatoes, lamb’s
lettuce and peas, and mix well. Divide
between 4 plates then top each with
sauerkraut, ham hock and parsley.
PER SERVING 211 KCALS | FAT 9.2G
SATURATES 1.4G | CARBS 20.8G | SUGARS 3.7G
FIBRE 4.4G | PROTEIN 9G | SALT 1.7G
 COOK

low cal

September 2019 Omagazine.com 57

COOK
Super-seedy salad
with tahini dressing
30 MINUTES | SERVES 2 | EASY V LC
Sourdough is easy on the gut. Although
made using a fermented starter, much of the
beneficial bacteria is lost during the baking
process. However, because fermentation
starts to break down the flour proteins it’s a
much easier bread to digest. Packed with
prebiotic goodness from the resistant starch
in the seeds, we’ve finished this salad with a
tangy tahini-yogurt dressing.
stale sourdough 1 slice, torn into chunks
mixed seeds 50g
cumin seeds 1 tsp
coriander seeds 1 tsp
low salt
58 Omagazine.com September 2019
dried chilli flakes a good pinch
spray oil
baby kale 50g
long-stemmed broccoli 75g, blanched for
a few minutes then roughly chopped
red onion ½, thinly sliced
cherry tomatoes 100g, halved
flat-leaf parsley ½ a small bunch, torn
DRESSING
natural yogurt 100ml
tahini 1 tbsp
lemon 1, juiced
• Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6.
Put the bread into a food processor and
pulse into very rough breadcrumbs. Put into
a bowl with the mixed seeds and spices,
season, and spray well with oil. Tip onto
a non-stick baking tray and roast for
15-20 minutes, stirring and tossing regularly,
until deep golden brown. Cool.
• Whisk together the dressing ingredients,
some seasoning and a splash of water in
a large bowl. Tip the baby kale, broccoli,
red onion, cherry tomatoes and flat-leaf
parsley into the dressing, and mix well.
Divide between 2 plates and top with the
crispy breadcrumbs and seeds.
PER SERVING 395 KCALS | FAT 21.1G
SATURATES 3.8G | CARBS 28.8G | SUGARS 9.5G
FIBRE 9.8G | PROTEIN 17.5G | SALT 0.8G
 Show your
gut some love
with Activia *

*Activia contains calcium that contributes to the normal function of digestive enzymes.
 3 WAYS WITH

PEANUT BUTTER Turn everyday ingredients into something

special with this storecupboard staple
Recipes SARAH COOK Photographs MIKE ENGLISH

PBJ blondies
1 HOUR 15 MINUTES | CUTS INTO 15 PIECES | EASY

salted butter 125g, plus extra for the tin

smooth peanut butter 100g
light muscovado sugar 200g
golden caster sugar 125g
white chocolate 100g, broken into chunks
vanilla extract 2 tsp
eggs 2, large
self-raising flour 275g
raspberries 200g
raspberry jam 12 heaped tsp
salted peanuts 50g

• Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4,

then butter and line a 20cm x 30cm tin
with baking paper.
• Put the butter, peanut butter, sugars and
white chocolate chunks in a large, wide pan.
Melt gently, stirring occasionally, until the
butters and chocolate have melted, and the
sugar is no longer grainy. Take off the heat
to cool for 5 minutes.
• Stir the vanilla extract and eggs into the
mixture with a wooden spoon, followed by
the flour. Gently fold through 2/3 of the
raspberries, and scrape everything into the
prepared tin.
• Dot the teaspoons of jam over the top of
the mixture, then scatter over the remaining STYLING: MORAG FARQUHAR. FOOD STYLING: ADAM BUSH

raspberries. Tip the peanuts into a sieve and

shake vigorously to remove a little of the salt,
then scatter them over the top, too. Bake for
30-35 minutes or until the blondie is golden
and set firmly on top. Cool before cutting
into chunks to serve.

PER SERVING 242 KCALS | FAT 10.6G

SATURATES 4.9G | CARBS 31.4G | SUGARS 21.4G
FIBRE 1.3G | PROTEIN 4.4G | SALT 0.3G

60 Omagazine.com September 2019

 COOK

Gado gado fried rice with the cooked rice, increase the heat again
1 HOUR 10 MINUTES | SERVES 4 | EASY and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes or until heated
This Indonesian salad of vegetables and boiled through. Stir in the kecap manis and soy sauce
eggs in a rich peanut dressing is bulked up here for another minute, then push the rice to one
with spicy fried rice. side, to leave enough space to crack in the final
egg. Softly scramble, then stir through the rice
aubergine 1 large, cut into 2cm dice with the roasted aubergine chunks, green
vegetable oil 2 tbsp beans and peas. Heat through for 1-2 minutes,
red chilli 1 then stir through the chopped coriander and
eggs 3, large divide between 4 bowls.
green beans 175g • Pile some shredded chinese leaf and prawn
frozen peas 150g crackers on the side of each serving, with some
toasted sesame oil 1 tbsp cucumber. Halve the boiled eggs and top each
garlic 5 cloves, finely chopped portion of rice with a half, plus a good drizzle
echalion shallots 4, diced of the peanut sauce and sprinkling of the
cooked basmati or jasmine rice 500g crispy onions.
kecap manis 4 tbsp (see cook’s notes)
light soy sauce 2 tbsp COOKÕS NOTES Kecap manis is a
coriander a small bunch, roughly chopped sweetened and lightly spiced soy
chinese leaf cabbage 200g, shredded sauce from Indonesia. Buy it in large
prawn crackers 2 handfuls supermarkets and online. Ready-made
cucumber ½, sliced thinly crispy onions can be bought from
ready-made crispy onions 2 tbsp Waitrose and Indian supermarkets.
(see cook’s notes)
SAUCE PER SERVING 660 KCALS | FAT 29.3G
smooth peanut butter 3 tbsp SATURATES 5.8G | CARBS 72.5G
kecap manis 1 tbsp SUGARS 22.8G | FIBRE 10.6G
fish sauce 2 tsp PROTEIN 21.4G | SALT 3.3G
soft light brown sugar 2 tsp
light coconut milk 75ml
lime 1, juiced

• Heat the oven to 180C/fan

160C/gas 4. Spread the aubergine
cubes on a baking tray, drizzle with
1 tbsp of the vegetable oil, toss a few
times and roast for 15 minutes. Add the chilli
to the tray and roast for 10-15 minutes more
or until the aubergine is soft and browning.
• Make the sauce by putting all the ingredients
into a small food processor (or use a hand
blender and jug). Add the whole roasted chilli
if you like it spicy, or remove half the seeds first
if you like it a little milder. Whizz to a smooth,
pourable dressing.
• Bring a large pan of water to the boil, simmer
2 of the eggs for 6-7 minutes, then lift straight
into a bowl of ice-cold water. Add the green
beans to the pan of boiling water and cook
for 2 minutes, then throw in the peas for a final
minute. Drain well. Peel the eggs when cool
enough to handle.
• In a large wok or wide frying pan, heat
1 tbsp of vegetable oil and the sesame oil.
Fry the garlic for 1 minute, then scoop out and
reduce the heat. Gently cook the shallots for
8-10 minutes or until softened. Return the garlic

September 2019 Omagazine.com 61

COOK

Thai-style peanut noodle salad

with herbs and watermelon
20 MINUTES | SERVES 2 | EASY |

dried flat rice noodles 125g

cherry tomatoes 10
cucumber ½, halved lengthways, deseeded
then sliced
spring onions 2, thinly sliced
roasted peanuts 4 tbsp, roughly chopped
watermelon 150g flesh, sliced
mint a handful of leaves, large ones torn
coriander a handful, leaves and stalks
roughly chopped
thai basil a small handful of leaves (optional)
DRESSING
crunchy peanut butter 3 tbsp
light soy sauce 4 tsp
rice vinegar 1½ tsp
stem ginger balls 2, finely diced, plus 2 tsp
of syrup from the jar
sriracha sauce 1 tsp
lime 1, juiced

• Put the dressing ingredients into a small

jug and whisk with 2-3 tbsp of just-boiled
water until a smooth, runny dressing forms.
• Bring a pan of water to the boil, then take
off the heat and add the noodles. Check
after 3-4 minutes – the noodles should be
softened but still have a little bite. Drain well.
• Tip the noodles into a big mixing bowl. Use
your hands to squash the tomatoes over the
bowl, tearing them in half and then adding
to the noodles. Add the cucumber, spring
onions and most of the peanuts. Drizzle over
the dressing with some seasoning and toss
until the noodles are coated.
• Tip in the watermelon and gently toss a
few more times. Tip onto a platter or into
serving bowls. Scatter over the herbs and
the remaining nuts.

PER SERVING 660 KCALS | FAT 29.1G

SATURATES 6G | CARBS 76.9G | SUGARS 20.7G
FIBRE 6.6G | PROTEIN 19.4G | SALT 2.5G

62 Omagazine.com September 2019

 COOK

homemade
paneer
Making this Indian cheese at home couldn’t be simpler.
All you need is milk, lemon juice and a bit of time
Recipe JANINE RATCLIFFE Photograph MIKE ENGLISH

Homemade paneer
30 MINUTES + SETTING | MAKES ABOUT 250G
EASY | V

You’ll need a sheet of muslin to drain

the curds – large supermarkets and good
cook shops will sell it, or buy online from
amazon.co.uk.

organic whole milk 2.2 litres (look for

unhomogenised, such as Duchy Originals)
lemon juice 4 tbsp
fine sea salt ½ tsp

• Heat the milk in your largest pan over

a medium heat – keep stirring to avoid it
catching. Line a large sieve with muslin (run it
under a tap first so it’s damp and sticks to the
sieve) and put the sieve over a large bowl.
• Just before the milk begins to simmer
(if you have an instant read thermometer or
jam thermometer it should read just below
100C), add the lemon juice and continue
to stir until the curds start to separate
from the whey – this should only take
15-20 seconds. Take off the heat and leave
to sit for 5 minutes, then carefully pour into
the lined sieve. Leave to drain for 10 minutes
then gather the muslin and squeeze out the
excess liquid. Sprinkle the curds with ½ tsp
salt and stir to distribute it.
• Lift the muslin onto a plate and use your
STYLING: MORAG FARQUHAR. FOOD STYLING: ADAM BUSH

hands to form the cheese into a flat disc.

Fold the muslin over the top then put a
chopping board on top and weigh it down
with some heavy tins. Leave for 1 hour after
which you should have a solid block of
paneer that can be cut into cubes. Will keep
in the fridge for 3-4 days.

Search ‘paneer’ on Omagazine.com for

loads of ideas on how to cook it

September 2019 Omagazine.com 63

 COOK

back to basics
salsa
Classic recipes to master – this
RANCH EGGS
Brush corn tortillas
with oil then cook in a
griddle or heavy pan
until golden. Put on
warmed plates and
top with a fried egg, a
TEX-MEX
RICE SALAD
Toss a few spoonfuls
of tomato salsa
through cooked and
cooled rice with some
diced avocado and
SPICY CHICKEN
FLATBREAD MELTS
Spread small
flatbreads with tomato
salsa and tear over
some cooked
chicken. Add a little
couple of spoons of cucumber. grated mozzarella
month it’s a zingy Mexican favourite tomato salsa and then grill until
Recipe JANINE RATCLIFFE Photograph ANT DUNCAN some extra coriander. bubbling.

Tomato salsa
25 MINUTES + MARINATING | SERVES 4 | EASY | GF

Grilling the tomatoes and chillies will give the salsa

an extra smoky edge. Fresh jalapeño chillies are
available in most supermarkets but substitute with
regular green chillies if you can’t find them.

red onion 1 small, finely chopped

caster sugar 1 tsp
sea salt flakes 1 tsp
lime juice 4 tbsp
tomatoes on the vine 4 large
jalapeño chillies 3
coriander a small bunch,
chopped
tortilla chips to serve

• Put the onion, sugar, salt

and lime juice in a bowl and
toss together.
• Heat a griddle pan or BBQ
to hot. Grill the tomatoes,
turning until charred, then
drop into a bowl and cover.
Repeat with the chillies.
• Remove as much of the skin
as possible from the tomatoes
and chillies, and discard (don’t
STYLING: GILLIAN MCNEILL. FOOD STYLING: LOTTIE COVELL

worry if there’s a little left on).

Roughly chop the tomatoes and
finely chop the chillies, discarding
the stems. Add both to the onion
bowl, toss and leave for at least 30
minutes for all the flavours to combine.
Stir through the coriander and serve
with tortilla chips for scooping.

PER SERVING 39 KCALS | FAT 0.2G

SATURATES 0G | CARBS 7G | SUGARS 6.7G
FIBRE 2.1G | PROTEIN 1.2G | SALT 1.3G

64 Omagazine.com Seotember 2019

EAT
Explore a world of natural wine
in Borough Market, discover
Let‘s go out...
Japanese grilling in Nottingham
and visit Manchester’s new
poutine parlour

Ambitious cooking from

Allister Barsby in Kent

Modern Cantonese
in London

Britain’s best
burger joints

September 2019 Omagazine.com 65

 makers Get your burger
fix courtesy of
Britain’s finest
patty purveyors
Words MARK TAYLOR

Tucka Burger London EC2

Andy Gardener and Lachy Brown met at school in
Australia, and both moved to London to pursue careers
in accountancy and consulting. Lachy says: “We quickly
realised our passion lay elsewhere, and so in July 2018 we
turned to our burger truck dream.” The beef is a high-fat
blend of chuck, brisket and bone marrow, which has been
dry-aged for 35 days. Try the signature Tom Tucka
American cheeseburger, or the vegetarian What the Tuck
(beef is substituted for grilled halloumi). “Our burgers are
incredibly juicy and messy,” says Lachy. tuckaburger.co.uk

66 Omagazine.com September 2019

 EAT

Bunsen
Belfast
Keeping it simple and using high-quality
ingredients (such as Black Aberdeen
Angus beef minced on site every
morning, and homemade soft Amish
dinner rolls) is what sets Belfast’s
Bunsen apart from competitors. It’s
a straightforward choice between classic
hamburger or cheeseburger, the latter of
which includes a special blend of comté
and monterey jack. bunsen.ie

Steak & Honour

Cambridge
Steak & Honour (which also has mobile burger
vans across Cambridge) serves three types of burger:
classic, cheese and a veggie shroom. The meat
patties are made with 100% hand-minced chuck
beef from cattle that graze East Anglian pastures
and water meadows. Nothing is added except
Maldon salt as they sizzle, and Dovecote Bakery
created the brioche bun recipe for them. Order
a side of three-cheese mac ’n’ cheese, too, which
comes sliced and grilled. steakandhonour.co.uk

Patty Hills Brecon

& Bun A mile outside the town and
overlooking the Brecon

Brighton Beacons, the glass-fronted Hills

restaurant is a destination that
Eight Patty & Bun attracts thousands of diners
branches have opened in every month. Owain and Emily
London and Brighton over Hill showcase Welsh produce in
the past seven years. It’s their burgers, with signature
known for impeccable options including a chips and
sourcing – beef from HG gravy cheeseburger, sweet and
Walter, bespoke buns from sour chicken burger, and pulled
Bread Ahead, cheese from pork with hoisin and soy sauce
Neal’s Yard and Kupros burger. Hills uses aged PGI
Dairy – and bestsellers Welsh beef from local butcher
include the Lambshank Paddy Sweeney, and cooks its
Redemption: a lamb patty burgers using the ‘smashed’
PHOTOGRAPH: JUSTIN D ESOUZA

with coriander and chilli, method, creating an incredible

buttermilk baby courgettes, crust and flavour. Each burger
pickled aubergine, cumin comes with two 3.5oz smashed
aïoli and feta. patties and a blend of monterey
pattyandbun.co.uk jack and American cheese as
standard. hillsbrecon.co.uk

September 2019 Omagazine.com 67

 libertine Burger
Leamington Spa
Charles Harris of Libertine Burger
says that the main reason his patties
stand out is the quality of the meat.
It’s a mix of double-ground chuck,
brisket and flank from 35-day dry-aged

Blas
Angus beef, supplied by renowned
butcher, Aubrey Allen. Hand-smashing

Burgerworks the patties to order on a really hot grill

lends a great crust. The Warwickshire

St Ives, Cornwall punters also love the buttermilk fried

chicken burger. libertineburger.com
Squeezed Bristol
“Not fast, just fabulous” is the motto at He might be cooking in a tiny shipping
Blas Burgerworks, the tiny restaurant and container on Bristol’s harbourside but
takeaway close to St Ives harbour. Now into Squeezed founder Alex Hayes was still
its 14th year, it has become something of a crowned burger chef of the year at the
local institution thanks to an unwavering National Burger Awards 2019. Signatures
commitment to provenance and sourcing. include the Beetlejuice (double beef patty,
Beef comes from nearby Trevaskis Farm, smoked bacon, cheese, black garlic,
Cornish potatoes are used for the hand-cut squid-ink aïoli and gochujang ketchup) and
chips, and all the sauces are made on the the Reverse Cowgirl (beef patty, smoked
premises. Blas Burgerworks also makes a bacon, peanut chipotle BBQ and charred
mean vegetarian organic black bean burger, scallion soured cream). Alex says: “You can
and occasionally serves a special mackerel taste every element, as well as the overall
burger using fish landed in the bay around flavour profile.” bristolsqueezed.co.uk
the corner. blasburgerworks.co.uk

Fat Hippo
Durham
“Get ready to sink your
teeth into something
juicy,” is one tagline at
the Fat Hippo, which
started life in Newcastle
and has since added
Durham, Jesmond and
Sheffield branches to its
empire. The idea is
indulgence, messy fingers
and a full belly. The
Bubba Gump burger, for
example, includes a
double patty, cheese,
popcorn shrimp, smoked
bacon and pickleback
slaw. fathippo.co.uk

68 Omagazine.com September 2019

 EAT

The Beefy Boys

Hereford
The Beefy Boys are four childhood
friends who have always loved cooking
burgers at garden BBQs. They’re
regular competitors at worldwide
burger championships (their next
challenge in October takes them to
Dallas, Texas) but, following a series of
pop-ups across Hereford, the crew now
has a restaurant in the city. Co-founder
Murf says: “The Beefy Boys are the definition of a drunken
BBQ that’s got seriously out of hand... so much so that we
now own a restaurant, a food truck and an events business.”
Murf puts their success down to local Hereford beef (100%
chuck and brisket), toasting the bun with bacon fat, butter
or aged beef fat, and seasoning. “We also steam our burgers,
a tip we picked up from American diners. You spray water
onto the hot plate, then steam the burgers under a cloche –
it heats the bun up and melts the cheese, making the whole
thing come together in a cacophony of cheesy, meaty
goodness.” thebeefyboys.com

Slap & Pickle Leeds

James Tabor and Zoe Perret run Slap &
Pickle at Assembly Underground, a street-
food hub located in the basement of a
Grade-II building in Leeds city centre. The
burgers are made from 100% grass-fed
Yorkshire beef, and showcase a signature
blend of chuck, short rib and clod. James
says: “We can serve every item on our menu
in meaty, veggie or vegan incarnations, and
we make all of it ourselves. We don’t buy
Free State ‘science-lab fake meats’, because they’re all

Kitchen horrible.” slapandpickle.co.uk

Big Boys Folkestone

Liverpool Brothers Gareth Attwell and Guy
“We serve straightforward American Meurice launched Big Boys in 2014,
classics,” says Kate Hughes of and have made it to the finals of the
Liverpool’s Free State Kitchen, whose National Burger Awards twice since
bestseller after six years of business is then. Chef Gareth worked in top-end
still the cheeseburger (served in a locally restaurants for 16 years, including spells
PHOTOGRAPHS: DAVID GRIFFEN, ED SOWERBY

baked brioche bun). The core menu may with Marcus Wareing. The burgers are
stay the same, but Free State Kitchen made with local rare-breed beef (matured
likes to use its specials board to mix for 28 days) and French brioche buns
things up on a regular basis. Expect (or even mac ’n’ cheese ‘buns’,
treats such as the Korean brisket burger, pictured). Big Boys are well known for
made with locally produced kimchi, their specials – try the Fat Elvis for its
bulgogi-style beef and a crispy fried egg. peanut butter, raspberry jelly and bacon
freestatekitchen.co.uk jam. bigboysburgers.co.uk

September 2019 Omagazine.com 69

 El Perro Negro Glasgow
Nick Watkins started El Perro Negro as a kitchen takeover pop-up, but it became such a
hit with Glasgow burger fans that it was a permanent restaurant by 2018 (and winner at
the National Burger Awards 2019). Using beef from small local farms, specials include the
Top Dog, with bone marrow and roquefort butter, bacon and black truffle mayo, and the
Black Dog, which adds black pudding to the mix. Nick says: “We don’t attempt to
reinvent the wheel, we just use great beef, great bread and great ingredients. Our short rib
and marrow patty gives a super juicy burger, with a really intense bovine flavour. The beef
should be the star of the show. Anything that goes on the patty is there to complement the
beef, not drown it out.” @ElPerroNegroGLA
Meat:Stack
Newcastle
Following pop-ups around Newcastle,
Meat:Stack found a permanent home in
the city’s Grainger Market. Its American
cheeseburgers are the stuff of legend,
especially the Cease and Desist (made with
rare-breed dry-aged beef, smoked bacon,
mascarpone and black garlic honey). “We
are obsessive about simplicity and clarity of
flavour,” says co-founder Tom Westman.
The beef is cooked on a searing hot grill,
then steamed, and you should order a
portion of beef dripping fries on the side.
meat-stack.com

Magu
Bath
Magu founder Leon Dunnett makes his
own sauces and serves fantastic smashed
beef patties in bespoke buns. But his
Bath diner has also gained a formidable
reputation for the veggie burger with
Somerset-made halloumi, roasted
Mediterranean vegetables, pickled red
onion and mint yogurt. magudiner.com

Bleecker London
What started as a street-food truck by
former corporate lawyer Zan Kaufman now

Hawksmoor London has three sites in Bloomberg, Victoria and

Old Spitalfields Market. Bleecker serves six
This upmarket steakhouse chain also burgers with a range of fries, including the
serves a mean burger – notably the £17.50 “angry” version with hot sauce and blue
beef short rib cheeseburger with kimchi, cheese sauce. The patties are made with
which was launched in 2010 when the native-breed beef, and brand director Liam
Seven Dials restaurant opened. Inspired O’Keefe says the secret blend they’ve created
by a trip to Seoul, it features Hawksmoor’s helps the butcher use the whole animal. “We
own kimchi, the recipe for which you believe we have the best-tasting beef burger
can find in the Hawksmoor at Home possible,” he says. bleecker.co.uk
cookbook. thehawksmoor.com

70 Omagazine.com September 2019


Honest Burgers
With more than 30 sites across the UK,
Honest Burgers has a point of difference
from other chains – it’s heavily invested
in its own butchery, with each
restaurant making burgers from scratch.
Co-founder Tom Barton says: “From
day one we’ve made the majority of our
menu in-house, starting with chips,
relish, pickles and sauces. By having our
own butchery, we now know exactly
where our beef comes from. We also
love working with nearby suppliers,
whether it’s for a local burger (every
branch of Honest has one) or a local
brewery.” honestburgers.co.uk
Hoof Cardiff
Sibling business to Cardiff’s Dusty Knuckle
Pizza, Hoof has a permanent residency at
the city’s Sticky Fingers street-food market
in the Brewery Quarter. It serves a 100%
Welsh beef featherblade patty with Teifi
cheese, pickles, cultured cream and sweet
chilli herb sauce. One of the secrets of their
success, according to owner Phil Lewis, is
the fact award-winning Hay-on-Wye baker
Alex Gooch provides the buns. “Alex’s
organic challah buns are slightly spongy
and a bit
crusty. They
hold together
perfectly and
are a great
marriage with
our beef patties,
especially when
grilled with
dripping.”
facebook.com/
horntohind
EAT
The Wigmore
London w1
An upmarket pub just off Regent Street
and Oxford Circus, The Wigmore serves
a mean cheeseburger with grilled ox
tongue. It was created by head chef
James Hawley, who says the idea came
from enjoying ox tongue and English
Black Bear mustard rolls when he was a kid.
The Wigmore burger also features
Burger London e1 a caramelised onion brioche bun,
crispy shallots and the same melted
This Box Park Shoreditch operation keeps three-cheese mix used in the pub’s
things simple with three classic burger signature toasties. the-wigmore.co.uk
options. Stew Down, who opened Black
Bear alongside his wife Liz, says: “We don’t
mess around with gimmicks – everything in
our burgers is there for one reason: flavour.”
Beef comes from grass-fed South West native
breeds (Stew’s family are beef farmers in
Devon), and the most popular burger is the
Black Bear: dry-aged beef, American cheese,
bacon, onion jam and garlic mayo in a
super-light seeded bun. It’s the balance of
flavours that sets these burgers apart – Stew
says that they’re keen to avoid overpowering
sauces, incorrect seasoning and unnecessary
ingredients. blackbearburger.com
Original Patty Men Birmingham
“Our tag line is ‘Purveyors of Filth’ and we do our best to live up to that,” says Thomas
Maher, director of Birmingham’s Original Patty Men. Five burgers are on the menu,
including the Pineapple Express (aged longhorn beef patty, maple-coated bacon, lettuce,
roquito chilli pepper, fresh tomato, cheddar and pineapple hot sauce). Thomas says:
“Our suppliers list is something we’re incredibly proud of, and the majority supply
Michelin-starred restaurants across the country. Our style of cooking is just a bit different
to theirs!” originalpattymen.com
September 2019 Omagazine.com 71
 SA OT
Q

VE
U

20 LIV
E
O

%
*
3E
28 Nov - 1 Dec | Birmingham NEC

E N T E R TA I N M E N T

TA S T I N G

SHOPPING

I N S P I R AT I O N

BBCGOODFOODSHOW.COM | 0844 581 1345

*Ends 26/09/19. 20% discount valid on advance adult tickets only. Excludes Premium and Saturday tickets. Discounts not valid on Gold Big Kitchen seats, VIP Luxe or with any other offer. Gold Big Kitchen seats cost an
additional £3, subject to availability. £2.95 fulfilment fee per advance order. Not all celebrities appear on all days. Details correct at time of print. Calls cost 7p/minute plus phone company charges. The BBC trademark is
used under licence from the BBC. © BBC, 2018. The Good Food trademark is used under licence from Immediate Media Company London Limited. Organised and presented by River Street Events.
 EAT

C h e f ' s

Recreate the simple yet delicious

sharing plates of Notting Hill’s new
neighbourhood restaurant, Gold
Recipes THEO HILL Photographs DAVID COTSWORTH

Gold
95-97 Portobello Road,
London W11 2QB

Chargrilled tiger
prawns, black rice
and roast chilli salsa

Radish salad
with chicory and
anchovy dressing

Roast cod with

slow-cooked English
peas and shoots

September 2019 Omagazine.com 73

 T
heo Hill (former sous chef at River Café)
is leading the kitchen at Gold, with
Alex Ghalleb (ex Pizza East) and Arez
Akgundogdu (ex Soho House) heading
up front of house.
A stark contrast to its pastel-hued
neighbours, Gold’s exterior is stripped
back. Street artist Vhils created the façade out of red brick,
plaster and white paint, all materials the building’s been
covered in over the past century. Head inside and you’ll find
a moody central bar and open kitchen, with chefs podding
peas, then delivering the finished plate to your table. You
can dine in two rooms, but head to the covered terrace on
the ground floor for Moroccan rooftop vibes.
Exposed plaster walls, rattan chairs and palm trees dotted
between tables keeps things relaxed, while inside artwork
has been created by former residents including Lucien Freud
and David Hockney.
Split into raw, charcuterie and cheese, salads, vegetables
and plates, all the dishes are designed to share. Portions are
74 Omagazine.com September 2019
hearty though, so start off steady and see how things go.
Expect the likes of charred pears with burrata which
welcome the salty tang of Tuscan ham, while a bouncy
farro salad with sweet peas, broad beans and Berkswell
cheese steals the show with its fresh flavours.
A bowl of citrus-spiked rabbit leg tortellini is a thing of
beige beauty. Silky parcels of braised meat in porcini butter
manage to be light yet comforting. Another, the nettle
ravioli, happily lets the tangy sheep’s ricotta filling shine.
The dessert menu is worth bringing a crowd for so
you can unashamedly order them all. Honey rum babas
arrive as boozy as they should be, with plenty of lemon
verbena cream, while buttery sablé biscuits layered with
raspberry and mascarpone are lifted further with the
crunch of praline.
WORDS: ELLIE EDWARDS
The cocktail menu celebrates seasonality, with shrubs
and syrups (think fig, corn and sweet tomato) all made
in-house. Prosecco is pimped with sweet piña colada syrup
for the Royale Retreat, while fennel adds a savoury note to
the Campari with bee pollen gin. goldnottinghill.com
 EAT

Chargrilled tiger prawns,

black rice and roast chilli salsa
50 MINUTES | SERVES 4 AS A STARTER | EASY | GF

The restaurant uses Argentinian Scarlets

to create a sweet lobster flavour or Sicilian
red prawns.

wild rice 120g

cherry tomatoes 200g, halved
basil a handful of leaves
lemon 1, juiced
olive oil 1 tbsp
raw whole shell-on tiger prawns 400g
SALSA
red chillies 4
red wine vinegar 1 tbsp
olive oil 1 tbsp

• Cook the rice in a large pan of boiling

water for 30 minutes or until the grains begin
to burst from their skins and are cooked.
Drain really well, run under cold water until
cool, then drain again.
• For the salsa, heat a BBQ or griddle pan
to high and grill the chillies for 8-10 minutes,
turning, until really charred. Put into a bowl,
cover and leave for 20 minutes. Peel, remove
the seeds and finely dice. Put into a bowl
with the vinegar, oil and some seasoning.
• Put the cherry tomatoes into a bowl with
the basil leaves, lemon juice, olive oil and
some seasoning, and mix until combined.
Gently fold through the cooked rice.
• Heat a BBQ or griddle pan to high and
cook the prawns for 1-2 minutes on each
side until charred, pink and cooked through.
Put the rice salad onto 4 plates, adding the
prawns and drizzling over the salsa to serve.

PER SERVING 241 KCALS | FAT 6.6G

SATURATES 1G | CARBS 24.2G | SUGARS 2.1G
FIBRE 2.4G | PROTEIN 20.1G | SALT 0.5G

September 2019 Omagazine.com 75

EAT

Radish salad with chicory
and anchovy dressing
30 MINUTES | SERVES 6 AS A SIDE | EASY |
Roast cod with slow-cooked
English peas and shoots
30 MINUTES + CURING | SERVES 4 | EASY | LC GF
cod 4 x 200g skin-on fillets
sea salt flakes 1 tbsp
olive oil 3 tbsp, plus extra for frying
and baking
fresh or frozen peas 300g
garlic 1 clove, thinly sliced
basil leaves a handful, chopped
mint leaves a handful, chopped
pea shoots 300g
lemon 1, cut into wedges
• Put the cod fillets into a tray and rub in the
sea salt. Leave in the fridge for 1 hour, then
gently wash off the salt under cold running
water and pat really dry.
• Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6.
Heat a little oil in a frying pan and cook the
cod fillets, skin-side down, for 2-3 minutes
until the skin is crisp. Remove from the heat,
GF
put in a lightly oiled baking tray, skin-side up,
and cook in the oven for 8 minutes or until
cooked through. To test, a skewer should be
easily pushed through the centre of a fillet.
• Cook the peas in a large pan of boiling
water for 5-10 minutes if fresh, or 1-2 minutes
if frozen. Drain really well.
• Put 3 tbsp of olive oil and the garlic in a
bowl, then add the peas and stir gently until
the oil coats the peas and the garlic is
thoroughly combined. Leave to cool to room
temperature then add the basil and mint
leaves (it’s best to do this once the mixture
has cooled down to avoid discolouration of
the leaves).
• Put the cod fillets on 4 plates alongside the
pea shoots and lemon wedges to squeeze
over. Spoon over the peas and serve.
PER SERVING 322 KCALS | FAT 13.3G
SATURATES 2G | CARBS 7.4G | SUGARS 1.1G
FIBRE 5.6G | PROTEIN 40.3G | SALT 2.2G

SALAD
radishes 200g, ½ wedged, ½ sliced
lilliput or baby capers 1 tbsp
radicchio 1 small head, torn into pieces
frisée 1 small head, cut into bite-sized pieces
white chicory 1, halved and root removed
red chicory 1, halved and root removed
dandelion leaves 60g (optional)
rocket a handful
DRESSING
garlic 1 small clove
anchovy fillets 30g (7-8 fillets),
finely chopped
red wine vinegar 1 tbsp
olive oil 3 tbsp

• Put the radishes into a bowl of ice-cold

water and soak for 15 minutes, then drain
really well and pat dry.
• Use a pestle and mortar to pound the
garlic to a purée, then tip into a bowl with
the anchovies, red wine vinegar, olive oil
and some seasoning, and whisk.
• Tip the radishes into a bowl with the
capers and dressing, toss, then add the
salad leaves and gently mix to coat. Tip
into a large salad bowl and serve.

PER SERVING 101 KCALS | FAT 7.8G

SATURATES 1.2G | CARBS 3.4G | SUGARS 2G
FIBRE 2.6G | PROTEIN 2.9G | SALT 0.9G

76 Omagazine.com September 2019

Tender and delicious in the finest olive oil.
You’ve not tasted tuna, until you’ve
tasted Rio Mare.

N°1 in Italia
www.riomare.com
Available from: Tesco, Ocado, Amazon and your local Italian Delicatessen.
 PRO vs PUNTER

FLOR
LONDON SE1

Does a regular diner reach the same conclusion about a restaurant as a

food pro, who may get special treatment if recognised?* Critic Laura Rowe
and O reader Daniel Lane compare notes on the new wine bar/bakery/
restaurant from the team behind the internationally acclaimed Lyle’s

The pro The punter

Our editor Laura Daniel Lane lives in
Rowe has reviewed London and eats out
restaurants for more twice a week. He
than a decade. You loves fresh shellfish,
can follow her on and his best dining
Twitter and Instagram experience was
@lauraroweeats. at 64 Degrees
in Brighton.

T
he second opening from chef James Lowe and
business partner John Ogier, Flor opened in July to
much fanfare. The decidedly different follow-up to
Lyle’s, which has become renowned for redefining London’s
fine-dining scene, where baseball caps and trainers are more
likely to be spotted than suits or heels, this latest venture on
the fringe of Borough Market has been billed as a wine bar/
bakery/restaurant hybrid.
Inspired by the buvettes of Paris and pintxos bars of San
Sebastián, the small space is set over two floors. There’s
counter dining overlooking the tiny kitchen and tables for
two downstairs, and group tables and booths for around 20
upstairs, via a spiral, wrought-iron staircase, with dramatic
tall windows looking across to the railway arch and market.
Natural wines dominate the wine list, there are homemade
pastries (including the likes of lardy buns) available from
10am, and come lunch and dinner there’s a menu of small
plates that focus on good ingredients from here and abroad.
As such, the menu at this multitasking space changes daily,
but Instagram will tell you that the must-orders are prawns –
heads served roasted and ready decapitated from their bodies,
which come raw with yuzu kosho – and flatbreads heavy
with cheese or truffle. florlondon.com

78 Omagazine.com September 2019


Our pro says...
Flor is hard to get into at dinner (you’ll need
to book weeks in advance), but as soon as
you do sit down, and are handed your first
glass of perfectly chilled, scrumpy-esque
Slovenian orange wine (Nando Rebula),
you’ll understand why. *I wasn’t recognised.
An oyster arrives poorly shucked and gritty
but the salinity is a good pairing for the peppy
jalapeño mignonette. Far better is anchovy
toast lusciously topped with noir de bigorre
lardo. Flatbread – nutty, pillowy and blistered
– comes topped with salty-sweet palourde
clams, garlic and Spenwood sheep’s milk
cheese. Austrian rosé (Winifred) wows with
its delicate notes of raspberry and mint.
Skewers of rabbit kidneys and liver, so
sweet and tender, are just kissed by the coals
they were cooked on and show the skill of
the kitchen below. Anjou pigeon is the priciest
plate (£25) but is worth every penny. Golden
crisp skin, ruddy, soft flesh, sensational
seasoning, and tiny white currants that
collapse into a ready-made sweet-sour sauce
would be enough but it also comes served
with toast, cooked in fat, topped with piped
parfait, on the side. Another, lamb rib, sees its
sweet, melting fat imaginatively matched with
buttery pistachios and deep dried lime.
Skip the pretty “Neapolitan” dessert of
tayberry, peach and verbena ice cream – it’s
style over substance – and save room for a
cucumber-melon hybrid, barattiere. It comes
with a cocksure dressing – spicy, sweet and
salty, but also floral and refreshing. Finish
with double order of the highlight of the
meal, brown butter cakes which arrive as a
crunchy mouthful with a salted, fudgy heart.
The bottom line
If you’re a fan of funky wines, the smell
of baking bread while you order, and
small plates that will having you licking
the plates clean, then Flor is going to be
a bit of you. Total bill for two,
PHOTOGRAPHS: ANDREW CALLAGHAN
excluding service: £119
FOOD: 9/10 TOTAL
SERVICE: 9/10 27
VIBE: 9/10 30
EAT
Our punter says...
It shouldn’t be possible to serve food that
interesting in a room that tiny, but somehow
chef James Lowe and co manage it, letting
the bijou space inform a menu of no-
nonsense small plates at the slim marble bar
or perched at a snug table. The matey side
of professional, our servers made sure we
knew our brandades from our koshos, and
helpfully gushed about their top picks.
The wild boar ventricina set the
Mediterranean tone. Its peppery, grown-up
chorizo flavour sat well alongside a few
glasses of the Tutti Frutti Ananas Nespola
(fruity and ready to tackle the saltier dishes).
With a creamy pollock brandade and
vinegary peppers arriving, I could easily have
been on a terraza overlooking the coast.
Three scarlet prawns with yuzu kosho
came next. The salty, fatty indulgence of the
head complemented the raw body’s refined,
delicate ceviche vibes. If any dish typified the
place, this was it – no ego, just an intimate
understanding of quality ingredients.
Meltingly soft lamb rib broke up the
southern European party with Middle
Eastern spices, pistachios and a burnt-lime
tang. Slightly sour boysenberries did the
same for the pigeon, giving off a Scandi feel.
Every so often I heard an “oh my god” or
a moan around the room. When our brown
butter cakes arrived I found out why. Nutty
and laughably good – we left with the recipe.
Any negatives? A bitter red gem that even
a generous helping of parmesan and a zingy
preserved lemon gel couldn’t lift. And a long
wine menu isn’t necessary – the short one
fits the scene much better.
The bottom line
All in all, an exciting and composed
addition to Borough. We’ll definitely be
back. Total bill for two, excluding
service: £105
FOOD: 9/10 TOTAL
SERVICE: 9/10 27
VIBE: 9/10 30
September 2019 Omagazine.com 79
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80 Omagazine.com September 2019

 EAT

Table-hopping Our latest restaurant recommendations plus

street-food spots from across the UK
For more
recommendations
visit O

Best
for KUSHI-YA, NOTTINGHAM
Japanese Tucked away down an unassuming alleyway,
Kushi-ya rustles up Nottingham’s most original
Japanese grilled dishes. Stylish kimonos, bottles of sake and
delicate teapots act as minimalist decoration, leaving the small
plates and skewers to do the talking. Turn up between 6-7pm
to make the most of the early-bird set menu, where a snack, two
skewers, a pot of rice and pint of Asahi comes to £15, or pick
three dishes each from the longer list.
Must-orders include chicken katsu sandos, edamame beans
spiked with soy and chilli, and juicy chicken meatball skewers
Best for with a glossy egg yolk on the side. Unique desserts put a Far
modern East twist on European classics, with tiramisu pepped up with
British
HIDE AND FOX, SALTWOOD
The menu at Kent’s newest dining space is a rotating cast of
miso, and black sugar parfait garnished with savoury sesame
crisps. Sip on Japanese single-malt whiskies, or prosecco
spiked with sweet plum wine. kushi-ya.co.uk
seasonal, local produce, thanks to Kent-born chef Allister Barsby,
who was previously head chef at the two-Michelin-starred Gidleigh
Park in Devon, under Michael Caines.
The food, as a result, is dreamlike. Dressed crab zings with lime
zest, mango chutney and curry mayo that perfectly captures the last
flavours of summer before it disappears for another year. Creamy,
caramelised sweetbreads arrive with charred baby leeks, mushroom
WORDS: ELLIE EDWARDS, PAMI HOGGATT, STEPHEN CONNOLLY. PHOTOGRAPHS: PAMI HOGGATT, KARUNA CLAYTON

espuma and pickled shallots – an earthy, savoury counterpoint to

the citrussy crab. There was Romney Marsh lamb, loin and belly,
each cooked to perfection. Desserts were confident, too: strawberry
and tonka bean mousse with honeycomb, sablé and strawberry
sorbet, and poached cherries with white chocolate tofu, pistachio
ice cream and meringue. All light but bursting with flavour.
Allister’s partner, Alice Bussi, and sommelier Marina (who have
both worked at three-Michelin-starred Le Louis XV – Alain Ducasse
at Hotel de Paris in Monaco) look after the front of house and their
experience shows. The wine list offers something a bit different
– we tried a txakolina from Galicia, a 12-month barrel-fermented
bordeaux blanc, and a Lebanese Château Ksara. Marina has also
created a fantastic list of cocktails. The White Cliff, made with
London dry gin, almond syrup, lemonade, grapefruit and mint, is a
refreshing way to start. Get in now (particularly for the great-value
set lunch menu at £29 for three courses) – it won’t be long before
the inspector comes calling. hideandfox.co.uk

STREET-FOOD SPOT: BLUE CARIBOU

Graham Gartside-Bernier and Vincent Bernier are spreading the love for Québécois cuisine to the North West.
Visit them in Manchester’s Arndale and try poutines (fries loaded with gravy and cheese curds) topped with
pastrami and pickles, or seaweed and sriracha. @bcsnackbar

September 2019 Omagazine.com 81

 Alex Peffly and Z He are on a mission to
redefine what authentic Cantonese food
culture means to London’s diners
Words HILARY ARMSTRONG

A
lex Peffly and Z He, the husband and wife team
behind Bun House and Wun’s in London, met in
Chicago when Alex was at culinary school and Z
(pronounced ‘zed’) was studying interior architecture.
It didn’t take them long to realise that with a
combined skill set like theirs they really ought to go Z’S HONG KONG
into the restaurant business together. FAVOURITES
Over salted lime sodas at Wun’s, their Hong Kong-style tearoom and Milk tea at Lan Fong Yuen
bar in Soho, the pair explain their unusual creative process. Even though
Midwesterner Alex has the formal training, it’s Z with her Cantonese Dim sum at Luk Yu Tea House
heritage who steers the menu. “I will usually have a reference dish, then Skewers at Yardbird
we brainstorm that dish to see how we can elevate it or make it more
interesting, maybe using a new technique to cook it,” says Z. “We do BBQ goose at Yat Lok
a lot of trials at home before we bring it to the kitchen team.”
Beef brisket noodles
“We typically throw tradition out of the window and focus more
at Kau Kee Food Cafe
on authenticity,” adds Alex. “Realistically, tradition is just being

82 Omagazine.com September 2019


stuck. You’re not moving forward, you’re
stagnating.”
Wun’s XO bone marrow with fried mantou
is a case in point. “In China, we usually eat
bone marrow as a big uncut bone boiled in
a broth, then eaten with a straw or spoon.
Here it’s served more Western-style, with
deep-fried mantou [steamed buns] in place
of sourdough toast but with the addition of
XO sauce and cured baby daikon on top.”
Another Wun’s signature is “My gran’s
secret recipe sour plum braised duck”,
based on a dish Z would always have at her
grandmother’s house. “It’s got this very big
sweet, sour and savoury mix of flavours that
I think is also a very familiar Cantonese taste
to a Western audience. Though I have to say
honestly my grandma still makes it better.”
There’s a section of clay pot rice dishes
with various toppings including char siu
(using ibérico for its high fat content) and
properly crispy rice at the bottom of the pot.
Z’s frustration with much Cantonese food
in London is that it is so dominated by dim
sum. “Why are we not out of this yet? I feel
like it falls into the trap of [doing] what
people are used to. They’re just not brave
enough to not have spring rolls, for
example. There are so many aspects of
Cantonese food that are not being explored
in London. That is why we stepped in.”
Wun’s already has a cult following among
cocktail cognoscenti for its focus on baijiu,
the Chinese grain spirit, the sheer range of
its ingredients and the boldness with which
they’re put together (think chrysanthemum
and haw, popcorn shoot and salt peach).
Alex firmly believes the time is right for
baijiu to enjoy the kind of exposure already
enjoyed by sake and shochu in the West.
“I guess it’s still stigmatised as a scary
foreign firewater but the different kinds of
baijiu are very diverse in terms of flavour
palates. Traditionally in China, baijiu would
just be served straight up – we’ve just tried
to evolve that and bring a cocktail culture
to baijiu.”
Wun’s uses no pre-made liqueurs or
pre-existing recipes (“We wouldn’t try to do
a ‘Chinese manhattan’, for example”) and
no more than a handful of Western spirits.
He and the bar team scour Chinatown,
tasting and smelling ingredients, working
out what will pair well and building it from
the ground up. “We go in from scratch,”
Alex says. “You can’t buy a daikon liqueur
at the liquor store. We have to make it.”
Alex and Z bring their experience in design
and brand identity to all their projects.
Wun’s, which evolved out of the tearoom
beneath their first concept, Bun House (a
Cantonese steamed bun joint, now relocated
to Chinatown), is a glamorous reimagining
of a 1960s Hong Kong teahouse with a
visual nod to film director Wong Kar-wai.
It’s “classier” than the average Chinatown
place, says Z, but still affordable.
Round the corner is their hole-in-the-wall
shop Pleasant Lady (it has a second site at
Spitalfields Market), where queues gather
daily for made-to-order jian bing (savoury
crêpes stuffed full with pork, herbs, crispy
wonton skins and peanut sauce) at £6 a time.
They’re scouting further sites for both Bun
House and Pleasant Lady but are growing
cautiously. “We want to keep creating new
EAT
ideas and new projects. We’re not trying to
ride these ones into the ground. We’d rather
open a new one,” says Alex. “Whenever you
try to make one project bigger than it can
be, you lose out on that quality and ruin
what was interesting about it in the first
place.” Z agrees: “There are other projects
that we have in our pocket that we just can’t
understand aren’t here in London – exciting
things we honestly want to share with
people.” tearoom.bar
WUN’S COCKTAILS
Green bamboo and quince
Bamboo fenjiu, pu’er tea liqueur,
fresh quince and mango, fruit
peel bitters, pickled quince
Plum and ‘coke’
Sour plum infused baijiu,
liquorice, sour plum tea, five-spice
syrup, soda top-up, whole sour plum
Salted lime and rice
Kinobi rice gin, white-rice
liqueur, salted lime, green mango
sour, pomelo liqueur, lemonade
September 2019 Omagazine.com 83
DRINK
Drinks diary
Wine drinkers who’d like to take their bottle
knowledge to the next level should check out
Wine Education Week from 9-15 September.
The Wine & Spirit Education Trust is marking
its 50th birthday by putting on an extensive
international programme (from Hong Kong
to Los Angeles) of events to help you learn
more about what’s inside your wine glass.
The week starts with an attempt to break a
Guinness World Record for the largest-ever
recorded sommelier lesson on 9 September,
when wine expert and TV presenter Olly
Smith and sommelier Virgilio Gennaro will
THREE to try
ENGLISH APERITIFS
SACRED ROSEHIP
CUP LIQUEUR
Made with rosehips, rhubarb,
orange and ginger, this has
a restrained bitterness and
earthiness, and sweet
fruitiness. Try mixing with
sweet vermouth and gin for
an English twist on a negroni.
£27.88/75cl; amazon.co.uk
STELLACELLO
POMPELMO
This grapefruit liqueur has a
heady sweet citrus nose and
rounded, subtly tart flavours.
Top up with a crisp sparkling
wine for a spritz-style tipple.
£26.95/500ml; farmdrop.com
KAMM & SONS
BRITISH APERITIF
This botanical spirit has
45 ingredients, including
ginseng, grapefruit, manuka
honey and juniper. Expect
earthy herbal notes, citrussy
bitterness, aniseed and
a long finish. Drink neat
with ice, or lengthen with
soda water. £30.75/70cl;
thewhiskyexchange.com
84 Omagazine.com September 2019
conduct a mass tutored tasting in pairing
food with wine at the Kia Oval in London
(£20, eventbrite.co.uk).
Some 70 affordably priced events are
taking place across the UK – from
Winchester to Manchester. These will include
introductory tasting sessions for wine
asure
newbies, how to decipher labels and wine
lists, tutored and blind tastings, food and
wine pairing workshops, and in-depth
sessions looki
wine regions,
Spain. wineed
Th
Up your drinks game with some standout
English aperitifs, a week of wine education
and a cinch-to-make Cynar negroni
Words HANNAH GUINNESS
Chteoe..r. s Three-ingredient cocktail
These days the premium tonic
water field is a crowded one,
with no shortage of excellent
options on offer, but new
Cornish brand Sea Buck is orange
definitely worth seeking out. Cynar peel
Created by St Ives duo Pablo and Charlie,
the new tonic water sees Cornish spring
water infused with sea buckthorn berries,
which add appealing citrussy, slightly tropical
flavours to the drink. Cinchona bark adds a sweet red
natural golden hue and subtle bitter notes vermouth
– making it perfect for those who prefer a
more gently flavoured tonic water. gin
Other varieties
include a dry version
PHOTOGRAPH: ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES PLUS
(with dry-cider-like CYNAR NEGRONI
undertones), a subtly Combine 25ml gin, 25ml
refreshing cucumber sweet red vermouth and
and mint number, 25ml Cynar in an old fashioned
and rich, gently spicy glass. Add ice and stir for
blackberry and honey 30 seconds or until the glass
(try it with whisky). is really chilled. Garnish with
£1.30/200ml; orange peel before serving.
drinkfinder.co.uk
 DRINK

Kate Hawkings on...

WASHINGTON STATE WINES O’s wine
BOTTLES TO TRY
C
alifornia is the USA’s
expert on the best-known wine

new wave
region, producing
about 85% of the country’s
THIS MONTHÉ
of dynamic output. Less well known is
Washington State, in the
winemakers Pacific Northwest bordering
causing a stir Canada – despite it being
America’s second largest wine
in the Pacific producer, making anything from
Northwest exclusive and expensive gems Wines of Substance CS (£15, Morrisons)
to cheap plonk. Cabernet sauvignon from the legendary Charles Smith, rock’n’roller
The capital Seattle is the largest turned winemaker, this ripples with dark berry, spice and gentle
port on the Pacific Seaboard and a oak muscles. Ace with a steak or the beef chilli fry on p28.
really exciting city, buzzing with high-
tech industries (Amazon and Microsoft
have their HQs here), a vibrant music
culture (the birthplace of Nirvana, Pearl Jam
and Soundgarden) and with a pioneering food
and drink scene (Starbucks was founded here in
1971, kicking off the global coffee craze, and the original Kung Fu Girl Riesling 2017 (£13.99, 31dover.com)
shop still stands on the edge of the famous Pike Place Market). An iconic wine whose fans adore its exotic fragrance and
Wine is very much a part of this scene. Over recent years urban peachy fruit which cry out for anything with a little Asian spice
wineries have sprung up in the industrial outskirts of the city: – try with the tomato, lemongrass and rice soup on p48.
hipster operations making artisan wine in converted warehouses
and selling it to directly to Seattle’s residents.
The grapes for these wines mostly come from the vast Columbia
Valley region, only a couple of hours’ drive eastwards over the
Cascade Mountains but a world away from the cool, damp
climate of coastal Seattle. Here summer temperatures reach into
the 40s and rainfall is a desert-like 15cm or so a year, yet its fertile Hedges Family Estate CMS (£17, robersonwine.com)
soils produce an abundance of fruits and vegetables, as well as Named after its blend (cabernet sauvignon/merlot/syrah)
PHOTOGRAPH: SUSANA PONCEIA/GETTY IMAGES

grapes for wine, all irrigated from the mighty Columbia River. and from one of the most prestigious estates in the
In the 1980s Washington State had only a handful of wineries region, this total treat of a wine would be fantastic
– now there are more than 900, and numbers continue to rise. with the Greek lamb-stuffed courgettes on p20.
Like California, they have more than their fair share of burly wines
heavy on alcohol and oak, a style still popular with Americans but
less so with Europeans. But, like Oregon, there are also wines with
more elegance and freshness, particularly from the newer, younger
producers, and it is these which are finding much appeal this side
of the pond. Wine with old world finesse made with new world
dynamism and energy – what’s not to love? @KateHawkings Eight Thousand Lakes Sauvignon Blanc 2018
(£9.99 or £7.99 in a Mixed 6 deal, Majestic)
A really nice change from New Zealand sauv
blanc – zesty and refreshing by itself or with
the creamy lemon and spinach ravioli on p45.

September 2019 Omagazine.com 85

O
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86 Omagazine.com September 2019

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September 2019 Omagazine.com 87

 Omagazine.com
Inspiring recipes (including how-to videos) and daily updates
FRESH CONTENT EVERY DAY on the latest restaurant openings and hot foodie destinations

Handy recipe search Easy-to-read recipes

Looking for easy lunchbox ideas? Want entertaining Thousands of O recipes, all beautifully presented
tips for vegetarians or quick one-pots? Use our smart and mobile-friendly, with new ideas published every day.
filters to find exactly what you’re looking for. Look out for our seasonal recipe collections.

TRAVEL RESTAURANTS
From foodie corners of the UK to Read our restaurant recommendations
autumnal European breaks, use our and area guides, and discover the
globetrotting ideas to plan your getaways. hottest openings near you.

DRINKS
Check out the results of our pink gin taste
test, make your own kombucha and be the
first to know about the latest bar launches.

Newsletter
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plenty of restaurant openings and foodie travel ideas. Podcasts
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88 Omagazine.com September 2019

 EXPLORE
Enjoy fun, soulful island
Let’s go on...
a journey
vibes in Jamaica – and
a no-fuss approach to
cooking that marries
diverse flavours from
around the world

Cool beans
in Portland

The UK’s secret

foodie hot spots
MAIN PHOTOGRAPH: MATT RUSSELL

Sugar and spice

in Turkey

September 2019 Omagazine.com 89

90 Omagazine.com September 2019

Cook like a local
JAMAICA
This island has married diverse
foods from across the globe to
forge its own culinary identity
Words CRAIG and SHAUN MCANUFF
Photographs MATT RUSSELL
EXPLORE
E
ating out on this Caribbean
island means experiencing a
sense of togetherness, fun and
flavour, and savouring the
generous slice of history that
comes with so many of the
island’s dishes. Take the Jamaican patty, for
instance – a culinary mash-up of the Cornish
pasty, Indian curry spices and indigenous
fiery scotch bonnet peppers. Or the island’s
most famous export, its beloved jerk
chicken, goat and pork, thought to be a mix
of indigenous Taíno cooking methods
(barbecuing meat slowly over the wood of
the island’s allspice trees) and spicing (hot
peppers, allspice berries, thyme and ginger)
bestowed by African slaves.
Ackee, originally from West Africa, forms
the national dish when boiled and sautéed
along with saltfish, onions, scotch bonnet
peppers and tomatoes. Breadfruit, a savoury
fruit brought to the Caribbean from the
South Pacific by Captain Bligh, is used in
lots of side dishes, as is plantain, the starchy
cousin of the banana, which was introduced
to the region from Southeast Asia by
Spanish explorers. The island is also known
for its high-quality ginger, another Southeast
Asian adoption. And for its Jamaica Blue
Mountain coffee, Arabica Typica imported
from Martinique in the 1700s.
Jamaican cooking tends to be fresh and
simple. In addition to the bountiful seas that
surround it, the island’s tropical climate
lends itself to growing a range of produce
and many people grow much of what they
eat in small kitchen gardens and abide by
a policy of thrift – Saturday soup is an
institution, usually made in the morning
then shared with anyone who might visit.
For a food culture that’s primarily known
for its grilled and stewed meat dishes, there
is one exception to the rule: the Rastafari
movement began in Jamaica in the 1930s
and its followers embrace ital (natural,
often organic and vegetarian) foods. »
September 2019 Omagazine.com 91
 of the best
things to eat
CURRY GOAT

The GOAT (aka the ‘Greatest Of All Tastes’

for many Caribbean food lovers) is one of
the most iconic Caribbean dishes, truly soul-
satisfying. Some people like it with rice and
peas but others believe it should only be
served with white rice.

BEEF PATTIES

The Jamaican beef patty is an institution

and not to be missed. Made with a crunchy,
flaky pastry that contains turmeric to give it
Caribbean kick and colour, it’s filled with a rich,
spicy minced beef filling. It’s often eaten stuffed
inside soft coco bread as a hefty sandwich.
ROAST SEAFOOD MIX
Conch, a local delicacy, similar to crab or lobster, is a local shellfish. Roasted,
grilled or boiled, then stewed or baked in foil with a mixture of vegetables,
it’s really tasty. If you want to recreate it in the UK, try using scallops.

PLANTAIN ACKEE & SALTFISH

PANCAKES
Jamaica’s national dish,
Make sure you use it’s usually eaten in the
ripe plantains for these morning but is delicious
American-style pancakes at any time of day. Ackee
– the riper the plantain – which has a texture
the sweeter the pancake similar to scrambled eggs
will be. All sorts of – is available in UK shops
toppings are possible in tins but in Jamaica it’s
but it’s hard to beat picked fresh from the
sticky maple syrup and trees when ripe (if it’s not
fried plantain. ripe it can be poisonous).

92 Omagazine.com September 2019

 EXPLORE

Traditional rum punch

5 MINUTES | SERVES 6 | EASY

white rum 250ml

dark or coconut rum 150ml
strawberry-flavoured syrup or
grenadine 200ml
pineapple juice 250ml
orange juice 250ml
limes 4, juiced (about 100ml)
nutmeg a pinch, freshly grated
Angostura bitters a dash (optional)
orange, lemon and lime slices to serve

• Tip all the ingredients except the fruit

slices into a large pitcher. Stir and add
plenty of crushed ice, finishing with the
fruit slices to serve.

TRUST
Craig and Shaun McAnuff are O
brothers from south London who
share recipe ideas @originalflava_. They
were taught to cook traditional Caribbean
recipes by their beloved nan, who grew up
in Jamaica. Their cookbook, Original Flava: Caribbean
Recipes From Home, is out now (£20, Bloomsbury).

September 2019 Omagazine.com 93

 Graze your way around
this chilled-out American
West Coast city via salted
peanut butter brittle ice
cream, rose petal and
black pepper kombucha,
and daikon, snow pea and
radish flower salad
Words LUCY GILLMORE

C
ult comedy sketch show
Portlandia shamelessly
sends up Portland’s
hippy image – it’s the
place “where young
people go to retire”,
grow things, brew beer
and join communes. This kooky corner of
Oregon can seem almost horizontally laid-
back but that doesn’t mean there’s a lack
of creative drive. You don’t become one
of the culinary capitals of the USA by
sitting around sipping ethically sourced,
single-origin coffee.
This one-time blue-collar town in the Pacific
Northwest has been riding the wave of a
foodie revolution for the past two decades.
There’s now an artisan roaster on every
corner, bean-to-bar chocolate makers and
gourmet doughnut stores, grain-to-glass
craft distillers, a slew of microbreweries,
kombucha taprooms, and acres of farmers’
markets and food cart ‘pods’. It’s also home
to more food festivals than you can shake
a wooden spoon at, from the annual Cider
Summit (cidersummitnw.com) to the
grandaddy of them all, Feast Portland, which
takes place in September (feastportland.com).
Feast isn’t just a festival, it’s a self-
proclaimed movement, an incubator of ideas
with chefs, farmers, winemakers, brewers,
PHOTOGRAPH: JAMIE FRANCIS/TRAVEL PORTLAND

artisan producers and restaurateurs coming

together to celebrate and, this being Portland,
raise money to help end hunger. Portland is
a city with heart-and-soul food in spades.
It’s also begun to attract similarly aligned
brands from further afield as it veers from
hippy to hipster. This autumn, Icelandic
boutique hostel KEX will open its second »

OPPOSITE: PORTLAND IS KNOWN FOR ITS STRIKING STREET MURALS

94 Omagazine.com September 2019

 EXPLORE

This one-time blue-collar town

in the Pacific Northwest has
been riding the wave of
a foodie revolution for the
past two decades
September 2019 Omagazine.com 95
 property in Portland (kexportland.com), while UK hotel
group The Hoxton converted the city’s dilapidated 1906
Grove Hotel into a hip hangout last year (thehoxton.com).
The Hoxton’s interiors are peppered with potted plants,
exposed brickwork, low-slung velvet and leather seating,
and artworks. Rooms feature floor-to-ceiling windows and
eclectically curated, well-thumbed tomes chosen by local
artists and bookworms (the world’s largest indie bookstore,
Powell’s City of Books, is just a few blocks away).
The food has been farmed out to Submarine, the group
behind Portland stalwart Ava Gene’s (avagenes.com) and the
hottest brunch spot in town, Tusk (tuskpdx.com), where chef
Sam Smith mixes up Middle Eastern cuisine with seasonal
produce, his signature hummus, light as gossamer, served
beneath a giant artwork of Keith Richards floating in a pool.
At the Hoxton, the all-day dining at La Neta is Mexican-
themed, while rooftop bar and taqueria, Tope (all verdant
greenery, white tiles and panoramic Portland views), is
street-food inspired. Later, as the sun sinks behind the hills,
I sip a smoky mezcal cocktail, Carrot On My Wayward
Son (Banhez mezcal, carrot, sweet potato, lime, mole
bitters and egg white).
Each morning a “Little Breakfast” (a yogurt and granola
pot, orange juice and piece of fruit) is hung on your door
in case you wake up peckish. But just across the Burnside
96 Omagazine.com September 2019
Bridge, in the Central Eastside, I’ve heard that Cup & Bar,
the city’s first small-batch coffee and chocolate-tasting room
and café, does a mean avocado toast (cupandbar.com). It
lives up to the hype: ripe avocado on lemon-drizzled, ricotta-
smeared sourdough.
Portland is a city of five “quadrants”, divided into northeast,
northwest, southeast, southwest and north. The Central
Eastside is the city’s industrial heartland, its warehouses now
PHOTOGRAPHS: LUCY GILLMORE, JAMIE FRANCIS, TORSTEN KJELLSTRAND, ROB FINCH
reimagined by entrepreneurial producers. Northwest is home
to Nob Hill’s boutiques and clapboard houses, the Dandy
Warhols’ wine-bar-cum-recording-studio, The Old Portland
(theoldportland.com) and a female-owned gin distillery and
cocktail bar, Freeland Spirits (freelandspirits.com).
In the southeast, leafy Division Street promises a
gastronomic graze-athon. It’s home to Ava Gene’s,
legendary Southeast Asian street-food restaurant Pok Pok
(pokpokdivision.com), ice-cream parlour Salt and Straw
(saltandstraw.com), whose spruce tips and huckleberry crisp
flavour has been likened to a walk in a forest, and to Blue
Star Donuts and its forest-fruit-themed favourite, blueberry,
bourbon and basil (bluestardonuts.com). Urban winery
The Southeast Wine Collective is also here, selling
biodynamic, organic wines on tap alongside dishes such
as sugar snap peas with garlic breadcrumbs, strawberries,
sheep’s cheese and edible flowers (sewinecollective.com).
 EXPLORE

I dig deeper into the Central Eastside on a culinary walking silky sweetness with vanilla notes (whisky-making classes
tour with The Big Foody and meet founder Laura Morgan are also offered).
at Steven Smith Teamaker, an industrial building on the side Of Portland’s 70 or so microbreweries (it’s not nicknamed
of the rail tracks (thebigfoody.com). From the outside it’s Beervana for nothing), one of the most experimental is
unassuming but inside there’s a sleek store selling dainty Gigantic Brewing, known for its Fantastic Voyage, a brett CLOCKWISE
FROM FAR LEFT:
teaware plus a tasting counter, teahouse and blending room saison with an earthy, kombucha-style flavour profile, or
ROASTING BEANS
(smithtea.com). Pulling up a stool as a train clatters past, Most Most Premium, a bourbon-barrel-aged Russian
AT COAVA COFFEE;
tasting tutor Nicole guides me through a four-tea flight. imperial stout, with aromas of chocolate, burnt caramel,
LUNCH IS SERVED
Portland Breakfast, a rich, black tea, has notes of malt, vanilla and oak (giganticbrewing.com). AT PORTLAND
leather and spice. White Petal is a delicate white tea blended Wandering through the wide, warehouse-lined streets, FARMERS’
with chamomile petals and osmanthus flowers, with a subtle Laura explains that this area used to be called Produce MARKET;
creaminess and apricot aromas. It also serves teas on tap, a Row because boats and trains would deliver goods here A WHOLESOME
nitro chai with a Guinness-style creamy top, and kombucha. during the late 19th century. At the time, the port of BREAKFAST
Kombucha is king in Portland, the fermented tea sold on tap Portland was bigger than Seattle. Today, the buildings are SPREAD AT TUSK;
in bars and teahouses. daubed with street art, littered with vintage home stores FOOD TRUCK
The three-hour walking tour also takes in hand-harvested and play host to a vibrant night market every three months CAFE DE CREPE;
A RAINBOW TRAY
sea salt at Jacobsen Salt Co (jacobsensalt.com), blind tasting (pdxnm.com). More regular farmers’ markets can be found
OF SOUR BEERS
at Coava Coffee (coavacoffee.com) and the New Deal at five locations around the city on Saturdays, Sundays and
AT CASCADE
Distillery (newdealdistillery.com). Wednesdays (portlandfarmersmarket.org). The Saturday
BREWING; THE
After the craft brewing craze exploded across Portland, edition is the largest, with 170 stalls scattered around the DESERVEDLY
New Deal founder, Tom Burkleaux, had a light-bulb city’s university campus. HYPED AVOCADO
moment, wondering “why can’t we do that with distilling?”. Grazing my way around its stalls, I stop at plant-based, TOAST WITH
So, in 2004, he rented a garage and bought a still. New dairy-free Kate’s Ice Cream, scooping up salted peanut LEMON-DRIZZLED
Deal’s signature grain-to-glass vodka is made with soft white butter brittle made with coconut and cashew milk, and retro RICOTTA AT
winter wheat from Oregon and has a surprisingly smooth, mint chocolate fudge (katesicecream.com) before hunting » CUP & BAR

September 2019 Omagazine.com 97

EXPLORE
out more kombucha. At the Soma stall I sample
marionberry, its fermented fizz tart and tangy
(somakombucha.com).
At Eva’s Herbucha I go further, buying a
kombucha starter kit with a scoby. Eva Sippl is
a German health practitioner and flavours her
kombuchas with medicinal herbs: Rose City’s
botanicals are passionflower and oat straw to
combat anxiety (herbucha.com).
The city’s farm-to-fork chefs also shop here,
of course, including Aaron Adams, the founder
of high-end, plant-based restaurant Farm Spirit
(farmspiritpdx.com). The original dining space, built
around a communal table, is now called Fermenter,
an area where Aaron and chef Scott Winegard plan
to hold classes, ferment and develop recipes
(fermenterpdx.com).
The new restaurant, one street over, is a sleek space
decked out with plant installations. I perch at the
chef’s counter here for a Cascadian tasting menu
showcasing the bounty of Oregon’s forests, farms
and fields. Almost everything is sourced within 100
miles. It can be a challenge, Aaron tells me, but it’s
one they’ve risen to.
The wildly inventive menu displays fantastical
culinary acrobatics. The “butter” served with
98 Omagazine.com September 2019
sourdough? “We played around with the water we’d CLOCKWISE
used to cook chickpeas.” A creamy white hazelnut FROM TOP LEFT:
gazpacho created with tomato and cucumber water, MARIONBERRY
KOMBUCHA AND
dotted with fig leaf oil and shaved hazelnuts, is
MORE AT SOMA;
summer in a bowl. Ceviche of cactus and zucchini
CEVICHE OF
plays with compressed courgette, the burnt
CACTUS AND
cucumber skin and chamomile sauce’s sweetness ZUCCHINI AT
tempered by pickled red onion powder, topped FARM SPIRIT;
with coriander and marigold flowers. PORTLAND’S LEAFY
“Peas, radishes, flowers” – purple and white DIVISION STREET
daikon, kohlrabi, snow peas and radish flowers, IS PACKED WITH
dressed with flower vinegar – is paired with a RESTAURANTS
Spanish-style cider from Columbia River Gorge.
The temperance flight features house-made
hopped lemon balm kefir, and rose petal and
black pepper kombucha. HOW TO DO IT
Kombucha gets the last word. I make a final Direct return flights from
pilgrimage to Townshend’s Teahouse and order a Heathrow to Portland start from
£497 (delta.com). Doubles
glass of Brew Dr yuzu and lovage kombucha with
at The Hoxton start from
clear celery notes (townshendstea.com). As I grab a
PHOTOGRAPHS: LUCY GILLMORE
$115, b&b (thehoxton.com).
seat among the retro green sofas and scuffed wooden For more information visit
tables, Gandalf walks in – all long white hair and travelportland.com or search
floppy cheesecloth cut-offs – and orders a pot of tea. for #Oeatsportland. Follow
Sinking into an armchair, oblivious, he kicks off his Lucy on Twitter and Instagram
shoes, revealing holey socks, and opens a laptop. @lucygillmore.
It could be a scene straight out of Portlandia.
 cook | eat | explore COMING NEXT
MONTH

Game on!
On sale 24 September

Easy (and
delicious)
ways to eat
more game
this autumn

The uK’s
hottest new
openings

Everything
PHOTOGRAPH: ANT DUNCAN. STYLING: TONY HUTCHINSON. FOOD STYLING: LOTTIE COVELL

you need
to know
to be a
pastry pro
trendy bakes galore weekend project:
stunning show-off cakes diy nut milks
September 2019 Omagazine.com 99
EXPLORE
L BLJANA
Keep things local in the Slovenian capital with
slow-cooked suckling pig, nutty gelato and orange wines
Words by ALEX CROSSLEY
1 4
Bistro chic Chef Bine Volcic elegantly
showcases Slovenian produce at bistro
Monstera. Dishes might include grilled
chicken with jerusalem artichokes, corn
cream and crisp kale chips, and star anise
meringue with fresh strawberries and baked
white chocolate crumbs. monsterabistro.si
2 Artisan bakery The minimalist décor
at Pekarna Osem lets its goods shine.
Watch baker Andrej Gerželj prepare
crunchy spelt baguettes intertwined with
Slovenian tolminc cheese, and flaky pastry
ribbons sprinkled with chocolate beads.
pekarnaosem.com
3 Riverside bar Spend a few hours
sipping Slovenian wines at Suklje.
Try fruity sauvignon blanc from the
north-east, the south-west’s woody rebula,
and blue frankish from Suklje’s own
vineyard in the south-east, bursting with
redcurrant aromas. winebar.suklje.com
100 Omagazine.com September 2019
Cool beans Perch outside coffee
temple rno Zrno to enjoy cold-brew
cocktails made with homemade
elderflower syrup. Or head inside and
chat to owner Alexander Niño Ruiz as he
meticulously prepares pour-overs using beans
from his native Colombia. crnozrno.com
5 Gelato to go Enjoy an ice cream from
Vigò while you stroll over Ljubljana’s
famous triple bridge. Indulgent
concoctions include the Vigò (mascarpone,
chocolate, hazelnuts and Nutella), lemon
tiramisu, and rich dark chocolate laced with
aromatic dried orange. vigo-icecream.com
6 Brunch spot Sip homemade lemongrass
iced tea on the riverside terrace at Ek
Bistro while looking out over forest-
blanketed hills. Then head inside to tuck into
eggs all ways, plump pink duck on seasonal
vegetables, and cauliflower, sweet potato and
pine nut toasts. ek-bistro.business.site
7 Slovenian small plates Sit beneath
sycamore trees on TaBar’s patio to
share small plates of beef tartare with
burnt aubergine, white asparagus with wild
garlic, and octopus with ‘halfway’ kimchi
(not fermented but cooked in spices). Don’t
leave without sampling the impressive
selection of orange wines, from mineral
malvasia to raisiny jakot. tabar.si
8 Hop to it With 16 beers on tap
and more than 130 bottles from
around the world to choose from,
contemporary pub Lajbah is a great place
to taste some of Slovenia’s best-loved brews
– Pelicon’s Yes Boss! pale ale, Green Gold
Brewing’s tropical IPA, and smooth,
chocolaty HumanFish Baltic Porter.
lajbah.si
9 Pig out The slow-cooked suckling
pig at rustic Gostilnica 5-6 kg is well
worth a try but so are the Neapolitan-
style pizzas. Punchy toppings include an
indulgent combination of fior di latte,
sausage and porchetta. Or go coastal and try
the seafood pizza, complete with cuttlefish
ink, sea bass and prawns. facebook.com/
gostilnica56kg
10 Stock up On summer Fridays,
head to the city’s Open Kitchen
market in Poga ar Square to
sample the likes of Broken Bones gin
(distilled with linden flowers and rosehip
from Slovenia’s Karst region) and
comforting kaiserschmarrn (shredded
pancakes) topped with apple, mixed berries
or chocolate sauce. odprtakuhna.si
PHOTOGRAPHS: ALEX CROSSLEY, MIHA BRATINA, ODPRTA KUHNA/OPEN KITCHEN
TRUST
O
Alex Crossley is digital editor
at O and travels across
Europe on the hunt for upcoming
foodie destinations. For more
information, see visitljubljana.com or
search for #Oeatsslovenia.
✃
 EXPLORE

For more
recommendations
visit O
Tiny foodie towns that punch
well above their weight

North Berwick
There’s a food revolution underway in this seaside town, just 30 minutes from
Edinburgh by train. The croissants at Bostock Bakery (@bostockbakery) are so good
that NOMA’s René Redzepi sent his pastry chef over from Copenhagen to learn
from Bostock’s Ross Baxter. For seafood, try Lobster Shack (lobstershack.co.uk),
a summertime operation that cooks its catch from the neighbouring Firth of Forth
Lobster Hatchery. A walk out of town brings you to shipping-container-turned-coffee-
shop DRIFT (@drifteatdrinkrelax): order the bacon and egg sandwich with herby aïoli.
Stay just out of town, in Gullane, at The Bonnie Badger, Tom and Michaela Kitchin’s
restaurant with rooms. Doubles from £175, b&b (bonniebadger.com).

Abergavenny
September sees one of the UK’s best food festivals hit this Monmouthshire
town (21-22 September; abergavennyfoodfestival.com). There’s an emphasis
on wild cooking this year – book the Fire & Wild five-course feast on Saturday
night. Beyond the festival, you’ll find a market town packed with gems such
WORDS: DAISY ALLSUP. PHOTOGRAPHS: GETTY/ROY JAMES SHAKESPEARE, PAVEL SZYLOBRYT, STEVEN SMITH

as The Angel Bakery (theangelbakery.com), which does a brisk trade in artisan

baguettes. Pair one with a hamper from The Marches Deli, which includes Welsh
cheeses, crackers, ale and local chutney (marchesdeli.co.uk). The top spot for
lunch is The Kitchen at The Chapel (@theartshopandchapel), where homemade
soda bread is served with dishes such as pumpkin, butter bean and olive oil
soup. Stay in a cottage at Old Lands (there’s a walled garden and micro farm
shop). Weekly rentals start at £395 for five people (old-lands.co.uk).

Clitheroe
This market town is the hub of Lancashire’s Ribble Valley. Find a heaving
cheese counter at Holmes Mill (holmesmill.co.uk), Clitheroe’s huge new food
hall, and regional produce galore at Booths (booths.co.uk). Dip into indie food
shops such as Cowman’s Famous Sausage Shop (cowmans.co.uk), which
sells more than 70 varieties. Go for a walk on Pendle Hill, followed by lunch at
the Assheton Arms in Downham (asshetonarms.com), where the menu changes
every day. Then stay over at Freemasons at Wiswell, just south of town. As well
as a new chef’s table experience, the pub has recently added bedrooms: enjoy
Herdwick lamb with aubergine and miso purée, and a superlative vanilla slice,
then stumble into to bed. Doubles from £160, b&b (freemasonsatwiswell.com).

September 2019 Omagazine.com 101

EXPLORE
Food mileage Catch up on the latest
openings, eats and
reads around the
world with travel editor
Rhiannon Batten
60-SECOND REVIEW:
THE BUXTON, LONDON
WHAT’S THE GENERAL VIBE?
Decidedly buzzier than your typical hotel
bar – a former Brick Lane boozer turned
polished pub-with-rooms, reimagined by
the team behind Commercial Street’s
The Culpeper. The heart of the action
occurs in the ground-floor pub, with its
arched windows, sweeping marble counter
and abundant pot plants.
WHAT’S GOOD TO EAT & DRINK?
Food is affordably priced, with meat (high-
welfare native breeds) butchered in-house,
and fish sourced from day boats on the south
coast. Expect simple but well-executed British
and European classics such as langoustines
with garlic butter, chilled pea soup with broad
beans and dill oil, and homemade tagliatelle
with courgettes and ricotta. Save space for
well-made rhubarb and custard tarts or warm
doughnuts filled with homemade jam.
DON’T MISS
If you find the bar downstairs too busy, take
your drink up to the roof terrace. It’s lined with
herb beds and has panoramic London views.
Doubles £100, b&b (thebuxton.co.uk).
102 Omagazine.com September 2019
entic, affo
Auth
rdable
✈
od
fo
adventur
es
Ride
Read
REVIEW WORDS: HANNAH GUINNESS. PHOTOGRAPHS: VEERLE EVENS, JACQUI MELVILLE, RICHARD JAMES TAYLOR
Belmond’s latest culinary
journey is curated by Irish chef
If you have an apple tree in your garden and aren’t sure
what to do with the autumn glut of fruit, James Rich’s
Clodagh McKenna. The two-
night Taste of Ireland kicks
new book, Apple, is just the job. After a reminder of the off on 28 September on luxury
fruit’s significance on the global stage and in Somerset sleeper train Belmond Grand
(where Rich grew up in a family of cider-makers), the Hibernian. Clodagh will serve
focus shifts to recipes. Among classic creations (pork menus inspired by destinations
and cider casserole, apple pie) are modern dishes the train passes, including Cork
including apple, coconut and and Galway, and excursions
ginger curry, chicken with range from foraging and gin
cider and miso, and tasting at Ballyvolane House
rose de pomme tart to Galway International Oyster
(£20, Hardie Grant). Festival. It’s an exclusive
experience, and priced as
such, with all-inclusive tickets
costing €3,300 per person
(belmond.com). If that’s
beyond your budget, get
a flavour of the event at
home via Clodagh’s latest
cookbook, Clodagh’s
Suppers (£20, Kyle Books).
Download
That little pop-up bar in Taormina, ‘secret’
coffee spot in Williamsburg or chilli crab joint
in Singapore? If you’re always being asked
for travel tips but struggle to remember the
details, help is at hand from Wowanders,
a smart travel diary app that logs hotels,
restaurants and sights you visit. Developed
by two female Finnish travellers, and recently
launched in the UK, the app helps you build
a record of your trip: you just confirm the
places and photos you want. The result?
A journal of memories, and a little black book
for those you choose to share your posts with.
Download via the App Store or Google Play.
 EXPLORE

Instatravel: TurkeyÕs Aegean Coast

The world’s larder through a lens #olivetravels
Follow us on
instagram

Sweet, syrupy #künefe Herb-infused cocktails Start the day with a Turkish
at #Değirmenfarm restaurant with a view #marvyvibes breakfast @ClubMarvy

Caffeine fix at #DönerciÖmerUsta Explore #Izmir’s bazaar Pre-dinner olives in the

café in #Izmir for #lokum and spices sun #marvymemories
PHOTOGRAPHS: ALEX CROSSLEY

Sorting vine leaves the traditional Fried sardines are a popular Grapes ripening in the
way at #Değirmenfarm street food in #Izmir #visitizmir Aegean sun @turkey_home

How to do it... Doubles at Club Marvy start from £126, all inclusive (clubmarvy.com). Packages including flights to Izmir’s Adnan
Menderes airport, transfers and accommodation are also available (thomascook.com). For more information see Omagazine.com, search for
#Oeatsturkey or visit hometurkey.com.

September 2019 Omagazine.com 103

 Pork
THE LOWDOWN

O’s deputy food editor,

Adam Bush, explains the different
cuts and how to use them
Words ADAM BUSH
Photographs MIKE ENGLISH

ork is a versatile, economical meat that can

P be used in a huge variety of ways – from ham,

bacon and sausages to pulled pork, chops
and BBQ ribs, to name but a few. Understanding
which cuts suit which cooking methods will help you
make an informed decision about what to buy.

STYLING: MORAG FARQUHAR. FOOD STYLING: ADAM BUSH

104 Omagazine.com September 2019

 EXPERT

1 TENDERLOIN This back muscle does
little work and is very low in connective
tissue. For this reason, it is very lean so is
best when quickly pan-fried or roasted.
2 LOIN ROAST OR CHOPS A large eye of
meat that is surrounded by layered fat and
skin, that can also be cut on the bone – it
can come as a whole roasting joint, cut into
chops or just the eye as medallions. This
requires careful cooking, as you need to
render and crisp the fat, while ensuring the
eye stays tender and juicy.
3 SPARE RIBS Hugging the belly, these
are the longer, chunkier ribs that have a little
less meat. High in connective tissue and fat,
these need to be slow-cooked to break them
down and make them very tender, and
perfect when finished on a BBQ to crisp up.
4 BABY BACK RIBS From the top part of
the ribs, these are high in fat and connective
tissue but have more meat than spare ribs,
and are slightly more tender and don’t
require as long to cook.
5 PORK BELLY The fattiest cut of pork,
with many thin layered muscles interspersed
with fat. It needs a blast of heat to get the
crackling started, then long slow cooking
if it’s a large piece, as it has a lot of fat to
render and connective tissue to break down,
but will create the most tender meat (see
p40). Cured and sliced thin, it becomes
streaky bacon, or pancetta in Italy.
9 SHOULDER It’s made up of many
different muscles and has lots of fat and
connective tissue, so a low and slow
roast or braise is best here, and is most
classically used for pulled pork, pork mince
and sausages.
10 CHEEK/JOWL Arguably the hardest-
working muscle on the animal. It is high in
connective tissue but low in fat, so great in
a braise – such as the goulash recipe on
p106. It is also cured in Italy and known
as guanciale. British traditionalists might be
familiar with bath chaps where the cheek,
sometimes with the tongue, is brined, boiled
and rolled in breadcrumbs.
13
9
12
10
11
11 TROTTER This is the foot of the pig – it
has many small bones and lots of gelatin-rich
cartilage and connective tissue but very little
meat. Often cooked very slowly and then
deboned, or boned beforehand (very labour
intensive), stuffed and roasted.
12 HEAD Once braised, the meat can then
be picked and set in a terrine with some of
the braising liquid for brawn.
13 EAR Not really meat but just a big bit of
cartilage. Thinly sliced and deep fried it
becomes the crispest crackling.
1
2
6&7
4
3
5 8
11

6 LEG A whole leg can be cured to make

a ham, or cut into roasting joints such as
the top round or gammon, or cut into steaks
for escalopes. It’s made up of hard-working
muscles, so cuts are best roasted slowly
or gently braised.

7 CHUMP CHOPS Cut from the rump,

these have a thick layer of fat around the
outside but are made up of more muscles
and have more internal fat than loin chops.
Great pan-fried, grilled or roasted.

8 HOCK This is the lower shank of the leg.

It is another hard-working muscle that is best
simmered in soups and stews to tenderise
and give amazing stock, or slow-roasted to
render and crisp its high ratio of fat and skin.

September 2019 Omagazine.com 105

 Pig cheek goulash
3 HOURS 30 MINUTES | SERVES 4 | EASY
Ask for pig cheeks at the butcher – you may
need to give them advance notice.

olive oil 2 tbsp

pig cheeks 4 large (about 600g),
well seasoned
mini cooking chorizos 8, halved
onion 1, finely sliced
red peppers 4, thinly sliced
garlic 4 cloves, finely chopped
sweet smoked paprika 1 tbsp
cayenne pepper ¼ tsp
white wine 175ml
tinned cherry tomatoes 400g
flat-leaf parsley ½ a small bunch, chopped
pappardelle to serve
soured cream to serve

• Heat the oven to 160C/fan 140C/gas 3.

Heat the oil in a casserole and fry the cheeks
over a medium-high heat, in batches, for
3-4 minutes on each side until caramelised,
then remove to a plate. Add the chorizo to
the casserole and cook for 2 minutes until
the oil has turned bright red and the chorizo
is crisp. Scoop out onto a plate.
• Add the onions and peppers with lots of
seasoning, and cook for 5-10 minutes or
until beginning to char and soften, then turn
the heat down and add the garlic, paprika
and cayenne, and cook for a few minutes.
Pour in the white wine and bring to a simmer,
then add the tomatoes and 250ml of water,
return the cheeks and chorizo, and bring
back to a simmer, put on a lid and put in the
oven for 1 hour 30 minutes.
• Remove the lid, stir well and return to the
oven for another hour until the pork is very
soft and the sauce has reduced. Use forks
to shred the meat into the sauce.
• Season and stir through the parsley and
serve with pappardelle and soured cream.

PER SERVING 626 KCALS | FAT 33.4G

SATURATES 11G | CARBS 15.3G | SUGARS 13.5G
FIBRE 6.9G | PROTEIN 54.6G | SALT 3G

106 Omagazine.com September 2019

 EXPERT

which breeds?
Most supermarket pork that you buy
is likely to be middle white, large
white and large black, which have
have been specifically bred for their
fairly low ratio of fat to meat and the
speed at which the animal grows.
There are many traditional breeds
Red velvet cake
that supermarkets and butchers are 1 HOUR + COOLING | SERVES 8
stocking, such as Gloucester Old EASY
Spot, Berkshire and Tamworth,
which are prized for their higher fat
content and slow, pasture-based
outdoor rearing, which makes for self-raising flour 175g
a tastier product. cocoa powder 3 tbsp
bicarbonate of soda 1 tsp
caster sugar 150g
eggs 2
sunflower oil (or other flavourless oil) 150ml
buttermilk 150ml
natural red food colouring 2 tbsp
FROSTING
butter 100g, softened
icing sugar 250g
soft cheese 300g

• Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4

ibÉrico
This meat, increasingly popping up on trendy
menus, comes from the black Ibérian pig of
Portugal and Spain, famed for feeding on
the local acorns, adding a nutty depth to
the meat and fat. It is most commonly seen
it in its cured form as ibérico ham but also
as cuts such as ‘pluma’, which is from the
bottom end of the loin, or ‘secreto’ which
is a thin muscle from the belly. It’s usually
served very pink and, in some cases, rare.
and line two 18cm sandwich tins with baking
paper. Stir the dry ingredients together in a
large bowl. Beat the eggs and add to the oil
and buttermilk, then stir in the food colouring.
Stir the wet ingredients into the dry and then
beat them together with an electric whisk
until a smooth batter forms.
• Divide the mixture between the tins and
bake for 25-30 minutes or until risen and a
skewer poked into the centres of the cakes
comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.
• To make the frosting, beat the butter and
icing sugar together until smooth, then beat
in the soft cheese. Put a layer of frosting
between the cake layers and then use the
rest to frost the cake.

PER SERVING 684 KCALS | FAT 41.2G

SATURATES 16G | CARBS 69.2G | SUGARS 51.8G
SERVING PORK MEDIUM (PINK) has become more common in restaurants FIBRE 1.8G | PROTEIN 8.1G | SALT 1.1G
in recent years due to the higher welfare standards of pigs as well as better
refrigeration, which have resulted in a dramatic decrease in the number of cases
of trichinosis and hepatitis E. However, when cooking at home, government
guidelines recommend to cook the pork until it has reached 70 degrees and
stayed at that temperature for two minutes.

September 2019 Omagazine.com 107

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 cook | eat | explore
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Join the O team and our
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112 Omagazine.com September 2019

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RECIPE INDEX
ack
• Chicke

This month’s
erel & grape

highlights
rice
ed

ala
fri d•
Gado gado
VEGAN V VEGETARIAN LC LOW CALORIE* GF GLUTEN-FREE** ✱ FREEZABLE DRINKS

STARTERS, SNACKS, SIDES AND DRINKS 48 Stroganoff steak & sweet potato wedges BREAKFAST, BRUNCH, BAKING AND PUDDINGS
29 Brinjal pickle GF 41 Ultimate roast pork belly 38 Banana bread cheesecake
75 Chargrilled tiger prawns with black 46 Warm chorizo, avocado and feta salad LC 21 Blackberry and yogurt cake
rice and roast chilli salsa GF 36 Calvados and apple granité GF ✱

84 Cynar negroni Fish & seafood 36 Croûte savoyarde LC

63 Homemade paneer V 28 Fish fofos 60 PBJ blondies ✱
54 Kefir, banana, almond and frozen 28 Hirwa kolambi kalwan LC GF ✱ 107 Red velvet cake
berry smoothie 21 Mackerel with pickled grape salad LC GF 37 Teurgoule GF

76 Radish salad with chicory and 20 ’Nduja mussels LC 54 Vanilla yogurt cheesecake pots with
anchovy dressing GF 76 Roast cod with slow-cooked English flapjack crumble and raspberries LC
64 Tomato salsa GF peas and shoots LC GF
93 Traditional rum punch
Vegetables
MAINS 61 Gado gado fried rice
Birds 45 Garlic-mushroom-and-brie-
37 Chicken and vegetable couscous stuffed pancakes V LC
50 Chicken, jalapeño and black 20 Gazpacho with cheesy
bean stew
29 Kombdi masala
LC ✱

GF ✱
pesto croutons
56 Kimchi-baked tofu
V LC
LC
Quick-fix
55 Miso and chilli chicken noodle soup LC 45 One-pot creamy lemon and
spinach ravioli V LC
breaded chicken
Meat 21 Roast broccoli wedges with kecap p42-43
28 Beef chilli fry LC GF manis and peanuts LC ● Buffalo chicken buns
56 Crispy spud salad with sauerkraut, 58 Super-seedy salad with ● Chunky chicken salad
ham hock and peas LC GF tahini dressing V LC with ranch dressing
20 Greek lamb-stuffed courgettes LC GF 62 Thai-style peanut noodle salad with ● Crispy chicken rice bowls
36 Macaronade sétoise ✱ herbs and watermelon ● Crunchy chicken pesto melts
106 Pig cheek goulash ✱ 48 Tomato, lemongrass and
29 Pork balchao LC GF ✱ rice soup LC GF ✱
47 Shanghai noodles LC 37 Tomato tarte tatin V LC

* LOW-CAL = UNDER 550 CALORIES, SUITABLE FOR THE 5:2 DIET. FOR MORE HEALTHY IDEAS HEAD TO P53. ** RECIPES ARE GLUTEN-FREE ACCORDING TO INDUSTRY STANDARDS

September 2019 Omagazine.com 113

 LAST BITE

Re lert! E
N

STYLING: TONY HUTCHINSON. FOOD STYLING: LOTTIE COVELL

red velvet cake

p107

114 Omagazine.com September 2019

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