Jamaican Crunch

One man is talking to another.
'Where is your wife?', says the first.
'She's gone to the West Indies'.
'Jamaica?'
'No! She went of her own accord.'

Stick to the cooking, I hear you groan. This 'joke' is a favourite of my mother's. It is entirely appropriate therefore that she should have passed on a recipe with 'Jamaica' in the title. My mother is a constant source of inspiration in many areas of my life. No more so than in the kitchen. Aren't the best recipes those that remind you of growing up?

As with many of the things I cook, this is a dream to prepare. It can be made in 10 minutes flat (plus chilling time) yet looks and tastes far more labour intensive! Me, a cheat? Absolutely! Do give this a go - it is hard to describe how good it is. It has something in common with a Key Lime Pie (though lemony, you could probably make it with lime instead). I think it needs no augmentation, but I have been known to serve it with a few raspberries. I have also seen some pour cream over the top (though this seems a little unnecessary to me).

Ingredients (serves 4 - 6)

1 packet of ginger nuts

2 oz butter

1/2 pint double cream

1 standard sized tin of condensed milk (see notes)

Rind and juice of 4 medium lemons

1. Crush ginger nuts - either place in freezer bag and bash with a rolling pin, or blitz in a food processor.

2. Melt butter and mix with crushed ginger nuts. Mould into a 7 or 8 inch flan base.

3. Beat cream until slightly thickened. Add condensed milk.

4. Grate lemon rind and add to mixture with lemon juice. Mix together well and pour into base.

5. Cover with cling film and set in the fridge for at least 4 hours.

Notes - the original recipe states 'one small tin of condensed milk', quarter of a pint of cream and two lemons. I have not seen the small tins of condensed milk for years so use what seems to be the standard (or large) size. I have altered the recipe accordingly but find that the quantities of the base mixture remain the same.

Please check under your car for penguins...

Since returning from South Africa on Tuesday, I have been putting off this post. In some ways I have been dying to share all the best bits of the incredible trip and in other ways I feel like I just can't do it justice. How do I condense 479 photos, 12 marvellous days and 11 gastronomical nights into just one post? Impossible.


Having put it off for several days I have now decided to take a shot at it. Clearly I don't want to bore you with all the gory details so here goes an edited version of some of the culinary highlights of my trip.


Although I might just have to slip in the odd mention of the penguins on Boulders Beach...




And possibly the very naughty car that we hired for the duration of our trip...

Our trip started in Cape Town. Camps Bay to be precise, where we stayed with a friend who moved there around a year ago. THE place to go eat in Camps Bay is apparently 'Blues' but insider knowledge told us that whilst Blues has a great view, the food is better at neighbouring Paranga. This bar-cum-restaurant has a cool Capetonian vibe, overlooks the glorious beach and serves great cocktails and delicious food in time to the funky beats of their own music compilations. Being just five minutes from our pied-a-terre it soon became a favourite haunt. The menu was varied yet typical of Cape Town restaurants. Sushi is big in South Africa. And I mean really big. Many of the restaurants we visited had their own sushi bar. Meat is also big. And seriously good. I ate some of the best steaks I'd ever eaten. And I like to think I've eaten a fair few steaks in my time. Shellfish from Mozambique is plentiful but expensive. It is also HUGE. Prawns the size of small lobsters huge. Fish always features in the form of tuna and Kingclip (meaty white fish a little flakier than swordfish).

Apart from shellfish, for those earning pounds sterling, eating out is incredibly cheap. We didn't have a single poor meal during our 12 days - everything was delicious and beautifully presented. We would have paid triple in London. This divine starter of 'goats cheese cake' which was far more delicious than it sounds (think mild, creamy goats cheese coated in the crispiest of pastries sitting upon asparagus with a sweet chilli sauce) cost around £2.

We were sadly unable to get reservations in the two Cape Town restaurants that we particularly wanted to visit: Ginja and Madame Zingarra. No doubt we missed out on a treat but we were not disappointed elsewhere. Worth a mention for both its vast wine list and appalling service is Belthazar at the V&A Waterfront. This place has a cracking view of Table Mountain from its terrace and is the world's largest wine bar. It boasts a staggering 250 different wines served BY THE GLASS. Yes - that many wines which can be purchased by the glass. It is all do with nitrogen. Just go with me on that one. Anyway, this filled me with glee, especially when our selections arrived in nice big Riedel glasses with a little tag on the stem to remind us (and possibly our 'service ambassadors') which we had ordered. Genius.

Unfortunately I struggle to recommend this place further due to the dreadful service we experienced on our second visit. First time round it was ok. And certainly very cheery. Second time less good. It all started well with a delicious board of scrummy bread and little sausage nibbles to amuse us whilst we perused the vast and rather hectic menus. Once we had ordered it all went rather downhill. Things arrived at the wrong time. Or not at all. Then the wrong things arrived. We were disappointed. Especially as the food itself was pretty good - steak is their speciality. One friend braved the classic SA combination of steak with a chocolate chilli sauce. It was... interesting. Though I still think the sauce might have been better on ice-cream!

After Cape Town we headed (in the Cobra) up to Franshhoek and then Stellenbosch. We stayed in a heavenly spot on a wine estate called La Petite Ferme. Our little cottage had its own plunge pool right on the edge of the vineyards. It really was idyllic. A major plus was that the 'hotel's' restaurant is one of the best in town. It only serves lunch but it is well worth a detour. As you sit overlooking the sauvignon blanc vineyard you can sip on the very wine made from the vines below you and feast on some great South Africa cuisine, much of it with a Cape Malay twist. We shared two starters - an Asian fishcake on vegetable ribbons with a sesame, ginger and dhiania dressing (see below) and a tasty homemade rotie filled with Indonesian spiced fillet of beef.

Next up we both chose the butter chicken curry with sambals and naan. It was a fabulous curry - very flavoursome with melt-in-the-mouth chicken and almonds in the sauce.

Presentation was beautiful, even down to the butter...

Sadly, neither of us could manage pudding though they did sound extremely tempting. Especially the gingerbread and butter croissant pudding with ginger ice cream. We were stuffed and extremely grateful that our sun-loungers were a mere minute stroll down the garden.

En route to Stellenbosch we stopped at Tokara to meet winemaker Miles Mossop (just a touch of work whilst holidaying, but enjoyable none-the-less). An unexpected upshot of this visit was lunch at the breathtaking restaurant practically suspended over the winery's immaculate vineyards. The food did not disappoint.

Mushrooms with bacon, pinenuts, sundried tomato and butternut cream might not sound particularly exciting but I think it might have been one of the best things I ate all holiday. And I ate some pretty amazing meals so this is high praise indeed. It was the sort of dish that was so good, my travelling (and dining) partner had to physically hold me back from licking the plate.

Next up was roasted quail with caramelised apples. This was billed as a starter. Heaven knows what would have happened if I'd ordered a main-course size version! The quail was rich, the apples nice a tart. An expertly executed combination.

I promised not to go on for too long, so I'll just share one more destination with you. Birkenhead House, Hermanus. It is hard to know what to say about this place. As I type I'm humming 'Oh, Heaven is a place on Earth'... The hotel is pure indulgence. Total luxury. No detail is overlooked from the Champagne on arrival, the flower-strewn bed, the wonderful whales frolicking in the Bay as you sip on sundowners and the delicious food prepared for breakfast, lunch and dinner all included in the room-rate. I've never fancied the idea of 'all-inclusive' before but this hotel takes it to a whole new level. And it is true, once there I had no desire to leave. Ever. Well, maybe almost never! The setting is just stunning, right on the cliff top with fabulous views of the whales and a glorious long beach just begging for you to take a long windswept walk.

No pictures of the whales I am afraid. I took hundreds. But I think it is unlikely that I will be winning Wildlife Photographer of the Year. Has anyone tried to photograph a whale ever? It is NOT easy. Just as you hit the button to snap, the whales disappear back below water. Lots of expanses of sea with just a black dot in the middle are the result of hours spent trying to capture the gentle giants of the ocean. Guess you'll just have to go see them for yourselves!

So, that is a whistle stop tour of my trip. And definitely whistle stop. I've said nothing about the 'interesting' meat selections. I tried Kudu, Wildebeast, Crocodile, Springbok and Ostrich. I've said nothing about the flavourful soups we enjoyed at Birkenhead House (though hope to say more soon as I've asked for the recipes) and nothing about the raw chicken incident which had us laughing the whole way home from a certain Thai restaurant.

But hopefully I've given a flavour of my experience of South Africa. I can't wait to go back. Time to start saving up...

Wendy's Sprouting Broccoli Pasta

Do you remember your mother telling you that sugar got very hot when heated and that you should never ever touch it...? Me too. So why did I just lick the spoon that was sitting in the pan of freshly boiled caramel sauce? Because I am greedy. That's why. Very greedy. Clearly, I deserve to be punished and have a seriously burnt tongue to prove it.

Well, I'm back in the northern hemisphere and boy, do I know it. I flew in from South Africa yesterday morning after a truly marvellous holiday and have been struggling to stay warm since! What happened in the two weeks I was away? The cold has set in, it is dark when I go to work and when I come home and all the shops are in full Christmas mode. I feel like I've been away for more like a month!

I had so much interesting and delicious food whilst I was away. In fact I wonder that I managed to do anything at all - looking back at all the meals I devoured, you'd think that I spend my entire holiday crawling from one restaurant to the next (not so far from the truth, actually!). There is a lot to report. But once home I couldn't wait to get back behind the stove. Having said that I was fairly exhausted after the long flight and didn't wish to expend too much energy. I had a strange urge to bake a cake (recipe to follow) and fancied something packed with flavour yet reasonably healthy for supper. I spotted some purple sprouting broccoli in the supermarket and remembered a recipe posted by Wendy of A Wee Bit of Cooking a while back. It is based on a Nigel Slater recipe and is a fairly classic combination of anchovies, broccoli and black olives.

I'm not going to repeat the recipe here as Wendy's version is nigh on perfect. Essentially you melt the anchovies in some oil along with some onion and garlic. Throw in some olives and fresh herbs, cook the broccoli with pasta and Bob's your uncle... Or perhaps Giorgio...

The best thing about this recipe is that whilst it is on the table in around 15 minutes, it has just enough chopping and stirring in it to make you feel that you did actually have a part in creating the masterpiece. So simple yet so wonderfully tasty. The flavours marry together so well and are punchy and satisfying. Like Wendy, I advise to go easy on seasoning - there is plenty of salt from the anchovies and Parmesan. One amendment I did make was a handful of toasted pine nuts - I really liked the added crunch.

Thanks, Wendy for the great recipe. This is sure to become a staple!

Leaving on a jet plane...

I am so excited that I feel I may just pop at any given moment. You see, tomorrow evening I shall, in the immortal words of John Denver (!), be 'leaving on a jet plane' for a serious holiday. It has been some time since I last took a long-haul holiday, hence the total over-excitement.

Destination: South Africa.

Two long weekends in Cape Town, four days up in Franschhoek/Stellenbosch, one day trying to spot whales down in Hermanus and lots of wonderful food and wine. It should be a fairly fabulous trip. Hard to say which bits I am most looking forward to, but I think staying here should be fairly great. Total, sheer luxurious indulgence. Though I sense we maybe the only non-honeymooners!

Of course, this does mean time away from the blog. Do check back though on the 23rd October when I shall be back in the kitchen and posting about my (hopefully wonderful) South African food experiences. I hope the next fortnight is full of delicious things for you all!

Useful Hot Chocolate Pudding

How can a chocolate pudding be useful? Well it is not so much that the pudding is useful (though its comforting quality could surely soothe a broken heart), but the recipe itself is a useful one to have tucked away for emergencies. Not that today was an emergency as such, but I didn't have much time to shop and had friends round for Sunday lunch. I was after a speedy, warming pudding that took minutes to make but delivered a touch of wow factor for the taste buds. Think a lovely moist sponge basking in a deliciously fudgey chocolate sauce.

This is the pudding. Its usefulness lies in the fact that you probably have all the ingredients in your cupboard already. In fact, if you are craving something sweet to end the weekend, you could go and whip it up right away. Really. The preparation will take ten minutes maximum. I promise.

Let me tell you what else I love about this pudding...

1. It was the first pudding my mother taught me to make.
2. It reminds me of my childhood.
3. There is nothing pretty about it. A reminder that beauty is only skin deep. Beautiful desserts can sometimes promise much but deliver little in terms of taste.
4. It has a 'magic' quality to it. You may have come across these puddings before - you make the sauce on top and it miraculously sinks to the bottom on baking.
5. It smells divine.
6. It feels satisfyingly naughty and decadent.
7. Did I mention that it takes only 10 minutes preparation to make this pud?

Here is my mother's version of this recipe. I don't know where it came from, but there are versions everywhere. I also make a lemon version and Nigella has a sticky toffee version that I am keen to try.

Ingredients (serves 4)

3 1/2 oz self-raising flour
2 level tablespoons cocoa powder
2 level tablespoons drinking chocolate
1 1/2 oz margarine
3 oz caster sugar
5 tablespoons milk
vanilla essence(to taste - around 1 tsp)

For the sauce -
2 oz soft brown sugar
2 level tablespoons cocoa
2 level tablespoons drinking chocolate
1/2 pint boiling water

1. Pre-heat oven to 180C. Sift flour, cocoa and drinking chocolate into a bowl.

2. Cut margarine into small pieces and mix into the dry mixture with the sugar.

3. Add milk and vanilla essence (to taste) and mix well to form a fairly thick batter. Spread the batter into a greased 1 1/2 pint ovenproof dish.

4. Mix the dry sauce ingredients together and sprinkle over the top of the pudding batter.It looks a bit odd, but fear not!

5. Pour over the boiling water. It will now look even stranger but have faith!Bake in oven for 35 minutes - the liquid will sink to the bottom to create a lovely saucy layer. Serve with double cream, crème fraîche or vanilla ice cream.

A serious blow-out at Chez Bruce

I begin with an apology. Two restaurant reviews in a row. Usually I would try to intersperse with a recipe but I am just too excited about last night to wait. I promise to hit the stove later today!

But then why am I apologising? It would be wrong of me not to share the joy that is Chez Bruce. I imagine that any London-based food bloggers will have already sampled the aforementioned joy. It is hardly a secret. This one Michelin starred restaurant in unpretentious Wandsworth has been voted favourite London restaurant by all the important guides at some point or another. Think Hardens, Zagat, Square Meal and so on. It is so easy to see why. Let me enlighten you...

First, I think I should set the scene. I have a great friend who, like me, enjoys life's finer pleasures. For our birthdays we have a cunning arrangement involving a great night out in each others' company. I take her to the theatre. She takes me out for dinner afterwards. So, shortly after 5pm yesterday we took our seats in the Aldwych theatre to begin what turned out to be one of my all-time best ever evenings. Now when I say theatre, I have to confess I am not talking of high-brow theatre (which I do love too), I am talking about feel-good, musical entertainment. The sort that makes you want to leap out of you seat and dance in the ailes. This year a serious treat was in store.

We both knew every word. We both knew every move. We had the 'time of our lives'. Yes. You guessed it...

It was sheer brilliance. So difficult to re-create such a well-known film on the stage but it translated well. The casting was - with a couple of exceptions - spot on. My only criticism would be that they 'added' some scenes not in the film. Big mistake in my view. Just no point. Anyway, this is a food blog, not a theatre blog. I will try now to get a move on and tell you about the restaurant...

We arrived early for our 9.30pm slot but our table was already ready. (A quick aside on booking worth mentioning - you should book exactly one month in advance if you want to be sure of getting a particular date.) We were greeted with a warm welcome. Coats were taken and we were shown to our strangely small table, tucked into a corner in the back of the restaurant. There was a nice buzz coming from the young-ish crowd. I surveyed the room. The pleasing symphony of neutral tones, carefully-chosen art and strategically-placed mirrors housed a few intimate couples, several groups of thirty-something friends, family birthdays. I sensed everyone was really rather pleased to be there. It was definitely special occasion territory but not 'best behaviour' territory, if you know what I mean. Everyone seemed... so relaxed. And so content.

Once settled we were handed the wine list and offered an aperitif. My hostess kindly ordered two glasses of Champagne. I handed over two bottles of wine. 'What?'. 'Isn't that the wrong way round?', I hear you ask. 'Doesn't the sommelier usually bring you the wine?'. Well readers, this is where the joy begins. Despite having one of the best and most interesting wine lists I've come across (not-too-long, plenty of interesting and unusual choices, reasonable mark-ups), Chez Bruce does corkage. Yes. Really. A Michelin-starred restaurant that lets you bring your own wine. The fee of £15 per bottle is remarkably reasonable when you think about it. I took Kumeu River Chardonnay, 2004 from New Zealand and Lemelson Stermer Vineyard Pinot Noir, 2003 from Oregon priced at £14.95 and £22 respectively. Add £15 to each of those and you are still paying considerably less than you would be if they were featured on your average restaurant list. Plus it is great to be able to bring special bottles with you to special meals.

What was so great though was that the sommellière was equally attentive to our own wines as if we had bought from the list. We were in no way made to feel guilty about not ordering from their selection. We discussed temperature and decanting/not decanting - she clearly wanted us to get the best from our own wines.

Bread and excellent butter followed. Rather good sourdough bread actually. And then we had the hard part. Making a decision. It all sounded divine. We decided to share two starters. We begun with Buffalo Mozzarella with vichyssoise dressing, dressed mushrooms and truffle oil. As it was placed in front of us, our nostrils were filled with an aroma of decadence. There was no doubt about it. They hadn't skimped on the truffle oil! It was an intriguing combination. Neither of us would have ever thought to pair the gorgeously textured Mozzarella with such strong flavours. I think I enjoyed it more than my companion who thought the truffle and mushrooms overpowered the cheese. The Chardonnay worked brilliantly with this - it is drinking beautifully with mineral edge reminiscent of fine white Burgundy. The smokiness that comes with careful use of French oak matched surprisingly well with the truffley notes. Our second starter was more classic. Foie Gras parfait with salad of green beans, iberico ham, fresh figs and walnuts. All served with a god wedge of brioche. An assembly job done to perfection. The flavours worked together perfectly like Simon and Garfunkel orFrench and Saunders, and the presentation (foie gras in a pretty little pot) spot on. No photos I'm afraid as it was very dark and I don't like using flash in restaurants as it can be distracting for other diners. You'll see that I got a little braver later when it started to empty...

My main course carried a supplement charge but I was urged by my generous hostess to go 'all out'. So, grouse it was. Roast grouse with fondant potato, blackberries, savoy cabbage and bread sauce. Classic pairings here. I'm not sure that I'd ever eaten grouse before but I am a big fan of game and I'd heard that this year was particularly good for grouse (though not sure whether this means in terms of numbers or in terms of flavour). This was not a dish for the faint hearted. It was seriously gamey and would be too much for some, I think. But I loved it and thought it worked superbly well with the blackberries - the sharpness cutting expertly through the rich meat. The savoy cabbage was divine and the bread sauce I could have eaten straight from the pot on its own. The smell made me think instantly of Christmas. It had been beautifully infused with bay, cloves and onion. The pinot (which on tasting we did decant as it was quite young and a little 'tight' at first) was a great match. My friend's halibut was similarly delicious, if less good with the pinot (which she enjoyed afterwards).

Next stop puddings. For a remarkably reasonable £37.50, you are entitled to three courses (with supplements for certain items such as the grouse and the cheese). You can pay an extra £10 for four courses to include a cheese course. We didn't think we could manage both. My friend is a major cheese fanatic and when she caught sight of the cheese board I thought I might have to physically restrain her from diving straight in before the starters even arrived. Here I did get a picture. Feast on this...

A basket of assorted biscuits arrived with enough biscuits for around 10 people. Slightly baffling. The charming cheese man then helped her select. I think she had about 15 different cheeses, but I could be imagining it. We had indulged on a fair bit of wine by this stage! Quince jelly and a fig and almond slice were delicious accompaniments. I am a pudding person so I had a divine fondant au chocolat with fleur de lait ice cream and honeycomb. It was sheer heaven. The honeycomb a revelation. Rather cruelly, I gobbled it all up leaving not a morsel for my dining companion who had so kindly shared some of her cheese.
The wonderful sommellière suggested an interesting cherry-scented sweet Spanish Mataro to accompany my pud, chocolate being fiendishly hard to match. It worked well and it was good to try something new. It was great to see a young English female in charge of all things vinous on the night. The wine trade is too full of men (I should know, I work in it). It was a refreshing and very welcome change. In fact, the whole experience at Chez Bruce was refreshing. Seriously good food. Faultless service. But completely unpretentious and very relaxed.

Coffee, tea, chocolate truffles and mini palmiers later, we finally left. We weren't quite last. But very nearly.

An epic post for an epic meal. I'm sorry if you feel I've gone on a little long. But hopefully you've got the message. If you haven't been to Chez Bruce. Go.

To sum it up in more concise manner - absolutely brilliant! Thank you, Laura!

Chez Bruce, 2 Bellevue Road, Wandsworth

www.chezbruce.co.uk

The Harrow, Compton

Work took me to Guildford this week. To Loseley Park to be precise. The Surrey countryside was looking at its autumnal best - so close to the bustle of London and yet so far in terms of surroundings. Lunch called and I remembered a rather good little pub nearby that we'd enjoyed so much the previous year that we had lunch AND supper there during our travels.

My colleagues looked slightly dismayed as I rumbled our large van through the country lanes insisting 'it'll just be round the next corner'! Fortunately, eventually it did appear around a corner in the rather pretty, very English village of Compton. I was initially somewhat concerned by the freshly painted sign hanging outside. It claimed that The Harrow was a 'bar and restaurant'. I had remembered it as a very traditional pub that did really good food. Definitely not a 'bar' or even a 'restaurant'. I was in the countryside, I wanted a country pub.

Upon entering the pub/bar/restaurant it became clear that the pub had undergone something of a makeover. I later learnt that it had been taken over my new owners just two weeks prior to our visit. New paint. New tables and chairs. New menus. On initial inspection, The Harrow seemed to be having something of an identity crisis - whilst the bar area and large screen TV (please, no!) screamed pub, the swanky menu, paint-job and oversized tables did not. I was nervous...

The clientele were a mixed bag. Chiefly a sprinkling of retirees enjoying a mid-week treat and smart-suited business folk from Guildford entertaining clients. A slight lack of 'locals' I would hazard.

On return from the ladies (think nice-without -being-too-upmarket soap and handcream plus a complimentary tray of women's 'essentials'), my colleague said that he needed to 'explain' the menu to me. I am always wary of a menu that requires explanation. It turns out that half of the menu is not available at lunchtime - why not print a separate lunchtime menu, I wondered? Perhaps they will in due course.

Anyway, my spirits lifted when I read the menu. All the 'pub lunch' boxes ticked - a pie, bangers and mash, variations on steak, fish and chips, substantial sandwiches. Some of the dishes were favourites from a bygone era and I couldn't decide whether I thought this was inspired or ridiculous. Examples include spam fritters and corned beef hash. Out of nostalgia, I almost ordered the fish finger sandwich with iceberg lettuce and mayo. But I thought better of it. As for spam fritters, I am in the school of thought that there is never a good reason to eat spam. Not ever. Not even when it is the only thing left in the cupboard. My parents though would no doubt revel in this wartime relic.

As I toyed between fish and chips and a rather delicious-sounding chicken burger I saw a plate of 'ham, egg and chips' go by. It looked divine in an ironic, retro kind-of-way. Beautiful-looking ham, stunning chips and bright-as-a-buttercup egg yolks just screaming to be dipped into with one of those glorious chips.

I went for the Whitby cod fish and chips with homemade crème fraîche tartare sauce and crushed peas. It arrived fairly promptly and it was close to perfection. In fact, it would have been perfection had the peas not been forgotten and then arrived un-crushed. The beer batter was crisp and light, the cod beautifully fresh and the tartare sauce perfectly balanced.

As for the chips - divine. I have yet to understand how so many establishments can get chips so terribly wrong. These were just right - crisp on the outside and fabulously fluffy on the inside. And perfectly salted.
But I haven't yet told you about the condiments. When asking for the ketchup (yes, I'm afraid I simply must) I was pointed to the adjoining table of sauces. There were five different styles of mustard. English, French, Wholegrain, Dijon and American. Now that really is impressive for a pub.

We were working so didn't sample any of the more interesting beverages on offer. I took a look at the winelist though and it was good. Not especially exciting but a good, sensibly-priced selection of decent wines with a good choice of four of each colour by the glass. Bravo!

Service was efficient. But the staff and management were clearly feeling the strain of a busy lunch. Clearly word has spread quickly about the excellent fodder and almost all tables were occupied. Staff were certainly kept on their toes but this didn't detract from an overall excellent lunch. I would definitely return. In fact I'd advise taking a detour to come here. Not for the 'country pub experience' which The Harrow does not quite deliver, but quite simply for the excellent, hearty food.

The Harrow, Compton, Near Guildford

01483 810379