Secret Italy, crab and asparagus

May 1 2023

Le Marche, Italy, much less crowded than Tuscany

Travel

UK

I’m on holiday next week walking on Dartmoor with a large group of friends, planned eighteen months ago and handily missing the Coronation. I’ve planned meals out meticulously, Emilia at Ashburton on the way, the Seahorse in Dartmouth, my husband’s all time favourite restaurant, one lunchtime for a sneaky day off going up hills, as well as the Lost Kitchen. I’m hoping to go to the Three Horseshoes in Batcombe on the way back and serendipitously, there’s a joyous article about Margot Henderson opening the pub, in the Times.

I’m also tempted by an arty weekend in Eastbourne in the Guardian where I might get over my anathema to the town to visit the Towner Gallery and the Ravilious room.

How to spend a day in the Baltic Triangle, Liverpool’s ultra-cool creative district in the Independent and Northumberland in the Telegraph.

They’ve been to Dumfries and Galloway in the Sunday Times, Dunfermline in the Telegraph as well as how to plan a rail journey in Scotland.

Europe

There’s a focus on Italian mini-breaks in the Times where the ideas are worth copying but maybe not the expensive hotels. I have never been to Sicily and I like the idea of  Hotel Gutkowski near Siracusa, to name but one. There’s the same theme in the Guardian with 20 of the best ‘secret’ places to stay in Italy, and it’s worth having a look through for the cheaper ones. A guide to greener action breaks on the Gargano peninsula led me to look up where that was andd it turns out to be the spur of Puglia’s heel where the beach resorts of Vieste and Peschici are.  Readers of the Guardian also give tips on undiscovered parts of Italy.

Going to  the Alps by train in the Independent, how to spend a sunny short break in Malta as well as a romantic weekend in Budapest both in the Telegraph 

Restaurants 

At the gourmet end of the market, the Standard went to Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons and in the FT, Tim Hayward went to Lympstone Manor and said ‘there was outrageous views and bijou food. Lots of chefs do tweezer food, but Gidleigh Park stalwart Michael Caines does it better’. However the à la carte menu is £175 a head with other menus more.

In the Guardian, Grace Dent travelled to Khai Khai in Newcastle, ‘for its smoke-enhanced Indian small plates menu. It was friendly and absolutely jam-packed and serves reliably good food without seeming to break a sweat.’

In the Observer, Jay Rayner ventured into Grace Dent territory, eating at Alexandros Greek Restaurant, in Carlisle. He raves about it and deemed it was ‘somewhere that would see you right’ 

In the Standard, Jimi Famurewa went to Maene in Spitalfields, London E1 but found the menu limiting and thought it still had to find itself.

In the Telegraph, William Sitwell thought Nessa in London W1 ‘had fine food but (a) total charisma bypass’ although the celeriac carbonara was remarkable good.’ I liked the idea of an almond ricotta hummus but on googling it, I discovered that it doesn’t have any ricotta in it at all! 

In the Times, Giles Coren loved the Halfway at Kineton, Guiting Power where he wentcouldn’t get into the Fox Inn at Broadwell. The Fox was already on my list as I love the Bell at Langford and the Lamb Inn at Shipton-under -Wychwood run by the same owners. I now want to eat the Halfway’s mushroom and celeriac pie which sounds epic

Recipes

It’s still a quicheless and Coronation cakeless zone in the Cook’s Edit but instead there’s much asparagus, much crab and much plant-based food.

New season asparagus with tonnato sauce in the Telegraph by Eleanor Steafel and as a link to the crab, Mark Hix’s crab and asparagus salad and eggs Benedict with crab, asparagus and béarnaise recipe by Diana Henry both in the Telegraph.

The crabbiness continues with crab, pea and dill risotto from Thomasina Miers in the Guardian, and crab and miso tortilla with trout roe which is a sloppy salty open omelette by Ravinder Bhogal in the FT.

Lovely spring vegetarian recipes from Chantelle Nicholson with miso roast leeks with lentils and green sauce, roast carrots with carrot top pesto and almonds and burnt pea, chilli and tarragon spaghetti all in the Guardian. Ottolenghi is grilling with recipes for grilled rhubarb with burrata and pink peppercorn oil, grilled carrots and tofu with harissa and grilled broccolini and asparagus with green pepper salsa and butter beans. I made courgette and olive oil cakes with lime frosting by Ravneet Gill in the Guardian but I bought garlic and herb instead of plain cream cheese for the topping so there’s no picture of those.

Diana Henry’s other buttery recipes include butter basted steak and chicken and corn cakes with chipotle and scorched spring onion butter and Mark Hix’s other recipes were herb-baked pollock with leek and mustard sauce recipe and Basque cheesecake in the Telegraph.

Nigel Slater has baked polenta with spinach and gorgonzola and grilled mackerel with lemon in the Observer.

Books 

Love is a pink cake by Claire Ptak 

owner of Violet Bakery in London, with an interview here in the Independent and recipes for Parmesan and pine nut scones, vegan chocolate chip cookies and a stunning coconut pudding cake which would be the perfect celebration cake as long as your guests like coconut.

Sweet enough by Alison Roman

An interview with the author by Honey and Co in the FT

To end, a terrible photo of the delicious Parmesan and pine nut scones. They taste good even if my food styling skills leave something to be desired and I’m taking the rest on a Bank Holiday walk on the South Downs today.