September 26
places to go, food to eat
Travel
UK
Not so many worthwhile articles this week but the Times has a leaf peeping guide, the Guardian says where to stay in the prettiest moorland villages and the FT tells us where to eat in Margate.
EUROPE
Visit Antwerp and Visit Denmark have both been busy. The Guardian started a cycle ride to Iceland going through Denmark and the Independent went island hopping the slow way through Kystlandet. Both the Times and the Telegraph have been to Antwerp and staying in northern Europe, the Guardian went to Lübeck.
And we’re into more sustainable travel with the Guardian giving five fantastic no-fly adventures in Europe. The Guardian gives a guide to Arcachon and ten of the best French seaside places easily accessible by ferry were in the Observer last week. I didn’t see them as I was on holiday myself in France. The Times gives tips on how to supersize your city break in Paris and Barcelona. The Daily Mail is in Aix-en-Provence inspired by the Cézanne exhibition starting soon at Tate Modern.
The Times says Matosinhos is Northern Portugal’s secret coastal spot and Pula in Croatia is in the Daily Mail.
Finally as in last week’s newsletter, more discussion of the top Greek islands here in the Times. Out of the ones mentioned, my daughters loved both Symi and Hydra and say that I would like them too, and my brother always goes to Paxos.
Restaurants
In the Daily Mail, Tom Parker-Bowles has a round up article which is understandable as he must have had quite a week now his mother is the Queen Consort. It’s on good value menus mentioning the lunch menu at Hereford Road, Bayswater, Stick and Bowl in Ken High St, London and various cafes and fish and chip shops around the UK.
In the Guardian, Grace Dent went to the Tamil Prince in Islington, London and agreed with previous reviewers that ‘it’s just plain great’.
In the Observer, Jay Rayner went to Lebnani, a Lebanese restaurant in Reigate, Surrey which he thought was ‘small but perfectly formed’. The chef is Jad Youssef who started and then sold the Yalla Yalla Group.
In the Standard, Jimi Faruewa visited Forza Wine in Camberwell, London which he liked.
In the Sunday Times, Marina O’Loughlin went to Water Lane in Kent which she loved.
In the Telegraph, William Sitwell went to Diglis House Hotel in Worcester which he says is ‘ A cascade of culinary catastrophe’. In other words, it sounds like one to avoid.
In the Times, Giles Coren went to the Frogmill which was supposed to be the best pub in the UK but wasn’t. He prefers other pubs in the Cotswolds, such asthe Woolpack in Slad, the Bell at Langford, (my absolute favourite) and the the Bell at Sapperton.
RECIPES
The star recipes were in the Observer, Claudia Roden’s best recipes from a 50 year career. I made the roast chicken with couscous, raisin and almond stuffing (pictured above) and I am going to try her red pepper and tomato salad and pan-cooked fish with chermoula this week. There’s also the recipe for her orange and almond cake, much imitated by other people. In fact, I hardly feel as if I should mention other recipes in the papers and just cook these all week.
But also in the Observer, there were Nigel Slater’s recipes for pork chops, blackberries and juniper salt, and for blackberry and apple seed bars. And with my cold roast chicken, I will make Joe Woodhouse’s Turkish barbecue salad, or Rachel Roddy’s sweet-and-sour grilled vegetables both in the Guardian.
The Mail on Sunday had a useful recipe for baked spinach and pea risotto made with frozen veg and this will be so useful as these are the ones I always have in the freezer. Should I go to the expense of turning the oven on or work out how to do it on the hob? This is a question that I think I will be asking more this winter with the rise in energy prices.
Benjamina Ebuehi had a beautiful looking pistachio cake with a chocolate ganache in the Guardian, the pistachios and ground almonds making a moist cake.
Honey and Co did a meal in the FT for guests with different dietary requirements but their courgette soup, butternut and lentil bake and date and chocolate pots seemed very much of the same texture to me, which shows how difficult this is.
In the FT, there was also an article where they asked top chefs from London restaurants to give a recipe costing under £10 for a dinner party, not a midweek meal. The four recipes including pasta with tomato sauce, spinach gnudi, seemed to show that some of the chefs hadn’t got the memo. Claudia Roden’s chicken which I made with a free range chicken came in under £10 and is a lot more special.
Ed Smith gave ‘spicy’ recipes in the Times, with a potato, mozzarella and ’nduja borek, a merguez and harissa rice-stuffed vegetables, and cod balls in chipotle adobo with black bean and lime rice.
Books
Art of Pastry by Julie Jones.
The Times had a masterclass with Julie Jones which gives practical useful hints on how to make pastry successfully and sweet and savoury shortcrust pastry recipes.
Two’s Company: Simple by Orlando Murrin
A book of easy recipes for two including rack of lamb with new potatoes and mint aïoli, cheesy cauliflower and vodka penne, also in the Times.
Ballymaloe Desserts; Iconic Recipes and Stories from Ireland by JR Ryall
I’ve always wanted to go to Ballymaloe House in County Cork, Ireland and there are recipes here for a lemon saucing pudding, rich coffee cake and a toffee-topped upside-down pear cake
Bliss on Toast by Prue Leith
The recipes in the Mail on Sunday sound a tad obvious to me. Welsh rarebit with crisp bacon on granary with the gem that she likes the bacon in long strips, but scrunched-up bacon bits are fine too and roast lamb with gremolata on ciabatta saying if you’ve had roast lamb for Sunday lunch, this is the perfect Sunday night supper.