Plate Lickers #2

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Friday 13^th saw the latest date of our Plate Lickers supper club which we were very lucky to host at St Paul’s Church in Cambridge. The evening was our take on a Middle Eastern theme.

We were very lucky to be able to source our products from local suppliers. Our star of the night, the Dingley Dell pork belly (recipe coming soon) was bought from Northrops on Mill Road who were very kind to score the meat for us and gave us some great advice on how to get the best crackling. We also sourced our vegetables & delicious peaches from The Cambridge Fruit Company. Neil arrived bright and early on Friday morning and was surprisingly chirpy for someone that had woken up at 11pm to head to the market. I can't miss out the lovely lady on the Cambridge market where I bought the flowers. They were all grown in her garden and were absolutely stunning, I think she's only there on Thursdays but be sure to visit her. I also have to say a huge thank you to John at St Paul's for allowing us to host our evening there.

 

We had so much fun setting up the venue for the evening, as you can see, we were very lucky to be able to use the actual church to serve the meal in. The menu for the evening consisted of-

Pomegranate & Vodka Cocktails

Homemade hummus & aubergine dip

Green gazpacho soup

Roasted Pork Belly or Courgette & Feta Fritters (v) served with a gooseberry, elderflower & ginger relish (recipe coming on Jo's blog soon) with a cous cous salad & a hazelnut, green bean & orange salad

Mint Tea & Orange Blossom Water Sorbet

Peaches roasted in a cinnamon syrup stuffed with nuts & served with an almond & polenta cake

We have already had some incredibly kind reviews from-

Aoife, 

Local Secrets, 

Ireena

Nora. 

There is also a write up coming up in the August issue of Cambridge Edition magazine so keep your eyes peeled for that.

We are now in the process of planing the next event so if you are interested in coming please sign up to our mailing list to find out first about our next date.

Copenhagen Food

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We had such a great time on our long weekend to Copenhagen, and as always I took too many photos. We ate very well on our visit but unfortunately this time around our budget couldn't quite stretch to Noma! 

The highlights for me were Torvehallerne which are 2 indoor food markets full of bakeries, restaurants & shops. We went straight here after stepping off the plane. I'm not the biggest fan of cupcakes but I fell in love with the danish pastry offerings from Agnes Cupcakes and spent a while trying to get my head around how they made them, I still don't quite know so if anyone can shed some light please do.

Of course we couldn't go to Denmark without indulging in their amazing bakeries and especially the pastries. Snegle, which translates to snail (a cinnamon swirl to you and me) is probably the most famous and delicious but we did get to sample many other types.

As well as bakeries there are many micro breweries dotted around Copenhagen and I'm glad we got to sample some local beer whilst at Torvehallerne.

We got to indulge in some very tasty brunches whilst away. My favourite was from Cafe Lyst which consisted of cured meats, scrambled eggs, cheese, rye bread, yogurt, granola & honey and fruit. This seemed to be a pretty standard combination in most of the places we went to although some were with bacon and others with salmon.

We also made it to the Coffee Collective which is on the same street at Cafe Lyst. These guys have their own roaster and serve the best coffee in town according to some people. Lots of customers get their breakfast from the bakery on the other side of the road before sitting down outside for a coffee. We thoroughly enjoyed coffee, if we were staying longer I'd definitely go there every morning.

On our last day we borrowed some bikes and got a tour around the city from our friend. We stopped for a late breakfast at Cafe Hoeg's where I indulged in smoked salmon and poached eggs. Very tasty food and quite cheap for Copenhagen prices with breakfast being around £6.

On a separate note, the photos from the last Plate Lickers supper club are coming very soon.

Courgette & Mint Soup

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This soup makes a fantastic quick, healthy and tasty lunch or dinner and is so easy to make too. The mint and lime bring a lovely freshness whilst the courgette and feta bring the creaminess. Its definitely worth making a double, triple or even quadruple batch and freezing it for a rainy day. Its all done in 1 pan so the washing up is minimal and the only special kit you need is a stick blender which you can get for cheap in most supermarkets. This is the perfect summery soup, but if you're in England I recommend googling photos of sunshine and clear blue skies as I think we've all forgotten what those look like!

You will need-

• 1tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 1/2 red chilli, finely chopped
• 500g courgette
• Salt & Pepper
• 300ml water
• 2 wedges of lime
• Small handful of fresh mint, roughly chopped
• Feta cheese

Put a large saucepan over a medium heat and add the oil. After a few minutes add the garlic and chilli and cook for a minute. Now add the courgette and simmer for 20 minutes or till they are really soft. Add the water, half of the mint & season well. Simmer for another 10 minutes then remove from the heat and leave to stand for a minute or 2. 

Carefully blitz the soup till smooth and adjust the seasoning if needed before adding the lime to taste. Serve in bowls topped with the remaining mint and some crumbled feta cheese.

Enjoy x

Barcelona- Food

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Whenever we go anywhere on holiday the first thing we do is research restaurants we want to try out. This time around we were really lucky as we have a bunch of friends that live in Barcelona so we ended up getting recommendations from people we trust.

We had a great time at the La Boqueria indoor market taking in the amazing sights and scents. Because of the heat we decided against eating in one of the lovely tapas bars there but we are hopefully going back in September so I hope we made it back to one then.

Other than that, one night we enjoyed a fantastic BBQ on our friend's roof which was a real treat. I love to feel like a local when visiting new places and getting to do things tourists can't. Plus, from the rooftop we got to see the most amazing sunsets.

Our 3 restaurants ended up being these, all 3 are incredibly affordable and do fantastic 'menu del dia'.

Elisabets

Just off La Rambla in Raval

A real locals bar with very reasonably priced tapas & fantastic baguettes. Hardly any tourists go in here and they don't speak much English so polish up on your Spanish or prepare to pick randomly from the menu. Our favourite was the the cheese, roasted pepper & serrano ham baguette, the patatas bolonesa and the choricitos. Don't expect service with a smile, but I think thats part of its charm.

La Rosa Negra

Via Laietana 46

I can't sing the praises of the place enough. Fantastic authentic Mexican food. One of the best guacamole I've eaten and a great value menu del dia which includes a drink and coconut ice for dessert which was delicious, just on the right side of tasting like coconut body cream. Their frozen margaritas made me like tequilla, a drink which I previously hated, and at €3.50 they are great value (I recommend the strawberry).

Juicy Jones

Cardenal Casanas 7, off La Rambla

A vegan restaurant which has an all day menu del dia where for €8.50 you get 3 courses. I really recommend the hummus and baba ghanoush and their freshly made pear, mango & mint juice was delicious.

1,2,3,4 & 5. La Boqueria market 6. The egg option from the menu del dia at La Rosa Negra 7. Chicken Mole with chocolate, sesame seeds and nuts 8. The famous guacamole 9. Margarita number one 10. Rooftop BBQ 11. Potato tortilla 12. & 13. Churros 14. Hummus & Baba Ghanoush 15. Thali plate at Juicy Jones 16. Vegetable tart & bean salad at Juicy Jones

In the Shadow of the Sun by Harry Freeland

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A great friend of mine (and the photographer from our wedding) Harry Freeland has been working tremendously hard for over 6 years making the most incredible documentary 'In the Shadow of the Sun'. On Monday night it got it's first TV debut on BBC4 and was incredibly received. The BBC adaptation 'Albino Witch Craft Murders' is a shortened version of the original film which will be aired in Europe and America soon. As you can see from the film stills above, the filmography is absolutely stunning. Harry is an exceptionally talented guy.

'In the Shadow of the Sun' follows the lives of 2 people, Josephat & Veda living in Tanzania. Where brutal murders of people with albinism is on the up spurred on by witchdoctors. Josephat has dedicated his life to educating others to help stop the discrimination as well as encouraging communities to out the murderers. Veda is a 15 year old boy who is incredibly smart trying hard to get into school so that he can make something of his life. Both are a huge inspiration and I challenge you to watch this without shedding a tear.

You can watch the documentary back on BBC iPlayer here

Please like their page and help spread the word

https://www.facebook.com/intheshadowofthesun

All images copyright Harry Freeland.

Wild Strawberry Frangipane Tarts

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I am the biggest fan of almonds, so its no surprise that frangipane tarts are one of my favourite desserts. I have been planning on making some at home for a long time and since I had promised the mr a sweet treat this week....he's been complaining that I don't make enough cakes at home since I got my new job. So at the first given opportunity I got to work. Please be aware, these tarts are seriously addictive so 1 will certainly not be enough!

We both absolutely love Bonne Maman's wild strawberry jam so it was no contest when deciding which flavour to make. I cheated slightly by using shop bought shortcrust pastry as I had limited time but you could very easily make your own (recipe here)

Makes 8 tarts

You will need-

• 1 pack of shortcrust pastry or this one
• 100g softened unsalted butter
• 85g caster sugar
• 1 egg
• 100g ground almonds
• 1/4 tsp almond extract
• 1/2 jar Bonne Maman Strawberry & Wild Strawberry Jam

Preheat your oven to 190C then roll out your pastry. Next stamp out circles roughly 2cm bigger than your muffin tin holes. Press them in gently and then prick all over with a fork -To stop the pastry rising too much I placed a second muffin tin on top. But you could risk it and press them back down if they bubble up. Part bake the cases for around 10 minutes, you want them to be lightly golden and cooked enough to turn out of the tray. Place the cases on a wire rack to cool whilst you make your filling.

For the filling, begin by beating together the butter and sugar till it goes fluffy. Then beat in the egg followed by the ground almonds & almond extract. Mix with a spatula till it just comes together.

To fill the tart cases begin with a teaspoon of  jam in the base of each tart then cover with half a tablespoon or so of frangipane. Top that with some more jam before covering with the remaining frangipane. This will give a lovely marbling to your tarts.

Bake the tarts for between 15 and 20 minutes till they are golden and slightly firm when you the tops are pressed. Leave them to cool on a wire rack before eating. Like I've mentioned many times before, eating hot jam is not fun! These would be fantastic eaten with some vanilla ice cream but I love them all on their own. It would be fun experimenting with bite-sized tarts but I can imagine that ending up with me eating the whole batch!

Enjoy x

Barcelona- Sant Joan

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As I took so many photos in Barcelona I thought I would split them between a couple of posts. It was my first time visiting and I absolutely fell in love. We were very lucky to end up being there for Sant Joan, the longest day of the year. In Spain, and other parts of the world Sant Joan is bigger than New Years Eve. People gather on the streets, in squares and on the beach and celebrate the shortest night by setting off fireworks, lighting fires and partying till the sun comes up. We started our evening with some fantastic Mexican food then joined our friends on their rooftop to watch the sun go down and the fireworks begin. Then, around 12 o'clock we set off for the beach where we spend the rest of the night til the sun began to rise and we had to leave the beach before the mass clean up began. Its definitely one of those nights I'm not going to forget in a hurry.

Thanks to Lucie for letting me use some of her photos.