All Hail the Crumble King

This post is well overdue for a man who has demonstrated a love for crumble that is unmatched by any other. Brian was a customer of mine when I worked at an unfortunate restaurant in Los Angeles. Everyone knows I have a bit of a short fuse, however one of the staff took the risk, approached me & said "someone outside was asking if you are going to make crumble today". I barged out in my usual graceful way to have a word and saw this man with a sincere smile on his face...
I may be a bit difficult, but I know when someone is a foodie and  genuine. It took a few years to sift through the duds, Brian is the real deal. 
So I told him I was happy to make him the crumble, the only catch was he would have to wait up to an hour. To my surprise, he was chuffed! He grabbed a seat, took out a book and waited...
As chefs we love to see people happy, enjoying what we produce. So after the way he had reacted I couldn't let Brian down. Despite the wait he had a great big smile on his face when I took the crumble over for him. From that day on whenever I made a batch I would make an individual one for him and keep it ready in case we ran out...
So this recipe is for you Brian


Ingredients


Crumble Topping
100 g cold butter cut into cubes
100 g sugar (demerara sugar is my favorite for this)
150 g flour
50 g ground almonds


Fruit compote
5 Granny Smith apples peeled & cubed
3 stalks of rhubarb chopped into 1 inch pieces
1 small punnet of blackberries & raspberries
1 vanilla pod split in 1/2
150-180g of sugar (again demerara is my pick for this)
Note: You may need to adjust the sugar based on acidity of the fruit
1/2 cup water


Method:


First make your crumble topping. Place all the components in a robot coupe (better known as a food processor) and pulse until you have the consistency of sand granuals which are a bit damp. Tip over the contents onto a lined baking sheet and lightly squeeze the mixture in your hands to the mixture together then break the apart again onto the tray so you have a variation of lumpy bits and finer crumble. Place in the fridge for 30 min before baking at 180 in the UK and 350 in the US. Remove from oven when you see it turn a lovely light golden colour.


Now on with the juicy fruit compote. Place all the ingredients above into a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil always stirring. As soon as you see the first bubble identifying you are at a boil reduce the heat to a low flame and keep an eye on the mixture. Keep stirring as the mixture will catch.


When the fruit has collapsed and completely stewed you are almost ready to serve. Make sure the mixture is not too claggy, it needs to have some moisture to it. So please taste at this point and adjust the sweetness if needed to your taste.


Place the crumble into a warmed baking dishes or individual ramekins. Top with the warm yummy crumble & serve with a lovely vanilla ice cream.


I rework this recipe with seasonal fruit such as cherries, plums, etc. It's all to your taste, have a play with the recipe and enjoy! 

Huevos Rancheros at the Hampshire

The Hampshire Hog Pub & Pantry

On my way home from the gym last week I noticed the Ruby Grand(which was a mediocre bar/pub on King Street) had been repainted on the outside. I thought to myself in my usual cynical tone, "you can put lipstick on a pig, but its still a pig". 

Upon closer inspection I noticed boxes piled high inside the pub.  Moving in for a nose around, I was pleasantly surprised by a bright eclectic new decor & a very extensive menu taped to the window. Lovely bar snacks, breakfast/ brunch, seasonal dinner menu & a deli offering as well. Whilst glancing at the menu I was distracted, as a full family size table was being laid out with all the menu items for the staff. This is when you know you have hit the jackpot; a restaurant that involves everyone in the team & encourages them to engage with the offering and experience. I head home and am immediately on Google looking for some clues and stumble across the Facebook page.. Score! They have a soft opening... after a few pleasant email exchanges with the lovely Jessy from the front of house team we are booked. 

Although I don't work in this industry anymore, it is still very much in my blood & the connection will never fully be out of my system. I am so excited.

We turned up with a table of five. Upon our arrival everyone was pleasant and extremely proud of the pub, you could feel that in their tone. The front of house team treated us as though we were family and friends arriving at a house warming party. This type of care & attention is perfectly fitted with this neighborhood, much like the nearby Lola and Simon.

We grab our drinks from the gorgeous new bar (wanted to have the special house ale but it was not available, hey ho). We are seated ready to inspect the menu, my eyes head straight for the polenta with poached egg and parmesan. The others at the table ordered the roasted squash and the ginger one had the raw salmon. The polenta was excellent, it had a soft, velvety mouthfeel with a hint of truffle. The poached egg added an extra level of richness and broke up the texture. The parmesan rounded it off nicely with a hit of saltiness. All I heard were mmm's and ahhh's from the others at the table but no one let me taste any of their starters.

Mains were steaks all round and one order of lamb. They were all melt in mouth, perfectly cooked & well seasoned. 

From my experience the dishes that are 'simple' are the easiest ones to get horribly wrong as you have nothing to hide behind. The quality of your ingredients, the skill & care of execution are transparent therefore there is no room for error.

Puds made everyone smile especially the treacle tart which was served with a scoop of Dulce de Leche ice cream. This ice cream was incredible, one of my friends, Ryan, said it tasted like a Werther's Original. So in true Katchi form we ordered 4 scoops for the table.

Bursting at the seams we still managed an espresso (how civilised), again great quality coffee. 

I highly recommend The Hampshire Hog for anyone who appreciates quality ingredients & enjoys being in an atmosphere where the staff really care about engaging the customers. If your looking for a place to just go to consume & 'fill a hole' it is definitely not for you.

Make sure you turn up hungry, thirsty and ready to feel like part of the family.

Salmon with Creme Fraiche & Herb Salad

Ingredients to serve 4

Fish

4 200g Salmon fillet pieces

Sumac

Salad

Handful each of mint, Italian parsley & dill

Sauce

250g creme fraiche

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

1/2 clove of garlic

Salt & Pepper throughout

Optional 

300g new potatoes

2 tbsp olive oil

Simply season salmon with salt & sumac and placed under the grill for 7-8 minutes. While your Salmon is in the oven get your herb salad ready, pick whole leaves of Italian parsley, mint and lovely springs of dill, set aside. Now for the creme fraiche, place 250g of creme fraiche, lemon juice and add in (to taste) salt & pepper, next mash 1/2 a clove of garlic. Stir all the ingredients and set aside.

Now, lets talk about this beautiful salmon... many of my lovely family and friends insist on blasting it in the oven or the pan until there is absolutely no moisture left. The poor fish is transformed from a deep pink to a dried out and dull colour and leaves a sticky/claggy mouthfeel.  Please try to keep your fish a bit pink and translucent in the centre, it lends to a lovely texture & holds the true flavour of the fish.

Plating 

Now thats enough of my rant - back to the dish. Place your (non overcooked) fish on the plate, take your spruced up creme fraiche and place nice big table spoons over the center, then take your lovely herb salad and with a very light hand loosely drop the herbs over the fish. Let the herbs do their thing & take their natural place on the plate, I am not a big fan of being militant with the poor little things.

And thats it, you are ready to eat. To make it more of a evening dish, serve with some simply boiled new potatoes, lightly crush them with a bit of olive oil and serve on the side.

Enjoy & please feel free to post any questions.

Sticky Toffee Pudding

Evening all, here is my sticky toffee pudding. Some tend to bake in the caramel, but I keep it separate & always make double the recipe

I leave you with a treat... Goodnight

Pavlova with elderflower marinated strawberries

Courgette Fritters

It's been unusually hot today in London. Wanted to have something light & fresh, so I went back to an old but reliable recipe... Give it a try, if you have any problems let me know

The recipe 

Courgette Fritter Batter

2 courgettes grated

250g feta cheese

Handful of fresh Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped roughly

Handful of fresh mint, chopped roughly

2 spring onions, finely sliced

110g self raising flour

Salt & pepper

2 eggs, beaten

Olive oil for frying

Lemon to squeeze over the top when finished

Dipping Sauce

200g Crème Fraiche

Juice of ½ lemon

Small handful of dill & mint, chopped

Salt & Pepper to taste

Method

To make the dipping sauce, mix all of the ingredients together to achieve a smooth runny dressing & set aside for serving.

For the fritters coarsely grate the courgettes & place in a tea towel & ring out to get rid of any excess water.

Reserve a small amount of the herbs for platting. Put all the rest of chopped herbs in a bowl & crumble in the feta. Stir in eggs. Add the flour & season well with salt & pepper. Add in grated courgettes. The batter will be a bit lumpy, but no need to worry its supposed to look like that, keep plowing on.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan & drop heaped dessertspoons of the mixture into the hot oil, lightly flattening the little cakes down with the back of the spoon.

Cook the fritters for 2 minutes on each side until a deep golden colour, & then transfer to a paper towel.

To Serve 

Place the fritters on a plate, sprinkle with reserved chopped herb mix. Cut lemon into wedges and serve on the side with dipping sauce. 

Morning visitor...

Don't look so innocent, I can see you eyeing up my jewelry 

 

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Baking Chocolate Chip Cookies

Well, I am working on some figures for the Christmas shopping rush. Making some chocolate chip cookies to keep me going through the evening of research.  Beware, my Chocolate chip cookie recipe is very morish & chewy. Cookie dough recipe is as follows


220g light brown sugar, tightly packed
110g caster sugar, golden caster is always better
300g plain flour
150g of chopped nuts, pecans, walnuts or macadamia
2 tsp baking powder
185g melted butter, cooled
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
Vanilla, 1/2 a pod or 2 teaspoons of good quality vanilla extract
200g chocolate, chop up a good quality chocolate bar, I use a 72% chocolate


Method:


Preheat your oven to 180 C or 350 F
Combine your sugars, flour, baking powder and nuts
Separately Combine butter, egg, egg yolk, vanilla
Mix the wet mixture with the dry mixture & add in your chocolate pieces
Let the mixture rest in the fridge for 30 minutes
Place level tablespoons onto a lined baking tray 
Bake for 10-11 minutes 
Cool on the trays