The Gannet

Watermelon Mojito

The mojito is such a quintessential summertime drink, and having been the victim of an overachieving mint plant this year, it seemed churlish not to put the demanding herb to its best use. Not long ago I was introduced to a twist on the classic by the lovely folks at Pappagone (it's a nicea place to stuffa you face) which introduced watermelon into the formula. I was sceptical, but it only took a few sips to convince. I've been trying to get the recipe right at home since, and I think I may have cracked it.

Ingredients *

• 12 mint leaves
• 2 shots white rum (I used Applewood's)
• 3/4 shot fresh lime juice
• 1/4 shot gomme syrup
• Watermelon chunks (about the size of your fist)
• ice cubes

Method

Put the rum and mint in a cocktail shaker (or the glass will do) and muddle slightly to bruise the mint leaves. Add the gomme syrup (or a mixture of 2 parts sugar to 1 part water is fine) and lime juice. If you're using a shaker add a couple of ice cubes and give it a good shake. Remove the seeds from the watermelon (if that sort of thing bothers you. I'm from good southern stock and we like the crunchy bits.) and put in a blender along with 6-10 ice cubes. Pulse to produce a kind of watermelony crushed ice. Pour the rum/mint mixture into your glass first, followed by the watermelony ice, and stir to mix. Et voilà! This makes about a pint, which if you're anything like me, serves one. More dainty folk can probably get two drinks out of it.

Gin Lane Returns To London (and about time too)

Although originally from Holland, gin shall forever be associated with London. Hogarth’s shocking engravings of a city decimated by “mother’s ruin” are graphic reminders of the time that every market square in London was bordered by gin palaces where the traders could quite literally pour their earnings down the drain. By 1740, 11 million gallons of gin were being drunk every year by a London population of only 500,000.

The most popular type of gin is “London dry”, which is a high-proof spirit, usually produced in a column still and redistilled after the botanicals are added to the base spirit. In addition to juniper, it is usually made with a small amount of citrus botanicals like lemon and bitter orange peel. Other botanicals that may be used include anise, angelica root, orris root, licorice root, cinnamon, coriander, and cassia bark. Unlike Plymouth gin, London gin has no geographical protection and can be manufactured anywhere in the world.

Yet it’s been left largely to the mega-brand Beefeater to fly the gin flag in London. Their copper stills, manned by only five staff, churn out 2.3 million cases a year.

In the last ten years, a trend for boutique gin labels has been gaining strength, and now a handful of London entrepreneurs are hoping that they can help do for gin what micro-breweries and small-batch production has done for beer and vodka in the last few decades.

Sipsmith of Hammersmith produce small batches of 500 bottles or less of their London dry gin (in addition to a barley vodka). The London Gin Co also produce a small-batch, high-end product from their city premises, though they appear to be owned by a Spanish company. Sacred Gin is hand-distilled in Highgate, based on a formula from the time of the Dutch Gift of 1660, when Charles II of England was returned to the throne after the English Interregnum - the Restoration. Juniper Green organic dry gin is produced for the label by the Thames Distillery in Clapham, London. Other gins made in London include Berry’s Best, and Bulldog Gin made with an assortment of rare and exotic botanicals, including Poppy and Dragon Eye, a cousin of the lychee fruit that is an ancient Chinese secret said to boost skin vitality and promote sexual stamina.

London distillers will have to run to catch up with the growing trend for microdistilleries which is already well established in the USA, and includes gin-makers such as Leopold’s, Bluecoat American Dry, Junipero (made by the Anchor Steam beer company), and Aviation.

If small-batch gins ignite the public’s imagination, surely it can only be a short time until some of the grand gin palaces of London are returned to their former glory? Here's hoping...

Superbowl science snacks

This weekend is Superbowl Weekend in the States, when most citizens (regardless of their interest in football) will gather around the television to (a) watch the Pittsburgh Steelers battle it out with the Arizona Cardinals, and (b) gorge themselves on beer, chicken wings, beer, burgers, beer, hot dogs, pizza, beer, nachos and more beer.  Typical Superbowl fare is high in fat, low in subtlety, and can be devoured using one hand (the other is reserved at all times for... yes, beer).   Wired magazine's Wired Science editors asked America's leading molecular gastronomists (British: Heston Blumenthal) to come up with their own take on Superbowl fare.   The resulting recipes including Pizza Pebbles, Puffed Sauerkraut, and Beer Ice Cream With Pretzel Crust, and read more like chemistry lessons than a cookery lesson, but the ingenuity and the accompanying photographs - are much admired by The Gannet.

Paused.

The Gannet has been on a long hiatus.  Don't worry, we haven't gone off our food!  We've just been temporarily derailed by life.  We'll be back on track, full-steam, in 2009.  Thanks for checking in!

Another lunch, another micro meal scoffed

Sainsbury's Italian: Meatballs with chargrilled pepper & tomato sauce

We've been reviewing a lot of ready meals this week - but it's the end of the month so we're not splashing out on restaurants and the like.  And we're busy - so busy that I didn't even bother to take today's lunch out of the plastic tray and put it on a plate before photographing it.  Shame on me.

So, another day, another 15 minutes spent shoveling down a ready meal - today's variety, to give it it's full name, is Sainsbury's Italian: Heat & stir : Meatballs with char-grilled pepper & tomato sauce.  What we've got is pork & beef meatballs - nicely spiced with black pepper and garlic, and some herbs.  Good and meaty too - no filler!!  The egg trotolle pasta is hearty and comes out nicely al dente if you follow the instructions correctly (3 minutes in the nuclear oven, 1 minute standing).  Remember when pasta ready meals were all about limp, sodden noodles?  The microwave scientists seems to have sussed that one out.  A few char-grilled red peppers, some crunchy green beans and a light tomato and red pepper sauce.  Overall, it hit all the right notes for me.  575 calories, but a lot of fat (20g, and 6.5g of it saturated!) - which shouldn't be a problem, if you aren't eating brownies for breakfast (like me).  It filled me up, and is great value at the price.  Sainbury's is currently running a "4 for 3" special on all ready meals, too.

370 grams, £2.79
Sainsbury's Online Groceries

New British Kitchen, indeed

As an American, I often mourn the fact that I can't tune into the Food Network every day.  They have such a wealth of great programmes, and WHYOHWHY don't they set up in the UK, or sell all their shows to someone?  Today, for instance, we could be enjoying Essence Of Emeril  (Emeril Lagasse, amazing Portugese-American chef, famous for his emphasis on Creole/Cajun, and for shouting "Pork fat rules!". A man welcome at my table, any time.) or Bobby Flay's Boy Meets Grill special on beer and bratwurst.  (Flay is the Don Corleone of BBQs and grilling), or Alton Brown's Good Eats episodes on puff and choux pastry, back to back!  (Alton mixes food and science in a charmingly hokey manner).  And that is just today.  A small portion of today.

Trust me, after 20+ years in London, I'm more European (or mockney) than American, and not prone to wailing about how everything is better in the USA.  Quite the opposite.  Most stuff is better here.  It's just cheaper in the States.  But, seriously, in terms of food television, the Brits have got to get their act together.  I love the food cum porn of Nigella Lawson or Nigel Slater, and the mate-y enthusiasm of Jamie Oliver or Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.  Masterchef (the proper one, not that cotton-wrapped cod-celebrity nonsense) is great entertainment.  A bit sick of Gordon Ramsey, though you have to admit he's good value.  Don't get me started on James Martin.  Occasionally, one of the networks (the BBC and C4 mainly) deliver a great programme, but too often they are relying on gimmicky ideas to compensate for the lack of on-screen charisma of the celebrity chefs and presenters.  We are entering the food television equivalent of the music business in the Seventies: an upper crust of elite, tired old hacks, trying to milk some juice out of the bloated excess that their careers have become.  It's about as exciting as Yes, In The Round.  Or more precisely, as exciting as a water-sodden loo roll. But... I digress.

The UKTV Food channel is co-owned by BBC Worldwide and Virgin Media Television, and most of the programming is comprised of shows dredged up from the BBC archives and hacked up by a 10 year old to allow for the insertion of copious advertising.

Sainsbury's Taste The Difference: Beef Stroganoff and Herby Rice

Supermarket ready meals have been the path of least resistance to people who are tired of the usual lunchtime sandwich fare so common in the UK. These meals, designed to be re-heated in a conventional or microwave oven, address a real need for people who are too busy to spend more than a few minutes preparing their lunch.

Overall, the meal made a good impression. Once cooked and served on a plate, the colours were nice and the dish had a pleasant aroma. The sauce was quite good, very rich, and tasted of it's ingredients: mushrooms, sour cream and a touch of brandy. The rice turned out quite fluffy, if under-seasoned, and the meat itself was very tender. The sauce contains both single cream and sour cream in differing proportions totaling one quarter of the sauce.  However, one real failing of this meal can be found by reading the percentages on its ingredients list: "Cooked Herb Rice (43%), Stroganoff Sauce (37%), Marinated Mey Selections Beef (20%)". For a dish in which beef plays the leading role, Sainsbury's has been quite stingy with the actual meat.

One should note that the rice requires the addition of water before heating. This is simple to do, but not usually required of ready meals, so one should pay close attention to the directions on the sleeve. I don't really see the richness of the sauce as a problem--it's what one would expect from something labeled "stroganoff" and ready meals have built-in portion control. Still, people conscious of their fat intake should note that this meal contains 20.9 grams of fat--8.2 of which are saturated. The entire meal weighs in at 450 grams.

The "Taste the Difference" line may be marketed at people who value flavour over price, but at £3.49 Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Beef Stroganoff and Herby Rice is an economical lunch option for almost anyone. The paltry portion of beef brings the final score down for me.

Gannet rating: 7/10

Sainsbury's Super Naturals: Piri piri marinated chicken & basmati rice

Sainsbury's range of Super Naturals (tm) are "bursting with tasty ingredients, no artificial additives".  I've tried the range recently in my never-ending quest for the perfect micro lunch.  I'm one of those folks who is really sick of the options for lunch near my office.  We even have a delightful sandwich wagon man who comes around -- the only problem being that while he's lovely, his sandwiches are dry versions of very dry, tired old things.   My company supplies a kitchen/canteen area fully stocked with stove/oven, microwave, and full-size fridge, but I rarely have the energy or time to prepare anything fresh.  Nor do I ever seem to be able to carve the extra time out of my evenings to pack something nice up for the following day.  So, my quest for micro meals is what I am left with.

Of course, I'm demanding.  I want something hot, quick, nutritious, non-calorific, and not full of E-numbers.

The Super Naturals (tm) range includes Chicken & Prawn Paella, Jerk Chicken with sweet potato and sweetcorn mash, Smoked Salmon Salad, Lemon & Basil Chicken, Mediterranean Vegetable Pasta, Gnocchi Roasted Vegetables, Chilli Ginger Salmon, Caribbean Prawn Curry, Beef In Red Wine, and Spaghetti and Meatballs, all at £2.99 for about 400 grams.  (They are on special 4 for 3 offer this week.)

So, Piri piri Chicken, or "Garlic, chilli & paprika marinated chicken with char-grilled red peppers, baby

The Blue Legume

I have long ago forgiven them for their silly pun of a name, and The Blue Legume is often the first thing that comes into my hungry mind on a Saturday or Sunday morning, particularly if a hangover is involved.  I'm a lucky soul, as it's only a short but beautiful stroll diagonally across Clissold Park to satisfy my Jones.

Catering heavily to vegetarians (and also vegans), the meat-eaters may be in the minority here, but I've never been with anyone who has lamented their lack of choice on the carnivore or pescatarian front.  My all-time favourite dish is the Eggs Benedict. Honestly - their Hollandaise sauce is the best I have ever tasted: light, fluffy, full of air and with a subtle but sublime tang. Perfectly poached eggs, and a generous slice of good-quality, medium thick ham combine to create the perfect dish.  I have as yet resisted the temptation to ask for double portion, but OH! how depressed do I get as I savour the last few bites?

My new remedy to the post-Benedict woe is to order the goats cheese salad as a second course.

A lovely piece of mild goat's cheese, grilled on top of a thick slice of toasted baguette, and served on a mixed leave salad with a simple walnut dressing.  And plenty of walnuts, too.  It requires the vigorous application of knife and fork to properly attack the cheese/bread combo, so is not for the faint-hearted, or those who wish to appear as delicate flowers around the table.  But the softly melted cheese, the crispy and hearty bread, and the delightful nut-laced leaves are a treasure worth the effort required.

The one endearing quality of the Legume is their apparently compulsive desire to dress every dish with a chive garnish -- as you can see from the photos above.  We briefly questioned the absence of chives in the chips (good but nothing to write home about), but quickly realised they were present in the aioli dip offered alongside.

I can recommend a short stumble next door to the Auld Shillelagh pub - a long and narrow Irish pub full of character and charming staff, and with an excellent pint of Guinness on tap.

The Blue Legume
101 Stoke Newington Church Street
London N16 0UD
T: 020 7923 1303
(no web site)

Gannet Rating:  8/10

PS: The origin of Eggs Benedict is well worth a read!  If you've had a great plate of EB somewhere, I'd love to hear about it!

Banner's Restaurant

Banners in Crouch End has long been a favourite place of The Gannet. We visit most often for a naughty lunch, as it's only a ten minute walk from the office.  On this occasion we were being particularly naughty as it was my birthday, so we had a long leisurely lunch.

The "downsides" of Banners, if they have them, are that it's very popular, so tends to be busy and noisy. It's particular popular with families with small children (whom they cater to with pots of crayons and paper, and a children's menu) so if shouty kids isn't your thing, you probably won't enjoy lunch here.  The atmosphere is laid back, the interior is modeled on a kind of rustic American restaurant vibe (lots of wood, old posters plastered to the walls, motorcycle and music memorabilia etc.  The service is friendly and informal, occasionally a bit hap-hazard, but I usually forgive them as the waitresses have all mostly been with the restaurant for years and they are all very warm and relaxed, even if you sometimes have to ask twice.

Food-wise, Banners has an extensive menu that is largely American (burgers, pancakes, soups and sandwiches), and Caribbean (fish, curries, rice & peas), with regular Asian and Mexican specials.  When banners veers off their set menu, they generally do so with varying degrees of success.  I once had a quesadilla there which was accompanied by home-made refried beans -- made with kidney beans.  It's those sort of very rustic, home-made "adaptations" of ethnic dishes on which they tend to stumble.  However, other times they get it just right.

Luckily for my birthday they got it just right with the special Blackened Cajun Salmon.  Often restaurants tend to over-spice "blackened" dishes - my feeling is that you don't need half an inch of spice coating to achieve the blackened effect, and too much dry spice tends to overpower the flavour of the meat or fish.  Banners served up a huge portion of salmon fillet, perfectly spiced and not overcooked either, and covered with a savory Cajun gravy.  The fish was accompanied by a hefty portion of delicious rice & peas (black beans) and a tasty salad.  Being The Gannet, we also had to have a side portion of fried plantain.

One of The Gannet's companions chose an all-day breakfast - what Banners call Hash Browns, two big deep fried potato cakes, fried eggs and bacon, plus maple syrup to drizzle over it should you wish (The Gannet wishes).  A side of extra sausages was naturally in order.  The other chose the jerk chicken burger, served with potato wedges and salad.  Silly boy didn't order any extra sides and felt underfed as a result. (Warning: this is not a problem at Banners, small portions that is!  Unless you're a true gannet, like us!)  Being in a celebratory mood, we rounded off the meal with Affogato Martinis.  I can't believe I didn't see these on the menu before.  Two of my favourite things in life are espresso martinis, and affogato di gelato (ice cream with hot espresso poured over it).  And yes -- this wonderful drink combines all three!  Vodka, kahlua and hot coffee are blended and presented in a martini glass, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  Delicious.  I nearly ordered a second, it was so good.

Banners is one of those tried and trusted places that Crouch Enders love so much.  It is starting to get a little frayed around the edges (and hasn't been redecorated since they opened over 10 years ago), and it's not always perfect, but it is a place I will visit again and again, because what they do well, they do so much better than most restaurants in the area.  I have never left there feeling like it wasn't money well spent.

Banners Restaurant
21 Park Road
Crouch End
London, N8 9TE
020 8348 2930
(no web site)

Gannet Rating:  7/10