Tenderstem® broccoli, pea and mint soup

Serves: 4

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes

You’ll need:
1 tbsp British rapeseed oil
25g butter
1 medium white British onion finely chopped
1 garlic clove peeled and finely chopped
400ml chicken stock
400g shelled peas or British frozen peas if not in season
100g British Tenderstem® broccoli florets
Salt and cracked black pepper
Small bunch of mint shredded

What to do:
Melt the oil and the butter, add the onion and garlic and cook over a gentle heat until soft, about 10 minutes.
Add the chicken stock and bring to the boil, add the peas and Tenderstem® and cook until they are soft (about 5 minutes).
Remove half of the soup and blend in a food processor then add back into the rest of the soup.
Season with salt and pepper. Stir in mint and serve.

www.tenderstem.co.uk

We all know what it’s like when it comes to tea time with toddlers – it can be hard enough getting them to sit still at the table let alone anything else! Between the ages of one and three years it can be difficult to get them to eat the right foods particularly as some toddlers can become fussy eaters.

Help is here with Celebrity Chef and mother Lesley Waters, along with SMA nutritionist Anne Sidnell who have designed 6 easy meals to satisfy your tot’s taste buds, and give them a good dose of the nutrients they need for healthy growth and development.

In the fourth webisode in the series, Lesley makes a modern twist on this classic to the delight of her toddler panel.

Lesley’s tip: This recipe is great because it’s high in calcium, and contains vitamin C from the tomatoes. Clever twists like this on classic recipes mean goodness can be added to your toddler’s food without them even noticing.

Log on to www.smanutrition.co.uk where you can find more recipe suggestions with Lesley Waters in her Toddler Tastes webisodes.

* A 200 ml serving of new SMA Toddler Milk will provide up to 50% of a toddler’s daily requirement for key vitamins and minerals, including Iron, Omega 3 & 6, and Vitamin D.

Julia Pearson reviews…

The Viet Grill is located on Kingsland Road amongst a host of other Vietnamese restaurants. But despite stiff competition from their neighbours the Viet Grill still manages to be bustling every night. The décor is nice, the staff are great but as I found out the food is the real winner here!

We started off with the Mango salad and Beef Vinh both dishes recommended by the chef. The Mango salad served with Sun dried squid, mint, smashed nut, julienned mango and sweet chilli sauce was fab. This was the first time I had tried mango salad usually opting for Papaya but it won’t be the last!

The Beef Vinh a roll of five-spice charcoal-grilled beef fillet was cooked to perfection, the meat was tender and the spices really complimented the meaty flavours.

For mains I opted for Seabass Chien Gion, a personal favourite from my visits to Cay Tre, Viet Grill’s sister restaurant, Bong xao sup lo, egg fried rice and plain noodles with bean sprouts and onion. First up the Bong xao sup lo, pork with tiger prawns, shitake mushrooms, cauliflower, wood ear mushrooms and Thai celery, what a dish! For £9 you could literally feed a family of four on this, I had never come across a dish that listed tiger prawns as an additional ingredient and actually contained more than three. Great value and a big thumbs up!

The Seabass served with mango in fish sauce was tasty, a good piece of fish in a light, sweet sauce. As one of my favourite dishes it never fails to impress. The noodles and rice were good, both none greasy and massive portions that we struggled to finish. There is also a good wine menu which you don’t often get in Vietnamese restaurants.

I finished with a glass of Thanh Mai, fermented plum apricot wine, on the rocks, a Hanoi local drink. A little too strong for me but worth a try.

All in all a quality meal and great value. Definitely one of the best Vietnamese meals I have tasted!

Viet Grill, 58 Kingsland Road, Shoreditch, London, E2 8DP

http://www.vietnamesekitchen.co.uk

About Julia Pearson:

Julia Pearson has travelled the world tasting the best dishes from every continent. She is now living and eating in London and her mission is to find the best restaurants and share them with you, our readers! She knows just how frustrating it can be visiting a new town or trying a new restaurant when the food is not up to scratch and it is her personal goal to stop that happening to the public by giving honest, genuine reviews!

To request a review of your restaurant please submit your request here

In the following video wine expert Jilly Goolden shows you how to create the ultimate dining experience

Few things match the taste experience we receive at a restaurant. Top chefs seem to know just what flavours work together especially when matched with the perfect wine. But how many of us know how to truly compliment our own dishes with the right drop when we’re entertaining at home?

While it is fortunate there is such a wonderful array of wines to choose from when we head down to our local supermarket, it’s often too easy to head for the usual favourite rather than experimenting with something new. So how can you get out of a midweek rut and bring restaurant quality into your own dining room?

Well the UK’s leading wine expert Jilly Goolden is on hand to offer some much needed advice on the art of matching the right bottle with our favourite dishes.

Jilly firmly believes that pairing wine with delicious flavours can make or break a meal and she’s teamed up with Dr.Oetker’s Ristorante to create the ultimate guide to wine and pizza.

In the following video Jilly gives us a mouth-watering demonstration on how to match things perfectly. Bon appetite!

How big-name chefs– including LA’s Quinn Hatfield — are shrinking their customers’ carnivore quota

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/video/player/0,32068,105873873001_2000971,00.html#ixzz0wsv1tcPT

In the following video nutritionist Fiona Hunter offers her tips for easy, nutritious meals that are set to become family favourites

Striking a balance between work and home life can be tricky. In fact in a busy modern world, it’s hard to stick to a routine meaning important things such as meals can often be neglected. And now new research commissioned by the Flour Advisory Board has revealed the extent of this with 46% of adults skipping meals because of a lack of time or by putting others needs first.

It is essential to make sure you maintain a healthy balanced diet, as it gives you the energy to get through the day. A nutritious breakfast and lunch will keep you going and make sure you have enough energy to accomplish all your tasks.

But how can you avoid the same boring cheese sandwich without taking up even more of your precious time?

Well there are many delicious recipes you can make with bread and the nation’s favourite staple is naturally low in sugar and salt, enriched with calcium and is a good source of protein and fibre. There are also 2000 varieties; not just sliced white!

So now is the time to give it the filling it deserves, liven up the lunchbox and make sure both you and your children have something to look forward to.

In the following video, nutritionist Fiona Hunter, shows you how to create some healthy and exciting recipes for breakfast and lunch. And if after becoming a hit with your kids, there is any bread left over then why not make some delicious evening meals with the leftovers?

Reviewed by Julia Pearson

Bombay style café located in Covent Garden

From the minute I walked into Dishoom I liked it. I liked the booths and chairs, the photographs of the owners’ families lining the walls, my god they have big families, the dark wood décor, open kitchen and the incense burning in the toilets. Yes I liked it all and I hadn’t even ordered any food yet. Dishoom is a Bombay style café located in Covent Garden, it is the latest addition to a row of restaurants and counts Jamie Oliver’s Italian as its neighbour.

Given its location Dishoom could be expensive but it is refreshingly cheap and that’s one reason why it will always have a steady trade. The other, the most important to you and me is the food. The menu is styled on traditional Bombay cafés and all of the food is served together rather than in separate courses. The menu has a good selection without being over expansive. We started off with some signature cocktails the Chaijito and Bollybellini, both costing under £6. To eat we ordered the House Crisps, Cottage Cheese Ruby Murray, Masala Prawns, Rice, Roti, Vegetable Samosas, Salad and Fish Fingers. It sounded like way too much food for two people but the waiter was actually surprised we weren’t ordering more. The food arrived extremely fast and the dishes seemed to never end.

Everything was homemade, even the crisps. The Masala Prawns were the clear winners, thick, juicy and spiced to perfection. The Desi Fish Fingers were a nice surprise, flaked fresh fish in a spiced batter, something I would definitely order again. For desert we opted for the seasonal fruit crumble which was pineapple served with Chai ice cream. The crumble was sweet without being over powering and the chai ice cream was a great touch. We ended the meal with a House Chai and Chai Chocolate. The Chai is made from scratch and brewed for at least forty minutes. The whole meal was pleasant, tasty and fresh. At only £49 everything including two cocktails, it really is great value for money. Next time I will try the breakfast menu, I have heard the Sausage and Bacon Naans are worth the trip alone.

Dishoom, 12 Upper St Martins Lane, London, WC2H 9FB??

www.dishoom.com

About Julia Pearson:

Julia Pearson has travelled the world tasting the best dishes from every continent. She is now living and eating in London and her mission is to find the best restaurants and share them with you, our readers! She knows just how frustrating it can be visiting a new town or trying a new restaurant when the food is not up to scratch and it is her personal goal to stop that happening to the public by giving honest, genuine reviews!

To request a review of your restaurant please submit your request here

Louise Elgin Reviews….

Zebrano Greek Street
18 Greek Street
London W1
Tel: 020 7287 5267

Everyone is feeling the pinch at the moment and by jeepers are we all bored of having to watch our expenditure. So you may be pleased to know there is a venue in central London which is addressing this issue head on. For the rest of the summer at Zebrano’s in Greek Street there is a special offer which is worth checking out. Every Wednesday evening they are offering an ‘Invitation to Treat’ menu. This enables the diner to only pay for what they think the food was worth. If you really have the brass neck you could leave just a few coppers, although the helpful waitress informed us that to date no-one had the gall to do just that. We consumed a whole plethora of Tapas-style dishes which included crunchy fish goujons with tartare sauce, spicy Chorizo sausage, crispy calamari and a wonderfully fresh and crunchy salad to name but a few. This was washed down with a Chilean Sauvignon Blanc that ticked all the right boxes and came in at well under £20 a bottle.

The venue itself is a real hotchpotch of styles, from huge glitter balls on the ceiling to pornographic art on the downstairs walls. This is a place not just to eat but very much to ‘hang out’. Music is played loud but that suits the young and vibrant atmosphere. Upstairs there is a very different feel to the elegant drawing-room ambience of the VIP section. If boogieing the night away is your scene there is dancing every night with a DJ on Friday and Saturdays when apparently the place is heaving. Here they operate an over 21’s policy and this may be changing to an over 25’s so advisable to take your ID. Open till 3am with a very generous Happy Hour on selected cocktails and drinks so what are you waiting for?

Louise Elgin. August 2010.

Happy Hour – Monday – Saturday 5-7pm.
Monday – Friday 5-8pm.

In the following video top chef Mike Robinson shows you how to create a stunning dish while award winning Master Sommelier Gearoid Devaney matches it with the perfect wine

It’s a dish that should be easy to make but many of us struggle with creating the perfect cheese tart.

Well, there are a few reasons why your cheese tart might not be the culinary star you want it to be.

The first question you need to ask yourself is, are you using the ingredients this summer favourite deserves? And the second might be whether the wine you are serving it up with is showcasing your dish to its best. You might be surprised just how crucial this is to creating mouth watering dishes that stand the test of time.

The easiest way of knowing that you are using the best products and ingredients is by making sure you are getting the real deal from the certified region of origin, like Parma Ham from Parma or Port from the Douro Valley in Portugal. Make sure you check for the PDO, AOC or DOC mark on products such as Burgundy wines, Port and Douro Valley wines, Parma Ham and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese to ensure that you will be rewarded with excellent quality.

To show you how much of a difference using authentic ingredients can make to your cooking, top chef Mike Robinson Chef Patron of the Pot Kiln and co-owner of the Michelin starred Harwood Arms has joined with Discover the Origin to create a fabulous and simple dish that is sure to become a firm favourite in your culinary repertoire.

And to make sure you are getting the most out of your dishes with the correct wine match, UK Sommelier of the Year 2008 Gearoid Devaney MS has also come on board to show us how an authentic wine can enhance your dining experience.

In the following video Mike cooks up a very special Cheese Tart using Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese while Gearoid matches the dish with a mouth watering white from the Burgundy region.

For more information visit www.discovertheorigin.co.uk

Discover the Origin food and drink campaign

Discover the Origin is designed to raise awareness around five key European PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) products; Parma Ham, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, Burgundy Wines, Port and Douro Valley wines.

It also aims to educate on the benefits of the provenance indicator schemes, the relevant checks, controls and traceability systems that are put in place to ensure ongoing quality and to differentiate the products and raise their profiles.

All five of these products carry a guarantee of their provenance and quality: the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) for Parma Ham and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, AOC for Burgundy wines and DOC for Port and Douro Valley wines. If you see these labels on any food or drinks, you can rest assured that you will be rewarded with excellent quality.

Maurice Sheen reviews…

Tickton Grange Hotel & Restaurant
Tickton, Beverley
East Yorkshire
HU17 9SH

Tel: 01964 543666
Fax: 01964 542556

Another visit to this fine hotel for dinner with friends. As ever, the menu is enticing: local foods sing from the text.
The menu changes frequently but the variety on offer always causes discussion about what to select. The menu is not vast – just balanced and full of promise.

The wait for the food slips by easily in a delightful setting. The large bar echoes the slightly quirky interest on view in every public room in
the hotel but it is full of warmth and charm. The place is popular and some diners spill out ito the quintessentially English garden beyond the
bar and dining room.

We are escorted to our table. The food is quite outstanding. I dine in the Beverley area on all my frequent visits but Tickton calls me back time and again.

Beautifully presented, the food arrives. Every mouthful delivers pleasure. There is always a “free” appetizer – tonight Bridlington dressed crab. Again, a tasty morsel but fresh and local. Courses ranged from traditional fayre (with a local twist) and more unusual choices. It would take too long to describe every dish enjoyed by the party but the Gressingham duck was hailed as superbly moist and flavorsome by those who ate it. A chap who took the locally produced steak (very lightly cooked) was talking about its flavour and tenderness the following day. My locally caught sea bass was equally delicious. I have never been disappointed here and tonight was no exception.

I strongly recommend this memorable dining experience.