EATING IN Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we have sadly been unable to review our fabulous British restaurants, so instead, this issue, we are publishing some recipes from some top London Chefs, so you can try your cooking skills at home, along with a recipe for Banana Pancakes from the fabulous Betsy Cook Speer, and a feel good fast smoothie by Laura Palowski.
English Asparagus with Egg and Mimosa Dressing
English Asparagus With Egg And Mimosa Dressing By AndrĂŠ Garrett, Executive Chef at Corinthia London
In a medium pan, bring the vinegar and orange juice to the boil and reduce slowly until a light syrup, then take off the heat and whisk in the olive oil to emulsify, before adding the zest and seasoning. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary. Bring a large pan of well-salted water to the boil, drop the asparagus in and cook for 3 minutes before removing with a slotted spoon. In a separate, flatter pan, warm the butter and add the asparagus. Season with salt and pepper and baste with the melted butter. Add a tablespoon of the orange dressing and baste the asparagus again, then place them onto kitchen paper to drain. To serve, take four plates and spoon a good amount of the egg onto each. Place the warm asparagus on top, and finally dress with the orange dressing and garnish with the edible flowers and herbs. Soup Au Pistou
Serves 4 Ingredients 2 bunches of green English asparagus 30g unsalted butter Sea salt 1 punnet edible flowers 1 small bunch garlic chives 1 small bunch chervil, picked 4 large eggs 1 small shallot, finely chopped 1 small bunch chives, finely chopped 200ml extra virgin olive oil Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper 200ml champagne vinegar 150ml extra virgin olive oil Juice and zest of 1 orange Sea salt Wash and peel the asparagus, cleaning all the spines, then cut the bottom 2cm off all the asparagus and set aside to cook later. Bring a large pan of well-salted water to the boil to cook the eggs. Cook two of the eggs for 10 minutes until hard-boiled and set aside. Then boil the other two eggs for 5 minutes, before breaking open and scooping out into a bowl whilst still warm and whisk lightly, adding the olive oil to emulsify like a rough mayonnaise. Season, then add the chives, shallots and grate the two hard boiled eggs into the mixture well bound dressing. Set this aside. 2
AMERICAN IN BRITAIN
For the pistou 3 garlic cloves 1 bunch of basil 50g freshly grated Parmesan (plus more for serving) About 100ml good quality extra virgin olive oil (plus more for serving) Peel the vegetables as necessary, and cut them into rough 1cm dice. Rinse the leeks well. In a large heavy-based pan, sweat the onions, carrots, leeks and squash or pumpkin in the olive oil over a gentle heat until soft. Add the potatoes and courgettes, and sweat these gently, stirring, until just beginning to soften. Cover the vegetables with water, then add the bouquet garni, with salt and pepper to taste, and cover with a lid. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer until all the vegetables are tender. Add the remaining ingredients and set aside to keep warm. To make the pistou, combine all the ingredients except the oil (in a food processor rather than a blender, as this gives a better consistency). Then, with the machine still running, pour in just enough oil to make a thick, smooth paste. Remove the bouquet garni from the soup and add the pistou at the last minute, together with a drizzle of olive oil and more grated Parmesan.
Soup Au Pistou By Anthony Demetre from Wild Honey St James
Serves 4-6 Ingredients 200g onions 200g carrots 100g leeks 200g squash or pumpkin 250ml good quality extra virgin olive oil 200g potatoes 200g courgettes Bouquet garni Salt and freshly ground black pepper 100g fresh peas or broad beans, blanched 100g cooked fresh white beans (Coco de Paimpol, or other) 4 tomatoes, skinned, deseeded and chopped 100g cooked short-cut macaroni or ditali
Mackerel Tartare
Mackerel Tartare Oyster Cream, Green Apple, Shiso By Gary Foulkes at Michelin-starred Angler in the City Serves 4 Ingredients 480g of diced raw mackerel 2 finely diced banana shallots
