Our spring supper club in London was a feast of flavour and festival of friendship. The sold out event saw old acquaintances reforged and new ones sparked into life. Hosted at Dom & Emma’s apartment in Stoke Newington, the menu was inspired by Dom’s experience of lockdown in West Cork, during which he connected with the amazing land and its bountiful produce.
We kicked off with a pesto of Wild Garlic, Almonds & Parmesan. The wild garlic had actually been foraged just a week beforehand at Mount Corrin House (where Dom spent lockdown). Served on homemade crostini, this may have been the most humble dish of the evening, but it was arguably the most popular. Recipe available here.
Food-wise, my favourites were the wild garlic pesto, the bread, the asparagus and the lamb. Recipes for the bread and pesto would be fab if you share!
Cathy
Next up was Beetroot with Labneh & Pistachios. The beets were salt-baked, diced into a tartare, and finished by frying in pork fat before being topped with homemade labneh and what Andrew would term “a pistachio crumb”.
After the now customary but endlessly moorish ‘No Knead Bread‘ with roast garlic and rosemary butter, we gave some beautiful asparagus (sourced from Guy in Cornwall) some Japanese/English sweet & sour fusion treatment in an Asparagus, Den Miso & Stilton salad. The chunky spears were blanched and griddled, dressed in a sweet dressing of soy, mirin, and miso, then topped with Thai basil, toasted sesame seeds, and shiso cress.
Perhaps the most unusual dish of the night was the Nettle Soup with Durrus Cheese & Nutmeg. Dom learned of nettles’ extraordinary health benefits in Ireland and was determined to share these in London. The nettles (foraged by Dom in London) were turned into a light stock then poured over diced Durrus cheese (personally imported by Dom) and finished some grated nutmeg.
The mainer was a feat of Lamb, Carrots & Herbs. Leg of lamb from Turner & George was marinaded, butterflied, and barbecued while shoulder was slow-cooked for 12 hours before being rolled into breadcrumbed bon bons. These were accompanied by a silky smooth carrot and orange purée, baby carrots roasted in lamb fat, a parsley and anchovy pesto, and homemade mint jellies.
Thought it was excellent from start to finish – great location, delicious and interesting food, hilarious chat, nice wine (particularly the first red) and overall great value for money.
Simon
To wrap up, we served a beautiful Rhubarb & Orange Pavlova with Earl Grey Ice Cream. The Taroocco oranges, once again from Salvatore in Palagonia, were to die for.
The wine pairings from Amber Gardner were, as ever, a complete knock out.
- Falerio Oris Bianco, Ciu Ciu, Marche 2020
- Handcrafted Gruner Veltliner, MA Arndorfer, Kamptal 2020
- Alessandrino Rosso, Valli Unite, Piedmont 2020
- Lambrusco Rosso, Camillo Donati, Lombardy 2020
All wines are available to buy yourself at Sip Wines.
For tickets to future events, come on over here.