Red Onion & Red Wine Soup

Regular visitors to my blog may have heard me mention ‘The Eagle Cookbook’ once or twice in the past two years.
Despite amassing a collection of cookbooks large enough that I can almost legitimately refer to the living room as ‘The upstairs library’, this eponymous recipe book remains one of my absolute favourites.

In fact, despite seemingly cooking through it from cover to cover, I still managed to idly flick through the other day and stumble across yet another excellent rustic recipe that had somehow escaped my attention.

This ones an absolute cracker as well, managing to use up a whole bottle of red wine and a rather spectacular heap of twelve red onions (Since starting ‘The Basement’ we often seem to have the odd spare bottle of red lurking, which makes me think I’m beginning to show my age here…not so long ago, it would have been sloshing down my gullet in the blink of an eye - if you're reading this, aghast at the very prospect of leftover wine, I salute you).

So, if you’re the proud owner of a red wine/red onion mountain, this one is for you. The dish is apparently northern Italian in origin, and is a bit of a warming winter soup, so seeing as more snow is knocking around parts of the UK right now, perhaps get it in before spring begins proper.
Oh, it’s served with Parmesan Bruschetta – which are ridiculously easy to make and are an integral part of the dish, so don’t omit these, ok?

Red Onion & Red Wine Soup with Parmesan Bruschetta

Serves 6

You’ll Need: -

1 Bottle of red wine
4 Cloves
4 Bay Leaves
A few sprigs of Thyme
50g Butter
4 Tbs Olive Oil
12 Red Onions, sliced
4 Garlic cloves, chopped
2 Teaspoons tomato puree
500ml Vegetable stock
2 Tbs Balsamic Vinegar
1 Teaspoon ground cinnamon

For the Parmesan Bruschetta

6 Slices ‘country-style’ bread (I used sourdough).
2 Garlic cloves, peeled and halved
Extra virgin olive oil
Freshly grated Parmesan

Pour the wine into a large saucepan or casserole; add the cloves, bay leaves and half the thyme. Boil over a high heat until reduced by half. Strain, reserving the liquid. In the same saucepan, melt the butter with the olive oil. Add the red onions and garlic. Cook slowly over a medium heat until tender, stirring now and again. (This will take at least 30 mins).
Add the reduced wine, tomato puree, vegetable stock and the remaining thyme. Cook at a gentle simmer for half hour. Stir in the balsamic vinegar and cinnamon, simmer for another 15 mins and season.

To make the Bruschetta, toast the bread on a griddle or in a dry, heavy frying pan. Rub with garlic, and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Sprinkle with loads of Parmesan. Don’t be stingy.

Put a piece of Parmesan Bruschetta in each bowl, and pour over the soup. Garnish with thyme.


This soup is absolutely gorgeous, rich and sweet. In the photo I balanced the Bruschetta on top, but only so you, the reader, can see them. Otherwise, they’d be hidden under the soup. (Always thinking me). Oh and rather than the suggested 1 each, I decided 3 was a much safer bet, greedy bastardo that I am.
As is often the case with soups and stews, this tastes just that much better re-heated the next day.

Lunch at The Eagle

Despite mentioning the legendary Eagle gastro-pub in Farringdon more than a fair bit on the blog, amazingly, I’ve never actually reviewed it. Which is strange, as I’ve eaten there quite a lot in the past. I’ve been musing on the reason for this omission, and have come to the conclusion it’s because eating at The Eagle consists of pretty much one-dish dining. Lots of big, gutsy, plates of food. No delicate starters, no desserts to speak of. Which makes it a little hard to stretch a post out in the conventional sense.

But, nevertheless it’s one of my favourite places in London to eat. This is the original gastro-pub, the place where the dining revolution started. The battered chairs and tables, the mismatched cutlery and plates, the chalkboard menus above the bar, the unpretentious food that you’ve seen in countless imitators up and down the country, it all began here in 1991. It’s also worth mentioning that The Eagles pedigree is second to none, associated gastro-pubs being the superb Great Queen Street and Anchor & Hope.

Arriving at lunchtime, on a beautiful, sunny Friday afternoon at the start of service, 12:30 on the dot and hoping to grab a table (there’s no booking here, first come, first served being the form). We step through the door into the familiar high ceilinged, battered Victorian pub, flooded with light from the large windows on two sides – a bar running the full length of one side of the room, three quarters of which is taken up with a kitchen directly behind the bar where fat Italian sausages can be seen smoking on the grill, and steaks for The Eagles famous Bife Ana steak sandwich are hissing and spitting as they cook. The chefs and waiters weaving effortlessly around each other in the confined space. The other quarter of the bar is for ordering food and drinks.

It’s packed already, but I spy a small table for two and leap on it. The fantastic smell of grilling meat, garlic and other delights fills the room, and I study the menus chalked above the bar intently. I want the steak sandwich, I’ve had it before and it’s superb…. but too late, a waiter scrubs it from the board before I get the chance – it’s finished already…I look around and it seems like half the diners are munching on steak sandwiches. Cursing, my eyes flick back to the menu board with a new sense of urgency. I can still see the Italian sausages smoking away, on the grill – I know they are gorgeous; they obviously come from the Italian Deli two doors down the street, G. Gazzano & Sons, I’ve bought and cooked them many times at home myself. Today they’re being served with red onion and parsnip mash, Decision made.
‘E’ doesn’t waste anytime and chooses a Bruschetta with Caponota (Sicilian aubergine relish).

Joining the short queue snaking along the bar to order food, I watch the food being cooked feet away, which provokes my stomach into making disgruntled, grumbling noises, it’s my turn – I order and pay for the food and drinks (Pint of Kirin for me…ahhhh lovely Japanese lager)…. and a rather nice White Rioja for ‘E’. I return to the table and wait. Mismatched knives, forks along with a basket of bread and condiments appear…. shortly followed by the food.

‘E’s dish of Bruschetta with Caponata looks incredible, rustic, heaped on toasted bruschetta with rocket scattered on the side. I love the old plate it’s been served on. From the appreciative noises drifting across the table, I deduce that it’s bloody nice…I have a sneaky forkful and have to agree. Lovely.

My trio of fat, grilled Napoli sausages on parsnip mash with red onions is also a great dish of food, no frills, nothing much to look at – but the Italian sausages are thick, meaty and superb. Both dishes being true to The Eagle ethos, simple, intelligent pub grub.

As we eat, dishes are regularly scrubbed from the chalkboards above the bar. By about half past one, most are finished. It occurs to me how well oiled and honed the lunchtime service is, no waste, economical, not many more customers come in after the initial rush (like they could find a spot if they did), lunch is pretty much done in one franticly busy sitting.

Desserts rarely feature on The Eagle menu, apart from rather nice Portuguese custard tarts. In any case, we are now both full, leaving more than happy with a rather nice and relatively inexpensive lunch.

Even after nineteen years, The Eagle is still doing what it’s always done, and very well too. It’s always worth a visit.

Finally, if you fancy re-creating some of the dishes served at The Eagle, as is now almost traditional on this blog - I’ll recommend their cookbook…it’s excellent, one of the best recipe books I own.

The Eagle
159 Farringdon Road
London
EC1R 3AL

Telephone: 0872 148 4071

November - a month in my kitchen.

Despite cooking at home pretty much every night without fail, regular readers of my blog may wonder if that aspect of my life has withered and died....looking back over the last month or so, it's all been restaurant reviews and eating out... not a mention of what I've been dishing up in the kitchen.
So, to correct this oversight - here's a roundup....

At the beginning of the month I received the new Gordon Ramsay book 'World Kitchen' to review, and frankly despite the recipes being competent, I found the book wholly un-inspiring... This no doubt has a lot to do with the whole Ramsay empire being so pervasive nowadays, it's impossible to get away from it. But, unlike his earlier books where you really got a feel for his cooking, the perfection in the kitchen and the passion about the ingredients... this just feels like a case of...

"Your contracted to churn out three books a year....we were thinking 'world food' - you haven't done that yet, knock us a quick book out"

In fact I believe his recently ex-right hand man Mark Sargeant does the real work on the books nowadays, and Gordo just rubberstamps the finished product.
There's just no spark, no passion.

But this is the thing, all of the recipes are good. Great in fact, and the results were fairly impressive. In actual fact, it's a handy book to own. But it'll never be a favourite.
Obviously, in order to test the book out fully, I had to cook a few things from it....

First up from the Italian section of the book, we have 'Grilled Mushrooms on griddled polenta with pecorino'

I made this for a Saturday lunch, mainly because I had an open leftover bag of Polenta I wanted to use up. The Mushrooms are Chanterelles. Straightforward, fairly quick, as easy as it gets and even if I do say so myself - it looks pretty good on a plate.

The next thing I cooked, from the Spanish section....Meatballs in Tomato Sauce. (or Albondigas). Tapas style.
Now this recipe was a complete winner. I loved it, the manchego in the mix, gave it a nice subtle piquancy and the simple tomato sauce they were cooked in was lovely. I served these up with some rice. I'll be making these again....
Here's the recipe, so you can judge for yourself:-

Meatballs in Tomato Sauce.
Serves 4-5

You'll Need:-

For the meatballs:-
500g good quality minced beef
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped
50g White Breadcrumbs
25g Manchego (or Cheddar), grated
2 TBS chopped flat leaf parsley, plus extra to garnish.
Sea Salt and Black Pepper
1 Large Egg, lightly beaten
2 TBS Olive Oil

For the Tomato Sauce:-
2 TBS Olive Oil
1 Onion peeled and finely chopped
1 Garlic Clove, peeled and finely chopped
120ML dry white wine
2x400g tins chopped tomatoes
100ML water
1-2 TSP Caster Sugar

To make the meatballs , mix the minced beef, onion, garlic, breadcrumbs, cheese and chopped parsley together in a large bowl until evenly combined. Season well with salt and pepper and add the beaten egg to bind, mixing with your hands. Break off a small piece of the mixture, shape into a ball and fry in an oiled pan until cooked, then taste for seasoning. Adjust the seasoning of the uncooked mixture as necessary.

With damp hands, shape the mixture into about 16 meatballs, trying not to press them too tightly. Place on a large plate, cover with clingfilm and chill for at least 30 mins to allow them to firm up. Meanwhile, make the tomato sauce. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan, add the onion and garlic and fry gently until lightly golden.

Increase the heat slightly and pour in the wine. Let bubble until reduced by half, then stir in the chopped tomatoes, water and sugar. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 10-15 mins until the tomatoes are soft, then remove the pan from the heat.

To cook the meatballs. heat the olive oil in a large, wide pan. Add the chilled meatballs and fry for 5 minutes, turning frequently, until browned all over. Pour the tomato sauce over them and simmer for a further 10-15 mins until the meatballs are cooked through. Divide the meatballs and tomato sauce between warm bowls and sprinkle with chopped parsley to serve.


The next thing to get a road test, also from the Spanish section was Paella with Chicken and Chorizo. No hint of seafood in this one, so not what most people would think of as a paella I guess - but then the blurb mentions that there are in fact hundreds of different paella recipes throughout Spain (hey, educational).

I was glad to see the recipe suggested boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead of the more commonly suggested breast. Thighs are miles cheaper than breast, and taste so much better. The Paella was OK....It was very filling, but a little bland perhaps...I don't think I'd cook it again.

The final dish I cooked in November from 'World Kitchen' was from the Greek section 'White bean and vegetable soup' or Fasoulada as it's more commonly known in Greece.
I loved this - cheap, simple....quick (apart from soaking the haricot beans overnight). But this was thick and tasty, real winter fare....and with some feta crumbled over the top. Wow.
This is something else I'll be making again for sure. Loved it.

Mid November saw me hosting two dinner parties on consecutive weekends. Small one for the GF's parents, and another the following week for some friends.

For the GF's parents, I went a bit Ottolenghi.... one of the main reasons for this was I had a big piece of Turkey in the freezer waiting to be used up, and I'd previously made the 'marinated turkey breast with cumin, coriander and white wine'....this would be the main, and I paired it with 'crushed new potatoes with horseradish and sorrel'. (To be honest, with hindsight - all looks a bit 'dry'....there was a sauce made from the marinade, but still).

The starter was Puy Lentils with sour cherries, bacon and Gorgonzola...this being another dish I'd cooked previously and really liked.

For dessert I made my legendary chocolate fondants - topped with shop bought clotted cream ice-cream.....just to ensure there wasn't an intact tooth left in the house.

It all went well, cooking for four is straightforward and fairly easy work. Everyone seemed to like what I'd cooked....the chocolate fondants went down particularly well, but then they always do. Not sure about the presentation on these... but by then I was very....very...drunk.
All in all, not bad.

Dinner party two saw me cooking for six. Slightly more challenging, and I wanted to enjoy it rather than be stuck out in the kitchen all night as sometimes happens....
For some reason (probably drunkenly), I'd said I would cook Thai Green Curry.... perfect for an informal dinner party. For the life of me, I couldn't think what to serve as a starter with this... in the end, I jumped continents and decided to crack open the Ottolenghi book once again and cook 'turkey and sweetcorn meatballs with roasted pepper sauce'. The reasoning behind this being I wanted sharing platters where everyone could just dig in....and my addled brain was struggling to come up with a better suggestion.

Just to really mix things up, I also made a Satay dip to go with the meatballs (The dip recipe being pinched from 'World Kitchen' and being surprisingly involved (Hello shelling monkey nuts to get 100g of unsalted peanuts...took bloody ages).

For the dessert I fatefully decided to crack open Ramsay's 'A Chef for all seasons' and cook the Orange and Lemon tart recipe....I was thinking, nice...light citrusy to finish off the meal. So far so good. But, it was an untested recipe for me.....and this was to later prove decisive.

The turkey meatball starter I made just before they arrived, pre-made the two dips....all good. The Thai Green Curry recipe is Nigel Slater's from 'Real Food' I've made it umpteen times before and it always turns out well. I'd made the green curry paste during the day and would start cooking the actual curry just before the guests arrived. I was going to serve this with some lime leaf rice.

But the orange and lemon tart....I knew it was going to be trouble, the pastry case I made was a thing of beauty.....so thin and perfect, the best I've knocked out ever. But the low cooking temperature and the mention of 'just lightly set' in the recipe was setting off alarm bells in my head. But too late now, I ploughed on....

At this point I decided to have a drink....I hadn't eaten all day, and after just two beers (2!!) I was steaming....my guests hadn't arrived and I had loads to do. Throwing caution to the wind with an ill judged 'what doesn't kill me, makes me stronger' attitude, I carried on drinking.

The turkey meatball and dips starter went down well, and was eaten in no time.
I stagger out to the kitchen to check on the status of the supposedly setting tart. It's liquid.

I cook the green curry and rice, and stagger back in....utterly munted now. Everyone helps themselves, they're making appreciative noises.....the whole lot gets eaten in what seems like minutes- every last scrap, even all of the rice. In the back of my mind I'm thinking about the tart.

I go outside to check....it's still a pond.
Balls.

I return to the dining room to inform my guests 'I may be some time' and then proceed outside into the chill November air to hopefully freeze to death, a suitable penance I feel for the impending doom that is my dessert.
That would have been the noble thing to do, but what I actually say, no doubt in a rather slurred fashion "the tart may be some time....hasn't quite set" (Nervous laugh).
A barrage of drunken encouragement of 'I'm sure it's OK'.... 'Serve it anyway'.... I look away worried.

We decide to play some spectacularly stupid board game whilst we wait.
An hour later - I'm very drunk. The tart still hasn't set. I seethe and curse both the tart and Gordon Ramsay rather vocally...
I can't wait any longer, and egged on by my friends decide to serve it anyway....the GF is looking very drunk and everyone is so pissed I don't think they care anymore.
I caramelise the top with a blowtorch (almost drunkenly burning my eyebrows off in the process) I hope this crisp layer might offer some structural stability, It looks fantastic, but there's an ominous wobble there.

Taking the plunge, I cut into it......it's going to be ok.....no....no it's not.....
The banks have burst....."bring me some sandbags and a stirrup pump for crissake!!!"....
A flood of orange and lemon filling rolls across my worktop like a citrus Tsunami. It's unstoppable and goes everywhere.
I am utterly appalled.... so much work. It's a complete mess. I think I spy an upturned boat and an uprooted palm tree near the knife block.

Cursing liberally, but making the best of a bad job, I ladle my tart onto plates and proceed to serve it anyway.
My guests....well, they make all the right noises....it tastes fantastic, don't worry, it's lovely.
I sit at the other end of the table shell shocked and traumatised... I've seen too much and am now old beyond my years.
At this point, the dinner party breaks up completely as my GF...indulging perhaps a little too much in the free flowing booze disappears suddenly to be violently sick. My guests, sensing perhaps this would be a good time to scarper make their excuses and leave.
A perfect end to a perfect night.

The morning after see's me nursing a hangover that's so gigantic, It should be christened in the same manner Hurricanes are named.... Hangover Dave perhaps.
I'm looking at the remains of my tart and take solace from the fact that the crust is so thin and perfect. I have a little taste. And It's gorgeous.
Shit.
Not wanting to end this post on abject failure, I'll mention something that did go right this month. Gypsy Eggs or Huevos a la Flamenca. This recipe features in both The Eagle cookbook and Gastropub classics by Trish Hilferty, and it's cracking.

Basically fried chorizo and Serrano ham, removed from pan - then chopped onion, garlic and paprika cooked in the fat. Add a tin of tomatoes, frozen peas, chopped potatoes (I added some frozen sweetcorn as well) and 100ml of water and cook covered for 10-15mins.
Add the ham and chorizo back, crack a couple of eggs in and bake in a 200C oven for 5 mins or so until the eggs are just set.
The great thing is, the quantities don't really matter - you can chop and change this recipe however you like just throw in whatever you think goes best, which is always the mark of a great recipe - perfect for using up leftovers.

Many thanks to Quadrille for my review copy of Gordon Ramsay's World Kitchen.

The Eagle Cookbook - A Review.

Regular readers of my Blog may remember me mentioning The Eagle cookbook perhaps errr.....once or twice. It's been out of print for ages and it's probably one of the best recipe books I own. I've cooked from it a hell of a lot.
Well, it's recently been re-issued and updated. And, joy - I've been sent a copy to review.

Before I start- in case your not aware, The Eagle located in Farringdon Road, London is considered to be the pub that started the Gastro Pub revolution, I've eaten there quite a few times and the food is no-nonsense, Italian/Portugese/Spanish Peasant influenced type grub, very well cooked. The whole concept, including the interior, Victorian, battered, thrown together with mismatched furniture has been copied by countless gastro pubs all over the country. If your in the Farringdon area, it's well worth a visit - Their popular signature dish, the Bife Ana Steak Sandwich is incredibly good, it's the one item that's been on the menu every single day since the Pub opened, and I can highly recommend it. (Incidentally, the recipe for this is thankfully in the book, so you can have a go at re-creating it at home).

Which leads me nicely onto the recipe book...
It's all looking a bit slicker than my battered older edition.

The main difference between the New edition and the old, (apart from the original title 'Big Flavours and Rough Edges' being dropped), is a general slickness and tidying up, it looks beautiful and there's some fantastic food photography now (My old edition has lovely pencil drawings, and some photography, but strangely none of the actual food.... nice but a bit hard to interpret what the dishes are supposed to look like ). An equally important addition is some new recipes which, I've painstakingly tried to pick out....an easy task - Not!. The recipes aren't listed in the same order, and the Index in the old book is incredibly hard to cross-reference against. Here's a list, of what I believe are new recipes...

Pork and Bean Soup
Spicy Mussel Soup
Pasta & Pesto alla Genovese
Risotto Nero
Charmoula Mackerel (Provided by Sam & Sam Clark of Moro fame)
Esqueixada
Grilled Fennel Sausages, Lentils and Green Sauce.
Mutton Chop and Potato Hotpot
Braised Provencal vegetables
Sicilian Augergine Relish
Braised Puy Lentils
Celeriac Remoulade

So, I make that 12 new recipes in this edition - a couple of the dishes I actually cook regularly already (Pasta & Pesto Alla Genovese - my recipe here and the Grilled Fennel Sausages, which you can actually buy in G. Gazzano & Sons, just a couple of doors up from The Eagle - I posted about these before here).
I've also noticed at least one recipe I think has been dropped between editions - unless I'm going blind and missed it.
'Patatas Rettenos -Braised Wild Boar with Potatoes'.

I was also slightly disappointed to see that there's still no Portuguese custard tart recipe - the only dessert that The Eagle actually sells, gorgeous at around a £1 a go - although, perhaps a dessert section in the book with only one dish was considered a bit strange!

The recipes, especially the pasta dishes are really good indeed, I've tried so many of them with excellent results, in fact it'd probably be easier to list dishes I hadn't cooked out of this book, than the dishes I have, here's a few examples...

Spaghetti with roasted Fennel, Lemon and Chilli

Egg Fettucine with Ricotta, Peas and Smoked Pancetta.

Tagliata - Cut Seared Beef Salad.

If you own a previous edition, I'm not entirely convinced that it's worth shelling out more money for the re-issue, even with the 12 new recipes. Although, saying that, the new layout is nicer being much easier to read and there's the addition of excellent food photography (In fact, I was convinced that the Peas with Chorizo and Poached Egg recipe was a new addition - until I found it in my old copy, simply overlooked due to no picture of the actual dish).

So, in conclusion. It's fairly simple, I have no problem whatsoever endorsing this book, (I've been doing it for ages!) I absolutely love it. If you don't already own a copy, it's a must have.

Buy it.

The Eagle
159 Farringdon Road,
Farringdon
London.
EC1R 3AL

Telephone: 0872 148 4071

Big Thanks to Absolute Press for the review copy.

Orecchiette with Butter, Sage, Garlic and Parmesan.

If you read my blog regularly, you may remember me mentioning that I bought a new recipe book the other week. I've been after it for some time. It's called 'Big Flavours and Rough Edges' - Recipes from the Eagle. It's out of print, and copies are changing hands for over a £100. But, I found a second hand copy - condition 'Average' for a tenner - and practically chewed the sellers arm off. Apart from a preface page being ripped, its perfect....and seeing as how all my recipe books get well used and spattered with ingredients anyway, who cares. It's got some amazing recipes in it - I recommend it.

The Eagle pub on the Farringdon Road is one of my favourite gastro-pubs, the first gastro-pub, the place that started it all in fact, and although probably no longer the best, it's easily still in the top five. They sell the most amazing steak sandwich (and that recipe is what I was after when I purchased the book), but it's another recipe from the book I'm going to write about.

Last night, I cooked Orecchiette with Butter, Sage, Garlic and Parmesan and it was gorgeous, so simple, quick and cheap! with a scant 4 main ingredients. It's surprising sometimes how some of the most simple dishes are the tastiest. I've never used the Orecchiette pasta shape before, the recipe describes it as 'a chewy type of pasta that looks like the name suggests, little ears'.

Anyway - seeing as the books out of print, and to get your hands on this recipe your either going to have to shell out a £100+ or be really lucky like I was, I'll give you the recipe to try for yourself.

Orechiette with Butter, Sage, Garlic and Parmesan.

Serves 4

75g Unsalted Butter
450g Orecchiette Pasta
2 Garlic Cloves, crushed but left whole.
20 or so Sage leaves, finely chopped
4 Tbs freshly grated Parmesan Cheese.

Clarify the butter by melting it over the lowest possible heat and then skimming off the bits that float on top. Gently pour the clarified butter into a clean pan, discarding the curds (or is it Whey?) that will have collected at the bottom. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pan of boiling salted water until al dente, then drain.

Heat the butter with the garlic cloves and sage. When the garlic just begins to brown, remove it and throw it away. Mix the butter and sage with the orecchiette and Parmesan.