Raw Duck

Raw Duck is aptly named despite not literally serving its duck raw. A lot like it's big brother Duck Soup in Soho, this new Hackney opening provides more of the same but is a little rougher round the edges. It also has far more meat on the menu - be advised veggie fans of Duck Soup - you might want to check the menu before arriving. 

The day menu also looked fantastic - they serve a great unusual range of brunch food that looked delicious so our next visit will no doubt be a daytime one.

On this occasion, we just popped in for a refreshing vin blanc and light bite. The interior and decor are lovely and the environment relaxed and far less busy that Duck Soup - though being round the back of Hackney Central rather than in bustling Soho makes this no surprise. 

We drank the white Trebbiano that was being offered by the carafe - like Duck Soup, the vin du jour rotate so there's always something nice and new to try. 

We ate chopped hanger steak and salted cheese, fennel and watercress salad. The bill was more than reasonable - as dishes come in between £6 and £11 per plate. Though I prefer Duck Soup's approach of having many smaller veggie plates on offer for £3.50-4 each so you can try more for less. 

Nonetheless a pleasant evening well spent with a lovely relaxed service style. We will be back for more. 

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Summer roast beef & the trimmings

I am all about sauce.

I order food based on sauces and sides regularly (shh don't tell). It makes me feel like a bit of a heathen - especially at brunch. Hollandaise is a killer. One of my favourite and less guilty pleasures though has to be salsa verde. It's herby freshness makes you feel glowing inside and out without fail. So the other day after a long countryside lounging session, it seemed a good dish to base the rest of the meal around.

'Summer roast beef and the trimmings' was basically salsa verde with the trimmings for me, though also known as roast beef, anchovy brocoli, honey braised fennel, jerusalem artichokes and chips doused in salsa verde. 

We were lucky enough to have use of a herb garden to pick the mint, basil and parsley that I used for the sauce and the artichokes were also fresh from the garden. Mmm. You don't have to have a herb garden to get great stuff but in London I'd advise going to local green grocers and picking out your herbs yourself. Waitrose is likely to charge well over the odds for very little and it's always nice having a bit of spare mint floating around waiting to become a mojito at this time of the year.

The Ingredients for the trimmings:

500g beef sirloin roasting joint
3 artichokes
1 fennel bulb
1 bunch tender stem brocoli
2 maris pipers
30g flour
3 anchovies
1 tbs honey
splash white wine

and for the salsa verde:

Large handful of fresh mint
Large handful of fresh basil
Middling handful of fresh parsley 
2 tbsp sherry vinegar
2 tbsp dijon mustard
3 anchovies
1 tbsp capers
2 cloves fresh garlic
salt
pepper

For the beef:

Heat the oven to 180 degrees, rub a little salt and olive oil into the top of your joint, place on a roasting dish and cook for 30 minutes per 500g. Remember to let your beef rest before carving - about 5 minutes should do. You can check how pink it is by using a carving (or just a regular) fork to see how much juice runs out. I like my beef very pink - a joint is perfect to cater to everyone's needs though, as people who prefer theirs medium can eat the outer.

For the artichokes:

Remember to soak your artichokes upside down in salted water for 1/2 hour before you cook to get rid of any nasty little bugs who have squirrelled themselves away deep into the leaves. Boil a large pot of water on the stove and place the artichokes in. You'll need a weight or a lid to ensure that they remain submerged as they're cooking. Cooking time varies dramatically by size and freshness so allow for 40 minutes but check after 20. They're ready when the leaves easily come away from the stem.

For the fennel: 

Thinly slice your bulb then lightly fry in olive oil until browned. Add your splash of white wine and the honey, turn down to a very low simmer, put the lid on and leave for 10-15 minutes until softened through. 

For the chips:

Heat a pan of oil in the oven as it warms to 200 degrees/ gas mark 5. Meanwhile slice your maris pipers this finely and roll in salted flour. Once the oil has been in there 15 minutes, remove and pour your chips in. Turn every 10 minutes three times, draining the oil after the second turn, then turn the oven off  and leave them in there for another 10 to dry them out.

For the broccoli:

Boil your water in the base of your steamer whilst you finely chop your anchovies. Place your broccoli in the steamer dish with the anchovies. Squeeze 1/2 a lemon over the broccoli and leave it in the steamer with the lid on for 4-6 minutes depending on how crunchy you like your greens. Give the mixture a stir to get the melted anchovies coating your broccoli before removing. 

For the salsa verde: 

Chop, mix, stir... 

Oh and serving suggestions: al fresco... preferably at sunset with a bottle of my favourite new Wolf Reisling: or more readily available old favourite: Dr. Loosen...

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Flo's Weekender: To The Lighthouse

A couple of weeks ago I booked a last minute break in St Ives. It is a long way from London but I was able to do the bulk of the travelling early enough on Friday to have a nice evening wander and meal before the weekend began. We actually stayed a five minute train ride away from St Ives, in Carbis Bay where the beaches are beautiful and good degree emptier than those in St Ives. Our hotel was comfortable enough but not one I would really recommend, since there were few options by the time we booked and we saw much more picturesque accommodation on our way.

St Ives was as charming and twee as ever but a lot more crowded than when I last visited many years ago for a New Year's Eve party. The sea gulls have also developed an aggressive appetite for ice cream and regularly swoop down to opportunely swipe the whole thing, cone and all from unsuspecting tourists. That aside the sea, sand, cliffs and wildlife were wonderful!

After I returned from my trip I realised that big sister Elle had also been to St Ives and reviewed it here. I knew she had been to the Cornish Coast but I hadn't realised quite how much our trips had overlapped. I wrote my review without having looked at hers and it is funny how we reach exactly the same conclusions, especially with regard to Porthmeor Beach Cafe, which was the best meal we had too.

Over the two days our food was pretty hit and miss, we started off well at Blas Burger. Not your typical seaside meal, this new burger joint serves absolutely scrumptious burgers with exciting toppings such as truffle mayonnaise, mushroom and spinach. Their chips and aioli were also perfection with just the right degree of outside crisp and inside fluffiness, and with a good level of heat retention too.

The next day we went to their sister restaurant, the Halsetown Inn, which is a lovely half hour countryside walk away  from St Ives. It grieves me to say that the food was pretty ill-conceived at times, although the owner was so friendly that it almost didn't matter. The crab salad however was nicely meaty and rich with a good measure of brown meat in it (though obviously not as good as yours truly's, recipe here). There was also a good selection of ciders and ales, so it is still worth taking a nice walk there, passing through enchanted looking fields of white horses and a cosy little village.

Luckily before we left for the Inn we had already eaten well. We wanted to sample the infamous Beck's fish and chips right by our hotel in Carbis bay so shared what can only be described as a massive 'small' portion of fish and chips. We went for the haddock and it was gloriously fresh out of the ocean with succulent flakes of soft white meat.

For dinner we went to Sea Food Cafe which was booked out until 9pm  and had been recommended to us. We had the skate wing in caper and burnt butter sauce, a favourite of mine but it turned out pretty badly. I would definitely give this place the benefit of the doubt and say they had a momentary slip since the service was excellent and it is clearly very popular. We topped off the day with cream tea at The Tea Room which was really, really good and served Tregothnan tea grown in Cornwall. So delicious I had to buy some tea and scones to take home! 

The Tea room is on the harbour, 100 metres down from the Sloop, a legendary smuggler's pub which despite its tourism credentials continues to host a crowd of what sounded like locals and sell good cheap Cornish brew! We finished the evening there, watching the sun set.

The day was spent walking along the coast and in the Barbara Hepworth sculpture garden (free entry with Tate members card, ka-ching!) It is a really lovely place to visit and see a lot of her work together. I particularly love the smoothed wooden sculptures she makes, full of holes at perpendicular angles like hag stones.

This was complemented the next day at the Tate in St Ives where there is a currently a Barbara Hepworth and room with a panoramic sea view behind it. 

After that we ventured up the cliffs and played mini golf for the bargain price of £2.50 each (straight along the coast, left out of the Tate.) Despite my embarrassing lack of finesse it was a good laugh and had such an incredible view that neither of us cared if the other spent ages trying to find their ball again in a ditch!

We finished off our time with a celebratory meal at the Porthmeor Beach Cafe where we had the best food yet, namely a spectacularly well thought out battered monk fish fillet with a caramel, minty pineapple salad. This was one of those dishes where you just have to eat it to understand its glory. Other than that we had a fish burger - a lightly battered fish fillet in a burger with delicious homemade tartare sauce, an aubergine, pomegranate, basil and saffron yoghurt salad, Harissa mackerel and chips. Lots of deep frying but all delicious. The restaurant itself has the ideal view and lovely cool alcoves where you can escape from the heat. 

I never actually made it to the lighthouse, despite my love of Woolf!