March 2013 Archives

If you’ve always wanted to learn how to make your own pastry, whip up some choux, and bake melt-in-the-mouth shortbread, then this class is for you.

Guest chef Rachel Davies will demonstrate key patisserie skills and you will make Chocolate and Raspberry Tartlets, Coffee Éclairs with Crème Chantilly and Fleur de Sel Shortbread. After this hands-on class, you’ll leave with the confidence to tackle patisserie at home.

This class includes supper with wine, and patisserie and recipes to take home. 

Rachel Davies trained in Cuisine and Patisserie at Le Cordon Bleu and worked at Galvin Bistro de Luxe in Baker Street and Lanka Patisserie in Primrose Hill.

Date: 27th March 2013

Time: 7pm-10.15pm

Location: Highbury, London N5, near Arsenal tube

Price: £75.  10% discount if you bring a friend, so £135 for two.

To book: email Anna

Please read the booking terms & conditions before booking your place. Thank you.

somewhat Spanish

Cava oloroso cocktails
Roast almonds, chorizo de bellota, olive-anchovy pinxos

Mackerel escabeche on grilled sourdough

Chicken leg confit with chickpeas, chorizo & chard

Cardamom panna cotta with rhubarb and blood oranges

Coffee shots, homemade liqueur

The Cooking Club is a monthly series of classes that you can dip in and out of as you please. At each class we cook a seasonal vegetarian supper, the stars of which are Riverford's beautiful organic vegetables and fruits. This class is perfect for those who want to eat seasonally and are after a little recipe inspiration (as well as a fun night out).

Classes are usually held on the second Tuesday and/or Wednesday of the month, 7pm-10pm. We cook together for a couple of hours - learning different culinary techniques each month - and then sit to enjoy a convivial dinner around the kitchen table with wine.

Come in March for inspiration for cooking seasonal stars such as purple sprouting broccoli,  leeks, spinach, spring onions and bananas. The menu is usually set at the last minute so that the best seasonal produce available from Riverford at the time can be used.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed these classes. I have learned many new skills and the classes have given me ideas on using seasonal vegetables. I have used many of the recipes again.”

“Thank you for another wonderfully inspiring and enjoyable evening.”


Date: Tuesday 12th and Wednesday 13th March 2013

Time: 7pm - 10pm

Location: London N5 (Arsenal tube 2 mins walk)

Price: £45 per person per class. Or £120 for 3 Cooking Club class places, which could be 3 for you, or you plus 2 friends, or as gifts, or any combination of those options.

To book: Email Anna Please read the booking terms & conditions before booking your place. Thank you.

This is my favourite way to cook lamb shoulder.  Your lamb will be meltingly tender, juicy and full of flavour.  You can keep the shoulder whole and present it at the table.  You won’t need a carving knife - just spoons and forks to pull off pieces of soft meat.  Or you can remove the meat from the bones after it has cooked (as described below) and serve it individually plated.  You could pair it with mashed or roast potatoes, a root vegetable gratin, or rice.  I think it’s particularly delicious with barley or spelt ‘risotto’, with a dose of salsa verde on top.

The recipe takes some time, but is far from difficult.  It’s based on the method I used at Chez Panisse, where we cut the shoulders from the lamb carcasses, trimmed and seasoned them the day before.  For best results I recommend starting two days in advance.  On the first day, trim and season the meat.  On the second, cook it, remove the bones and strain the sauce.  On the third, skim off the remaining fat and reheat gently. 

This recipe is adapted from Claudia Roden.  This cake has north African and Spanish roots.  According to Claudia, citrus cultivation and trade was particularly associated with Sephardi Jews around the Mediterranean, and there are any number of orange cake recipes in Sephardi culture.  

This cake is remarkable for its total lack of both butter and flour.  You could use five or so clementines or tangerines instead of the oranges. 

Don't worry if the cake sinks as it cools, or in fact turns out looking rather boring.  Trust me it is delicious, especially if served as a pudding with freshly sliced blood oranges and whipped cream.

Pork shoulder is suited to slow cooking and will be melt-in-the-mouth tender given time.  The cider braising liquid, lightly pickled leeks and punchy horseradish make this a surprisingly clean and bright dish.  Serve with potatoes or pearled rye or spelt.  

Recipe adapted from Mia Kristensen of CPH Good Food.  www.cphgoodfood.dk

Crispy cookies with a beautiful dark color and a great malty, almost coffee or chocolate-like flavour.  For Christmas you could add flavorings such as 1 tsp cinnamon or mixed spices and ½ tsp grated orange zest - not New Nordic, but very tasty!

For a dessert, try layering crumbled cookies with toasted chopped nuts, whipped cream or yoghurt and fruit compote to make a trifle.  Malt cookies go well with cherries, hazelnuts and a small sprinkling of licorice powder.

Recipe from Mia Kristensen of CPH Good Food.  www.cphgoodfood.dk

We will focus on how to fit making your own bread into a busy life.  Who has the time to knead dough after work every day, let alone wait for it to rise twice before you bake it?  At this class you will learn cunning techniques and recipes for making your own delicious bread effortlessly, and without using a bread machine! 

After this hands-on intensive workshop you will be able to make a range of easy breads - classic white boules, walnut and olive breads, focaccia, naan and flatbreads - without any of them being a chore.  Homemade pizza or pitta on a school night will suddenly become a possibility!  You will work with a range of top quality organic and stoneground flours including wholewheat, malted and spelt.  

What’s more you will go home with a homemade bread-making kit specially sourced by Anna which will include all the essentials you need to get going immediately, even your own tub of bread dough to last you the week and wooden peel for loading bread into the oven.  Plus of course there will be plenty of the freshly baked bread you have made to take home. 

The workshop includes a delicious seasonal lunch showcasing different types of bread.  You can see pictures from previous Home Bread classes here and here.

Dates:  Saturday 2nd March 2013, repeated Sunday 3rd March

Time:  10am - 4pm

Location:  London N5

Price:  £120, or two for £216

To book:  Email Anna

Please read the booking terms & conditions before booking your place.  Thank you.