Secret Kitchen menu, 15th & 16th June 2012

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Watermelon martinis
Goat’s cheese and onion relish briwats

New season beetroots & carrots with orange, yoghurt & mint

Moroccan-spiced leg of lamb with flatbreads, harissa,
tzatziki and garden leaves

Mint tea ice cream with strawberries
and cardamom & pistachio cookies

Homemade liqueurs

About tonight’s menu

This menu is ‘Moroccan inspired’ rather than authentically Moroccan.  In Morocco you wouldn’t get yoghurt with your beetroot salad, and of course tzatziki is from the eastern Mediterranean.  Such misplacements usually annoy the hell out of me.  So, apologies, but spicy lamb just cries out for something yoghurty, as well they know in Turkey.

Now is the best time to eat spring lamb.  That marketed to us in time for Easter was born indoors while it was still winter, whereas lamb now has been outside eating the good green stuff all its life and tastes better as a result.

I’ve never had mint tea ice cream in Morocco, but I made it just as traditional Moroccan mint tea is made – with gunpowder green tea from China, lots of fresh mint and lots of sugar.  The flavour instantly transports me back to Morocco and jogs many happy memories.

Most of tonight’s ingredients came from my fantastic local shops, fetched and delivered by the lovely Hubbub folk, who are doing their best to keep us out of supermarkets and independent shops open.  Check them out.  Some of the vegetables and salad leaves came from Riverford, but look out for the sorrel, nasturtium, lovage and mustard leaves from the garden.