Secret Kitchen menu, 26th January 2013

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third anniversary dinner

Sloe gin sour or sloe gin & tonic
Blini with home-smoked mackerel, horseradish & beetroot

Endive, watercress, quince, Stichelton & walnut salad

Lamb shoulder with barlotto,
salsify, Savoy and salsa verde

Sticky toffee pudding with vanilla ice cream

Blackberry liqueur

About tonight’s menu

Happy birthday Secret Kitchen!  Three years of dinners have flown by.  I’ve loved dreaming up a new menu each month – Italian, Moroccan, Turkish, French, Spanish, San Franciscan, Senegalese, Indian, Istrian, Danish and more – reflecting my culinary travels and interests.  And I’ve loved meeting so many people who’ve come to enjoy them and each other’s company.  Thank you all!

For tonight’s dinner I’ve repeated the braised lamb with barley ‘risotto’ which I did for the very first Secret Kitchen in January 2010, and the poached quince & Stichelton winter salad which featured in my ‘Quince’ menu.  Stichelton is the best Stilton you can buy – it is organic, single-herd and unpasteurised – but as the milk is not pasteurised they cannot call it Stilton!  I wrote about the fantastic cheesemaker, Joe Schneider, in my book, Eat Slow Britain.

Over the last year or two I have become increasingly enthusiastic about curing and smoking, so have home-smoked the mackerel today over apple wood chips.  Mackerel has been in the news this week since it is being over-fished in the north Atlantic.  Please rest assured these mackerel were fished by day-boats off the British coast, sourced by Meek & Wild in Highbury.

I have made many ice creams for the Secret Kitchen, but never sticky toffee pudding.  I’ve always wanted to, so here it is.