Nuts from Bulgaria

Sometimes recipes are the result of simple serendipity. I met two lovely people this weekend who have carved a life for themselves in Bulgaria. They are canning their own foods, making wine and using all the fantastic ingredients they have to hand. We did, of course, spend some time talking about recipes and foods, and generally about how eating fresh, seasonal ingredients is one of life’s true pleasures.

Angie and Ivor very kindly gave me a sack full of Bulgarian walnuts – as well as indulging me in some home grown merlot. The Bulgarian nuts are smaller than the walnuts I usually source, and darker too. In texture they are creamy and have a distinctly sweeter flavour than the paler variety we see in the UK every Christmas.   With the next event on the way, and it being of an Eastern European flavour, I had to find a way of getting these Adriatic fruits onto the menu. Not only did I get them onto the menu, but I also got them onto the wall, ceiling, cupboards, boiler and most of the oils and vinegars that live on the work surface – I will explain.

Yesterday I decided to include an amuse bouche on the menu which will be a beetroot puree, topped with a savoury curd cheese, served in a shot glass. We tried it last night and it is delicious. The puree has been made from the consome process, and carries a velvety rich beetroot flavour, with a hint of star anise.  The curd cheese is made by steeping the milk in rosemary and splitting it with lemon juice. However, with the introduction of walnuts, I decided to cream them with some chicken stock and horseradish to create the creamy topping for the appetizer.

Whilst forcing the walnut puree through muslim, the pressure became too much and the material burst with an explosive force, splattering the tasty contents all over the kitchen.   Attempt two has proven to be more successful, and I am happy to say that thanks to Angie and Ivor’s lovely nuts, and some serious cleaning on my part, I have now added the Beetroot, Walnut and Horseradishshot to Saturday’s menu.

Enjoy.

Please let us know if there are any ingredients you would like to see on the Table Without Borders. Are you a local producer? whether commercial or an allotment grower, we want to buy your produce so that we can continue to Taste Globally & Cook Locally.

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We’re off!

Last night we launched the Table Without Borders with a small gathering of select diners. The initial feedback has been excellent and we would like to take the opportunity to thank all who came and helped get this show on the road.

The way we serve our food is to keep a steady flow of dishes arriving  at the table at just the right speed to keep the evening bubbling along. A social dining event should be like a piece of theatre that has pauses and excitement, expectation, surprises and rhythm. We served the as a whole in itself rather than in separate courses, and the guests enjoyed the variety of flavours and tastes, as well as feeling that they were being cared for, but also surprised at every turn.

Food is an entertainment that we can all enjoy.

Anyway, that the conceptual stuff – what, more importantly, did we eat?

The menu was pretty much as advertised with a few changes, the most notable of which was the last minute

addition of some “Surrogate Wasabi,” as the guests have christened it.(above).

Wasabi root itself is not easy to cultivate, and as a consequence it is expensive to source. Most of the wasabi paste in this country is up to 90% horseradish. Wasabi root has a milder flavour than horseradish which can be quite agressive and intense. Our recipe softens the flavour of the horseradish with rice vinegar and mirin, whilst adding freshness and a peppery note with fresh watercress. The result is a vibrant green paste which has both heat and freshness. The surrogate wasabi is also in keeping with our approach of using cultural influence, fused with local and reagional ingredients and flavours. Also on the menu was pumpkin puree hosomaki, salmon and tuna sashimi, and one item that didn’t quite make it was the potato, fennel and ginger gyoza dumplings – these will be on the menu for the next Kawa Table Without Borders.

What next?

As I am writing this, I am leafing through some Hungarian baked fish recipes to begin planning our next pop up event which will be an Eastern European dinner to continue the “Without Borders” theme. We will be bringing you the menu very soon, along with pricing details, venue and all the rest of the stuff you will need to know to come and enjoy a wonderful evening’s dining which is unique to Bendy’s Kitchen.

See you soon.