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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Pirozhki

Pirozhki with cabbage, apple and paprika puree, topped with sour cream and thyme.

Pirozhki are a small pasty like savoury which are popular in Russia, Ukraine and Polan, although there are similar dishes all over the world. They are made with a sweetened yeast dough, which is filled and brushed with egg to give a beautiful golden glaze. I have served them here with an apple, cabbage and paprika puree, which has been topped with sour cream and thyme. The Pirozhki themselves are filled with chicken and walnuts flavoured with more paprika and sour cream and some Dijon mustard.

What I found interesting is that there is a Japanese equivalent called Piroshiki. This version is deep fried in Panko breadcrumbs. This is exciting for me because it comes from the very heart of what inspires me about cooking and food as a cultural experience. The Table Without Borders is all about understanding diversity and influence, the Piroshiki will now find a place on our Kawa (River) menu and so we begin to create menus without borders.

 

 

Eastern European Table Update

After some rather delicious research we have decided to shorten the menu for this and increase the portion size, as we think this is in keeping with the style of cuisine.

 

We will be updating the menu page shortly, but until then, this is what we are planning:

 

 

Borshch Consome with Beetroot and Chicken Stock Jellies

Blinis with Fennel & Wild Mushrooms

Spicy Pork Ribs with Spatzle & Roast Beetroot

Bulgarian Rice Pudding

…and a little surprise to finish.

 

I have just polished off some of the topping for the blinis an it goes like this:

Slice some fennel and oyster mushrooms into a heavy pan and bake in a little oil until the fennel is soft. (make sure you keep the root on the fennel or it will fall apart.)

Then…

Fry off some shallots and garlic in a heavy pan is some butter.

Add a good whack of white wine and white wine vinegar and reduce by about 50%

Add cream, mustard, Worcester Sauce, salt and a little pepper.

Reduce again by about half.

 

Strain the sauce over the fennel and cook slowly in the oven until soft (be careful not to let the sauce split.)

Fry your blinis (recipe here) and top them with the mushrooms and fennel.

Dress with the fennel tips and some fresh thyme.

Finally add a dollop of sour cream on top and sprinkle with some smoked paprika.

Enjoy.

 

 

 

 

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.