The Montpelier Basement

Remarkably for a waitress in the approaching summer I secured a late notice Saturday off (was too late to attend the gig I'd cancelled but count your blessings etc...) and after a little begging I secured a seat for myself and the Blonde at the much talked of Montpelier Basement supper club. Now, I'm not one of those bloggers who review food generally (not because I don't like such blogs, I like the well written ones, it's just that I don't eat out enough to warrant it) but this was too good an experience not to mention it here to you good and decent people who glance over this hastily written series of entries.

The notion of the supper club has been mentioned before in this blog (see Terroir de Toulouse) but not really explained, so for those of you not glued to twitter supper clubs are part of the 'guerilla restaurant' movement whereby food types host dinners for strangers in a home setting (like the Basement) or in some previously unthought of location (think The Secret Supper club on C4 hosted by Olly Smith). The rules are: BYOB, pay the suggested donation in cash, be prepared to meet new people loosen up a bit. The last rule is for me, I'm sure the rest of you are perfectly comfortable in social situations where you can't hide behind a focaccia or mountain of cakes.

This particular supper club is run by Elly and Dan, respectively of The Pear Cafe and Trethowan's Dairy, Dan also of Essex Eating, actually worth a read re restaurant reviews as he's definitely not doing it for freebies and knows his onions, so to speak. They source their food locally so everything is bang on season and take bookings of no more than four so that their tables will always have people mingling and communicating, if only ooh-ing and ah-ing about the food.


Oh the food. Just look at that menu. A foodie dream. I'm not going to waste time explaining dishes I haven't photographed and you haven't eaten as I won't do them justice. Just read that chalkboard and take it in, picture it, taste it. It was better than that. Picture it again. No, better than that too. Never mind. A particular revelation was the Sipsmith Gin, tonic and cucumber ice with little flecks of finely chopped cucumber though the dish adding a third texture to the liquid and ice. And it had a whopping gin kick to it, an amazing palate cleanser but not for the faint hearted drinker.

The Blonde and I arrived bang on time and were joined at our table by Jamie, a keen home gardener working in student accommodation, Jo, who worked for Aardman (wow!) and for instant food celebrity, Richard and Jo Bertinet of Bertinet Kitchen in Bath. All were charming, interesting people, M. Bertinet in particular I must thank for teaching us how to drink our Muscat and not telling us off for not knowing better! It will be properly chilled next time, je vous promets. We also happened to be attending the same night as a very lovely pair of friends who had sensibly booked and not had to beg returns. They were seated elsewhere, but from the catch up in the taxi home we gathered they loved it.

Having served the final course of rarebit served on Bertinet sourdough Dan and Elly emerged to join us and went from table to table chatting, joking and laughing, perfect hosts through and through. The Blonde and I emerged tipsily elated and more than a little in awe of the people who take on such a huge task, set it in their own homes and pull it off with such style.

For more information on Supper clubs check out MsMarmite's excellent site here.

And some Twitter links to get you in the know:

@BertinetKitchen
@trethowansdairy
@pearcafe
@MontpelierBsmt
@EssexEating

Pictures from Ms Marmite's site, and @MontpelierBsmt's twitter feed

Courgette madness.

I'm sitting here drinking coffee, nibbling on leftover duck leg. Bread is proving, the saucepan is warming for tomato sauce and the sun is shining onto the edge of the laptop. It's mornings like these that help one get through the week.

I apologise for my absence these last couple of weeks, one of the downsides to working in a restaurant is that a rush of bank holidays, while many of you sat back in the garden to tipsily murder an innocent sausage or burger over a flame, I was running around after those of you who sensibly opted to let someone else do the cooking. I'm tempted to put up a long rant about the restaurant industry but that would be childish. All I will say is this: when you enter a restaurant and meet your waiter, you enter into a two way contract. Treat them with respect and patience, especially on a busy day, and you will probably be rewarded with cheerful, attentive service. Be pushy, awkward or bad tempered and don't expect to see that waiter again. That's all I have to impart from now.

Anyway I promised some vegetarian recipes as part of cheaper cooking, so here are a handful. I bought some excellent pecorino at Source a couple of weeks back and it perfectly matched my recent obsession with courgettes.

Pecorino, Watercress and Almond pesto:

1 clove garlic (or more depending on your taste).
Equal quantities of blanched almonds, watercress and grated pecorino
Oil to loosen.

Crush the garlic using a mortar and pestle with a small pinch of salt until you have a paste.
Toast the almonds, chop them roughly and add to the mortar and carry on crushing. I leave a few bits of nut in there as I rather like a crunchy, chunky pesto but it's up to you. Add the watercress leaves and pound away till you have a bright green paste in your mortar. Stir in the pecorino and taste, adding more of anything you think it needs.

Stir in extra virgin olive oil until you have a loose dressing, goldine with nut and oil but with the brilliant green of the watercress flashing through. You can of course do all this in a small food processor but I prefer the mortar and pestle, the smell of all the ingredients blending and releasing their oils into one another.

I add this to pasta with a few toasted breadcrumbs for even more crunch, but it would make a bright, summery dressing for strong tasting leaves. It's also a lovely dressing for asparagus if you're wondering.



Risotto with pecorino and grated courgette
(I'm guessing most of you can make risotto so I'm going to rush through that a bit)
Serves 4

300g carnaroli risotto rice (another Source treat)
1 small onion, very finely chopped
3-4 cloves garlic
125/small glass dry white wine
1 litre good quality stock, be it chicken or vegetable.
2 generous handfuls pecorino
1 large courgette

Nothing new about how to make risotto, sweat your onion and garlic in oil, add your rice (make sure every grain is coated in oil, slightly toasted), add your wine, when that's evaporated add stock, splash by splash until your rice is cooked to your specifications.

finely grate your courgette in short, brisk strokes (you don't want long strands), squeeze out any excess water and stir into the risotto, making sure it's evenly combined. Add the pecorino, a couple of knobs of butter and beat vigorously till you have a glossy, shiny finish on the risotto. Serve immediately, or cool in the fridge over night and make arancini (frying patties of the risotto in breadcrumbs) which is equally lovely. The courgette keeps its flavour at both cooking stages and is a lovely spring flavour, with the kick from the pecorino to back it up.

Garlic pizzas with mozzarella, basil and chilli courgette ribbons.

Pizza dough made according to Jamie Oliver's recipe (or buy some, no one has to know!)
1 large courgette
garlic clove and good extra virgin oilve oil (or garlic oil)
small pinch chilli flakes
lemon juice
Mozzarella
basil

Prepare your dough and get your pizzas ready. Preheat your oven to its highest heat.

Using a peeler peel long, fine ribbons of courgette, stopping at the seeds. Toss the ribbons with a little oil, the chilli flakes and a squeeze of lemon. If you don't already have garlic oil, crush a clove in a mortar and pestle and stir in oil.

Brush the pizzas with the garlic oil and scatter over the mozzarella and courgette ribbons. Place them on a hot baking sheet or pizza block and leave for 5 minutes.

Remove the pizzas and add the basil and a little black pepper. Serve as a light lunch with salad leaves.

So there you are. Hope some of these appeal, will be back with more recipes soon.

TTFN