Travels with my friend – Part 4

To complete the picture, I should add that there are the usual bits and pieces – Intros of various breads and antipasti but in an understated way – keeping it short and definitely appetising.

There are steaks and salads and a selection of sides too.

There are many gluten free choices and if there's nothing that takes your fancy speak up, if there's a dish that you like the look of but isn't gluten free they'll try and change it for you so it is.

The staff are lovely – attentive without sitting on your shoulder, if you know what I mean.

I couldn't finish these travels without a couple of photos to back up my mouth, as it were, so here they are :

Grilled Baby Goats Cheese et al

Twice Baked Red Leicester & Chive Soufflé

I should have said at the outset – this menu tempts you to try dishes with ingredients you wouldn't ordinarily choose. A case in point – the dreaded piccalilli which is part of the soufflé – this is up there on my food hate list with sago. This condiment conjures up a vision, usually at Christmas time, of this bright yellow jar with huge lumps of stuff – I discovered later it was mixed vegetables – smothered in a strong mustard dressing, if you can call it that – ugh!

This piccalilli with the soufflé was delicious – I'm a changed woman!

Value for money? The best I've had in a long time.

Would I go back? In a heartbeat.

Ascoughs Bistro – telephone 01858 466966

ascoughsbistro@aol.com

Travels with my friend – Part 3

Please don't be alarmed – there will not be 50 parts to this trip!

Our lunch is at Ascoughs – a bistro located at 24-26 St. Mary's Road, Market Harborough LE16 7DU.

The lunch menu is priced at two courses for £12 and three for £16. In this day and age I'd call that better than good value – I can hear you saying “that's fine if the food is good” and of course you'd be right.

I'm not going to give you the whole menu – just a couple of options from the starter, main and dessert :

Starters

King scallops, English Asparagus, Pesto, Pine Kernels,

Endive, Parmesan, Parma Ham Shards

Grilled Baby Goats Cheese, Peppadew Peppers, Sauce Romesco,

Toasted Almonds, Olive Tapenade

Mains

Breast of Chicken, Goats Cheese, Stem Broccoli,

Charred Gem, Olive, Sauce Paloise

Twice Baked Red Leicester & Chive Soufflé,

Pickled Vegetables, Piccalilli, Pea Shoot and Baby Leaf Salad

Desserts

Dark Chocolate Mousse, Salted Caramel Bon Bons,

Praline Macaron, Peanut Butter Fudge

Warm Scotch Pancakes, Fig Jam, Sultana Emulsion,

Rum & Raisin Ice Cream

It makes you want to loosen your belt just reading it.

Part 4 is the last of these travels, I promise!

Travels with my friend … Part 2

Don't panic – I'm not going to drone on ad nauseam listing every shop in Market Harborough, there's only one more recommendation and again, for those of us who have a love of all things food related.

I should prefix this piece with a warning - you'll have to be strong for the next port of call. The Kitchen Range Cookshop is a veritable Aladdin's Cave. I know we live in an age where everything can be acquired online – that's fine if you're in a hurry and you need whatever it now but, every now and again, it's wonderful to mooch. The Cookshop is not huge – it's on two floors but every single centimetre is full of kit that you can't possibly live without – hence the warning. I have a routine – sad I know – I walk round the shop studying everything it has to offer, then repeat. My theory is you want everything at first glance, on second glance you hope reason has kicked in and you're in less danger of maxing out your credit card!

The other reason is that I have a list of “bits” that I try and commit to paper but generally forget – the “first glance” tour almost always triggers that list – I am therefore pleased to report that this wonderful shop had four items – here they are :

A kitchen is not complete without a couple of butter pots. Fish bone tweezers are an absolute must. The skewers are to spear my jacket potatoes ready for baking and last, but by no means least – tongs. The tongs are not for “cheffing”, they are really useful if, like me, you sometimes suffer with “creaking hands” and want to decorate or garnish dishes. If you buy tongs used in sugarcraft they are smaller and much easier to control.

Total cost of my continuing indulgences - £14.40 – bargain.

This shop is not expensive for some things – you can spend a fortune if you want to – hence my advice – do a circuit or two before you make your choices!

The Kitchen Range Cookshop, 5 Church Street, Market Harborough LE16 7AA www.kitchenrangecookshop.com

Travels with my friend … Part 1

… and a belated birthday present.

When you get to a certain age you run out of ideas for gifts, there are only so many ornaments, soaps on a rope and bubble baths you can get away with!

My friend and I take each other out for a spot of retail therapy and then lunch. Each chooses the location and the ultimate lunch destination.

Welcome to Market Harborough!

For those not aware, Market Harborough is a market town in Leicestershire, actually on the border of both Northamptonshire and Leicestershire. Its magic, for both of us, is that it has real shops, not the usual run of the mill high street.

There are two “must visit” places on the list and first up is Bagel & Griff – this shop has

has a fantastic array of all things beautiful for eating and drinking, textiles, storage, pictures and a selection of cards et al that you won't have seen before. If you need a gift for someone who has everything, then this is the emporium for you. I will resist the urge to waffle, I'll just show you a photograph of one of my indulgences :

They are so tactile – my justification for this purchase is, like it says on the box, “use for cold cuts or as cutlery in your picnic basket”. It's the time of year for alfresco eating and I hate plastic cutlery!

I rest my case and highly recommend a visit.

P.s. Bagel & Griff, 6/7 Church Square, Market Harborough, LE16 7NB www.bagelandgriff.com

Seasonal, freeze and borrow!

The only trouble with seasonal fruit and vegetables – particularly if you grow your own - is that you finish up with more than you can use.

Taking rhubarb as an example – I'm lucky that a friend grows it and, in turn, I roast it!

Roasted Rhubarb

Serves 4

550g rhubarb

85g golden caster sugar

Pre-heat your oven 200c/180fan/Gas 6.

Rinse the rhubarb and shake off excess water. Trim the ends and cut the rhubarb into little pieces. Put the rhubarb in a shallow dish or baking sheet with sides, tip the sugar over, toss it then shuffle the rhubarb so it remains in a single layer.

Cover with foil and roast for 15 minutes. Remove the foil – the sugar should have dissolved so give everything a shake and roast for another 5 minutes or until tender and the juices are syrupy. Test with a sharp knife, the rhubarb should feel tender, not mushy and kept its shape.

Freeze your roasted rhubarb in containers suitable for two servings. As I'm fond of saying it's easy to pull out more if you need it than waste all your hard work.

If you're serving as a dessert – crumble wins every time. Here's where I recommend “borrowing” a crumble topping recipe I first came across in Nigella's “How to be a Domestic Goddess” - by the way – that tome is 17 years old! The crumble topping is part of Plum and Pecan Crumble p.128.

Crumble topping

Serve 6 with 1kg of rhubarb

150g cold unsalted butter, diced

250g self raising flour

150g demerara sugar

200g pecans, some chopped finely others

left larger or whole

Rub the butter into the flour – you can use a mixer with a flat paddle but your fingers are better. You want texture to the crumb – a clump here and there – not fine. It used to be called “the rubbing in method” - use your thumb and the first two or three fingers to work the butter into the flour. Add the sugar and nuts and it's ready to use.

As English strawberries come into season try a combination of rhubarb and strawberry.

I freeze the crumble mix in bags so it's convenient to pull out whenever you need it – I just love my treasure chest – freezer!

P.s. On a savoury note if you're serving a main course of roast pork, try roasted rhubarb as a condiment – the richness of the pork with the sharpness works wonders.

It could be pizza!

As we know a pizza uses layers of ingredients. This is a “pizza” without the bread base and using a square – or round if you prefer – casserole or, in my case, a foil tray – measuring 30x25x6 cms.

Using the recipe mentioned in “Friday night is card night” as a template, build different layers.

Begin with a base layer of chicken, then the chorizo et al then repeat until you've used all the ingredients and bake in the same way. Nestling the bunches of tomatoes and garnishing with the Panko crumbs and Parmesan.

Healthier than a deep pan – most definitely – you can still serve bread of your choice on the side.

Any leftovers?

… it could be a wrap

In the event that there are any leftovers – fill a wrap for lunch …

... you might want to refine the size of the leftovers so that you don't cover the rest of your colleagues at the office when you take a bite.

As is always the case it will be even more delicious the following day – lunch envy – tee hee!

It could be a tray bake!

On the night :

Grease your baking tray.

Pre-heat your oven 180fan/200c/Gas 6.

Using a large frying pan stir fry the chorizo, onions and peppers on a medium heat for 2/3 minutes, add the stock and then add the potatoes – set aside. Your stock needs to be melted gently in the same pan – it forms a jelly when it has set.

Scatter the chicken onto the tray and then the chorizo, onions, peppers and potatoes over the top. Cover evenly with the stock. Nestle the bunches of tomatoes on the top and scatter the black olives. Season with salt and black pepper and sprinkle with Panko and Parmesan.

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

Serve straight to the table – make sure you have a heat proof surface and non slip proof mats to stop the tray moving around.

Serve with any good fresh bread of your choice – Italian would make the most sense with the bowls of balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil mixed together for extra dipping.

You'll notice that I've not mentioned additional garlic or herbs in the recipe – they are already there – in the slow cooked chicken and therefore in the strained stock but if you'd like to add more of either, go for it – I'd use garlic paste and either oregano or garlic Italian seasoning.

I love pulling ingredients out of the fridge, ready to assemble and go – in addition to which minimal fuss, maximum flavour and one tray to actually wash up – the remaining dishes are for the magic box – gets my vote every time!