Ascoughs lunch - the pics

I will resist the urge to bore the pants off – this is just a sample.

Our starter was Falafel, Roasted Peppers, Charred Courgette, Grains, Soya Yoghurt Flatbread and Pomegranate Dressing, it looks like this :

Our main course was Twice Baked Goats Cheese Soufflé, Marinated Artichoke and Cucumber Salad and Toasted Sunflower Seeds, here it is :

I can hear you - “it doesn't look anything special”

It does now!

There are two desserts and here they are in all their glory :

Turkish Delight Cheesecake, Almond & Cherry Florentine,

Dark Chocolate Ice Cream, Rose Gel and Fudge Sauce

• or, if cake is your guilty pleasure :

Sticky Ginger Cake, Rum Raisins, Butterscotch
Sauce and Rum & Ginger Ice Cream.

A word of warning – you might want to wear clothes that have an expanding waistline, particularly if you want to indulge in the Intros before you embark on the following three courses!

A spectacular lunch.

August at Ascoughs

For those who are not familiar, Ascoughs is a bistro located at 24-26 St. Mary's Road, Market Harborough, Leicestershire LE16 7DU.

The last time I visited this restaurant for lunch was in May 2017 – a birthday present for a girlfriend and here we are again, a little later than we'd have liked but as we all know, life gets in the way.

These days you can view menus on line and I could have looked but resisted the urge. When I called to book our table I mentioned my favourite soufflé - a Twice Baked Red Leicester and Chive version - in the hope that I might be able to order two. Hold that thought – how delighted was I to be told that there was a Twice Baked Goats Cheese soufflé on the current menu.

I confess that after booking I couldn't wait any longer and peeked at the menu – it served its purpose – spoilt for choice and for me that's rare.

I've said before but am happy to repeat, Ascoughs' menus tempt you to try dishes with ingredients you wouldn't ordinarily choose.

The genius remains the same – the menu at the moment runs until 1^st September – 2 courses for £13 – 3 courses £17. Note to selves – you have to book, whether lunch or dinner.

Thought for the day … if you can remember how good a meal, or a specific dish was and that memory stays with you … pure joy.

Ascoughs Bistro – telephone 01858 466966

ascoughsbistro@aol.com

Mushroom paté – the pics and the twist

The twist is this – pushed for time – need inspiration? Take 150g of your paté, loosen it with 150g of double (heavy) cream and warm through. Hey presto, you have a mushroom sauce to serve with cooked chicken, fold through pasta and add whatever you find in a fridge forage.

By my reckoning a mid week supper would probably take the time it takes to cook the pasta and warm the sauce.

Ta dah!

A rant and a mushroom paté …

… with a difference.

It has been a while since I felt the need to rant but I am doing so now in support of my friend. Chatting recently, setting the world to rights as you do, the subject inevitably turned to food and she told me a story about her favourite mushroom paté – that was – i.e. past tense – it is no more.

Can someone please explain why, when a product is in demand - to the extent that you're constantly asking when the next delivery is due - the product line is dropped. I've always thought of myself as a dinosaur, technologically speaking, but in these modern days of bar codes and stock control, blah blah – may be I'm missing something but doesn't all that information tell them – “crikey this is popular stuff, it's flying off the shelves”.

Here's my mushroom paté – I can't tell you what my friend's verdict is since she hasn't sampled it yet – I'll report back.

Mushroom paté

250g chestnut mushrooms

250g cream cheese

4 cloves of roasted garlic

30g unsalted butter

a glug of extra dry sherry*

salt and black pepper

2 tsps of tapenade – optional

Trim the mushrooms, clean and then slice finely. Using a medium frying pan – mine measures 28cms in diameter - melt the butter and then add the sliced mushrooms with the garlic and sauté. Mushrooms release liquid and they need to be sautéed until it has disappeared – 10 minutes. 7 minutes into the cooking time add a glug of sherry. Continue sautéeing until the sherry has been absorbed – 3 minutes.

Let the mushrooms cool.

Blitz the mushrooms in a food processor, add the cream cheese and blitz again. Season to taste and leave to cool. Decant the paté into pots or boxes to suit and fridge until required.

Serve with whatever form of bread that takes your fancy. Me – I've just baked soda bread – tee hee!

*A glug refers to liquid, usually oil or alcohol too in my culinary book. If you want to be reasonably accurate then a glug is what I'd call a generous tablespoon.

*A word about dry sherry. If you're not a sherry drinker – not my favourite tipple – then you might find it useful to know that, for the purpose of this recipe, and anything to do with enhancing the flavour of mushrooms, fino is the driest followed by manzanilla and then amontillado – any of the three will do very nicely. Alternatively you could use a glug of a good red wine.

I feel so much better for having got that off my chest!

Veggie box – the garlic

There are two gigantic bulbs of garlic in the box. I always roast my garlic and then “pop” each clove - freeze in small pots, inexpensive – check out the baby aisle. These gigantic bulbs are however a different kettle of fish. Have you ever heard of “elephant garlic” - huge bulbs that measure 10cms (4”) in diameter. The bulbs I had weren't quite so large but not far off. Elephant garlic is said to be not “real” garlic but a stem leek. Larger and milder than the norm – especially suitable for roasting.

My research tells me that it can grow to 150mm across and weigh over a kilo – yikes, 2.2lbs in old money.

Needless to say I am going to need considerably larger pots than I normally use!

Have a look at these pics :

I roasted the two bulbs, drizzled with a drop of rapeseed oil in a pre-heated oven 180fan/200c/Gas 6 for an hour. I left to cool, gloved up and then peeled back the skin and popped the cloves. There were 10 massive specimens, some of which were larger than others so I had to take radical action and cut some in half so that they'd fit into the containers!

You can grow your own elephant garlic – check out your favourite search engine.

It's really satisfying having reaped the benefit of my friend's hard work and generosity to know that I've not wasted the beautiful fresh produce.

Veggie box - passata pics and tips

Food for thought – my favourite tomato sauce recipe would be to serve with meatballs, in a bowl with good bread – what I call “feet up food”. Try a submarine roll filled with mozzarella slices or even spiced fried halloumi - add meatballs and drizzle with the tomato sauce.

More thoughts - a sauce base for a bolognaise or create a delicious tomato soup – if you're into cold soups then a gazpacho will tick that box.

If you want a posh idea, turn your passata into a puttanesca sauce by adding tomato paste to enrich, followed by pitted Kalamata olives, capers and anchovy fillets.

My freezer “store cupboard” is looking very healthy!

Veggie box – the tomatoes

In this heat you have to work fast or your goodies will spoil. I can't possibly use everything all at once so I need to cook and freeze what I can, so the tomatoes are up next. I have it on good authority that they are an Australian variety, suitable only for cooking – that's all I know!

A passata fits the bill and a quick version too. Since it's going to be frozen the flavours will continue to develop and, more to the point, a passata is versatile.

Passata – the quick way

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, peeled and finely chopped

4/5 cloves of roasted garlic

1.5kg tomatoes, chopped roughly

6 fresh basil leaves

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

2tsp caster sugar

salt and black pepper

Using a large saucepan – 22cms in diameter, fry the onion and garlic for 10 minutes until soft. Transfer to a food processor or blender and blitz to a smooth paste and set aside.

Add the tomatoes and basil to the pan and cook gently, stirring frequently for 20/25 minutes until the tomatoes are soft. Cool for 10 minutes then push through a sieve to give a smooth sauce.

Rinse out your saucepan and return the sauce and paste, add the vinegar and sugar and simmer gently for 10/15 minutes, stirring until you have a thick passata. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Cool then decant into suitably sized containers for freezing - if you want to use it straight away fridge it – it will keep for 3-4 days. Frozen, your passata will keep for up to 2 months.

As a guide you'll get 600ml of passata from the recipe.

Remember to freeze in small amounts – you never know what you might decide to cook - you can always pull out two or three portions.

Waste not want not!

Passata pics and tips coming next.