41
22 February 2020 THE WEEK
Food & Drink
LEISURE
What the experts recommend
Erst 9 MurrayStreet,Ancoats,
Manchester(0161- 8263 008)
Overthepastfewyears,winebars
haveundergonearather“startling
transformation”,saysMarinaO’Loughlin
inTheSundayTimes.Once,theywere
fusty,subterraneandivespopulatedby
chapsin“floridcravats”.Thesedays,the
bestareaccessible,funand“supercool”–
andservefoodthatisasignificantadvance
on“slatetilesheapedwithsheenysalami,
greyingpâtésandshrivelledcornichons”.
AnexampleofthisnewbreedisErst,from
theteambehindManchester’spopular
Trovebakeryandcafés.Theshortmenu
- a“magpiecollection”ofdishes–has
beendevisedbypeoplewhoreallyliketo
eat.Crispypotatoeswithyeastsauceare
“fiendishlygood”.Aboudinnoirisso
“splendidlypriapic”thatmypupilsdilate
justrecallingit.Thedecor,it’strue,isabit
lackingin warmth–andalarmingly,they
seemtobe“reinventingstriplighting”–
butthat’smorethanmade upforbythe
“intriguing dishes”,theexcellent wineand
the friendly,knowledgeable staff.Dinner
for two,withoutservice,£87.
SeabirdTheRooftop,The Hoxton,
Southwark,40BlackfriarsRoad,London
SE1(020-7903 3050)
I’vealwaysloved rooftoprestaurantswith
“unreasonable zeal”,saysTimHayward
in theFT.SoI’m pleasedtoreport that
thisnew seafoodplace –on the topfloor
of the newlybuiltHoxton Hotel–is
splendid. TheviewoverLondonfromhere
is amazing,and thefoodis“astonishingly
good”.Our mealstartedwith“spanking
fresh”razorclamsandanother dishof
clamssteamedintheirown broth,
accompanied bya“shockinglyfresh”
coriander pesto.Sensingthatthe kitchen
couldbe“trustedwithgood fish”, I
orderedawholegrilled John Dory–adish
which “I’vehadcomprehensivelybuggered
byfinerestaurants alloverthe world”.
Andmy faithwasrewarded: served
with apiquantmojoverde,thefishwas
“perfectlygrilled”.It wasthekind ofdish
thatmakesone“takepause andgenuinely
question one’slife priorities”.Sorecently
establishedthatit“stillsmells new”,
Seabird has“somehowmanaged to
achieveproper, old-schoolrooftop-
restaurant magic,straight out ofthe
traps”.Starters£5-£18;mains£16-£43.50.
The GumstoolInnCalcot&Spa,
Tet bury,Gloucestershire (0 1666 -890 391 )
The GumstoolInnisthemorehumble of
thetworestaurantshousedwithinCalcot
&Spa,aboutiquehotel intheCotswolds,
saysTomParker-Bowlesin The Mailon
Sunday.Ivisitedwithmyfatheronamisty
JanuaryeveningwhenIwas stillnursing
a“middlinghangover” fromthenight
before,and its“uncomplicatedcharm”
quickly putusat ease.There
wasacracklingfire,andthe servicewas
smoothand unobtrusive:“exactlywhat’s
needed for thosewithasomewhattender
constitution”.Istartedwithan“inspired”
Asianducksalad, the“shredded quacker”
mixedwithcashews and coolradish,
allbroughttogetherwithasharplime
dress ing.Themainswere“damnedfine”
too:chateaubriand fromlocalcows,
“cookedtherarerside ofpinkandhewn
intogreatbloo dyhunks”; liverwithcapers
and“shardsofcrisppancetta”. Nearly
everythingwasspot-on, rightdown to
theespressowitha“marked acidickick”.
Thisisaplacethathastheconfidenceto
treat“goodingredients”with“knowing
respect”.About£30ahead.
Seabird:“astonishinglygood”
- Inalargewidesaucepan,heatthegheeor
butterandfrytheleekoronionoveramedium
heatfor8minuteswhileyouprepeverythingelse.
Addthegarlicandfryforanotherminute. - Addthestoc korb roth,choppedparsleyordill
stems,thyme,bayleaf,celery,carrots,rootveg
andsomesaltandpepper,popthelidonandcook
for15minutesuntilthecarrotsarealmosttender. - Meanwhile ,cookthenoodlesinaseparatepan
untilalmosttender(checkthelabelforsuggested
timings),thendrainandrinseundercoldwaterto
stopthemcookingfurther.Tosswiththeoliveoil
tostopthemclumpingandsetaside. - Backtoyoursouppan:addthechopped
cabbageandchardstems,shreddedchicken,
lemonjuiceorvinegarandcookforafew
moreminutes.Addthechardleaves,frozen
peasorsweetcornandcookednoodlesfora
final2minutessothatthechardwilts,thepeas
cookandthenoodlesheatthrough.
- Seasontotasteandserveupstraightaway,
toppedwiththefreshherbleaves. - Wastenot:youdon’thavetousenoodles
here,youcanaddanypastashapesyoulike,
sojustusewhateveroddsandendsofpasta
packetsyouhave.Youcouldevenaddthepasta
straightintothesouptocookandsaveonusing
asecondpan.
Rescue noodle soup with leftover chicken
Serves 4 1 tbsp gheeorbutter 1 large leekoronion,diced 3 garliccloves,finelychopped 1.2 litresofvegetablestockorbonebroth
1 bighandfulofamixoffreshherbs,suchasparsleyanddill,stemsandleaveschopped(keepthechoppedstemsandleavesseparate)
1 tbspoffresh(or 1 tspofdried)thymeleaves 1 bayleaf,driedorfresh 2 celery sticks,diced 2 carrots,thinlysliced
2 handfulsof2cmchunksofrootveg,suchassweetpotato,squash,pumpkin,potatoor(inthesummer)courgette
400g of noodles or spaghetti, any type 1tsp olive oil 300g mix of cabbage, rainbow chard and/or chard, stems finely chopped and
leaves shredded (keep the stems and leaves separate) 300g leftover shredded chicken juice of¼lemon or1tsp appl ecider vinegar
2big handfuls of frozen peas or sweetcorn sea salt and black pepper
There’snothinglikeabowlofhomemadesouptomakeyoufeelathousandtimesbetter,saysMelissaHemsley.IfI’vehadaSunday
roastchicken,ImakethisonaMonday,usingstorecupboardingredients.Youcouldswapinanythingthatneedsusingup.
Taken fromEatGreenby Melissa Hemsley, published by Ebury Press at £22. To buy from The Week Bookshop for £18.99,
call 020-3176 3835 or visit theweek.co.uk/bookshop.
©PHILIPPALANGLEY