The Week 22Feb2020

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