Edible art: It’s the real deal!

Espresso Martini in Soho or afternoon tea in Park Lane (with compulsory  touristy pics of Buckingham Palace)? You won’t find me saying no to either. But for the same price as two cocktails in London my mate Nic found a great Groupon deal: Chocoholics Afternoon Tea. We literally inhaled yummy open sandwiches, savoured endless cups of tea and marvelled over (and ate) designer cakes that sat on top of an artist’s palette made of chocolate. Set in the peaceful surrounds of the Hilton hotel – perfect for uninterrupted  girlie catch-ups. All of this and one of the prettiest doggy bags I’ve ever seen!

http://www.groupon.co.uk/deals/london/london-hilton-on-park-lane/26982977

Britalian veg drawer soup

I had a bit of moment, I had to clean out the fridge. Like a woman possessed, I had to sort out ‘that veg’ and plan the meals for the week ahead. Nothing else mattered but getting that bottom drawer in order. Too late. Those veggies would just about last one more day – let alone a week. An interesting mix of veg, there was only one thing for it – soup. I roasted the veg first, it’s great for giving soup that extra depth of flavour. Use whatever veggies you have! My recipe went something like this:

Serves: 6
Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 45-55 mins

6 carrots, peeled and halved or quartered lengthways
3 onions, peeled and cut into wedges
1 red pepper, deseeded and cut into chunky wedges
2 sweet Italian red peppers, halved and deseeded
1 red chilli, halved and seeds removed
200g tenderstem broccoli
Approx 3cm ginger, peeled and sliced
6 cloves garlic, whole in skins
4 sticks celery
3 sprigs rosemary
2tbsp olive oil
1.5L hot beef stock (made with 1 beef stock cube and mixed with 1 Knorr herb pot)
Few sprigs of basil, to garnish
1 lemon, to serve

1 Preheat the oven to 180’C, fan 160’C, gas 4. Divide all the prepared vegetables between two large baking trays with the rosemary. Drizzle with the oil, toss well and roast for 35-40 mins (remove lighter veg such as broccoli after 20 mins).

2 Remove the rosemary, then place all the veg in a large saucepan, pour over the beef stock and season with freshly ground black pepper. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 10 mins.

3 Allow to cool slightly, then blitz with a hand blender until smooth. Re-heat to serve. Serve with a squeeze of lemon juice and a sprig of basil to garnish.

Must-go: Gone! 

House of Peroni (see Food News #4 for more details)

A fab night. Like a posh, well-behaved house party. Move over warm wine and salted peanuts, I found myself with an ice-cold Peroni in one hand and a  crispy crackling, roasted pork belly bun in the other (seasoned with fennel seeds, rosemary & garlic. Heaven). So delighted, I decided to top it all off with a cheeky Negroni.

‘No, you can’t take home the posh Negroni bottle’ – Italian style…

Events continue until the end of may http://thehouseofperoni.com