All posts filed under: Food News

Do Diwali 2015 with Beth Does Food

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Do Diwali 2015 with Beth Does Food Diwali. the ancient Hindu festival of lights, is only two weeks away and i’ve been working on some delish recipes which celebrate the vibrant colours and flavours of Indian street food. Shot by the fabulous food stylists Faye Wears (www.forksknivesblog.wordpress.com) and Lauren Miller (www.laurenmiller.co.uk), my recipes are based around street food classics and are the perfect way to celebrate Diwali yourself. Hope you guys enjoy my recipes. In the meantime, here are some teasers to get your taste buds tingling. Check ’em out – alvida! BDF x

Mango & Lime Lassi Posset

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I survived on mango lassis when I was living in India. Like an Indian-style smoothie, lassis are made from yoghurt mixed with water and spices, and can be salty or sweet. Salty lassis take a bit of getting used to but are delicious on a cold day. Different parts of India have different preferences and flavourings. In North India, we mainly drank mango lassis. The mangoes over there are so fresh and juicy, you can squash them up with your hands into a pulp, make a small hole in one of the ends and suck out the juice. This, mixed with goats milk yoghurt, plenty of jaggery (unrefined cane sugar) and spices is the basic foundation of a lassi, and absolute heaven after a rich spicy meal. I’ve been working on a dessert to finish the evening of my Curry & Chips Club (my first Curry For Change supper club which will raise money for the charity Find Your Feet). I have come up with the Mango Lassi Posset: a  smooth and creamy lime posset with all the beautiful flavours of a lassi. It’s …

What I learned at Cinnamon: the art of Indian cooking

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I ate like a Queen this weekend. Beautiful, refined and proper clever Indian cooking. The food successfully mixed authentic flavours from all over India with more classic European cooking techniques and styles, which always did service to the original dishes but enhanced the dining experience. This type of cooking is a real art; a dish is never changed for the sake of being different. Everything I tasted was true and intelligent, without trying to be fashionable or in trend. I was privileged enough to spend the weekend as the guest of Vivek Singh at two of his three London restaurants, Cinnamon Club and Cinnamon Kitchen. As well as the chance to explore the kitchen at Cinnamon Club, where I skipping around with a spoon like a kid in a sweet shop, I also attended their Wine & Spice pairing at Cinnamon Club and a Vegetarian Masterclass at Cinnamon Kitchen, hosted by head chef at Cinnamon Club Rakesh Ravindran Nair and manager Hari Nagaraj. I took away with me so many tips. Here are my favourites: A pinch of sugar: …

Giving in to the Instagram Fitspiration b****es again!

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I’m used to taking pictures of lovely food porn that makes my eyes bulge and my mouth drool. But today is Tuesday, the day before Monday, which (every week) is the beginning of my healthy eating regime (again) and, as well as flailing about in the free weights section,  i’m keeping a food diary to keep my meals in check. If I don’t I can happy end up eating two dinners quite without noticing. So here’s some sickeningly wholesome dishes that i’ve been knocking up in the last few days. I’ll be awaiting my medal in the post… If you’d like any of these virtuous recipes, do drop me a mail 🙂 x

Michael Sander’s E7 Supper Club

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The prospect of a night of communal eating with strangers can be a bit daunting. Especially when you’re not on holiday in a tropical village, sitting on the floor eating with your hands in an attempt to  ‘live like the locals’, and instead in London, where if you try to start a friendly conversation on the tube you’ll probably end up on the front page of the Metro as: Creepy Welsh girl who made conversation with stranger on London Underground is sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for too-social behaviour. But this week my boyfriend and I visited our first supper club and all our reservations were thrown out of the window. Michael Sanders (MasterChef 2014 Semi-finalist) and his girlfriend Naomi run their pop-up restaurant/ supper club every month in E7, underneath a railway arch, in The Wanstead Tap. A table of 20 sat people from all walks of life, some locals, some from far away; but we all had one thing in common. We all just wanted to eat great food – that is the beauty of …

The Rise of the Chicken Shop, how not to do it & a Chicken orgasm at Clutch.

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The chicken shop market is a crowded coop.  Gone are the days that fried chicken was reserved as fuel for gangs of teenage boys or a second dinner for drunks stumbling home. Just like the burger before it, and the chip before that, fried chicken has shed it’s ‘fast food’ reputation and been given a makeover. First came the dirty (Monkey Fingers at CHICKENLiquor and the like); American-style chicken burgers and wings, clogging you up with thick, sticky stuff, served in paper wrap on a big metal tray (or dogs bowl, or whatever looks the most filthy). As tasty as this face-plant inducing, cheese-drenched, bacon-suffocated cuisine is, this type of eating is not sustainable. I mean, it’s not the right type of food to set you up for for a quiet night, let alone a night of dancing (plus, you don’t want to add to that morning-after guilt with the regret that you scoffed all that greasy poultry). Now there’s a surge of ‘high quality’ chicken shops that achieve perfect balance – that amazing fried …

Beer & Buns

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I just had to write a little post of thanks to pop-up bar/restaurant ‘Beer & Buns’ for providing a well needed mid-week drink (actually, it was only Tuesday) and the best pork ‘Hirata’ buns i’ve eaten in London! What’s on the menu: Very simple, buns and wings What to choose: BUNS- chicken buns are their ‘Signature’ but go for the pork; the bread is soft and pillowy, with sticky pork belly and rich red, saucy cabbage. Prepare to dribble. WINGS- Korean Hot do exactly what they say on the tin but they are so damn moreish – a deep heady heat and flecked with toasty sesame (thank gawd for a big glass of ice cold Asahi to relieve a numb tongue). Where: Find it ‘Upstairs’ @ K10, Liverpool St for the near future! Tip: Visit on Tuesdays for  2-4-1 on all food! http://www.beerandbuns.co.uk/

So Japaneasy

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My love of Japanese food spawned in a not very romantic way. Diving into a late night box of half-price sushi at itsu, at the end of a long and boring day sitting at the computer, doesn’t sound like the beginning of a culinary odyssey. But from then on, once I got the idea of sushi in my head… it was the only thing pulling me through the day! Who knew the combination of sticky sweet rice, creamy avocado and salmon, nutty sesame and loads of punchy wasabi could be oh so pleasurable? (See my review of SO Japanese)     I was lucky enough to learn the arts of sushi with the lovely sushi ninjas of YO! Sushi in last years Taste Festival . It was like an art class where you got to eat the finish product! So I wanted to create a recipe that incorporated all the delicate flavours of sushi, but that was quick and easy and can be rustled up in a matter of minutes. Taking inspiration from an amazing dish I tried …