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Good afternoon everyone,
Earlier this week Kate found herself in the heart of Kensington Palace Gardens, as part of a small group of bakers attending the inaugural Baker's Day, an event at the French Embassy to promote Anglo-French food relations. Once proof of identity was shown to security, and coat was hung in the marble cloakroom, under the exquisite chandeliers and ornate drapes, we listened to a talk about the benefits of growing heritage wheat, delivered by Andy Forbes, baker and grain authority, and Fanny Leenhardt, a french nutritionist now farming in Ireland. Once again the ability, in fact preference, of these wheats to grow without chemical inputs was emphasised, a quality more valuable now than ever. And it seems there is a concern amongst the bakery-adjacent businesses invited to exhibit about the falling bread consumption in France, and how to once again centre it as a staple food and not a health concern. One of the best parts was of course catching up with baker and miller friends and sampling the catering facilities. A très agréable way to spend a few hours on a Monday afternoon.
This coming Sunday is Pizza Night once more. We've been extremely heartened to see the first three sell out, so thank you for the response. Order here for Sunday 24. This time we are excited to be trialling a new fior di latte from The Ham and Cheese company. We will be pairing it with the finest anchovies, six plump fillets per pizza - one for the connosieurs. Aubergine is unchanged, as is our luxury margherita; Westcombe cheddar curds on before the bake for their melting properties and savoury depth, La Perla buffalo mozzarella post oven, plenty of 24 month aged parmesan and fresh oregano. Styan asparagus is at it's peak so it will feature again on our white pizza with Redemore cheese from Sparkenhoe, with the option to add ham. Andrea, our head chef at the Covered Market, has recently started making ham on site. We use whole collars of free range pork which Andrea brines, cooks, and presses. The marbling of the meat makes for a succulent and very tasty end result. For dessert we have a favourite of Hugo's, lemon posset, using unwaxed Amalfi lemons from La Sovrana, topped with whipped cream and crumble.
MARGHERITA - red base, cheddar curds, buffalo mozzarella, parmesan, fresh oregano
AUBERGINE - red base, cheddar curds, buffalo mozzarella, roast aubergine
ANCHOVY - red base, fior di latte, anchovies
SALAME - red base, cheddar curds, salame rustico
BIANCA - crème fraîche base with roast garlic, asparagus, Redemore, parmesan
BIANCA + HAM - crème fraîche base with roast garlic, asparagus, ham, Redemore, parmesan
AMALFI LEMON POSSET - with whipped cream and crumble
Just a few more wine arrivals to run through before we call it a day for this week.
Sal da Terra - Eulogio Pomares is one of the very best producers of Albariño, a grape that has become known mainly for brisk, zesty whites. Sal da Terra, or salt of the earth, is definitely a step up. Aged in a mixture of old barrels and clay amphora, there is plenty of saline, Atlantic minerality, but also a core of pristine, ripe fruit, texture, richness and real complexity. Very good.
Les Maiols - a juicy, extremely quaffable young vine Grenache from Catalunya. Light in body but deep in flavour and vibrancy. One to pop in the fridge for an hour or so before drinking. Perfect for a picnic or barbecue and tremendous value. For another red to drink cold, keep JC Garnier's delightfully peppery Les Nouettes in mind.
Well, I reckon that's a wrap. Thank you again and always for making it this far and we hope to see you soon,
Kate and Hugo
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