Curry with mustard in... who knew?!



Ajwani salmon



I WAS lucky enough to do a food review for work at The Coriander in Bourne End. It is part of a chain of five restaurants and I heard really good things about the one in Amersham. I used to be a huge Chinese food fan, but I have grown to love Indian food as if it is done well it tastes a lot fresher and less greasy.

And it is done well at this Indian restaurant as each year bosses meet, review and create new dishes.

The menu is extensive and easy to navigate and everything seems reasonably priced.

For starters we had a coriander platter (£5.95) which is a selection of chicken tikka, lamb chop, seekh kebab and salmon tikka and ajwani salmon (£4.95) - fresh scottish salmon chargrilled in the tandoor with lemon juice, ginger and carom seeds.

Both were delicious. The salmon is cooked to perfection and falls apart as you cut it. The lemon and ginger flavours really shine through for a delicate taste.

The lamb chop was juicy and tender and the seasoning was delicious, as with the chicken tikka.

For the main courses we were given a selection of dishes, which were smaller than the normal portions thank goodness!

The main event

We were encouraged to try the different dishes which the restaurant has to offer. They create their own spices leading to what you would not usually see on an Indian restaurant menu.

The Bengal Fish (£8.95) made me feel as if I was eating abroad. The freshwater fish is served in fillets and is shallow fried with onions, capsicum and coriander and cooked in a tomato sauce.

The fish was not too strong but very flavoursome and was probably my favourite dish.

The chicken Adha Diya (£8.50) is cooked with lots of ginger, garlic, coconut and cream and is satisfyingly rich but not too much so.

My boyfriend , Tom, loved the Mahi Masala (£9.50) which is salmon cooked with onion, tomato, green chillies and grain mustard.

You could really taste the mustard which lead to a very tangy sauce.

The Gurkha Jingha (£11.95) comprised of large prawns marinated in whole grain mustard, lemon juice and ground spices and cooked in a medium sauce. Again you could really taste the mustard. The prawns were large and juicy and cooked perfectly.

There was wonderful heat in the lamb Hariali Jingha (£11.95) which was cooked with spinach, yoghurt, garlic, fresh coriander, green chillis and whole grain mustard with a touch of olive oil. It was the perfect heat for me as it allowed the subtle flavours to come through.

The sweet pumpkin which was served alongside was delicious.

This was all served with special rice and Coriander naan and also Coriander special naan (£2.50) which was with cheese and green chillies- this was quite hot! Almost like eating hot cheese.

What I really liked about this restaurant is the unique dishes and the different flavours (who knew you could have mustard in a curry!)

They were all individual and the meat was juicy, tender and tasty.

I could not fault the service and the obvious passion of the staff for the food they were serving. This restaurant is a must for Indian food lovers.

I BOUGHT Jamie’s Great Britain a few months ago and to my horror realised I hadn’t made anything out of it. So I decided to bake a cake. I made “My Nan’s St Clement’s Cake”- now that is Jamie Oliver nan’s not mine. It is an orange and lemon cake and is easy to make and does not need many expensive ingredients. I would say the most expense is the 200g ground almonds and that is only a couple of pounds.

I made it in a 16 inch tin and it is meant to be 20 inch. I would go for a bigger tin if you can as mine did take a long time to cook in the middle. So it is better if it is flat.

You will need 125g unsalted butter and 125g golden caster sugar, which you cream together (i just used a wooden spoon as I find this easier.) Then you had 4 eggs mixing each one in. Grate in most of the zest of one orange (keep a few gratings aside for decoration) and then fold in 200g ground almonds and 100g self-raising flour (sieved). Put it in the tin. The recipe says cook for 30 minutes but mine was more like 50minutes (very nearly burnt!)

Put 100g golden caster sugar with the juice of one orange and heat until sugar dissolved. Once the cake is cooked prick holes all over it (I used a cocktail umbrella) and then pour the sugary orange juice into the holes. When it is all absorbed put it on a wire rack to cool.

The sieve 225g icing sugar and grate in most of the zest of one lemon (leaving some over for the top) and then add the juice of one lemon, so the recipe says but I added two lemons and a bit of water. Once the cake is cooled smother the icing all over the top and sprinkle the zest on.

The result? The cake was moist and light. The juice didn’t quite get to the bottom of the cake so maybe pour it slower. Even if you don’t like almonds I think you will like this cake as you can hardly taste it. You can also make 12 cupcakes instead, which is a good idea to take to BBQs! Enjoy x

Try this recipe- chickeny saucey goodness

My good pal, Rachel Williams, recommended this recipe to me and what a great recipe it is! It is by The Hairy Bikers and is easy to make and has normal ingredients so you don’t have to spend loads buying them in.  It is called smashed up chicken with chilli and garlic pasta. And it is really good served with a glass of white wine.

It serves 4-6 but I halved everything, although I didn’t halve the sauce as Rach recommended I didn’t and it was good with more sauce.

The chicken ready to be smashed

For the chicken you will need 2 large chicken breasts, 3 tbsp of flour, 2 tbsp of olive oil and 150g wild mushrooms (I couldn’t find wild mushrooms so I used mini Portobello mushrooms from Sainsbury’s which are GOOD mushrooms).

Put the chicken in cling film, or I used a sandwich bag, and whack it until it is squashed flat. Then season the flour with salt and paper and throw the mashed up chicken in the flour.  Then fry the chicken in the olive oil until brown, remove this and then fry the mushrooms- I added a bit more oil as it was dry. 

Sauce

 For the sauce: 150ml white wine, 75ml chicken stock, 2 garlic cloves, crushed,  1 tbsp fresh tarragon (I used dried thyme!), 1 tbsp lemon juice, zest of one lemon, 2 tbsp capers and 2 tbsp crème fraiche. Put the wine and chicken stock (I used Knorr stock cubes) in together. Boil and reduce down then add the garlic. Add the thyme in my case and lemon juice and zest.  Cook for two minutes and add the capers (I forgot to rinse them so remember to do this!) Remove from the heat and whisk in the crème fraiche (I just stirred it in).  And add the mushrooms and chicken and heat through. It said to add parsley but I didn’t.

For the pasta take 250g pasta (I used rigatoni) and boil it until al dente. Then in a little bit of olive oil fry 1 tbsp of chilli flakes and 2 crushed garlic cloves and toss the pasta in this. I also added tinned sweetcorn to the pasta for my five a day.

It then says to add parmesan cheese but I didn’t. I put the pasta in a bowl and the chicken sauce on top.

The result: delicious! The chilli pasta adds a real kick to the chicken and the sauce is so creamy but not too rich- you can really taste the lemon so it tastes really summery and fresh. As I said it is an easy recipe but tastes great. Make it now!!

The final dish

  

ANOTHER birthday treat for me was to go to Jamie’s Italian in Reading. I am a big Jamie Oliver fan. I love his books and his ethos and I had never been to one of his restaurants before.  As we had a uni reunion planned to go back to our uni town my friends agreed we could go there for a meal before our night out.  The restaurant in Reading is at the centre of the riverside, which is a great location. The atmosphere is relaxed and easygoing- just like Jamie and although the service was a bit slow to start it was great once it got going. I was feeling pretty full but we did try the olives on ice , which were some of the nicest olives I have ever had- they were fat and juicy and actually tasted of something! Then onto mains...I went for prawn linguine (£12.50)

Prawn Linguine

which was fried garlicky prawns with shaved fennel, tomatoes, chilli and rocket. I realised afterwards my friend, Jennie, who was also dining with me had cooked me this before from Jamie’s book! It almost tasted the same and it was delicious. The prawns were oozing with flavour and the pasta was fresh and perfectly done. The glass of prosecco, which is my new tipple of choice, accompanied it well. Jennie had Wild Rabbit Tagliolini (£10.95) which is slow-cooked ragù with garlic & herbs, mascarpone and Amalfi lemon. Penny had mini-meatball carbonara (£11.25) served Roman-style with lemon cream sauce, Parmesan and rigatoni pasta. She wasn’t too keen on the meat which was both pork and beef. Michelle went for honeycomb cannelloni 3 ways (£10.95) and Tasha for a plethora of dishes. They all went down a storm. Being a greedy little piggy what I like about it is the portion sizes aren’t too small, as pasta sometimes be. It was a great lunch in a relaxed atmosphere, reasonably priced. Expect to see some attempts at Jamie Oliver recipes on this blog!

Rabbit!

As a birthday treat I went to The Three Crowns at Askett, Buckinghamshire. I had heard a lot of good things about it and I wasn't disappointed. I had only ever admired the front of the building so I was pleasantly surprised when I stepped in to find a comfortable, homely restaurant with olde English charm with a warm, friendly welcome. I then enjoyed a lovely glass of prosecco (£4.30). The service was fantastic with an older gent taking our order and carefully explaining all the specials. The menu is already extensive so I was completely blown away by the list of specials. It almost made me dizzy. I went for the moules marinieres, (about £6-£7) which were amazing. The restaurant is particularly renowned for its fish and shellfish as it is delivered daily from London markets and the coast. The mussels were plump and juicy, with a gentle delicate sauce which did not overpower the taste of the mussels.

For the main course I went for another special- guinea fowl stuffed with chorizo (about £15-£17). It was served with cabbage and a rich gravy. And had crispy bacon on the top. There was also a bowl of vegetables to enjoy. The chorizo stuffing was so good and completely complemented the guinea fowl. It was beautifully presented and a real treat. My fellow diner had Ballotine of chicken supreme filled with fresh crab and king scallops mousse served with a lobster, brandy and cream sauce (£15.25). It was a bit too fishy for my liking but he enjoyed it.

Feeling pretty full we shared a dessert of raspberry creme brulee. Againt the presentation was superb and the brulee was creamy and just the right texture. I would recommend this restaurant straight away. It is next to the town of Princes Risborough and has such a lovely, comfortable atmosphere with excellent cuisine. I hope I will go there again before my next birthday.