The First and Last, Cambridge, UK

Cambridge has a lot of pubs in it, and randomly many are in 'pub clusters'. There is the 'back streets of Mill Road cluster', the 'Lensfield Road cluster' (though now somewhat depleted), and the 'behind the police station cluster' that is vaguely near town. A long-standing member of this last cluster has recently been re-born as The First and Last. This pub used to be the pretty average Cricketers, but has now been completely refurbished and has more of a gastropub vibe to it.

A few of us popped in over the bank holiday weekend to find a couple of light and bright rooms, where we happily spent the afternoon eating and avoiding the rain. We had a range of light lunch dishes, that were all under the £10 mark, nicely presented and flavourful. The sticky toffee pudding was particularly notable for being light while still being full of dates and errrm... well, sugar. Service was friendly, with a Camembert-related food delay pleasantly dealt with, and just a generally nice atmosphere. I wasn't drinking anything alcoholic, so can't really comment on that side of things, but there seemed to be a range of interesting looking wines behind the bar as well as lots of beers that I'd never heard of before (though that could be more of a reflection on me than the pub).

All in all, I am looking forward to a return visit.

The First and Last
18 Melbourne Place
Cambridge CB1 1EQ

 

M&S 'Ever So Posh' Hand Cooked crisps

The regularly occurring crisp-related posts on this blog are an obvious indicator of my fondness for this fried potato snack. These days I try and limit my regular crisp consumption a bit, but am always quite keen to try out a new flavour. I remembered a tweet from the delightful Sabrina Ghayour a few weeks ago when she spotted these crisps, and when I was in Marks and Spencer recently and saw they were part of a BOGOF offer I thought I had better buy some (for ahem, research purposes).

So this 'Ever So Posh' range are hand cooked crisps which come in a choice of lobster cocktail (pretty posh); parmesan, asparagus and truffle (posh), and some sort of salt and vinegar-type flavour I can't exactly remember (less posh). I bought the first two flavours as they sounded the most unusual.
The lobster cocktail flavour reminded me a little of a more refined prawn cracker (a good thing I think). They had a mild seafood-y aroma which matched the taste, and hefty dose of paprika which made up the rest of the flavour. They weren't overly sweet in the way that 'prawn cocktail' crisps often are, and I was very happy to scoff a large bowl of these.
The parmesan, asparagus and truffle flavour was a little more unique than its lobster brethren. There was a distinct grassy taste from the asparagus, which was a bit unexpected but not unpleasant. And I think this actually worked quite well against the cheese-y background of the parmesan. I'm not sure that I could detect much truffle flavour, but then again I'm also not sure that I've really eaten enough truffle to recognise it. These crisps seem to be quite a nice variation on the traditional cheese 'and something' flavours, and as with the lobster cocktail I was very happy to eat them.
Both these flavours of crisps were pretty grease-free and had a good crunchy texture but without turning into bits of shrapnel when eating. They were both very much standalone crisps though, and I would predict that the distinctive flavours wouldn't work that well when dipped into other things like hummous. And neither flavour appear to be suitable for proper vegetarians, due to the presence of dried lobster and parmesan cheese.
These seem more than just novelty flavours from M&S, and it looks as if some thought has gone into putting them together. Anyway, my overall verdict on both these crisp flavours is a positive one as I'd very happy to eat either again.

M&S Ever So Posh Hand Cooked Crisps
I rate them 8/10
Around £1.80 for a 150g bag, (may still be on a buy-one-get-one free offer)

Chocolate and cardamom truffles

I always thought that making chocolate was quite a tricky affair. In fact it's incredibly simple- you basically buy some chocolate, melt it, and make chocolate with it!
So I thought I'd make some truffles for Easter, as I've never made them before and they looked quite straight forward. I used this recipe from BBC Good Food magazine, and followed it exactly apart from halving the amounts, using 85% cocoa solids chocolate, and adding cardamom. I crushed the seeds from five small cardamom pods as finely as possible, and added them to the cream and butter as they warmed through. I then followed the instructions for chilling the chocolate mix, before shaping them into little balls and rolling in either cocoa powder or bits of lightly toasted flaked almond.
These truffles were really rich but not sickly, and I loved the flavour of cardamom with chocolate. And I still can't believe how incredibly simple they were to make. It's such a great feeling when you read about something in food world, and it turns out be just as easy and delicious as described.
I will definitely be making these truffles again, and have already started shortlisting different flavours that I can incorporate.

Vegetarian cauliflower cheese cottage pie

I spotted this recipe for a cauliflower cheese cottage pie whilst dozing in front of Something for the Weekend (now resurrected as Sunday Brunch on C4), a few weeks ago. I don't really know why I was so taken with it, but I guess it has strong comfort food appeal and looked to be easily adapted for a non-meat eater too. I wasn't sure how a creamy topping would work with a mince base, but it turned out that the answer was 'really well'. The only downside was how un-photogenic my plate of food was, though it's heartening to see that the BBC didn't do much better.
The original recipe is on the BBC Food website, and my version is below.

Recipe (enough for four)

300g Quorn mince (or any other veggie 'mince')
1 carrot, finely diced
1 small stick celery, finely diced
Half a leek, finely sliced
1 small white onion, sliced
1 tsp dried mixed herbs
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1 tsp ground cinnamon
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tblsp tomato puree
3 tblsp sunflower oil
Around 4-5 tblsp water
Salt and pepper to taste

1 regular cauliflower
300ml creme fraiche
150ml double cream
1 egg yolk
0.5 tsp English mustard
Around 200g grated cheddar cheese, with a little extra for sprinkling on top
A bit of salt and pepper to season

To make the cottage pie base, gently heat the oil in a medium pan and when it's warm add in all the chopped vegetables and dried herbs. Cook over a medium heat until the vegetables have softened (around 10-15mins), and then put in the veggie mince, thyme, cinnamon and garlic. After about 5mins add the tomato puree and water, give everything a good stir, and season with salt and pepper. Keep things on a gentle simmer for a further 10mins or so, check the seasoning, and then leave to cool.
While the mince is cooling, make up the sauce for the cauliflower by mixing together the cream, creme fraiche, egg, cheese, mustard, and a little salt and pepper. Cut the cauliflower into medium florets, and cook in boiling water until it's tender and almost falling apart. Drain the cauliflower and allow it cool down for a bit before mixing it all into the sauce.
Assemble the cottage pie by putting the mince in the bottom of a deep-ish baking dish in single layer, and then spoon over the cauliflower cheese. Finally sprinkle a bit of cheese over the top, and bake at gas mark 6 for around 30-40mins until it looks lightly golden brown.

Serve with some green vegetables, ideally in mildly autumnal feeling weather.

Mini salmon scotch eggs

So the first person I saw making scotch eggs with salmon instead of meat was the latest Masterchef- The Professionals winner, Ash Mair. I really like the idea of scotch eggs- crunchy fried stuff and boiled eggs- what's not to like? And as I don't eat meat, a pescatarian alternative seemed ideal.

I actually first tried making these scotch eggs over the Christmas holidays, using smoked salmon. They were alright but somehow a bit bland and unremarkable, and the cooking process left the salmon with a bit of an odd (and not entirely pleasant) texture. I guess the application of heat to smoked salmon is not a particularly good idea in general.
Anyway last weekend, I thought I'd give things another go but this time with some cooked regular salmon. I sort of made up my own recipe, based on the flavours I thought would go together, and second time round there was definitely an improvement. I still wouldn't say these were fantastic though. I think they need a stronger herb flavour, and probably a thicker salmon coating to stop the fish overcooking. Anyway, here's the recipe I came up with, which is currently based on a bit of trial and error.

Recipe (for 12 mini scotch eggs)

12 quails eggs
3 cooked skinless and boneless salmon fillets (around 250g)
Generous knob of butter
4 spring onions, finely sliced
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves, finely chopped
1 tblsp mayonnaise
Around 1 tblsp plain flour
Around 3-4 heaped tablespoons of breadcrumbs
Salt and pepper for seasoning
Sunflower oil for frying

Put the eggs into boiling water for around two minutes, and then put them straight into some cold water. Carefully peel the eggs and set to one side. Melt the butter in a frying pan and gently sweat the spring onions until they've soften, add the thyme and cook for a couple more minutes. Leave the onions to cool a bit and then flake the fish, add the mayo, and mix everything together to form a thick-ish paste. Have a little taste at this stage, and add salt and pepper to taste.
The next step is to assemble the scotch eggs. First roll the peeled eggs in the flour so that they have a light coating. This helps the fish mixture to stick to the eggs. Put about 2 tsps of the salmon in the palm of you hand and push it out so it's flattened. Place an egg in the centre and gently shape the salmon mixture around it. Do this until you've covered all the eggs, and then roll in breadcrumbs. I found that there was enough oil and moisture in the fish coating to allow the breadcrumbs to stick, but you could beat a whole egg and dip the scotch eggs in before rolling in the crumbs if you wanted a thicker coating.
I then shallow fried the scotch eggs in a couple of centimetres of fairly hot oil until they were browned. You could also deep fry these, but as they are quite small this seemed unnecessary.


So the end product was nice and crispy, with a soft-ish egg in the centre. However, I think these eggs could be better. As I've mentioned before, I probably didn't use enough salmon for these, as the eggs would have benefited from a thicker layer of fish around them. I definitely need to cut the spring onion finer, or only use the white part (the dark green bits in the pictures above are the green parts poking through the breadcrumb). Maybe next time I'll try using raw instead of cooked salmon too. And perhaps a stronger herb like dill. If you've tried any of these ideas for successfully making salmon scotch eggs, I'd be delighted to hear from you.

Arts Picturehouse Bar, Cambridge, UK

This is a quick post on one of the places in Cambridge that I probably take for granted. I do like a trip to the cinema, and really appreciate having somewhere like the Arts Picturehouse that shows independent and foreign language films. And somewhere to have a nice coffee and maybe a snack too, is a bonus. Unfortunately a lot of people share this view of the Arts Picturehouse Bar, as bagging a table or a sofa in the evenings, or other peak film viewing times, can be challenging.

But if you time it right you can lounge around in some classic art deco surroundings and peer down from above on hoards of unknowing Cambridge shoppers. There are usually a couple of different types of cake available on the bar, and on my last visit I had a very nice slice of a chocolate and pistachio one. They also serve plenty of savoury stuff, although the crepes that used to be a mainstay of their menu sadly seem to have vanished.

My milky latte arrived with a bit of art on top, but if you are in need of something stronger then the bar is fully licensed (and you can take your drinks into the cinema too). And so in conclusion, the Arts Picturehouse Bar has squishy sofas, hot drinks, cake, and free WiFi - I heartily recommend it.

Arts Picturehouse Bar
38-39 St Andrew's Street
Cambridge CB2 3AR

Alimentum, Cambridge, UK

I remember hearing about Alimentum when it first opened several years ago, but only managed to visit for the first time last year due to some good planning from a London-based blogging friend. I really don't know why it took me so long- lack of organisation and a slight fear of disappointment I guess. Anyway, self-flagellation aside, this initial enjoyable visit provided enough of a prompt to think of Alimentum when considering venues for a bit of a social celebration with friends.

But as we trudged along some of Cambridge's busiest roads in the grey drizzle of a Monday evening, I recalled that Alimentum's location might have had something to do with the lack of earlier visits. It's almost opposite the city's 'Leisure Park' and on one of the main roads leading to Addenbrooke's Hospital, so has a great view of the top of a multiplex and numerous ambulances zooming by. However once we'd made our way in, the restaurant and its staff did a very good job of insulating us from the traffic and neon lights outside. We were soon supplied with some appetisers while we waited for our table, and though views were mixed I was an immediate fan of the cheese and onion macarons. The pale pink macaron shells were flavoured with caramelised onion, so had a sweet edge, and were filled with a sort of whipped goats cheese. I am currently wondering if it would be foolish to try and recreate these at home....

Anyway, onto the food proper. Alimentum has a very reasonably priced set menu on Monday evenings, so that's what we plumped for. As we settled into our booth, carafes of water and some delicious bread appeared rapidly. The warm sage bread was particularly nice, and came in the form of min-loaves (in the top picture). I had an amazingly light and frothy cauliflower soup to start with, which had little nuggets of subtly pickled cauliflower and sweet spring onion (I think). The whole thing had the quality of a vegetable marshmallow, which I really liked.

My sea bass main course came with a sort of chickpea stew with tomato and olives, and some sort of anchovy cream. This was a perfectly functional dish, if not terribly exciting. Personally I think a few more olives and maybe anchovy was needed to perk things up. And though the fish was beautifully cooked, I would have preferred a nice crispy skin rather than the sesame seed coating.

Pudding was a deconstructed apple and blackcurrant crumble, which caused a little consternation amongst the crumble traditionalists when it arrived at the table. However I quite liked my block of fruit mousse, and despite their similar textures it went well with the ice cream. The 'crumbs' were more like a shortbread biscuit rather than crumble topping, but still very acceptable. I also sneaked a taste of the male companion person's chocolate and passion fruit terrine type thing, and was very impressed with the rich chocolate ganache leading to a fleeting moment of regret about my fruit-based dessert.
The fixed price menu is £22.50 for three courses, which I think is very reasonable for the quality of food and service, though drinks can ratchet this up quite a bit.

Alimentum is probably not somewhere I'd pop in for a casual dinner, but is perfect for a bit of a treat. It has most of the elements of a fine dining restaurant in terms of presentation and quality of food, but doesn't make a fuss if you order a diet Coke and tap water for the table. It also does pretty well with trying to inject some soul into its new build location. On this occasion the food was good rather than stunning, but I enjoyed everything and actually those macarons and the soup were pretty outstanding. After my huge delay in going to Alimentum, I suspect I'll be making some more regular return visits.

Alimentum
152-154 Hills Road
Cambridge CB2 8PB