Review- Modernist Vegetarian by Eddie Shepherd

Modernist vegetarian is an E-book available for the iPad by a talented guy called Eddie Shepherd (@vegetarianchef)

It is very reasonably priced at only £3.99, and includes some fantastic food photography, taken by Eddie himself.

Now, I've never been the biggest fan of vegetarians, as a chef and an omnivore I always felt like they were missing out on the best bits, but this book clearly shows that the modern vegetarian is no longer limited to nut roasts and risottos.

What Eddie manages to do in this mini-book is rewrite what is possible for non meat eaters, with some fantastic techniques and interesting recipes for chefs and home cooks alike. Although this appears to be a book for chefs, there is plenty here that the keen home cook could achieve, and even a glossary of the equipment used for the layman.

There is plenty of detail here, with precise methods in the recipes and even some videos of Eddie carrying out some of the procedures, just in case the pictures aren't enough, although the images have all been done on a lightbox, rather than on plates to allow the food to shine.

There is one tasting style menu of dishes, although as Eddie himself states, there are plenty of elements of the dishes which can be done on their own or in other creations.

I look forward to trying out some of the techniques revealed within Modernist vegetarian, and to future releases from Mr Shepherd.

North Road- semi Scandinavian cuisine?

North road, London, has received a lot of praise and accolades during its two year life span, including being awarded a coveted star from Michelin. Their website informs you that head chef Christoffer Hruskova has travelled and worked in Sydney, Hong Kong, New York and San Francisco before settling in London, and opening North road Restaurant.

Anyone planning on opening a restaurant across the road from the icon which is St John, must have pretty big opinions of themselves, and a lot of confidence in their ability to perform. Mr Hruskova certainly has confidence and ambition, but for me this whole experience was somewhat of a let down.

My first indication that this may not have been the place for me was the way I was shepherded to what the waiter told me was 'the best table in the restaurant'.

It wasn't.It was the window table, and it was next to the only other occupied table in the place at 7.30 on a Friday night.Although my neighbours were pleasant enough, even they were bemused by the realisation that we were the only ones in there. They too had been promised 'the best table', as they had told the staff that it was their wedding anniversary. Odd.

Then came the food. I chose North road on the reviews I had read which had compared it with the Danish food Behemoth that is Noma. Having had several great experiences under the guidance of Rene Redzepi's team and at several other fantastic Copenhagen eateries, it seemed like a must do.

I hope I am not doing North road an injustice by comparing it with Noma, but when you emulate something like Noma, and even try and reproduce some of its classic dishes, you have to be pretty damn good at it in my opinion, and frankly, this wasn't.

The bread. The bread was nice, looked and smelled great, tasted good. It was however, the smallest bread I have ever seen. the photo above gives guidance to that, the butter ball you see is a standard melon baller size. The rolls were only just bigger than that.Fine, I understand I was having a tasting menu ( 7 courses plus 'snacks') but they were ridiculously small, and I was not offered any more, despite the butter staying on my table during the whole meal.

While the snacks were nice, the pickled and smoked quail egg ( (C)noma) was very vinegary and not at all smoky, the smoked potato was incredibly smoky and came with a creme fraiche filling. The other was introduced as fish skin pork crackling. it was nice and crispy, but neither fishy or porky.

The first course proper was superb, and really had me thinking i was in for a treat. A delicate scallop tartare with oatmeal crostini and wild garlic, it was delicate, fresh and perfectly seasoned. This was my only really good dish.

Razor clams in a dill cream and sea herb oil was bland, and very under seasoned, although the clams were perfectly cooked.

butter poached lobster was technically fine, but the flavours didn't work at all, and whatever the powder that was sprinkled on it was, it did nothing but remind me of eating sand at the beach as a kid.

White and green asparagus, egg yolk and wild garlic was not great and not exciting, a poor imitation of a dish we have all seen a million times.

sweetbreads in a pork skin crust (airbag) with wild cress salad and watercress puree was bland, virtually free from any seasoning other than the pork skin crust and badly cooked. two nuggets of sweetbread, one badly overcooked and the other was on the wrong side of just cooked.
My main course was lamb, with sweetbreads, purple sprouting broccoli and an egg yolk sauce. Once again, the cooking was fine, the lamb was nice and pink and tender, but it was so boring, no depth of flavour from the meat or the accompaniments. It screamed out for some garlic, herbs or acidic element to enliven it. Its cries fell on deaf ears.

my pre-dessert was a fun thing, a 'pebble' of coconut ice cream, coated in an edible clay called Kaolin, and made to look just like stone.

For dessert, I was presented with a yoghurt parfait with pine 'snow' and a douglas fir and yoghurt meringue. all the elements were fine, but it was also very very sweet, and the lasting mouth feel was like candy floss.A tame end to an overall average meal.

Except it wasn't the end. After the very sugary dessert came some petit fours -even though I didn't have coffee- of a sugary shortbread, sea salt caramel and candy floss. I tasted them all, and exactly as I expected, way too sweet an ending.

The final nail in the north road coffin for me was when I discovered that I had been charged for coffee and petit fours, despite not having the coffee and not asking for the petit fours. When I pointed this out, my waiter merely said "but you ate them sir...". I paid for my petit fours, and when asked as I left if I enjoyed my 'experience', I had no option but to tell the waiter that no, I had not.

As a post script to this page, it turns out that chef Hrusskova had actually parted company with north road at the time of my 'experience' there, a fact which only came to light recently. I hope it explains how a restaurant can go so far out of its way to be poor, and that Crisstoffer is soon cooking again so I can visit and he can prove to me that his philosophy works.

Sat Bains at the Electrolux cube, London

The view from the cube

The table settings

   The cube is a mobile-ish pop-up restaurant created by Electrolux and temporarily getting installed on the rooftops of European cities and hosting some of the continents finest Michelin 1,2 and 3 starred chefs. The London instalment of this concept has been planted onto the roof of the Royal festival hall, overlooking the Thames, London eye, the houses of parliament and the rooftops of the city for as far as you can see.
   The 'restaurant' itself is glass walled on three sides, allowing stunning vistas of the city and it was a fantastic vantage point for the recent flotilla which travelled along the Thames to celebrate the Queen's golden jubilee.Each time the cube moves it is taken apart and rebuilt at a huge cost, previously to London it was in Milan, and they are currently building a second cube in Stockholm to allow multiple cubes to operate at the same time. One of the best parts of the cube experience, is that as well as offering stunning views of London, you get the chance to watch top chefs in action, and chat to them and ask questions as you go.
  First British chef to use the cube to showcase his talent and ethos on food is Two Michelin starred Sat Bains of Restaurant Sat Bains with rooms, in Nottingham. This is is first venture into the Capital of any length, following a two day stint last year at Fortnum and Mason.While it is hard to transplant all the feeling and ambiance of a successful restaurant into a plain white and glass box on a rooftop in another city, Sat has taken up the challenge and given the cube a real flavour of what he is about. Simple, natural presentation, strong flavours, plenty of umami and most of all a sense of fun and memory.

NG7 2SA part 1

NG7 2SA part 2

    Upon arrival at the top of the six floor festival hall, we are greeted with the usual champagne, and also a cocktail which Sat has developed especially for the event and called NG7 2SA, a very refreshing sparkling drink-like a slightly cloudy champagne in appearance, but with a slightly bitter quinine taste, lots of herbs -notably lovage, and just enough chase vodka to make it interesting.
   Once inside the cube, and the obligatory photos of the views are taken, we are given another 'NG7 2SA', this time in canape form, a savoury horseradish ice cream sandwich with biscuit and herbs. at the restaurant, there is always a dish of this name on the menu using ingredients found in the restaurant gardens, or foraged along Lenton lane, where it resides. As the seasons progress, so the dish changes as berries, nuts and herbs come and go in and out of season. A nice touch, and indicative of Sat's philosophy of using iconic British ingredients and techniques from around the world to showcase them.
   The first course requiring cutlery is the third instalment of Sat's postcode, this time a delicate horseradish panna cotta is topped with a gentle wild garlic soup and a couple of baked croutons. Whilst horseradish and wild garlic are ingredients which can easily overpower a dish, they were both mild and vibrant in this dish, and the taste of the soup was not as intense as the colour. Subtlety of touch another element of the chefs signature here.

Sat welcomes us

the patio on the roof of festival hall

Scallop-vanilla-tomato-strawberry

   Next up was a simple looking dish of scallops, seared on one side only and dressed with vanilla scented sauce vierge with confit tomatoes and fresh diced strawberries. an elderflower mayonnaise, elderflower petals and torn basil completing the dish. a hint of raspberry vinegar in the vierge backing up the acidity of the tomato so this didn't become too sweet. Cooking the scallop on one side and then allowing the residual heat to warm the rest of the mollusc kept it incredibly tender, and this was a lovely summery dish, despite the grey day outside on festival hall roof.

Sat and his development chef, Emma

'Waldorf salad'

   Due to my Tuna allergy, which ironically I only discovered thanks to Sat, I was unable to have the next menu course, so an alternative was provided for me. This was a take on Waldorf salad, so all the components of the famous salad but not as you would know it- salted apple, raisin purée, pickled grapes, celery mousse and granité and a walnut nougatine shaved over the top. A clever and tasty interpretation of well known flavours. (Sadly the wine, which was paired with the 'proper' dish of Jersey royals cooked in dashi, was a less successful match to my dish.)

Jersey royals-dashi-onion juice-ham

 Although I couldn't eat it, the gentleman next to me on the table was happy for me to take a photo of his. Sat let me taste the ham, which was developed under his guidance- an air dried and aged ham made from pigs local to his restaurant. Amazing smoky and earthy flavour, and a luxurious mouth-feel from the plentiful fat. Also, the onion juice which is distilled from onions, spring onions and garlic had a light green colour and pleasant allium flavour which I'm sure would have been lovely with new potatoes.

Spring lamb-leek smoked-charred

   For our main course, Shoulder of lamb cooked in a pressure cooker is topped with a ragout of the trimmings which have been gently stewed with kombu seaweed for richness and a hint of umami. The flavour of both is very pronounced, without having the heavy stickiness normally associated with braised meat. Combined here with a black purée of charred leeks, a piece of grilled leek, an ash goats cheese mousse and a lemon emulsion, this again was a nice summery dish, perhaps missing a bit more vegetable or even some starch? Although it was a seven course menu, this was a very light meal.
   The wine pairing for this dish was a Moss Wood Pinot Noir, from the mornington peninsula, and for my limited wine appreciation skills, it worked well despite the acidic cheese and lemon elements, with a bold flavour which didnt overpower.

Banbury cake-beauvale cheese-port syrup

   Next we had a brief food history lesson from Sat, where he told us about the Banbury cake, which is similar to the Eccles cake but pre-dates the Lancashire one by a hundred years. To match up the Eccles/Lancashire cheese pairing, Sat has used Beauvale blue cheese, from Cropwell Bishop, one of the finest Stilton makers in the country. Beauvale is a soft blue, similar in texture to a taleggio, but with the salty flavour you expect from a blue. With the cake and the syrup of tawny port, this was a lovely example of what Sat serves as a 'crossover' at his restaurant, bridging the savoury dishes with the sweet.

Banbury cake-beauvale cheese-port syrup

Chocolate-yoghurt-cumin-lime

   Our first real sweet course was a small but perfectly formed chocolate 'cake', cooked in a very low oven (Electrolux of course...) without a fan, to create a very gentle environment for the cake, which was more like a soft ganache than a traditional cake. On top was a delicate set yoghurt, and cumin caramel, micro coriander cress and freshly grated zest of lime finished the ensemble. Sat explained that at the restaurant, he always serves chocolate as the penultimate course due to the mouth-feel of chocolate, and he likes to finish with the palate fresh and clean. This was lovely, and would be a fantastic dessert on its own, rather than as part of a multi course experience, as the other elements helped counter act the chocolate.

Treacle sponge-lemon-pine

    Our final course was again simple looking, but a lot of technique went into it. The sponge was created using el Bulli's Albert Adria's technique of cooking sponge in the microwave after forcing the batter through an isi cream whipper for lightness. This results in a delicate sponge which takes flavour very well. A surprising element in the dish was parsnip, which has a natural sweetness and with the douglas fir pine and apples in the dish tasted great. Instead of a wine pairing, we were treated to a first for me- sparkling saké. This was yeasty and had a slight apple flavour which matched up superbly- a great choice.

beetroot parfait-white chocolate-raspberries

    One final treat was bestowed on us, Sat/s version of one of his childhood favourites- the mivvi ice lolly. This version was a beetroot parfait cased in white chocolate, and then dipped in chopped dried raspberries. The beetroot flavour was delicate, but held its own with the strong raspberry.

   All in all, this pop up by Electrolux has gathered some of the most talented chefs in the UK ( Daniel Clifford of midsummer house is up next) and Sat Bains has set the bar very high. Although never matching the amazing multi course extravaganza of his own establishment, with the limitations of being in a box several floors up from your prep kitchen, he has shown why he is so respected in the industry.
   I look forward to the opportunity to check out what the other chefs- Tom Kitcin, Daniel Clifford, Claude Bosi and the Sanchez brothers- get up to on top of festival hall.
   As for Sat, he has a book out in September, and from what he told me about it, you will want to own this book!

The menu 

Fiskebaren, (as recommended by some bloke called Rene)

 'When in Rome' as the much mis-quoted saying goes, 'Do as the Romans do'. With this in mind, when I had a few days in Copenhagen with nothing much to occupy my time, I asked the most obvious person I could think of for advice on a good place to eat in Denmark's capital- Rene Redzepi. From the few places he mentioned, this was the one he glowed about when talking of it. It seems Rene and his staff pop in regularly, and the team at Fiskebaren contains the obligatory-for-Copenhagen few members of ex-Noma staff.

 Leaving it my traditionally cool amount of lateness, I called Fiskebaren at 2pm to try and book for that evening- a Saturday. I know, I know, who books a Saturday dinner table on Saturday afternoon? The very polite response from the charming young lady on the phone was that they were fully booked, but that there are no bookings on the bar, so I was told to just turn up and wait, or be there at six when they open as there are usually less people around and thus less of a wait. Bingo.

So, following the second scariest taxi ride of my life, with someone who had clearly been in Copenhagen less time than myself (The scariest was in Milan, but thats for another day...) I turned up in the meat packing district of Copenhagen a little after six and easily found 'Kodbyens Fiskebaren', to give it its full title.

 Even though it was only a little after opening, the bar was already full, showing its popularity- bear in mind that this was a chilly saturday in april. The bar is split into two sides though, the one side is kind of like a waiting room, where you can still sit and have a drink, or even a couple of the cold dishes from the menu, and the other side is more like part of the main restaurant, where you can order from the full menu.

Whilst waiting on the 'cold' side of the bar, I ordered a couple of the small, tapas style dishes- The scallops and the lumpfish roe dishes. 

Scallops
The scallop dish (with celeriac, cauliflower, seaweed and consommé), was dotted with an earthy lobster oil, which worked really well with the rich puréed cauliflower and salty samphire. As you can see, the scallops were raw, and thinly sliced, keeping the whole dish light and fresh, and the delicate consommé had a herbal taste which kept with the land and sea combo. 

Lumpfish roe

 Of the cold dishes I tried, this was my favourite. Billed as 'lumpfish roe, smoked cheese, cucumber, crisp potato shell', the simplicity of the description could have led the mind anywhere, but as I sat anticipating its arrival, I imagined something very similar to the dish that arrived- a huge pile of the salty roe, balls of cucumber centres, fried potato skins and a slick of smooth, smoky cream cheese. making a graceful addition to the plate was a long potato crisp, dusted with smoked salt. Again, brilliant balance of flavour, and a wonderful range of textures. the soft roe like a beginner's caviare, scooped up in one of the potato skin pieces and smeared with the smoky cream cheese is my idea of  heaven. If the rest of the menu wasn't so tempting, I would have sat and ordered this again and again.

Lumpfish roe

Oysters

 Making the move around to the 'proper' side of the bar, I was once again presented with the menu and wine list, and again ordered two dishes at once. Like a classic tapas bar, you can order as much or as little as you want, in whatever stages suit you. When items are ready, they are brought to you, so you have something in front of you while you wait for the rest, or if you don't wish to hurry, order one at a time- a great way to eat in my opinion.

Oyster condiment

 Having ordered a hot and a cold dish at the same time, the cold oysters showed up first, one of each type they serve- Danish fjord oyster, and three from brittany- perle noir, fines and speciales de gillardeau. I was surprised at the distinct difference in flavour, texture and minerality of the four types, having previously only having had one type in one serving before. The condiment which came with the oysters was a perfect balance of sweetness, acidity and fresh herbal flavour and was a mix of celery vinegar, diced apple and dill oil.

Plaice

 Just as I slurped my last oyster, a beautiful dish of plaice, white wine, almonds and eggs arrived. baked on the bone, then filleted, the fish was at the point of being cooked which all chefs love, moist, yet firm, and full of taste. the accompaniments worked well, and the salsify rolled in fried citrus rye bread crumbs was fantastic. When I look back at the rest of the menu, I'm almost surprised I ordered the dish, but looking back at the photos, I'm glad I did. The warm sweet almonds and the soft yolk mixed into the rich beurre blanc, and created a very special sauce. A lovely, surprising dish.

Plaice

Fish and chips
Okay, I know its not the obvious choice while dining in a Scandinavian fish restaurant, but having seen scores of people around me order it, I had to, and it certainly wasn't a disappointment. Lightly smoked pollack coated in crisp breadcrumbs, fried Gotlandic potatoes were actually some of the finest chips I have sampled, and the fried capers and fresh remoulade sauce were perfect accessories.  All served up in a Danish newspaper, the way all fish and chips should be!

Fish and chips

Fish and chips

Fish and chips

Mutzo apples

 Feeling pretty full by now, with a couple of glasses of wine and the above food doing its work, I risked a dessert. There are only three sweet options at the end of the meal, or a cheeseboard. The one I chose was on the menu as 'Mutzo apples in textures, aquavit, dill.' What arrived was a very modern looking assembly of apple ice cream, dill granité, warm brown sugar meringue, crunchy apple crisp, raw apple, fresh dill, apple biscuit crumb and a caramelised apple purée. The perfect end to a meal like this, and technically spot on. 

              Mutzo apples

                  Mutzo apples

As I ate my meal at Fiskebaren, I was sat next to an American lady, who was charming company, and she tried a lot of the dishes which I didn't, and I have to say that they all looked fantastic too, steamed mussels, trout tartare, razor clams and a dish of cod roe I almost fought her for. 

Fiskebaren may not get as much attention as Noma, but it is certainly worth a look in while in the City. At a fraction of the price, it is worth thr trip there in its own right.