gaylord, soho - event

I like to think when it comes to putting it away, I can run with the best of them. I’m no Black Widow but for my stature, I put in a commendable effort. Tasting menus are a good test of stamina. Seven, sometimes nine courses with an amuse-bouche and petits fours often leave diners steeping in their own digestive juices, torsos stretched and floor walks made to redistribute the contents of convex abdomens in an attempt to find room for dessert; top trouser buttons discreetly undone two hours ago and only three courses in.

You can imagine my wide-eyed expression then, of both anticipation and fear of death, when faced with an evening menu involving no less than: three amuse-bouches, six starters, five mains, five sides, two desserts and endless wine - I make that 21 separate dishes. I should have worn my elastic pants.

Gaylord is a smartly furnished (in that princely old-school handsomeness long-serving Indian restaurants often do) and established West End fixture of the dining scene focussing on Mughlai and North Indian cuisine. Established in 1966, it is part of a large group with a sister Gaylord in Mumbai and was the first to house a tandoor oven in the UK. It was also the chosen venue for a dinner organised by the restaurant review platform Zomato for some of their most prolific contributors - they know how to put on a good show. 

Crisp puri spheres containing a little potato and chickpea and filled at the table with flavoured water and tamarind chutney were demolished whole in the mouth, just before the liquid made a break for the table linen. Cones of fluffed up and chewy rice, vegetables and a tangy tamarind sauce (bhel puri) were tasty nods to the classic Mumbai beach snack. The flavours and textures of crunchy, aromatic, hot and sweet aloo papdi chaat came together very well in one mouth-swoop over the spoons they were presented on.   

Meaty prawns marinated in saffron and tandoori masala provided good resistance against the molars. The burnished-orange tilapia fillets fried in a paprika gram flour batter were less interesting, but the mint chutney side-kick worked wonders at lifting. Murg gilafi clove smoked minced chicken manipulated around skewers and presented alongside mild tandoor roasted chicken tikkas were delicately flavoured, but the stellar meat was the lamb in the form of expertly cooked Anardana chops and minced patties.
 

The former marinated in ginger and grilled, still a deep pink at the centre with charred corners and a splendid amount of fat disintegrating on the tongue, with seasoning good enough to call for teeth-stripping of any remaining flesh from the bones. The latter soft and yielding to the point of it unrecognisable as animal based, but with all the depth of flavour you could hope from it.

The butter chicken was very good, an unmistakable smokiness from the presence of fenugreek. Prawn coconut curry, delicately spiced and aromatic from kaffir lime leaf and mustard seeds, provided a perfect medium via which to absorb the saffron basmati . A fiery garlic, onion and tomato masala in which hunks of lamb had been stewed until flaky represented the corner for rogan josh rather well (even if with a little too much oil), with puréed spinach elevated by a lot of ginger representing the corner for paneer.

Slow-cooked (overnight) dal bukhara and chickpeas with a secret spice mix were both bowls of hearty and comforting pulses, providing much needed fibre amongst a table creaking under it’s own weight of sauced-up protein. Naans and rice and puris filled with scalding steam helped to mop-up and a number of chutneys - including a great homemade lime pickle - complimented the spread.

The malai kulfi was very agreeable - dense and solid from the reduction of milk and sporting a twist of cardamom and a flourish of chopped pistachio. And it was my first encounter of gulab jamun (made from milk solids) flambéed in dark rum; the sort of dessert you should run round the block to make room for between courses. It was celestial, despite me fighting unconsciousness by this point.

We had it all, and it was laid on thick. A constant flow of wine and cocktails, a magnum of posh 5-grape South African something-or-other which I know nothing about other than it tasted really great, attentive service from Sameer (the General Manager) and his team with explanations of each of the unending conveyor belt of dishes, and the remaining doggy-bagged for some good eating the following day. 

The restaurant takes a lot of pride in what it does - it shows. There’s tough competition from the likes of Gymkhana and Trishna, and the very accessible and more contemporary Dishoom these days. But Gaylord has survived on its own merits with a loyal following and good food coming from the kitchen, all contributing to a restaurant that continues to fill seats.

I’ve had more comfortable sleeps than I did that evening, but it was worth it. As always, a huge thank you to Zomato for the blowout - you don’t half do them well.

Liked lots: lamb chops, lamb patties, kulfi, gulab jamun, service, location, atmosphere
Liked less: fried tilapia, I expect bills can quite easily creep up when entertaining alcohol
Good for: a big Indian blow-out

My rating: 3.5/5

Find the menu on Zomato.

Afiyet olsun.

Note: I was invited as a guest to this event.

 

a tapas feast - recipes

Surprises in the fridge are almost always exciting. Unless they’re in the form of disintegrating lettuce-slush at the bottom of a salad bag - is there anything more gross? Probably.

Returning home from work the other day and making a beeline for the fridge, I opened it to find a bag of Padrón peppers beaming up at me. Not something I had purchased, but produce Matt had found in the supermarket near his work.

Any tapas lover worth the salt on their Padrón peppers will know all about the dish pimientos de Padrón, the only real way to treat these little green bites of delight.

It is blessed with simplicity as is so much of Spanish cooking, in that the dish in its entirety are these peppers fried whole with olive oil and then sprinkled with coarse sea salt. They’re the first things I request when placing my order in a tapas restaurant (without even needing to locate them on the menu) and Fino in Fitzrovia do them deserved justice. 

But it’s only in restaurants I’ve ever eaten them, as until now I’ve been unsuccessful in sourcing these little Galician peppers. And the purist in me will be damned if I was going to attempt the dish with anything but. 

A solitary tapa consumed in isolation goes against the very essence of what it means to eat tapas - tasting many different flavours, sampling small amounts of a wide range, enjoying and sharing with others. And so from this little bag of capsicums an entire Spanish feast was born.

A Spanish Tapas Feast

The below dishes all served in one sitting will feed two hungry people generously. If you're cooking for more, just scale up the ingredients. I've ordered them according to how long they take to cook, starting with the longest. They are all incredibly simple to make with very few ingredients. Some (such as the above pimientos de Padrón) require nothing more than a quick fry.

For almost all the dishes you will need olive oil so do ensure you have a good amount to hand before you begin. Salt and pepper goes without saying.

At any one time you will need four hob rings on the go - one for the chickpeas and chorizo, one for a griddle or saucepan for the seafood, a small saucepan for the tortilla, a final pan to first cook the potatoes and then fry the peppers.

Timings

My suggestion in terms of timing to serve everything hot and simultaneously (or as close as one can get to that) is as follows:

Earlier in the day

1. Marinate the prawns and keep in the fridge
2. Toast the almonds and set aside
3. Create your topping for the mushrooms
4. Prepare your squid, asparagus and peppers so they're ready to be cooked and keep in separate bowls in the fridge

Start cooking

1. Get the chickpeas and chorizo on first as they'll need half an hour. Pre-heat the oven and grill
2. Finely slice the potatoes for the tortilla and get those cooking
3. Plate up any of the no-cook tapas and take to the table
4. When the potatoes are done, remove and set aside. Drain the oil from the pan ready for the peppers later
5. Put the mushrooms and asparagus in the oven to cook. When they have done so, leave the asparagus in there to stay warm but turn the oven off. Top the mushrooms with the cheese mixture and place under a hot grill. When complete, leave under the grill to stay warm but turn the grill off
6. Now give your full attention to the tortilla. Leave in the pan when cooked until ready to serve. If the chickpeas are now soft, turn the heat off but leave the lid on to keep them warm.
7. Whack the prawns and squid on the griddle right at the end, which will take a couple of minutes to cook. Fry your peppers in the previous potato pan at the same time.
8. Plate everything up, relax and enjoy

Garbanzos con Chorizo - Chickpeas with Chorizo

100g of cooking chorizo 
200g canned chickpeas 
2 tbsp tomato puree
100ml passata
Pimentón (Spanish smoked paprika) 

• If a paper skin comes off easily from the meat then remove it. If it doesn’t, don’t bother
• Chop the chorizo into 2cm chunks
• Add to a dry pan on medium heat and cook until form to bite and slightly crisp
• Add drained chickpeas and stir for a couple of minutes
• Add the tomato puree and enough good quality passata to just cover the chickpeas
• Season with salt, pepper and a good pinch of paprika. Taste and adjust seasoning accordingly
• Cover and cook for 30 minutes on a low heat 
• Pour any condensed water that has formed on the lid back into the pan and stir
• Cook until the chickpeas are soft and the passasta has reduced to a thick sauce
• Serve hot

Tortilla - Spanish Omelette

1 small King Edward / Maris Piper potato
¼ small white onion
3 eggs 
Olive oil

• Peel the potato and slice finely (approximately 5mm) - a V-slicer will do this wonderfully and in seconds. Thinly slice the onion aswell
• Lightly fry the slices of potato in enough extra virgin olive oil to just cover them and season with salt. Move them about regularly so they don’t stick to the bottom of the pan
• When the potato is soft, remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper
• Add the onions to the oil and fry gently until caramalised, soft and golden. Remove with the slotted spoon and also drain on kitchen paper
• Remove most of the oil from the pan but leave a little, enough to coat the base.
• Using a fork, lightly whisk the eggs and then gently mix in the cooked potato and onions, and add a little salt
• Pour the mixture into a hot pan set on low - medium heat and spread the onions and potato out evenly. Keep scraping the egg away from sides and into the centre whilst cooking, to stop it sticking and to create room for raw egg to occupy and cook
• After a few minutes the bottom will be brown and the whole tortilla almost set, but still with uncooked egg on top. At this stage, get a spatula under the tortilla and carefully flip it over so the uncooked side is now face down 
• Tip This is a little tricky and if the bottom isn’t brown, it will break up and become a mess. To aid the flip, tip your saucepan on its side while you gently ease the tortilla out onto your spatula to flip
• Cook for further 10 secs to ensure a runny middle and serve immediately

This recipe makes a mean tortilla. Who knew eggs, potato and onions could make something so entirely delicious - no doubt something to do with all the wonderful frying.. Either way, this was one of my favourite things on the table.

Gambas a la Plancha - Grilled Prawns

160g pack of fresh prawns in shell
1-2 cloves garlic, crushed
Extra virgin olive oil

Tip you can purchase the prawns either already cooked (pink) or raw (grey) - it makes little difference to the cooking time.

• Thoroughly rinse the prawns, drain and place in a bowl
• Add the garlic, a glug of olive oil, salt and pepper and mix so the prawns are well coated. Cover the bowl and leave in the fridge for a few hours
• Tip If you fancy a bit of heat, you can also add some finely chopped red chilli to this mix
• When ready to cook, heat a frying pan or griddle on medium heat and place the prawns on the base so they sizzle
• Cook each side 1-2 minutes until they turn pink (if cooking raw prawns) and then brown.
• Serve with a squeeze of lemon and chopped parsley

Pimientos de Padrón - Fried Padrón Peppers

130g pack of Padrón peppers
Coarse sea salt
Olive oil (you can use the leftover oil from the tortilla)

• Put the peppers in a bowl and coat with a little oil
• Fry in a hot pan until blistered black and soft
• Sprinkle with good quality sea salt to serve and eat while hot

Champiñones Rellenos - Stuffed Mushrooms

2 x portabello mushrooms
100g Manchego cheese, grated
Small handful of fresh parsley, finely chopped (including stalks)
1/2 clove of garlic, crushed

• Place the mushrooms on a baking tray, drizzle with a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper 
• Bake in hot oven for 10 minutes until brown and soft
• In the meantime, combine the parsley, cheese and garlic in a bowl
• Top each mushroom with this mixture and put under a hot grill until bubbling
• Serve immediately

Calamares a la Plancha - Grilled Squid

2 x prepared squid bodies (approximately 200g)
Juice and zest from one unwaxed lemon
Capers (optional)
Salt and pepper

• Thoroughly rinse the squid and pat dry
• Butterfly to open up the body into one large piece and score diagonally on one side with a sharp knife to create a diamond pattern, but make sure you don’t go all the way through the flesh
• After scoring, cut each body into quarters
• Place the squid into a bowl and coat with a little olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest and generous helpings of salt and pepper
• On a hot griddle or frying pan, place the squid scored side up and cook for a minute. Turn them over and cook for another minute.
• Turn them back to scored side up again and they will begin to curl up - squeeze with tongs to encourage them to do so
• Cook for further minute until lightly browned
• Serve immediately with a sprinkling of capers and more lemon

  
Espárragos con almendras tostadas - Asparagus with toasted almonds

100g young asparagus spears
50g skinned and blanched whole almonds
Olive oil

• Gently toast the almonds in a dry pan on medium heat, constantly tossing them so they don’t burn 
• When they have taken on a golden colour, remove and set aside
• In the meantime, coat the asparagus in a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper
• Place into a hot oven for five minutes or griddle until soft and cooked.
• Serve the almonds and asparagus together 

In addition to the above, we decorated the table with a few other no-cook tapas dishes including: roasted artichokes, fresh anchovies, mild noceralla olives, ripe tomatoes, sliced Manchego, and jamón ibérico de bellota.

Altogether, an entirely heavenly Spanish spread. And a huge thanks to Matt who cooked it all this evening.

Afiyet olsun.

food, friends & funkin’ cocktails with the jamieoliver.com crew

How does one seduce a bunch of lovely ladies to brave the stifling depths of the Northern Line during rush hour on one of the hottest days of the year, to pay a visit to Old Street? With the promise of dinner and booze of course - particularly appropriate when the ladies* in question are all food bloggers. I think I speak for most when I say the way to our hearts is a full-throttle culinary steam train bulldozing its way to our stomachs. 

The crew at JamieOliver.com had an intimate evening planned, inviting ten to twelve of their favourite food bloggers (more than humbled to be included) to a supper featuring some of the recipes from Jamie Oliver’s website. The purpose of this event was to share with us the delights that can be achieved with ingredients people often find more difficult to cook with (based on the traffic in these areas on the Jamie Oliver website) such as game, seafood, vegetables and cheese. The idea is to get people to try cooking what may sit just outside of their comfort zone, or differ to what they may be accustomed to.

* It’s worth noting that while the main organiser of the event, Merlin Jobst, is quite the sweetheart and lady charmer, the single sex occupation was not intentional. Alas, some of the male bloggers that had been invited unfortunately could no longer make it. I believe that meant more food for us. Result.

The fabulous food bloggers invited to this event included the following - do take the time to check them out:

Rosana McPhee @Rosana_McPhee hotandchilli.com
Sally Prosser @MyCustardPie mycustardpie.com
Selina Periampillai @yummychooeats yummychooeats.com
Ren Behan @renbehan renbehan.com
Regina Sabur-Cross @gastrogeek gastrogeek.wordpress.com
Rachel Smith @The_FoodIEat thefoodieat.org
Su-yin @breadetbutter breadetbutter.wordpress.com
Tess Ward @tesstheyeschef theyeschef.com

Location and Graduates

The location of this banquet was the space above Fifteen and incidentally where most of Jamie’s cookery shows are filmed, such as 15 Minute Meals. A large, white-washed expanse straight out of the window of a Shoreditch estate agents looking for well-to-do artists to occupy, flooded with natural light from floor to ceiling sash windows and kitted out with tableware and sharing platters typical of Jamie’s cooking style. Unfortunately, the man himself was unable to make the evening but was kind enough to record a short film thanking us for our attendance and insisting we have a blast. Not to mention, accrediting Merlin entirely for the inevitable success of the evening. In the meantime, through an opening into the bare-brick walled kitchen, Merci and Tyrone, a couple of past graduates from the Fifteen Apprentice Programme, were toiling away over hot stoves rustling up our dinner. 

Head Chef Cooking Demonstration

The Head Chef of Fifteen, Jon Rotheram, was kind enough to take time out from his hectic kitchen schedule downstairs to give us a private demonstration of how to address game. He spoke at length of his first four months in the restaurant, his love of offal (particularly sweetbreads), different ways in which it can be cooked, and the benefits of choosing it over alternative and more expensive cuts. With flare and finesse, he rustled up in the blink of an eye devilled lambs kidneys served on toast. Flavoured with spices and finished with a few drops of homemade curry oil, these were served pink in the middle on a slice of crunchy sourdough, with warm flavoursome juices soaking into the bread. We were all urged to dive in. It was so moreish I went back for a second and third bite. Standard behaviour.

Supper is Served

Whilst I was entirely engrossed in Jon’s sautéing skills, I’ll admit I was more than a little distracted by a completely irresistible volume of fat and glistening king prawns piled high on a large plate, beckoning with black beady-eye come-hither glances, feelers motioning me towards them with their extension. One after another and with hypnotic repetition, I ripped off the legs, head and shell, dunked them into the accompanying Marie Rose sauce for a lick of seasoning, and popped each juicy morsel into my mouth. So simple but goodness, they were entirely glorious. I estimate my consumption of that entire platter to be approximately 37%. In addition, we were presented with mounds of herb salad with goats cheese. Generous creamy chunks of cheese mixed with rocket and fresh herbs and delivered with a wisp of heat on the tongue from finely chopped chilli. It took an enormous amount of self-control not to gorge myself on this single course alone.

Pint of prawns with Marie Rose recipe here. 
Herb salad with goats cheese recipe here.

The mains involved of a South Indian crab curry. Would you like any curry with that crab? There was so much crab. Certainly not too much crab though, it’s not possible to have too much crab. Creamy from coconut and gently spiced, it slid down with very little resistance. The vegetarian option was an equally flavoursome cauliflower Keralan curry complete with chickpeas and pineapple chunks. Both were paired with an oven dish full of zesty lemon rice - fluffy white mounds punctuated with the yellow and green from lemon rind and coriander leaves respectively.

South Indian crab curry recipe here.
Keralan veggie curry recipe here.
Lemon rice recipe here.

Dessert was made by Merlin the Magnificent (not an actual wizard) himself - a baked vanilla cheesecake with a (very boozy) cherry compote. With a smooth creamy middle and flavoursome biscuit base, it was a perfect way to round off the evening's eating. Alas, I didn't get a decent shot of it so there is none here. Lack of cheesecake photography and increase in alcohol consumption no doubt correlate quite nicely, I'm sure. 

Bloomin' easy vanilla cheesecake recipe here.

Tipples

Which leads me neatly onto the booze. Spoilt with a choice of wine and beer, glasses were never empty. 

The San Patrignano brand of wine available that evening ironically has a very sobering backstory. San Patrignano is based on the Amalfi Coast in Rimini and is one of Italy’s largest rehabilitation centres for recovering drug addicts. It welcomes all young men and women and even whole families who have serious drug abuse problems regardless of their background – and completely free of charge. Since 1978, the centre has taken in over 20,000 people, offering them a home, healthcare, legal assistance, and the opportunity to study, learn skills, change their lives, and regain their status as contributing members of society. I vividly recall an episode of Two Greedy Italians when Contaldo and Carluccio visit San Patrignano and listen to the residents talk of the institution saving them from certain destitution and even death - it was moving to say the least.

Danny McCubbin has worked with Jamie Oliver for many years in various roles and in addition, volunteers at San Patrignano. Wine making is a result of one of the 52 different skills the residents learn during their rehabilitation and these rather quaffable bottles are the result. Danny spoke passionately and with emotion about San Patrignano (whilst serving us Merlin's cheesecake) - a force of pure good if ever I heard one.



All in, the evening was a riot. The thing that really struck me were the people involved from Jamie's side - from the graduates, to the Head Chef, to the online staff, they were all wonderful individuals completely unashamed of the immense amount of passion they have for what they do. We ate until our bellies were full, engaged in raucous conversation and eventually relocated the proceedings to the Fifteen cocktail bar where we were very generously treated to pisco sours, gin from teapots, cocktails with face-busting chilli and indulged in bad jokes and inappropriate conversation.

I like to think new friends were made here and I want to give a particular shout out to the talented and gorgeous Merci @Murrrcii, the suave salt shaking Joe Gray @JoeGray_, and my new favourite person Merlin Jobst @merlinjobst. Along with my sister from another mister Selina @yummychooeats, we'll see you kids for cocktails next week to carry on where we left off.

Afiyet olsun.