The Riding House Cafe, Great Titchfield Street, W1

So thanks to gradually building up a fairly steady list of good food twitter-types that I follow, I was alerted, in a roundabout way, to the opening of the Riding House Cafe - and not only that, but a 50% off soft opening offer! 

For starters, it's in Fitzrovia/Noho/what most people call "North of Oxford Street", which is sorely lacking in good places to stop in for a bite to eat. Plus it's big inside, with one area (a long, rustic wooden table) purely for walk-ins - although the waitress I spoke to said that if demand is high, they might reserve spaces on that too. For now, though, that's the plan.

I liked the interior. Red leather sofas, proper wooden tables and no tablecloths, heavy silver candlesticks, fringed lampshades, reminding me of the bar area in the Hawksmoor Seven Dials. The other area is a high-ceilinged, and quite a bit noisier, with a bar where you can choose to eat if you prefer, plus the long table which is saved just for for walk ins. Although I do like the 'stripped down' rustic type decoration, I felt the authentically-chipped white water jug was a step too far, as were the authentically-damaged mirrors in the bathroom.  But crucially, it did all work, especially when factoring in the music that played over the sound system (the XX was playing while ordering, hah), which gives the place a nicely informal atmosphere.

Onto the food - we both had a cocktail while perusing the menu. I had a Raspberry and Elderflower Collins which was sadly a bit too much for me; a huge glass with no trace of elderflower, a strong whack of gin and fresh raspberry, which was still delicious but not the elegant concoction I'd hoping for. My boyfriend got on much better with a Pirate Daiquiri (lol) containing mostly Angostura bitters, rum, honey. The bread we ordered was gorgeous, lovely asparagus puree dip to go with, although I thought the olives were bland compared to the garlic-rosemary-salt-oil marinaded monsters I'm used to, so I'd skip those. 

I liked the type and layout of the menu - nice choice of wines on the back too. 

For starters, we absolutely hammered the small plates, ordering six dishes which was probably far too much. Each dish is £3, £4 or £5, so it's hard not to over-order when everything sounded amazing, I promise.
The standout for me was the sea bass ceviche with chilli and lime, sharp, tangy and fresh, then finishing on a wonderfully creamy sheep's ricotta with beetroot and the inspired addition of sunflower seeds to a dish, which gave it a wonderful earthiness usually imparted by an overabundance of watercress. 

Pork belly on the left, squid in the middle and poussin on the right

I was horribly disappointed by the pork belly though, I'm sorry to say. I love pork belly, when it's done right, and I'd heard such good things about the Riding House Cafe's one, but alas. Although the crackling was perfect, the meat was almost inedible for me. It was so dry that I ended up leaving most of it.
We also had a squid, chorizo and tomato dish, which was wonderful, and was my boyfriend's favourite, plus an anchovies-on-toast type dish (which needed more salt to feel properly anchovie-y to me, but that could just be my strange tastes.) The last small dish we had was the grilled poussin kebab with lemon and couscous, which was delicately smokey and quite tasty. 
That alone, if you're wondering, would do lunch I feel, although I'm sure that's not the point. For main, I had a glass of Chenin Blanc which was excellent, and Heritage tomato tart (or 'heirloom tomatoes' as they're sometimes called but this isn't the post to get into it). The tart came with some outstandingly fresh, crunchy rocket on the side, a smear of glorious pesto, a few salad leaves and yellow and red little tomatoes scattered about. 

It was utterly delicious - no heavy pastry, but rather a round of cheesy, crispy, buttery, flaky heaven, baked with some thin slices of tomato, topped with two generous quivering mounds of milky mozzarella. It was just perfect for me.
On the other hand, my boyfriend ordered the rack of pork with lentils and spicy sausage. For starters, the rack of pork was absolutely enormous. He doesn't tend to leave food on his plate all that often (even managing to salvage the uneaten pork belly earlier by dipping it in the squid and tomato sauce) but even he couldn't finish this mammoth serving. So be warned.

Tastewise though, the sausage was meaty and smokey, just what it should have been. The horseradish was creamy, and could have been a little hotter, but overall the dish was nice balance of the pork, the crispy skin in particular adding fantastic crunch.

Bad photo, sorry!

For dessert, we (just about managed to) order the Chocolate Praline Semifreddo and mother of god, I'm so happy we did. Every good restaurant should send you home with at least one dish that you talk about on the bus, and that was this dish for us. A glorious rectangle of creamy, cold praline chocolate, edged with a brownie-type cake, with raspberry coulis and an amazing crunchy circle of cold caramel with nuts (almonds?) and pistachios. It was so perfect in the balance of texture, the sharpness of the raspberry, the richness of the chocolate. And a huge portion too - after all that, me and my boyfriend were quite stuffed and glad we were sharing.
The bill was also most reasonable. Around £60 for all the food for two, and we also sank about £25 into drinks. Then the magic of the soft opening happened where it's 50% off, so in total we paid about £63 including service charge.
They're doing the soft opening offer until May the 3rd, so if you can nab a table, I would definitely recommend doing so. And unlike Nopi, (where I also availed of the soft opening offer), I still think it was great value for what it was. Plus there's no reason to order six bloomin starter plates. Or alternatively, skip on the main. I'm keen to go back some afternoon and just have a bunch of teeny plates at the bar. 


The Riding House Cafe,  43-51 Great Titchfield Street London W1W 7PQ 020 7927 0840

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Bulghar wheat and spinach pilaf

This is a perfectly gorgeous dinner - an onion-y, chilli tomato-ey delicious platter of grains you can scoop and scoop and scoop from. It's also brilliant for entertaining - just up the quantities. This would also work extremely well at a picnic or barbecue, is still delicious cold, and is easy to prepare in advance. It's also a very straightforward thing to make, it's almost a salad - almost, but SO much more fantastic. This is a brilliant one for summer, so if you've been enjoying the sunshine, bookmark this one as a nice warm weather lunch or dinner.

The only unusual ingredient in this, with the exception of Harissa used on the tomatoes (any Mediterranean shop - I get mine in Phoenicia in Kentish Town), is bulghar wheat. This is available from my local supermarket, and is a quick-cooking form of wheat which has been parboiled. It looks like Demerara sugar - don't put it in your coffee - and has a slightly nutty but wonderfully versatile flavour. It is an absolute doddle to make - simmer, then leave to soak, 25 minutes start to finish. And it's rich in fibre, low in fat, and a popular staple in Middle Eastern food. A little research also turned up that it's really rich in minerals, - iron, phosphorus and zinc (the most common nutritional deficiency) to name a few. 

I feel like many people my age really neglect the sheer amount of variety  on offer, especially when it comes to grains. Couscous was a massive discovery for me when I was a student, and most people I know have never heard of bulghar wheat.  That said, I'm fortunate enough to live in a place where I'm frequently baffled by the sheer expanse of ingredients on offer in my local supermarket, even, let alone if I was to take the bus into Soho. However,  you can substitute couscous for bulghar wheat, if you like, and still enjoy the deeply refreshing and satisfying pilaf. And healthy to boot, seriously. This is a dream food. My new aim for the summer is to make this and bring it to the park to be eaten with maximum joy.

Bulghar wheat and spinach pilaf (serves 4-ish)

To make things easier, and following the original recipe's lead, I've kept the ingredients separated into sections. 

Tomatoes

10 to 12 plum tomatoes (sliced into segments)

4 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1.5 tsp Harissa paste (or a sprinkle of chilli flakes if you don't have it.)

2 tsp Muscavado/soft, dark sugar 

Pilaf

170g bulghar wheat

295ml vegetable stock 

1 onion (finely chopped)

2 cloves of garlic (peeled and sliced)

300g spinach

Decent handful of mint (chopped)

4 tbsp olive oil

Feta cheese 

Onions (which get scattered on top)

2 onions, (thinly sliced into semi-circles)

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1.5 tsp Muscavado/soft, dark sugar 

1/2 lemon (juiced)

Pre-heat your oven to 200C and start with your tomatoes as they'll take around 30 minutes. I've already used this method in the breakfast recipe with soda farls - sometimes chilli tomatoes are just what the doctor ordered to perk your morning up. But slice the tomatoes, and in a small bowl, mix the olive oil, Harissa and balsamic. Put the tomatoes in a roasting tin and pour over the sauce, using your hands to ensure a nice even coverage, then sprinkle over the sugar to result in some delicious caramelised tomatoes.

Tomatoes roasted in Harissa, balsamic and olive oil 

These can be hot or cold when the pilaf is served - and they are DELICIOUS. Sweet and chewy with a fantastic chilli kick to offset the sugar. Cooks perks deem, in my view,  you definitely get to have a snack on one or two of these lovely tomatoes of them before dinner is served. 

Meanwhile, start on your pilaf. Put the chopped onion in 2tbsp of olive oil in a nice big pot (that you have a lid for) and fry for a few minutes until softened, then add the garlic and let that soften as well. With your 295ml (I'm sure 300ml would be fine...) stock at the ready, tip in the bulghar wheat on top of the onions, stir, and quickly pour over the stock. Bring to boiling, then turn the heat right down to a low simmer for around 15 minutes - I like to give it an occasional stir . After this time, you can turn off the heat completely, put the lid on and let it sit for 10 minutes or so. You can chop your mint now, if you haven't already. 

While this is happening, you can get on with your spinach. Probably do this in two goes, as I get spinach everywhere when I try to do 300g in one go.

Spinach prior to frying - this is about as soggy as I let it go. If you have a few unwilted leaves left, it's nice to have a mix. 

Rapidly rinse the spinach then use your hands to shake the water off it. Put it into a big pan on a high heat and let it wilt slightly then drain into the sink and let it sit for a few minutes until it's cool enough that you can squeeze out some of the excess water. I don't like the spinach to lose too much of its shape, and I think it tastes much nicer when its closer to raw than completely steamed and bitter. Roughly chop chop chop on a chopping board, then throw it into a frying pan, or the pot you used to wilt it if it's dry enough in 2tbsp of olive oil. Fry very briefly, then add to the pilaf. I usually don't wait for the pilaf to be fully done before adding. Put it in, give it a stir, replace the lid.

Now you just have to do your onions, which are rapidly fried until crispy. On a high heat, add the onions and stir frequently, and right when they are getting good and crispy, add the cinnamon (just a pinch!) and the sugar, then take off the heat.

Onions, crisping up

To assemble, on your nicest, biggest plate (if you have one), tip out the bulghar and spinach. Then scatter over the mint. Then add the tomatoes and finally the crispy onions. Take a good handful of feta and crumble over, then tip over your lemon juice.

Serve with whatever you like - I find hummus is a lovely thing to put with it, and if you want to make sure your guests are damn well fed, you can also make up some falafel and an olivey-Greek salad to go with it!

Falafel, Greek salad and the bulghar wheat pilaf on its way to the table.

Credit where credit is due: 101 Cookbooks

Quesadilla and chunky salsa - quick weekend lunch!

I used to work in this café in the town I grew up in on the coast of south west Ireland which would be pretty quiet during the winter and absolutely heaving with tourists during the summer. I remember once a coachload of German tourists all ordered the same thing - a toasted panini and we only had one grill! That was interesting, to say the least.

We had a kind of a tex-mex thing going alongside the brownies, bagels and soups, and I got a taste for this particular chunky salsa I used to make in buckets and now I'm devoted to it. It's more of a salad, than a salsa and I love it - it's the perfect foil to spicy jalapeno and greasy fried quesdailla - five ingredients: tomato, white onion, lime, coriander and salt. It is utterly delicious on plain salted tortilla chips as well and takes two seconds to make. I don't purport to know ANYTHING about Mexican food by the way - my idea of Mexican is basically peppers and onions covered in fajita spice with chicken. I don't even like beans, for god's sake. But this is really yummy, I promise - just no guarantees about it being authentically anything other than being delicious thanks to the combined wonders of cheese, butter and carbohydrate.

Chunky basic salsa

• Handful of coriander (finely chopped)
• 2 tomatoes
• Half a white onion
• Half a lime, juiced
• A decent amount of table salt

 

Chop the tomato cleanly in half, then slice into three or four thick vertical slices without disturbing the semi-circle shape of the tomato if possible, then turn it round and slice again making chunks - a sharp knife here helps or you'll end up with tomato mush and water! Do the same with the onion half, and mix together in a big enough bowl that you'll be able to thoroughly encorporate the salt, lime juice and coriander. Use your hand to make sure all the flavours blend, if you can be bothered - and taste as you go. More salt than you think you need is often the secret.

Quesadilla with cheese and jalapeno

Below are the ingredients per quesadilla - this is a really nice open recipe, so feel free to experiment. Avocado, roasted chicken strips, mince, quorn...or substitute the cheddar with feta and make it with spinach and sundried tomato! And work from there. This is my favourite though.

• 1 tsp of soft-ish butter
• 1 tortilla wrap
• 1 or 2 handfuls of grated cheddar or similar
• 4 or 5 jalapenos, depending on how much heat you like

Get a large frying pan good and hot, and have your cheese pre-grated at the ready. Smear a tsp or equivalent of  spoonful of butter on the underside of your wrap, then using your hand, put the tortilla in the pan and move it around so the butter coats the pan and wrap nicely as it melts. It'll sizzle pretty loudly if you're doing it right. 

Rapidly sprinkle your cheese over roughly one half of the wrap, quickly add your jalapenos, then fold the wrap over and press down with a spatula. The cheese will melt, the tortilla will crisp, flip it over until it gets lovely and dark but don't let it burn and don't panic if some of the cheese oozes out.

Slice it up like a pizza and serve it with some sour cream if you have some. So bad for you. And yet so good. And it really only takes about 2 minutes to make one. Enjoy!