A visit to the garden at The River Café

Tag : mustard leaf

New home-grown ingredients mean new recipes added to the repertoireof an ever-deepening seam of food ideas for Rose, Ruth and theirteam to draw on. And that's the strength of this place - they neverfeel as if they're skating on thin ice. The food is immediate,sparky and exciting, but it feels authoritative, calm,unpretentious and authentic. The garden is the foundation stone andhelps give their cooking its characteristic style. I left feelingit was as much at the heart of the River Café as thewood-fired oven and grill on which they cook so much, and Italyitself. The River Café (020 7386 4200; www.rivercafe.co.uk ) Rose Gray is harvesting and cooking at Sarah Raven's garden atPerch Hill, East Sussex, on November 19. The harvesting walk,demonstration and lunch must be booked in advance (0845 0504849; www.perchhill.co.uk )
River Café garden recipes
Garden salad with bruschetta
This salad is served with a grilled slice of Pugliese bread,drizzled with extra virgin peppery olive oil.
Choose a mixture of garden leaves, including golden purslane,Turkish rocket, sorrel, red orache, plus chicory, marigold, viola,rocket and nasturtium flowers.
Make the dressing from extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, Maldonsalt and freshly ground pepper.
Garden fritto misto
Rose believes that Elizabeth David's batter recipe is by far thebest. For the batter: 150g/5½oz plain flour 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 130ml/4fl oz warm water 2 egg whites Squash flowers and buds Marigold buds and tips White and blue borage flower buds and tips Purple sage leaves
For the batter, sift the flour into a bowl and make a well in thecentre. Pour in 3 tablespoons of olive oil and stir slowly,combining the flour with the oil. Add warm water to loosen,stirring all the time, until you have a batter the consistency ofdouble cream. Leave for 45 minutes or more at room temperature. Thewarm water swells the flour and stops it becoming too heavy. Justbefore cooking, beat the egg whites until stiff and fold gentlyinto the batter.
Coat the flower buds, tips and sage leaves with batter and shallowfry in ½in of olive oil until they are crisp and golden.Serve with a chunk of lemon and scattered with salt and freshlyground black pepper.
Squash shoot frittata
This was cooked in a small frying pan which is perfect for afrittata for one. Squash shoots, stems and 1 fruit weighing about 100g/3½oz 1 handful mint 1tbsp mascarpone 3 large free-range organic eggs, lightly beaten A little freshly grated Parmesan (mixed in and some added on topafter cooking) Salt and pepper
Boil the squash shoots, stems and fruit in salted water for 3minutes. Drain and cool. Roughly chop. Combine all the ingredientsin a bowl and pour into a frying pan already heated with a littleolive oil. Tip the pan or use a fork to evenly distribute themixture, as you would for an omelette. Lower the heat and cover,cooking for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the eggs are just set.
Beef carpaccio with fennel flowers
For 4 300g/10½ oz beef fillet 2 budding fennel tops with their flowers 2tsp salted capers (washed and soaked in red wine vinegar) 1 dried red chilli, crumbled Dressing made from Dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, extra virginolive oil, Maldon salt and freshly ground black pepper
Slice the beef as thinly as you can and lay over each plate.Scatter over the capers, chilli, sea salt and black pepper.Sprinkle the fennel tops and flowers over quite generously. Drizzlefirst with olive oil and then with the mustard dressing.