Roast and Conch Leeds

For this new restaurant it was week one day six when we experienced the delicious flavours of their St Lucian cocoa inspired cuisine.

As long term fans of Hotel Chocolate (particularly in the half price sale immediately after events and landmark dates & those lovely samples as you browse) a leaflet arrived advertising Rabot in Borough Market and Roast and Conch in Leeds. www.hotelchocolate.com/uk/roast-and-conch

The Leeds venue just had to be tried and niece Amy was the willing volunteer on our early Christmas night out.

The restaurant is in an ideal location in Boar Lane on the main route from Leeds Station to the shopping centre and the integral hotel chocolate shop is a real draw. 

In the bar you choose from coffee, various chocolate concoctions and real drinks. We opted for gin based from the cocktail menu assiduously prepared by the young newly trained bar staff. Cocoa Gin Martini and Rabot G&T both with an orange twist were perfect,

As we sipped away the manager chatted with great enthusiasm about the Caribbean concept, the early days and the on site chocolate making, all fascinating.

Then upstairs to the restaurant dark but inviting and the staff were just fab. It was great to hear about the tastings over their two week training and the matching wines to the superb food.

So what did we eat, first there were the crunchy cocoa beans with their savoury nutty flavour. 

Then tuna ceviche in coconut milk with chilli and lime pickle and cocoa-nib crisp bread was a delicious choice. Heritage pickled beet carpaccio with cocoa balsamic and goats cheese also went down well

For main courses a Roast and Conch hamburger for Amy made from hand chopped rump steak with no bun (as usual) but instead she was offered creamy mash with. My tuna salad was meltingly soft seared tuna with cocoa pesto. A signature salad from Boucan St Lucia

We were full but not too full to visit the Hotel Chocolate shop 20% off voucher in hand and yes chocolate was purchased and eaten later.

The flavours of both the drinks and food were distinctive and different I hope is does well and I plan to visit sister restaurant Rabot in Borough Market London very soon.

Seafood in Spain

A few days away in the sunshine of Marbella in southern Spain has given plenty of scope creative blog ideas so here is a taste or what is to come.

First of all Marbella is just delightful. A wonderful old town with cafes, fountains, churches, piazzas and exploration down narrow streets revealing fabulous traditional tapas bars.

The subject today is central to my foodie interest it is seafood and we certainly enjoyed an extensive range.

It is night one in Orange Square, still warm enough in October to sit outside in short sleeves and our shared starter was tender juicy octopus served on soft thinly sliced potatoes and sprinkled with piementon

Prawns came in many shapes and sizes from these giant ones succulent in light tempura batter to the Spainish favourite of Gambas Pil Pil sizzling in their sauce of garlic, chilli and white wine.

Sitting at El Pozo Viejo http://www.restauranteelpozoviejo.com/ a favourite spot for a drink before dinner and where we were made to feel so welcome we were brought simple tasty tapas including this favourite of sweet anchovy drizzled with olive oil.

This was Spainish seafood at its delicious best

The Ambrette

Introducing new friends to The Ambrette in Rye on a Saturday night a few weeks ago was a real treat. All that elegantly presented delicious food and great company too.

The Ambrette has an excellent reputation and lived up to expectations. Traditional Indian flavours with a contemporary style and locally sourced produce. See the intricate range of mouth watering combinations here www.theambrette.co.uk

This restaurant wins in a whole variety of ways.  Rye itself is a quaint and attractive spot and particularly the high street with this ivy covered georgian building in its centre. The interior is modern achieving both stylish and relaxed in equal measure. Once seated the first of a number of extra tantalising delicacies arrive. A delicious lychee and orange drink swiftly followed by a pre starter of  a tiny spicy onion bahjee.

As a party of six there was much deliberation about what to choose as every single dish offers endless possibilities. For starters the dosai with spiced potatoes was a popular choice. Also "tender breast of chicken marinated in black stone flower and wild alexander seeds roulade, lentil salad, fresh horseradish and cucumber raita, coriander chutney"

The calves liver with spiced Kentish cherries was pretty good too

Before the main courses came a small cup of spiced tomato soup. Then slow cooked mutton, aubergine with goats cheese and mushroom and tempura of courgette flower with roast beetroot. Naturally each also came with a range of added touches, techniques and tasty twists like kentish cob nuts and garlic pate and kashmiri style sauce of cinnamon and saffron.

Then a refreshing glass of granita with popping space dust to make way for the grand finale the irresistible trio of desserts

The Ambrette deserves its numerous rave reviews and should be commended for keeping the price of a three (or I should say six) course meal to around £24 a head. A splendid all round evening which we plan to repeat before too long.

Jamie's Italian Leeds

Reading the mixed reviews for Jamie Olivers Italian in Leeds my expectations were not too high however I now say for a lively, noisy, friendly and fun experience give it a try.

Thursday night in Leeds at www.jamieoliver.com/italian/leeds for Amy and me was the follow up to a night in Newcastle last month where Italian was also the choice www.firenzenewcastle.co.uk

Jamies here opened in May 2010 and is centrally located in a former bank in Park Row just a couple of minutes walk from the station. Inside it is inviting with low lighting, high ceilings, and energetic staff.

Sitting at the small bar area on high stools at counter sipping drinks we were ideally placed to consider the food options as plate after plate of tempting dishes emerged from the open kitchen.

Good intentions to this time "have only one starter" soon disappeared and we shared crispy squid with garlic mayo and crispy tomato and mozzarella arancini which were stuffed rice balls in a tomato and pickled chilli sauce. Both were good.

Then came Amys Italian burger requested with no bun and a portion of "posh chips" flavoured with truffle oil and dusted with parmesan.

My Seafood Bucatini was just right, a sauce of capers, lemon, garlic, chilli and sweet tomatoes coated tube spaghetti topped with a very generous portion of seafood. This was cleverly cooked in a paper bag to retain taste and moisture.

Custom at Jamies was steady but not overflowing, the staff were fantastic friendly, efficient and knowledgable. There is a shop selling cookware, sauces, gifts and antipasti planks. It a generally good all round experience to be recommended.

Turkish Always a Delight in Tenterden

We all have favourite haunts for birthdays and celebrations returning over the years happy to find good things unchanged. Ozgur in Tenterden is one of those places. The formula of warm welcomes by name, superb traditional turkish food and great value means that this place still thrives. www.ozgurturkishrestaurant.co.uk/

Our menus remain unopened even though the choice is extensive as the "Tenterden Special Four Courses £16.95" is impossible to resist. Our Effes beer and Villa Doluca wine appear on the table as if by telepathic magic along with a plate of spicy green chillies and black olives.

The first two courses are mixed meze, cold then hot. I remember in Turkey in the 80s the meze experience was a revelation, a vast cold cabinet filled with dish after dish of savoury vegetarian starters so tempting that choosing just a few was a real challenge.

At Ozgur the choice issue is solved for you with a selection of nine served in delicate traditional china dishes there is hummus, vine leaves, aubergine, beans and much more. Take a look at the menu and you will see what I mean. These are served with an endless supply of warm pitta bread. The trick here is just do not eat too much too soon.

Hot meze follows on this occasion a mix of spicy chicken wings, liver sauté, meatballs and borek those tasty fried pastries filled with salty cheese

There have been times when friends have said "is that it then" but oh no there is still the star of the show the mixed kebab sizzling hot and with the tastiest varied selection you could wish for.

In fact this meal is really five courses as along with the sweet baclava and semolina pudding arrives a refreshing plate of fruit.

It is not that we visit Ozgur every month in fact these days it is only every year or so but a presence over two decades often bringing family and friends has resulted in a warm welcome every time.

Onions, Tomatoes and Chilli Oil

Inspired by the continuing garden bounty I made a really easy and tasty tomato sauce with an added kick of chilli infused olive oil.

The onions have been out of the ground for two weeks now slowly drying out in the greenhouse. After a week I cut back half of the remaining greenery and they are now trimmed and ready to be stored in a cool dry place.

 Cherry tomatoes have been an abundant success and there are still daily pickings for lunches and plenty left for cooking.

I get regular gifts from the popular weekly Bexhill Farmers Market www.bexhillmarket.org.uk/ and one of my favourites are the delicious infused olive oils from Stratta www.stratta.org Do take a look at the link it is the most appealing web site I have seen for quite a while.  Stratta is run by a couple from their East Sussex home. So far the oils I have tried are smoked garlic, Three Cs (cumin, coriander and cardamon) smoky moroccan and the chilli which also comes in an extra hot version.

Recipe - Chilli Tomato Sauce

450g tomatoes skinned and chopped
1 large onion sliced
1tbs chilli oil
1tbs tomato puree
1tsp dried mustard powder
1tsp red wine vinegar
1tsp brown sugar
salt and pepper

Sweat the onions in the chilli oil until they are just soft. Add the tomatoes and other ingredients and stir well. Simmer for 15 minutes (uncovered if you want a thicker sauce) stirring from time to time.

Italian Food in Jesmond

On a flying visit to see my lovely niece in Newcastle upon Tyne www.newcastlegateshead.com  I found myself in the popular and lively residential district of Jesmond north of the city centre. With just a few hours to spare the idea was to try a local restaurant and Firenze in Osbourne Road was her very good choice.

This Italian restaurant firenzenewcastle.co.uk has been open for four years and has all right the ingredients for a great experience. Located on the first floor the atmosphere is bright and airy and we were immediately greeted and shown to a perfect corner table.

The menu offers an extensive and varied (but not overwhelming) range of italian dishes breads, brushetta, antipasti, pizza, pasta, insalata, pollo and more. The staff are exceptionally friendly helpful.

To start we shared a salt and pepper fried calamari served with a garlic mayonnaise and a antipasto misto a generous selection of italian meats with rocket and parmesan.

For main course Amy plumped for risotto but was it to be Frutti with mussels, calamari, smoked salmon with tomato and cream or Salmone which had the added attraction of asparagus. No problem said the very nice man why not add some asparagus to the Frutti. The result was one delighted Amy who will certainly be back at Firenze again.

It was seafood all round with me opting for Di mare pizza and a house salad. The wine choice was a Pinot Grigio Rose in an attempt to hold on to that summer feeling on a slightly drizzly night.

Firenze is also very good value with our meal not including the wine coming to just £32 a tip is not automatically included in the bill but was certainly deserved.

It should do very well in this part of the city which is increasingly popular for students and nights out

Mint and Lavender Tea

A month ago I reluctantly cut down swathes of succulent green mint seemingly in its prime. Following Gardeners World advice it hung for a week in bunches in the greenhouse receiving a daily roasting from all that sunshine.

Once dried I stored the leaves in clean dry jars ready for use in the months to come

A job for yesterday was to cut back the lavender which had turned from the spectacular purple display of a few weeks ago to something still smelling good but much less attractive.

Ten years ago we built a patio outside our 1930s house and inspired by the book shown below packed the wall with scented herbs and plants. Handy for the kitchen as well.

Whether it is the passing of time or the stunning summer we have enjoyed the aromatherapy wall has thrived in 2013

A general all over herb "haircut" will make the area attractive for a month or more before autumn properly arrives as there are still plenty of late afternoons to be enjoyed outside even if those outdoor evenings are at an end.

Experimenting with the dried mint and lavender I followed a simple recipe for tea by steeping 1 tsp mint and 1tsp dried lavender in 2 cups boiling water for 5 minutes. Strain and pour into glasses, sweeten with a little honey and decorate. It was very refreshing and reminiscent of Turkish holidays.

As for the mint just as advised by those clever BBC gardening experts it is already growing back