being the food magazine of Soho House
Hot Stuff Our chefs’ favourite winter recipes
Seasonal cooking Soho House food news
Winter 2012
What to cook right now p15: Beetroot Photo by Dai Williams, styled by Alice Wigley
Know your seasonal seasoning? We are recruiting. If you love to cook, join one of our teams. Email cookhouse@sohohouse.com
COOKHOUSE winter 2012
The days are getting shorter, the nights are getting colder (unless you’re in LA or Miami of course) and we’re in the mood for comfort food. So this issue contains a special winter warmer recipe feature, with dishes devised by some of Soho House’s best chefs. We’ve also got seasonal ideas from some of the guest chefs who’ve popped up in venues recently - Jose Pizarro, Vivek Singh and Giancarlo Caldesi. Whether you like sweet or savoury, there should be something for you to make in here. We’ve caught up with the chefs who’ve been travelling, training and working around the world, plus we have the results of Cookhouse’s first ever cooking competition - keep a look out for more of them in the future. We also report back on what happened when Nick Jones, founder of Soho House, offered to show his chefs how he makes Sunday roast, plus we’ve a sneak preview of the menu at the new Electric Diner and an exclusive interview with Chicago’s favourite chef, Brendan Sodikoff, who came to London to help set it up.
Tuck in!
a taste... 4
NEWS
What’s been happening at Soho House
08
WHAT I KNOW
Exec chef Harvey Ayliffe
10
COOKING COMPETITION Top chefs compete
14
NICK'S DEMO
Nick Jones cooks a roast
15&18
WHAT'S IN SEASON
19
BRENDAN SODIKOFF How he made it
20
WINTER WARMER RECIPES
What to cook now in Europe and the US
A special collection from Soho House
16
28
FAMOUS FRIENDS
Guest chefs share seasonal recipes
GREY GOOSE
Perfect turkey and cocktails to match
12
30
ELECTRIC REBORN
IN PRAISE OF...
Chicago comes to West London
Matt Armistead on pomegranates
you know who you are... Editor: Rebecca Seal Art Etc: Dominic Salmon Publisher: Dan Flower Thanks to: Dylan Murray, Gareth Jones, Julia Taylor-Brown, Phoebe Strawson, Oli Juste, Caroline Boucher, Thomas Lennard, Ronnie Bonetti, Shelley Armistead, Matthew Armistead, Martin Kuczmarski, Antonella Bonetti, Dave Green, Andrea Cavaliere, Jake Rigby-Wilson, Lilaj Battista, Jacki Spillane, Pete McAllister, Nicholas Fitzgerald, Tank Loy, Tim Fuller, Michele Ardu, Chris Tomsett, Ashley Lent, Sergio Sigala, German Lucarelli, Marcin Malinski, Alessio Biangini, Leon Lawrence, Dai Williams, Steven Joyce, Jessica Hopkins, Nano Crespo
www.cook-house.info
Slices
Goodies at Weiser farm
nibbles and food news
FARMED OUT
Julia Taylor Brown on Cookhouse’s visit to an amazing farm One of the most exciting adventures the LA teams took this season was to Weiser Family Farm (and the farm really is a family affair) with Worldwide Produce. (You might recognize the name from our previous issue – they grow the addictionworthy Persian mulberries.) Alex Weiser showed us some of his exciting new crops like deep purple brussels and baby ruby celery and some of our kitchen’s favourites, including quince, heirloom carrots and candy stripe beets. He even let us try our hand in the fields… have you ever carried a tromboloni squash around your neck? They’re huge! As a surprise we also got to visit to Indian Point Ostrich Ranch, and got up close and personal with the massive 10 foot, 500 lb beasts. Wow.
Chefs gather at Shoreditch House
AT THE TABLE
After a successful Chef ’s Table at the Hoxton Grill a few months back, Cookhouse has decided to make it a monthly fixture, so every month a chef from each site will dine out in one of our restaurants on us. What better way to check out the restaurants, try a new food style while meeting up with your fellow chefs in the process?
The last Chef ’s Table took place at Shoreditch House and was hosted by new head chef Michele Nargi. With a cold Birra Moretti in hand, the first course of the evening was salted chilli squid and stuffed olives, quickly followed by creamy burrata and tomatoes, a divine gnocchi with black truffle and rolled pork and polenta (to name but a few of his dishes…). And those who found room for dessert enjoyed one of Michele’s personal favourites… zabaglione and mangoes. An excellent evening of good company, good wine and great food. The next Chef ’s Table will be held at Cafe Boheme.
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www.sohohouse.com
In other news...
New York Wine & Food Festival
This year the team invaded the New York Times Wine and Food Festival in full force from the massive Trade Tasting at Pier 57 via the Moonlight Burger Bash (yum!) to a Korean-themed dinner from Roy Choi and Jean Georges Vongerichten, plus a panel on the Future of Restaurants with Chefs Mario Batali, Magnus Nilsson and Tom Colicchio and Food and Wine's Dana Cowin. Phew.
Sunset Strip Farmer's Market
THE ELECTRIC IS BACK!
Electric House was seriously damaged in a fire earlier this year – but in early December it reopened, bigger and better than ever. It’s now home to a fantastic diner, created with Brendan Sodikoff and Jason Vaughan, whose Au Cheval diner is a roaring success in Chicago. Look out for their take on classic American dishes with a little bit of French flair, plus a terrific drinks list. Check out page 12 for more info.
FUN GUYS WITH FUNGHI
Marco, one half of the infamous Truffle Brother duo, joined Cecconi’s West Hollywood’s Chef de Cuisine Alessio Biangini for a lesson in our favourite funghi – truffles. The team from Cecconi’s and Soho House West Hollywood were schooled in the different types of truffles, seasonality, which flavours best complement truffles and how trufflehunting dogs are trained. Alessio followed the lesson with a demo on his preferred types of mushrooms and the best ways to coax out flavours. The lesson wrapped up with a feast, including truffle and mushroom risotto, a black truffle pizza, truffle and mushroom pasta and possibly the most perfect porcinis ever to come out of a wood oven.
JOIN US! Soho House is recruiting chefs. Email cookhouse@sohohouse.com or visit www.cook-house.info. www.cook-house.info
Nicky Pickup (Soho House West Hollywood), David Vatran (Cecconi's West Hollywood) and Simone Molinu (Cookhouse) braved the rare appearance of rain in LA and presented a mouthwatering menu for the Sunset Strip's Thursday Farmer's Market. The simple but delicious meal included seafood paella, roast squash and feta salad and pumpkin tart with creme fraiche and smoked sea salt.
LA Times Taste Festival
Three of West Hollywood's line cooks (Andrea, Matt and Sirenia) and one of the pastry cooks (Jojo) headed to Paramount Studios for the Los Angeles Times Taste Festival's "Flavors of LA" event. "Flavors of LA" featured authentic dishes from around the world via Los Angeles' best chefs, including Susan Feniger, Ludo Lefebvre, Kris Yenbamroong and Ricardo Zarate. For Jojo and Sirenia, the highlight of the festival was meeting Susan Feniger from Latin favourites STREET and Border Grill. They were both very excited for the chance not only for a photo op, but for an actual chat with the chef.
autumn 2012
COOKHOUUSE 05
RISING STARS
Cookhouse celebrates the unsung heroes of the kitchens Soho House London Daniel Brooks and Ermond Cara nominated by Leon Lawrence
Daniel (Danny Boy) Brooks is senior sous of the House kitchen and since he has taken over has turned it around, improving our staff retention, quality of food and morale. Ermond Cara joined us a few months ago as junior sous of the House kitchen. He also has proven to be a great, strong leader and fantastic support for Daniel. Keep it up boys.
Dean Street Townhouse Shael Carr head pastry chef nominated by Jake Rigby Wilson
Shael joined us in February this year and
The crew at Cucina Caldesi, centre and far right chef Caldesi gets to work.
has been instrumental in maintaining the standards at DST while building and developing the pastry team.
Soho Beach House Miami Didiane Vallejo nominated by Sergio Sigala
Didiane Vallejo is a great asset in my kitchen. She is a cook we can use in any station with a great attitude and desire to grow with the company.
Pizza East Portobello Alvaro (Junior) Argumendo-Nevado nominated by Lliam Boyle
Alvaro (Junior) Argumendo-Nevado is a chef-de-partie at Pizza East Portobello and got his nickame as he was youngest in the kitchen when he started. It seems ironic now that he's one of the most competent chefs in the team. His positive attitude and oustanding work ethic make him one to watch for the future.
CUCINA TIPICA
The UK Cookhouse team visited La Cucina Caldesi for an authentic Italian master class led by chef Giancarlo Caldesi. The day’s lessons included grains of wisdom about the value of salt, the importance of tasting and smelling, smelling and tasting, again and again, sloooooow cooking and of course, women! Chef Caldesi commenced with lasagne and a lesson on ragu, starting with the perfect soffrito and ending with a bottle of (Italian, of course) red wine. We made nutmeggy bechamel and lasagne noodles from scratch, plus ravioli di orata con burro e limone (see p16 for the recipe). Then Chef Caldesi shared the proper way to break down a veal topside. We ended up making not one, but two veal dishes. We sat down around a long table to enjoy everything we had made, and then Caldesi whipped up stecche di bomboloni and tiramisu to finish!
06 COOKHOUUSE
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www.sohohouse.com
Slices Danielle Saunders, centre, with Cookhouse team members.
ONE NIGHT STAND
We have had some terrific guest chefs appear as part of the Soho House One Night Only series, most recently welcoming much-loved chef Fergus Henderson of St John fame to High Road House, plus Allegra McEvedy, Michel Roux and Monica Galetti have all also visited and served up dishes from their amazing kitchens and cookery books. Across the water in New York, chef Danielle Saunders paid a visit to Soho House. A New Jersey native and former private chef for Sean “Diddy” Combs, she specialises in soul fusion, which ditches the empty fats and sugars in comfort food without sacrificing any homestyle flavour. Another wholesome but stupendously tasty feast was rustled up in LA by chef Matthew Dickson, of FEED Body & Soul, who came in to share his healthy dishes with members and West Hollywood’s chefs. If you’d like to get his kale recipe, head to www.houseseven.com
A TASTE OF PARADISE
For the latest Cookhouse trip in Miami, the team visited Paradise Farms, a 5-acre organic farm. Owner Gabriele and her team took us on a private tour of their farm which, when she bought it, was an abandoned avocado grove. Her farm grows a variety of produce including (of course) Florida avocados and we picked up and tasted everything that crossed our path, including key limes, sugar cane, baby kale and spicy mustard greens. Chef Sergio will be back in the spring to cook a dinner on the farm, and we can’t wait to see what he comes up with. www.cook-house.info
In other news...
Pumpkins & Pies
In preparation for Halloween, UK pastry chef Jake RigbyWilson took the chefs through the best way to create traditional pumpkin pies as well as a particularly tempting one with pumpkin and chocolate. Wrapping up the session with a pumpkin carving competition, Marek from Dean Street Townhouse took first prize with his Jack the ripper creation.
The Restaurant Show
Cookhouse visited the Restaurant Show in London probably the only place you'll find top chefs, mushroom foragers, Chinese beer suppliers and mechanical cutlery polishers under one roof. Chefs, bartenders, floor staff and management trainees all came together to see cooking demos from Giorgio Locatelli and Marco Pierre White, tasting Deli Station's wares and a master class on rum.
Cookhouse Food Show
Look out for more info coming soon on the Cookhouse website about the Cookhouse Food Show, which is taking place in January, hot on the heels of a very successful House Tonic Bar Show. See www.cook-house.info. winter 2012
COOKHOUUSE 07
“Be early and keen and ready”
Portrait by Dai Williams
what i know
HARVEY AYLIFFE
Soho House’s executive chef Harvey Ayliffe, 42, explains how he got to where he is today
T
his is the first time I’ve been an exec chef. Previously, I was head chef at Rules restaurant and before that I opened a small club called Alfred’s with Mark Hix. Before both of those, I worked with these guys – I opened up Shoreditch House and was head chef at Soho House too. I didn’t start cooking until I was 25. I couldn’t even cook an egg when I was 18. I used to work in Covent Garden fruit and vegetable market as a porter but the firm I was in closed down so I was out of work. I went on a government restart programme, went to catering college and just loved it. I thought I might open a little cafe. But I went on to work in gentlemen’s clubs like the Savile Club and Brooks Club, and then at Le Caprice. I opened up J Sheekey and I was at the Ivy too. My mum and dad had a greengrocers, so for me it started with products like Jersey royals or asparagus. But the first thing I cooked was pasta, I think. I had a Keith Floyd book and I tried a couple
of things from it and they came out all right so I began to think I might have a feeling for this. It’s a shock to the system, catering, but my sister had a restaurant in Corfu, so I’d worked in her kitchens, at least, making tzatziki and salads. I worked front-of-house to begin with but I spilt a drink down someone so they took me out the back. When I started I was an obsessive cookbook reader. It’s like going into the chefs’ kitchens – I used to read them front to back, buying three or four a week. I’ve got hundreds now. I cook at home all the time. Very simple food, I’ve got simple tastes: tuna pasta, chicken and potatoes, steak and chips. I’ve got three kids so it’s got to be ready in 20 minutes, or a slow-baked shoulder of lamb on a Sunday. They say everything I cook is rubbish anyway. You’ve got to have a keen-ness; a desire and a want to cook. I think you can develop taste, like a muscle, the more you use it and the more flavours you
store up. I can taste a dish in my mind. Be early and keen and ready; want to learn and be organised. That’s the best skill you can have. Anything else, you can learn. Try and get in a good kitchen at the beginning, where you get treated well. You can go to a threestar Michelin place and stand in the corner picking herbs for two years, so go to a smallish kitchen to begin with. But remember when you move to a bigger kitchen you’ll have to start at the bottom again. It’s a fantastic life. I’ve been to Russia, I’ve been to Cannes, I’ve been to America. I could go anywhere in the world and walk into a kitchen and it doesn’t matter if they speak English or not. I’ve never been out of work as a chef. I love the kitchen. I love the camaraderie. (I do think I married a saint though.) So. Read plenty of books. Love your ingredients. Eat a lot. Eat out a lot. And enjoy it.
SOUND GOOD? Want to join one of our kitchen teams in London, Somerset, Berlin, New York, LA, Miami or Toronto? Email cookhouse@sohohouse.com or check out our website, www.cook-house.info to find out about vacancies and how to apply.
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www.sohohouse.com
soho shootout
Pictures on right hand page: Top left, Josh Everett (CB); centre left, Steven Kelly (PEK); centre, Tim Foster’s plaice quiche and pigeon with celeriac mash; centre right, judges Gareth Jones, Gilbert Holmes, Phil Britten and Dylan Murray; bottom left, competitors; bottom right, winner Mackenzie Hoy (HRH)
Left: Mackenzie Hoy chopping celeriac
READY...STEADY...COOK! Get the lowdown on Cookhouse’s inaugural cooking competition.
I
t was pretty intense down at Westminster College when the Cookhouse crew descended to take part in our first ever cooking competition. (Our sister programme, House Tonic, has a cocktail competition, so it seemed only fair that we get one too.) Each UK site nominated their best superstar chef to take part, all aspiring young members of the teams at chef-departie or demi level. We were very pleased to be supported by a variety of great suppliers, who gave the chefs ingredients to play with,
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from Fairfax Meadow's excellent meat, to Richard Murray's fantastic fresh fish and Solstice's delicious vegetables (Solstice's founder Phil Britten, formerly a Michelin-starred chef, joined the judging panel). The chefs had to create a starter and a main from the foods available to them – one of which had to involve plaice and the other pigeon – in just an hour and a half, whichever way round they preferred. They also had their pick of things like baby beets, celeriac and black cabbage. The dishes were very varied and all
exciting, particularly the plaice quiche that Tim Foster whipped up with so little fuss that none of the judges even noticed he was making pastry until he presented it! There could only be one winner though, and first place went to Mackenzie Hoy, a chef from New Zealand who came over to the UK as part of the Cookhouse international recruitment programme and works at High Road House. His pigeon with remoulade and baby beets, preceded by a plaice salad, really wowed the judges. www.sohohouse.com
Photographs by Dai Williams
new openings
OUR FRIENDS ELECTRIC A little bit of Chicago has pitched up in London’s Notting Hill. The new Electric Diner is a co-production between Soho House and the team behind Au Cheval, an award-winning and much-loved gastronomic diner from the Windy City. And before the public got their hands on the burgers, fries and bacon, Soho House’s head chefs descended for a taste.
T
he crowd around the open kitchen in the Electric Diner was at least three deep as chefs Brendan Sodikoff and Jason Vaughan from Au Cheval talked through the menu. With Gilbert Holmes, the venue's new head chef, also manning the grill, the audience were in for a real treat – a sneak preview of dishes that combine tried and tested favourites from the US and new ideas the crew have created together. Although the food is certainly diner style, this is no ordinary diner. The chefs feasted on huge pieces of bone marrow, split lenghwise and scattered with parsley. There was a chopped salad, American style, which is, as Brendan said, “a salad for people who don't like salad.” It came decadently dressed and with thick slabs of bacon,
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more like pork belly than rashers. Crispy potato hash was slathered in a rich duck-heart gravy and a fried egg, as was the burger, which also came with Dijonnaise. Flat-Iron chicken was juicy and deeply tasty, just like the bologna sandwich, made with homemade bologna. Broiled salmon, Brendan explained, was cooked by placing a little water in the pan, allowing the bottom to poach while the top crisps up under the grill, without flipping it. Fries came with mornay sauce and another egg, while honey-fried chicken wings had a smack of fiery spice. When it came to desserts, things were just as dangerous: a stacked millefeuille was plated up and Gilbert was encouraged/forced to show everyone how it is served, a knife
quickly splitting the tower at the table, hopefully without showering anyone with pastry. Fortunately he was successful, and after a round of applause everyone turned their attention to the chocolate tart. Brendan and Jason were also keen to talk about the importance of tempering ingredients – avoiding cooking proteins straight from the fridge – as well as their favourite kind of pans and how to care for them. (No metal spatulas are allowed in their Chicago kitchens.) Brendan also pointed out that with food, especially diner food, “It's not about giving people new. It's about giving people good. That's what gets people to come back four times in a week.” We reckon there will be quite a few repeat customers here. www.sohohouse.com
Photographs by Dai Williams
“ When it came to desserts, things were just as dangerous�
Above: Brendan Sodikoff demos the menu to Soho House's head chefs. Below, bottom right: Electric Diner head chef Gilbert Holmes, bottom left, chef Jason Vaughan from Au Cheval. Other pictures: Electric dishes.
a right roasting...
Right, Nick gets prepping, Above and below: The chefs Photographs by Dai Williams
NICK GETS COOKING What happened when Nick Jones, founder of Soho House, offered to show his head chefs how he makes his Sunday roast?
N
o question, you've got to be seriously brave to stand up and do a cookery demo with an audience entirely made up of head and sous chefs. Even braver to try and show them how to cook a perfect roast dinner – which they'll then get to eat. But the one man who is that brave is Nick Jones, founder of Soho House. As part of his mission to make Soho House's roasts as close to perfect as possible, he offered to demo his version, helped by a commis team of senior staff from the support office (much to the amusement of the crowd, of course). So, one cold Tuesday evening, he gathered head chefs from venues around the world – people came from as far as Berlin and Chicago – to a makeshift kitchen in the Secret Garden on the roof of Shoreditch House.
“You, our chefs, are the engine of our company and you have a much, much harder job than I do,” Nick started by telling the 30-strong group. “Our food has been getting better and better and I want to continue that. We can all learn how to do things differently and better, we can all get better at what we do – just like I can get better at running the company. Tonight, I want to sit down and get to know you all a bit more – and you can be as rude as you like about my cooking. I'm not one of those sensitive chefs...” The demo took in roast chicken with chipolata sausages wrapped in bacon, cauliflower cheese, small, crispy roast potatoes, a huge roast rib of beef, tray-baked Yorkshire pudding and perhaps most importantly, bread sauce and gravy. “If you think about it,”
explained Nick, “gravy goes over the whole meal, so if the gravy is crap, the meal is crap. It needs time and passion and isn't something you can prepare in 10 minutes. And give the customer a big jug – don’t leave them wanting more.” Nick feels the same way about bread sauce – an English dish of milk simmered with onion, cloves and bay leaves mixed with breadcrumbs. It doesn't always make sense to chefs from overseas, as it isn't meant to be smooth. Finally, before the chefs drank too many of the free-flowing Negronis and Old Fashioneds, the crew sat down to a candlelit supper on one long table, starting with prawn cocktail and Nick's excellent wine. And the verdict? Just like mother used to make, of course! To see a short film of the demo visit www.houseseven.com
“You can be as rude as you like about my cooking. I’m not one of those sensitive chefs…”
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www.sohohouse.com
Onsequos quas vit, quaecte ssinctu riatur, ut esent quia qui bernat atis eosseque nectatint vid minumquae. Nequat.
READY...STEADY...COOK! Get the lowdown on Cookhouse’s inaugural cooking competition.
A Seasonal View: US
Also in season:
Beetroot
Winter Squash
Look for fresh beetroot with stalks and roots attached, and roast it simply with a little oil and salt. Sweet and earthy beetroot is brilliant with bitter green leaves, cheeses like feta or goats curd, hot-smoked fish. Roasted and blitzed with yoghurt and garlic it transforms into a fabulously hot-pink dip.
In Turkey, squash is almost never served in savoury dishes, apart from occasional spicy dips. Try pumpkin slow-roasted with sugar and spices like nutmeg and cinnamon, served with vanilla ice cream. Cut with parmesan or cheddar cheese and mashed, roast squash is a great – if indulgent – side dish.
Candy beets: photo by Dai Williams, styled by Alice Wigley
Jerusalem artichokes
These tubers like salty, smoky flavours – they’re great with bacon and and herbs like bay, thyme and sage. They also sit well with onions, leeks and garlic and you can substitute half the potatoes for slices of them in Dauphinoise potatoes. Dunk in acidulated water once you cut into them, unless you’re cooking straight away.
out......... cut it
Recipes for you to cut out and keep from some of the top chefs who’ve visited Soho House Group’s kitchens around the world.
ERIC RIPERT
WARM PEEKYTOE CRAB WITH SHAVED HEIRLOOM CAULIFLOWER AND MUSTARD CURRY SAUCE Chef Eric Ripert is at the helm of Le Bernadin in New York, as well as appearing on TV. He popped in to Soho House New York to host a wonderful cooking class for members (www.le-bernardin.com).
serves 4 For the Dijon mustard emulsion: ¼ cup / 60g crème fraiche 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard ½ tablespoon chives, thinly sliced fine sea salt and freshly ground white pepper
for the curry oil:
1 cup / 240ml olive oil 1 tablespoon madras curry powder
For the crab cake:
2 tablespoons water 3oz / 85g unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces 1 tablespoon crème fraiche 1 tablespoon fresh chives, thinly sliced fresh lemon juice to taste fine sea salt and freshly ground white pepper Espelette pepper 3oz / 85g Peekytoe crabmeat, cleaned 5oz / 140g Maryland lump crabmeat, cleaned
for the garnish
½ head cauliflower (or tri-coloured cauliflower if in season) 8 micro celery sprouts ½ tsp Maldon sea salt oil for shallow-frying
To make the Dijon mustard emulsion, gently heat the crème fraiche in a small pot. Whisk in the Dijon mustard, add the chives, season with salt and pepper then set aside. To make the curry oil, slightly warm the olive oil with the curry powder and allow to infuse for two hours. For the crab cake, first make a beurre monté by bringing the water to the boil and whisking in the butter a few pieces at a time. Whisk in the crème fraiche and chives. Season with lemon juice, salt, pepper and Espelette and set aside. Meanwhile, to prepare the cauliflower, remove the florets from the head, trying to keep the pieces as large as possible. Carefully slice the florets very thinly on a Japanese mandolin or with a very sharp knife, 20 slices will be needed. When ready to serve, halve the beurre monté and warm in separate pans. Gently heat the crabmeats separately in the sauce, season. Reheat the mustard emulsion. Carefully arrange the crab in the centre of each of four small bowls: place Peekytoe on the bottom and lump on the top. Garnish each ‘crab cake’ with five cauliflower slices, layering them around and against the crab and placing one on top. Place two micro-celery sprouts on top of each mound and sprinkle with a little Maldon sea salt. Spoon the mustard emulsion over and around each plate. Finish with a little drizzle of the curry oil and serve immediately.
GIANCARLO CALDESI RAVIOLI WITH SEABREAM AND BECHAMEL IN A BUTTER AND LEMON SAUCE Soho House chefs have paid several visits recently to cookery school Cucina Caldesi to see chef Giancarlo at work (www. lacucinacaldesi.com)
makes 20-26, serves 8 as a starter, 6 as a main for the ravioli:
250g / 9 oz fresh pasta dough 2 whole sea bream or 4 sea bream fillets 4 sprigs thyme 4 garlic cloves, skin left on and lightly crushed 2 tablespoons flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped 8 tablespoons bechamel sauce salt and freshly ground pepper
For the lemon butter sauce:
150g / 4 ¼ oz unsalted butter, melted zest and juice of 1 lemon 8 tomatoes 2 tablespoons flat leaf parsley, de-stemmed, for the sauce and a little extra to serve
Soho House chefs in the Caldesi kitchen
For the filling: preheat oven to 180ºC / 350ºF / gas 4. Lay the sea bream, thyme and garlic onto an oiled tray and season well. Cook for 20 minutes (for a whole fish) or 10-15 minutes (for fillets). Remove from the oven. Remove the skin and flake the flesh into a bowl, ensuring all bones are removed, add parsley and enough bechamel sauce to bind the mixture together.
When hot and foaming add lemon zest and juice, then tomatoes. Finally fold in the parsley. Reduce the heat, cook for 2 minutes and then turn off, allowing the flavours to infuse.
Make a small cross in the top of each tomato. Then drop into very hot water for a minute to split the skins. Remove straight away and peel them. Chop the flesh into 1 cm cubes. Make the sauce by melting the butter in a medium pan.
Make the ravioli. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Cook the ravioli in batches for 3 minutes. Remove and put into the pan with the sauce. Toss and scatter over the extra parsley.
JOSE PIZARRO BRAISED IBERICO PORK WITH TOMATOES, CHORIZO, THYME AND BLACK OLIVES Jose Pizarro owns two excellent Spanish restaurants, Pizarro and Jose in London and has hosted Soho House chefs for brilliant demos (www.josepizarro.com)
serves 4–6
1kg / 2.2 lb boned shoulder of pork, ideally Ibérico, cut into 3cm chunks 4 tablespoons olive oil 150ml / ¾ cup red wine 2 medium onions, chopped 6 garlic cloves, finely chopped 200g / 7 oz chorizo sausage, skinned and chopped 2 teaspoons sweet pimentón 2 tablespoons tomato purée 400g / 14 oz skinned, chopped tomatoes, fresh or canned 300ml / 1 ¼ cups chicken stock leaves from 3 large thyme sprigs
GET ON THE GUEST LIST!
2 tablespoons chopped fresh marjoram or oregano 4 fresh bay leaves 3 tablespoons sherry vinegar 2 teaspoons caster sugar 100g / 3 ½ oz good-quality pitted black olives sea salt and freshly ground black pepper Season the pork with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large, flameproof casserole and sear the pork in batches until nicely browned. Set aside in a bowl. Add the wine to the pan and, as the liquid bubbles up, scrape the base of the pan with a wooden spoon to release all the caramelised juices. Pour over the pork. Add the remaining oil to the pan with the onions, cover and fry gently for 15 minutes, stirring now and then, until they are very soft and lightly browned. Add the garlic and chorizo and fry for a further 2–3 minutes. Stir in the pimentón and cook for 1 minute, then add the
tomato purée, tomatoes, chicken stock, thyme leaves, marjoram or oregano and the bay leaves. Stir in the pork and all the juices, season with salt and pepper, cover and simmer gently for 1 hour until the pork is almost tender. Put the sherry vinegar and caster sugar into a small pan and boil until reduced to about 1 teaspoon. Stir it into the casserole with the olives and simmer uncovered for another 20–30 minutes until the sauce is nicely reduced and the pork is tender. Adjust the seasoning to taste and serve with patatas fritas.
Join one of Soho House's kitchens and work with great guest chefs. Email cookhouse@sohohouse.com
A Seasonal View: UK
Chicory Onsequos quas vit, quaecte ssinctu riatur, ut esent quia qui bernat atis eosseque nectatint vid minumquae. Nequat.
This juicy leaf vegetable, also known as endive, is grown in the dark to keep it pale and interesting. As well as using it raw as a foil for creamy or salty ingredients like bacon, blue cheese or with citrus, chicory can also be cooked: braised, fried or grilled – anything as long as it contains plenty of butter. It's also good cooked in the same pan as chicken. Watch out for deep green tips, as they are an indicator of bitterness. Dropping it into acidulated water will stop the raw leaves discolouring.
Also in season:
Cauliflower
Steam lightly and serve as a nibble with some tonnato or aioli for dipping. It also goes well with mustard or smoked paprika and roasting it under a dusting of Indian-style spices will transform it into something far more exciting than the plain boiled veg we were served as children.
Kale
Kale takes on a sweeter flavour in the colder months, which is why it's perfect now. Switching pasta for kale changes a hearty bake into something much more interesting – try layers of tomato sauce and Italian garlic sausage between layers of just-steamed kale. Kale works well with nuts, legumes, apples, lemon, carrots and chilli peppers.
READY...STEADY...COOK!
“ Anything as long as it contains plenty of butter!”
Get the lowdown on Cookhouse’s inaugural cooking competition.
Chicory: photo by Dai Williams, styled by Alice Wigley
friends of cookhouse
“Life is full of great opportunities”
BRENDAN SODIKOFF Brendan Sodikoff, a chef, entrepreneur and owner of six restaurants and bars in Chicago, is currently assisting with the opening of Soho’s House’s latest venue – Electric Diner in the all-new Electric House, London – which is based in part on his own phenomenally successful diner, Au Cheval. We’re happy to say that he’s now a friend of Cookhouse. Here’s how he made it.
I
was interested in cooking from a young age, but it all really started with Chef Martin Woesle at Mille Fleurs Restaurant in Rancho Santa Fe (San Diego) where I had a wonderful apprenticeship. When I was 17 I moved to Paris to do another apprenticeship at the Ritz Hotel. Next, I moved to the three-star Lucas Carton, then to another three star in southern France, Michel Guerard’s Les Pres d'Eugenie. On my way home to California, I stopped in Paris where I had an unexpected midnight meeting with Jean-Francois Piege, a chef de cuisine for Alain Ducasse. He offered me a job in Paris the following year. I really wanted to be back home so I only stayed a couple of months, but it all worked out as Alain Ducasse offered me the chance to open Alain Ducasse New York. But by that point I was getting tired of the formality and regimented food. I took some time off and returned to California where I spent a short while working at Chez Panisse. Then Alain Ducasse mentioned to Thomas Keller at the French Laundry in Napa Valley that I was living in the area. I worked with chef Keller for years and it was a formative experience: he showed me how to be a good leader and to be playful and engaging with food.
Once I settled in Chicago I wanted to do something independently. The first opportunity was Gilt Bar, gastropub with big portions and great cocktails. My team and I then opened a French bistro called Maude's and after that, Doughnut Vault, which still has lines around the block.
Brendan Sodikoff at the Electric Diner
Opening Au Cheval was the defining venue for the company though, because it was the first original concept we did: a gastronomic diner. Would anyone show up? We had no idea. But people did, in droves. Ten weeks ago we opened Bavette’s, a steakhouse. When I return to Chicago we’ll open a noodle place and a barbecue shop. Life is full of great opportunities. I met Nick Jones [founder of Soho House] a few years ago but it is only now we have the chance to work together. The Electric Diner is going to be a copy of Au Cheval in the best way. We took what makes Au Cheval work: the set up, the design and the food, and we've improved and built upon that base. It's an evolution.
It's a simple idea and if you carry it into everything you do you'll achieve success: try to do whatever you did the day before a tiny bit better the next day.
Thomas Keller gave me some great advice that I'd pass on to any chef.
You'll succeed, not by doing one huge thing, but by incremental changes.
WANT TO LEARN?
Join one of Soho House's kitchen teams and learn from top guest chefs. Email cookhouse@sohohouse.com
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winter 2012
COOKHOUUSE 19
just chillin…
WINTER WARMERS Winter is a great time to get cooking and create dishes that will turn everyone’s attention away from the gloomy weather. We asked our top chefs to share their favourite winter warmer recipes. Get in that kitchen...
SOHO HOUSE TORONTO brown, seasoning with salt and pepper. Meanwhile, mix the white wine and sherry vinegar together.
NANO CRESPO’S CANNELLINI BEAN STEW WITH CHORIZO AND SWISS CHARD serves 4
Main image by Steven Joyce
¼ cup/60ml extra virgin olive oil 3 cloves garlic 1 small bouquet of bay and thyme 8 ½ cups / 2 ltr vegetable stock 1 ¼ lb / 565g chorizo sausage salt and pepper 2 cups / 480ml white wine ¼ cup / 60ml sherry vinegar 1 medium onion, diced 1 medium carrot, diced 3 celery stalks, diced ½ cup / 120g canned tomatoes 1 tbsp tomato paste 1 tsp chilli flakes 1 tsp smoked paprika 1 lb / 450g dried cannellini beans (soaked in double the amount of water, overnight) 2 bulbs Swiss chard, stalks separated and roughly chopped
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Remove the chorizo and add mirepoix [diced celery, onion and carrot], garlic and bouquet back to the oil. Seasoning with salt and pepper, gently cook the vegetables and deglaze with white wine mixture as necessary. Cook until vegetables are caramelised. Puree the canned tomatoes and tomato paste and add the mixture to the pot. Cook until dissolved and caramelised, then add the browned chorizo back to the pot.
In a medium pot, combine the extravirgin olive oil, garlic and bouquet. Bring to a simmer and set aside. In a separate pot, heat the vegetable stock to a simmer and also set aside. Remove the garlic and bouquet from the oil and set aside. Add the chorizo to the oil and cook until
Add the rest of the white wine mixture, and reduce to cook off any remaining alcohol. Add the beans, chilli flakes and smoked paprika. Cover with the hot vegetable stock and simmer gently until the beans are cooked, approximately 45-60 minutes. Once beans are fully cooked, add Swiss chard and adjust seasoning to taste. Serve with toasted bread.
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just chillin…
SOHO HOUSE WEST HOLLYWOOD NICKY PICKUP’S BLACK COD, SPIGARELLO & SALSA VERDE
Cook the shelling beans by boiling them in water with the tomato, garlic, carrot, chilli and bay leaf until tender, about 30 minutes if the beans are fresh. Remove from the stove, drain and season with the vinegar, olive oil and salt and pepper, to taste.
serves 10-12
10-12 7oz/200g pieces American black cod
For the sauce
3lb/1.35kg fresh beans (borlotti, cannellini) 1 whole tomato 1 head garlic 1 carrot 1 red chilli 1 bay leaf sherry vinegar water
Meanwhile, blanch the spigarello in salted boiling water. Drain and sauté with the sliced garlic, a pinch of ground fennel, olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. To make the salsa verde, chop the parsley, basil and mint and combine with the two mashed anchovy fillets, capers and sliced garlic clove. Add the olive oil and red wine vinegar until the mixture forms the consistency of a sauce.
For the spigarello
5 bunches spigarello (a leafy green) 1 clove garlic, sliced ground fennel olive oil
For the salsa verde
2 cups / 80g flat leaf parsley 1 cup / 35g basil 1 cup / 35g mint 2 anchovy fillets, mashed 2 tbsp capers
1 clove garlic, sliced ½ cup / 120ml olive oil 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
We roast cod in a wood oven, but if you don’t have one, place the cod in a piping hot pan with some olive oil, salt and pepper and roast in an oven at 190-200ºC/375-390ºF for about 8 minutes. Serve the cod with sides of beans and spigarello, topped with salsa verde.
CAFE BOHEME MARCIN MALINSKI’S COQ AU VIN serves 15
15 chicken legs and 15 chicken thighs salt and pepper oil for cooking 4 medium onions, diced 4 medium carrots, diced 1 celery stick, diced 3 ltr red wine 10 sprigs of thyme 5 bay leaves half a of bunch tarragon 3 sprigs of rosemary 12 cloves garlic 3 cups / 1½ ltr chicken stock 8 ½ cups / 2 ltr veal stock 14oz / 400g pancetta 400g / 14oz silverskin baby onions 300g / 10½ oz flat mushrooms parsley, chopped to garnish
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Season the chicken with salt and pepper and fry in a little hot oil, skin side down first. When you get a nice golden-brown colour on the skin, flip and fry for a further 5 minutes. Put the chicken aside in a gastronome [if you don’t have one of these, use your deepest pot with a lid].
until the chicken is nice and soft to the touch. When cooked, pass the sauce through a fine chinois. In a separate pan reduce the sauce to the consistency that you like bearing in mind that the more you reduce the sauce, the more intense the flavours are.
In the same frying pan and oil, fry the mirepoix [onion, carrot and celery] until you get a nice colouration.
When the sauce is reduced enough, pass through the chinois again and set aside.
Remove excess fat and add the red wine, herbs and garlic. Reduce it a little to evaporate the alcohol then place everything into the gastronome with the chicken. Leave this to marinate in the fridge for 24 hours. When marinated add the chicken stock and veal stock and cook slowly (braising)
Now get the garnish ready. Fry the onions until golden brown. Cut the pancetta into lardons, place them in saucepan and just cover with water. Bring it to the boil to get rid of the extra salt, then strain and fry in hot oil. Put the mushrooms on a roasting tray, with oil, salt, pepper and roast them in the oven; when cooked, slice them. Serve the chicken with the mushrooms, lardons, onions and sauce, plus some chopped parsley and mashed potato.
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HIGH ROAD HOUSE 8 ½ cups / 1ltr chicken stock 2 bay leaves 1 sprig of thyme 1 tsp of ground coriander seeds 1¼ cups / 300g crushed tinned tomatoes 2 tbsp tomato paste 1 tbsp brown sugar 1 tbsp red wine vinegar salt and pepper
For the bubble and squeak
JAYDEN LASENBY’S LAMB NECKS WITH PEA AND MINT BUBBLE AND SQUEAK serves 8 For the lamb necks
4½ lbs / 2 kg neck fillets sliced into thirds 5 banana shallots, diced 4 cloves garlic, chopped 1¼cups / 300ml red wine 8 ½ cups / 1ltr beef stock
2¼ lbs / 1kg potatoes 3½ oz / 100g streaky smoked bacon 1 white onion, diced 3 cloves garlic, chopped 1 cup / 140g frozen peas, blanched 20g / 0.7oz fresh mint, sliced salt and pepper oil for frying Sear the lamb in an oven-proof pan then remove and set aside. Sweat off the shallots and garlic in the same pan and deglaze
with the red wine. Add all the remaining ingredients and bring to the boil. Once boiling, add the lamb necks. Cover with a lid and put in a 180ºC/360ºF oven for two hours, seasoning to taste. (This recipe can be made in a crock pot but sear the meat and onions in a frying pan before adding everything in.) To make the bubble and squeak, peel the potatoes and boil in salted water. Mash and leave to cool. Slice and fry the bacon and in a separate pan sauté the onions and garlic. Leave both to cool with the potato. Once everything has cooled, add the peas and mint and mix together with seasoning. Take a handful of mixture and turn into cakes, then fry in hot pan till golden brown. (When forming the potato cakes damp hands will stop it from sticking.). Serve straight away.
BABINGTON HOUSE NEIL SMITH’S SALT BEEF, WINTER COLCANNON AND PARSLEY SAUCE serves 6
This is a great dish for the winter, proper home-cooked food and great served in the pot that you cooked it in, in the middle of the table for the whole family to share.
for the salt beef
large salt beef brisket approx. 4½lb/2kg 2 carrots 2 onions 2 sticks celery 2 bay leaves 12 peppercorns 4 cloves 1 tbsp malt vinegar
For the colcannon
2¼lb / 1kg mashed potato 10½oz / 300g mashed carrot 1 small savoy cabbage, cooked and chopped
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10½oz / 300g roasted butternut squash 1 bunch spring onions, chopped 1 cup / 240ml cream 4½oz / 125g melted butter salt and pepper
For the parsley sauce
1oz / 25g butter 1oz / 25g flour 1¼ cup / 300ml beef juices from the pot 1¼ cup / 300ml infused milk 1 tsp fresh grated horseradish 1 tsp capers big handful of chopped parsley Place the meat in a pot (a nice Le Creuset casserole pot works great). Cover with
water and bring to the boil. Drain and refresh with cold water, then add all the veg, peppercorns, cloves and vinegar. Simmer for 3-4 hours with the lid on or until soft. For the colcannon, boil the potatoes, drain and mash. Add the hot mashed carrot, and fold in the chopped cabbage, squash and spring onion, then the cream and butter. Season with salt and pepper.
To make the parsley sauce, melt the butter, add the flour and cook out for one minute. With a wooden spoon, add stock and milk and stir in grated horseradish, capers and parsley until almost green. Season to taste. Perfect served with some honeyed carrots or maybe a nice celery gratin.
winter 2012
COOKHOUUSE 23
just chillin…
EXECUTIVE CHEF HARVEY AYLIFFE'S COD, MUSSEL AND PARSLEY PIE WITH CIDER serves 6-8
1kg / 2 lb cod skinned deboned and cut in a 1 to 2 inch dice 2kg / 4 lb mussels cleaned and bearded 1 small onion finely sliced 150g / 5 oz butter 150g / 5oz flour 500 ml / 2 cups cider 1lt / 4 cups fish stock or cube About 100ml / ½ cup double cream 1 small bunch of parsley washed and finely chopped (save stalks) 2kg / 4 lb waxy even-sized potatoes, washed with skin on 200g / 7 oz butter 2 egg yolks 1 tbs Dijon mustard 150ml / ⅔ cup milk 1 lemon sea salt black pepper grated parmesan breadcrumbs Set oven to 180ºC / 350 ºF. Scatter rock salt on an oven tray. Prick potatoes all over and put in the oven for about 40-50 min till soft, then pull out and cool. Season cod with rock salt and leave for 10 minutes, then wash off in plenty of water. It should firm up. Bring the fish stock to boil and then add the cod and pull of the heat. Let cool. When it’s cool gently take cod out – try not to break it up and place in a large tray. Pass stock through a fine sieve. In a large pan with a tight fitting lid sweat the onion in a little butter without colouring. Add the cider, turn up the heat and reduce by half then add the fish stock. Reduce by half again. Now add mussels. Depending on the size of your pan you may have do this in two batches. If so take out half the stock, add the mussels, place a lid on and shake well till the mussels just
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open. Make sure you do not overcook or they will become rubbery and shrink in the pie. Then drain in a colander and save the lovely mussel stock. Taste, if it has a good mussel flavour, otherwise reduce a little. Put the mussels on a flat tray and when cool enough to handle gently pick the mussel flesh out, try to keep them as whole as possible, saving any juice that come out to add to your sauce In a thick-based pan add the butter and when melted cook on a slow heat, then add flour and cook slowly cook on a low heat stirring all the time with a wooden spoon till it start to lighten– about 5 min. Bring mussel stock to the boil you should have about 1.5 lt / 6 ¼ cups. Ladle by ladle slowly add to the butter and flour mix stirring all time until there are no lumps and all the stock is gone. You should have a good thick sauce. Now add cream and mustard and carry on cooking. It should be thick and have a nice mussel flavour. Season if need be, now add a good squeeze
of lemon, add your chopped parsley and pull off the heat In a nice deep oven proof dish pour a layer of sauce. Then add your cod and mussels, gently cover with the rest of your sauce and let cool (you don’t have to add all of it if it looks too wet). Now finish your mash: cut potatoes in half and scrape out with a spoon (save the skin for deep fried potato skins) and place in a pan. Mash and add salt and pepper. Put back on the heat, boil the milk and butter and add slowly stirring all the time till nice and smooth. Check seasoning. Pull off the heat and add the egg yolks. Spoon on to the pie and add more milk if too thick. When all of the pie is covered (it should ⅓ mash) sprinkle over the cheese and breadcrumbs. Then bake in the preheated oven for 50 mins till golden brown and bubbling. Slide a knife into the middle to make sure it is hot. Serve with some nice sprouting broccoli or buttered leeks.
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DEAN STREET TOWNHOUSE TANK LOY’S BRAISED OX CHEEKS WITH CARAMELISED ONION AND TURNIP PUREE serves 6 For the braised ox cheeks
2 ox-cheeks 1 small leek, 1 small onion and 1 small carrot, all roughly chopped 2 black peppercorns 1 bay leaf 3 sprigs of thyme 1¼ cup / 300ml red wine 1¼ cup / 300ml stock
For the jus
1 small carrot, 1 small onion, 1 small leek 2 sprigs of thyme 50ml / ¼ cup brandy 100ml /½ cup Madeira 100ml /½ cupport skimmed and drained ox-cheek stock 50ml cabernet sauvignon vinegar
For the caramelized onions 2 large white Italian onions 3½oz / 100g unsalted butter
For the turnip purée 1.6 lb / 750g turnips 3½oz / 100g butter 100ml milk
Cut the ox cheeks in half. Add all braising ingredients except veal stock into a container and cover with enough wine to submerge the meat. Leave for a minimum of 6 hours; preferably overnight. Remove the ox cheeks and vegetables from the wine. Season the cheeks then seal them in a deep ovenproof heavy-based dish, caramelising well. Remove and put to one side. Add the vegetables to the same dish and caramelise them too. Place the ox cheeks back into the dish with the vegetables fill a quarter of the way with red wine and the remaining way with the veal stock to cover them. Cover and cook at 160ºC for 4 to 5 hours or until cooked. To make the jus, roughly chop the veg and caramelise in a heavy-based pan. Add the brandy and flambé. Add the Madeira and
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port and reduce until the alcohol is almost nothing, then add the ox stock. Reduce and skim until it becomes thick. Once this is done add the vinegar. Check seasoning. To make the caramelised onion, slice the onion through its equator. Peel the onions being careful not to remove the root or the top of the onion otherwise it will fall apart in the cooking process. Season well and place face down in a hot pan. When they have a deep caramel brown colour turn them over placing equal amounts of butter on the top and cook at 180ºC/350ºF for 15 to 20 minutes or until cooked.
Finally for the turnip purée, peel and roughly cut the turnips and place in a pot with seasoning and enough water to cover. Cook until almost tender then add the butter and milk and cook until very tender. Drain but keep the cooking liquor. Put the drained turnips in a blender (or mash) adding a little of the cooking liquor at a time to create the consistency of your choice. Check seasoning. To put the dish together place the caramelised onion on the plate, followed by the turnip purée. Place the ox cheek on top and cover with lashings of that boozy sauce and enjoy.
winter 2012
COOKHOUUSE 25
just chillin…
HOXTON GRILL TOM BRIGGS’ VENISON SAUSAGES WITH CREAMY MASH, RED ONION AND LENTIL JUS serves 8
I remember talking to Ronnie Bonetti last November about the seasons and we both agreed that the winter months were the best for “interesting food”. Game is very interesting so I thought I’d do a simple but delicious game dish that you can adapt. A lot of people think game is too strong but venison is delicious, and once people try and like it they will try other game. 7oz/ 200g puy lentils (soaked overnight) 6 cloves garlic 5 shallots 3 carrots half a bunch of thyme 4½lb / 2kg potatoes 1¼ cups / 300ml double cream
9oz / 260g unsalted butter salt and pepper 16 venison sausages 4 small red onions
potatoes are cooked, mouli and whisk in the reduced cream and butter. Season to finish but keep the mash very creamy.
For the red wine jus
2 onions 1 bulb garlic, peeled handful thyme 1¼ cup / 300ml red wine 3 cups / 750ml chicken stock 3 cups / 750ml veal stock
To make the red wine jus, slice the onions and fry with the garlic and thyme. Add the wine and reduce until the onions and thyme are sticky. Add the stocks and reduce until you have around a fifth of what you started with. Pass through muslin so the jus is clear.
Make a mirepoix of the garlic, shallots, carrots and thyme [chop the vegetables and herbs]. Add the soaked lentils to the pan, just cover with veg stock and cook for 30 mins or so until soft. Drain the liquor (there won’t be much left) and take the large chunks of mirepoix out.
Pan fry the sausages to a nice brown colour then finish in the oven on about 180ºC / 350ºF for 8 mins or so. Finely slice the red onions then sweat off in a pan with a little butter. Add the jus and lentils and add a touch of brown sugar and red wine (to sweeten slightly).
Put the potatoes on to boil in salted water. Meanwhile, reduce the cream and butter by half, so that it’s extra creamy. When the
In a large bowl, serve the mash in the bottom with two sausages on the top and cover with some of the lentil and onion jus.
PIZZA EAST KENTISH TOWN 1 tsp ground cinnamon ¼ tsp ground cloves ¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg 1 tbsp cocoa powder 4oz / 110g unsalted butter at room temperature 1 tbsp freshly grated ginger ½ cup / 85g brown sugar ½ cup / 140g molasses 1 tsp baking soda 1½ tsp boiling water 7oz / 200g good quality semi-sweet chocolate cut into chunks
Line two non-stick baking trays with parchment paper.
KIRSTEN PETTIT’S CHEWY GINGERBREAD COOKIES makes 24
1½ cups / 195g self-raising flour or allpurpose flour with 1tsp baking soda added, plus 1tbsp flour 1¼ tbsp ground ginger
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In a bowl sift together the flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and cocoa powder. In a separate bowl, cream together the butter and freshly grated ginger with an electric whisk or mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add in the brown sugar and beat until combined. Add in the molasses and continue to mix away.
In a small bowl dissolve baking soda into the boiling water. Pour half of the flour mixture into the butter mix and beat in baking soda and water. Add the rest of the flour mixture and stir in the chocolate. Pour the cookie dough into some plastic wrap. Pat down into a flat circle and place the dough in the fridge for two hours. Preheat oven to 160ºC. Roll out the dough into 24 evenly sized balls, and place onto lined baking tray. Leave enough room between the cookies for them to expand once in the oven. Chill in the fridge for 15 minutes. Before popping your cookies in the oven, roll them around in some sugar to make them even sweeter! Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Once cooked, let the cookies cool for five minutes then transfer to a wire rack and let them cool down completely. Now make a warm cup of hot chocolate and enjoy your freshly baked gingerbread cookies while watching the snow fall.
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HIGH ROAD HOUSE DEVON BOYCE’S NAVARIN OF LAMB WITH WINTER VEGETABLES Serves 4
1.2 kg / 2 ½ lb lamb neck fillet, in 7.5cm / 3 inch pieces 2 tbs flour 2 tsp vegetable oil 1 onion, finely chopped 1 whole garlic head, cut in half crosswise 350ml / 1 ½ cups white wine 3-4 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves stripped from stalks 3-4 sprigs rosemary,
leaves stripped from stalks 300g / 10 oz tinned chopped tomatoes 500ml / 2 cups lamb stock 450g / 1 lb mixture of turnips, carrots, swede or parsnips, peeled, chopped into 3cm / 1 inch pieces salt and pepper
Season the lamb with salt and pepper and dust with the flour. Using about a teaspoon of oil, fry the lamb in batches until the meat is golden brown and thoroughly sealed. Drain the fat off and keep warm. In the same pan with a little more oil, fry off the onion and garlic for five or six minutes. Allow to lightly brown. Add the
wine and reduce by half. Add the herbs and tomatoes and reduce by half again. Add the stock, cooked lamb and enough water to cover, if necessary. Simmer for around an hour, stirring every now and then. Start preparing the vegetables, giving the meat a final half hour to start to fall apart and for the sauce to become thicker. Remove the lid if the sauce remains too thin. Cook the vegetables for 2-3 minutes in a pan of boiling, salted water. Drain well. Add the vegetables to the lamb mix and when the vegetables are cooked, you are ready to go. Taste to check the seasoning and adjust if necessary. Serve with mashed potatoes.
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winter 2012
COOKHOUUSE 27
talking turkey
GIVING THANKS
Grey Goose Vodka helped Cookhouse and Soho House host a series of cooking classes for members, all about how to host the perfect Thanksgiving. Obviously it helps if you have a nice cocktail in hand...
W
hand to give their top tips to a group of lucky members, who were walked through the finer points of fillings, no doubt leading to a lot of happy families in the LA area come the day itself.
In Soho House West Hollywood the focus was on pumpkin pie, pure and simple. The pastry chefs were on
Over in Miami it was all about speed. Because really, who wants to be stuck in the kitchen when your nearest and dearest have gathered at your house? (Cookhouse, it has to be said, has occasionally been very glad of the excuse to hide in the kitchen. But that's another story...) The team at the Beach House have streamlined and planned their prep and cooking time so brilliantly that they got their members plating up a Thanksgiving feast in one
hether you're in LA, Miami or New York, there's always a little stress to be felt over Thanksgiving and even if you're a competent cook, there's still plenty to learn about throwing a celebratory dinner. So with the help of Grey Goose Vodka's seasonal cocktails (who knew pumpkin in a glass could taste so good?) the kitchens of Soho Houses New York, West Hollywood and Miami all opened their doors to members who just had to get their festive dishes right.
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hour flat. Wow. We can't even do a weeknight supper that fast. Meanwhile in New York, they went the whole turkey, and demo-ed how to do just about everything: serving up a perfectly roasted bird with bread stuffing, gravy, garlic mashed potatoes, candied yams and pumpkin pie. The back kitchen was packed out with members who wanted to learn how to carve, get that all-important supercrispy skin, and create a Brussels sprouts dish that everyone will actually love. We hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! www.sohohouse.com
PUMPKIN MARTINI
1 ½ oz / 45ml Grey Goose La Poire ½ oz / 15ml Allspice Dram ½ oz / 15ml Licor 43 ¾ oz / 25ml simple syrup 1 heaped teaspoon pumpkin butter ¾ oz / 25ml of lemon juice cinnamon sugar dried apple chip
“ Because really, who wants to be stuck in the kitchen when your nearest and dearest have gathered at your house?” Above, Pumpkin Martinis being made. Below left, Thanksgiving treats and right, Rice Nog on the hob.
Rim a glass with cinnamon sugar. Dip your finger into the simple syrup and rub around the outside lip of the glass then roll the rim in the cinnamon sugar. Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker filled with ice and shake. Strain into glass and garnish with a dried apple chip.
RICE NOG
1 ½ oz / 45ml Grey Goose La Poire 1 tbs roasted pumpkin ¾ oz / 25ml sake 2 oz / 60ml rice milk ½ oz / 15ml agave nectar pinch star anise powder star anise pods Heat milk until hot. In a coffee mug add rest of ingredients and stir well. Next, add milk and stir well, Garnish with star anise pods.
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winter 2012
COOKHOUUSE 29
ingredients…
in praise of…
POMEGRANATE Matthew Armistead, head chef of Soho House West Hollywood, on his passion for pomegranates.
T
here is one thing I always find striking about pomegranates. Every time I break one open, I’m stunned by how beautiful it is. It really is a lovely fruit. I remember eating them as a kid, sticking a pin in the seeds, and eating them one by one. We are lucky because most of the pomegranates grown in the US are grown in California, so we get the most beautiful ones. They’re beautiful, and they’re healthy. Pomegranates have been getting a lot of attention recently because they are a super food, meaning they are full of antioxidants. Antioxidants are good for you to eat because they counteract damage done by free radicals. Pomegranates are a great garnish in salads as they offer both colour and texture. They are also a perfect addition to desserts because of the sour and sweet flavour. The
molasses is perfect in dressings, or as a marinade or a glaze. Using pomegranate molasses on poultry gives it a distinctive flavour and beautiful caramelisation. One of my favourite ways to use pomegranate is in a pomegranate sorbet we used to make at the River Café. This sorbet was a very pure way of using them, but was also very timeconsuming, as we would hand juice all of the pomegranates. Pomegranates are an ancient fruit that were originally cultivated in Egypt before the time of Moses. They were found in the tombs of ancient pharaohs as a symbol of the afterlife, and some scholars even believe that the fruit that led to Eve’s downfall in the Garden of Eden was really a pomegranate. They’re a staple of Middle Eastern cuisine and have really just started to find their
footing in European and American food. There’s so much debate about the technique of getting the seeds out, but there’s really only one easy way. You turn them over and just bash them out. It’s the quickest way – cut them in half, put the cut side into your hand and bash the back with a wooden spoon. Pomegranates are a very visual thing. And as a chef, that’s really the most basic part of it – that when you cut it open, it’s like a jewel.
“Every time I break one open, I’m stunned by how beautiful it is” 30 COOKHOUUSE
winter 2012
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FANATICAL ABOUT FOOD? Soho House Group is always on the look out for new talent. If you want a great career in food then get in touch. We have 23 members clubs, restaurants and hotels in the UK, Berlin and North America, with more opening in the next couple of years. We offer tailor-made training, excellent support and the chance to travel or possibly even work overseas. Our farm-to-fork food philosophy is all about working with great ingredients, treated simply and with respect - whether we're flipping burgers in our brand new Dirty Burger kitchen or making perfect pasta in Cecconi's.
WE'D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU For more information about current kitchen vacancies worldwide and how to apply email garethj@sohohouse.com, visit our website, www.cook-house.info, or call Gareth Jones on +44 (0)20 7581 2569 If you’d like to work in our North American sites, email Julia Taylor-Brown, julia@sohohouse.com
CANADIAN ROCKIES CREATED BY TOM KERR THIS SMOOTH WARMING SPICY COCKTAIL WITH FANTASTIC AROMAS OF ROSEMARY AND ORANGE IS AVAILABLE IN EVERY HOUSE BETWEEN NOVEMBER AND JANUARY - JUST ASK THE BARMAN TO SEE HOW TO MAKE THIS COCKTAIL GO TO WWW.SOHOHOUSE.COM/HOUSETONIC
for the facts drinkaware.co.uk ©2012 GREY GOOSE, THE GREY GOOSE BOTTLE DESIGNS AND THE GEESE DEVICES ARE TRADEMARKS AND/OR REGISTERED TRADEMARKS.