Rasa Travencore - Stoke Newington

After living near Stoke Newington for over 4 years, I finally made my first trip to Rasa to celebrate the end of the dreaded first week back at work. Multi-award winning (albeit several years ago) and with half a dozen branches around London I had high hopes, but unfortunately the meal we had was verging on inedible.

Kathrikka

There are two branches on Church St, one specialising in vegetarian food and one for the meat-eaters, Rasa Travancore, which is where we ate. Rasa serve traditional Keralan food; I will happily admit that I've no idea what distinguishes the food of Kerala from the rest of India, however, I presumed it would be full of flavour and well spiced. I've often heard that the anglicised curries served in most Indian restaurants pale in comparison to authentic Indian food, unfortunately all four dishes we were served were under seasoned, under spiced and bland to the extreme.

Mysore Bonda

As it is famous for its vegetarian food we started with mysore bonda (or potato balls to you and me). The potato was supposed to be 'laced with fresh ginger, curry leaves, coriander and black mustard seeds and crisply fried' however what we were served was a bland and soggy ball of potato, which tasted more of cooking oil than anything else. We also ordered the kathrikka, slices of aubergine fried in a coriander and chilli batter, which were equally as unappetising. Both starters tasted as though they had been cooked earlier in the day and reheated in the microwave, although it must be said that both were served with a reasonably good salsa.

Nadan Kozhy & Konju Thenga

We ordered two curries, the nadan kozhy (a pepper massala chicken curry) and konju thenga (tiger prawns with coconut and green chilli), both of which were luke warm and insipid. It's not that I love spicy food and need a curry to be hot, I just want it to taste of something. I've never known Chris to leave food, but even he couldn't finish off either of the curries. The one saving grace of the meal was the crispy paratha, which really was delicious.

Paratha

The service was quick, although not particularly friendly and the decor was in need of some TLC. I don't like to bad mouth a local, independent restaurant, but it was a thoroughly disappointing meal. I'd be really interested to hear your thoughts on Rasa; is the vegetarian restaurant better? Did we simply choose the wrong curries? Is this what traditional Keralan cooking should taste like? Any feedback welcomed.

The Three Crowns - Stoke Newington

I've eaten a lot of roast dinners in London, and more often than not they're a bit disappointing. There is an awful lot that can go wrong with a roast when you're cooking for four people, let alone a fully booked restaurant, but I'm still surprised by how difficult it is to find somewhere which can serve up a decent Sunday lunch for less than £20. Thankfully, I've discovered the Three Crowns on Church Street who will pile your plate with excellent food for just £13.95.

We started off with potted crab, served with lightly toasted white bread for dipping and a well dressed salad. The capers dotted on top cut through the rich crab meat perfectly and the bread was soft enough to soak up the devilishly good browned butter. Having a starter before a massive roast was certainly unnecessary, but well worth it.

I always opt for roast beef; I love lamb, but the lure of horseradish and Yorkshire pudding is just too great. Two thick slices of slightly pink beef were served with crispy roast potatoes, root vegetable mash, braised red cabbage, Yorkshire pudding and lashings of gravy. There were no greens on the plate, so you can't even pretend it's healthy, but it sure was delicious. I love red cabbage and after my dad outlawed it at Christmas I was very pleased to finally get my fix. I think the chef had been a little over zealous with the five spice and salt, but I enjoyed it anyway. The Yorkshire's were crispy on the outside, but soft and eggy on the inside whilst the gravy was rich and thick. It was a great meal, washed down with a glass of the excellent house red before heading home for an afternoon nap. Rock and roll.

My only complaint is with the horseradish they serve. I like my horseradish HOT and unfortunately their creme fraiche with freshly grated horseradish doesn't quite hit the spot. Aside from this, it's a reliable option for a tasty Sunday lunch. The service is always speedy and friendly, they were playing some great fifties tunes and they have a few sofas you can lounge on post-roast if you're in the mood.

The Diner - Islington

Last month I went for dinner with Fran and Becky. We fancied eating somewhere cheap and cheerful to cure our festive hangovers, so we headed to 'The Diner' on Essex Road. It's a classic American diner, dishing up the kind of food you'd expect (hotdogs, pancakes and milkshakes) whilst you lounge on one of the comfy booths.

Fran and I both ordered cheese burgers. The seeded bun was soft but stayed together well and the burger was juicy and pink in the middle. Best of all they top their burgers with gherkins and serve them with a little pot of burger sauce (which I love). At just £5.90 they're excellent value, although they're not quite as delicious as the excellent burgers at Byron. Becky ordered a fish sandwich which I was assured was also very good.

We also ordered some onion rings and chili cheese fries to share. Fran introduced me to these fries a few years ago, they sound repulsive but are actually incredibly delicious. Crispy french fries, generously topped with chunks of beef in a chili bean sauce finished off with melted cheese - so bad, but oh so good.

The service tends to be a little sloppy and I wouldn't advise trying any of the Tex-Mex food (their burritos are pretty poor) but the burgers, chips and onion rings are all excellent. It's a fun place to head for some cheesy American music, tasty cocktails and meaty goodness. If you do go, make sure you try out the hard shakes, they're to die for.

Mexican Fiesta!

In November my bestest bud from school, Rhiannon, came to visit. We organised a dinner party to celebrate the fact that she is getting married to the lovely Tom! I decided to cook Mexican food as it's easy for everyone to just dig in and eat what they like. Also my housemate is a vegetarian and allergic to wheat (troublemaker) so Mexican food is perfect for her as she can have corn tortillas and lots of beany goodness.

I made a chorizo & butternut squash taco filling and refried black beans from Thomasina Myers' excellent Mexican Food Made Simple. The refried beans or frijoles are perfect for dipping tortilla chips into or spreading on tacos. They are quite time intensive to make, as the beans need boiling for several hours, but it's well worth the effort. I also cooked my spicy bean chilli, one of my favourite vegetarian dishes.

For the meat eaters I cooked 'Starlit Chicken Wraps' from The Londoner blog (warning: do not look on this blog unless you are prepared to have some serious life envy). Lots of juicy, spicy, sweet chicken with whole cherry tomatoes, one of my new favourite things to cook.

And finally I made a huge vat of guacamole, which I'm slightly concerned I'm addicted to. I like my guac super chunky, with lots of coriander and lime to zing the avocado up. Here's my recipe:

Serves 4
2 ripe avocados
1 lime, juice only
Half a bunch coriander, finely chopped
Plenty of seasoning
Tobasco
2 spring onions, finely chopped
4 cherry tomatoes, finely chopped

1. Cut the avocados in half, remove but do not discard the stones and scoop the flesh into a bowl. Use a fork to mash the avocado, you want it to be nice and chunky so don't go too crazy
2. Next add the lime, coriander, spring onions, cherry tomatoes and LOTS of seasoning. Taste to check the seasoning, adding more if necessary. Now add a few drops of Tobasco to spice it up a little, you can leave this out if you like your guacamole cool
3. Apparently putting the stones back into the guacamole helps prevent the avocado from turning brown, I'm not sure if it actually works but it can't hurt to do so. If you're making this a few hours ahead of time, I find the best way to keep the avocado a nice bright green is to cover with cling film and press it down lightly so there's no air between the film and the guacamole

Black beans boiling away

Chicken with cherry tomatoes

Butternut squash & chorizo

Three bean chilli

Guacamole

Wrap and chilli

Spicy Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

I made this winter soup in December and froze half which we ate for dinner on new year's day. There's nothing more comforting than homemade soup, it's simple and cheap to make and so much nicer than the watery, bland versions you can buy in the supermarket. I served this with a little fried chorizo on top as I had it in the fridge. You can play around with the toppings using whatever you have availiable to you. My mum made something similar over Christmas topped with finely sliced spring onion & red chili, some whole cumin seeds gently dry fried until they begin to release their spicy aroma would also make a good addition to this simple soup.

Serves 4
Butternut squashed, peeled, deseeded and cut into small chunks
1 onion, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
100g split lentils, rinsed
2 bay leaves
750ml vegetable or chicken stock
1 or 2 tbsp Pataks curry paste (I used madras)
1/2 tin low fat coconut milk

1. Roast the squash in a pre-heated oven for 45 minutes, or until soft. Meanwhile soften the onion and garlic in a little oil for 10 minutes. Add the lentils, stock, bay leaves and seasoning, cover and simmer for 30 minutes until the lentils are soft
2. Add the butternut squash to the soup and simmer for a further 5 minutes. If the soup is too thick add a little extra stock. Remove the bay leaves, then blend the soup until smooth. Return to the hob and add the curry paste (to taste) and coconut milk, make sure the soup is warm and serve with warm crusty bread and a swirl of creme fraiche

Beef & Mushroom Pie with Parsnip Mash

I made this beef and mushroom pie for our pre-Christmas day, it's one of my favourite recipes as it's easy and doesn't have too many ingredients. The recipe is originally from Good Food, but I made a few changes (mainly more wine, garlic & herbs). It's easily the best pie I've ever made, largely due to the excellent meat I bought from Meat N16. I normally just pick up beef from the supermarket, but it is often a little tough, even when cooked for hours. If you live anywhere near Church Street, I'd definitely recommend heading to Meat N16. Their braising steak is beautifully marbled, when cooked it is perfectly tender and adds an incredibly rich flavour to stews or pies.

I served the pie with parsnip mash; simply boil parsnips in salted water until tender, mash with a little milk, butter and a dollop of horseradish to perk it up. Parsnips can be a little stringy, so I like to add a little potato to improve the consistency. I also served braised leeks, but any greens would be lovely.

Serves 4

500g beef braising steak

1 onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

250g mixed oyster & chestnut mushrooms

A few sprigs of rosemary & thyme

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 tbsp flour

250ml red wine

300ml hot beef stock, use one of the Knorr stock pots

350g potatoes, peeled

25g butter, chopped into small pieces

1. Pre-heat the oven to 130 degrees. Cut the beef into cubes a couple of centimetres across. Using a heavy based pan, brown the meat in batches using a little oil. Once all the meat has been browned, remove from the pan
2. Add a little extra oil, turn down the heat and fry the onion until softened. Now add the mushrooms and garlic and soften for a further 5-10 minutes. Mix in the flour and tomato paste, and gently fry for a few minutes
3. Turn the heat up and add the red wine, simmer until most of the liquid has cooked off. Now add the stock, beef, herbs and seasoning, bring to a gentle simmer. Cover and cook in the oven for 2-3 hours until the meat is tender
4. For the topping, boil the potatoes whole, leave to cool, then grate. Transfer the beef to a pie dish, top with the grated potato, dot with butter and sprinkle over a little paprika if you fancy. Pop in the oven at 170 degrees for 30 minutes. Finish off under the grill to make the topping super crispy

Baked Eggs with Sauteed Mushrooms & Spinach

Baked eggs have become my new breakfast obsession. With butter, creme fraiche and cheese, these aren't the ideal healthy breakfast everyone seems obsessed with in January, but for a weekend treat they are delicious. I love garlic, so I was quite heavy handed with it, but just use the one clove if you're not as keen as I am.

Serves 2

3 chesnut mushrooms, sliced

2 garlic cloves, crushed

A big handful of spinach

2 free range eggs

2 teaspoons of half fat creme fraiche

20g Gruyere, grated

Toast to serve

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees and pop a baking sheet in to warm up
2. Gently cook the mushrooms and garlic in a little butter until softened, then add the spinach and gently cook until it has wilted
3. Divide the mixture between two ramekin dishes, crack an egg over the top and season. Add a teaspoon of the half fat creme fraiche to each ramekin and top with the Gruyere. Place the ramekins onto the pre-heated baking sheet in the oven. Bake for 12 minutes for soft egg yolks and 15 minutes for hard