Eat17

I've wanted to try Eat 17 forever...well ever since reading Grace Dent's gushing review about how delicious the broccoli is! It's rare to find one of her write-ups without a some slight sub-standard reference and the fact that this spot is just around the corner in Hackney is an added bonus!

I had dinner booked in a few weeks ago, however an hour before the reservation I discovered it's not all that easy to get to and with relentless rain pouring down we rearranged to meet at trusty 8 Hoxton Square. So the second time that I booked in, I was hell bent on getting down there to try this magical broccoli!

The site says Hackney but it's actually Hommerton station E9 that you need to get to, not too far by taxi but if you're getting the tube, you have to jump on the East London overground (four stops from Highbury and Islington). Once there, it's a  five minute walk from the station, not the easiest, but believe me it's well worth the slight effort in getting there! 

The restaurant's located above a Eat17 Spa, however this isn't your bog standard bread, milk and eggs Spa...think delectable pastries, a burger bar, freshly roasted coffee, a refillable wine station from Borough Wines and shelves jam-packed with gourmet high quality produce. I have serious envy for anybody who can just nip out to grab some teabags and get a legendary Eat17 cheeseburger while they're at it!!

Fear not if an evening gourmet grocery shopping wasn't what you had in mind, just follow the neon sign....

...and up and around the stairs you'll find the fabulous Eat17. The decor is cosy yet chic with oversized, Chesterfield-style leather seats, night lights glowing on each table, vintage lamp shades and walls covered with mismatched frames of art and photography - the perfect backdrop for a laid back delicious meal.

I obviously ordered a stiff Hendricks and got to grips with the menu...

Now, I already knew that the broccoli was a must, I just had to shortlist everything else...which I found near impossible as it's a dreamboat of a menu!

After much deliberation I finally decided on the crab and avocado with dirty rye...that avocado deliciousness, meaty crab all piled on top of the crunchy rye was simply plate lickingly good!!

My partner in crime opted for the hot wings, lemon cabbage & blue cheese - a fabulously big portion ideal for wing stealing! Not something I would usually order but after sampling the big bold smokey flavours offset perfectly by zingy cabbage I was a convert! 

Next up mains... now this is where I really struggled. With four options shortlisted, I decided to pick last minute on the spot when the waitress arrived! Chargrilled lamb rump, cumin spinach, yogurt and fried aubergine = absolutely amazing!!! I've dreamt about this dish ever since. The lamb was cooked perfectly pink, bursting full of spices and the spinach was a complete knockout - vegetables aren't seen as a side addition here! YUM YUM YUM! 

Equally as impressive was the jerk duck breast, sweet potato, apple mash and pineapple... 

All topped off by a portion of the famous tempura broccoli with pomegranate and soy! You need to get this in your life right NOW!

Ooops,  how could I have forgotten that delicious bottle of Argentinian Malbec at a ridiculous £16...I told you it was worth the effort of getting there! 

I was left one happy little camper!

I urge everyone to get down there and try Eat17 for themselves, simply great food, expertly cooked that leaves you wanting to come back night after night! After a super indulgent evening consisting of pre-dinner Hendricks, starters, mains, 1 side and a bottle of wine, we were shocked to have only racked up a bill of £80 including tip from the both of us! 

Take me backkkk!!

Eat17

64-66 Brooksbys Walk

London

E9 6DA

+44 (0)20 8986 6242

3BM Kitchen : Salmon in Chraimeh Sauce...

There's been so much going on lately that we've barely managed to eat a good home-cooked meal let alone blog about one! So we thought it was time to take some down time this weekend and dig out our trusty Ottolenghi Jerusalem cookbook! 

Now, this one sounds simple and nothing too crazy, which is all true, however it's oh so delicious and will have you your dinner guests licking every scrap from their plates! The perfect solution if you've got friends round and don't want to spend hours holed-up in the kitchen alone. From start to finish, it'll take you about 30 minutes. The flavours from the spices, garlic and chilli create a deep intense sauce and, if you get your cooking times bang on, the fish is so tender it melts in your mouth!

Here's how this little winner is done!!

You Need...

55ml sunflower oil
2 tbsp plain flour
2 salmon steaks, on the bone (we used fillets and it was super tasty!)
3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 tsp sweet paprika
1/2 tbsp caraway seeds, dry-toasted and freshly ground
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 green chilli, roughly chopped
75ml water
11/2 tbsp tomato purée
1 tsp caster sugar
1 lemon (to serve & 1 tbsp juice)
1 tbsp roughly chopped coriander
Salt and black pepper

How To...

1. Heat two tablespoons of oil in your pan over high heat.

2. Add the flour to a bowl, season with salt and pepper and add the fish. Turn to coat well. 

3. Shake off any excess flour and sear the fish for a few minutes until golden. Remove and put the fish to the side.

4. Add the garlic, spices, chilli, and 2 tablespoons of the oil into your food processor and whizz together to form a thick paste.

5. Pour the rest of the oil into your pan, heat well, and add your paste. Cook for 30 seconds stirring at all times so the spices don't burn.

  

6. Add the water and tomato puree to your pan, bring to a simmer and then add the sugar, lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.

7. Add the golden fish to the sauce, bring to a gentle simmer and cover the pan for 7-11 minutes.

8. Serve atop a bed of rice, sprinkled with chopped coriander with a wedge of lemon and enjoy!! 

Flavour Full Stop: Great Grub in a Box

Sick and tired of boring stir fry and chicken salads? Running out of inspiration for tonight's dinner? Have a dinner party coming up and no idea what to make? Well we have the perfect solution for all your dilemmas (well, for UK peeps at least)....Flavour Full Stop Boxes of course!! 

Flavour Full Stop is a new brand with the aim to create new and exciting food experiences into everyone's home each month...and that they really do! A huge part of the concept that we loved was the fact each box is a surprise to the subscriber, it is only when you receive your package that you will find out the contents! Each box contains 6 full sized artisan products (both food and drink) all sourced from around the UK. 

Firstly when your box arrives it's all neatly packaged up and opening it is like a little treasure trove. Middle Mouse and I ripped open the lid to be faced with a box stuffed full of crinkled packaging with a whole heap of little gems hidden within it! A little booklet is also enclosed explaining the theme of the box, telling the story behind each product, the location within the UK it was sourced and helpful ideas/recipes of how to make the most of each one of them! I told you it would solve all your problems...

- Ingredients : TICK
- A dinner party theme : TICK
- Interesting stories to impress your guests with : TICK
- Delicious and easy recipes: TICK

The lovely people behind the brand contacted us after reading the blog and sensing our love for food, kindly sent us a September box to trial, which was themed Indian Summer. Last weekend I was feeling under the weather so we decided to stay in and cook up a storm at London Towers and put our box to good use! 

Our box comprised of...

The Tiny Takeaway - a small paper takeaway bag with four paper parcels inside filled with the perfect mix of spices and seasoning to make four authentic Indian dishes with additional ingredients required and an easy to follow recipe printed on the outside of each. This included:

Spicy Tatties
Spicy Rice
Madras Curry
Rogan Josh Curry 

Love Pickle - a chilli tomato pickle perfect with poppadoms and nan bread

Easy Naan Bread Kit - a pre weighed and mixed bag of ingredients to make the perfect naan bread! 

Mango Hot Chilli Sauce - a spicy mango sauce bursting full of flavour 

Cardamom Bitters - the perfect addition to make a mean martini!

Cardamom and Vanilla Chocolate - obviously every banquet needs a pudding...! 

The Indian Summer box was right up our street - firstly we've all been eating curry since we were teeny tiny and were brought up understanding that it was a special treat (to this day we still get super excited about the prospect) so, points were immediately awarded for the fab theme! Secondly, the whole concept is so much fun as you've no idea what's in the box, so get the excitement of a present-like package plus the challenge to take on new things we'd probably never have attempted otherwise (hello making naan breads!). Best of all, Flavour Full Stop make everything so easy that even a complete novice could cope! 

The result - AMAZING...the flavours were crazily good, it felt like we should have slaved over a stove for hours to create such delicious dishes! We really felt that we'd stretched ourselves and learnt new things and it totally opens your eyes to how easy cooking outside of the box can be...we'll definitely think twice before ordering a greasy, sub-standard takeaway curry again! 

You've still got time to sign-up for the October box here and if you're not convinced just yet why not try for yourself? The subscription allows you to pick from a 1 month, 3 month or 6 month option...go on, DO IT!!! 

3BM Eats : 8 Hoxton Square...

If you've heard of and experienced the supremely tasty food from 10 Greek Street in Soho then i'm happy to share that there's a new sibling in town - 8 Hoxton Square. Even better it's a stone throw away from our East London Mouse pad! We decided to check it out by day AND by night, why not, to see if it lived up to the high standard's set by 10.

Firstly: by day, on a Saturday morning when the sun was shining...

Similar vibe to 10 - cosy, industrial, achingly cool and shining happy staff. The only big difference is 8 is double the size and has an outdoor courtyard for alfresco dining - my fav! 

More room = amble room for sweet details...

Milk bottle water bottles - tick!

Mouth-watering breakfast treats - double tick!

School style tables and chairs...

Mini mouse salivating over the menu in her Tom Ford's, statement Zara necklace and 'Do Epic Chic' tee ever so beautifully...

It was a tough choice with lots of scrummy creations to choose from but we both ended up opting for a full english breakfast which was super duper yum...

...And by night

I'm happy to report it's just as spectacular! On a Friday night after a tough week at work, this is the perfect spot to catch up with friends over some red wine and look forward to two blissful days to come...

Our favourite dishes to report were asparagus, egg yolk ravioli topped with truffle shavings for starters...

Followed by Welsh black beef, duck fat potatoes, St George mushrooms and horseradish. Rare, pack full of flavour and served up on a sweeter than sweet floral platter...

In summary. Go. You won't regret it!

8 Hoxton Square 

London 

N1 6NU

020 7792 4232

3BM Cook: Sea Bass, Sweet Potato Mash and Asian Greens...

Another weekend has zoomed by, a blur of lots of red wine, catching up with my girlies, losing the Grand National, watching Matilda at the theatre, a few more cocktails and all topped off with a very sore throat and a BAD case of Sunday blues! There was only one thing for it...make a super scrumptious Sunday night dinner of course!!

If powerful, punchy flavours are your thing then this is a recipe for you! Definitely one of my favourite Jamie Oliver recipes I have cooked and the fact it is part of his 30 minute meals and reasonably easy to put together, made me like it even more! The original recipe also features berry ice cream and a sparkling ginger drink which we didn't make as it was just us London Mice but believe me it's seriously tasty!

Push those sleeves up, grab your apron and make sure you have the following...

Serves 4

For the sea bass:

8 thin slices of pancetta
4 x 150g fillets of sea bass, skin on, scaled and pin boned
1 lemon

For the mash:

700g sweet potatoes
Fresh coriander
2 tbsp sweet mango chutney
Soy Sauce
2 x limes

For the greens:

1 fresh red chili
1 clove of garlic
1 x lime
Sesame Oil
250g asparagus
1 head of broccoli

For seasoning:

Olive oil
Extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and pepper

Now you've got everything, here's how you whip up this little plate of heaven...

Wash the sweet potatoes, cut off any gnarly bits but don't peel. Now destress by stabbing each potato a few times with a knife! Find a microwave-proof bowl, add half a lime, pop in the potatoes, cover with a double layer of clingfilm and microwave on full power for 12 minutes.

De-seed and finely chop the chili, adding half to a large serving bowl and setting the rest aside. Crush the unpeeled clove of garlic into the bowl and add 2tbsp of soy sauce and 4-6tbsp of extra virgin olive oil. Squeeze in the juice of 1 lime and add a splash of sesame oil. Mix, taste and tweak with the soy sauce if needed. 

Trim the asparagus stalks. Quarter the head of the broccoli length ways from the head to the base of the stalk.

Fry the pancetta in a pan with a drizzle of olive oil, until it crisps. 

Once crisp remove the pancetta, put aside leaving the fat in the pan. Add the fish to the pan, skin side down, and press down flat with a spatula for a few seconds. Grind 1tsp of fennel seeds in a pestle and mortar and sprinkle over the fish with a pinch of salt and pepper. Zest the lemon over the fish in the pan, then cut the lemon in quarters and set aside.

Finely chop the coriander and put in a bowl. 

Add the mango chutney,  a good splash of soy, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, the juice of half a lime and remaining chopped chili. 

Chop and mix all together. 

Put the greens onto boil

Check the fish, the skin should be golden brown and crispy and turn the heat down.

Get the potatoes out of the microwave, ensure they are cooked and then squeeze the hot lime from the microwave bowl over them. Add to the bowl of chili and mango chutney mix and use a knife / masher to chop and mash all together. Make sure you leave the skins on as it creates texture and believe me makes it super yum. 

Season to taste and add more lime juice if required.

Remove the fish from the heat, flip over gently and let the fish gently finish cooking on the flesh side. Return the pancetta to the pan to gently warm through. Dollop the potato on a plate and place the fish and pancetta on top, add a lemon wedge on the side to squeeze just before tucking in.

Drain the greens and add to the soy and chili dressing made earlier, toss and serve along side. 

And finally.....ENJOY!!

Find the full recipe including the ice cream and ginger drink here.