31 BEST-EVER MODERN COMFORT FOOD DISHES
Asian-ish 1
This year’s must-try winter stew is mutton porridge at Birmingham’s Lasan. Chef Aktar Islam cooks mutton lamb shanks for eight hours. The unctuous bone marrow, sticky collagen and stock is simmered with oats and bulgar wheat. Bengali lemon – the edible rinds explode with zestiness – and ginger run through it. ‘It’s warming and curing,’ says Aktar. lasan.co.uk
2
Coveted by in-the-know Bristolians is ‘KFC’, Korean fried chicken bao, in a cloud-soft, doughy bao bun, at Woky Ko. Its inventor, Masterchef finalist Larkin Cen, says, ‘The bun almost melts in your mouth. Then you get the crispy batter of the chicken and inherent flavour of kimchi. The chicken is marinated in shaoxing rice wine, sesame oil, salt and sugar overnight, then deep fried to order.’ woky.co
3
Curry nerds head to Gloucestershire for Prithvi Restaurant’s slowcooked ox cheek, carrots, clove & caramelised onion. There, Aziz Rahman simmers cheeks, garlic, ginger, cloves, cardamom and cumin for three hours. ‘Ox cheeks are fantastically flavoursome and gelatinous, which lend handsomely to the spicy aromas. The result is extraordinary.’ says Rahman. prithvirestaurant.com
Healthy-ish 4
Ackee burrito at Wulf & Lamb, in London’s Chelsea, is bursting with organic black beans, red rice for extra nutrients and buttery ackee fruit from Jamaica. General manager Helen Carino says further luxuriousness is imparted with the homemade, dairy-free sour cream made with cashews, lemon ‘and a few other secrets.’
Wulf & Lamb opens in autumn, wulfandlamb.com
5
A Northern Irish riff on the Basque kokotxa, Chris Magowan’s cod cheeks & oyster mayo at Wine & Brine in County Armagh, slip down the gullet as easily. ‘We use cheeks as they’re sustainable and when fish are filleted, the cheeks are normally discarded or in stocks.’ He brines them, tenderising and seasoning the flesh for a gentle, creamysmooth texture. wineandbrine.co.uk
6
Kid cannelloni with beetroot, rosehip, goat’s curd & sunflower seeds sparkles with indulgence. Chef David Everitt-matthias at Le Champignon Sauvage, the two Michelin-starred restaurant in Cheltenham, braises kid shoulders for 5-6 hours with pigs’ trotters, layers the pulled meat between sheets of celeriac ‘pasta’, then bakes it. Creamy goat curd ‘Jam’ is the pièce de résistance. lechampignonsauvage.co.uk
Cheese 7
The époisses & preserved cherry sandwich at The Patricia in Newcastle has gathered fans fast since former River Café chef Nick Grieves opened the restaurant last year. ‘We’ve kept it on by demand,’ says Grieves, who preserves the cherries in kirsch, cooks the sourdough in melted butter and keeps the époisses at room temperature, ‘because it’s so soft, it’s like it’s been in a cheese press.’ the-patricia.com
8
Crisp new potatoes with green pepper, hot and sour chimichurri and beef heart, in creamy gorgonzola sauce, packs a flavour-punch. Its creator, chef Aaron Webster at Smoke & Salt, in Pop in London’s Brixton, says, ‘The creamy gorgonzola with the beef is a perfect balance. We wanted to surprise people with the slivers of beef heart.’ smokeandsalt.com
9
Nick Deverell-smith at The Churchill Arms in The Cotswolds has just competed on the BBC’S Great British Menu. We can see why with this high-octane lobster macaroni cheese (below). A lobster bisque is added to a roux of three cheeses, then the macaroni, lobster flesh and tarragon is mixed in, before a lobster head is placed theatrically on top. churchillarms.co
‘There’s a shift to informality but also a lot of chefs are moving from convention, they’re being bolder’
Mum’s the word 10
‘My Mum used to make cullen skink, a fish stew I’d have with peas as a kid. My interpretation is a finnan haddie risotto,’ says John Quigley from Red Onion in Glasgow. Finnan haddie is creamy smoked haddock. ‘It’s relatively expensive so a little goes a long way. Then there’s cream, butter, peas, parmesan and a soft poached egg. The result is smoky, sweet and creamy.’ red-onion.co.uk
11
Iconic Bibendum, where chef-great Claude Bosi resides, plates up the meanest “my mum's tripe & cuttlefish gratin”, a sublime sticky stew with meatloaf-y ‘cake’ bread, to mop up juices. Bosi reminisces, ‘She used to make it for me with my brother. It's a dish I cook myself at the restaurant as there isn't a recipe.’ bibendum.co.uk
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Remi Williams, Smoke & Salt
A cherry and meadowsweet parfait, pistachio and white chocolate, cherry cream and sour cherry sorbet by ex-marcus Wareing chef, Jake White, is heaped in nostalgic memories. From Cumbria’s Pentonbridge Inn, he says it’s inspired by his mum’s cherry compote and ice cream: ‘We had a family friend with a cherry tree. I can still remember the taste of a warm cherry picked and eaten fresh.’ pentonbridgeinn.co.uk
Vegetarian 13
Oxford’s hottest new restaurant, Arbequina, has a dedicated veg section. If the collapsing, caramelised butternut squash, chickpeas & coriander doesn’t make you rejoice, we’re don’t know what will. Tahini, loosened with Arbequina olive oil and yogurt, unifies it. arbequina.co.uk
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Nopi’s vegan breakfast of harissa scrambled tofu, by chef Claire Hodgson, is heaving with flavour. She scrambles silken tofu with olive oil, onion, rose harissa, and salt. There’s toasted sourdough as a base and an avocado salad, it’s ‘indulgent, without being overwhelming.’ ottolenghi.co.uk
15
The acme of the classic leek and cheese combo is Chris Harrod’s charred leek, nasturtium, herb flowers & cheese sauce at The Whitebrook in rural Monmouthshire. The leeks, sous-vided in their own juices, are then charred on the grill, rendering them sweet and smoky. thewhitebrook.co.uk
Updated classics 16
Playful? Tick. Flavoursome? Tick. The seventies classic, ham and pineapple pizza, by chef Peter Sancheziglesias at Bristol’s Pi Shop is made from sourdough fermented for 24 hours. Fatty Ibérico pork shoulder jostles with sweet pineapples which are poached in a sugar syrup and infused with chilli, star anise & coriander seed. thepishop.co.uk
17
Move over pâté on toast, welcome game terrine with duck fat-soaked brioche and redcurrant. At Michelinstarred The Black Rat in Winchester, Jon Marsden-jones says it was born of a food-waste issue, ‘We had a load of ducks and had rendered down all this fat, we were wondering what to do with it, that’s how this started.’ theblackrat.co.uk
18
Spanish chicken and chorizo has been done by everyone from Nigella to Delia, but Jerome Henry isn’t afraid of rejuvenating it at Le Roi Fou in Edinburgh. He whips up grilled Cotswold chicken leg with roasted piquillo pepper, cocoa beans & salty chorizo. leroifou.com
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Jake White, Pentonbridge Inn
A sponge cake is a granny classic, so it’s no surprise Jackson Boxer says his pear, fennel, rosemary & caramel edition from Chess Club, was inspired by his maternal grandmother. ‘Weekends with her were embellished by very fine sponge cakes at tea,’ says Boxer. chessclublondon.com
Carbs 20
Discerning Mancunians are seeking kimchi fries at Common in the Northern Quarter. No ordinary chips, these are a flavour-rumpus: think crunchy fries with softer textures of fermented cabbage and radishes, each forkful bound together with ssäm sauce and studded with crispy onions. aplacecalledcommon.co.uk
21
At Silo in Brighton, zero-waste chef Douglas Mcmaster makes potato dumplings in blue cheese sauce with roasted young golden beets. Even better, the dumplings are deep fried. With a combo of roasted beets and raw ribbons of golden beet, dressed in lavender vinegar and sprinkled with fresh lemon thyme, this becomes a stand out. silobrighton.com
22
The potato and ox tongue at
The Wigmore is already a classic, ‘a meal in its own right,’ says Roux protégé Chris King from The Langham Hotel. Paper thin-cut potatoes, layered with slivers of salted ox-tongue, are pressed, steamed and fried, transforming them into hot, crisp, salty flakes. A classic anchoïade dip (Spanish cantabrian anchovies, if you’re asking) gives a kick. the-wigmore.co.uk
Italians do it better 23
‘This is a big Yorkshire cuddle,’ says Giorgio Alessio, originally from Piedmont in northern Italy, of his handmade black pud ravioli with an English mustard & sage sauce (above). Causing a frisson in his restaurant, Lanterna in Scarborough, it’s called agnolotti al sanguinaccio. lanterna-ristorante.co.uk
24
Stubby dumplings, freshened up with dollops of ricotta and sweet pumpkin, make Tim Siadatan’s gnudi of pumpkin & ricotta the autumn hit at Padella in London’s Borough. No fuss, no faff, these are simple flavours, punctuated with a little nutmeg and parmesan. ‘The dumplings just melt in your mouth,’ explains Siadatan. padella.co
25
‘We had a family friend with a cherry tree, I can still remember the taste of a cherry, freshly picked’
The must-guzzle is ox cheek with polenta bianco, Montepulciano d’abruzzo & dark chocolate sauce at Harrogate’s hottest restaurant, Stuzzi, where they perfect stuzzichini, small osteria-style plates. ‘The first time we saw beef cooked in wine and chocolate was while visiting friends in Pescera in Abruzzo,’ says co-owner, Tom Pearson. ‘The gelatine from the cheek melts into the chocolate making it glisten.’ stuzzi.co.uk
Brunch 26
Run by father-and- daughter team Chris and Joanna Brennan, Pump Street Bakery in Suffolk’s Orford is a go-to for brunch. Much sought-after is maple and rosemary sausage with a butter-glazed free range egg in homemade brioche. Joanna says, ‘the maple sausages are inspired by the sweet-salty combination classics in Canadian sugar shacks from my childhood.’ pumpstreetbakery.com
27
It might be hard to reinvent eggs Benedict, but here we have: the matsuhisa Benedict, a Japanese twist at Nobu Hotel in Shoreditch. A deep-fried crispy tofu base is layered with spinach, smoked crab (kani), poached eggs, and aromatic shiso béarnaise sauce. There are salmon eggs (ikura) to boot. nobuhotelshoreditch.com
28
Light, delicate, gentle are three adjectives to describe Tom Adams’ home-made yogurt. At his guesthouse, Coombeshead Farm in Cornwall’s Lewannick, guests fight for it. Ambrosial raw Cornish milk is heated gently, before blackcurrant leaves or fresh nettles are added as the cultures. coombesheadfarm. co.uk
Jackson Boxer, Chess Club
Childhood favourites reimagined 29
We reckon chocolate & caramel ‘Snickers’ with peanut ice cream by pastry chef Tracey Rutt and Michael Chapman, at Hurley House Hotel in Henley-on-thames, is the most cosseting comfort dessert. It’s a naughty mix of chocolate flourless sponge, caramel mousse, piped silken chocolate crémeaux, roasted salted peanuts and caramel shards. hurleyhouse.co.uk
30
‘My grandparents always gave me lamb, apple and mint,’ recalls Tommy Banks, head chef at The Black Swan in Oldstead, Yorkshire, and one of this year’s BBC Great British Menu winners. Meet the descendent: Texel lamb with turnip & mint. ‘I pickle apple mint leaves, you bite into the fatty rack of lamb and it melts in the mouth, it’s served with a rich fermented turnip purée, almost like puréed potato.’ blackswanoldstead.co.uk
31
A Hobnobs cheesecake is toothachingly evocative, but Dan Doherty’s biscuits crumbled on top are homemade, while buttermilk in the cheese keeps it lively. There’s also a trickle of vinegar in the caramel to ‘take the flavours up a notch,’ says Doherty, from Sprout’s pop-up kitchen. ‘The fruit in it changes throughout the year, from peaches to plums, or roasted apples.’ Sprout opens soon. @sproutrest_ @sproutrestaurant_
‘The most comforting food can be salad leaves, freshly picked – we’ve become healthier and more appreciative of veg’