Chef’s table
M FRANKLIN Photographs DAVID CO Reci pes CALU TS WORTH Executive chef Calum Franklin shares some reimagined British classics from the menu at Holborn Dining Room
Reimagined British classics from Holborn Dining Rooms
H olborn Dining Room might have stayed one of London’s best kept foodie secrets had it not been for executive chef Calum Franklin’s recent Insta-fame. Last year he started to post pictures of his adventures in pâté en croute (traditional French pastry work which uses metal moulds to turn out intricate pastry covered works of art) which food fans loved. At our last count, he’d amassed over 22,000 followers (@chefcalum). This year the menu expanded to include beautifully crafted seasonal pies including chicken, girolle and tarragon, and mutton curry pie. But it’s not just the pastry punters come for, there’s real expert classic cooking from the team here in mains such as smoked haddock with poached egg and mustard sauce, or pot-roast lamb breast with remoulade and green sauce. The starters are equally legendary so we’re thrilled to be able to share two of them (the scotch egg deserves its own fan club). The room is one of the most beautiful in London. It’s huge with a fancy French brasserie feel, but the banquettes and tables are placed so each dining space feels cosy and intimate. The room is flanked down one side by a stunning gin bar with more than 400 varieties available, and the specialist gin cocktails are not to be missed – try the herbal negroni, a heady mix of V11 Hills Gin, Punt e Mes and Cynar. The dawn-til-dusk dining means the space is forever buzzing – this is a real little gem tucked away from the main road inside the plush Rosewood Hotel. holborndiningroom.com
Beetroot and gin cured salmon
15 MINUTES + CURING | SERVES 8 AS A STARTER EASY salmon 1 bonelss and skinless side (around 800g from the thick end) CURE beetroot 300g, washed and peeled demerera sugar 400g table salt 300g black pepper 1 tsp limes 3, zested juniper berries 2 tsp, crushed wholegrain mustard 3 tbsp gin 150ml PICKLED CUCUMBERS white wine vinegar 50ml caster sugar 2 tbsp cucumber 1, thinly sliced
• Put the beetroot, sugar and salt in a food processor and whizz to a purée, then add the remaining cure ingredients and whizz again. • Pour half of the cure into a large plastic container big enough to hold the fish and cure, lay the salmon on top and pour on the remaining cure. Cover and chill. • The following day, remove the salmon and give the cure a good mix. Put the salmon back and spoon the cure back over, cover and chill for a further 24 hours. • To make the pickled cucumber, whisk the white wine vinegar with the caster sugar and 2 tbsp of water. Pour over the cucumber, mix well and leave to pickle for several hours. • Wash the salmon under cold running water and discard the cure. Slice the salmon into 2cm thick strips and serve with pickled cucumber and toasted rye bread. PER SERVING 225 KCALS | FAT 10.4G | SATURATES 2.1G CARBS 9G | SUGARS 9G | FIBRE 0.4G | PROTEIN 22.6G SALT 2.6G
Curried mutton pie
4 HOURS 20 MINUTES + CHILLING | SERVES 6 A LITTLE EFFORT boneless lamb or mutton shoulder 1 (around 1.4kg) vegetable oil onions 2, diced garlic grated to make 1 tsp ginger grated to make 1 tsp madras curry powder 1 heaped tbsp chilli powder 1 tsp ground cumin 1 tsp ground coriander 1 tsp garam masala 1 tsp chopped tomatoes 2 x 400g tins potato 300g, cut into 1cm dice and boiled unsalted butter 10g puff pastry 800g egg 1, beaten MANGO SALAD mango 1, cut into 1cm dice red chilli 1, seeded and finely diced lime 1, zested coriander finely chopped to make 2 tbsp
• Heat the oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. Put the lamb/mutton shoulder on a roasting tray and roast for 25 minutes until golden. Reduce the oven to 150C/fan 130C/gas 2. • In a large casserole over a medium heat, add 1 tbsp of vegetable oil and fry the onion, garlic and ginger and a pinch of salt for 10-15 minutes until really soft. Add the spices and cook gently for another 5 minutes, stirring regularly. • Tip in the tomatoes, add the lamb/mutton (discarding any fat) and top up with enough water to cover. Bring to the boil, put a lid on and put in the oven for 2 Ω hours. • Remove the lamb from the liquid and cool completely. Skim the liquid of excess fat and reduce until saucy. leave to cool. • Once cool, break the lamb into bite-sized pieces, discarding the fat and sinew. Mix with the potato and enough of the reduced sauce to be nice and saucy and season. • Heat the oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. Butter 6 pie tins or tall ceramic ramekins roughly 10cm x 10cm, and roll out a block of pastry to a thickness of 4mm. Line each tin, leaving a 2cm excess. • Roll the remaining pastry out to a thickness of 4mm, cut out 10cm x 10cm circles and lightly score in a diamond shape. Add the cold lamb mix to the lined tins and put the pastry circles on top. Brush the top with beaten egg and fold the overlaps over and crimp. Make a small hole in the middle of the lid to allow steam to escape. Chill for 30 minutes. • To make the mango salad, toss all of the ingredients and season. • Bake the pies for 30-35 minutes until deep golden, then remove the pies from the oven and leave to cool for 10 minutes before carefully removing from the tins. Serve warm with the mango salad. PER SERVING 1148 KCALS | FAT 74.7G | SATURATES 34.5G CARBS 63.4G | SUGARS 13.1G | FIBRE 8G | PROTEIN 51.5G SALT 1.6G