Time to celebrate
Cannonball restaurant is getting ready to reopen and we can't wait to serve locals and visitors to the city
It’s been a very long journey and we are relieved and thrilled in equal measure about reopening Cannonball Restaurant on Edinburgh’s Castlehill from 1 July. The painter, electrician, florist, you name it, has been in to get us back up and better than before.
Cannonball has always been a mix of local diners topped up with destination visitors and private events in this beautiful three storey 18th century townhouse at the top of the Royal Mile with views overlooking Edinburgh Castle. To start we’re opening three days a week in July and four days a week in August with the private dining spaces available all week for special events.
It's bittersweet for our landlords, the team behind The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, that this year's performance has been cancelled. It seems unbelievable that something that has been such a huge part of our festival city won’t be seen for another year. The Tattoo has been a huge part of Contini summer life too with Pipers Packages selling out every year at The Scottish Cafe and dinner at Cannonball followed by a premium seat at the show being equally as successful. The pre-show excitement, happy guests from all over the world, followed by the goosebumps and wonderfully emotional volume of 100 plus pipers and over 1000 performers walking down Castlehill past Cannonball House never ceases to take our breath away. I look forward to hearing this beautiful music again. It makes us proud to play a tiny part in such a truly unique world class event. The sweet thing is that Cannonball will be available for you with the view. Normally we lose our panorama to the stand but this year we’re showing it off and shouting from Castlehill that we’re open.
Social distancing regulations have changed the interiors of all hospitality venues. Cannonball restaurant has reduced capacity from 76 to 44. Our largest table size in the restaurant is now six guests. In the bar we now have seven tables that can seat up to four or six guests. It is a brilliant space for pre-dinner cocktails and canapés. As each floor is treated separately you can have more than the two-hour allocated dining slot if you book for drinks first and then for dinner, but all managed under the regulations. A percentage of all our sales supports the work of the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo and the benevolent funds of the Armed Forces and the arts in Scotland. We so very much look forward to welcoming you all back soon and sharing a little part of Edinburgh’s history with some great food showcasing many of Scotland's best artisan suppliers.
White onion soup
Serves three to four
This is a version of the velouté we serve in the restaurant. Delicious.
2 tbsp olive oil
100g butter
4 large white onions, very thinly sliced
1 leek, green removed and white part finely sliced
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
1 tbsp white wine
75ml double cream seasoning
1 small star anise
1 Melt the butter and oil in a soup pot and sauté the vegetables until very soft. This will take at least 20 minutes. 2 Add the wine and cook off.
3 Season with salt and pepper. Cover with enough water to just cover the vegetables. Add the star anise and simmer gently for 30-40 minutes until tender.
4 Remove the star anise and blend the soup until smooth. Add a little more seasoned hot water if it’s too thick.
5 Add the cream and check the seasoning. Garnish as you wish. We use pickled apple and basil oil with a little crumb of toasted bread.
Scallop with smoky bacon, lemon and butter
Everyone loves scallops and again, this is a simplified version of one of the fish courses we’ll be offering. Serves one
3 scallops
2 slices of Prosciutto di Parma 1 lemon steamed in a water bath for 20 minutes until soft. Remove a tablespoon of the centre of the lemon for the sauce juice of half a lemon
50g butter few leaves of parsley and lovage very finely chopped leaves to decorate
1 Wrap the scallop in the prosciutto. 2 Heat a frying pan and add about 10g of the butter. Seal the scallops in the butter and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until caramelised.
3 Turn the scallop over and add the remaining butter. Baste the scallops with another 10g of butter for a minute or so.
4 In a separate pan melt the remaining butter and add the cooked lemon purée. Heat through and season. Serve with the scallops.
5 Decorate with leaves and serve.
Boozy chocolate truffles
With 150 bottles of whisky at the bar, we all need a little chocolate truffle. Makes 1 x 350g gift box
140ml double cream
1 tbsp of your favourite whisky or liqueur
225g cocoa Valrhona dark chocolate (55%) premium-quality cocoa powder, for dusting
1 Put the cream and whisky in a pan over a low heat. Remove from the heat when the cream begins to steam but before it boils. Leave to infuse for about 30 minutes.
2 Meanwhile, chop, grate or break up the chocolate into very small pieces and place in a heatproof glass or ceramic bowl over a bain-marie. Do not let the simmering water touch the bottom of the bowl.
3 Strain the cream into a clean pan and put it back over a low heat but, again, do not let it boil. When the cream is hot, pour it over the chocolate. Stir slowly until the chocolate has melted. Leave to cool, then chill until the mixture is cold enough to handle – about 30 minutes. 4 Using a dessertspoon, shape the mixture into balls, then roll them in cocoa powder. Refrigerate.
5 Remove from the fridge 30 minutes before serving.