Food & Drink
After a revealingly expensive trip to Paris Carina Contini unpacks her take on our nation’s world class, yet affordable dining
Scottish restaurateurs offer brilliant value, says Carina Contini, plus Rose Murray Brown picks the best bubbly under £20
Madame, the 15 per cent service is included in the bill but not the tip.” When your bill for two adults and two children with two glasses of wine and no dessert is €295 somehow you’d expect the tip to be included.
We flew to Paris for my mother’s 89th birthday. I hadn’t been to Paris for years and was expecting it to be lavish and expensive but I got a bit of a surprise. We went to the Christian Dior exhibition in the Musée des Art Décoratifs. Breathtaking, incredible, fabulous; I honestly can’t find the words to describe the exhibition never mind the craftsmanship on display. After queuing for 80 minutes, the entrance fee was only €22 for us all.
The food, on the other hand, was a revelation from the other extreme. For a packet of crisps in a café we paid €3.50, and wait for it, it was €75 for two hot chocolates, two coffees and four pastries for breakfast.
My take on this is that Scotland’s world class larder must seem as much of a bargain to our international visitors, as the Dior exhibition was to us.
The independent Scottish restaurants that I love don’t sneak in a service charge.
They pay their teams fairly and redistribute any tips that are gratefully received from happy diners. And we deliver incredible fresh, local, beautiful food.
Let French fashion filter into our high streets but thank you Scotland for a wonderful natural larder that is shared generously and affordably with residents and visitors alike. Vive la difference! n
@Continibites
Coffee buns
We had a few éclairs when we were away but these little buns are easier (and perfect if you’re trying to resist larger desserts in order to fit into that little black dress).
Makes 10-12
80g strong white flour pinch of salt 50g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing 120ml cold water 2 large eggs 300ml double cream (plus an additional tablespoon for the icing) 250g icing sugar 1 shot of espresso coffee or 1 heaped tsp instant coffee dissolved in 2 tbsp hot water 1 tbsp double cream
1 To make the coffee icing, beat the icing sugar, coffee and tablespoon of double cream together until thick and glossy. Set aside.
2 Heat the butter in a pan with the water over a low heat until the butter starts to melt. Don’t let it boil. Add the sieved flour and salt and stir with a wooden spoon to make a roux. Cook until the mixture forms a stiff ball.
3 Beat in the eggs. The mixture should be firm enough to spoon or pipe. If it isn’t thick enough, return it to the pan over a low heat and cook slowly until it forms a ball. You need to keep beating it with a wooden spoon so it doesn’t stick to the pan.
4 Preheat the oven to 230C/gas Mark 8 and grease a baking tray. Spoon golfball size balls of dough onto the tray, then splash the tray with a little cold water.
5 Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Remove and turn the buns over, then reduce the temperature of the oven to 180C/gas Mark 4 and cook for 15 minutes more.
6 When the buns are risen and golden, remove them from the oven. Prick each bun with a skewer or toothpick to help the hot steam escape so they don’t go soggy when they cool. Leave to cool completely on a wire rack.
7 Meanwhile, whip the cream until it forms soft peaks. Split the buns and fill with the cream. Spoon over the coffee icing and serve within an hour or two. Do not refrigerate.
Lemon sole with spinach and Loch Arthur Cheddar
This is a best-seller in both restaurants so I’m slightly reluctant to let you know how easy it is. Our cooking is fresh and simple and we’ve always been proud of that; I suppose this dish shows it off at its best. At Contini George Street we use Parmigiano Reggiano instead of the cheddar but both work equally well.
Serves two
2 handfuls of spinach leaves 4 lemon sole fillets, skin removed
12 tbsp double cream 100g Loch Arthur Cheddar, coarsely grated salt
1 Preheat the oven to 180C/gas Mark 4.
2 Place the spinach in four flat piles side by side on a baking tray (you may need two).
3 Place a fillet of sole on top of each pile, then pour the cream over equally and sprinkle the cheddar on top of that. Season with a little salt.
4 Bake for 12 minutes. The cheese will have melted and the spinach will have wilted under the sole. Heaven! If you have a grill, it’s nice to pop the baking tray under it for a few minutes for extra crispness.
Burrata with cherries
This is an edgy little number that will have your dinner party guests envious of your plate decorations.
Serves two
125g burrata (or mozzarella di bufala if you can’t get buratta) 8 ripe cherries, cut in half and stone removed 2 dsp best quality cold pressed extra virgin olive oil a few endive leaves 4 edible flowers Maldon salt freshly cracked black pepper
1 Divide the burrata into six pieces and scatter on to two plates.
2 Place the cherries on top. Season with salt, drizzle with olive oil and finish with the black pepper, endive leaves and some edible flowers.