As sunsets on beachy shore, blood red drops in orange jus, the sunrise in the tequila, so are the shades of beetroot cured salmon. Stunning, stunning and that again. Plated on white and with baby yellow, mustard dill sauce, meals turn into studies of colour and taste. For nor is this recipe style over substance. The beetroot adds a pleasant earthiness to the classic gravlax flavours of salt and citrus. The horseradish, just a hint of the harsh. The gin? Well, I just fancied a tipple. No, not really. I felt the botanicals and juniper would combine well with the lime and dill and, indeed, they do.

I hope you enjoy it - everyone I've served it to has! Serve with nice dense brown bread and a mustard & dill sauce (click here for the recipe), or even just alone or with a bit of lemon.

Recipe

Ingredients (makes 2 salmon fillets worth - half quantities for one fillet):

1 salmon (Ask your fishmonger to gut it for you and take its two fillets off. I'll tell you how to fillet it though below, in case you buy it whole like I did or get it from a generous fishing friend. It doesn't matter if it is scaled or descaled for gravlax). Use just one fillet too if you want to make less.
60g fresh dill, big stalks discarded and leaves chopped finely
7 tablespoons salt, sea salt best and finely ground
2.5 tablespoons of sugar
3/4 of a lime, diced
300g raw beetroot, grated
2 tablespoons gin
3 tablespoons grated horseradish

Method:
1. Fillet your salmon (skip ahead if you have done this): with a very sharp knife, carefully slice the salmon from tail to the head end about parallel with the gills. BE CAREFUL NOT TO PUT YOUR KNIFE IN TOO DEEP AND PUNCTURE THE GUTS. A sharp knife is key. Reach in and draw out the guts with a tug, discard. Take a teaspoon and scrape along the spine to remove the blood sac. Rinse out with a bit of water.
Chop the head off, just behind the gills. Place the fish with the spine side facing you and slice down the spine of the fish, cutting the top fillet off by sliding the knife in and along the top of the spine bones, following the natural line of them and making the cut in smooth, slices. Cut along like this to the tail and remove the top fillet. Turn the fish upside down and repeat with the other fillet. Done.
If making just one fillet's worth, cut the fillet in half (so you have two fat short pieces, NOT two long skinny pieces).
2. Take a plate large enough to hold the fillets and lay clingfilm over it. Mix the salt and sugar together. Mix the beetroot with the gin and horseradish. Lay the fillets side by side on the dish.
3. Scatter the salt, sugar mix down the middle of each fillet. Don't scatter it out to the edges - keep it in the middle fat bit, it will spread out to the thinner edges while it cures and if you place it on the edges it will over cure them.
4. Take half of the dill and scatter it all over one of the fillets so that all of the flesh is covered. On top of that place half the grated beetroot.  Then scatter the diced lime over it. Make sure the lime doesn't touch the flesh of the fish or it will make it go white as the acid 'burns' it. Keep it on top of the dill and beetroot. Then cover it with the rest of the beetroot, then the dill.
5. Place the 'undilled' fillet on top of the other one, flesh to flesh (skin on the outside) like a salmon fillet sandwich! Wrap the clingfilm up and around the fillets, forming a tight parcel and trying not to get any air in there. Take more clingfilm and wrap it even tighter. Put a second plate on top of the parcel and weigh it down with something.
6. Refrigerate this for 2 days. Expect leakage and drain this off about twice a day and turn it occasionally, twice a day to make sure the brine (formed by the salt and lime) cures the salmon evenly.
7. After 2 days remove the wrapping, separate the fillets and scrape off the beetroot, dill and lime. Slice diagonally in thin slices. Serve!!!

                                       Happy Pancake Day from the FoodGoblin kitchen!

Try this for a change. Sweet crepes are beautiful, fabulous things, but so are savoury. Mint, pea, bacon, parmesan - the most erotic of foursomes. Uber quick too - make the batter in advance and you can whip this up in about 5 minutes.
I took my pancake recipe from Gizzy Erskine and it's actually very very good. I think it's the extra egg yolk - it makes it richer and have a good eggy flavour.

Good for a lunch or light dinner!

Recipe

Ingredients (makes about 8 small pancakes):

For the pancakes:
110g plain flour
1 egg
1 egg yolk
pinch sugar
pinch salt
285ml milk
butter for frying

6 rashers bacon, cut into lardons
handful of mushrooms, chopped
handful of parmesan, grated
300g frozen baby peas
6 fresh mint leaves
100ml milk
squeeze of fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper
vegetable oil

Method:
1. For the pancakes: place the dry ingredients into a bowl. Gradually whisk in the milk, egg and yolk and whisk until smooth, with no lumps. Adding in the liquids gradually helps minimise lumps too. Place covered in the fridge and leave to sit for 30 minutes.
2. Fry the bacon in some oil until crispy. Add the mushroom in and saute for 3-4 minutes until cooked through. Set to one side.
3. Plunge the peas into boiling water and leave for 2 minutes to soften. Sieve and blend the peas with the milk until smooth. Add the mint leaves and sieve again until smooth. Taste - add more mint if needed.
4. Add your pea puree to a saucepan and put over low, medium heat, stirring, to warm through. Add the lemon juice and season - taste for seasoning and adjust if needed.
5. For the pancakes: take a crepe pan or non-stick frying pan and put over medium heat. Add a knob of butter and leave to melt and sizzle. Then add a ladle of the pancake mix and tip the pan to spread it thinly over the surface of the hot pan. Leave on this side for around 2 minutes, shaking the pan every now and then to keep the pancake loose and stop it sticking to the pan. Flip the pancake onto its other side (use a spatula if you're not confident tossing it) and cook for another 30 seconds. Each side should be lightly golden and soft. You can make these in advance and then reheat later.
6. Make sure your pea and bacon mixes are hot and ready. Return your crepe to the pan over low heat to rewarm. Scatter the Parmesan over it and warm for 30 seconds. Remove from the pan, scatter some bacon and mushroom and roll up. Repeat with the other crepes, keeping them warm in an oven until all are ready (or serving in batches). Drizzle with the pea and mint puree and serve! 

Recently on a trip to Rome I made an epic discovery in a little bakery, down a shady side street by the Pantheon: Brutti Ma Buoni. Exquisite little biscuits made from a meringue base and nuts. Crisp outside like the shell of a meringue, a chewy, nutty inside. Melting, yielding while still firm with a toffee like chew. They are a sort of cross between a meringue and a cake - the meringue mix brings the crisp and the ooze, the flour the chew. Brutti Ma Buoni literally translates as 'ugly but good' - a fitting title for these knobbly, awkward looking treats. In taste however, quite frankly, they blew my mind.


On returning to the UK I was determined to capture Rome's biscuity secret for myself. I searched the web for the recipe and adapted it to fit my experience of these sensational little treats. The result; good. Still not perfect. But then again - this bakery had won awards for their brutti ma buoni. I currently have not.

Recipe

Ingredients (Makes about 20 biscuits):

4 egg whites
200g caster sugar
1.5 teaspoon vanilla essence
125g hazelnuts, blanched/skins removed
30g plain flour

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 celsius. Toast the hazelnuts in a dry frying pan until they are golden brown and fragrant - about 5 minutes, tossing continuously. If they have skins; Tip into a tea towel and wrap it up - leave to steam for a couple of minutes and then rub to scrub off the skins. Chop skinless nuts up coarsely - not too fine. Leave to cool completely.
2. Set up a bain marie - a saucepan with an inch or so of water, with a heatproof bowl set over the top. Put the egg whites and sugar into the bowl and whisk continuously for about 5 minutes over the heat until the mixture is opaque and it is nice and hot.
3. Immediately pour the mix into a big bowl and whisk with an electric whisk/beater until it forms stiff, glossy peaks, about 5 minutes.
4. Add the vanilla essence and whisk to combine. Add the nuts and flour and fold in with a large spoon.
5. Lay greaseproof paper onto a baking sheet/tray. Take a tablespoon of mix and place it on the paper in rough, round, heaped loads. Space the cookies about 2 inches apart. Put into the oven for about 20 minutes, or until they are golden brown and firm.
6. Remove from the oven and leave to cool. Dust with icing sugar and serve.

Gravlax is a traditionally Nordic dish of salmon cured in salt, sugar and dill. It is quite close to smoked salmon but without the woody, smokiness that you get from the smoking process. Historically, salting was used to make meat and/or fish last for longer periods of time. It would be salted and buried underground to ferment and cure. The name gravlax literally means 'buried salmon' in Scandinavian.
Nowadays it isn't buried and is just generally damn good. Soft, cool in the mouth, slippy, salty and fresh with dill. Serve with bread and perhaps a lemon, mustard mayonnaise or a traditional Nordic Mustard and Dill sauce - click here for the recipe. But to be honest, it is equally good just plain.

If you're going to cook this, make sure you leave yourself enough time - it cures for 48 hours!

Based on the Gnolls recipe.

Recipe (and see photos below for further illumination)

Ingredients (makes 2 whole salmon fillets' worth....which will do you for a while!):

1 salmon (Ask your fishmonger to gut it for you and take its two fillets off. I'll tell you how to fillet it though below, in case you buy it whole like I did or get it from a generous fishing friend. It doesn't matter if it is scaled or descaled for gravlax). Use just one fillet too if you want to make less.
60g fresh dill, big stalks discarded and leaves chopped finely
7 tablespoons salt, sea salt best and finely ground
2.5 tablespoons of sugar
3/4 of a lime, diced

Method:
1. Fillet your salmon (skip ahead if you have done this): with a very sharp knife, carefully slice the salmon from anus (by the tail) to the head end about parallel with the gills. BE CAREFUL NOT TO PUT YOUR KNIFE IN TOO DEEP AND PUNCTURE THE GUTS. A sharp knife is key. Reach in and draw out the guts with a tug, discard. Take a teaspoon and scrape along the spine to remove the blood sac. Rinse out with a bit of water.
Chop the head off, just behind the gills. Place the fish with the spine side facing you and slice down the spine of the fish, cutting the top fillet off by sliding the knife in and along the top of the spine bones, following the natural line of them and making the cut in smooth, slices. Cut along like this to the tail and remove the top fillet. Turn the fish upside down and repeat with the other fillet. Done.
If making just one fillet's worth, cut the fillet in half (so you have two fat short pieces, NOT two long skinny pieces).
2. Take a plate large enough to hold the fillets and lay clingfilm over it. Mix the salt and sugar together and lay the fillets side by side on the dish.
3. Scatter the salt, sugar mix down the middle of each fillet. Don't scatter it out to the edges - keep it in the middle fat bit, it will spread out to the thinner edges while it cures and if you place it on the edges it will over cure them.
4. Take half of the dill and scatter it all over one of the fillets so that all of the flesh is covered. Then scatter the diced lime over it. Make sure the lime doesn't touch the flesh of the fish or it will make it go white as the acid 'burns' it. Keep it on top of the dill. Then cover it with the rest of the dill, making sure to cover all the lime and scatter a few bits on the other, fillet without any dill or lime on it.
5. Place the 'undilled' fillet on top of the other one, flesh to flesh (skin on the outside) like a salmon fillet sandwich! Wrap the clingfilm up and around the fillets, forming a tight parcel and trying not to get any air in there. Take more clingfilm and wrap it even tighter. Put a second plate on top of the parcel and weigh it down with something.
6. Refrigerate this for 2 days. Expect leakage and drain this off about twice a day and turn it occasionally, twice a day to make sure the brine (formed by the salt and lime) cures the salmon evenly.
7. After 2 days remove the wrapping, separate the fillets and scrape off the dill and lime. Slice diagonally in thin slices. Serve!!!

The latest installation in the my favourite epic trilogy of granola. Classic Granola with Crystalised Ginger and Candied Lemon Zest. The ginger is homemade and is really, really punch - a nice amount of fire, balanced by sweetness, and with a fresh zing from the lemon. I really like it.
If you're feeling uber lazy just make the granola and lemon zest and you can buy candied ginger to put in- but really....you have to make the lemon zest anyway so you'd might as well just bite the bullet and make it.

See the recipe for classic granola here  or just read it below. Find the recipe for the ginger here too.

Serve with Greek Yoghurt or cold milk.

Recipe

Ingredients (makes about 2 and a half litres):

For the basic Granola:
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
120g golden syrup
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon sunflower oil
450g rolled oats
120g sunflower seeds
120g white sesame seeds
175g apple sauce
4 tablespoon honey
100g light brown sugar
250g whole almonds

For the candied ginger:
200g thinly sliced, peeled ginger (or as much as you want to make)
4 tbsp water (approx.)
200g caster sugar
Additional sugar to coat (optional)

For the candied lemon zest:
200g thinly sliced, peeled lemon zest, pith removed (or as much as you want to make)
4 tbsp water (approx.)
200g caster sugar
Additional sugar to coat (optional)

Method:

For the Granola:
1.       Mix everything  together in a bowl with some spoons, making sure that it is all incorporated thoroughly and the honey/syrup is all mixed in.
2.       Spread this mixture out on two baking tins and bake in an oven at 170 Celsius, turning halfway through baking and making sure to mix it about to break up any too big chunks that are sticking together (which will happen). You want it to be beautifully golden brown and toasted evenly, dry and crisp. This usually takes about 40minutes to 1hr20 – but keep an eye on it, there isn’t a set time with this…when it’s golden and crisp take it out. Don’t make plans in the 2 hours after starting making granola – it can be precarious to time.
3.       Remove from the oven and leave to cool. 
For the ginger:
4.  Take the ginger and place in a boiling pot of water. Simmer for 30 minutes until the ginger is tender throughout.
5. Drain. Place the ginger back in the pan with the sugar.  If making a different quantity to that shown above, weigh the ginger and use the same amount of sugar to ginger. Add just enough water to dissolve the sugar. Don't stress too much about the amounts of sugar and water - I never weigh them out,  the point is to make a sugar syrup to simmer the ginger in and you can always add more water or sugar later. Simmer for approximately 30 minutes, or until the ginger turns 'translucenty'.
6. Carefully remove the ginger and shake off excess liquid. Roll in sugar and leave to cool.
For the lemon:
7. Take the lemon zest strips and place in a boiling pot of water. Simmer for about 6 minutes.
8. Drain. Place the lemon back in the pan with the sugar.  If making a different quantity to that shown above, weigh the lemon and use the same amount of sugar to lemon. Add just enough water to dissolve the sugar. Simmer for approximately 20 minutes, or until the lemon is translucent.
9. Carefully remove the lemon, shake off excess liquid. Roll in sugar and leave to cool.

10. Combine the granola, lemon and ginger and store in an airtight container. Serve with Greek yoghurt (preferred) or milk.

So. One of my best friend's birthdays was coming round and....well, I like to think outside the box when it comes to presents. Anyone can log on to Amazon and do some mouse clicking. I know she loves breakfast and loves a good, tasty, healthy granola - who doesn't - and so I thought it would be a nice idea to make her some homemade, fresh from the Lucy FoodGoblin kitchen.
Three types. One to suit each mood. A girly fruity one of sour mango with cranberry. A punchy one - aimed for her, but also for her boyfriend too actually who I thought might like this one - of crystalised ginger and candied lemon zest. Good for colds and hangovers, sinus melting and with a healthy kick. And finally, a classic granola with raisins and nuts. It is the recipe for this one that I include today.

Granola is a great thing to make yourself. Don't buy it. You can tailor it exactly how you like it - more raisins? Don't mind if I do. Like a good set of nuts? Get em' out. MMMMM I roar. Epically easy. It keeps really well too - just keep it in an airtight container/jar to stop it going stale and you can store it for as long, within reason, really that you like. Certainly a couple of months.
To make the Sour Mango and Cranberry flavoured one, simply add in the dried fruits instead of the raisins, about 400g in total combined.

I like mine served simply with Greek yoghurt - it is just delicious. You can have it with milk though too if you like, though I really do prefer it with yoghurt.

Enjoy and keep posted for the other recipe!!!

Based on a combination of Nigella's in Feast and the BBC Good Food one.

Recipe

Ingredients (makes about....2 and a half litres):
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
120g golden syrup
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon sunflower oil
300g Raisins
450g rolled oats
120g sunflower seeds
120g white sesame seeds
175g apple sauce
4 tablespoon honey
100g light brown sugar
250g whole almonds

Method:

1.       Mix everything except the raisins together in a bowl with some spoons, making sure that it is all incorporated thoroughly and the honey/syrup is all mixed in.

2.       Spread this mixture out on two baking tins and bake in an oven at 170 Celsius, turning halfway through baking and making sure to mix it about to break up any too big chunks that are sticking together (which will happen). You want it to be beautifully golden brown and toasted evenly, dry and crisp. This usually takes about 40minutes to 1hr20 – but keep an eye on it, there isn’t a set time with this…when it’s golden and crisp take it out. Don’t make plans in the 2 hours after starting making granola – it can be precarious to time.

3.       Remove from the oven and leave to cool.  Store in an airtight container. Serve with Greek yoghurt (preferred) or milk.

Sitting by a beach, or in a street side cafe in some sun scorched, winding Spanish town, there is probably, chances are, nothing more I would rather possess than a dish of this and a large glass of rioja.
A very traditional Spanish dish and common tapas recipe - Tortilla or Spanish Omelette! Essentially what this is is soft potato, white onion and egg, slowly cooked, wobbly inside, just fully cooked - salty, savoury, light and moreish. Sometimes with bits of bacon in, sometimes just plain - both are equally tasty. The trick is to get it cooked just through the middle, while still soft and uncoloured on the outside. This comes from cooking it long and slow over low heat. Careful treatment, lots of love.

Serve plain, or perhaps with a tomato, basil sauce - find a recipe for it here.

Recipe

Ingredients (Serves 2):

1 medium white onion, sliced finely
275g potato, peeled or not peeled - depending on how rustic you want to go, or how lazy
olive oil
5 large eggs
salt and pepper

Method:

1. Thinly slice the potato using a mandolin slicer or carefully using a sharp knife.
2. In a large frying pan heat a generous glug of olive oil until hot over high heat. Add the potato and onion and turn the heat down to low. Put a lid on (or a plate) and saute for about 20 minutes over this low heat slowly, stirring occasionally until the potato and onion are both soft - try not to get too much colour on them though.
3. Take the eggs and whisk in a large bowl- don't over mix - just get the yolks and whites roughly combined. Season generously.
4. When the potato and onion are cooked tip them into the egg mix and stir to combine. Take a frying pan of about 20cm diameter, ideally with rounded sides and a heavy bottom, non stick, and heat some oil in it.
5. Tip the egg, potato and onion mixture into it and turn the heat right down to low, as low as possible. Cook very slowly for about 20 minutes, occasionally running a palate knife around the edges. Once the middle top has almost set, flip it out onto a plate and put it back in the pan the other way up. Cook the other side for no more than 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave to rest for about 5 minutes.
6. Season with a little pinch of salt and some freshly ground black pepper, slice and serve!

Forget Ginsters, forget service station balls of 10% pork, 90% god knows what, claggy, chalky yolks and soggy breadcrumbs. Think big, think meaty, think oozing and succulent. Sliced in half, soft yolks revealed winking at you, deep pork, light herbs and crisp, crisp coating. This is how Scotch Eggs should be. It is criminal what gas stations and your local One Stops have done to the good name of this delectable dish. They can be so much more than food on the go. I serve mine with a tasty tomato, chilli, basil sauce (find the recipe for that here) or just scoff them down plain.

Give it a go anyway. This recipe is based on Heston Blumenthal's one. Having tried out a few I have found his technique definitely the best. I've added a few additional flavours though - adapt if you wish, but try mine first :p

Recipe

Ingredients (makes 4 scotch eggs, which in my world serves 2 as a main, 4 as a starter):

5 eggs
200g good quality sausages, skins removed
1/2 teaspoon paprika
2 tufts of tarragon, stalks removed and chopped
2 teaspoons corn flour
Squeeze of lemon juice
plain flour
splash of milk
salt and pepper
fine breadcrumbs - 120g if you make your own - though actually I'd advise that you buy them in for this recipe, they tend to be dryer and finer than homemade ones.
vegetable oil

Method:
1. Boil a pan of water, put 4 eggs in and cook for 2.5 minutes. Remove from the water and plunge into ice water to stop them cooking further. Leave to cool for 10 minutes in the water.
2. Put the sausage meat, paprika, lemon juice, corn flour and some salt and pepper into a processor and blend until smooth. Stir in the tarragon (don't blend it). Remove and divide into 4 portions.
3. Heat the oven to 190 Celsius.
4. Carefully remove the shells from the eggs. Crack the shell and insert a teaspoon into the gap and run it around the egg to remove the shell - good way of getting the shell off easily and with the egg intact. Do be careful - the yolks are runny and the whites easily split.
5. Lay a square of cling film down and place a portion of the sausage meat on top. Flatten into a large circle. Place the egg into the middle and gather up the sides of the cling film, squeezing and coaxing around the sausage meat as you do to wrap it completely around the egg, sealing the top as you do. Tie/twist the clingfilm ends to form a little sausage egg parcel. Repeat with the rest and put in the fridge for 25 minutes. The cling film technique is good because it means you get a good tight wrap of sausage which helps it stay together in one piece, and the refrigeration firms it up for the same reason. Have a peek at the below pictures to see what I mean.
6. Lay out 3 bowls. In one place the egg, beaten, and a splash of milk, seasoned with salt and pepper and whisked up. In the other place flour, seasoned again with salt and pepper and in the third place your breadcrumbs. Heat your vegetable oil in a sauce pan, about 2 inches deep until about 180 Celsius or until when a breadcrumb is dropped in it sizzles.
7. After 25 minutes remove your parcels from the fridge. Remove the cling film. Roll a ball in the flour, then dip in the egg mix and then roll in the breadcrumbs so that it is evenly coated. Carefully lower into the hot oil and deep fry for about 1-2 minutes until the breadcrumbs are a deep golden brown and crisp. Do this two at a time to avoid over crowding. Turn while cooking to make sure they are evenly fried.
8. Place on a baking tray and put into the oven for 10 minutes.
9. Remove, slice in half and serve. The eggs yolks should be soft still, but keep your fingers crossed just in case. Expect terror upon slicing them open. Anticipation = intense. Enjoy!!

I think eggs are one of the most marvelous things in the world. Endless chemical properties, absolutely endless, allowing even more endless creations as varied in their textures as in their tastes. Mayonnaise, meringue, omelet, consomme etc etc etc. Poached, fried, scrambled, baked - I love them all and each has its place in my life and daily menus. This recipe is just another one of the egg genus' delicious offspring.
This recipe is great as a starter or a snack, an element in a salad or larger composed dish. I dream of serving it soon with a few piped piles of cheese mousse. Tasty, crispy fried breadcrumbs, melting into soft egg and rich yolk. It has a bit of a wow factor when you cut into it, molten yellow yolk revealed and oozing out over the breadcrumbs. Woe betide you if you overcook them though.

Recipe

Ingredients (makes 2):

3 large chicken eggs
breadcrumbs, 1 cup
splash of milk
plain flour
salt and pepper
a pinch of cayenne pepper
vegetable oil

Method:
1. Boil a pan of water over medium heat. When boiling drop in 2 eggs and cook for 3 minutes. Remove from the water and immediately plunge into ice water to stop the eggs cooking.
2. Carefully remove the shells from the eggs. Be gentle - they're molten inside and are fairly easily burst.
3. Heat a pan with about 3 inches of vegetable oil in until it is very hot - to test when it is ready drop a breadcrumb in it - when it sizzles it is ready. Be careful not to get it too hot - it should never be smoking - the next stage on from that is it bursting into fire!!
4. Season about 4 tablespoons of plain flour with salt, pepper and cayenne. Whisk the spare egg and add a splash of milk. Roll your shelled eggs in the flour, dip in the egg and  then roll it in the breadcrumbs.
5. Gently lower into the hot oil and deep fry, turning half way way and cooking until it is golden brown and crisp.
6. Remove from the heat, blot the grease away with kitchen towel and season with a bit of salt.
7. Slice in half and serve!!

So Oysters Rockefeller are delicious in general. Salty, plump and creamy oyster - oo so yummy - plus even saltier crisp nuggets of bacon, blended with creamy (again!) smooth rich bechamel sauce, iron spinach and a crisp topping, grilled. Fabulous, just fabulous. They are a great way to convince those who initially spurn oysters (weirdos) that they are great. Normally I am a bit of an oyster purist - tabasco and onion can take a running jump - but sometimes these are good for a change! As my housemate said when I cooked these for him : 'it tastes like the top of a filled potato skin'. Albeit insulting and peasantish (Jokes, Davidoff), he wasn't far off. Cheesey, bacony, salty goodness.

There is a story behind this though. Indulge me. Last week I attended the London Restaurant Festival Awards in my new capacity as a radio presenter for Zone One Radio's brilliant show In Good Taste (add them on Twitter at @z1radio and @_ingoodtaste). As was delightfully the case at this industry event, the alcohol and nibbles were flowing. When I say flowing, in the case of the drinks it was less of a trickle and more of a Niagra. I interviewed a few people - have a gander via my Twitter @foodgoblin1 for links - and made them adequately awkward. To be fair though - I was proud of myself in my restraint among so many celebrity, world class chefs. In the past I have done excruciatingly embarrassing things in front of them. They are my Lady Gagas and Nicky MinVaj or whoever she is. Michael Fassbender - pfft, bring me Tom Kitchin or Aitken. Actually do though....please? Telling James Martin to his FACE that I loved him was perhaps a particular low point.
After that was all done however I turned to the drinks and food with full concentration, intent and seriousness. Free Laurent Perrier? Don't mind if I do. I do a lot. Liquid nitrogen frozen meringues? Darling. Free OYSTERS freshly shucked - oh you shouldn't have. The oysters were served by a terribly dashing man in a kilt too. I think I hung around the oyster bar for just long enough to make a bit of an impression/creep him out enough and at the end of the evening said tasty man offered me a bag of free oysters. FREE OYSTERS can you actually believe it?! Absolute love at first sight, I'm devastated I didn't leave him my 'card' (because that's how young professionals flirt now, duh).

Anyway, besides the lost Adonis I was overjoyed, having reasoned that oysters were almost certainly more exciting anyway. Off I went, half a bottle of bubbly down the hatch with my work clothes and laptop slung over one shoulder and about 4 kilos of oysters on the other!! I was absolutely despised by commuters on the train as I dripped fishy juice down the carriage into their brogues (Sloane Square), Nikes (Tooting). Karma got its own back by making me miss my bus stop and have to walk back, carting my pack-mule loads in the pouring, pelting rain. Bacchus definitely had nothing to do with it....(sorry, classics joke. Google it. REALLY funny, kinda, not.).  Anyway, I arrived at home finally at about 11pm, merry as a sailor, soaking wet and ready for my oysters. Drunken kebab? Dominoes? Moi? NO. My post lash was oysters rockefeller. Casual. Slight fail in that I devastatingly sliced my palm open shucking the very first one. Awks. At this point it occurred to me through my haze of grapes and glee that the time had probably come for me to make a difficult choice. My choices were as follows: to a) seek emergency medical help immediately or b) hide my open wound inside an old oven glove so I could pretend it wasn't there and continue to construct my feast. I'm sure you know all what my priorities were in this matter.

Anyway - it was a fun and funny night and resulted in this very recipe which I shall now recount to you! Do make it, do love it. I went through the trenches to bring it to you. It may not be the most authentic Oysters Rockefeller in the world but, damn, it is tasty. And not at all like the top of a potato skin.

Recipe

Ingredients (12 oysters - I will probably eat 12 to myself.... 6 might suit better as a starter):
 
12 fresh oysters - UNSCRUBBED  (we don't do this much in England but sometimes in the States the FIENDS wash and rinse out the oysters to remove all the brine. Never do this, absolute sacrilege of the sort that makes me quite ill. It is where 80% of the flavour lies.)
2 slices bacon, unsmoked, cut into nuggets
vegetable oil
12 spinach leaves
salt and pepper
50g butter
50g flour
200ml milk
2 tablespoons parmesan, grated

Method:

1. Shuck your oysters. If you haven't done this before maybe get someone to do this for you and teach you. It can be dangerous. You'll need an oyster shucking knife. Essentially what you do is to hold your oyster in your, gloved, tea towel wrapped and very much protected hand, hinge side up. The hinge is the section where the two halves of the shell meet and fasten at one end- you should be able to spy it. Using a shucking knife (very strong and flexible - don't use a normal knife) insert the edge into the hinge and work it from side to side, in and out, flexing it and gradually easing the oyster shell apart. It'll take a bit of muscle and sensitivity. Once it has popped run your knife down each side of the shell, running it along the top detaching the top shell half and easing the oyster, whole and undamaged, from the shell. Discard the top half of the shell, loosen the oyster with the knife from the bottom shell half so that it is no longer attached to the shell, not spilling the precious liqueur and set to one side.
2. Set your grill to high and let heat up. Heat a frying pan with some oil in it and fry the bacon bits until crispy. Set to one side.
3. Make your bechamel. Melt your butter in a saucepan. Once melted add the flour and mix in to combine. This is called a roux - it is a classic French technique that you'll use lots if you cook and it'll come up again in tonnes of recipes. Cook your roux over heat in the saucepan for about 2 minutes until it is slightly coloured - biscuit golden I like to call it. Add the milk and whisk in - make sure there are no lumps. Whisk over heat until it thickens. This should happen pretty fast. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Lay your oysters on a baking tray. Top each with a spinach leaf and a few bacon bits. Put a spoon of the bechamel over the top of each and top with some sprinkled parmesan.
5. Place under a hot grill and grill for about 2-3 minutes, until the sauce and parmesan have nicely browned. Remove from the grill. Put on a plate and serve!! Down all in one (careful, it's hot) or eat with a fork. Oh and - you do chew. Seems silly to say but sometimes people ask. Enjoy!