> TASTE TEST
Edible flowers With thanks to Pete Jackson and his colourful veg patch at Earthy www.earthy.co.uk
SIDE DISHES News to nibble on
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Nasturtium With their brilliant sunset colours and distinct peppery flavour, these are probably the most popular edible flower. They’re very easy to grow from seed and are common on the fringes of veg patches or hanging baskets. The flowers have a similar taste to watercress, or some of the stronger varieties of rocket, and they can really spark up a salad. The large flowers can be stuffed for a strong visual effect. Borage Lovely little cornflower blue, star- shaped flowers, borage blossoms have a cool, faintly cucumber taste. Drop them into mixed salads, or they’re wonderful in summer punches, lemonade and gin and tonics. It’s a self-seeding annual that’s in bloom most of the summer, so it’s not a hard plant to grow. With uses stretching beyond the obvious, they can even be used for garnishing soups and stews.
Lavender Well known for its scent, freshly picked lavender has a sweet floral flavour with a hint of lemon and citrus notes. Rather too strong to eat on their own, you can add lavender flowers to chocolate cake, or use them to garnish or flavour sorbets. A nice lavender ice cream recipe involves mixing crushed lavender flowers into honey and then double cream. You can also try dropping a few flowers into a glass of fizz.
Marigold Ranging in colour from pale yellow to vibrant orange, marigolds are in flower from July right through to late autumn. Popular with gardeners not just for their colour but as a useful companion plant to tomatoes, the petals can be used as a saffron substitute to colour risottos and other dishes such as omelettes. Added to the feed of hens it’s claimed to give a richer yolk colour. They’re also superb in salads, offering a citrus flavour and a mild peppery taste.
Courgette Even if you struggle to grow prize- winning courgettes, the smaller sizes of this vegetable will still give you large, pointed, yellowy-orange flowers. Cookery books often suggest a recipe involving a batter and deep frying, but the flowers can just be stuffed as they are with something like smoked salmon pâté (one by Creelers of Arran is especially good) – served chilled as a starter it can provide real ‘wow’ factor at a dinner party. Monarda A personal favourite of Pete Jackson at Earthy, monarda has various names including bee balm and cambridge scarlet, though it’s also known as bergamot herb because the scent of the leaves is similar to the oil derived from the fruits of the bergamot tree. Try some petals as decoration for a dish of pears poached in red wine with some vanilla ice cream, and you’ll notice that distinctive Earl Grey tea flavour seeping through.
GLASSHALFFULL
Mark Robertson witnesses mercurial magic in a glass at the 42Below cocktail world cup
It was a battle of the ages. A dozen warriors armed with silver shakers, crushed ice and angostura bitters striving to become the finest cocktail creator in the world. The Glasgow and Edinburgh heats of the 42Below Vodka cocktail World Cup took place at the end of August with 12 of the best from the respective cities challenged to create a signature vodka-based cocktail from scratch and an ‘honest drink’ utilising 42Below vodka and a selection of surprise ingredients.
For this, the fifth year of the competition, the fashion was for off-the-wall ingredients, with home-made salmon liqueur, a wasabi ‘tincture’ and even mushy peas making an appearance. Among the winners were an ingenious trio of female barkeeps from The Gate in Glasgow, while Edinburgh winner Joey Medrington from Tigerlily created an exquisite revamp of the Moscow Mule, blending pineapple juice, ginger beer, lime and egg whites with honey vodka. Paul Graham from Bramble blew judges away serving a peanut butter and banana delight, while Metiniee Kongsrivilal from Bon Vivant dazzled with a spectacular absinthe tribute comprising apple tea, vodka and dry ice.
The six bartenders who qualified join up as two regional teams for the national finals in London in February next year, with the national winners heading off to the world finals in New Zealand in March 2010. ■ www.cocktailworldcup.com
■ BEFORE heading out to Erskine to run the restaurant at Mar Hall, and with a track record of stints at Rogano, Nairns and One Devonshire Gardens, chef Jim Kerr ran a small venture on Byres Road called The Dining Room. Not too many restaurants experience a second coming, but The Dining Room is being resurrected as a replacement for Manna at 104 Bath Street. Kerr is in partnership with Alan Tomkins (of Gamba and Urban Bar & Brasserie fame), and the style will be upmarket Scottish with Asian influences – two courses from the à la carte are around £24, with cheaper lunch, pre-theatre and fixed price menus available. 0141 332 6678, diningroomglasgow.com ■ THERE’S a bit of Shaker simplicity mixed with New England crab shack at Alfie’s Place Bistro, a new restaurant opened on the Shore in Leith by Tom Haste, a chef who has worked with Rick Stein and Roy Brett. Seafood is the main theme, with dishes such as line-caught sea bass with cockles, clams and mussels, complemented by meat and veggie options such as ratatouille and butterbean casserole with poached egg. 63 The Shore, Leith, 0131 554 2194, leithlinks.co.uk/leithrestaurants/alfi es-place.
■ A FAIRLY ambitious new market is being launched on Sunday 20 September in Merchant Square in Glasgow. The Merchant City Market hopes to establish itself as a monthly event with 40 stalls in Merchant Square and a further 40 outside in Bell Street, with fresh produce and arts and crafts both represented. The market runs 10am to 5pm. merchantcityglasgow.com 10–24 Sep 2009 THE LIST 11