St Clements Restaurant

I’ve always been blessed with great friends like my friend Christine who owns a flat in St Leonards on Sea and offered it to us for a weekend break. St Leonards isn’t the most glamorous seaside town and suffers from all the social problems that other places that rely on seasonal trade suffer from. However it’s also a bit of a hidden gem with a thriving art and music scene, quirky little independent shops, and a wide selection of cafes and restaurants with St Clements being the jewel in the crown. It’s owned by ex Caprice Chef Nick Hales and specialises in local produce, primarily the fresh fish bought ashore in Hastings 5 minutes up the road – doesn’t get much more local than that!!

We booked for the Saturday night when they have 2 sittings 6.45pm and 9pm and we went for the latter. I advised them on booking that I was Coeliac and was told just to tell them on the night which didn’t exactly fill me with confidence but any concerns evaporated when we arrived. We were seated and handed the A la Carte menu and the set menu (3 courses £26.50), and asked if we would like water and when we asked for tap they offered to bring a jug of it. I advised the waitress that I was gluten free and she asked somebody more senior to come over and run through the menu with me to advise what was suitable. I have to say the majority of the menu was absolutely fine, a testament to the excellent cooking of fresh local produce no doubt.  We also looked through a very comprehensive wine list and as we both intended to have fish chose 2010 Primo Malvasia from Ortona in Italy which stated it was a good choice with fish and they didn’t lie. The wine was dry but with a hint of rounded fruit which sttod up well the the variety of fish we ate. I chose Thai Fish Cakes with Thai salad and chilli jam for a starter whilst the web guru went for Hastings Fishcakes with herb and caper crème fraiche. The Thai fishcakes were excellent with no one spice overpowering and the salad was crunchy and fresh tasting. The web guru devoured his fish cakes in an instant and declared them nearly as good as my fish pie – he always did like to hedge his bets!

For the main course I had Cod Loin on a bubble and squeak cake with a crab cream sauce, whilst the web guru chose Bouillabaise. The cod lin was perfectly cooked and flaked into chunks, the bubble and squeak was crispy on the outside and moist on the inside with a good addition of green vegetables and the crab sauce bought the 2 together in a velvety mouthful. The web guru went through and counted the different species of fish in the bouillabaisse to ensure there was the requisite 7, which there was, and loved the fact that each species of fish was cooked to perfection in the soup.  For dessert I had pannacotta with rhubarb and orange. The marriage of the vanilla in the panacotta and the cooked fruit was delicious and the citrus of the orange kep it all very refreshing. The web guru was toying with the idea of cheese when he saw a Welsh Rarebit with red onion chutney on the dessert menu and upon receiving it continued to ask me repeatedly why other restaurants didn’t offer this savoury desert option. Having completely filled every space in our stomach we asked for the bill and were impressed to find it came in at a few pennies over £75 which for the standard of food and drink we thought was fabulous.  If you are down that way I would recommend lunch or dinner there without hesitation

http://www.stclementsrestaurant.co.uk/About/ 

Bruschetta Restaurant

When you are lucky enough to be able to eat anything without suffering side effects you take things for granted and “go off things”. I was like this with pasta, it was such a staple part of my diet growing up that when Mum cooked spaghetti I used to groan and think how boring. However once you are unable to eat those meals they acquire a desirability of immense proportions and you crave that food. As a coeliac I am so grateful that Bruschetta opened nearby to me and I can now satisfy my cravings for pizza and pasta on a regular basis. Bruschetta is the UK’s first completely gluten free restaurant serving fresh pasta, stone baked pizza’s and the most heavenly desserts. It is the brainchild of Julia Zardetto, who has a wheat intolerance and has been experimenting for years to come up with great tasting Italian gluten free food.

Julia and her partner Danielli run the restaurant together and whether you are a regular customer or trying it for the first time you are given the same warm welcome. The restaurant is on a busy main road on the outskirts of Kingston upon Thames town centre and has 3 or 4 tables on the pavement with 2 large olive trees helping to screen some of the traffic.  Inside the restaurant is a comfortable atmosphere with diners talking and eating and the staff at Bruschetta calling out to each other in Italian all adding to the general feeling that you had somehow gone to Italy.

Once seated you are presented with a complimentary bowl of olives, that are marinated in a special recipe at the restaurant, and handed the wine & food menus. We ordered a bottle of the excellent house wine and a Moretti lager for the web guru. Starters are always a tough choice as there is so much to choose from, we eventually settled on Calamari for me & Italian Sausages with mushrooms for the web guru. My Calamari is light, crisp and absolutely delicious, the web guru grudgingly allowed me to try his sausages which were meaty and enhanced by a light taste of fennel and the mushrooms just filled your mouth with flavour. For our main course I went for Spaghetti with Lemon & Parma Ham whilst the web guru continued with the taste he acquired for fennel and chose Finocchiona Pizza with Tomato, Mozzarella, Artichoke Heart, Fennel Salami and Parmesan Shavings. His pizza was massive but he loved the combination of flavours and textures and had no problem finishing it. My Spaghetti was a revelation, it was light, fresh and oh so good. The Parma ham added a slight salty tang that offset the sharpness of the lemon, I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. Even though we had hardly any room left we felt we should try a dessert and opted to share a Tiramisu. It was heavenly, light as air, creamy and with a slight coffee tang to it and I began to wonder if perhaps I could have eaten a whole one on my own. We finished with an espresso and were offered a Limoncello on the house and when the bill came at under £60 for food and drinks we felt we’d eaten exceptionally well and had excellent value for money.

Even more exciting for those of us that are gluten challenged, Bruschetta re now selling their pasta and pizza bases for people to take away and cook at home. You can order online or over the phone but have to pick your order up from the restaurant.

Also as from Friday 8^th July Bentalls store in Kingston upon Thames will be selling Bruschetta’s gluten free pasta in their food concessions.  All of their pasta meals will be gluten free and are the first UK store to sell only gluten free pasta and at the same price as what they sold their standard pasta meals at.

http://bruschettaglutenfree.co.uk/index.php 

Pavlova vs Meringue

What is the difference between a pavlova and a meringue? Depending on whom you ask some will tell you nothing or that a pavlova has a slightly chewy centre. Ask a Kiwi and an Aussie and whilst they might agree on the fact that a pavlova has a crisp meringue outside but a soft marshmallow like inside, they will then spend the next 2 hours arguing as to which country the pavlova originated from. In New Zealand the pavlova is an institution and would probably be considered a national dessert. According to the New Zealand cooking bible, Edmonds Cook Book, a pavlova is made from egg whites, caster sugar, corn flour, vinegar and vanilla extract. A meringue is made from egg whites and caster sugar. The original desert was created in either New Zealand or Australia for the famous ballet dancer Anna Pavlova in the 1920’s, personally I think it’s a New Zealand creation but then I’m biased. My pavlova recipe is based on the one from Edmonds Cook Book, the web guru loves when I make one as it rises so high during the cooking but as it dries out deflates and cracks – the incredible deflating pavlova he calls it but the sarcastic comments and cries of laughter cease immediately if he thinks it might damage his chances of eating it. So don’t worry if your pavlova sinks (what can help here is to beat the egg whites until really stiff and then beat them stiff again upon adding the sugar) or cracks, smothering it in fresh fruit and whipped cream hides a multitude of sins

3 medium egg whites

3 tbsp cold water

225g caster sugar

1 tsp vinegar

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 tsp corn flour

250ml double cream

Fresh fruit to decorate

Heat oven to 150C and line a baking tray with baking parchment or similar. Beat egg whites until very stiff, add water and then beat again. Add cater sugar gradually whilst still beating and ensure your mixture is as stiff as possible. Slow beater and add vinegar, vanilla (I’ve used other flavours here for variety including lemon, rosewater and orange) and corn flour. Using a spatula place the mixture in a circle (you can if you want leave a dip in the middle to place the cream and fruit but I never worry about this) on the paper lined baking tray and pop into the oven for 45 minutes. Once cooked leave in the oven to continue drying out until needed but no longer than overnight and ideally should be made and eaten on the same day. When ready to serve whip the cream and slather over the pavlova and top with chopped fruit.