No processed egg breath here...

I’ve always been a bit suspicious of the cress family, probably because of its regrettable association with the frankly revolting egg & cress motorway sandwich (I mean seriously, who the f*** eats those!?). When I go about my lunch business therefore, processed egg sandwiches are never high on the agenda; apart from the fact that they look so wrong I’m also deeply paranoid of what they may do to my breath...

Over the years this justified fear has resulted in a lack of enthusiasm for all things 'cress' related; watercress has no doubt suffered, excluded from shopping lists and made to mingle with other types of salad in mixed leaf bags, in its purest state it isn't even that easy to find. Ironically it’s one of the oldest known leaf vegetables consumed by humans, at least according to Wikipedia anyway.

So what to do when you get hold of a big bunch of the stuff? I pushed the eggs to one side and made a soup.

Serves 4:

300g of watercress
A few big handfuls of spinach
1 celeriac (or 3 medium potatoes), peeled an chopped
1 white onion, chopped
25g of butter
500-600ml of stock (chicken or veg)
Double cream
Pancetta

Melt the butter in a deep pan and add the chopped onion, fry gently for a few minutes before adding the peeled and chopped celeriac. Stir well and fry for a further 3 minutes or so.

Pour in the stock and simmer for 10-15 minutes until the celeriac begins to give. Chuck in the watercress and spinach, stir well and leave for a minute or two.

Take the pan off the heat and blend. The colour will be amazing. Taste and correct the seasoning.

Slice the pancetta into wide lardons and fry in a hot pan with a drizzle of olive oil until crisp. Remove and drain on kitchen towel.

Ladle the soup into bowls, swirl a tbsp of double cream into each one (a dollop of crème fraiche works a treat too!) and position your lardons in the centre. A twist of pepper, some crusty bread and you’re done.

Delicious, filling and bright green! Oh and it goes really well with a glass of Chablis. You can also serve the dish as a mini appetizer by pouring into individual espresso cups, a bit poncy but it works under the right circumstances. And no processed egg breath...

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Charlie Sheen's Winning Recipes

Doesn't need any introduction...

Charlie Sheen's Winning Recipes from Charlie Sheen

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Tasty but no night vision

Unquestionably underrated, carrots are one of hell of a versatile food. Whether used in cakes, stews or just eaten raw they are full of flavour and very good for you too. I use them a lot, mainly because Able & Cole keep relentlessly delivering the damn things to me each week but that's no problem as here is a ridiculously easy Italian side dish that I will never get bored of. My mum makes the best version but no matter how many times I make it it never tastes the same.

Enough for 4

10 carrots
2 cloves of garlic (or 1 large one)
2 tbsps of white wine vinegar
olive oil
a handful of flat-leaf parsley
salt & pepper
crushed fennel seeds (optional)

First bring a pan of water to the boil. Peel the carrots, slice in half lengthways, then slice each half into diagonal strips and chuck into the pan. Simmer for 8 mins or until tender but still with some bite.

Slice your garlic razor thin (seriously, do it as thin as you possibly can like Paulie in the jail scene of Goodfellas) unless you really like chunks of raw garlic!

Drain the carrots, tip into a bowl and whilst still hot add the garlic, vinegar and extra virgin olive oil (in that order, you want the vinegar to be absorbed). Season to taste, add the chopped parsley, toss well and leave to cool.

Easy, delicious and frighteningly moreish. You can also spice it up a little by adding dry chilli flakes or toasted fennel or cumin seeds. It's no surprise that these combinations work, as carrots were originally grown for their aromatic leaves and seeds, not their roots. Some relatives of the carrot are still grown for this, such as parsley, fennel, dill and cumin.


Trivia:

We've all heard of the urban legend that says that eating large amounts of carrots will help one see in the dark but where does this myth come from? Well, it allegedly arose during the Battle of Britain when the RAF circulated a story about their pilots' carrot consumption as an attempt to cover up the discovery and effective use of radar technologies in engaging enemy planes. It reinforced existing German folklore and helped to encourage Britons looking to improve their night vision during the blackouts—to grow and eat the vegetable.
In some cultures the roots are also used to treat digestive problems, intestinal parasites, and tonsillitis or constipation.

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Teppanyaki TEKKERS!

Eating out is all about entertainment, even more so when you're paying good money for it. Whether it's because of exceptional service or the fact that you have clouds of nitrous oxide wallowing out of your dessert bowl, we all want to leave a restaurant feeling well-fed and impressed. That will certainly be the case if the chef from this Teppanyaki restaurant is cooking for you, his egg-fried rice technique is NEXT LEVEL!!



The word 'teppanyaki' derives from teppan (meaning iron plate) and yaki (meaning grilled or pan-fried). The style of cooking was introduced in the 1940's and is now unsurprisingly associated with the 'show' put on by the ridiculously skilled chefs. There are loads of places around, some a bit hit and miss, if you know of a particularly good one in London let me know as this video has really made me want to go again!

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