Vegetables

Made my first vegetable curry with my lovely Whole Shebag veg today. Organic cauliflower, spuds, carrots and onion, in a paste made of madras spices, garlic and paprika, some chopped tomatoes and a glug of cream. Some chapatis were all this needed. Absolutely delicious.

Dinner at the Waverley Tea Rooms

Went for a bite at one of my favourite Southside pubs last night, the Waverley Tea Rooms. Owned by the ubiquitous G1 Group, its different zones (the downstairs 'conservatory' with glass and fake grass, the cosy 'snug' feeling of the actual pub, and the patio) stop it feeling faceless and bland.

The food was pretty decent - I had the Vietnamese curry, which could have done with a bit more sauce, but was lovely and rich and had a subtle flavour. The accompanying naan was a really nice touch. Mr Gastro had the lamb cutlets and garlic mash, which vanished from his plate quicker than you could read the description on the menu, so he seemed to enjoy that.

I would recommend the WTR as a place for a nice, relatively inexpensive, bite to eat in Shawlands, but be warned; the service can be erratic!

Picture from hodgers on Flickr

Vegetable bag deliveries

There are few nicer things in life than coming home to find a bag of organic veg, so freshly dug they still have soil on them, sitting on your doorstep.

This is what happened to me last night - my delivery from The Whole Shebag came. As the title of this blog suggests, I live in Glasgow and I'm finding it increasingly hard to find good quality produce that is local and organic. So I signed up to the bag scheme from the Murrays at The Whole Shebag, who have a farm in West Lothian.

There was a huge cauliflower head, organic beansprouts, some broccoli, potatoes, carrots and onion, as well as a wee mixed bag of fruit, with proper apples and pears.

I will blog this week and let you know what I do with all the lovely produce!

Dinner with Mr Gastro, lunch with Mama Gastro

Not much food excitement this week on the home front as things have been a bit chaotic! Bought a tub of sun dried tomatoes, some antipasti, crackers, bread and cheese and have been grazing most nights.

But, on Thursday night, Mr Gastro treated me with a trip to one of my Top 10 restaurants in Glasgow, the Battlefield Rest. It was such a joy - as usual. I have honestly never been disappointed with a meal here. After my failed attempt a week or so ago, I started with their crostini bonco (just wonderful), continued with panfried duck, with figs anda mustard, honey and port sauce; which was so lovely and sweet, and then a Roy's Cup sundae. All of this washed down with Prosecco and it was just divine. Mr Gastro had the smoked fish crepe and the Chicken Montenara, and couldn't resist the Roy's Cup... all in all another wonderful night at a Glasgow jewel.

On Saturday, Mama Gastro and I had macaroni (as you can tell, I'm a fan of macaroni cheese in a pub lunch context!) at Sloans', the pub down the lane between Argyle St and Buchanan Street. They were run off their feet, and the menu was huge - but the macaroni was hot, gooey and filling - just exactly what the doctor ordered. So much so, that there was no room for a sweet. 

Hoping to cook a bit more in the coming fortnight! 

Picture from Flickr user juliebee.

Tinto Tapas

One of my top ten Glasgow Restaurants is a wee, unassuming place on Battlefield Road, spitting distance from the hospital, called Tinto. It is still in my top ten after my lunch there today with Mr Gastro, before he headed off for work.

We shared seven plates of glorious tapas. Mr G had two beers and I had an orange and lemonade. If I tell you that including tip, we paid £30, hopefully you can see that this is a bit of a bargain. We ate deep fried whitebait with smoked bacon and paprika, tabla imberico (the meat and cheese plate with olives), gambas pil pil (chilli and garlic king prawn), patatas bravas (fried potatoes with a spicy tomato dip that tasted like harissa), morcilla (Spanish black pudding), aubergine fritters, and lamb kebabs. A plethora of tastes and treats. I can't wait to go back. And if you get the chance, do try the whitebait.

Best dessert in Glasgow?

My pal Lisa asked me 'where's the best place to take someone in Glasgow for dessert?'

I suppose this will depend on your definition of dessert... to me, plain patisserie is not dessert, but then, I'm Scottish and we do expect things to be a bit more substantial. My Top Ten Restaurants (see the entry 'Restaurant Reviews' in the right hand menu) mostly do wonderful desserts. If you're anywhere on the Southside, I defy you not to swoon over the sundaes at Battlefield Rest (my favourite is the Roy's Cup, which I think is honeycomb ice cream, with strawberries and Amaretto). City Centre desserts - I would perhaps nudge you to the Gandolfi above all else, and their coffee is lovely. It's a romantic place to share a dessert, forks crossed!
For the Westenders, I love The Sisters Kelvingrove on Kelvingrove Street... delicious, wonderful cakes. But bear in mind that Byres Road is home to lots of cafes selling homemade cake - plenty of choice!

Cooking for one

More on my upcoming week of cooking for one! I have frozen batches of my spag bol, and I have gone tonight to M&S to take advantage of their 'cosy night in for a tenner' deal. Without wanting to plug M&S too much, I really love this idea - a main course and side dish for two, bottle of wine and double pud, all for ten measly pounds. If Mr Gastro isn't hungry later when he gets in, I can eat these next week as part of my solitude... sniff... I got proscuitto and caesar melt chicken breasts, mediterranean veg, bottle of Merlot and hot chocolate fudge pudding for two. I'm sure it won't be as good as my caramel croissant pud (which Mr Gastro LOVED).

I think I will draw up meal plans for Mon, Tue and Wed. That's sometimes even more fun than the cooking! Expect to see them here, soon.

Picture by yanyanyanyanyan, Flickr

Comfort food

I have a really sore throat today, and I'm finding it hard to swallow. This means only one thing to me - vegetable noodle soup. There's no recipe for this. It's whatever veg you fancy (for me, usually finely chopped mushrooms, and greens) along with a chicken stock, flavoured with soy or miso, and full of lovely noodles, finished off with spring onions. Nigella has a recipe for a similar soup in her How To Eat book, but I think that unless the idea of cooking terrifies you, just go with it - you can return to the pot during the day and make flasks for work, to keep your comfort levels high. 

Picture by emilychang, Flickr

Spag bol and deli dinners

I abandoned my ambitious crostini tonight when I realised I had no frozen mussels, and the weather was preventing a trip to the fishmonger. I decided to scrap it, and make good old spag bol instead. Maybe a bit heavy with the caramel croissant pudding for afters... but it was easily kept warm for Mr Gastro, and I could help myself as soon as it was ready. 

As I'm going to be cooking for one next week (Mr Gastro is away for work), spag bol might be on the menu again. I just don't put as much effort into cooking when it's only me, but I really should. Perhaps I'll go to a deli and buy some nice cheese, bread and meat; and have some picnic-style dinners! I bought some brioche earlier along with the croissants, and I'm waiting for it to go stale so I can make Mr. G a going-away bread-and-butter pudding... I say it's for him, but we all know the truth... 

GGx

Picture by Sarah Sosiak, Flickr

Mr Gastro on late nights

As Mr. Gastro is currently working late nights I'm trying to give him a nice meal when he comes in  (this may sound horribly 1960s, but he does all the cleaning...!)

I went out for a walk today as I had the day off and I've bought some croissants. I'm hoping to recreate the lovely Caramel Croissant Pudding of Nigella Lawson's that she made in her Express series. Here's the recipe:

Serves 2 greedy people

2 stale croissants

100g caster sugar

2 x 15ml tbsp water

125ml double cream

125ml full-fat milk

2 x 15ml tbsp bourbon

2 eggs, beaten

1 Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4.

2 Tear the croissants into pieces and put in a small gratin dish; I use a cast iron oval one with a capacity of about 500ml.

3 Put the caster sugar and water into a saucepan, and swirl around to help dissolve the sugar before putting the saucepan on the hob over a medium to high heat.

4 Caramelize the sugar and water mixture by letting it bubble away, without stirring, until it all turns a deep amber colour; this will take 3 to 5 minutes. Keep looking but don’t be too timid.

5 Turn the heat down to low and add the cream – ignoring all spluttering – and, whisking away, the milk and bourbon. Any solid toffee that forms in the pan will dissolve easily if you keep whisking over a low heat. Take off the heat and, still whisking, add the beaten eggs. Pour the caramel bourbon custard over the croissants and leave to steep for 10 minutes if the croissants are very stale.

6 Place in the oven for 20 minutes and prepare to swoon.

I think to precede this sugary, doughy feast I will make a cheat's crostini bonco, a meal I first ate at one of my Top 10 Glasgow Restaurants, Battlefield Rest. I have never been able to get even my deluxe version to taste anywhere near as good. So instead, I make a variation. I make some crostini under the grill, and make a garlic and white wine cream. The mushrooms and bacon are fried in a little butter, the sauce added, then the fish at the last minute. If I have it, there will be green parsley snipped on top, though I think the Battlefield version uses coriander. If you're making this a main course, add a little tagliatelle in with the mix and pour on the crostini. Excess. Lots of pepper, but no parmesan.

The picture is by Lis Parsons (2007) and is featured on the Times Online page to accompany the above recipe.

Dilemma

After meeting a pal in the West End yesterday my 'rain food' (see below!) ended up being a beautiful, steaming pot of mussels from Brel, in a garlic and white-wine cream. Absolutely delicious. I made moules mariniere for Mr Gastro not so long ago, with a huge (2kg) bag of mussels from Alan Beveridge (near Hillhead underground), some garlic, wine, shallot and parsley. He seemed to enjoy it, so I may repeat the feat soon.

Having come in last night and had a late coq au vin supper (yes, even after the mussels!) I need to do a bit of cooking this afternoon for tonight. Maybe something a bit simpler, like a penne arriabiata, or some mini vegetable filo pies with the Filo pastry I have in the freezer.... 

I think I need to go food shopping, and then decide! 

Photo by peskymac, Flickr.

Rain food

It's howling a gale outside, and raining heavily. I have my coq au vin ready for when I get in later, but I'm working late tonight and might need something to tide me over. When the weather's like this, traditional West Coast weather, I want traditional food. Like cock-a-leekie soup, or even Scotch broth. I'm going to be in the West End at lunchtime, and am worried that none of the trendy eateries will sell something so, well, ordinary.

The first place I'm going to try will be Naked Soup, which I used to frequent in its previous premises on Byres Road, and is now happily settled on Kersland Street (at Great Western Road). I can't remember if they do Scottish soups, but the last time I was there, I had a Thai chicken soup which was absolutely wonderful, full of chicken and the smell of lemongrass. It came with an apple, a roll and a drink if memory serves me. My fingers are crossed for the rainy day soups of my childhood.

Photo by Wysz, Flickr.

Deli shopping

I mentioned in my last post, 'Credit Crunch Cook', that I do deli shopping if I happen to be passing. In Glasgow, there are so many lovely individual food shops I'm spoiled for choice. I mentioned Tapa yesterday, and I love their bread and cakes. Other favourites, though, include:

Kember and Jones, pictured, on Byres Road. They sell everything for a goumet picnic or deli dinner; olives, sundried tomatoes, wonderful cheeses and freshly prepared sauces. They have a good range of cookbooks too, and some kitchen 'gadgets'. Their meringues are really special.

Heart Buchanan, also on Byres Road. Their great service, where they will cook your dinner party food for you, in your own pots, is a lifesaver for the West End social set. But the deli food is a treat in itself - wonderful shelves crammed with jars from all around the world, smells emanating from the kitchen, meats and cheeses laid out under the counter. Marvellous.

Lupe Pinto's, on Great Western Road. Specialist deli selling American, Mexican and Spanish ingredients, including the legendary Bisquick. They've branched out into Japanese and Thai ingredients too, but this isn't their strength. Try the American sweets and Mexican spices. 

Other food shopping places that I love that aren't 'delicatessens' as such, are:

The Fish People, at Shields Road Underground. The best fishmonger in Glasgow, by a country mile. I have it on good authority that they supply to all the best seafood restaurants in the city. Remember not to visit on a Monday - but do go, every other day of the week, for beautiful, glistening fish, and the freshest shellfish you can find away from the coast. 

Roots and Fruits, Byres Road, Great Western Road. Brilliant vegetable shops, with a small selection of deli ingredients. 

Allison Street, Govanhill. Should really be Glasgow's Brick Lane, but the amount of fresh vegetable shops on this street, home to a varied mix of communities, makes it a foodie target. Citrus Green, at the Victoria Road end, is great for all sorts of veg, including many you won't have heard of! 

Lim's Chinese Supermarket on Cambridge Street. They sell everything for Japanese and Chinese cooking, including every kind of noodle you can imagine. They also sell woks and tea sets.

Credit crunch cook

My house is small, and doesn't heat easily. I've decided the best way to heat it this winter is to have the stove on, cooking, most of the day, rather than burning gas filling my rubbish heaters. Because the rooms are small, a good stew can heat my whole house for a day, not to mention the hot, steamy joy of actually eating the finished dish. 

The coq au vin I made tonight (see below) has made the house so lovely and warm that I'm going to dig out some old favourite cookbooks, including Lindsay Bareham's A Celebration of Soup, in preparation for my stew and soup heating-eating solution. I am already looking into getting a weekly organic vegetable box delivered (there are links to a couple of box companies who deliver to Glasgow at the bottom of the page), and I hope to be able to top this up with the farmers' market maybe once a month, a deli shop if I happen to be passing and, of course, the butcher and fishmonger. Luckily, my dad's a keen angler and can often surprise me with the odd catch. The wild salmon in my freezer came from his line. Making a conscious decision to stay away from the supermarket as much as possible, ironically in an effort to save money, has changed my eating habits forever for the better. I will occasionally do an online shop at a well known supermarket for bulk items: tins of  coconut milk and plum tomatoes; jars of curry paste; huge bags of rice. But in these times of financial anxiety, cooking big pots of healthy, fresh food will last a couple of days, be cheaper and heat your home (if it's as small as mine). It's a no-brainer for me.

Picture by Gypsy D, Flickr

Monday chicken

Something which I do compulsively is freeze 'extra' chicken pieces, like a couple of thighs that I won't eat, or some leg pieces. Occasionally I realise that I could build several chickens with the pieces I've accumulated and I wonder what to do with them. Given the autumnal theme of the week, there are plenty of slow cooking options. Thai green curry? Chicken paprika? A coriander chicken stew?

I think I'm being drawn towards the perennial favourite, Coq au Vin. I can cook it up tonight and save for tomorrow, when all the juices will have seeped into the meat. After my fabulous, hearty lunch (see below), I don't think I could manage to eat it tonight, but tomorrow, with a slice of the organic batard loaf from Tapa, it'll be just right. The 'recipe' for my coq au vin more or less consists of browning chicken breasts and cooking them with bacon, stock and wine and any veg you may have, but  this recipe from BBC Food comes closest to my simple approach:

Ingredients
8 joints free range chicken, on the bone and skin removed
150g/5½oz shallots, peeled but left whole
5 cloves of garlic, crushed 
25g/1oz butter
sprig of fresh thyme or a good pinch of dried
150g/5½oz streaky bacon, cut thickly 
350g/12½oz button mushrooms
500ml/16½fl oz good red wine
500ml/16½fl oz chicken stock
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
small bunch flatleaf parsley, chopped
salt and crushed black pepper

Method
1. Heat a thick-bottomed casserole dish on the stove, add almost all the butter, shallots and garlic and cook gently until just browned. Add the bacon and thyme and cook for 2-3 minutes.
2. Add the mushrooms, turn up the heat and add the red wine, chicken stock and vinegar. Add the chicken pieces, bring the sauce to the boil and then simmer gently for about 25 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
3. Add the parsley, together with a knob of butter. Correct the seasoning and serve with a little dressed green salad and olive oil mash or good bread.

Picture by ginandtonic1978, Flickr

Mulberry Street, Tapa Coffeehouse

The title may have you fooled in thinking I nipped off to New York; but no, I went for lunch today to Mulberry St., the smart bistro and bar at the corner of Regent Park Square and Pollokshaws Road. I was really tired and hungry, in need of some serious carbs, and I had their macaroni cheese which was packed full of cheese and served with a piping hot bowl of crispy fries. Mr Gastro had a pork roast special, which looked (and smelt!) absolutely wonderful. This is one of my favourite pubs, and the food is really decent too. The lovely Sunday breakfasts on offer are a firm favourite, you can just chill out with a paper and listen to some great, relaxing music (in the space of an hour we were treated to Sinatra, The Blue Nile and Ella Fitzgerald. Bliss). While I was there, I nipped across to the new branch of Tapa (the Dennistoun bakery), on Pollokshaws Road. I had bought one of their loaves at the Queens Park Farmers Market a few weeks ago and was not disappointed - it was their Struan loaf, made with milk and honey. Gorgeous with butter and nice jam. I'm looking forward to breakfast tomorrow...!

Boiled eggs

There's nothing finer than boiled eggs for breakfast. Mr Gastro doesn't eat eggs (and I allow this, because he's wonderfully unfussy about everything else) and so they are a rare treat for me. I had two fat brown eggs with some lovely granary bread this morning and it might as well have been a Michelin starred dinner. Sunny, runny yolks and quivering whites, the noise of the shell cracking... Can you tell I miss eating eggs more regularly?

Picture by geo3pea, Flickr

Travelling food

I don't want this blog to be just about Glasgow, but about food in general.

I love travelling to new places, and I'll only ever go to a place where I am interested in the cuisine. I've eaten prawns grilled on an open barbeque at the harbour in Oslo, where the catch was being tipped into buckets, then thrown on the grill. I got a whole poke for 20 kronor, and given the prices of food in Norway, at £1.40 this was a bargain. These pink gems needed nothing, but the dill mayonnaise and rye bread that was provided was just perfect for the crisp Scandinavian day.

In Prague I ate chicken with pears and camembert in a pub in Holesovice, and it was one of the best meals of my life. I try to block out the fact it came with crinkly oven chips. 

Hungary will forever mean goulash, and veal, but also langos, the potato dough fried with cheese (and people say the Scots are unhealthy!) I love Hungarian food, it's so rich and full of flavour. The lunch I had at Cafe Kor, near the basilica, will stay with me forever; more poultry and cheese combination (turkey and roquefort), with a starter of just wonderful Goulash soup (pictured) and finished with a Gundel pancake (imagine a crepe, filled with Nutella and chopped nuts)....

Restaurant Reviews

I will be posting restaurant reviews whenever I visit a new restaurant (not just in Glasgow!), and hopefully keeping up to date my Top 10 Glasgow Restaurants.

Based on previous visits, I will post my Top 10 now, and hopefully they will move and change when I visit somewhere new and exciting.

GastroGirl's Top 10, as of 7th September, 2008 (in alphabetical order):

Battlefield Rest (Battlefield Road) , pictured on the left by weejames on Flickr. Wonderful, family run neighbourhood restaurant. Setting is spectacular, but the star is the food - packed full of flavour. The specials board never disappoints. Leave room for one of their amazing sundaes for dessert!
Blas (Argyle Street) Scottish produce, Scottish food. The new trend for locally sourced produce doesn't feel trendy here; it feels traditional - the practices our grandmothers would have had before the dawn of the supermarket. The courgette rolls with Ayrshire bonnet goats' cheese are to die for. They have also opened a new deli on Hyndland Street where you can buy the produce.
Cafe Gandolfi (Albion Street) A Glaswegian institution. The gravadlax is so good, you could close your eyes and be in Gothenburg. Try the pastrami and sourdough plate. Poilane is not just for toast! Have yet to sample the much-praised Gandolfi Fish - hope to get there soon!
Ichiban (Dumbarton Road) Their lunch menu is such good value it is almost ridiculous. The bento boxes allow you to try little pieces of everything, along with an avocado-green blob of choking hot wasabi. The Miller Street branch is just as good.
No. Sixteen (Byres Road) Tiny, poky wee place that oozes character, and the food is brilliant. In an area where restaurants seem to change every two weeks, this wee gem has stayed put. Their fish dishes are particularly good.
The Sisters Kelvingrove (Kelvingrove Street) Unassuming place above a noisy pub, which on first glance makes you wish you'd gone to the superb Mother India across the road. But once inside, the room is glamorous and comfortable. The food is simply but beautifully cooked, with mint infused summer greens not detracting from a well-rested, beautifully pink piece of lamb resting on top.
Tinto (Battlefield Road) Not the most glamorous of surroundings this, but what a find. The sangria is wonderful, the tapas varied and fresh, and the little liqueur before the journey home is always welcome. They don't accept credit cards yet, so be warned, but do go - and try the whitebait!
Two Fat Ladies (Dumbarton Road) Another perennial favourite. I've picked the Dumbarton Road branch over the newer incarnations of this chain because of its charm, the kitchen in the window tempting passers-by. The seafood is out of this world, and on the occasions where there are lobster specials - don't pass them up!
Urban Grill (Kilmarnock Road) Part of the chain that owns Urban on St Vincent Street and Gamba on West George, this Southside star is a really beautiful place for a special meal. The cocktails are beautifully mixed, the service is impeccable, and the food at its best can defy description. (It's hard work to make a prawn cocktail taste special, but they managed it).
Wee Curry Shop (Buccleuch Street) One of three Wee Shops dotted round Glasgow, these places are out of this world. My favourite (yes, I'm a regular!) is the Chicken Mahkni Masala, which is so bursting full of sweet almond tastes that you don't mind that it's mild. The aloo saag is rather wonderful too. Don't pass over the pakoras, either - they are wonderfully crisp, not even barely resembling those on-the-way home treats we've all enjoyed at one time or another.

I've noticed that in putting this list together that I have gone to the West End, Southside, City Centre and Merchant City, all in the Top 10. That can only say something about the decent quality of restaurants in Glasgow! I want this list to change, though, and I have a few recommendations from pals for places I should try - Nanakusa, the Japanese place near Charing Cross; Mise en Place in Pollokshields, amongst others. No doubt I will eventually give you my cafes list and maybe even a pub list, I certainly feel qualified to discuss the latter.

GGx

Pigeon for tea

As autumn seems to be upon us now, judging by the weather in Glasgow this week, I have decided to retrieve the pigeons I've been saving in the freezer for a lovely roast pigeon dinner. I bought them at the Queens' Park Farmers' Market a few weeks back and have been thinking of a rich, beautiful recipe for them. I found this recipe from the wonderful Nigel Slater:

Pot roast pigeon

Nothing fancy, this, just a sound pot-roast pigeon recipe with classic flavourings and a thick old-fashioned gravy. You will need some bashed or creamed root vegetables to soak up the copious juice. Serves 4.

50g butter
4 plump, oven-ready pigeons
4 plump, herby sausages
a medium to large onion
a large carrot
2 sticks celery
a few sprigs of thyme
2 cloves garlic
4 rashers of unsmoked streaky bacon
12 juniper berries
2 bay leaves
1 level tbsp flour
250ml fruity red wine
250ml chicken or game stock
Mashed parsnip or potato to serve

Melt half the butter in a heavy casserole, then brown the pigeons and sausages, cut into four, lightly on all sides. Lift them out and set aside. Set the oven at 190°C/gas mark 5.

Peel the onion, cut it in half then slice each half into five from root to tip. Melt the remaining butter over a moderate heat and add the onion. Peel the carrot, cut it into large dice and add it to the onion with the chopped celery, 4 or 5 sprigs of thyme and the peeled and sliced garlic. Continue cooking, stirring from time to time.

Remove the rind from the bacon and cut each rasher into about six pieces. Stir into the onion and add the juniper berries, lightly crushed, and the bay leaves. Leave to soften, making certain the sausages have the opportunity to colour. After about 20 minutes the vegetables should be soft and golden.

Stir in the flour, let it cook for a few minutes, then stir in the wine and the stock. Bring almost to the boil, then return the pigeons and sausages to the pan and roast in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes, until the pigeons are tender but still lightly pink in the centre.

Hmmm.
I think I'm going to roast the birds a bit more simply than this, with bacon, butter and Maldon salt...make a red winey gravy with the juices, and maybe make some baked onions to go alongside. I love baked onions, particularly cream ones with a bit of bay and parmesan. Boil the peeled onions for 20 mins or so, cut into halves, put in a baking dish. Season some double cream (enough to surround your onions, but for six onions I'd say about 150ml) with salt, pepper, a little parmesan and bay. Stir in a little of the onion cooking water. Pour the cream over and scatter some more Parmesan on the top. Bake for 20-25 mins at a medium heat, until the cheese is bubbling, and the onions are browning.

Going now to start my autumnal pigeon and onion feast...

Picture by Ming Chai, Flickr

welcome

Hello gentle readers, and welcome to Gastro Girl Glasgow, my blog for recipes, food diaries and restaurant reviews. 

Please leave some suggestions for improving recipes and any ideas of your own, remember, food is the music of love... 

GGx

Picture by Victor Keech, Flickr