Devonshire Arms, Baslow, Derbyshire

I've been pretty underwhelmed with the dining options since moving to a small town in Derbyshire. This wasn't entirely unexpected, the more rural areas of the country just can't match the offer of the cities at the budget end of the market, the end where my eating out firmly rests at the moment. 

The big northern city combo of bargain Asian restaurants and a highly competitive casual drinking and dining market mean that it's easy to eat well for under twenty quid, all in, including a drink or two. Down here there are plenty of good options in the high end pub category, but when the average main course is upwards of fifteen quid alone, you're no longer in the cheap and cheerful range.

It would be daft, of course, to criticise the Peak District for not being Sheffield or Manchester. I'm not expecting to get Vietnamese food, but what has so far been disappointing is the pub food. There are loads of non-chain pubs in the vicinity, but sadly a lot of them aren't really serving anything better than a chain, and in some cases are dishing up something far worse. Rule of thumb: if the only chicken you have is in the freezer, and it's been there for god knows how long and has gone all grey and fibrous looking, then maybe take it off the menu. Just a suggestion.

So Sunday lunch at the Devonshire Arms in Baslow came as something of a surprise. Very nice food, served by some nice people who actually seemed to give a shit. Well done them.

The Sunday roast wasn't perfect, because they never are in pubs, but it was a good effort. Thick slices of pink beef rump, good gravy, a Yorkshire pudding that was fresh and pliable rather than ancient and fractured, and accurately cooked veggies. Only the roasts were a bit of a let down, being almost devoid of roasty brown goodness.

Pudding actually was perfect, at least it was as far as I'm concerned. Lemon posset, lemon sorbet and ginger biscuits. I thought the double lemon approach might have been citrus overkill, but it wasn't, it was divine, rich and creamy offset wonderfully by sweet and sharp. And anything can be improved by the addition of ginger biscuits.

Including service we paid exactly twenty quid each for two courses and a drink or two, great value for the quality and locale. I liked it here, but I'll still have to dock them half a point for the lacklustre roast potatoes.

7.5/10

Nether End

Baslow

Derbyshire

DE45 1SR

http://www.devonshirearmsbaslow.co.uk/

Good things to eat [volume 15]: Bakewell farmers' market

Bakewell has one of the best farmers' markets I've been to anywhere. It's big, with over seventy stalls selling pretty much anything you could wish for, so much so that you could realistically do a big shop there.

That's not something you could say about many of its competitors which although worthwhile can tend to have too narrow a focus (usually sausages, mediocre cheese and ostrich burgers galore, all of which you'll find at Bakewell too if that's what tickles your fancy). Another plus point is that the prices here don't seem as inflated as at some others.

We bought a big bag full of goodies there yesterday, proof of the variety on offer is the fact that I bought no pies, no meat and only one piece of cheese! Next time around I'll be having some Stichelton (which has its very own dedicated stall), a pie or two from one of several good looking options and perhaps something smoked from the gorgeous smelling everything-you-could-possibly imagine bunging in the smoker stall.

Here's what we bought: pink fir potatoes, a rye loaf, beers from Staffordshire Brewery and Thornbridge, flour from a working windmill, potted beef, rhubarb, radishes, Lincolnshire poacher cheese, an assortment of mushrooms and a black pudding pickled scotch egg.

If what I've eaten so far is anything to go by there's some damn fine stuff on sale at Bakewell, everything has been excellent.

Lunch yesterday was the scotch egg from a Staffordshire based company alongside a handful of radishes (peppery! Yes they taste of something) and tomatoes, with a thick slice of rye spread with potted beef.

The egg was a revelation. Make a scotch egg with a pickled egg and it's like putting the acidity you need from sauce or relish INSIDE THE EGG. Oh yes. It just works, especially with the iron-y richness of some good black pud. Well worth two of your pounds.

I knew the potted beef was good, as I'd already eaten about three free samples while we were still at the market. It's just everything it should be; well-seasoned, great texture (mix of meaty shreds and smoother bits) and actually tastes of beef. Good work Granny Mary. They're pushing it a bit charging three quid for a small jar though.

Finally, the rye bread (£1.95) was from the Loaf, a bakery based in Crich with a second outlet in Matlock. It's an open textured loaf with a proper bit of heft and chew to the crust. I've also tried their fruit teacakes, which were excellent; dense, soft and chewy in a good way, the exact opposite of the rye loaf. These guys can bake.

I was well chuffed to see the mushroom stall, I don't think I've seen such an extensive mushroom selection anywhere outside London, where the stall on Borough market is brilliant but stonkingly expensive. Here a 200g assortment was a very reasonable £2.50.

The 'shrooms showed up in last night's tea, a platter of superior stuff on toast to accompany beer and football. Mushrooms fried in olive oil with garlic and thyme; grilled asparagus and anchovy butter; and more of the potted beef with sliced radishes.

I've yet to open it, but I already know Lincolnshire poacher is a very good cheese. Think of a fine, nutty mature cheddar in flavour, maybe a little sweeter, but with a smoother texture. Excellent for toasting or to go with beer.

Next up: beer, cheese on toast and baking bread with my locally milled flour.

Bakewell farmers' market is held on the last Saturday of every month. Details here:
http://www.derbyshiredales.gov.uk/leisure-a-culture/markets/bakewell-farmers-market

Red's True Barbecue, Leeds

Up until now I've not been hugely impressed with any of the on-trend meaty, American style, filthy food type of places. Be it burgers or barbecue (it's usually one or the other, or a combination of both) everywhere I've eaten that loosely fits this template has been decent enough, but I've always left with the impression they're paying lip service to the style. Menus that talk the talk but food that doesn't really match the billing, a pale imitation of what you'd hope to find in the States.

On the evidence of last weekend's meal, Red's is a little different. Everything about the smoked brisket sandwich and the sides suggested care had been taken to do things properly. I'm no barbecue expert but the meat made me smile very much. Slabs of dense, fibrous meat with a sticky, blackened crust, redolent of long slow cooking and imbued with a smokiness that permeated through each slice.

What really sealed the deal was the bread, a quality hoagy roll with chew and heft to the crust, sturdy enough to support the meat throughout. I think the bread supplier was listed as secret on the menu, at a guess I'd say it's from Dumouchel.

Sides were also good, the pick of the bunch being an excellent macaroni cheese; - all unctuous cheesy goo and rib sticking carb. Seriously addictive when it's freezing cold outside and you're hungover. The deep fried pickles also rate a mention because deep fried pickles are the future. Only the fries were on the average side.

A word on the sauces before I finish. I'm a barbecue sauce hater. Barbecue sauce usually equals teeth itching sweetness and artificial smoke flavour, so all credit to Red's for making me think again. None of the sauces fit this mould, and all of them had some merit. The pick for me was the vinegary Carolina one, like a sharper, slightly sweeter and milder Caribbean hot pepper sauce and a great foil for the brisket.

Red's is deservedly popular, so you can expect to wait both for a table and for your food after you get seated. Be warned that London-style 'no reservations queue for your supper' style dining has arrived in Leeds. It's not something I'm a fan of, but good luck to any restaurant that can drum up the popularity and buzz to make it work, as Red's is obviously doing right now.

You could off course just do what we did, wander past at noon whilst hunting for breakfast,
head inside on a whim (brisket, macaroni cheese and deep fried pickles are perfectly acceptable breakfast foods are they not?) and grab a prime booth spot straight away.

Prices seem perfectly fair for the very good food (brisket sarnie with two sides is £8.95), service is friendly and the booze offer looks very tempting.  Recommended.

8/10

Cloth Hall Street
Leeds
LS1 2HD

Southern Eleven, Manchester

It's a funny part of town, Spinningfields. The place definitely has more character and interest than most newly built developments, in both its architecture and drinking and dining options, but there's still something lacking that I can't quite put my finger on.

I ate at one of those dining options last week, Southern Eleven, an on-with-recent-trends American BBQ restaurant. We shared chicken wings and deep fried pickles to start, the first time I've tried these fabled spears of joy. They were as fantastic as I'd hoped, the crunchy batter and sudden hit of vinegar is more than a little addictive.

The wings were just ok, the hickory sauce wasn't overly sweet but the skin was a bit wan and flabby.

All four of us ended up ordering the same main, a southern tasting platter of pork belly ribs, pulled pork and beef brisket with fries. Good things first: the slabs of pork belly were ace, with loads of sweet juicy flesh under a quivering, charred at the edges fat layer. The pulled pork was similarly flavoured and also enjoyable.

I'm not sure what was wrong with the brisket though, it just didn't taste like brisket to me. Eighteen hours in the smoker had somehow rendered it tender but virtually tasteless.

Fries weren't as much fun as the advertised parmesan truffle coating suggested they might be, being slightly underfried run of the mill catering pack jobs with not much in the way of anything truffley in evidence. They weren't short of parmesan though, so still got scarfed in short order.

A side order of BBQ beans were pleasant, but not so pleasant they didn't get forgotten about and left to go cold. Cold beer was the sensible booze option, Brooklyn lager is the best one on the list.

Service was good throughout the meal, and prices are reasonable. We paid about 23 quid each including two beers apiece. The food was great in parts, but like the surrounding area, slightly lacking in others. Worth a visit to satisfy that meat craving.

7/10

Unit 26

3 Hardman Street

Spinningfields

Manchester

M3 3EB

http://www.southern11.co.uk/

Ginseng, Sheffield

Ginseng, recently opened in the West One complex, is Yorkshire's first Korean restaurant (I'd love to be corrected if I'm wrong on this, but I haven't managed to find one up until now). This is a long overdue and rather exciting development, as Korean food is frankly ace.

It's got lots of spice, lots of marinaded meat, the best one-pot rice dish in the world (dolsot bibimbap, which is on the menu here), fantastic sturdy comfort food and lots of pickled vegetables. Kimchi, the ubiquitous Korean fermented cabbagey chilli stuff, is one of my all-time favourite foods. Used as a condiment or a side dish or an appetiser or a beer snack or in whatever way you fancy, it is truly wonderful stuff. Kimchi spam fried rice is a particularly guilty pleasure. I didn't make it up by the way, this is a recognised dish. Google it.

Things got off to a good start at Ginseng with a steady supply of kimchi arriving at the table, along with other banchan (that's the collective word for the little side dishes that form part of any Korean meal) of marinaded beansprouts and pickled daikon. These were free of charge and replaced readily throughout the meal, which is as it should be in a good Korean restaurant.

We chose to eat barbecue as it seemed like a fun option to share between five, but the menu extends to a range of stews, noodle and rice dishes so you could order individually. Before the barbie meats arrived we kicked things off with a kimchi pancake and some pan-fried pork dumplings.

The pancake was a perfect example of the satisfying sturdiness of Korean food. Spicy, salty, beautifully crisp and just a bit greasy. An excellent beer snack. The dumplings were the best I've had in ages, also beautifully crisp with a succulent filling and chewy but pliant casings that reminded me a bit of really good pasta.

Onto the meat. Every table in a Korean barbecue restaurant houses an electric griddle plate for cooking whatever you choose from an extensive list of meat and veg. Not really being experts in this sort of thing we opted for the beef selection and mixed veg selection. Our choice of six varieties of beef included marinaded sirloin and I think topside (bulgogi?), ribeye, boneless rib strips (galbi?), oxtail and some really thinly sliced bits that cooked in seconds.

It was all good stuff, the best for me being the slightly thicker cut rib meat. The marinades were all quite sweet (sugar, soy, sesame oil predominantly at a guess) and gave up just enough juice to flavour the rice alongside a condiment platter of hot chilli bean paste (gochujang, or maybe ssamjang), sesame oil and some red powdery stuff that tasted like tomato cup-a-soup with sesame seeds in it.

I forgot to take a photo of the vegetable platter, so you'll just have to take my word for it that it looked very pretty. It wasn't all so good in the eating though, the obvious candidates for barbecuing with meat soaking up the juices and proving a success (mushrooms, aubergine, courgette) and other things being a bit pointless (sweet and normal potatoes).

We ate rice with our barbecue, but I've since discovered that the way to do it is to order a plate of lettuce and use the leaves to form little wraps (known as ssam) around the meat and sauces. I'll know better next time.

The barbecue could seem a bit gimmicky, but with better menu knowledge than we had you could make it into a very good meal. My tips are go for the beef, add some other meats, remember the lettuce and choose vegetables individually. I'll also definitely be returning to sample some of the non-barbecue dishes.

Service was good throughout our meal, we weren't rushed even though the place was deserted when we left. We did get told off a bit for repeatedly turning our barbecue up too high and causing a smoky nuisance, but we probably deserved that. Sorry guys, it was Friday night and beers were involved.

Including a generous tip we paid £24 each, not bad at all given that we had plenty to drink (a bottle of wine and about seven beers in total). A very welcome addition to the Sheffield restaurant scene.

7/10

West One Plaza
Fitzwilliam Street
Sheffield
S1 4JB

Dine on the Rowe, Beverley, East Yorkshire

That most elusive of meals out: a really genuinely good roast dinner. I can't recall eating one where I didn't pick over something on the plate and think how much better I could have done it myself.

It's not that I'm that great a cook, just that pubs and restaurants always seem to cock up at least one component, be it lumpen, dry Yorkshire puddings, dessicated meat or soggy veg.

I thought that Dine on the Rowe might have been the one to confound expectations, and in some ways it was. The roast platter was a sizeable feast for four, much of which was very good. Lamb and beef were the highlights, both accurately cooked, blush pink inside and with lovely marmitey pan bottom crusty bits on the edges. So far so good alongside proper, well-made gravy, a decent Yorkshire pudding and a dish of very cheesy gratinated broccoli.

The potatoes weren't so good. The roasts looked and tasted like the 'chuck 'em in the deep fat fryer for an even crisp coating' variety, which I don't think really works. You just end up with an extra chunky chip with a mealy middle. The second bowl of potatoes appeared to be boiled and partly roasted herbed new potatoes all mushed up before they were really ready. They didn't get eaten.

The third of the meats was belly pork, which I think had also seen the inside of the fryer. It was cut into thin strips, the result being lovely crackling but dry, overcooked meat. The rest of the vegetables were fine.

I enjoyed the meal, particularly the meat, but other things were disappointing given the wait of almost an hour and the higher end price tag (£13.50 per person for the shared roast). We were looked after very well while waiting though, and service was good throughout.

It's a nice restaurant, comprising a few small rooms in what looks like a converted house in the centre of town. I'd like to return to try the regular menus as there's definitely some skill in the kitchen, but I wouldn't bother with the roast again. If you don't know Beverley I'd recommend a visit there too, it's a lovely market town with lots to see and do (and has the added bonus of being very handy for Hull!).

6/10

12-14 Butcher Row
Beverley
East Yorkshire
HU17 0AB

http://www.dineontherowe.com

Trying to cook the perfect steak [volume 5]

I've finally cracked it. I don't think I can improve my indoor steak cooking method any further. Last time round it was almost perfect, but I just overcooked it very slightly despite using a meat thermometer to keep an eye on things.

This time I corrected that by removing it from the pan a bit sooner, aiming for an internal temperature of between 120 and 125 degrees fahrenheit rather than 130. The thermometer was reading 123 when I took it off the heat.

The meat on this occasion came from Holmfirth by way of the Schoolrooms at Low Bradfield. It wasn't cheap but it was good stuff, well hung with a good thick layer of creamy fat. The butcher is helpful and was more than happy to fetch out a whole rib and cut to order.

Apart from the minor alterations to the temperature I did everything the same. Dry age in the fridge for two days, remove from the fridge as early as possible and salt early too. Here it is after the salt has soaked back in, just before going in the pan.

After just a few minutes turning in the pan the crust is starting to develop nicely.

Nearly done and looking good.

After resting here it is ready to slice. Glossy butter sheen shown up a treat by the flash.

Ooh yes, this is the business. The dark, caramelised surface of the steak forms a crust just a couple of millimetres thick before it gives way to the blush, juicy flesh inside. Deeply savoury, marmitey tastes combining with the iron-y rich meat and creamy, buttery fat. Lovely. We ate it simply with some garlicky sauteed potatoes and a salad.

This time there was enough for leftovers.

So I sliced up the rest for a monster sandwich the day after.


To finish this little series of posts here are my top twelve tips for cooking a perfect steak.

1. Buy the best quality meat you can afford, from a good butcher or farm shop. Don't bother with the supermarket 'best of' varieties, they're still not very good.

2. Buy a thick steak, on the bone, with plenty of fat. Fat and bone equals depth of flavour, and the bone is good for gnawing afterwards, or contributing towards a stock. A two inch thick one rib piece cut from the whole joint is ideal. This will weigh between 0.9kgs and 1.4kgs depending on which end of the rib it's cut from. Don't bother with a T-bone, the fillet section will only end up overcooked.

3. Invest in a meat thermometer, they don't cost much and it's well worth it for the extra accuracy you'll get.

4. Dry age the steak for an extra couple of days by leaving it uncovered on a plate in the fridge, or better still on a wire rack with a plate underneath to catch any juices. This, in theory (I'm convinced it works) helps to tenderise the meat and concentrate the flavour.

5. Remove the steak from the fridge at least four hours before you want to cook it, as it will take this long to come properly up to room temperature.

6. Salt the steak generously and early, ideally about 90 minutes before you start cooking it. Use sea salt from a grinder rather than cheap cooking salt. It does taste better. Salting this early allows time for the salt to really penetrate the meat, enhancing the flavour and tenderising. No pepper until it's on your plate.

7. Cook it in a flat bottomed frying pan, not a ridged griddle. The ridge marks might look pretty but all you're doing is keeping some of the surface of your steak further from the heat source, which means less delicious dark crust.

8. Use a neutral oil with little to no flavour (sunflower, rapeseed etc) and a high burn temperature for most of the cooking time. Olive oil or butter will burn and make your crust taste bitter.

9. Keep the hob on a high heat throughout the cooking time, and keep turning the steak at least every 30 seconds. This helps to build up the crust.

10. Throw in a knob of butter for the last minute or so of cooking time (30 seconds on each side), it adds to the flavour and finishes browning the steak nicely.

11. A steak this thick will probably take the best part of twenty minutes to cook, but there are plenty of variables here so using your meat thermometer is key. Keep a very close eye on the internal temperature of your steak, it will rise very rapidly towards the end of the cooking time, so if you want medium rare take it out of the pan when the temperature says rare (120-125 degrees fahrenheit).

12. Rest for a long time. If it took 15 minutes to cook, then let it rest for another 15, on a warm (not hot, you don't want to keep cooking it) plate loosely covered with tin foil. No matter how delicious it smells do not cut back on the resting time.

Enjoy the beefy goodness!

Fazenda, Leeds

Meat. More meat! More meat! The battle cry remains the same, the venues change. From time to time the lifelong (well they haven't ditched me yet anyway) friends I met at University and I like to meet up to drink, make merry and eat a lot of something large and meaty.

It might be in curried form, it could be Chinese or perhaps a barbecue. In days of yore the cry originated in the kebab shops of Hyde Park, the meat of dubious quality, foot long strips of it stuffed in budget pitta and doused in hot sauce.

Nowadays I wouldn't touch that stuff. Honest. Well alright I might if you plied me with enough booze first. But it's a very rare occurence. I like to think our palates have developed, become refined over the years, learned to appreciate subtle tastes and quality. In practice it's probably just that we can afford to spend more than £3.50 on dinner.

Last Saturday we tried something a little different, a visit to Leeds' one and only Churrascaria, a Brazilian barbecue restaurant. Fazenda is a Rodizio, a Churrascaria where the meat is grilled in huge chunks on giant skewers which are then fetched to your table where the flesh is sliced directly onto your plate. This continues indefinitely using a beer mat traffic light system. Leave your mat on green, and hey presto. Meat! More meat! Flip to red and they'll stop.

If you like meat this seems like a very good idea. If you don't I wouldn't bother.

In practice it's not always such a good idea. I've got history with the Rodizio. Some years ago I spent a few weeks in Brazil (and its equally meat-tastic southern neighbour Argentina), the final week of which was in Rio where I did literally nothing but eat meat at a Rodizio and drink Caipirinhas. Alright not quite literally, but that's the abiding memory. Presumably I was lying on the beach with the meat and booze sweats inbetween times.

After the excesses of Brazil I didn't go near another Rodizio for another few years until a couple of very underwhelming experiences in a London restaurant. Meat that was mostly overcooked and poor quality, the best cuts showing up far too infrequently. Compared to the generosity and quality we'd experienced in Brazil it was a waste of time.

Fast forward another couple of years to Fazenda. Would it be like a true Brazilian Rodizio, or would it follow the annoyingly common British approach to this sort of thing (i.e. offer all you can eat, hide behind a gimmick, then don't worry about the quality because they'll be queuing out the door anyway)?

Thankfully it was much more like the true Brazilian experience. Meat! More meat!

Did I mention the salad bar? While the meat and various other sundry items (chips, beef empanadas, pao de queijo) are fetched to you, the salad bar is self service. I was quite impressed with the salad bar at Fazenda. Plentifully stocked, good quality, a selection of cold cuts available as well as green stuff in case unlimited hot sliced meat just isn't enough.

The bread from the salad bar was good but the pao de queijo (little cheesy rolls) were a bit chewy and rubbish. I liked the beef empanadas though. Good and meaty. Always makes sense to commence an all you can eat meat barbecue meal with some little meat pies.

And then the meat began to arrive. Beefsteak in a multitude of ways. Rump and tail of rump and picanha, or cap of rump, the King of the Rodizio.

Even a bit of fillet, and then some ribs. None of it was overcooked, everything ranged from medium through to rare, no well done steak in sight. Not the best beef I've tasted, but decent stuff and handled well.

There were sausages, Brazilian style chorico and black pudding, both delicious these. The black pudding was a soft squidgy delight, more like a French boudin than a British pud.

Lamb was over marinaded in a slightly artificial tasting minty sauce, but was beautifully cooked within, pink and tender.

There was chicken, no breasts I'm pleased to say, but crispy skinned thighs and also hearts. I had high hopes for these after enjoying them on holiday last year, but sadly they were like rubber balls.

Meat! More meat! It continued until closing time, we dined late, the beef getting ever rarer as time progressed. The final skewer was blue, virtually raw, I think they'd doused the flames but brought it to us anyway.

Finally spent, my faith in the Rodizio restored, we headed off, fortified for the rest of the night.

It's a fun evening a meal at Fazenda, but not a cheap one. On a weekend night the all you can eat Rodizio will set you back £28 (weeknights and lunchtimes are cheaper). By the time we'd quaffed a load of drinkable but unspectacular Malbec our bill topped out at £44 per head including well earned service (we worked those meat waiters hard). The meat was good but not excellent, so if you want to stuff your face I'd go here, but if you want a genuinely fine piece of meat I'd go elsewhere.

7/10

Waterman’s Place
3 Wharf Approach
Granary Wharf
Leeds
LS1 4BR

www.fazenda.co.uk

Bagel Nash, White Rose Centre, Leeds

Until the other week I hadn't been to Bagel Nash in years. I had it in mind that it was crap. I can't recall why, but presumably I ate something rubbish from there. Either that or my confused brain mixed it up with somewhere else.

Whatever the reason for my assumptions, they were wrong. Sorry Bagel Nash, I was mistaken, you're not crap.

I had a salt beef bagel from the White Rose Centre branch and really enjoyed it. It wasn't legendary-American-diner-sandwich good, but it was certainly £2.95-in-a-shopping-centre-in-Leeds good. (For moaning about poor attempts at salt beef or pastrami sandwiches see here.)

The bagel was a pleasing combination of both light and chewy. The beef wasn't amazing, but there was plenty and it had a good beefy flavour. The mustard was hot but not overly so and there were loads of pickles. Delicious, crunchy, sour pickles.

A good lunch. I won't leave it so long before paying a return visit.

7/10

7 branches in Leeds, 2 in Manchester, 1 in Huddersfield and 1 in York.

www.bagelnash.com

The York, Sheffield

I finally made it to Sheffield proper! It was rather more pleasing than Meadowhall. Sunday afternoon was glorious, sunny and unseasonably mild, so a stroll in the park was followed by a trip to the York for a roast.

It's a very popular place. A large pub that was bustling and busy throughout, despite it being that sort of inbetween time early in the evening.

Our roasts, one pork and one beef, were ok but didn't really live up to expectations. The vegetables were very good, plenty of variety including some lovely sprouting broccoli, and none were overcooked either. There were also loads of roast potatoes, cut small just how I like them (more crusty bits that way).

Sadly it was the beef and the Yorkshire pudding that let the side down. Both had the unmistakeable air of having been sat around for too long, tasting ok but being a little chewy and withered.

I still ate the lot even it was a little dull, the meat and Yorkshire were kept moist by a generous dousing with decent gravy. At £10.95 for the beef and £9.95 for the pork it's not a cheap roast and I'm sure there are better elsewhere in Sheffield.

Service was efficient and I did like the lively atmosphere though. The pub quiz was just getting going as we left too, it sounded like a good 'un so I'd definitely return for that and a couple of beers. The company was far superior to the food, so I'm hoping I might be paying more visits to Sheffield (and hopefully eating while I'm there!) in the near future. Watch this space.

6/10

243-247 Fulwood Road
Sheffield
S10 3BA


http://www.theyorksheffield.co.uk/

Sri Lankan style beef curry, rice and sambol

Sometimes I want a curry that smacks me round the face, something intensely spiced and fiery. Anything Thai usually fits the bill, but on this occasion it was the earthier flavours of the Indian sub-continent I was after.

I don't know a great deal about Sri Lankan food, I've tried a few classic Sri Lankan dishes and I have a fair idea of the style of curries that originate there. They like a good hot curry the Sri Lankans, of that I'm sure. Chilli is used generously as are many other spices, which they like to roast before grinding into powders. Fish and seafood are popular as you'd expect on an island, including the use of fishy tastes as seasoning a la South-east Asia. They also seem to eat more meat than the Indians, and aren't short of coconuts which pop up in everything.

So here's my attempt at a curry, Sri Lankan style. It's probably inauthentic, but I hope it's recognisably in the style of that country, and either way it tastes good.

Serve with plain rice and coconut sambol, a sort of coconut chutney. The sambol is sweet and fresh, and contrasts really well with the earthy, aromatic depth of the curry.

You'll need to make the curry powder first. This can be done in advance and the powder stored in an airtight container (preferably a metal one, or at least store it out of sunlight) for anything up to a few weeks. Once you've made the curry powder the curry itself takes about an hour and a half to cook. The sambol can be knocked up in a few minutes when the curry is simmering.

The Curry Powder

What you'll need:

For the curry powder
5 tsp coriander seeds
4 dried red chillies
3 cardamom pods
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp black peppercorns
2 tsp mustard seeds
2 tsp fenugreek seeds
1 small cinnamon stick
about 20 curry leaves

What to do:

1. Set the oven to the lowest possible heat. Mine starts at 80 deg C, so at a rough guess I had it on at about 70. Spread out all of the ingredients on a baking sheet.

2. Roast in the oven for 60-80 minutes, until dry and a bit darker in colour (only a bit, not burned or anything), then take out and leave to cool.

3. Grind to a powder in a coffee/spice grinder or a pestle and mortar.

The Curry

1lb stewing beef
1 tin coconut milk
1 batch of curry powder, made as per above
1 onion
5 cloves garlic
1 large thumb of ginger
1 tbsp worth of chopped fresh coriander (stalks and leaves)
2-3 small fresh hot chillies
1 tbsp palm sugar (jaggery)
15-20 curry leaves
vegetable oil
salt
Thai fish sauce

What to do:

1. Heat some oil in a large pan, finely chop the onion and throw in the pan. Fry for a couple of minutes.

2. Season the beef with salt, then add it to the pan. Leave it to brown, stirring occasionally.

3. While the beef is browning roughly chop the garlic, ginger and chillies, then blend them to a paste with the coriander and a little water.

4. When the beef is brown add the curry powder to the pan and continue to fry, stirring to ensure it doesn't stick. Open the coconut milk and add a little bit to the pan if it does start to stick.

5. Fry for 2-3 minutes then add the garlic, ginger, chilli and coriander paste and fry for another 2-3 minutes.

6. Pour in the coconut milk, then fill the empty tin with water and pour that in too. Throw in the palm sugar, curry leaves and a good splash of fish sauce.

7. Bring to a boil then leave to simmer for about 80 minutes, until the sauce has started to thicken and the beef is tender. Give it a good stir from time to time.

8. Adjust the seasoning when it's almost ready. I find that the roasted spices can occasionally have a slightly bitter edge that can be sorted out by adding a little more salt.

The Sambol

What you'll need:

half a fresh coconut, flesh and juice
2 limes
about 1 tbsp of finely chopped red onion
1 hot red chilli (fresh), finely chopped.
about 1 tbsp of finely chopped coriander

What to do:

1. Shred or grate the coconut flesh and put it in a bowl with the finely chopped onion, coriander and chilli.

2. Squeeze in the juice of both limes and give everything a good stir.

3. Set aside to let the flavours marry.

Trying to cook the perfect steak (volume 4)

I know barely a month has passed since last time, but I'm going to write about cooking large slabs of cow again. Vegetarians and those bored of beefsteaks look away now.

I had to write about this steak, because it was the best yet. I've almost cracked it. Without the use of charcoal I don't think I can do much better.

This was an unplanned steak night. I was at the excellent Welbeck Farm Shop buying some cheese and inadvertently wandered over to the butcher's counter, drawn in by some mysterious form of meat magnetism. And there it was, some very fine looking rib on the bone, priced most temptingly at £9.99 per kilo.

I ended up with this. A one rib steak, a good two and a half inches thick, weighing in at around 1.25 kgs. Here it is just after salting. I should note at this point that I shared this one with a friend and her daughter. I do have limits.

The cooking method was the same as last time, for details see here. The gist is this: salt generously at least an hour before cooking, very hot pan, plain oil, turn it regularly, add butter for the last minute or so, give it a good rest.

Prior to cooking I also tried Heston's extra ageing method, essentially leaving the steak uncovered in the fridge for a couple of days. The theory is that this dries the steak a little, tenderising it and concentrating the flavour. I've no idea whether this made any difference, but we'll assume Blumenthal has done his homework.

The steak being such a whopper I salted 90 minutes before cooking this time. Here it is after the salt has been absorbed, just before it went in the pan. The only other improvement I could think of was keeping better control of the temperature, so I bought myself a new toy:

Meat thermometer at the ready. Hot pan at the ready. Impending fat splattered smoke choked kitchen at the ready. In it goes!

Two minutes in, the first signs of a crust start to appear.

Seven minutes in, the char is coming along nicely, and the fat is starting to render and crisp.

Fourteen minutes in, almost there. The butter has just gone in and the crust looks lovely. I was keeping a close watch on the internal temperature at this point. 130 degrees fahrenheit was the target point, which is just on the cusp of medium rare. This was the only mistake I made. The temperature rose slowly and steadily throughout the cooking time, but then suddenly started to shoot up rapidly towards the end. I missed the cut-off point by a couple of degrees, removing it from the pan at 132.

Here we are, post-rest, resplendent and ready for slicing.

It was wonderful. See how the thin, dark crust gives way to tender pink juicy flesh. It was a beautiful piece of meat too, with a powerful savoury beefy flavour and delicious fat.

I always think you can spot quality, well aged beef by the fat. It should be yellow-ish in colour and smell a bit buttery. It should be rich in flavour and entice you to eat it, even the thick wobbly bits. This was all those things.

Served with sautéed potatoes, green salad, and mushrooms fried in smoked garlic this was one of the best Sunday dinners I've had in a long time. It even went down well with my friend's two year old daughter (who will eat anything as long as you tell her it's sausages).