Pea, mint and feta dip & a Bloody Martini

 

I have been busy, very busy, but good busy. Those of you on my Facebook page would already know that Chaiparty has pretty much taken over our lives. Read all about it here. Its a lot of work, but absolutely rewarding at the same time. We are also doing themed lunches in the next coming months and cant wait to get started on the next big chaiparty in September. We also just got back from a holiday in Spain, which was eventful to say the least and I have also been busy attending a lot of fun food events around London, not to mention thoroughly enjoying summer, or what's left of it.

A couple of weeks back I was invited to the Putting on the Ritz event where we were treated to some gorgeous cocktails and dips, all paired with the new Ritz thins. Ritz teamed up with supper club expert Alice Levine and the very popular mixologist Richard Woods (of Duck & Waffle) to come up with a series of tips, recipes and ideas to Ritz-Up socialising this summer. It was held at a stunning penthouse apartment in East London with amazing views over the city. 

The 4 new flavours of oven-baked potato crisps from Ritz- Cream Cheese & Onion, Sea Salt & Vinegar, Sweet Red Chilli and Sea Salt & Black Pepper- are delicious. They were paired with equally delicious dips, with the pea, mint and feta and the smoked paprika topping my list. Of course, the glamour side was intact with 4 very unique cocktails that were paired with the crisps. The weather was great, the company was good and we all had a nice time 'Putting on the Ritz.'

I had to make the pea, mint and feta dip at home, especially after bragging about it to the husband. It turned out great and was wiped clean in a matter of hours while watching a movie. Of the cocktails that were served on the day, the Mates Martini, a (very) complicated version of the Bloody Mary was my favourite. Trust the cocktail expert Richard Woods to make things easy ;). Since i like complicated i decided to make it at home. It took me 2 days and a lot of patience to make the drink, but it was totally worth it. Yes, I do go out of my way for that perfect cocktail. I am however trying to figure out an easy way to do this mix, because you know, the urge to have a bloody Mary doesn't quite last for 2 days.

Pea, mint and feta dip (Recipe adapted from Alice Levine who prepared this dip at Ritz event)

Frozen peas- 250 gms, thawed

Feta- 50 gms, crumbled

Fresh mint- 3 tbsp, roughly chopped

Garlic- 1 clove, chopped

Green chilli- 1/2 of a small one, chopped (optional)

Extra virgin olive oil- 2tbsp

Lemon juice- 1 tbsp

Salt- to taste

Pepper- to taste

Blend together all the ingredients in a food processor and season to taste.

Add a splash of water if you would prefer it a bit loose.

Transfer to a serving bowl, drizzle some olive oil on top, garnish with some mint leaves and serve as a dip with the Ritz Sea Salt and Vinegar.

Bloody Martini (Makes a little more than 2 drinks. Recipe adapted from Richard Woods who prepared the drink at the Ritz event)

Vodka- 100ml

Basil- 15gms

Bloody Marry Consommé- 100ml (recipe below)

Ice cubes- 4

Bloody Marry Consommé

Ground black pepper- 2 gms

Sea salt- 1.5 gms

celery salt- 1 gm

Tabasco original- 5 dashes

Tabasco green- 8 dashes

Lemon juice- 1/2 tbsp

Worcestershire sauce- 8 dashes

Tomato juice- 300ml

Infuse the vodka with the basil leaves for about 24hrs. Make sure you don't infuse it longer or else it would turn bitter.

Strain and use as required.

The consommé also needs to be made a day before.

Into a freezer safe container with lid, pour in the tomato juice and all the other ingredients and stir well.

Leave to infuse for about an hour and then put on the lid and place in the freezer.

The following morning, remove the frozen tomato mix from freezer and do a drip thaw, which essentially means you create a filter through which the block thaws naturally.

I used a muslin cloth and my sieve to do this.

This takes an entire day so patience is much advised.

You can make this in bulk, and it will keep for 7 days in the fridge.

To make the Martini, chill the martini glasses prior to serving.

Stir together the vodka and consommé along with the ice cubes until well chilled.

Strain into chilled glass, garnish with a floating basil leaf and serve.

With thanks to Ritz UK for inviting me to the event and for all the delicious crisps.

The Kettle Chips factory, Norfolk

Happy New year all you lovely people. Hope you welcomed the new year in style and hope you do have a fabulous year ahead. I have been busy entertaining and attending parties and travelling a bit and today is the first day i get a breather. I thought i should start the new year with the first resolution on the list- to blog more often. So here's my first post for the year, a lovely opportunity i had- to visit the Kettle Chips factory up in Norwich.

On a cold December morning a couple of us food bloggers caught the train from London to Norwich for a day full of activities. We were off on a press trip to the Kettle Chips Factory based in Norfolk and to meet Chris Barnard, the Kettle Chips Head Chef and brains behind the operation at the factory. Excitement was thoroughly building up, and like a fellow food blogger said, its like getting the Golden Ticket to visit Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

After a quick lunch, we went on to the factory floor where Chris was waiting for us. We suited and booted up and started the tour. Kettle Foods was launched in 1988 and Norfolk was selected as the base in order to be as close as possible to the vast majority of potato growers. Chris joined the team a year later and has ever since been part of every flavour Kettle Chips' brings out and also sourcing all the ethical ingredients that form an integral part of the delicious chips.

The potatoes are carefully checked for size, quality etc and only those that pass these tests are moved on to the next stage of power washing them where again they are hand inspected as well. They are then sliced thickly with their skins on and cooked in batches in sunflower oil. Even though there are machines that aid in the frying, they are always closely manned by experienced chip fryers who make sure they are perfectly cooked. We even tried our hands at tossing the chips with huge rakes while they are being fried, to make sure they don't stick to each other, and for even cooking. And yes, we got to taste them right out of the fryer, all golden and crunchy- chips that cant be any more fresher than that.

The cooked chips are then transferred through a conveyor belt of sorts, checked thoroughly to remove any distorted ones and then moved on to huge drums where they are flavoured with carefully blended, authentic seasoning, of course developed by Chris Bernard. Needless to say, there is no added MSG, artificial colours, flavourings or preservatives to the process. Last step is the sealing and packaging in distinctive coloured bags that help consumers quickly find their favourite.

I cant begin to explain how interesting it all was, but for me the best part was going into Chris' cosy kitchen where he showed us how he went about creating the unique flavours Kettle is known for. From Port and Stilton to salsa and mesquite to cracked black pepper to the classics like sea salt and balsamic he talked us through the entire seasoning process, how he derives inspiration for certain flavours, how he has to travel to source the right ingredients to ensure that there is perfection in every flavour he develops. 

Armed with a goody bag filled to the gills with Kettle chips, and with huge smiles on our faces, at having spent a fabulous day at the factory we boarded the train back to London, our heads brimming with ideas on how to use the chips. I have actually gone through all of my packs with the last one opened on Christmas day when we had friends over. I have also been using them in bakes, they add that perfect crunch when crushed and added as a top layer to a pasta bake. It was my first ever trip to a full fledged running factory and I'm sure I'll never forget the experience.

Kettle chips is running their first ever on-pack promotion which is running at the moment, across the top 5 seasonings in the Kettle Chips 150g range. Look out for promotional packs in store; entrants will have the chance to win their chef's handmade kitchen from Harvey Jones worth £35000, plus thousand instant win prizes including designer appliance, cookware and lovingly crafted wine glassses and bowls. Click here for more details.

With thanks to Kettle Foods UK and the PR agency for the press invite to visit the factory.