Bodean's or Bopoulter's?

So, March is here and with it an end to the incessant rain - at least for now. And that has seen us move a little further afield than in February's drizzle-filled days. 

A couple of weekends ago, prompted by local reviews  we tried to book lunch at new launch, Bodeans's Balham. Sadly, it has proved so popular that there were no tables that Sunday until 5pm. But undaunted we walked over Clapham Common to Bodean's Clapham. As a BBQ lover Bodeans' and Pitt Cue are top of my list of places to check out.

So what was Bodean's like? First up, it has a great diner feel. From the ubiquitous TV screens showing sport (football and rugby union) to the red leather booths and porcine posters, we could have been in Clapham Avenue, Manhasset rather than Clapham High Road, London. A special shout out should be given to the staff; universally friendly and efficient, they were truly in the American model of service.

Ubiquitous nachos

Well-cooked chips

Large plate of ribs

But what about the food? Well, it was good.....but not great. As you'd expect it was long on carbs and protein. The nachos were tasty, but hardly mould breaking. And the main courses were accompanied by well-cooked chips (lots) and coleslaw (not so much). We tried the mixed plate (ribs, pulled pork and chicken) the girls had burgers and ribs.

Even larger plate of ribs, pork and chicken

 And they weren't bad, but they weren't great. It's a bit hard to put my finger on it, but I think the issue is the range of flavours. Nachos and chips are pretty bland, aren't they? They rely on other things to make them tasty. And all the meats were just meaty. Meaty in a good way (and that includes the portions), but I would be hard pushed to really differentiate. And a particular bug bear - the hot chilli sauce didn't really deliver. Even the red wine was on the innocuous side.

Fast forward to this weekend and the forecast of 18 degrees C made a barbecue almost inevitable. Notwithstanding recent events, the girls demanded ribs. Courtesy of the weekly veg box, our groaning fridge demanded veg. And because our eyes are bigger than our bellies, we also demanded sausages, scallops wrapped in bacon and sweetcorn. So under the watchful (or do I mean fearful) gaze of the rabbits I dusted off the Weber, got the coals red-hot and set to it.   

Of course, one thing you can't hurry is ribs; not if you want them juicy and tender. I imagine that the kitchen in Bodeans starts pretty early - because it took a couple of hours to get the ribs to the right state of floppiness. But while they sat under the lid of the Weber slowly roasting that allowed me plenty of time to sort out everything else: make coleslaw; par-boil the infamous cauliflower and rustle up a couple of bbq sauces: She Devil and a more child-friendly one. 

The She Devil one is pretty good, so here's the recipe

1 onion, coarsely grated 
3 to 5 garlic cloves, finely chopped 
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce 
1 cup ketchup 
1/4 cup dark brown sugar 
2 to 3 dried chipotle chilies 
1 cup beer, plus extra if needed 
1 cup water, plus extra if needed 
1 tsp. dry mustard 
1 tsp. mild red chili powder 
1 tsp. ground cumin 
salt and pepper to taste 
1/4 cup cider vinegar

Mix together the onion, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, dark brown sugar, chipotle chilies, beer, water, mustard, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper, and half the vinegar.

Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes, or until a thick sauce forms.If the mixture sticks or threatens to burn, add more water or beer.

When the sauce is thick and flavorful, add the remaining vinegar and taste for seasoning.Remove from the heat. 

It's the chipotles that make this work - I'm slowly working my way through a bag of them that my old man sent over from an outfit called The Spice House in Chicago. But I bet most UK supermarkets have them these days. Anyway, try it - it knocks most of the shop bought ones (and Bodeans) into a cocked hat.

And then suddenly it was time to bring the grill back up to maximum warp speed and get all the other stuff cooked. And what we got with this grill inspired meal was a few more flavours than the Bodean version and quite a lot more vegetables - corn, cauliflower and asparagus in addition to the slaw.

And that's where barbecuing at home has an edge. Bodean's has to stick to a pretty narrow range of things because it's easier to control and its what the punters are coming for - huge mountains of ribs, sticky sauce and big bowls of chips. But at home, you can put together what you want and make it how you like it. The Ottolenghi cauliflower recipe is hardly a natural partner to BBQ ribs with She Devil sauce, but do you know what? They really work together.

I'll probably go back to Bodean's (if I can ever book a table at the Balham branch) - the staff and atmosphere are great and the food is reliable. But it would be good if they could try a few things to add a bit of variety maybe?

But I certainly won't be putting up big screens showing sport in our kitchen...

Baking hay while the sun shines

Goodness but it's been a while since my last post - November last year.

And since then, it seems as if it's been raining constantly. Relentlessly.

So when I saw the watery sunlight peeking from among the clouds this last weekend I was perhaps in a slightly over-eager mood. Over eager to try out something spring-like and optimistic for Sunday lunch with friends.

Which is why I found myself swaddling a big leg of lamb in hay normally reserved for the rabbits.

The smell of hay takes me right back to stacking-up bales of hay on steep Devon fields on warm summer days when I was a kid, so when I saw the recipe in HFW's River Cottage Cookbook, and remembered that courtesy of the two pet rabbits we had plenty of hay, I thought why not?

Expensive hay and expensive leg

 The recipe is pretty basic. Simply take said leg of lamb (English, from Sainbury's); baste with a combination of butter, finely chopped garlic, rosemary, thyme and marjoram. Then put in a deep roasting dish lined with 6-7 cms of hay, put the same amount on top and cover with foil.


Then place in medium hot oven (220C) and bake for about 2 hours 15 minutes.

The result? 

Well, to be honest, not fantastic. As a general rule HFW is in my top tier of cookery writers. Those whose recipes are pretty foolproof: quantities are correct, instructions are clear and timings true. Aside from Delia (who I assume has a whole brigade of minions testing every recipe to destruction) I add Nigella Lawson and Nigel Slater. Jamie Oliver is a little too keen on the slosh of this and a handful of that for my liking.

What we got after 2 and a bit hours plus resting time was something very pink and moist (ooh er!) which tasted as much of hay as lamb. Hardly surprising you may say - and for me personally that was no bad thing (though that was by no means a universal response. 

But the real downer was that every single slice was coated with individual strands of hay. Too many to easily get rid of and each one like a giant's pube in your mouth.

And absolutely nothing in the pan to make gravy (apart from hay, which doesn't really cut it in the jus department).  Again, the more attentive readers among you will be saying that's hardly surprising - hay is absorbent dummy! Which again is true. But Hugh says…

"Any juices from the pan can be poured off and used for gravy although I tend to prefer to serve this dish with boiled flageolet beans heated through in the juices and fat from the lamb."

Which led me to believe that I wasn't being a total half-wit to expect a cupful of something to go with the roast potatoes that also featured.

Saved by the trifle.

Luckily Mim had made an industrial-sized chocolate trifle using a Nigella recipe. The video of it is pretty cringe-making (while in some parallel universe she may hop on the bus and queue patiently in supermarket check out lines, in this one I think the recent trial made it pretty clear that other people take up those tasks for her), but it's easy to buy for, easy to make and, crucially, easy to like. So somewhat unsurprisingly this was a sure-fire winner with oldies and youngies alike.

Our guests were far too polite to comment on my unusual interpretation of roast leg of lamb, but once they had left, family feedback was short and brutal. I must never, ever, cook that again!

So HFW - please tell me what I did wrong? Or dare you admit that this was something you once did while very drunk and thought it would be a laugh for others to make the same mistake you did? 

While revenge is a dish best served cold, reheated memories always leave a nasty taste in the mouth.