Blog Forman and Field

Our lovely Lancastrian kippers – number two breakfast of champions, after Forman’s smoked salmon of course – have won Gold in the 2010 Great Taste Awards.

The knack to the smoking process is getting smoke to permeate the flesh without overpowering the taste of the fish, imparting a soft smoky flavour throughout. Tricky, but not impossible, and the chaps at the Port of Lancaster Smokehouse really know what to do with a herring. For a hearty brunch, brush with melted butter and grill for two to three minutes either side. Serve with a squeeze of lemon, a quick shake of cayenne pepper, and the best bread and butter you can lay your hands on. If you’d like us to take out the fuss and bones, opt for our kipper fillets and save yourself the hassle.

For something more unusual here’s chef Lloyd’s recipe for kipper pate, a fabulous fishy starter for four.

Forman & Field Chef Lloyd’s Kipper Pate

Ingredients
1 Port of Lancaster Kipper, cooked
3tbsp marscapone cheese
Juice of a lemon
1-2tsp Moniac Castle Horseradish Sauce
1tbsp melted butter
1tbsp chopped chives
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Serves 4

Method
Flake the kipper meat off the bone and check for any last pesky bones, then blend with the remaining ingredients and season to taste. If you think it needs a little more of anything – tastes are different after all – just add a bit more of what you fancy.

Decant into individual ramekins and serve with toasted bread, a little dressed rocket and a lemon wedge. If you wish to make ahead, the pate keeps quite happily in the fridge for a day or two simply seal the surface with a little clarified butter, and allow to come to room temperature before serving.

Our new exhibition The Psychedelic Caravan opens tonight at our gallery.

Come and have a look any time from the 2nd to the 25th July. The opening hours are as follows:
Thu and Fri 5-9pm
Sat and Sun 12- 5pm

Forman’s Restaurant is open whenever the gallery is so it’s a super excuse to come and enjoy a meal with us at the same time as taking in the show. We hope to see you soon.

i-phone users beware, it seems Lance’s restaurant diary may have become the subject of Apple’s latest advertising campaign. Will you also be joining us at Formans Restaurant any time soon?

www.formans.co.uk/restaurant

We recently put on a British feast of epic proportion, in collaboration with our very own restaurant and the Dos Hermanos food blog. The dinner was one of the Dine With Dos Hermanos series, in which Simon and Robin Majumdar pledge to fill restaurants with the most discerning food enthusiasts in return for a stonking good meal all round; see the mouth-watering results below! Thank you to Magnus Haltberg for his generous provision of the photographs.

What else but a platter of our finest salmon to start; at 12 o clock, Smoked Wild Scottish Salmon, our handmade buckwheat blinis, shallots, creme fraiche, Royal Fillet, sliced London Cure Smoked Scottish Salmon, Chef’s Gravadlax, and some capers in the centre. Washed down the Nyetimber‘s beautiful Classic Cuvee 2005, the perfect accompaniment, biscuity, smooth, with delicate plentiful bubbles.

Our stunning main course was a whole roast Traditional Porchetta from Pugh’s Piglets in Lancashire. Served with our homemade Apple and Brandy Sauce, Worcestershire Asparagus, baby carrots, the tastiest of new season Jersey Royals and lashings of mushroom gravy. Just look at that crackling; recipe to follow shortly. To accompany, a shot of fine West Country cider from the Somerset Cider Brandy Company, and a glass of Biddenden Vineyard’s Ortega; the touch of sweetness making it a lovely match to the pork.

As befits a British feast, dessert came before cheese, and our, errrr Tarte Tatin – perhaps a French idea, but made with the finest English apples! – was a delectable choice. It was accompanied by generous dollops of Rodda’s Clotted Cream, and a shot of ‘Shipwreck’, an incredibly smooth Cider Brandy from the Somerset Cider Brandy Company.

And the grand finale; a selection of Neals Yard Dairy cheeses; from the top a Berkswell, Stichelton, Colloston and Tymsboro. Expertly chosen at their peak, and presented by Srdja – a senior member of the dairy’s team – they made a stunning final course. Peters Yard of Edinburgh provided some of their award winning crispbreads to go with, much to guests’ delight. Served with a glass of Worthing White Shield IPA, it made for a heavenly match – universally agreed! Topped off with Paddy & Scott’s coffee, and some decadent chocs from Paul Wayne Gregory; a fitting end to fine meal.

Thank you to all of our suppliers, and the other companies who provided produce for the evening, and again to Simon and Robin of Dos Hermanos for allowing us to host. We enjoyed every minute and every mouthful, and hope so too did our guests. Simon has written a book on his love of British Food, Eating for Britain, which we strongly urge you to check out; you’ll even find a chapter on your favourite smokehouse in there…

If you’d like to recreate the above in your home, simply order online or call our sales team. Order the key components for each course, and we’ll throw in the Ortega for free, how’s that?

If you’re going for the long haul we hope you’re tucking in to a hamper of Britain’s finest food this evening!

Greet your guests with a sickly grin (Howard, Con, Folkestone and Hythe, maj 11,680) and usher them in for a sound bite or two. Start with H.Forman & Son Wild Smoked Salmon Pate It’s wild, Scottish (Galloway, Respect, Bethnal Green & Bow, maj 823) and the best money can buy. Delicious on Granny’s Five Seed Rye Bread (Foster, Lab, Hastings and Rye, maj 2,026).

It wouldn’t be election night without a few porky pies (Harman, Lab, Camberwell & Peckham, maj 13,483). Our Traditional Pork Pies from Norfolk (Bacon, Con, Norfolk South, maj 8,872) are made by Silent Partners from gloriously tasty pure breed Old Spot porkers (Widdecombe, Con, Maidstone and the Weald, maj 14,856).

It’s certainly within your allowable expenses to enjoy some Pickled Shallots on the side with your pie (Pickles, Con, Brentwood & Ongar, maj 11,612). Ours are made in small batches by chef Kit Bamford of Worcester (Foster, Lab,Worcester, maj 3,144).

Our Venison & Wild Mushroom Terrine, wrapped in pancetta with a port glaze, will delight the Countryside Alliance members of your party and is perfect for a midnight snack. The green welly brigade will also enjoy Montgomery’s Cheddar (Lembit, LD, Montgomeryshire, maj 7,173), a statesmanlike cheese if ever the was one.

By 4am, Peter Snow’s swingometer will be out of control. Mandy, put the kettle on. Our Simply Delicious Fruitcakes (Paisley, DUP, Antrim North, maj 17,965) will happily soak up all that rhetoric. How about one or two Brownies (Brown, Lab, Kirkcaldy & Cowdenbeath, maj 18,216) or some Macaroons (Cameron, Con, Witney, maj 14,146) for a taste of what may be to come?

Finally, as the tension builds and the exit polls start to take on grim significance, a stiff gin will be in order (Kennedy, Lib, Ross, Skye and Lochaber, maj 14,249). Be liberal, though; this should be a Red Nose Night for everyone. Bramley & Gage Sloe Gin is made by hand by a family firm in Gloucestershire (Dhanda, Lab, Gloucester, maj 4,271). The blend of seasonally picked sloes with finest London (Field, Con, Cities of London & Westminster, maj 8,095) gin makes for the perfect coalition.

Sorry, cheap headline there we know but we are rather excited about the new season’s produce and the launch of our May Specials.

Click on the image to view our full range of May Specials

From today you can order our new 2010 range of complete picnics, classic English dishes to celebrate St George’s day – another slice of Jam Roly Poly anyone? – and a wealth of other seasonal creations from Chef Lloyd and our team of talented small producers around the country.

Click here and have a browse of our May menu

Our next exhibition at Formans Smokehouse Gallery opens on Thursday the 1st April. The show is CONDUIT, curated by Frank Creber, Creative Director of the Bromley By Bow Centre. Watch this space for further details, in the meantime here’s a peak at some work from artists exhibiting.

Invitation

Frank Creber - Bromley by Bow

Sheenagh McKinlay

Maria Alvarez

Caroline Holden

Eva Bachmann

Frank Creber

Nick Creber

Soren Mayes - 'Take 5' Diptych

To register for the Opening Reception from 6-9pm please email smokehousegallery@formans.co.uk.

If you’ve left that romantic Valentine’s surprise until the last minute (again!), why not book a tete a tete at Forman’s Restaurant this weekend. We’re now fully booked for lunch on Sunday but have a little availability on Saturday night for those who want to start the amorous celebrations a little early.

Call 0208 5252 365 during office hours, or email info@formans.co.uk for reservations.

p.s. for those who want to start the love-fest even earlier, or simply those who enjoy a delicious breakfast there’s always Saturday brunch, too.

NEW FEBRUARY SPECIALS

Colchester Native Oysters from the River Blackwater off Mersea Island are to our mind the best in the world.

Cornish Brill with Sprout Bubble and Squeak and Mustard Cream Sauce makes a cracking fish supper for two. Our chefs lightly sear two fillets and prepare a peppery, buttery bubble and a creamy Dijon mustard sauce to serve with it.

We love parsnips and our new Honey Roast Parsnip Soup shows them off to their best in a jolly fine creamy soup made on the premises here with fresh chicken stock.

Apple pie is hard to beat as a heartwarming winter pud. Lloyd Hardwick, our chef, makes his Chef’s Apple Pie with sweet shortcrust pastry and thickly sliced, roasted Bramley apple so you bite into proper slices of apple rather than puree. Serve with our luscious Brandy Sauce .

Wow, what a cake! New discovery Claudia Camhi bakes on a very small scale for friends and clients in south west London. Her exceptionally moist Almond & Orange Cake . with orange zest and flaked almonds is infused with a Cointreau syrup poured into it as it cools. Corr!

VALENTINE’S DAY

Whether you’re planning a hopelessly romantic tête á tête, a dangerous liaison in a motel off the M40 or simply eating yourself silly to get over a lost love, we have plenty in our special Valentine’s Day Section section to inspire your appetite and sate your libido.

Paul Wayne Gregory’s Valentine’s Truffles Collection includes Bailey’s, raspberry and passion fruit flavours in a heart-melting gift box. It’s exclusive to Forman & Field and absolutely irresistible.

SHROVE TUESDAY

We suggest you spare the whisk on Shrove Tuesday and enjoy Forman & Field Chef Lloyd’s Handmade Pancakes , of course we have an array of sweet and savoury fillings to go with them.