It’s nearly summer, and in the UK that means that one out of every 4 weekends will be BBQ-friendly, if we’re lucky.

But if you’re in or near London and you want smoky goodness without having to cower under an umbrella, you should get to the Duke’s Head in Highgate for Prairie Fire BBQ’s June residency.

I got to sneak a peek behind the scenes into the cramped quarters of the Duke’s Head kitchen, where every month, guest chefs take over and share their skills.

Prairie Fire is the brain child of American Michael Gratz, who saw a gap in the market for Kansas City style slow cooked meat. In the Duke’s Head kitchen, you’ll find his collaborators, Londoners Louis Lillywhite and Yasemin Ozekimci managing the meat, the veggie burgers, and all the fixins. Look to Laura’s homemade brownies, if you have any room left when you’re finished.

Speaking of, here’s what you’d find on the menu if (no … when) you make your way over.

Pulled pork tacos in freshly-fried shells, crunchy and absolutely loaded with toppings like chipotle sour cream, spring onions and punchy chiles. Don’t forget to try the refried bean ‘glue’ underneath, especially if you have any shell shards left over.

The mac & cheese is made with beautiful big curly tubes, al dente and covered in a silky, creamy unctious cheese sauce. I decided not to pry for the secret recipe, but this is a down and dirty cheese sauce, not some overwrought stilton and leek gastropub version.

That PFQ burger. A brief moment of doubt crept in when I cut it in half and the patties weren’t as pink as I tend to have them. After taking a bite, I realized I was very wrong. Louis’s blend of chuck and rib tip beef was juicy, meaty … very messy and absolutely packed with flavor. All of that in a toasted bun with gooey melty cheese.

Fall-apart in your fingers 16-hour smoked brisket in a delicious floury but not dry or dense bun. Seriously, why is it so hard to find a good bun? These guys have gotten it absolutely right.

The brisket completely surrenders to a plastic knife. Useful, because I was sharing it. Compared to some recent City-based brisket that will remain unnamed, this was soft and tender, lightly seasoned and obviously given the low and slow treatment. And get a look at that Prairie Fire BBQ sauce…

While it’s easy to ignore the fries as just another side dish, I can’t go without mentioning them. Crispy and crunchy, not even slightly oily, and generously dusted with spice that reminds me just a little bit of Old Bay (for the East Coasters). I barely had space for them but couldn’t stop picking at my portion, and maybe everyone else’s portions, too.

Like I said, there is also a veggie burger, but I can’t say that I’ve tried it. If you do, I’d be curious to know if you recommend it.

If you’re a beer drinker, I recommend spending a few indecisive minutes at the bar with the many great rotating options. There’s also a gin bar with Highgate-distilled Sacred and a temptation-filled cocktail menu.

While Prairie Fire don’t have anything else official in the calendar yet, keep an eye on the Prairie Fire BBQ Twitter for food market updates… and maybe even another residency soon.

Prairie Fire BBQ is at the Duke’s Head for the rest of June, every day of the week, and the kitchen is open from 12pm to 10pm. 

Keep your eyes peeled for them at Brisket Fest, where I’ve been promised you can try something from Prairie Fire that no one in the UK has done before.

I don’t know how you feel about French onion soup.

Honestly, sometimes I don’t know how *I* feel about French onion soup. It can be delicious. Warming, rich, sweet and savory all at once. Sometimes it’s hugely disappointing. Flat, overly sweet, only passable because of the cheesy bread on top.

Generally speaking, the ingredients are pretty cheap. Onions, stock made from leftover bones. A few herbs or spices. So maybe it’s a lack of love, or an over-reliance on bad ingredients that has made so many French onion soups lackluster.

It’s easy to understand why you wouldn’t bother making it at home. It takes an age to caramelize onions, and there’s no point in making it with beef stock if it’s not real stock. (No cubes… seriously.)

But I’m going to turn it all upside down. I offer you my totally-not-traditional French onion soup made with chicken (!) stock and roasted (!!) onions. (If you don’t believe me on the chicken stock, what about Serious Eats?)

After comparing the taste of lovingly (read: impatiently) caramelized onions versus casually roasted onions, I can tell you there are differences. But they’re not deal-breakers, especially if you would rather make a soup without staring at onions cooking for an hour. The roasting takes the same amount of time, but it’s hands off. You could even boil a quick chicken stock while you wait.

So while this cold weather hangs around at the party for too long, why not make yourself a steamy pot of cheaty French onion soup, and think about all that effort you didn’t spend on it?

4 portions

French onion soup

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On the Counter

For the soup
• 900 g onion
• 1.5 L (6 cups) chicken stock, preferably homemade
• 1 tbsp olive oil (separated)
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 100mL dry (NOT sweet) vermouth (You can substitute this with 3x as much dry white wine)
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For the cheese toast
• 1 slice of crusty baguette or sourdough bread per person
• 25g (1 oz) of freshly grated gruyere cheese per person

What to Do

For the soup
• Remove the outer layer of onion skin from each onion, keeping just the inner layer of papery skin. Cut off the pointy top of the onions so that just a small amount of onion is visible. Keep the root side on.
• Place the onions in a baking sheet, cut side up. Drizzle each onion with a total of 1 tbsp olive oil and top with a small knob of butter.
• Roast for an hour at 150C (300F)
• Let the onions cool slightly, then peel and slice them from pole to pole into thin strips.
• In a large soup pot or Dutch oven, melt 1 teaspoon butter over medium heat.
• Fry the onions on medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
• Add wine/vermouth. Raise the heat to high, and let it bubble away until almost all the liquid has evaporated. This should take 5 or 10 minutes (depending if you used vermouth or wine), but keep an eye on it.
• Add the chicken stock, thyme, bay leaves and Worcestershire sauce. Give it a good stir.
• Bring it to a boil, then lower the heat so that the soup is just simmering. Cook uncovered, until some of the liquid has evaporated, about 30 minutes. Taste it to be sure it's as flavorful as you want. Stir in a pinch or two of salt if needed.
• PS: Don't forget to fish out the bay leaves.
For the cheesy bread
• If you're using slightly stale bread, don't worry about the next step.
• Lightly toast the bread slices under the grill (broiler). Turn once to ensure both sides are just crisp.
• Ladle soup into your bowls.
• If you have oven-safe soup bowls or big ramekins, put the bread slices on top and generously sprinkle the cheese on top. Carefully transfer the bowls to a rimmed baking sheet and put it all under the grill.
• Melt the cheese until it's bubbly and lightly golden.
• If you don't have oven safe bowls, sprinkle the cheese on top of your toast slices, and put them back under the grill (broiler) until bubbly and lightly golden. Transfer them on top of the soup bowls.

7.8.1.2

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https://www.onmykitchencounter.com/2016/03/21/french-onion-soup/

I’m not the biggest American football fan (except… go Jets!). But I love Super Bowl parties. Because of the time difference, it’s a lot harder to justify hosting a party for a game that starts at 11pm (British time) on a Sunday. And it’s even worse when it’s hosted on the West Coast. Woe is me, I know.

Don’t worry about me, though. It is not going to stop me from feasting, especially since Super Bowl food is so good.

Im going to admit to enjoying some of the finer “junk” foods in life, including saucy wings and 7 layer dips. I’m also going to admit that I don’t have a deep fat fryer, and something about dumping that much oil into anything feels … expensive.

So here’s a recipe for those of you who want wings but don’t want a vat of sizzling oil hanging around. Or for anyone who wants to feel a little more saintly by telling everyone these are baked chicken wings, rather than fried.

I learned the tip that makes this recipe from one of my favorite food celebs, Alton Brown. It’s clever, it’s easy and it works. Steam your wing pieces to render out the fat, making for crispy oven-baked skin. Don’t worry, you won’t dry them out, because the steaming helps with that, too.

It’s worth noting that the steamed wings must sit in the fridge for at least an hour to cool off and dry.

Crispy baked chicken wings will be yours before you know it.

Since I find it hard to make a decision, I make 2 different sauces to keep it interesting. You can go any direction you want. Sweet sticky barbecue, lip-tingling spice, deep and smoky…

Well … on to the recipe.

Technique based on Alton Brown’s buffalo wings.

5

Serves 4

Crispy baked chicken wings

30 minPrep Time

45 minCook Time

2 hr, 15 Total Time

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On the Counter

Baked wings
• 10 chicken wings, or 20 wing pieces
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 4 tbsp (about 50 g) butter
Honey chipotle wing sauce
• 3 tbsp chipotle paste
• 2 tsp honey
• 1 tsp cider vinegar
• salt to taste
Hot wing sauce
• 3 tbsp (50 mL) cayenne sauce, like Frank's RedHot (my personal choice)
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp cider vinegar
• salt to taste

What to Do

Baked wings
• If you're starting with full wings, segment them into 3 pieces, at the joints. You can save the wing tips for chicken stock, but you won't need them for this recipe.
• Set water boiling in a steamer pot. Once the water is at a boil, place the wing pieces, in one layer, in the steamer. Cover. Steam them for 10 minutes, turn them over, and steam them for another 5-10 minutes to render out the fat.
• Take pot off the heat, and carefully remove the wings. With paper towels, dry them and set them onto a cooling rack, sitting above a tray.
• Refrigerate the steamed wings for at least 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, make or prepare your wing sauce, or sauces.
• Heat the oven to 200 C (390 F).
• Cover a tray with foil, and lay out the wing pieces. Season them with salt and pepper.
• Set the tray on the oven's middle rack and bake the wings for 15 minutes, skin side up. Flip them and roast for another 10 minutes. They should be at least 74 C (165 F) internally and the skin should be golden.
• Meanwhile, melt the butter and put it in a small bowl or jar.
• Brush the chicken wings with butter, and then toss them in with the wings sauce or sauces.
Honey chipotle and hot wings sauces
• In a medium bowl for each sauce, combine all the ingredients. If the sauce needs to be thinned out, add some water, 1 teaspoon at a time and stir it together.

7.8.1.2

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https://www.onmykitchencounter.com/2016/02/04/crispy-baked-chicken-wings/

If you want a veggie-friendly Super Bowl snack, why not try vegetarian nachos instead?

So if you’re keeping track… it’s definitely not Caribbean Food Week anymore. But sometimes memory cards go on different vacations from you, and you only see them again after they’ve done a road trip through Europe. Either way, do you really need an excuse to make some succulent, spiced baked chicken? I’d like to think not.

Jerk chicken is what you make of it, and as long as you’ve got the basics and time to marinade, you can tweak it as you please. Just make sure you have some citrus, some (all)spice, and some saltiness. By the way – allspice goes by a few other names, including pimento. If you have a spice mix that includes pimento, you are in the right place. Don’t worry, it won’t make your chicken taste like pumpkin pie or Christmas pudding.

Technically, to get the closest to real Jamaican jerk chicken, you’d need to slowly smoke it over pimento wood. But if you’re like me and live in an apartment, or don’t have the resource to slow smoke, you can bake it and still have some really good chicken.

So there’s one more thing I need to tell you about. I got the spices I used from Grace Foods, who gave me the chance to play around a bit with some Caribbean flavors. I used their hot curry spice and ginger pimento in this recipe. You can find their products in British supermarkets, particularly in the international food section. (Plus… they’re usually more affordable than even the store brands, with just as much, and often even more quality.)

On the Counter

1 tbsp dark brown sugar
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil
½ tbsp ginger pimento spice
½ tbsp hot curry spice
¼ tbsp ground nutmeg
1 green or spring onion, finely minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1.5 tsp table salt or 2 tsp kosher salt
2 (or 4 if you like it really spicy) scotch bonnet peppers, finely chopped
juice of ½ lime
One 1 kg/2.2 lb free range chicken, cut into eighths, skin-on, OR 4 skin on drumsticks and 4 skin on thighs, OR 12 wings, OR any mix you want!

What to Do

Combine all the marinade ingredients in a bowl. If you don’t feel like chopping up the ingredients, you can chop coarsely and put everything into a food processor until it’s combined and as close to a paste as you can get. There might still be some bits, which is ok.

Coat the chicken outside and under the skin. Getting it under the skin is important so that your actual chicken tastes great, and not just the skin. Cut through the skin to make some pockets, if you need to.

Put all the chicken pieces into a big zip-top bag, and let it marinade for at least 2 hours in the refrigerator, and ideally for 8 hours if you can. You can make the marinade the night before and get the chicken ready in the morning for night-time cooking.

When you’re ready to cook, heat the oven to 200C/395F. Rub a little bit of oil on the inside of a roasting tray or baking dish that’s big enough for all the chicken to be in one layer. Get the chicken out of its bag and into the roasting tray.

Bake the chicken, uncovered, for 25-35 minutes, or until the juices run clear and the temperature inside is 74C/165F. The time difference depends on the size of the pieces you use – wings and boneless breast pieces will take less time, while thighs and bone-in breast will take the longest.

Serve it up with some coconut rice and beans and garlicky sautéed spinach for a full on Caribbean-inspired feast.

I have to admit, I surprised myself when I first tried this recipe from the Able & Cole cookbook. It’s not what I’d normally go for, and I’d never try it if it was on a restaurant menu. But we had every ingredient (and not much else), and it was actually really good.

Thinking back though, it shouldn’t be a huge surprise that I’ve been scared off from anything orange flavored.

About 6 years ago, I went to Rome for the first time. There was some really amazing food, but there was also some really dreadful food. One of those meals included the absolute worst dish I’ve ever eaten in a restaurant, and maybe even ever. Tortellini and salmon in a peppercorn sauce.

Doesn’t sound too bad, I know. Bear with me.

So we chat, we drink wine, we watch fellow tourists roam the cobblestone alleys around the Spanish Steps. (Note: don’t eat so close to the big tourist spots.) Dinner comes out.

What’s that? Is that my dish with the 3 shredded pieces of smoked salmon? And a gloopy orange sauce? Well, I’ll give it a try. What have I got to lose?

Except maybe a tooth because… yep… those are whole peppercorns trapped in thick, gooey bright orange sauce, like future fossilized amber.

And what does the goo taste like? Imagine the cheapest, fakest orange flavored marmalade in the world. And then put the saltiest cheap cuts of smoked salmon in it.

You can understand why it’s taken me a while to embrace oranges again.

Thankfully, for whatever reason, my mental aversions to orange flavor is fading slightly. After all that, I hope I haven’t put you off trying this easy weeknight meal, because it really is good. I promise.

Some recipe notes: You can cut down on the amount of chicken you use if you’re going to bulk it up with sides, like rice and vegetables. I tend to include steamed broccoli, or green beans, and maybe rice if it’s a small portion of chicken.

Adapted from the Abel & Cole Veg Box Companion
Serves: 4
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes

On the Counter

4 (free range) chicken breast pieces, about 900g or 2 lbs, total
2 garlic cloves
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp olive oil
2 oranges, cut into 4 segments each
1 red chilli pepper
pinch of milled rock salt or kosher salt
few grinds of fresh black pepper
handful of fresh parsley

What to Do

Preheat the oven to 200 C/390 F.

Season (aka rub up on) the chicken with oil, then salt and pepper. Put the chicken pieces in a roasting tray, not touching. Lay the orange segments around it.

Bake the chicken for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, chop the chile and mince or crush the garlic. Chop the parsley, too, but set it aside for the end.

When the 15 minutes are up, drizzle honey over the chicken, then sprinkle the garlic and chilli pepper over it.

Put it back into the oven and cook it for another 10 minutes, or until the internal temperature is 80 C/180 F.

Squeeze one or two of the orange segments onto the chicken. Remove it, stir up the juices in the roasting tray, and top the chicken with sauce and parsley.

PS: What was your worst restaurant meal ever?

I’ve just come back from a week at home in the US, and it was great. For once, I didn’t plan every minute of the trip, and it was a revelation. We even got to drive to DC for an overnight!

Going home is always a mix of experiences – eating home comfort foods, seeing old, great friends, and trying not to get too caught up in nostalgia to the point where I refuse to try anything unfamiliar.

It’s easy to feel like you’re still a part of somewhere when you live far away from it, but turning up and realizing that everything you’re used to has changed can be a downer. Instead of focusing on the romance of the old, I’m trying to focus on the joys of the new.

On that note, here is one old favorite, and two new, from my time back on the US east coast.

The view from my old home, Jersey City, towards Manhattan. The skyline changes but the feeling stays the same.

Tasting flights are the best way to try beer, and this was from Forgotten Brewery in Cherry Hill, NJ. New fave!

A blueberry cheesecake “tart” from Ted’s Bulletin in DC, stuffed with preserves and cream cheese filling.

After a week of eating things like that amazing not-a-pop-tart, though, you can probably imagine where this is going.

Today’s recipe is pretty light, really easy to make and … delicious. (What did you expect me to say?) Versatile maybe? It’s that too, don’t worry.

Special guest: roasted red pepper

Recipe note: You can replace the steak with chicken, pork, halloumi or sea bass, but I think steak works especially well.

Serves 4

On the Counter

Sandwich
1 roasted red pepper, sliced*
250 g (1/2 lb) sirloin steak(s) or boneless skinless chicken
1 tbsp neutral, high smoke point oil like rapeseed or corn oil

50g feta
4 small tomatoes
1 cucumber, about 100 g (4 oz)
2 big handfuls of mixed salad leaves

4 whole grain pitas

Dressing
2 tbsp extra Virgin olive oil
1 tbsp cider vinegar
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp salt
1 tsp lemon juice
Remaining pepper juice

What to Do

Chop your tomato into cubes, peel, seed and slice the cucumber and combine it with the salad leaves and roasted pepper slices. Cube the feta (if it isn’t already), and set it aside.

In a cast iron grill pan (or just a plain cast iron pan), heat your neutral, high smoke point oil on high until it’s shimmering and smoking hot.

Dry your steak or chicken with paper towel, then it salt on both sides. Put it into the pan, and let it sit for a short time.

If it’s a steak, flip it over soon after, and you can flip it a few more times. There is no need to let it sit for long periods of time. A steak that’s 1.25 cm (1/2 inch) thick will take about 10 minutes to cook to medium, with an internal temperature of 60 C (140 F) in mind.

Chicken will take about 15 minutes to cook, and it has to be at least an internal temperature of 75 C (165 F).

As soon as the meat is done, turn off the heat. Slice your pita so you can stuff them, and put them onto the still-hot pan to toast and warm up. (Don’t forget to flip them!)

Combine all the dressing ingredients and whisk them together until emulsified (thick and cloudy looking). Toss it with the salad.

Slice up the steak or chicken, and stuff your pita!

* How to roast a pepper

Place your pepper on a metal baking tray. In the broiler (US), or on the grill setting (UK), roast the pepper until it’s black and blistered. It usually takes at least 5 minutes per side, but could take longer.

Once you’ve roasted the pepper, transfer it to a bowl and cover it with a kitchen towel. This will help loosen the skin by steaming it off, making it much easier to peel. Leave it for at least 5 minutes, until it’s cool enough to touch and peel.

Peel it, slice it and get rid of the seeds and stem.

Steamed asparagus is a beautiful thing. Actually, asparagus in all forms is delicious. One of my favorite sneaky ways to bump up the excitement of steamed asparagus is to add some finely minced (or pressed) garlic and a little bit of salt before cooking it.

Get ready for next-level steamed asparagus. Did you know that asparagus is a great source of fiber? It also has lots of vitamins A, C and E… which is all the proof you need that asparagus is great, really.

By the way, if you want to save your lovely little spears from untimely wrinkling, wrap the ends in a damp paper towel and store them in the refrigerator.

Except for the asparagus, this is a one-pot meal, which means not only is there less cleaning to do, but you get all the delicious flavors and healthy (and not so healthy) bits together in a luscious sauce.

Serves: 4
Total time: 45 minutes

On the Counter

2 large free-range chicken breasts, split or 4 small chicken breasts
100 mL (1/2 cup) chicken stock or white wine
200 g (1/2 lb) white mushrooms
1 tbsp butter (or olive oil, if you’re dairy-free)
handful of chopped fresh parsley
Juice from 1/2 lemon
1 large or 2 medium garlic cloves
1 shallot
16 spears of asparagus, tough ends snapped off
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper

What to Do

Season the chicken liberally on both sides with salt and pepper.

Slice the mushrooms, chop the shallots and mince the garlic. Set 1/4 of the garlic aside. Slice the asparagus spears longways, either in half or quarters, depending how thick they are. You can then chop those pieces in half (or not!).

In a wide, flat bottomed pan, like a frying pan or skillet, heat the butter until it’s melted and bubbly.

On medium high, sear the chicken breasts (skin side down if it’s skin on) until it’s browned, about 4-5 minutes but have a peek underneath to confirm. If it’s sticking to the pan, give it more time. Flip the chicken and do the same again.

Remove the chicken and set it aside, covered.

Add a little more butter if needed, lower the heat and fry the shallots for 2-3 minutes, until they’re soft, stirring occasionally. Then the garlic goes in for 1 minute, until fragrant. Add in the mushrooms, and sautée. They’ll release a lot of liquid. Stir frequently until they’re soft. Season with salt and pepper.

Turn up the heat, stir in the wine or stock and deglaze the bottom of the pan, scraping (with a wooden spoon) the bottom.

Return the chicken to the pan and simmer it for about 10 minutes, until the chicken is at 65C/ 144 F degrees, or isn’t pink in the middle.

With about 5 minutes left on the chicken, set a 2-tiered steamer pan boiling. Add in the asparagus, 1/4 of the garlic and a pinch of salt. Steam for 2-3 minutes until bright green. Don’t let them go further or they’ll be too soft.

Once the chicken is done, remove the pan from the heat and stir in lemon juice and parsley.

Serve on its own, or with a salad or brown rice. It’s also good as leftovers!

At a time in the not-too-distant past, some friends and I were looking for a place to for dinner before a gig, and found ourselves at Prawn on the Lawn, a fishmonger/tiny restaurant in Islington, north London.

All their seafood is sourced from Britain, and they use some of that delicious local production for a small menu of dishes in an even smaller space.

Our table was a barrel (literally), and we squished together, 3 of us, slurping oysters and sampling each others’ main dishes. PS: If you go, have the expensive but absolutely delicious soda bread and butter.

The monkfish and chorizo stew was the inspiration for this recipe, and I have come up with my own version based on what I remembered it tasting of and what I like to eat.

Don’t mind the low-light iPhone photo, but this was some good seafood

In the UK, monkfish are a sustainable species, though they were in trouble for a while. It’s been an interesting ride for the monkfish as a food source. It went from a “trash fish” to “poor man’s lobster” to a delicacy that needed to be protected, and now it’s a sustainable, meaty and generally easy to find fish.

PS: Did you know that monkfish is a type of angler? No wonder you never see a whole one at the fishmonger, they are pretty ugly fish.

This is what happens when you have the time and light to take a reasonable photo.

This stew is hearty and warming, but not so hearty that you can’t enjoy it in the spring… though if you’re enjoying a spring that’s more like summer, you might want to save this recipe for the inevitable cooler days.

Serves: 2 hearty portions/4 with a starter or bread
Cook time: 35 minutes, not including prep

On the Counter

350 g monkfish cut into chunks
50 g chorizo
1 (400 g/14.5 oz) canned tomatoes
600 mL vegetable or fish stock
50 g carrots, about 1 large carrot
1 yellow or orange pepper
1 medium onion
1 stalk of celery
2 garlic cloves
2 tsp vegetable oil
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp salt
fresh parsley, chopped for serving

What to Do

Dice up the vegetables into bite-sized pieces, and mince the garlic. If you’re not very fond of celery, chop it smaller. Also dice the chorizo into 1 cm (1/4 inch) pieces.

Meanwhile, turn the oven on to broil/grill and roast the pepper on each side for 1-2 minutes, until blackened. Once it’s ready, put it in a bowl and cover with a cloth until it’s cool enough to touch. Peel it, removed the seeds and chop it.

In soup pot or casserole pot, heat the oil over medium-low until it shimmers. Add in the celery, carrots and onion until they start to soften, about 5 minutes. Push the vegetables to the side of the pan and add in the chorizo. Fry it, stirring, until it starts melting and browning, another 3-4 minutes.

Stir in the tomatoes, breaking up the large pieces with a wooden spoon. Add in the roasted pepper, stock, paprika, red pepper flakes and salt. Stir. Simmer, covered, on low heat for 10 minutes.

After the 10 minutes are up, add the monkfish pieces and cover the pot again. Let it cook for another 15 minutes.

Sprinkle fresh parsley in each bowl and serve.

For someone who absolutely despises the taste and smell of anything remotely like aniseed or liquorice, I’m surprisingly coming to appreciate ingredients like fennel seed and caramelized fennel root. I can even tolerate fennel that isn’t cooked down to the point where it just tastes of sweetness!

My slowly growing tolerance for the fennel family is where these meatballs come in. When I first tried them at Polpo, one of my top London restaurants, I was really reluctant, but my dining partner was eager to sample them. I gave in and I’m really glad I did… they were delicious.

They were so good that I have even tried replicating them at home. While my pork and fennel meatballs are not exactly the same (for one thing I make mine a lot smaller), they’re easy to make and delicious. Just as an aside, I haven’t bought the Polpo cookbook (yet), so these are my own recipe, rather than from the book, but I’m eager to compare them.

My favorite way to eat these is with a slow-cooked tomato sauce and spaghetti, though they’re pretty good as Swedish meatballs, too. One of the best things about meatballs is making a big batch and freezing the leftovers for future quick and easy weeknight dinners.

I’ve tested regular and gluten-free versions, which I’ve included in the recipe below. Next trial: egg-free meatballs.

Serves: 8

On the Counter

500 g ground pork
1/2 tsp fennel seeds, lightly crushed
1 small onion (1/2 cup or 75 g), very finely diced or blitzed in the food processor
1 egg
50 g breadcrumbs or blitzed gluten-free oats
1 clove garlic, finely minced or blitzed
1 tsp salt

What to Do

Combine all ingredients and squish them together until thoroughly combined. Take enough of the mix to make 2.5 cm/1 in diameter meatballs into your hand, and roll them into a ball. (If you’re worried about the meat sticking to you, rub just a drop of vegetable oil onto your hands before rolling.)

Once you’ve rolled all your meatballs, set 4-5 per person aside if you’re using them for pasta or Swedish meatballs with sides. Take the rest and lay them on a flat baking sheet, then cover it tightly with plastic wrap and freeze them overnight. (The next day, you can just throw them into a zip-top bag and back into the freezer.)

There are 2 ways to go forward with meatballs now. You can sear them in a very hot pan with a little oil, turning them so they brown on all sides. The other option, and my preferred, is to lay them all on a baking sheet in 1 layer, and bake them in the oven (200C/390F) for at least 5 minutes per “side” to ensure browning and consistent texture.

Once you’ve browned them, you can try them in Swedish meatballs, or cooked low and slow in a tomato sauce.

I knew there would be things that I’d miss when I moved from the US to the UK. Watching my favorite sport, for one thing. (Ice hockey, if you’re curious.) The convenience of 24 hour public transportation. NY style pizza. Lately, it’s been Buffalo wings. Maybe it’s all the talk about deflate-gate, another Super Bowl rooting against the Patriots, or maybe it’s the great wings I had last time I was home, but I just can’t stop thinking about Buffalo wings.

When you crave something, and I mean really can’t-stop-thinking-about-it crave, there isn’t much that can fill the void except the exact thing you want. If you want Ben & Jerry’s Phish Food, frozen yogurt is not going to cut it. In my case, nothing but real, good, bright orangey red spicy messy Buffalo wings would do. Thankfully, I found somewhere that’s as good as advertised here in London called Sticky Wings, on Brick Lane in East London.

I’ve been a few times already and sampled most of the menu with my fellow wings crew. There are 4 different varieties of wings on offer, either bone-in or boneless. You can choose from American Buffalo (with what I’m pretty sure is Frank’s Red Hot sauce), Sticky Wings BBQ, Jerk Twist and Hot Chilli.

I’ve tried everything but the Jerk Twist (maybe next time…), and while everything was good, the American Buffalo win. While we got a sample selection the first time around, we were all converted to American Buffalo on the next visit.

The Hot Chilli offer a real kick, but it’s not all spice. They’re juicy and flavorful, though your lips will probably be tingling. The StickyWings BBQ sauce version was tasty, but if I had to find a negative, they were a bit sweeter than I would normally like my wings.

In short, it’s worth trying them all, but you’ll probably find yourself drawn back to the American Buffalo wings, and they definitely deliver. They also offer generous pots of homemade dipping sauces for 40p extra, and both the ranch dressing and blue cheese are worth getting – though I’m a sucker for blue cheese, so that wins every time.

When it comes to the sides, though, I have to say that I was disappointed. The onion rings didn’t seem to have any real onions in them, and they were soggy – not quite what I hoped for. I had high hopes for the jalapeño balls, but they were mostly fried cream cheese balls with very little jalapeño bite. The battered and deep fried garlic mushrooms were interesting, but after about 2, I was over them.

My suggestion would be that if you’re getting sides, stick to the fries that automatically come with your wings, and make use of the Frank’s Red Hot sauce on the table, and maybe an extra pot of blue cheese dressing.

And then – there’s dessert. There is only one option on the menu, the Funky Cheesecake. In my international experience, I haven’t had great luck with cheesecake, generally. I have to say, this behemoth was worth it, though. It’s a sharing portion, for sure. For one person, I think the combination of profiteroles on top of cheesecake covered in caramel would be overwhelming, but with a few bites each, you’ll crave it for next time. Bonus: the crunch crumb crust is one of the best I’ve had in a very long time.

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If you’re in London and looking for a Buffalo wings fix, Sticky Wings has you covered. It’s nowhere fancy, and you could almost miss it for its cornerside location among the Indian restaurant hawkers and the kebab shops. This isn’t a hipster-chic destination that takes itself too seriously, but a great East London-run place where you can get some amazing wings and a bottle of Sam Adams, and make it out for under £15.

As an aside: I know this is traditionally a recipe blog, but I believe you can get a lot of inspiration from the experts. Eating out is like a research expedition, and while I haven’t yet made successful Buffalo wings, you can rest assured that once I make some I’m happy with, they’ll be up here.