I was invited to a sneaky preview at Le Caprice of what some of
Top chefs including Gary Lee of The Ivy and Steve Tonkin of Dean Street Townhouse will be showing the tricks of their trade through a series of weekly demonstrations as part of a collaboration between the Caprice Holdings Restaurant Group (of The Ivy and Le Caprice fame) and Covent Garden London.
The live demonstrations will be free of charge and will take place in the North Hall of Covent Garden’s Market building every Thursday at 5:30pm and 6:30pm for thirty minutes.
Some of the dishes being demonstrated will include “Baked Razor Clams with Chorizo and Broad Beans” by Richard Kirkwood of J Sheekey & J Sheekey Oyster Bar on 7th October, and “Champagne Risotto with Alba Truffles” by Lee Bull of Le Caprice on 11th November. For a full list of dates, chefs and respective dishes, please see here.
On the evening I visited, Gary Lee (Senior Head Chef of The Ivy) and Iain Graham (Executive Chef of Urban Caprice) showed us how to prepare “Le Caprice’s Spiced Crab with Shrimp and Pea Shoot Salad” and “The Ivy’s Moroccan Spiced Rump of Lamb with Fattouche and Houmous”.
Both dishes were equally delicious but I felt
For more information, please visit the Covent Garden London site here.
The Ivy’s Moroccan Spiced Rump of Lamb with Fattouche and Houmous (Serves 2)
Ingredients:
2 rumps of lamb, approximately 200g each, fully trimmed
2 tsp harissa
For the “Houmous”:
100g chickpeas, soaked overnight in cold water
2 cloves garlic, crushed with 1 tsp salt
Juice of 1 lemon
60ml tahini paste, stir well
Salt and pepper
For the “Dukkah” – a blend of spices and nuts:
8 tbsp sesame seeds
4 tbsp coriander seeds
2 tbsp cumin seeds
40g hazelnuts
1 tsp salt
¼ freshly ground pepper
For the “Fattouche” – a rustic salad:
2 tsp sumac (available from Middle Eastern food stores)
¼ tsp allspice
¼ tsp pepper
1 onion, sliced
4 cos leaves, washed and dried
4 radishes, thickly cut
2 large ripe tomatoes, diced
1 large cucumber, largely diced
150g mixed herbs (mint, coriander, parsley), chopped
60ml olive oil
40ml extra virgin olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
½ tbsp balsamic vinegar
Method:
1. To make the “Houmous”: take the soaked chickpeas, and whilst still in the water rub them with your fingers to loosen the skins. These will float to the surface and can be discarded. Place the chickpeas in fresh water and cook for 40 to 60 minutes on the hob until they are tender. Strain them, being careful to retain the cooking liquid. Place the drained chickpeas into a food processor with the crushed garlic, lemon juice, tahini and 2 tbsp of the cooking liquid. Blend until the mixture is smooth, adding more cooking liquid if required, and season. Leave to one side.
2. To make the “Dukkah”: roast or dry fry all the ingredients separately on a baking sheet or frying pan, except for the salt and pepper. If the hazelnuts have skins on them these can be removed after roasting by rubbing with a cloth. Pound the roasted seeds in a pestle and mortar or gently blend them in a food processor, being careful not to over blend them, so that they form an oily paste. Combine the nuts, seeds and salt and pepper, and keep in an air-tight container until ready to serve.
3. In a preheated frying pan, season the rumps of lamb and seal for at least 3 to 4 minutes to ensure all the flavours are locked in and then place in a hot oven. Once cooked (to taste), remove the lamb from the oven, saving the jus to one side. Whilst the lamb is resting, mix together all the ingredients for the “fattouche” salad, ensuring that the herbs are squeezed and covered with the liquid and place in a bowl to be served separately.
4. When ready to serve, place a small amount of harissa onto each plate and a large spoonful of houmous adjacent to it, finish with a drizzle of olive oil. Slice the warm lamb rumps and arrange onto the plate. Sprinkle the lamb with the “dukkah” and finish with a little jus from the meat. Serve with the “fattouche” salad.
5. Enjoy!
