Roasted aubergine and red pepper dip

This is probably my favourite simple dip to serve with drinks or even as a light first course. It is always well received and everyone thinks it must be really complicated because the flavours are complex and quite layered.

Begin by dicing one aubergine, 2 de-seeded red peppers and a peeled red onion into roughly even chunks like below. Drizzle with a few tablespoons of garlic infused olive oil and season well with salt and pepper. Spread everything out on a baking sheet and roast at 180 degrees celsius (fan oven) for about 40 minutes, tossing half way through until soft and slightly charred on the edges.   

After a few minutes of chopping there is very little to do to make this delicious dip

Place the roasted mixture in a food processor fitted with the steel blade, add a generous tablespoon of tomato puree and pulse until coarsely chopped. And that is it! Check for seasoning and chill until required as the flavours get better over time. Bring to room temperature before serving though.

I like the dip with some texture so don't puree it too much

You can add a little bit of fresh or dried chilli to the mix if you want it more spicy and some chopped flat leaf parsley and lemon juice make a nice addition too but I like it just like this. Very Italian and utterly delicious served with toasted baguette slices.

I cut a baguette into thin slices, drizzle with olive oil and bake them for 8-10 minutes in a hot oven until crisp and lightly golden.

Spring flowers

After the dreariest, wettest winter I have ever seen, it was a delight today to experience some lovely, warm spring sunshine and enjoy the many early flowers bursting into colourful life all around.  The garden sustained some significant damage in the fearsome storms of December and January - including the loss of my honeysuckle arch and it would appear the honeysuckle itself - so it was especially heartening to see the primroses, pansies, daffodils, and hellebore below blooming apparently unscathed after the winter deluge.

I'm afraid I have been driven to apply slug pellets, visible in some of these pictures.  The slugs have already begun their savage attack upon the fresh new flowers and leaves and the pellets were the only weapon I had to hand.  I will be ordering slug nematodes this week and intend to apply wool pellets this summer.

An Evening at the Savoy Hotel

I was very lucky to spend a quiet Friday evening at the Savoy with a friend of mine this weekend. I had been reading about the Beaufort Bar in William Yeoward's American Bar cocktail book and was keen to go. Having visited the amazing cocktail bar at the Connaught Hotel a few years ago, also on the recommendation of this book, I wanted to progress to the next chapter and carry on with my explorations of these glamorous cocktails.

Here is the iconic front of the hotel with its art-deco lettering and imposing frontage.

The bar is built into the stage of what was once a ballroom and provides the perfect setting for these amazing mixologists to shake and stir their creations.

Part of the fun is watching the drinks being created. One comes with a silver cup holding red roses which cascades dry ice over your table. Quite stunning!

I was very interested in this cabinet of vintage and antique glasses and books by the bar. The hotel serves some amazing rare and vintage spirits and champagnes at quite eye-watering prices!

The room is decorated in black and gold which makes this large space feel cosy and comfortable. A pianist and singer provided the melodic and relaxing music later in the evening.

This was a pine-apple julep beautifully presented in the traditional silver cup.

And this is The Association, made with champagne and a salted cassis caramel. This was my favourite.

We had salted broad beans, olives and fiery peanuts to go with our drinks. This is my friend's drink, Embankment Gardens.

You can sample the Savoy's cocktail menu by following the link here.

If you are able to sample drinks in The American Bar at the Savoy whilst you are there this is also highly recommended - but everything in moderation of course!