If my kids come home from school and smell that this has been cooking during the day for them, the sound of bags and shoes hitting the floor (ffs) is always joined by excitement and thats-exactly-what-I-wanted sighs. I love knowing this will definitely form part of their childhood food memories. 

Easy to do with just a little faff.

Into a large pot throw:

• 1kg chicken drumsticks
• 1 onion, halved
• 1 tomato, quartered
• 1-2 carrots, halved
• 2 sticks of celery, chopped in half
• 1 tsp whole peppercorns
• Contentious, but I always throw in a Knorr Chicken Pot too.
• Optional: a small piece of brisket or stewing beef. This will enrich but nit essential.

Cover with about 1.5 litres of water, or juat enough to cover everything. The size and shape of your pot will determine this.

Bring to the boil, then simmer gently for 1.5-2 hours. The broth will reduce but don’t let it reduce too much. Remove any scum that forms on top, but I don't tend get much using drumsticks.

Turn off the heat and ideally allow everything to cool down a little.

Pour the whole lot into a colander over a large bowl. Give the pot a clean them pour the broth only back in, keeping the chicken, bones and vegetables aside.

Put some small pasta shapes on to boil (pastina, orzo, tiny tubes) and in another pot boil some finely shredded leafy greens (spring cabbage, cavolo nero, savoy).

Meanwhile pick though all the meat carefully, discarding bones, skin, veins. Set aside in a bowl. Lightly shredding any large pieces. If you've added any brisket or beef, chop this up roughly too.

Optional: In a separate bowl, using a hand blender, blend one of the reserved carrot pieces, a piece of tomato if that exists still, a couple of celery pieces and a half ladle of broth to make a paste. Add just a heaped tablespoon or two of this back to the broth pan to give a little body to it, but not much.

Taste broth for seasoning. May need a pinch of salt but not much. Reheat gently.

Drain pasta and cabbage.

In large soup bowls add some shredded chicken, pasta, cabbage to each, then top with a few ladels of your hot broth.

Add peperoncino flakes or some grated parmesan.

Feel 1000% better. Mamma knows best.

I adore knives. Not in a stabby way (at ease ex-husband), but as kitchen kit goes for any keen cook, along with your pans, your knife set is essential and the first area I invested in after replacing all the budget starter home items. Look after them, and they will see you right for a very long time.

My current knife set is from a brand known for their quality and I’ve been happy with them over the years, but what I have seen an interest in from professional chefs and keen home cooks is a turn towards handmade knives - with beautiful hammered blades and intricate handles made of fine woods.

And look how beautiful this Katto it is - so much character. You have a choice of blade and also wood handle - I opted for the dark Rosewood. This means you need to wash and dry your knives after use but that’s a good habit to have anyway and I’ve always thought wooden handled knives felt better to use.

Katto knives are available in chef’s knives, santokus, utility, bread and just launched - a 7” agile nakiri.

My preference for santoku over chef knives is a few years old now, they just feel better to me and I seem to work quicker than with a heavier chefs knife - the downturned point also lends itself to less mistakes. The 7.5” Katto santoku is no different - it feels well balanced, robust for heavier chopping (coped well with some tough winter squash) but light and sharp enough to thinly slice onions.

I’ve been wanting to use it for a few weeks for reviewing properly and despite being a rather glamorous item looking stunning on my magnetic rack, I’m happy to report that the Katto knife is very much a functional item for the kitchen and I’m sure going to enjoy using mine on the daily.

I haven’t encountered any issues at all with it - you’ll want a smaller knife for more intricate work, but that’s a job for a different knife like their utility, which would make a great pair with this or the chef’s knife.

This is a super knife, from a lovely brand (read the about us page on their site) with a sustainable ethos.

Extra shout out to their presentation and packaging too - loved the coin tradition, the tote and the attention to detail on the brand was a really nice touch. Along with Julie Andrews, brown paper packages tied up with string are also one of MY favourite things, so I appreciated the whole experience of receiving and unboxing the knife.

Also, with the option of personalisation and a nice leather scabbard, I’m sure any keen cook would be happy to find a Katto Knife or two (or a set!) under the Christmas tree this year.

AD I was sent this item for honest review, words and thought my own.

 

As for a cocktail at home, I didn’t want to diffuse this vodka too much so chose to make a Caipiroska , similar to a caipirinha, but prepared with vodka instead of cachaça.

Ingredients

• 50ml Vodka

• 2 tsp Sugar

• 1 Lime

• 1/2 glassful Crushed Ice

Preparation

1 Cut the lime into wedges and place into shaker.

2 Use a muddler to mix the lime and sugar, not squashing too much or else will become bitter. 

3 Add crushed ice and vodka and shake well.

4 Pour shaker contents into serving glass and garnish with a lime wedge.

5 Garnish with a lime wedge.

You can also see it used in some of these delicious sounding cocktails on their website.

Priced at £60 per 70cl bottle.

https://xmusevodka.com

AD I was sent a bottle for review, words and thought my own.

Along with a lick of darker paint and a moodier vibe, the small plate menu has been updated to include more of the flavours and style from their well received Espina pop up at The Golden Pineapple bar in Ship Street and a stronger focus on the drinks menu.

You'll still find the sunny, Mediterranean vibes everyone has come to love, but with more prominent Asian influences and more edgy pairings, with some junk food inspo thrown in for good measure. Sounds like a fusion disaster, but somehow it works, and it works very well.

Occasionally the experimentation and drive for innovation is pushed a bit too far or misplaced; the impressive bone marrow Yorkshire pudding, packed full of succulent beef and sat on a green pond of East End Liqour, utterly delicious in itself had no place on the menu here (sorry chef Will).

The Marmite and furikake dressing on the hispi cabbage was a wallop of intense saltiness that was a touch too much. The delicate beauty of artichokes were sadly engulfed in the flavours of refried bean and tomato salsa. But we let them off, because without pushing the boundaries, you can't have the creative cooking that results in dishes like tuna crudo, uplifted with kumquat and avocado. Or silky, umami rich hoi sin glazed aubergine nor the tomato and blood orange salad with olive oil ponzu. And dammit, the cheeseburger tartare, something that goes against everything I thought I believed in in food, is a plate licking must order with it's tangy Maccy D sauce nailed.

But respect to classic flavours are still honoured here. I challenge you to find a better taramasalata in town - velvety and decadent. Perfect for the prawn crackers served with it and better with their delicious airy bread. I loved seeing a classic gnoccho fritto from the Emilia Romagna region, exactly how you'd find them there, pillow light and nestled simply next to cured meat. And fat juicy prawns were rightly left in the safe hands of Basque cooking and a piquant pil pil sauce.

Don't miss the drinks, impossible to choose from the cocktail list from the seasonal serves to the house classics. My sherry Monocle aperitif was the perfect way to kick off dinner. Leave the car at home and dive into the wine list too, carefully selected but extensive with some interesting natural and low intervention wines. We chose an orange wine, Casa Balaguer Tragolargo Blanco, crisp and floral with a pleasant fizzy farmy funk expected from the naturals.

Polishing off the feast, a giggly rhubarb trifle topped with smile making sprinkles. If you can't have fun with dessert, where can you?

As always, they have created food I want to eat, and even food I didn't know I wanted to eat. The menu is almost irrelevant because to me it doesn't matter, I'd happily try everything. Come with a group, sample it all.

Med. I loved you, Med 22Black, I love you more.

 

 

Totally off the radar is a pizzeria tucked away in Ovingdean. A place I've walked and run past many times, the only nod to it a small wooden hanging sign. I'd assumed this was just another food truck in someone's garden or a pop up of sorts. But no, turn the corner and you'll find a beautiful little restaurant, which actually sits in the location of the former Old Vienna Cafe. It's surrounded by dahlias, fairy lights and trees and beyond adorable. 

Whilst the restaurant itself is closed during Covid restrictions, delivery and pick up is available and remains immensely popular, turning out an average of 150 pizzas a night in high season. I live for these quirky back street discoveries, totally unexpected and exceeding expectation.