Native, Covent Garden, London

Scanning Time Out online for a new place to have lunch yesterday I came across Native in the 'Everyone's Talking About' section of their app.  A glowing report from Time Out reviewer, Tania Ballantine, encouraged me to stroll down to 3, Neal's Yard to find out for myself.

 Native is a first-restaurant venture for Imogen and Ivan who have gained lots of valuable experience doing street food and pop-ups but who also, in Imogen's words, are having to learn fast about running a restaurant.  If our experience yesterday is anything to go by then they are well placed on the road to success.


It was Imogen who warmly encouraged us into their small premises in the corner of Neal's Yard in Covent Garden.  There are a few tables at street level including bar seating which looks, not at a bar, but straight on to the cooking kitchen where you cannot fail to interact with the friendly staff.   There are more tables in the lower ground floor bringing the cover total to 32. 



Imogen suggested two seats at the kitchen which was great because we got to see most of the dishes being prepared and enjoyed discussing the finer points with Rob at the 'pass'. Their menu is small but perfectly formed with a range of country foods paired with somewhat unusual but interesting ingredients.  These included Wood Pigeon Kebab with Beet Hummus,Yoghurt, Pickled Cabbage and Harissa or Fallow Deer Steak with Cauliflower, Crispy Onions and Carrot.

I know this is a Seafood blog but I consider wild game to be on an equal par with fresh fish probably due to its natural origins, so forgive me if I indulge myself a bit.

We tried the Rabbit Dumplings with Smoked Bacon Dashi and Pickled Walnut.  This is great way to eat this underrated meat.  The meatballs were firm but tender with lovely flavour and made a great starter/small dish with the savoury Dashi and sweet Pickled Walnuts (which taste fruity like HP Sauce ).  Next we had the Slow Roast Cauliflower with Brown Butter and Wild Garlic which was amazing. The roasted cauli' had been seared in a pan and then laid on top of cauliflower puree.  I have never been vegetarian but this dish is a wholesome meat-alternative which is tasty and satisfying in its own right. 



Finally on to the fish which was Pan-fried Hake on Split Pea Dahl with a Cauliflower Leaf Pakora.  The fish was cooked to perfection by chef Peter who seemed genuinely pleased to get complimented on his skill.  As I always say the worst you can do to fresh fish is to overcook it and this beautifully fresh Hake fillet gleamed and glistened its whiteness from the plate contrasting with the yellow dahl.  The Cauliflower leaf (no waste here) Pakora was light and crispy and delicious. 



Accompanied by a crisp English white wine, Three Choirs Winchcombe Downs (Gloucester) 2013, together with great company, this was lunch with a difference which we look forward to experiencing again soon.  

Cooking Game at River Cottage

OK I know this is a review site for seafood, so why am I writing about game ?  Well, a number of reasons but the key ones are ......  (a) seafood and game are often sold together in fishmongers (b) like fish game is generally a healthy food being very low in fat (c) game represents (in the main) wild animals, which is the case for a lot of fish which we eat.

But the main reason is that I have just attended a one day course on the preparation and cooking of game at River Cottage which was so informative and enjoyable that I want to share it with you.

I arrived at River Cottage HQ at 09:30 on a windy Wednesday morning and met up with my 6 fellow students for the day.  They included a gamekeeper, a beater and a trainee chef along with home cooks who wanted to widen their skills and knowledge.  

Following the tractor-drawn trailer ride down the hill we we ushered into a posh marquee which housed both a restaurant area and a teaching kitchen with workstations for about 20 students.  Being a small group of seven we had plenty of space and time for one-to-one instruction.  Although the marquee creaked occasionally in the wind it was warm and comfortable and it was sited to fully appreciate the magnificent views down the valley.

First item on the menu was wild rabbit - a much undervalued food item in the UK but one which is appreciated in other countries.  Rabbit is lean and (pardon the cliche) tastes a bit like chicken with flavour.  Wild rabbits are herbivorous grazers so you couldn't have a better option than a truly free-range wild one.  We learned how to skin the animal and then to prepare the best cuts of meat namely the saddle (or loin) and the thighs. The saddle was cured by coating in salt/sugar, washed, dried and then lightly smoked using oak wood chips.  This smoked loin was vacuum packed for us to take home and use at a later date.  The rabbit thighs were boned, combined with pigeon breast, pheasant, bacon pieces, rabbit liver and heart, Thyme, Rosemary, salt, pepper and onion in a red wine reduction.  This mixture was minced and pressed into glass jars for steaming to produce a delicious game pate. 

Pigeon Breasts with Beetroot

Pigeon breasts were pan fried with onion and garlic and beetroot (previously boiled).  This was served, rare, with Salsa Verde.  It totally reversed by view of pigeon as it was juicy and succulent with a subtle flavour.

Pheasant Tortilla

We prepared Pheasant from scratch without filling the room with feathers and produced a dish probably not normally associated with game i.e. Pheasant Tortillas.  We made the tortillas using a flour and water/oil mixture rolled out thinly and fried in a dry frying pan.  The Pheasant breast and thigh (boned) were cut into strips, tossed in oil with onions, garlic and spices and pan fried.  The meal was served with fresh green salad, creme fraiche and grated cheese - simple, quick and extremely tasty.

This is just a sample of some of the activities which we undertook on the day.  It was very relaxed and its success undoubtedly results from the expert support provided by our instructor, Tim Maddams, who instilled confidence in each of us with his friendly encouragement.