Following the success of the Covent Garden Night Market last year, the event has returned to the famous Piazza, except this year with the exciting addition of a live Kitchen Theatre on Friday evenings, featuring a selection of celebrity chefs over the four weeks the event is taking place.
Last Friday was the turn of beardy, northern favourites, The Hairy Bikers, who cooked up some gorgeous Smoked Salmon and Ricotta Pouffe Fritters (see below for recipe), and a mouth-watering, if not slightly heart-attack inducing Tuscan Beef Salad. ‘Salad!’ I hear you cry, ‘but that is healthy!’ Not when you serve it with fried ciabatta croutons and butter basted steak, but hey, you’ve gotta have a bit of fun!
As well as preparing some amazing food (I tried the steak, it was something special), Dave Myers and Simon King entertained the crowd with witty chatter and stories about their culinary adventures, which involved a rather nasty run in with a goat’s penis! The unpredictability of live cooking became fully apparent when Dave set fire to his arm, though even this he seemed to manage to make a joke out of!
For more live cooking antics, get yourself down to Covent Garden’s Piazza at 6.30pm on Friday for more Kitchen Theatre treats from Willie Harcourt-Cooze on the 22nd August and Fergus Henderson on 29th August.
If you missed The Hairy Bikers on Friday and would like to sample their wares, here is the recipe for Smoked Salmon and Ricotta Pouffe Fritters.
Ingredients (serves 2)
1 Egg
2 tablespoons plain flour
1 lemon (zest and juice)
250g Ricotta Cheese
125g Smoked Salmon finely chopped
1 Handful fresh dill, finely chopped
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 small nob of butter
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Enough rocket and watercress salad for two
Salt/pepper
Directions
Combine egg, ricotta and flour in a bowl to make a smooth batter. Stir in dill, salmon, and the zest/juice of the lemon and season with salt and pepper.
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a thick bottomed frying pan and spoon dollops of the batter into pan to form rough patties. You should get 4-6 out of the mixture.
Add butter to pan and cook on a medium heat for about 5-6 minutes on each side until golden brown.
Serve Pouffe Fritters on a pile of salad.