Monday 20 May 2013

Week beginning May 20th - Edible Spring Flowers

This weeks menu is mostly about the edible spring floral items that grow all around us. Spring has finally made our surrounding bright with vibrant colours. London might lack a coastline but it has some extraordinary parks to loiter and embrace in. These parks also flourish in edible scented efflorescence posy. You don't necessarily need to pick and eat these items but instead use another sense, smell. As important as taste, smell is a memory of surroundings and quite often nostalgic. Without smell an onion would taste like an apple and every wine would taste like the other.

Featured in Kaffeine's bouquet this week are purple and white nettle flowers, nutty, sweet and with a pleasant and slightly lingering bitterness. The prince of spring herb is married with baby beetroot, hazelnut crumble, mature cheddar, watercress and another foraged leaf, oak leaf. Oak leaves are mild nutty and sweet, dare I say nature's popcorn.

Speaking of popcorn we also have what I'd consider Japanese answer to popcorn, edamame. In English edamame means soy beans, these green pods are so versatile and could potentially replace the need for meat. The same produce makes many varieties of ingredients from tofu, soy sauce, milk, flour and oil etc...

Soy beans has also proven to reduce the risk of prostate and breast cancer.
This week we will be gently steaming the whole bean (stripping with the teeth is required when eating) and dressed with a sauce made from raw pepperwort. All in the name pepperwort taste very similar to peppercorns and is another floral bud that will happily linger in this weeks menu.

Sea kale broccoli will make an appearance on our menu this week for the first time. Not only here but probably one of the first places in the UK to have these tender sea grown stems to feature on any menu. These juicy florets taste very similar to broccoli but are naturally seasoned by its environment the ocean. We've combined sea kale with fish goujons and complimented the salad with honey pickled bucks-horn, cucumber and garnished with zesty wood sorrel.

Come get caffeinated and while you're at it, satisfy your hunger pains.

Jared Bryant
Lead Chef
Kaffeine
@redjar50


Traditional bircher muesli with rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.50
Granola muesli with pomegranate molasses and rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.50
Fruit salad (pineapple, mango, strawberries, grapes, passionfruit, peach) 3.70 (add 30 p for granola or yoghurt)
Ciabatta roll with omelette, pancetta, rocket and tomato salsa 4.90
Ciabatta roll with courgette omelette, rocket and tomato salsa 4.90
Croissant with Italian roast ham, talleggio cheese, spinach & plum tomatoes 4.90
Croissant with gruyere cheese and plum tomatoes 4.00
Seven seed bakery bloomer toast with homemade preserves 1.70
Coffee, cherry and walnut toast 2.30
Banana bread 2.40

Pastries by Seven Seed bakery
French butter croissants 1.80
Pain au chocolat 2.40
Almond croissants 2.80

Baked Treats
Sweet Muffins: Mango and brazilnut 2.20
Savoury Scone: Curried peas and feta 2.20
Damson and melilot friands 2.20
Super moist chocolate brownies 2.40
White chocolate blondies 2.40
Portuguese tarts 2.00
ANZAC cookies 1.80
Chocolate chip cookies 1.80

French retro baguettes 4.90
Salmon, cucumber, lime cream cheese, thai basil, rocket
Mushroom pate, crushed minted peas, red onion, spinach

Foccacias 5.00
Ham with baked golden delicious, rosemary aioli, spinach
Tomato, mozzarella, rocket, chimichurri

Salads: 5.50/6.50
Fish goujons with bucks-horn plantain and cucumber pickled in honey vinegar, sea kale and garnished with wood sorrel
Roasted baby beetroot with oak leave, hazelnut crumble, mature cheddar, watercress and garnished with purple and white nettle flowers
Edamame beans in pod with pepperwort dressing

Tart: 4.00 or 7.50 with salad
Tomato and mozzarella risotto balls baked in sliced cured pig cheeks




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