SEPTEMBER

EAT
ardine, just off City Road near Old Street, London EC1, is the first restaurant from
Alex Jackson. Formerly head chef at Rotorino, Alex has been on the radar for some
time, having also worked at The Dock Kitchen and Mons Cheesemongers.
The relaxed, pared-back restaurant, which opened over the summer, is set in an annex
alongside contemporary art gallery Parasol. Alex has taken influence from Provence,
Languedoc, northern Spain and Italy for his seasonal Mediterranean menu, sourcing
many of his ingredients from region-of-the-moment the Basque country, and Italy,
alongside British meat and fish.
A simple menu is focussed around an open wood fire with dishes like slow-cooked leg of lamb à la
ficelle with white beans and anchovy, and malloreddus (a gnocchi-like pasta from Sardinia) with sausage,
ricotta and dandelion, grilled, stuffed sardines, a whole rabbit to share, and these veal-stuffed tomatoes.
15 Micawber Street, London N1; sardine.london; @sardinelondon
Veal-stuffed tomatoes
1 HOUR | SERVES 4 | EASY | LC
A lovely thing to have on your table as part
of a lunch spread, or as a light supper.
vine tomatoes 12 ripe (around
10cm diameter)
tarragon a few sprigs
basil leaves 12
olive oil
white wine a glass
crème fraîche 50g
STUFFING
basil ½ a bunch, chopped
tarragon ½ a bunch, chopped
flat-leaf parsley ½ a bunch, chopped
veal mince 100g
pork mince 100g
chicken livers 20g, trimmed and
finely chopped
pancetta 50g, finely chopped
breadcrumbs 30g, soaked in 2 tbsp milk
ricotta 30g
fennel seeds 1 tsp, crushed
• Heat the oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5.
• For the stuffing, mix all of the ingredients
together. Season with salt and lots of black
pepper. You can fry a little bit of the mixture
to check the seasoning.
• Cut the tops off the tomatoes and reserve.
Hollow out, discarding the seeds and put the
tomatoes in a baking dish on top of the
scattered tarragon sprigs and basil leaves.
Lightly season the insides with salt, and stuff
with the filling. Perch the tops of the
tomatoes back on. Season with salt, drizzle
with olive oil and add the wine to the dish.
• Roast in the oven for about 25 minutes:
after 15 minutes, add the crème fraîche.
Roast until the tomatoes are soft and the
stuffing is cooked. Serve with the juices from
the dish and some toast if you like.
PER SERVING 273 KCALS | FAT 14.5G | SATURATES 6.8G
CARBS 13.2G | SUGARS 7.5G | FIBRE 2.2G
PROTEIN 16.2G | SALT 0.6G
September 2016 Omagazine.com 97