Pickledgreen’s Pick of the Month – August

Welcome to the first edition of our new monthly newsletter. There’s lots for you this month including an offer on our delicious summery rosé wine, Edinburgh festivals fun, and chef has provided a recipe for the most gorgeous dessert – elderflower panna cotta with strawberries and shortbread.

Festival fever

The annual jamboree is about to roll in to town! This year’s Edinburgh International Fringe Festival runs from 6th to 30th August, and with over 2,400 shows, there really is something for everyone at this, the world’s largest arts festival. For the best in comedy, music and theatre; this is the place to be, and it’s no coincidence that Edinburgh’s population virtually doubles at this time of year.  Don’t forget, we are only a two minute walk from The Assembly Rooms, one of the city’s busiest Fringe venues.

This year’s Edinburgh International Festival starts on 13th August and runs through to the first weekend in September, with the finale of the Festival Fireworks Concert at 9pm on Sunday 5th September. The programme brings some of the world’s brightest stars to our stages, with events across the city including concerts at the newly re-opened Usher Hall, and ballet in the fabulous surroundings of The Festival Theatre.

If you fancy meeting up with your favourite author, then The Edinburgh International Book Festival is the place for you, and of course, their home in Charlotte Square is just a short walk along to pickledgreen, so do pop in for a bite to eat if you’re passing by.

Foodies at The Festival – 2 for 1 ticket offer

The Foodies Festival will return to Holyrood Park from 13th to 15th August, and this year’s event promises to be bigger and tastier than ever before.

With a great line-up of chefs including Edinburgh’s own Mary Contini of Valvona & Crolla, Tony Borthwick of the Plumed Horse, and Matt Powell from Hotel du Vin.

This year, the Fringe comes to foodies, with a host of comedy stars joining in with the culinary capers for live cooking demonstrations with top chefs.

We have a special ticket offer of 2 tickets for £10 for our readers. Just quote the code Foodies241 when booking online at www.foodiesfestival.com or on Tel: 0871 230 5573

Tickled pink! Rosé Wine Offer

Packed with fruit, our VDP de l’Aude Domaine de Brau Rosé is the perfect summer wine choice. During August, our readers can take advantage of the special price of £14.50 (normally £15.50). Just quote the newsletter when ordering a bottle at lunch or dinner.

Don’t forget, all of our wines are Organic and many are also certified as being Biodynamically produced. This means that you can enjoy a great glass of the grape stuff, knowing that its made its way to you without any nasty chemicals, and minimal environmental impact.

Chef ‘s recipe of the month – Elderflower panna cotta with strawberry & mint salad, and shortbread

Following on from the lovely feedback for the clam chowder recipe, we’ve decided to make this a monthly feature, and convinced our chef Matt to relinquish a recipe for our readers to try out at home. This month, the most tempting of summer desserts! If you’re having guests round, this is the perfect pud to make the day before.

Serves 6-8

For the panna cotta:

600ml double cream

150ml milk

35g caster sugar

1/2 of a vanilla pod (optional)

2 leaves of gelatine

4 tbsp elderflower cordial (or to taste)

For the salad:

1 punnet of strawberries

Chopped fresh mint

Noddy’s shortbread:

150g softened butter

150g plain flour

45g caster sugar

pinch of salt

Method

Add the cream, milk, sugar and vanilla to a large pan and bring to  the boil. Once at boiling point, remove from the heat and set aside. Soak the gelatine in cold water until soft, then whisk into the warm  cream mixture until dissolved.

Add the cordial to taste, about 4 tablespoons, and allow to cool. When thickened pour into moulds and chill until set (usually  3-4 hours). If you don’t have any moulds, just set the mixture into wine glasses instead.

For the shortbread, combine the sugar and butter then gently combine with the flour and salt. When you have a smooth dough, roll into a sausage, wrap in baking paper and refrigerate.

When the dough is set (allow an hour) slice into rounds and bake on greaseproof paper at 160c  until golden, about 15 minutes, then dust with caster sugar.

For the salad, hull and quarter then strawberries and mix with the mint.

To serve, dip the mould (if using) briefly into hot water and turn out the panna cotta onto a round of shortbread. Place in the centre of a plate and scatter round the strawberry salad. (Otherwise, if made in a glass, place the glass on a plate, serve with the strawberries and the shortbread on the side)

What’s in season in Scotland – August

With all the produce that’s in season, this is one of the best months for making jam, fruit pies and crumbles, the freshest salads, or the perfect home-made pesto. Here’s some ideas of what can be found in your local shops.

Fruit – Brambles, gooseberries, loganberries, plums, raspberries, strawberries, tomatoes.

Veggies - Aubergine, beetroot, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, courgettes,  cucumber, fennel, French beans, lettuce, mushrooms, onions, peas, potatoes, radish, runner beans, shallots.

Game - grouse, hare , venison.

Fish & seafood – Crayfish, John Dory, skate, wild trout.

Herbs - basil & garlic.

It’s a busy time for all you gardeners out there,  and I hear Edinburgh’s allotments are likely to give bumper crops this year, thanks to the lovely sunshine we had back in June. If you’re not lucky enough to have the space to grow your own fruit and veg, here’s a link to a website with a comprehensive list and details for Scotland’s Pick Your Own fruit and veg farms.

http://www.pickyourownfarms.org.uk/scotland_pyo.php

Cairnie Farm near St. Andrews in Fife is a particular favourite for their berries and soft fruit, and a makes great family day out with lots of play activities around the farm, including their whopping 6 acre Mega Maize Maize.

New Menu

And last but definitely not least, our new menu will launch on Friday 6th August.

Happy eating!

Mel & the team at pickledgreen

Pickledgreen, 158-162 Rose Street, Edinburgh, EH2 3JD

Tel: 0131- 220  0477

Why not drop us a line of hello? Email hello@pickledgreen.co.uk

We hope you’ve enjoyed reading our newsletter. Feel free to drop us a line at any time with comments or suggestions,and don’t forget to keep in touch with us on our Facebook and Twitter pages for news and last-minute dining offers.

Content 2010 pickledgreen

Written/compiled by Leila Arfa http://leilappetit.blogspot.com/

Hi Folks,

This Saturday, one of our customers liked the mussel chowder so much that she asked for the recipe.

The chefs usually don’t like to give away their ‘little secrets’ but strangely enough, Steve agreed to do so.

He sent an email to the lady the morning after, giving away all the details of his recipe!

Although he made it clear that this email should remain confidential, he made a small mistake:

He forwarded the email to me.

And that is when the recipe went from confidential to public.

Indeed, as I know how good that chowder is, I immediately shared it with all my friends.

And received really good feedback from some who tried the recipe over the weekend!

I then thought I could actually share it with you as well (the file is attached at the end of this post).

I know I’ll probably be in trouble when Steve sees this post but hey, I want you to try our chowder as well!

Enjoy.

Mel

PS.: Don’t forget to take a picture of your chowder before eating it to win a dinner for two including a bottle of house wine (see all the details on our facebook page).

Mussel Chowder recipe for 4 person

This week, if you book a table for 4 or more people Wednesday (the 23rd of June) at dinner time, we offer you a bottle of house wine.

All our wines are either organic or biodynamic (see the definition here) and of superior quality.

You have no excuse not to try it, especially if it’s free!

Speak soon,

Mel

PS.: You can win a dinner for two at pickledgreen simply by joining our facebook page. Check it out!

PPS.: The phone number is 0131 220 0477

From now on, we will be offering you an amazing deal, once a week in pickledgreen.

The deal will usually only be available for one day during that week, either at lunch or dinner.

To celebrate FATHER’S DAY, we offer our very first deal of the week on Sunday the 20^th of June.

For this special occasion, every father that comes for dinner, won’t have to pay anything for the food they order!

So come along in pickledgreen on Sunday evening for this exceptional deal.

How do I take advantage of the deal?

Simply notify your waitress or waiter about the deal of the week when placing your order.

P.S.: we can’t guarantee that we will have place for you, unless you book a table in advance on 01312200477 or online

pickledpeople,
Since the Summer is almost upon us, it’s time to offer you something quicker, lighter and brighter, to match the weather!

Our new lunch menu has 12 mouth-watering dishes to choose from, highlighting the very best in seasonal, local ingredients.

Lunch menu

chilled roasted tomato soup, tarragon oil                                                 3.75

salad of confit duck, beetroot and apple                                                   5.00/10.00

poached salmon, pickled cucumber, mint crème fraiche                      4.75/9.50

courgette and watercress tart, lemon mayonnaise, salad                   4.50/9.00

mussels cooked in cider, parsley and sage                                                5.50/11.00

‘vignole’ – a little stew of Spring vegetables with crusty bread          4.50/9.00

venison burger, red onion jam, real chips                                                         12.50

homemade pork pie, coddled eggs, garden salad                                   5.00/10.00

herb crusted coley, salad of green beans, potato and shallots             5.50/9.00

tajine of Borders lamb, new potato salad, confit lemon                                12.50

homemade carrot cake                                                                                   3.00

vanilla cheesecake                                                                                            3.00

chocolate pudding, berries                                                                             3.00

sides (all 2.50)

artisan bread

leaf salad, classic vinaigrette

green bean, new potato and shallot salad

real chips

Please let us know what you think!

Mel

We’ve been open for a few months now, and we’d really like to thank all the diners and customers who have taken the time to write a review on our restaurant.  We couldn’t be more happy with what you guys are saying, thanks for the feedback  – keep those all important comments coming!

Don’t just take our word for it, heres some comments from our customers who have taken the trouble to blow our own trumpet for us!  See you soon,

The pickledgreen team

http://www.toptable.com/en-gb/venue/reviews/?id=14083

http://www.transitionedinburghsouth.org.uk/node/209

Many thanks to Helena for her great review during the Fairtrade fortnight.

On Wednesday the 24th of March we are organising, in collaboration with Bite magazine, a 5 courses tasting menu:

Organic cauliflower soup, homemade duck ‘ham’ with pear

Terrine of poached chicken, watercress, sherry vinegar dressing

Mussel soup, lightly curried rouille

Braised shin of Beef, crushed butternut, spring greens

Poached rhubarb and blood orange fool, granola

And the price is only £25, including the matching organic wines!

Its proving to be a popular event and have just 10 spaces left for what will be a fabulous evening of food and people.

Bite Publishing will be handling this event so to book a place drop line today at contact@bitepublishing.co.uk with your Name and contact details.

4th March 2010:  Another 5 Star Review!  Many thanks to Hannah Ewan.

http://www.edinburghspotlight.com/2010/03/review-pickled-green-rose-street/