Ixta Belfrage's Mushroom Menu Comes Served With A Side Of Vit-D
This month has been the home to the triplet dish brainchild of Ixta Belfrage – the trailblazing chef you may recognise as the co-author on Ottolenghi’s Flavour.
Keeping true to her style; pairing flavour with benefits, Ixta, alongside The Hoxton Southwark’s Albie restaurant and UK & Irish Mushrooms created a trio of dishes that not only tastes good, but does good, too. According to UK & Irish Mushrooms their “[mushrooms] are grown on vertical farms, and unreliant on the seasons… not only strong on nutritional value but are also a sustainable way to eat, low on food miles, only taking 12 hours from soil to supermarket, and using a fraction of water and land needed for most other foods.”
The aptly named ‘Mushroom Boost Menu’ which is served throughout November has a dose of vitamin D in every dish. This immune-boosting collection, all centered around the hero ingredient – mushrooms – draws onto Ixta’s eclectic culinary roots, love of flavour, balance and creativity and does not disappoint.
Playing homage to her travels and heritage, to start, you can expect Portobello Mushroom Tacos with Chipotle Crema, Pickled Onions and Salsa Fresca. Ixta grew up travelling, eating and obsessing over her culinary past – her Grandfather who resided in Mexico could be seen as the inspiration behind this classic dish that has had a vit-d upgrade. The mushrooms, with a subtle smokiness lovingly piled on top of a soft taco shell adding substance and providing the perfect vehicle to delicious town. The mushrooms meaty with a slight chew but moist throughout and topped with pink pickled onions adding just enough crunch and acidity to provide a full, well-rounded dish against the slight spiciness that warms on the back on the throat and the Fresca salsa adding just a touch of familiarity and freshness.
The second starter that promises a perfect balancing act of salty, sweet and sour are the Tempura Chestnut Mushrooms with Shimeji, Coconut and Scotch Bonnet. Beige in design, the light and fluffy batter, which is encasing the hidden gem inside looks right at home against the bright red sauce it rests on. As soon as you bite into one of the goujons you are hit with a burst of moisture. The sauce, made with coconut and scotch bonnet underneath is fruity – and cold - and a welcome contrast to the warm, recently fried mushroom. In each bite you get a perfect balance of textures, heat and flavour. But be warned, this is an easily destroyable dish. Dangerous but perfect beyond words. We were 100% here for this, so much so that we ordered another round. This time with a squeeze of lime; boy does that acid take it to a whole new level – breaking through the sauce and the oil of the tempura. The highlight of this dish was the creativity of mushroom use, not once but twice. The sauce – a complex flavour of sweet and spice – hides a not so hidden ingredient when you think about the menu you are eating. Yes, that’s right, mushrooms… shimeji in this instance, is blended into the sauce adding to the flavour but also increasing the potassium, zinc, copper and lowering cholesterol fighting ingredients in the dish and if that doesn’t counteract deep frying something, what does?! Although, we don’t really care if it doesn’t. A star dish we will be dreaming about for months.
The main, of course, pasta, a fitting tribute to Ixta’s childhood in Italy where she grew up. Paccheri Pasta with Mushroom Ragu was completed with a trio: White Mushrooms, Dried Porcini and Sauteed Girolles. Buttery egg heavy pasta that’s been rolled to the right thickness to coat a beautiful sauce lovingly clinging to the entire surface area. A subtle spice on the back making it a bowl of winter warming goodness; gently sautéed mushrooms inside adding moisture and allowing their liquid to add an umami drip to the sauce they bathe in. The topping: fresh herbs and sliced raw mushrooms adding an earthy element; bringing you back to your roots. The mouthfeel of each individual shroom, cooked in a different way, giving you an adventure with every bite. A balance of creaminess is added to counteract the spice – giving a comfortable level for those who love spicy food and those that don’t and done in a clever way, giving you that feeling of comfort all while stepping outside said comfort zone – all coated in one delicious bite of pasta.
While the Mushroom Boost Menu is only on offer at Albie’s until the end of November, the restaurant itself which boasts an eclectic design, a hand-crafted cocktail menu with waiting staff helpful, knowledgeable and a lover of a good drink or two themselves to help guide you in the right direction – Albie’s should be on your go-to list even after the November mushrooms are long gone. Even if it is just for their take on a Knickerbocker Glory a childhood dessert reimagined, their way.