Week beginning November 3rd - Foraged Autumn Goods and Movember Cookies

This week we will be mostly combining comfort foods with a bit of autumn foraging. Something new and exciting that we’ve not used on the menu before is checkerberries. These bright red fruits resemble shrunk miniature apples. However when checkerberries are visually looking their best this is not quite the time to consume. Rather once picked checkerberries need to be stored in a box and left to bleat. This process turns the fruit a russet brown and develops the natural sugars. The result is toffee and cinnamon with a little zing, much like medlars. 

This week the kitchen will be incorporating our foraged checkerberries in a cheddar tart with another foraged ingredient, charlock. This green leaf vegetable is much like black mustard only milder and less coarse in texture. In conclusion this tart is salty, creamy, sweet with a little mustard kick.

Elsewhere in Kaffeine’s edibles you’ll find one of my all-time favourite foraged veg, the very much underutilised ‘broad bean tops’. These leafy green are as the name suggest the tops of a broad bean plant. Succulent and distinctly taste of broad beans and peas minus the sweetness. You’ll find these wonderful greens in a salad with chicken that has been battered in creamed corn and fried to crispy perfection then served with mango and tomato salsa. Fresh and with a touch of comfort.

We must mention our second salad which has another foraged ingredient that comes out in an abundance this time of year, ribwort-plantain. Another green weed that commonly grows wild in grassy fields, Ribwort-plantain is related to the banana tree and randomly taste nothing like a banana. Instead it taste of mushrooms, looks like salad and taste of fungus. You’ll find ribwort-plantain layered in a salad of Spanish manchago, which has a grassy aroma, blackberries and savoury polenta dumplings.

Lastly I must mention during the month of November the kitchen will be making movember biscuits in the shape of a moustache. The flavour variety is yet to be decided. At the time of writing this blog I'm on my way to Paris for the weekend. I will be looking for Parisian inspiration while there as the french love a sweet and a tashe. We will be selling our moustache biscuits for £1 and all proceeds will go towards supporting mens health. Whether you're a man or love a man, or both; this is a simple tasty way to promote mens health.

So please come in this week and explore some of autumn’s finest foods.

Jared Bryant

Lead Chef

Kaffeine

@redjar50

Traditional bircher muesli with rhubarb and raspberry compote 4.00 (V)

Granola muesli with pomegranate molasses and rhubarb and raspberry compote 4.00 (V)
Fruit salad (pineapple, mango, strawberries, grapes, passion fruit) 3.90 (GF, V)
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
Seven seed bakery bloomer toast with home made preserves 2.00
Povitika bread 2.50
Banana bread 2.50
Porridge (V) 3.00
served with condiments muscovado sugar, dried fruit, chopped nuts, golden syrup or honey

Pastries by Seven Seed bakery
French butter croissant 2.00
Pain au chocolat 2.50
Almond croissant 2.80

Baked Treats
Sweet muffin: Rhubarb, pear and hazelnut (V) 2.50
Savoury Scone: Curried peas and feta (V) 2.50
Friand: Passionfruit (V, GF)  2.50
Super moist chocolate brownies 2.50
White chocolate blondies 2.50
Portuguese tarts 2.00
ANZAC cookies 2.00
Almond and custard slice 2.50
Canele 2.40


Lunch
Soup 4.50
Curried red lentil soup with caraway bread (VE, GF)

French retro baguettes 5.30

Bresaola, slow roast tomato, gherkin, Camembert and rocket

Baked pumpkin and sauté mushrooms with tarragon mayonnaise and spinach (V)

Foccacias 5.50

Ham, cranberry jelly, roasted chestnuts, mature cheddar and spinach

Salmon, dill, red onion, capers, aioli and rocket (V)

Salads: 5.50/7.00

Chicken fried in creamed of corn with broad bean tops, mango, tomato salsa and rocket

Ribwort plantain, manchego, blackberries and polenta dumplings (V)

Chantenay carrots and fennel cooked in sambuca and caraway seeds (VE, GF)

Tart: 4.40 or 8.00 with salad

Checker berries and matured cheddar with charlock (V)