DIY Dinners: Bar Douro
IT’S FREAKING SUNNY.
I don’t want to alarm anyone, but I am currently writing this while sat OUTSIDE, on an ONLY SLIGHTLY COLD evening, awaiting the arrival of a TWENTY-THREE DEGREE day. I have at least one friend who has taken the day off work to spend it at a lido, and I’ve already double-checked the SPF rating of my moisturiser. Welcome to Britain.
More importantly, I’ve spied a barbecue buried in the garden’s undergrowth and, for the first time in approximately eight months, I’d probably take a Greek salad over a portion of shepherd’s pie – I mean, I’m kidding, but I’m definitely more interested in tomatoes than I was a week ago.
While firing up the barbie might be pushing it tomorrow (things are bound to get parky at dinnertime), I’ll happily compromise with an oven-cooked Mediterranean feast that can be taken outside should the mercury hold up. And while I’ve clearly thought to reorder it too late, I’ve got Bar Douro’s DIY kit on my mind.
Packets of pleasure: The packed-up Bar Douro DIY kit, from Restokit
Frankly, all I think you need to know is that it starts with a large portion of 24-month cured pata negra jamón, but for the sake of conscientiousness, I’ll fill in the fools who aren’t automatically convinced.
Indeed, things kick off with my favourite form of cured meat – it’s not the absurdly luxurious stuff, but more than tantalising in its robust flavour and salted, smoky fat to please a girl in need of a holiday.
Easy enough to cook too – as was all of it, apart from the deep frying that I left to my younger sister because I am still, still frightened of doing it. Her job was to keep an eye on the croquetes de alheira, while they bobbed and fizzled in the pot of (helpfully included) frying oil – she did so largely with a baffled expression as I kept myself at an arm-and-wooden-spoon’s length.
Instead, I happily faffed with the minimal requirements of the oven dishes, decanting grilled cabbage and potatoes into a tray, before popping plastic bags of lamb and soubise into some boiling water at roughly the right time. When the oil had been safely removed from the vicinity of my flailing arms, the most exciting bit came in the form of putting together the salt cod hash.
Handy on a hangover: Salt cod hash from Bar Douro
I’ve rambled on before about how much I love salt cod – I also love hashes, because they are the ultimate hangover food, both in content and simplicity of construction. This was a great deal better than anything I have made hungover, but all the relevant components were there – salty fish (yes, I love this on a hangover); crispy potato in the form of frazzled matchsticks; oozy, just cooked eggs; chives to take away last night’s lingering breath, and the sole requirement to put everything in a pan in order. A Saturday morning miracle.
The collective result was an array of petiscos that cater precisely to what every seasonally bamboozled Brit needs on the first warm day of the year. When paired with the jamon, croquetes served as a delicately revelatory reminder of drinking early evening cocktails in an actual bar – ample in crunchy casing, giving way to a perfectly smooth filling, surprisingly pungent with the garlicky sausage. A stimulatingly textured salt cod hash matched silken cod with shattering potatoes and emulsifying egg, a coaxing call to al fresco summer brunches.
Roasties? Why not: Batatas a murro from Bar Douro
For those finding it hard to let go of a long, hard winter cheered only by rib-sticking roasts, Bar Douro is sympathetic. The main event is a lamb chanfana, a lip-smackingly rich stew centring around a shank that was frankly desperate to leave its bone. Alongside it? Roast potatoes, of course – garlicky batatas a murro, drizzled with herb oil and spattered with paprika – and grilled cabbage with a silky soubise sauce, charred just enough to ease you into a barbecue-filled future.
A dessert of toucinho do céu – a delicate, warmed almond cake serve steeped in icing sugar but pulled into zesty balance by orange crème fraîche – confirms what we all thought. Summer is on the horizon, and that’s just as comforting right now as any shepherd’s pie.
This DIY kit was supplied as a complimentary press sample.
For more information, visit restokit.co.uk and bardouro.co.uk
