The Reindeer, Norwich

The Reindeer is one of many traditional British pubs up and down the country that you would drive past everyday without even a consideration. You'd expect to walk in and see some people propping up the bar having a pint of lager and a few people dotted around, perhaps having some oven cooked fish and chips or a well done steak with peppercorn sauce. Unfortunately, people judge books by their covers but The Reindeer in Norwich is proof that you shouldn't.

The Reindeer has undergone something of a food revolution. It's focus, seemingly to take under used cuts of meat and transform them in to great British dishes. The menu has duck hearts, lamb's tongue, hanger steak and humble pie to name a few - fantastic to see somewhere making use of cuts which are often discarded. Even better to see somewhere take these cuts and make them taste fantastic too.

Being gluten free wasn't an issue either, the waitress explained what I could and couldn't have with ease. A number of the starters came on toast but she said gluten free bread was available if I wanted any of those. It would have been nice to be offered the gluten free bread when everyone else got their customary bread rolls but she may have just forgotten. On the whole though the service was spot on, friendly and informative (it's the sort of menu where people ask a lot of questions!). I went for the pigeon breast with beetroot and greengage for starter. The flavours were balanced really well, the gamey pigeon offset by the fruit and beetroot. My pigeon was slightly overdone for me but it didn't detract from the overall dish. In a big group it's difficult to get comprehensive reviews but the starters seemed to go down well and a lot of people were trying things for the first time! Main course was excellent - venison haunch, cottage pie and greens. On the opposite end of the scale this was a little rarer than I'd normally go for but the meat was beautifully tender and packed with flavour. The highlight of the dish was the cottage pie - smooth mash on top of flavour packed venison mince - incredibly moreish. My fiancee had the celebration of cauliflower 4 ways dish which received an excellent write up too.

Pigeon breast with beetroot and greengage

Haunch of venison, cottage pie and green beans

It wasn't particularly busy for a Saturday night, hopefully that will change as word of mouth spreads. In the meantime they should maybe think about giving the book a new cover, the food is certainly worthy of it.

Gluten Free Arancini (Risotto balls)

You really shouldn't be restricted when eating on a gluten free diet. Gluten free breads are now readily available and tasting good, so bread-crumbed products are no longer off limits. You might just have to put a bit of effort in, but the results are definitely worth it.

My fiancée made these fantastic Arancini (risotto balls), using a leftover mushroom risotto I had frozen.

Ingredients you'll need:

Arancini
- Leftover risotto
- Mozzarella
- Gluten Free Breadcrumbs (whizz a couple of slices of genius bread in a food processor)
- 2 eggs, whisked
- Gluten Free plain flour
- Vegetable oil for deep drying
Tomato Sauce
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 clover of garlic chopped
- 1 tin chopped tomatoes
- Salt and pepper

For the tomato sauce fry the onion in and garlic in a pan till soft, add the chopped tomatoes and a pinch of salt and pepper and simmer to reduce. This should take around 15 to 20 minutes.
For the Arancini roll some risotto into a golf ball shape then push in a cube of mozzarella and re-roll. Repeat this until you have rolled all your risotto balls. Then roll in flour, dip in the egg mix and finally roll in the bread crumbs. Once you have your risotto balls ready, heat a large pan of vegetable oil. The oil needs to be hot, you can test this by dropping a small cube of gluten free bread in, it should brown in around 30 seconds. Once your oil is hot use a spoon to lower the risotto balls in (you might need to do them in batches), they should only take a few minutes and are done when golden brown.

Serve as below with a green salad. Enjoy!

The Hungry Fiancé

Last week the Hungry Boyfriend became the Hungry Fiancé (although for the purposes of the blog the title will remain the same)! I proposed to my girlfriend and she said yes! We were at the amazing Morston Hall, so I thought I'd share the food snaps. It was as faultless as ever...

Canapés of scallop and mushroom duxelle and Binham blue pannacotta with pear

Home-made gluten free bread

Chef's appetiser of smoked haddock with a parmesan foam and a parsley, chive and shallot jelly

Sheringham sea bass with trompette de la mort and hazlenut dressing

Gressingham duck breast with bashed Norfolk peer potatoes, onion fondue and a white port jus

Greengage Fool

Pineapple with lemongrass panna cotta

Petit Fours

Merchants of Spice, Norwich

We stumbled upon Merchants of Spice when we were looking to organise a work night out. It wasn't somewhere I had ever heard anyone talk about which isn't usually a positive sign, but the menu looked good. The website boasted of 'Fine Indian Dining' which I often find with Indian restaurants isn't more than a hot towel before you leave, so I wasn't too sure what to expect.

I booked for a group of 6 on a Saturday night and the restaurant was full when we were seated to eat at 8.30pm. The first thing I noticed about Merchants of Spice was that the décor was much nicer than the usual run of the mill Indian in Norwich; wooden floors and high backed cream dining chairs in an elegantly decorated room. I had previously tweeted to check that they could cater for my gluten free requirements and I was assured there were plenty of options. The waiters were extremely attentive and checked my options to ensure they were suitable. The dishes you would find at most Indian restaurants up and down the country were extremely reasonable ranging from between £6.95 and £8.95. Even their signature dishes such as Rabbit Bhuna and Crab Curry were only £12.95. My girlfriend and I shared a Goan Green Chicken Curry and a Lamb Korai. Both were perfectly cooked with soft tender meat, the green curry fresh with coriander and chilli and the Korai packed with ginger, garlic and warming spices. We had sides of Pilau Rice and Tarka Dall which were equally well cooked, seasoned and flavoured. 

Goan Green Chicken Curry

Lamb Korai

Pilau Rice

Fine dining might be a stretch (although we did get that complimentary hot towel!), but a tasty, reasonably priced Indian meal in a well decorated restaurant certainly fits the bill. There wasn't a grumble between the 6 of us. I had previously reviewed Passage to India in Norwich on my blog, but I think Merchants of Spice pips it to the post. The food is of a similar standard but Merchants of Spice creates a better atmosphere and I would be much more likely to return.

The Pigs at Edgefield, Norfolk

We had been to the food festival at Holkham Hall when we decided to head to the Pigs at Edgefield on the way home for lunch. This was our second visit and I remembered the first being filled with porky delights so we were looking forward to it. We had friends visiting so there's always that added pressure when suggesting somewhere to eat! The Pigs is a relaxed pub with chunky wooden furniture and a laid back atmosphere. We had a look through the menu and settled on the 'Iffits', The Pigs' version of Norfolk tapas. They're served on long boards and at £11.95 for 4, good value. I had forgotten that they provide a gluten free menu so we'd made a guess at what I could eat and then checked at the bar. The waitress checked this against the gluten free menu and we were good to go. Except for one slight problem, the menu refers to low gluten rather than gluten free, so unfortunately that meant I couldn't have anything that was deep fried due to the risk of cross contamination. It's a real shame as some of these dishes looked great, crispy fried pigs ears and the hand cut chips were unfortunately off limits. I'm not sure if they're always off limits and I'm planning on writing to them to confirm. I understand the pressures of a commercial kitchen and they obviously have to cater to the majority but it would be great if they could introduce a gluten free fryer.

'Iffits'

Those minor niggles withstanding the food is great. We tucked into tender ribs which were coated in marmalade which made a tasty change to BBQ sauce. Locally smoked prawns were another favourite, as was the smoked salmon and beetroot. The only one which received mixed reviews from my gluten eating friends was the Binham Blue with toasted muffin; lemony flavours with the blue cheese clashing rather than complimenting. All in all though, its good tasty local food which showcases some great Norfolk produce.