Weekend menu: Caia – olive Magazine

Weekend menu

Caia

Open-fire food is hot right now, and this Notting Hill restaurant’s menu is deliciously simple enough to bring the heat to your own kitchen

Recipes JESSICA DONOVAN
Photographs DAVID COTSWORTH

Bavette steak

600g bavette steak

3 garlic cloves, grated

250g wild rocket

150ml extra-virgin olive oil, plus 2 tsp and extra to drizzle

juice and zest of1 lemon, plus 1 tbsp lemon juice

30g parmesan, grated

30g toasted pine nuts

20g basil

200g cime di rapa or long-stemmed broccoli

1 Toss the steak in a large bowl with the garlic, seasoning well. Leave to marinate for 20 mins.

2 Make a pesto by blitzing the rocket, 150ml of oil, juice and zest of 1 lemon, parmesan, pine nuts and basil in a food processor, until combined. Season to taste and set aside.

3 Put a frying pan over a high heat and, once hot, add 1 tsp of oil. Cook the steak for 2-3 mins on each side, depending on the thickness, or until well seared. Remove from the pan and leave to rest for 5 mins.

4 While the steak rests, toss the cime di rapa or broccoli with the remaining tsp of oil. Season well. Wipe the pan clean and put back over a high heat. Cook the vegetables, tossing often, for 5-6 mins or until charred and tender. Transfer to a bowl and toss with the remaining 1 tbsp of lemon juice.

5 Slice the steak thinly. Serve with the charred veg, a healthy dollop of the pesto and a drizzle of oil to finish.

Smoky potatoes

This recipe has been adapted to cook on a stove but if you want to do it the Caia way, get your BBQ nice and hot using smoked wood chips, add your potatoes to the top shelf of the grill, close and leave the potatoes to get some char, absorbing the smoky flavours.

SERVES 4 AS A STARTER | PREP 10 MINS | COOK 1 HR 10 MINS | EASY

3 garlic bulbs

4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

75g white miso

350g new potatoes, larger ones halved

560g jar of good-quality small white beans, drained and rinsed

30g parmesan, grated

1 Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Cut the tops off the garlic bulbs, just exposing the cloves inside, making it easier to squeeze them out later. Cut a large piece of foil, enough to wrap all the garlic, and add the bulbs, exposed-side up. Drizzle with 1 tbsp of the oil and season. Wrap the foil into a parcel and roast for 1 hr 15 mins or until very soft. Leave to cool, then squeeze out all the roast garlic and put in a mini blender with the miso and a few tbsp of water. Blend until a completely smooth, loose purée forms. If it’s too thick, add 1-2 tbsp of water. Set aside for later.

2 Meanwhile, bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Cook the potatoes, partially covered, for 10 mins or until just tender – asharp knife should pierce easily – but not falling apart. Drain thoroughly, toss with 1 tbsp of oil and season. Set aside.

3 Tip half the beans into a mini blender along with the remaining oil, 100ml of hot water and plenty of salt and pepper. Blend until a completely smooth, loose purée forms – similar to a thick soup consistency. Put the purée in a pot with the remaining beans and set aside to warm up later.

4 Heat a griddle pan over a high heat until very hot. Cook the potatoes for 8-10 mins, turning occasionally, until well charred on all sides. Remove from the heat and toss with the garlic miso. Gently reheat the bean purée for a few mins until just heated through, then divide between four small bowls. Cover with the grated parmesan, top with the potatoes and serve.

Spiced pumpkin tart

SERVES 12 | PREP 20 MINS PLUS CHILLING | COOK 1 HR | EASY

PASTRY

500g plain flour

250g salted butter, diced and cold

200g icing sugar

1 egg, plus

2 egg yolks

PUMPKIN FILLING

425g tin of pumpkin purée

397g tin of condensed milk

2 eggs

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp ground ginger tsp ground cloves

CHANTILLY CREAM

200ml double cream

40g caster sugar

1 tbsp vanilla paste

TOPPING

handful of toasted hazelnuts

1 For the pastry, put the flour, butter and sugar into the bowl of a food processor, and briefly blitz until it’s a breadcrumb texture. Add the egg and yolks, pulsing together briefly, then add 2 tbsp of ice-cold water and pulse until just coming together. If it seems too dry add up to another tbsp of water. Turn out onto a worksurface and shape into a rough ball, flattening slightly to make it easier to roll. Wrap in clingfilm and chill for a minimum of 2 hrs but ideally overnight.

2 Once rested, lightly flour a worksurface and roll out the pastry to about 2mm thickness. Use the rolling pin to pick up the pastry and line a deep, 20cm fluted tart case. Gently tuck the pastry into the case, being careful not to stretch the pastry, and trim any excess by rolling the pin over the top. Return to the fridge for another hour to firm up the pastry – this will help reduce shrinkage while cooking.

3 While the tart is resting, combine together all the filling ingredients and set aside.

4 Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Remove the tart case from the fridge and line with baking paper, then fill with baking beans. Bake for 15 mins until the edges are nicely golden. Remove the baking beans and paper, and bake for a further 10 mins or until evenly baked all over. Turn down the oven to 160C/140C fan/ gas 3. Add the filling to the tart case and bake for 30-35 mins or until the filling is just set with a slight wobble in the middle. Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool.

5 For the vanilla chantilly, whisk together all the ingredients in a bowl until soft peaks form, being mindful not to overwhip. Once the tart is cool, finely grate the roasted hazelnuts all over the tart to completely cover. Serve with the chantilly cream.

Rishabh Vir and Tim Lang aren’t new to the Notting Hill area, with restaurant/bar/lounge Fiend under their belt. But Caia brings something fresh – open-fire cooking and a knowing hand from chef Jessica Donovan. If the dimmed, relaxed space doesn’t keep you (the downstairs dining room feels like a living room with a record player and vinyl), the surprisingly complex flavours will. Rich flavours filter throughout from the grilled smoky potatoes with roast garlic, miso and parmesan, to the octopus with burnt pepper and ’nduja crumb. Just there for drinks? Head to the wine room with expertly curated bottles from Beth Brickenden. caia.london

Head chef Jessica Donovan

Head chef Jessica Donovan’s comfort dish

The first thing that comes to mind when I think comfort during autumn, in Britain, is chicken noodle soup – it reminds me of my parents and home. In Canada, there’s a chicken noodle soup from a brand called Lipton. My mum would make a great soup from scratch, using bones to make stock but I just loved the packet version. My bubba might not have approved but it was so good – salty and needed nothing more than a bit of pepper.

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