Page 46 - Phonebox Magazine May 2013

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Grilled Sea Bass at Meli’s - Olney
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Smoked garlic? What’s
that all about.
If you fancy trying out the recipe below, you can now get your garlic locally smoked from Emberton village. Run by Gifford and Matt, who between them have racked up many years in the food trade, they oak smoke the bulbs using garlic sourced from Mexico, Spain and France. They have also started growing their own.
The smokey, nutty flavour can be used just about anywhere you would use nor- mal garlic and adds a bit of twist to the flavour.
Simply roast it for a delicious starter or snack - just cut off the tops, drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper and bake for at least 30 minutes until squishy and brown. Yummy.
You can buy the smoked garlic from Browns at Stagsden, Harvest in Olney, and G J Douglas at Newport Pagnell, or buy it direct from their website www.embertonsmokedgarlic.co.uk.
I prefer mine cooked for me though in The Bell and Bear’s truly tasty mush- room starter (photo below), served on bread from Amazing Grains - also lo- cally sourced in Emberton. Minimum food miles, maximum taste!
Smoked Garlic Mushrooms at The Bell and Bear
Shake it about and enjoy the Meli party
If you like a bit of atmosphere, not to mention some finely honed abs with your dinner, Meli’s is fast becoming the place to visit.
On a quieter and much more mellow Sunday, the restaurant still seems to get it right. It feels comfortable, and friendly - a nice place to be. And it’s no accident. The owner works very hard and is a constant
presence, dressed up in her turkish outfit, keeping her eye on the kitchen, the staff and the customers.
The latest addition is a cosy downstairs restaurant and an authentic Moroccan dining area, all bright colours and cushions.
So what about the food? It’s good. We nearly always opt for sharing plates of cold and warm mezze to start - fabulous mixture of flavours, colours and textures. Their salads are
fresh and zingy, and the hummus clearly homemade. Main courses are varied, with traditional kofta, lamb shanks and chicken. They do a good range of fish too. The sea bass in the photo was cooked simply, but beautifully and has become a bit of a favourite.
So if you are looking for something a little bit different, go grab some mates, have some fun and get yourself some Meli Belly!
Cut garlic bulb in half to expose all cloves.
Drizzle rapeseed oil and crumble sea salt over.
Wrap in foil and bake for 40 mins 190c gas mark 5
While garlic is in oven, peel potatoes, add to salted water and cook to mashing point.
Drain in cullender.
Drop butter in pan with 3 tbs of full fat milk.
When butter and milk are simmering, push garlic out of skins, add potatoes and mash well.
Season with salt and pepper and finally add chives and parsley saving a little to sprinkle on top.
Thanks to Matt and Gifford at Emberton Smoked Garlic www.embertonsmokedgarlic.co.uk
It is a lovely place to go with a group of friends, and everyone, staff and customers alike, are quickly infected by the happy, smiley face of the owner, Yelda, beaming away at you. Adding to the party atmosphere on a Saturday, are the aforementioned abs of the belly dancer, who seems able to get the even the least unwilling diner up on their feet, shaking down their dinner!
Smokin’ Garlic Mash
1 Head of smoked garlic
1000 grams of flowery potatoes
100 grams of butter
1 tbs of rapeseed oil
2 tbs each of chopped chives & parsley 1 1/4 tsp coarse sea salt
1/3 freshly ground pepper
46 Phonebox Magazine