Serves 4 as a starter — prep time 5 minutes — cook time 45 minutes 

This delicious Spanish tapas dish was one of our first forays into cooking with alcohol. It is so incredibly simple to make but so delicious – smoky, spicy chorizo is simmered in wine and honey until rich and sticky, perfect as a rich, satisfying starter or tapas dish. You can make this up to a day ahead of time and reheat before serving.

Wine is slightly acidic, and this balances out the richness of cured meats like chorizo and the sweetness of honey. If you’re buying wine specifically for this dish, we’d suggest something with a little spiciness – perhaps a Spanish Rioja or Grenache. The sticky, flavoursome sauce just cries out for crusty bread, so make sure you have plenty of this to hand!

Ingredients

300ml red wine
300g ring of Spanish chorizo – peeled if necessary and thickly sliced on the diagonal
2 tbsp runny honey 
Crusty bread to serve

Equipment

Medium saucepan

Method

• Put a large pan of salted water on to boil, for the pasta.
• Heat a good splash of olive oil in a medium saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until the onions are very soft and beginning to brown.
• While the onions cook, pour the cans of chopped tomatoes into a blender together with the gin and 1⁄2 tsp salt. Blend for a few moments until fairly smooth but still with a bit of texture. Alternatively, if you’re using tomato passata, combine it with the gin and 1⁄2 tsp salt in a large bowl.
• When the onions are soft, stir in the garlic, chilli flakes, rosemary and thyme, and cook for a further 2 minutes. Stir in the blended tomato and gin mixture and then put the lid on. Turn the heat down and simmer for 20 minutes until slightly thickened.
• Once the pan of water is at a rolling boil, add the pasta and cook according to pack instructions until al dente. Drain the pasta and return it to the pan.
• When the tomato sauce has had its 20 minutes, stir it through the pasta along with the grated parmesan. Sprinkle with extra parmesan, freshly ground black pepper and flaked sea salt to serve.

Serves 6 — prep time 30 minutes — cook time 35 minutes + 2 hours chilling

Crema Catalana originates in the Catalan region of Spain, and is similar to the French dessert crème brûlée, where luscious custard is topped with a crown of scalded, crisp caramel. It’s an easy custard to make – simply infusing cream with orange, lemon and cinnamon, then whisking into egg yolks and placing in the oven.

In our version of this dish we add sweet Madeira wine, which contains aromas of caramel and burnt sugar, and a hint of citrus or spice. As a result it accentuates the similar flavours in the Crema Catalana, while also adding honeyed sweetness and sultry complexity of flavour. You can make these desserts ahead of time and chill in the fridge for a day or two, then simply caramelise the top under the grill or with a blowtorch before serving.

Ingredients

3 tbsp Madeira, sweet Marsala or other dessert wine
6 egg yolks
4 tbsp + 9 tsp caster sugar
600ml double (heavy) cream
1⁄2 an orange – zested
1⁄2 an unwaxed lemon – zested
1 cinnamon quill (or 1⁄4 tsp ground cinnamon)

Equipment

6 ramekins
Deep ovenproof tray, large enough to fit all the ramekins inside it
Mixing bowl
Whisk
Small saucepan
Sieve or tea strainer
Jug
Grill (broiler) or blowtorch

Method

• Preheat the oven to 150ºC/Gas Mark 2/300ºF.
• Place 6 ramekins into a deep ovenproof tray, then pour cold water into the tray to about halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
• In a mixing bowl, whisk the egg yolks together with 4 tbsp caster sugar and 3 tbsp Madeira for a minute until combined
• In a small saucepan, combine the cream with the orange zest, lemon zest and the cinnamon quill. Cook over a very low heat for 5 minutes to allow the flavours to infuse.
• Turn the heat up a bit and heat the cream until nearly boiling, then remove from the heat. Strain the cream into a jug, discarding the cinnamon quill.
• Slowly pour the hot cream into the beaten egg mixture, whisking as you pour, until all the cream is added and you have a smooth textured custard.
• Divide the custard between the ramekins then place the tray in the oven. Bake for 30–35 minutes or until the custards are just set, with a slight wobble when you move the tray. Cool at room temperature for an hour, then place in the fridge to chill for at least another hour or overnight.
• When you are ready to serve, sprinkle each custard with 11⁄2 tsp caster sugar, spreading the sugar out to an even layer using the back of a teaspoon. Place under a very hot preheated grill for a few minutes, or heat with a blowtorch, until the sugar on top has melted and turned golden brown.
• Crack the melted sugar with the back of a spoon and enjoy!

Cooking with Alcohol By Susannah and Aaron Rickard is available online, and in local bookshops Topping & Co. Booksellers and Mr B's. £25

cookingwithalcohol.co.uk

Words by Melissa Blease

Back in 1980 – before, I’m guessing, many of us knew what a Jalfrezi was, let alone Aloo Gobi – Ahmed Chowdhury opened the doors to the Rajpoot restaurant: a grand, tardis-like subterranean Indian restaurant below lots of stairs off Pulteney Bridge. 

As Bathonians at the time tended to favour custom and convention over cutting-edge innovation, the restaurant’s dignified ambience and familiar cuisine-theme immediately engaged local support by staunchly defying the then-incoming trend for canteen-style dining; indeed, a street-level doorman decked out in full Raj regalia immediately let us all know that, in this establishment, staff would most definitely not be addressing diners as ‘guys.’ 

Once below stairs, an intimate bar area made menu perusal over an aperitif (a sherry, perhaps?) an occasion rather than a necessity, while the plushly-furnished booths in the candlelit, barrel-vaulted cave at the heart of the dining action defined the point where cosy meets glamorous, with an abundance of rich scarlet and gold décor offering a vintage James Bond film vibe to proceedings. Elsewhere, a collection of immaculately decorated spaces alongside the main dining room included a range of smoochy tables for two and several spacious party-on areas, all linked but subtly discrete of each other. 

When the Rajpoot opened, ‘curry houses’ on every high (and low) street in Britain typically served identical dishes based on a couple of sauces either spiced up with chilli or calmed down with cream. Mr Chowdhury's kitchen subtly raised such low expectations by mingling comfortingly authentic versions of familiar options (Tandooris, Bhunas, Biryanis et al) with a range lesser-spotted Indian sub-continent specialities and several spectacular fresh seafood options that exceeded all expectations based on the prosaic familiarity of the 'curry house' genre. 

It was at the Rajpoot that I discovered the delights of Golda Chingri Biran, and proper Mulligatawny soup, and earthy Dal Makhani. I learned that Lamb Pasanda is far removed from its reputation as korma’s even milder-mannered little sister (at the Rajpoot, a Pasanda was a rich, complex, aromatic delight that rightfully deserved its woefully overlooked status as a celebratory feast dish beloved of the Moghul emperors) and eagerly followed polite instructions on how to eat naan properly (as a left-hander, a difficult task to undertake)... and on and on I voyaged, every time I visited. The multiple lessons I learned at the Rajpoot over the years have stayed with me ever since, as have the many, many fond memories of either comforting, romantic or celebratory feasts served by staff who made all comers feel like Maharajas. 

But despite garnering heaps of acclaim including regular gongs for Best Restaurant in the South West at the British Curry Awards (the curry world’s equivalent of the Oscars), the passing of the years were not kind to the Rajpoot. A raft of brand new “Modern Indian” diners, hip street food ventures and restaurants specialising in “fusion menus” slowly but surely turned the Rajpoot into a museum that new generations of Bathonians didn't want to investigate and olde world Indian elegance no longer spiced up the lives of the restaurant-going public. The last few times I visited, the doorman's welcome felt as careworn as his uniform, the brass elephants by the bar had lost their sheen and the faint smell of damp that emanated from the long since closed-off private party room battled with the odour of yesterday's tikka masala. 

But as the old adage goes, we don't know what we've got 'til it's gone. When the Rajpoot closed its doors for good on Christmas eve 2016, we said goodbye to a Bath institution that defined an era for the Heritage City.

Review by Saskia Hayward

Dear Senthuran: A Black Spirit Memoir by Akwaeke Emezi

Dear Senthuran is the epistolary memoir by Akwaeke Emezi, author of the sensational piece of non-fiction Freshwater, The Death of Vivek Oji, and Pet. Each chapter takes the form of a short letter addressed to a friend or family member, through which unfurls a life lived in multiple selves.

Akwaeke wrestles with a life that is lived as resistance – it's a story of pain, trauma, fury, desire, and survival, all inscribed into Igbo belief systems, and often confronted with a grin. Central to the book is the visceral matter of embodiment as a non-human entity – a self-described Ogbanje spirit. It's an unrivalled ode to choosing life in all its unmediated intensity, akin to looking at the sun.

Faber, £14.99, publishes 1 July

Topping & Co. Booksellers, 3 Bladud Buildings, The Paragon, Bath; toppingbooks.co.uk

Fierce Like a Lion: Bath Rugby Foundation Exhibition, until August

Abbey Hotel Bath unveils ‘Fierce like a Lion’ art exhibition in collaboration with Bath Rugby Foundation HITZ students and popular local artists.

Their Artist in Residence, Emma Taylor, along with other popular local artists has been working with Bath Rugby HITZ students throughout the latest lockdown, to create meaningful pieces of art that depict the wonderful work of Bath Rugby Foundation and showcases the positive impact that it can have on their young lives. 

Emma Taylor, Royal Photographer Joe Short and Bath creative Jason Dorley-Brown spent time with the young learners creating a collaborative piece of work; an incredible collage lion which now hangs as a focal point as part of the exhibition in the Hotel’s ArtBar. The final collage is based on an original painting by Emma depicting the Bath Rugby Lion and the famous Blue, Black and White stripes, signifying courage, strength and resilience – all the attributes these fantastic young learners have in abundance. 

Both Abbey Hotel Bath & Bath Rugby Foundation are extremely grateful to Knight Frank for kindly sponsoring this exhibition.

The student’s art pieces are available to view and purchase, alongside artwork created by Emma Taylor, Jason Dorley Brown, Joe Short & Phil Cloak.

Exhibition will run until mid-August, with 40% of sales going directly to Bath Rugby Foundation and the remaining 60% going straight to the artist.

The ArtBar will also adding a £1 voluntary donation to bills to enable all visitors an additional opportunity to support the charity, should they wish to do so

Admission into the ArtBar to view the exhibition is FREE between 10am & 12pm daily – everyone is welcome.

abbeyhotelbath.co.uk

Dorothy Coleborn success

Eight Dorothy Coleborn dancers have successfully auditioned for coveted places on the internationally renowned Royal Ballet Associate Programme.

Competition is stiff; last year there were 1373 applications, with only 31 junior students from across the South-West and Wales successfully securing places at the Royal Ballet¹s South-West centre.

Over the past ten years the Dorothy Coleborn School of Dancing has taught 18 successful Royal Ballet auditionees, including current Bath Year 6 pupil, Amelie Jackson, who will join Billy Tucker at the Royal Ballet¹s White Lodge, and Dorothy Coleborn's granddaughter, Lucy Hind, aged 16 who has successfully auditioned for 1 of 14 internationally coveted places at the Royal Ballet Upper School, Covent Garden.

Dorothy Coleborn dancers have gained places at some of the world's most prestigious full time dance schools, but achieving eight Royal Ballet Junior Associates in one year is unprecedented. Two further students have been awarded sought after places on the Royal Ballet online engagement programme.

The eight girls and two boys aged between 8 and 10 will take up their places in September and receive specialist vocational training with the Royal Ballet.

dorothycoleborn.co.uk