Bill's - A review

There has been a lot of hype around the Bill's restaurant chain and they seem to be popping up everywhere I go. I have only ever heard good things about Bill's, and I'm a sucker for any restaurant with a seasonal menu and fancy interior design. My first visit to Bill's was for dinner at the converted church house restaurant in Reading. The location and interior of the restaurant is very impressive. The atmosphere was good, and so was the food.

The menu at Bill's covers breakfast, lunch, dinner and even afternoon tea. They offer a wide range of unpretentious dishes including; burgers, meze, steak, salads and pies. Today, my mum and I went for lunch at the Leamington Spa Bill's. To drink we both had coffees, one americano and one iced. Iced coffee is my favourite thing ever, the it did not disappoint. I had the chilli and lime crusted salmon served on noodle salad. The salmon was pan fried, so it was crispy in parts and was a bit drier than I am used to, but the flavour was lovely, slightly spicy but fresh. The buckweat soba noodles were delicious - fragrant, salty and tangy.

Although the setting wasn't as impressive as the Reading branch, the inside still had the rustic, eclectic and semi-industrial feel that is consistent throughout all of the Bill's restaurants. I happen to really like the relaxed style, and I am particularly keen on the shelves stacked with jars, bottles and boxes of various foodie treats that you can buy and take home.

Although the food was really tasty, the dishes are in my opinion slightly too pricey for such laid back dining. The dishes aren't fancy, and a fish finger sandwich for £8.50 seems like daylight robbery in the eyes of anyone, let alone a student like me!

Recipe: Two souper easy soup recipes

Beethoven once said, 'Only the pure in heart can make a good soup', and I couldn't agree more. I distinctly remember the time my mother first bought a Kitchen Aid blender when I was younger, and how that for a while after that, soup was pretty much all we ate. I have learnt most of what I know about cooking from my mum, and the majority of my soup recipes are derived from the period in my life when she was blending anything and everything she could get her hands on. I remember as a child whenever anyone asked me what my favourite food was, I would tell them it was carrot and coriander soup. In retrospect, on the 'My favourite food' displays at school, carrot and coriander soup did seem like quite an unusual choice amongst all of the crayon drawings of fish fingers and chips and sticky toffee pudding. But it was what I liked, and I still love it to this day. When most people think of soup they think of a watery, flavourless substance that closely resembles the cabbage soup Roald Dahl once wrote about in Charlie and the chocolate factory. But I can assure you, soup doesn't have to be bland! Here are two soup recipes that are quick, easy, and relatively cheap. Enjoy!

Spicy butternut squash and red pepper soup:

(Makes 4-5 generous bowls)
1 butternut squash
1 red pepper
1 onion (I prefer red)
2 cloves of garlic (crushed)
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 litre of chicken stock (from a cube is fine)
1 teaspoon of chilli powder/ A pinch of chilli flakes
1/2 teaspoon of paprika
1/2 teaspoon of sugar
Salt and pepper to season
A splash of milk/cream
(you can also add any other vegetables you have lying around. Sometimes I add some tomatoes or carrots if I have some)

The easiest way to do this is to roast all of the veg together. I would recommend chopping the squash into 2cm cubes as they can take a while to soften if they are much larger than that. Leave the red pepper and onion in relatively large chunks and throw it all into a baking tray with a generous coating of olive oil and the crushed garlic. If using chilli flakes I would recommend adding them to the baking tray at this stage (these are very hot, so use with caution!)

Whilst the vegetables are softening in a medium to hot oven, make the stock. If using a cube just dissolve and hot water and set to one side.

The veg should be cooked after around 20 minutes, but prod the squash with a knife to check it is soft. Once it is cooked, transfer the contents of the baking tray into a large saucepan and pour in the stock. I use a handheld blender to cut down washing up, and blend it in the saucepan til there are no lumps. Add a splash of milk or cream for added richness.

Once blended, taste and season. The measurements above are just a recommendation, so add little by little and taste as you go.

Broccoli and Stilton soup:

(Makes 4-5 generous bowls)
1 head of  broccoli
1 onion
1 stick of celery
2 leeks
1 medium potato
2 tablespoons of olive oil
A knob of butter
1 litre of chicken stock (from a cube is fine)
150g stilton
Pepper to season

Roughly chop an onion and gently sweat in a large saucepan with olive oil (you can add a splash of water if they start to catch). Add the roughly chopped celery and leeks, and the peeled and diced potato. Cook on a medium heat with a knob of butter and cover with a lid for 5 minutes.

Next poor in the stock, add the chopped broccoli and cook for 15 minutes occasionally stirring.

Make sure the broccoli is cooked, and when it is blend thoroughly. Once blended, crumble in the Stilton and stir through. Season with pepper (the salt from the stock and Stilton should make the soup sufficiently salty)

________________________________________________________________________________

You can serve both of these soups alongside bread, cheese or pate on toast, or even some home made croutons. Alternatively, you can have some heated in a mug for a healthy, warming snack.

I recommend storing the soup in air tight tupperware in the fridge and heating it up portion by portion as and when you need it. I wouldn't advise keeping it longer than a week.