Panino on the Streets of Farringdon

I wonder to myself ‘could life ever be swine again?’ Hang the salumi, burn down the saveloy, cast aside the Cumberland, lambaste that Lorne. The harbinger of Lambrusco popping, FA Cup ¼ finals, ham bingeing & sunshine is back. Welcome to the weekend, welcome to the Quality Wines newsletter. It was the best of times, it was the würst of times, welcome home, the mortadella & butter panino!

A toasted milk bun is liberally buttered. Mortadella is layered; a labyrinth of that feted Italian spam, an untamed wilderness of baloney, extremes of meat to bread ratios are breached. There are limited volumes daily. Don’t share.

For balance, chard is long cooked & kaleidoscopic, bejeweled & seasoned with barrel aged feta. All brine & lanolin, a Parian marble state of mind. Salt hake ‘bacalhau’ comes with a soft boiled egg & marinated chickpeas, parsley, coriander & red onions akimbo. Agretti, a coastal shrub, is suited & booted in anchovy & garlic, mozzarella a creamy counterpoint.

Egg yolk pappardelle are sauced with a beef ‘stracotto’ & Parmigiana Regggiano. Meaning overcooked traditionally, our version is based on braised beef short ribs & shoulder, glugs of Nero d’Avola, thyme & time. An 'Express Lunch’ of bucatini all'amatriciana; tomato passata imbibed with pork fat and a touch of chilli is available Tuesday - Friday, with a glass, beer or soft for £15. On Saturday, a set lunch anchored on Hungarian Hunter stew with nokedli & sour cream. Or Wine, Company & Goulash, if you will. 3 courses for £29.

Elsewhere poussin is pot-roast with Parmesan polenta & punctuated with premolata (a regional Puliagnese gremolata that begins with the letter P). Steamed hake fillets come atop violet artichokes & potatoes. A velouté of fennel comes from good fish stock. Deep flavours courtesy of hard worked flippers & wrasse soles.

Looking forward to seeing you all over the coming week.

Marcos, Nick & the Team