All things Home Renovation with George Bradley (BVDS Architects)

This week, I'm welcoming an old friend of the house, and someone who I think you're going to be pretty excited to hear from. I'm talking about George Bradley, co-founder of the award-winning architecture practice BVDS. George is the architect we appointed to do our home renovation, and, as you'll hear, he's also the only architect we ever interviewed for the job.

I think by the end of the conversation, you'll understand exactly why that is: he is such a warm, charming, and all-around great guy, and he was such a pleasure to work with. If home renovation is your jam (perhaps you're about to start on your own project) you're going to love this episode.

We chat about the design process and what it means to work with an architect, but we also answer a lot of questions from you and we cover a lot of ground from listed properties ventilation, underfloor heating, loft extensions, and contingency budgets. It's a juicy one.

To create the menu, I worked my way backwards from George’s tea preference: as he likes mint tea, I have selected a particularly delicious and prestigious variety from our Sponsor Avantcha – their Wild Mountain Mint tea, which is harvested at over 2000m altitude in Armenia.

Mint goes really well with lamb, so I put together an Ottolenghi-inspired mini feast with lamb and pistachio meatballs served on cold yoghurt, a herby bulgar salad with fried shallots and toasted almonds and spiced baked strawberries with Vanilla Ice cream, olive oil and salt.

Find the recipes below.

Featured Recipes

Lamb and Pistachio Meatballs with cold Yoghurt and herby oil (makes 27 balls)

Ingredients:

• 500g minced lamb

• 2 garlic cloves

• 1 bunch of parsley

• 1 bunch of dill

• 45g breadcrumbs

• ½ tsp coriander, toasted and ground

• ½ tsp cumin seeds, toasted and ground

• ¾ tsp salt

• 60g ground pistachios

• 2tsp pomegranate molasses 

• 1 handful of pomegranate seeds, to garnish

• 240g cold Greek Yoghurt, to serve

• Optional: micro herbs, to garnish

• Olive oil

Method:

1. Thinly chop half of the herbs.

2. Mix all the ingredients minus the molasses in a large bowl

3. Using wet hands and with the help of a measuring teaspoon, divide the mixture into roughly 27 balls, each weighing 27g.

4. Pre-heat the oven at 200 degrees Celsius, fan mode

5. Fry the meatballs in an oiled pan, cooking them in batches if needed to avoid overcrowding the pan. Turn them around until seared on all sides, approx. 5-6 minutes.

6. Transfer them to an oven-proof tray, drizzle the molasses on top and bake for another 5 mins.

7. Whilst the meatballs are cooking, whizz together in a blender a cup of olive oil with the remaining herbs, until you obtain a smooth, green blend.

8. Spread the cold yoghurt on a large serving platter, pile up the meatballs and drizzle the herby oil on top. Garnish with a sprinkle of ground pistachios, the fresh herbs you set aside and pomegranate seeds.

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Couscous herby salad (Serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 250g couscous

• 90ml olive oil

• Vegetable oil for frying

• 400ml boiling water

• 1 tsp cumin seeds, toasted and ground

• ¾ tsp salt + pepper to your liking

• 50g almond flakes, toasted

• 30g sultanas

• 25g parsley

• 15g mint

• 15g tarragon

• 1 lemon (zest+juice)

• ½ pomegranate (seeds)

• 1 small shallot, thinly sliced

• 2tsp Ras El Hanout

Method:

1. Mix the couscous, spices, lemon zest and olive oil and sultanas in a large bowl. 

2. Pour the boiling water on top and put a lid on the bowl, leaving it covered for 20mins.

3. Once the water has fully absorbed, and the couscous has cooled down, fluff it up with the use of a fork. 

4. Thinly chop together the fresh herbs and add them to the bowl, together with the almond flakes and pomegranate seeds. Leave a handful of everything aside to garnish.

5. In a deep-sided pan, deep-fry the thin slices of shallots until crispy, taking care not to burn them. Drain them and transfer them onto kitchen paper to absorb the extra oil. Scatter them on top of your couscous, squeeze some lemon juice on top and serve.

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Baked strawberries with bay leaves and maple syrup, served with Vanilla Ice-cream, olive oil and sea salt (Serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 500g strawberries, halved

• 2 bay leaves

• 1 lemon peel + juice

• 3-4 cardamom pods

• 1 tbsp maple syrup

• 4 tsp good quality olive oil

• 1 pinch of flaky sea salt

• 1 tub of good quality Vanilla Icecream

Method:

1. Preheat the oven at 200 degrees Celsius, static mode.

2. In a small oven-proof terrine, toss together the strawberries, cardamom, bay leaves, lemon peel and maple syrup You want the strawberries tightly packed together, as this will ensure you’ll retain most of the cooking juices.

3. Bake on a medium shelf for 15 mins or until the strawberries have softened but retained their shape. They should still have a bit of a bite.

4. Serve them on top of a dollop of Vanilla Ice cream. Garnish with a drizzle of olive oil and a few flakes of sea salt.