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It seems like ages since I've sat down to write a blog post and well, it has been ages! It has been a long list of sorry reasons (we moved flats and decided to switch from BT to Sky, the process of which involved consecutive requests for cable tv, phone then internet - each involving 3-4 weeks between steps; we went back to Australia for a visit for three weeks; work has been crazy; excuses, excuses).
In that time, we've still been cooking and eating and doing lots of awesome food stuff, which means I now feel guilty and overwhelmed about what I haven't blogged! So, I am prioritising. Only the most interesting things that have occurred over the past few months will be recorded for posterity . . .
The first would have to be our afternoon tea at the Ritz. This was a Christmas present from my parents, which we finally got around to booking in about May this year, only to find that the first sensible time available on a weekend was in August! So, on a beautiful sunny August day, we headed into the London institution that is the Ritz.
The hotel is incredibly ornate and over the top, matched by the staff in their tails or white jackets and black bow ties. It all feels a bit like a stage set! Along with another 70 or so people, we were shown to our table for the 1.30 seating. The process runs like clockwork. They hold five seatings a day, seven days a week, turning people over every two hours, but somehow not making you feel like a cog in a system. Quite impressive.
Our voucher was for the champagne high tea and we were provided with our glass of Ritz champagne, while we perused the extensive menus of teas. I must profess to being not much of a tea drinker (and certainly knowing very little about different varieties). I decided to try something a little different in the Rose Congou, described as 'a black tea from Guangdong, China, enriched with rose petals giving a gentle, light rose aroma to the tea'. Kyle was less adventurous with his choice of Ritz Royal English, 'an exquisite Kenyan blend of malty Assam and the fine flavour of Ceylon'.
The white-jacketed waiters whisked the stands of food efficiently to each table while our tea was being poured and we got into the serious business of eating. Afternoon Tea at the Ritz is obviously hugely traditional, so you're not expecting anything unusual or uncommon here.
The sandwiches included cucumber (don't get it!), cheese, smoked salmon, ham, chicken and egg. They are all incredibly dainty, served as little fingers of crustless bread with simple fillings. Quite pleasant.
The scones weren't included with the first tray of food, but were brought around at the point in proceedings where one was supposed to have finished sandwiches and could move on to scones while they were still warm. Very efficient! The scones were exceptional. I often find scones a bit heavy, particularly with this much food, but these were warm, light and fluffy. We had lovely little pots of delicious strawberry jam and artery-clogging clotted cream, which were both traditional but very good! For me, the scones were the highlight.
We were now ready to move onto the top tier - the cakes. Unfortunately, by this time, I was already really quite full! This is a problem with afternoon tea - you start with sandwiches and run out of room for cake! But, I had to do my duty and persevered through a pistachio cake (average cake, decorated with amazing raspberries) and a truly exceptional chocolate gateau, made with rich, dark bitter chocolate. That was good. Kyle had the vanilla slice, which was okay - very hard to eat. Unfortunately, we had to pass on a fruit tart, blueberry mousse and a coconut macaroon. A tragedy. For some reason, the couple at the table next to us had ordered an extra cake to celebrate their anniversary. Needless to say, they ate hardly any and tried to palm some on to us!
Afternoon tea at the Ritz lived up to expectations as a truly English, rather posh experience. It is quite rare to go somewhere these days where people are all well dressed, but everyone really made an effort. I expected it to be more touristy, but the people there seemed to be couples or families celebrating occasions, so everyone was really positive. The staff were very friendly and helpful and the setting was most appropriate! It is expensive compared to other high teas in London, but let's face it, are you really going for the tea and sandwiches?
The Ritz
150 Piccadilly
London W1J 9BR
One of the best things about London is the seemingly endless, somewhat random events that pop up . . . well, randomly. We happened upon the Cultural Summer Fete in Clissold Park - not a particularly revealing name but it sounded like there might be some good food, so we dropped in for lunch.
The 'fete' was certainly odd - a Turkish themed gathering of second-hand clothes stalls, jewellery stalls and the occasional food seller. There were a few disturbing doner kebab stalls, but these were immediately overshadowed by the hog roast kebab. Kebabs don't normally sound like a good idea in the daylight hours (not even hungover!), but in theory, if the pitta bread is good and the salad is fresh, all they really need is some decent meat, which the hog roast absolutely was. The meat was soft, succulent and incredibly tasty. Now this is a kebab!
We followed it with some poppy seed and cinnamon rolls (bit too dry) and some baklava to take away (juicy and not sickly sweet).
I also bought some lovely looking spices and was convinced to try a walnut and grape juice log, which looks . . . interesting.
Despite the randomness of the Summer Cultural Fete, there were definitely a few culinary highlights!
This month, Delicious magazine and Waterstones hosted the first book launch for the genuinely charming and enthusiastic Maria Elia, who's first book is The Modern Vegetarian. I am most definitely not vegetarian and neither is Maria, but it is one of those areas of cooking with great potential, but frequently boring options. I mean, there are plenty of lovely vegetarian pasta and risotto recipes as well as the odd curry, but the alternatives are often limited. This book, however, changes that drastically. Maria's recipes are less 'vegetarian' and more just happen not to contain meat.
The evening was lovely - Maria demonstrated her carrot pancakes and a carmelised onion, tomato and feta baklava. Both were stunning and I went on to re-create these myself. She also demonstrated her impressive creativity and natural flair for flavours, by suggesting alternatives to dishes off the top of her head. Take the carrot pancakes - make them 'Thai' style by adding chilli, lime juice and fish sauce to the houmous, that kind of thing. The sort of thing I am patently not good at, being a religious recipe follower. Consequently, I appreciated that the book also includes this kind of commentary. It is particularly helpful for vegetables, where they can be out of season or simply not appropriate to the season, it was great to see comments such as try peas or broad beans instead of the butternut squash.
The book is divided into sophisticated starters, sensational mains, sofa suppers, stylish sides and stunning sweet. Besides being an impressive use of alliteration, this is a practical and useable categorisation. There are lots of beautiful (tempted to say stunning!) photos in the book, although unfortunately, not with every recipe. The recipes are, however, well laid out and easy to read although a guide to overall cooking time would be helpful.
I have tried a few of these recipes over the last week, two successes and one disappointment. We'll start there and work upwards.
I made the Butternut Squash and Rosemary Polenta Chips with homemade aioli from the stylish sides section to go with my very not-vegetarian steak. Maria did mention she likes salt, but these were so salty so as to be rendered almost inedible, which was a real shame. I would make them again, but with about a quarter of the salt.
The next attempt was much more successful. Maria made the Carrot Pancakes with Houmous and a Feta Salad at the event in a cold canape version, which is a great idea. I made the full-sized version with warm pancakes, slightly different but equally delicious. We used some lovely baby carrots from the market to make the carrot pancakes, which are really more fritters and were packed with flavour - chilli, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, ground coriander, fresh coriander and chickpea flour (I believe these are also gluten free due to the use of chickpea flour). These are then topped with roasted carrot houmous and finally a salad with feta and orange segments. While this was an astounding number of flavours and ingredients, the final product mellowed and came together beautifully. A really delicious vegetarian lunch or starter (although I think it would be very filling for a starter).
I also made the Tomato, Feta, Almond and Date Baklava - sounds good already. This seems to be a a bit of a speciality of Maria's - she varies the fillings of her savoury baklavas and serves them at her restaurant. This dish was amazing. There is no other word! It is quite sweet from the caramelised onions, cinnamon, honey and dates, but balanced by salty cheese and crunchy filo pastry. It took much longer to make than the recipe indicates, but was worth the wait!
Tomato, Feta, Almond and Date Baklava
From The Modern Vegetarian by Maria Elia
Serves 6
100ml olive oil
5 spanish onions, halved and finely sliced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
pinch of granulated sugar
bunch of dill, finely chopped (or 3 tablespoons dried)
8 vine plum tomatoes, skinned and roughly chopped (reserve half the juice)
3 teaspoons tomato paste
1 packet filo pastry (9 sheets)
150g melted butter
60g blanched almonds, whizzed to a crumble
100g medjool dates, stoned and finely sliced
250g feta cheese, crumbled
6 tablespoons clear honey
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
Heat the olive oil in a large-bottomed pan. Gently fry the onions over a low heat, add the garlic, cinnamon and sugar and increase the heat. Fry for about 6 minutes, until carmelised (I found this was more like 20 minutes). Add the dill, tomatoes and half of their juice and the tomato puree and cook for a further 5 minutes, until reduced (again, more like 15 minutes).
Unfold the pastry and cut in half; keep it covered with a damp cloth to prevent it from drying out. Brush a baking try (approximately 30 x 20cm) with melted butter, line the tin with a sheet of filo, brush with butter and repeat until you have a 3-layer thickness.
Spread half the onion mixture over the pastry, top with half the almonds, dates and half the feta. Sandwich 3 layers of filo together, brushing each with melted butter and place on top of the onion and feta mix. Top with the remaining onions, almonds, dates and feta and again top with a 3-layer thickness of filo. Lightly score the top, cutting diamonds or squares, brush with butter and splash with a little water (I found it easier to brush with butter first and then score the top). Place on a baking tray and cook for 30-35 minutes until golden (I cooked it for about 45 minutes and then got sick of waiting!).
Leave to cool a little before serving, then drizzle each portion with honey (not too much, it is already quite sweet). Serve hot or cold with fennel salad or some tzatziki.
After reading about the Sake Tasting at Tsuru on the Food Stories blog recently, I broached the topic with a few of the girls at work, who were - to my surprise - really excited by the idea. We booked ourselves in for the next tasting on the 12 May and looked forward to what promised to be an unusual tasting event.
I have to admit - I was a 'Sake Virgin', as our host Ngaire Takani deemed us, so wasn't quite sure what to expect. We tried four different Sakes (and were fortunately given some notes), two by a brewer called Akashi-tai and two by a brewer called Sawanohana, who is apparently trialling their product in the UK on us guinea pigs. Considering how low in alcohol sake is (15-17%), I found it tasted very strong. I don't drink spirits generally and this definitely reminded me of sipping a spirit more than a wine.
Along with our sake, we ate edamame beans, marinated chicken skewers, potsticker dumplings, three types of sushi and an incredibly rich chocolate brownie. The food was all excellent, very fresh and full of flavour.
Unfortunately, I guess, while Ngaire was incredibly knowledgeable and the cause of promoting sake is an admirable one, I didn't really enjoy it that much and probably won't rush out to buy any. That being said, it was an excellent night, the food was great, the drinks were drinkable and educational and I would highly recommend both the Sake Tasting and the restaurant itself.
Tsuru
4 Canvey Street
London
SE1 9AN
Second super blurry photo of the week! This one is the TV set of the new Channel 4 show Food Fight, which we went to the studio audience for this week. Last time I did this, I vowed never to go again. As entry is not guaranteed, you queue for two hours in the cold before finally being let into the studio. Last time we saw the 'comedy' show Argumental, which really wasn't very funny, but when the offer of seeing a food show came along, I found myself tempted once more.
The wait was awful, no doubt. Luckily, the show was quite good. It was hosted by Sue Perkins (we saw her with Giles Coren in a show where they ate the food from the Second World war) and she was absolutely hilarious, really made it. Team captains were Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (looks exactly the same as on TV) and Ruth Jones (apparently she opened the first UK gastropub) and guests were Neil Morissey and Fay Ripley (from Cold Feet).
The show is basically showing off their foodie knowledge and was reasonably interesting, but not earth-shattering. I'm not sure how it will present on TV, but Sue Perkins is probably good enough to carry it.
Delicious magazine is apparently running monthly cooking demonstrations in conjunction with Waterstones bookshop. This month the Aussie with the teeth, Bill Granger (yes, that blur is Bill), was doing a demonstration at Waterstones Piccadilly. They have a brilliant demonstration theatre with a full kitchen and mirrors above the benches so you can see a reflection of the demonstration. It was quite a small crowd, perhaps 70 people, so was a lovely intimate atmosphere.
Bill is as relaxed as you'd expect, but is a little more . . . erm, masculine in person. And those teeth - impressive! He cooked four dishes from his new book, Feed Me Now: - Chocolate coconut slice
- Marinated chicken wings with satay sauce
- Hotcakes with caramelised bananas
- Curried prawn stirfry
His recipes are all very simple, aimed as they are at busy Mums mostly! I'm not really in this category at the moment, so didn't buy the book. It was a lovely looking book, well laid out with easy to read recipes. Topics covered include family suppers, breakfasts, comfort foods, food for friends.
Overall, the event was very worthwhile and it is worth keeping an eye out for future similar events. It cost 6 pounds and included 1 1/2 hour cooking demonstration, a glass of wine, a Delicious bag, this month's Delicious magazine (which I already had) and a Bodem 6 cup coffee plunger (we have a coffee machine). Lovely gifts but fairly useless for me. Still, my friends all got some lovely freebies this week!
Of course, no visit to London is complete without visiting Borough Market. This was my first visit on a weekday rather than Saturday, so it was a bit different for me too - only a few thousand people, rather than a few million (at least, that's what it feels like!). Unfortunately, there are also less stalls on a Thursday, but it is still an impressive market, especially for my visitors from Brisbane!
I was also excited to see Jun Tanaka filming a segment for Market Kitchen - he was making Rabbit Navarin and the segment is supposed to air some time in early March. Mum and Dad didn't know who he was, of course, so were less impressed than I was!
Dad, however, was very impressed with the Pieminister Pies, so we decided to get those for dinner. They were very good with some creamy mash and really good sugar snap peas.
Mum found it hard to go past the Baklava, so along with an Apple Strudel, that was the dessert decision made. Unfortunately, the strudel in particular was quite disappointing.
That did not detract from how good these markets were - always a great foodie excursion in London!
I am incredibly proud of the food around where we live and wanted to convey this to Mum and Dad when they came to visit. We decided to visit some of the local food shops to pick up some goodies for lunch.
To start, we headed to The Fromagerie where the very French fellow there recommended a nice mature cheddar and a Brie so ripe it melted before we got home! We also picked up a fresh loaf of 12 grain bread from there. We moved onto Da Mario, the Italian deli, for some ham and delicious kalamata olives and the fruit shop for some strawberries.
We then paid Sean at Highbury Vintners a visit and he helped us pick out a dozen wines (not all for lunch!) from around the world. This is something you don't really get in Australia, because it is a wine-producing country. One of the things I love about living in the UK is trying all the wines from different countries and different grapes that we don't get in Oz - the range is really extraordinary. He talked us into trying a Chapel Down white wine, which was very nice with our roast chicken the following week. Other highlights for me were the Tannant from Argentina - very tasty. We also picked out a classic Pinot Noir from Burgundy to go with our lunch.
We finally headed home to feast on our Blackstock Road treats, as well as my homemade chutney, some duck sausage we got from The French Show back in January and some fresh tomato. Yum!
Some time in November 2008, there was an article in the Time Out newsletter about foodie walks in London. Some of them were extortionately expensive at around 80 pounds, but I noticed an Indian Food Walk for a bargain 10 pounds for two hours. I reserved a couple of places, but as the snow fell in London this week, wondered if wandering around outside for two hours was the wisest thing to be doing in February. That being said, it ended up being a cold but beautiful sunny day - perfect for journeying out to Southall in distant West London to meet with Monisha Bharadwaj, our guide for the day. Monisha has had a fabulous, envy-inspiring foodie career - she does cookery classes, has written books, been on TV - and she was a lovely host.
We started off by venturing into Quality Foods, a huge Indian supermarket, where we learnt about some interesting Indian vegetables, such as bitter Gourd and saw some things you rarely see, such as fresh turmeric. We spent some time in the spice aisle, where I was pleasantly surprised to see that the majority of these spices we can get at our local Finsbury Supermarket! Monisha advised us that for the majority of Indian cooking, we should only need seven spices - ground cumin, cumin seeds, ground coriander, chilli, turmeric, black mustard seeds and g
aram masala. Certainly makes it seem less intimidating! It was interesting to see the massive bulk quantities available at this supermarket 
- no 500g packets of Basmati here!
After spending some time in the supermarket, we continued on, stopping to watch naan being made in a tandoor (and sampling it - yum! Crispy and light, not heavy and oily like a lot of naan) and to sample some Punjabi Chai tea, which was pink (!) and very sweet and milky. We also sampled some Indian sweets 
(not sure about them) and had the opportunity to sample pan, which I wasn't really keen to try. Judging from the faces and comments of those who did, I don't think I missed out - this one definitely goes down as an 'acquired taste'.
It was a really interesting experience and a place I would otherwise never have visited. One of the things I really love about London are these pockets of different cultures. You can experience completely different ways of living without leaving the city.
After the tour, we wandered around for a while and eventually stopped at the Glassy Junction pub - the first pub in the UK to accept rupees - and apparently it still does! After a couple of Cobras, we headed to Madhu's Indian Restaurant. I had never heard of this restaurant, but it looked lovely and the menu looked good. Googling it now, it seems to be quite famous and I can definitely understand why. We started with some poppadums, which came with the UK Indian restaurant standard of condiments (a good one that we could adopt in Australian Indian restaurants!). These were the best condiments I had ever had - spicy and tasty mango chutney, a chilli type sauce reminiscent of property barbecue sauce and a green minty paste (I don't know what these were). Across the board, very good.
We shared a starter of Paneer Cheese patties with spinach - light and crispy, these were a reasonable starter, but not necessary in retrospect. Without these, we may have had more room for our mains of Chicken Makhni (Butter Chicken essentially) and Keema Mutter (lamb mince with peas) with rice, peshwari naan and raita. I often find that curries can tend to be either too oily or move past spice into just heat. These curries both had a small amount of heat, but actually had real spice flavour. The unadorned accompaniments of plain basmati rice and raita that was really just natural yoghurt were also a welcome change and helped to put the focus - rightly so - on the curries. While the curries were excellent, it was the naan that was the true star. Always the measure of an Indian restaurant for me, the peshwari naan here was like none I had had before. Sweet from the fruit and coconut, light and crispy bread texture . . . . my mouth is watering now just thinking about it! We washed all this down with a pleasant lemony Pouilly Fume from the Loire, quite similar to a Pinot Grigio.
While Madhu's was fractionally more expensive than most Indian restaurants, it was worth it in every way. Service was excellent - the staff actually talked to you! - and the food was outstanding. The only downside for us, is that it is such a long way away :(
The first would have to be our afternoon tea at the Ritz. This was a Christmas present from my parents, which we finally got around to booking in about May this year, only to find that the first sensible time available on a weekend was in August! So, on a beautiful sunny August day, we headed into the London institution that is the Ritz.
The hotel is incredibly ornate and over the top, matched by the staff in their tails or white jackets and black bow ties. It all feels a bit like a stage set! Along with another 70 or so people, we were shown to our table for the 1.30 seating. The process runs like clockwork. They hold five seatings a day, seven days a week, turning people over every two hours, but somehow not making you feel like a cog in a system. Quite impressive.
Our voucher was for the champagne high tea and we were provided with our glass of Ritz champagne, while we perused the extensive menus of teas. I must profess to being not much of a tea drinker (and certainly knowing very little about different varieties). I decided to try something a little different in the Rose Congou, described as 'a black tea from Guangdong, China, enriched with rose petals giving a gentle, light rose aroma to the tea'. Kyle was less adventurous with his choice of Ritz Royal English, 'an exquisite Kenyan blend of malty Assam and the fine flavour of Ceylon'.
The white-jacketed waiters whisked the stands of food efficiently to each table while our tea was being poured and we got into the serious business of eating. Afternoon Tea at the Ritz is obviously hugely traditional, so you're not expecting anything unusual or uncommon here.
The sandwiches included cucumber (don't get it!), cheese, smoked salmon, ham, chicken and egg. They are all incredibly dainty, served as little fingers of crustless bread with simple fillings. Quite pleasant.
The scones weren't included with the first tray of food, but were brought around at the point in proceedings where one was supposed to have finished sandwiches and could move on to scones while they were still warm. Very efficient! The scones were exceptional. I often find scones a bit heavy, particularly with this much food, but these were warm, light and fluffy. We had lovely little pots of delicious strawberry jam and artery-clogging clotted cream, which were both traditional but very good! For me, the scones were the highlight.
We were now ready to move onto the top tier - the cakes. Unfortunately, by this time, I was already really quite full! This is a problem with afternoon tea - you start with sandwiches and run out of room for cake! But, I had to do my duty and persevered through a pistachio cake (average cake, decorated with amazing raspberries) and a truly exceptional chocolate gateau, made with rich, dark bitter chocolate. That was good. Kyle had the vanilla slice, which was okay - very hard to eat. Unfortunately, we had to pass on a fruit tart, blueberry mousse and a coconut macaroon. A tragedy. For some reason, the couple at the table next to us had ordered an extra cake to celebrate their anniversary. Needless to say, they ate hardly any and tried to palm some on to us!
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