After reading about Covent Garden Night Market on other blogs, I decided to give it a go myself. I wasn't under any illusions; Borough Market it aint, and with that I set off.
Friday was the last time the market was open this year, as it's only open throughout August. Upon first arriving, I was impressed. It was a warm night, and it reminded me of French evening markets. It had great lively atmosphere and was bustling, partly due to some questionable street performers juggling knives.
Every Friday there have been demos by various chefs, but unfortunately I missed Fergus Henderson's demo as I thought it was on at 7:30pm, rather than 6:30pm. No matter; there were lots of other foods to be sampled. A lovely Irish rock oyster at £1.50, and a portion of wild mushroom risotto completed my dinner for the evening, and I came away with lots of cured pork goods.
Of course, I couldn't walk on past a huge round of Stichelton, my favourite blue cheese. It's a shame the guy selling the cheese so obviously didn't want to be there, nor talk to me and it showed as it seemed to be the least busy stall. What happened to service with a smile?
Unfortunately they'd run out of Tuscan sausage that I was told to buy, and the spicy one didn't really do a lot for me. There was a good selection of stalls to eat your way round on a Friday night, rather than lots of places to buy fresh produce for. All in all, a nice couple of hours out but ultimately not something you'd miss too much if you'd been to Borough Market before.
Just a bit of fun for a Friday night really. In preparation for an upcoming debauched long weekend, I thought it best to stay in and what better way to spend your time...
The idea behind the Omnivore's Hundred is to copy and paste this list, highlight in bold which ones you've eaten and cross out which ones you wouldn't even consider. I've done it in red as I can't find a crossy outty function.
1. Venison 2. Nettle tea 3. Huevos rancheros 4. Steak tartare 5. Crocodile 6. Black pudding 7. Cheese fondue 8. Carp 9. Borscht 10. Baba ghanoush 11. Calamari 12. Pho 13. PB&J sandwich 14. Aloo gobi 15. Hot dog from a street cart - I dread to think what was in it, but inebriated at 3am in Soho... well, it tasted alright. Ish. 16. Epoisses - Not really, but does Munster count? 17. Black truffle 18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes 19. Steamed pork buns 20. Pistachio ice cream 21. Heirloom tomatoes 22. Fresh wild berries 23. Foie gras 24. Rice and beans 25. Brawn, or head cheese 26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper 27. Dulce de leche 28. Oysters 29. Baklava 30. Bagna cauda 31. Wasabi peas 32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl - I want this. NOW. 33. Salted lassi 34. Sauerkraut 35. Root beer float - why ruin a root beer with ice cream? 36. Cognac with a fat cigar 37. Clotted cream tea 38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O 39. Gumbo 40. Oxtail 41. Curried goat 42. Whole insects 43. Phaal 44. Goat’s milk 45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more 46. Fugu 47. Chicken tikka masala 48. Eel 49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut 50. Sea urchin - not through lack of trying. I WANT. 51. Prickly pear 52. Umeboshi 53. Abalone 54. Paneer 55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal 56. Spaetzle 57. Dirty gin martini 58. Beer above 8% ABV 59. Poutine 60. Carob chips 61. S’mores 62. Sweetbreads 63. Kaolin - If this is what I think it is... does Immodium count? 64. Currywurst 65. Durian 66. Frogs’ legs 67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake 68. Haggis 69. Fried plantain 70. Chitterlings, or andouillette 71. Gazpacho 72. Caviar and blini 73. Louche absinthe - eurgh. That was a bad night. 74. Gjetost, or brunost 75. Roadkill 76. Baijiu 77. Hostess Fruit Pie 78. Snail 79. Lapsang souchong 80. Bellini 81. Tom yum 82. Eggs Benedict 83. Pocky 84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant. 85. Kobe beef 86. Hare 87. Goulash 88. Flowers 89. Horse 90. Criollo chocolate 91. Spam 92. Soft shell crab 93. Rose harissa 94. Catfish 95. Mole poblano 96. Bagel and lox 97. Lobster Thermidor 98. Polenta 99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee 100. Snake - When I was about 11 I saw a baby bamboo snakemeet it's death from the underside of a man's shoe. Just the sight of snakes makes me feel queasy and a little sweaty. No way.
I don't know a lot about Spanish food. I went to Barcelona once, just for the day and eating wasn't high on my list of priorities (shock horror!) back then.
Tapas is one of my favourite cuisines, so I thought I'd try it for myself at home. Having a look around, tortilla de patatas seemed the most straight-forward in my debut dish.
It's not exactly a healthy dish, but very flavoursome and it makes a great cold picnic dish, or to have with salad. The potatoes are simmered in olive oil with some sliced white onions until they are cooked, and then mixed with the raw egg and back in the pan for a second frying.
Tortilla de Patatas
Serves 4 as a side
3 medium potatoes (floury), sliced thinly
1/2 a white onion, sliced
3 eggs, beaten
200mls olive oil
Pinch of salt and pepper
Heat the oil up in a pan, and then add the potatoes. Simmer until cooked, about 15 minutes. 5 minutes before they're cooked, add the onions. Drain about half of the oil away, and leave to cool.
Beat the eggs in a large bowl and add the potato and onion mixture. Pour back into a 7" non-stick pan and cook on a low heat until the eggs have set on the bottom and are slightly browned. Carefully turn the tortilla over, and fry until cooked all the way through.
My history isn't great with eggs, I usually make a complete mess of it so instead of turning it over, I stuck it under the grill to finish cooking. The result was a great tortilla; layers of potato and onion lihtly flavouring the eggs. Simple, but great.
These were made a little while ago, and I just realized I hadn't posted the recipe. It's actually been one of my favorite dishes made this summer (so far!). I've been using our newest purchase (a barbecue!) as much as possible while the warm(ish) weather lasts. The kebabs turned out well... although Oliver and I both forgot to soak the skewers we were using...which is definitely a must when placing wood on an open fire! Battling the small flames of the barbecue certainly played a part in making the experience of outdoor cooking that much more adventurous!
Recipe, adapted from Cooking Morrocan (serves 4) 1 onion, roughly chopped 2 tablespoons of chopped parsley 1 tablespoon of chopped coriander leaves 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) of ground lamb 1 teaspoon of cumin 1 teaspoon of paprika 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper A handful of pine nuts Salt and pepper to taste 8 skewers, soaked in water for 20 minutes before using Lemon wedges and salad leaves to serve
Put the onion, parsley and coriander in a food processor and process to a puree. Add the lamb, cumin, paprika, cayenne pepper, and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Process to a paste, scrapping the side of the bowl occasionally.
Place a pan on medium heat. Add the pine nuts and toast them, stirring them often. As soon as they start browning and become fragrant, remove them from the pan. Coarsely chop them and fold them in to the lamb mixture. Divide the mixture into 8 even portions. Form into about 9 cm long cylinders (3 1/2 inches) and leave to chill for an hour in the fridge.
Insert the soaked skewers through the center of each lamb sausage. Cook on hot oiled barbecue or indoor grill until cooked through (about 5 minutes on each side). Gently turn the kebabs often to insure that they don't stick to the grill. They will feel firm when lightly pressed with tongs once they are cooked.
Serve with lemon wedges and lettuce leaves. Enjoy!
I've always liked presenting food in transparent glasses. This works particularly well when you are serving food with different textures and colors, and makes you want to dig in instantly! I made these a little while ago for my family during a vacation in the South of France, and they were pretty easy to put together for a crowd. I like these types of appetizers because they are so versatile. You can change the herbs or the cured ham depending on what you've got on hand.
Recipe, adapted from the Jose Marechal's book Verrines. (makes eight)
2 large eggplants 2 shallots 1/4 cup of plain yogurt 1 garlic clove A handful of chopped chives 1/4 teaspoon of lemon juice Salt and pepper 8 thin slices of coppa 400 grams of ricotta
Extra Virgin Olive oil
Preheat your oven to 350 F. Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place on a aluminum-lined cookie sheet in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until the eggplant in soft. Scoop out the flesh and place it in the bowl of a mixer. Add the garlic, half of the chives, salt and pepper. Blend until smooth. Add a drizzle of olive oil. Taste and adjust seasoning. Mix in the yogurt. Place in the fridge to cool. Mix the ricotta with the lemon juice and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper and a good drizzle of olive oil Cut each slice of coppa into small pieces. Assemble the appetizer by placing a couple spoonfuls of eggplant puree, topped with a spoonful of ricotta, a few pieces of coppa. Garnish with the chopped chives and serve with crusty bread. Enjoy!
People often marvel at how much I eat, especially given my size (which isn't very big). People at work are convinced that as soon as I hit 30, or even worse, 25 my metabolism is going to slow right down and I'll balloon. So I'm making the most of it.
It was much talked about when I was younger. I once ate so much pie I was sick in my sleep - not recommended - and my mum still laments the holiday in Brittany where my dad and I literally ate our way through the week. It culminated in me not being able to decide between two main courses in a restaurant... so I got both, to run concurrently. I just didn't want to miss out, you see.
When I heard about Hunan, about 6 months ago, I had to go. A Chinese restaurant, named after the region in China known for it's liberal use of chillis. Perfect! Although they do claim that their food isn't strictly Hunanese on their website, what sealed the deal for me is that they don't offer menus. Instead, they bring you out food of the choice of the kitchen and don't stop until they tell you to.
So, tonight was the night. We arrived in Sloane Square, feeling a touch out of place, being the scruff bags that we are. The restaurant is not your typical Chinatown caff, but rather a sleeker affair. Extremely courteous staff sat us down, and away we went, furnished with a bottle of Chilean Sauvingnon Blanc. As we were sat by the window, the pictures start off pretty bright but progressively get darker.
To start, we also had marinated cucumber and some peanuts. A soup came out, steamed in a bamboo cup. A deeply savoury broth with ginger, shiitake mushrooms and pork mince came out accompanied by chicken mince in a lettuce leaf with a sauce to drizzle over it. We didn't know where to start really. The soup was gorgeous and the lettuce wrap a really pleasing texture contrast.
Next came some spicy green beans, in a light tempura-like batter. I must attempt to make these at home; not a hint of grease, but a pleasing amount of crunch, garnished with spring onion and mild(ish) chillis.
The salmon and snapper roll was interesting, but flavour-wise it was somewhat bland. I think it was meant to be, as it was quite refreshing on the palate.
In quick succession came one of my favourites of the meal - pork belly braised with star anise and ginger. The pork belly fell apart with a prod of the chopsticks - it was unctuous and melted in the mouth. I wanted more.
Various dumplings followed, some memorable, others not so. In particular a king prawn dumpling stuffed with a fish mousse and water chestnuts was particularly clever, and tasty. A prawn-topped bitter melon didn't reveal any hint of bitterness, but was well executed and beautifully presented. Tofu parcels came out, confusingly called "turkey wrapped ham" by the server. Debate between us quickly ensued - the boyfriend berudgingly admitted it was tofu, and deliciously so. Lamb parcels then came out, which reminded us of a gourmet version of sesame prawn toast; covered in sesame seeds, the lamb was barely there but enough to make it's mark. A spicy beef dish was amazingly tender, and perfumed with the smoky dried chillies nicely.
Finally, the big dishes came out. "Are you too full?" enquired the waiter. "Keep it coming!" Steamed sea bass in ginger and spring onion was perfectly cooked, and served from the beast table side. It proved to me that the restaurant didn't need to make any fancy dumplings or rolls for it to show that they can cook well.
Bewilderingly so, we were then given crispy duck and pancakes. Perfectly nice, but we did wonder if it was a mere filler.
Next, came Twice Cooked Pork in Lotus Leaves with egg fried rice and stir-fried veg. This really did top us off. The pork was a little dry, but the sauce was dark, rich and fruity.
We finally ducked out when the boyfriend gasped: "Enough! I'm done". I scoffed at him, even sulked a bit but clearly he knew better; after a small dessert of home made red bean balls, stuffed pancake and coconut jelly, I was fit to burst. We waddled off into the night, after having been eating for almost 3 hours. I'm still full now; I'm not sure sleeping is a good idea at the moment.
There is an element of trust when it comes to the bill as it was indecipherable, but it was very reasonable indeed. If you're not a fusspot, I suggest you go.
Stuffed bitter melon is one of those dishes that I didn't like when I was a kid. My grandmother used to make it as one of many dishes for dinner. Bitter foods just don't sit well on young palates, but as I've got older my tastes have definitely changed. I am a Guinness drinker, after all.
Recently I was eating in one of my favourite Chinatown restaurants and who was next to me, but Clarissa Dickson-Wright. She had all sorts of dishes on her table that were uncommon for the average Brit to order; amongst them was stuffed bitter melon. Upon my dining companion enquiring what it was she had, she immediately offered us some. Hers were stuffed with fish and pork, in a thick black bean sauce. It was delicious, and it proved to me it was time to try it again.
Stuffed Bitter Melon in Black Bean Sauce
For 4
1 bitter melon 450gr minced pork, or half pork half raw prawn 3 shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated and chopped finely 1 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine 4 tsp light soy sauce Large pinch of white pepper 1 tsp cornflour
For the sauce:
3 cloves of garlic, minced 1" of ginger, chopped finely 2 1/2 tbsp fermented black beans, chopped and mashed 250 mls chicken stock (I used half a cube) 2 tbsp sugar 2 tbsp cornflour, slaked 2 spring onions, sliced on the diagonal
Add the pork (and prawns, if using) to a bowl with the shiitake mushrooms, Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, cornflour and white pepper. Mix well so that it's all combined.
Slice the bitter melon into 1" rounds and cut out the pith carefully. Blanch in salted water and refresh. Stuff the pork mixture into the rounds carefully. It's best to overstuff them slightly, as the meat will shrink a little. Steam the melon for 15 - 20 mins. It's fine to do it in two batches, as they will get a quick braise to warm back up again.
Heat your wok up until it's slightly smoking and add some vegetable oil. Swirl it around the wok, then add the ginger and garlic and fry until fragrant. Add the black beans, and then the stock and the sugar. Carefully add the melon rounds back into the sauce and simmer for 2 minutes. Add the slaked cornflour to the mixture and simmer it further until it's thickened. Scatter with the spring onions, and serve with plain rice.
The initial blanching is said to get rid of some of the bitterness of the melon. The sugar also balances some of it out, but this dish certainly isn't for the faint-hearted.
After reading about Covent Garden Night Market on other blogs, I decided to give it a go myself. I wasn't under any illusions; Borough Market it aint, and with that I set off.
Friday was the last time the market was open this year, as it's only open throughout August. Upon first arriving, I was impressed. It was a warm night, and it reminded me of French evening markets. It had great lively atmosphere and was bustling, partly due to some questionable street performers juggling knives. 
demos by various chefs, but unfortunately I missed Fergus Henderson's demo as I thought it was on at 7:30pm, rather than 6:30pm. No matter; there were lots of other foods to be sampled. A lovely Irish rock oyster at £1.50, and a portion of wild mushroom risotto completed my dinner for the evening, and I came away with lots of cured pork goods.
demos by various chefs, but unfortunately I missed Fergus Henderson's demo as I thought it was on at 7:30pm, rather than 6:30pm. No matter; there were lots of other foods to be sampled. A lovely Irish rock oyster at £1.50, and a portion of wild mushroom risotto completed my dinner for the evening, and I came away with lots of cured pork goods.
