Ottolenghi, Islington, London.

It's been a long time coming, but this is the last instalment of our London dining adventures.

We only booked two restaurants before we left Australia; Dinner, and Ottolenghi. I have sung my praise for Ottolenghi's book, Plenty, many times already on this blog. So it was always going to be part of the plan while we were in London. It was a treat we saved for our last night, wanting to end the tip on a high, and not on a potential disaster (not that we had many of those mind you). Much to Mr Alphie's excitement, the easiest way to get there was via (double decker) bus. Unfortunately it wasn't an old-style open topped one, but he was very excited all the same.

We arrived to find a converted terrace house, with a delicious array of cakes, pastries & desserts on display in the front windows. Once inside, we realised the display stretched well inside the shop, and then became a mouth watering display of salads and other cold dishes of the day.

We were welcomed in, and shown to a cosy table in the back. After a chat with the waitress, who encouraged us to order 2-3 plates per person, we chose three plates to share from the 'From the Counter' (cold) menu and two from the 'From the Kitchen' (hot) menu, giving us five dishes - a deliberate decision to ensure we both had room for desert from the fantastic table of goodies!

House made bread with olive oil

Grilled pear with Roquefort, spicy macadamia, mixed leaves
and orange blossom dressing

Mixed green beans with shaved asparagus, garlic, chilli,
tarragon and chervil

Yellow fin, line caught, seared tuna wrapped in nori and
panko with wasabi cream

Five spice crispy tofu with mixed vegetable peanut archa and
aubergine, tamarind and coriander salsa

Orange and fennel poached mackerel with beetroot and honey
yoghurt salad and pistachio relish

Some sort of delicious fruit tart, from the amazing
selection out front

Citrus tart, also from the fabulous dessert display

A fantastic end to a fantastic holiday. Oh, how I would love if Ottolenghi was my local. Everything we tried was sublime, so clean, crisp and zingy. Each dish really let each component shine. And, it was well priced!

-Alphie

PS Yotam has just released a new cookbook, Jerusalem, with his business partner Sami Tamimi. I know what I'll be asking for for Christmas this year! 

London Bound

Mr Alphie and I are heading off to the UK for a few weeks later this year. We’re flying in to London, and the current plan, is to spend a few days being tourists, before catching the train out to Milton Keynes/Cranfield where my bestie, Ms Aqua now resides as she slogs through her Masters degree. Given the very little to do in Cranfield, we’re all heading up to Scotland on a roadtrip for a week or so, before Mr Alphie and I head back to London to round out the last week.

As you can tell, the plan is not all that ‘planned’ as yet. Mostly because I don’t know where we should go/what we should do. I was last in London when I was 16 (over 10 years ago – whew! That makes me feel old...), so I’m sure a lot has changed, plus I don’t think 16-year-old-me and 27-year-old-me really have the same interests... And, this is Mr Alphies first trip outside of Oceania/Southeast Asia, so he’s as good as useless!

My parents bought us/Mr Alphie tickets to see The Lion King for Christmas, so that’s on the list, as is the London Eye, Tower of London, Churchill’s War Rooms and the Greenwich Meridian. I’m also keen to fit in a day trip out to Hampton Court Palace, thanks to an obsession with The Tudors. I’m sure we can find things to occupy us though, what I really want to know, is where should we eat!? Friends of ours have just returned from a trip to Europe where they squeezed in a meal at Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck, just outside London, and unsurprisingly, highly recommend it, so we’re trying to fit that in somewhere. And, my regular readers (!), will know of my minor obsession with Yotam Ottolenghi’s book Plenty, so Ottolengi is also on the short list. But that’s two meals, over three weeks, so we really need some more suggestions.

I was pretty keen on trying Jamie’s Italian, but a bit of google-ing has revealed that it’s a full-blown chain, which has put me off a bit. Should it have? Is it a worth going to anyway?

So, readers, can anyone suggest ‘must-eat’ places in London? Especially some good value lower-end stuff – I’m sure we could manage to find great fine dining every night, but the bank balance might not appreciate it! Also, anywhere in particular to avoid – where the hype overrides the actual experience?

P.S. I’d also welcome tips for Scotland – food related or otherwise.

-Alphie

Brussels sprouts and Tofu

Another recipe from the infamous Yotam Ottolenghi. I am on a bit of a tofu bender at the moment, and after buying my last block, I realised that I wasn't sure how I wanted to cook it. A brief flick through Yotam's Plenty, and I had found the perfect recipe; Brussels sprouts and Tofu. I quite enjoy Brussels sprouts, but I know a lot of people don't feel the same way. I think the key is to sauté them rather than boil them to oblivion (as is often the case). They really need to be just cooked through, overcooking is the enemy of the Brussels sprout.

This is kind of a stir fry and kind of not, but whatever you call it, it's delicious. The marinade really flavours the tofu, which is something I usually find quite hard to do. I didn't have any maple syrup, so I substituted honey, and mis-read the rice wine vinegar amount (I used 1 tbs instead of 1 tsp) but it was still great. If anything, I would cook the sprouts for a little longer next time, some were not quite cooked and a bit tough.

Brussels sprouts and tofu

Yotam Ottolenghi, Plenty

Serves 3 

(Yotam says 4, but I didn't get that much - maybe I'm just a big eater...)

• 2 tbs sweet chilli sauce
• 1 ½ tbs soy sauce
• 3 tbs sesame oil (Yotam recommends toasted sesame oil, but I have no idea where you'd find this)
• 1 tsp rice wine vinegar
• 1 tbs rice wine vinegar
• 150g firm tofu, sliced into 1cm widths, then halved into rough squares
• 500g Brussels sprouts, trimmed and sliced into longways thirds
• 6-8 tbs plain oil (rice bran/sunflower etc)
• 100g spring onions, sliced
• ½ small red chilli, deseeded and freshly chopped
• 120g shitake mushrooms, halved or quartered
• 15g coriander leaves
• 1 tbs (toasted) sesame seeds (optional)
• salt

 

First, marinate the tofu. In a bowl, whisk together the chilli and soy sauces, two tablespoons of the sesame oil, the vinegar and maplr syrup.Gently stir the tofu into the marinade and set aside.

Browning/burning the Brussels sprouts

Take a large, non-stick pan, add two tablespoons of oil and heat up well. Throw in half the sprouts and a little salt, and cook on high heat for two minutes. Don't stir much. You want the sprouts to almost to burn in a few places and cook through but remain crunchy. Remove to a bowl. Repeat with more oil, salt and the rest of the sprouts. Remove all sprouts from the pan

Add two more tablespoons of oil to the pan, heat up and sauté the spring onions, chilli and mushrooms for a minute or two. Transfer to the sprout bowl.

Leave the pan on high heat. Use tongs to lift half the tofu pieces from the marinade and gently lay in the pan (be careful as the oil will spit!), spacing apart and in one layer. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for two minutes on each side, or until they get a nice caramelised colour. Transfer to the sprout bowl and repeat with the rest of the tofu.

Caramelised tofu

Once all the tofu is cooked, remove the pan from the heat and return all the cooked ingredients to it. Add the remaining tofu marinade and half the coriander. Toss together and allow to cool slightly in the pan. Taste and add salt if needed. Stir in the remaining sesame oil (extra, if you like) and serve warm, not hot, garnished with sesame seeds, if using, and the rest of the coriander.

Serve with hot steamed rice.

Black Pepper Tofu

Sadly, my local Borders is closing, but it does mean I was able to pick up a number of great cookbooks for a steal. One of these was Yotam Ottolenghi's book, Plenty. Yotam is most well known for his columns in the UK newspaper the Guardian, as well as number of restaurants/cafes in London. Plenty is the culmination of these columns into a book, with a few other recipes thrown in for good measure. The recipes in the Guardian are primarily vegetarian, although Yotam is famously not vegetarian himself. Mr Alphie and I aren't vegetarian either, but are always looking for great meat-free options, for ourselves and the vegetarians we often cook for.

This recipe jumped out at me in my first flick through the book, and again last night when I was looking for dinner inspiration. Luckily, Mr Alphie is not one to shy away from tofu, and after my stay with SIL & Mr SIL, I have developed quite a soft spot for it.

Mr Alphie and I both loved this, and Mr Alphie was pushing to have it again soon- like, before he heads back north again (in 2 days time!).

Notes: I made a half recipe, as I don't think it would re-heat well. Also, I only used one chilli, we only had the hot Thai ones (definitely not mild, as suggested), and that combined with the pepper was a fairly hot dish (but not 'blow your head off'), so make your own judgements on the chilli & pepper quantities - keeping in mind that there is supposed to be a lot of pepper, hence 'black pepper tofu'. 

Mr Alphie rates it: 9.5/10 - a true gem!

Black Pepper Tofu

Serves 4

• 800g firm, fresh tofu
• vegetable oil, for frying
• cornflour to dust the tofu
• 150g butter
• 12 small shallots (350g), peeled and thinly sliced
• 8 red chillies, thinly sliced
• 12 garlic cloves, crushed
• 3 tbsp chopped fresh ginger
• 5 tbsp crushed black peppercorns
• 3 tbsp sweet soy sauce (kecap manis)
• 3 tbsp light soy sauce
• 4 tsp dark soy sauce
• 2 tbsp caster sugar
• 16 small, thin spring onions, cut into 3cm segments

Start with the tofu. Pour enough oil  into a large frying pan or wok to come 5mm up the sides and heat. Cut the tofu into large cubes, about 3cm x 2cm.

Unless, like me, you are wearing your comfy around-the-house trackies, I suggest you wear an apron while coating the tofu - I managed to get cornflour everywhere...

Toss them in some cornflour and shake off the excess, then add to the hot oil. (You'll need to fry the tofu in batches).

Fry, turning them around as you go, until they are golden and have a thin crust. As they are cooked, transfer to paper towel to drain.

Remove the oil and any sediment from the pan, then add in the butter. Once it has melted, add the shallots, chillies, garlic and ginger, and sauté on low to medium heat for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the contents of the pan are shiny and totally soft.

Next add the soy sauces and sugar and stir, then add the crushed black pepper.

Add the tofu to warm in the sauce for about a minute, then add the spring onion and stir through. Serve hot with steamed rice. (We also had steamed Asian greens.)

-Alphie