Bills Providore & Cafe, Brighton

Bill's raspberry, peach & mango juice, French pink soda

Daily bruschetta special

Haloumi and hummus - grilled haloumi cheese in a sesame seed
bun with hummus, rocket, roasted peppers’ sweet chilli and
yoghurt served with skinny fries

As we were nearing the end of our UK adventure the weather started to warm up, bringing with it a feeling that summer was just around the corner. And where to Londoners go when the weather heats up? To Brighton of course! So off we went.

Arriving by train, we wandered down towards the beach through a series of lanes, filled with cafes, gorgeous boutiques and cute & quirky homewares shops. I think we bought more stuff in Brighton than anywhere else on the whole trip!

We passed a lot of cafes but none of them really drew us in, until we spied Bills Providore & Cafe tucked inside an old garage (or 'Depot') on a nondescript semi-commercial street. It was exactly what we had been looking for. Light & fresh food, with friendly service, amazing 'rustic' decor and a buzzing atmosphere.

Unfortunately (for you, not me - it was delish) I ordered off the specials board, and didn't write it down, so I have no idea what I ordered, but it was a 'bruschetta' with broad bean puree, grilled capsicum, local asparagus & balsamic. 

- Alphie

Saturday Lunch - Haloumi salad

Haloumi is one of FH ALphie's favourite foods. So when I dropped by the greengrocer on my way back from a physio appointment, and saw the masses of haloumi in the cheese fridge, I knew I had to buy some. I then thought, that since dinner would be a bit of a non-event tonight (we are going to see Sydney FC v Everton ant ANZ stadium), I might make something for lunch. This is a bit unusual for me, as we normally have leftovers for lunch if we are going to be at home - a chance to use up all the strange things left in the fridge.


I remembered Not Quite Nigella writing a post on a haloumi salad not to long ago, so I thought I'd try something similar.

Haloumi salad
serves 2

• couple of handfuls of baby spinach, or other salad leaves
• punnet cherry tomatoes, halved (I used Kumatos)
• red capsicum, chopped
• Lebanese cucumber, chopped
• salt & pepper
• 2 tbs balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
  
• 1/2 - 1 tsp caster sugar
• 250g haloumi, sliced

Combine the salad ingredients (baby spinach, tomatoes, capsicum & cucumber) in a large bowl, season to taste, remembering that haloumi can be quite salty, and toss well.


Combine the dressing ingredients (balsamic, olive oil, dijon & sugar) in a small jar, and shake to combine. Pour into a small saucepan on high heat, and bring to the boil. Once it has started bubbling, remove from heat, and return to the jar. Let cool for a few minutes, and shake again to combine.


Fry the haloumi slices in a dry, non-stick frypan, over high heat. Once they begin to colour, about 2 minutes, turn over, cook for another 2 minutes and remove from pan.

Divide the salad between two plates, top with the haloumi and drizzle with the dressing.

-Alphie