An Elephant In The Room

I spent five years living in London, and since I left I've witnessed a surge in eating experiences - pop-ups, markets, and a general buzz about new places to eat seemed to have swept the capital. London was always full of choices but I have to admit, I was a little disappointed I wasn't there to take part in this new surge. Thankfully, my previous job allowed me to travel to London every couple of months so swift visits to new eateries every now and again stemmed my sorrow somewhat.

One place that I kept noticing in articles, blogs and twitter feeds was Brixton Market. So when I was in town for a friend's baby shower, two of my very good mates let me crash on their floor in their Brixton flat...and so a visit to Brixton Market was mandatory.

Tucked away just round the corner from the Brixton tube, you can - and will - find almost anything in this maze of tiny shops. If you like people watching, this is the ultimate spot!! My friends and I wandered around in the late afternoon - when most of the cafes are closed, not opening until 6pm - and perused the various outlets. One wee place was selling everything from dried fish, to steel wool and even a box of giant, live snails (to put the photo below into context, these snails were the size of my hand!).

But by the time we returned in the evening I was literally in foodie heaven - numerous types of cuisines were being served in tiny little shops that made up the winding paths of the market. Benches spilt out of the shop fronts, and the whole place was alive with groups of people eating, drinking and chatting. I couldn't decide which place to choose, but thankfully my trusty friends were on hand to recommend a place.

They had raved about Elephant, a lovely little place that had been too busy the night before to seat us. On this evening we were lucky enough to get a table.

The menu was straight forward - a few simple starters, and a choice of thalis or curries for main course. We chose one of each starter to keep us going which included lamb samosas, vegetable samosas and onion bhajis.

The samosas were very good. I'm not the biggest fan, having had so many really bad versions in the past but these were crispy, spicy and stuffed full of beautiful vegetables and lamb. But the onion bhajis...oh my! These had come highly recommended, but they exceeded all expectations. Golden nuggets of onion and potato, which were light, crispy and beautifully spiced. I genuinely could have eaten a dozen. In fact, they were so good I asked for the recipe.

I had chosen the chicken thali for main, and as before, I was not disappointed.

 

A plate with a stunning chicken curry, steamed rice, dahl, cucumber raita and naan was presented and I eagerly tucked in. The combination complemented one another perfectly, with the heat from the chicken and the creaminess of the dahl balanced out with the cool raita and the simple steamed rice.

 

The whole menu was very reasonably priced, as well as being BYOB, so for very little you get an outstanding meal. What is even more impressive is that - from what I could tell - the whole place was run by one guy in the kitchen and one guy looking after the tables. 

The only downside is I don't live close enough to go back on a regular basis. But rest assured, I will definitely be back!

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Catch of the Day

My lovely boyfriend has taken up fishing of late. We have spent a few afternoons traipsing the coast in search of the deadliest catch. Actually, it hasn't been quite as exciting as that  but joking aside, there have been some amazing spots and I have to admit that I've never fully appreciated just how lucky I am living so close to such stunning coastlines. St Abbs in particular was an incredibly stunning evening (and if you're a history geek like me, check out the story of the boat wreck that led to a lifeboat station here.)

 



So, I was in luck when last Friday he texted me a photo of his latest catch with the subtitle 'Dinner'. Two sleek, elegant mackerel caught fresh in Granton Harbour. Wonderful!

Now, as much as I would love to take credit for researching the gorgeous recipe that is about to follow, I cannot - I was round at my best mate's, having the obligatory Friday glass of wine. While I was gone, the boy set about cleaning and gutting the fish, and making a delicately spiced rub for the mackerel fillets. Alongside this was a salad of fresh leaves, fine slivers of shallots and orange segments with a red chilli, wholegrain mustard, clear honey and orange dressing. Perfect. 

I was even lucky enough to have some left over for me for lunch the following day. So two beautiful mackerel fillets were coated in a spice rub made from black peppercorns, coriander seeds, orange zest and some red chilli. Four minutes under the grill, and these little beauties were good to go. 

Placed on the salad, with some of the zingy dressing and there I had a healthy, tasty lunch which I would highly recommend to anyone. The spices and the citrus dressing cut through and complemented the oily fish, with the sweetness from the orange and the sharp shallots making it a perfect combination.

Here's to more fresh catches from our lovely local coastlines.

 

Next blog will be little less fishy - I know that there are one or two folk out there who aren't the biggest fans of seafood. If anyone has suggestions or recipes, do let me know...

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To start with, some lobster...

The idea of writing a food blog has been bouncing around in my head for a while now, and after a number of friends encouraging me to go for it I've decided it is time to take the plunge and get all these ideas I have down on the page.

 

My earliest memories involve "helping" my mum in the kitchen, and I remember these with such fondness and really need to credit my mother for giving me such a love of really good food, and for giving me an amazing foundation of knowledge through everything she taught me. If there were any disasters she would calmly tell me that all chefs have mistakes, just start again and it will be okay the next time.

 

And so, over the years, I have cultivated a deep love for cooking, eating and food in general... and I hope I can share some of that with you. Feedback is welcome, as are recipes, restaurants suggestions and anything else food related!

 

Now, onto the good stuff. Why not start with something special - lobster!

 

I am very much in love with seafood. On any given Saturday, you are more than likely to find me with my nose pressed up against the window of Eddie's Fish Market in Marchmont, checking out with child-like excitement what fishy delights they have. But I have to say, there is nothing more indulgent than lobster.

 

Having been in Crail for the weekend, my boyfriend and I decided to stop in at Crail Harbour on Sunday afternoon and buy a lobster for our dinner. A small hut sits at the side of the harbour, where you can buy lobster or crab rolls, or freshly cooked & dressed lobsters. They will serve you these harbourside, so you can feast on these delights while watching the small fishing boats bring in their catches.

 

 

 

But we had to get back, and so I patiently waited in the queue (that's a lie - I hopped about from one foot from the other, anxious to pick my lobster from the tank) and was rewarded with a beautiful lobster to take away with me.

 

 

 

Once back, I decided that simple is often best - so steamed lobster and chips with homemade mayo.

 

For the chips, I took two large baking potatoes and cut them up - skin on - into thin chips. Before coating them with olive oil, salt and pepper, I plunged them into cold water and dried them in a clean tea towel to get rid of the starch (I think this is a tip from trusty Delia!). In the oven they went for 20 minutes at 200 degrees.

 

 

 

Next, the mayo. As anyone who has made mayonnaise from scratch before will tell you, it is a risky business. I've made it plenty of times before, but for some reason on this night, it was not happening. Three attempts - THREE - to get a lovely, creamy mayo that had not curdled. At this point I should credit the book I had picked up that day in a second hand shop for 95p: The Foolproof Cookbook by Mary Norwak. I bought it as a bit of a laugh, as I thought the 1970s look & feel of it rather quaint and comical (in fact, it's so old that when I googled it there is no mention of it anywhere on the internet!). My boyfriend openly laughed at my purchase. But in the midst of my mayo meltdown, I flicked through it, and sure enough there was some tips on how to rescue a mayonnaise that has split. Adding an extra egg yolk apparently does the trick and lo and behold, it worked like a charm. Best 95p I ever spent!!

 

 

 

So, three egg yolks, (two to begin with, plus the extra yolk to rescue the mixture!), 250ml of sunflower oil, very slowly mixed together into an emulsion. Then a teaspoon of good, sharp mustard (I used english mustard which worked really well, although normally I go with Dijon), half a clove of crushed garlic and lots of juice from one lemon plus salt & pepper to taste. Heaven!

 

 

Finally, it was time for the lobster. I'd left him in the freezer for a couple of hours prior to cooking, as - according to the RSPCA - this renders them deeply comatose, to the point that they will feel nothing when put into the boiling water.

 

Having done my research beforehand, I cooked a 500g lobster in salted water for 10 minutes. So, in went our crustacean, and after 10 minutes out he came, a beautiful deep shade of pink and ready to be served.

 

Somehow, I had managed to pull this all together with time to watch the last 10 minutes of the last stage of the Tour de France with a glass of bubbles. If there is a better way to finish up the weekend, I'd be surprised!

 

 

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