london marathon - food edition

I was short on time during my recent trip back to London but I wanted to squeeze in as many lunches and dinners as I could physically stomach. Luckily for me, I had some willing participants who backed me up in my race against time. For without them, I would not have been able to complete the food marathon. So to my Aussie/London peeps, I thank you and look forward to the next London Food Marathon.


Pit Stop 1 - José
104 Bermondsey Street, London, SE1 3UB UNITED KINGDOM
http://joserestaurant.co.uk/
no reservations

Newly opened sherry and tapas bar in the heart of London's trendy Bermondsey village, José is the brainchild of José Pizarro who was previously chef partner at the hugely popular Tapas Brindisa in Borough Markets. This tiny eatery which produces simple Spanish tapas using the freshest ingredients possible, is extremely popular with local residents and businesses.

croquettas

jamón ibérico manuel maldonado

padrón peppers

gambas

tomato bread

squid with romesco sauce

clams with white wine

grilled livers

pisto with crispy duck egg

Pit Stop 2 - Zucca
184 Bermondsey Street, London, SE1 3TQ, UNITED KINGDOM
Tel: +44 207 378 6809
http://www.zuccalondon.com/

Recently voted one of the top 3 Italian eateries in Europe by the San Pellegrino World's 50 Best restaurant judging panel, expectations for a great meal at Zucca were high. The antipasti of 'zucca' fritti, lardo di colonnata and San Daniele prosciutto and salami were abit of a let down and quite pedestrian. 
Whilst the grilled calves liver was flavoursome, it was let down by overcooking and an over salted salsa verde. The only redeeming dish was the pappardelle with hare ragu, with the pasta deliciously light and al dente and a deep meaty flavour from the hare ragu. 

The restaurant was full during a weekday lunch seating, and whilst service was professional and prompt, it was let down by sullen and uninterested wait staff.

complimentary frittata

san daniele prosciutto & salami

'zucca' fritti - deep fried sage leaves & pumpkin

lardo di colonnata

grilled calves liver with borlotti beans & salsa verde

pappardelle with hare ragu

Pit Stop 3 - Dehesa
25 Ganton Street, London, W1F 9BP, UNITED KINGDOM
Tel: +44 207 494 4170
http://www.dehesa.co.uk/

My final food stop in London was at Dehesa to help celebrate a friend's belated 30th birthday. The service was friendly and attentive, the food was more-ish, especially the chicken liver parfait which was extremely creamy and left us salivating for more. My only gripe were the small portions.

stone bass carpaccio with smoked cod roe, tropea onion,
preserved lemon & citrus dressing

padrón peppers

buffalo mozzarella salad with cornichons,
capers, anchovies & toasted pine nuts

ibérico pork loin carpaccio with porcini mushrooms and
truffle mayonnaise

confit old spot pork belly with rosemary scented cannellini
beans

chicken liver and px paté with crostini

all your eggs in one basket

On my recent trip to Istanbul with the girls, we embarked on a culinary walking tour with Istanbul Eats (you may remember from an earlier post that I did the old town culinary walking tour with them in July this year). One of the many local dishes we tasted that day was menemen. In Turkey, this is a traditional breakfast dish made with eggs, onions, tomatoes, green peppers and ground pepper. You can have it with feta as well as sucuk (a Turkish spicy beef sausage).

I decided to improvise on this dish and made my own version of baked eggs for breakfast last weekend.  This dish is really easy to make, is delicious and high in protein. It is best served slightly runny and eaten with a warm toasted baguette.

the finished product topped with thinly sliced chorizo

baked eggs (mediterranean style)

created: 8 October 2011

[ingredients]:

• 3tsp olive oil
• 2 shallots (finely sliced)
• 3tsp of sundried tomatoes and red pepper paste*
• 2tsp cumin seeds
• 1tsp sugar
• 2tsp smoked paprika
• 6 eggs
• 1 red or yellow pepper (diced)
• 2 stalks of spring onions (finely sliced)
• 12 thinly sliced pieces of chorizo (optional)
• pinch of salt

* if you cannot find sun-dried tomato/red pepper paste, simply blitz a red pepper with 4 pieces of sun-dried tomatoes with some olive oil until you achieve a paste consistency

[method]:

• Preheat oven to 200⁰C
• Heat olive oil in a non-stick pan
• Once oil is hot, add shallots and fry until soften
• Add cumin seeds, smoked paprika, tomato/pepper paste and sugar
• Fry for approximately 5 minutes on medium heat until peppers have softened
• Dish out the mixture onto a small casserole/baking dish (16cm x 10cm)
• Sprinkle the spring onions all over the mixture
• Evenly space the chorizo slices over the mixture (optional)
• Break 6 eggs over the mixture
• Sprinkle a pinch of sea salt over the eggs
• Bake for approximately 18-20 minutes (depending on how runny you like your eggs)

Serve with a side of warm toasted bread

Serves: 3-4


Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time:      20 minutes

tipped!

I never thought I'd say this, but I am a bit over food right now. After 3 weeks of travelling and non stop eating, an emptier pocket and a much larger belly, I am well and truly over the smell and sight of food. Ok, maybe that is a slight exaggeration. Perhaps I'll be thinking about food again by the time I finish writing up this post.


Our friends Mr and Mrs Wong came to visit us over the weekend and being large consumers of food and alcohol, I knew we were in for a long weekend of eating and liver bashing. We took them to our local Pilsner Urquell pub (Kulutak) and true to form of having eyes bigger than my stomach, I ordered the 1.5kg pork knuckle. I missed out on the pork knuckle when we were were recently at the Oktoberfest in Munich (that was the start of my 3 week food indulgence) and so was determined not to miss out again.


Served on a mini spit, complete with coleslaw, mustard and grated horseradish, I think this was the meal that well and truly tipped me over the edge. I had about four bites before I threw in the towel and offered the pig Mr Wong who happily helped me polish it off (well almost).

1.5kg pork knuckle with coleslaw, mustard and grated
horseradish