goodbye twenty-eighteen

brunch at home on the first of january

i often found myself wishing that twenty eighteen would hurry itself up and end, despite knowing that a new year does not mean a neat and definitive resolution of the one past. how is it, that an even numbered year can have so odd a character? (see shake to remember if you need a reminder about the absurdity and the seriousness). the political flavour of the year was toxicity, at least as determined by the oxford dictionary which picks its word of the year as a reflection of the ‘ethos, mood, or preoccupations of the passing year, and have lasting potential as a term of cultural significance’. frankie boyle’s satirical stock-taking of the year reflected the very same sentiments, so i thought of recommending a ‘year in stuff’ as an anti-dote. but even in its materiality, it is inherently pointing fingers at the unevenness and peculiarity of the world we live in. 

salted chocolate olive oil granola + fauji cornflakes

salted chocolate olive oil granola

breakfast cereals never fascinated me as much as they did my brother m. i had a brief affection for frosties but looking back that had more to do with the novelty, rather than the taste of them. baba first bought them from a bonded warehouse where diplomats used to purchase the familiar tastes of home. they were a treat rather than a breakfast staple. perhaps m liked cereal more because he was from the generation that did not have to eat fauji cornflakes; the military brand of cereal that was lacklustre and limp at the first introduction of milk. my dadi would eat them with hot milk. m’s particular favourite were coco pops, a talking cereal that crackled like popping candy in milk. the puffed rice grains would relieve themselves of their sugary chocolate coating colouring and flavouring the milk to a nursery like chocolate milk.

toast with personality + a recipe for 'accidental cardamom peach butter'

sunday afternoon with the observer + accidental peach and almond
butter toast

when i was little toast was limited in my imagination to slices of either dawn or continental white bread. the toaster would bronze their whiteness. it would crisp the epidermis while allowing the centre to remain a little soft. one had to be careful to not exert pressure on the slice given its unsubstantial thickness because unlike in england one could not get thick sliced bread in pakistan. brown bread made an appearance in the late 90s and was largely ersatz, merely coloured wheaten.

a breakfast pudding fit for the breakfast club

note

this recipe is being re-posted as part of the breakfast club. i am a breakfast stickler. as i write i am trying out a recipe for a coffee and almond granola. it could all go very wrong but if it goes right you will find a recipe by the by.

the breakfast club

breakfast pudding

avocado

o is a creature of habit. until recently his weekday breakfast was a bowl of bran flakes and a small cafetiere of fresh coffee. i coaxed him out of eating boxed sawdust with a bowl of homemade granola, a sliced banana and some milk. on the weekend brunch is always some manner of eggs – poached, fried or scrambled. i am his polar opposite as the only constant about my breakfast habit is that it varies very often. there are some constants like greek yoghurt, soft cheeses like ricotta and cream cheese and nut butters. for sweeteners there are homemade jams, honey and molasses. 

e5 bakehouse

e5 bakehouse

e5 bakehouse is to be found under the railway arches of london fields station. the arch itself is cavernous but manages to maintain an air of cosiness. no doubt the ovens are what warm the space but the real charm is the yeasty smell of slowly fermented and baked bread. on my first visit i bought half a loaf of the quintessential hackney wild. it is beautifully crafted with a flour dusted rim and a light sheen on its surface.

on perfect granola, lucky peach & the politics of food-blogging

gula melaka granola

put simply, this post is about granola perfected. i believe that granola aficionados should have a recipe to call their own. like most cooking, recipes are seldom invented anymore. instead they are adapted and made ones own through personalisation. but before i move onto the granola i want to take a moment and tell you about ‘lucky peach’ a quarterly food journal co-edited by momofuku’s dave chang. it makes for wonderful reading about everyday issues in food. issue number three is all about chefs. it flits between profanity, colloquialism, the politics of food and a beautiful essay by anthony bourdain on food in film titled eat, drink, fuck, die. and then there are recipes whose steps are connected with arrows like office presentations.  

lucky peach, quarterly food journal

the opening chef rant between dave chang, claude bosi, sat bains and daniel patterson is all about integrity, creation and copying and giving credit. i know that this conversation seems a little oblique but you’ll understand what i am talking about as you read on. the base recipe i have used for my perfect granola is nekisia davis’olive oil and maple granola who has adapted it very slightly from early bird foods' best-selling farmhand's choice granola... having read the chef rant a couple of days, i finally had the time to sift through my thoughts on the issue integrity and creativity.

over the last couple of months i’ve been seeing a lot of frustration in the blogging world. there have been incidences where pictures from the popular pinboard site pinterest have been used without proper attribution. and then there are the disconcerted food bloggers whose pictures and recipes have been lifted and used without acknowledgement. of course none of this is new and as very small fry i’ve never personally been affected by it. before twitter these issues were generally relegated to forums like egullet and chowhound or as extended discussions between blog readers at the end of posts. the ability to moderate comments allowed some sense of decorum to prevail. twitter demands that people should have the ability to moderate themselves, a skill which few people have or exercise. what’s more is that there is little sense of communal ethic for the creative aspect of blogging. shayma is an exceptional food blogger and author of the spice spoon: cooking without borders whose recent post on ‘the sad sideof food blogging’ picks on all these issues including the more serious one of what happens when entire ideas and concepts are copied. as i read the chef’s rant it occurred to me that what all of really want is respect for our creativity, and that respect isn’t the sole province of those with established names and celebrity status.

one of the things i enjoy most about food blogging is that there are some excellent writers out there and they all have different voices. i love that smittenkitchen writes like she’s thinking out loud. it’s almost as if you were sitting across from her and listening to her. shayma’s writing is poetic and makes me nostalgic for pakistani monsoons, steaming cups of tea and hot, flaky samosas dipped in a combination of mitchell’s ketchup and chili garlic sauce. i turn to heidi’s one o one cookbooks when i want recipes with simple write-ups. to me, her photography speaks more than the words. indian simmer’s prerna is a narrative of food memories brought to life with her beautiful vibrant pictures. as the daughter of a writer and craftswoman i am often confounded by the lack of respect that we have for each other’s creativity, but as a legal and human rights practitioner i am very alive to the fact that this is why society needs frameworks of principles and laws. left to our own devices, we are incapable of ethics.

in the time that it took to make and bake the granola, i realised that there isn’t really much one can do about this except speak and write about it. but it did make me realize that one has to be confident about their writing and work and cultivate acknowledgement of other people’s work where it has been used. and when that acknowledgement isn’t forthcoming remember that those who are aware of creativity and individuality will always admire such work. in that spirit, here’s to food fifty-two, nekisia davis’ and farmhand’s choice granola. thank you for inspiring my perfect granola.

i have a couple of notes on my perfect granola as my choice of sweeteners is quite different from the one’s nekisia uses. i recently came back from singapore where i bought gula melaka (coconut palm sugar). this sugar is essentially the sap of flower bud of the coconut tree. it is commonly used in malay desserts and i bought large coins of it at geyland serai market in singapore. the boiled sap is poured into bamboo tubes that allow it to set in a coin shape. the sugar has a distinct coconut smell and has a light caramel sweetness. along with this i used a himalayan honey so dark that it is almost black. this was also bought in singapore and tastes like a light molasses. the honey is necessary as its stickiness gives the granola a bit of character by allowing the oats to develop little clusters.

coins of gula melaka dissolving in olive oil & honey

m’s perfect granola

hundred grams gula melaka

hundred ml runny honey

hundred ml olive oil

one-tablespoon maldon sea salt

one and a half teaspoons ground cinnamon

seven hundred and fifty grams old fashioned rolled oats

one hundred grams sunflower seeds

two hundred grams pumpkin seeds

two hundred and fifty grams mixed nuts – i used almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, pecan nuts, cashews and brazil nuts

two large roasting tins or baking sheets with rims

to start pre-heat the oven to a hundred and fifty degrees celsius.

combine the gula melaka, honey, olive oil, salt and cinnamon in a saucepan over low heat. this allows the gula melaka to dissolve easily.

place the oats, nuts and seeds in a large mixing bowl. once the mixture of oil, sweeteners, spice and salt is smooth pour it onto the oats and nuts. mix it well until combined ensuring that none of the oats are left uncoated.

divide evenly between the roasting tins/baking sheets and bake, stirring every ten to fifteen minutes for forty-five minutes. the granola will crisp further as it cools.

wait for it to cool fully before you store it in an airtight jar. according to nekisia this granola should keep for a month. a batch like this does not usually last beyond a fortnight at my place so i’ll have to trust her. my only reservation is that walnuts tend to go rancid rather quickly so i’d personally recommend that if you intend to keep your granola for a month, don’t use them. i used to add chewy things like chopped dates, apricots or raisins to granola but lately i’ve tended towards savoury-sweet granolas. if you prefer something sweeter then you can always up the amount of sweeteners and add some dried fruits.

the combination of gula melaka, honey and salt gives this granola a savoury sweetness. roasting the nuts and seeds together brings out their nuttiness. the colour of this batch is a brown-amber. my favourite way of eating this (aside from dry snacking) is to sprinkle it on greek yoghurt with some sliced fresh fruit. banana always works well, as do peaches and grated apples.    

melrose and morgan, primrose hill

granola and bircher muesli, melrose and morgan

it’s ten am on a saturday morning. p and i are meeting for breakfast at melrose and morgan in primrose hill. i’ve been meaning to try this grocery shop-cum-kitchen for a while now and was actually really glad when p picked it over made in camden. i had fully intended to practice yoga that afternoon so wanted something lighter than a full-scale brunch. but my plans to practice got scuppered because the sun came out and we walked through ‘uniqlo square’. a coffee at sandwich and spoon turned into a long chat and then richard dare’s cook and kitchenware shop and mary’s living and giving shop waylaid us.

mary's living & giving shop

melrose and morgan has a tinted glass exterior that gives you somewhat of an idea of the groceries inside. a long table flanks the length of the shop. in the morning mostly sweet things dominate the display – meringues large and puffed like shirts with shoulder pads, a carrot cake thick with frosting and scattered with walnuts sits on a white cake stand and hot cross buns anointed with egg wash glisten lightly. i like that the crumble-topped muffins are cased in cut up grease paper rather than ready made cases.

melrose and morgan

meringues

carrot cake

p likes savoury pastry like things and so picked a sausage roll. i cannot resist a good granola and the one at melrose and morgan looked really good. it was nutty brown punctuated with whole almonds, seeds and sour cherries. i picked cold milk over yoghurt as i want to see how crisp the granola was. the milk turned pale amber as the granola lost its honeyed sweetness to it, but the oats remained resiliently crisp. i loved the honey caramel coat on the toasted almonds, pumpkin and sunflower seeds. the sour cherries were just the right balance of tartness against all the sweetened crunchy elements of the granola. if you like granola, this is one to add to your list of loved ones.

our breakfast turned out to be rather leisurely and we reluctantly vacated our seats by the window as we saw a father and son standing and eating. it was only fair though as we had been there for almost two hours. conversation was thick and fast and covered everything from women, the politics of equality in relationships, work place strife and the idiosyncrasies of the food blogging world. p and i have met our fair share of food bloggers for whom food blogging is about becoming so visible on the restaurant and bar circuit that they get invited to every opening. for the both of us, it is the food and the people we share it with that are more important. wander over to p’s writing at a table for one and you’ll see what i mean. 

reflections on the first meal of the day plus a trip to st.ali coffeebar and cafe

banana bread with cult of done espresso mascarpone

breakfast and i were not always on good terms. as a child it was the most fraught meal of the day as mama insisted on boiled eggs that i did not like. along with that my dadi would give me warm fresh milk claiming that she had strained it, which was not true as proven by my gag reflex. during my teens i dispensed with breakfast as a wholly unnecessary meal. all that changed in my late teens though as i got over my dislike of yolks and grew to love eggs. i swirled mama’s homemade jams and preserves into yoghurt and not only discovered granola but also became really good at making it. 

things to put on toasted bread; almond cream-cheese drizzled with honey

my husband's brunch palette is limited to eggs. over time i've managed to coax him to eat eggs in other ways than scrambled. in doing so i've added to the my repertoire of egg recipes - we love eggs baked in individual ramekins like the french do, north african style in a shakshouka where they are braised in gently spiced vegetables and changa eggs turkish style where poached eggs are placed on a garlic spiked yoghurt and topped with a melted chili butter. but what i really want is a batch of thin pancakes with powdered sugar and lemon juice or the small leavened american ones drenched in maple syrup. as those occasions are rare i now make things that are good solo. i inevitably land up having my brunch once o is half way through his so i figure it's only fair that i should eat what i like, rather than spend weekend after weekend eating eggs. 

this weekend i made myself an almond cream-cheese which is quite simply a generous teaspoon of savoury-sweet almond butter whipped into cream-cheese. to sweeten it i drizzle on a deep amber honey. the jar i am using right now has travelled all the way from pakistan and is sidr honey. it has a citrus like sweetness with the depth of molasses. i like dark coloured honey as they it has depth without being too sweet. the almond cream-cheese was slightly grainy in texture as i use organic butter made with whole unskinned almonds. eating it on a seeded wholemeal bread ups the nutty factor. 

last week i'd made myself ricotta-sesame toast. o had brought home a sturdy brown bread with a sourdough flavour. i topped it with a firm ricotta mashed roughly with a fork, drizzled with honey and sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds. i've got a couple of other ideas up my sleeve. next week i plan to make a glossy tahini cream-cheese and drizzle it with some date syrup which has a subdued almost savoury sweetness that i love. 

putting together my solo brunches have been so much fun. in fact they remind me of the time when i lived and cooked on my own. it made me realise that relationships shouldn't necessarily mean that you always have to eat what your other half likes. batches of pancakes are better for two or more but spreads and the like are perfect for solo eating. 

to make almond cream-cheese for one person you will need a teaspoon of organic almond butter, a teaspoon and a half of cream-cheese, honey to drizzle and two small thick slices of bread toasted. whip together the almond butter and cream-cheese. spread liberally on the toasted bread and drizzle with honey. 

this is perfect followed by a strong cup of tea. 

rosalind's kitchen

rosalind's kitchen window

rosalind's kitchen's twitter feed would make any food loving person hungry. they've been on my list of places to get breakfast or lunch for a while now. i must confess i haven't been inclined to wake up early and grab breakfast on the go from there, and on most days i sadly lunch at my desk. then one day i got lucky because i was in rosalind's neighbourhood. i really wanted to have fruit compote with granola. fearing that it would run out before i managed to get there i tweeted a 'please-keep-me-some-granola-and-compote'. almost instantly someone tweeted back to tell me that they'd keep me some.

rosalind's kitchen is a compact little space with a lovely flamingo pink mural on it's walls. an old fashioned cake stands holds the orange curd cakes which have become quite a twitter icon. those who know me well know that i find cup-cakes a sad excuse for cake but i've had to make amends as rosalind's are perfect. the orange curd cakes have just the right balance of tart, sweet and moisture and best of all they aren't topped with a mountain of frosting, just a dainty drizzle of orange icing. i am now wishing i had tried the passionfruit and chocolate cup-cakes as well. 

returning to breakfast (which i did have at my desk at work). there was a very generous helping of cinnamon spiced chunky apple compote with a layer of sharp yoghurt and a granola with lots of fig, cranberry and pumpkin seeds. it's one of the few really good granola, yoghurt and compote breakfasts i've had in london and makes you feel like you've been really good to yourself with all that nutty fruitiness packed into it. 

a few days from now i will pick custom made mince pies from rosalind. they'll be travelling to geneva, a present for a fellow food lover who can't get his in his hometown. picking them up will give me an excuse for lunch so you'll be hearing more about rosalind's kitchen from me soon.follow rosalind's kitchen @rosalindsW1 or 'like' them on facebook for the daily menu.

‘sicilian brioche breakfast’ at la gelatiera

la gelatiera from the outside

the morning of the sicilian brioche breakfast turned out to be bright and sunny and really really warm. it was as if the gelato gods had aligned themselves with british weather to give me the perfect excuse to indulge myself. the italians generally indulge their sweet tooth at breakfast. when i was in turin with i we would have biscuits and espresso for breakfast. in sicily they eat what is essentially an gelato sandwich - a brioche with gelato in it. la gelatiera had brought together four food bloggers for a morning in their kitchen with italian patisserie chef leonard kadio. 

#breakfastmyway at the big chill house kx

i was given this really nifty little card from a lovely lady called kb at fourteen ten to try #breakfastmyway at the big chill house near kx. it has taken me a while to get round to using it as when the card first arrived the only breakfast i could face was a hot honey, lemon and ginger thanks to a sore throat that cost me my voice and a weeks worth of sleep. summer is turning a page in london so that although today was a warm day, the seriously grey sky made it seem closer to winter in spirit than autumn. it was just the right day to try the cheer of the big chill house. 

i took myself down to the big chill house for breakfast before heading into work today. for a while now i have been thinking about boiled eggs and soldiers. i haven't eaten a soft boiled egg in a long long time, possibly since kindergarten. mum had these rather uninspiring but very functional brown two toned egg cups that i dreaded, partly because of the insipid nature of the egg cup and mostly because i detested soft boiled eggs. not only did i dislike egg yolk, i detested runny yolks. now i love eating poached eggs specifically for the runny yolks. 

 

eggs and soldiers are quintessentially english. in fact the first time i heard of them was when i moved to london. they are basically thin sliced sections of toast and are the perfect accessory to dip into a runny yolk. i do believe that boiled eggs and soldiers are somewhat of an art. when it comes to the egg it has to be boiled just to point when the yolk is runny and the whites just set. the toast soliders have to be thick enough not to be fragile and thin enough to be able to be dipped into the hollow of the yolk. in fact so important is the toast soldier that a couple of years ago an electronics engineer invented a device to perforate toast into the perfect soldiers. he used to hate cutting up toast because 
"it is fiddly, messy and time consuming. there has always been a danger of cutting your soldiers too fat or too thin. if they are too fat then obviously they can't fit into the opened neck of the egg which is infuriating. but if the soldiers are too small then there's the risk of a catastrophic failure after they're dunked into the yolk. the simple act of withdrawing the soldier may cause it to break in half, forcing the person who is eating the egg to resort to a teaspoon." 

fortunately for the big chill house, they manage the perfect soldiers.erect slim fingers of perfectly toasted toast with a side of butter and markedly salty marmite (yes, i am a marmite lover). however, it was the boiled egg which turned out to be mixed experience. unfortunately the egg was too done and so i couldn't really dip the toast soldiers into the yolk. instead i had spread the yolk onto the soldiers. the white was done perfectly and it was a real pleasure running the spoon against the shell to release it and eat it whilst it was still warm. 

the space itself is spacious and airy. i love the expansive windows that look out onto the traffic whilst filtering the sound of the traffic. i can definitely see myself coming back with o in tow and a newspaper too. next time round i'll be trying the big chill house's version of rosti. and perhaps the next time a perfectly boiled egg too. 

brunch at NOPI

ottolenghi's nopo

if you want the story of how NOPI (ottolenghi's new restaurant) came about, then it's best to read the NOPI blog which is a  chronicle of this new outpost. the name itself which initially sounded incongruent is actually an acronym for 'north of piccadilly. it has taken me a while to get round to eating at NOPI. the other half and i were busy with our wedding preparations and then upon our return to london have been consumed with work. he is currently working on his chartered financial analyst exam and finally, tiring of waiting i went with a instead. it all worked out very well as a has never tried ottolenghi. 

gail's artisan bakery

brownie

over the last couple of months, i have been to exmouth market a fair bit. there is something quite charming about this little street. during the day there is the calm bustle of people shopping in independent stores like family tree and bagman and robbin. i particularly love the bookshop clerkenwell tales which reminds me of the intimacy of small bookshops that my mum and i frequented when i still lived at home in pakistan. i love the smell of paper and ink and the feel of the spine of books. that probably explains why although i can see the reason for buying a kindle (especially if you are commuting on the tube), i still have not ordered one. 

breakfast at the modern pantry

an early winter day found o and i at breakfast, one of our favourite meals of the day. we had chosen the modern pantry, which is known for its eclectic offerings. i had the sugar cured new caledonian prawn omelette. essentially strong asian flavours, coriander to garnish and the slight heat of chilli in from sambal. it was a great savoury note to start on although i had to order bread on the side as the omelette is served without. o’s plate was a riot of colour, emerald green spinach, slow roasted vine tomatoes with a hint of dried herbs, grilled salty halloumi cheese and poached eggs with deep yellow yolks.

i have a soft spot for tamarillo’s. a south american fruit with a ruby red flesh and skin. at the modern pantry it is served poached in a snow-white greek yoghurt with a swirl of thick, amber coloured manuka honey. manuka honey has a deep and strong taste, its sweetness is complex. it is the dark chocolate of honey. the tamarillo tastes like a cross between guava’s and raspberries albeit with a smooth texture. a must try if you are breakfasting or brunching at the modern pantry.

divorced eggs at macondo

it is a sunny saturday afternoon. i and i are having brunch at macondo in islington. we've moved two doors down from our brunch favourite 'the breakfast club' to try something new. i snitch a table and wait for i in the company of a orange and strawberry juice which is thick like a smoothie and breathing summer. i love mexican glasses - coloured and thick rimmed. i arrives a little later having retrieved her forgotten mobile which was the cause of her late arrival. i had been musing over the menu for a while now and was no where near a decision. and i, despite having spent an afternoon last weekend at macondo is just as confused. the tortilla's look delicious but they aren't brunchy enough and we're certain that neither of us wants to be eating paella for brunch. after much deliberation i and i both settle on 'huevos divorciados' - divorced eggs.

two fried eggs, resting on tortilla's and draped in two different colors of salsa separated by mexican beans arrive shortly. the salsa roja is a dark brick red and has a rich earthy chilli flavour that comes from ancho chilli pepper. it contrasts with the salsa verde made with green tomatillo's. i wouldn't have minded my yolks to be a tad bit more cooked. notwithstanding they tasted really good and for a while i and i were in foodie heaven.

post brunch, i's brownie craving led us to paul young who makes incredibly decadent brownies - while we were there we tasted milk chocolate with bergamot, caramelized cacao nibs and coffee chocolate. paul young's chocolate boutique smells of dark chocolate tempered with the addition of condiments the likes of herbs and caramel. i was wondering whether we could capture the deep chocolately and some what spicy and burnt sugar aroma of the shop and take it home.

we spent the rest of the afternoon on my balconette drinking tea while i baked a vegetable medley with whole cloves of garlic and some sprigs of rosemary. i'll squeeze the garlic out of its skin and mash it into cream cheese to serve along side my rosemary, olive oil and balsamic kissed aubergines, red peppers and tomatoes. 

a perfect summer lunch. 

fuzzy's grub

i have to confess that i have an inane addiction to fuzzy’s grub breakfast. over the last couple of days i have been unable to do a packed breakfast and inevitably find myself at fuzzy’s for a morning fuel. there are three things that i particularly love – porridge with honey and raisins, chunky brown or granary toast spread liberally with smooth or crunchy peanut butter or better yet a fried egg sandwich.

peanut butter is good period. i don’t really care if it is smooth or crunchy. it’s always welcome. at fuzzy’s grub they toast bread to a crunchy perfection, then spread it very generously with peanut butter on both sides, sandwich and slice it on the diagonal, wrap it deftly in thin paper and bundle it into a paper bag which bears pen marks ticking the specifications of your breakfast. by the time i get to my desk and peel back the paper the peanut butter has oozed from the sides and through the crevices. i love the slightly warmed and runny peanut butter. if i was home i’d add some honey to it too.

when it comes to egg sandwiches, i am slightly persnickety. i like my friend egg well done. [drippy yellow yolks don’t endear themselves to the etiquette's of eating food-at-the-desk at work]. also i don’t like any condiments aside from a seasoning of coarse pepper and salt but most of all my fried egg shouldn't be greasy. fuzzy’s grub manages to get all those in and more. there is thin granary toast, lightly toasted, the centre of which is a well-done fried egg. i watch the eggs being prepared on a skillet brushed with oil. the waitress often turns them over and gives them an affectionate pat.

i guess you probably aren’t surprised at this addiction. i’m a brekkie addict and fuzzy’s grub is my drug.

the providores tapa room

on the ground floor of the providores tapa room there are two semi-skinny high tables running the length of the space. there is the noise and clutter of conversation. the sun is shining in brightly and women sitting in the window are brunching over the sunday paper. o and i have a short wait outside the door before a cheery waitress comes and seats us. there isn’t much room for maneuver and the waitress skirts around the tables rather skillfully, all the while balancing crockery and cutlery. i have read much about the changa eggs – a turkish inspired offering. o settles on these and me on a tortilla that combines a number of my favorite ingredients. a teapot of earl grey presents itself soon after our order – i have come to love the serving of tea, a white tea cup holding a tiny jug of milk in its rotund base with a spoon aside. o is a smoothie lover and orders a tamarillo and kiwi fruit one. it is a delightful concoction of sweet and tang that has a dark pink grapefruit color and comes with a slice of kiwi wedged onto the rim of the glass.

breakfast at ottolenghi

ottolenghi, islington

mum and h and i went to ottolenghi for breakfast today. it is perhaps one of the most serene eateries i know off and i suspect it owes itself to the simplicity of its lines and the whiteness of its walls. all accents of color are attributed to the foods that flank either side of the entrance. large shallow terracotta bowls hold salad creations that are medley of color and taste – flat overlapping arrangements of seared meats both white and red are laid out to one side. the other side is taken up by a display of desserts, each of them beautifully crafted and tantalizing to the taste buds. otto’s signature meringues streaked with berries and chocolate are stacked high and rise about the cakes, tarts and muffins. a blackboard sports a colorfully written menu. there are shelves that house the condiments range – jars of preserves and bottles of oil.

whilst waiting for h to arrive mum and i ordered americano coffee, a rich dark roast served hot with hot milk. on the dining tables of otto sit little square wooden boards upon which are little glass jars bearing butter, preserves and chocolate spread studded with nuts. with h’s arrival came the order for breakfast. a bread plate bearing a slice of plain sourdough, sourdough with sour cherries and a cinnamon pretzel as the almond croissants were finished. a savory side of portobello mushrooms with crumbled feta trundled along at some point, their blackish brown juices with lines of olive oil and a fleck of green herbs gathering in the centre of the plate they were served on. the bread was lovely untoasted and one of the glass jars produced a lovely caramelized banana jam which i fell in love with. the raspberry preserves were excellent too.

 in a rather bizarre end to brunch we ordered a slice of chocolate rum fondant cake – a very luxurious and rich concoction of dark chocolate, heavy cream and a rounding note of rum that enclosed all the flavors of the dessert with a perfection that is classical of ottolenghi. each and every ottolenghi creation i have sampled is a testimony to the ability of both these cooks to create food that is a treat of flavors that reveal themselves collectively and yet do not get eclipsed individually.