tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74092628408288454742024-03-14T03:16:13.041+00:00Yelly-fi-felly-food-bellyyellyfifellyfoodbellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543654812927791672noreply@blogger.comBlogger49125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7409262840828845474.post-43489093863843858272019-06-03T17:29:00.000+01:002019-06-03T17:29:09.328+01:00Dining in HK<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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And now we arrive in Hong Kong, Asia's world city, which felt a lot more like home. It was an opportunity for us to feel a bit of comfort through our big city surroundings. We shopped, drank, and even indulged in a Christmas night out (and completely wrote off the next day...) It was a well needed break.<br />
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However this slice of home, complete with its spotlessly clean streets and functioning, well... everything, also came with a host of western style restaurants. You couldn't go anywhere without finding a McDonald's restaurant, McCafe or (Mc) ice cream shop.<br />
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The city in that respect was overwhelming. It felt difficult to find traditional Hong Kong food, which was nestled somewhere between Gucci and Prada... But where?<br />
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Sure we'd eaten at few obligatory dim sum restaurants, our favourite being Din Tai Fung, with spicy chicken dumplings and filthy battered and deep fried chicken with chilli, gulped down with unlimited jasmine tea. This chain restaurant was raved about so much we ended up trying two, one in Kowloon, the other near Connaught Bay on Hong Kong Island. Our favourite being the latter, with a queue out the door that swiftly moved along through the aid of a ticketing system. This fast turnaround of customers gave the restaurant a great buzzing atmosphere, without the feeling that the staff were eagerly waiting for you to finish up and vacate your table.</div>
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But dim sum is available in vast quantities in London and we didn't really feel that we were being bold enough. So after one attempt of trying local food - and that attempt ending in mixed feelings and uncertainty having spent 64 HKD (just over £6 - ridiculously cheap for Hong Kong prices) on two plates of cold rice, cold pork belly and a yellow chicken (or 'oil chicken' as we later found out) whilst sat next to a whole dead pig dangling from a chain - we decided to invest in a highly rated Hong Kong Foodie Tasting Tour.</div>
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In desperate need to go beyond the dazzling lights of Hong Kong island and discover what culinary delights lay hidden, we opted for a foodie walking tour around the Sham Shui Po area of Kowloon. The area was lined with markets upon markets of what resembled jumble sales, nestled in amongst herbal tea shops and BBQ stands, where you can buy just about anything from clothes to a spare remote control from a stall which claims to have a one for every model of TV out there.</div>
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I could give you a recital on everything we learnt on this tour, although if I'm honest not everything was worth noting, and having me rant on about a Hong Kong biscuit shop for 100 words or so would make for a pretty dull read. After all, they were to me, just biscuits. I will however give you my highlights, partly to give you something to salivate over, and partly to help me remember for future reference (Hong Kong has not seen the last of me!)<br />
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So we haul our weary heads out of bed and arrive in Sham Shui Po, late for our 9am start, and in need of food to help stifle a now three day hangover. After brief introduction, our knowledgeable local guide Fiona took us to our first stop for milk tea (not great hangover fluid) and pineapple buns (much needed carbs).</div>
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If you've been keeping up with my posts you will know that Asia has so far made its best attempt to expand my waistband. Not just the shear amount of food that we have consumed, with the main staple being rice, but for their apparent love to have ridiculously sweet tea. This time through the aid of evaporated milk, which tastes a bit like when you mistake cream for milk and obliviously and over-generously pour it into your tea.<br />
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But the people of Hong Kong can hardly feel such guilt for consuming this when sat next to the tea is a huuuuge pineapple bun or bor lo bao.<br />
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You'd be forgiven for thinking that this bun would contain pineapple, even after taking the first bite and trying to convince yourself that those notes of pineapple exist. They don't.</div>
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These sumptuously soft buns of Kowloon restaurant, a Hong Kong style cafe, are freshly baked every day and come out warm with a shiny butter and sugar glaze. They are also the size of a small child's head.</div>
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Saving some room I reluctantly left half. James however ate it all, an error he would later discover at the final stop when he barely touched his shrimp roe noodles.<br />
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By far the most interesting and favourite foodie pit stop, was to try a Chinese style breakfast of rice rolls (ju cheung fun) which looked like giant anaemic noodles coated in hoisin sauce, peanut dressing and sesame seeds.</div>
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These not necessarily the most appealing looking noodles, are made from a rice flour batter, with this particular eatery, Hop Tick Tai, making around 10 thousand of these gluttonous rolls every weekend. Most punters opt to filling a bag of these rolls (sauce and all) and eating them in the alleyway next to the restaurant. Had I ventured here on my own, I would have probably joined them, as the locals method of 'table grabbing' by leering over anyone who looks like they may have eaten more than two bites, was all too much for me!</div>
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Two meals down and wishing I hadn't eaten as much of the pineapple bun as I had, we continued onto our next stop: A1 Tofu Company. Here the lady owner stands behind a large vat of tofu facing out onto the street. A gentleman, I assume husband, was in the back making more tofu to be consumed later that day.</div>
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The lady carefully slices off thin layers of the tofu, so as not to bring the liquid that lies beneath to the top, and placing them into plastic bowls.<br />
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My only experience of tofu is as a savoury item, usually in miso soup or a tasty banh mi from a little cafe off Piccadilly. But no, this was a tofu dessert (dau fu fa), which you can add Bird's custard powder disguised as sugar and ginger syrup.</div>
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Our guide Fiona loved this, me, not so much. It wasn't unpleasant, just lacked any sort of substance and only tasted of whatever you flavoured it with. The slippery texture nonetheless went don't incredibly easily and so as not to offend, I ate half and proclaimed that I wasn't having anymore so as to save myself for the next few stops. It seemed to work.<br />
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The day continued on with an array of local tips from where to get snake soup (if you dare) to traditional Chinese medicine - including a questionable dead, dried lizard on a stick. Nice.</div>
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Towards the end of the tour we were led to one of the big draws for me - to order, and know what to order, to get our greedy pores on those crispy, succulent braised goose (lo shui ngor) we'd seen hanging in many restaurant windows, something of a familiar sight in China town back home where windows are filled with flavoursome duck waiting to be devoured.</div>
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The downside for some however, was that the braised goose was served alongside slices of pork knuckle (fun tai). Whilst not unpleasant, the pork was cold and came with a lot of jelly, and came a clear last place sat next to the goose. The rich meaty texture of the goose, eaten of course with the fat still intact, delightfully slipped down well, even after the pineapple bun, biscuits, rice rolls and tofu...<br />
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For anyone visiting Hong Kong and are not sure where to start foodwise, I would definitely recommend this tour or any of the other tours they offer - but maybe in hindsight, it would have been more beneficial for us to do this at the start of our trip so that we could take what we'd learnt and try it out. Although trial and error isn't always a bad thing!<br />
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<b><i><span style="color: magenta;">Yelly</span>-fi-felly-food-belly <span style="color: magenta;">x</span></i></b></div>
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yellyfifellyfoodbellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543654812927791672noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7409262840828845474.post-17008834071009841992016-03-07T15:00:00.000+00:002019-06-03T17:28:07.289+01:005 Vietnamese food must haves<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Having decided to do a little detour through more of SE Asia before our big hop to the other side world, I was absolutely over the moon that this diversion enabled me to sample some real Vietnamese food.<br />
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The closest I've ever come to chowing down on some proper Vietnamese grub is on the Kingsland Road, and in all honesty, none of those restaurants really compare.<br />
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So after trying out many of the classics from North, Central and South Vietnam, here's my top 5 must haves:<br />
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<b><span style="color: magenta;">1.</span> Bun cha</b><br />
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By far my favourite dish is the guiltily indulgent, bun cha. This sweet meets savoury dish can leave you feeling that you've eaten a healthy 5 a day meal with the mountainous herbs and salad served alongside, whilst also feeling that the pounds will pile on with the sugary sauce cum soup, BBQ pork belly and pork patties.<br />
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This northern Vietnam dish, bun (meaning rice noodle) cha (meaning BBQ pork) requires some DIY food prep. Traditionally you will be served a bowl of rice vinegar, honey and fish sauce with pieces of root veg and meat held within (in some cases you add in yourself). On a separate dish comes your mountain of rice noodles and greens (purple basil, mint, coriander, lettuce...) You simply add it altogether in the sauce and dig in! Delish!<br />
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<b><span style="color: magenta;">2. </span>Bahn mi</b><br />
We British love a sarnie, and thanks to the French, the Vietnamese do too! Wonder down any street in Vietnam, particularly in the South, and you'll find little glass vending stalls with "bahn mi" written in yellow or red writing. Within the windows of this mobile stall are crispy baguettes, sausages, sauces, veg and pate(!)<br />
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With the added ingredient of rice flour, these make for crispier breads than a typical French stick, but still with the fluffy insides. For a typical bahn mi, your vendor will slice the bread almost in half, butter with mayo, layer on the pate, throw on a couple of slithers of pork sausage, veg, chilli sauce (if you like!) and fingers crossed a tonne of coriander!!<br />
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It's a great on-the-go snack, costing around 50p and eaten anytime of day.<br />
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<b><span style="color: magenta;">3. </span>Egg coffee</b><br />
I'm not sure whether I should count this as a drink or dessert, but egg coffee should be on any coffee lovers list. Vietnam has a fantastic coffee rep, and rightly so. Often strong, punchy and sometimes from an animal's arse (wiki weasel coffee), it's a great way to perk yourself up after devouring a hefty amount of Vietnamese street food.<br />
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Egg coffee is thick and creamy, made with in fact the yolk, and best consumed (eaten/drank) with a spoon. Thanks to Vietnamese coffee's aromatically strong taste, it doesn't get overburdened from the creamy yolk. Also, FYI, I'm told chicken egg is better than duck...<br />
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<b><span style="color: magenta;">4.</span> Bahn xeo</b><br />
Another DIY Vietnamese foodie treat, requiring you to well and truly get your hands dirty. The bahn xeo varies between regions in Vietnam, but the basics are a crispy pancake with pork and shrimp and bean sprouts placed inside, and served to you folded in half. You then take your pancake, unfold add a load of greens, fold again and wrap in rice paper and dip into a rice vinegar, fish sauce and sugar / honey sauce, whilst the contents drips down your fingers, hands, arm...<br />
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Depending on where you are in Vietnam, your pancake could be large or small, wrapped in rice paper or lettuce (or both!), or served with chunky BBQ satay pork. The main thing is dive in and pack as much greens in as you possibly can!</div>
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<b><span style="color: magenta;">5. </span>Pho</b><br />
Most of you will be no stranger to the often mispronounced famous Vietnamese dish pho. This popular dish leaves many a local either confused or amused, following a strangely confident order of a road - "fo" - rather than a noodle soup - "fuh", which even when knowing the correct pronunciation I still struggle with.<br />
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As with many dishes in south east Asia, pho can be eaten at any time of day, and is a preferred breakfast choice for many Vietnamese owing to the easily digestible slim ribbon noodles. Many are hit and miss, but when you hit one with a strong meaty broth, the flavour is awesome!<br />
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<b><i><span style="color: magenta;">Yelly</span>-fi-felly-food-belly <span style="color: magenta;">x</span></i></b></div>
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yellyfifellyfoodbellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543654812927791672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7409262840828845474.post-67727959637121010442016-02-03T04:25:00.001+00:002016-02-20T21:10:42.115+00:00Investigating the Filipino food rep<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
So here it is, my post on my experiences of Filipino food. The long awaited, bound-to-suck blog post.<br>
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Many of you warned me before we arrived that the food in the Philippines was pretty poor, leaving me to wonder what the focus of my post would be. And I have to say, although Filipino food leaves little lasting impression and lacks, in my opinion, a strong identity, it isn't unpleasant. Well perhaps balút maybe, but I'm sorry I wasn't prepared to eat a duck egg with a partially formed embryo, so I'm unable to report back on that one...</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br>
We had a month to explore as many of the 7,000 plus islands as humanly possible, albeit at a slightly slower pace than the previous countries we visited - I'll use being on "Filipino time" as the excuse! Even after all that time, I found myself struggling to decide what Filipino cuisine is. On one hand it consists of a lot of meat - lechon (roasted suckling pig), inasal chicken (BBQ chicken), skewered BBQ pork belly - and then on the other, as you would expect from a nation made up of many islands, there is all the fish you could want and more.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-eAf73LEcR6o/VsdKGvkFgCI/AAAAAAAABpM/84P4MHp8GKE/s640/blogger-image--203337512.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-eAf73LEcR6o/VsdKGvkFgCI/AAAAAAAABpM/84P4MHp8GKE/s640/blogger-image--203337512.jpg"></a></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_rZz45lRR5Y/VsZVtT3FE4I/AAAAAAAABoA/7_5QV-2AaH8/s640/blogger-image-2080287961.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_rZz45lRR5Y/VsZVtT3FE4I/AAAAAAAABoA/7_5QV-2AaH8/s640/blogger-image-2080287961.jpg"></a></div><br>
And rice, a whole shit tonne of the stuff, thanks to the thousand of years old rice terraces that fill the countryside. Impressive and absolutely stunning.<br>
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I'll start with breakfast. You can almost without a doubt expect to be served rice (boiled or fried), a fried egg and a meat of some sort. And to make it super easy, most of the time they name them after the meat - hamsilog (ham), cornsilog (corned beef) and sausilog (sausage) - you get the gist. Two of the most typical however are tapa (salty beef strips) and the lovely tocino (honey cured pork) that we were served on Christmas morning - sweet and a right proper treat!<br>
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Christmas lunch didn't disappoint either. Whilst of course I missed those little pigs in blankets, it was a small price to pay for what we were treated to following a couple of hours snorkelling around the islands of El Nido, Palawan. A complete contrast, our festive feast consisted of chicken wings, whole crab, prawns, whole sea fish, mussels and squid - all cooked on the barbie at the back of our boat, surrounded by luscious blue lagoons. I needn't say much more, it was absolute bliss. Rice of course made an appearance.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qucS7XEc6eg/VsZXXHNcPBI/AAAAAAAABoQ/WxrR22E5h24/s640/blogger-image-967622993.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qucS7XEc6eg/VsZXXHNcPBI/AAAAAAAABoQ/WxrR22E5h24/s640/blogger-image-967622993.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-quGgHAwo564/VsZaUOM0aiI/AAAAAAAABok/f197oVtLyYE/s640/blogger-image-1992300191.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-quGgHAwo564/VsZaUOM0aiI/AAAAAAAABok/f197oVtLyYE/s640/blogger-image-1992300191.jpg"></a></div></div><br>
So it would seem that so far, despite lacking my 5-a-day (which we made up for by consuming fresh mango shakes on a daily basis in Borocay), the Filipinos seem to be getting most things right. But BBQ meat and fish is no stranger to other countries and even a guy tanked on several beers in England would have a hard job making a pigs ear out of it. And I think this is where the poor rep comes in. Sure the Filipinos can BBQ, but when they start adding sauces, things become a little shakey.<br>
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Take their national dish Kare Kare. Recommended by our first taxi driver in the Philippines as a must try, we were bound to order it at some point. However the fact that he had also recommended balút should have been a red flag. Kare kare is a peanut based sauce, often served with succulent oxtail, and so on paper would seem quite nice for anyone who's a fan of a bit of satay. But the flavour doesn't come from the peanut sauce, it comes from the accompanying fish paste that you add to it. Imagine a bland soup, with no flavour whatsoever, which the only way to remedy is to add heaps of salt. That's kare kare.<br>
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Like Myanmar, the Philippines love a dish drowned in oil. Similarly to the Burmese, I suspect the oil is used to preserve the dishes that lay beneath, rather than to add any sort of flavour. On many long journeys we'd stumble off a bus to a roadside cafe, point at a few dishes for about 120 pesos (just under £2) and mop these up with a healthy portion of rice. You can have chicken, beef, pork, all served in a vinegary, garlicy sauce, alongside a portion of veg - usually we went for bitter gourd or "sour veg" as they called it, providing us with an array of salty and sour dishes leaving us dehydrated for the long journey ahead. <br>
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Before travelling to the Philippines I read that the Filipinos can't see how their food falls short compared to its Asian neighbours. That their home cooked food is proper comfort food which they love to return home to. It's the same for most Brits I guess. Whilst I've been away I've thought about what I might cook when I get home - spag bol, jacket potato and chilli - along with of course what I've learnt along the way. And perhaps people may look at British food and think it awful that we smother our potatoes, meat and veg with gravy and dollop on the mint sauce. But we love the home comforts, and I think Filipinos are similar.<br>
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One thing the Filipinos have got right is their hospitality. By luck we managed to stumble upon a guesthouse in Bohol whose turn it was to host Christmas - on 4th January (this continues until the end of January) - and no sooner had we dropped pur bags in our room were we invited into their home to feast all the Filipino food we could ask for.<br>
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There were the usual mix of vinegary dishes, pork, beef, chicken, whole crab and a huge suckling pig at the centre of it all, with an impressive semi-professional carol singing performance thrown in. As I token of our gratitude it was only fair that we then blessed them with our best brandy fuelled karaoke. The Filipinos love a good power ballad.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-rfAT0fXMZRA/VsZag6OpoPI/AAAAAAAABoo/pNBXaNdRbts/s640/blogger-image-1744485663.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-rfAT0fXMZRA/VsZag6OpoPI/AAAAAAAABoo/pNBXaNdRbts/s640/blogger-image-1744485663.jpg"></a></div><br>
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So that was it, my report back on what Filipino food is really like. Can't say I will be trying to recreate any of the dishes I had back home, and since leaving the Philippines I have to say that my diet is so much healthier. Shame. Great beaches though!</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ukyR8s5z8Go/VsjWTRBvxhI/AAAAAAAABqc/emXS39t_YNg/s640/blogger-image--1701393928.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ukyR8s5z8Go/VsjWTRBvxhI/AAAAAAAABqc/emXS39t_YNg/s640/blogger-image--1701393928.jpg"></a></div></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><i><span style="color: magenta;">Yelly</span>-fi-felly-food-belly <span style="color: magenta;">x</span></i></b></div>
yellyfifellyfoodbellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543654812927791672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7409262840828845474.post-67188589343354054822016-01-04T21:00:00.000+00:002016-01-25T12:35:51.826+00:00A Burns Night Supper... King's Cross style<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I had never eaten out for Burns Night before, sure I'd had haggis, but that was accompanied by eggs, sausages, bacon, potato cakes and a hearty serving of baked beans. I kind of just assumed we'd just be served our Scottish themed food paired with an array of whiskys and that would be that.<br />
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I was so wrong. <br />
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Just to set the scene, I had won a competition last year on Twitter for a 4 course Burns Night meal at <a href="http://plumandspiltmilk.com/">Plum + Spilt Milk</a> for two. So jumping on the chance to truly celebrate Burns Night in style, I threw on my tartan dress and headed to the bustling Kings Cross station.<br />
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Wading through the throng of Londoners returning to the city, heads bowed and full of Sunday night dread, we made our way up the escalators of the London underground. From the distance we hear the sound of bagpipes. "Must be something happening in the main station." Oh no, no those bagpipes were bellowing from the first floor of the Northern Hotel where Plum + Spilt Milk were getting ready to feed a crowd of about 40 a proper Scottish feast.<br />
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I always feel that going out for a meal should be more than just about the food. It's about the experience. And I'm a big fan of stretching that experience out for as long as possible (without obviously being considered slow). And Burns Night fits the bill.<br />
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After a short pit-stop in a small but comfortable and luxurious hotel bar, we were marched into the restaurant to the sound of bagpipes, and soon followed a sequence of events for a Burns Night supper.<br />
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Plum + Spilt Milk had it all: the Selkirk Grace, piping, addressing and stabbing of the haggis, poetry, toast to the lassies... All with brief intervals of whisky, tatties and napes.<br />
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To kick the night off we were served an Arbroath Smokie (Scottish smoked haddock), leek and whisky soup. It's the kind of Scottish warmer you'd expect. Thick, creamy, and begging to be mopped up with a wedge of crusty bread. </div>
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With that came our first whisky. Not a big fan of whisky if I'm honest and so as expected, each sip came with a grimace, followed by a couple of large glugs of wine.<br />
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Having been paraded around the room to an upstanding audience and the belting sounds of the bagpipes, the haggis arrived at our table. Whilst the plate itself was not so pleasing on the eye, with splodges of mashed tatties and napes attempting to be delicately arranged, the flavour of the whisky sauce was pleasing on the taste buds, warming our insides and complimenting the richness of the haggis.<br />
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Onto whisky number 2: We're told that we should taste notes of Christmas pudding. Fools we were and having got into the spirit, we knocked it back.<br />
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Lies. No Christmas pudding. <br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YltqWsY569U/VNpliuC74VI/AAAAAAAAAvw/NG3nd986QNI/s1600/blogger-image--2003682047.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YltqWsY569U/VNpliuC74VI/AAAAAAAAAvw/NG3nd986QNI/s1600/blogger-image--2003682047.jpg" width="200" /></a>Like most, one would assume the main event and therefore main course, would be the haggis, but swiftly after the scottish savoury pud, we were served a loin of venison, resembling something of a hearty winter main. The venison was served pink and seasoned well, and a perfect match for the accompanying roast beetroot. The shoulder stuffed cabbage in my opinion felt a little too much and I began to fear that the meat sweats may be about to kick in...<br />
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Whisky number 3: Another one with notes of Christmas pudding. Still tastes like whisky to me...<br />
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The final course was as expected and pretty much what it said on the tin. Cream, with raspberries and oats. It wasn't unpleasant but it didn't blow me away. The occasional oat that entered my mouth felt like it had fell in by accident and was drowning in the mountain of cream that resembled Everest. James seemed to like it though, and had I not been full of meat and whisky, perhaps I would have had a different opinion.<br />
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Whisky number 4: Nope, still no Christmas pudding. Only adding to to horrendous Monday morning hangover we both felt the next day. Bad plan, clearly.<br />
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For a competition, of course it was great value. To pay for it yourself, well I think it's a definite experience and perhaps worth the £60 per head, however, next time I'm in the country for Burns Night, I'd like to have a comparison and try somewhere else.<br />
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The venue itself is a draw, with its gloriously decorated and sophisticated bar and restaurant, creating an experience in itself, with not even a hint of the feeling of being rushed despite being located in a busy train station! For this reason, perhaps even the normal menu is worth a try.<br />
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<b><i><span style="color: magenta;">Yelly</span>-fi-felly-food-belly <span style="color: magenta;">x</span></i></b></div>
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P.s. <span style="color: magenta;">Interesting fact: </span>the name Plum + Spilt milk reflects the colours of the Flying Scotsman dining cars - a train which has been running between Edinburgh and London since 1862.</div>
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yellyfifellyfoodbellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543654812927791672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7409262840828845474.post-90688977833294967812015-12-29T15:21:00.004+00:002015-12-29T15:34:23.452+00:00Burmese days: noodles, tea & chicken gizzards<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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From the rice, sesame and chilli fields we saw during our three day trek from Kalaw to Inle Lake, to the wet markets of Yangon, it seemed abundantly clear that much of the Burmese cuisine revolves around the fresh ingredients the land offers.</div>
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Until now, I knew very little about Myanmar cuisine, and when trying the dishes I often struggled to work out what ingredients and flavours they were made up of. Unfortunately having not attended a cookery class, I am still none the wiser, however these flavours are something I am definitely keen to learn more of and experiment with when I get back to London. Perhaps the Burmese cookery book James bought me a while ago may get a bit of use!</div>
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Why am I so keen?<br>
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For one, they have oodles of noodles, which I absolutely love, and as through most of India my options were rice or bread, I was happy to be able to consume an alternative carb! My particular favourite were the Shan style noodle soups, with either minced pork or chicken sprinkled over the top, along with crushed peanuts, coriander, shallots and sesame. Having watched a few locals, the key thing is to get your chop sticks right in there and mix all of the ingredients together beforehand.</div>
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Usually at most 1,500 kyat (about 75p) these soups offer a lighter alternative to the Burmese curry feasts and their many accompaniments. The noodles are often sticky and salty, with an added bite of the peanuts (and until this trip I'd never knew how peanuts, or sesame seeds grew - see pics!). On some occasions our soups were served with a side dish of pickled chilli and garlic, or mustard greens, adding extra flavour to our dishes.</div><div dir="ltr" style="font-family: sans-serif;" trbidi="on"><br></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="font-family: sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1wQw3VXL07Y/VoKn9PL25uI/AAAAAAAABlM/mVbn5AWZ4zI/s640/blogger-image--154168861.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1wQw3VXL07Y/VoKn9PL25uI/AAAAAAAABlM/mVbn5AWZ4zI/s640/blogger-image--154168861.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_ldBwfTih-U/VoKn_GSb4YI/AAAAAAAABlU/h7e46G-iVp4/s640/blogger-image-1151593612.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_ldBwfTih-U/VoKn_GSb4YI/AAAAAAAABlU/h7e46G-iVp4/s640/blogger-image-1151593612.jpg"></a></div></div></div></div></div></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><font face="sans-serif"><br></font></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><font face="sans-serif">Noodles in Myanmar don't just have to be at lunch or dinner, but you can also stop by a teahouse for mohinga(a Burmese breakfast fish noodle soup) or even have a bowl of Shan noodles at 5am in a bus station among locals doing the same and feel completely normal... (And tired and delirious...) </font></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><font face="sans-serif"><br></font></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><font face="sans-serif">Our breakfast dish of mohinga wasn't particularly pretty to look at, but I was intrigued to discover what we'd find in the dish. After a sprinkling of the accompanying coriander, we delved in to find crunchy fried bean crackers, bites of what seemed to be lightly battered fish, and sticky noodles. The vermicelli noodle soup had flavours of garlic, chilli and lemongrass, creating a spicy but refreshingly delicious dish. A whole bowl of this for breakfast was more than enough, if not a little too much.</font></div>
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This was all washed down by a cup of tea, a Burmese cup of tea... I assumed this would be just a refreshing, healthy green tea.<br>
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Oh no.<br>
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And I thought India was bad for their love of sweet tea... Nope, Burmese tea is a whole new level. Condensed milk in your tea anyone? I say no more.</div>
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Luckily as with most teahouses and small roadside restaurants, cafes and beer stations, each table has a thermos of free green tea (I learnt after ordering my sweet tea), so I chased it all down with several cups of that! Local tip - before you use the cups that sit in a bit of water in the centre of the table, swill them out with a little tea first. Not only are they just sat there all day in a pool of water, many places do not wash these between customers - they just throw the dregs out onto the street and sit them back in the water!<br>
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Along with the condensed milk tea, and even an iced green tea I had which contained condensed milk, it seems the Burmese like their sweets - although you'd do well to find a authentic restaurant offering a dessert menu. Instead you'll be offered lumps of jaggery at the end of a meal or tamarind palm sugar discs wrapped in paper. Actual desserts do exist and are eaten as snacks purchased from stalls in the street, such as "pudding" - basically set custard, served in extra-large portions only, which even an ill James couldn't resist!<br>
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It's not all salt and sugar, most of the colourful culinary delights we encountered were the salads, including avocado, onion and tomato salad made from the humongous locally grown avocados, to the tea leaf salad, crunchy and bitter.</div>
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Being so close to India, Thailand and China, the culinary influences can be seen in most places we visited in Myanmar. From the steamed coriander dumplings in Yangon and the Thai basil chicken in Bagan, to the biryani in a small Muslim cafe in Mawlamyine. It gave the much needed variety, as the saltiness of the Burmese soups and curries flavoured by the pungent ngâpí (fermented fish paste - see previous post), became too much at times, and coupled with the bottles of Myanmar beer, can be very dehydrating too!<br>
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Reaching our last stop, the old British capital of Mawlamyine, offered us a new dining experience. Every evening from 5pm, a night market pops up along the water, with each stall offering similar things - barbeque and noodles. We focussed on the barbeque options, all presented on wooden skewers laid out in the evening heat and praying insects (just turn a blind eye), you select your choices and they barbeque it for you. At first we played it safe and tried what we knew (or thought we knew), including various parts of the chicken, a whole river fish, potatoes and okra. I say what we thought we knew, as one of the chicken parts turned out to be chicken gizzards... We think. There are not hoards of tourists here and not everyone speaks English, so the gizzard part may have been lost in translation!</div>
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After polishing all of that off, we start to get a bit more comfortable and cocky, and head up for seconds. I return to our table from ordering, grinning to James, exclaiming that I have no idea what I just ordered!</div>
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Food arrives and I appear to have ordered various forms off barbecued chicken and pork sausage, some stuffed with ingredients such as rice, and actually quite enjoyable. If I'm honest, they all tasted slightly of the barbeque chicken having been cooked on the unwashed grill - but still nice nonetheless.<br>
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I was sad to leave this country and I feel that there is so much more to discover, not just the food, but the people and places too. But onto new foodie experiences and I look forward to learning how to recreate some of these Burmese dishes (watch this space) and to revisiting the country again in the future.<br>
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<b><i><span style="color: magenta;">Yelly</span>-fi-felly-food-belly <span style="color: magenta;">x</span></i></b></div>
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yellyfifellyfoodbellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543654812927791672noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7409262840828845474.post-32094869742844178272015-12-09T15:34:00.000+00:002015-12-09T16:46:48.174+00:00Our first taste of Myanmar<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
With such an easy flight over from India, it was hard to believe we were actually in another country. But here we are in Myanmar, with at first literally no idea what to expect. We'd been so focussed on planning our first month around India, that we hadn't really thought about what Myanmar would present us with.<br />
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Bags dropped at the hostel in Yangon, we headed to the nearest pagoda, the beautiful Sule Pagoda, and after wetting the Buddha's head, we wondered out for our first Burmese meal.<br />
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We chose Danuphyu Daw Saw Yi in downtown Yangon. A fairly plain white wash cafe, completely open out to the street, with banterous men serving out front, and women with yellow thanakha painted faces in the kitchen (sandalwood-like paste used as suncream for women and young boys).<br />
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There was no menu, only a lovely Burmese man (everyone here seems to be so nice and very apologetic!), who pointed at each of the dishes behind a glass counter with a brief explanation of what they were. "Pork... Chicken... Beef" (at last!) "... Vegetables".<br />
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We opted for the pork belly, a fish and veg mix, and sides of buttered (hello extra large waist band) cauliflower, carrot and green beans. You are automatically served a plate of rice, a bowl of chinyay hin (sour veg soup) and on the table are various forms of condiments including a super strong, grey coloured, fermented fish paste called ngâpí, herbs and an array of par boiled veg. All of this was washed down with a large bottle of Myanmar beer, a refreshing, average percent lager.<br />
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From my research, it seems that Myanmar offers the mildest curries of Asia, and our pork belly curry was a clear example of this. The pork itself was tender and easily tore apart after hours of slow cooking. The sauce was salty and flavoursome, and begged to be mopped up with the abundance of rice they serve you. Although one word of warning, most Burmese curries can be seen with a layer of oil sitting on the top - true locals skim this off before mopping up - I unfortunately didn't act the pro... Usually this oil is just down to the amount they use to cook, but sometimes it is added to help the food keep whilst it sits on food counters for hours waiting to be served!<br />
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Since arriving in Myanmar, pork has been a big fav of ours, partly because we had been deprived of it in India, but partly because on the second occasion of ordering pork belly, the fat was actually crackling (cue longing for a Sunday roast)!<br />
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Our other main dish, the fish and veg mix, didn't have a clear fish taste, and resembled a pile of chewed up this and that, but offered a different texture to supplement the pork.<br />
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The soup, like many of the soups we've had since being in Myanmar, was very salty, but served hot (more so than the curry) with a strong sour taste, so a few spoonfuls pleasantly warmed the belly alongside the curries.<br />
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Needless to say, the buttered veg went down well...<br />
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Of course with no menu, means no obvious prices and the rookies that we were, we forgot to ask before devouring our feast. However there were no nasty surprises on this occasion, just a pleasant 8000 kyat (around 4 quid), for two mains, two sides, rice and soup, plus a large beer. Not bad eh?<br />
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<b style="font-family: sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: magenta;">Yelly</span>-fi-felly-food-belly <span style="color: magenta;">x</span></i></b></div>
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yellyfifellyfoodbellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543654812927791672noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7409262840828845474.post-27278973152387698102015-11-26T02:14:00.002+00:002015-11-26T04:49:26.012+00:00Eating my way around India - the six stages<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b>Stage one - dazed and confused</b><br>
Jet lag aside, arriving in any new city around the world with the need to find food can be a daunting task. Go with the guide books or TripAdvisor and you'll probably find hoards of tourists and you feel right at home. I'm not against using these methods, and in fact some of the best places we ate at came from these, however even with these and in a big city such as Delhi, your task may still be a tricky one. So not really with it to make a decision having arrived at 4am, our hostel gave us a recommendation of a place for lunch (sleep took priority over breakfast), to introduce our western tummies to the Indian cuisine. Yes they are referring to the dreaded Delhi belly, and we were told by an Indian guy on the plane, that even he has to give himself a few days to adjust after returning from university in the UK!</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lP1W-jiZYV4/VlaJfj4lfoI/AAAAAAAABho/TtPpTabuHAA/s640/blogger-image--605561179.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lP1W-jiZYV4/VlaJfj4lfoI/AAAAAAAABho/TtPpTabuHAA/s640/blogger-image--605561179.jpg"></a></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">The safe bet was Haldiram's, a bustling, brightly lit canteen near Connaught Place, offering fast food thalis and tandoori kebabs, supplemented by a sweet counter for afters. Tossing the salad aside, the dishes provided an easy route into the local food, along with the daal and rice, the thalis came with a yoghurt and our first of many galub jamuns (a round doughnut like dessert, deep fried and soaked in sugar syrup). The tandoori paneer started off my love for paneer throughout my time in India. It was accompanied by a coriander raita, which I was first acquainted with on our flight over. It's a yoghurt based dip mixed with blended coriander and a hint of chilli, and one which I think all curry houses back in England should serve alongside papadoms and mango chutney!</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-pcfy_BPD2ow/VlaPJ_tEr2I/AAAAAAAABiQ/jeqDce9wQro/s640/blogger-image-815115461.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-pcfy_BPD2ow/VlaPJ_tEr2I/AAAAAAAABiQ/jeqDce9wQro/s640/blogger-image-815115461.jpg"></a></div><br>
<b>Stage two - stepping out of your comfort zone</b><br>
Once you've successfully devoured and digested your first meal in India, you'll start to feel a certain level of confidence, and so delighted to have one non-sickness inducing lunch under our belt, we headed out in search of dinner in the Paharganj area of Delhi. Here the streets are lined with guesthouses, shops and cafes and a whole tonne of rickshaws and motorbikes weaving their way through food stalls, people, cows, dogs and the many backpackers that find themselves there.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-En2CVYMMWHY/VlaPMIxB89I/AAAAAAAABiY/04QkW-lB0XU/s640/blogger-image--18965970.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-En2CVYMMWHY/VlaPMIxB89I/AAAAAAAABiY/04QkW-lB0XU/s640/blogger-image--18965970.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">A little way down the main bazaar away from New Delhi train station, we found a couple of small cafes with the odd tourist and decided to head for one. Madan Cafe was small and not all that inviting inside, but pull up a plastic chair on the roadside and you'll soon settle in as you watch the evening throng of people and traffic go by. Our bargain £3.50 evening meal consisted of a thali and a masala chai for me, and a roti, curry and lassi for James. Taking in the view of the hustle and bustle of the main strip in the Paharganj, I mopped up my daal with my roti, which although only lukewarm (praying that it did not make me ill), the daal was flavoursome but with very little spice, matching nicely with the spiciness of the vegetable curry and the cooling accompanying yoghurt.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-63vqdAq_Iw0/VlaPSZoHRuI/AAAAAAAABik/xO25QqV0kLo/s640/blogger-image-425530023.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-63vqdAq_Iw0/VlaPSZoHRuI/AAAAAAAABik/xO25QqV0kLo/s640/blogger-image-425530023.jpg"></a></div></span></div><br><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">On our walk back down the main bazaar with the confidence still lingering, if not feeling stronger, we bought a mound of shortbread type biscuits heated on an iron plate and served in a newspaper pocket. Nothing too exciting here, but are a great snack to have with a little cup of chai.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-cKlWfkOg5SU/VlaPQdpRbyI/AAAAAAAABig/RNJGivhfioA/s640/blogger-image--494913289.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-cKlWfkOg5SU/VlaPQdpRbyI/AAAAAAAABig/RNJGivhfioA/s640/blogger-image--494913289.jpg"></a></div></span></div><br>
<b>Stage three - the inevitable bout of sickness</b><br>
Not something to go into any great detail about but its safe to say I lost my appetite for a while...<br>
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<b>Stage four - bold and brazen</b><br>
Although the sickness knocked me back a peg or two it wasn't long before I'm back at stage two trying new things and being even bolder than before bringing me onto stage four, after all - if I've survived Delhi belly once, I know I can beat it again!<br>
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Of course being bold and brazen is the only real way to discover what India has to offer, from its deep fried flying saucer shaped kachori, a spicy and snack-like, yet still very filling, street food or the slightly bolder mirchi bajji (deep fried battered green chilli), to the sweet indian treats such as jalebi, a deep fried pretzel shaped crispy batter soaked in sugar syrup, incredibly sweet and super indulgent. These sorts of snacks can be found on the many street food stalls - just look for the large woks filled with oil and spot the freshly cooked ones!<div style="text-align: start;"><font color="#000000" style="text-align: center; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sl76HdJ20mE/VlZqwtzNe8I/AAAAAAAABhU/nZySangZYDQ/s1600/photo%2B4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="text-align: center; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></a></font></div><div style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-dp0uEaw5Rhg/VlaPFue8zjI/AAAAAAAABiA/C2urd0K_xwQ/s640/blogger-image-1760214841.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-dp0uEaw5Rhg/VlaPFue8zjI/AAAAAAAABiA/C2urd0K_xwQ/s640/blogger-image-1760214841.jpg"></a></div><br></span></div><div style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">Our love for trying Indian street food ended at our last stop in Kolkata, but ended on a huge high when we discovered kati rolls. These are parathas (a type of Indian bread) coated in egg and fried, a filling of your choice is then added - mutton, chicken or paneer, alongside salad, chillies, a squeeze of lime and chilli sauce. Absolutely mouthwateringly delicious! I had a paneer kati roll, James had the mutton, both equally as tasty (if I had to admit it, James won here as the mutton along with the sautéed onions melted away in your mouth). The kati rolls had a fresher taste than the curries that we had been eating, provided by the lime and coriander, and absolutely dripping with juices - it was a messy treat! If you're in Kolkata - try Hot Kati Roll on Park Street, the one with hoards of people outside hunched over their kati rolls!</span></div><div style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></span></div><div style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Mbqudg9crRI/VlaPUjMvllI/AAAAAAAABio/fh_dh90ifsA/s640/blogger-image--2030000301.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Mbqudg9crRI/VlaPUjMvllI/AAAAAAAABio/fh_dh90ifsA/s640/blogger-image--2030000301.jpg"></a></div></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><b>Stage five - establishing your favourites</b><br>
Once you've had a few trial and errors - one of the latter being the slighly bland tasting palek paneer (or to put simply a blended spinach curry, little spice and chunks of paneer), then you start to establish what you like and what you don't like, and will re-order time and time again.<br>
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I think it was in Udaipur that we discovered jeera rice, in a cafe along the river called Little Prince, and then continued to order it throughout most of our time in Rajasthan. All it simply is, is cumin fried rice - fragrant and greasy. Filth. But understandably anything fried will taste great, and we often ordered it alongside a mix veg curry, a paneer tikka masala and gobhi paratha, again all firm favourites. The paratha is yet another fried Indian staple, a bread that is often stuffed with potato or cauliflower along with an array of spices. And thanks to a cookery class in Pushkar I now know how to make parathas for when I return home!<br>
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<b>Stage 6 - seeking out something different</b><br>
I love a curry, but I'm not going to lie, the craving for sausage and mash (thanks to a couple we met on a camel trek giving it the pie and mash chat) did kick in fairly early on. Thankfully there were points that we were able to stray and still have something tasty to eat, such as the falafel wraps in the hippy and religious place of Pushkar in Rajasthan. For 120 rupees (just over a quid), you can get a paneer, yellow cheese (burger cheese), fries and hummus wrap. Along with the refreshing, crisp salad inside the wrap, it made for a welcomed alternative to the curries and the fries were the greasy, homemade kind - a little home comfort! This Israeli cuisine was quite prominent, particularly in Rajasthan, partly due to the number of Israeli tourists that flock there, so even later on in Rishikesh, in Uttarakhand (a little further north), we revisited the hummus wrap!<br>
<br><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-cKbo7GjDeyk/VlaPDbjar6I/AAAAAAAABh8/yEeoUxWgB-c/s640/blogger-image--1104039612.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-cKbo7GjDeyk/VlaPDbjar6I/AAAAAAAABh8/yEeoUxWgB-c/s640/blogger-image--1104039612.jpg"></a></div><br>
If hummus and falafel doesn't do it for you, you can always rely on Italian. However, many of the places we visited in India were vegetarian, and even when meat was available, it was mainly chicken or mutton (which can be lamb or goat as we later found out), so unfortunately no chance of my favourite spag bol! </div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">There was so much more to see and taste in India, and I'm sure when we visit again in the future - perhaps further north or south - a whole new stage will be added as we discover more of the regional cuisine variances India has to offer.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><b style="font-family: sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: magenta;">Yelly</span>-fi-felly-food-belly <span style="color: magenta;">x</span></i></b></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div>
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yellyfifellyfoodbellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543654812927791672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7409262840828845474.post-17710542025677847572015-10-20T08:00:00.000+01:002015-10-23T10:38:53.069+01:00Oriental feast!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">Sunday morning car boot, I pace up and down the rows of cars not really getting into the spirit of the early morning treasure hunt. I dip in here and there pretending to have a rummage when boom, a cute little 8-piece set of rice bowls, rice spoons and soy dishes catch my eye. I'm officially the worst haggler so leave the tough work to my boyfriend, and by the end of the morning I'm the owner of a lovely little set destined to be showcased at a dinner party. Best get practising then with these little numbers... </span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /><b>Ingredients (serves 2):<br /><span style="color: magenta;"><i>For the pickled cucumber...</i></span></b></span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">1/2 cucumber</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">1/2 inch of ginger, cut into batons</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">1 tbsp rice vinegar</span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">1 tbsp soy sauce</span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">1 tsp sugar</span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">1 tsp sesame seeds</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><b><span style="color: magenta;"><i>For the chicken teriyaki...</i></span></b>200g chicken thigh fillets, cut into chunks<br />1 tbsp sesame oil<br />1 leek, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces<br />3 tbsp teriyaki sauce<br />1 tsp sugar<br /><br /><b><i><span style="color: magenta;">For the crispy pan fried sea bass...</span></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">2 fillets of seabass</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">1 tbsp olive oil</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">1 tsp fish sauce</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">1 tsp honey</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">1 red chilli, thinly sliced</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">1 inch of ginger cut into batons</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">1 garlic, sliced thinly</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">1 tsp chopped coriander stalks</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Sprinkling of coriander leaves to serve</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><b><span style="color: magenta;">Stage one:</span> the pickled cucumber</b></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><b><span style="color: magenta;">1.</span></b> Peel and halve the cucumber lengthways, then scoop out the seeds in the middle.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><b><span style="color: magenta;">2. </span></b>Cut the halves of cucumber into 1cm semi circles.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><b><span style="color: magenta;">3.</span></b> Place the the cucumber in a bowl along with the rice vinegar, soy sauce, sugar and ginger and leave to pickle for 30 (or until you've finished the rest!)</span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><b><span style="color: magenta;">4.</span></b> When you're ready to serve the rest, sprinkle with the sesame seeds.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><b><span style="color: magenta;">Stage two:</span> the chicken teriyaki</b></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><b><span style="color: magenta;">1.</span></b> Pan fry the chicken in the oil until the chicken starts to turn golden.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="color: magenta;"><b>2. </b></span>Add the leeks and cook until softened.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><b><span style="color: magenta;">3.</span></b> Throw in the teriyaki sauce and sugar and you're done.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><b><span style="color: magenta;">Stage three: </span>the crispy pan fried sea bass</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-weight: bold;">1. </span>Get your rice on the go, to make the perfect rice - see step 5 <a href="http://yellyfifellyfoodbelly.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/sri-lankan-prawn-curry.html"><span style="color: magenta;"><b>here</b></span></a>.<br />
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="color: magenta;"></span><span style="color: magenta; font-weight: bold;">2. </span>Next, h</span>eat 1 tbsp of oil in a frying pan and score the skin of the sea bass fillets 3 times, and place into the frying pan skin side down and fry for 5 minutes, then for 30 seconds on the flesh side, then remove from the heat and cover.</div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="color: magenta;"><b>3.</b> </span>In the same pan, turn up the heat and add the remaining oil,</span> cabbage, most of the chilli, ginger, garlic and spring onions that were cut length ways, fry for 3-5 minutes.</div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><b><span style="color: magenta;">4.</span></b> Now add the soy sauce, fish sauce and honey and fry for a minute.<br /><b><span style="color: magenta;">5. </span></b>Remove the veg from the pan leaving behind the sauce and continue to simmer until reduced to a syrup like sauce, and then pour a little over the veg, placing the sea bass on top.<br /><b><span style="color: magenta;">6. </span></b>Once the rice is cooked, if you fancy making a rice tower, find a small bowl and line with cling film. Then if you have any sushi vinegar (or rice vinegar) coat the cling film with it and put the remaining tsp of sushi vinegar in the rice. This gives it a lovely glossy sheen and slight sweetness. The rice then is placed in the bowl and turned upside down on the plate, and then remove the bowl and voilà!<br /><span style="color: magenta;"><b>7.</b></span> Finally, decorate your rice with a sprinkling of sesame seeds, the spring onion discs, a couple of slices of chilli and coriander. </span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Enjoy!</span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><b><i><span style="color: magenta;">Yelly</span>-fi-felly-food-belly<span style="color: magenta;"> x</span></i></b><br /> </span></div>
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yellyfifellyfoodbellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543654812927791672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7409262840828845474.post-50216480001457733412015-10-13T08:00:00.000+01:002015-10-13T08:12:59.095+01:00Smoked trout, greens & fennel salad<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b>Ingredients (serves 2):</b><br>
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9kGJ63j7he8/VaKe2xQTabI/AAAAAAAAA0Y/YyB5pKjbrhg/s640/blogger-image--1025011505.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9kGJ63j7he8/VaKe2xQTabI/AAAAAAAAA0Y/YyB5pKjbrhg/s400/blogger-image--1025011505.jpg" width="400"></a></div>
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2 smoked trout fillets</div>
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200g mangetout, halved lengthways </div>
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100g peas</div>
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1 fennel bulb, shredded </div>
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2tbsp olive oil</div>
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1tbsp white wine vinegar </div>
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1tsp honey</div>
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1/2tsp wholegrain mustard</div>
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2tbsp chopped almonds</div>
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<b><span style="color: magenta;">1.</span></b> Cook the peas and mangetout in boiling water for 1 minute, drain and allow to cool.</div>
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<b><span style="color: magenta;">2.</span></b> Once cooled, mix the greens with the shredded fennel.</div>
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<b><span style="color: magenta;">3.</span></b> To make the dressing, mix the oil, vinegar, honey and mustard in a pot, and give it a thorough mix by fastening the lid of the pot and shaking.</div>
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<b><span style="color: magenta;">4. </span></b>Flake the trout into the greens mix, pour over the dressing and mix altogether.</div>
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<b><span style="color: magenta;">5.</span></b> Plate the salad and sprinkle over the chopped almonds.</div>
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Enjoy!</div>
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<b><i><span style="color: magenta;">Yelly</span>-fi-felly-food-belly <span style="color: magenta;">x</span></i></b></div>
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yellyfifellyfoodbellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543654812927791672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7409262840828845474.post-15946633487204739362015-10-07T08:00:00.000+01:002015-10-07T08:25:07.570+01:00Feed the hunger. But where?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
London is a fantastic place for a foodie to live. You fancy Italian? We have plenty. You want street food? It's everywhere.<br>
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Trouble is, that is the trouble. There is so much and it's hard to make a decision on a hungry stomach. So here are a couple of things I do when picking out somewhere to eat.<br>
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<b><span style="color: magenta;"><br></span></b>
<b><span style="color: magenta;">1. </span>Keep a food bible</b></div>
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Have you ever read TimeOut and thought, I DEFINITELY need to go to that restaurant and then two weeks later you find yourself with a free evening with no dinner reservations and can't think of anywhere to go? Annoying.<br>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Aw-8Y9HaxCU/Vg-nTeOVEaI/AAAAAAAAA28/BVOcHHoxzjo/s1600/dojo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Aw-8Y9HaxCU/Vg-nTeOVEaI/AAAAAAAAA28/BVOcHHoxzjo/s320/dojo.jpg" width="176"></a>So here's what I do, I collect clippings from <a href="http://www.timeout.com/london/restaurants">TimeOut</a>, <a href="http://www.olivemagazine.com/restaurants-and-travel/">Olive Magazine</a>, The Times etc., and keep them all in a file to reference later. This includes recipes too, it's like my go to guide for all things food.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ou9zzgFAOlY/Ve9Jnrqv-9I/AAAAAAAAA1o/2keScIH7nbU/s1600/fb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ou9zzgFAOlY/Ve9Jnrqv-9I/AAAAAAAAA1o/2keScIH7nbU/s200/fb.jpg" width="200"></a>Seems like a lot of effort? Then just create a Pintrest board.</div>
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<b><span style="color: magenta;">2.</span> My favourite app</b></div>
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<a href="http://www.dojoapp.co/">Dojo</a> - great for finding out what's nearby: street food, markets or restaurants, they show it all. They do a regular email newsletter but I can't say I find it that useful and a little bit try hard, but the app itself is great.<br>
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<b><span style="color: magenta;">3.</span> Pop-up kitchens</b></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uYLGTc0-sTc/Vg-ny5r7oOI/AAAAAAAAA3E/5ocB9LQ2EZ0/s1600/10926215_1590733807836151_5825246668738669078_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uYLGTc0-sTc/Vg-ny5r7oOI/AAAAAAAAA3E/5ocB9LQ2EZ0/s200/10926215_1590733807836151_5825246668738669078_n.jpg" width="200"></a>These are increasingly becoming more and more popular. Many set themselves up in your favourite boozer, so although you can't count on the food being good (although I've yet to have a bad experience), you can at least rely on the venue being OK, especially if it's your regular haunt. They usually stick around for a month or so, such as the one in <a href="http://www.market-house.co.uk/#FOOD-NEW">Market House</a>, Brixton. Here I've sampled <a href="http://www.nanban.co.uk/">Nanban</a> of Tim Anderson fame (who opened his own restaurant on Coldharbour lane this week and yes I was straight in there and visited only last night) and <a href="http://www.bhangraburger.com/">Baba G's Bhangra Burgers</a> - now taking residence in <a href="http://www.popbrixton.org/">Pop Brixton</a>.<br>
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Alternatively - just check out this list by me <b><u><a href="http://yellyfifellyfoodbelly.blogspot.co.uk/p/restaurants.html"><span style="color: magenta;">here</span></a></u></b>.<br>
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<b><i><span style="color: magenta;">Yelly</span>-fi-felly-food-belly <span style="color: magenta;">x</span></i></b></div>
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yellyfifellyfoodbellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543654812927791672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7409262840828845474.post-90322245866879641532015-09-25T08:00:00.000+01:002015-09-25T08:00:11.442+01:00Breakfast with my dad - Milk cafe<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ou9zzgFAOlY/Ve9Jnrqv-9I/AAAAAAAAA1k/5PWFOfoEX4Y/s1600/fb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ou9zzgFAOlY/Ve9Jnrqv-9I/AAAAAAAAA1k/5PWFOfoEX4Y/s200/fb.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My food bible!</td></tr>
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I have a long list of restaurants, bars, cafes and pop-ups that I want to visit in London. In fact I have a food bible where I take clippings from various magazines and newspapers and use it as a kind of foodie to-do list. Problem is, these places are on a lot of people's to-do lists, and with the increasing popularity to go with the no reservations policy, you can often struggle to get a foot in the door unless you queue for 45 minutes plus.<br />
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-AexTLX1Enpc/Ve9DZ60EaBI/AAAAAAAAA1E/rwn69ETCBHU/s640/blogger-image-2080039133.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-AexTLX1Enpc/Ve9DZ60EaBI/AAAAAAAAA1E/rwn69ETCBHU/s200/blogger-image-2080039133.jpg" width="200" /></a>But that's the weekends.</div>
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So I have a couple of days off and my dad up to visit me - suddenly my options are limitless. So knowing my dad is a lover of coffee, I refer to my food bible and know just the place: <a href="http://www.milk.london/">Milk</a> in Balham.</div>
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This trendy white brick cafe sits along Hildreth Street Market and I'm told is a popular place for the mummy and baby groups of Balham. Obviously they took this particular day off as it was filled with a mixture of young professionals gazing at laptop screens, tourists and the odd family (summer holidays of course).</div>
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Seated, we took a look at the clipboard menu, and began to work our way down the list to decipher what was what. It seemed that the menu essentially served all your traditional breakfast menu items, each with an added something extra, be it woodfired sourdough bread, or "hangover" sauce.<br />
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-q4I7yOetgfU/Ve9DYL3Kj-I/AAAAAAAAA08/YkBO5E5JRZs/s640/blogger-image--801367363.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-q4I7yOetgfU/Ve9DYL3Kj-I/AAAAAAAAA08/YkBO5E5JRZs/s200/blogger-image--801367363.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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The Convict appeared to be the manly full English option, and not wanting to be outdone by my dad, we ordered two of those, a black Americano and a flat white.</div>
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Out comes our breakfast in what my dad called dog bowls (oval silver bowls that it seems obligatory for all London burgers to be served in). Placed within was a tower of breakfast items topped with an even bigger tower of grated cheese.</div>
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-wQ8AGXPviQE/Ve9DbAz6R-I/AAAAAAAAA1M/8R6oc-YsVwc/s640/blogger-image-722509802.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-wQ8AGXPviQE/Ve9DbAz6R-I/AAAAAAAAA1M/8R6oc-YsVwc/s200/blogger-image-722509802.jpg" width="200" /></a>The Convict at first glance is a glorified sausage, bacon and egg McMuffin. But delve in and you will find layer upon layer of deliciously lavish ingredients, including a homemade hash brown and sausage patty. Stealing the show and standing out in this tower had to be the scrambled egg. A silky, creamy consistancy, delicately cooked and not at all representing any kind of dried up curdled egg that many places serve. A close second and providing a bite to the Convict, were the sweet bacon rashes. No flabby bacon in sight, just deliciously crisp and mouthwatering wonderful rashes of bacon.<br />
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All of this is wedged between two halves of a muffin, with the added richness of a tangy hangover sauce and grated cheese, bringing all the flavours together and delivering an indulgent breakfast that will leave you full for hours.<br />
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The coffee lived up to expectations, providing an equally rich taste to our breakfast banquet, and even had the seal of approval from my coffee-loving dad.</div>
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Overall two breakfasts and two coffees came to £22 and with increasing prices of coffee in London these days, this is easily a steal. Next time I go back I have to try their homemade juice served in a novelty glass milk bottle.</div>
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<b><i><span style="color: magenta;">Yelly</span>-fi-felly-food-belly <span style="color: magenta;">x</span></i></b></div>
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yellyfifellyfoodbellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543654812927791672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7409262840828845474.post-6712746364705421702015-09-20T17:41:00.000+01:002015-09-20T17:41:52.218+01:00Chorizo and paprika rice<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-zmrxyLd10Ow/Vf7e_9u7phI/AAAAAAAAA14/SedN5rV91ug/s640/blogger-image-1040788635.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-zmrxyLd10Ow/Vf7e_9u7phI/AAAAAAAAA14/SedN5rV91ug/s320/blogger-image-1040788635.jpg" width="320" /></a>This is a genuine "use what I had left in the fridge" recipe. The egg and crispiness from the grilled finish really makes this dish. I cooked for one (plus a bit spare), but the recipe below is for two. I also cooked this in a ovenproof frying pan, but for two or more I would probably transfer into individual ovenproof serving dishes as serving the egg in one piece is quite tricky / messy!<br />
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-zmrxyLd10Ow/Vf7e_9u7phI/AAAAAAAAA14/SedN5rV91ug/s640/blogger-image-1040788635.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-zmrxyLd10Ow/Vf7e_9u7phI/AAAAAAAAA14/SedN5rV91ug/s640/blogger-image-1040788635.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
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<b>Ingredients (serves 2):</b></div>
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100g chorizo, cut into 1cm slices</div>
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1 red onion, diced </div>
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1 green pepper, cut into 1cm strips<br />
200g cherry tomatoes, halved</div>
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1 garlic clove, crushed</div>
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1 tsp paprika </div>
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1/2 vegetable stock cube dissolved in 4 cups of boiling water</div>
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2 cups of rice</div>
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Olive oil</div>
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2 eggs<br />
Salt and pepper</div>
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1. Soften the onion in a little olive oil over a medium heat for 5 minutes.<br />
2. Next add the chorizo and cook for a further 3-4 minutes until the edges of the chorizo starts to crisp.<br />
3. Add the peppers, paprika and garlic, coating all of the ingredients with the paprika and allowing a few more minutes to cook.<br />
4. Throw in the tomatoes and rice, making sure the rice is properly coated in the paprika mix.<br />
5. Now add the stock bit by bit as if you were cooking a risotto, adding more stock only once the previous stock has been absorbed. If you need more liquid, just use boiling water. It's probably worth turning your grill on at this point too.<br />
6. When the rice is cooked and the liquid has been absorbed, take off the heat and make two slight indents where you would like your eggs and carefully crack them into there.<br />
7. Season the egg and place under the grill until the egg is cooked.<br />
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Enjoy!<br />
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<b><i><span style="color: magenta;">Yelly</span>-fi-felly-food-belly <span style="color: magenta;">x</span></i></b></div>
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yellyfifellyfoodbellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543654812927791672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7409262840828845474.post-55916482383440043082015-09-08T22:24:00.002+01:002015-10-23T10:03:43.818+01:00Chicken, leek and pancetta pie in a pan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-G2KknOt-Y8k/Ve9E9QXwofI/AAAAAAAAA1Y/nFAYi7Wluq4/s1600/piepan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-G2KknOt-Y8k/Ve9E9QXwofI/AAAAAAAAA1Y/nFAYi7Wluq4/s320/piepan.jpg" width="320" /></a>I posted a picture of this on my <a href="https://twitter.com/yellyfifelly">Twitter</a> a while ago but never got round to writing up the recipe. It is a great all in one dish - just make sure you can use your frying pan in the oven and avoid touching the handle when you bring it out!!<br />
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<b>Ingredients (serves 2):</b><br />
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250g chicken, cut into small chunks</div>
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50g smoked pancetta, cubed</div>
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1 large leek, cut into 1cm slices</div>
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Large knob of butter</div>
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1 flat tbsp plain flour</div>
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200ml milk</div>
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1 pack of ready rolled puff pastry (or make your own!)</div>
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Olive oil</div>
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1. Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees.</div>
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2. Cook the chicken in a little olive oil for 4-6 mins over a medium heat.<br />
3. Add the pancetta to the pan and cook for a further 3-4 minutes until the chicken starts to colour and the pancetta starts to turn crisp. Set the chicken and pancetta aside, draining the fat from the pan.</div>
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4. In the same pan, melt the butter and soften the leeks over a medium heat for 5-6 minutes.</div>
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5. Remove from the heat and add the flour, allowing the butter to be absorbed by the flour.</div>
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6. Slowly add the milk (save a dab for glazing the pie) mixing well to avoid lumps, and reintroducing the pan to a low heat.</div>
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7. Add the cooked chicken and pancetta, season with salt and pepper and remove from the heat.</div>
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8. Lay the puff pasty over the pan, trimming the edges to fit and brush with the leftover milk to glaze.</div>
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9. Place in the oven and cook for 25-30 minutes or until golden.</div>
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Enjoy! </div>
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<i><b><span style="color: magenta;">Yelly</span>-fi-felly-food-belly <span style="color: magenta;">x</span></b></i></div>
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yellyfifellyfoodbellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543654812927791672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7409262840828845474.post-49790082907717648552015-07-06T23:09:00.000+01:002015-07-06T23:09:09.891+01:00Spicy chicken and egg ramen<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This is a combination of recipes I found and altered based on what I had in the cupboard. You can easily substitute the chicken for any other meat, or the pak choi for another veg, based on what you have in your cupboard!</span><br />
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-GGKfU6-pTbw/VZr0WRiTL8I/AAAAAAAAA0E/tRQoJYnnmw8/s1600/blogger-image-1112882442.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-GGKfU6-pTbw/VZr0WRiTL8I/AAAAAAAAA0E/tRQoJYnnmw8/s320/blogger-image-1112882442.jpg" width="320" /></a><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ingredients (serves 2):</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">300g udon noodles, cooked as per the pack instructions</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">3 pints of boiling water</span></div>
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-GGKfU6-pTbw/VZr0WRiTL8I/AAAAAAAAA0E/tRQoJYnnmw8/s640/blogger-image-1112882442.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">1 chicken stock cube</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">300g chicken thigh fillets, cut into thin strips</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">1 pak choi, cut into strips lengthways </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">2 spring onions, cut into discs</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">2 tbsp soy sauce</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">1 tbsp Worchester sauce </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">1 tbsp mirin</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">1 inch of ginger, cut into sticks</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">2 cloves of garlic, minced </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">1 tsp cinnamon</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">2 star anise</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">1/2 tsp of fennel seeds</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">1/2 tsp brown sugar</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">1 red chilli, sliced</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">2 tbsp crushed unsalted peanuts</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">2 eggs</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Sesame oil for frying</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">1. In a saucepan, place the water, stock cube, soy sauce, Worcester sauce, mirin, ginger, garlic, spices, sugar and most of the chilli, bring to the boil and allow to simmer for 15 minutes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">2. Meanwhile, fry the chicken in a little sesame oil in a frying pan, adding the pak choi once it is almost cooked.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">3. Just before the above two steps are complete, bring to the boil a saucepan of water, lowering two eggs into it and cook for 4 minutes. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">4. When the eggs are cooked and have cooled slightly under cold running water, peel their shells off and set aside. Don't worry if you think it needs a little longer, the stock at the end will give it that extra bit of cooking! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">5. Once your stock has simmered for 15 minutes, pass the liquid through a sieve to get rid of the whole spices.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">6. Finally, divide the cooked udon noodles, chicken and pak choi between two deep serving bowls, pour over the stock, add an egg to each and garnish with spring onion, the rest of the chilli and peanuts (if I had coriander, I would have used this too!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Enjoy!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><span style="color: magenta;">Yelly</span>-fi-felly-food-belly <span style="color: magenta;">x</span></i></b></span></div>
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yellyfifellyfoodbellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543654812927791672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7409262840828845474.post-38655241277367155162015-05-23T12:42:00.002+01:002015-05-23T12:42:21.377+01:00Lamb kleftiko<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I'm still not entirely sure what is classed as a traditional lamb kleftiko and a recent trip to Athens left me just as confused. So I'm going with my take on one of the first ever lamb kleftiko I tried, basically a one-pot Greek lamb casserole with plenty of feta cheese!<br />
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<b>Ingredients (serves 2):</b><br />
<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-TXJ_RqrHGOA/VWBlIY75_dI/AAAAAAAAAzc/4ETYSlUSlmQ/s640/blogger-image-1387865111.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="310" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-TXJ_RqrHGOA/VWBlIY75_dI/AAAAAAAAAzc/4ETYSlUSlmQ/s400/blogger-image-1387865111.jpg" width="400" /></a>450g diced lamb<br />
1 red onion, cut into 8 wedges<br />
1 clove of garlic, crushed<br />
3 medium sized potatoes, peel and sliced into 1cm thick pieces<br />
1 pack cherry tomatoes (approx 330g), left whole<br />
1 green pepper, roughly chopped into large chunks<br />
Juice of 1 lemon<br />
1 tsp cinnamon<br />
1/4 tsp of English mustard<br />
1/2 lamb stock cube dissolved into 100ml of boiling water<br />
1 tbsp finely chopped rosemary<br />
2 bay leaves<br />
Salt and pepper<br />
Olive oil<br />
200g feta cheese<br />
Handful of pitted black olives, halved, to serve<br />
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<i>You will also need...</i><br />
Tin foil<br />
Baking paper<br />
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1. Preheat the oven at 200 degrees.<br />
<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-QRMoYg4d3VE/VWBftwDCJII/AAAAAAAAAy0/EpQMwzI5BZI/s640/blogger-image--996521695.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-QRMoYg4d3VE/VWBftwDCJII/AAAAAAAAAy0/EpQMwzI5BZI/s320/blogger-image--996521695.jpg" width="320" /></a>2. Boil the potatoes for 10 minutes until they start to become soft.<br />
3. Meanwhile, heat a little olive oil in a large frying pan over a high heat, add the lamb and brown all over.<br />
4. Remove the lamb from the frying pan, leaving behind the fat and cook the onions on a medium heat for 5-6 minutes until soft.<br />
5. Add the garlic, green pepper and cinnamon and fry for 2 minutes.<br />
6. Add the lamb back to the frying pan along with the cooked potatoes, tomatoes, rosemary, bay leaves, lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Mix well.<br />
<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-rUuhRPDBWWM/VWBfwTmPXhI/AAAAAAAAAzE/HWZJfY3WwNs/s640/blogger-image-312095202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-rUuhRPDBWWM/VWBfwTmPXhI/AAAAAAAAAzE/HWZJfY3WwNs/s320/blogger-image-312095202.jpg" width="320" /></a>7. To prepare your dish to cook this in the oven, take a roasting tin (or ceramic roasting dish), lay two pieces of tin foil in a cross shape on top, making sure that there is plenty hanging over the edge. Do the same with two pieces of baking paper on top of the tin foil.<br />
8. Spoon the ingredients from the frying pan into the centre of the baking paper cross, allowing the tin foil and baking paper to fall into the shape of the dish.<br />
9. Mix the English mustard into your lamb stock until dissolved and pour all over the rest of your ingredients.<br />
10. Bring the sides of the baking paper together over the top of your ingredients and scrunch together to secure. Do the same with the tin foil. This should seal your kleftiko ready for cooking in the oven.<br />
11. Place your kleftiko in the oven and cook for two and a half hours until the lamb is tender.<br />
12. After the lamb is cooked, fold back the baking paper and tin foil and crumble over the feta. Return to the oven unsealed for 30 minutes until the cheese starts to brown.<br />
13. Serve with a scattering of the black olives. Enjoy!<br />
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<b><i><span style="color: magenta;">Yelly</span>-fi-felly-food-belly <span style="color: magenta;">x</span></i></b></div>
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yellyfifellyfoodbellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543654812927791672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7409262840828845474.post-88842654974348526462015-03-09T22:15:00.004+00:002015-03-09T22:30:00.245+00:00A restaurant to lead by example<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I'm not sure when a service charge became 12.5%. Or when it started being automatically added for tables of less than six. But it seems to me that restaurants are becoming more and more likely not to trust their customers to reward service based on their experience. </span><br />
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<a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-VTCw8Dmlyjo/VP4dNcJ8izI/AAAAAAAAAyM/tu8UEweO04U/s640/blogger-image--645004908.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-VTCw8Dmlyjo/VP4dNcJ8izI/AAAAAAAAAyM/tu8UEweO04U/s320/blogger-image--645004908.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">A tip is a sign of gratitude for someone who has provided a good service, and I have definitely experienced some shocking service even in the most unlikely, highly regarded Michelin star restaurants. So it always seems to me a little wrong to automatically add service charge, because restaurants like that become arrogant and assuming, when really someone needs to put them in their place.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">So when a restaurant appears to only have a 5% service charge, I question their reasoning.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The restaurant I am referring to is </span><a href="http://www.rexandmariano.com/" style="font-family: inherit;">Rex & Mariano</a><span style="font-family: inherit;">, a new </span>Soho<span style="font-family: inherit;"> seafood restaurant which occupies the once Vodka Revs between Dean and Wardour street. At first it seems obvious as to why service charge would be so much lower, with their ever so convenient iPad ordering system whereby the ordering is entirely down to you, and you do so at your own pace and as many times as you like.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">But the service was like no other. They were efficient, friendly and informative. The waiters and waitresses appeare<span style="font-family: inherit;">d to work in sync with each other, obeying the sound of the bell signalling that a dish is ready for a customer.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-VKfT5a-GVNo/VP4MWHJx3iI/AAAAAAAAAx0/L_9ViJjSk54/s1600/blogger-image-2066903765.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-VKfT5a-GVNo/VP4MWHJx3iI/AAAAAAAAAx0/L_9ViJjSk54/s200/blogger-image-2066903765.jpg" width="200" /></span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">Rex & Mariano was newly opened in 2014 serving an array of quality seafood dishes, cooked and uncooked. It got off to a fairly slow start but following recent reviews has suddenly become the must go place of Soho. A recent Friday night was no exception, with the large white-tiled restaurant complete with open plan kitchen, filled with tables brimming with hungry seafood lovers. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Menu / iPad in hand, we opted for a respectable 6 dishes at first, including bread and olives, and were quickly alerted by our digital companion not to over order as dishes come quick and soon fill up your table.</span></div>
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<a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-uvcdf24p-pk/VP4MTRlM9LI/AAAAAAAAAxc/70W9fDYbrCE/s1600/blogger-image-2102659294.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-uvcdf24p-pk/VP4MTRlM9LI/AAAAAAAAAxc/70W9fDYbrCE/s320/blogger-image-2102659294.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
No sooner had we set our iPad aside did the dishes start arriving. A particular highlight for me was the raw red prawns (you can opt for them cooked too). They were slippery and slimey in texture, offering something I had not experienced before, with a firmness when you took a bite. <br />
<br />
A close joint second was the tuna tartare, with the punchy chilli and chive complementing the creamy avocado, and the seabass ceviche with coriander and tigers milk (a Peruvian term for a citrus-based marinade) which gave the dish a refreshing bite.<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The beauty of the iPad ordering system is that if you feel you haven't quite reached that optimum amount of dishes, you just order more.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">And so we did. And an afterthought it was. The salmon carpaccio was as expected but still, at £7 a pop you can't really complain.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-HUZH3RJBumk/VP4MRymmH5I/AAAAAAAAAxU/lD3fip-KQQI/s640/blogger-image-1444192515.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-HUZH3RJBumk/VP4MRymmH5I/AAAAAAAAAxU/lD3fip-KQQI/s200/blogger-image-1444192515.jpg" width="200" /></span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">My one piece of advice would be to ensure that you accompany your seafood dishes with a side order of bread. Big, chunky slices of homemade bread ready for you to mop up the remains of your dishes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Our meal for two including drinks came to a respectable £58 (including that 5% service charge!) well worth it, not only for the experience and the atmosphere that the restaurant offers, but for the great selection of seafood dishes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><span style="color: magenta;">Yelly</span>-fi-felly-food-belly <span style="color: magenta;">x</span></b></i></span></div>
</div>
yellyfifellyfoodbellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543654812927791672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7409262840828845474.post-57737304803001979722015-03-01T14:37:00.000+00:002015-03-01T14:37:28.592+00:00A Lebanese feast<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This may seem like a lot to cook, but much of the preparation can be done in advance, making it ideal for a dinner party and leaving you free to host.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Lamb Fatteh</i></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-NPD1unkHMJ8/VO41OEtQUNI/AAAAAAAAAwo/OfXJexLqP64/s1600/blogger-image-710109639.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-NPD1unkHMJ8/VO41OEtQUNI/AAAAAAAAAwo/OfXJexLqP64/s320/blogger-image-710109639.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ingredients:</span></b></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">500g mince lamb</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">1 aubergine, cut into chunks</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">2 tomatoes, roughly chopped</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">1 onion, roughly chopped</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">1/2 cup of water</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">A large pinch of each of the following: cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, pimento, ground coriander</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">A dash of Worcester sauce</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">1 tsp tomato purée</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Handful of roasted pine nuts</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Olive oil for roasting</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">To make the yoghurt topping...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">4 tbsp natural yoghurt</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">1 garlic clove, crushed</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">A handful of fresh mint, finely chopped</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">1. Preheat the oven at 200 degrees.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">2. Roast the aubergine in a roasting tin with plenty of olive oil for around 30 minutes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">3. Meanwhile, brown the mince in a pan with no oil for around 6-8 minutes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">4. Add the onion and fry for a further 5-6 minutes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">5. Next add the tomatoes, spices, Worcester sauce and water, and simmer for 25 minutes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">6. Whilst the lamb simmers, mix the yoghurt, garlic and mint in a bowl.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">7. Once the time is up with the lamb, add the roasted aubergine.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">8. Serve with a generous amount of the yoghurt on top with a sprinkling of the roasted pine nuts and a side of warm pittas.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-GeH9JSvirJU/VO41PGBOcmI/AAAAAAAAAww/9Q5flbzHHKM/s1600/blogger-image-617170781.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-GeH9JSvirJU/VO41PGBOcmI/AAAAAAAAAww/9Q5flbzHHKM/s320/blogger-image-617170781.jpg" width="320" /></a><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Jewelled tabbouleh </i></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ingredients:</span></b></div>
<div>
<a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-GeH9JSvirJU/VO41PGBOcmI/AAAAAAAAAww/9Q5flbzHHKM/s640/blogger-image-617170781.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"></span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">1 cup of bulgar wheat</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">2 cups of vegetable stock </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">1/2 a fennel bulb, finely sliced</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">1/2 a red onion, finely diced</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">A handful of mint, finely chopped</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">A handful of parsley, finely chopped</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">1 tbsp of pomegranate seeds</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">1 tbsp of chopped walnuts</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Juice of 1/2 lemon</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">1 tbsp of olive oil</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Salt and pepper</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">1. Cook the bulgar wheat in the vegetable stock on a medium heat with the lid on for 8-10 minutes. Once cooked, drain off any excess liquid if needed.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">2. Once cooled add the remaining ingredients including seasoning and mix well.</span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-43i7Yfp9HPM/VO41M6E0xOI/AAAAAAAAAwg/7lxocQtyajA/s1600/blogger-image--245793053.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-43i7Yfp9HPM/VO41M6E0xOI/AAAAAAAAAwg/7lxocQtyajA/s320/blogger-image--245793053.jpg" width="320" /></a><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Cumin roasted courgette and halloumi</i></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ingredients:</span></b></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">1 large courgette, cut into chunks</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">225g halloumi, cut into chunks </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">1 tsp cumin</span></div>
<div>
<div>
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: inherit;">A small handful of mint, finely chopped</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: inherit;">A small handful of parsley, finely chopped</span></div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">2 tbsp olive oil </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Juice of half a lemon</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Handful of roasted flaked almonds</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Salt and pepper</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">1. Preheat the oven at 200 degrees.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">2. Mix the courgette, halloumi and cumin together in a bowl.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">3. Roast the courgette and halloumi in the oil within a roasting tin for around 25 minutes until the edges of the halloumi are crisp and brown.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">4. Once cooked, remove from the oven and add the lemon juice, mint, parsley, almonds and seasoning, and mix well.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: magenta;">Yelly</span>-fi-felly-food-belly <span style="color: magenta;">x</span></span></i></b></div>
</div>
yellyfifellyfoodbellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543654812927791672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7409262840828845474.post-26138176397995901492015-01-18T13:20:00.000+00:002015-01-18T13:20:31.583+00:00You BEAUTIFUL steak you<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Whenever a restaurant solely focusses on cooking one thing, you know it has to be relatively decent or pretty soon they will go out of business.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I have to admit, I'm a big fan of any place that does choose to put all its efforts paying homage to one thing: <a href="http://www.chickenshop.com/">Chicken Shop</a>, <a href="http://www.relaisdevenise.com/">Le Relais de Venise</a>, <a href="http://www.eatdirtyburger.com/">Dirty Burger</a>, <a href="http://www.burgerandlobster.com/">Burger & Lobster</a> (OK two things), and now to add to the list: <a href="http://flatironsteak.co.uk/">Flat Iron</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-iYxEdmxFg9Y/VLgGla5ppYI/AAAAAAAAAvc/-DN5qMEm82g/s1600/blogger-image-934562633.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-iYxEdmxFg9Y/VLgGla5ppYI/AAAAAAAAAvc/-DN5qMEm82g/s200/blogger-image-934562633.jpg" width="150" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">When you get that steak craving in London I have always thought you can pretty much go two ways: flash the cash and opt for the tenderest steak Gaucho has to offer on their display board, or head to one of many Angus Steakhouses in Leicester square and sit amongst the tourists clinging to their recently purchased goody bags from M&M World. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Flat Iron however, one of the ever increasingly popular restaurants where you cannot book, has been offering both good quality and reasonably priced steaks since it first opened in 2012. £10 will get you a flat iron steak from Flat Iron's very own herd in Yorkshire and a side of salad. I'll be honest, I think the side salad was merely there to bring a bit of greenery to the plate and if you opt for any of their side dishes, I'm pretty sure that poor little pile of leaves will be pushed to one side.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The flat iron steak is a shoulder cut of beef that is not often seen. It's cheaper than many but still full of flavour (if not slightly tougher). The restaurant offers other cuts on the specials, but first timers as we were, we ordered the star of the show, along with two sides: chips cooked in beef dripping and creamed spinach. </span></div>
</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-33z_00LKC-0/VLgGjbTCl8I/AAAAAAAAAvM/cCls7uGVKt4/s1600/blogger-image-906753484.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-33z_00LKC-0/VLgGjbTCl8I/AAAAAAAAAvM/cCls7uGVKt4/s400/blogger-image-906753484.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">I've always liked my meat fairly rare, and the older I've grown, the rarer I like it, to the point where it almost has a pulse. So to my delight and not long after we ordered, out comes an almost breathing piece of beef, sliced and laid across a hot plate encased within a wooden board. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">To the side of my steak lay a minuture cleaver (you can also buy these as a souvenir), slightly OTT but it is the restuarant's trademark logo and actually adds to the experience.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Of course you don't really need the cleaver as your steak comes sliced, however if you are anything like me, you'll end up cutting each slice to savour every last bite.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">My steak, although rare (verging on blue), had a slightly charcoaly taste on the outside, finished with a sprinkling of sea salt so that each bite was slightly different from the last.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-ACdVP9axWJs/VLgGkUavdeI/AAAAAAAAAvU/3tY3PbGSI8c/s1600/blogger-image--1173239012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-ACdVP9axWJs/VLgGkUavdeI/AAAAAAAAAvU/3tY3PbGSI8c/s320/blogger-image--1173239012.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">The creamed spinach was a devilishly good accompliment, in fact I could have had a bowl just of that. It's green, so ticks off one of your five a day, but it's also incredibly indulgent, with a hint of nutmeg adding flavour to an otherwise dull veg.</span><br />
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<span style="clear: right; float: right; font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></span><br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I was disappointed with the chips. Don't get me wrong, they tasted great, but in this day and age, if you're serving chips they have to more than just sound like they are going to be amazing. Double cooked, triple cooked, beef dripping - I've had them all. Yes these were good chips, greasy good chips. Just not amazing chips.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">But of course you don't go there for the chips. And if you are prepared to wait up to an hour (thankfully in a nearby pub if you'd like), then you should definitely visit Flat Iron at one of their two central London locations for the steak (and creamed spinach). </span></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: magenta;">Yelly</span>-fi-felly-food-belly <span style="color: magenta;">x</span></i></b></div>
</div>
yellyfifellyfoodbellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543654812927791672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7409262840828845474.post-34474397151523447552014-12-20T14:49:00.001+00:002014-12-20T14:50:14.653+00:00Chorizo and butternut squash chilli<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Another recipe using up what we had in the fridge, with the addition of sour cream and coriander!<br />
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<br /></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-S6WxBL8gpc8/VJWIE8UwF_I/AAAAAAAAAu4/WpbN7yx3lRk/s640/blogger-image--1467192342.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-S6WxBL8gpc8/VJWIE8UwF_I/AAAAAAAAAu4/WpbN7yx3lRk/s400/blogger-image--1467192342.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b>Ingredients (serves 2):</b></div>
<div>
60g chorizo, cut into rough chunks</div>
<div>
1/4 butternut squash, peeled, de-seeded and cubed</div>
<div>
1 red onion, diced</div>
<div>
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped</div>
<div>
1 red chilli, finely chopped</div>
<div>
1 can of tinned tomatoes</div>
<div>
1 can of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed<br />
2 tsp of chilli powder</div>
<div>
1 tbsp of brown sugar</div>
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1 cup of water</div>
<div>
Sour cream and coriander to serve<br />
<br />
<i>For the rice...</i><br />
2 cups of rice<br />
4 cups of water</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
1. Fry the onions in a little oil until softened.</div>
<div>
2. Add the garlic, red chilli and butternut squash and fry for 5 minutes on a medium heat, stirring often.</div>
<div>
3. Add the chorizo and chilli powder and fry for a couple of minutes, coating the ingredients with the chilli.</div>
<div>
4. Next add the tinned tomatoes, cannellini beans, sugar and water, bring to the boil and leave to simmer for 20 minutes, adding extra water if needed.</div>
<div>
5. To make the perfect rice, place 2 cups of rice and 4 of boiling water in a pan and leave to cook with a lid on for 10-15 minutes on a medium heat. If you follow these instructions and avoid lifting the lid you should end up with perfectly cooked rice with no need to drain!</div>
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6. After 20 minutes, check that the butternut squash has softened in the chilli and serve with the rice, a dollop of sour cream and plenty of coriander! Enjoy!</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
<i><b><span style="color: magenta;">Yelly</span>-fi-felly-food-belly <span style="color: magenta;">x</span></b></i></div>
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yellyfifellyfoodbellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543654812927791672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7409262840828845474.post-58967588056961893032014-12-03T22:52:00.001+00:002014-12-03T22:57:33.326+00:00Grilled halloumi salad served on a crisp tortilla wrap<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-D0YPjp88LHQ/VH-SgNRLTMI/AAAAAAAAAuo/oMlJLHSg1qY/s1600/photo%2B(6).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-D0YPjp88LHQ/VH-SgNRLTMI/AAAAAAAAAuo/oMlJLHSg1qY/s1600/photo%2B(6).JPG" height="320" width="320" /></a><b>
Ingredients (serves 2):</b><br />
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<i>For the baba ganoush...</i></div>
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1 aubergine</div>
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1 garlic clove, crushed<br />
2 tbsp tahini<br />
1 tbsp olive oil</div>
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Juice of half a lemon<br />
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i>And the rest...</i></div>
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2 tortilla wraps</div>
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150g halloumi, sliced 1cm thick</div>
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1/2 red onion, quartered<br />
2 lambs lettuce leaves, sliced into strips</div>
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50g pomegranate seeds<br />
Small handful of pine nuts, toasted</div>
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Small handful of mint, roughly chopped</div>
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Olive oil</div>
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<br />
1. Pre-heat the oven to 220 degrees.</div>
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2. To make the baba ganoush, prick the aubergine all over with a fork and roast in the oven for 45 minutes, then remove from the oven, lower the oven temp to 140 and allow to cool.</div>
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3. Once cooled, peel the aubergine and blitz the flesh in a food processor, adding the garlic, tahini, oil and lemon juice.</div>
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4. Place the tortilla wraps on a baking tray and generously spoon over the baba ganoush, spreading all over and leaving about a centimetre baba ganoush free. </div>
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5. Lay the chopped red onion over the top as if you were decorating a pizza, and drizzle the whole tortilla wrap with olive oil and place in the oven for 10 minutes until the edges of the tortilla wrap become crisp and brown.</div>
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6. Whilst the tortilla wrap is in the oven, heat a little oil in a frying pan (or ideally a griddle pan) and fry the halloumi on each side for about 3 minutes until they become golden.</div>
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7. Remove the tortilla wrap from the oven and layer the halloumi and lettuce on top, sprinkling over the pomegranate seeds, mint and pine nuts, finishing with a drizzle of olive oil.<br />
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Enjoy!</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: magenta;">Yelly</span>-fi-felly-food-belly <span style="color: magenta;">x</span></i></b></div>
</div>
yellyfifellyfoodbellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543654812927791672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7409262840828845474.post-36612769077254228272014-11-09T19:13:00.001+00:002014-11-10T09:59:50.226+00:00Roasted cod and chorizo<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I've made this dish twice now, once with diced pancetta, and once with chorizo. I'd say just make use of whatever you can find in the fridge! Personally I prefer the chorizo, but you could easily chop up the left over bacon from your weekend fry-up!</span></div>
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<b>Ingredients (serves 2):</b><br>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: inherit;">2 cod fillets</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: inherit;">60g of chorizo ring, roughly chopped</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: inherit;">3 medium potatoes, quartered</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: inherit;">60g green beans, trimmed </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: inherit;">Handful of black olives, halved</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: inherit;">2 tbsp olive oil</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: inherit;">Juice of 1 lemon </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: inherit;">Pinch of chilli flakes</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: inherit;">Salt and pepper</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: inherit;">1. Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: inherit;">2. Boil the potatoes for 10 minutes, then add the green beans and boil for 2 more minutes.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: inherit;">3. Drain the potatoes and green beans and add the chorizo and olive, then shake it all around.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: inherit;">4. Tip the contents of the pan onto a baking tray and place the cod fillets on top.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: inherit;">5. Season the whole tray with the chilli, salt and pepper, then splash the olive oil and lemon juice all over.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: inherit;">6. Cook in the oven for 15 minutes, then serve, pooring over the juices from cooking, and enjoy! Simples.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: inherit;"><b><i><span style="color: magenta;">Yelly</span>-fi-felly-food-belly <span style="color: magenta;">x</span></i></b></span></div>
</div>
yellyfifellyfoodbellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543654812927791672noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7409262840828845474.post-44809214006074757042014-10-26T16:41:00.000+00:002014-10-26T16:41:28.031+00:00Mum's pork crackling<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m2L9_SxHkd4/VE0glsGoQSI/AAAAAAAAAts/sYTivQYi1ns/s1600/photo%2B(5).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m2L9_SxHkd4/VE0glsGoQSI/AAAAAAAAAts/sYTivQYi1ns/s1600/photo%2B(5).JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a>For those of you who have seen <a href="https://vine.co/v/OZP6DTAuLMb"><b><span style="color: magenta;">THIS</span></b></a>, here's how you make it...<br />
<br />
<b>Ingredients (serves two hungry people)</b><br />
500g pork belly<br />
1/2 tsp salt<br />
2 large potatoes, peeled and cut into perfect roastie sized spuds<br />
1 large carrot, peeled and cut lengthways<br />
1 large parsnip, peeled and cut lengthways<br />
1 large red onion, quartered<br />
A couple of sprigs of thyme<br />
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1. Pre-heat the oven to 140 degrees.<br />
2. Score the skin of the pork belly creating a criss-cross pattern and rub salt all over.<br />
3. Grab an oven proof dish or roasting tray and place a wire rack on top for your pork belly to sit on.<br />
4. Place the pork in the oven and roast for 3 hours.<br />
5. Prepare your veg by parboiling the potatoes for about 6-8 minutes in boiling water until the edges become fluffy, then drain and fluff up the potatoes some more by shaking the pan with the lid on.<br />
6. After 3 hours, turn the oven up to 200 degrees, add the veg and thyme to the roasting tray underneath the wire rack and coat with the pork fat that has dripped down.<br />
7. Roast for 1 hour or until the crackling is lovely and golden and the veg starts to colour. Make sure you turn the veg and mix it all about half way through.<br />
8. Serve with plenty of gravy and enjoy!<br />
<br />
<b><i><span style="color: magenta;">Yelly</span>-fi-felly-food-belly<span style="color: magenta;"> x</span></i></b></div>
yellyfifellyfoodbellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543654812927791672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7409262840828845474.post-59407588563018584372014-10-13T22:01:00.000+01:002014-10-13T22:01:54.894+01:00Polpo - a Venetian tapas style restaurant<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I think I've found it. The restaurant that I would literally order almost <span style="color: magenta;"><u>anything</u></span>, and greedily want <span style="color: magenta;">EVERYTHING </span>on the menu, just to have a little taster of every single flavour combination it offers.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pSymDOPP9As/VDwmtB4uUdI/AAAAAAAAAtE/MsLOel8soKE/s1600/photo%2B1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pSymDOPP9As/VDwmtB4uUdI/AAAAAAAAAtE/MsLOel8soKE/s1600/photo%2B1.JPG" height="200" width="150" /></a></div>
This beauty of a restaurant showcasing this wonderful menu is <a href="http://www.polpo.co.uk/">Polpo</a>, which serves up Venetian tapas style sharing plates in various locations across London.</div>
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The menu is fairly sizable and once you've confirmed with the waiter what is an acceptable number of dishes to order<span style="color: magenta;"><b>*</b></span> (avoiding that embarrassing restaurant moment where you over-order and a continuous stream of food begins to head towards your table, whilst you frantically start eating, stacking plates and hiding the evidence...) Anyway, when you've found that number, the menu is simple - you fancy meat, fish, or veg? Little nibbles or bigger plates? Completely up to you, and if you make the mistake of not ordering enough then fear not - just order more and it will come out as and when it's ready.</div>
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<br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yaSaCKskL1g/VDwmtbA6D9I/AAAAAAAAAtM/4dQpNdVassU/s1600/photo%2B2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yaSaCKskL1g/VDwmtbA6D9I/AAAAAAAAAtM/4dQpNdVassU/s1600/photo%2B2.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a>To start our feast we nibbled on some olives. Not the usual olives we almost always order, but anchovy stuffed olives, coated in breadcrumbs and beautifully fried until crisp and golden, wonderfully salty and deliciously naughty.<br />
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The meatballs seemed like the thing to order, so we headed for those next. Disappointingly, once smothered in tomato sauce, the aniseed punch of the fennel struggled to come through our pork meatballs.<br />
<br />
The disappointment was soon forgotten however when the clear highlight of the meal arrived: mackerel tartare, horseradish and carta di musica (or to translate - crispy thin flat bread from Sardinia). A delicious dish from the sea, with the bite of horseradish chasing its fin. Adding in the flat bread gave a superb mix of textures to match the mix of flavours.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-arBsNXS3o2M/VDwmtTq-s7I/AAAAAAAAAtI/qb8cXTiBO3E/s1600/photo%2B3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-arBsNXS3o2M/VDwmtTq-s7I/AAAAAAAAAtI/qb8cXTiBO3E/s1600/photo%2B3.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a>Being the terribly traditional British foodie that I am, I couldn't stay away from having a typical meat and veg meal and ordered lamb with potatoes on the side. Whilst the potatoes were nothing to write home about (I mean you can't really go wrong with rosemary and garlic potatoes, can you?), the lamb, served with caponata (an Italian aubergine stew) and basil was delightfully tender and grilled to perfection. The sharpness of the capers and tomatoes within the aubergine stew contrasted wonderfully with the sweetness of the basil.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BIOFl-A0p_E/VDwmt5nM2NI/AAAAAAAAAtQ/dJD3wAmJ8os/s1600/photo%2B4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BIOFl-A0p_E/VDwmt5nM2NI/AAAAAAAAAtQ/dJD3wAmJ8os/s1600/photo%2B4.JPG" height="200" width="150" /></a>Basil was also a key component with my chosen dessert too when it was paired with a strawberry panna cotta. Not something I had ever experienced before, but it provided a pleasantly refreshing, yet creamy dessert to end a very filling and all round, fantastic meal.<br />
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I have been very complimentary of my visit to Polpo, and have very few negative points to make regarding the food. Reading previous reviews however, my one piece of advice would be to avoid busy periods or, like me, visit the Farringdon branch on a weekend, else you will probably be packed in, elbow-to-elbow.<br />
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<b><i><span style="color: magenta;">Yelly</span>-fi-felly-food-belly <span style="color: magenta;">x</span></i></b><br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="color: magenta;"><b>*The acceptable number of dishes is 2-3 per person. I'd go for 3. Plus dessert ;) </b></span></div>
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yellyfifellyfoodbellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543654812927791672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7409262840828845474.post-42321716825954204042014-09-20T16:33:00.000+01:002014-09-20T16:41:28.300+01:00Trout en papillote with fennel and dill<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Cooking fish en papillote (in a parcel) is one of my <span style="color: magenta;">FAVOURITE </span>ways to both cook and eat fish. It's really simple to do, and very hard to muck up! It keeps the fish moist and full of flavour and is a relatively healthy way of cooking fish. Plus you can make it a one pot dish by cooking your veg in with it too. This recipe is with trout, but it can work with almost any fish.<br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cusjgPngv68/VB2c98sQ0NI/AAAAAAAAAjw/xXkBaQQVYo4/s1600/photo%2B1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cusjgPngv68/VB2c98sQ0NI/AAAAAAAAAjw/xXkBaQQVYo4/s1600/photo%2B1.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a><br />
<b>Ingredients (serves 2):</b><br />
Two fillets / whole trout (whatever you can get your hands on!)<br />
1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced<br />
1/2 the juice of 1 lemon<br />
2 large potatoes, thinly sliced (no need to peel!)<br />
Several sprigs of dill<br />
Olive oil<br />
Salt and pepper<br />
Baking paper or tin foil<br />
<br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DISsjXjVQXc/VB2c9zrNWDI/AAAAAAAAAj0/U-ShMPdGzwE/s1600/photo%2B2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DISsjXjVQXc/VB2c9zrNWDI/AAAAAAAAAj0/U-ShMPdGzwE/s1600/photo%2B2.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a>1. Preheat the oven to about 180 and boil the potatoes for 5 minutes, then allow to cool slightly.<br />
2. Place the trout on a sheet of baking paper or tin foil and rub with the olive oil and lemon juice (including inside if the fish is whole).<br />
3. Place the potato and fennel slices on top of the fillet (or inside if whole) and season with salt and pepper, and finish off with sprigs of dill.<br />
4. Bring the edges of the paper or foil together and crimple / fold to keep in place, ensuring that it is a fully closed parcel.<br />
5. Place the parcels on a baking tray and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes (the fillet will cook quicker than the whole fish).You'll now when the fish is cooked if the flesh is not translucent and it flakes easily with a fork.<br />
6. Serve the whole parcel with a side of veg and enjoy!<br />
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<b><i><span style="color: magenta;">Yelly</span>-fi-felly-food-belly <span style="color: magenta;">x</span></i></b></div>
yellyfifellyfoodbellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543654812927791672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7409262840828845474.post-30040365199248405142014-08-31T21:26:00.000+01:002014-08-31T21:48:31.098+01:00Sri Lankan Prawn Curry<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wt317vuAwEA/VAOIfQfDCdI/AAAAAAAAAjQ/lW9Z28Jt6_w/s1600/photo%2B(4).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wt317vuAwEA/VAOIfQfDCdI/AAAAAAAAAjQ/lW9Z28Jt6_w/s1600/photo%2B(4).JPG" height="400" width="400" /></a>Leave my boyfriend to go spend the last of our Sri Lankan Rupees before boarding our flight home is usually asking for trouble and I have to be honest, some of the ingredients I'm still a little puzzled by <br />
and have no idea what to do with them! But for a select few along with whatever I could find in the cupboard and fridge / freezer, I put to use what I learnt at a Sri Lankan cookery class in <a href="http://www.amarasingheguesthouse.com/services.html">Mirissa</a>, and cooked up a deliciously fragrant, cheap curry. <br />
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<strong>Ingredients (serves 2):</strong><br />
1 red onion, diced<br />
1 garlic clove, crushed<br />
2 inches of ginger, grated<br />
1 green chilli, sliced<br />
2 tsps of turmeric<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PI6AaEATs-Y/VAOJ9H7OQ0I/AAAAAAAAAjY/3IutcBN_Ql4/s1600/photoZ9IPYKOB.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PI6AaEATs-Y/VAOJ9H7OQ0I/AAAAAAAAAjY/3IutcBN_Ql4/s1600/photoZ9IPYKOB.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a><br />
2 tsps of brown curry powder (from Sri Lanka)<br />
1 cinnamon stick, broken into bits (from Sri Lanka)<br />
4 green cardamom pods (from Sri Lanka)<br />
1 cup of frozen prawns (or your chosen meat / fish)<br />
1/4 of a butternut squash, peeled and cubed (optional)<br />
1 tin of coconut milk<br />
1 cup of rice<br />
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1. Fry the onion in a tablespoon of olive oil until softened.<br />
2. Add the ginger, garlic, chilli and spices to the onion and fry for 2-3 minutes, ensuring that the onion is coated in all of the spices.<br />
3. Next add the butternut squash and fry for 5 minutes, again coating them with the spices.<br />
4. Add the coconut milk, bring to the boil and leave to simmer for at least 20 minutes.<br />
5. To make the perfect rice, add 1 cup of rice and 2 cups of water to a pan with a lid and leave to cook, without removing the lid, on a medium heat for 10-15 minutes depending on the pack <br />
instructions.<br />
6. After about 20 minutes cooking time when the butternut squash has softened, add the frozen prawns and simmer for a further 5 minutes.<br />
7. To finish I added spring onions for decoration, deep fried some poppadoms we bought in a Colombo food market, and severed with a dollop of pumpkin chutney made by my boyfriend's aunt! De-lish!<br />
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<em><strong><span style="color: magenta;">Yelly</span>-fi-felly-food-belly <span style="color: magenta;">x</span></strong></em></div>
yellyfifellyfoodbellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543654812927791672noreply@blogger.com0