The hottest couple in town

Sexier than Brad and Angelina, better pedigree than Peaches and Pixie Geldof, and doing more good deeds for humanity than Madonna and Guy, La Marzocco and Monmouth could just be the next ‘it’ twosome.

It is a rare thing indeed to have a sublime coffee experience in London and every time it has happened to me, I find myself in the company of Monmouth coffee and a La Marzocco coffee machine. Luckily, no paparazzi have caught on and I've been able to enjoy my coffee in peace.

Here are some of this happy couple's hangouts.

Fernandez and Wells, voted by Time Out as Best Coffee Bar in 2007, is a deli/wine bar/cafe split over two sites located around the corner from each other in Soho on Lexington and Beak St. Both sites are small yet still manage to feel light and uncluttered due to the high ceilings and bare fit out. The clientele are predominantly advertising and media types flitting in and out. You can see that the staff, who are incredibly friendly and unflappable for such a busy and space limited operation, take pride in their offering which is simple but of exceptional quality.


flat white 17 Berwick Street, Soho, run by two young Kiwi guys, gets an incredible amount of publicity for what is essentially a cramped, airless hole in the wall. Many high profile Australian expats living in London are quoted saying that they get their fix for good coffee at flat white. I'd even heard about it before I'd moved to London. The reason is simple - consistently magnificent coffee. I welled up when I saw complimentary newspapers and big jugs of tap water- a little slice of Australian cafe culture in Soho.


Monmouth at Covent Garden is something of a coffee mecca as it is the source of all my good coffee experiences in London. Below a tiny retail shop on Monmouth Street lies Monmouth's headquarters where they've been roasting since the late 70s. I could wile away many hours sitting and watching the baristas perform like well oiled machines.


Their Borough Market store is big by comparison but seating is still limited and I usually end up having a take away or a quick standup coffee at one of the benches mounted onto the wall.



London Review of Books is a very simple cafe attached to a famous bookshop near the British Museum. I sought out this place because a friend told me the coffee was good. I then discovered that it is managed by one of the regulars that I'm friendly with at Tom's - a fellow Australian called Terri. I'm starting to find that London is a small town in many ways too. 

There is no winter any more

It's official, I read it in the Daily Mail (what can I say, customers leave copies in the café at Tom’s). The Mail fuelled global warming conspiracy theories, reporting that the “burst of sunshine” London has experienced since the weekend “comes just days after one of Britain’s most respected horticultural experts [Dr Nigel Taylor] proposed moving the seasons by bringing forward the official start of spring”.

Quite a clever way of tackling the problem of climate change I thought.

I embraced the early (though I fear temporary) onset of warm weather by experimenting with some salad recipes for the café. This is quite a tasty little lentil number. I'll call it 'Dr Taylor's spring-is-the-new-winter lentil salad'.


1 cup Puy lentils
¼ red onion finely diced
2 tablespoons lemon juice
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic crushed with salt
handful of cherry tomatoes quartered (or large tomato, deseeded and diced)
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ bunch flat leaf parlsey chopped (could also use mint, coriander or all 3)
seeds of ½ pomegranate
handful of baby spinach
1 avocado roughly chopped

Place rinsed lentils in a saucepan with water - about twice the volume of lentils. Bring to the boil then simmer until tender- about 20 minutes. Make the dressing by combining oil, lemon juice, ground cumin, ground coriander and garlic in a jar and shake. Once cooked, drain lentils and while still warm, mix them with the onion and dressing. When ready to serve, combine with other ingredients.

I’ve also made this with blanched green beans instead of the spinach which I think I prefer but I had the camera handy for this version.

The ham

The first time I saw Ina Garten (aka The Barefoot Contesa) on her cooking program I watched in horror as she flattened feminism with her rolling pin, swanned about her enormous house in the Hamptons preparing excessive amounts of rich food for her sweater wearing cheesy friends and doted upon husband Jeffrey. But for some reason, I am intrigued by her and her complete lack of irony. I've even started to try her recipes and mimic her favorite expressions: "let's have a party", "it's going to be so much fun" and "why does everything start with a stick of butter?"

This is Ina's recipe for ham glaze and like everything Ina makes, it's "so good".

Glaze

6 garlic cloves, peeled
3/4 cup good mango chutney
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
zest of 1 orange
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

Put all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Score and stud the fat of the ham with cloves. Spread with the glaze and cook in a preheated 160 degree oven for 20-30 minutes.



If you want to cook the ham from 'green' rather than buy a cooked ham, here is what you do before glazing.

Soak the gamon in a basin of cold water overnight. To cook, place ham in a pot large enough to hold it. Place it on the stove and fill with cold water, then add a handful of cloves and peppercorns, several bay leaves, a couple of star anise and 2 tablespoons of brown sugar. Put it over a medium heat and bring slowly to the boil, for about 30 minutes. Watch it carefully - as soon as the first bubble breaks the surface, turn the heat right down. It is very important that you don't let the ham boil. Allow a cooking time of 20 minutes per 500g. Cook in the water for two thirds of the cooking time. Remove from the water, remove the rind and glaze the ham as above. Transfer to a preheated 160 degree oven and cook for remainder of the cooking time.

Of course, ham is the perfect way to indulge in some chutney loving.



For this occasion I cracked open a jar of pear and capsicum chutney.

I had managed to let the chutney mellow for a whole 2 weeks and it was delicious. Not too sweet and not too sour but just right.

It's a girl

Happy birthday Evie, love Aunty Shelagh

C'mon Aussies

Could it be that the cold weather and bad coffee is starting to get to me? For some reason I felt a little homesick and even stirrings of patriotism when I saw these familiar faces in the Harvey Nichols Foodhall on Saturday.




Then I noticed the date. 26 January. The invasion of Australians onto the British food scene- that's worth celebrating.

Christmas crack

I have a theory about christmas and the tendancy to over indulge. Because most of the food we associate with christmas only makes an appearance once a year, our primal instincts kick in and we make sure that our bodies store enough mince pies, turkey, christmas pudding and brandy butter to see us through the next 11 months of the year. Easter and hot cross buns provide only a brief respite for anglos and our 'one trick pony' culinary calendar. Oh to be Jewish, Greek or Indian and spend the year celebrating events with food.

Usually I spend christmas in sweltering heat in Queensland so this year it was nice to be able to indulge in a hot Christmas lunch with a fire, turkey, roast veg and all the trimmings.




The highlight of the feast was an incredibly juicy, tasty glazed gamon.





All digested over a post lunch walk.

A day to preserve

Peering out my bedroom window this wintry morning I was greeted with a sky of grey. A lovely day for staying indoors and making chutney.

Most recipes tell you that chutneys benefit from ageing- anywhere from a month up to a year- to allow the flavours to mellow. The longest I’ve been able to hold off is about a week, the shortest, a day, which may be why my chutneys have a slightly wincey, sharp flavour. This time I’m determined to exercise some self control and give my chutney some time with itself. I’m also going to make plenty so at least some jars will sit on the shelf for awhile.


Tomato and capsicum chutney

1.5kg red tomatoes coarsely chopped
5 cloves garlic chopped
2 white onions finely diced
1 red capsicum, roasted, skin and seeds removed, finely diced
475ml cider vinegar
150g raisins cut in half
8 whole cloves
2.5 teaspoons chili powder
5 small red chillies finely diced
½ cup lime juice or lemon juice
½ tbs ground cumin
420g sugar
2 tsp salt
1 cinnamon stick broken in half
2+1/2 teaspoons fresh ginger, grated

Place tomato, garlic, onion and capsicum in large saucepan and slowly bring to the boil. Stirring occasionally, simmer 20-25 minutes. Place remaining ingredients in bowl and mix well to combine then add to tomato mixture and mix with wooden spoon. Continue to simmer for 11/4 hours, stirring occasionally. Take off heat, remove cinnamon halves and spoon into hot sterilised jars and seal. WAIT BEFORE USING.

Pear and tomato chutney

675g of pears peeled cored and cubed
8 cherry tomatoes quartered
175g light brown sugar
300mp cider vinegar
75g sultanas
2 cloves garlic peeled and chopped
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves
2 teaspoons mustard seeds

Place all ingredients in saucepan and cook gently over low heat for 1 + ½ hours, stirring frequently until the mixture has thickened. Spoon into 2 x 450g warm sterilised jars, seal and store in cool dark place for up to 6 months. WAIT BEFORE USING.

Beetroot and ginger chutney

225g onion, chopped
45g butter
3 tablespoons sugar
Salt and freshly ground pepper
450g raw beetroot, peeled and grated
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
25ml (1fl oz) sherry vinegar
120ml (4fl oz) red wine

Sweat the onions slowly in the butter (they should be very soft) and add sugar and seasoning. Then add the rest of the ingredients and cook gently for 30 minutes. Pot the mixture in sterilised jars. WAIT BEFORE USING.

The chutneys of my labour.


And now I wait…