City Eating

Shake Up Your Wake Up: It’s Farmhouse Breakfast Week

This week we’re supporting Farmhouse Breakfast Week – an annual campaign designed to raise awareness of the benefits of eating a healthy breakfast. With one in four people regularly skipping breakfast, HGCA are challenging the nation to re-evaluate their morning routine. Their research shows that people who eat breakfast are often slimmer, more focused and less stressed than those that don’t, so why not make a hearty morning meal one of your New Year resolutions?

In London, we’re spoilt for choice when it comes to great breakfast spots. If you need inspiration, see our Best For Breakfast and Brunch lists or try one of our three faves.

1) Hawksmoor – London’s favourite steakhouse launched its epic breakfast to widespread acclaim last year. At £30, it’s not cheap but it feeds two and includes meaty treats like trotter baked beans, dripping toast and a smoked bacon chop. If that’s too much, go for the signature sausage and egg HkMuffin.

2) Lantana – This Aussie-run café is tucked away in a Fitzrovia mews but it’s always full of locals tucking into baked eggs, corn fritters and excellent coffee. It's open from 8am for those early pre-work pitstops.

3) Caravan – Great all day but best for breakfast, this Exmouth Market eatery roasts its own coffee and dishes up killer fry-ups and sourdough toast with toppings like soy mushrooms or avocado and chilli.

If you’d rather stay at home in your pyjamas, check out this tasty recipe from Allan Pickett, head chef at Plateau in Canada Square. It’s perfect for a lazy weekend breakfast (or brunch) and it only takes 15 minutes to throw together. This recipe serves two, so just double it if you’re feeding a family or just feeling greedy.

Grilled field mushrooms with fried duck eggs and treacle cured bacon

Ingredients: 4 field mushrooms (peeled and stalked); 4 duck eggs; 8 rashers of treacle cured bacon (or any good quality bacon); butter; salt and pepper; toast (as a side, optional).

1) For cooking the mushrooms, pre-heat a grill to a high temperature. Season and put a small knob of butter in to each of your mushrooms and place under the grill. Once the mushrooms are halfway cooked, place your bacon on top of them and put back under the grill to finish cooking.

2) Meanwhile, heat a frying pan big enough to take all four duck eggs. Once hot, add a little oil and then crack your eggs carefully into the hot oil, add 3-4 small knobs of butter to add some flavour. 

3) Season the eggs well and cook them to your desired consistency. When done, which should be around the same time as the mushrooms and bacon, remove the mushrooms from the baking tray and place on to a warm plate followed by the fried duck eggs. Serve with plenty of hot buttered toast. This dish would also work well with a fresh Hollandaise sauce if you had time.

To celebrate Farmhouse Breakfast Week, we're running a competition with MOMA who specialise in healthy breakfasts on the go. If you would like to win a month of free MOMA breakfasts, click here to enter.

Drinks By The Dram: Warming Whisky Cocktails

We don’t normally do advertorials but when Master of Malt got in touch to talk about their ‘Drinks by the Dram’ service, we knew we were on to a winner. Don’t worry, there’s no hard sell here - think of it as a tip from one whisky lover to another. It’s a deliciously simple idea - the company will deliver premium whiskies and bourbons by the dram to your door, so you can try before you buy. After all, there’s no point paying premium prices for a whisky that’s not to your taste. We loved the little jars with their distressed labels and tops sealed with red wax, just like the Maker’s Mark bottle. They start at just £2.25 and hold 30ml - just enough to get a feel for the flavours. If you love it, you can buy the bottle, and if you don’t, then no harm done.

 
So that’s the selling bit over. If you love whisky, or you know someone who does, check out the huge range of whiskies and bourbons on their site and look out for the ‘Try a sample’ button. The lovely little bottles would make great stocking fillers, and if you’re feeling extra generous then there’s a gift section where you can pick up proper tasting glasses, sample sets and beautiful boxed and personalised bottles.

If you can’t handle your whisky straight up, then try it in one of these warming winter cocktails.

Black Ship - 45ml Nikka whisky, 30ml pomegranate juice, 7ml port and 1 tsp lemon juice. Shake with ice and strain into a rocks glass. We used Nikka Pure Malt Black, an excellent Japanese whisky, in this recipe. It’s fresh and clean with sweet toffee undertones that work well with the vitamin-rich pomegranate juice. Top with a lemon rind twist, if you like.

Tokyo Sidecar - 60ml Yoichi whisky, 30ml Cointreau and ¼ teaspoon yuzu juice. Shake with ice and strain into a chilled Martini glass. This recipe gives the classic Sidecar cocktail a Japanese twist by swapping the traditional Cognac for Yoichi whisky and the lemon for yuzu juice. You might struggle to find these unusual citrus fruits outside Asia but you can get the juice online and in most good Japanese supermarkets. The flavour is somewhere between lemon and lime but smells almost like grapefruit and it’s packed full of vitamin C and antioxidants, which is handy during the winter months. Underneath the citrus, the Yoichi whisky gives the drink a slightly smoky undertone and if you drink it neat, you can pick up a faint whiff of vanilla and tobacco. Add a splash of pineapple juice if it's too strong.

From the Far East we travel to the Deep South for a Honey Berry Smash - one of our favourite drinks from Pentonville Road bourbon bar, The Lexington. Shake a double shot of your favourite bourbon (we used a smooth and slightly fruity Rowan's Creek) with half a shot of Chambord berry liqueur, a squeeze of lemon juice and a tablespoon of runny honey. Strain into a rocks glass fill with ice. This is a berry-heavy tipple balanced by the dirty-sweet hit of bourbon and splash of citrus.

Finally, grab a bottle of fiery ginger beer (or Crabbies) and throw together a Kentucky Tea. Shake a shot of bourbon, a shot of Cointreau and a generous squeeze of lime, then strain into a tall ice-filled glass and top with ginger beer. This is similar to a Moscow Mule, but with warming American bourbon instead of vodka.

If you follow us on Twitter, you'll know we love our whisky so if you'd like to know the best places to drink it in London, just ask. We've also got a great recipe for bourbon caramel sauce we're willing to share.

Embrace Autumn With Canteen’s Seasonal Squash Recipe

After a brief trip to the sunny Tuscan hills, the city-eating team have returned to a cold, grey and distinctly wintry city. With anti-pasti and gelato now a distant memory, we’re turning to classic comfort foods like slow-cooked stews, smoky beef chilli and rich, fiery curries. If you’re looking for culinary inspiration this weekend, check out this lovely seasonal squash recipe from the team at Canteen. It was created by Tim Mawn, who was head chef at their Spitalfields branch, when he needed a new non-dairy vegetarian dish for their menu. The spelt has a nutty flavour that works well with the sweet butternut squash and aromatic fennel, but you could also use pearl barley. For more hearty British dishes, check out their book Canteen: Great British Food.

Canteen’s roast squash and fennel with spelt

Ingredients: 1 large fennel  bulb (about 300g); 500g butternut squash; 4 bay leaves; 4 garlic cloves, left whole and bashed; juice of ½ lemon; 50ml olive oil; salt and black pepper.

For the spelt: 2 tbsp olive oil; 50g celery (about 1 large stick), finely diced; 40g fennel, finely diced; 40g leeks, finely diced; 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped; 100g pearled spelt; 300ml vegetable stock.

For the dressing: 20g fresh marjoram leaves; juice of ½ lemon; 4 tbsp good quality olive oil.

1) Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Cut the fennel into wedges. Peel the butternut squash and remove the seeds, then cut into similar-size wedges. Place the vegetables in a roasting tray. Tuck in the bay leaves and garlic. Squeeze the lemon juice over the vegetables and drizzle with the olive oil. Toss the vegetables so they are all are covered with oil. Season with salt. Roast for 20-25 minutes until the vegetables are lightly browned and just tender but not mushy.

2) Meanwhile prepare the spelt. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan and sweat the celery, fennel, leeks and garlic for 5 minutes or until soft and translucent. Add the spelt and cook for a further 2 minutes, stirring. Pour in the vegetable stock and add a pinch of salt. Bring to boil and simmer for 6 minutes. Remove from the heat, cover with a lid and leave for at least an hour, to allow the spelt to absorb the liquid and become tender but still firm.

3) To make the dressing, chop the marjoram. Whisk together the marjoram, lemon juice and olive oil in a large bowl. Add seasoning to taste. Add the roasted vegetables and spelt to the dressing and toss together. Check the seasoning. Allow to cool slightly before serving warm or at room temperature.

Hungry? Try Puji Puji’s recipe for Malaysian chicken satay

If you can’t wait for the Malaysian night market in London this September, give this simple but delicious recipe a try at home. It’s a traditional recipe for one of Malaysia’s most popular dishes and was sent in by Azi Duxbury-Campbell, owner of the excellent Puji Puji in Dalston. At the busy night markets in Malaysia, you’ll find hawkers selling hot skewers of beef, goat, chicken and pork, all marinated in intense spice pastes and grilled to smoky perfection. Puji Puji’s chicken satay is perfect on the barbeque or grilled in the oven for a quick and healthy meal. The peanut sauce is sweet and not too spicy so even kids unused to chilli heat can enjoy it.

Malaysian chicken satay with peanut sauce

Ingredients: 1.5 kg chicken (deboned breast or thigh meat),  1 tsp  ground cumin, 100g  garlic, 100g  shallot, 1 tsp ground coriander, 3 tbs turmeric powder, 400g sugar, 500g lemongrass, salt to taste.

For the sauce: 50g shallots, 50g garlic, 50g lemongrass, 500g roasted peanuts (crushed), 1 tsp chilli powder, 4 tbsp cooking oil, 900ml water, 100g sugar (use palm sugar if you can), 2 tsp salt.

1) Thinly slice the chicken meat and set aside. Next, blend the shallots, coriander, cumin, garlic, and lemongrass. Mix in the sugar, tumeric powder and salt to taste. Marinate the chicken in the mixture for at least two hours, or overnight in the fridge for maximum flavour if you have time.

2) Soak some wooden skewers in water to prevent them from burning, then thread the chicken on to them. If you are using bitesize pieces, rather than strips, for kid-friendly eating - be  careful not to overload the skewers.

3) Grill on the barbeque, constantly sprinkling cooking oil over the meat using a stalk of crushed lemongrass. When the chicken is a smoky golden brown colour on the outside cooked all the way through, they are done. (Alternatively, grill on a tinfoil-lined baking tray in the oven).

4) To make the sauce, blend the shallots, garlic and lemongrass. Heat a little groundnut oil in a shallow saucepan and fry the mixture until fragrant. Add the chilli powder, sugar, salt, water and crushed peanuts. Simmer for 30 minutes until the sauce is thick enough for dipping.

You can serve the satay skewers as a starter or with a fried rice dish like nasi goreng, but we like them on their own with some slices of red onion and cucumber.

You can try more authentic Malaysian dishes at Puji Puji or at one of the other Malaysian restaurants in London.

Vegetarian Week Recipe: Simon Rimmer's Pumpkin Salad

Following the success of his first book The Accidental Vegetarian; Simon Rimmer recently served up another helping of innovative and flavour-packed vegetarian recipes. Based on the menu at his award-winning restaurant, Greens, The Seasoned Vegetarian features internationally-inspired dishes and creative flavour combinations that will appeal to vegetarians and carnivores alike. Here’s one of his simple but delicious recipes for you to try out during National Vegetarian Week.

Pumpkin salad with Yorkshire fettle cheese

Simons says, “From the moment this dish went on the menu it has sold like hot cakes (strange comparison I know). Yorkshire fettle cheese, from Shepherd’s Purse creamery, is a great example of how brilliant our cheesemakers are. This cheese has all the characteristics of a feta, with the added oomph of a Wensleydale. Combined with sweet pumpkin, pine nuts and the rest, it makes for a good year-round salad.”

    Ingredients:
    300g (10oz) pumpkin, peeled and cubed
    3-4 tbsp vegetable oil, for roasting
    200g (7oz) Yorkshire fettle cheese, cubed
    150g (5oz) pine nuts, toasted
    handfuls of watercress, rocket and baby spinach
    3 radishes, sliced
    150g (5oz) peas, cooked

    Dressing:
    150ml (1/4 pint) extra virgin olive oil
    juice of 2 limes
    1 tbsp cider vinegar
    1 tbsp chopped fresh mint
    1 garlic clove, crushed 
    salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/ Fan 180C/ Gas Mark 6. Heat the oil in a roasting tin, add the pumpkin and roast for about 30 minutes until golden and soft. Drain on kitchen paper and season well.
2. Combine the pumpkin with the rest of the salad ingredients in a large bowl.
3. Make the dressing by putting all the ingredients in a screw-top jar and shaking it up like crazy.
4. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss all of it together.

We've got four copies of The Seasoned Vegetarian to give away. If you want to impress a veggie or cut back on your weekly meat intake, just enter the competition here.