Raw and vegan: delicious and nutricious

This might seem a little bit random, although I believe this type of cuisine has been utilised quite widely and for some time in the US, but Gipsy Spread and I went for our first raw food vegan meal last night. What tempted us? Well, it was the menu, which sounded delicious (I know I’m a vegetarian, but Gipsy Spread isn’t) and also the novelty aspect of it.

 

Saf is a restaurant, as you might expect, located on a very righteous site – the Wholefoods market on High Street Kensington. It is in fact not the only location, as there is another outpost in Shoreditch (not so righteous a location), as well as in Istanbul. What does raw food mean you ask? Isn’t crudités and hummus raw food? Indeed it is. However, the raw food ethos of Saf and I believe of others of it’s ilk is that ingredeinets are not heated above 48 degrees, with a range of processes used to create a variety of textures and tastes from everyday ingredients of fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds and pulses.

 

Before we went, Gipsy Spread and I did our research. We checked out the menu online to start tantalising our taste buds, and picked out the options we might wish to go for out of the three courses. It was actually very difficult to choose, having no prior experience (other than the steaming hot, non vegan versions) of the menu. It was in this vein that I chose options that I could compare to the more traditional versions of the dishes.

 

 

Gipsy spread and I therefore went for:

 

Raw taco trio

Hand cut raw potato and courgette tacos served with freshly made guacamole, tomato salsa and sour ‘cream’

 

Spinach and sorrel gyoza

Grilled rice pastry dumplings filled with spinach, sorrel and courgettes served with a tamari-sesame vinaigrette

Lasagne Verde Layers of courgette, marinated spinach, walnut almond and sun-dried tomato bolognese and a cashew and yellow pepper béchamel sauce served with a green herb pesto and side salad
Crepe with grilled asparagus Grilled asparagus and courgettes served in a chickpea crêpe, with lemon-tarragon aioli and side salad   Victoria sponge trifle   Chocolate cheesecake

So, would I go again? I think I might, if I was in the area, but perhaps not make a special trip as I did last night. The gyoza's were delicious, although, they didn't seem any different to normal (perhaps steamed at a lower temperature for longer?). The lasagne was really tasty and tangy with a nutty pesto and sundried tomatoes, but I missed the pasta. Gipsy spread likes to make his own, which is particularly good. The chickpea crepe was also nice. I do make this delicacy (socca) from the south of France myself, gram flour being an Indian store cupboard staple; although I tend to treat like a pizza base and therefore pile high with cheese - which I did miss on this occassion.

 

The desserts were surprisingly light and sweet and more akin to their traditional predecessors. The chocolate cheesecake was apparently made with tofu and soya milk, but was rich and creamy. The trifle could have done with some sherry, but the sponge was soft and delicate.

 

If you want a taste of the unusual, take a look at www.safrestaurant.co.uk

 

What next for me, well, I shall be fine dining tomorrow night at Seraser (http://www.seraserrestaurant.com/) for my birthday. I look forward to updating you on the meal.

Pop along to help deflate a local gem...

The culture vultures of West Dulwich, Gipsy Hill and Crystal Palace are all well versed in the many local eateries and venues where we can partake in a flagon of ale and (literally in some cases) a litre of wine. To add to the already numerous high quality establishments in the area, I am delighted to report the pop up of a pop up bar.

No longer is this simply the preserve of East London, Peckham and the Southbank, it is now on our very own doorstep. In the old home of ‘Lucias’ which has sadly demised; we have a new bijous and eclectic two story music venue serving local ales and unusual ciders and wines.

 
 

Having spotted it’s arrival before the May bank holiday weekend, Gipsy Spread and I exited the Gipsy Hill station today, eyes wide with anticipation; the excitement building in the knowledge that we can roll home in 5 minutes from here, our new ‘local’, for the next three months at least!

 

The bar itself is small, but perfectly formed. There are unknown barrels of ale available, all £3.20 a pint, with a sign letting us know there are also other goodies. The atmosphere is friendly and welcoming. In particular, downstairs is reminiscent of a 1950's parlour; as if you've stepped back in time to enjoy the hospitality of an old friend. 

 

The owners have suggested that they are likely to move into simple, but satisfying food, such as pizzas (we cannot wait) and may, if all goes well, deflate this pop up to become a permanent part of the scenery.

 

In order to ensure this happens, I would urge locals and others who simply want a good, unpretentious night out in a cleverly conceptualised bar to visit over the coming months. Come along and enjoy the booze, snacks and food, garden out back and the music. You could make a night of it and head up to Crystal Palace triangle as well for the many offerings there.

 

Regardless of temporary or permanent, this is a very exciting addition to the local landscape and I can't wait to visit again.

 

The best street food in London Town

For the first time since starting this blog, I visited one of my favourite fast food places in London Town. Not only is the food, fast, delicious and nutritious, but at £3 a pop, it’s a steal.
 

The fast food place is one of many food stalls in Tachenbrook Street market at Pimlico, where on a daily basis; you can feast all around the world. There are street food stalls catering Thai, Mexican, Japanese and Caribbean food, as well the obligatory hog roast and organic wild boar burgers.
 

The one that my friends ‘Alice’, the ‘Cat’, the ‘Mad Hatter’ and I like to visit at least once every couple of weeks is the falafel wrap stand. At a 10 minute walk from our office, the food is a glorious lunch time delight – much better than anything Pret can throw at us. You can normally identify which stall it is by the length of the queue, usually the longest in the market.

 

On the cold winter lunchtimes, you will often be handed a steaming hot falafel straight from the fryer whilst you are queuing for your wrap – which is always very fast in coming. The service is consistently with a smile and a joke. I amaze at the speed at which the four guys in the tiny little tent mix the batter, fry and roll!

 

You can tailor the fillings of your wrap if you wish – I tend to go all in with the various salad options and pickles. This includes roasted cauliflower, gherkins, fried potatoes and pickled cabbage, which gives the wrap an audacious vibrancy and colour, as well as providing a range of textures. I tend to ask for extra chilli sauce with the generous portion of this and hummus already in the wrap.

As a vegetarian, I am going to be biased in liking falafel, but I have eaten falafel in many places around the world, Egypt, Morocco etc, as well as making my own and I think these falafel wraps are the best I have had. They are most definitely the best falafel wraps in London Town. In fact, another colleague who is a meat fiend has now been converted and heads straight for the falafel option rather than the other carnivorous offerings in the market.
 

I’d recommend hunting out the market if you are in London for lunch – a more superb meal at a better price cannot be found in this great City of ours!

 

So, next week, I'm off for my first taste of raw food vegan fare at Saf. Photos of the food and my thoughts will follow!

Sunday lunch and a bloody mary

Father-in-law toast's birthday lunch was a great success. The menu at The Alma was wonderfully diverse, celebrating local and organic produce. The wait for the food was a bit longer than desirable, so we recieved some delicious freshly baked bread with soft farmhouse butter.

I love food and because I find large portions quite daunting (hence my feeder status), I decided to sample two starters for lunch.  I went for trio cheese cauliflower vanilla soup, truffle mousse and the trio of potato croquettes with sweet pea puree and tomato coulis, along with a hot and spicy bloody mary on the side!

The soup was delicious, thick and intense in cauliflower flavour. It had a sweetness from the vanilla and the mousse sat as a square underneath the soup, providing an interesting additional texture and powerful cheesy flavour. The croquettes were incredibly light with a  stringy melted cheese filling which was complemented by the sweet pea puree and tomato coulis.

Gipsy spread went for Blackmount estate Scottish venison pie, parsnip purée, blueberries, veal jus, crispy parsnips & red wine reduction. Venison is in season and is a sustainable meat and his pie was crammed full of the stuff to his absolute joy!

 

The table had a selection of desserts which included the classic
apple crumble with vanilla ice cream, which was very cinnamony, but could have had more crumble for my liking, to balance the amount of apple. The caramel tart with poached mixed berries in cognac had a light short pastry base and thick caramel filling that was creamy, but not over sweet, complemented nicely by the tart cognac boozy berries. The raspberry mousse with champagne jelly and honeycomb looked the best and after a round of "try my dessert" was voted the best of the three.

 

 

 

I would definitely recommend the Alma for the food and the friendly service, but the place is so popular on a Sunday that they need to have more than one chef, as we did not eat until 1.5 hours after arriving! This is a great quality local venue showcasing local, seasonal, sustainable and organic produce. This coupled with the inventive menu sets it apart from other gastropubs.

www.thealmapub.com


On another note, I was very excited this morning to see a selection of English red wines on Sunday Brunch on Channel 4 this morning.

In particular, I was very intrigued by the award winning Gamay to be served chilled. I am becoming a convert to chilled reds for the summer. I tend to switch to rose, but last year sampled some great chilled reds. Sadly I can't usually find them at my local Sainsburys, but Waitrose does have a good selection of them.

I'll be trying to get my hands on a bottle of the Gamay below. Watch this space for my thoughts!

http://scrapbook.channel4.com/bookmarkBar/517112e0e4b098f1a5588a41

So why have I started blogging...?

Welcome to my first ever blog.

So why have i started blogging? Well, it's because I enjoy food. I love to cook, mainly for others (i am often called a 'feeder'); I love to eat out and take pictures of beautifully presented food. This often elicits commentary from my friends on facebook. In fact as a hen do present my friend made me a book/brochure of pictures taken from facebook of my husband eating various meals, much to everyone else's amusement!. Expect my husband to feature in this blog as 'Gipsy spread', the butter, marmite or jam to my toast!

So, this blog is to give my friends on facebook a break (although I can't commit to not posting on FB also) and to share my passion with others who feel the same.

My next meal out is tomorrow at a local pub which has had rave reviews and which has, to my joy a decent range of options for vegetarians. It is father-in-law toast's birthday meal and I shall report back on my thoughts on the food, venue and vino next post.

I also have meals lined up at a raw food vegan restaurant, a Fine Dining restaurant in Turkey and Vivek Singh's Cinnamon Soho over the coming months, so watch out for my thoughts on those!

Thank you for reading!

Gipsy Toast