Crispy Courgette Cake

Breakfast!  As someone with gluten and lactose intolerance, the first meal of the day can be time consuming, boring or unhealthy.  Most mornings it’s a fruit smoothie with Baobab powder [apparently a big thing in 2015 so I’m feeling very fashion forward] but on the weekend it is fun to try something different.

With memories of frittata and ‘eggy-bread’ from my childhood, I invented crispy courgette cake which is uber tasty and in keeping with the about to be new year diet, pretty healthy.

Crispy Courgette Cake

• 1 courgette [grated]
• 1 tablespoon full of gluten free flour
• 1 medium sized egg
• 1 small onion chopped
• Handful of Chopped bacon, chorizo or sausage
• Pepper, salt and chili to taste
• Oil for frying

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• Fry onion and bacon until it starts to colour then add the grated courgette

• When the courgette has reduced and cooked a little take it out of the frying – putting it into a bowl
• Then add the flour [bit by bit].  It needs to take up some of the liquid but not be too dry.

• Add pepper and salt before mixing in one egg.  You can add chili if you like a kick.
• Pop oil into the pan and heat before adding the mixture.
• It will go slightly crispy on the edges/bottom so turn it over carefully as this makes I nice and crispy.
• Cook until the centre has sent and serve with coffee/tea or whatever gets out you out of bed in the morning

Tasty, healthy and not too boring

Lxx

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Nuclear approach to cold management or a visit to the Sichuan Kitchen

Dark, drizzly and generally grim – gosh, welcome to London in autumn!   And just to truly celebrate all this bounty – the sniffles, colds and man flu [very vicious this one] arrives.  So when my colleague and I realised that illness was on the horizon, we decided to take the nuclear approach to cold management – bring on the Szechuan!

Nestled just behind Spitalfields before you get to brick lane proper is Sichuan Folk Kitchen on Hanbury Street which serves some of the best south-western Chinese food in London.  Now it isn’t posh and the décor is definitely not going to challenge Nobu but [probably being horribly politically incorrect] I always think it is a good sign when most of the customers in a Chinese restaurant are Chinese – and this is definitely the case here.

Having removed our wet coast, we were seated at one of the long [sometimes communal] tables and began perusing the menu [click here for a look].   Sichuan food is not generally subtle as it uses chilli, garlic and that most glorious of peppers, the Sichuan pepper.  This pepper not only provides heat but an aromatic undertone to the meal which is quite additive.

As our tea arrived, we started reeling off dishes to the bemused but polite waiter.  Seaweed and egg soup to warm us up followed by stir fried Chinese leaf, fish flavoured aubergine, fish in Sichuan style and dry fried chicken and chili’s.  The waiter was at pains to ensure that we had eaten there before as ‘the food is quite spicy’ – yes, we smiled dreamily it is isn’t it just.

The Seaweed and egg soup arrived first and to use one of the foodie words I despite, it was simply so flavourful.  It is like the best chicken soup your jewish grandmother ever made but she went a bit mad and added seaweed.

The greens arrived [full of chili and the deep flavour of garlic] then the fish which was spicy and a little sweeter than my companion [the very glamorous blond to paraphrase A.A. Gill] liked but none the less it was good.  

Then IT arrived, the dry fried chicken in chilli.  I have likened this to crack – in a far less destructive to local communities but as addictive way.

O my giddy aunt, the chicken is essentially deep fried with the chilli and presented to you on a platter where you have to dig through the chili to find the chicken.  It is like all of KFC’s wet dreams in one.   Yes, I did say that – gosh that was so good.

The fish flavoured aubergine is made with chili bean paste, soy sauce, black vinegar, and Sichuan pepper so you know it’s going to taste good and the name refers to the method of cooking rather than the taste.  

And then we were done, sitting quietly in a replete state buzzing from the mixture of spices sipping tea.   All in all as we walked back to Liverpool street, we agreed that £61 was not much to pay for a trip to the orient, a skip in our steps and the death of any viruses within 200 yards.

Thanks

Lx

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Small and Perfectly Formed - A visit to Little Water

Now don’t get me wrong, I love wine!  Not in a horribly co-dependent way [or at least, I don’t think so] but a nice glass of red with dinner or a crisp chenin blanc is really rather lovely.  Sadly, a large glass of wine has 160 calories which is rather a lot – especially as I prefer to have more than one.

So spirits it is [48 calories per shot] which meant I was very excited when I heard of Little Water in Covent Garden.  Yes, this glorious establishment which pairs vodka with burgers and Scandinavian inspired starters – and even better, I had a Groupon voucher.

 Dragging my former boss as my bemused but tolerant guest, we arrived at Little Water to find that on a wet Wednesday night it wasn’t hugely busy [apparently Friday and Saturday are buzzing]. The décor is Nordic themed with clean lines but touches of comfort.

Sitting down, we perused the menu which was small but perfectly formed!  Yes, mushrooms on soda bread or Winter Salad [with the option to add chicken, cod or beef cheek].  The salad could also come with vegan feta cheese but I am not sure what type of crime against nature this is and I was certainly not sullying my vodka with this.

I chose Winter Salad with Cod [Basil Vodka] and she chose the plain Winter Salad [Finlandia] which arrived in a splash of colour.  The cod was a good sized piece and the salad was a carefully prepared mix of leaves, tomatoes, cucumber strips, radish, cashews and peppers topped with an Avocado dressing.  More than enough for a starter – verging on a main to be honest and very tasty.

The vodkas went well with the dishes and as we chatted about mutual friends and business contacts and life in general, we agreed that Basil vodka really was rather nice.  Burger, burger or burger was the mains choice – traditional, chicken, cod, vegan feta or beef cheek – with chips and a side salad.    

I opted for Beef cheek with celeriac puree which came with Kauffman Hard and made for a messy glorious burger.  Probably not first date food but for want of a better phrase ‘damn fine’.  The traditional cheese and bacon burger came with saffron vodka [another spirit revelation I would like to repeat again].

We skipped desert [remember those calories] but I did notice the sweet burger with chocolate which I will have to save until I’ve done more exercise, like swum the channel.  As we walked into the chilly night, we agreed that Little Water is a welcome innovation and revelation which is small and perfectly formed.

Well worth a visit

Lx

Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @littleofwhatyou

Red Wine and Soy Sauce Oxtail

I’m a Taurus – one of those star signs who respond if you wave a red flag at them – or rather as Kikkoman did, issue a challenge.  Make a dish with Kikkoman soy sauce as the star ingredient – but it can’t be oriental.  Wow, take an iconic flavour and fuse it with another culture!

So, immediately I started thinking – what goes well with the gorgeous umami flavour of soy sauce?  I kept looking at the Basque region as they do big bold flavours [to paraphrase, the lovely Mr Gregg Wallace] so I trotted off to my local butchers and came up with Red wine and Soy Sauce Oxtail which is really rather good!

Firstly, this is a ‘home cook’ recipe, which means that you need to realise that you may need to add a little more or a little less of each ingredient – use your cheffy-sense.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 kg of oxtail chopped
• 1 and a half bottles of robust red wine [I used Cabernet Sauvignon but use what you have}
• 1 litre of chicken stock
• 2 lemons [plus a spare in case]
• Tablespoon of flour
• Large onion – finely chopped
• 15 cloves of garlic [peeled but not chopped]
• Big pinch of rosemary
• 1 tablespoon of Kikkoman soy sauce
• 25 ml port
• 1 teaspoon of nice clear honey
• Glug of oil

Recipe

• Add the oil to a large pot and heat before adding the chopped onion.  Saute.
• Put the flour into a plastic bag [I had a spare sandwich bag}, add the oxtail and shake
• When the oxtail is dusted, add it to the large pot and brown [the flour will help to thicken the sauce]. If you are gluten intolerant use gluten free flour and Kikkoman fantastic Gluten Free Soy Sauce.

 

• Once the oxtail has coloured, add about a tablespoon of Kikkoman Soy Sauce – you want to add depth of flavour then add the bottle of wine and half the stock.  The stock can then be added if the mixture seems to be drying out.

• Add the garlic, rosemary and simmer for about 5 minutes.  Taste!
• Leave it to cook on a low heat for about an hour.
• Keep checking – is the liquid still enough?  Do you need to add more soy sauce?  What about chicken stock?
• After about an hour, add 25ml port and continue to cook for another hour and a half.  Add more red wine or stock if it goes too dry.  Make sure it maintains its rich flavour by adding more Kikkoman Soy Sauce if needs be.

• Add a big teaspoon of honey [ideally strongly flavoured clear honey] and squeeze the juice of two lemons into the dish.  Cook for a final hour – or until the oxtail falls off the bone - cooking for longer if needs be.
• Taste before you serve, make sure that you can taste a mild sweetness [honey], umami depth [Kikkoman Soy Sauce], rich flavour [red wine and oxtail] and hint of citrus [lemon].  It is good to get the balance but if your pallet leans towards one flavour, by all means indulge it.
• Serve with mashed potato to catch the juice.

Hope you like this as much as I do

Lxx

P.S. Don’t forget to follow me on twitter @littleofwhatyou  

Saturday Night - Dim Sum Delight - A Cooking Class

I love Yum Cha or Dim Sum – its glorious Chinese tapas!  Dumplings, turnip cake, spring rolls and chicken feet – so lovely when enjoyed on a Sunday over copious cups of tea.  So, how hard could it be to make these little delicious tastes?

I found out on a rainy Saturday night in a unprepossessing row of shops in Walthamstow when I arrived to try out Dim Sum making.  Having had lunch with friends earlier in the day, I had a little liquid courage so I leaped right into the experience with my usual enthusiasm.  We were to make:

•         Chiu Chow Steamed Dumplings [pork dumplings that resemble very small                     empanadas]
•          Har Gow [Prawn Dumplings that resemble little Cornish pasties]
•          Sui Mai [open top port dumplings]

The first hour was spent creating the fillings.  The Har Gow needed prawns finely minced mixed with corn flour, salt, water chestnuts, ginger, sugar and white pepper.  Corn flour became a theme for the evening as all of the fillings use this to help the ingredients combine.

Sui Mai was great fun – having mixed all the ingredients, you need to take the pork mixture, stand up and throw it into your bowl.  This loosens the protein threads and you can see the change.  The instructor – who was lovely if a little exhausted having taught a class earlier – explained that the pork needed to have 20% fat (even if you had to add a bit) as this kept the filling succulent when steamed.

We then made the filling for the steamed dumplings which used similar ingredients.  Chatting to the various people on the long table was entertainment in itself, especially the lovely boys off for a night in Vauxhall and making dim sum as a birthday treat.

Then came the dough which essentially involves wheat starch, salt, sugar, tapioca flour and corn flour – then boiling water and oil.  All the dry ingredients are mixed then the boiling water added before being covered for 2 minutes to cook the flour.  You then add the veggie oil and mix into soft dough. 

Divide into 10 pieces and then you get to start making the individual dim sums.  You roll each individual ball into a circle as thin as possible and then use a pastry cutter to cut a circle.  Pop a little of Chiu Chow or Har Gow mixture into the middle then either fold it over like a taco.  Crimp the edges for Har Gow similar to how you work a Cornish pasty and simply close the Chiu Chow edges smoothing them.

We used premade pastry for the Sui Mai and dolloped a little into the middle of the circle then created a circle with your fingers and pushed the dough up the sides of the mixture (similar to a cup).

The results where then steamed, eaten and laughed over [well, we had all bought wine by then which helped with the realisation that I would never be a dim sum master].  Was it worth it?  Well £35 for a fun evening and the opportunity to try something different – definitely! 

L xx

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The Ethnic Mother Gene

I grew up in a matriarchal society – or rather South Africa, where we let the boys think they are in charge and then get them to light the braai which we enjoy a glass of wine.    Love is food!  If you’re tired, ill, happy or your leg is about to drop off, then don’t worry tannie (or auntie) will make something that will make you feel better.  Nothing can’t be cured with the right ingredients and – if you are British – a cup of tea!

So what is this phenomenon?  I call it the “Ethnic mother” syndrome as my Indian, Chinese, Jewish, Muslim, Cajun, Afrikaans and Irish friends seem to have a proud tradition of “Food = love”.   However – despite being somewhat of a hybrid - I am sure that I have the “ethnic mother” gene as when a cold hits, I reach for the Chicken and noodles or if someone’s love life implodes its gooey chocolate every time.

So how do you recognise if you too would like to solve world peace with a well place slice of pie? If you tick yes to more than half of these questions, welcome to the club – let’s swap recipes:

1.       If the world experience a nuclear winter – or 35 people arrived unannounced – could you feed them all without having to visit a supermarket?  Just using the contents of your kitchen?

2.       Do you have go too dishes which you can whip up while washing the dishes, drinking a glass of wine, hanging up the washing, correcting homework and stepping over the random mutt in the middle of the kitchen?  Perfectly everytime.

3.       Can food cure most ailments?  You have a cold?  Yes, chicken noodle soup or fiery curry to kill the germs!  Exhausted after a long day?  Let me perk you up with something slow cooked and comforting.

4.       When you visit do you arrive with food?  Do you make people leave your home with carefully pulled together packages of leftovers? Do you offer food at Christmas, Hanukkah or Eid to anyone within a 3 mile radius irrespective of whether you know them or not?

5.       Do relatives – and not just those who are blood relatives but those of your friends – provide you with recipes?  Aunt Jo’s rice?  No worries got that sorted!  Mom’s chocolate pudding, already squirreled away.

6.       Is slow cooking and pinches of ingredient’s your friend?  I love making curry but I do so through experience, taste and time – sadly nothing I’ve managed to get into a recipe yet.

7.       Is cooking an expression of love, comfort, celebration – the list is endless.  As the advert on the British TV suggests, a shepherd pie can mean ‘I love you but I just don’t know how to say the words’.

So what is your score?  Do you have a matriarchal streak of ethnic mum?  Most foodies probably do and I would humbly suggest that while the food isn’t always uber-healthy the sheer love, companionship and care that is put into it makes it far less harmful than the pre-packaged calorie controlled supermarket offerings.

Lxx

Don’t forget to follow me on twitter @littleofwhatyou

A little visit to the Breakfast Club

Breakfast, it isn’t my favourite meal as I have a couple of issues around gluten, eggs, lactose and citrus!  However, if I do need to have a working breakfast and think that the other guests are relaxed enough to enjoy something new then my favourite destination in London is The Breakfast Club!

A chain – but so not a chain – with branches across London, it pays homage to the epic film, good food and simply being an individual!  Each of the locations are quirky shrines to that era and sadly, I did recognise most of the references.

My companions – a work colleague and a journalist – met me out side and we queued quietly for our table.  The Breakfast Club doesn’t do the fuss that reservations bring [and didn’t do it well before it became popular] so make sure you get up a little early when you visit.

We were ushered to a table and I noticed by guests faces – both bemused, bewildered and – they were boys – hungry!  Catching a passing waiters eyes, we ordered good coffee, tea and a couple of fresh fruit smoothies to nourish us as we flicked through the menu.

While, I am sure that the genius behind this menu has never taken any substances that were not strictly legal [as of course have I never], the list looks like a cross between a stoners dream and an American diner – bouncing from the full English, to waffles, to halloumi and BBQ chicken sandwich.  Yes, my young padawan, we have found the force that will get us through today even though the dark hungover force is strong in you!

Chilli is my friend and I chose guacamole, chili, poached egg with bacon on toast!  Substantial, tasty with a nice hint of tabasco (this is a standard condiment on all tables)!   Once the sheer majesty of the place had worn off my companions when for the full monty and waffles with bacon.

The food arrived in good time and while we managed to cover all the points we needed to discuss, let’s just say that initial five minutes of food-bliss was not eloquent moment of our lives.  Dear Gosh that was good!

Are there any downsides to the Breakfast café?  Well, the coffee could have been quicker and the music could have been softer but otherwise it was perfect!  And to paraphrase the film “When you grow up, your heart dies …..  but not thankfully at the Breakfast Café when we will all continue to be the jock, the brain ….”

Lxx

P.S. – don’t forget to follow me @littleofwhatyou

Cap Vermell Beach Hotel - A hidden Gem in Majorca

Majorca!  In the UK, it conjures up images of riotous parties, all day breakfasts and people who should really know better.  However, if you escape from Magaluf, Palma and the surrounds to head to the North East of the Island you find a very different vibe – one that I rather like.

Canyamel is an unspoilt bay with only about 5 or 6 hotels and a lovely golden beach.  Popular with Spanish and German tourists, major tour operators have yet to find it and it benefits from this relative in attention.

With thanks to Tripadviser

One of my favourite is the Cap Vermell Beach Hotel Most recently, I ventured in with my parents who are in their 60s and a friend of mine who was visiting the area.  Having enjoyed a couple of Mojitos on at the Bar on the far end of the hotel, we weaved our way to our table which overlooked the bay which was just starting to get dark – truly magnificent.

The food at Vintage 1934 is modern European but pays homage to Majorca – its ingredients and heritage.    As we perused the menu, the amuse bouches arrived – butternut squash soup with a quail egg balanced on top.  It was thoroughly refreshing and reminded us not only that we were hungry but that my friend was a vegetarian (a preference the menu did not seem to cater for).

However, on ordering, the staff could not have been more accommodating and we were soon dipping into a glorious selection of starters.  I chose Anchovies and trampo (Majorcan fresh salad) which was a little salty (yes, I know they are anchovies) but otherwise very tasty.

Other starters included Cod Carpaccio with rocket salad and roe (slightly odd consistency) as well as mango gazpacho.  The food served at Vintage 1934 nudges haute cuisine and is utterly beautiful with good portions.

For mains we chose Beef fillet with balsamic onions and foie, risotto with asparagus and tender beans, Turbot on mushrooms, artichokes and beet puree.  Seabass at low temperature on venere rice and leeks foam was the final choice.

I had the Beef fillet which was cooked to perfection with the excellent quality meat complemented by the generous slice of foie.  Despite being fairly certain by dinner companions liked me, I was not allowed to try their main dishes – a testimony I suppose to their tasty nature.

Desert was coffee and liquors as we gazed over the bay in a fully food sated coma!  So would I return?  I love this hotel and the Maitre’d deserves a special mention for simply being so very lovely and friendly but I do wonder if perhaps the food needs a review to ensure that rather than resting on its laurels, it measures up to the setting.

Lxx

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Top 10 Tips to Make a Meal Sexy (or at least how to avoid tears)

Having visited www.match.com aphrodisiac café in Soho square, I started thinking about what makes a meal sexy!   Sadly I’ve come to the conclusion it isn’t all about the food, it is about the experience.  So herewith the collective wisdom of my friends and I:

• Bear in mind the reason for the meal – Ultimately, this is not an opportunity for you to challenge Marco Pierre White but to show the person you love that you care about them so think modest and tasty! Someone huddled in the corner of a kitchen sobbing over choux pastry is rarely sexy.
• Think about allergies and dislikes – Nothing kills a mood faster than anaphylactic shock or hives, it just isn’t very conducive so think about what they generally won’t eat and look out for hidden nasties. Having attempted to kill one of my friend’s girlfriends (now wife) by feeding her pesto bread (forgot about the pine nuts), I can testify that it is not great for the love life.
• A little planning goes a long way – While spontaneity is obviously great, a little planning (even if you don’t tell her/him) means you have what you need in the kitchen and you have the time to make it.
• Clean up as you go – When my ex used all the pans in the kitchen to cook spaghetti and even managed to cover the cat in pomodoro, my libido was not increased by having to clear up the mess and the moggy.  We are no longer together but I blame his desire to be a samurai knight rather than his cooking ….. probably best to leave it at that.
• Set the scene – For some this may be candles, chocolates and fancy wine!  But for others – and I’m thinking of those who are married with lots of hyperactive little people – it might be something as simple as getting the grandparents to baby sit or tidying up the lounge so your beloved can enjoy a guilt-free pre-dinner drink.
• Portion Size – Faced with a man-sized portion of pasta, my friend picked around the edges only to be asked if everything was okay.  The food was lovely, the portion which was roughly enough to feed a small family was not.   Also, too much heavy food tends to make me sleepy which again is a turn-off to most normal people.
• Drink in moderation – A little alcohol to loosen yourself up can be great for a fun night but falling asleep in your soup, being sick or declaring your undying love through choked sobs is unlikely to get you the end result you wanted.
• Make it your own – Some couples love a night with moonlight, candles and bubbles but to others a good movie, homemade pizza and beer is just as much fun.  Don’t force it – just because you haven’t superheated your upstairs neighbours flat with the sheer power of the candles you are using – doesn’t mean that it won’t float your boats so to speak.
• It you can’ make it – fake it – While, everyone would love to be able to produce glorious crispy duck and pancakes, the run up to a romantic meal is not the moment to learn!  So good cheats from M&S, Sainsbury’s or Waitrose are the way forward – you can hid the dishes if you want to as well!
• Be yourself but better – A seduction meal is not the time to discuss political differences, interrogate your date about their love life or tell them that you’ve always thought they had a fat bottom!   The nice man who shared his thoughts on my derriere did qualify the statement by saying ‘but I like fat bottoms’ but sadly this did not result in what he was hoping for.

With this knowledge under your belt, go forth and seduce your other half

Lx

Don’t forget to follow me on twitter @littleofwhatyou

So what does an Aphrodisiac Cafe look like?

When Match invited me to join them at their Aphrodisiac Café in Soho Square, I could not resist and trotted across town to see what it was all about!  A little pop up restaurant selling combinations of food that they - with the help of Michelin-starred chef, Pascal Aussignac - had identified as being good for the libido.

The menu swerved from asparagus to duck egg (with frosted beer) to Flamed Oysters and Chocolate Truffle and Armagnac.   I started with black crisp and aioli which was dried tapioca with squid ink aioli.  Now I don’t eat tapioca – lets just say I don’t like the look of it – but dried and crispy it was like rather weird crisp bread.  Not something, I would sign up for again but the aioli was a revelation – something about the squid ink made it just so very morish.

Then my Cured beef onglet, mulled wine and pomegranate arrive with my pomegranate appletiser (very nice btw) appeared.  What a revelation, the cured onglet was soft and meaty with a hint of Christmas due to the mulled wine drizzle and the pomegranate seeds gave it that crunch.  Glorious and about to be recreated in a house near me.

I skipped dessert and wandered back to the office – if not in a haze of desire, at least having enjoyed a tasty meal!

Yum – and Match does a regular aphrodisiac events so I may well check one of these out - www.match.com/events

L xx

Don’t forget to follow me @littleofwhatyou 

Galvin La Chapelle - why I need to marry the chef!

It doesn’t matter which side of the fence you sit on when it comes to the validity of the awards, if you get the opportunity to visit a Michelin starred restaurant, you get that little frizz of excitement. So when I booked a table at Galvin La Chapelle for lunch, I was rather enthusiastic to say the least.

The restaurant is at the edge of the achingly-cool Spitalfields market and situated in an old Chapel which gives this – the third restaurant opened by the Brothers Galvin – a soaring roof and touches of sheer elegance.   On arrival (having gotten a little lost as they also have a Brassiere attached), I was greeted warmly and then escorted to my table by the delightful servicing staff – really friendly but professional.

With thanks to www.cwconsult.co.uk

The table was arguably one of the best in the house – against the wall in a little protected cocoon of soft seating.  So glorious was the view and atmosphere in fact, that when my lunch guest was 10 minutes late, I simply ordered a G&T and enjoyed being in the moment (as those nice psychologists say).

When he arrived – having learnt not to be libellous or to be libellous depending on how you thought about the training – we perused the menu and I realise I had made an error.  I had tried to do Michelin star on the cheap – yes, we had vouchers for the Prix Fixe which was £24 per person including a glass of champagne.

Now the champagne was buttery, light and gorgeous but the choices were a little limited (3 per course) and as they were tacked on to the main menu, I rather felt like a child outside a sweetshop peering in at all the goodies I couldn’t have.  We chose veloute of English peas and truffle cream as well as grilled mackerel, fennel, grapefruit and cucumber to start.

Both were pretty as a picture when they arrived but I did find the veloute a little confusing as I had through it was a sauce but it had far more in common with a light pea soup.  The mackerel was good, it was nice and it was sadly just mackerel done well.  Now I know that I am being picky but I had rather hoped for more.

For mains, I went for the Grilled tranche of calves liver, pomme purée, Alsace bacon and girolles while my dining companion when for Pavé of  Icelandic cod, Puy lentils, carrot and cumin purée.  As we enjoyed a glass of white wine we discussed our choices and furiously googled Pave only to find this referred to any rectangular or square food – less exciting than we had imagined.

The liver arrived and I immediately resolved to marry Eric Jolibois.  I don’t know the man and he may have many bad habits but if he can prepare liver like this, I am prepared to overlook almost anything – potentially everything.  The liver was cooked to perfection with that almost slightly might be a little under done texture and the pomme puree was like very very good sex.   In fact, my dining companion did look a little worried as I was making happy noises as I ate it.

The Pave of cod also looked good and apparently the carrot and cumin puree was spectacular but I think that I got the better deal [that marriage offer still stands].   We finished with tea, coffee and little French truffles, macrons and cakelets.

So, would I go back?  Most definitely but I would probably order from the wider menu, potentially order the liver for starter, main and desert before wandering into the kitchen to enquire about Eric Jolibois marital status.

L xx

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Alternative Algarve - Olhao

Stereotypes play a huge role in our collective cultural consciousness.  Yes, the British can’t cook, the Americans only eat fried food, the Portuguese are obsessed with salt cod and the Italians can’t eat anything that doesn’t involve pasta.   

Right, anyone who has travelled (or read a fair bit) knows this is utter rubbish (this is a family blog or I would have used a far ruder word) but even if we get past this, people still seem to lump nations together.   They refer to the Americans or the Portuguese as homogenous groups of people but again they are wrong as while I am proudly South African, my culture is definitely Capetonian.

Now why am I offering you my theories on individual cultures?  Well, I’ve fallen in love with Olhao in the Algarve, Portugal and want to introduce you to the glorious culture of Southern Portugal

.  

With thanks to theportugesenews.com

So herewith a 10 top tips about the Algarve for those who haven’t visited:

•  You fly into Faro Airport which hands down produces has the WORSE burger I have ever eaten in my life.  I have no idea but in departures, they made a burger which is dry, tasteless but reminiscent of dog food.  Honestly, when you fly home, eat before you get to the airport.

• When you leave the airport, you can head left towards Albufera (which is stag-do heaven), Vilamore (which is golfing heaven) or Lagos (which has a huge marina but is really lovely)  Alternatively, You can take a right towards the Spanish border towards Olhao (Largest fishing port in Algarve) or Tavira (very popular with British Expats with a glorious beach).
• Olhao (especially the old town) has captured my heart.  It’s white-washed buildings (complete with flat roofs) and little streets makes it charming to get lost in.  And you should expect to as all roads seem to lead to the seafront and the numerous restaurants as well as the two food markets.
• Built in 1915, there are two food markets.  One which sells fish and meat and the other selling some of the most beautiful fresh food I’ve ever seen.  To add to this bounty, they have a farmers (not one of those which are popular in some parts of Europe but an honest to gosh actually grown by proper small farmers) market.  They sell some of the best strawberries I have ever tasted and the honey is truly special as is the home made peri peri sauce.
• As the largest fishing port in the Algarve, the fish is hugely fresh (i.e. it’s just been brought across the road from the harbour) as is the other seafood.  I particularly like their take on Octopus and the razor clams are so sweet.  Now this isn’t posh seafood, but generally served with a few potatoes and a little salad.  Trust me this is enough to let the food shine.
• However, if you have had enough of seafood, there is also a good steak restaurant, an Italian and an Indian which provide a respite from the seafood overload.  The Italian on the seafront is particularly good and while some of their pizza ideas (who puts peaches and condensed milk on a pizza) may seem bizarre, they do an amazing steak pasta with mustard sauce. 
• Now Olhao isn’t a party town but that does mean it doesn’t have some glorious bars.  In front of the food markets (next to the sea) there are a selection of bars which serve really really good cocktails and occasionally host jazz nights.  They are incredibly friendly, all speak English and there is little better than gazing across the water to the islands.

• A perfect day trip from Olhao is to visit the Islands which you can access from a ferry at the far end (i.e. the other end to Faro) of the sea front.  The Islands are part of the Ria Formosa nature reserve and you can visit Cultura, Farol, Deserta and Armona.  I visited Farol and we made the treck to the beach (and the beach bar). It was glorious – in fact so glorious, we missed the last ferry and phoned a water taxi to take us back.  This was so much fun and I felt  very glamorous as we zipped across the water.

Beach at on Faro

• Admittedly, I do love the old town but the new areas of Olhao are also very sweet and some of the shops are great.  I personally love shoe shopping and there are some excellent bargains to be had in the local shoe store in the shopping centre in town.  Alternatively, there is the Algarve shopping centre which is stocked full of glorious stores and on the way to the airport so a really easy stop on the way back.
• Finally, don’t be afraid to say ‘Bon Dia’ to those you meet and smile, the Algarve is friendly and the people in Olhao are amongst the loveliest you will ever meet.

Honestly a trip to the Alternative Algarve is one you can’t afford not to take.

Lx