I love markets, be it a local one in France, England or Mexico. The fish market in Palma, Majorca is wonderful as is the main market in Barcelonaor Florence. The weekly market in Condesa, Mexico City is a riot of colour and flavours, everything can be tasted before buying and if you are to lazy to chop or grate your own vegetables for a stir fry, then these too are readily available. 

  

  
  One of the best markets that I have been to is in southern Yunnan, in China. Here the ethnic mix is Han Chinese long with Chinese ethnic minorities, many of whom are also ethnic Burmese. The women in the market place, traditionally have painted faces and are very beautiful. Whereever I travel, I always make a point of visiting the markets, I feel they give a true reflection of life for the real people who live there. Case in point is Cuba. When the Russians left Cuba, the average Cuban lost over a third of his body weight, because the local economy could not produce enough food and funnily enough, Cubans do not eat fish, as most of it is exported. Consequently the food on offer in the markets was indeed of a very poor quality. 

 
London on the other hand, has a multitude of markets, many of them ethnically biased, depending on the neighbourhood . The North End road, in west London is predominately African, whilst Church Street Market , just north of the Marble Arch is mostly Middle eastern. Borough Market near London Bridge station is the complete opposite, it is the weekend Yuppies paradise. 

  

  

  

 

If I need upmarket good quality produce I will go to Borough Market. Never go on a Saturday, it is unbelievably crowded, and is a real food fest, people everywhere eating. If I want more local, in season produce, then I go to Church Street and jostle with the shrouded middle eastern ladies. Here too are some eateries, but are  not of the Foodie variety, more the local ethnic foods.

For an interesting exercise, I have compared some prices for cheese. I bought in France some local cheese, called Abondance ( I love the name) and it makes the most delicious Cheese tarte ( quiche type of tart but heavy on the cheese), in France I paid about £13, per kilo, in Borough Msrket, it was £24, so almost double BUT in an up market cheese shop ( La Fromagerie, in Marylebone)  it was a whopping £32, so although Borough is not a  cheap venue for shopping it is certainly cheaper than a specialist cheese shop. 

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

 
We also visit Billinsgate, which is in Docklands, this is the main fish market not only for London but for the UK. It opens about 3 or 4 am, I tend to go on. Saturday at about 7 am, there will be fewer people there and a few fewer traders, but nonetheless it is well worthwhile, not only in terms of price but certainly in quality. The market inspector, checks each stall daily to check the quality of the wares on sale.If you know nothing about fish, then it could be worth your while to take a class at the Billinsgate Seafood Training School. Here they will take you on a tour of the market, choose some fish, go upstairs to school and learn how to prepare various types of fish and then cook them.

Another stop on our market tour is to Smithfield market. This again is a wholesale market but this time for meat. The best buys are certainly on ribeye steaks and filet of beef.

And finally the last of my regular stops , is the New Covent Garden, this is for plants and flowers ( and all related items ) in the first half and in the second is the wholesale fruit and vegetables section.i have to admit to not having been in the fruit and veg section, but about three times a year I buy plants for my terrace in the plant section. Where else do you think the garden shops and florists buy their wares? Which brings me on to Columbia Road. Nothing to do on a Sunday morning, then a visit to Columbia Road is a must! It is the Sunday morning version of Brough Market, but for plants and flowers and yes, you have guessed it, food!

Jimmy Choo, the real life shoe designer ( not the high street brand, which went global under Tamara Mellon) the man originally behind the brand and his couture shoe company, has branched out into the restaurant business. Well, he is the man behind,  Maximini, a Chinese restaurant in the Marble Arch area of West London. It is a relief to have something different from the Persian /Arabic restaurants in this neighbourhood, as this is where the inhabitants of many of the gulf states de-camp to in the height of the summer. 

Surprisingly Jimmy Choo has labeled his restaurant Fine Chinese dining, he is from Malaysia, and his favourite local restaurnt is the Satay house, (Malaysian) which is near Paddington Station. We have not been to the Satay House for a long time now, but it is a bit of a hole in the wall type of restaurant, but full of Malays, which usually means that the food is good, and it is!

But back to Maximini, our dinner there on a warm summers evening, was very pleasant though we will not be rushing back. Trip Avisor says that although Maximini has only been opened a couple of years, it is in need of a face lift, but I can not comment, as we sat outside.  

 The Menu, is in fact a mix of Chinese, Malay, Indonesian and Peranakan cuisine, which is of course, Jimmy Choos heritage. We started with a Mixed Hot Platter, which consisted of Satay Chicken, Prawn toasts and Vegetarian Spring Rolls, all very good. We then chose, myself the Crispy Duck, ( Peking Duck) with spring onion and chinese pancake, Willowy Brunette chose the Sambal Prawns, and himself, the Malay Beef Curry. We also chose, stir fried Pak Choi, Penang noodles and stir fried Broccoli. The vegetables were absolutly delicious and plentiful, actually all of the food was delicious and no complaints there. However, the service certainly needs attention. My crispy duck arrived a good 10 minutes before the rest of the meal. Not good at all, but on re-thinking, we might try again, as the food was outstanding, and given that the Willowy Brunette, would not normally go to a restaurant that smacks of being chinese ( overcooked, precooked and MSG) but she enjoyed her dinner, it could be worth giving it a second chance.

 

 
 

  

  

   
   

During the summer months, dining heads towards the lazy side with BBQ being the name of the game, fish, kebabs, homemade hamburgers, steak or whatever takes our fancy. However, something needs to accompany the grill food, one of our favourites is grilled Baby Gem Lettuce, which is simple beyond belief.

Allo 1/2 a Baby Gem per person,trim the end off and discard some of the less desirable outer leaves,, run them under water and shake dry or pat on paper towel, smear with olive oil and some smashed garlic if desired. Place on a hot grill and grill for about three minutes before turning, turn and grill the second side. Of course do not over cook ( read Burn) and timing will depend upon the strength of your grill.

The other time that is really simplicity itself is what I call, grilled vegetable salad with couscous and Harissa. 

 Prepare a quantity of vegetables for grilling, include, red, green and yellow peppers, aubergine, courgettes, tomatoes cut into 1/4’s and red onions cut into thick slice’s . Grill on a BBQ ( can be done in. Grill pan on the stove top) when cooked ( do not overlook) put into a polythene bag to sweat, whilst cooking the remainder of the vegetables. Put all of the vegetables into  bowl or box, pour over some salt and pepper and some olive oil and mix well. At this point the vegetables maybe left until ready to use or refrigerated until needed. 

 Take 8 oz of easy cook couscous, add a knob of butter and a pinch of salt. Pour over some boiling water, enough to cover plus an inch. Leave to stand until all the water has been absorbed, stir. Leave to one side to cool.

  Make the Harissa dressing by mixing together, 1/2 cup olive oil, 2 tablespoons of ground cumin, 1/2 tube tomato paste, 1/2 can Harissa paste and 1/2 cup lemon juice. 

Assemble when ready to eat, put the couscous in a bowel, add the grilled vegetables,top with assorted salad leaves  and then dollops of the Harissa mix. Cut 4 Oz of Feta cheese into cubes, add this to the top of the salad. Toss altogether with small amount of vinaigrette and sprinkle over some white or black sesame seeds .

When himself went to Berlin to University ( a life time ago), he spoke no German, whatsoever. Arriving at the Hauptbahnhof, near midnight, the station restaurant was still open. Looking at the menu he recognised Nothing! But wait a moment Steak Americain! STEAK, that will do! So he chose that but to his great surprise, it was raw meat!

Times have changed, and steak Americain, or steak tartare, is one of our favourites. Of course it got a bad rap after the various BSE scares, but honestly we find it a delight, especially when it is prepared in front of you, at your table. One restaurant in London that I like and which has recently been re vamped is The Ivy in Covent Garden . I have checked and it still serves Steak Tartare either as a starter of as a main course. We were in Montreux Switzerland recently, and ate at the Jazz Cafe ( it was the Montreux Jazz festival) . On the menu we found Steak Tartare and of course we both chose it. Our friends newly arrived from Houston Texas, where they like their steaks ( big and cooked) were not so keen but JB did choose the duck and asked for it rare, and then he had food envy when he saw ours!   

 It easy to make yourself, but especially easy here in France, as the butcher will mince top quality steak for you. However, in the UK I would recommend either you mince the meat yourself, or chop it by hand but make sure it is chopped finely.

To make your own Steak Tartare you will need:-

500g of beef fillet, diced or minced.          25g of shallot or red onion finely chopped

40g of cornichons, chopped.                       40g of baby capers, rinsed

20g of Dijon mustard.                                   90g of mayonnaise

5 drops of Tabasco.                                        14ml of brandy

1 pinch of parsley, chopped.                          Salt and pepper to taste

To serve:-

4 egg yolks.       4 slices of sourdough bread And or Double cooked French ( Belgian ) fries.    100g of rocket 

 

 

 
 

     

     
 

Michaël Torfs reports that the Belgian government is working on a new law which determines the composition of mayonnaise. You might think that this is a bit weird, however, Mayo is an important part of “Frites et Mayo” “frieten met mayonaise” (chips with mayonnaise). De Morgen and Het Laatste Nieuws, Belgian newspapers, and this has been picked up by The Times and the Guardian of London. The current law (1955 ), decrees that real Mayo should contain 80% fat and 7.7% egg yolk. But in times of food consciousness many manufacturers make a healthier options, which puts the Belgian producers at a disadvantage.  Actually not sure why someone would choose a lighter Mayo with the French fries after all they themselves are highly calorific, especially as in Belgium French fries are always double cooked and the best triple cooked. By the way, French fries were not apparently invented by the French but by the Belgians in the 17 th century, which strikes me as odd, as Belgium as a country did not come into being until after the Napoleonic wars! Ah Well!

Himself, when asked the other night “what would you like for dinner?” came up with the idea of Boulliabaisse. Great idea, I thought, but we had to compromise as if you read French cook books, One can not make a true Boulliabaisse, without  Racasse, ( a fish of the Scorpion Family) and alternative in the UK is Gurnard, or possibly monkfish. Acording to the orginal doyenne of cookery, Elizabeth David, said there are as many “Authentic” Boulliabaisse recipes as there are cooks!

So lacking Racasse. or anything similar, we connocted our own recipe, using that which was available, so I guess it could be called a fish stew along the lines of Boulliabaisse. The whole principle of this dinner was that himself would cook dinner. And he did.

So for our version of Bouillabaisse, he used.

1. about 200 grms each of white fish, salmon, wth the skin removed and cut into chunks. 200 grms each of Shrimp( large ones, de-veined and heads off) Squid, cleaned and cut into slices.12 od so mussels.
2. 1/2 cup olive oil, 2 onions chopped, 2 sticks celery chopped, 1 fennel bulb, chopped, 6 cloves garlic, chopped.
3. 2Tbsp tomato puree, 1 can chopped tomatoes 
4. a bouquet garni composed of thyme, bay leaves and fennel sprigs
5. 1/2 bottle white wine. plus some Rouille for eating.( see later)
6. a splash of lemon juice
7. a splash of pernod ( optional of course)

1. Boil together the oil and the wine. Add the vegetables and cook until soft. Add the canned tomatoes and the tomato purée. Add the  bouquet Garni,  along with the lemon juice andPernod.
2. add each type of fish  separately , and cook gently, when cooked remove and put to one side, and then cook the next, until you reach the the shrimp and  mussels.. return all the fish to the stew, taste and season, add more wine of stock to create enough liquid to be able to add the shrimp and mussels. Simmer, and the shrimp and shell fish will only take a few minutes to cook.

To try and be a little more authentic this should be served in large bowls, along with some  slices of French bread toasted with some garlic butter, AND Rouille stirred into your bowl. Rouille is a fiery sauce, from theMediterranean, It is made by whizzing together, several cloves of garlic  along with 2 small red chili peppers and 1 red pepper. Take a thick slice of bread, remove the crust and soak in a little of your fish soup. Squeeze it and add to the garlic etc., Whizz in little by little an egg yolk and then add bit by bit up to 4 Fl Oz of Olive oil ( as if you were making Mayonnaise. If you think this is a bit of a faf, which I can understand, then you can by it ready made in many supermarkets. 

  
   

   

  
      

   

I am pretty sure most of you know of Wasabi, that green hot paste type Japanese condiment that is used with Sushi and other Japanese  meals. However did you also know that Wasabi is difficult to cultivate, and that makes it quite expensive. Outside of Japan it is rare to find wasabi plants and therefore, due  to its high cost, what one buys is usually a mixture of horseradish, mustard, starch and green food coloring. Often packages are labeled as wasabi, but the ingredients do not actually include any or little real Wasabi. I believe that high end Japanese restaurant do use real wasabi and will grate it for you at the table ( have to admit to having not seen this being done in London). Looking at my box  of “hot and spicy grated horseradish ” it contains  24% horseradish,  and only 1.6% wasabi. It also contains various E numbers, colorants and Soy ( in case you are allergic to soy.! 

  
 Another product, that I have had an ongoing gripe about is, truffle oil! Celebrity chefs, wax lyrical about the stuff, TV cooks both amatuer and professional use it and so the home cook, thinks, I can do that as well. I too was fooled by what would seem to be a remarkably successful scam on foodie culture: truffle oil. 

Despite the name, almost all truffle oil does not contain even trace amounts of truffle; it is olive oil mixed with 2,4-dithiapentane, a compound that makes up part of the smell of truffles, is artificial and is made in a laboratory ! Essentially, truffle oil is olive oil plus truffles’  rather unpleasant  smell. Looking up  food sites you can find Truffle oil from about £5.50 for 250Mls, ( waitrose)   ( ingredients stated as olive oil and flavouring) to Carluccio’s Oilio al Tartufo,     ( ingredients, olive oil 99.9% and white truffle 0.1%) a Bit of a rip off! Even more outrageous in my opinion, is the TRUFFLE HUNTER, who claims they have a superior concentated Black Truffle oil, when looking at the ingredients, it states, Extra Virgin Olive oil, Olive oil ( I assume that is Bog standard olive oil) , black truffles( I think that it should read a smidgin of black truffle, as you can see a tiny bit floating around) and black truffle flavouring. They do not elaborate on the flavouring but I can assure you it is nothing more thatn Cheap as Chips, 2.4 dithiapentane, and if Himself  still had a laboratory, I am sure he could conjure me up some.  

 One of the leading brands is Urbani, from Italy ( $25 for 250 mls ) and as you can see from the lable, it pretends to be White truffle oil, BUT look at the lable. One American blog, states that he finds the smell of Truffle oil to be a real Aphrodisiac, but he too was fooled, by this scam. Wikepedia, tells the obvious with top American foodies, declaring it should be outlawed. 

  
 However , we have already understood that truffles are fairly rare and expensive, they can cost  as much as €10,000 per kilo, so why am I suprised that we are fobbed off with something that contains almost NO truffles.
So what else is new on the food scene. Well the younger himself, as previously stated, wondered why on earth I was taking so much stuff to France, including Garlic, I might add. BUT have you seen or tried this ( to me) new type of garlic. it is single bulb garlic, easy to peel, easy to squash with a knife, or in a garlic press. I love it! It also known as  monobulb garlic, single bulb garlic, or pearl garlic, is a variety of Allium sativium and the single clove is about 25-40 mm in diameter. It tatses like garlic though maybe a bit milder. It originates in Yunnan province in Southern China.  In the Uk one of the retailers is Lidl, the German discount supermarket.