Tamarind and Thyme

When we’re in the Soho area and looking for a nice teatime spot, one of the spots we gravitate towards is Amato on Old Compton Street. It’s a little less crowded than the slightly more famous Maison Bertaux but that doesn’t mean that their goodies are any less delicious!

Upon entering, you’re led to the back where there are a number of tables - it was almost empty when we went that day but it’s been chock-a-block at other times we’ve visited. You’ll be walking past a long display case of cakes and typical Viennoiserie and some Italian pastries too.

From the menu, we both chose iced tea to drink - just right to quench our thirsts. Hey, I just realised that I’ve been drinking a lot of iced tea this past year. Time to make some myself at home!

To eat (for one must have a little nibble at teatime) I chose this decadent looking confection from the pastry display case.

The waiter called it a cannoli but it looked more like cannoncini, according to their website. Whatever it’s called, it’s a spirally cylinder of puff pastry filled with a crema pasticciera. Only it turned out not to be any old pastry cream - this was chocolate pastry cream! Oh, it was light, and yet not light, if you know what I mean!

Until that trip, I had no idea that Amato also served meals; we saw two girls tucking into bowls of spaghetti, one of the daily specials. Definitely going to have to go back for that! Oh, and our tea for two (with the nibble) set us back about £8.

Amato
14 Old Compton Street
London W1D 4TH

I love Mexican food and take every opportunity to eat it when I’m in North America. When I heard about a cheap new Mexican place opening in London, I wanted to visit but it took me a while to finally try it.

I’d tried once before to get into Wahaca for dinner but a 45 minute wait put me off. We decided to come instead one weekend for lunch, when it was considerably emptier. We descended slowly down the stairs to the basement restaurant, taking in these new surroundings. The host waved us down huge arm-sweeping gestures and when we finally got to his stand, he proceeded to stick his nose up in the air, pretended to write furiously with his feathered quill-pen, and then pompously stated, with a big grin, that he was writing a sonnet. Many words to describe him came to my mind, none of them appropriate for me to put here. This was not a good sign.

We were promptly seated and the whole menu was explained to us after we’d answered in the negative to their question of whether we’d been there before. We’d already decided on the mixed platter for two upstairs from the menu by the door and so selected our drinks - two homemade hibiscus waters. We were also upsold the frijoles, but hey, I’m a sucker for refried beans. The entire time the waiter acted like our “mate”, our cooler-than-thou buddy. I hate that.

He promptly delivered our salsas. The red was a chipotle salsa and it did pack some heat. The green was a mixture of green tomatillos and herbs and chilies and was the milder of the two.

It was after we received our drinks (which were very nice and at a very nice price) that I noticed that the dishes on the menu at our table were not the same as those listed on the menu outside. The mixed platter also had different dishes and I wouldn’t be able to try huitlacoche for the first time. This, of course, annoyed me no end when after dinner I realised that they just hadn’t changed the menu outside. Not good. Even the menu online hasn’t been updated.

A waitress came over to our table with the tiny bowl of black beans in her hand, dropped it, and then walked away without another word. Weird. Luckily, the beans weren’t strange; they were actually quite delicious and topped with some crumbled cheese. Crumbled cheese?! What’s crumbled cheese? I mean, other than just taking cheese and crumbling it.

The platter arrived looking quite delicious.

Let’s take a look around, shall we?

Quesadillas were chorizo and summer broad bean and both were pretty good.

Tacos were steak

and espinacas (spinach). The tacos were minuscule and strangely greasy. The tortillas looked as if they’d been dipped in oil before being filled. Apart from the greasiness, they were tasty enough. Better with a bit of salsa.

Chicken taquitos were greasy, of course, but that’s to be expected from deep fried food! Nothing very special - just chicken in tortillas and the whole thing was deep fried. They were topped with a pico de gallo, lettuce, sour cream and that crumbled cheese again.

Rounding off the platter were the spicy slaw, guacamole and totopos. Totopos were as one would expect - freshly fried tortilla chips. I just wish there were more on the platter. The spicy slaw was actually very nice - this was definitely a surprise to me, a coleslaw disliker. There was a bit of spice and something tangy in the mayo dressing and the cabbage and carrot shreds weren’t overloaded in the creamy sauce. Guacamole was average; I thought it needed more lime.

A friend who visited soon after they opened felt that she was force fed the information that Wahaca was the restaurant of a Masterchef winner. Is that really necessary? I found the service a bit vulgar - call me old-fashioned but I don’t like it when the waiter is my “friend”. I doubt I’ll visit again and this is solely based on the service there - the food seemed promising and I would have given them another chance and maybe I will if I get a craving for Mexican food that can be sated no other way. But if I want mates, no thanks, I’ll turn to my own.

Wahaca
66 Chandos Place
Covent Garden
London WC2N 4HG

Well, it’s been one year! And how better to celebrate than to really tart up the blog with a new look.

Originally, the image in the new header was to be of pods of sweet tamarind from Thailand, of which I was not familiar. But as you can see from the image below, the result was….unsavoury. I think you’ll agree that the new header above is much better!

The tamarind I knew was the especially sour kind that’s either already sold as a block of pulp, to be soaked in warm water for tamarind water, or dried in slices, ready to toss into a curry to add a sour note. This sweet kind was a whole new animal to me. I purchased a boxful from my local Middle Eastern shop - huge boxful for a bargain £1.39. Each pod are as thick as a man’s finger and about the same length as well (except for the outlier at twice that length!). They are light, with a hard and apparently brittle shell.

Cracking one open exposes the sticky, chewy brown pulp surrounding glossy black seeds. The flavour is slightly sweet and somewhat tart and definitely tamarind. It’s a little difficult to eat due to its stickiness and its long fibres that need to be picked out. I’m looking forward to trying candied sweet tamarind when I can find them!

Thanks for visiting my blog over the past year and I hope to get to know more of you in the future!

I’m by myself in the flat and feeding myself has become something of a challenge. Normal recipes are almost out of the question unless the results are freezable - once, one meatloaf recipe fed me for 3 meals and half of it remained in my freezer until Blai came back. I’ve also gone the simple route - sandwiches - but that started to get boring.

What do you cook when you’re cooking for one? Do you cook each day or do you cook a few portions at a time? Or do you not cook at all? Hello, takeaway!

Usually, what happens is that I have something in the fridge that needs using up. I had some oyster mushrooms that were on the verge of going bad and thought of making a risotto with them. I always start risottos with the best of intentions and then by the time it’s finally finished, after the incessant stirring, I’m cursing the invention of risotto. But then the next time, I’ll start getting excited again… Anyway, here’s the recipe for risotto for one, with enough for leftovers.

Oyster Mushroom Risotto
serves 1 with leftovers, or 2 as a light meal

125g oyster mushrooms, torn or cut into large bite sized pieces
a splash of brandy
160 mL risotto rice (sorry, I’ve only got it by volume!)
1 small onion, finely chopped
~ 1.5 L hot vegetable stock (I used Marigold stock powder)
olive oil
butter
1/3 cup finely grated parmesan
1 tbsp creme fraiche (optional)
freshly ground black pepper
salt

Heat a saute pan or large frying pan over medium heat and add a tablespoon of olive oil when hot. Tip in the mushrooms and fry until soft. Add a splash of brandy and when the liquid has reduced, take out the mushrooms and set them aside.

Place the pan back on the heat and when hot, add about a tablespoon of olive oil and a pat of butter. When the butter has melted, add the onion and fry gently until translucent. Add the risotto rice and make sure that each grain is coated with oil and butter. Add a ladleful of stock and stir the rice gently and constantly. When most of the liquid has been absorbed, add another ladleful and repeat until the rice is cooked through (but with a bite in the middle).

Stir through the cooked mushrooms, the parmesan cheese, the creme fraiche, and some black pepper and salt, if required. If the risotto has become a bit stodgy during this time, add a little more stock to loosen it a little then plate and serve.

When I go to Southall, I make sure I have a nice meal there. This time, it was chole bhatura, a North Indian combination of spicy chickpeas (chole) with fried soft flatbreads (bhatura), at Rita’s Samosa House. I love the spicy tamarind sauce that comes alongside.

I also like to buy nibbles to eat at home, like these pakoras. There were pakoras of potato, onion, aubergine, cauliflower, and stuffed whole chilies. These were purchased from Ambala Foods.

Also for home are a boxful of mangoes. It’s the season for the king of mangoes - Alphonso mangoes. They were so delicious - sweet and heavily perfumed. I can’t imagine using them in any recipe; they’re perfect just as they are!

Sure, it’s a bit of a trek from central London but it’s a fun place to visit for the day!

Rita’s Samosa House
112 The Broadway
Southall, Middlesex
UB1 1QF