Food & London

Last week, I went to my favorite place in the whole wide world: London. There isn't a thing you cannot love about London: the people, the shops, the fashion, the transport and of course the food.
When I was an au pair (now already 3 years ago), I learned to love the English food the hard way. I gained 15 kilo's within the first 3 months (that is 33lbs) and when I hit the 75 kilo mark I thought: na-ah. NA-effing-Ah. So I tried to find a way to still eat the delicious English food and lose weight.

But back to the point. I was hoping I would be able to write something about my bread baking workshop at Recipease, but sadly it was cancelled due to staff.. whatever that means.
Luckily I did go to my favorite pub The Shakespeare to, again, have their delicious fish and chips with peas, had lunch at Fifteen, ate a delicious wrap at Camden and had one of the best mango ice creams I've had in a while near Portobello Road.

So in case you ever go to London, visit al these places if you can and ignore your diet for just one week. You will not feel guilty, I promise.

First I will persuade you to go to Camden. Not just because of the great atmosphere that you will find there, not because of the cheap books or amazing vintage fashion, but because of the food stalls outside. Every time I go to camden I try to eat something from a different stall meaning it's a dish from a different culture every time (Turkish, African, South American or just plain English). This time I had a delicious lamb wrap with lettuce, grilled peppers and a blue cheese-mayonaise dressing and Hanne (my dearest travel companion) also had a wrap with spinach, f
eta and chicken. It was delicious, so definitely check that out when you go to London.

The other thing that you will have to do is go to The Shakespeare. It is right next to Victoria station ,which you will most likely pass at one point, so check it out. Even if it is just for a drink or a sandwich. But I promise you that they have AMAZING fish and chips (second best I had in England, the best was in Brighton). But they also have other things and change the menu every now and then. Hanne had an enormous burger which I think was called The Big Ben Burger. It was sooo good.

And while you're there, make a reservation at Fifteen. Lunch isn't that expensive and you won't be hungry for the next couple of hours (Hanne and I just had soup for dinner that evening).
I had freshly baked bread with butter and a smoked salmon with creme fraiche and something I cant remember and Hanne had squash soup which was delicious (she was kind enough to let me taste it) and as a main she had broccoli with polenta and a green kind of mash (we couldn't figure out what it was, but Hanne assured me that it tasted very good). The menu at Fifteen does change everyday so don't focus too much on the menu you see online while making a reservation. Just go.. eat and enjoy!

The last thing I will blog about today is the ice cream I had at Gelato Mio near portobello road market. I had never noticed it before, but I was craving for something sweet when I saw this ice cream shop. It is really expensive (I think 2,90 for one scoop) but it was super super super super nice. The ice cream was so soft and full of flavor. As the dutch say: Alsof er een engeltje over mn tong piest. I don't know the English expression, but if I translate it it says: Like an angel is peeing on your tongue.. Now it sounds weird. Just trust me, it was delicious.

To conclude this blog, I just hope that all of you will one day visit London and try to visit at least one of the places. You will not regret it. But there are loads of other places in London where you can get really nice food, so go find your own favorite pubs or ice cream shops:)
But do go to Camden, always.

Fish and Chips in Beer Batter

This is not one of my own recipes, it's just standard beer battered fish and chips which you can find all over the internet. So technically I'm not steeling it from anyone. It's not that difficult to make, but it is sooo good. I'm still trying to perfect the recipe but I'm getting there.

I don't really work with grams and milliliters with this recipe, I just keep adding beer and flour until the batter seems okay.

Beer battered Cod with chips and broccoli (1 person)

• enough cod for one person (For the Dutchies: kabeljauw)
• Flour + ts baking powder
• 1 beer
• 3 medium sized potatoes if you want to make the chips yourself.
• 1 broccoli

Turn on your fryer, 190C/275F, and your oven (same degrees). 

Make sure your fish isn't frozen anymore, or else the batter wont stick to your fish!

Peal the potatoes and slice them into a shape you like. Boil these in water with some salt for about 4 to 6 minutes. Drain them in a colander and let them dry.

Now start making the batter. Make sure it has a nice thick texture so it will stick to your fish. Make sure you have another bowl with just flour in it .

Season your fish with salt and pepper and then dip them into the batter. Then dip it in the bowl with the flour and then again in the batter. Then put it in the fryer. Make sure it doesn't touch the basket because it will stick to it. Leave the fish in for about 4 minutes. When you get it out put it in the oven so it will stay nice, crispy and warm.

Boil the broccoli, 4-5 minutes.

Now fry your chips until golden, also about 4 to 5 minutes.

You can make a garlicsauce to go with the cod:

• spoon of yoghurt
• spoon of mayo
• peper
• garlic

Mix all these things together and omnomnom!

Not a difficult recipes, but things can go wrong, so stay focused and enjoy.