Tay Do - Kingsland Road

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Kingsland Road is known for its Vietnamese cuisine. Every other shop is a cafe, restaurant or supermarket.
I've been meaning to explore the road for a while, and after wandering down the canal path, was happy to finally tick it off my list!
Having no idea which to choose, we decided on one of the cafes over the restaurants- and picked the smallest, most understated we could find; Tay Do.



The inside was a lot more presentable than out, shiny long tables neatly laid and adorned with purple flowers against bright green walls were hidden behind windows boarded over with planks. Don't be put off!


We didn't look at the menu long, having already decided on Vietnamese Pancakes. We ordered these with sides of aubergine in garlic sauce and Pak Choi.
The menu was farily typical (spring rolls, bowls of noodle soup and spicy squid) but extensive and genuine.


Vietnamese pancakes (Banh Xeo- 'sizzling cake') are crispy savoury pancakes made with rice flour, water and turmeric, and when ours arrived, they didn't disappoint. Our large, crispy pancake was filled with chicken, prawns and bean sprouts, accompanied by lettuce, mint and coriander.
Despite the pancake being battered, the dish was light and fragrant with the unfried vegetables and mint.
The aubergine was not fried and boiled like many Chinese restaurants, but had an intense, smokey flavour familiar from my experiences of Lebanese cooking and chargrilled within it's skin until the flesh is soft.

Overall, the dishes were large, filling and enjoyable, the cafe simple, quiet and quality. But more importantly- three pancakes, two side dishes and a pot of green tea came to £33.50- just over £10 each for a full meal. There aren't many places you can do better than that!

So next time you're half way down Kingsland Road and already overwhelmed by the choice- keep Tay Do in mind!

Tay Do,
60 Kingsland Road,
London,
E2 8DP

020 7739 0966

xxx

Dinner !

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Friday night, a friend of mine and I finally pried gaps in our ridiculous schedules to get together to do what we both love to do. Food geek out!
Aaron had planned to have dinner ready for when I arrived, but, as usual, chatting and flicking through cookbooks took priority, so dinner was a late one- giving me the opportunity to get involved.
Here are the recipes we tried- three courses, for old times sake.

Gordon Ramsay's smoked duck breast salad with pomegranate vinaigrette


He's much more relaxed with throwing things together these days (under my reproachful gaze) but he's still a recipe slut... And I'm kinda glad of it. This was possibly my favourite dish of the meal and I would never have discovered it otherwise. I sometimes think I should try out recipes a bit more often and expand my repertoire.
The smoked duck is so beautiful- really rich and strong against the salad and the sweet freshness of the pomegranates. I also loved the toasted flaked almonds.
The vinaigrette was made with pomegranate molasses (worth investing in if you like your Middle eastern cooking, or if you're a fan of Ottolenghi!) Dijon mustard, Olive Oil and groundnut oil.
The salad leaf contained chicory, for crunch. I've been loving Chinese lettuce in salads recently for that purpose, but chicory also adds a slight delicate aniseed flavour.

Tiger prawns, scallops and clams with tomato and feta

This dish contains some of my favourite ingredients- scallops and tiger prawns. With the fresh spring onion and tomato sauce, this is a really comforting rustic dish. A new favourite! We served it with yoghurt flatbreads- and I cannot recommend this enough. Like the smoked duck, that was one of my favourite parts of the meal, I can't wait to do them again!
They were really simple to make, and if you eat them cold, the yoghurt really comes though.
I'm so into these, I had to share the recipe!

Yoghurt flatbread
140g wholemeal flour
1½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
140g Greek yoghurt
3 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
4 tbsp clarified butter (or a mixture of melted butter and vegetable oil)

Combine all the ingredients, apart from the butter, in a bowl and use your hands to mix them together to a dry dough; add more flour if needed. Knead the dough for a minute or so, until it is smooth and uniform. Wrap it in cling film and chill for at least an hour.
When ready to make the flatbreads, divide your dough into six pieces. Roll into balls, then flatten them with a rolling pin into round discs about 2mm thick. Heat some clarified butter in a non-stick pan and fry the flatbreads, one at a time, on a medium heat for about 2 minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Add more butter as you need it and keep the flatbreads warm as they are cooked.

Pudding was Gizzi's spiced pear and chocolate souffle with salted caramel sauce

The spiced pears were poached in orange zest, white wine, honey, vanilla and a mix of spices- Cinnamon, cardamom and cloves. if you do this, please please save the juices after! The smell is amazing and has so many possibilities.
The salted caramel sauce was another buzz word for me. I cannot resist anything with salted caramel...

Give one of these a go sometime soon!

x

Dinner 29.12.2010

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So last night I had dinner with my friend Aleks. We like to cook with a fishy theme, so after squid stews and salmon en croutes, I decided to go for the King of all fish dishes- a classic fish pie.
I particularly like this recipe as (Aleks look away) its so easy to do. There is no blanching, poaching, frying etc. It's a genuine one pot dish. Throw in the onions and broccoli alongside the prawns, salmon and cod and you're good to go.
I also made a massive wholegrain loaf to accompany it. Well... To be honest, I made the bread first and planned the fish pie entirely around that... As, unless you're a carb-o-phobe, fish pie is so much better with chunks of bread. Talking of carbs and the like... I have plenty of low fat, healthy versions- but like low fat cakes- they just aren't the same.

The pudding is another incredibly simple recipe. Puff pastry rolled with marzipan and topped with sliced nectarines, blueberries and a fruit glaze... It's actually one of my favourite desserts!

Thanks Aleks- for the Prosecco, clean and well stocked kitchen, squid themed movies and a lovely evening :)

x

(Thai) dinner: 19.10.2010

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My friend Charlie went travelling round Asia recently. He's one of those people that also geeks out over dishes so I was simultaneously insanely jealous and impressed that he kept a food journal and did a few classes whilst he travelled.
He gave me this recipe for Green Papaya salad and I promised I would try it as soon as possible, so here it is... It's really gorgeous and the flavours are amazing.

Green Papaya Salad

Here's how you do it-
Tip a handful of peanuts, about 3 chopped tomatoes, 2 chopped birds eye chillis (or thai chillis, if you can get them) a chopped garlic clove, a handful of cut green beans and a heap of crushed cashew nuts into a mortar and pestle. Crush the mixture together. If you can get your hands on green papaya, julienne them and crush with the rest if not, then like us, use julienned carrots. It works, and stills still lovely!
It'll get messy, but that's okay...

I used peanuts from the Chinese Supermarkets- vacuum packed with dried chilli- super spicy!

Add a tablespoon of dark soy and another of light soy, a teaspoon of sugar dissolved in water and the juice of a lime. You can tweak this to taste- I like it with lots of chilli and lime. Serve up and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

On the Side:

Thai bay scented prawns with basil lime mayonaise

This one is really easy! I was searching for a side to make this meal more substantial, without moving away from the Asian vibe. I got this from the GoodFood 101 fish and seafood dishes, which I love!

Boil the basil leaves in a pan for a minute and then put into cold water. Drain and tip into a food processor with 6 tablespoons of olive oil. Whizz into a fine paste. Add the mayonnaise and a squeeze of lime juice. Make sure you reserve the skins.
Blend again, then tip into a bowl and chill.
Thread the bay leaves and prawns onto a skewer or wooden stick. Brush with oil and grill for 4 or 5 minutes. Spoon the mix into the lime skins and serve with the prawns.

x

How to: make simple Salmon en croute

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There are some flavours that were born to be together. Some of these flavours are surprising- strawberry and balsamic vinegar, chocolate and thyme... Others are elegant; monk fish and speck... Then there are the simple ones, and I sometimes believe these make for the best combinations.
Some of these flavours are salmon and prawns or cream cheese and sweet chili, and together they make one of my favourite meals.
(And it's very hard for me to pick my favourite meals...)

So the other night was a basic variety of filo salmon en croute. Its quick and very easy, and I'm sure you all know how to make it- But in case you need reminding...

Lay out a few layers of filo rectangles. Brush each layer with a bit of egg before putting the next one down. (Two or three is enough.) On top of the rectangle of filo, place an uncooked salmon fillet. Spread on a layer of cream cheese and then place a line of peeled prawns onto the fillet. Over this, drizzle with sweet chilli sauce and finally, top with spinach.
Crack some black pepper over and pull up the sides and edges of the filo and seal it like a parcel round the ingredients. Brush the edges with a big more egg to help bind, and then brush a bit over the top of the parcel.
Stick in the oven at about 180C and cook for fifteen minutes, till the filo is flaky and a bit golden.

Five ingredients that taste like they should always be together ...

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