Salad

Salad has entered my life is rather a big and intrusive way recently, which also partly explains my inability to blog for the last month or so. I do think it is mightily strange for a grown man to be so fond of raw vegetables, but I have learnt to love it. Here's one of Fil's magnificent salad creations (and yes, readers, this is a side salad for 2!):


One of the good things about all this, of course, is that I am rediscovering how I love weird and wonderful combinations of salads, as showcased by our trip to Ottolenghi's. I've read Yotam Ottolenghi's recipes in the Guardian for many months now, and generally they are the sort of recipes that sound so good that I will cut it out, put in a folder, and never revisit again. I particularly like that there is a strong Middle Eastern vibe in his food, and everything sounds very zingy.

The Islington branch we went to was rammed on the Saturday night we visited. We got there super early at 6pm and managed to grab one of the last spaces at the bar in an otherwise fully booked dining room, and all night long the maitre d' was laughing at the hopefuls walking in who then promptly walked out again. I can sneer all I like about Islington-ites, but even I have to admit I have very similar taste buds to them.

Potentially my favourite thing was a very simple salad of pumpkin with manouri cheese, a Greek cheese which I've never had before. I was expecting something quite sharp like feta, but its smoothness and slight citrusiness was totally delicious with the pumpkin:

Less successful was their version of tuna tataki, which came with a soggy breadcrumb and a bit too inoffensive wasabi sauce:

Their pigeon (or was it quail?) was a little unmemorable:

But we loved the chicken livers and mushrooms on brioche toast. I like the fact that they can do the funky taste combinations as well as do classic dishes very well:

So it has inspired me to be a little more creative with my salads, but repeat visits will be quite harsh on the wallet. Each little plate (they recommend you order 4 each) costs around £10-12, which I felt was all a bit expensive for something pitched to be casual (the salads are all sat in big bowls in an entrance, for example). I also saw that they do takeaway salad boxes at a slightly laughable £9.95 each. Obviously I'm not rich enough to qualify to be a trendy yummy mummy type yet, phew!