Dishoom and The Breakfast Club

Indian and a Full English. That is what I miss the most about living in England. I've tried making curries in Paris but they never seem to be quite right, probably because I can never find the exact ingredients I'm looking for.

In order to get to the 'International' section in supermarkets in Paris, one must first trek down the miles and miles of yoghurt and cheese aisles, only to be disappointed that the 'international' section of Carrefour consists of one dusty and lonely jar of chilli flakes and some soy sauce. SO TRAGIC.

So whenever I go home that is the number one item on my menu. 

When I was told we were headed to an Indian restaurant in Covent Garden I didn't think much of it, that was until I saw the long queue outside of Dishoom ... at 5.30pm. I knew it was going to be something of a treat!

Queueing is the one thing I cannot stand. However after hearing the rave reviews we decided to stick with it. That, and they were also kind enough to bring us some aromatic chai tea whilst we were stood outside. After making it to the front of the queue outside, and then having a few nibbles and drinks downstairs in the bar we finally made it to our table.

The interiors were beautiful and warming, reflecting and respecting the old-style Bombay cafes that used to be everywhere, but have now practically disappeared.

Often when menus don't take the normal format we recognise of starters, main courses and desserts, we get a little baffled. Serving small portions of genuine Indian cuisine, Dishoom does just that. However our very helpful waitress was on hand, just in time to tell Daddy that he over-ordered...again.

It was one of those menus that you just didn't know what to have because it all looked so bloomin' great! We decided in the end on about 10 dishes between 5 of us. My favourite was MURGH MALAI- chicken that has been soaked overnight in garlic, ginger, coriander and cream and MAHI TIKKA, an asian bassa fillet marinaded in a yoghurty-sauce. It was absolutely deliciiious!

The following day we headed to the Breakfast Club in Angel, a restaurant that Oliver had already been to and said was great. Once again we had to queue for about half an hour outside, but I realised from experience at Dishoom that it would definitely be worth the wait.

The menu was an absolute dream. There were Pancakes, Waffles, Pork Baps, The Full English, Muselis, Porridge, Eggs Florentine on offer, all to be washed down with freshly-made smoothies and coffee.

The place was just so coool. Photos are stuck all over the yolk-yellow walls along with weird paper-mache sculptures, old cinema tickets and cuttings from magazine. It's like the funky bedroom of an 80's teen, which I guess is appropriate given the name!

I uummed and ahhhed for a while over the menu. Good pancakes are rare to come by... (Except obviously the best are still my Dad's) .... but so is a good Full English. SO in the end I decided on both: Pancakes, sausages, eggs, potatoes and pancakes with a nice little pot of maple syrup on the side.

If you're prepared to wait a little while, I would definitely go and give the Breakfast Club a go! The food is not only great but the place is just so awesome. Perfect washing down a Huge Breakfast with not only some smoothie but also with a bit of Britney in the background. If I lived in London this would definitely be my 'the-day-after' hangover spot.

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Lavender and Coco Bistrot

Last weekend was a bank holiday in Paris so I headed home. You have no idea how much I was looking forward to it! Hot water bottles, walks with the dog, sitting with my back to the AGA, fires and huge cups of tea was what I had in mind, and I can say a ticked them all off of my list.

Saturday night was spent with Mummy and Molly, sitting by the fire and watching Strictly Come Dancing. Cuddled up in my pink spotty buttoned-up pyjamas, I didn't feel it was the best time to take any photos. Sunday morning Adam and I got up very early as, being Remembrance Sunday, Adam was on parade. He looked particularly dashing in his uniform I may add.

After a lovely parade on a beautifully crisp winter's morning, we all headed out again to celebrate Adam's Mummy's birthday at Lavender Bakehouse and Tea- shop in Stroud.

I was filled with lovely little trinkets such as the one I eventually bought for my grandparents...

The following day I went along to Mummy's work a the Everyman theatre. Playing with toddlers for an hour made us a little peckish so we headed over to Coco Bistrot to get me in the mood before I headed back to Paris that afternoon. On a Monday they have a great £10 for two courses menu.

I started with the French Onion soup before heading onto the Pork Belly. Obviously living in Paris meant that it wasn't the best french meal I've ever had but it was fantastic for the price and the service and ambiance was excellent. In some ways having Edith Piaf and the accordion in the background made it perhaps even French-ier than actual Paris...

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Authentic Stone-Baked Pizza

Pizza is hands-down my favourite food. Put one in front of me and I'll eat it- there's no stopping me. So when we arrived at our Masseria and we saw an authentic stone pizza oven, we all got a little jittery... well maybe just Patrick and I. From Day One we said we were going to make our own pizzas in the ovens and we were determined to stick to our word!

Despite the concierge Angelo saying it was practically impossible for us to cook our own pizzas in the oven because it involves skills that only pizzolos have, we still went ahead with it. And guess what Angelo, they were bloody fantastic. 

First things first: Gather your team. You'll need some strong hunky men (queue Oliver and Adam) to help gather the wood for the fire whilst the rest start making the dough and sauce. 

The thing is with a stone oven is you need to light it a good 3-4 hours (depending on it's size) before you're planning to start cooking. We therefore lit it at 4ish in time for dinner at 7. This is so the stone is so hot that the pizza only needs to be in there for a short while (around 4 minutes). 

Make the fire and then push it to one side of the oven so the flames curl up the roof.

After the fire is lit and burning away, go and fetch only the finest ingredients. 

 Or in Patrick's case some Limoncello...

We found an amazing shop called Di Vino in the local town where, because we purchased so much, the kind man threw in (well-obviously not literally) an extra bottle of rose. Thank you very much- we will be coming back again!

So, at this point your fire should be on fire (excuse the pun). Now it's time to start on the dough and the sauce. We actually got the dough recipe from Jamie Oliver as he's always a super reliable chap. Put a tea towel over the bowls and let them rise in a warmish/dry place. Obviously being in Italy we just put them outside!

It's now time to make the sauce.

There was already a bottle of Passata in the house already which was ideal. So to save on washing up, chop up garlic and fresh basil, scrape it all into the bottle itself and give it a little shake. (with the lid on obviously). Put the bottle in the fridge until you need to use it.

When the oven is hot enough, separate the dough into medium-sized balls and roll them out and stretch them into flat circle shapes.

Then find a super cute child to help you put the toppings on....

We chose the standard Moz, Tomato Sauce and Pepperoni but added a dribble of pesto to make it that extra bit more authentic.

On some of them we did Mushrooms and Peppers.

Put some flour on the pizza- spatula so that when you put the pizza on, it slides off easily without breaking. 

Put your pizzas in your oven and occasionally turn them round using the spatula to make sure they cook evenly.

If your oven is hot enough they shouldn't be in there for very long!

Sit down and enjoy either by themselves or if you're super posh, have a starter like we did of parsley and garlic prawns. Yes please!

Unfortunately this is the only picture we have of our finished- pizzas! They were eaten up so quickly I barely had time to take my camera lens off!

The final thing you need to do is sit down and enjoy the beautiful food you've made with friends!

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