Morito, Exmouth Market

London is a haven for food from all corners of the Earth.

 In fact, I find that outside of Oxford Street it is pretty hard to find a terrible restaurant in London. I find that the best eateries in London are always the unpretentious little finds tucked away far from the madding crowd that you hope no one else finds out about. The ones you almost don't want to tell anyone about in the fear that it might turn into a chain. 

Like Morito.

Morito, the little sister of Moro, is one of my favourite restaurants in London. Moro and Morito are based in Exmouth Market, which if you are ever around that area (it is about a 20 minute walk from Kings Cross) is definitely worth a visit.

The food is a fusion of North African and Spanish, which makes for a real treat indeed. If, like me, you have quite an intense and almost unhealthy love for aubergines ( I have a jumper with aubergines on it), make sure you try  the crispy aubergine, whipped feta & date molasses (pictured above). The aubergine, cut like thick chips, goes all gooey yet crispy on the outside and the feta and the salty taste of the feta with the sweet molasses makes you  want to marry the dish and take it home to meet your parents.

Anyway, it’s a great little restaurant as it’s also pretty reasonable for London. Each dish is on average around £6 or £7 and you could probably get away with four dishes between two people as the sizes are quite generous for tapas. The vegetarian food is just as good as the meaty treats if not better. The whole place has a relaxed, raw cantina feel and the staff are great. I especially enjoyed the Spanish style glasses they serve with your wine that look a little like tumblers and make the delicious Spanish wine go down all too easily.

You can book at lunchtimes but not in the evenings, but if you do need a table the lovely people of Morito  will take your number and call you once your table is ready (so you can have a swift one in one of the neighbouring bars or pubs). To book,contact info@morito.co.uk. 

Kale and Pineapple Smoothie

I am actually pretty disciplined when it comes to making smoothies. I tend to make one at least every other morning before I go to work, and  I really notice the benefits.  Smoothies are one of those things that are SO much cheaper to make yourself. If you buy  a good smoothie anywhere in London, you’ll probably end up spending around a fiver a pop. One ingredient I really recommend investing in are Chia seeds. These are fantastic for acting as an antioxidant, they’re a great source of fibre and Omega 3 AND they don’t taste of anything! You can add them to smoothies and porridge and you only need a teaspoon or so to make a difference. A 250g bag will probably cost you around £4, you may be able to find them cheaper on the internet- but I always add these to my juices/smoothies and they help to really fill me up as well as being a great source of nutrients.

Here is my pineapple and kale smoothie:

You will need:

1 teaspoon of Chia seeds

½ small pineapple, cut into chunks

¼ pint of water or coconut water – more if desired

1 x handful of kale – more if desired.

Blend this all up together until you get a smooth green drink and enjoy straight away. You can save any leftovers in the fridge for around 24 hours in an airtight container.

Crazy Wild Garlic Pesto

Wild Garlic

A group of us recently visited went to the depths of Totnes for a friends birthday. We sang "Country House" the whole way there until we were told, quite rudely, to pipe down. I had a fantastic time, despite whacking my head on one of those stupid tiny door frames you see lurking around in old country  houses, reminding us that as humans we are growing at alarming rate, and makes you wonder how on earth we will fit into these little old houses in a couple of hundred years when are the size of small giraffes. 

The next day, we all went on a long country walk and discovered an abundance of wild garlic. If you are lucky enough to live close to any wild garlic I really recommend picking some. It smells incredible, and you can do a lot of great dishes with it. A friend had told me she had used this as the filling for some chicken Kievs which I can only imagine would be delicious.  Unfortunately, the person I was cooking for was a vegetarian so a cheeky Kiev was out of the question. 

Here is my Crazy Wild Garlic Pesto recipe:

Ingredients:

A good bunch of wild garlic- I had about 50-60 leaves, washed

80g of pine nuts

70g of Parmesan (or if you want a vegan version, try cashew cream 
or just leave the Parmesan out)

180ml olive oil

Squeeze of fresh lemon juice

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

All you need to do is whizz these up in a blender. You can add more of each ingredient dependent on how you like you pesto, so taste as you go. I love this on pasta with grilled cherry tomatoes and broad beans.