Thursday 14 March 2013

Hollandaise sauce

Egg and hollandaise sauce


Egg and hollandaise sauce
Normally, hollandaise sauce is made with raw egg yolk, lemon juice, vinegar and (salted) butter, but I didn't have half of those ingredients, so I decided to improvise...

Serves 1

2 egg yolks
pepper, salt, herbs
50g butter,
2/3 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Beat the yolks with their seasoning, until they start to increase in size.
In a small saucepan, heat teh vinegar on a medium heat until it starts to bubble. As it soon as it starts to reduce, pour it into the egg mixture, beating whilst adding.
In the same pan used for the vinegar, melt the butter until it starts to foam, and add into the egg/vinegar mixture, once again whisking at the same time. Never add the egg mixture to the pan as the direct heat will cause the mixture to curdle, resulting in scrambled eggs.

Serve with eggs (poached or dry fried), smoked salmon, and tomatoes softened for 5 minutes in the pan.



When using the traditional hollandaise sauce recipe, you can substitute with lime to add more sharpness.

Sunday 3 March 2013

Dishoom WC2

Nestled in Upper Saint Martin's Lane with another restaurant over in Shoreditch, Dishoom have clearly got a good location(s), so this is why I was a little surprised to find a lack of people at 10.30 on a Sunday morning.

Friendly staff and a Byron meets Pain quotidien meets Bombay setting automatically created a good yet laidback atmosphere to relax in over a chai or lassi. Service was very quick so unfortunately for us (but fortunately for them)it wasn't the ideal place to linger and read a newspaper. A strong incense permeated the downstairs which had a few large and cosy alcoves.

I ordered an egg naan roll which was a very reasonable £3.50! Chewy and herby naan- which you could see being made- was stuffed with fried eggs, complete with runny yolks, a scattering of spring onions and a serving of chilli jam. The chilli jam was not spicy but quite sweet, all the while complementary.



A had a "Full Bombay", complete with akuri (a type of spicy scrambled eggs), bacon, eggs, tomatoes, and grilled bread. The akuri was pretty good, as it tasted like the way my granddad makes it. But. But, but, but... the sausages were tiny, the grilled tomatoes were basically raw, and the bacon was a bit of the disappointment. Despite this, it was £7.90, and you wouldn't get this kind of quality round here at that price...


To drink I had a breakfast lassi (£3.50). Made of banana, yoghurt, oats and mango, this drink was smooth, creamy and everything it should be. A had an Assam tea (£2.20), which was well-stewed but not enough water for such a large teapot.

It's not really relevant, but in the bathroom, there was a display cabinet of medicines, soaps, and other toiletries, which only added to the Indian-inspired atmosphere.

The breakfast menu is available from 8-11 on weekdays, and 10-1 on weekends. Have 8 breakfasts and get another one free!