Embassy East: Haggis in Hoxton

Tried out a cool new little breakfast/brunch place last Sunday, which we haven’t done in a while. For a change I was not feeling like death, thanks to an early Saturday night after a (fairly) civilised picnic on Hampstead Heath 🙂 So, feeling good and fresh, we headed to Embassy East to fuel up before an afternoon’s shopping.

What a cool little place! It’s very small, with most of the simple wooden tables being in the front (all full at around 11:30am) and another couple around the back, where we sat. Light bulbs inside large jars made for cool lighting. The staff were uber laid back, one of the young gents even telling us upon our arrival that everyone was suffering major hangovers that day! Which was kind of obvious to be honest, they all seemed a bit out of it, but nonetheless very friendly.

I ordered ‘eggs and meat’ (£10), which was a large portion of haggis, sausages, thick cut streaky bacon, poached eggs (you could have scrambled too), grilled tomato and a large slab of thick crusty toasted bread. All of this was lovely and kept me full until dinner time. I did try a bit of my boyfriend’s scrambled eggs and salmon and realised the eggs to be ordered at that place were  ten times out of ten the scrambled variety. I would go as far as to say they were the best scrambled eggs I’ve ever had; really wet and saucy, but not so much that they seemed raw, with a creamy buttery flavour. Anyway, that’s what I’ll have next time we go!

 

So definitely recommended, 8/10 (two points off for hungover staff and the bacon could have been crispier). Oh and the coffee (my favourite: black, no sugar) was awesome too. Look at this:

 

West Indian Chicken Curry

I grew up on this curry, well a version very similar. My mother used to make it every Saturday (we had a meal for every day actually, I think my mum only really ever cooked seven different things!). Anyway, it was probably my favourite meal of the week, and once I left home I made sure I got the recipe from her! Over the years I have tweaked it a little to my liking, i.e. I use chicken breast instead of thigh, I don’t add potatoes, I added yoghurt and I use canned tomatoes to make it more saucy. It’ s a medium spicy dish but feel free to add more or less chili to adjust to your preference. You can serve it with veg, rice, rotis or naan, or a combination! Rotis and naan are good to soak up the juice of course! My mum always made rotis from scratch, but I just bought naan for this one.

Serves 3/4.

Ingredients:

• 4 chicken breasts, cut into cubes
• 2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 100g plain yoghurt
• 1 tsp thyme
• 2 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp coriander
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp paprika
• 3 tsp Madras/medium curry powder
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 inch cube fresh ginger, grated
• 1 red chili, finely chopped
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tbsp olive oil

 Method:

1. Put the chicken in a bowl with all the spices and herbs except the ginger and the garam masala. Mix to coat the chicken.
2. Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the chicken until browned, then remove from the pan and set aside.
3. Then add the onion, chili, garlic and ginger to the pan and fry until softened. Then add the chopped tomatoes and heat through. Add the chicken back to the pan.
4. Leave on a large ring on the lowest number for at least 1 hour, or at most 1.5 hours (the longer you cook it the more tender the chicken will be).
5. Add the garam masala and yoghurt 10 minutes before the end of the cooking time.

 

 

Manana Smoothie

Mango and banana = Manana! Obviously!!

I recently bought a new all in one blender/food processor/juicer and now will be obsessed with making smoothies. So expect an increase (from 0% to 500%) in smoothie posts 🙂

This one is super simple, just as well as its my first attempt at any smoothie! It’s really icy and refreshing, so great for an afternoon snack on a warm, sunny day.

Serves 1.

Ingredients:

• 1 banana, chopped
• 100g frozen mango chunks
• 100g plain low fat yogurt
• 6 ice cubes
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tsp honey

Method:

Put all ingredients into your blender and whizz/shake/whizz/shake until smooth.

 

Traditional Shepherd’s Pie

This Shepherd’s Pie is a variation of my mother’s, with certain flavours taken from Gordon Ramsay. Gordon is my favourite celebrity chef when it comes to traditional British food, as he always does it so well without adding any unnecessary, fussy ingredients.

I actually cooked this for my boyfriend’s parents, and it went down very well!

Ingredients:

• 1 kg lean lamb mince
• 2 onions, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 3 carrots, grated
• 3 sticks celery, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• 250 ml chicken stock
• 150 ml red wine
• Large dash of Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp thyme
• 1 sprig of fresh rosemary, finely chopped
• Salt and pepper

For the mashed potato topping:

• 1 kg potatoes
• 100g butter
• 3 egg yolks
• 50g parmesan cheese, grated
• Bit of olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Method:

Heat oven to 180 degrees Celcius.

Filling:

1. Fry the mince in a large pan (there is no need to use oil as there’s enough fat in the mince – even if it’s lean). Cook for 5-10 minutes, or until browned.
2. Add the garlic, onions, carrot and celery and stir into the meat until softened.
3. Add Worcestershire sauce, then add tomato puree and stir through until melted.
4. Pour in wine and simmer until it has reduced to half, then add the stock and bring to the boil again before reducing to a simmer. Add the thyme and rosemary and leave to simmer for 10-15 mins.

Topping:

1. Boil the potatoes until tender.
2. Drain and add the butter, yolks, seasoning and the cheese.
3. Mash all together until smooth.

Evenly put the mince into a large wide casserole dish and then top with the mashed potato topping using a dessert sized spoon (so that you only add small amounts at a time being careful not to let any bits sink into the meat too far). Spread out the potato gently using a fork, then drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle over some more herbs. You can also sprinkle with more cheese if you like.

Bake in the oven for about 18 mins or until the top is crispy and the meat is bubbling.

Serve and enjoy!