09 May 2011

east end paradise

Sheltering under umbrellas (for the first time in months!) we headed into London early Saturday morning for a brunch demonstration at La Fromagerie

with Jojo Tulloh, food editor of The Week and author of East End Paradise:

Having loved Jojo's book (published last year as Freshly Picked) I was looking forward to hearing more about her allotment and gathering new ideas for using our own plot produce.

After a brief introduction, Jojo showed us how to make Rice Paper Rolls with Fresh Herbs and Salad. And we were soon set loose with stacks of rice papers, twists of rice noodles, and plates piled high with lettuces, herbs, and julienned veggies. We arranged and wrapped while Jojo made the dip.

We then moved on to preparing artichokes, a skill I'm not sure I'll ever master--a bit worrying considering the size of our plants! But Jojo had hers de-choked in no time,

and they were whisked away to the kitchen for a Pea and Globe Artichoke Heart Frittata, served later with Jojo's signature Allotment Salad of greens and herbs.

To finish, Jojo demonstrated my favorite dish of the morning: Stuffed Courgette Flowers with fresh goat curd and lemon.

They were so amazingly light and crispy:

A wonderful morning all round, but I knew it would be, considering we share a love of allotment white pizzas! Though looking at this picture, I can see how much thinner and crispier our crusts are now, more like the ones in Jojo's book.

And her lovely daughter, who's already a deft hand with an artichoke, proved to be a girl after my own heart too, finishing her brunch with a big scoop of gelato:

The most perfect allotment neighbors! If only Leyton weren't so far from Teddington...

12 comments:

  1. Just the inspiration we need to get planting! Though we have not had enough rain to make any difference at all and the ground is like concrete :-(

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mmm brunch, my favourite meal! Looks like a fun demonstration.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Rice Paper Rolls with Fresh Herbs and Salad really worked well with the rice vinegar/garlic/chilli dip. A bit tricky to assemble, but worth the effort, as all the ingredients work well together.

    ReplyDelete
  4. La Fromagerie seems to do an excellent job of hosting fun events. And I curse people who make toiling in the kitchen seem like such a breeze!

    ReplyDelete
  5. It sounds like you got plenty of great ideas from a wonderful morning. Jude x

    ReplyDelete
  6. My mouth is watering! And I love her top/dress!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Wow, looks like great fun! Have always wanted to try courgette flowers. Were they hard to do?

    ReplyDelete
  8. Sometimes I bemoan the fact that I am too lazy to have an allotment. Now is one of those times.

    ReplyDelete
  9. What a lovely way to spend a Saturday morning! All that food looks delicious.

    ReplyDelete
  10. The thought of those courgetts flowers has made my mouth water.

    ReplyDelete
  11. just my kind of cooking, and stuffed courgette flowers are one of my favorite things to eat.

    ReplyDelete