Friday 25 March 2011

Made by Jonty Review

Yesterdays weather was truly stunning!
I celebrated my day off with a trip to hunters bar.

First stop was a haircut and manicure up on Greystones road,
the second stop was the Greedy Greek where I popped in for some delicious Strofilia and the third stop was Made by Jonty.

There's a nice chilled out atmosphere to the place and the two girls who served me were bubbly and friendly. I like the exposed brick walls and tasty looking cakes on display.
There is a large blackboard menu and an "all day breakfast" paper menu which includes the usual breakfast items as well as some very tasty sounding Eggs Benedict and Florentines.
However I am not really in a breakfast mood so go for the cauliflower cheese burger off the board and a hot chocolate to drink.
I sit upstairs and look out of the window at the nearby school with all the happy children finishing their day...yes it was a very late lunch!

Soon enough my hot chocolate arrives and is hot, milky and chocolaty. Just what you'd expect from a good hot chocolate!


Not long after the waitress brings up my burger. "Tell me what you think because I might have it for my lunch on Saturday!", she tells me.

The bread is nice but slightly disappointing as it didn't seem to be home made. The burger itself is great but could benefit from more cheese. Yet it makes a nice alternative to your traditional burger.




The accompanying sweetcorn relish is sweet and tangy with a bit of heat from the whole mustard seeds. The flavours work together with the rich cauliflower cheese well.

I'm stuffed so don't go for a dessert today but will be back if I'm ever in the area for more summer food or if I fancy a tasty  breakfast.


The whole bill came to just over £9.

Food 7/10
Service 9/10
Value 7/10


...Oh and my fourth and final stop was at Nonnas Cucina where I purchased a slice of coffee and white chocolate tart for later. It was gorgeously decadent!

Wednesday 16 March 2011

Spring Vegetable And Goats Cheese Filo Parcels With A Caramelized Apple Compote Recipe

I tried a similar version of this last week whilst I was in Morocco, at the Earth Cafe.

The apple and goats cheese work very nicely together and when I made this at work it sold out pretty fast! Enjoy!

This is a rough-ish  recipe as however many parcels it will make will depend on the sheets of filo you get in your pack / don't rip etc.

I used roasted butternut squash, courgettes, red onion, red pepper and blanched kale as my vegetables but you could use pretty much any!

Ingredients:
Pack Filo Pastry
Vegetables (see above)
Goats Cheese
Apples
Oil (for brushing)

Method:
Pretty straightforward really!
Preheat gas to 200 degrees C.



       Compote
  • Peel and small rough chop the apples removing all the pips.
  • Cook on the stove in a pan with a little water and sugar.
  • It will stick slightly, let it do so as this adds colour and flavour!

       Parcels
  • Roast your veggies or steam them, pan fry them, boil them it really is up to you, this is a very versatile recipe. Make sure to leave them with a bit of crunch.
  • Gently seperate your filo. Each parcel needs 2 sheets. lay these on top of each other. (Tip - with filo, a slightly damp tea towel, laid over the remaining filo, whilst you begin working on a parcel, helps it to not dry out!)
  • Layer your vegetables and finish off with a gooey slice of goats cheese.
  • Brush the sides with oil and fold them over like you are wrapping a present - bringing them over together neatly on top.
  • Garnish with remaining pepper and bake for 10-15 minutes
  • Serve with the apple compote! 
Sorry I have no finished picture of the parcels but they did sell out before I had the chance to photograph any!