Inventory: Food and drink / Global
Flavour profiles
From Mediterranean delights in London, seafood in a design-led lounge in Rome and European flair in LA to cosy Mexican cantinas, these are places to put the world on your plate.
Oma
London
Barbadian chef David Carter travelled around Greece in preparation for the launch of Oma in Borough Market. The menu, created by Ecuadorian chef Jorge Paredes (previously of Sabor in Mayfair), offers a rich, culinary fusion that braids flavours and textures from the Levant. Dishes start with a bedrock of oregano, salt, lemon and olive oil. Try the zesty Peruvian ceviche, creamy lobster bourek from Tel Aviv and yellowfin tuna in clementine ponzu. There are also pillowy açma bagels that the chef originally came across in Istanbul, spanakopita gratin and labneh with salted cod, shallots and chilli oil from Aleppo. “At Oma, each dish arrives at the restaurant in its raw form: bread comes as flour and pasta as egg yolks.” It’s a creative take on Greek gastronomy, which shows that the nation’s culinary repertoire extends far beyond its balmy Mediterranean shores.
oma.london
Ninù
Rome
Italian interior designer and architect Alessandra Marino has made her Roman residence a restaurant and a cocktail bar with rooms. Precious furniture nestles by a floor-to-ceiling library, alongside pieces by the likes of Eindhoven-based studio Paul Heijnen. Chef Marco Gallotta has created a menu focused on Mediterranean flavours, with a particular emphasis on seafood delicacies. Should you have one too many glasses, guests can bed down in one of Ninù’s three suites.
ninuroma.com
Café Telegrama
Los Angeles
LA’s once sleepy Melrose Hill neighbourhood is now alive with new businesses, cafés, restaurants and museums. Artist and designer John Zabala has added a European stamp in the form of Café Telegrama (he’s also behind nearby Italian, Etra). “The design centres on the tables of Parisian cafés, Italian ceramics and flavourful coffee profiles,” Zabala says, “as well as Denmark’s use of interior architecture crafted with natural elements.” And the restaurant’s name and aim? “I like that telegrams are used to communicate with friends and family from afar.” The menu runs from breakfast staples such as ricotta toast with stracciatella and stewed cherries or delicious savoury salads (panzanella is best). The ham and cheese sandwich with prosciutto cotto, gruyère and dijon mustard is a must.
cafetelegrama.com
El Minutito
Mexico City
Opened on a quiet corner of Mexico City’s tree-lined Colonia Juárez, El Minutito is a few blocks from the towering office towers that abut Avenida Paseo de la Reforma, the capital’s main throughway. Patrons can order at the window but venture inside for the cantina-style space interior and a bite to eat at the standing counter or a coffee made with beans from the state of Veracruz amid aluminium trim and mirrors by architect Lucas Cantú of Tezontle studio. Pastries include orejas and gorditas de harina. At night El Minutito serves cocktails and spirits. The mix of alcoholic and caffeinated beverages on the menu is an echo to the upscale coffee shops that opened in Mexico’s capital during the gilded age of the late 1800s – we’re happy to report that the appeal endures.
Londres 28, Juárez
Recipes
Peach salad with goat’s cheese and pistachios
Serves 4
Ingredients
8 peaches, stone removed
200g mixed green salad or rocket
100g feta or fresh goat’s cheese
1 avocado
1 red onion 4 tbsps roasted pistachios
4 tbsps olive oil
4 tbsps lemon juice
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp coarse mustard
Pinch of salt and pepper
Method
1. Halve the peaches. Roast lightly on a grill rack.
2. Rinse the lettuce, dry well. Cut the feta or goat’s cheese into cubes or crumble. Cut the avocado into chunks, finely chop the onion.
3. Arrange the salad with the avocado and onion on plates, then place the grilled peach halves, cheese and roasted pistachios on top.
4. Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, honey, mustard, salt and pepper and drizzle over the salad.
Greek lamb meatballs
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
½ bunch fresh parsley
500g minced beef and lamb
1 egg
3 tbsps breadcrumbs
3 tbsps red wine vinegar
2 tbsps dried mint
1 tsp salt and ground pepper
Vegetable oil for frying
Method
1. Finely chop the onion, garlic and parsley, place in a bowl with the egg, breadcrumbs, vinegar, mint and seasoning.
2. Mix in the meats, kneading well with your hands, shape into walnut-sized balls.
3. Fry the balls in oil (180C) until golden brown and place on kitchen paper.
Berries with cardamom and vanilla ice cream
Serves 4
Ingredients
300ml red wine
300ml water
1 untreated orange, juice and grated peel
1 untreated lemon, juice and grated zest
110g cane sugar
1 tsp cardamom
½ cinnamon stick
40g corn flour
2 vanilla pods
500g mixed berries (red and blackcurrants, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries)
For the vanilla ice cream
200ml semi-stiff whipped cream
Seeds of ½ vanilla pod
1-2 tbsps cognac or Armagnac
Method
1. Mix the red wine with the water, juice and zest of the citrus fruit in a saucepan.
2. Stir in the sugar, add spices, pods and bring to the boil.
3. Mix the cornflour with a drop of the red wine and add to the citrus fruit to thicken the mixture. Leave to cool and fold the berries into the jelly-like mixture without crushing. Pour into glasses.
4. Mix the vanilla ice cream with the whipped cream, vanilla seeds and cognac to form a cream and serve.
ralphschelling.com
