Jerusalem is one of our favorite cookbooks. Visiting a deli or restaurant operated by Yotam Ottolenghi, co-author of the book was one of my highlights during our stay in London. He has several delis and restaurants. Many of them open for breakfast. Good for morning people like us! Based on location and menu, we chose Rovi. All Ottolenghi's delis and restaurants have been rated very well. I was a bit worried how busy the restaurant would be and whether I should make a reservation. When we arrived at Rovi, it was clear that my worries were useless. The place was very quiet with only a few customers.
I ordered pancakes with plum and cardamom compote. They were pretty good. The plum jam was nicely tart. I wished they served more jam and cream. J had Iranian fritters with piquillo sauce, fried egg and salmon. The fritters were interesting. Herby, spicy, nutty, and very light. They could be wonderful vegetarian burger patties. J enjoyed his dish very much!
We saw some staff in the open kitchen grilling dozens of cauliflowers, preparing for lunch menu, I guess. Hoping we have a chance to come back for lunch or dinner someday.
On our last day in London, we had a chance to visit one of Ottolenghi's delis, Belgravia. The small deli was filled with beautiful baked goods and savory items, including several veggie options! I wished to take some pastries back home but wasn't sure if they could travel well. J suggested I buy a small one and eat it while we were walking. I would rather sit down, relax and enjoy a treat. Unfortunately the deli's tiny eating space was taken by several customers. After a big lunch, I wasn't hungry and we didn't have much time to do so anyway. Still I wanted to try something from the deli. What I chose was a jar of jam. There were three or four kinds of jam. I picked rhubarb and redcurrant jam.
A few days later after we came back from London, I opened the jam and tried on my breakfast toasts. It tasted fresh and tart. I am a big fan of sour fruit jam. This product hit the spot perfectly. Ingredient list was simple: rhubarb, sugar, red currants and lemon. It was loose jam, which would be lovely on pancakes or waffles.
The jar said, "Once opened refrigerate and consume within 1 month." It wouldn't be a problem. I ate 1/3 of the jar with two slices of toasts. It seems I can buy jam via Ottolenghi website, but I will wait until we go back to London because I would like to try pastries from his deli next time.
