This time of year is crazy-busy.
I’ve been kept busy baking (hundreds of) biscuits for the school’s Chanukah fair; panic buying Chanukah gifts and racing around securing costumes for Mini Fresser One’s Chanukah play performance — a tear-inducing show in which the Maccabees did their thing to the tunes of The Greatest Showman. In a room of mothers there were few dry eyes. Even the Headmistress — the wonderful Mrs Cohen — was clutching a tissue by the end of the show.
I digress.
I found time, though, to dash into Covent Garden, where Chef Amir Batito, who is responsible for styling the JC’s food photoshoots, is showcasing his own food for five nights. Israeli Batito has Moroccan heritage and his food is packed with flavour, so we — JC food writers Fabienne Viner-Luzzato and Silvia Nacamulli were with me — were excited to taste his food. It also worked as the only work-related outing any of us have had in years! It can be lonely in the food writing world (sniff).
The pop up was in tiny bar, Casanova & Daughters — in itself an interesting venue. It’s owned by two French men — one a retired Cirque de Soleil performer who started importing food when he became too old for circus trickery. He’s a famous face in his native Paris, where they have other outlets. They import delicious foods from Sicily including oils, herbs, anchovies, sauces and the most delicious pistachio cream I have ever tasted. A blend of the green nuts, cream and sugar. If that lived in my cupboard I’d be spooning it straight from the jar.
Amir’s menu listed many of the classics we’ve grown to expect from an Israeli chef — Masabacha (hummus with salsa); Labaneh; cauliflower; shakshuka, smoky aubergine and bourekas. His way with flavour meant nothing was boring. Far from it.
Roasted cauliflower (above) had a zesty preserved lemon kick; the boureka was novel — arriving as a long roll and the Turkish shakshuka (below) was simply two poached eggs, whipped goat’s yoghurt and a drizzle of Aleppo pepper butter. A refreshing change from the now ubiquitous (and frankly, boring) tomato and pepper-based sauce.
Yprach were Moroccan vine leaves, tightly curled and packed with rice and cranberries — not at all mushy as vine leaves can be. Spicy cactus was a salad made from prickly pears, goat’s cheese, fig and coriander. Mini pittas were filled with salty anchovies and a slice of dry cured tuna (which packed a flavour punch) tempered with sour cream, tomatoes and spring onions. The ‘fish plank’ was more of a board, but gave us a series of fishy favourites — white fish ceviche (tiny cubes heavy on the dill); more of those mouth-puckeringly good anchovies and tiny slices of tuna bresaola on Amir’s home-made crackers. Also on the board was some octopus which we didn't try.
Desserts were short and sweet. A heavily rose-flavoured Malabi which was topped with a spoonful of that heavenly pistachio cream and another mini glass dish containing a chunk of basbusa — lemon and thyme semolina cake with olive oil and vanilla custard. The latter more of a winter comfort dish but both redolent of the souk.
The food is heated up rather than cooked on site, so the menu is slightly limited in that respect, but it served as a great taster of what Amir can offer. We paid £35 each for a series of shared dishes and bottle of house wine, so not cheap, but none of us went home hungry.
Definitely worth popping in if you’re in Covent Garden between now and Sunday evening. Call ahead to book though — spaces are limited.
