Posts by Tom Johnston
Lesley Johnston’s Spicy Couscous Salad
Although we have as a nation heartily embraced pasta, couscous is still relatively uncommon. Looking at it, you may think it’s a grain; however, it’s small steamed granules of rolled semolina and technically pasta. Pay attention to what you buy. Today’s recipe uses the small type of couscous. To cook these you simply need to…
Read MoreScarpetta, Edinburgh
Scarpetta 38 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 2LE 0131 259 1395 scarpettaedinburgh.co.uk The Bill Starters £8.50 – £12.00 | Mains £14.00 – £29.00 Desserts £8.50 The Score Cooking 5/10 | Service 2.5/5 Flavour 4/5 | Value 4.5/5 TOTAL 16/25 Restaurateurs of the world rejoice! After receiving inspiration during today’s review I can now offer…
Read MoreHow To Use Tom’s Food!
Yes, I can hear the spluttering from here. What do you mean, use it? We read the b****y thing, don’t we? Calm down, dears. What has prompted this is the fairly regular correspondence or chat which I have with people looking for stuff or asking questions which could be easily answered by delving into the…
Read MoreAlioli & Friends
Today we’re looking at a family tree. Until the recent Menorcan trip, I would have said that we were considering siblings in the shape of mayonnaise and Spanish alioli, otherwise aioli. I knew that rouille was but a cousin. For a long time I was unaware precisely how it was made, just that its garlic…
Read MoreRomano’s, Simpsons-in-the-Strand, London
Romano’s Simpsons-in-the-Strand 100 Strand, London WC2R 0EW 020 7836 9112 www.simpsonsinthestrand.co.uk The Bill Prix-Fixe 2 courses £21.00 | 3 courses £24.75 Post Theatre (21.45 – close) £19.75 A la carte Starters £6.75 – £14.25 | Mains £14.75 – £28.25 (Sunday Roast Beef £34.75) Desserts £4.50 – £9.75 The Score Cooking 6.5/10 |…
Read MoreSome Foods of Menorca
We are just back from a short break in Menorca. First time there. Although I’ve visited big sister Mallorca once or twice, I don’t pretend to know much about the food of either. Getting to know a new cuisine is always interesting. Sadly, as we were staying in a resort our first hand experience of…
Read MoreAubergine Caponata
Yes, the title may be a bit tautologous. But the recipe I found was entitled Caponata with Aubergines and I knew that you would be concerned about the fate of the aubergines which were snubbed to make last week’s Spicy Lamb Burgers. It took me a long time to discover the middle eastern dishes of wonder which…
Read MoreL’Escargot, London
L’Escargot 48 Greek Street, London W1D 4EF 020 7439 7474 www.lescargot.co.uk The Bill Prix Fixe (available from 12 – 3; 5 – 6.15; 9 – 10.15) 2 courses £25.00 | 3 courses £29.00 A la carte Starters (excluding caviar @ £99) £14.00 – £29.00 Mains £20.00 – £75.00 | Desserts £7.00 – £18.00 The…
Read MoreSome June Thoughts On The Side
We are in foreign parts at the moment, and I thought about putting things on pause; however, there are some Eats! and Cooks! articles in the can, and we always close down for a few weeks later in the year. But such is my dedication to you that I’m ignoring the azure sky and the…
Read MoreSpicy Lamb Burgers
Lamb burgers Sometimes I shop with specific dishes in mind. At other times an ingredient or two will catch my eye, then the day’s dinner is shaped by a flash of inspiration. Today was a bit of both. I had bought some lamb mince and a couple of aubergines, intending to make a moussaka, a…
Read MoreSo What Do You Look For In A Holiday
Now fret not. We haven’t forgotten that this is a food blog. We’re not about to turn into reincarnations of Judith Chalmers*. This is penned just a few days before we’re off for ten days in the sun, somewhere in Europe. I was going to say that my mind is turning to food, but truth…
Read MoreTahira Nasim’s Pilau Rice
Tahira Nasim You have not forgotten our Tahira. Trust me on this. Once you’ve met our Tahira you will never forget her. The circumstances of our first meeting are odd enough – at a concert in the Usher Hall during the Edinburgh Festival, since you ask – but things got odder still. She slagged me…
Read MoreRoyal Durbar, Edinburgh
Royal Durbar Indian Dining and Bar 35 – 37 Shandwick Place Edinburgh EH2 4RG 0131 229 2021 www.royaldurbaredinburgh.co.uk The Bill A la carte Starters £5.95 – £12.95 | Mains £11.95 – £19.95 Desserts £2.95 – £5.25 The Score Cooking 6/10 | Service 4/5 Flavour 4/5 | Value 5/5 Total 19/25 One good meal deserves…
Read MoreThe Food Alphabetical: E is for Empanada
Empanadas Writing this column is becoming ever more scary. I may demand danger money. I’ll tell you why in a bit. And when it comes to the alphabet, some letters are much harder than others. Five years ago, first time round, we took the obvious choice and went for egg. So what next? What about…
Read MoreBistro 1155, Glasgow
Bistro 1155 1155 Argyle Street, Finnieston, Glasgow G3 8TB 0141 208 2041 www.bistroelevenfiftyfive.com The Bill A la carte Bites £5.00 – £21.00 | Starters £11.00 – £13.50 Mains £19.00 – £40.00 | Desserts £10.00 – £12.00 The Score Cooking 7.5/10 | Service 5/5 Flavour 5/5 | Value 5/5 Total 22.5/25 You can have…
Read MoreStrawberry Pavlova
Having spent a couple of years bemoaning the quality of British strawberries, I am cautiously pleased by what I’ve eaten this year. Early in the season of course. I’ve always associated the good old strawb with my birthday in July, but that’s modern growing methods for you. A week or two ago I mentioned Eton…
Read MoreChef Watch, Featuring Peter McKenna of Bistro 1155, Glasgow
Chef Watch Featuring Peter McKenna, Chef and Co-owner Bistro 1155, Glasgow How long have you been a chef? I stepped into my first professional kitchen at the ripe old age of 14 as a kitchen porter. Over the years that followed, I progressed to working within the kitchen team of a local Monaghan hotel and…
Read MoreChicken Katsu
As we’re on a Japanese theme this week, it seemed appropriate to stick with that for today’s delight. After our eastern jaunt three years ago I gave you recipes for teriyaki and tamagoyota, and explained how to make your own sushi – I’m sure you do it better than I. Later today is going to…
Read MoreIchiban, Glasgow
Ichiban 50 Queen Street, Glasgow G1 3DS 0141 204 4200 www.ichiban.co.uk The Bill Set Lunch Main Dish £10.80 | Main Dish and Side £14.90 A la carte Sushi £4.80 – £ 7.60 | Main Dishes £13.00 – £15.90 Sides and Sharing Plates £5.00 – £9.00 The Score Cooking 4/10 | Service 4/5 Flavour 3/5…
Read MoreKnives from Nippon
Forget sweetie shops. This overgrown kid can easily pass them by. But a shop selling knives and kitchen equipment? That’s another matter. In Edinburgh, Nisbets in the West Port has often sucked me in with some strange, magnetic-like force. Purchases started small: tiny inconsequential pieces of kitchen ware. Then, as with any addict,…
Read MoreSpaghetti alla Casa Johnston
Seasonality? Not easy here in Britain. We saw the sun early in the month. The first asparagus came with spring promise. Our sojourn in London wasn’t of the warmest, but in the gentle heat of our last day I was contemplating dishes with which to tempt you. Something light to be eaten al fresco, perhaps,…
Read MoreLa Locanda, Edinburgh
La Locanda 61 Cockburn Street, Edinburgh EH1 1BS 0131 622 7447 lalocandaedinburgh.co.uk The Bill Starters £10.95 – £16.90 | Mains £19.90 – £29.90 Desserts ? The Score Cooking 6/10 | Service 3.5/5 Flavour 4.5/5 | Value 1.5/5 Total 15.5/25 Cockburn Street Edinburgh in the summer can assume a surreal, sometimes magical quality. The surrealism…
Read MoreLondon Food: What is London Food?
On our regular jaunts to the capital we enjoy a couple of principal activities. Food obviously is one of them. Purely, you understand, in the interests of keeping you informed, dear reader – and this trip has yielded three yet to be written articles. We also spend much time wearing out shoe leather following the…
Read MoreThe Baring, London
The Baring 55 Baring Street, London N1 3DS 0207 916 5861 www.thebaring.co.uk The Bill Starters £10.00 – £15.00 | Mains £25.00 – £39.00 Desserts £9.00 – £10.00 The Score Cooking 7.5/10 | Service 5/5 Flavour 5/5 | Value 5/5 Total 22.5/25 If your first question wasn’t, where on earth is The Baring?, I’d be surprised.…
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