I do have friends who aren't foodies - I truly do - but there is something so satisfying about sharing food experiences with people who are on the same wavelength.We had a friend from Australia staying recently and I knew that she was someone to whom I could say "Let's go to Borough Market; we won't have dinner tonight, we'll just put together a
platter".We wandered around, taking full advantage of the free tasters on offer, and bought as much as we could carry. Then we came home, opened a bottle of wine and ate it all. Brilliant!
So what did we buy? Well. A loaf of lovely French walnut and honey bread. I sliced it thinly and toasted it.
With some foie gras pate that we had in the pantry waiting for a worthy occasion, it was just heavenly. We had fresh purple figs, some lovely British raspberries, an absolutely gorgeous vegetarian mushroom pate, a slice of rabbit and mushroom terrine and several French cheeses. The piece de resistance was some exquisite Spanish ham. Jamón ibérico de bellota is amazing stuff - sure, a 
good Italian proscuitto is delicious, but it cannot hold a candle to the rich, sweet nutty ibérico. It's bloody expensive but worth it for special occasions!We piled all these treats on a platter along with some spiced, pickled tangerines and more of the toasted walnut bread. A glorious meal with a foody friend.
16 comments:
That does sound brilliant, indeed. Pickled tangerines also sound divine. What a lovely indoor picnic.
what a fun market trip! so many yummy goodies :)
We fell in love with Borough Market when we were in London this spring. I wished we had been staying in an apartment instead of hotel so we could have bought more & cooked with it.
I love having platter-y type dinners where you just pick at what you want to eat for hours :) The market sounds amazing!!
Rachel - the pickled tangerines are gorgeous. It's a Delia Smith recipe.
Heather - and that was only the stuff we ate that day! My freezer is also well-stocked.
Kat - Borough is amazing, but actually shopping there would add considerably to your holiday expenses.
Laura - I'm a huge fan of nibbling!
What a wonderful meal! I regret, bitterly, not getting there when I have been in London, but next time it will be on the top of my list, and I will actually do it! (and hopefully be armed with some money so I can go nuts!)
What a nice way to spend a day.
I love good produce markets and I think there is much to be said for apartments rather than hotels if you have time to shop & cook.
This is my favourite way to eat. It all looks so wonderful!
HH - even just the tasters make it a fun day!
Mother - yes, one of the things I loved about our trip to Florence was buying breakfast at that pasticceria.
Natashya - isn't the ham the most amazing colour?
I dont really have any foodie friends..and it sucks!!!
Beautiful! My kinda day, indeed :) Jamon, Jamon (don't know how to get those little accent marks)...have always wanted to try the real stuff...in Spain, preferably, LOL ;)
Pre-kid we lived on such platters; time to reintroduce old habits, methinks. I love ibérico but it's soo expensive :(
If I ever come visit, we need to do this too!! I remember the lovely stuff in Melbournes Victoria Market...
I couldn't agree with you more: foodie friends are brilliant! I love Borough Market, it is not REALLY a market in my books, more like Selfridges food Hall pretending to be a Market, but it is a lovely place to pick up goodies. I like this style of eating a lot: cheese ham, good bread, a pate and loads of wine. That place selling the Iberico Ham should be closed down. I mean it is expensive everywhere in the world but his prices are preposterous! Still better than prosciutto though...
Leslie - you must get yourself some!
Heather - oh yes, it is one of the highlights of tapas bar hopping in Spain!
Dharm - Victoria Market is great! There's nothing as good in Sydney.
Jo - you are right, it isn't a bargain-vegetables weekly shop market at all. I love the guys at Brindisa though, expensive but such good quality!
Looks like the perfect dinner to me--you got so many of my favorite things.
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