A London lunch box recipe inspired by Borough Market

This weeks London Lunch Box is in celebration of Borough Market #LoveBorough
Ceramic Dish by Skye Corewijn Lazy Eye Ceramics.
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Laoise Casey20 June 2017

Three years ago, this column came about from a desire to celebrate the joy of food. Food is what I turn to when words fail me - while it cannot solve the horrendous problems we now face, what it may offer is comfort and perhaps reconciliation.

The column has also been a collection of stories about the wonders of London food. One such gem has always been, and always will be, Borough Market. Our lunch box this week champions the market’s glorious produce. In 2012 when I moved to London, it was one of the first places I explored. Then when friends and family visited I would take them, proudly showing off a piece of ‘my’ London. I ate my first proper cheese sandwich at Kappacasein. Thick slabs of pain Poilâne, shielding the finest Montgomery cheese, onions, garlic and leeks, then grilled to dripping point perfection, including those golden crispy bits.

For our Borough Market inspired lunch box recipe, fittingly during this heatwave, it is a summer fruit salad. Give me blushing apricots, cherries that stain your fingers, nuggets of feta that crumble to the touch and juicy tomatoes. Let me have the satisfaction of crushing sweet pistachios and aromatic basil in a pestle and mortar to make a dressing. This is my London food.

What does the market mean to us Londoners? What is it about Borough Market that makes it our market and a place that, now more than ever, we will always support?

Ed Smith, Food Writer, describes it as a “multicultural meeting place, a hub of brilliant produce from across this country and around the world and a force for good. As well as returning for the bars, restaurants and food-to-go, I’m looking forward to supporting the many traders who work so hard during the year to help make this place special”. A man after my own heart, Ed gives his top tips for lunch boxes (or indeed a picnic in this glorious weather). “There’s so much to inspire picnics, something from the many cured meat stalls (Cannon and Cannon, or The Ham and Cheese Co.), rye bread from Karaway, or punchy heirloom radishes from one of the grocers or Chegworth Valley’s mixed leaves”. Read Ed’s guide on the best places to eat in the market to plan your next trip.

Robin Gill (The Dairy, The Manor, Paradise Garage, Counter Culture) tells of how he has spent many a day walking from stall to stall tasting the produce. His intentions are always to go home and cook but instead “mostly ends up going from bar to bar nibbling on our purchases”. For him it will always be “a place of happy memories”.

Fancy going with Scott Collins (M.D. and Co-Founder MEATliquor) on his grazing tour? He starts with New Orleans’ deep fried oysters at Wright Bros, then a beef empañada from Porteña, carnitas at El Pastor before finally slipping in some pasta at Padella (queue dependent). It is the first place he brings friends from overseas.

Or have breakfast with Luke Mackay, regular Borough Market Blogger and Demo Chef, with “6 native oysters from Richard Haward or a sausage roll The Ginger Pig. Always with a Monmouth filter coffee”. For Luke, who’s been going to the market for 20 years as a visitor and working there for 6, he loves nothing more than mooching around early as the market comes to life.

For Dan Doherty, Executive Chef Duck & Waffle, it’s the little kebab stall by Arabica which has him dashing South across the bridge for “the swiping of the bread in chicken fat and the final torching of it to give it that gorgeous char”.

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Time and time again it is the sense of community that people mention when they talk about Borough Market. Calum Franklin, Executive Chef Holborn Dining Room, describes the trust the traders gave him when he worked there for 2 years. He still returns often and grabs a pork belly bap from Roast, with a Monmouth coffee and slowly strolls around the market.

These are a snapshot of some beautiful memories. Join us in continuing to create many more and celebrating our market and our London.

Borough Market Lunch Box

Ingredients (serves 2)

30g shelled pistachios

Medium handful of fresh basil leaves (remove as much of the stalks as possible)

2 tsp white wine vinegar

60ml extra virgin olive oil

5g butter

1 tbsp olive oil

4 apricots, stoned and halved

150g cherries, stoned and halved

2 slices sourdough, torn into bite-sized pieces

Few strips of lemon zest

200g heirloom tomatoes, halved

70g feta

Sea salt flakes, cracked black pepper

Method

To make the dressing

In a pestle and mortar, lightly crush the pistachios with a pinch of salt. Add the basil and pound it as quickly as possible to make a thick paste. Gradually incorporate the vinegar and oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Alternatively, tear the basil leaves, finely chop the pistachios and whisk together with the vinegar and oil.

Heat the butter and 1tsp olive oil in a wide-based pan on a medium heat. When the butter starts to foam, cook the apricots cut-side down for 4 minutes until lightly caramelised. Transfer to a large bowl. Add the cherries to the pan and cook for 2 – 3 minutes on a low heat, until warmed through, then transfer to the bowl.

Heat 2 tsp olive oil in the same pan on a medium heat. Toast the sourdough until golden brown, around 5 minutes, stirring frequently to colour evenly. For the last 2 minutes of cooking add the lemon zest.

In the bowl, gently toss together the apricots, cherries, tomatoes and croutons, crumble in the feta then drizzle the dressing on top. Finish with some cracked black pepper.

Find out ways you can support Borough Market here and how to donate to the Borough Market trader support fund here.

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