Lunch

Sometimes the lunchtime crowd blows in like a whirlwind at 12 noon sharp; sometimes before that; and sometimes it trickles in slowly in dribs and drabs from midday onwards. However it may start, by 1pm the shop is jumping, full of people engrossed in the serious business of eating. Some rush in for a quick bite, then rush out again to get on with their day; others sit deep in conversation, discussing opinions and decisions. Some people simply walk past and decide to give us a go; others have booked well in advance, and are determined to try everything on the menu in a leisurely fashion. Friends, colleagues, new business, family business; the drama of London life plays out for us, and all we need to do is serve the food.

The kitchen fires on all cylinders during lunch; in two and a half hours the chefs can send out up to 70 meals. In order for things to go smoothly, every bit of prep needs to taste right, look right and be in the right place. The porters gallop up the stairs carrying hot food. The girls shout down for extra bread, or dessert, or to check progress on main courses. The bar sends out iced tea, wine, coffee and beer, and water bottles are in constant need of refilling.

Things start to wind down towards the tail end of service. If everything has gone well, we see a dining room full of happy people finishing their meals, debating whether or not they should have dessert (of course they should!). Then off they go to continue with the rest of their day, happy and replete.

Whether you work on the floor or in the kitchen, there is nothing to compare with the satisfaction you feel at around 2:30pm or 3pm, knowing that in a small but significant way you have helped to fuel the London machine.

Our pastry section produces quite a variety of baked goods, and though many are sweet or breakfast items, all our breads and a few savories are made there too. It would be remiss of us not to include a few traditional Middle Eastern recipes in this chapter, along with some of our go-to savory bakes to whet the appetite, but we are keeping it short. If you want more of our savory dishes, you will simply have to refer to our previous book, or come to the restaurant and let us cook for you (easier, and far less washing up).

Su böreği (aka a bake named Sue or Turkish lasagna)

Fills a 7–8 inch springform tin or frying pan

Istanbul is one of our favorite places in the world. We go there whenever we can, and though we’ve been quite a few times, we feel as if we’ve barely scratched the surface of this magnificent metropolis, with the amazing food it has to offer. Every time we go, we seem to add to our list of favorite restaurants—Balıkçı Sabahattin for fish, Hamdi for kebabs… One of our first discoveries was a great bakery right on the waterfront near Eminönü, where we first tried this glorious bake, with its layers of delicate pastry and creamy cheese. We always think of it as “Turkish lasagna.” Sarit has worked hard to recreate the recipe, and makes this whenever we want a taste of Istanbul in London. Her version is as good as theirs, but the bakery by the water is still one of the first places we visit whenever we go back.

For the pastry

250g bread flour

a pinch of table salt

2 eggs

2–3 tbsp water

1 tbsp vegetable oil

For the filling

320g/ml heavy cream

3 eggs

½ tsp ground nutmeg

½ tsp table salt

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

250g ricotta cheese

120g feta cheese, crumbled

You can put all the ingredients for the pastry in a mixer with a paddle attachment or work this by hand in a bowl. Combine until lovely and smooth. Shape into a ball, wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for at least one hour. In the meantime, mix the cream with the eggs, ground nutmeg, salt and pepper in a bowl. Combine the ricotta with the crumbled feta in a separate bowl.

Preheat the oven to 400°F/375°F convection. Line the baking tin or ovenproof frying pan with a single large sheet of baking parchment (at least 10 inches × 10 inches), which you push into the tin or pan in one piece (it needs to be in one piece to stop any liquid leaking out). You can stick it down with a little butter, or make sure it stays in place the French way: fold the sheet in half diagonally so that you have a triangle, then fold in half again to make another triangle, and repeat twice more. Open it up again and place in the pan. The folded paper should slide in easily and sit neatly in place.

Divide the rested pastry into six equal pieces and form each one into a ball. Dust your work surface with some flour and start rolling out a piece of pastry as thinly as you can. You should end up with a large disc at least 8 inches in diameter. This isn’t easy to achieve, but is well worth the effort. If you are struggling to reach 8 inches, roll the sheets as thinly as you can, then set aside for 5 minutes before rolling again (this allows the pastry to rest a little and makes it easier to make the last stretch).

Place a single sheet of pastry in the base of the tin, letting any excess drape up the sides. Pour 3 tablespoons of the cream mixture on top and sprinkle with about a sixth of the ricotta-feta mix. Top with another sheet of pastry and follow with more cream and cheese. Repeat until you have layered all the pastry and cheese, then pour the remaining cream mixture over the top.

Bake in the center of the oven for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350°F/325°F convection and bake for a further 20 minutes or until dark golden all over.

Remove from the oven and leave to rest for 10 minutes before serving. This is great eaten hot with a side salad, but would also be tasty cold at a picnic.

Phylas puff pastry

Makes about 1kg

Mornings never were my strong suit, much to my wife’s dismay. My first head chef allowed me to keep my job only on condition that every time I was late for a shift, I brought a box of burekas from Nissim as breakfast for the entire kitchen. Nissim’s bakery was at the end of our street, at the entrance to Tel Aviv’s Carmel Market, and his burekas were unrivalled in Tel Aviv, in both quality and price. In fact I don’t think I have ever tasted better. In time I knew everyone’s favorite order: eggplant for Moosh; potato for Ben; extra pickle for Tatjana. Some months my entire meager commis chef’s salary would go on rent and burekas. I never quite managed to get a handle on timekeeping, but I did manage to cling to the job for five years. Even though I got really friendly with Nissim, he never agreed to teach me the secret of his perfect burekas.

This is a basic puff pastry used all over the Middle East for filled pies, pastries and burekas. It involves a fair amount of work but freezes well, so it’s worth making a full batch and keeping some in the freezer for another day. You can simply buy pre-rolled puff pastry if you prefer. It will take a fraction of the time, but be sure not to skimp—buy the best all-butter puff out there.

500g bread flour

1 tsp table salt

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp white wine vinegar

2 tbsp vegetable oil

200–220g/ml water

250g unsalted butter

2 tbsp all-purpose flour, for flattening the butter

You can make this dough by hand or use a mixer with a paddle attachment. Place the bread flour and salt in the mixer bowl. Combine the lemon juice, vinegar, oil and 200g/ml of the water in a jug. Tip it into the flour all at once and mix at a medium speed until the pastry dough comes together. If you think it is looking very dry, add a touch more water, but it should be quite firm, so don’t overdo it. Work the dough for about 2 minutes until it is smooth. Remove from the bowl, wrap in cling film and place in the fridge for at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours.

Remove the butter from the fridge about 15–20 minutes before you want to roll the pastry. Sprinkle the workbench with half the all-purpose flour, place the butter on top and sprinkle it with the remaining flour. Pound the butter with a rolling pin to flatten it into a square about 4 inches × 4 inches.

Roll the chilled dough on a lightly floured surface to form a rough square about 8 inches × 8 inches. Place the butter in the center of the dough at a 90 degree turn, so that you have a diamond of butter on a pastry square. Fold the pastry corners into the center, stretching them a little to make sure they meet. The pastry should completely cover the butter and should now look like a sealed envelope. Turn the pastry over and roll the dough into a long rectangle of about 20 inches × 8 inches. Now for the “three-fold”: place the pastry with one of the long sides closest to you; fold the left-hand third into the center; then fold the right-hand third over the top. You should end up with the pastry in a block about 8 inches × 6 inches and three layers thick. Lightly wrap in cling film and place in the fridge for 1–6 hours.

Place the chilled dough on the work surface with one of the 8 inch sides closest to you. Roll away from you to create a fresh rectangle of about 20 inches × 8 inches. We then use a “book fold”: place the pastry with one of the long sides closest to you; fold the left-hand quarter into the center; fold the right-hand quarter in to meet it; then fold the left-hand doubled-up piece of pastry over the right-hand one (as if you were closing a book). You should now have a pastry block about 8 inches × 5 inches and four layers thick. Wrap the pastry and refrigerate again for 1 hour.

Roll out once again to 20 inches × 8 inches, then fold in a “three-fold.” Wrap and chill the pastry for at least an hour (and up to 2 days).

The pastry is now ready to use. You can freeze it (still in cling film) for up to a month—just thaw before rolling and filling. If you are using it after it has been in the fridge for a while, you may need to let it warm a little at room temperature before rolling, but I find it is best to work with it while still cold so the butter stays in the layers.

Smoky eggplant “S” phylas

Makes 6 “S”s

2 eggplants (about 600g before burning)

For the roux sauce

30g unsalted butter

30g bread flour

½ tsp nutmeg

½ tsp table salt

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

220g/ml milk

100g kashkaval or pecorino cheese, finely grated

1 small bunch of parsley, chopped

½ batch phylas puff pastry (here) or 500g ready-made puff pastry

egg wash (1 egg beaten with a pinch of table salt)

I like to burn the eggplants directly on the gas stovetop. Remove the rack and cover the surface of the individual stovetop with aluminum foil. Return the rack and turn the gas flame to high. If you have an extractor fan, turn it on, or open a window. Place the eggplants directly over the flame and allow to burn fully, first on one side, then the other. Use a pair of tongs to turn the eggplants, so that they burn all over. Repeat until the flesh caves in and the eggplant feels completely soft. This takes about 12 minutes in total.

Remove the burned eggplants to a colander until cool enough to handle. Place one on a chopping board and use a knife to remove the stem and slit all the way down to expose the flesh. Scoop out the pulp with a spoon, scraping as close to the skin as possible to capture all that smoky flavor. Place in the colander to drain away as much of the liquid as possible and repeat the process with the other eggplant. You should end up with about 300–350g eggplant flesh, depending on how wet they are.

Melt the butter in a small pan, then add the flour, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Stir well to combine and cook for 30 seconds. Pour in the milk in a steady stream, whisking all the time to combine and create a really smooth, very thick sauce. Once the first bubbles appear, stir really well. Allow to cook for another minute, stirring all the time, before pouring into a large bowl. Add the eggplant flesh, grated cheese and chopped parsley and stir well to combine. Place cling film directly on the surface of the roux (to avoid it developing a skin) and place in the fridge until completely cold and quite stiff.

Preheat the oven to 400°F/375°F convection. Line a large tray with baking parchment. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to form a large rectangle about 20 inches × 12 inches. Cut in thirds lengthways to create three long strips, each about 20 inches × 4 inches.

I like to use a large piping bag to fill the pastries but you can use a spoon, if you prefer. Pipe or spoon a third of the filling along one of the long edges of a strip, to cover the entire length. Fold the pastry over the filling and roll up until you have a filled pastry “snake” about 20 inches long. Turn so that the seam is underneath. Cut the “snake” in half and pinch the cut edges together really well to seal. Coil each 10 inch “snake” into a tight “S” shape and place on the lined tray. Repeat the process with the remaining two strips to give you six “S”s in total. You can freeze these unbaked for up to a month. Simply thaw before baking.

Brush the pastries generously with egg wash and bake for 20 minutes until really golden and crisp, then reduce the heat to 375°F/350°F convection and bake for a further 15–20 minutes. Remove to a wire rack. These are best eaten hot, or at least warm, with a dish of goats’ yogurt or ayran (a slightly salted Turkish yogurt drink), but they also travel well for a picnic or packed lunch.

Meat & spinach coiled phylas

Makes 4 large coiled pastries

A generous lunch for 4 very hungry people

You may struggle to get all the filling in the pastry, but this filling has such a lovely flavor that you can eat any leftovers with some rice or pasta the following day—that is if you don’t nibble everything while you are preparing the phylas.

1 tbsp olive oil

2 onions, peeled and diced (about 300g)

1½ tsp table salt

750g ground lamb

4 tbsp pine nuts

1 tbsp ground cumin

½ tsp turmeric

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground fennel seeds (I always grind my own)

½ tsp chile flakes

1 small bag of baby spinach (about 200g), washed

½ batch phylas puff pastry (here), or 500g ready-made puff pastry

egg wash (1 egg beaten with a pinch of table salt)

Heat the olive oil in a large deep frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onions and half a teaspoon of the salt and sauté until soft (about 8–10 minutes). Increase the heat to high and add the lamb. Move it around to break it up so that it browns all over (about 5 minutes), then add the pine nuts, spices and remaining salt. Mix until well combined and continue cooking for about 5 minutes. Fold the spinach into the hot meat (you may need to do this in batches, wilting a little at a time). Remove to a bowl or other container and allow to cool entirely before using to fill the pastries. You can make this in advance and store in the fridge overnight.

Line a large tray with baking parchment. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to form a large rectangle of about 24 inches × 10 inches. Cut into four smaller rectangles, each about 10 inches × 6 inches.

Spoon a quarter of the meat filling along one of the long edges of a rectangle, then fold the pastry over the filling and roll up tightly until you have a filled pastry “snake” about 10 inches long. Turn so the seam is underneath, then coil into a tight spiral and place on the lined tray. Tuck the loose end under the coil to keep the shape. Repeat the process with the remaining three rectangles to give you four coils in total. You can freeze these unbaked for up to a month. Simply thaw before baking.

Preheat the oven to 400°F/375°F convection. Brush the pastries generously with egg wash and bake for 25 minutes until really golden and crisp, then reduce the oven temperature to 375°F/350°F convection and bake for a further 15–20 minutes. Remove to a wire rack. I think these are great eaten hot, and are best served with a lovely green salad on the side.