The weather in London can’t quite make up its mind. You leave the house in the morning and immediately wish you’d brought gloves, but by lunchtime you’re carrying your jacket under your arm, and by dinner you’re closing the windows again. Summer hasn’t exactly gone, but winter has started sending little reminders that it knows where we live.
We love this time of year. The air feels fresh from the occasional shower, the days are still long enough to make something of, the light is perhaps the most beautiful it will be all year, and, for cycling, it is perfect. There are days when London seems to contain two seasons at once: summer in a sunny spot at lunchtime, winter the moment the sun disappears.
For the cook, however, this time of year can be confusing. A bowl of cold salad no longer feels quite enough, but we’re not yet ready for the great pots of soup, beans and stews that will soon take up permanent residence on the hob. We want something cooked, but not necessarily piping hot; substantial, but still bright. Food that acknowledges the chill in the evening without surrendering completely to it.
Our solution is to live in the territory between salad and supper. Roast vegetables, grains, rice and pasta are particularly good here: dishes that can be eaten warm from the oven or sit happily on the table until everyone is ready to eat, with plenty of lemon, herbs, vinegar, chilli or yoghurt to keep things lively. Rachel Roddy’s rice salad with red peppers, celery, herbs and egg is exactly that sort of thing, especially eaten at room temperature rather than fridge-cold. Rukmini Iyer’s roast red pepper orecchiette with pistachios and ricotta takes the last of the peppers somewhere warmer without turning them into winter food, while another Rachel dish, fusilli with roast squash, gorgonzola and sage, pushes us a little farther into autumn. Nigel Slater’s braised aubergines, courgettes, preserved lemon and olives are perhaps even better at room temperature than hot, which is exactly where we want to be. Then there’s Yotam Ottolenghi’s aubergine and red pepper pahi with fenugreek and curry-leaf oil, which has that combination we crave now: something cooked and substantial, but also sweet, sour and spicy. Finally, and staying with Yotam, his black rice with fennel and butternut squash feels made for this time of year: roast vegetables, rice, chilli and a sharp dressing.
This is how we want to eat now, with one foot in each season. A tray comes out of the oven, something sharp gets squeezed over it, a handful of herbs goes on top, and dinner can wait while we take one last bike ride before dark. In the coming months, the days will get shorter and colder, and our food will get darker and browner, so we will take this opportunity to get as much colour and zest as possible out of every meal.
Our month in food
Local heroes | Our new favourite London street is Grove Lane in Camberwell. Turn down it from Camberwell Church Street and you will first see Lala Books, surely London’s most charismatic bookshop thanks to the consistently excellent selection, the coffee and the neighbourhood feel. A few shops down is Theo’s pizzeria, which we have long loved, while even further down the road is the glorious Kerfield Arms, which offers some of the best food in the city right now, including an incredible Sunday lunch and what has to be the best lunch deal in town: a plate and a glass of wine for £15. They even have a Michelin star.
Happy place | Wildflowers is a restaurant nestled in a Pimlico back yard and it’s easy to miss – but it really shouldn’t be, because it’s where we want to spend every birthday and anniversary for the foreseeable future. The menu is very seasonal, so we will spend the next 12 months praying they’ll bring back the heavenly sweetcorn and truffle agnolotti.
Go west | We are heading back to the US – and before you ask, no, it’s not just to get more of Trader Joe’s pickle mustard, though we certainly will stock up. Instead, we’re setting out on the west-coast leg of our book tour, so if you’re reading this and are in the area, do come say hi! And if you have any recommendations – and we mean food recs, obviously – do drop us a line.
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