Comoros and Mayotte: lourobbo's kitchen

As I had never even heard of the islands of Comoros and Mayotte, it was no great surprise that I couldn't find any restaurants purporting to serve cuisine from there. So, once more into the kitchen, dear friends...

It does sound like a beautiful place, white sandy beaches in the warm Indian Ocean, just off the coast of Madagascar. The cooking influences being French, African and Indian. I chose Poulet au coco, a chicken curry with coconut base. Followed by a dessert of banana fritters.

 

 

The chicken dish was very easy to prepare, the usual mix of chicken, onion, garlic, curry powder and coconut milk. With thyme, parsley and spring onions in for flavour. I let it cook a bit longer than the recipe suggested, for over an hour, just to let the flavours soak into the meat. Served over basmati rice with a spring of parsley. The dish had quite a kick and was a hit with the guests!

 

 

 



 

Gary and Gaby were over for dinner so I wanted to ensure we had a dessert on the menu as well. It was a night of firsts, I'd never attempted to deep fry anything in my kitchen, having an irrational fear of burning the house down. But the only vaguely Mayotten dish I could find was for banana fritters.

 

 

 

I hate bananas with a passion, so thought that my fellow diners would be polishing them off. But, thought I really ought to try them. And I liked! Can't say that they retain the health benefits when they have been smothered in sugar and flour and immersed in hot fat, but definitely the first time I can say I actually enjoyed eating banana.

 

All round, a good filling meal. With excellent company!

Colombia: La Bodeguita

On a cold and snowy Saturday afternoon, we set off for the Elephant & Castle to find ourselves a taste of Colombia. There are a few places dotted around London selling Colombian fare, but La Bodeguita appeared on several blogs and websites, and looked like a good bet to experience that authentic taste.

 

Finding the restaurant was a minor challenge. La Bodeguita is actually right in the middle of the Elephant & Castle shopping centre. We were temporarily confused by the delicatessen and café belonging to the restaurant, but then spotted the restaurant proper in the corner of the shopping mall. And it's certainly the most lively joint there. There doesn't really seem to be much shopping on offer at the Elephant these days.

 

It was pleasantly busy for the middle of the afternoon on a day that was so bitterly cold, I'm surprised anyone had ventured out. We were seated by a very jovial host who quickly got us some drinks. We opted for a jug of Refajo, a beer and irn bru mix. Yum! Not unlike a Belgian fruit beer (duh...that might be the fruity taste of the irn bru).

We shared various starters including empanadas that had a lovely crispy pastry. Croquettas de pollo that were moist and delicious and also a plate of Chorizo y Arepa - or chorizo sausage and cornbread to you and I. The tapas were very well cooked, hot and spicy. A perfect start to the meal.

 

We then moved onto the main event. Suzanne had Arroz Especial a La Bodeguita, a Colombian version of Paella served with some fried plantain. A huge plate of tasty seasoned rice with king prawns. I had Chuleta de Cerdo, or pork escalope. With more fried plantain. This was a beautifully thin pork steak with crispy breadcrumb coating. And James had an enormous plate of food, pretty much every ingredient they had on the menu - Bandeja Paisa. The central piece was a large succulent cut of pork belly, with more chorizo sausage, more plantain and the deal sealer for James, a fried egg on top.

 

You can't come to a Colombian restaurant and not have a coffee, so while James indulged his caffeine habit, Suzanne and I sampled one of the few home made desserts on the menu. This was literally a huge slab of cheese (tasted like a sheep's milk cheese, crumbly in texture and very mild) with a huge dollop of dulce de leche (condensed milk caramel, if you have never tried it, it's totally delicious but must have about 2000 calories in a teaspoon full, ridiculously sweet). Looks revolting, but it worked very well, although definitely a sharing dish.

 

 

By the time we'd lingered over our late lunch, the blizzard was easing outside, so we waddled back to the Northern Line and home. I have to say, I really enjoyed La Bodeguita. I think it would be a great place to come in the evening with a large group of people, as they take their live music seriously, it's open very late of a weekend. Excellent food and friendly service...I'd visit again.

 

Scoring time...

 

Food ****

Atmosphere ****

Value for money ****