i keep adding to my cookery book shelves (jason atherton’s social suppers new this weekend, and a long list of wants, including the morito and honey & co books). some i just flick through and never quite get round to making anything from, others are a little ingredient spattered from lots of cooking. one of the most leafed through is bill granger’s easy asian, his style simple, fresh, all beautifully shot in the book.
his first london post of granger & co opened in notting hill, particularly known for the rather extensive brunch offering (granger is australian, and antipodeans do seem to do brunch well – see caravan for example). the second has just opened near me in clerkenwell, tucked just between clerkenwell green and st john street. it’s open all day, the menu including salads, pizzas, pastas, curries and other mains.
we went for brunch one saturday though, with almost too many options. there are juices, interesting grains (i like the sound of the brown rice and sweet miso porridge), different ways with eggs, and granger’s famous ricotta hotcakes. we chose savoury – i had the brokeneggswith ricotta, spinach, pine nuts and grilled sourdough (£8.50), which were more set scrambled in their skillet. a really lovely combination with the cool ricotta and creamy pine nuts.
e had the sweetcorn fritter, roast tomato, spinach and bacon (£13.50) – fritters are hard to get right, often ending up as rather tasteless fried lumps, but these were great, nice and crispy on the outside. they needed the avocado salsa, but it would have been nice to have been included, rather than an extra £2.80. but the portions are pretty generous – important if you feel a little cheated from skipping breakfast or lunch for brunch. if you are still peckish, you can always take a look at the gleaming counter, full of biscotti, pastries, cheesecake and all kinds of other nice sweet things.