Any eagle-eyed readers may notice similarities between the title of this post, and my very first piece that I wrote last year, both revolving around Italian food. Whilst the title of the first one centred around the notion that Spaghetti Bolognese isn’t in any way, shape or form an authentic Italian dish, this one serves to educate the reader on the, what I’m sure any Italians would consider very obvious, differences between a panzerotto and a calzone.
So, with the Italians’ culinary pride in mind, I’ll attempt to highlight those differences, and do justice to the much-loved Southern Italian street food snack.
greenwichmarket.london
Panzerotti (plural form) originate from the region of Puglia, in the south, and consist of a savoury fried parcel filled with pizza-style fillings. It is much lighter than a calzone, with thinner dough, meaning it’s perfect as a hand-held snack. Another notable difference would be in the cooking – as mentioned above, panzerotti are fried, whilst the calzone is oven-baked.
The most basic filling is tomato and mozzarella, but these can be customised as easily as pizza toppings. Despite originating in Puglia, this perfect on-the-go street food has spread throughout Italy, gaining particular popularity in Milan, and has now reached international waters including the US, Australia, and of course here in the UK.
When it came to starting my background research for this post, it’s interesting that nearly every single one of the first three pages of Google results was specifically related to the London street food business that I’m going to focus on today. In fact, there were relatively few results discussing this dish in general.
I was inspired to do a little bit more research on Panzerotti after being invited to try the street food stall Panzerotto Blues, who trade at both Greenwich and Tooting Markets.
I headed to Tooting, which is a market that I’d never visited before. It’s covered, and is open on weekends with various seating areas, so is a great place to go with friends and family for a chilled outing. There are a number of traders with everything from butchers, to organic beauty products, to record shops and bars, and of course street food.
Panzerotto Blues is located towards the back of the market, surrounded by fellow street food businesses, and there’s plenty of seating. There are a number of options for your panzerotto filling, from mozzarella, to gorgonzola, olives to meat feast. I went for the Diavola, with pepperoni, mozzarella and added chilli flakes for a subtle kick.
I loved that you get to watch this being made in front of you. It’s so fresh, and super interesting to watch the dough being made, rolled out, stuffed with fillings then folded and crimped before being dunked into the deep fryer. Despite the fact that it’s deep fried, it’s actually not that greasy at all, and it ends up being surprisingly light as it’s not overloaded with fillings. The crunch from biting into the outer shell was so satisfying, and that combined with the ooze of the melted cheese on the inside just made the perfect contrast. Although at Greenwich there isn’t any seating so you’re given the panzerotto in foil to hold and bite straight into, here at Tooting it can be served on a plate complete with knife and fork so it doesn’t have to be messy!
They also do a number of side dishes which I’m keen to go back and try. As well as mozzarella sticks and onion rings, they have a dessert of little fried dough balls served with mini marshmallows and nutella. To. Die. For.
Panzerotto Blues is 100% somewhere I’d recommend in London. It’s exciting to see small businesses strive to recreate ‘authentic’ local dishes, even when they’re not widely known over here. Yes, we all love pizza, pasta and arancini, but there’s a lot more to Italian grab and go food, and this is the place to try it.
Running an independent street food business that trades in various locations is a tough gig. Factors completely out of anyone’s control such as the weather can so easily affect profits meaing that without that stability, it’s a job to be done only by those who really care about the food they produce, and it’s vital that businesses like Panzerotto Blues get our support. London has such an excitingly diverse culinary scene, and so much of that is down to its markets and street food. Let’s continue to celebrate our city’s culinary diversity, and most importantly, listen to the experts – IT IS NOT A CALZONE!
I’m back with another review, and this one’s fully vegan.
You’ll get the full lowdown of all the vegan cooking and eating out I’ve done during week 3 when I write it all up in the next few days, but for now, we’ll just focus on this one specific feast.
From my flatmate, to work colleagues, to strangers on Instagram, Temple of Seitan had been recommended to me so many times. They have two sites – their main location in Hackney and then another one in Camden.
The Camden one was slightly closer to me so I headed there, but it is quite hidden away; you’d have to actively seek it out because there’s no way you’d accidentally stumble across it.
It’s got a kind of fast food set up to it. You order at the counter and then wait for your name to be called to collect your food, and there are a number of tables dotted around, but it’s not massive inside. It is however, a light, open space that’s not overcrowded, and so although I didn’t eat in, if you were to, it would be a chilled experience.
I only had to wait 5 minutes or so for my food, and the menu is pretty extensive without being overwhelming.
And here’s where you get to take a look at what I got…
Burger-wise I wanted to stick to ‘chicken’ as opposed to the beef substitute as I feel like that’s what they’re more known for. Even so, they have a few different Chick’n combos to choose from so I ordered the Nashville Hot. This comes as a hot dipped Chick’n fillet with ranch mayo, lettuce and pickles. Overall I really enjoyed the burger – it was indulgent and tasty in a decent quality bun, but the only slight disappointment was the patty. Don’t get me wrong, it tasted good, but it was very very thin – like half the thickness of a standard slice of bread (other than the particular side you can see in the photo which got a bit thicker), meaning that you got a lot of crunch from the outer shell but not much texture from the Seitan itself. What with all the lettuce and pickles in the burger, everything just kind of lumped together in a big crunch-fest, rather than being able to note a clear difference between the texture of the patty and the relish. Still would recommend as I reckon this was just an anomaly in the kitchen.
To reiterate what I often mention, I don’t always see the point in ordering standard fries as a side (unless I’m at Mcdonald’s) because they’re never really that exciting and I’d rather try something different, however, the exception to this is if they offer some kind of loaded fries or an interesting twist on the classic. This time I went for the ‘Döner’ Snack Pack – regular fries with vegan doner meat, mayo and spicy sauce.
It’s a pretty big portion, so definitely a sharer (or something to freeze for another time like I have done), and there are a decent amount of toppings. The sauces weren’t bad but I wasn’t a fan of the vegan Döner. The texture was pretty convincing but it didn’t really taste of anything and so I don’t feel that it enhanced the fries in any way. I’d definitely try their other Animal Snack Pack loaded fries if I were to go again.
As this is breakfast, lunch and dinner in one go I’ll move onto the next part of the meal- the Mac ‘n’ Cheese.
You can’t fault them on how much they can cram into this pot, and this is just the regular size. For me though, it just wasn’t creamy enough. The ratio of pasta to sauce was completely off, although that’s not to say it didn’t taste good. The macaroni were very small, meaning that more pasta could be packed in tightly, which in turn meant that the sauce literally just covered a few of the bites on top rather than coating every single piece. It was also quite salty, and so this wouldn’t be my first recommendation, but again, it wasn’t bad at all.
I do love to save the best until last, especially when it’s an unexpected one like this. The BBQ Wings were probably the thing I was least excited about ordering but I was still intrigued enough to try them.
Whereas the quality of the Seitan as a chicken substitute in the burger didn’t really do it justice, the wings really showcased why it’s such a good match. There isn’t really anything here to distract from the Seitan itself, and I found the texture to be very convincing. It doesn’t tear apart in the same way that fried chicken would, but other than that it really is spot on. There’s no oddly suspicious ‘this isn’t meat’ flavour, which allows the bbq sauce to take over without having to mask an unsettling aftertaste.
Some people love eating from the bone, but I find this quite annoying and would rather be able to bite into something freely without having to work my teeth around them so I’m grateful that there’s no dodgy attempt to create a mock bone here (the attempt at this in Biff’s Jack Shack’s jackfruit wings really weirded me out and put me off eating them when I accidentally bit straight into a solid piece of god knows what…)
So these ‘wings’ were my absolute highlight and I insist that if you’re reading this, you try them at some point, whether you’re vegan or not.
The four items together were £23 in total, which I think is pretty decent for London prices, especially as some vegan food I’ve had in the city has been the same amount for half the food.
I enjoyed trying a variety of ‘dishes’, and will definitely be trying the popcorn Chick’n next time.
This kind of food is not just for vegans. It’s indulgent and tasty, and even if you’re the biggest meat eater, you should try to overcome the psychological barrier of thinking ‘but this isn’t meat’ to decide for yourself non-judgementally if you could enjoy this instead of meat from time to time.
And if you hate it? Oh well. At least you’ve been adventurous and tried something new. I don’t even know if I’d choose this over a chicken or beef burger but I’m still really enjoying opening my mind to this new kind of cuisine.
But ultimately if you’re happy and healthy with what you’re eating then all is well; meat, veggie or vegan…
Another food-travel post has landed. Less of the
other-side-of-the-world Indian adventure this time, and instead, a jam-packed
city break a little closer to home.
If you haven’t already guessed from the puntastic title (it’s terrible but I’d be a fool to let it slip by), I spent a few days in Budapest, which seems to be becoming one of the most popular city break destinations in Europe.
My previous travel posts have taken quite different forms;
Brazil was more of a guide, India was grouped into categories, and Bologna had
a more story-telling feel to it. This time I’m going to go through my foodie
experiences dish by dish, giving a mini insight into each one.
I ate a lot. A lot a lot a lot. The gym will be seeing a lot
of me this week to compensate. But it was entirely worth it, so here we go…
So, our first dinner took place at Aurum Bistro, and had been recommended by my parents who had a great meal there. I’d studied the menu on multiple occasions so had a pretty good idea of what I was going to have.
Dish number 1: Traditional Goulash Soup
I love that my very first taste of Hungary was of their most famous dish. You’ll often find this in two forms on restaurant menus – firstly as a lighter, less meat-heavy soup in the Starter section, and then again as a thicker, more hearty stew as a Main.
The paprika had a spicier kick to it than we’re used to at
home, and overall I thought the soup was delicious, with soft, creamy veg, and
not too much beef.
I rate it: 9/10
Dish Number 2: Duck Breast with Porcini Risotto
This particular dish was recommended by my parents and so
was basically the whole reason I wanted to try out this restaurant.
The duck had been cooked beautifully, was super tender with
lots of flavour and the creamy risotto was the perfect accompaniment.
I rate it: 9/10
Dish number 3: Somlói Sponge Cake
Dessert-wise we shared a couple of things between us so that
we could try more. Somlói ended up popping up on literally every menu we came
across, and I’m a sucker for the word ‘traditional’ – I will always (sometimes naively)
buy into anything that claims to be a staple ‘must-try’.
This one was odd though, it looked great, but I wasn’t mad
on it. Maybe because of the marzipan and nutty flavours, and the sponge felt
damp, as opposed to moist (get over it).
I’m glad I tried it but I don’t need to order it again..
I rate it: 4/10
Dish number 4: Gundel Pancake
Another traditional dessert, I preferred this second one, but it still wasn’t quite to my taste. It looked very striking, with the almost black chocolate sauce and bright pink mini meringue, but the nutty pancake filling, again, didn’t do it for me. It’s quite a bitter dessert, with a subtle orangey flavour, but so far, the savoury is still outperforming the sweet.
I rate it: 6/10
Dish number 5: Meat Lover’s Langos
A brand new day, and after spending a while at the thermal
baths, we were super hungry by the time we got to the Great Market Hall. All
the food hubs are upstairs, and you have to push your way through the long
queues and narrow walkways. For me, there was no doubt that I was going to get
a Langos – I’d heard a lot about them before arriving in Budapest.
The base is so much tastier than it looks. The dough is soft, warm, with a lightly-fried flavour and you can pile toppings as high as you like. I went for the meatiest option, with chicken, salami, lots of grated cheese and of course sour cream, which the Hungarians seem to be obsessed with. I would’ve loved it if the cheese had been melted but it was still good.
You kind of have to ignore the fact that all the toppings
are pre-prepared and have been sitting around for ages in Subway-style plastic
boxes, but this is not a gourmet dish, it’s a typical fast, street food and so
if this is what you expect, you won’t be disappointed at all.
I rate it: 8/10
Dish number 6: Duck Liver Paté
It’s not the first time I’ve gone away, not thought to pre-book restaurants at the weekend, and found myself struggling through the city desperately hoping somewhere will take us. That’s exactly what happened to us on the Friday night, and not willing to compromise on Hungarian food in favour of generic bbq and burger places, we eventually found somewhere with the capacity to take us in (Cupákos restaurant).
I tried some of this starter that my flatmate ordered, as
duck and goose liver are another thing that can be found on every menu in
Budapest. This was lovely and creamy, and a great sized starter that’s not too
filling.
I rate it: 7/10
Dish number 7: Bone Marrow
This restaurant didn’t have any appealing desserts so we went all out on the starters. I was super excited to order mine as I’ve never had bone marrow before, and I was already slightly disappointed that we hadn’t been able to get a table in the restaurant that had rooster testicle stew on the menu (lol), so this was a decent, slightly unconventional alternative.
I didn’t realise the texture would be so sort of mushy, not
that that’s a bad thing. To be honest I’m not really sure what it actually
tastes like because all I could taste was garlic and butter but I would never
complain about such a thing. I really, really enjoyed it and would defo order
again.
I rate it: 9/10
Dish number 8: Pork Neck with Potatoes and Parsnip Purée
This was one dish that didn’t look the most exciting (especially with those awful cheap-looking red plates) but actually was delicious. The pork was beautiful, and the puréed parsnip delicious. Normally I’m put off by the concept of purées because they’re too fussy and often you’re just given a tiny blob, but this was enough to make it worthwhile and really highlighted the flavour of the parsnip. I didn’t even mind the potatoes, which I always complain are normally a waste of carbs!
I rate it: 9/10
Dish number 9: Chimney Cake
I had sussed out Street Cakes on Instagram before arriving, as their Chimney Cakes looked incredible – full of colour and with every topping you can imagine.
The little café was cute with friendly ladies serving, and I chose to build my own, but using a picture of one I’d found on Instagram as my inspiration. There was cinnamon sugar on the outside, a thin layer of jam in the middle, and then the hollow dough was filled with banana ice cream and topped with marshmallows, sprinkles and caramel sauce.
It looks beautiful and it tasted good. The dough was actually crunchier than I’d expected, and the banana ice cream did taste very artificial but I suppose that’s what you have to expect of anything that describes itself as ‘banana-flavoured’.
To be honest though, his isn’t something you order for the flavour – it’s all about the aesthetic, the indulgence and the fun, so I’d recommend this place for those reasons.
I rate it: 7/10
Dish number 10: Goosey Gustav Burger
What’s a trip abroad without trying out their exclusive Mcdonald’s menu items? After my Chimney Cake, I couldn’t stomach a whole meal so just went for the intriguing-sounding Goosey Gustav burger.
What could be more Hungarian in Mcdonald’s than beef patties topped with goose liver?? Honestly, other than a standard Big Mac, this was the best burger I’ve ever eaten in Mcdonald’s, from the textures to the flavour. Not sure exactly what the mayo was but it wasn’t just plain and it tasted amazing with the liver. It is a double burger but I took out one patty, as for me, having multiple patties never enhances the flavour or eating experience and I wasn’t particularly hungry.
So buzzed from this still.
I rate it: 10/10
Dish number 11: Curried Apple and Celeriac Soup with Toasted Almonds and Pesto
Our final dinner took place at Alma and Körte, which was another place I had seen good reviews of on Instagram. This soup just sounded so interesting to me, and it was probably the best thing I ate all trip. It was delicious, from the celeriac flavour with the sweetness of the apple, to the crunch of the slivered almonds and oiliness of the pesto, with a beautifully creamy finish overall. You must try this.
I rate it: 10/10
Dish number 12: Lamb Shank with Dried Fig Cous Cous
I’ve never actually had lamb shank before so Budapest was
amazing for encouraging me to try types of meat yet undiscovered to me.
Although the meat had been cooked really well, I’m not sure
the heavy, rich sauce worked so well with lamb. I feel like it would’ve been
better suited to a meat with a less distinctive flavour like beef or ox. I
still enjoyed it but it wasn’t the best combination. The cous cous was very
nice though, and made a change from all the root veg side dishes I’d had so
far.
I rate it: 7.5/10
Dish number 13: Cottage Cheese Fritters with Forest Fruit Compote
This sounds weird. And a bit scary. Cottage cheese. As a
dessert. Fried. But omg I loved it. The fried exterior wasn’t oily or heavy or
too thick, it was just enough of a crunch to work amazingly with the soft
cheesy centre. Most of the flavour came from the deep, sharp compote and so
there was no issue with the cheese tasting odd.
I rate it: 8.5.10
Dish number 14: Mulled Wine
May as well throw a drink review in here, especially as weirdly I’d never tried mulled wine before because I never used to like spices in sweet foods and drinks. We got this from the small Christmas market in Deák Ferenc Square where the Budapest Eye is. We got to keep the cute mug, and although it was very sweet, it was ideal for a cold winter’s day.
I rate it: 7/10
Dish number 15: Pork with Potato Rosti
I was amazed by the food on offer at the market, and wanted
to try everything, but with eyes bigger than my belly, I had to try and be at
least a little bit sensible. I didn’t actually know that the pork came with the
potato rosti when I first ordered it. I got drawn in by the whole pig head
sitting on the display and had to try the meat. I have to admit that it was
very salty, and so was more hammy than porky with that slightly rubbery
texture. Having said that, for some reason I absolutely loved the rosti. It was
very oily having obviously just been deep fried but god it tasted good.
I rate it: 6/10
for the pork, 9.5/10 for the rosti
Dish number 16: Stuffed Cabbage Rolls with Paprika Sausage
Cabbage rolls were another thing that I felt I couldn’t leave without trying. These ones were stuffed with pork, came with more cabbage on the side and a big paprika sausage and of course, drowned in sour cream. The sausage was great, really flavoursome, and the cabbage was also really nice, although it’s briney flavour can be divisive, as to my flatmate, the sourness of it tasted a bit ‘gone off’. Again though, this whole dish was super salty, so I left a huge amount which is not like me – not necessarily because I was full but just because I couldn’t take anymore of the salt!
I rate it: 7/10
Dish number 17: Marzipan Ball
My final few ‘dishes’ are all sweet treats that I bought from the market to take home. I’d always said I didn’t like marzipan, but as I’m so much less fussy now than I was years ago, I decided to retry it. I can still understand why I hated it so much when I was little, as the aftertaste does tend to linger, but actually this was pretty nice, what with the soft, spongey centre.
The stall where I got these treats had so much on offer so
there’s definitely something to satisfy everyone.
I rate it: 7/10
Dish number 18: Don’t have a fucking clue what this was
Very helpful. Kinda biscuity. Biscuit-sandwich-like. Sticky,
nutty filling. Bit of a chocolate glaze. Tastes good. Why not try?
I rate it: 7/10
Dish number 19: Chocolate Bark with Dried Cranberries
This didn’t seem as traditional, i.e. I’m sure I could find something like this at home, but it looked so appetising and tasted equally as good. The chocolate was slightly crunchy and then the sweet cranberries on top added a sharp spike of flavour. Don’t know how I only managed to take one bite, but then again, it is sitting in my room now, waiting for me to devour it when I’m craving a snack.
I rate it: 8/10
Dish number 20: Cherry Rétes (Strudel)
It’s so satisfying that without trying, I’ve finished on
such a clean number of dishes. Number 20, and the last thing I ate was this
lovely, and very filling strudel. They had options with cottage cheese, and
also apple versions but I went for the pure cherry.
The pastry is thin but not very flaky which was good, and
there is a generous amount of filling inside. Again, I only had one bite but
can’t wait to finish this off at some point.
I rate it: 8/10
Budapest really did surprise me in terms of how much of a foodie destination it is. And so that’s everything!
Almost…
Have to give a shoutout to the Cardamom Chocolate Plum Jam that I took a risk in buying at the market because it sounded incredible, but I didn’t manage to get it through airport security RIP 😦
Just a few little notes before I leave:
We suffered numerous dramas along the way which ultimately
just added to our experience but here are my words of warning for anyone
venturing to Budapest.
Don’t be fooled (by the rocks that I got..). You do not need slippers to go in the outdoor thermal baths, you only need them for the indoor ones. So if you’re not going in the indoor ones, do not let the misleading sign above (or the snake of a lady at the slipper stall) trick you into thinking you need to buy them. We bought them, realised our mistake, had a go at a few people, and eventually got a refund after standing our ground. If in doubt just take some flip flops with you.
If you head to where the famous ruin bars are (which you should), do not go into this bar which I unfortunately don’t know the name of but has this ridiculous sticker outside (see image below) which they must’ve stolen or forged. We ordered drinks separately and as I was about to pay, my flatmate questioned why she was being charged much more for her wine then mine. The old bald man behind the bar started making up a load of bullshit and just plucking prices out of thin air, and upon being questioned he then had a tantrum and aggressively told us he suddenly didn’t have any white wine and took the glasses back from us. If you don’t want to be treated poorly by a sexist loser then do not visit this bar which is next to Szimpla Kert.
Beware of old 500 Forint notes. We were given one in change without realising it was old and then nowhere would accept it so then couldn’t spend that at all and had basically been shortchanged. The old note is darker in its red colour than the new one which is brighter but safer to google it if you’re not sure.
Beware of the bar behind this door and it’s ginormous bellend of a barman
Once again, if you’ve read all of this, thanks a million,
plz like and subscribe via email to hear about more adventures of mine.
¡Comemos! 