On Saturday I will be selling my new,  improved, spingly spangly shiny shiny jerk marinade at Ms. Marmite Lover’s Underground Farmers Market. I originally wanted to cook jerk chicken or pork but hoofing a jerk drum between Peckham and Kilburn without a vehicle is just impossible, and anyway, cooking it yourself at home is all part of the fun. I’ll be selling jars of various sizes so you can buy one that will perfectly suit your jerk needs.

As I said, I’m there on Saturday 5th but there’s a night market/bonfire party too on Friday 4th. To buy tickets, check the link below. It would be lovely to meet some of my readers, so if you do come along, make sure to say hello!

Do click through to Kirsten’s post about the market to see the list of stallholders – it’s a cracking line up I think you’ll agree. There will be hot food to eat on the spot, home made stuff to take away, music, booze (including a cocktail bar on the ironing board), crafts, masterclasses and even a food Dragon’s Den – all in Kerstin’s beautiful home. What are you waiting for?!

Buy tickets for both days HERE.

SE Londoners, listen up: a new food market has opened in Brockley. It will open every Saturday morning in the car park next to Lewisham College and I imagine it will fill a gap for local people, as that stretch seems a bit of a wasteland when it comes to food shopping. The market was really busy on the first day, with over 2000 people visiting. Here’s a little taste of what to expect:

Bacon sarnies from The Red Herring, a smoke house in Hackney. Thick-cut bacon, not over-smoked, inside sturdy yet light bread. The rind on the bacon did make it a little difficult to eat but I bravely struggled through.

The Brockley beekeepers were selling pots of their honey and had brought along a big box of bees. I assume this is part of the hive (I know nothing about bees). It reminded me of a museum I used to visit when I was a little girl; mum and I would spend ages trying to spot the queen who could be identified by the white dot on her back.

Stalls popped with verdant leaves and unusual varieties of vegetables; yellow tomatoes, cobnuts, tubs of edible flowers, unusual fungi and knobbly cukes that looked like The BFG’s snozzcumbers. Interesting salad leaves were sold loose so you could mix them up; young, tender, baby ‘neon chard’, rocket, land cress and sorrel so fresh (picked the day before) that it packed some serious citrus.

There were a few meat and cheese stalls and one guy selling fish; it looked very fresh but also pretty expensive – he was selling a kg of mussels for £6, almost double what I paid for these at the famous Soper’s in Nunhead recently (about the same price in Moxon’s on Lordship Lane too I think).

My favourite was probably the chilli stall, studded with rainbow spikes. Amongst the many varieties of chilli plant were unusual herbs I’d not come across before like ‘chocolate mint’ (it smells like chocolate and mint!) and pineapple sage (it really smells like pineapple!)

I did a little hop of joy when I spotted the naga chilli plant, complete with ripe fruits; I’ve become fixated on them after tasting The Rib Man’s‘ HOLY FUCK HOT SAUCE’. I’m going to harness me some of that special flavour. The chilli man himself was very helpful with tips and multiple warnings: “for a vindaloo heat, use no more than 1/8th of the chilli”. Yikes. He told me to “treat the plant mean” by letting it wilt, then reviving it with a little water; this keeps the heat in the plant as “water dilutes the chilli”.

And there she is, my very own naga. It’s time to take hot sauce to the next level.

I always wonder where all the young and yummy parents suddenly spring from. It’s like Peckham farmers market on a Sunday; I never see them shopping in Khan’s but the slightest whiff of an arabica coffee bean and they spring from the bushes in middle class ambush. There’s plenty of room for everyone here though and I can’t wait to see the market expand with even more stalls, as they are genuinely interesting. Not a painted plate in sight.

Brockley Market
Lewisham College Car Park, Lewisham Way, SE4 1UT
Every Saturday 10-2pm
http://www.brockleymarket.com/

Most of the produce comes from Kent or even closer (e.g. Brockley honey)

The Gin and Lamb Pop-up Cafe

On the weekend of 24th-26th June Son Gallery will host The Gin and Lamb. It’s located on top of Peckham’s famous Bussey Building which offers a stunning view over London. The cafe will be serving, you’ve guessed it, gin and lamb. The former will be provided by G & J Greenall and the latter will be cooked by Xhon at Frog on The Green deli (ex-chef at The Square). There will also be Copeland Book Market plus music, photography and art exhibitions – all mixed up with that unique Peckham energy. You can’t beat it. Press release below (see it bigger on Flickr).

The Gin and Lamb at Son Gallery
Unit 9C, 133 Copeland Road
SE15 3SN

Frank’s Campari Bar

Frank’s Campari Bar will be back on the roof of the multi-storey car park from 1st July to 30th September along with the Bold Tendencies exhibition. It really is a fun experience drinking Campari cocktails on top of a multi-storey car park in the middle of pumping Peckham. Others agree – it received a whopping 45,000 visitors in 2010.

Frank’s Campari Bar
10th Floor, Peckham Multi-Storey Car Park
95a Rye Lane (next to the cinema)
SE15 4ST

The Meatwagon at The Rye

The Rye Pub are serving Meatwagon burgers and other goodies such as this incredibly good smoked pork sandwich (below) which comes with BBQ sauce and slaw plus a smoked beef carpaccio and a ‘mushroom double Swiss’ – a new burger with sliced mushrooms oozing around in loads of melted Swiss cheese.

The Rye
31 Peckham Rye
SE15 3NX
(Meatwagon food available until September I believe)

Dinner at Anderson & Co.

Cafe/deli Anderson’s do a weekly evening dinner on a Wednesday (BYO booze) and also host evenings with other local cooks including Sally Butcher from Persepolis. I went to the first one and it was brilliant, read about it here.

Anderson & Co.
139 Bellenden Rd
SE15

Other Food Shops and Restaurants

I’ve made a list of Peckham’s best food shops here, a nifty little map of places to eat and drink here and you can find all posts about local restaurants on my Peckham page here.

Enjoy the ‘summer’!

I’ve just come back from a week in Puglia, specifically the Itria valley, which encompasses the provinces of Bari, Brindisi and Taranto. The area is noted for a distinctive architectural feature, the trullo; a conical shaped stone roof designed to cool in summer and insulate in winter. Our villa, Trullo Tranquillo was located just outside Ceglie Messapica in Brindisi, hidden away in a labyrinthine network of narrow dirt tracks. Being tucked away like this was not a bad thing, although it did define the way we shopped and ate while in Puglia. I thought it might be of use to others who want to visit the area if I share my experiences of shopping and eating here.

With no restaurants within walking distance of our villa and only 2 drivers among 9, all of whom harboured a desire to get drunk, opportunities to eat out were limited. Mostly we bought ingredients at local markets and cooked for ourselves. Our excursion to the town of Monopoli however, saw us busting bellies at Osteria Perricci.

There’s no menu here, an unexpected relief. Monopoli is a coastal town, so they just serve fish; “antipasti?” our host asked. We nodded. “Pasta?” Of course. “Fish? Grilled? Fried?” We ordered both.

First bruschetta, properly made. Ruby ripe tomatoes smooshed into garlic scrubbed toast. The tomatoes in Puglia are to die for.

Favourite antipasti were butterflied anchovies drenched in the ubiquitous (delicious) olive oil; meaty morsels of octopus and sweet mussels bathing in grassy pools of their own juices mixed with, you guessed it, lots of olive oil. A couple of duds didn’t spoil the fun at all; battered fish was, for me, all bready batter and little fish. Sundried tomatoes were chewy as ever, although the accompanying chunks of cucumber rocked; a sweet, round variety that tastes like a mild melon.

Huge bowls of pasta next – ‘fish’ spaghetti, predominantly octopus and squid in a tomato sauce which tasted of shellfish shells, silkily bound with cooking liquor. The second, not the Orecchiette typical of the region but similar in shape (I think Cencioni), delightfully chewy, the sauce packed with garlic and white wine, the bowl clattering with mussels and sweet clams. Chillies were added at table.

Eating was becoming more difficult. Simply grilled fish was delicious, but an effort. We picked lamely at fritto misto; I stuffed down as many tender squid rings as possible.

A refreshing lemon sorbet could not have been a more welcome finish, sitting atop sweet glazed strawberries, it saved us from passing into a food coma.

The owners don’t speak much English at Osteria Perricci but they’re very friendly and make it easy to get by with gesturing, nodding and piss poor attempts at speaking Italian. Our meal came to around €25 a head I think, including a few beers and a bottle of wine. You can walk it all off around Monopoli afterwards too; the old part of town is well worth a look.

Osteria Perricci
Via Orazio Comes, 1
70043 Monopoli Bari, Italy
080 9372208

We couldn’t visit Italy and not eat pizza. One evening 4 of us left camp to pick up some takeaway from Mamm Ce Pizza in Ceglie Messapica, reasoning that 1 pizza per person should be enough. As we sat waiting for our order it slowly dawned – they were the size of small planets. We staggered out with towering stacks, the owner following behind us; we turned to find him pointing and heartily laughing at our tiny Fiat 500. I think we made his evening. Next thing I know I’m jammed in the back, pizza boxes rammed between my face and the seat, not a millimetre to spare. Each bump in the road guffed more hot cheesy steam into the eyes. We snorted with laughter the whole journey, as did everyone who passed us.

Nice though, and cheap (€7-11 each for those monsters). The ham and ricotta was my favourite. Here’s the menu.

Mamm ce Pizz
Via Taranto, 5
Ceglie Messapica
Brindisi
334.3643145

The remainder of the time we shopped at (fairly) local food markets; some were better than others. I really hope my memory serves me correctly here because it could save you a lot of disappointment. Of the 3 we attempted to visit, only 2 were actually where they were supposed to be – those in Cisternino and Alberobello. We found stall holders at the former very friendly, at the latter a little less so, as at one point we got into a misunderstanding trying to buy figs and had to run away. Don’t let that put you off though, the majority were lovely.

I wouldn’t bother trying the market in Martina Franca; advertised in our guide book as happening ‘all day’ we failed to find anything apart from stalls selling cheap clothes and toilet rolls [Edit: see comment from Tony below; they do exist!]

All the markets carry the same stuff (seasonal, innit) and you’ll find fishmongers and butchers dotted around the towns. To find the markets, just head for the centre, it’s obvious once you arrive.

Fat, buttery green olives.

Bright pink prawns with purple heads.

Saving the shells to make pasta sauce.

Bream ready for the BBQ.

Tomato salad – one of many.

Langoustines.

Can’t beat a mooch around a foreign supermarket.

Now I’m going on a week long detox (that’s obviously a joke, I’m really making focaccia).

View Peckham Food and Drink Map in a larger map

A reader e-mailed me recently to suggest I make a Google map showing the best food shops and restaurants around Peckham (thanks Alex). I thought it would be a nice way to follow on from this post and extend it to cafes, restaurants and boozers. I may branch it out further when I have time, into Nunhead and East Dulwich but for now I expect you locals to tell me about all those places I’ve missed. Don’t let me down now.

There’s a little linky underneath the map above to take you to a fancy big one. Ooooh.

This Saturday I will be doing a food stall with Rosie Birkett at the Warwick Wingding in Peckham. It’s a free music and arts festival and runs from 12-7.30pm.

On the entertainment side of things there will be the likes of the Dulwich Ukelele Club (can’t beat a bit of Uke action); a ‘Beer and Talent Tent’; craft stalls from the huge creative community that resides in Peckham; bands; shows and even Chas Hodges from Chas ‘n Dave. Seriously.

Of course I know it’s the food you’re most interested in and the pick of the local crop will be there – Petra with her Chocstar van, Yianni with his Meatwagon, a man called Simon who I’ve yet to meet who’s selling BBQ ribs and Ganapati restaurant serving their beautiful South Indian vegetarian food. Now I hope you’re sitting down because I’m about to drop a bombshell: our stall will also be veggie. We’ll be serving an Ottolenghi-style salad spread including fennel, pomegranate and feta salad; tabbouleh; baba ganoush; muhammara; harissa marinated halloumi and more. Come over and say hello.

If the prospect of stuffing yourself on that lot isn’t enough, there’s an after-party for you hardcore revellers. The Ivy House pub will host an evening of comedy and performance art.

For a lovely little vid of last year’s Wingding, follow this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AjsJZnxtps

The Warwick Wingding
Sat 25th September
12-7.30pm (then after-party at The Ivy House)
Warwick Gardens
Lyndhurst Way
SE15

FREE ENTRY

OK so here’s the deal: I’ve got 4 pairs of free tickets to give away so I’m running a little competition. All you need to do to win some is tell me a little food story. It can be as short as a few words or as long as your arm; as simple as telling me the name of your favourite dish; a  joke; a guilty pleasure you’re happy to embrace or a moment of consumption that you’re genuinely ashamed of. Get it off your chest – I’m all ears.

My 4 favourite comments will win the tickets, so the judgement will be based on my whim and fancy; there will be no random number generator or witness present. I’m easily impressed so fire away.

There’s also a 2 for 1 deal up for grabs – that’s 2 tickets for a bargainous £12 for a runner up, should they wish to take the deal.

The Real Food Festival is taking place in Earl’s Court again this year, but don’t let that put you off – many of the people inside are selling some really lovely stuff. I know because I went to visit some of them last year and wrote about it on the RFF blog. I’ll be there myself, serving up tea at the ‘Mad Hatter’s Tea Party’, which will involve Henrietta ‘tea lady’ Lovell and those crazy kids Bompas and Parr. Do pop over for a cuppa.

I’ll choose the winners on Monday 3rd May.

www.therealfoodfestival.co.uk