Who says cheesecake has to be a dessert? Certainly not the chefs at NOPI in London, where I dined recently and discovered a scrumptious “cheesecake” that I didn’t have to wait ‘til after dinner to enjoy.
Valdeón Cheesecake, listed under Vegetable Starters/Dishes to Share, was a quivering blend of pecorino, parmesan and the bold, spicy Spanish blue called Valdeón cheeses, served bubbling hot in a tiny copper pot. We cracked through the well-burnished crust and scooped out the molten cheese, teaming each nibble with the bits of pickled beets, crushed hazelnuts and thyme honey drizzle served with it. This cheesy spectacle alone would have made the rainy night trip to NOPI worthwhile. But there was more, much more. (Photo by UrbanSpoon.)
First, though, let me introduce NOPI (North Of PIcadilly) to those who haven’t made its acquaintance. It’s the London Soho restaurant of Yotam Ottolenghi, an Israeli-born chef who, with co-author Sami Tamimi, won the prestigious James Beard Award for Best International Cookbook last year for their tome “Jerusalem: A Cookbook.”
In London, the Ottolenghi empire also includes two self-service café/delis, another restaurant on the city’s outskirts, and a busy bakery operation. The NOPI menu, limited and changing frequently, is a celebration of the bold, “sunny” flavors of the Mediterranean and Middle East.
Occupying a narrow but deep storefront on Warwick Street, NOPI is a casual but stylish “all-day” restaurant with a colorful bar and small tables snuggled close together. A mesmerizing black-and-white movie is projected over the stairwell that leads down to a large room where long refectory tables face the bustling open kitchen.
Our recent memorable dinner also included an appetizer of roasted eggplant slices, topped with feta cheese marinated in lemon and chilies, and topped with crushed pistachios; and another of purple and candy beets dressed with quince puree and dusted with sunflower seeds.
Since NOPI is of the modern “shared plates” frame of mind, there are only five dishes designated Mains. I loved the whole, twice-cooked baby chicken that was served with a tiny pile of lemon myrtle flavored salt and a snappy chili sauce.
I also flipped over the Truffled Polenta Chips --- fat, crusty wands, as in fish ‘n chips not potato chips--- with a spicy tomato chutney for dipping. (Polenta Chips photo by FoodiesOnTheProwl.)
Accompanying wines are reasonably priced and from small producers, mostly in France, Spain and Italy. The creative cocktail list includes a martini with fresh ginger and cilantro, and a Goslings rum creation with Benedictine and pumpkin puree.
NOPI definitely had me at Hello, with the cheesecake appetizer. But the Goodbye was no less spectacular. Their version of chocolate mousse called “Chocolate, spiced hazelnuts, orange oil, crème fraiche” was awesome -- a voluminous, bittersweet wonder that filled and coated the mouth with rich cocoa flavor, brightened by sweet orange essence and crème fraiche tang. No photo can capture the scrumptiousness. To think that it’s sitting there right now, more than 5,000 miles away, makes me want to cry.
Even if you can’t get to NOPI any time soon, you can enjoy its robust flavors by checking out the impressive catalog of recipes on the Ottolenghi website.
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