The table was groaning under the weight of colourful dishes. Spheres of a soft creamy cheese were dusted with spices, spreadable on bread. Watermelon and sorrel salad was a refreshing combination of sweet and citrus.
I'm something of an aubergine fanatic, so I zoned in immediately on the imam bayaldi. Turkish for 'the imam fainted', I felt a bit swoon-some myself when I had a bite of it. Soft and luscious, it was sweet and balanced with sour.
Cacik (top) was soothing, creamy, dill-spiked and garlicky. It was punchy, crunchy bits of cucumber in there, and without that tell-tale sweetness you can get from commercially mass-made versions. This is the proper kind of meze, much like what I had in Istanbul, much removed from lazier, lesser mangal places in London.
Skordalia, a type of dip made with garlic and mashed potato, was silky smooth and had enough garlic in it to keep the vampires away for a good few days after consumption. HHHHHHHHHHello.
Salads are of the colourful, interesting variety; later on in proceedings, the cucumber and tomato salad was garnished with a melting block of baked feta. Phwoar.
I didn't find many dishes needed it, but if you wanted some flavour perks dukkah, homemade za'atar and smoked chilli salt were available. They'd work great with the grilled fish and meat, though I couldn't stick around for it (curse my double-booking!). I walked past the outdoor barbecue with amazing smells billowing from it.
So, in short, you should go. It's great value, it's delicious, and you know, Peckham's great. The menu for this weekend is here.
Peckham Bazaar
Frog on the Green
119 Consort Rd
London SE15 3RU
Follow John or Donald or Peckham Bazaar on Twitter for more details over the coming weeks.
Holy mackerel, that all looks bloody delicious.
ReplyDelete