Burrata and orange ? a Nopi signature. Photo: Keiko Oikawa / Courtesy of Nopi
By Emily Fiffer for?Fathom?|?Nettles are prickly suckers. They yield to few men. After a recent trip to London and a meal at Nopi in Soho, I can say with certainty that one man ? lauded chef Yotam Ottolenghi (Plenty,?Jerusalem, Ottolenghi restaurants, Nopi, you know the drill) ? coaxes nettles the way I assume Jack Nicholson does women. Deftly, assertively, poetically. Until rendered powerless.
The softened stingers appeared in a sauce sopped up first by scallop, then fork, then finger. (I use digits in public sparingly. In this case, it was imperative.) So alluring was this sauce that I called over my server to crow about it, then asked for the recipe. ?It?s simple,? he said. ?Five ingredients.?
This is a love letter to?Nopi. This is passion, raw and unfettered, in the face of a chef whose food I have been cooking in my own kitchen, thanks to beautifully constructed tomes that are as fulfilling to read as they are to use. This is the moment I have been waiting for.
Nopi was everything I?d hoped it would be: a meal that tasted as if it were cooked by someone who understands exactly what makes my palate hum. Hearty at times, dainty at others ? Ottolenghi maintains the balance of an Olympic gymnast in the kitchen. Dish after dish offered acid, umami, uncanny seasoning, temperature play.
Olives ? simple! ? brightened by whole pink peppercorns caused a mild riot. Courgette fritters were flecked with manouri and fried into plump rounds; cool cardamom yogurt proved an apt companion. Dessert was fork-soft chocolate cake with plum ?soil.? I believe it hit 11 on the Richter scale.
I could go on, but what?s the use? I advise you, instead, to travel and taste for yourself.
FIND IT
Nopi
21-22 Warwick St.
London, W1B 5NE
+44-20-7494-9584
MORE ON FATHOM
Cook it at home:?Buy?Ottolenghi?s?Jerusalem?cookbook
Fathom Favorites:?See all our?London Restaurants
Everything Else in Blighty:?London Guide
Emily Fiffer is the?Chicago Editor of DailyCandy. She travels for the detours.
Fathom: The travel website redefined. Follow us on?Twitter?@FathomWayToGo, tell us about your travels on?Facebook, and sign up for our weekly?wanderlusty newsletter.
Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/fathom/2013/07/13/nopi-best-restaurant-in-london/
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