One of my favourite things to do when I travel is to visit local markets. You really get a feel for the culture of a city when you see the tastes and try specialties of the place you’re in. English food, I must admit, does not always have the best reputation, but my experience in the country has been nothing but positive. The photos I posted here are from Borough market. Although quite touristy, I really enjoyed walking through the different stalls and talking to local producers. I visited smaller markets during my stay in London, but I must say that I really did enjoy spending a couple hours here. A small fish shop in the midst of the market sells perfectly seared scallops and serves them in a shell with beansprouts and bacon – it’s the best bite-size treat you’ll find in the market!
I’m also posting a recipe for Lychee Salad. I absolutely love lychee and serving them on a warm summer day is always sure to please a crowd. My recipe is simple: just a little ginger syrup and some mint. Can you tell I’ve had a special craving for gingery desserts lately?
Lychee Salad with Ginger Syrup and Mint
Serves 4
¼ cup of water
¼ cup of sugar
1 slice of ginger, ¼ inch thick, diced
2 cans of lychee
10 mint leaves
In a small saucepan, add the water, sugar and ginger. Swirl the pan to make sure the sugar is dissolving in the water. As soon as the sugar is completely dissolved, simmer the mixture on low heat for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, strain and discard the ginger pieces. Let cool.
Add the drained lychee to your serving bowl. Pour the ginger syrup over the lychee and garnish with coarsely chopped mint leaves.
Enjoy the read!
The Italian Dish
June 6, 2010 at 9:21 am (14 years ago)Wow, I love that photo collage – wonderful pictures.
Nisrine@Dinners and Dreams
June 6, 2010 at 11:46 am (14 years ago)Gorgeous lychee salad. Where did you get them? The last time I looked for them, I couldn’t find them anywhere.
MaryBeth
June 6, 2010 at 6:41 pm (14 years ago)All of the photo’s are wonderful, I have never eaten a Lychee before and have no idea what they taste like but it looks very tempting.
pigpigscorner
June 7, 2010 at 7:12 am (14 years ago)What a great idea! Looks and sounds so refreshing!
Sanura
June 7, 2010 at 2:43 pm (14 years ago)The salad looks refreshing without being too sweet. I love lychee fruit, too.
Lea Ann
June 7, 2010 at 3:35 pm (14 years ago)Beautiful blog you have here. Thanks for stopping by Mangos Chili and Z and for the comment. I’ll be a regular visitor to Chocolate Shavings! 🙂
Chanel11
June 7, 2010 at 11:11 pm (14 years ago)Your photos are stunning! Makes me want to go to a foreign market
WizzyTheStick
June 8, 2010 at 7:44 am (14 years ago)Lychees are perfection. little is need to put them over the top. This looks great and your pictures have transported me. Gorgeous
Melita
June 8, 2010 at 8:34 am (14 years ago)Wow, I love your blog, your photos are amazing!!!
I am going on a trip soon, and you gave me a great idea 🙂
Thank you for visiting my blog! 🙂
Jessica
June 8, 2010 at 8:50 am (14 years ago)amazing. when are you putting out your own cookbook??!
Joudie's Mood Food
June 9, 2010 at 10:14 am (14 years ago)The photos are great. I literally want to dive in and eat this dish…. So fresh and summery.
S
June 9, 2010 at 11:00 am (14 years ago)I love your market pictures! They’re so gorgeous, as is that lychee salad. I’ve never tried lychee with ginger or mint before–definitely going to have to keep this combination in mind!
My Man's Belly
June 9, 2010 at 12:26 pm (14 years ago)I love going to the local markets when I travel too. You can learn so much about where you are. Your photos are fantastic and those lychees look like they are going to roll right out of my screen.
Paige
June 9, 2010 at 2:55 pm (14 years ago)Mmm this looks so refreshing and delicious! I have had lychee in restaurants before, but have never thought to look for them in the grocery. Can’t wait to give it a try.
Thanks for stopping by our blog. Yours is fabulous and will be added to my regular reading!
Jenious
June 9, 2010 at 3:55 pm (14 years ago)Delightul flavors at play in this dessert. And, your photos really pulled me in – oh those scallops!
peasepudding
June 11, 2010 at 6:59 am (14 years ago)I agree, UK has amazing produce and access to so much imported stuff too, we do get a rough deal bout our cuisine but that is because people do not look deeply enough. Lovely market photos!
Anonymous
August 8, 2010 at 7:03 pm (14 years ago)Curious about this dessert… Are the canned lychees you used already in syrup? If so, have you considered just infusing that syrup with ginger instead? Looking forward to trying this. Thanks!