To Market.

With the abundance of America style diners opening up in Central London and the return of my sorely missed other half from his feature film shoot in Dunstable, we decided that it was time to go and indulge ourselves. With meat. And cheese.

You may remember Valentine’s Day 2012 fondly, as that night Rob and I explored the newly opened Meat Liquor (Fangtasia crossed with a butcher) and enjoyed some dirty US cuisine at its best.  Instead of revising as we have already done many times, we decided to check out another of Yianni Papoutsis’ creations – Meat Market in Covent Garden.  

With a rather secluded entrance off Tavistock Street, you head up the stairs to a small, rough and ready diner style set up overlooking Covent Garden’s Jubilee Market Hall. We arrived at about 7pm and managed to squeeze ourselves onto a newly empty table. There’s no table service here and you collect your food when you hear your name called. Like it’s sister, Meat Liquor, Meat Market has great style. It’s a toned down, simple version but its personality is still shining through.

Even with its small menu, it was hard to choose what to have. We both opted for the Maple Bourbon Shake (£6), which was the most incredible drink I have ever had. There was nowhere near enough of this to keep me satisfied. Rob even toyed with picking up another for the road. To eat, Rob chose the old faithful ‘Dead Hippy’ burger – just as good as usual, whilst I went for a Chilli Dog. The hot-dog itself was the star of the show – well flavoured with a good meaty texture, and stood out against the large amount of toppings that it was fighting against. The bun was soft and light and the chilli, cheese and jalapeños topped the dish off nicely.

We were in and out in about half an hour. As we left, I felt sated and exhilarated. I can only imagine that this is what it must feel like to visit a top of the range escort. 

Mexican Stuffed Peppers

Stuffed peppers... the kind of thing your vegetarian hippy mum used to try and force you to eat. They'd be full of things like brown, overcooked rice and lentils and barley and children's fingernails and death.

NO LONGER. I make a half arsed effort to be healthy and eat nutritious meals, but sometimes the urge for meat and cheese becomes so overwhelming that I walk into Waitrose and inhale everything with a saturated fat rating of 10g or over. This recipe is a relationship. It is built on compromise and trust. Healthy enough for you to feel smug but also enough tasty components to comfort any cravings for fatty food that you may have.

Mexican Stuffed Peppers

To Serve Two

• 2 large peppers
• 1 can of refried beans
• Half a mug of uncooked rice (I used a mixture of Long Grain and Wild Rice)
• 2 large tomatoes
• A Handful of fresh chillis 
• 1 onion
• Tomato Puree
• White Wine Vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic
• Fresh lime for squeezing
• Cumin Seeds
• Ground Coriander
• Fresh Thyme
• Paprika
• A cheese of your choice (I used Halloumi)

Directions

First of all, preheat your oven to around 200C. 

Cook your rice and put to one side.

Chop your tomatoes and chillis into sizeable chunks and place on a baking tray. 

Take your cloves of garlic and crush them with the flat of your knife so that they split open - no need to peel them! Add these to the baking tray.

Roast these in the oven for 15 - 20 minutes, or until they start to blacken. Don't turn the oven off once they're done.

When done, take these out and whizz in a food processor until they form a 'salsaeque' consistency. Put to one side.

Chop your onion finely and sautee in a lightly oiled frying pan at a medium heat. 

Once the onion is soft and translucent, add all of your spices plus some salt and pepper for extra seasoning. Fry for a couple of minutes.

Add your 'salsa', along with 1tbsp of tomato puree, a squeeze of lime juice and a splash of white wine vinegar.

Ensure the ingredients are fully combined and cook for a couple of minutes. Take off the heat.

Get a large bowl and empty your refried beans into it. Add your rice and the salsa. Stir well until all the ingredients are well mixed.

Slice the top from your pepper and scrape out any remaining seeds. 

The easiest way for these to cook is to place them upright in a muffin tin. If not, you might want to cut your peppers in half so that you can lay them down on a baking tray. 

Fill your peppers with the mixture and top with your choice of cheese. 

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes until the cheese is golden brown.