24 Healthy & Alternative Food & Drink Plant-powered grub
A new vegan pop-up in south London is adding a healthy twist to indulgent pub fare, off ering everything from mushroom tandoori wings to pakora burgers. Words: Konstantina Pyrnokoki
Not long ago, a buddah bowl would have been a rare sight on a pub menu. T ankfully, this is no longer the case. T ese days, even the capital’s dingiest watering holes off er something for vegan diners — even if it’s a bowl of deep-fried veg. But in order to spot the tangible shift towards progressive, plant- based dining, you’ll need to head to London’s more forward-thinking establishments. Take T e Railway Tavern, in
Tulse Hill, for example. T is beloved neighbourhood venue just south of Brixton has found a way to give pub grub a whole new meaning, making Indian fl avours the star of the show. T e pub team has collaborated with plant-based specialist En Root to serve hearty, healthy dishes throughout the summer. “We heard [T e Railway] was
DIRTY VEGAZINE
looking for brands to come in and take over its kitchen. As soon as we met, it was a match made in heaven,” says Harsh Modasia, who co-founded En Root with his cousin, Nish Modasia, back in 2016. T e duo have been enriching people through their food ever since, providing catering for weddings, music festivals and even yoga retreats, while they currently have
19TH JUNE 2023 FOOD & DRINK DISTRIBUTED WITH
three permanent establishments, in Clapham, Peckham and Brixton. “We want to celebrate fresh
fruit and veg and pulses, and make plant-based cool,” says Harsh. “It’s benefi cial for our health, for the environment, for any being. If I can make one person eat one more plant-based meal a week, then I’m making an impact.”
Pub food reinvented T e Railway Tavern’s comfortable indoor sofas and large backyard, which boasts beach huts and table tennis, set the tone for En Root’s soul-warming food. Dishes are inspired by the staples of the Indian state of Gujarat — Harsh and Nish’s ancestral home — and are fused with Caribbean fl avours, in a nod to their south London upbringing. Get things started with the
beetroot-pink vegetable hummus and naan bread, the crispy vegetable and lentil samosas, or the tandoori wings — essentially oyster mushrooms battered in tandoori chickpea batter. Up next are the pakora burger, served with an Indian barbecue sauce, and the jerk dosa, a South Indian pancake packed with En Root’s signature jerk plantain mushroom mix. End your plant-based feast with a light yet indulgent mango lassi cheesecake that features a date, oat and coconut base with a cashew, coconut cream and mango topping. Whichever dish you choose, Harsh guarantees it will be “made of love”.
En Root will remain at T e Railway Tavern until late August. Nearest station: Tulse Hill, SE27 9BW.
therailwaytulsehill.co.uk enrootldn.co.uk
Why not discover the benefi ts of olive oil yourself?
Phil Sumpter is the owner of PG Olive Oil — just a bit of background as to where PG Olive Oil came from. In 2013, Phil started courier
company Parcelgiants. Having ran this business for over fi ve years without a break, a colleague of his suggested he needed a holiday and booked him into T e Hotel Petros, in Zante, for a week. While on the island, he met a few
people and struck up a business rela- tionship with a company based on the island selling its olive oil in UK. T is has since gone full circle
— Phil is now marketing his own brand of oil: Koutsis Organic Extra Virgin Cold Pressed Olive Oil. Now New to PG Olive Oil and an exclusive to the UK, Petromilos Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Infused and fl avoured Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Dark green in colour with a pungent, fruity and nutty fl avour, the oil is extracted from the olives using a cold-pressed mechanical process without the
use of heat or chemicals (only the highest grades of extra virgin and virgin olive oil are produced using this method).
The Soap With Phil having lived from birth with eczema, buying and using soap had always been a problem for him — he’d get used to a soap, the manufac- turer would change the ingredients and cause his skin to erupt, and he’d be back to square one again Having started buying olive-oil-
based soap, he considered making his own soap. In January 2020, before the fi rst lockdown started, Phil tried various recipes and fragrances — his fi rst batch of soap came out of the mould thyme-fragranced (12 bars of varying sizes and weights). All
the soaps he produces have
the same basic recipe. T ey include Koutsis Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Shea Butter, Coconut Oil, Caster Oil, Water, Lye and fragrance (an essential oil).
What are the benefi ts of adding olive oil to your diet?
• Cold-pressed olive oil mainly comprises oleic acid, a fat that may help lower cholesterol. It also provides Omega-6 and Omega-3 fats, which are essential for your health.
• Cold-pressed olive oil is rich in healthy fats and contains dozens of powerful plant compounds and vitamins E and K.
• Studies suggest that olive oil could help reduce infl ammation due to its high concentration of healthy fats, antioxidants, and compounds like oleocanthal.
• Oleocanthal is a natural anti- infl ammatory agent. Test-tube studies indicate that it acts similarly to ibuprofen, an anti- infl ammatory drug.
THREE MORE PLANT-BASED LONDON PIT STOPS
NAÏFS/MARTA ILARDO PHOTOGRAPHY 1
Mallow, just off Borough Market in Southwark, serves seasonal,
internationally inspired food with ingredients sourced from small businesses. Among the vibrant dishes are the pea and mint tortelloni and the beetroot smash burger. Keep an eye out for Mallow’s second restaurant, which opens in Canary Wharf next week.
mallowlondon.com
2
Family-run Naïfs, in Peckham, serves an ever-changing menu of
small plates in a warm, welcoming space. Chef Tom Heale scours the British countryside for produce from small-scale farms. His dishes are often infl uenced by Greek cuisine, so don’t miss the barbecue red pepper kebab with parsnip skordalia.
naifs.co.uk
been dubbed the ‘world’s fi rst primary sustainable gastronomic restaurant’. Enjoy French gastronomy at its fi nest, with dishes such as garlic and wild rocket pain feuilleté and white Val de Loire asparagus.
gauthiersoho.co.uk
3
Gauthier Soho’s kitchen boasts a low-carbon footprint and has
pgoliveoil.co.uk/
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