RECIPE: Lebkuchen

It’s okay to talk about Christmas now that December has begun. Here, Brixton food blogger Miss South introduces us to the delights of the German Lebkuchen

Christmas is coming! Which means you’re either running around like a headless chicken trying to do all your shopping or you’re cosied up indoors enjoying the season. Either way you’ll need a simple seasonal treat to see you through. Brixton may not have a German market (although it has every other sort) but don’t let that stop you from indulging in these traditional German biscuits or Lebkuchen.A spiced cookie similar to gingerbread, these are bursting with festive flavours and are the easiest thing in the world to make. Best of all, you can get everything you need to do so in the wonderful Nour Cash and Carry for about a third of the cost of popping to Tesco. So stock up and impress everyone this year with freshly baked biscuits in no time.

(Recipe adapted from BBC Good Food)
250g plain flour
85g ground almonds
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves, black pepper, nutmeg, mace, allspice (use all or just which ones you have)
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
200ml clear honey or 100ml honey and 100g dark brown sugar
85g butter
1 lemon , finely grated zest

FOR THE ICING

100g icing sugar
1 egg white , beaten

Preheat your oven to 200C and melt the butter, honey and sugar together on the stove. Measure your dry ingredients into a large bowl and then add the liquid when completely melted. Combine together well until a slightly fudgy dough. This should take about 5 minutes.

Pinch off walnut sized pieces of the dough, roll into a ball and then flatten out on a lined baking tray, leaving enough room to spread out slightly. The dough should yield about 30 cookies so you’ll probably only be able to bake half at one time. Cover the dough to stop it drying out in this case. You can also freeze the cookies and simply cook for a minute or two longer when needed. Just put some greaseproof paper between them when freezing.

You want to cook the biscuits until golden and still slightly soft so check after 10 minutes but don’t be surprised if they need up to 15 minutes. Leave them on the tray for about 2 minutes to firm slightly, then transfer to a wire rack to cool for about 15 minutes so you can ice them.

The icing is firmer with the egg white and less likely to drip, but if it’s a waste of an egg for you, just mix the icing sugar into a stiffish paste with some water and use that instead with the back of a teaspoon or a pastry brush. Allow to dry for a moment or two and then get stuck in!

These are equally good with a cup of tea as with some mulled wine. They are soft and chewy, thanks to the almonds, with a warming tingle of spice than knocks the shopbought ones into a cocked hat. Simple enough to make with the kids, they’ll impress everyone this Christmas and keep well in a tin if you happen to have any leftover. I have a feeling they’ll be a Christmas tradition in your house year after year…

Miss South blogs at North South Food

Brixton’s Best Food Shops

Rachel Manley, who runs the Breakfast Club, gives us a guide of Brixton’s best food shops

Brixton has arguably one of the best food markets in London and it just keeps getting better.

But with the men shouting ‘half price’ at you and the overwhelming selection, it can be a pretty intimidating place to know where to start… here are my recommendations for the best food shops in Brixton.

1. Nour cash and carry, Electric Avenue
Known as favourite shop in my house, the tiny entrance hides what I think is by far the best version of the generic shops along Electric Avenue. Worth a wander around, if only to make new discoveries in random corners. This is where I buy fruit and vegetables particularly huge bunches of fresh herbs including lovely thyme and dill, onions, garlic, ginger, chillies and packs of cherry tomatoes for 50p! I also buy spices, pomegranate molasses, chopped tomatoes, tinned beans, rice and lentils here. All much better quality than the supermarket and loads cheaper. You can also find huge tubs of yoghurt and labneh in the fridges as well as haloumi.

2. Wing Tai
The Chinese supermarket on Electric Avenue is really well stocked. I buy huge bottles of soy sauce and fish sauce, there’s lemongrass and Thai basil in the fridges and I recently bought everything I needed to make sushi for about £10. While the staff aren’t exactly friendly and they don’t speak great English, they will help you find what you’re looking for. Don’t be afraid to ask!

3. Dagon’s Ltd.
There’s some pretty unappetising fish for sale in Brixton Market, dig a little deeper and you can find some fantastic stuff. Mash & Sons on Atlantic Rd is ok, but my very favourite is Dagon’s in Brixton Village. They’re always really busy (definitely a good sign) and they can offer advice on the type of fish to buy and how to cook it. Best of all, they’ll fillet and prepare the fish for you if you ask nicely. Salad Club also recommend Jeffries by Franco Manca.

4. Continental Delicatessen
Turn right out of Brixton station, keep going until you hit Atlantic Rd and the bright blue awning of Continental deli is right in front of you. It’s worth a visit for all the usual deli stuff, in particular the great cheese selection, delicious chorizos and Portuguese custard tarts. I also spotted homemade pestos in the fridge. Rosie’s Deli also has a nice selection of deli foodstuffs and you can get a cake and coffee while you’re there.

5. Giggly pig
Much like fish, finding meat in Brixton Market can be hit and miss. I tend to go to the farmers’ market on Brixton Station Road on Sundays as I know it’s all local and free-range. Although a little lacklustre, it’s worth it for the excellent sausages and pork from Giggly Pig. If you head down later on (after 1pm) you can usually get a good deal. There’s also a really good farmer’s market on on Saturday’s opposite Oval station.

6. Breads etc
Breads etc has been open in Clapham for a while and recently opened in Brixton Market. This is a chance to buy their top quality bread without the queues they usually have in Clapham, plus they do a mean brunch.

Sometimes I feel like I’m only scratching the surface, like when I discovered the fantastic chorizo in Continental Delicatessan or that you can get huge bags of ground almonds in Nour Cash and Carry. Where are your favourite food shops in Brixton? Leave suggestions in the comments.

New Year’s Day fun

Lost for how to fill the first day of the year? Here are some Brixton-based ideas:

– The Ritzy is screening ‘The Hangover’ at 2pm especially for New Year’s Day . This is actually a good film.

– FOOD. If the Market’s open, get to Nour Cash and Carry and buy the goods to cook up a feast. Or just grab some plantain, jerk chicken and curry from Take Two.

– A walk in Brockwell Park. Or a swim at the Brixton Rec, in preparation for Brockwell Lido’s outdoor swim (brrr) on 8 January.

– For those who saved themselves for partying on New Years’ Day (gah), Plan B is hosting the afterparty for the Together 10th anniversary, with two rooms of electro-bass, breaks and house including the Stanton Warriors and Jurassik. And Brixton Jamm is hosting an all-day event – the Kerfuffle New Years Day/Wiggle After Party.