Sprouts and marzipan. Both pretty divisive festive ingredients – I imagine those little sprouts made of marzipan are enough to turn many a stomach while at the same time reducing others to wobble knee’d joy. I bloody love them both – perhaps not together, mind – and will eat either at any opportunity whilst they’re readily available.

I recently stumbled across purple sprouts (well, they’re actually labelled ‘Redarling brussells’ – but you know – PURPLE) and as such they immediately trump all other brassicas. They were damn delicious doused in David Lebovitz’s Pistachio Aillade but even better with my fridge staple; nduja. A mess of sweet, fried shallots, halved purple sprouts, a handful of toasted hazelnuts, generous spoonful of n’djua, all topped with a Burford Brown egg; it’s a very smile inducing, easy dinner indeed.

When people say they don’t like marzipan, I’m inclined not to believe them. I think most have been permanently scarred by the memory of those cloyingly sweet, modelled fruits. But honestly, what’s not to love about sugar and almonds? I just don’t get it. I adore the stuff in every guise, from frangipane and all levels of sickly sweet to the more restrained, less saccherine homemade versions, I guess you’d call them nut pastes.

You might also like: N’duja, Goat & Ewe’s Cheese, Truffle Honey & Sage Toastie

I very, very rarely eat any of the sweets and puddings associated with this time of year, but I do make a lot of time for marzipan. One of my ultimate breakfasts over Christmas is a thin slice of sourdough toast, liberally anointed with salty butter and then finished with slivers of marzipan. This pistachio paste is a fragrant and fancy version, in keeping with the season. I only make small amounts at once, partly because it’s a pain pummelling too many pistachios at once, but also because I can’t be trusted not to eat it straight from the bowl until there’s not a scrap left.

Pound around 50g of pistachios in a pestle and portar until mostly ground but with plenty of texture, add around 25g ground almonds, 50g golden icing sugar, enough egg white to bring together as a paste, a good pinch of salt, clementine zest and a drop or 3 of maraschino liqueur.

Spread on buttered, sourdough toast and serve with the best coffee you can lay your mitts on for an insouciant take on the serious matter of breaking fast.

The post Of Sprouts and Marzipan first appeared on The Faerietale Foodie.

I just about remembered to do what any good blogger does in these circumstances; I instagrammed my lunch.

Cue the best response for a pic I’ve taken to date so far. It’s all in that close-up buttered and seared crust and oozing cheese. I know, I know. It just so happens to be National Sandwich Week so I thought I’d pop it on here along with some past thoughts and ideas on the subject.

It was actually my fifth post, three years ago now where I vocalised my ‘Sandwich Love and a Quest‘ which was to be the very beginning of my, at first, tentative journey into coffee. It was simply, back then, a search for the best lunch spots, but you can see that over time this instigated in me a strong yearning to learn more about coffee and all it entails as I doggedly asked more questions and listened and absorbed, propped up at many a London coffee bar.

You might also like: Three Cheese, Porchetta, Pink Radicchio, Hazelnut & Truffle Honey Toastie

I fell in love with the trio of Fernandez & Wells stores at the time, the unbeatable sandwiches and some short and intriguing long blacks (yes, that’s what I drank back then). There are, of course, double that number of stores now as well as their Somerset House residency. I marvelled at the absolute perfection of Kaffeine, that still stands out as one of London’s greatest cafes, and Shaun, who won over so many customers behind that bar has now taken his charm outside and has his own brilliant Noble Espresso. I rhapsodised over the chelsea buns, banana bread and monte cristo sandwich at Foxcroft and Ginger, who’ve just opened a second site, but always found their coffee a touch hit or miss. I can only reminisce over the incredible F.A.T. Ultimate toasties at Dunnefrankowski at Sharps while drinking delicious coffee and eating whatever pop up is currently doing so and serving. Oh and they make a damn fine sarnie, and damn fine coffee, at my local Fee and Brown, of which there’s now a branch in Orpington, yes really.

I wrote about Raw Duck , the little sibling to Soho’s Duck Soup, when it opened in the Summer of last year, it met an undeserved early demise after a short few months of trading but has come back bigger and stronger than ever before right next to Lardo up at the top of London Fields. They have a proper kitchen this time around and massively increased space to play with and you’ll be pleased to hear the epic Dirty Bird sanger is back. I popped in recently for a look, I didn’t have a sandwich this time but I can confirm the harissa eggs are very good, as is the Provence 75. Caravan are looking after the coffee and I had a good chat to the barista on the day, it sounds like that’s shaping up nicely too. I love that the reincarnated restaurant has the same vivid custom orange espresso machine and cute concrete bar, except stretched, all the way down the length of the long room and around in a loop to provide seating all around the central area.

I fully intend to return for evening, to try more of that extended menu and their delicious sounding wine list, they even have a wine refilling station.

Toasties and wine, a heavenly pairing? They are at Sager & Wilde.

I made sandwiches too. There was the love it or hate it deep fried avocado one, the pumpkin doughnut bacon one, the Boxing Day one and the haggis one to name a few that I’ve blogged. Trust me, I’ve eaten many more.

I don’t usually cast my eye back, have never done one of those end of year blog round ups, but well, this is a subject close to my heart and clearly to many of yours too.

My friend Helen has written a quite brilliant entire book on the subject that I highly recommend you take a look at.

The post Sandwiches – A Retrospective Post first appeared on The Faerietale Foodie.