Review: Hula Juice Bar

Located on Edinburgh’s famous Grassmarket, on the corner of West Bow, Hula Juice Bar is a superb little café specialising in awesome smoothies and fresh juices with a wicked little breakfast and lunch menu. Additionally Hula often exhibits artwork from local and upcoming Artists which adds a nice little touch to an already well-decorated, funky interior.

Having eaten there previously I can recommend to you almost every single smoothie or juice on their menu, although if you put a gun to my head (don’t!) then I’d have to say my favourites are the Blue Hawaiian (blueberries, strawberry, apple and banana) and the Nutty Professor (banana, peanut butter and frozen yoghurt), de-licious! Although the menu is fairly simple, there is actually plenty of variety as the soups and salads are often daily specials and the desserts are regularly updated, much to my personal delight. I haven’t actually had the pleasure of breakfast at Hula yet, but the breakfast menu looks equally great, despite it again being fairly simple, there is definitely plenty of offer to satisfy a variety of breakfast cravings.

This time around I settled for the lunchtime special of soup and a wrap/bagel for £6.50, which is great value for somewhere as popular as Grassmarket. I chose the Broccoli and Pesto soup, and a bagel of Pesto Chicken, Sundried Tomato and optional toasted Brie, both of which were fantastic. Also, despite this being a lunch deal, portion size is not compromised and the bowl of soup is actually pretty generous and the bagel was packed full of filling!

 

There are several gluten-free options on the menu, including desserts and all the wraps and bagels can be made on gluten free bread, which is great. What I really enjoy about Hula is the staff, who are always friendly and jovial and very attentive. The service is also particularly speedy for somewhere that is so busy on a regular basis. Overall, it is easy to see why Hula has been showered with honours in the past including Best Café in Edinburgh in 2013! For a quick lunch, or a smoothie and a coffee (and potentially a piece of cake) with friends, Hula is right up there with the best in Edinburgh.

The wee Drunken Chef Rating: 8.5/10

Lentil Parsee Curry

Ingredients
2tbsp Coconut Oil
250g Red Lentils
1tsp Fenugreek Seeds
2 Large Onions (thinly sliced)
3 Tomatoes (quartered)
2 Thumb-sized Pieces Ginger (roughly chopped)
10 Dried Red Chillies
8 Garlic Cloves (peeled)
½tsp Cumin Seeds
1tsp Ground Coriander
1tsp Cinnamon
1tsp Turmeric

Method

1. Wash the lentils thoroughly and allow to soak in clean water for 20 minutes.
2. Heat the oil in a large pan and add the onions. Cook over a medium-low heat for 20 minutes until soft and golden.
3. Meanwhile, after the lentils have soaked, cook them for 15 minutes in fresh water with the fenugreek seeds.
4. In a blender, bring the tomatoes, ginger, chillies, garlic and remaining spices together to a paste adding a little water if necessary. Add the paste to the onions and fry for 5 minutes. 
5. Drain the cooked lentils and add them to the pan with the onions and paste. Add 100ml water, stir and cook with the lid on for a further 20 minutes over a very low heat. 

Serve with boiled rice, a chutney of your own choice and plenty of naan bread to mop up all the spicy lentil goodness. 

 

This recipe is just another reason to add to the incredibly long list of why I love curries. Out of 3 simple ingredients and a few spices comes this superb, filling, spicy lentil dish that you’ll not be able to stop eating. For such a simple list of ingredients, the flavours are pleasantly complex and the spice is not too overpowering, but certainly still packs a punch.

As I’ve said before, you can remove a few chillies, or just the seeds from the chillies if you want less heat and spice. Also, if you want to thin it out more, or keep it thick, add more or less water than stated in the method, just manipulate it down to your personal taste. This is a great vegetarian option and remains filling and full of protein even without the addition of any meats. If you really need to add meat to your dishes (then shame on you!) chicken is probably your best bet to accompany the flavours here. Fry the chicken for 5 minutes after you’ve added the paste and before you add the lentils. Enjoy!

Moroccan Turkey Burgers

Ingredients
1tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
400g Lean Turkey Mince
1 Small Onion (finely diced)
1 Thumb-sized piece Ginger (finely chopped)
Couple of handfuls Raisins
1tsp Cinnamon
2tsp Paprika
2tsp Turmeric
2tsp Ground Coriander
Handful Fresh Parsley (chopped)

Method

1. Combine all ingredients thoroughly in a large bowl. Scrunch the meat with the spices with your hands, really get into it!
2. Make 4 slightly flattened burger shaped meat-cakes and chill in the fridge for 20 minutes.
3. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry for 6-8 minutes on each side over a medium heat, turning once. Allow the burger to get really dark and charred on the outside and it’ll still be lovely and juicy in the middle. Resist the urge to turn the burger over repeatedly. 

Serve on a bun with hot sauce, some yoghurt, mint and cucumber or serve alongside a large salad and some rice or cous-cous.

I tried this recipe for the first time this Friday, and we’ve been craving them ever since. As is typical with Moroccan cuisine, the ratio of sweet to spicy is just right and the parsley and ginger add a real fresh bite. This recipe is perfect with a cooling yoghurt sauce, made simply by combining grated cucumber, finely chopped mint, salt, pepper and yoghurt.

What sets these burgers apart from the rest in my opinion is the sweetness of the raisins and the bite of the fresh ginger – I insist that you use fresh ginger instead of ground! Additionally, the smell and colour of these burgers will get you salivating at least 15 minutes in advance, which can only be a good thing.

Also, the turkey mince is healthier and leaner than beef mince and takes on the flavour of the spices really well. You can easily make a huge batch of these burgers, store them in the freezer and whip them out at a barbecue or whenever the craving takes over, because believe me, it will!