Aubergine and Ricotta Flatbread. Photography by Jason Lowe (page 157)
Black Axe Mangal is one of the most innovative and unconventional restaurants operating in London at the moment. What began as a six-week pop-up in the backyard of a Copenhagen nightclub is now a 20-seat restaurant on the edge of a roundabout in North London. Although small, Chef Lee Tiernan’s riotous space has attracted lines of in-the-know food lovers, global critics and the world’s best chefs.
Like the eponymous restaurant, Black Axe Mangal showcases a variety of explosive flavours and underused ingredients, with open-fire cooking and classic techniques. Readers are introduced to the three pillars of Tiernan’s cooking: smoking, grilling, and breads. With step-by-step explanations on key techniques, mostly photographed in Tiernan’s home kitchen and garden, fans of the restaurant will finally have the opportunity to learn the secrets behind the restaurant’s most iconic dishes.
All of Black Axe Mangal’s signature recipes are featured—from their famous flatbreads to the Pig’s Cheek and Prune Doughnuts, Aubergine and Ricotta Flatbread, Peanut and Foie Gras Bars, and Tiernan’s own version of the Crispy Pancake. There are also dishes from the earlier Danish pop-up, as well as guest recipes like Matty Matheson’s Return of the Mac and the BAM Whiskey Sourz created by the British bartending legend Mr. Lyan.
Black Axe Mangal is typified by Tiernan himself—funny, honest…and a little bit sweary. His passion is felt throughout the book, and it is a passion to make truly delicious food, no holds barred, on his own terms. Tiernan sticks by a rule of not having rules—making what he wants, changing it up, combining different flavours and influences from international cuisines, with just one aim: to never be mediocre. It is this honesty and unrestricted creativity that has become the backbone of Black Axe Mangal.