During my early days in New York working for Restaurant Daniel, dinnertime at home landed around two in the morning. The sad truth for pastry chefs working in restaurants is that they are always the last ones dismissed, since dessert is the last course. By the time I got home, the options were slim for 24-hour restaurants that delivered. And so, my go-to meal of choice was simple: a bowl of cereal. Cereal was convenient. There was no prep time, there were minimal dishes to be washed, and it strangely hit the spot.
Parkin is a form of oatmeal gingerbread common to Yorkshire and other parts of England where oats were grown in abundance. Dark and treacly, parkin makes the perfect accompaniment to mid-autumn holidays like Bonfire Night – an occasion for which it is often made. Once baked, cover well and allow to mature and soften up for a few days before serving.
Rich and decadent, the recipe for these luxurious cookies was the result of a visit to Café Ilio, an artisan chocolatier in northern Tehran, run by husband and wife team Sahar Hossein-Najari and Mehrdad Aghameeri. The pair spent six years travelling around Belgium, France and Italy, honing their craft, before introducing Iranians to the wonders of fine chocolate, incorporating traditional ingredients – like saffron, pistachio and cardamom – into a whole new world of truffles, macaroons, jams and cakes. Thanks to their winning combination of dark chocolate and sour cherries, these cookies are loved by adults and children alike.