I discovered this incredible Leith shop just before Ottolenghi opened in Edinburgh

placeholder image — Shop exterior | Gaby Soutar

This was a late discovery for me

Ottolenghi is opening his eponymous restaurant on Edinburgh’s George Street on October 2.

I’m stoked, and, in anticipation, we’ve been using his newest cookbook, Simple Too (Ebury, £30). I used to own quite a few of his hardbacks but, sadly, most were sacrificed in a recent house-moving cull. The latest is great, but it features a few of those tricky-to-find ingredients. You know, the ras el hangout, za’atar, preserved lemon, sumac and date molasses sort of things.

Thus, we’d ruled out a few of the recipes. UNTIL. On a Saturday afternoon, we entered an unassuming shop that we’ve walked past a million times at 82-90 Leith Walk.

From the outside, the Turkish Supermarket looks tiny and there are window wraps, so you can’t really get a pavement preview. Inside, it is vast, with shelves so close together that you have to play sardines with strangers.

Our minds were blown by an array of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern goodies. So many types of tahini, harissa, lahmacun, pide, dolma, baklava. They need to use the Dewey Decimal System to file the feta. All the Ottolenghi things, and more. Pickles, olives, Turkish delight like powdered baby cheeks, dates of every heft, flatbreads the size of bin lids, and, my ultimate weakness, the chalky nutty treat that is halva, but in a trillion varieties. Also, brined string cheese that reminds me of lug worm casts.

I’ve lived in Leith for 14 months now, and I couldn’t believe that this treasure trove was on my doorstep for the whole time.

However, the experience was so bewildering that we left with nothing much, apart from a sesame crusted pide, a lemon, novelty crisps and a feta and spinach borek.

At least we can do every recipe in Simple Too now. I just wish we’d found this gem earlier.