Roquefort Mousse & Apple

I've been making this mousse (well, really a dip but mousse sounds nicer) for a long time, but just dawned on me tonight to have it with crisp apple wedges rather than the celery sticks which have normally accompanied it.

2 parts cottage cheese

1 part roquefort, or to taste

chives, chopped

ground pepper

salt if necessary

EVOO (1-2 tsp)

1. in a hand-held blender, zip up all the ingredients until thick & smooth
2. fold contents into a whiskey-type clear glass
3. scatter apple wedges around the glass on plate
4. sprinkle more chopped chives & drizzle more EVOO over the whole lot, maybe a couple turns of the pepper mill, if you like

Tonight's Dinner

The first Halal meal I've prepared, for the Ashs and Akins. A good time had by all, without the free flow of alcohol. The best dish, I believe, was Michelle's zabaglione.

• beet tartare on crisps
• bresaola bombs
• roquefort & chive mousse with celery sticks
• leek vinaigrette david
• smoked haddock & pesto crostini
• tuna tartare & avocado lime puree
• shittake & chestnut veloute, horseradish marscapone
• curry mussels musclade
• potato puree & caramelized onion ravioli
• radish, celeriac, pecorino & pomegranate salad
• zabaglione

Scallops, Chive Oil & Pineapple

Am I going Momofuku?

half cup grapeseed oil

1 bunch chives

8 medium scallops, sliced in half length-wise (two discs)

1/4 cup dashi, cold

1/4 cup best quality pineapple brunoise (tiny dice)

maldon sea salt

1. combine grapeseed oil & chives; blend & pass through sieve to yield bright green oil
2. divide scallops up (maybe small ramekins? big soup spoons?)
3. top each with dashi, tblsp of brunoise, some chive oil, and pinch of salt

Oysters & Melon Gelee

Another Momofuku recipe. It just sounds cool, and I'm guessing tastes good too.

1 sheet gelatin

2/3 cup strained green melon juice

1 tblsp rice wine vinegar

1. puree fresh melon, strain through fine sieve
2. soak gelatin in hot water for 5 minutes, wring out & combine with melon juice and vinegar in a bowl
3. put bowl in fridge; chill 6-8 hours until set but give a stir and break up once an hour (make it look like shattered glass)
4. put on your favorite kind of oyster

Simple Dashi

You never know when you need some good dashi.

one 3-6 inch piece of konbu

8 cups water

2 handfuls katsuo-bushi

1. rinse konbu, combine with water
2. bring water to simmer, turn off heat and let seep ten minutes
3. add katsuo-bushi and let seep another 7 minutes
4. strain dashi, use immediately or keep for a couple days

Apple Salad, Bacon & Maple Labneh

I couldn't help give this a go after reading it in Momofuku's new cookbook. Kind of busy but everyone seemed to enjoy it!

fuji, or some other tart & crisp apple

kimchi

labneh

quality maple syrup

best quality back bacon (pork jowl used)

rucola

EVOO

lemon

S&P

1. zip up kimchi in a blender til smooth
2. cut the apples in cubes or wedges, dress with the kimchi (don't overpower apples, just a hint of kimchi sufficient)
3. mix labneh & maple syrup (should be sweet)
4. grill bacon until caramelizing
5. dress rucola with EVOO, small squeeze of lemon, S&P
6. to plate, put a spoonful of labneh-maple mixture onto small plate, top with a few pieces of apple, then about 1" x 4" strip of bacon, a bit more labneh
7. sprinkle a few leaves of rucola over the whole lot, maybe a turn of the pepper mill

Fromage Pepe Gino

My grandfather always ate his emmental like this. It's probably one of the dullest cheeses in existence so no wonder. No freshly-ground pepper or Maldon sea salt here; just plain ground salt and pepper.

emmental

salt

ground pepper

1. cut emmental into cubes or thick batons
2. sprinkle some salt and pepper on top

Braised Whole Oxtail

One of my favorite dishes from one of my favorite eating establishments in London-The Hereford. There isn't much point in doing it unless you serve the tail whole!

1 whole oxtail

S&P

EVOO

15 shallots, peeled & left whole

splash of balsamic vinegar

half bottle good red wine

a bunch of organic carrots

bouquet garni of rosemary, thyme, fresh bay leaf

half head of garlic cut crossways

1.5 liters stock made previous day from oxtail & beef bones

1. pre-heat oven 220 degrees c
2. trim excess fat from base of oxtail, but leave some on for flavor and moistness in the finished dish!
3. in order to cook the oxtail whole you need a large fish poacher or long roasting pan to accommodate its length; season oxtail with S&P, brown oxtail then place in oven to brown further for five minutes
4. remove from oven and turn temperature down to 180 degrees c
5. brown shallots in a skillet to give good color; toward end, add vinegar and wine and simmer to reduce until nearly gone; add to oxtail
6. trim carrots, also add to oxtail with bouquet garni, stock
7. cover pot with aluminum foil and lid; braise 3.5 hours, then take lid off and brown in oven for a further 20 minutes
8. check for seasoning before serving, preferably with some silky smooth buttery mash potatoes

Michelle's Roast Potatoes

I could eat these every night. With Wednesday night's herb salad, and a slice of prosciutto cotto, or jambon de Paris, with a nice tub of mustard nearby. Maris Piper are great, but if you can get a Scottish variety all the better. Blue-skinned Arran Victory is the king of roasties, a claim backed up by Heston himself (natural dryness guarantees crispiness). Other good British varieties include the sweeter Dunbar Rover, British Queen, King Edwards and the red Duke of York. On the issue of fat, I think below is the best way to go; although I'd like to try the Michael Caine (apparently a very good cook!) method of soaking the boiled potatoes in a 1 cm of cold EVOO, adding some rosemary and sage leaves for extra taste (marinating them in cold EVOO allows the fat to be absorbed into the fuzzy surface and makes a thicker crust). Below can also be tried with duck or goose fat, pork lard or beef drippings for a more old-fashioned flavor. Also in step 7 below, consider heating oil before putting spuds into the baking tray.

Maris Piper Potatoes, about one large potato per person, peeled & cut into quarters (4cm)

1 tblsp EVOO

S&P

1 tsp saffron, if desired

baking tray to accommodate all potatoes comfortably in one layer

1. pre-heat oven to 220*C and place baking tray with 2 tblsp of oil in it
2. put potatoes in a pot with boiling water to almost cover them
3. add 1 tblsp of salt (and half of crushed saffron powder if using); salt speeds the crumbling of the cells, making the potato a fraction crunchier
4. bring potatoes back to a boil then cover and simmer gently until outer edge of potatoes are fluffy (approximately 6 minutes, depending on size)
5. drain water with potatoes in the pan. Holding lid firmly on pan, shake vigorously to create a fluffy surface on the potatoes
6. remove baking tray from oven and place on direct medium heat
7. place potatoes into baking tray and turn potatoes so they are evenly coated with oil (if using saffron, baste potatoes with remaining oil/saffron mixture)
8. return tray to highest shelf in oven and bake for 40-50 minutes until potatoes are golden and crunchy
9. 15 minutes before end of cooking time, add rosemary sprig and a few cloves of garlic
10. season with salt and serve straightaway

Wednesday Night Herb Salad

We made this salad last night, which was a Wednesday night. It was good, too. What really makes the Wednesday Night Herb Salad special, though, is that it's my 100th post in this blog!

1/3 radicchio

1/3 lambs lettuce/mache

1/3 rucola/rocket

handful each of chopped mint, tarragon and dill

vinaigrette

moutarde (Maille)

cider vinegar

red wine vinegar

EVOO

S&P

1. make your vinaigrette including both vinegars, on the thickish side
2. toss with salad leaves & herbs

Chicken Tonnato & Celeri Remoulade

Very happy with this. First it was the veal, then the squid, and now chicken or pork. It doesn't really matter, it's all about the tonnato sauce!

roast chicken slices (quality pre-sliced off the store shelf ok)

tonnato sauce (use squid tonnato recipe or sauce below)

celeri remoulade with capers

pain poilane

alternative tonnato sauce

tuna

capers

squeeze of lemon

cornichons

anchovies to taste

white pepper

1. put chicken (or pork) slices on plate, smear with tonnato sauce
2. plop some celeri remoulade alongside, and some pain poilane

Fettuccine Fungi Casa

Maybe because we were very hungry tonight, but this made our tummies very happy.

fresh egg pasta (3.5 cups 00 flour, 4 eggs, 1 egg yolk)

couple handfuls wild mushrooms

Italian butter

garlic

white wine

rosemary, minced (1 tsp)

handful of minced chives

organic chicken stock tube

parmesan

ground black pepper

maldon sea salt

EVOO

truffle oil (optional)

1. make fettuccine with egg pasta (use organic Italian eggs with orange yolk)
2. cut mushrooms, saute in butter with rosemary in a large non-stick pan
3. grate garlic into pan with mushrooms (to taste)
4. crumble about a third of chicken stock tube, mix further into butter
5. add 1 drop of truffle oil, if you like (just a hint of truffle preferred, to give dish a more rounded flavor than to actually taste the truffle)
6. once mushrooms look relatively cooked, add dash of white wine & turn up heat a bit
7. boil pasta in salted water for 2 minutes max, then with some thongs transfer directly into saute pan with mushrooms
8. add a bit more butter, pepper, salt, chives
9. serve, drizzle tiny bit of EVOO, grate some parmesan, maybe a bit more pepper

Tonight's Dinner

A multi-course dinner with the Etroys and Jenny tonight:

• bresaola bombs
• san daniele and apple salad wraps
• grilled polenta & brandade de morue
• curry moules mousclade & mouillettes
• squid tonnato
• radish, celeriac, pecorino & pomegranate salad
• cotechino, lentils, mostarda
• speck & fontina ravioli with wild mushrooms
• herb salad
• caerphilly, red pepper chutney, michelle's oatcakes
• tiramisu trattoria felice style

Lardo & Rosemary Crostini

One of my favorite Italian canapes hands down.

lardo di Colonnata

best quality EVOO

maldon sea salt

best quality peasant bread

rosemary, chopped very finely

1. grill bread
2. place slices of lardo on bread immediately after grilling (will melt)
3. sprinkle salt and rosemary, eat asap while still warm!

Scallops, Citrus & Parmesan

A recipe from Olivier Bellin's Alsacian resto Auberge des Glazicks in Plomodiern. Swiped from my Gault Millau magazine.

4 scallops

25 cl orange juice

1/2 cauliflower

10 gr fresh almonds

20 gr parmesan

25 cl carrot juice

1 pinch of good quality curry powder

5 cl EVOO

1 tsp piment d'Espelette

10 gr of salted butter

Maldon sea salt

1. reduce orange juice with curry until just about dry, add 4 cl EVOO
2. emulsify in a mixer while adding the carrot juice
3. crumble the cauliflower into uneven bits, saute in butter with almonds for ten minutes
4. add a nice pinch of parmesan
5. season the scallops with salt, pepper, piment and saute in a separate pan 1-2 minutes each side depending on size
6. in the middle of each plate, put a tblsp of the orange reduction; sprinkle cauliflower over before topping off with a scallop; spoon the carrot emulsion on top, finishing off with some drops of EVOO

Wish List (Updated Regularly)

Things I want.....

• mushroom picking & eating, with a portable hot plate, garlic, parsley, butter, salt & pepper, some good bread and bottle of red, a nice little rock to sit on with hills to gaze over
• calabrian chillies
• Pierre Gagnaire cookbook (recipes from 1960s-present)
• borough market on a monday morning
• Tasty Easy Italian (innovative recipes)
• serve several espressos in shot glasses on stainless steel platter, napkins to the side, with spoons
• Moi Chef d'Un Soir, Table de Claire (Parisian chef invites amateurs to take over her restaurant kitchen on given nights)

Rome Trattoria Picks

Current top Roman trattoria picks, in order of preference.

1. Trattoria Felice (Testaccio): the best cacio e pepe I've had (with fresh tonarelli), a gricia that rivals or surpasses that of Macceroni, the best ever tiramisu (well, more of a zabaione with coffee-drenched butter cookies and chocolate sauce). Luckily for us artichokes were in full season, and I've never had better. It's been well covered but I think week day lunch does the trick, still managing to feel local. Testaccio is Les Halles/Smithfields equivalent for Rome, so plenty of food-related things going on ie genuine local food market, and many other local trattorie that we have yet to discover.
2. La Campagna (Centro Storico): one of my first trattoria discoveries many years ago, and still a favorite; the best antipasti bar I know, especially because of the cornucopia of local greens i.e., chicoria, garlic shoots, broccoli romano, etc etc.
3. Trattoria Monti (Monti): higher endish Marche rather than Roman trattoria; very well known but still managing to feel no-frills and local. Highlight was a Marche take on a gricia, ie pecorino di Fossa Sogliano al Rubicone instead of Romano; and local Marche crumbled sausage as opposed to guanciale. Michelle also had a ravioli (more of a bonbon) of buttery silky potato mash with tiny dice of guanciale, sauteed in butter & sprinkled with chives. Also as appetizer had a sensational ciauscolo, a softer Marche salami. Asking the owner post meal what his favorite dish of the moment was, he replied: make a traditional spinach, ricotta tortelle but add an egg yolk before you seal the pasta. Boil tortelle, saute in a pan with butter, then shave truffles over them. Mama, mama.
4. Hostaria da Pietro (Centro Storico): near via Babuino, yet so far. Classic Roman, especially good charcuterie. Although we were there in the evening, feels like it could be a popular place for local business people.
5. Primo (Pigneto): more a resto than trattoria, borderline creative but doesn't seem to break any rules! A classy joint in a bohemian hood, and does the trick if you want to wander off the gricia path a bit.

Fig & Fromage Frais

Not worth it unless the figs are tip top.

best quality, sweet figs

fromage frais

vanilla bean

sugar

1. slice figs up into quarters
2. mix together seeds from vanilla bean, sugar to taste and fromage frais
3. put figs on platter, spoon fromage frais over figs