Pot au Feu

One of my ma's favorites. And I made it for everyone tonight, but especially for her. The important step to remember is to put the meat into stock that has already reached a simmer as it seals in the flavor.

3 kg piece of brisket on the bone

1 knuckle of veal containing bone marrow

2 halved carrots

2 leeks, sliced into large pieces

2 large onions, peeled and halved

2 heads of garlic

bouquet garni

maldon sea salt

white peppercorns

recommended root vegetables

parsnips and turnips, peeled and cut into chunks

chervil root

parsley root

2 handfuls of small white potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

1. half fill a large saucepan with cold water and add everything but the meat and root vegetables
2. bring to a simmer, then place beef and veal into pot
3. cook for 3-4 hours or until brisket comes easily away from the bone
4. skim off scum occasionally (but not all the fat!)
5. when meat is cooked, turn off the heat and let cool completely
6. lift out meat and vegetables and reserve
7. drain the stock, discarding bouquet garni and peppercorns
8. return to the heat and add mixed root vegetables, cook until soft (but not too soft)
9. discard the bones, scoop out marrow and stir into the stock
10. slice brisket, put into a heated serving bowl and ladle broth and vegetables over the meat
11. serve with Dijon mustard or horseradish fromage blanc

Foie Gras & Apricot

Much enjoyed by all. Eschewing the usual toasted brioche in favor of a more rugged, artisan raisin bread made the dish, as did the piment d'espelette.

dried apricot preserve

foie gras

maldon sea salt

piment d'espelette

gelee de champagne

raisin bread (or brioche)

1. toast raisin bread or brioche
2. slice foie gras and put on toast
3. sprinkle with salt and piment
4. spoon over the gelee
5. serve with apricot on the side

Dried Apricot Heaven

Needed something quick to serve with a terrine de foie gras. Easy on the cinnamon, just want a hint of it. Was lovely.

24 dried organic apricot (no preservatives)

2 tblsp honey

4 tblsp sugar

1 tblsp rum

1 bay leaf

half stick of cinnamon

water

2 tblsp white balsamic vinegar

1. put dried apricots in a small pot with enough water to cover half of the apricots
2. add other ingredients and bring to a slow simmer

Osaka Beef Fillet

My best attempt at preparing a Japanese-style steak with ingredients available from my suitcase and the local German supermarket. Serve with some lovely caramelized sweet potatoes.

wasabi powder

butter

anti cucho sauce

marinade

soy sauce

rice vinegar

fish sauce

balsamic glaze

yuzu juice

lime juice

grated fresh ginger

sliced red banana chile

yuzu coriander paste

garlic

truffle oil

anti cucho sauce

8 tblsp aji amarillo paste

5 tblsp rice wine vinegar

2 tblsp soy sauce

1 tblsp yuzu juice

1 tblsp lemon juice

4 tblsp grapeseed oil

1. make wasabi butter: mix wasabi powder with water to make paste; mix into butter with some salt; mix and put into seram wrap to make a big bonbon
2. make anti cucho sauce
3. marinate fillet steaks 2 hours
4. grill until medium or medium-rare
5. take off grill, put some wasabi butter on steaks, let melt
6. serve with some anti cucho sauce

Tomato & Onion Salad

The simple things are always the best things. Key here is to remove the skin from the tomatoes.

best quality tomatoes
best quality sweet onions
best quality EVOO
best quality sherry vinegar
parsley
chives
maldon sea salt
ground pepper

1. pierce tomatoes with a cross at stem point; flash boil tomatoes for 15 seconds so that skin can be removed
2. slice tomatoes in uneven chunks and assemble salad

Ceps & Lardon

This is merely a reminder to include fatty bacon with butter and EVOO when sauteeing mushrooms.

ceps, or any other quality mushroom
EVOO
butter
herbs
slab of fatty pancetta

1. saute mushrooms as you would normally
2. key is to include a slab of pancetta for extra taste

Bagna Cauda Light

Always welcoming in the cold weather when there are multiple guests around the table. The very friendly sous-chef at The River Cafe kindly provided this recipe, although not the same as that in the most recent cookbook. If I heard correctly, this recipe incorporates a combination of butter and EVOO (rather than just butter), which is why I enjoyed it so much. Key is to serve with some in-season, poached veggies.

2 whole heads of garlic

200 ml EVOO

150 gr unsalted butter

10 salted anchovies

red wine

Vegetable suggestions

artichokes

fennel, quartered

baby carrots

baby turnip

baby fennel

pumpkin

sturdy spinach

swiss chard

1. put garlic, red wine and anchovies in a pan and reduce for 45 minutes
2. slowly add EVOO and butter until you get an emulsified sauce
3. pour over vegetables and serve

Beet-Cured Gravadlax

Join the fun! Beet your salmon. Serve this with toasted pumpernickel, a cucumber salad and a sour cream & dill sauce.

800 gr side of salmon, skin-0n

3 tsp coriander seeds

2 tsp white peppercorns

2 tsp black peppercorns

3 tblsp sea salt

2 tblsp sugar

large bunch of dill

a grated beet

gin

1. dry-toast coriander and peppercorns in a frying pan over medium heat until fragrant; grind in a mortar and pestle until a powder
2. put the salmon skin side-up in a wide, shallow dish; scatter with a third of the spice mix and half the grated beets; press a third of the dill on the skin; turn the fish over and scatter with the rest of the spice, grated beets and the remaining dill
3. cover the fish tightly with clingfilm and weigh down with a baking tray & heavy tins
4. keep in fridge 2-3 days, turning every 12 hours
5. unwrap fish, brush the dill & other condiments off fish; place salmon skin-side down on a chopping board and carefully remove skin
6. slice diagnally, serve with pumpernickel bread and dill sour cream

Creamy Spinach

One of my favorite side dishes from St John, paraphrased from the second cook book.

a big bag of spinach

a healthy spoonful of Dijon mustard

a handful of grated parmesan

a dollop of creme fraiche

sea salt and black pepper

1. remove stalks from spinach, cook down in butter
2. whizz all ingredients down in a mixer

Maple-Glazed Gammon

What a generous chunk of meat. Perfect for slicing away over the holidays. Thank you Gordon.

whole leg of gammon/ham, smoked or unsmoked (around 5 kg)

1 cinnamon stick

1 tsp peppercorns

1 tsp coriander seeds

2 bay leaves

about 25 cloves

glaze

200 ml maple syrup

2 tblsp coarse-grain mustard

2 tblsp worcestershire sauce

2 tblsp soy sauce

1. put the gammon in a very large pot and cover with cold water; add the spices and bay
2. bring to a boil, turn down and let simmer for 1 hr 50 mins, topping up with boiling water when necessary; scoop off any scum
3. pour the liquid away (can keep for making soup), then let the ham cool a little while you heat the over to 190 c/170 c with fan
4. lift the ham into a roasting tin, score the fat in a criss-cross pattern and stud each diamond with a clove (at this point can be chilled up to two days)
5. mix the glaze in a jug; pour half over the fat, roast for 15 mins, basting with pan juices 3-4 times as it bakes
6. turn the pan around a few times during the cooking so that the fat colors evenly; remove from oven and allow to rest for 15 minutes before carving
7. can be roasted on the day or up to two days ahead and served cold

Tonight's Dinner

A lovely evening with the Letondots and Hartigs. The first time I make a ham.

• marmite cashews
• black radish & olive oil
• beet-cured gravadlax, St John cucumbers, dill & lemon sour cream
• bagna cauda with braised squash, baby fennel, baby carrots, baby cauliflower, baby turnip, swiss chard
• hot vacherin, maple-soy glazed gammon, herb salad
• affogato

Gravadlax Sauce

A nice diversion from the usual nordic honey-based sauce.

1.5 cups sour cream

zest and juice of a lemon

1 tblsp whole grain mustard

lots of chopped dill

S&P

1. put ingredients in a bowl and mix
2. let set a while so the flavors develop

Creamy Mushrooms

This could come in useful if I need mushrooms with a creamy, braised consistency perhaps over some cooled polenta. I would be tempted to use just the garlic.

mixed mushrooms

chopped onions and/or minced garlic

butter

EVOO

S&P

parsley

single cream

lemon juice

1. put butter in pan, when it begins to melt add the EVOO
2. when bubbling, add the mushrooms, onion/garlic and S&P
3. coat mushrooms in the butter/EVOO and let saute for 6-8 minutes
4. don't stir around too much, let mushrooms take on golden brown color
5. when mushrooms look good, add cream and parsley, cook another minute
6. add some lemon juice to taste, mix and serve

Rosemary Tisane

The first I hear of a tisane from rosemary, but certainly makes sense.

a few rosemary sprigs

honey

boiling water

1. put rosemary and honey to taste in a tea pot
2. let seep in boiling water for a few minutes until the tisane reaches the desired strength

Notable Meals

Certainly not my first time at the River Cafe, but I think one of my favorite meals there. Thanks to Toby for some nice Tuscan wine selections!

• bagna cauda
• gnocchi romana and white truffle
• veal shin slow cooked in valpolicella, spinach and polenta
• lemon tart
• mint tea
• wine: Brancaia Tre 08 and Selvapiana Petrognano Pomino 07

Jerusalem Artichoke & Greens

The nutty roasted flavor of jerusalem artichoke with a clean, green salad works very well indeed.

jerusalem artichoke

mizuna leaves

rucola

frisee

parsley

chives

chervil

sherry vinegar

EVOO

walnut oil

garlic

shallots

S&P

1. grate garlic very finely, put half a thumbnail of it in a bowl with vinegar and S&P; let set for an hour
2. cut and peel jerusalem artichoke; toss in bowl with EVOO, S&P; roast until golden
3. finish vinaigrette by emulsifying EVOO into the vinegar and garlic mixture
4. dress salad leaves and herbs with vinaigrette
5. put some salad on a plate with a few chunks of jerusalem artichoke, sprinkle more herbs and season to taste

Paris Restaurant Picks

This posting will complement a previous posting--Paris Bistro Picks--which I update regularly. Some of these I will have been to, others I'd like to go to (with asterisk).

• Frederic Simonin (17th): ex-Atelier Joel Rebouchon in London
• l'Astrance* (8th): I've no idea why I haven't made it here yet, but I never cease to hear good things.

Konro Bakar

Javanese BBQ beef ribs & peanut sauce from Jakarta's Bunga Rampai. The very kind waitress and only good English speaker on the staff was able to extract this information from the chef. This was accompanied by a perfectly balanced sour fish soup.

beef short ribs

onion, chopped

garlic, minced

hazelnut, chopped

katsup manis

regular soy sauce

ginger, slices

lemongrass

peanut sauce

onion

garlic

hazelnuts

soy sauce

coriander roots and leaves

butter

lemon

salt

1. put peanut sauce ingredients in a blender and mix
2. sear the ribs in a little oil, remove from the pot
3. saute chopped onions, garlic, hazelnut; return the meat with soy sauce sauce and a bit of katsup manis so that meat is covered; add ginger and lemongrass stalks which have been banged up a little; simmer for 3 hours
4. when done, remove short ribs, pat dry and grill
5. brush with peanut sauce as the ribs grill; wait until caramelized
6. serve with additional sauce on the side

Bistrot Ari & David Christmas Menu

Another fine success this year. My favorites in order of appearance were Ari's salmon and beetroot, my octopus and vitello, Ari's eggs and soldiers, my salsify and Ari's hake.

• Scallop Sashimi & Yuzu Buttermilk
• Smoked Icelandic Salmon & Braised Beets
• Cured Duck & Celeri Remoulade
• Octopussy Yeah Baby
• Vitello Tonnato to Go
• Eel, Pickled Carrot & Horseradish
• Truffled Eggs & Soldiers
• Salsify, Trompettes & Polenta
• Foie Gras, Pear, Prosciutto Powder
• Snails, Girolles & Mash
• Risotto & Roe Deer
• Cotechino, Lentils & Mostarda
• Sgroppino Venezia
• Hake & Aniseed Beurre Blanc
• Deconstructed Boeuf Bourgignon
• Vacherin & Herb Salad
• Affogato
• Digestivo
  
  

Lentils & Burrata

An absolutely tasty little number from Polpetto.

lentils

carrot

celery

onion

bay leaf

thyme

shallots

home-made broth

burrata (buffalo mozarella ok too)

home-made pesto

EVOO

red wine vinegar

maldon sea salt

fresh ground pepper

1. make lentils al dente using above ingredients except pesto, EVOO and vinegar
2. when done, add a couple small splashes of vinegar and a drizzle of best quality EVOO; spoon some burrata and pesto over the lentils and serve

Osaka Winter Soup

If such a soup existed, this is how I imagine it would be made. Kind of finger in the air, but tasted fabulous.

a couple apples

parsnips

pumpkin

red onion

shallot

S&P

EVOO

mirin

honey

light miso

chicken stock

1. peel and roughly cut vegetables & apple into rough pieces
2. saute in EVOO for a few minutes
3. add mirin in miso, S&P, honey
4. stir around, let soften for 15 minutes
5. add stock, let simmer for half hour
6. mix in a blender, serve hot

Jakarta Observations

A few latest finds from the capital.

• Bunga Rampai: a lovely old Dutch colonial home restored to perfection; crisp white tablecloths and fine cutlery serving classic Javanese dishes; slow cooked short ribs were a revelation, as was the sour fish soup.
• Shangri La (Japanese restaurant): best potato salad

Scallop Sashimi & Truffle

The tastiest dish on the menu from Hong Kong's Liberty Private Works, graciously provided by the Japanese-Canadian chef. A variation on this is to replace the edamame with peas and add parmesan. I tried the latter and loved it. The bright green pesto looks especially nice on a charcoal colored plate.

freshest scallops

edamame

EVOO

lemon

maldon sea salt

radish

micro herbs

truffle vinaigrette

rice vinegar

dijon mustard

chopped truffle

rapeseed oil

1. make vinaigrette, then edamame pesto by blitzing cooked & cooled edamame, EVOO, salt and squeeze of lemon
2. slice radish extremely thinly with a mandolin
3. slice scallops length-wise in three
4. mix scallops and truffle vinaigrette so well covered; spread pesto out with spoon on plate; place scallops over pesto, place radish over each scallop slice; sprinkle micro herbs over the whole lot

Hong Kong Observations

New discoveries on the island.

• The Chairman: understated but smart, "it's all about the food" restaurant; braised spareribs and preserved plums in caramelized black vinegar came recommended; braised layered beancurd with morels and Chinese mushrooms was very refined, the soy sauce sourced from a reputable shop in Kowloon; and best of all the willingness to serve half portions and refusal to use MSG.
• Liberty Private Works: a 16-seater in Central focusing on Euro-Asian dishes; high quality stuff with favorites including a scallop sashimi with edamane pesto and truffle vinaigrette, prawn & smoked potato with a bacon vinaigrette, and a cream of corn with vanilla foam.

Winter Lentils

The perfect accompaniment for a cotechino or zampone.

chopped carrots, celery, onion, shallots, leeks

sage & bay leaves

home-made chicken stock

creme fraiche

red wine or balsamic vinegar

S&P

1. make soffrito, add lentils
2. when lentils begin to stick, add stock and herbs
3. when al dente and ready, season with S&P, vinegar and creme fraiche to achieve the preferred balance of taste

Tonight's Dinner

Tasty food all around with the Maurins and Bowens.

• radish & butter
• ricotta chili bombs
• celeri remoulade & smoked duck bruschetta
• scallops, buttermilk & yuzu
• vitello tonnato to go
• escargots, mash & girolles
• cotechino, lentils & mostarda
• truffle marscapone-stuffed brie
• endive & herb salad
• macaroons & chocolate mints
  
  

Scamorza & Marjoram

Found this recipe flipping through a Babbo cookbook in Manila.

scamorza

marjoram

sun dried tomatoes

spicy oil

EVOO

fresh chile

red pepper flakes

paprika

1. make spicy oil: simmer EVOO for ten minutes with other ingredients; strain and let cool overnight
2. rub grill with oiled paper towel
3. slice scamorza in two, grill cut side down on the coolest part of the grill
4. slice sun-dried tomatoes into thin strips
5. remove scamorza from grill, sprinkle with sun-dried tomato
6. drizzle with spicy oil
7. sprinkle marjoram on top

Sake Splash

Barman's signature drink at the Cortina in Munich.

300 ml vodka

600 ml sake

120 ml fresh lime juice

600 ml ginger beer

splash of lemonade

100 ml lemongrass syrup

2 cucumber slices

1. shake ingredients well
2. poor over ice, dressed with cucumber

Vitello Tonnato to Go

I love this dish anytime of the year. Normally it is presented carpaccio style on a large serving platter. Here we treat like a canape, all condiments ready to go.

400 gr veal filet

day old sourdough bread

100 gr top quality tinned tuna

aioli

capers

anchovies

parsley

lemon zest

micro herbs

lemon juice

extra capers (tiny ones if possible)

crispy garlic

1. preheat oven to 160 c
2. slice sourdough thinly, lay on baking tray, drizzle with EVOO, season with maldon sea salt, cook until golden brown on both sides
3. reduce oven temperature to 140 c
4. sear filet, place on baking tray, cook ten minutes until medium-rare, let rest 20 minutes
5. slice and fry up garlic until golden
6. make tonnato (use this blog's recipe and include lemon zest)
7. when veal ready, slice thinly
8. spread tonnato on crouton, place veal on top, garnish with garlic on top; add a few capers and sprinke a few herbs on top

Snapper Tartare & Yuzu

Yuzu like yuzu? From one of those Australian canape books, but I forget the name.

250 gr snapper filet

50 ml yuzu juice

1.25 tblsp soy sauce

.5 tsp pepper

.5 tsp grated garlic

6 tblsp grapeseed oil

jalapeno chile, diced

small shisho leaves

1. dice snapper into small cubes
2. put in chilled bowl
3. combine dressing ingredients
4. coat snapper with dressing
5. divide between small glasses, garnish with chile and shiso

Eel, Carrot & Horseradish

This has been on the Le Gavroche menu a long time apparently. I think it is presented in fancy fashion in the restaurant, but I think it probably looks and taste better if presented in a slightly more rustic style. Go generous on the horseradish cream and coriander oil. I've done two things differently from the original recipe, i.e. I've made a horseradish cream using sour cream and creme fraiche rather than whipped single cream; and I've used a regular dijon vinaigrette as opposed to Roux's oil-vinegar-sugar dressing.

1.2 kg smoked eel

2-3 carrots

maldon sea salt

pepper

coriander leaves

groundnut or rapeseed oil

Horseradish Cream

3 tblsp sour cream

2 tblsp creme fraiche

5 tblsp freshly-grated horseradish

chopped chives

1 spring onion, thinly sliced

maldon sea salt

ground pepper

1. grate carrots finely, make sure there are long strands rather than short pellets; season with light dijon vinaigrette; let set for up to 12 hours
2. to make horseradish cream whip cream until stiff, stir in horseradish, spring onion and chill until needed
3. cut eel into diamond shapes
4. drain carrots, reserve liquid
5. blend oil and coriander together
6. put a few tblsp of carrots on a plate
7. arrange eel on top, spoon some cream on the side
8. drizzle lots of coriander oil and carrot liquid around the mound of carrot and eel

London's Most Overrated

In a bad mood. Got a problem with that? Any other suggestions out there?

• Hibiscus
• Launceston Place
• Cambio di Tercio
• Tendido Cero
• Locanda Locatelli
• Ristorante Semplice
• Trattoria Semplice
• York & Albany
• Yauatcha
• Dehesa
• Meditteraneo
• Scott's
• E&O
• Maze
• Nobu

Sgroppino al Limone

This is what all the old ladies drink in Veneto on a hot summer day. But I think the perfect palate cleanser for a long, heavy meal in the middle of winter!

2 cups lemon gelato, softened

1/3 cup prosecco

2 tblsp vodka

zest of lemon

1. chill champagne flutes
2. get or make lemon gelato (juice of lemon and cream but no egg); make sure to discard the lemon peel to exclude the bitter pith
3. put ice cream into a pitcher, whisk until smooth
4. gradually whisk in vodka and prosecco (don't use blender or whisk too much as mixture will become to liquid)
5. serve immediately into flutes, sprinkle lemon zest on top

Munich Observations

Some of the best German food I've had on this recent trip. A rekindled fondness for sauerbraten! These are a couple of finds, by no means off the beaten path.

• Spatenhaus An Der Oper: two visits, each time equally good. Standout was the sauerbraten, served with potato balls, and a side of cucumber salad. I am now determined to make this dish part of my repertoire. Maybe with Mrs. Bornt's help?
• Nurnberger Bratwurst Glockl am Dom: the Nurnberger Rostbratwurste were the best I've ever had, grilled over a roaring fire. These were served with a classic potato salad and perfectly prepared sauerkraut. Their Augustiner Hell com Fass was the perfect accompaniment to wash it all down, hailing from a 500 year old barrel.
• Bar Centrale: cozy haunt for afternoon coffee and cake, or after dinner drink.
• Kranz: hipster hang for coffee and cake, in Glockenbachviertel.

Burrata & Onion Compote

An unexpected combination, surprisingly tasty! But this would never fly in Puglia.

burrata

red onion compote

toasted hazelnuts

EVOO

maldon sea salt

micro herbs (basil, watercress etc)

red onion compote

red onions, sliced with a mandolin

sugar

butter

red wine vinegar

S&P

1. make red onion compote using ingredients, let cool
2. break up burrata so that it is spread nicely over a plate
3. place a few tblsp of onion compote haphazardly on the burrata
4. break hazelnuts into relatively large chunks, sprinkle over burrata
5. drizzle a bit of EVOO, sprinkle salt over dish

Treviso & Assaggio Risotto

A lovely risotto to huddle over on a cold autumn day.

treviso

assaggio

red onion

Noilly Prat

risotto rice

butter

S&P

parmesan

1. make risotto with above ingredients
2. sprinkle a bit of parmesan at the end (optional)

Cotechino, Lentils & Mostarda

This is a better dish when you can avoid the vacuum packed, store shelf version and source a fresh sausage. Or make it yourself.

cotechino

lentils

home-made chicken stock

EVOO

mostarda

1. warm cotechino through
2. soak lentils over night; boil until al dente
3. saute garlic, onion, shallots, saute lentils adding stock to loosen up if necessary
4. cut a few slices of cotechino and put onto a plate with lentils and mostarda on the side; drizzle with EVOO

Salt Crust Sea Bream

Nothing novel here, but I loved the way the chef at Boca de Lupo made this look so easy, which it is. I especially like the use of a bog standard (not necessarily deep) stainless steel tray to bake the fish.

sea bream (or sea bass)

rock salt

rucola

EVOO

white balsamic vinegar

S&P

1. set oven at 250 c
2. in a relatively shallow stainless steel platter big enough to hold the fish, pour a layer of salt on which to place the fish; cover fish with more salt so that everything is covered except the head and tip of the tail
3. cook 13-15 minutes for a normal size fish
4. take out of oven, let sit 5-10 minutes
5. tap on salt crust with back of a big knife
6. remove salt, place fish on a cutting board
7. with a spoon, lift skin off the shoulder (just beneath the head where filet begins) and peel off; repeat for other side
8. very importantly, trim the back of the fish so that there are no little bones left, vertebrae is gone
9. serve with head and tail still on
10. dress rucola with EVOO, vinegar, S&P

London Italian Picks

We aren't that spoiled for choice in London. Here are my favorites, in order.

• River Cafe: simple but sublime and consistently good
• Bocca di Lupo: the menu is a great survey of Italy's best dishes, best to sit at the bar; pasta needs to be cooked to order
• Zucca: Bermondsey location makes it an exciting destination, high quality but reasonably-priced food
• Tinello: a Locatelli venture, more exciting than the mother ship
• La Famiglia: the food is fun, but the ambiance even better
• Anima: uncool crowd, cold ambiance but skilled kitchen and friendly service offset

Coffee Gelati & Licorice Zabaione

A three star dessert from London's Anima. I think the best dessert I've had in a few months. All of the key flavors (coffee, star anise and licorice) are bold in their own right, but mesh perfectly together in this recipe.

espresso

star anise

milk

cream

eggs

zabaione

licorice liquor (Calabria)

peanut brittle

1. make peanut brittle ahead of time
2. make ice cream using the espresso and star anise
3. make zabaione using liquor
4. put scoop of ice cream in a martini glass
5. put a couple of chips of peanut brittle alongside the ice cream
6. pour over zabaione while still warm (not hot as it will melt the ice cream too quickly)

Duck Breast & Ponzu

From Tokyo's Buchi.

1 duck breast, boneless, skin-on

1 white part of leek, outer layer intact

1 tsp EVOO

ponzu sauce

S&P

Ponzu Sauce

120 ml citrus juice (daidai, yuzu, sudachi, lime or lemon)

20 ml soy sauce

2 2/3 tblsp mirin

1 tblsp sake

1 piece dried kombu pelp (3cm square)

2 tblsp bonito flakes

1 small dried shiitake mushroom

Yuzu-Kosho Pepper Paste

30 gr yuzu citrus skin

30 gr fresh hot green chili, i.e., serrano

1 tsp salt

1/8 tsp shochu, sake or fresh yuzu juice

1. 10 days ahead, make pepper paste: chop the yuzu skin and green chili, blend with salt and shochu until a corse paste; transfer to airtight container and let mellow
2. 3 days ahead, mix all ingredients for ponzu sauce, refrigerate and strain through a fine mesh sieve
3. preheat oven 200 C
4. trim any excess duck skin off the flesh, pierce skin in several places
5. rub the breast with S&P
6. heat EVOO until hot over medium heat, add the duck skin-side down and sear until the fat is rendered and the skin golden crispy
7. soak up rendered fat with paper towels
8. flip the breast over, transfer the pan to the oven, roast duck 4-6 minutes until medium rare
9. while hot, marinate in ponzu sauce for 3 hours
10. grill the leek with medium flame until the outside is charred and inside is soft
11. when cooled enough to handle, discard the outer layer and cut the leek into bite-size pieces
12. cut the duck breast diagnally into 1/4 inch slices and fold over the leek
13. garnish with yuzu-kosho pepper paste, scallions, and/or sudachi citrus, grated daikon

Salsify, Shrooms & Chestnut

The best thing I've eaten in a couple weeks, from Arbutus. Key is to make a light and airy polenta and use trompettes de mort for that especially woody taste.

polenta (preferably Bramata)

parmesan

salsify

chestnuts

trompettes de mort

vegetable stock

butter

garlic

micro herbs

1. peel and clean salsify; cut into 6 inch batons
2. heat clarified butter until it darkens, add salsify
3. saute for a while, deglaze with sherry vinegar
4. add water, tarragon, garlic to pan and braise until it soften, liquid evaporates
5. make polenta with chicken stock, add parmesan prior to serving
6. clean trompettes extremely well; boil and drain; pat dry and saute with some butter, garlic, S&P
7. to serve, put a few tblsp of polenta on warmed plate, a couple stems of salsify, scatter mushrooms over the lot, followed by some chestnut shavings and a sprinkling of herbs

Courgettes & Black Olives

Should I include this one? Ok. Not particularly exciting but rather addictive once you begin to eat it. From Princi's lunch line-up.

courgettes

tinned black olives (stoned)

tomatoes

tiny capers

EVOO

red wine vinegar

S&P

1. slice courgettes but not too thin, boil until just right (not too firm, not too mushy); drain
2. peel and de-seed tomatoes, cut into small dice
3. chop up olives
4. dress with ingredients

Concombres Creme Fraiche

A staple in my family, a hand me down from mamie nona. Truly one of my favorites.

cucumber

fresh tarragon

fresh dill

fresh parsley

fresh chives

yoghurt

creme fraiche

maldon sea salt

ground pepper

red wine vinegar

1. peel cucumbers but leave strips of skin on; halve lengthwise, scoop out seeds
2. slice through a mandolin but not too thin
3. salt cucumbers and leave in a colander for a couple of hours
4. make dressing with 2/3 yoghurt, 1/3 creme fraiche, some red wine vinegar to taste
5. chop the herbs, use more tarragon than other herbs
6. gently squeeze excess water from cucumbers, tip them out of the colander onto a paper towel lined plate to dry them out a bit more
7. in a bowl, mix cucumbers, dressing and herbs together and cool in the fridge
8. let sit at room temperature 10 minutes before eating

Horseradish Fromage Blanc

This would go perfectly well with a pot-au-feu, but I think any beef really.

200 gr fromage blanc

horseradish

maldon sea salt

ground pepper

1. mix items in a bowl
2. let set for four hours so that flavors develop

Artichoke Heart & Trotter

From Le Ribouldingue in the 5th. I've not had this yet, but what an elegant dish.

4 artichokes

4 trotters

125 gr rucola

1 onion with clove

1 bouquet garni

fond de viande

maldon sea salt

ground pepper

1. boil artichokes in salted water for about a half hour; put in ice water when done; remove leaves, de-beard hearts
2. bring trotters to a boil, let simmer four hours; once cooked, remove meat from bone and cut into small pieces
3. spoon this meat into artichokes and cook in the oven for 15 minutes
4. serve with rucola, and drizzle with fond de viande

Chickpeas & Paleta

Wasn't much in the mood for shopping this morning, so I did the best I could with what I had in the fridge. I avoided using the Spanish paprika you tend to find in this kind of dish, opting instead to use fresh chile and smoked salt. You could replace the paleta with serrano.

ready-prepared chickpeas (El Navarrico in a jar works well)

paleta, chopped

garlic, chopped

white onion, halved

fresh red chile

fresh thyme

Noilly Prat vermouth

best quality cherry tomatoes, halved

EVOO

parsley, chopped

smoked sea salt

ground pepper

1. saute garlic, halved onions faced down, thyme and chile until garlic begins to color; add ham and let crisp up a bit
2. add vermouth and let alcohol burn off for about 30 seconds
3. add chickpeas to pan, stir periodically on very low heat for about 15 minutes (make sure doesn't get too dry); season with salt and pepper
4. once chickpeas are ready, add tomatoes and turn heat off immediately; stir so that tomatoes are warmed through but not cooked
5. serve on a platter, drizzle over some EVOO, with a bit of parsley

Manou's Apple Sauce

Thank you Manou for making this apple sauce. It was delicious. It was so good that we could have it with some pork chops.

12 bramley apples

250-300 gr brown sugar

juice and rind of one lemon

1-2 cinnamon sticks

70-80 ml water

1. peel and core apples, cut into small pieces
2. put apples, sugar, cinnamon and water in a saucepan and heat for 5-10 minutes until apples soften
3. add lemon juice and rind
4. cook and stir another 20-30 minutes until apples break down into a puree

Peas & Pecorino Toast

Noticed this on the menu at The Orange. Actually I think I've had it before. I've seen the combo many times before, but including mozzarella I think gives this recipe the edge.

peas

pecorino (or parmesan)

mint to taste

buffalo mozzarella

S&P

EVOO

lemon

best quality peasant bread

1. boil fresh peas until done, let cool
2. crush with EVOO, S&P, squeeze of lemon (may want to include just a bit of grated rind)
3. chop the mint, add into mixture
4. grate generous amounts of cheese, add into mixture
5. toast slice of peasant bread, not too thick
6. spread generous amounts of mixture on toast, some mozzarella on top, and drizzle with a bit more EVOO
7. season with S&P

Antipasti Explosion

Noticed this pre-packaged in the local gourmet store. I thought I'm going to make my own, and it's going to taste so much better. No biggie if you don't have every single ingredient. Once made, best to marinate a day or two. Hmmmm, got to do this soon.

mortadella

salami

spicy salami

provolone

scamorza

pitted green olives

tiny capers

oregano

basil

parsley

garlic

EVOO

dried chili

best quality sun-dried tomatoes

S&P

1. cut mortadella, salamis and cheese into cubes (about the size of a game dice)
2. chop herbs, mix with all the other ingredients, adding enough EVOO so that everything is coated and marinating

Bikini 24

Named after the pocket-size grilled ham & cheese sandwiches from Barcelona's Tapac 24. Basically a local version of a croque madame with truffle oil and lots of butter to grill.

white bread slices, trimmed of edges

mozzarella (not buffalo as is too soft)

iberico ham

white truffle oil

S&P

french butter

1. butter bread slices inside and out
2. place ham and cheese inside, drizzle a couple drops of truffle oil
3. grill on a "sandwich griller" until golden brown
4. with a large knife, cut sandwich into four squares

Nduja & Burrata Paccheri

A combo of contrasts from Tinello in Pimlico. The milky burrata cools the hot spicy sausage perfectly. My guess is that tinned marzano tomatoes could work in the absence of fresh tomatoes. A flattering phone call about last night's meal allowed me to snag this recipe!

paccheri

nduja sausage

garlic

best cherry tomatoes

sea salt

burrata

1. saute garlic until golden
2. add nduja to taste, saute 5-10 minutes until it melts
3. slice tomatoes in half, add to pan and saute a further 10 minutes
4. season with sea salt
5. boil paccheri two minutes short, mix into pan with a bit of pasta water
6. serve on heated plates, with a spoonful of burrata on top

Crisps & Honey

A unique combo discovered at the Mandarin Barcelona's Bankers Bar. I think probably best to use the oilier, saltier Spanish crisps as the honey will serve as an even starker contrast.

spanish potato crisps/chips

runny honey

1. put crisps in a bowl
2. drizzle with honey and serve

Salmon Grapefruit Ceviche

Had this at Plane Food in Terminal 5. Yes it's a Gordon establishment. Maybe because I was really hungry, but this was worth getting the chef's attention.

best quality sushi quality salmon filet

grapefruit, juice of

lemon, juice of

lime, rind of

tobasco

micro coriander shoots

1. slice salmon into very thing slices
2. mix all ingredients together, quantities depending on taste
3. poor citrus sauce over salmon in a shallow dish, let set for a couple minutes
4. serve on plate, sprinkle with coriander shoots

Swordfish & Ricotta

An idea from London's Polpetto.

best quality sliced smoked swordfish

best quality ricotta

sea salt

grated lemon rind

EVOO

chopped chives and/or dill

1. mix lemon rind, ricotta and salt to taste together
2. spread inside a slice of swordfish
3. roll up swordfish like a cigar
4. assemble rolls on a platter with a drizzle of EVOO and chives
5. serve right away, or add a bit more EVOO and let marinate a few hours in the fridge before serving (take out 15 minutes prior)

Home-Cured Cod

I got this idea looking at someone else's dish at another table at Paco Meraldo, but also remembering the fabulous cured cod at Bar Boulud.

fresh cod

sea salt

tomatoes

tiny capers

garlic cloves, quartered

parsley, chopped

EVOO

S&P

red wine vinegar

1. confit the tomatoes ahead of time, let cool
2. cure cod by rubbing with salt and letting sit for 6 hours; rinse off well when done
3. either sous-vide or confit the cured cod ; when done break into chunks and put in a bowl
4. toss with tomatoes and other ingredients; let garlic infuse a bit then remove

Cinnamon Butter

This accompanied our little Spanish muffins at breakfast. Why haven't I thought of this before?

french butter

caster sugar to taste

cinnamon powder to taste

1. let butter soften
2. mix sugar and cinnamon into butter
3. pipe with your favorite design onto small, individual plates
4. spread on toast, muffin or all over your body

Patates Braves

The key thing here--aside from cooking the potatoes to perfection-is the spicy tomato sauce that accompanies the aioli. The recipe for this sauce comes straight from the kitchen of Fonda Gaig.

best quality potatoes

aioli using best quality eggs (orange not yellow yolk!)

spicy tomato sauce:

ripe tomatoes

guindillas

pimenta

garlic, crushed

EVOO

1. potatoes are boiled then deep fried (home version is boiled, coated with EVOO, baked until crisp)
2. make aioli, set aside
3. make sauce by frying up tomatoes and other ingredients to taste; blend and pass through sieve
4. serve potatoes on a platter; plop a couple of tblsp on individual plates, drizzle the tomato sauce on top of the aioli, with potatoes on the side

Barcelona Observations

Some good discoveries this time around, and not one vanilla-licorice foam in sight. Traditional Catalonian fare was the key focus, with some good finds here:

• Fonda Gaig: Carles Gaig--the Barcelona institution-- opened this more relaxed restaurant a few years ago; hands down the best patates braves ever; the house specialties of cannelloni with truffle cream and macarones del cardenale (baked macaroni in a creamy sauce with tomato confit, serrano and pork shoulder); lleugera amb gelat de toffe (toffee ice cream with a sabayon mousse); mandonguilles amb sepia (meatballs with sepia); freshly picked ceps sauteed simply sauteed with smoked pork belly.
• Paco Meralgo: a quality tapas establishment with a smart crowd to go along with it; highlights included filet & black pepper and baba au rhum with coffee cream.
• Bar Mut: a bit too cool for school; reminded me of a tapas bar version of Chateaubriand in Paris, where its all gone to the chef's head; the food has taken a hit as a result. Still nice for drinks and simple tapas, love the disco ball.
• Dos Palillos: El Bulli alumni doing their Japanese thing; if you're a regular at London's Dinings, this is an easy skip as it does not come close.
• Tapas 27: tapas bar of star chef Carles Abellan; the highlight here is his signature bikini, a lip-smacking serrano, mozzarella and truffle toast.
• Bar Pinotxo: no trip to Barcelona would be complete without the requisite trip here, more for the charming patron than the food itself. Cuttlefish and cocoa beans is the signature dish.
• Other: although we didn't try, I gather that some foam & sous-vide restos include Abac (2 stars), Moo (1 star) and Alkimia.
• Oriol Balaguer: Barcelona's Artisan de Chocolat.

Smoked Eel & Leeks

Another tasty dish from Koffman's but I think I can do it better by caramelizing the leeks rather than just serving them boiled (use Leeks Vinaigrette David recipe). What I really liked about the dish though was the cute little side salad of frisee with tiny julienned radish from a Japanese mandolin. I can see the Alsacian influence of including radish in a green salad.

leeks

best quality smoked eel

frisee

radish

vinaigrette (rapeseed oil, dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, S&P)

1. make Leeks Vinaigrette David
2. julien radish, dress salad
3. assemble leeks and filet of smoked eel on a plate, with bundle of frisee alongside

Artichokes & Foie Gras Salad

Another number from Koffman's Knightsbridge.

artichoke hearts, cubed

green beans

bibb lettuce

best quality terrine of foie gras

vinaigrette:

EVOO

walnut oil

lemon juice (or red wine or sherry vinegar)

egg yolk

mustard

shallots

sea salt

pepper

1. steam and de-beard artichoke; soak hearts in lemon water before cutting into small 1-2 cm cubes
2. steam haricots verts, slice in half lengthwise
3. cut foie gras into same size cubes as artichokes
4. make dressing with a blender (egg yolk will make this more of a thing mayonnaise)
5. dress all ingredient and serve on a nice white platter

Crab & Celery Remoulade

Not sure I've seen celeriac and crab before. I've seen a green apple celeriac though. To make this delicate, the celeriac and apple julienne need to be as thin as the crab strands. To provide an added dimension, remember to use lime in the remoulade and lemon to dress the crab.

best quality white crab meat

mild EVOO

lemon juice

sea salt

shallots, minced finely

green apple

celery remoulade

1. dress crab meat with EVOO, lemon juice, salt, pepper and shallots
2. make the green apple celery remoulade with super fine grater (use Japanese mandolin for the apple)
3. the remoulade should include dijon mustard and lemon or lime
4. in a small, chilled, shallow bowl, spoon some celery remoulade; flatten the latter out, and spoon crab on top in about the same quantity
5. thin out a little bit of mayonnaise with lemon or lime juice and drizzle around (but not on top)

Escargots, Girolles & Mash

A recipe coaxed from the lovely Sicilian waitress at Koffman's Knightsbridge. This dish literally transported me from Summer to Autumn. It helped that temperatures dropped today.

best quality escargots

girolles

clarified butter

normal butter

mash

parsley

garlic

shallots

rapeseed oil

sea salt

ground pepper

home-made chicken broth

soy lecithin

1. braise garlic in milk until they soften a bit; blitz with parsley, adding some cooled chicken stock to loosen; set aside
2. saute girolles in a hot dry pan; when it starts to smoke, add rapeseed oil and toss; repeat if necessary but not more than about 30 seconds; set girolles aside
3. make persillade emulsion; blanch parsley 10 seconds in boiling water, put in ice water then puree; saute equal quantities of normal butter and water but do not boil; blend and mix with parsley; add half tsp of soy lecithin let warm through and blend; mix with hand-held just shy of boiling
4. make mash Robuchon-style but not overly buttery; keep warm until needed
5. in a very hot pan, saute snails in clarified butter but not more than two minutes; add garlic and shallots a bit less than halfway through (about the 50 second mark); at the 1.30 ad the girolles; season
6. fill half a warmed cup with mash, top with snails and girolles, and a couple tablespoons of the persillade frappe

Scamorza & Lardo

I'm going manic over smoked scamorza at the moment. I fell asleep concocting this combo in my head last night, thinking I would forget it by the time I awoke this morning. But that was not the case. These ingredients will be my first go, but subject to revision.

smoked scamorza

lardo colonnata

rosemary, minced finally

micro herbs (rucola, coriander, parsley)

EVOO

juice of lemon

lemon rind

sea salt

ground pepper

toothpicks (preferably thicker Japanese type)

1. make herb dressing/dip by whizzing micro herbs, EVOO, lemon juice & rind, salt and pepper until it reaches a smooth consistency
2. cut scamorza into rough pieces about 3x3 cm, wrap in slices of lard , sprinkle some minced rosemary over the lot
3. broil until lard and scamorza begin to melt
4. jab each with a toothpick, place onto a platter with a small bowl of herb dip in the middle

Pesto Ricotta Rigatoni

An accident since I didn't have enough parmesan to make my pesto. The ricotta serves as a refreshing contrast to the garlicky pesto.

rigatoni, or torglioni

make pesto without parmesan

best quality ricotta

parmesan

sea salt

1. mix roughly equal parts of pesto and ricotta
2. boil and drain pasta
3. mix mixture into pasta
4. serve onto hot plates, season with salt and grate some parmesan on top
5. drizzle a tblsp of pesto over the pasta

Mozzarella & Treviso

The creaminess of the buffalo mozzarella contrasts nicely with the bitterness of the treviso. I like the white and purple color combo too. One could add some rucola if they prefer a more colorful plate.

buffalo mozzarella

treviso

EVOO

white balsamic vinegar

maldon sea salt

1. slice treviso as thinly as possible with a large knife
2. dress with ingredients listed
3. rip up the mozzarella into larger than bite-size pieces, scatter onto a serving plate
4. arrange treviso haphazardly around the mozzarella

Spaghetti Bottarga

Having totally destroyed this dish the another night, I gave it another go. Bottarga purists will scoff at combining anything but olive oil to this dish, but since I am using the dried version I think I am absolved of sins. I thought let's go all the way and add some white wine, an obvious paring which I don't think I've ever seen. The beauty of this dish is that the dried bottarga acts as a thickening agent during the last phase of cooking. The pasta should be lathered with a nice creamy bottarga, buttery sauce.

dried bottarga to taste

150 gr of spaghetti

EVOO

good white wine

1 red chili pepper

rind of one lemon

juice of a half lemon

chopped parsley

garlic

butter

maldon sea salt

1. saute garlic until golden; add chopped chili half way through
2. add a glass of wine, saute further and let thicken
3. add pasta two minutes short, make sure 3-4 tblsp of pasta water is included
4. add 2-3 tblsp of bottarga to thicken sauce
5. add butter, parsley, salt, lemon rind and lemon juice at the very last second
6. serve on hot plates, sprinkle more dried bottarga over serving

Chestnut Trofie & Pesto

One will find this in just about every restaurant in the hills above Genoa. Can be made with walnut pesto as well. Yummmmmm!

chestnut trofie recipe

pesto

parmesan

1. make chestnut trofie
2. make pesto using recipe from previous post
3. mix together, serve on a hot plate, add more parmesan

Olive Spaghetti

A tasty pasta from Da O Battj in Santa Margherita. Since most people have the pesto lasagnetta, it usually takes a third or fourth visit before discovering this little gem. This is an olive spaghetti, so all the other ingredients play second fiddle!

spaghetti

EVOO

garlic

best quality salted anchovies

best quality tinned marzano tomatoes

green olives, roughly chopped

house-dried oregano

parmesan

1. saute garlic in EVOO, remove when golden
2. add anchovies, saute until they melt
3. add olives and oregano, let saute a while
4. add a few tinned tomatoes-don't overpower-let cook for 15 minutes or so on low heat
5. stir in spaghetti 2 minutes short, saute further
6. serve on hot plates, with parmesan if you like

Med Squid Salad

I've had many Asian, especially Vietnamese and Thai squid salads. But rarely on the Med! The key to this salad is to cut the squid into thin slivers. The smaller the squid and thinner its skin the more delicate this dish will be.

small, delicate squid

lemon

EVOO

radicchio, sliced very thinly

tiny capers

parsley, chopped finely

1. boil squid 30 seconds
2. cut paper thin
3. dress in a bowl with other ingredients, squeeze lemon juice to taste and serve

Palma Observations

A second visit in as many years.

• Portixol: orange peel & honey, anchovy-stuffed olives dip
• Roqueta: my new favorite fish restaurant in Portixol, highlights included squid & chickpeas, tomato, onion & anchovy salad, apricot cake & almond ice cream, a Mesclades digestivo and the best grilled prawn I've had in a long time; also noticed the patron eating grilled squid with mayo for lunch; and to accompany the delicate paella a classy little side plate of radish, green pepper and lemon.
• Fabbrica 23: unique caprese, with honey vinaigrette!
• Orient Express: hearing that it's worth a visit, but no luck going this time.

Bucatini Roquefort Salami

A pizza topping of contrasts from Princi. I thought maybe translate this beautiful combo into a pasta dish. Haven't tried but I think it would work.

calabrian salami picante

mellow roquefort

panna (or single cream)

chives

black pepper

1. melt panna and roquefort in a pan, add black pepper
2. broil slices of salami until caramelized but not overly crisp
3. add pasta two minutes short, cook in the sauce
4. chop up salami roughly
5. serve pasta on hot plates, sprinkle generous amounts of salami and some chives

Herby Fromage Frais

A regular dish on my grandmother's table growing up. Delicious with some crusty bread, and perhaps some radish-butter-sea salt. And some slices of saucisson sec. And maybe some cornichons. And an unfussy red.


best quality fromage frais
shallots
tarragon
dill
chives
parsley
S&P
EVOO

1. mince shallots as finely as possible
2. chop herbs finely
3. put fromage frais into a rustic ceramic bowl
4. mix in the other ingredients to taste
5. add a couple glugs of EVOO at end, blend this in as well

Boulud's Seafood Platter

Based on a conversation with none other than Daniel Boulud himself at Boulud Bar. I'd only been once but decided to return for their very original and refreshing platter of fish, shellfish and young summer vegetables served slightly chilled. The aioli is referred to as a sweet garlic dip and serves to coat rather than stick to dish's ingredients. Enjoy with a Riesling.


thyme & EVOO-infused cod prepared sous vide
mussels on the half shell
best quality prawn
small clams

cherry tomatoes
baby brocolli
baby cauliflower
long radish
haricots verts
long yellow beans
baby potato
yellow and green courgette julien
artichoke
baby carrot julien
white asparagus from jar (use Spanish brand)
couple lettuce leaves
bread sticks

1. cure cod with salt for 6 hours; proceed to cook sous-vide with EVOO and fresh thyme
2. steam the mussels, prawn, clam and let cool to room temperature (further prep info needed here)
3. prepare other ingredients, using only the best quality
4. assemble on a plate haphazardly, without layering any one ingredient over the other
5. place a ramekin of aioli dip in the middle of the plate, and a couple bread sticks criss-crossed over the whole lot

Herring Spread

Got this from the Moomins cookbook.

smoked herring

pickled gherkin

creme fraiche

cottage cheese

rye bread

1. blend everything but the bread in a food processor--not too smooth
2. spread on toasted rye bread

Spaghetti Vongole Bottarga

Had this at Hotel Miramare's bagno restaurant. If in the mood for a vongole but want a slight edge, just do it this way. Pre-grated dried bottarga in a jar does the trick just fine.

spaghettini

vongole

white wine

butter

red chili

EVOO

parsley

black pepper

lemon

bottarga

1. make usual vongole using above ingredients
2. sprinkle bottarga once pasta is already served on a hot plate, as you would parmesan

Oyster Shrooms & Oregano

A dinner at Moro the other night got me browsing through one of their cookbooks. This caught my eye, as there's always loads of oyster mushrooms on the supermarket shelves.

500 gr oyster mushrooms
minced garlic
chopped parsley
finely chopped oregano
EVOO
S&P
red wine vinegar (optional)

1. toss mushrooms with EVOO, S&P
2. put grill or cast iron pan on medium-high
3. fry mushrooms gill-side down in one layer--don't overcrowd the pan
4. remove first batch and repeat for other mushrooms
5. add minced garlic to the last batch, so that it cooks briefly
6. toss all the mushrooms in a bowl with herbs and vinegar, a bit more EVOO, and serve

Squid & Cumin

Just found this scribble in a pile of papers, I think from a local restaurant on the Fife coast of Scotland. I remember being so surprised about the combo that I had to write it down.

baby squid, sliced

EVOO

S&P

cumin

single cream

1. saute squid quickly on high heat until it turns bone white--no more than about a minute
2. add S&P and a dash of cream, stir
3. serve on a platter, perhaps with a sprig of parsley

Ricotta, Quince & Dill

A refreshing palate teaser, although will do some sampling with other herbs. Use a best quality quince paste, and a harder ricotta as opposed to the stuff you can buy in a tub. The sweetness and pungence of the quince goes nicely with the mild and fresh ricotta. Try not to use a knife - just your hands to break up the ricotta and quince--to give a more rustic appearance.

fresh ricotta, preferably from a deli

quince paste

fresh dill, chopped (coriander works very well too)

EVOO

maldon sea salt

1. break up ricotta and quince into uneven pieces and scatter across a serving plate
2. drizzle EVOO over everything, season with salt
3. add dill and serve

Gazpacho with Melon

Inspired by a gazpacho at Fabrica 23 last weekend which included watermelon, honey dew and cavaillon melon. You should put just enough of the latter so that you get some sweetness and lightness, but not so much that it no longer tastes like the cold tomato soup that it is. For this quantity of fruit and vegetables, 1 clove of garlic should provide a subtle kick. Two cloves of garlic still ok if you don't mind a more aggressive taste. Bone-dry pale sherry or even some ice cold vodka would go very well with this.

1 kg ripe tomatoes, quartered

4 spring onions, roughly chopped

a few chunks of melon

1 garlic clove

1/2 cucumber, roughly chopped

75 ml EVOO

25 ml sherry vinegar (white balsamic vinegar also works)

Garnish

2 spring onions

1/2 red pepper

1/2 green pepper

EVOO

1. put tomatoes, cucumber, scallions, melon in a food processor and blend until smooth
2. put contents through a fine sieve
3. return liquid to the food processor, add EVOO while motor is running
4. add sherry vinegar, while motor is running, then season with S&P
5. put into a jug or bowl and let chill in the fridge for 2-3 hours
6. for garnish, chop up peppers and spring onions finely
7. when chilled, ladle soup into coffee cups, drizzle some EVOO and sprinkle with garnish

Chorizo & Tomato Salad

A classic from London's Fino. Tomatoes have to be sweet and ripe.

500 grams plum and cherry tomatoes

2-3 scallions/spring onions, chopped

3 tblsp EVOO

1 tbsp sherry vinegar

250 grams picante cooking chorizo

handful of parsley, chopped

S&P

1. slice tomatoes in half and put in a bowl with scallions
2. season with S&P, drizzle with EVOO and vinegar, let marinate half hour
3. cut chorizo on a diagonal into 1-2 cm slices; gently fry in some EVOO in a heavy-based pan for 1-2 minutes on each side
4. remove chorizo with a slotted spoon, pile on top of tomatoes & scallions
5. spoon some of the oil from the pan into the tomato salad, toss along with parsley and S&P

Wilted Greens

Rather than wilting just the usual spinach, add in whatever is on hand, like basil or rucola or whatever tickles your fancy.

baby spinach

basil

rucola

garlic

fresh red chile

maldon sea salt

EVOO

lemon

1. saute garlic and chile until the former begins to color
2. add spinach, basil and rucola
3. toss around until wilted, season with salt
4. serve onto a platter
5. let cool, add a bit more EVOO, squeeze or two of lemon

Squid & Chickpeas

Inspired by a dish at Sa Roqueta in Portixol. Absolutely love it. Just a couple leaves of chopped mint does the trick.

small squid, cleaned

chickpeas, either fresh & soaked prior to cooking (or jarred if good quality)

baby spinach

mint, roughly chopped

EVOO

S&P

lemon

garlic

1. bash up garlic in mortar
2. saute until begins to color
3. add spinach and mint, stir around until wilted
4. add chickpeas, cook at low heat until warmed through
5. meanwhile, cut up squid in uneven pieces; put in bowl, season with S&P, drizzle EVOO and stir
6. in separate pan, saute squid on high heat just until it becomes white and no longer translucent
7. add squid to pan with chickpeas, stir
8. serve on a large oval platter, add some fresh EVOO and a couple squeezes of lemon

Tonight's Dinner

A fun evening had by all, especially me given my eagerness to get back into the kitchen after vacation time away. Farewell to Golborne Road.

• Ricotta, Quince & Dill
• Tomato & Melon Gazpacho
• Mushrooms & Basil Mayo
• Squid & Chickpeas
• Battarga & Chile Spaghettini
• Chorizo & Tomato Salad
• Bibb Quarters & Roquefort Vinaigrette
• White Peach & Buffalo Mozzarella
• Artisan de Chocolat chocolates

Anchovy & Caper Berry Pasta

Possibly the best pasta of the trip, which we had for lunch three days in a row at the heavenly Bagno Sillo near Camogli.

best quality salted anchovies
garlic
cherry tomatoes (6 per person)
caper berries
dried pepperoncini
EVOO
parsley, chopped

1. rinse anchovies very well
2. saute garlic until beginning to color, add anchovies and pepperoncini and saute further until anchovies melt
3. slice up tomatoes into eights, add to sauce
4. cut each caper berry into 4-5 slices, add to sauce
5. cook pasta, drain 3 minutes prior to finished cooking time, add to pan with sauce
6. mix and coat pasta with sauce the remaining 3 minutes, adding some pasta water and EVOO to loosen up if necessary
7. sprinkle parsley and give another quick mix before serving

Liguria Observations

More Ligurian inspiration.

• Trattoria detta del Bruxaboschi (Genoa S. Desiderio): verdure ripiene all Genovese impanate et fritte; fiori di zucchine ripieni di galletti su crema di porri; chestnut piccagge matte al pesto; pansouti alle erbe selvatiche in salsa di noci; Rosesse Riviera Ligure di Ponente 2008
• Da U Battj (Santa Margherita): lasagnette pesto;olive spaghetti; squid salad; Rosesse di Dolceacqua; and the best langoustines ever made in a special mystery sauce
• Oca Bianca (Santa Margherita): vitello tonnato with brandy in the sauce (need to call for exact recipe); some lovely goodness of skinned/de-seeded diced tomato, capers, olives and EVOO to accompany bread; Barbera del Monferrato (La Briosa Montalbera) with a slight fizz
• Bagno Sillo (Siro): the best anchovy pasta ever
• Trattoria Do Spadin (Camogli): only accessible by boat; chopped mussels & pine nuts spaghetti
• Ristorante Da Paolo (Camogli): the only proper place to have dinner in the town center, spaghetti moscardini (baby octopus) very memorable but only available in August
• Da Laura (Portofino): only accessible by boat; literally a cave; best pesto lasagnetta; have yet to make it here
• Fiorella (Camogli): pasta shop sourced by Da Laura's for pesto lasagnetta
• Focaccia & Cheese (Recco): world famous
• Muraglia Conchiglia d'Oro (Finale): mussels and basil pasta

Caprese, Not

There are plenty of Italian restaurants in Spain but good luck finding a Spanish restaurant in Italy. A caprese salad from Fabrica 23 in Palma, made with their funky vinaigrette of mustard, lemon juice and honey. You'd be shot for putting this on your caprese in Italy, but I have to say this somehow works! Fabrica 23 also uses burrata versus mozzarella, and rocket versus basil.

combination of tomatoes, halved and quartered rather roughly
burrata
rocket

vinaigrette:
equal parts whole grain and normal dijon mustard
honey
lemon juice
EVOO
S&P

1. toss tomatoes and rocket separately in EVOO, S&P
2. slice burrata into discs about an inch thick
3. assemble by putting some rocket on a small plate, a disk of burrata on top, and some tomatoes all around
4. drizzle vinaigrette over the whole lot

Green Salad

A thoughtful juxtaposition of green ingredients from Palma's Fabrica 23.

crispy lettuce/bibb
frisee
endives
rocket
green pepper sliced with a mandolin
green apple, thin batons
cucumber, thin batons
basil
scallions, sliced thinly
alfalfa sprouts
celery, sliced thinly
fennel tops (herb only)

vinaigrette:
EVOO
lemon juice
tsp mustard
tsp honey
S&P

1. put all the greens in a large bowl
2. toss with vinaigrette

Spaghetti & Walnut Sauce

An out-of-season dish that I absolutely had to try at Milano's Emilio e Carlo. The air con was on full blast, so I pretended it was winter. No parmesan allowed!

a few fresh walnuts

2 tblsp pinenuts

1 tblsp pesto

3 tblsp chopped prosciutto cotto (or jambon de Paris)

1-2 tsp home-made breadcrumbs

a couple sprigs of parsley

2 tblsp EVOO

1 tsp flour

4 tblsp panna (or light cream)

1-2 tblsp bechamel (optional)

s&p

1. put all of the ingredients in a mixer until you have a paste
2. melt butter, add a thumbnail of flour
3. saute paste, add panna to loosen up, as well as some bechamel, if you like
4. make pasta, drain, add to pan and stir to coat the pasta
5. season and serve

Mackerel Ceviche

A scribble from some cooking show featuring the very pretentious Chateaubriand in Paris. It's the green tobasco that catches the eye.

1-2 mackerel fillets
lemon and/or lime
EVOO
gelatin tablets
green tobasco

1. prepare mackerel ceviche in usual fashion, allow to chill a bit in fridge
2. make gelatin cubes using the green tobasco, chill as well
3. slice mackerel into neat little rectangles, chop up the set gelatin and spoon over mackerel before serving; drizzle the whole lot with EVOO

Turkey Observations

As usual, great food experiences in Turkey. Although Turks are too modest to claim this, I think Greek and probably even Lebanese mezze are a tad more rudimentary.

• La Nonna (Gocek and surroundings): a great little chef on the boat named Bekir Usta; dish highlights included the best borek I've had, samphire served with yoghurt, the local spinach-cum-watercress served with yoghurt and an octupus salad in a mustard vinaigrette. Bravo Bekir!
• Poseidon (Bebek): my favorite restaurant in Istanbul; they do lovely sobiyet- thanks ASK for making the introduction--so much lighter and better than baklava; need to find little white cloth lemon covers
• Iskele (Rumeli): a Danny Glover siting; getting a bit too big and unwieldy but their sea bass mezze with mustard or maybe curry still one of my favorites.
• Lucca (Bebek): Manou's favorite cheese toasts, time to buy a grill!
• Sehbender 14 (Asmalimescit): ASK's parents have been weekly regulars since the beginning; steamed artichoke with dill gave me the idea of including the latter in my vinaigrettes when I have artichauts a la vapeur; an interesting borek cigar including bacon
• Mezze Luna (Nisantasi): a perfectly pleasant trattoria in the heart of chi-chi Istanbul--although I'd give ambiance higher marks than the food.
• Kavak (Rumeli): recommended, but have not tried
• Kiyi (Tarabya): recommended for Turbot in salt crust, as well as a special tomato salad with secret dressing

Favorite Root Beers

This entry is inspired by a deliciously smooth root beer I had at Momofuku. Other brands and observations to follow.

• Sprecher (Wisconsin): peppery
• Fitz (Montana): sweeter than the Sprecher as it's made with cane sugar

Remoulade & Foie Gras

An intriguing recipe from the Mini Palais restaurant in Paris.

fresh terrine of foie gras

celery remoulade (see previous entry)

caramel

popcorn

maldon sea salt

1. make celery remoulade in advance: rather than putting celery through the hand grinder, slice thinly on a mandolin, then hand cut into thin match sticks
2. make caramel, make sure relatively runny
3. pop the corn
4. slice terrine thinly
5. assemble: in a small dish place a big spoon of celery remoulade, a slice of foie gras (curled with minimum fuss if possible), sprinkling of salt on the foie gras, a few kernels of popcorn, followed by a drizzle of caramel

Ricotta Spread

Seems like a great condiment to have on a breakfast or brunch table, to spread on toast or brioche. A Bill Granger recipe.

125 gr ricotta

125 gr creamy yoghurt

1 tblsp fine caster sugar

1 vanilla bean, seeds removed

1. put everything in a bowl
2. mix

Mango Lassi

I don't believe the real deal mango lassi includes orange juice, but wanted to give this one a try. I think authentic mango lassi calls for canned mango pulp (Ratna) versus fresh mango, but would have to check on this.

125 gr plain yoghurt (don't use low-fat or non-fat)

125 gr orange juice

1 mango, cubed

3 large ice cubes

1-2 tsp sugar (optional)

1. put ingredients in blender
2. mix until smooth
3. refrigerate until chilled, mix and serve

Spaghetti Pomodoro

It's always the simplest dishes that are easiest to mess up. I make this a lot, but tonight I took a risk and it paid off. That risk is to use a lot more EVOO than I have in the past. This creates a fresh yet intense sauce. Please don't waste your time with this dish unless you have tinned San Marzano tomatoes (Solania a good brand).

250 gr or half pack of spaghetti (Di Cecco or better)

400 gr tin (full weight vs drained weight) San Marzano tomatoes

1/3 cup of EVOO

maldon sea salt

bay leaf

half onion

2 cloves of garlic

2-3 tblsp of butter

parmesan

1. slice garlic and half onion face down, saute in EVOO along with the bay leaf
2. add tomatoes, crush while they are cooking; given the amount of olive oil in the pan, you must stir frequently so that it is well distributed in the sauce
3. season with sea salt and ground pepper
4. cook pasta al dente, drain, add to pan with sauce; add butter and keep stirring for about a minute (adjust timing so that it is still al dente after this stage)
5. serve with grated parmesan

New York Observations

Just a little bit of time to do some sampling....

• Four Seasons: one of the most elegant dining rooms in the world, shame about the food! What happened?
• Degustation: thanks Lousana and Matt for dinner; quality food for tasting bar of 16 seats; highlights were skate in pea broth, octopus & avocado, rabbit three ways.
• Momofuku (Ssam Bar): finally we meet; highlights included the steamed pork buns with hoisin sauce; fried baby artichokes, pickled jerusalem artichokes with grated bottarga and pistachio cream; washed down with a creamy Fitz root beer from Montana. Lots of things I would have loved to sample, including a pork shoulder steak with golden raisin & miso.
• Hecho e Dumbo: nice interior design, pretty pine & cement floors; trying to do authentic Mexican but tastes more like a Tex-Mex cook trying to do authentic Mexican.

Auvergnate Salad Wrap

Literally an inspiration at midnight, this the longest night of the year.

crisp, bibb lettuce leaves (on the large side)

walnuts, shelled & crumbled

roquefort

best quality lardons

chopped chives

home-made croutons

dijon vinaigrette using walnut oil

S&P

1. sautee the lardons; when they put off some fat add croutons and let brown
2. make vinaigrette
3. when ready to serve, separate walnuts, roquefort, bacon & croutons, chives in separate dishes
4. hold lettuce in one hand, spoon each of the ingredients onto the lettuce, season & fold
5. dip into vinaigrette and munch away!

Whatever Cobb Salad

Came out surprisingly delicious, taking whatever from the fridge. Knowing what NOT to take from the fridge if of course key! In this case, I abstained from including tomatoes and tuna. Went down a treat with some kiwi pinot noir.

small boiled potatoes, quartered

boiled haricots verts

boiled courgettes, sliced

ripe avocado, cubed

bacon, fried & chopped

roast chicken, chopped

baby watercress

rucola

cheddar cheese, cubed

thinly sliced fennel salad (marinated in EVOO, lemon, S&P)

vinaigrette: cider & white balsamic vinegar, dijon, EVOO & S&P

1. for presentation, put ingredients on platter, one lined up after the other; make sure ingredients stay separated from each other
2. bring large stainless steel bowl to table, dump the platter ingredients into bowl along with vinaigrette and mix
3. season & serve

Gunther's Caviar Capellini

A refreshing, chilled pasta dish from Gunther's in Singapore. The chef, Gunther Hubrechsen, very kindly supplied the recipe to his signature dish which has been the talk of the town. Gunther went as far as giving me what he thinks is the best dried konbu for this recipe.

225 gr capellini

truffle oil

caviar

dried konbu

chives

S&P

sherry vinegar

ice water

1. prepare a cold bowl by putting a small bowl into a bigger bowl of ice, keep in fridge until needed
2. chop konbu very finely
3. chop chives
4. boil pasta 3.5 minutes; drain and DRY pasta well, put into the chilled bowl
5. mix pasta with truffle oil, chives, konbu, S&P, vinegar and a tsp of chilled water (a bit more if necessary) so that everything emulsified nicely and you have a slippery and silky pasta
6. add a dollop of caviar and serve

Hong Kong Observations

World class food in Hong Kong, no doubts here.

• Fook Lam Moon: the Wan Chai branch is best; perfectly possible to have an affordable meal here if you pass up on the shark fin soup, abalone and bird's nest; I was advised to go with the Famous Crispy Chicken which I wholeheartedly recommend, amazingly succulent char siu pork (hate to talk in superlatives, but I think probably the best I've ever had), amaranth & garlic, and something I will return for: the Steamed Brown Sugar Sponge Cake!
• Yung Kee: pretty much synonymous with Hong Kong and a must visit despite being a tourist magnet; the fried tofu I had seemed lightly caramelized with hints of cinnamon (I would go back for this!); the sauteed prawn and chili also perfectly satisfied my light appetite.
• Cova Milano: a branch of the Milano restaurant in Pacific Place; didn't dine but a pasta dish caught my eye on their menu: a yummy sounding spaghettini cacio pepe with fresh sausage.
• The Pawn: nice old fashioned watering hole in Wan Chai; lots of Gwailos.
• Maxim's Palace: I can't think of a better place for dim sum for Sunday brunch, delivered to you by trolley the good old fashioned way (err, except for the video screen depicting the dish on the trolley!). Best to avoid the soda, grape and yoghurt drink.
• Bo Innovation: Chinese cuisine of the molecular sort; no chance to visit, but taking note.
• Sevva: chill-out rooftop bar; why aren't there more of these in HK?

Singapore Observations

Tiong Bahru hawker center remains my first stop for a fast-disappearing, Saint Jack-era Singapore, but managed to venture out for some Western food as well.

• Tiong Bahru hawker center: highlights include roast pork from Roasted Pig Specialist (stall 02-38) and fluffy pancakes from Mian Jian Kueh (stall 02-34).
• Gunther's Modern French Cuisine: the very pleasant Belgian chef Gunther Hubrechsen who went out of his way to make me happy; at the outset of the meal, one is greeted with a titillating display of the the day's specials on a silver tray; for me this included a whole Sri Lankan crab, sea urchins, a rump of beef, the finest Australian haricots verts and some super fresh mangosteen; specialities of the house--which you undoubtedly get if you choose the carte blanche or the chef's free reign menu-- include the cold angel hair pasta with konbu and truffle jus topped with Ossetra caviar (full of umami goodness), roasted rack of black pig served with a date sauce, and a fine apple millefeuille topped with candied almonds.
• Iggy's: apparently this should be the first stop on any foodie's Singapore map; next time. Also noticing that it comes in 45th place on S. Pelligrino World's Best Restaurants.

Beijing Observations

Excellent, excellent food to be had in the capital. Thankfully, because that's about all there is to be had in the capital.

• Da Dong Roast Duck Restaurant: wood mushroom-stuffed candied cherry tomato; braised aubergine with star anise; Peking duck done their especially lean way ("retaining only 17% fat compared to other restaurants' 47%") with unusual condiments including pickled ginger and turnip, garlic paste in addition to the usual scallions, cucumber and brown sauce; a creamy strawberry sorbet and the most amazing fresh, plump and juicy lychees I've ever had; questionnaire supplied post meal asking for faves and flops resulted in an immediate query on why I hadn't like the green soda that came with the peas and ham appetizer, to which I replied, "tasted like mouthwash!"
• Made in China: not the most authentic place to have a meal--being in the lobby of the Grand Hyatt--but nevertheless on the local foodie circuit for its atmospheric open kitchen and specialty of the house: beggar's chicken; Peking duck good but not at the Da Dong level; most memorable dish was the one Geoff and his wife chose, deep fried whole fish with a spicy red sauce.
• Whampoa Club: this was a business lunch but probably better at night given the basement theatrics; I asked for the chef specialties which were black pepper beef and tea-smoked tofu.
• Lan Club: a Philippe Stark-designed restaurant; once you get over the latter, a good meal is possible here; especially memorable where the giant pork meatballs in special spicy sauce.

Today's Lunch

Lunch at mamie-nona's, actually yesterday. Good feedback all around, especially from mamie-nona!

• radish, butter & sel de guerande
• fried courgette, Napolitano-style
• mussel & parmesan spaghetti
• courgette, mint & mozzarella risotto
• cumin & marjoram burgers
• red endive & avocado vinaigrette
• watermelon

David Pulls Pork

Why must a pulled pork sandwich hail from the land of BBQ? This is my version using the left overs of slow-cooked pork shoulder in milk and lemon. Worked well I think because pork was cooked in a combination of dairy/citrus, which complements the yoghurt chili sauce that contains a hint of yuzu. A Fixin washed it all down nicely!

shredded left-over pork

EVOO

yoghurt

coriander

rucola

lemon

S&P

quality white baps (sandwich buns)

Japanese green chili paste

1. mix the shredded pork with a bit of EVOO to moisten
2. mix chili paste and yoghurt for desired level of spiciness
3. dress a mixture of rucola and coriander with lemon juice, S&P
4. warm/char baps on oven top grill
5. to assemble, spoon a large quantity of pork, leaves, yoghurt dressing onto buns and serve

Fetuccine Alfredo

A rekindled love affair began tonight. Perfect with some boiled green beans, EVOO, garlic and lemon on the side. An option here is to add a bit of vodka into the sauce and top the dish with salmon eggs.

single cream (double if you insist)

butter

grated parmesan

fresh grated nutmeg

fresh ground white pepper

maldon sea salt

best quality fettucine

1. melt as much butter and cream in a pan as you like or necessary for quantity of pasta (need about 1 portion of butter to 2 of cream); save some cream on the side
2. add parmesan, nutmeg, pepper, salt and stir
3. make pasta, drain and stir into pan; mix until coated, adding a bit more cream if sauce needs some loosening up
4. serve on warmed plates

Pasta con Patate e Provola

So nice of Luigia and Fabiana at Mattozzi l'Europeo (mattozzieuropeo.com) to email the recipe to the best pasta dish I had during our most recent trip, reproduced here word-for-word.

500 gr di patate

50 gr di lardo

150 gr di cipolle

400 gr di pasta mista sedano

sedano

carota

pomodoro

parmigiano

provola affumicata

basilico

sale & pepe

olio

1. roslate nell' olio: carota, lardo, cipolle, sedano insieme ai pomodorini del piennolo (o ciliegino) e pezzetti di patate
2. circa a meta' della cottura versate acqua calda condita con sale
3. quando bollira' aggiungete la pasta fino ad arrivare quasi alla cottura
4. servitela dopo avere mantecato tutto in una padella con pepe, parmigiano reggiano, pezzetti di provola affumicata e basilico

Tonight's Dinner

A tasty little dinner tonight.

• ciabatta & soprasada
• penne arrabiata
• pork shoulder slow cooked in milk, sage, lemon rind
• braised swiss chard, chili, garlic
• Austrian pinot noir
  
  

Aperitivis

One of my absolute favorite things, preferably on a warm Spring evening at a good quality bar in a small Ligurian seaside town, complete with some briny, young and crunchy green olives. I will use this post to list the ubiquitous aperitivis and the more original combinations that have come my way (all on ice, by the way, with exact measurements to follow). Vermouth of choice is Punt e Mes (a tad more bitter than usual rosso vermouth). The bubblier the soda water the better, so I'd go with Canada Dry versus Perrier or equivalent.

• Americano: campari, Punt e Mes, soda water, slice of orange (replacing soda water with Schweppes tonic water a nice touch)
• Negroni: campari, Punt e Mes, gin
• Negroni Sbagliato: campari, Punt e Mes, prosecco
• Aperol Spritz: aperol, prosecco, soda water
• Amaro: 30 ml Amaro Montenegro on ice with orange wedge, 45 ml blood orange or mandarin sorbet, 5 ml lemon juice, 30 ml prosecco
• Campari Sour Fizz: campari, calamansi, seltzer (from Ma Peche)
• Telefonino: 200 ml Campari, 200 ml Zucca, 150 Antica Formula; top up with tonic water and slice of orange
• White Spritz: 35 gr Aperol, bitter bianco, prosecco

Napoli Observations

• Ristorante Europeo di Matozzi: one of only two trattorias in the city center listed in the Gambero Rosso guide, run by two sisters who have taken over the reigns of this 100 year old establishment. Incredibly accommodating, they made sure we sampled the house specialties which included a mixed pasta with potato, smoked mozzarella, pancetta and basil prepared risotto-style; their version of spaghetti frutti di mare; and sauteed escarole with pinenuts, capers, olives. Dessert included the best baba au rhum I've ever had, so much lighter than the French variety; on the lighter side, Michelle had little gelatis encased in walnut shells, kumquats and chestnuts by Marco Gelati from Salerno (apparently exported to London).
• spaghetti cozze & parmesan: our taxi driver convinced us that this was the frutti di mare pasta to have in Napoli, saying that most of the vongole in the restaurants are imported from Spain, unless specified "vongole veraci". According to him, half of Napolitanos love cozze with cheese while the other half believe it is sacrilege. I've seen mussels and cheese elsewhere, including in Liguria where mussels are broiled in their shells with sprinkled cheese. The other take-away here is that if serving a vongole-cozze pasta, de-shell the mussels but keep the clams in their shells.
• toma di piemonte: nothing to do with Campagna but one of the ingredients in an alpine-themed panini with speck and mushrooms from the airport bar.

Pennette Aum Aum

I've only had Aum Aum pennette at two places in Capri; the one at Ciro a Mare was much better. This is the recipe as discussed with the chef.

pennette
aubergine
best quality sweetest cherry tomatoes
mozarella (does not have to be buffalo)
basil
parmesan
EVOO

1. salt the aubergine, squeeze excess water from aubergine after letting them sit a few hours, dry off on paper towels, saute in frying pan with EVOO and garlic until golden, set aside
2. in another pan, saute tomato halves, chopped garlic, aubergine
3. boil pasta until ready; drain well, add to pan with vegetables, mix well and add mozarella and ripped basil at the end before mixing again
4. serve on heated plates with some parmesan, if you like

Ragu Buca di Bacco

The chef at Buca di Bacco finally admitted to including an herb in his ragu: rosemary. This must have been the ingredient that led me to ask for the recipe to this lovely ragu in the first place. I'm glad that I ran into him as I left because the owner's recipe had nothing in common with that of the chef's. I asked "red wine?" He said "remember, red meat, red wine!"The other interesting bit is the blitzing of carrot, celery and onion to help create a smoother sauce. As this is a ragu made by a Napolitano, the tomato content of the sauce is naturally higher (in fact all the ragus I've seen have been heavy on the tomatoes).

onion
celery
carrot
EVOO
best quality beef
rosemary
butter
canned marzano tomatoes
red wine

1. blitz very finely the carrot, celery and onion, make sottofritto and add other ingredients, making ragu in same fashion as other ragu recipes, adding tomatoes last.
2. although I didn't verify, it would make sense to add rosemary to carrot, celery and onion to blitz equally finely, nothing worse than dealing with rosemary needles on your plate.
3. before serving, add a little butter to enrichen the sauce.

Capri Observations

One must work a little harder here to find the good stuff. A bit easier in the off-season.

• La Fontelina: Manou takes credit for leading us down the mountain trail to this beach shack of a restaurant, serving the bagno in high season. Pleasant in off-season as everyone is very eager to please, particularly the chef.
• Aurora: a great way to lighten up a scallopina Milanese: top with best quality rucola and halved cherry tomatoes.
• Ciro a Mare: pretty bagno trattoria at Marina Piccola, the one and only sand beach in Capri. Best version of the local Aum Aum pennette, which consists of cherry tomatoes, mozzarella and eggplant.
• Buca di Bacco: tiny trattoria in a cave with a tasty ragu on offer.
• JK Place: do not eat here unless you're in the mood for chicken McNuggets.

Fettucine Zucchini Fontelina

From La Fontelina in Capri. The chef was more than happy to chat as we were the only ones dining. We decided to go light with the only vegetable pasta on the menu. Turned out to superb. The key to the dish is the courgettes sauce, which the chef finally offered up to me. You need just enough to emulsify, no need to smother the pasta with it.

linguine
a few courgettes
EVOO
salt
butter
yellow or white onion
basil
parmesan to taste

1. make courgette sauce: peel a couple courgettes so only the white interior remains, slice the courgette along with onion, saute with EVOO in a pan, add some water and when soft blend until smooth
2. slice a couple courgettes with mandolin and fry for a couple of minutes in EVOO on high heat until golden
3. warm courgette sauce in pan on low heat, add linguine when ready, toss in fried courgette, some torn basil, parmesan, some pasta water, salt and butter; toss in pan until warmed through and pasta nicely coated with sauce
4. serve on warmed plates, sprinkle more parmesan, if you like

Curry Scallops & Cauliflower

Another idea from watching Masterchef. One of the contestants dusted some scallops with curry powder before pan frying, then served with a celeriac puree. While interesting, I will opt for a cauliflower pairing. To this I may add golden raisin in some shape or form but stop short of including capers, the third leg of the ubiquitous cauliflower-raisin-caper triad.

cauliflower

yellow onion

chicken bouillon

scallops

curry powder

chives, snipped

S&P

EVOO

1. roast onion and cauliflower in a tray until golden; add bouillon to tray; put contents in food processor and blend until smooth, adding some seasoning if necessary; put through fine sieve once or twice and keep warm
2. put scallops in bowl with EVOO, S&P and curry powder; saute scallops until golden on each side making sure not to overcook
3. to serve, put a few scallops on plate, drizzle with cauliflower puree, sprinkle chives

Peas, Feta & Scallions

This a recipe from Tamasin Day-Lewis, who I think lives on my street. The other day he asked me for the time, and I said "celebrity?", to which he responded, "no, just a cook". Maybe next time I will compliment him on this recipe, which I just stumbled across now on Epicurious and sounds lovely. Oops, Michelle just corrects me that this is not the guy that lives on our street.

2 1/4 pounds peas in the pod, or 1 1/2 cups frozen petit pois

2-4 tblsp EVOO

1/2 pound feta

1/2 pound Greek yoghurt

1/2 garlic clove, peeled and crushed with MSS

bunch of scallions, finely sliced

large handful of mint leaves, shredded

juice of 1 lemon

S&P

1. if using fresh peas, shell and boil in water until al dente, then drain and place in large bowl; sprinkle with 2 tblsp EVOO and crush coarsely with a potato masher
2. if using frozen peas, blanch briefly, drain exceptionally well, crush before adding oil, pouring off any more excess water at this stage, add the EVOO bit by bit and less liberally
3. mash the feta and yogurt in a shallow bowl; while peas still hot, add the feta and toss to combine; add garlic to taste and mix further; make sure there is some texture (not smoothness)
4. add scallions, 2 tblsp shredded mint; stir in juice of half lemon to begin; season with S&P (watch out feta already salty); taste and adjust seasoning
5. serve in dish with some warm/grilled pita bread alongside

Roast Chicken Risotto

One of the Masterchef contestants made this, and I thought it looked wonderful. If one knows each of the components well, i.e., roasting a chicken, making a creamy risotto as well as an intense chicken broth reduction, then the finished product will most likely be excellent given that the combination is so good. This is my best guess of how he put it together.

whole chicken

girolles

garlic

EVOO

S&P

parsley

preferred risotto rice

parmesan

chives

chervil

1. roast a chicken perfectly, so that skin is nicely browned and crispy
2. make chicken broth, set some aside for risotto as well as another amount to reduce to a syrupy glaze
3. make risotto in usual fashion, preferably using red onions and dry vermouth (versus white wine)
4. slice up chicken breasts and thighs into finger like portions, eschewing bone; make sure chicken includes skin
5. right before serving, saute girolles in some butter, EVOO, S&P, chopped garlic and parsley
6. to serve, put risotto in heated bowl, top with parmesan followed by the pieces of chicken and some girolles; drizzle reduced broth around edges of the risotto and sprinkle the plate with a mixture of chives and chervil, and some additional seasoning

Sweet Corn Veloute

A recipe from Neven Maguire; somehow blending chicken breast into the soup sounds like a novelty.

1 tblsp EVOO

50 gr butter

1 onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, crushed

275 gr frozen corn kernels

250 ml sweet white wine

1.2 lt good chicken stock

2 tblsp light cream

1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped

175 gr smoked chicken breast, finely diced

maldon sea salt

ground black pepper

1 tsp chervil, chopped

salted popcorn to garnish

1. heat EVOO then butter until foaming, add garlic and corn; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened but not browned
2. pour over wine and simmer for 15 minutes until reduced by half; stir in stock, cream and thyme and bring to a boil; turn down heat and simmer for 45 minutes until reduced and slightly thickened
3. stir in half of the smoked chicken and pepper; blitz with hand-held blender until smooth, then pass through sieve into another pan and heat gently; blitz again to make foamy
4. divide remaining chicken among warmed bowls and ladle with veloute, spooning foam on top; sprinkle with chervil and garnish with popcorn (although purely optional!)

Grilled Chicken & Umeboshi

From Tokyo's Hiro, under the train tracks in Nakameguro, a simple recipe using some of my favorite local ingredients. I think despite the Asian flavors, this would blend right into an evening of predominantly mediterranean tapas. Apparently umeboshi plums are more closely related to apricots.

2 small chicken breasts halves, boneless and skinless

1/2 cup soy sauce

2 tblsp umeboshi plum paste (bainiku)

1 shiso leaf, chopped

1. slice chicken breasts on the diagonal into 1/4 inch thick pieces
2. drizzle soy sauce over chicken and let marinate
3. heat a large heavy skillet or grill over high heat; grill the chicken slices in the skillet until cooked while the center remains moist
4. arrange chicken slices on a serving plate, smear with plum paste, sprinkle with chopped shiso