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