Burrata, Lentils & Mint

Another Granger recipe that caught my eye. I have another burrata and lentils recipe somewhere on this blog, but does not include mint.

burrata
lentils
chicken broth
garlic
carrot-onion-celery
tomato paste
bay leaf
thyme
mint
EVOO
ground pepper
maldon sea salt

1. make lentils using ingredients listed
2. let lentils cool, add burrata and mint
3. drizzle with extra EVOO, seasoning

Tagliatelle, Girolles & Gremolata

Saw this recipe on the menu of Bill Granger's new Notting Hill brasserie. Pretty self explanatory, but love the idea of the gremolata.

best quality tagliatelle
girolles, or other forest mushrooms
minced garlic
parsley
gremolata (add orange and possibly lime zest)
butter
EVOO
ground pepper
maldon sea salt
parmesan

1. make pasta
2. saute mushrooms with garlic and parsley in EVOO, adding butter at end
3. add pasta with just a touch of pasta water to loosen, season
4. heat through, serve with gremolata (and parmesan if you like)

EGM Redux

This is a simpler, and I'd argue tastier albeit a more rustic version than the Kaufmann classic, Escargots, Girolles and Mash. Thinking probably better as a tapa because it is very rich.

ready-made snails in persillade (frozen)

Joel Robuchon mash

Japanese mushrooms

minced garlic

chopped parsley

butter

EVOO

piment de l'espelette

ground pepper

maldon sea salt

1. heat the escargots according to package instructions
2. make the mash, adding hot milk now and then to keep warm and from thickening
3. saute mushrooms in a little butter and EVOO, make sure they brown, season with salt, pepper and piment
4. to serve, put a mound of mash in a bowl, spoon 2-3 snails on top of mash, arrange sauteed mushrooms around the mash so that it is encircled with mushrooms
5. alternatively for a pasta, put 2-3 tblsp of puree in a ramekin, with two snails max (even one if they are large and plump), with a few mushrooms on the sides

Pea Shoot Pancetta Pasta

The classic peas and bacon combo work well here, but using thin pea shoots with mined pancetta makes this a pretty delicate dish. Best to use spaghettini!

spaghettini

pea shoots

minced pancetta

white vermouth

chicken bouillon

garlic

ground pepper

EVOO

1. saute garlic and pancetta, add vermouth when crisp
2. stir in pea shoots and bouillon, season
3. stir cooked pasta into the pan, add EVOO

Tonight's Dinner

Our biggest dinner party in HK so far, with Toby and Donna & others. As we are approaching Chinese new year and most of our guests were Chinese, I wanted to use special occasion ingredients but in the kinds of dishes they wouldn't normally find them. I've included an escargot dish, but decided to skip it. Needless to say, they did not leave hungry.

• radish, butter & maldon sea salt
• boudin blanc, caramelized apple & mustardy vinaigrette
• squid & pancetta bundles
• bresaola bombs
• carottes rapees, smoked mackerel & horseradish creme fraiche
• celeri remoulade & gravadlax
• pan fried scallops, edamame-parmesan puree, truffle vinaigrette
• smooth polenta & foie gras
• cotechino, lentils & chestnut mostarda
• potato puree, escargots persillade & forest mushrooms
• oxtail ravioli
• robluchon & chestnut honey
• vacherin, fruit bread & herb salad
• profiteroles

Franco-Japanese Vinaigrette

The mutual culinary respect and appreciation between these two countries intensifies by the year. The proliferation of Japanese restaurants in Paris and French bistros in Tokyo continues unabated. Also witness the number of Japanese sous-chefs in Paris restaurants, this too is remarkable. As these droves of chefs return to Japan in coming years, French food will only get better there. This is a nice vinaigrette I made using a combination of French and Japanese condiments in my fridge. Went very well with some Dutch butter lettuce.

dijon mustard with lime (something I found in the 3rd)

half tsp of yuzu paste

3 cloves of garlic

1 part cider vinegar

2 parts rice wine vinegar

5 parts EVOO (although grape seed or avocado oil would have been better)

piment de l'espelette

ground black pepper

maldon sea salt

1. combine mustard, yuzu paste, vinegars, rest of ingredients together, then the oil
2. let sit for an hour or so allowing the garlic to mellow
3. remove garlic
4. dress salad right before you eat

Anchovy & Onion Pasta

Taken from a Gary Rhodes food show surveying Venetian cuisine. This recipe is from the chef at the Bauer hotel. The tad caramelized onion is a nice contrast to the salty anchovies. Also key to use artisanal spaghetti, preferably the local Venetian type that is hollow.

rinsed salted anchovies

thinly sliced onions (on a mandolin)
2-3 shallots
1 garlic clove thinly sliced
sugar

crushed garlic still in its skin

thyme, marjoram
dried pepperoncini
EVOO

lots of ground black pepper

1. put EVOO and some sugar in a pan
2. add onions, shallots and garlic
3. add thyme, marjoram, pepperoncini, salt and ground pepper 
4. saute until caramelized, about 30 minutes
5. add anchovies, let them melt
6. boil the pasta in salt water and add to pan with sauce (including just a little pasta water to loosen the mixture)
7. stir, add more pepper, little more EVOO

Tonight's Dinner

A festive menu to welcome in the new year here in Germany, accompanied by Champagne, Tokai and Sancerre Rouge.

• smoked salmon, beet & caper tartare, horseradish creme fraiche, honey-mustard-dill sauce, new potatoes
• truffled foie gras, toasted brioche, home-made grapefruit jelly
• steamed white asparagus
• boudin blanc, rum-glazed apples, dijon mustard, chives
• home-made tagliatelle & truffle butter
• vacherin & chestnut honey
• mamie's apple pie & vanilla ice cream

Unshackled Ragu

Whenever I make a ragu I feel that I need to make it like a nona would in Emilia Romagna. This time I used my intuition and came up with this. Never have I included garlic in a ragu before. Avoid adding any pasta water when finishing the dish in pan at end.

carrot-onion-celery

ground veal-pork-beef (300 gr, 300 gr, 500 gr)

450 ml tin of Italian tomatoes

few tblsp of tomato paste

1 bay leaf

2 small spring thyme

2-3 cloves chopped garlic

half bottle robust white wine

parmesan rind

nutmeg

chopped serrano ham (or prosciutto butt)

Maldon sea salt

ground pepper

butter

single cream

home-made chicken stock

1. saute vegetables, followed by meat, serrano & nutmeg
2. add wine, let reduce, then tomatoes and paste
3. let reduce half hour, then add broth & parmesan, season with salt and pepper
4. cook on low heat five hours, adding broth if necessary along the way
5. add some cream during last half hour, butter last 10 minutes