Scallops, Chestnut & Shiso

From Rowley Leigh, apparently a dish he will serve at his new restaurant venture in Hong Kong. Sounds like an unlikely combo, which is why it is all the more intriguing!

vacuum-packed chestnuts
melted butter
milk
4 scallops
shiso leaf
maldon sea salt
ground black pepper
creme fraiche
1 lemon
EVOO

1. cover chestnuts with milk, salt and poach 15 minutes; put into blender, add butter and blend until smooth; add extra milk to achieve smooth texture
2. peel the lemon in large strips, then cut into finer strips; place in a small pan, cover with cold water and bring to a boil; drain and refresh in cold water; cover the sugar with 150 ml of cold water and simmer to make a syrup, add the blanched lemon strips and poach gently until the lemon is translucent and tender, lift out with a fork and drain over a sieve
3. squeeze and strain lemon juice and whisk with salt and pepper, creme fraiche, then olive oil for a smooth vinaigrette
4. pat scallops dry, season and brush with oil
5. place a tsp of warm chestnut puree on easy shiso leaf
6. heat pan and seat scallops on both sides, place scallop on blob of chestnut puree, put some lemon zest on top of this, and drizzle some vinaigrette all around

Braised Ribs & Horseradish

My favorite dish of our California trip, from Lucques in LA.

6 beef short ribs, 14-16 ounces each (ask for 3 bone centercut)
1 tblsp plus 1 tsp thyme leaves, and 4 whole sprigs of thyme
1 tblsp freshly cracked black pepper
3 dozen small pearl onions
1/2 cup diced onion
1/3 cup diced carrot
1/3 cup diced celery
2 bay leaves
2 tblsp balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 cups port
2 1/2 cups hearty red wine
6 cups of beef or veal stock
4 sprigs parsley
2 bunches swiss chard, ribs removed

potato puree
1 1/2 lbs russet potatoes
1 1/2 lbs yukon gold potatoes
3/4 cup heavy cream
3/4 cups whole milk
8 ounces unsalted butter, cut into chunks
maldon sea salt

horseradish cream
3/4 cup creme fraiche
1 tblsp grated horseradish (original recipe calls for "prepared" horseradish
maldon sea salt
ground black pepper

1. preheat oven to 425 degrees F
2. season ribs with 1 tblsp thyme and cracked black pepper, coat meat, cover and put in fridge over night
3. take out of fridge 1 hour before cooking, after 30 minutes, season generously on all sides with salt
4. toss pearl onions in olive oil, t tsp thyme, salt and pepper; spread on a baking sheet and roast 15 minutes until tender; when cooled slip off skins and set aside
5. turn oven down to 325 degrees F
6. heat a large sauté pan on high heat for 3 minutes; poor in 3 tblsp of olive oil, wait a minute until the pan is hot and almost smoking
7. place the short ribs in the pan, sear until browned on all three meaty sides; do in batches (do not crowd the meat); when browned, transfer to a braising pan, lied flat bones standing up in one layer
8. turn the heat down to medium, add onion, carrot, celery, thyme sprigs, bay leaves; stir with wooden spoon scraping up all the crusty bits in the pan
9. cook 6-8 minutes, until vegetables just begin to caramelize; add balsamic vinegar, port and red wine; turn heat up to high, reduce liquid by half
10. add stock, bring to a boil; pour the liquid over the short ribs, scraping any vegetables that have fallen on the ribs back into the liquid; the stock mixture should almost cover the ribs' tuck the parsley sprigs in and around the meat; cover tightly with aluminum foil and a tight fitting lid, braise in over for 3 hours
11. when meat is done, it will yield easily to a knife
12. let the ribs rest 10 minutes in their juices, transfer to a baking sheet
13. turn oven up to 400 degrees F, place ribs in oven 10-15 minutes to brown
14. strain the broth into a saucepan, pressing down on the vegetables with a ladle to extract all the juices, skim the fat from the sauce and, if the broth seems thin, reduce it over medium-high heat to thicken slightly, taste for seasoning
15. heat sauté pan for 2 minutes, tear the swiss chard into large pieces, add olive oil to pan, stir in the cooked pearl onions, add half the swiss chard and cook 1-2 minutes stirring the greens in the oil to help them wilt
16. add a splash of water and the second half of greens, season and cook a few more minutes; place the chard on a large platter, arrange ribs on top, spoon the braising juices over the ribs, serve the hot potato puree and horseradish cream on the side
17. to make the puree, place whole and unpeeled potatoes in sauce pan, add salt and fill pot with cold water; bring potatoes to a boil over high heat, turn down the heat to low and simmer 45 minutes until tender; strain when cooked through, set aside to cool; heat the cream and milk together in a small saucepan then turn off the heat, when potatoes have cooled, peel them and pass through a food mill; put the riced potatoes in a pan, heat them over medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, to dry them out; add butter slowly stirring constantly and season with 2 1/2 tsp of salt; when all the butter has been incorporated, slowly stir in the warm cream mixture until you have a smooth puree; season, pass through a fine-mesh tames twice
18. to make horseradish cream, combine creme fraiche and horseradish in a small bowl, season

Canasta's Marmalades

Delicious marmalades to look forward to every morning at our favorite hotel in Capri. Thank you Pietro for the recipe! If a lemon marmalade is preferred, use 850 gr of sugar for every kg of fruit.  I put this in my yoghurt and fruit salad to give it an extra zing!

1 kilo oranges
500 gr sugar

1. cut the peel in strips with a special peeler and eliminate the mesocarp
2. cut the flesh into chunks, removing seeds
3. cook the flesh until the juice has evaporated; stir constantly to avoid any burning
4. add the sugar and the peels, cook until the sugar is melted (about 5-10 minutes)
5. put in a sterilized far

Capri Observations

My favorite trip in a long while. Yes there are tourists but they are mainly day trippers and the island is yours before 10 and after 5. Even during the day you can find at least a nice bagno for sea, lunch and nap. Below are the bagnis of note, as well as our favorite food discoveries.

• Ristorante da Ciro "Lo Zodiaco": old fashioned restaurant by the port considered to be the best for fish by locals. Best dishes were sliced marzano tomatoes with just a squeeze of amalfi lemon and scorpion fish spaghetti.
• Il Riccio: an institution, with 1 Michelin star to boot. A bit of a scene at the bagno, but lovely lunching and views of Ischia, Procida and the Bay of Naples over the distant horizon. Favorite dishes were vermicelli (local for spaghetti) ricci and a salt crust turbot from further down the coast. A nice bottle of local Furore washed this down, followed by the very unique and exciting "Temptation Room" filled with desserts and sweets including a sensational baba.
• La Grottelle: a traditional, family-style trattoria with la mama still behind the stove at a tender age of 76. Famous for the ravioli Caprese, but pizzas are even better. Dinner and lunch nice but latter even better thanks to the stupendous views of the Amalfi coast.
• Lido del Faro: a more local bagno on the other side of the island, with a superb restaurant. Top dishes here were a cuttlefish and green pepper pasta, which I will need to replicate. We washed this down with a local Fiano Raiano, a simple crisp white. 
• La Fontalina: our daily cantine, and one of my favorite places anywhere. Yes, there are tourists, but it doesn't detract from a sublime location and beach restaurant. The veggie antipasti bar is unsurpassed, including favorites such as steamed carrots with chili, sautéed escarole with raisins and pine nuts, fried eggplant caprese style, vinaigry zucchini etc., etc. The sautéed clams/mussels,  the famous zucchini spaghetti, alici marinati, fried anchovies were all favorites, but the list could go on! 

Italian Aperitivi

A couple more learned in Capri. Love these!

• Apertass: in a large wine glass, combine ice, 1/3 Aperol and top off with Tassoni, the effervescent, sweet and slightly sour lemon soda using Diamante lemons from southern Calabria.
• Bibitone: a new favorite, finally a way to use the ubiquitous Cynar, originally hailing from Sicily.  In a tall glass of ice, combine 1/3 Cynar, 1-2 tblsp of lemon juice and top off with soda water.
• Americano Cynar: replace campari with Cynar for a mellower Americano!
• Negroni Cynar: ditto!