Venice Observations

Staying at Venissa in Mazzorbo made our trip to Venice "in August" a lot more bearable.  Toby, thanks for some of these suggestions, all good!

• Gatto Nero (Burano): famous for its seafood risotto, it does not disappoint. Lovely service and local crowd in the evening, far from the tourist crazies.
• Cipriani (Torcello): the vegetable risotto here was divine, a fine and civilized setting indeed, especially if you're able to arrive at the doorstep by vaporetto.
• Trattoria Antiche Carampane (San Polo): everyone loves this place, rightly so.
• Osteria alle Testiere (Castello): foodie hang out, ie calamari and cardoons...
• Vini di Arturo (San Marco) Calle Degli Assassini

Tonight's Dinner

A lovely dinner with visiting Virginie. My Morito cookbook is getting a lot of my love lately. Virginie brought a sensational Amarone-like Rioja from Vina Tondonia.

• toothpick: olive, anchovy, pickled green chile, sweet picked onion
• pan carasau, robiola and nduja sandwich 
• beetroot borani , dill & feta
• grape compote and yoghurt

Chef Toys

Some things I want to log in the back of my head.

• Rocket evaporator: extracts water from anything without boiling
• Hotmix pro: probably a competitor for Thermomix
• Food dehydrator: all I need is a small one...
• PolyScience smoking gun: for cold smoking
• Rotary evaporator: uses a distillation process

Risotto di Go

This tiny fish --the lagoon goby--provides the basic ingredient for one of the most celebrated Venetian dishes. Above all, it is on the island of Burano where the art of fishing and cooking have merged, with the little trattoria of Gato Nero setting the standard. The skilled cook honors the tradition of keeping the cooking of the risotto moist, or all'onda, to prevent complete absorption of the stock made with the addition of sea water when possible.

400 gr vialone nano rice
1 kg goby
1 onion, 1 stick of celery
1 carrot, 1 tomato,
1/2 lemon, 3 bay leaves
EVOO
1/2 glass white wine
50 gr butter
parmesan cheese
malden sea salt
ground black pepper
chopped parsley

1. put the gobies in a pot with all the veggies, cover with four fingers of water and boil until cooked
2. sieve and mash everything to obtain a stock condiment in which to cook the rice
3. put six tblsp of EVOO in a pot, add a few slices of onion and remove when golden
4. put in a paste of celery and parsley, a good quantity of goby stock and add the rice mixing constantly
5. pour in a little stock at a time and towards the end of cooking add the wine, butter, parmesan, parsley and seasoning

Ragusian Arancini

A nice orange peel recipe from a local newspaper in Dubrovnik. They know how to do them there! Local orange peels are said to have originated from Sicily hence the name. According to Ragusians (people from Dubrovnik), the secret of the taste lies in the thickness of the orange peel, i.e. the thicker the peel the tastier.

1kg orange peel
water for soaking
sugar, equivalent to weight of orange peel

1. cut the peel into long strips, following the curve of the fruit, slice off the ends
2. soak the peel in water for 6 days keeping in mind that water should be changed every day
3. strain the peel and weigh it, cover with water, leave to boil about 10 minutes until peel becomes  tender
4. when half soft, add the equivalent weight in sugar
5. boil until it turns translucent and syrup thickens (around 8-10 minutes)
6. if you want a tender candied peel, cook until perhaps 3 tbsp of syrup is left, and drain the peels
7. if you want medium firm, leave only a spoonful of syrup then drain
8. for a candy-like crisp peel, watch closely until the syrup is at the point of hardening and has almost disappeared
9. arrange the peel on a bed of sugar on a pan once you've stopped cooking them
10. straighten the tips while hot if you want them symmetrical
11. while hot, roll them in crystal sugar and leave them on a plate to dry for several days, exposed to plenty of air

Sea Bass & Rosemary Fusilli

I think one of my favorite dishes from a recent trip to Veneto, from All'Antico Portico in Treviso.

sea bass filet
fresh rosemary
capers
home-made fish broth
malden sea salt
ground black pepper

EVOO

1. poach the sea bass in the broth, breaking up fish when done
2. put some EVOO in a pan to sauté capers, add finely-chopped fresh rosemary
3. cook the pasta, drain, add to pan
4. mix in still hot sea bass
5. dress with more EVOO and seasoning, serve

Courgette Flower Ravioli

Very unusual indeed to see courgette flowers in Hong Kong, so I took them! Was feeling like a ravioli, so here's what I came up with.

courgette flower
fresh ricotta
grated parmesan
mozzarella
malden sea salt
ground black pepper
anchovy
sweet cherry tomatoes
garlic
basil
olive oil

1. mix ricotta, parmesan, chopped mozzarella and courgette flowers in a bowl, season and put in fridge for half hour; make sure to put enough parmesan to absorb any moisture in the ricotta
2. melt off anchovies in a pan with olive oil, let cool
3. make pasta dough, fill with cheese mixture, add a dab of anchovy (optional) and make ravioli
4. cut tomatoes in half, saute garlic, add tomatoes with salt and pepper, make a quick tomato sauce using wilted tomatoes; add ripped basil only at the end
5. gently boil raviolis, add to pan with tomato sauce, season with more olive oil 
6. serve on a heated, white platter, sprinkling more parmesan on top

Tonight's Dinner

A lovely time with our new Mexican neighbors Aurora and Martin, and Cyrille. It's always satisfying when your guests love food and love to eat.

• radish, butter, maldon sea salt
• truffled brandade de morue on toasted polenta
• octopus tentacle, steamed baby potatoes with lemon dressing, pesto
• mozzarella, anchovy, dressed sweet green peppers
• tuna carpaccio & foie gras, lemon & chive dressing
• porto-braised beef short rib, horseradish creme  fraiche, Robuchon mash, kale, caramelized pearl onions
• young compte, fig confiture, herby frisee
• Michelle's chocolate nemesis, vanilla ice cream

Lardo-Roasted Potatoes

Hadn't thought of this one. Just sounds like a winner.

good roasting potatoes
rosemary
maldon sea salt
EVOO
ground black pepper
lardo colonnata

1. cut up potatoes in even size pieces
2. scatter on a roasting tray with olive oil, salt and pepper
3. 15 minutes before finished, add sprigs of rosemary and lardo

Preserved Lemon Mayo

This would be excellent with a sturdy fish such as salt crust-baked turbot.

preserved lemon
1 italian egg yoke
white wine vinegar or lemon
light olive oil, or combination of vegetable oil and normal olive oil
maldon sea salt
dijon mustard

1. mince the preserved lemon finely
2. make mayo, adding lemon at the end

Auckland Observations

An interesting first visit to New Zealand where a high premium is placed on good things. The bulk of my time there was spent on Waiheke island, just a quick boat ride from downtown. I cannot think of anywhere in the world where one can find oysters, olive oil and wine being cultivated within such close proximity.

• Depot: Auckland's institution from Al Brown, lovely oysters and a snapper slider, very convivial and rambunctious. Dog Poing sauvignon blanc excellent.
• The Oyster Inn: superb oysters, of course, from Te Matuku on Waiheke. The flounder with bearnaise sauce probably my favorite of the trip. Man O' War Gravestone sauvignon blanc excellent.
• The Shed, Te Motu: Bronwen Laight, the lady chef, put together an eclectic mix of dishes, all of the highest standard, my favorite probably the Moroccan-inspired aubergine salad.
• Poderi Crisci: a highlight of the trip, set in its vineyard with a glorious terrace. Italian family hailing from Naples, all good especially their crudo of sea bass.
• Cable Bay: lovely setting with a view on Auckland; both restaurant and bar.
• Casita Miro: fun Spanish place, lovely hostess Cat Vosper and iberian tasting Kiwi wines.
• Blue Breeze Inn: had to stop by to sample Auckland's dish of the year, their pork buns.
• Stonyridge: very atmospheric vineyard with award-winning wines, notably the Larose red.
• Rangihoua Estate: home of the one of the top 20 olive oils in the world, according to Flos Olei.

White Asparagus, Comte Cream

One of my favorite dishes in Paris recently, from Septime. I knew it from my first bite!  The star of the dish is the asparagus, so the other ingredients must play second fiddle.

white asparagus
comte cheese
single cream  or whole milk
maldon sea salt
ground black pepper
culatello
hazelnuts
sliced chives
home-made pickled mini white onions

1. pickle white onions days in advance, slice for this dish
2. melt cheese with a bit of cream, salt and pepper
3. steam asparagus, let cool slightly and slice into 1 1/2 inch pieces
4. roast some hazelnuts, break up a bit very roughly
5. to serve, arrange asparagus on a smaller plate, drizzle over a bit of cheese sauce (not too much), add a few hazelnuts, chives and a couple of sliced onions and some culatello on the side

Sea Urchin Pasta

A recipe from Eric Ripert, which Toby made already some time ago.

1/2 cup sea urchin roe
8 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 tbsp water
fine sea salt
espelette pepper
2 ounces spaghettini (ER calls for linguine)
sliced chives
grated parmesan
ground white pepper
1/2 lemon
caviar (optional)

1. for sea urchin sauce, puree roe in a blender, pass through sieve and return to blender to blend with butter
2. to finish sauce, bring water to boil in small saucepan, gradually whisk in sea urchin butter about 1 tbsp at a time; season with salt and espelette and keep warm
3. cook pasta until al dente, drain
4. put chives in a medium stainless steel bowl, add the warmed sauce and parmesan cheese and mix well; season with salt and white pepper and gently toss pasta with sauce
5. to serve, use a meat fork to twirl pasta and mound in the center of small bowls
6. drizzle remaining sauce over pasta, squeeze lemon juice over pasta and a bit of caviar on top
7. serve right away!

Paris Observations

Paris is alive and well as far as I can see, at least on the culinary front.  There is a lot of osmosis going on with London, New York and Tokyo. French chefs have been abroad and eager to return to share their experience. Meanwhile, the Japanese invasion continues! Maybe it's low rent or low interest rate loans, but 2014 boasted the most restaurant openings ever in the capital. Another observation is that the 11th still rules on the culinary map. Here are some recent finds, some spontaneous and others less so.

• Clamato (11th): Septime's little sister, what a gem. 
• Yard (11th): probably my second favourite of this trip; St John's meets Paris down deep in the 11th. Maybe because we were hungry, but the Cod, Lentils and Salsa Verde were dynamite!
• Buvette (9th): lovely Pigalle location, NY chef hits the bullseye with a bistro that is Frencher than French. Great casual vibe, gutsy food.
• Clown Bar (11th): bar-cum-bistro next door to the Cirque d'Hiver. Short menu, simple parings, great Morgon, slick and hip. Fooding's best bistro for 2015. 
• Pages (8th): upscale near l'Etoile, no star yet but I guarantee they will have one next time I go. Yet another example of a Japanese chef perfecting modern French cuisine with Japanese discipline and technique. Teshima-san is ex Passage 53, maybe one of the first French restaurants in Paris with a Japanese chef to get stars. There are many others, including Abri.
• Hai Kai (10th): a bit amateur but I get it! True farm to table, young chefs and service. Nice location on Canale St Martin. 
• Spring (2nd): this has been on my list for ages and while it didn't disappoint there's so much competition now!
• Juveniles (6th): more a wine bar with good food run by a Scotsman and his daughter. The chef is Romain Roudeau formerly from La Regalade. Vegetables come alive, but great beef cheek too.
• Penati al Baretto (11th): Ligurian food on rue Balzac. Didn't make it this time. Apparently nice Paccheri stuffed with diced scorpion and a spider crab sauce.
• Chez Aline (11th): more of a cafe in an old horsemeat butcher's shop, looks superb but sadly no time.
• Verre Vole (11th): a wine bar with emphasis on food, next time.
• El Cafe Bar (11th): a real hole in the wall, just the way I like it.

Linguine, Mussels & Pecorino

Another lovely seafood and cheese combo.

mussels
white wine
garlic
shallot
chili
pesto
mussel broth
parsley
pecorino

1. put garlic, wine, shallot and a little chili in a pan with mussels, place lid on pot and simmer until mussels open
2. remove mussels from shells, put aside
3. make a pesto and mix with some of the mussel broth
4. boil linguine, drain, mix with pesto
5. add mussels, pecorino and parsley

Jalapeno & Cilantro Dressing

A lovely dressing for oysters, cannot recall where I found but I suspect a southern US chef. Ah, literally just remembered. From Oyster Shack in Washington DC.

minced jalapeno
minced cilantro
champagne vinegar

1. combine all ingredients, vinegar to taste
2. serve at once

Mushroom on Toast & Burrata

I am not sure where I saw this, but have it scribbled on a paper. There are many variations of this, but very happy with this particular idea.

peasant bread
best wild mushrooms
garlic
lemon
burrata
EVOO
ground black pepper
malden sea salt

1. grill some slices of bread
2. saute mushrooms in butter, garlic and seasoning
3. top off with a little lemon
4. scatter on toast with burrata on side 
5. drizzle EVOO over everything