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

Tomato Dressing

An extremely tasty salad dressing from Satsuma in Soho.

onion (1 tsp)

garlic (half tsp)

ripe tomato, seeded and peeled (3 tblsp)

salt

white pepper

tomato ketchup (1 tsp)

rice vinegar (2 tsp)

yamasa soy sauce (half tsp)

tobasco

sunflower oil (3-4 tblsp)

1. put all ingredients in a blender, blend until smooth
2. pass through a sieve and store

Tokyo Observations

• Mimasuya (Chiyoda-ku): a rowdy little izakaya on a cozy pedestrian side street; food on offer was perfect for the cold winter evening, especially the blowfish in beer batter with some ubiquitous bulldog sauce, a local anchovy-type of sushi which was perfect with a squeeze of lemon, seaweed and shiso leaf, dipped in some wasabi soy; super fresh, clotted tofu, spring onions, bonito, all topped off with an ice cold Kirin draft.
• Maisen (Aoyama): an institution specializing in the best tonkatsu I've had so far; the pork was wonderfully light, served with shredded cabbage and brown sauce; the owner prides himself on using only Roppaku Kurobuta (six spotted black pig, or Berkshire pig) supplied from Mr Hayao Okita in Satsuma, a district in Kagoshima prefecture; as described to me, the pork is carefully cut and pounded, with breadcrumbs chosen according to size, shape and water content, fried in sunflower oil; finished off with some grapefruit sorbet, the perfect end of meal palate cleanser.
• Wada-ya (Ginza): thanks to Nobu's office mate, we dined at this basement shabu-shabu restaurant late into the night; first was some slow-cooked premium "Viton" pork shoulder from Tsukuba district in Ibaraki prefecture with some mizuna "potherb" mustard to accompany (Viton in Chinese characters means "beautiful pig"); this was followed by a perfectly grilled mackerel served plain; then the shabu shabu, again with Viton sliced pork belly, shredded leek and other condiments, followed by some noodles at the very end to enjoy the remaining, intense broth; all washed down with some okinawa shochu or awamori (we had Zanpa), of course.
• Kaikaya (Shibuya-ku): hip little izakaya specializing in fish with lots of loud rock music (Scorpions seemed to be a firm favorite the day I was there); very informal, cute little bar to watch the kitchen action.
• Nippon Saisei Sakaba (Marunouchi): didn't make it here, but noting for future reference; a standing-room-only izakaya with some ice-cold beer and about 50 small dishes on offer.
• fuku-masamune: a more modern sake, to be enjoyed chilled at Fukumitsuya --don't forget to hold the pitcher mid-way and poor with just one hand!
• moromizu: a refreshing drinking vinegar from Okinawa enjoyed for breakfast, made from malted rice.
• hotel menu ideas: turkey club sandwich, terriyaki beef burger with truffle mayonnaise or freshly grated wasabi, caesar salad with grilled prawn & mango; a "wasabi sauce" which according to the kitchen contained wasabi paste, mayo, condensed milk and lemon.

Seoul Observations

A few interesting discoveries.

• Maple Tree House (Samcheong-dong): unique Korean barbecue because of the variety of meats served, such as pork jowl, pork cheek; although not an expert, also the first time I see marinated salad leaves-in this case sesame leaves--rather than the usual lettuce.
• Soseonjae (Samcheong-dong): a homely affair, only vegetables, but done to perfection; temple-type food, except very tasty!