Forte dei Marmi Observations

Nice relaxed food all around, especially the antipastis at Barca & focaccia at Orlando:

• Spaghetti with seabass & lemon rind
  
• Spaghetti arselle (tiny baby clams, no shells)
• America salad (combining mozzarella and tuna)
• Butternut squash gnocchetti with langoustine
• Tuna, clam, red pepper puree
• Swordfish carpaccio with pesto
• Small shell pastas with pesto (including philadelphia cheese!) and prawn
• Orechiette with tomato, vongole
• Panzanella (pane con tomate style) with tiny squid
• Focaccia with crema di formaggio, sweet peas, best prosciutto
• Spritz (mostly prosecco with equal parts sparkling water & aperol)

Salade Russe

I first really took notice of the Russian Salad in Kiev.  But it makes an appearance in many other places, including France and Italy.  You can also find it in most Spanish tapas cookbooks. My favorite version to date is below.

a cup of fresh peas

2/3 cup green beans

6 cauliflower flowerets

2 potatoes

2 carrots

half dozen cornichons

1 small cooked beat

1 egg, hardboiled

home-made mayo

S&P

1. cook the veggies in separate pans of boiling water until al dente
2. drain well and chop veggies apart from peas, in roughly the same sizes
3. put all veggies in a salad bowl with the cornichons, beets and egg
4. stir in mayo to form a soft mixture-don't drown it, just make sure veggies have a thin coating, season
5. chill in fridge for 3 hours
6. put salad in small bowl used as a mold you flip onto a plate

Potato, Ham & Cheese Salad

You absolutely cannot go wrong with these classic ingredients. A meal in one!  What really makes the dish is all the ham & cheese gunk that mixes in with vinaigrette; trick is to put more vinaigrette than you think is necessary.

steamed baby potatoes

good quality boiled ham

white cheddar cheese

parsley & chives

dijon vinaigrette (on the thickish side, using cider vinegar)

S&P

poudre de piment d'espelette (cayenne if you must)

1. slice potatoes in halves or quarters when done steaming, depending on size
2. put potatoes into bowl, stir vinaigrette into them while still warm
3. cut up ham and cheese into minces & add to potatoes
4. chop up parsley & chives, add latter, s&p (lots of p!), PP d'E to salad & stir 

Bangkok Mussels

Just found these scribbles on a napkin from a back alley Bangkok restaurant.  The result of pestering another poor chef, this time following him into his kitchen and watching him put this dish together "a la minute".  I've not tried it, just wanted to get rid of the napkin.  It was absolutely yummy.

mussels (already steamed and open, leave in a half shell)

small red chile

chopped garlic

salt

herbs:  thai basil, minced lemongrass, lime leaf & more red chile

thin soy sauce

thick soy sauce

sugar

water

nam ploc

green peppercorn (key!)

1. put equal parts of chile, garlic & salt in mortar and crush to a paste
2. put all other ingredients in a bowl 
3. heat oil in wok until very hot
4. put in few tblsp of paste & peppercorns, stir
5. pour in ingredients of bowl, mussels as well
6. add a little water if necessary for sauciness
   

Spring Greens, Roquefort & Pickled Walnuts

I got inspired from a salad I had at Cafe Boheme.  The sweet vinaigry pickled walnuts make the dish, worth the effort getting them otherwise won't be quite as tasty!

broad beans (handful)

fennel (1 stalk)

young celery stalk with lots of leaves

asparagus (6-8 tips)

crisp lettuce leaf 

EVOO

cider vinegar

lemon

dijon mustard

S&P

Poudre de piment d'espelette (cayenne if you must)

English pickled walnuts 

1. boil broad beans, de-shell, dress with EVOO, S&P, squeeze of lemon, PPd'E
2. boil asparagus but maintain the crunch, put in ice water when done boiling
3. slice fennel through mandarin, dress with EVOO, S&P, squeeze of lemon, PPd'E
4. make mustard vinaigrette, thickish
5. slice celery thinly on diagonale, dress with vinaigrette
6. best to assemble on individual plates:  1) spread lettuce leaves over plate, dress with EVOO, squeeze of lemon, S&P; 2) dip asparagus tips in vinaigrette and place in middle of plate; 3) sprinkle broad beans around sides, as well as fennel & celery; 4) crumble cheese & spinkle over everything; 4) slice up walnuts & add to salad as well; 5) sprinkle celery leaves, more S&P to top it off.

Gnocchi & Gorgonzola

The key thing with gnocchi is to get them airy and light and not too chewy. The less flour you can get away with the better. If the dough is still a bit wet and sticky add just the right amount of flour to eliminate the stickiness. The coarse semolina in this recipe gives these light gnocchi a slightly rustic edge which works well I think.

1 kg Desiree or king Edward potatoes (floury type)
Maldon sea salt, fresh ground pepper, grated nutmeg
2 large egg yolks
150 gr 00 flour
100 gr coarse semolina flour
chives
olive oil
parmesan

Gorgonzola sauce:
284 ml container single cream
thick slice of gorgonzola, to taste (roughly half or 2/3 amt of cream about right so that melted cheese does not stiffen up as temperature falls once in your plate)
pepper, salt

1. Cook potatoes with skin on in large pot of salted boiling water. Drain and peel while hot. The potatoes must be very dry!
2. Put potatoes through a food mill; lightly fold in eggs and flours (which have been combined and mixed together). Add salt, pepper and a tad of nutmeg to taste. Work together to obtain dough.
3. Divide dough into four. On clean surface roll out each piece of dough into long cigar shapes. Cut into 2-3 cm lengths. The more irregular the better. Scatter some semolina flour on work surface and roll each piece over the back of a fork to make indentations which will pick up the sauce.
4. Put cream in large frying pan, add chopped gorgonzola when hot, keep stirring til cheese melts into cream, add pepper.
5. Bring large pan of salted water to boil. Add gnocchi and cook over high heat until they rise to the surface. Remove with slotted spoon and put directly into pan with gorgonzola sauce. Coat gnocchis with sauce, serve in bowls, add small sprinkling of chives, ground black pepper, dash of olive oil, tad of parmesan.

Spaghetti Vongole My Style

I did this last night for my parents, and I think it's one of the better vongoles I've made.  The bottarga is the trick. 

spaghetti (1 pack for four people)

fresh red chile

4-5 dried pepperoncini

clams--small ones

parsley- 2 handfuls

bottarga- 2 tblsps

EVOO

S&P

5 cloves garlic

white wine

butter-- 2 tblsps

lemon

1. in  a big pan, saute garlic and pepperoncini in a few tblsp of EVOO until former is lightly goldened; let sit in oil for so that flavor develops
2. turn heat up, add clams, cover
3. when clams open, add half cup of wine, maybe a bit more, til alcohol burns off
4. take pepperoncini out, put in chopped fresh chili
5. while above is happening, cook spaghetti 6 mins until very al dente
6. put pasta in pan, stir, add S&P, parsley & bottarga (latter mainly as seasoning!)
7. at very end, add butter, stir until melts, plus another splash of EVOO
8. serve with lemon wedges