Scallops, Daikon & Chilli Jam

Mr. Ottolenghi has come such a long way since the day he graciously lent me a big serving platter for a dish I had put together for Manou's birthday across the street from his shop.

1 green apple, cored & thinly sliced, kept in lemon water

6 thinly-sliced red radishes

30 gr blood chard leaves

EVOO

400 gr king scallops

chilli jam

sunflower oil

3 crushed garlic cloves

2 finely chopped red chillies

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp black mustard seeds

400 gr tin chopped tomatoes

40 gr palm sugar

1/2 tsp turmeric

2 1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar

small bunch chopped coriander

pickled daikon

1 300 gr daikon, peeled and cut into thin strips

150 ml rice wine vinegar

2 tbsp sugar

2 tsp pink peppercorns

3 crushed cloves

1 finely chopped red chilli

1. for the daikon, warm 200 ml water and rice wine vinegar in a pan; add 1 tsp sugar, salt, peppercorns, cloves and chilli; once the sugar and salt have dissolved, remove from the heat and cool, add the daikon; chill for a few hours or overnight
2. for the jam, heat 1 1/2 tbsp sunflower oil in a pan and fry the garlic, chilli, cumin seeds and mustard seeds for a couple minutes, taking care not to burn the spices; add the tomatoes, 1/2 tsp salt, palm sugar, turmeric and vinegar and bring to the boil; reduce the heat and simmer for 35 minutes until thick; stir in the coriander and cool
3. drain the apple and pat dry; put in a bowl with the radish, chard, 1 tbsp EVOO and 80 gr of the daikon; toss and season
4. heat another tblsp EVOO in a pan, lightly season each scallop and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden around the edges; gently toss the ingredients, add the EVOO if needed and divide between four plates
5. top each with some chilli jam

Chilli & Coconut Prawns

A bit of a cliche but life is full of cliches. Serve with cocktail sticks and a San Mig.

vegetable oil

finely chopped garlic to taste

finely chopped lemongrass to taste

finely chopped bird's eye chilli

heaped tsp dessicated coconut

1 tsp grated lime zest

150 gr best quality prawns

lime wedges to serve

1. fry garlic, lemongrass and chilli in oil, stirring for a couple of minutes
2. add the coconut and lime zest
3. cook over gentle heat until garlic colors (don't burn garlic or coconut)
4. remove from pan
5. add prawns to the pan, when they turn pink, tip in the coconut mixture
6. stir well, tip into a bowl

Squid, Funghi & Mash

Had this at Eden Too in Santa Margherita. This is just a guess, pending chef Roberto's reply to my email.

baby squid

maris piper potato

best quality forest mushroom

parsley

chives

maldon sea salt

red wine vinegar

lemon

EVOO

ground black pepper

1. make Robuchon-type mash replacing butter with nutty olive oil, keep warm
2. slice squid very thinly
3. slice mushrooms very thinly
4. saute squid very quickly in EVOO, salt & pepper, keep warm
5. while squid is cooking, flash fry mushrooms with the minimum of oil so that they brown slightly in the pan, season with salt and pepper, chives and parsley
6. to serve, put a tablespoon of potato on a small plate
7. season mushrooms with a tiny bit of vinegar and put a few on the plate
8. add a squeeze of lemon to the squid, scatter a few slices of squid on top and serve

Melon & Elderflower Sorbet

I think I had this at Nopi before leaving London. I love that place. This isn't really a recipe, just a brilliant combo that works.

cantaloupe

elderflower juice

1. mix cantaloup in blender and pass through a sieve
2. add this juice to an ice cream maker with elderflower juice to taste
3. make sorbet according to manufacturer's instructions

Green Dip & Ricotta

Something to have on the table before a casual meal. It's a combo that comes up a lot, but I think the method of combining and presentation make all the difference. Looks nice a black Colombian terra cotta dish.

broad bean

petit pois

EVOO

parmesan

piment d'espelette

maldon sea salt

lemon

basil

ricotta

1. boil broad beans and remove skins
2. boil petit pois, then put in ice water so they retain their vivacious green color
3. season ricotta with some lemon rind, salt, pepper and EVOO
4. reserving a bit of each aside, put in a blender with EVOO, a couple leaves of basil, lemon juice to taste and a few tablespoon of parmesan
5. pulse just until there is a rough--not smooth--blend of the two
6. haphazardly spoon this onto a platter, sprinkling reserved beans and petit pois around
7. spoon the ricotta very roughly into a big mound in the middle of the bean/petit pois mixture
8. drizzle generous amounts of EVOO over the whole lot, with another sprinkling of maldon sea salt and piment to taste

Pomelo & Thai Rub

Pomelo spilling off supermarket shelves in HK. Reminds me of nice afternoon snack served when working in Bangkok circa 1997. As can be expected, ticks all the flavor boxes: sour, spicy, salty, sweet.

pomelo

dried chili

salt

sugar

1. break pomelo up into bite size pieces
2. mix salt and sugar together in equal amounts, plus chili to taste
3. dip pomelo in mixture and snack away

Pineapple, Lychee & Perrier

A great drink, preferably in a big pitcher pool side.

3 parts juiced pineapple

1 part commercial lychee juice (or nectar from can of lychees)

1 part Perrier

ice cubes

1. pour everything into a pitcher filled a third of the way with ice
2. garnish with a lychee & sip with a straw