Pea Veloute, Squid & Coppa

I had this idea at lunch the other day. The dish I had was a pea veloute, with grilled baby squid, a drizzle of some squid ink-olive oil emulsion, a tiny bit of melted creamy cheese and a crouton. I thought it would be a lot better if we replaced the crouton with some kind of fatty smoked ham, retained the cheese and dropped the emulsion. Chorizo would be too obvious and overpowering. Coppa would work better given its more subtle flavor and fattiness.

fresh or frozen peas
white onions
one garlic
good chicken stock
coppa, sliced thinly into long batons about the length of the squid legs
baby squids, cleaned
light, soft Italian white cheese, like stracchino
EVOO
maldon sea salt
ground black pepper
piment de l'espelette

1. make veloute with peas, onions, garlic and broth, passing through a fine sieve to make extremely smooth
2. grill/broil strips of coppa until they begin to caramelize 
3. flash fry squid in EVOO, season with salt, pepper and piment
4. heat stracchino on very low heat until it melts
5. to assemble, pour veloute into a tea cup, followed by a drizzle of melted cheese
6. place a squid in the soup (hopefully it floats!)
7. sprinkle some coppa batons on top, with a quick drizzle of EVOO and sprinkle of maldon sea salt and piment

Lime & Basil Sorbet

Saw this on a Jamie Oliver show last night. I love the method of making this.

2 glasses sugar

1 glass water

1 glass lime juice

zest of limes it takes to fill up the glass

1 large bunch of basil pounded to a puree

1. place water and sugar in a pan, bring to a boil and simmer four minutes with the zest
2. remove from the heat and allow to cool for a while
3. add the lime juice and basil puree
4. stir this up and leave to infuse for a while
5. pass through a sieve and pour into a stainless steel bowl and place in a freezer
6. stir around with a whisk every half an hour, for about two hours
7. serve in a glass with a sprig of basil

Spaghetti Aglio Olio Brodo

I discovered a way to make a tasty emulsified sauce tonight. Boiling the pasta in a broth from organic bouillon cube works nicely.

250 gr spaghettini

sliced garlic

maldon sea salt

half bouillon cube

EVOO

1. heat plates in oven
2. saute garlic in generous amount of EVOO until golden, turn heat off
3. boil water, add bouillon cube, then add pasta and cook until al dente
4. as pasta is drained, put a ladle of pasta/brodo water into pan with garlic and oil, turn heat on
5. put pasta back in pan and stir vigorously as sauce emulsifies
6. season with salt, some Italian chili paste if you like

Coppa, Scamorza & Chives

I love cured meat-wrapped scamorza. I've tried pancetta but that's too fatty. I've tried prosciutto but that's too lean. Coppa wins easily given that it provides just enough fat to wrinkle around the cheese. Adding chives immediately after the bundles come out of the oven allows them to wilt and infuse the whole bundle of goodness.

8 slices of coppa
8 cubes of scamorza
EVOO
chopped chives
lemon (optional)

1. wrap cheese with coppa, so that they are well covered little packets
2. grill in oven on highest heat, about 3-4 minutes
3. when coppa starts to caramelize and tighten around the cheese, the bundles are ready
4. remove from oven, transfer to a serving platter, sprinkle chives over the whole lot
5. squeeze a tiny tad of lemon if you like

Shrooms de Jerez

I found myself with some good Japanese and Taiwanese mushrooms, and put together this absolutely perfect tapa.

enoki mushrooms
king oyster mushrooms
any other good quality forest mushroom
medium sherry
minced garlic
butter
EVOO
maldon sea salt
ground black pepper
chopped parsley

1. heat EVOO, put shrooms in pan but do not overcrowd
2. season with salt and pepper
3. don't stir too often, let mushrooms brown
4. add butter and garlic
5. once garlic has taken on a bit of color, pour 2 tblsp or so sherry and emusify
6. add parsley and serve on a nice old fashioned platter

Shrooms in Foil

Writing this down so I don't forget. I was watching the chef at Maru in Tokyo make a dish with little foil packets, including some white fish and vegetables, miso and maybe some wine. Anyway, I need to do this with some good forest mushrooms that I have on hand.

enoki mushrooms
king oyster mushrooms
yuzu chili paste
miso
sake
chives
garlic
shallot
maldon sea salt

1. put all ingredients in a foil
2. fold into little packets very tightly so air cannot escape
3. either put this in a cast iron pan or in the oven and cook 15 minutes or so

Tokyo Observations

Another visit, more discoveries. M&M loved it too.

• Gochizen (Minato-ku): with so many restaurants to choose from in Tokyo it isn't surprising that they must find a niche; here it is best quality organic veggies and a special breed of pork supplied directly from a farm. First up was a bagna cauda with an assortment of vegetables, most notably this green leafy mache-looking vegetable with what looked like a solidified mist covering its surface. Then came the house specialty which was roast rolled filet of pork with forest mushrooms and clarified butter with baby leek and chives. 
• Sushi Kanesaka (Ginza): sushi-master Takao Ishiyama took good care of us with highlights like baby sardine with salt & yuzu, then a Spanish mackerel with chive oil, and a sea urchin that came au naturelle; we washed this down with a creamy foamy beer, then some recommended sake.
• Kawakami an (Aoyama): a very local place with a very sophi crowd, just hang a right before the Franc Franc store, down the lane. In a small, multi-story house with top floor outdoor terrace; great for small dishes, including a very cool baby weiners and mustard, but best know for its soba. Colleagues asked for the special noodle sauce, made with walnuts.
• Bamboo (Nishi Azabu): a very casual little izakaya suggested by Quinn on one of my favorite little Tokyo streets, full of cozy and intimate restaurants, probably wonderful in winter. This was just a stop off on the way to dinner, so we had a beer, fried prawns & spicy mayo, then some octopus sashimi & wasabi.
• Ukai-tei (Ginza): a good Teppanyaki place recommended by colleagues for next time.
• Kigoji (Ginza): good for shabu-shabu....again, next time.