Dressed Castelfranco

Tonight I decided that castelfranco is probably my favorite radicchio. Somewhere between a traditional radicchio and crispy lettuce, it has just the right balance between sweet and bitter. Dinner at Domani tonight was special because they invited guest chef Jacob Kennedy from London's Boca di Lupo, one of my favorites. Andrea the chef introduced me to Jacob, I mentioned to him that I used to buy castelfranco from Gelupo, the store next door to his restaurant in London. Once the veal tartare and truffle was served, chef Jacob surprised me with a lovely castelfranco salad to accompany the suckling pig, grapes and chestnuts. This is the way he made it.

castelfranco leaves
best quality EVOO
best quality balsamic
toasted young peeled almonds (or hazelnuts)
maldon sea salt
ground pepper

1. make vinaigrette, toss with castelfranco
2. roughly chop almonds, sprinkle over salad

Tonight's Dinner

A casual dinner with the girls tonight: Alice visiting from London, Virginie from Geneva and the wife. A lovely time had by all.

• bresaola bombs
• leek vinaigrette David
• carrottes rappees and mimolette cubes
• cured cucumbers, yoghurt & dill
• tarragon & cornichon celeri remoulade, smoked salmon
• parmesan polenta & foie gras d'oie
• Virginie's Mandarin Oriental cheese cake

Paris Observations

A few places that pleased this last trip.

• Camelia (1st): Guy Martin's bistro at the Mandarin, absolutely perfect for a summer day as there is a quiet terrace in the courtyard of the hotel. Highlights were an open ravioli with dressed turtle meat, a squid ink orzo with a lemongrass and ginger emulsion and braised summer greens.
• Les Boquinistes (6th): a Guy Savoy bistrot on the Quai des Grands Augustins, a good standby and bargain if in the neighborhood and craving a table with a view. Our meal wasn't extraordinary but very good quality. Best dish was an amuse bouche of cold pea soup and whipped almond cream.
• Brasserie Thoumieux (7th): a pleasant surprise; what used to be a tired old brasserie and hotel is now the bistrot of Jean-Francoise Piege's (ex-Crillion and Ducasse) more elaborate two star restaurant upstairs. Thoumieux focuses on comfort food, including a unique calamari carbonara which I will reproduce soon, essentially a spaghetti carbonara replacing the pasta with long slices of squid. Michelle had an Asian-inspired broth with cod, cilantro and tiny cubes of foie gras. Unexpected and fun. The dessert of banana, vacherin glace and lime foam was also fresh and fun.

Pea & Almond Cream Veloute

Had this at Les Bouquinistes in Paris, one of Guy Savoy's bistrots. A rather unremarkable meal overall but this little amuse bouche was impressive. This is roughly what I made out the chef to make in his tiny and noisy kitchen.

fresh or frozen peas
chicken broth
white onion
maldon sea salt
ground pepper
single cream
almond essence

1. make a pea veloute using all above ingredients except whipping cream and almond essence. Pass through a sieve a couple times so that it is nice and smooth, refrigerate.
2. make whipped cream using the latter two ingredients, refrigerate
3. fill a tea cup with pea veloute, then add a nice dollop of the almond cream and serve

Fleischwurst & Munster Salad

Loving this. The result of my visit to the fridge first eating a half slice of supermarket munster, then sneaking a piece of Manou's fleischwurst which the butcher always gives her. The flavor combo is gutsy and tasty. Wurst salad is commonplace in these parts, but interested in taking it to another level. Will refine more, hence, subject to some amendments! Serve very cold!

best quality fleischwurst
best quality munster (more solid variety)
apple cider vinegar
neutral oil
chopped chives
chopped cornichons
ground black pepper

1. cut wurst and cheese into cubes approximately the same size
2. dress with oil, vinegar, chives and cornichons
3. season with black pepper, let marinate a couple hours before serving

Formentera Observations

More thanks to Michelle for these great finds.

• Juan Y Andrea (Playa Illetas): the perfect restaurant on a white sand and turquoise water beach, with a swish crowd of yachters and fashionistas. Great food including a sea bass baked in sea salt, the house specialty. A bit of a scene at weekends, but still so much to like!
• Can Carlos (San Fracesc): one of my favorite places, very inviting outdoor terrace with cozy lighting. Lots of nice pastas, including a spaghetti langoustine. My pulpo and potatoes included black olive, an original touch. But the best dish is their famous carpaccio, which is briefly roasted in their wood-burning oven, so that the beef is slightly seared all around. Roasted rosemary, bay leaf and sage adorn the carpaccio, which can be doctored up further at the table with olive oil, salt and ground pepper. Absolute simplicity.
• Chezz Gerdi (Es Pujols):  the only night time haunt on the beach that we found; great ambiance, with focus on Italian food. 

Pesto by Pino

As good as any pesto I've tasted, even in Liguria.  Adding just a little something- in this case some broth, single cream, scallions and an anchovy, the pesto is completely transformed. Not sure a Ligurian would approve, but I'm happy to side with Pino the Puglian on this one!

pesto recipe (see previous entry)
1-2 tblsp of panna (or single cream)
1-2 tblsp of brodo
2-3 scallion tops
1 anchovy

1. add in panna, brodo, scallions and anchovy and blitz
2. put in a pan, place on very low heat
3. add cooked pasta almost immediately, adding a bit of pasta water to loosen up the sauce (keep heat very low otherwise you will end up with a pesto that separates and becomes gooey).