akifoodwine

Clementine Sorbet

2011-11-14T04:23:00.001-08:00

The use of fructose (fruit sugar) instead of sucrose in this sorbet gives it an incredible tangy flavour.
I was not totally happy with the way it froze though, probably due to the high water content of the juice. More work to follow.

Ingredients for the clementine sorbet:
750 g clementine juice (about 2.5 kilos of clementines)
125 g fructose
One leaf of gelatin

Preparing the clementine sorbet:
Half the clementines and squeeze the juice out of them. Bloom the gelatin leaf in a bit of cold water.
Put the fructose and 125 g of the clementine juice (passed through a sieve) into a sauce pan. Bring to the boil until the fructose dissolves. Squeeze as much water as possible from the gelatin and add it to the sauce pan while stirring to dissolve. Take off the heat. Add the rest of the juice (passed through a sieve) to the pan.
Transfer to a jug and store in the fridge until very cold.
Pour the mixture into your ice-cream machine and churn for 20-30 minutes until frozen.

Slow Cooked Fillet Steak, Pommes Puree, Braised Shallots, Veal Jus

2011-10-03T15:44:00.000-07:00

This was a nice dinner where I got to use a few different techniques.
I wanted to make a salad or something green to go with it but ran out of space and time.
Cooking the fillet steak at around 60 degrees C in the oven for a fairly long time (55 minutes) ensures that 95 % of the steak is medium rare (around 56 degrees C core temperature) and you also get a very uniform result throughout the steak.
It's important to use a fairly hot pan when you sear the steak before roasting them in the oven since this step have to happen very quickly so you don't overcook the steak.
The sauce is quite simple, just sauteing some mirepoix and then reducing veal stock. It has a fantastic umami flavor that really complements the beef.

This recipe serves two persons.

Ingredients for the steak:
2 fillet steaks, 175 gram each.
Groundnut oil (or other neutral oil with high smoking point)
Salt
Pepper

Preparing the steak:
Bring the steak out of the fridge at least one hour before cooking to ensure that the steaks come up to room temperature. Cooking the steaks from cold will lower the temperature of the pan.
Turn on the oven to 60 degrees C, preferably use an oven thermometer to monitor the temperature.
Heat a frying pan on high heat.
Oil, then salt and pepper the steaks on all sides.
Have a small oven tray ready for the steaks.
When the frying pan is very hot, sear the steaks one by one on all sides. It's easiest to hold the steaks with a tonge when doing this step. This step should take maximum 30 seconds per steak. Once seared all over put steaks on oven tray.
Transfer to middle of the oven and roast for 55 minutes. Half way through the cooking time flip the steaks over.
Once removed from the oven let the steaks rest on a rack for a few minutes.

Ingredients for the braised shallots:
6 shallots, peeled with root area left intact
500 ml chicken stock
1 sprigs of thyme
2 garlic cloves, peeled
25 g butter
Rapeseed oil
Salt
Pepper

Preparing the braised shallots:
Saute the shallots in a bit of oil until golden brown all around. Add the butter, thyme and garlic and cook for another two minutes.
Add the chicken stock, cover and let simmer gently for about 25 minutes or until the shallots are very soft and tender.
Check for seasoning.

Ingredients for the pommes puree:
500 g Ratte potatoes (or Charlottes), scrubbed but not cleaned.
125 g unsalted butter, chilled
125 ml whole milk
Salt
White pepper

Preparing the pommes puree:
Cover the potatoes with 1 liter of cold water and 0.5 tablespoon of course salt. Bring to the boil and once it reached the boiling point lower the temperature to a simmer and cover with a lid.
Boil the potatoes for 25 minutes. Drain and peel.
Put the potatoes (while still warm) through a potato ricer or a mouli fitted with the finest disk into a clean saucepan.
Put the mashed potatoes over a medium heat and stir vigorously with a spatula for 5 minutes to dry out the flesh a bit.
Meanwhile rinse a small saucepan with water, pour it out (do not wipe dry) then add the milk. Warm the milk until boiling point and then take it off the heat.
Lower heat for the potato pan to low. Add the butter bit by bit while stirring with spatula, keep adding until it's all incorporated and the puree is homogenous.The potato and butter might separate a bit at this stage but keep stirring and it will come together.
Add the milk in a thin stream while stirring briskly. When all the milk is incorporated you should have a silky smooth puree. If you want it even smoother you can pass it through a fine sieve.
Check for seasoning.

Ingredients for the veal jus:
1 carrot, diced
1 leek (white part only), diced
0.5 medium onion, diced
1 sprig of thyme
Rapeseed oil
Red wine (Cab Sauv, Merlot, Shiraz or something similar)
300 ml veal stock
Salt
Pepper

Preparing the veal jus:
Heat a saute pan (preferably the same one you cooked the steaks in) to medium high heat. Add a splash of oil and then saute the carrot, leeks and onions until golden brown, add the sprig of thyme. Deglaze with a generous splash of red wine. Boil until red wine is evaporated.
Add the veal stock and let this simmer for a few minutes. When the sauce had a bit of body, pass through a sieve into a small sauce pan. Reduce further until you achieve a semi-sticky consistency.

Fig and Hazelnut Sourdough Bread

2011-08-21T15:43:00.000-07:00

Risotto ai Funghi di Bosco

2011-08-15T15:16:00.000-07:00

This is a great risotto, especially if you love mushrooms.

This makes enough for at least 4 persons.

Ingredients for the mushroom risotto:
1.5 litres chicken (or vegetable) stock
140 g unsalted butter
4 shallots, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
200 g chestnut mushrooms, chopped
25 g dried porcini mushrooms
25 g dried galetti mushrooms (optional)
1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
1 tbsp fresh marjoram, chopped
150 ml dry white wine or vermouth
500 g Carnaroli risotto rice
75 g freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Salt
Pepper

Preparing the mushroom risotto:
Put the stock in a saucepan and heat to a gentle simmer. Put the dried mushrooms in a bowl and poor over enough hot water to cover. Let stand for 20-30 minutes and then sieve the mushrooms over another bowl. Keep the soaking liquor. Rinse the soaked mushrooms under cold water then chop them roughly.
Melt 100 g of the butter in a large, heavy saucepan and then add the shallots and garlic. Cook gently for about 10 minutes until soft, golden but not browned. Stir in the mushrooms and herbs then cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes to heat through. Salt and pepper.
Pour in the wine and boil hard until it has reduced and almost disappeared. This will remove the taste of raw alcohol. Add about 100 ml of the mushroom soaking liquor and boil a bit longer until this has reduced.
Stir in the rice and fry with the onion and mushrooms until dry and slightly opaque.

Begin adding the stock, one ladle at a time, stirring until each ladle has been absorbed by the rice. Continue until the rice is tender and creamy but still with some bite. This takes about 20 minutes.

Add the rest of the mushroom soaking liquor to a small saucepan and put on high heat to reduce.

Taste and season the risotto well with salt and pepper.
Stir in the parmesan and the remaining butter (cubed into small cubes). Cover the saucepan and let rest for a couple of minutes.

Serve the risotto in warmed bowls. Spoon a bit of the reduced mushroom liquor on top to give extra mushroom flavor. Drizzle a bit of extra virgin olive oil and finally shave some Parmesan on top and finish with a few turns of the black pepper mill.

Barbequed Chicken with Chili-Aioli

2011-05-14T13:52:00.000-07:00

I woke today to a pleasant surprise - Delivery of my very own barbeque!
Barbequeing brings back fond memories of my childhood in Sweden where everyone barbeques as soon as the sun manage to stay up for more than a few hours. We did a lot of barbequeing in my family, at one point I think we had something like three DYI barbeques built with bricks scattered around the garden.

This is the first thing I cooked on the Weber. Gutsy flavours for sure but that's what you want sometimes.

I pared it with quite a heady Marsanne which worked quite well. Could also go with a medium bodied red wine.

This makes enough for about 3-4 persons.

Ingredients for the barbequed chicken:
700 g chicken breast fillets

2 garlic cloves
1 lime
Half a red chili
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp smoked paprika powder
A few dashes of Tamari soy sauce
Salt (Smoked Sea Salt if you have it)
Pepper

Preparing the barbequed chicken:
Start by preparing the marinade. Press the garlic cloves and the lime into a bowl. De-seed and finely chop the chili. Mix in the chili and the rest of the ingredients.

Cut the chicken fillets into 2 cm big cubes. Put them into the marinade, mix around to make them all coated by marinade. Put some cling film on top of the bowl and marinade in the fridge for at least 2-3 hours, preferably more. Take it out about once per hour and mix it around a bit if you can be bothered.

Take it out of the fridge 30 minutes before you want to start cooking it.
Put on skewers and barbeque for about 6-10 minutes. Turning the skewers halfway through.

Ingredients for the potatoes:
750 g Jersey Royal potatoes
A few sprigs of thyme
2 cloves of garlic
5 black peppercorns
Salt

Preparing the potatoes:
Put a pot of water on to a rolling bowl. Add about a small handful of sea salt to it. You want the water to be quite salty, a bit like sea water. Leave the skin on the garlic but crush them a bit with a chef knife. Add the garlic to the pot with the thyme and peppercorns.
Add the potatoes and let them boil for 15 minutes.
Drain and let cool.
When you are ready to barbeque put the potatoes on and turn them regularly. They will be ready in about 6-10 minutes.

Ingredients for the chili-aioli:
2 egg yolks (if you live in the UK I recommend Burford Brown Clarence Court eggs), at room temperature
2 garlic cloves
1 - 2 limes
250 ml groundnut oil (or any other neutral oil), at room temperature
0.25 tsp red chili paste
Salt (Smoked Sea Salt if you have it)
Pepper
A bit of cayenne pepper

Preparing the chili-aioli:
Press the garlic and one of the limes into a glass bowl. Add salt and pepper, egg yolks and chili paste. Whisk together with a balloon whisk.
Slowly add the oil first to ensure that the emulsion is forming, whisking constantly. Whisk until all the oil has been incorporated.
Check for seasoning and some cayenne pepper if it's not hot enough. Add more salt, pepper, lime juice if needed.

The Stone

2011-05-10T15:53:00.000-07:00

Let the baking begin!

Chocolate Ice-Cream with Raspberries

2011-05-08T08:20:00.000-07:00

Chocolate ice cream is always great and if you make it with a good chocolate it will be fantastic.
As a Swedish TV-chef says: "Ingredients, ingredients, ingredients".
I couldn't agree more. :-)
I used Valrhona Guanaja 70 % chocolate that you can buy in 200 g bars for cooking with. The chocolate taste fantastic and melts beautifully into the Creme Anglaise, creating a silky smooth ice cream without any graininess.
I recently started using Clarence Court Burford Brown eggs. They are fantastic eggs with a deep yellow orange yolk.

This makes enough for about 2-3 persons.

Ingredients for the chocolate ice cream:
100 g chocolate (50 - 70 %), finely chopped
70 g caster sugar
3 medium egg yolks
150 ml double cream
150 ml whole milk

Preparing the chocolate ice cream:
Bring the cream, milk and 46 g of the sugar slowly to the boil in preferably a non stick pot while stirring occasionally. At the same time, whisk together the egg yolks and 24 g of the sugar in a glass bowl until it reaches light ribbon consistency.
Temper the yolk mixture by slowly poring over the warm milk mixture while whisking vigorously, when the first bit of milk is incorporated you can poor a bit quicker. A bit like making a mayonnaise.
You have to go slow at the beginning so that you don't scramble the eggs.
When all the milk is incorporated poor the mixture back into the pot and heat gently over a low to medium heat while stirring with a wooden or silicone spatula. A bit like making a risotto.
When the custard thickens a bit draw a line with your finger through the custard on the spatula. If your finger leaves a line without the custard flowing back together it's finished. Take it off the heat and stir in the chocolate. Stir until the chocolate is melted.
Set a glass or metal bowl into your sink or a bigger bowl and fill the sink with cold water and a few ice cubes. Poor the chocolate custard into the small bowl through a fine meshed sieve or chinois.
Stir occasionally until the custard is cooled down.
Freeze the custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Ingredients for the raspberries:
300 g raspberries
25 g caster sugar
1 lemon

Preparing the raspberries:
Put the raspberries in a bowl and poor sugar and lemon juice over them. With a light hand, toss together the raspberries with the sugar and lemon juice.
Leave to macerate for 30 minutes in room temperature. This will boost the flavor of the raspberries.

Sourdough Bread

2011-05-03T16:15:00.000-07:00

This is my first attempt at making sourdough bread using my homegrown sourdough starter based on water and rye flour.

How to make a rye sourdough starter.

Making a sourdough starter is quite easy. It takes about 5 days until the sourdough starter is ready to use for baking.

You need a jar to keep your sourdough in. I used a 0.5 liter glass Kilner jar. Make sure that the jar is clean and sterilized before you begin.
Once the sourdough starter is finished it needs to be fed about once a week (even though you can leave it for longer). I throw away most of the starter when I feed it, I keep about 50 g in the jar (weigh the empty jar so that you can weigh it with the starter to see how much starter it contains).
I feed it once a week with 60 g rye flour and 100 g tepid water to 50 g starter.

Day 1
Mix 1 tbsp rye flour (I use stoneground organic rye flour) with two tbsp tepid water (30 - 35 C, I use Evian spring water) in your jar. Put the jar in a warm place (between 22 - 25 degrees).
If you have a cupboard above your fridge this is a good place since it's a bit warm.
Do not close the lid, leave it slightly open.
Leave the jar for 24 hours.

Day 2
Look at the sourdough starter. It might be a bit bubbly and maybe a bit foamy. It should smell a bit sweet.
Gently shake the jar to mix it up a bit. That's it for day 2.

Day 3, Evening
It's time to feed the sourdough starter. Add 1 tbsp of rye flour to the jar and mix well. We will leave the jar for about 10 hours and then feed it again.

Day 4, Morning
It's time to feed the sourdough starter for the last time before it's ready. At this stage it should be bubbly and a bit mousse like in it's consistency.
We need to throw away some of the starter to get the right ratio. If there is a lot of starter it will require more food (flour and water).
Throw away most of the starter, leave about 1 cm at the bottom of the jar.
Feed it with 2 tbsp tepid water and 2 tbsp rye flour. Leave the jar in a warm place.

Day 4, Evening
The sourdough starter is now finished. Keep the sourdough starter in the fridge. If your jar has a rubber seal, take it off so that the starter can get a small supply of air even though the lid is closed.

The sourdough starter on Day 1, nighttime.

The final sourdough starter fed the night before the baking. Day 6.

12 hours later. The sourdough starter is alive and bubbling. Day 7.

Mixed with water, salt, stoneground rye flour and strong wheat flour. Left to proof for 2-3 hours.

After 2 hours of proofing.

Dough in 1.5 liter loaf tin. Left to proof for 1 hour.

After 1 hour of proofing.

Me and the bread having fun. :-)

After baking. Returned to oven sans loaf tin for another 10 minutes to further bake the crust.

Final sourdough bread.

Wild Yeast

2011-04-26T16:23:00.000-07:00

Wild Apricot Yeast, Day 1
125 g dried organic apricots (the brown ones, not yellow)
50 g honey (locally sourced, not runny)
25 g sugar
250 g tepid spring water (Evian)

Day 5
After five days in the jar we can see that the apricots have plumped up nicely and are floating on the surface. When shaking the jar lots of small bubbles (like Champagne) rise to the surface.
The liquid smells a bit boozy, like a liqueur.

The mixture is sieved.
This recipe yielded 150 ml finished wild yeast.

Finally decanted into a bottle. Apparently it will keep for about 2 months in the fridge but the yeast power will be best withing a month.

Jersey Royal Potato Salad

2011-04-18T15:31:00.001-07:00

It's Spring and the arrival of Jersey Royal potatoes is a true delight.
Here I turn them into a quick and easy potato salad for a weekday supper. Serve the potato salad for instance with a few slices of prosciutto crudo.

This serves about two as a main course.

Ingredients for mayonnaise:
2 medium egg yolks (free range please)
1 tsp Dijon mustard
2 pinches of salt
1 pinch of cayenne pepper
300 ml groundnut oil (or other unscented oil)
1 lemon

Ingredients for the potato salad:
750 g Jersey Royal potatoes
A few salad onions

Preparing the mayonnaise:
With a balloon whisk - Whisk the egg yolks, mustard, salt and cayenne together in a glass bowl. Gradually, at a very slow trickle, whisk in the oil. This early stage is the most delicate and if you do not mix in the oil very slowly the mayonnaise might curdle.
When you mixed in about half the oil, whisk in the lemon juice from half the lemon to thin it down. Continue adding the oil, you can add it quicker at this stage, until it's all incorporated.
Check for seasoning and correct with more salt, cayenne or lemon juice if needed.

Preparing the potato salad:
Boil a pot of water, add about a small handful of salt and then the potatoes to the boiling water. They will take about 15 - 20 minutes until tender. When done, drain and place on a tray to cool down to room temperature.
When they potatoes have cooled down, cut them into bite sized pieces and add to a bowl. Thinly slice the salad onions, as much as you prefer, and toss it together with the potatoes. Add some salt and pepper and mix well with a healthy dose of the mayo.

Raspberry Sorbet

2011-04-05T14:09:00.000-07:00

This is a wonderful and incredibly fruity sorbet, especially when raspberries are in season.

Ingredients for the raspberry sorbet:
600 g raspberries
100 g caster sugar
Freshly squeezed lemon juice from about half a lemon

Preparing the raspberry sorbet:
Wash the raspberries. Put them in a bowl and sprinkle with the sugar and lemon juice, mixing as you go so all the raspberries are covered by sugar and lemon juice.
Set aside to macerate for 30 minutes at room temperature (this will boost the flavor of the raspberries).
Puree the macerated raspberries in a blender. Push the mixture through a fine sieve into a clean bowl to get rid of the seeds.
Pour the raspberry puree into your ice-cream machine and churn for 20-30 minutes until frozen.

White Chicken Stock

2011-03-31T14:17:00.000-07:00

White chicken stock is chicken stock where the chicken carcass or whatever you are using have been blanched instead of being roasted or sauteed.
By blanching the chicken first some of the fat and impurities gets removed and can easily be discarded with the blanching water, this results in a clearer stock.
After the stock has been made it's important to store it in the refrigerator overnight. This makes the fat set on the surface of the stock where it can then be scraped off and discarded. After that the stock can be stored in the fridge for up to five days or the freezer for about three months. Make sure you mark the container you are storing the stock in with the date it was made.

The stock can of course be used for a variety of uses... stocks, braising vegetables, cooking lentils, sauces etc. etc.
It's a bit of work but it's so much better than stock you can buy in the supermarket!

This recipe yields about 1.5 liter of stock.

Ingredients for the white chicken stock:
1.5 kg chicken wings (preferably organic)
200 g carrots, cut into chunks
2 leeks, white part only, cut into chunks
Half a celery stalk, coarsely chopped
1 onion, studded with 2 cloves
150 g button mushrooms, thinly sliced
Six whole black peppercorns
1 bouquet garni (one leek leaf, six parsley stalks, one bay leaf, one sprig of thyme. Herbs wrapped in the leek leaf and tied at both ends with kitchen string.)

Preparing the white chicken stock:
Start by blanching the chicken wings. Put them in a casserole or stock pot (at least 6-7 liters big), cover with 3 liters of cold water. Put the pot on high heat and bring to the boil. Simmer for 5 minutes. Remove the chicken wings from the pot with tongs or a spoon, put into a large colander and rinse thoroughly under cold water. Set aside and throw away the water in the pot and wash it out. The reason why we remove the chicken wings from the pot in this way is to not poor the impurities and scum from the pan over them while in the colander.
Return the chicken wings to the pot and cover with 2.5 liters cold water. Bring to the boil over a low heat and then immediately lower the heat and keep at a simmer.

After 5 minutes of simmering, skim the surface of foam and fat, then add all the other ingredients.
Cook gently for 2 hours, skimming the surface whenever necessary to keep the stock as clear as possible.
Put a bowl large enough to hold the stock in the sink or in a larger bowl. Fill the sink (or bowl) with cold water and add a few ice cubes.
Strain the stock into the smaller bowl through a chinois (a fine-meshed conical sieve) lined with muslin. Let cool in the bowl.
Transfer to a container and put in the fridge overnight. The next day you can easily remove any fat that will at this point have gathered at the surface of the stock.
Refridgerate and use withing 4 or 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months (I mark the container with painters tape so that I can write the contents and date produced).

Pasta with Chorizo

2011-03-07T15:04:00.000-08:00

This is one of those pasta dishes that I make time after time again since it's so tasty and satisfying, and quick enough to make on a weeknight.

I can really recommend San Marzano D.O.P tinned plum tomatoes if you can get hold of them, they are amazing.

This recipe makes enough for two to three persons.

Ingredients for pasta with chorizo:
250 g dried pasta (fettuccine or tagliatelle)
100 g chorizo, diced
250 g mushrooms, diced
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 - 2 normal sized red onions, chopped
1 (400 g) tins of Italian plum tomatoes, chopped
5 fresh plum tomatoes, skinned and diced
1 tsp of tomato puree
1/2 tsp crushed chili flakes
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1 - 1.5 tsp hot smoked paprika
About 5 - 10 basil leaves, torn
1 tsp dried oregano
1 - 2 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley (plus extra for garnish)
40 g butter
Olive oil
Sea salt (preferably Maldon)
Black pepper

Preparing pasta with chorizo:
Put a large pot of water on the hob for the pasta.
Heat some olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Sweat the onions for about 5 minutes and then add the garlic. Add the diced fresh plum tomatoes if using and then the tinned plum tomatoes and the tomato puree. Add the oregano, cayenne pepper and chili flakes. Let the sauce boil for about 10 minutes until slightly thickened.
Heat another frying pan over medium to high heat, add a bit of olive oil and then saute the diced chorizo. After a few minutes add half the butter. When the butter is melted transfer the chorizo to the sauce using a slotted spoon. Add the mushrooms to the frying pan and saute them off, season with a bit of salt and pepper, add the rest of the butter to the mushrooms. When the mushrooms look finished add them to the sauce together with the butter and juices. Add the smoked paprika to the sauce together with the parsley and basil.
Boil the pasta.
Drain pasta when it's al dente and toss with some extra virgin olive oil (this prevents the pasta from sticking). Add the cooked pasta to the pan with the sauce and toss to combine (alternatively poor the sauce on top of the pasta in the bowls).
Serve the pasta in warmed bowls. Grate over some parmigiano reggiano, drizzle over some extra virgin olive oil, a bit of milled black pepper. Add some chopped parsley and a few basil leaves.

Steak with Potato Wedges and Sauce Béarnaise

2011-01-04T15:29:00.000-08:00

Ingredients for the potato wedges:
3 medium to large sized potatoes per person (I used Maris Piper)
Handful or so of fresh rosemary twigs
A few sprigs of fresh thyme
Two garlic cloves
Olive oil
Salt (preferably Maldon)
Pepper

Preparing the potato wedges:
Bring a pot of water to the boil and put in the thyme sprigs and garlic gloves (with their skins on but crush them a bit with a knife).
Turn the oven on to 200 C. Peel the potatoes and slice each one into six wedges. Put the wedges into the boiling water and let them boil for 5 - 10 minutes. Drain and discard the thyme and garlic.
Put the wedges on an oven tray, drizzle olive oil on top and mix them up a bit so they are all covered by oil. Turn the wedges so that the sharp edge is facing upwards. Season with salt and pepper. Tear off as rosemary leaves and distribute evenly over the potatoes.
Roast in the oven for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes turn the oven to grill, 225 C, to get a nice crispy exterior. After about 5 minutes under the grill the potatoes should be ready.
Turn off the oven and leave the door slightly ajar if you need to keep them warm.

Ingredients for the salad:
Rocket salad leaves
Baby plum tomatoes

Preparing the salad:
Cut the tomatoes in two, combine with the rocket leaves. Dress with the vinaigrette.

Ingredients for the vinaigrette:
50 ml Champagne vinegar
150 ml extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Preparing the vinaigrette:
Make sure that the oil and vinegar is at room temperature since this makes it easier to form the emulsion. Whisk the vinegar and oil together in a bowl until a good emulsion is formed. Season with salt and pepper. It's better to prepare the vinaigrette 1-3 hours before needed to let the flavors meld.

More to follow...

Scrambled Eggs

2010-12-30T15:56:00.000-08:00

Scrambled eggs is one of my favorite things for weekend breakfast.
I like them quite rich and luscious, served on toasted sourdough bread with some minced chives and fleur de sel sprinkled on top.
A note on butter: I always use unsalted butter when cooking. This gives me more control over seasoning.

This serves two persons.

Ingredients for the scrambled eggs:
4 large eggs (organic and free range, bien sûr)
35 g or so of butter
2 tsp of creme fraiche
Salt
Pepper
Chives, very finely chopped (optional)
Fleur de Sel (optional)

Preparing the scrambled eggs:
Crack the eggs into a small to medium thick bottomed sauce pan. Add about 25 g of the butter and a pinch of salt. Put on the hob over medium to low heat. Stir to combine. Once the eggs are combined leave for 10 seconds without stirring. This will make the curds bigger. Stir continuously and repeat the 10 second stirring break a few more times. If the eggs seems to scramble too quickly take the sauce pan of the heat. When the scrambled eggs are almost as done as you like them take the pan off the heat. Stir in the remaining sliver of butter if you want and add the creme fraiche. The creme fraiche gives the scrambled eggs a little bit of acidity and a nice creamy texture. Stir in a bit of freshly milled pepper if you wish. Check seasoning and adjust if necessary.
Put the scrambled eggs on toasted bread and top with a tiny sprinkle of fleur de sel (a nice texture contrast and burst of saltiness) and the chives.

Pasta Puttanesca

2010-12-30T14:17:00.000-08:00

Pasta Puttanesca is a tasty pasta sauce originating from Rome.
I use a fairly traditional recipe with some of my own tweaks. What pasta to have it with is varying for me, but normally it's penne, rigatoni, spaghetti or linguine. It's a great and quick everyday pasta sauce.

This makes enough for 4 persons as a main course.

Ingredients for pasta puttanesca:
500 g dried pasta
5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp crushed chili flakes
Pinch of cayenne pepper
4 garlic cloves, finely sliced
6 anchovy fillets, drained and chopped
2 (400 g) tins of Italian plum tomatoes, chopped
1 tsp of tomato puree
3 fresh plum tomatoes, skinned and diced (optional)
150 g pitted black olives, thickly sliced
1 to 2 tbsp capers, drained and rinsed
About 5 - 10 basil leaves, torn
1 tsp dried oregano
1 - 2 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley (optional)
Sea salt (preferably Maldon)
Black pepper

Preparing pasta puttanesca:
Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium to high heat. Add the chili flakes, cayenne, garlic and anchovies to the pan. Cook, stirring constantly using a wooden spoon, until the anchovies have disintegrated. This will take about 5 minutes.
Add the tomatoes, tomato puree and dried oregano if using and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened. This will take about 15 minutes. At this stage you can also put the pasta in the pot so it's ready at about the same time as the sauce.
About 5-10 minutes before the sauce is finished add the basil, olives, capers and parsley if using.
Also check for seasoning and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Drain pasta when it's al dente and toss with some extra virgin olive oil (this prevents the pasta from sticking). Add the cooked pasta to the pan with the sauce and toss to combine (alternatively poor the sauce on top of the pasta in the bowls).
Serve the pasta in warmed bowls. Grate over some parmigiano reggiano, drizzle over some extra virgin olive oil, a bit of milled black pepper. Add some chopped parsley and a few basil leaves.

Margarita

2010-12-30T12:43:00.000-08:00

Margarita was the first tequila based cocktail I made. I really liked it. The earthy notes from the tequila, the sweetness from the orange liqueur and the citrus acidity from the lime works really well together to make a balanced and sophisticated cocktail.
For the tequila I used El Tesoro Bianco which is considered to be one of the best tequilas. My previous experiences with tequila was mostly with shots and the occasional glass of añejo. El Tesoro was indeed fantastic, although I think I still prefer sipping single malt to tequila bianco.
Either way, try to use an 100 % agave bottling to give your Margarita that extra smoothness.
When it comes to the salted rim, personally I don't like it since I think the salt is too aggressive in taste and distracts from the cocktail. I will make my next Margarita without it.

Ingredients for one Martini glass:
45 ml tequila
30 ml orange liqueur (I used Cointreau)
15 ml freshly squeezed lime juice

Lime wheel for garnish

How to make it:
Put the Martini glass in the freezer for a bit to make it cold. Salt the rim of the glass if desired.
Shake ingredients with ice, fine strain into the chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with the lime wheel.

Garlic Confit

2010-12-06T12:11:00.001-08:00

Garlic confit is a great pantry staple and very easy to make. It can be used to flavour mashed potatoes, stirred into soup or simply spread on a piece of toasted baguette. The garlic confit can be stored in the fridge for about a month (completely submerged in the oil) and the oil can be used for other purposes, for instance dressings.

Ingredients for the garlic confit:
About 45 peeled garlic cloves (roughly equal in size)
About 500 ml rapeseed oil

Preparing the garlic confit:
Place the peeled garlic cloves in a small saucepan and add enough oil to cover them by about 2 cm. Make sure that none of the garlic cloves are poking through the oil, if necessary add more oil.
Place the saucepan over medium-low heat. If you have a gas burner use a diffuser to lower the heat. The garlic should cook very gently, look out for very small bubbles in the oil.
Cook for about 40 minutes and give the cloves a stir every 5 minutes or so. After 40 minutes pick up one of the cloves with your spoon and pierce it with a paring knife, it should be completely tender if they are done.
Remove from the heat and let the garlic cool in the oil.
Transfer to a jar and poor over the oil, make sure that the garlic confit is submerged in the oil. Refrigerate for up to one month.

Tarte Tatin

2010-11-21T13:51:00.000-08:00

Tarte Tatin is one of my favorite desserts. The sumptuous combination of tart apples, sweet caramel och crispy pastry is great after a dinner in the autumn.
I used Golden Delicious apples for my Tarte Tatin since they are the type of apples typically used. Either way, use firm dessert apples and not cooking apples since you want the apples to keep their shape and not disintegrate too much.

Ingredients for the tarte tatin:
1 kilo apples (preferably Golden Delicious)
1 tbsp vanilla sugar
1 tsp pectin powder
100 g unsalted butter
200 ml caster sugar
All butter puff pastry, rolled out to a 32 cm disc.

Vanilla ice cream for serving

Preparing the tarte tatin:
Peel and core the apples, then cut them into 2 mm slices. Mix the vanilla sugar and pectin powder and then mix together with the apples. The pectin binds the juice from the apples during the baking so the tarte doesn't end up too sticky.
Melt the butter in a cast iron frying pan (about 22 cm in diameter) over medium heat. Poor over the sugar and let it melt to a brownish caramel.
Distribute the apple slices in the pan in a circular fashion. Press them down a bit to make the tarte even. Cover with a lid and let the apples stew for 10 minutes, remove the lid and cook for about another 10 minutes. Take the pan off the heat and let the apples cool to room temperature.
Put the pastry over the pan and press it down over the apples. Clean up the edges with a paring knife. Pierce the pastry with a fork all over.
Put the pan in the fridge for 30 minutes. Turn on the oven, 225 C.
Put the pan in the middle of the oven for 15 minutes. Lower the heat to 175 C and bake for another 20 minutes until the pastry is nice and golden.
Take the pan out of the oven and let it cool for 10 minutes.
Flip the tarte upside-down on a serving plate and serve.

Via Collina Falanghina 2009

2010-09-01T15:41:00.000-07:00

This has to be one of the best wines I had summer 2010.

A bit like Pinot Grigio or Soave. Zipping with freshness but not as acidic as a Sauv Blanc. A bit like a mix between a Chardonnay and Sauv Blanc.
Would go very well with fish, I had it on it's own.

£7.99 at Waitrose; 12.5 %.

Shallot-Cucumber Marmalade

2010-08-26T04:04:00.000-07:00

This marmalade goes excellent with for instance fish cakes.
Also try it with lamb burgers.

Ingredients for the shallot-cucumber marmalade:
185 g shallots
25 g butter
500 g water
60 g white wine vinegar
100 g sugar
7 g salt
1 cucumber, halved lengthwise and seeded
Black Pepper

Preparing the shallot-cucumber marmalade:
Cut the shallots into small dice. In a medium saucepan bring shallots, butter, water, vinegar, sugar and salt to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer until ingredients have cooked down and liquid have evaporated. Line a cake rack or tray with greaseproof paper. Spread the mixture onto the paper and chill well in the fridge.

Put the mixture into a bowl. Cut the cucumber into small dice. Fold into the chilled shallot mixture. Season with black pepper.

Vanilla Panna Cotta with Raspberry Coulis

2010-08-16T02:11:00.000-07:00

One of my favourite desserts.

Ingredients for the vanilla panna cotta:
50 ml whole milk
330 ml double cream
1.5 sheets of gelatin
55 g sugar
1.5 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
0.5 cap dark rum

Preparing the vanilla panna cotta:
Start by putting the ramekins you will use for the panna cotta in the fridge to cool them.
Bloom the gelatin sheets in a bowl of cold water for about 10 minutes, meanwhile mix the milk, cream and sugar in a medium saucepan and bring to the boil. Split the vanilla pods lengthwise and scrape the seeds into the mixture and also put in the vanilla pods. Take off the heat.
Take out the gelatin sheets from the water and squeeze them to get rid of as much water as possible. Drop them into the mixture and stir constantly until the gelatin is fully dissolved. Pour in the rum.
Prepare an ice bath by putting a bit of cold water and ice cubes in a metal big bowl. But a jug inside the bowl and a fine mesh strainer on top. Strain the mixture into the jug and stir until the mixture thickens a bit, this will help to suspend the vanilla seeds.
Bring the ramekins out of the fridge and poor the mixture into them.
Cover with clingfilm and return to the fridge.
Allow at least 2 hours for the panna cotta to set.

Ingredients for the raspberry coulis:
300 g raspberries
75 g sugar
Juice from half a lemon

Preparing the raspberry coulis:
Whizz the raspberries in a food processor with the sugar and lemon juice until the sugar is dissolved and the coulis smooth. Taste and add more lemon juice or sugar if needed.
Pass through a fine sieve into a bowl, then transfer to a squeeze bottle for later juice.

Vanilla Ice Cream and Strawberry Coulis

2010-07-26T13:11:00.000-07:00

Classic and simple summer dessert.

Ingredients for the vanilla ice cream:
250 ml whole milk
500 ml double cream
6 large egg yolks
150 g sugar
Pinch of salt
1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preparing the vanilla ice cream:
Heat the sugar, salt, milk and 250 ml of the cream in a medium saucepan. When hot scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the saucepan with a paring knife, then add the bean pod to the saucepan.
Remove from the heat, cover with a lid and let the vanilla infuse at room temperature for 30 minutes.

To make the ice cream, set up an ice bath by placing a small bowl (enough for 2 l) in a larger bowl partially filled with ice cubes and water. Set a fine mesh strainer over the top of the smaller bowl and pour the rest of the cream into the bowl.

In a separate bowl, stir together the egg yolks. Rewarm the milk mixture then gradually pour some of the mixture into the yolks, whisking constantly as you pour. Scrape the warmed yolks and milk back into the saucepan.

Cook over low heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom with a heat-resistant spatula, until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of the spatula (draw a line with your finger across the spatula, if the custard doesn't float back together it's ready). You can use an instant read thermometer, it should read between 77 and 79 C when the custard is ready.

Strain the custard into the cream, add the vanilla extract and the vanilla bean then stir until cooled down.
Transfer to a jug and chill until thoroughly chilled (preferably overnight).

Remove the vanilla bean and freeze the custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Ingredients for the strawberry coulis:
250 g strawberries
50 g sugar
Juice from about half a small lemon

Preparing the strawberry coulis:
Rinse and hull the strawberries. Whizz them in a food processor with the sugar and lemon juice until the sugar is dissolved and the coulis smooth. Taste and add more lemon juice or sugar if needed.
Pass through a fine sieve into a bowl, then transfer to a squeeze bottle for later juice.

Salted Butter Caramel Ice Cream

2010-07-26T12:43:00.000-07:00

This was one of the best ice creams I've ever had.
Don't be fooled by the "Salted" part of the name... the salt (use as much or little as you want) lifts the flavors to great effect.
This is pure indulgence so you'd want some acidic fruit or berry to cut through the richness... or just enjoy it on it's own.

Ingredients for the salted butter caramel ice cream:
500 ml whole milk, divided
300 g sugar
60 g salted butter
Scant ½ teaspoon sea salt (preferably fleur de sel, otherwise Maldon)
250 ml heavy cream
5 large egg yolks
¾ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preparing the salted butter caramel ice cream:
Heat the sugar over moderate heat until the edges begin to melt. Use a heatproof utensil to gently stir the liquefied sugar from the bottom and edges towards the center, stirring, until all the sugar is dissolved. (Or most of it—there may be some lumps, which will melt later.)
Once caramelized, remove from heat and stir in the butter and salt, until butter is melted, then gradually whisk in the cream, stirring as you go. The caramel may harden and seize, but return it to the heat and continue to stir over low heat until any hard caramel is melted. Stir in 250 ml of the milk.

Whisk the yolks in a small bowl and gradually pour some of the warm caramel mixture over the yolks, stirring constantly. Scrape the warmed yolks back into the saucepan and cook the custard using a heatproof utensil, stirring constantly (scraping the bottom as you stir) until the mixture thickens. If using an instant-read thermometer, it should read between 71 - 77 C.

To make the ice cream, set up an ice bath by placing a small bowl (enough for 2 l) in a larger bowl partially filled with ice cubes and water. Set a fine mesh strainer over the top of the smaller bowl and pour the rest of the milk into the bowl.

Pour the custard through the strainer into the milk set over the ice bath, add the vanilla extract, then stir frequently until the mixture is cooled down. Transfer to a jug and chill until thoroughly chilled (preferably overnight).

Freeze the custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Cooking loin of lamb en sous vide

2010-06-01T02:21:00.000-07:00

Cooking sous vide (french for "under pressure") has long been used in the professional kitchens. A few years ago people started mentioning it on food blogs and books were released on the topic.
The idea with sous vide is that you cook whatever food you are cooking in a low temperature water bath for a certain amount of time. Since the temperature is relatively low it's very hard to overcook things. When cooking meat en sous vide we are after a perfectly cooked piece of meat from edge to edge without any of the doneness gradient which we would get if cooking it in a more traditional way. Another pro with sous vide cooking is that the food can be cooked in advance and then reheated or seared to get a nice caramelized surface.
Meat will be cooked at around 58 degrees C for medium rare, fish at lower temperature, say 45 degrees C.
Sous vide can be done at home. All you need is a big pot (it needs to be big to ensure that the water temperature doesn't drop when food is added) and a termometer (preferably digital).

This "recipe" is for loin of lamb cooked sous vide.

What you need:
A bit pot (say 8 - 10 litres or so)
Termometer (preferably digital with a cable sensor)
Bowl of ice water

Loin of lamb

How to make it:
Take the loins out of the fridge so that they reach room temperature.
Start by filling the pot almost to the top with water. Warm the water on the hob with the termometer measuring the temperature. If you have a gas hob then you might need a heat diffuser to ensure that the temperature from the flame is low enough. When the water reaches 58 C then adjust the heat on the ring to keep it there. Let the temperature stabilize for about 20 minutes.
Trim the loins of fat and silverskin. Brush lightly with olive oil then wrap tightly in all purpose plastic wrap. Twist the ends and then tie them tightly.
Put the packaged loin into the pot and let it cook for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes remove from pot and plunge into ice water to stop the cooking process.
Remove plastic wrap and move to air proof container, transfer to fridge until needed.
Take the meat out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before you are ready to sear it so that it reaches room temperature again. Heat a griddle pan over high heat, add some rapeseed oil and then sear the loins briefly on all sides. Remember that the meat is already cooked so you just want to give it a seared exterior.
Let the meat rest for a few minutes covered by tinfoil and then serve.

Quiche Lorraine

2010-05-24T02:31:00.000-07:00

Blackberry-Lime Sorbet

2010-05-11T04:31:00.000-07:00

Very nice fruity sorbet. The lime juice adds a nice touch besides the blackberries.

Ingredients for the blackberry-lime sorbet:
450 g blackberries
1 leaf of gelatine
150 g caster sugar
180 ml water
180 ml freshly squeezed lime juice (about 9 limes)

Preparing the blackberry-lime sorbet:
Heat the sugar and the water to create a syrup. When the sugar is completely dissolved in the water take it off the heat. Bloom the leaf of gelatin in a bowl of cold water for 5 minutes then drop it into the syrup and stir until it dissolves. Let the syrup and gelatine mixture cool to room temperature.
Puree the blackberries in a blender and then pass them through a fine sieve to get rid of the seeds. Mix in the syrup and gelatine mixture with the blackberry puree then add the lime juice.
Chill the mixture thoroughly (I put it in the freezer for about 30 minutes) and then churn in your ice cream maker according to the instructions.

Crème brûlée

2010-05-07T12:13:00.000-07:00

Garlic Puree

2010-05-07T11:49:00.000-07:00

This is a nice puree that works great with for instance lamb.
This will make enough for about four persons.

Ingredients for the puree:
2 bulbs of garlic
250 ml double cream
Salt
Pepper

How to make it:
Peel the garlic cloves and put them in a small saucepan. Poor cold water on top to cover the cloves. Put on the hob and bring the water to the boil, let the water boil for about one minute then drain it.
Repeat the same process two times.
After the final draining put the cooked garlic back into the same pan and pour the cream on top. Bring to the boil again and simmer for about 6 minutes or until the cream is reduced by one-third.
Blend the mixture in a blender or food processor to a smooth puree and pass the mixture through a sieve into a clean bowl. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper and set aside.

Between The Sheets

2010-04-26T03:47:00.000-07:00

Since I really like the Sidecar cocktail it's not surprising that I also really liked Between The Sheets cocktail. This is a bit like Sidecars little brother and also a member of the sours family.
The addition of rum makes it a bit more suitable for summer drinking and gives it a little hint of Daiquiri.

Ingredients for one Martini glass:
30 ml cognac (I used Courvoisier VSOP)
30 ml light rum (I used Havana Club 3 year old light rum)
30 ml triple sec (I used Cointreau)
20 ml freshly squeezed lemon juice

Lemon twist for garnish

How to make it:
Put the Martini glass in the freezer for a bit to make it cold.
Shake ingredients with ice, fine strain into the chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Chorizo and butterbean stew

2010-04-23T08:53:00.000-07:00

This is an easy and delicious rustic stew.

Ingredients for the stew:
350 g butter beans
225 g cooking chorizo
5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 medium onion, finely chopped
175 ml red wine (preferably Spanish)
1 x 400g can plum tomatoes
Tomato puree
1 tablespoon thyme leaves
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 lemon
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil

How to make it:
Cut the chorizo and garlic into thin slices. Put the olive oil and garlic in a pan over medium-high heat until the garlic begins to sizzle. Add the chorizo and cook until the slices are lightly browned on all sides. Add the chopped onion and continue to cook until the onions are soft. Add the red wine and cook until the wine has reduced to almost nothing.
While the wine is reducing chop up the plum tomatoes. Add the tomatoes and a bit of tomato pure. Add the beans, thyme and some chopped parsley as well. Season with salt and pepper. Let the stew simmer for a good 15 minutes until it's nice and thick.
Check for seasoning and squeeze some lemon juice into the stew if you think it needs some acidity.
Spoon the stew into bowls, scatter some chopped parsley on top and serve with a nice toast of bread.

Daiquiri

2010-04-22T15:29:00.000-07:00

Ingredients for one Martini glass:
60 ml light rum (I used Havana Club 3 year old light rum)
20 ml freshly squeezed lime juice
1 teaspoon caster sugar

How to make it:
Put the lime juice and sugar in a cocktail shaker and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add the rum. Add plenty of ice and shake for a good 10 seconds.
Fine strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Add a wedge of lime for garnish.

Kiwifruit Sorbet

2010-04-19T11:32:00.000-07:00

This was a great tasting sorbet. The taste is a bit unusual but very refreshing and interesting. The crushed seeds from the kiwifruits adds an additional texture to the sorbet.

Ingredients for the kiwifruit sorbet:
1 kg of kiwifruits (10 to 15 kiwifruits)
1 leaf of gelatine
150 g caster sugar
330 ml water
1 lemon (optional)

Preparing the kiwifruit sorbet:
Start by preparing the kiwifruits (this will take a bit of time...). The easiest way is to half them, then peel them with a paring knife and then removing the tough end bit and the woody bit in the middle of the fruit. Quarter the halves and put them in a blender.
Meanwhile heat the sugar and the water to create a syrup. When the sugar is completely dissolved in the water take it off the heat. Bloom the leaf of gelatin in a bowl of cold water for 5 minutes then drop it into the syrup and stir until it dissolves. Let the syrup and gelatine mixture cool to room temperature.
Blend the kiwifruits until you end up with a puree. You should have about 500 ml of fruit puree after blending. Add the syrup and blend some more. Add some lemon juice if you think it needs more acidity.
Freeze in ice cream maker according to your ice cream makers instructions (probably around 30-45 minutes).

Old Fashioned

2010-04-19T10:42:00.000-07:00

Pineapple Champagne Sorbet

2010-04-19T09:48:00.000-07:00

Lemon Thyme Sorbet

2010-04-06T04:28:00.000-07:00

Being a big fan of lemon thyme I wanted to incorporate it into a sorbet.
This is basically the recipe I use for lemon sorbet but with lemon thyme infused into the simple syrup.
The lemon thyme adds an interesting herbal note which works well with the lemon. Use as much lemon thyme as you want, I would suggest a handful or so.

Ingredients for the lemon thyme sorbet:
1 leaf of gelatine
150 ml caster sugar
100 ml water
100 ml freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 3-4 small lemons, I used a little bit more than 100 ml since I don't like my lemon sorbet too sweet)
100 ml whole milk
Lemon thyme, a handful or so

Preparing the lemon thyme sorbet:
Put the leaf of gelatine in a bowl with cold water and let it soak for 5 minutes. Mix the sugar and water in a medium saucepan and bring it to a boil, when it reaches boiling point turn of the heat. Add the lemon thyme twigs and let them infuse the syrup for 10 minutes or so.
Add the gelatin leaf to the syrup and stir until it's melted.
Let the mixture cool to room temperature (don't make it go cold since it will set).
Add the lemon juice and milk and mix properly.
Pass the mixture through a sieve into a clean glass jug, discard the lemon thyme twigs.
Freeze in ice cream maker according to your ice cream makers instructions (probably around 30-45 minutes).

Sidecar

2010-03-16T16:24:00.000-07:00

Wow.
This cocktail was amazing. One of the best of the ones I made so far.
I read that the choice of cognac was important so I opted for a semi expensive Courvoisier VSOP. It was a good choice.
The Sidecar reminded me a little bit of sour candy. It starts of with the sweetness of the sugar on the rim of the glass, then the sourness of the lemon and some sweetness from the triple sec and kind of finishes with the warmth of the cognac to make it a grown up elegant cocktail.
Since cognacs of course vary in style it's hard to give exact measurements. I read that if you use a drier bottling like Hennessy you have to use more triple sec and a bit more lemon juice to make a balanced cocktail. I think the measurements below worked really well with the Courvoisier, which is a rather fruity cognac.

Ingredients for one Martini glass:
45 ml cognac (I used Courvoisier VSOP)
30 ml triple sec (I used Cointreau)
15 ml freshly squeezed lemon juice

Superfine caster sugar

Lemon twist for garnish

How to make it:
Put the Martini glass in the freezer for a bit to make it cold. Meanwhile put some caster sugar in a pester and mortar and grind it finely. Put the sugar on a flat saucer for dipping the glass in later. Fill your cocktail shaker with ice and add the cognac, then the Cointreau, then the lemon juice. Shake well.
Dip the chilled Martini glass in the fine sugar to coat the rim with sugar.
Fine strain the Sidecar into the glass.
Garnish with the lemon twist.

Lemon Sorbet

2010-02-14T08:44:00.000-08:00

I got an ice cream maker at Christmas so I have slowly been experimenting with ice creams and sorbets when time permits. My first attempt was a rose-raspberry sorbet. It was alright but not spectacular. I will retry it in the summer as I suspect it could work nicely after a barbeque. My second attempt was lemon sorbet. I was making a pasta sauce (spicy meatballs and tomato) so I thought a lemon sorbet would be a great dessert and tie in nicely with the pasta.

This is my favorite recipe for lemon sorbet, the addition of gelatin makes the sorbet a bit less icy and more smooth. The addition of milk makes it a touch more creamy again and gives it a nice snowy white color. I reckon it makes about 600 ml or so, should be enough for about four people.

Ingredients for the lemon sorbet:
1 leaf of gelatine
150 ml caster sugar
100 ml water
100 ml freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 3-4 small lemons, I used a little bit more than 100 ml since I don't like my lemon sorbet too sweet)
100 ml whole milk

Preparing the lemon sorbet:
Put the leaf of gelatine in a bowl with cold water and let it soak for 5 minutes. Mix the sugar and water in a medium saucepan and bring it to a boil, when it reaches boiling point turn of the heat.
Add the gelatin leaf to the syrup and stir until it's melted.
Let the mixture cool to room temperature (don't make it go cold since it will set).
Add the lemon juice and milk and mix properly.
Freeze in ice cream maker according to your ice cream makers instructions (probably around 30-45 minutes).

Foam #2

2009-10-19T07:12:00.000-07:00

Bronx Cocktail

2009-10-11T10:05:00.000-07:00

The Bronx Cocktail is basically a perfect martini with orange juice added.
Legend has it it was created by the bartender Johnnie Solon after a waiter named Traverson challenged him to create a new cocktail. It's named after the Bronx Zoo which Solon visited a day or two before making the cocktail.
It's similar to another popular drink of the time, The Duplex, which is composed of equal parts sweet and dry Vermouth and two dashes of orange bitters.

I quite liked The Bronx Cocktail. It reminded me a little bit of The Aviation but with orange instead of lemon. The orange adds a freshness and a little bit of sweetness that is nicely balanced by the sharp dry gin. The vermouths add a bit off a spicy note and the orange bitters a bitter, orange zesty note that adds another dimension. All in all a nice, refreshing, easy to like cocktail.

Ingredients for one Martini glass:
60 ml gin (I used Plymouth)
30 ml fresh orange juice
8 ml sweet vermouth (I used Martini & Rossi Rosso)
8 ml dry vermouth (I used Martini & Rossi Bianco)
Dashes of orange bitters to taste (I used Angostura Orange bitters)

How to make it:
Fill your Martini glasses with ice. Fill your shaker with ice and add all the spirits to it. Shake for around 30 seconds. Discard the ice from the Martini glass, rub the edge of the glass with the cut end of an orange peel then strain your cocktail into the glass.
Garnish the edge of the glass with a twisted orange peel.

Negroni

2009-10-05T05:59:00.000-07:00

I continue my cocktail adventures with the Negroni cocktail.
Legend has it that the Negroni was invented when Count Negroni asked for gin instead of club soda in his Americano somewhere in Italy circa 1919.

This cocktail was quite a surprise for me.
Being a relative Campari virgin I was not quite prepared for the very, very bitter taste of the Campari. However somewhere in between all the bitterness was a quite nice cocktail but I think that Campari and Negroni is quite an acquired taste that you have to work your way up to.
I have to try it some more times to build up a fondness for the bitter Campari in this cocktail.

Ingredients for one old-fashioned glass:
45 ml Campari
45 ml Gin (I used Plymouth)
45 ml Martini Rosso

How to make it:
Pour the spirits in any order into an ice filled old-fashioned glass. Stir for a bit. Garnish with a quarter of an orange slice.

Martinez

2009-09-27T10:59:00.000-07:00

My cocktail adventures continues with the Martinez. It was probably invented in the 1880s and the recipe I used was adapted from Jerry Thomas's 1887 book The Bar-Tender's Guide.
The drink came after the Manhattan (basically change the whiskey to gin) and is the father or so to the Dry Gin Martini.

So what about the taste? Wow... quite powerful!
Having this drink on a balmy early autumn night in London was not quite right. This cocktail reminds me of the cold of winter and more especially Christmas. Quite smooth at first but then something of a spice explosion from the gin, vermouth and bitter with the Luxardo rounding of the flavors somewhat.
Think orange, molasses, Christmas cake...
However, at the right time (coming in after a long winter walk and sitting in front of the fire) I suspect this would be a very nice cocktail indeed. I will have to wait until Christmas to try it again and see if I am right.

Ingredients for two Martini glasses:
60 ml Gin (I used Plymouth)
30 ml Martini Rosso
8 (or so) ml Luxardo Maraschino liqueur
Dashes of Angostura bitter to taste

How to make it:
Fill your Martini glasses with ice. Fill a large glass (or your shaker) with ice and add all the spirits to this glass. Stir slowly (stirring fast will "bruise" the spirits and make your cocktail cloudy) with a bar spoon for around 20 seconds. Discard the ice from the Martini glass, rub the edge of the glass with the cut end of an lemon peel then strain your Martinez into the glass.
Garnish the edge of the glass with a twisted lemon peel.

Manhattan

2009-09-20T04:47:00.000-07:00

I've always been a big fan of Manhattan. So far my experiences have been limited to Manhattan being served in bars (the late Polka Bar in Soho, London did a particularly good one) and quick Manhattans made with bourbon and Martini Rosso.
So, I decided to do some research around the web and finally decided to do my Manhattan with American rye whiskey, 50/50 red and white vermouth, a dash of Angostura bitter and two dashes of Luxardo Maraschino liqueur.
Why the liqueur? Well, I've never been a huge fan of the cherry in the bottom of the Manhattan glass, so substitute the cherry for Maraschino cherry liqueur and problem solved.
So this is almost the original Manhattan recipe.
The result was quite surprising. Much more subtle than a lot of the Manhattans I've had to date. I think this is because of the Rye whiskey which is a lot more subtle than bourbon.
Very interesting though, and delicious! Next time I will try making it with only Rosso instead of a Perfect Manhattan with equal parts Rosso and Bianco. I think Perfect Manhattan works better with bourbon.

Ingredients for two Martini glasses:
100 ml Rye whiskey (I used Rittenhouse Straight Rye Whisky)
25 ml Martini Rosso
25 ml Martini Bianco
One dash of Angostura (or more than one dash if you want your Manhattan more bitter)
Two dashes of Luxardo Maraschino liqueur

How to make it:
Fill your Martini glasses with ice. Fill a large glass with ice and add all the spirits to this glass. Stir slowly (stirring fast will "bruise" the spirits and make your Manhattan cloudy) for around 20 seconds. Discard the ice from the Martini glass, rub the edge of the glass with the cut end of an orange peel then strain your Manhattan into the glass. Garnish the edge of the glass with a twisted orange peel.

UPDATE:
I recently made Manhattan with Woodford Reserve bourbon. I used the same recipe as above but with a few dashes of Angostura Orange bitters instead of the normal Angostura bitters. It was very nice and smooth.

The Aviation (Modern)

2009-09-13T06:42:00.000-07:00

Inspired by the great Ruhlman I decided to mix up The Aviation after a wonderful dinner at home. I loved this cocktail, perfect mix between the sour lemon juice, the vegetable notes from the gin and the sweetness of the Luxardo Maraschino liqueur. I omitted the Creme de Violette so it was actually a Modern The Aviation.

Ingredients for two Martini glasses:
120 ml gin (I used Hendrick's)
30 ml Luxardo Maraschino
30 ml lemon juice (about 2 small lemons)

How to make it:
Fill your Martini glasses with ice. Fill your cocktail shaker with ice as well and add the spirits and lemon juice.
Shake well and strain into the glasses (discard the ice in the glasses first). Garnish with a bit of lemon peel if you want.

UPDATE:
Since this post I also tried Modern The Aviation with Plymouth London Dry Gin. Personally I think Hendrick's Gin makes a smoother Aviation less heavy on the typical gin flavours. Some people would say the total opposite though, that the smooth subtle flavors of the Hendrick's get lost in a cocktail like this. It doesn't really make sense that Hendrick's would work in a The Aviation since the makers of Hendrick's themselves advocate using a slice of cucumber for a Hendrick's G&T instead of the ubiquitous wedge of lime but there you go.
In the end it's like so many things in life - totally up to personal preference. When I get a bottle of Tanqueray No 10 I will try the Aviation again with this gin.

Clarified butter

2009-07-28T11:53:00.001-07:00

This was easy to make, took about 20 minutes. I need it for Hollandaise sauce that I will make some time soon...
I sieved the butter first through a cheesecloth lined sieve over a Pyrex jug and then from jug to plastic container lined with cheesecloth, this gave me a very clear clarified butter with almost none of the milk solids. I used Unsalted butter because I read that it yields more than Salted butter once clarified, and I usually use Unsalted butter anyway.

250 grams of President Unsalted butter gave me 170 grams of clarified butter.

There are many guides online on how to make clarified butter, like this one or this one.

Gazpacho

2009-07-02T03:00:00.000-07:00

It's been really hot in London this week, so a perfect time to do the first proper recipe from "The French Laundry Cookbook" that I got last weekend. Gazpacho!

I made the balsamic glaze the day before making this and it was really easy, the only thing to keep in mind is to keep the heat very low. I used my diffuser which made it a lot easier but the glaze still started to bubble a bit after 2 hours on the hob so I had to move it to one half of the diffuser to keep the temperature. All in all the cooking of the glaze took about 2,5 hours. After the glaze was done I stored it in a little squeeze bottle in my cupboard.
This soup was truly amazing... bursting with flavours. First you got tomato and cucumber, then the heat from the cayenne and the onions and finally the sweetness from the balsamic glaze.
Perfect for a warm summer night in the beginning of July.
We enjoyed the soup with some bread sprinkled with extra virgin olive oil and then lightly toasted under the grill.
The wine was a kiwi Chardonnay that worked very well with the soup. Since the soup is quite powerful and spicy you need something like a buttery and big (think New World wines) Chardonnay with quite low acidity to match it.

Ingredients for the balsamic glaze:

500 ml balsamic vinegar (I used Aceto Balsamico Di Modena)

Preparing the balsamic glaze:

Heat the vinegar in a heavy saucepan over medium heat until steam rises from the liquid. Place the saucepan on a heat diffuser and let the liquid reduce very slowly (it shouldn't simmer) for 2 to 3 hours, until it has reduced and thickened to a syrupy glaze. There should be approximately 1/2 cup of glaze. Keep the glaze in a squeeze bottle at room temperature for garnishing: if the glaze is too thick, warm the bottle in hot water to loosen the glaze.

Ingredients for the gazpacho:

240 ml chopped red onions (about 1 medium sized red onion)
240 ml chopped green bell pepper (about 1,5 medium sized green pepper)
240 ml chopped English cucumber (about 1 cucumber)
240 ml chopped and peeled tomatoes (about 4 medium sized tomatoes)
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped garlic (about 2-3 cloves)
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
60 ml tomato paste (I couldn't find tomato paste so I around 2 tablespoons tomato pure instead)
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
90 ml extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
710 ml tomato juice (I used 750 ml because that's what was in the bottle)
Sprig of thyme

Preparing the gazpacho:

1. Mix all the ingredients except the balsamic glaze together in a bowl or other container, cover, and let sit in the refrigerator overnight.

2. The next day, remove the thyme and blend all the ingredients in a blender until the gazpacho is smooth. You will have about 2 quarts. For a smoother texture, strain the soup to yield about 1 quart. Refrigerate the gazpacho until ready to serve.

To complete: Ladle the cold soup into bowls and squeeze dots of balsamic glaze over the top.

Lemon Tart

2009-06-22T14:41:00.000-07:00

This is the first dessert recipe I did from the wonderful book "Bouchon" by Thomas Keller. It was not too difficult to do and really delicious. It makes enough lemon tart for about six people.

We had it with some strawberries but something like a vanilla cream would go well with it as well since it's quite acidic.

Ingredients for the pine nut crust:

285 grams (about 470 ml) pine nuts
80 ml sugar
455 grams (about 710 ml) all-purpose flour
230 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preparing the pine nut crust:

Place the pine nuts in a food processor and pulse a few times. Add the sugar and flour and continue to pulse until the nuts are finely ground. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl.

Add the butter, egg, and vanilla extract and mix to incorporate all the ingredients (the dough can be mixed by hand or in a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment). Divide the dough into three equal parts. Wrap each piece in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 10 minutes before using. (The extra dough can be frozen, wrapped well, for up to 1 month.

Ingredients for the lemon tart:

Butter and flour for the tart pan
1/3 recipe pine nut Crust

Lemon sabayon:
2 large eggs, cold
2 large egg yolks, cold
180 ml sugar
120 ml fresh lemon juice
85 grams cold unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces

Preparing the lemon tart:

For the crust:
Preheat the oven to 170°C. Generously butter and flour a 9-inch fluted tart pan (it should be about one inch deep) with a removable bottom and refrigerate it while the oven preheats.

Remove the tart pan from the refrigerator. Use your fingertips to press the chilled pine nut dough evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Trim off any excess dough (this extra dough can be made into a cookie that you can cook at the same time as the crust).

Bake the crust for 10 to 15 minutes, then rotate it and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, or until it is golden brown. Remove the crust from the oven and let it cool while you make the filling. (There may be some cracks in the crust; they will not affect the finished tart.)

For the sabayon:
Bring about 1 1/2 inches of water to a boil in a pot that is slightly smaller than the diameter of the bowl you will be using for the sabayon. Meanwhile, in a large metal bowl, whisk the eggs, yolks, and sugar for about 1 minute, or until the mixture is smooth.

Set the bowl over the pot and, using a large whisk, whip the mixture while you turn the bowl (for even heating). After about 2 minutes, when the eggs are foamy and have thickened, add one-third of the lemon juice. Continue to whisk vigorously and, when the mixture thickens again, add another one-third of the lemon juice. Whisk until the mixture thickens again, then add the remaining lemon juice. Continue whisking vigorously, still turning the bowl, until the mixture is thickened and light in color and the whisk leaves a trail in the bottom of the bowl. The total cooking time should be 8 to 10 minutes.

Turn off the heat and leave the bowl over the water. Whisk in the butter a piece at a time. The sabayon may loosen slightly, but it will thicken and set as it cools. Pour the warm sabayon into the tart crust and place the pan on a baking sheet.

Preheat the broiler. While the sabayon is still warm, place the tart under the broiler. Leaving the door open, brown the top of the sabayon, rotating the tart if necessary for even color; this will take only a few seconds, so do not leave the oven. Remove the tart from the broiler and let it sit for at least 1 hour before serving. Serve at room temperature or cold.

Foam

2009-05-18T03:00:00.001-07:00

Interesting wine links

2009-05-12T07:45:00.000-07:00

Victoria Moore Top Ten Wines

Guardian Wine Section

Viogner on Wikipedia

Wine to try

2009-05-12T07:33:00.000-07:00

Everyday wine:


"Domaine du Joncier Le Classique Lirac 2006 France

This impressive wine from a small, 32 hectare domaine in the southern Rhone is almost impossibly good value. And it's a proper wine, not a supermarket synthesis. The blend of grenache, syrah, mourvedre, cinsault and carignan has real depth - tangled layers that remind me of bramble thickets - with a satisfying finish. It would be good with a beef and olive casserole, or black pudding. I bought several bottles for the Iranian kebab and aubergine dip fiesta that followed my book launch and the sweet ripeness of the grenache married beautifully with the food.

14.5%
£6.99 down from £8.99 until 17 May Waitrose"

"Les Nivieres Saumur 2007 France

The sappy smell of scented redcurrant leaves. The juice that stains the bread on a summer pudding. Beech leaves at their newest and most vivid shade of lime green. This wine reminds me of all of these. A light-bodied red from the Loire, made entirely from cabernet franc this is one for drinking while the sun is still out - at lunch, afternoon gatherings, and into the evening. Give it 20-30 minutes in the fridge to give a bit of snap to its soft fruityness.

12%
£6.49 Waitrose"

"A good start is the superb Pinot Grigio Palataia 2008 (£6.99, Marks & Spencer; 12.5% abv), Pfalz, Germany. No, that's not an oxymoron. This is a genuinely unboring pinot grigio that would cost twice as much if made in north-east Italy. It's blended with 15% pinot bianco, which adds a layer of succulence and a suggestion of tangerines."

"For those who like the glossy mouthfeel of chablis but whose budget requires a cheaper alternative, try Cantina di Monteforte Soave 2006 (£5.24, down from £6.99 until 17 May, Waitrose; 13% abv), Italy, which tastes of pears and peach stones and is squashy, like a cushion."

Stuff to cook

2009-05-07T12:00:00.000-07:00

Caramelised Balsamic and Red Onion Tarts with Goats' Cheese

Slow Cooked Meatballs In Herbed Tomato Sauce

Passionfruit souffle

Pasta masterclass I

Pasta masterclass II

Angela Hartnett Pasta Dishes

Pasta salad with chicken breast

2009-05-02T12:12:00.000-07:00

For the salad:
4 chicken breasts
400 gram penne
1 red onion
1 red chili
500 gram cherry tomatoes
100 gram mozzarella
20 or so black pitted olives
Olive oil
Half a pot of basil
4 cloves of garlic
White wine vinegar
Salt
Pepper

For the butter:
200 gram room tempered butter
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp black pepper
1 shallot

How to make it:

Preparing the chicken:
Start by preparing a simple marinade for the chicken. Mix one part of white wine vinegar and three parts extra virgin olive oil. Chop the garlic cloves finely and mix with the oil and vinegar. Add some chopped basil as well.
Put the chicken filets in a bowl or oven dish and poor the marinade over. Cover with cling film and leave the chicken in the fridge to marinade for an hour or so.

The butter:
Chop the shallot very finely. Mix it with the butter, vinegar and black pepper in a bowl. You can also add some pressed garlic if you want. When it's all mixed put it on a piece of greaseproof paper and make into a roll. Put the roll in the fridge so the butter becomes more solid again.

The salad:
Finely chop the red onion. Cut the chili lengthwise and take out the kernels. Chop the chili finely as well. Cut the olives in chunks if you want. Put everything in a bowl and tear the mozzarella in pieces to put in as well. Mix everything a bit.
Cook the pasta and let it cool if you want to serve a cold pasta salad or cook it later if you want the pasta to be hot. Mix the pasta with everything else in the bowl.

Turn on the oven at about 150 C (for fan assisted oven). Put some of the shallot butter in a frying pan and let the chicken fillets fry for a few minutes on each side. Then put the frying pan in the hot oven and let the chicken cook for about 15 - 25 minutes or so.

When the chicken is finished put the chicken fillets on top of some salad on the plate and then put a slice or two of the butter on top of the chicken.

Lamb burger with goats cheese and tomato relish

2009-02-22T12:12:00.000-08:00

Being a big fan of hamburgers but often being disappointed about what's on offer in London, even in the upmarket burger joints, I decided to give it a shot myself. The result was very nice and also quite light which for me is a nice contrast to bellybusting burgers.

Enjoy with a tempranillo or similar medium bodied red wine.

General stuff:
Two heads of little gem lettuce
Two tomatoes
One red onion
200 g of goats cheese

For the tomato relish:
(this makes about half a liter finished relish so have some jars around to store it)

800 g tomatoes
1 onion, finely sliced
200 ml red wine vinegar
200 g sugar
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 red chili, finely chopped
A handful of fresh coriander
Salt and freshly grounded black pepper
30 g capers in vinegar, rinsed in water and finely chopped
30 g baby gherkins, finely chopped
Olive oil for frying

How to make it:
Start by putting the tomatoes in a pot with warm water to later get their skin off.
Fry the garlic, onion and chilli in some oil in a big pot until soft. Skin the tomatoes, chop them finely and then add them to the pot. Mix welll with the onions.
Add the vinegar and sugar. Season a bit with salt and pepper. Cook on medium heat for about 30 minutes. When the relish is the consistency of jam add the capers, gherkins and coriander. Cook for a few more minutes but be careful not to reduce it too much. Check seasoning. Let cool.

For the burgers:
500 g minced lamb
6 or so leaves of basil, torn into small pieces
A tablespoon of capers, finely chopped
Half an onion, finely chopped
Freshly ground black pepper
Salt
Flour

How to make it:
Mix the mince with onions, capers, basil, pepper and a pinch of salt. Make four patties.
Put flour on a plate and mix with a bit of pepper and salt. Put the patties in the flour mixture to coat on each side.
Heat some butter and olive oil in a big frying pan. Turn on the oven at approx 200 C on Grill to toast the ciabatta buns.
Fry the patties approx 4.5 minutes on each side in the frying pan.
While the burgers are frying prepare some lettuce, slice the tomatoes and the red onion.
When the burgers are fried, take a piece of ciabatta, spread with the goats cheese, then assemble with tomato, onion, lettuce and the lamb burger, add a sprinkle of pepper if desired.
Assemble on plate with some more lettuce, onion, tomato and tomato relish.

French onion soup

2009-01-12T11:27:00.000-08:00

This is an excellent soup and very easy and quick to make. Enjoy it with a dry white wine with some acidity to counter the sweet savory flavor of the onions.

4 portions

500 g onion
2 - 3 tbsp butter
2 tbsp white flour
1 liter of water
2 cubes of chicken stock
100 ml dry white wine
1 bay leaf
1 pinch of dried thyme
White pepper

White bread
Grated cheddar cheese
Some parmesan

Half the onions and then cut them into thin slices. Fry in a big pot with the butter until they are translucent and golden. Add the flour and stir.
Dissolve the stock into water and add to the pot with the herbs and spices. Boil for 15 minutes on medium heat. Add the wine and boil for another few minutes.

Cut some white bread into cubes and then fry in a little olive oil to create croutons. Let them dry in a piece of paper. You can add some herbs to the croutons if you want.

Pour up the soup into bowls, add croutons and sprinkle the grated cheese on top. Add a bit of parmesan on top of the cheddar cheese. Put the bowls (make sure that they are ovenproof!) into the oven, about 250C, for about 10 minutes until the cheese is melted and a bit brown over the top of the soup.

Lasagna

2008-11-25T14:29:00.000-08:00

This is my mothers recipe for lasagna.

For the basics:
A packet of lasagna sheets
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil
Mature cheddar
Parmesan

For the sauce:
2 medium sized onions
2 cloves of garlic
400g beef mince
400g can of chopped tomatoes
4 or so vine tomatoes
Mushrooms, sliced
Splash of red wine
One cube of beef stock
Chili flakes
Oregano
Fresh basil

For the bechamel sauce:
2 table spoons of butter
4 table spoons of plain flour
About 600ml milk

How to make it:
Chop the onions and garlic. Fry them gently until translucent in a frying pan. Transfer to a big pot. Fry the mince and then transfer to the same pot. At the same time as frying the mince put the tomatoes in boiling water and then remove their skin. Chop the tomatoes and add them to the pot together with the can of chopped tomatoes. Add the splash of wine, a pinch of chili flakes, the beef stock and the oregano. Salt and pepper to taste. Let it all boil for 20 - 30 minutes until reduced and a good reduced consistency. 5 minutes before ready to use add 10 fresh basil leaves or so (chopped up) and the mushrooms.

How to make the bechamel sauce:
Gently melt the butter in a saucepan. When butter is melted add the flour. Take the saucepan of the heat and start whisking. When flour is dissolved return to the heat (medium) and add the milk. Keep whisking all the time until the sauce is the right consistency (a bit like wallpaper glue).

Grate the cheddar and parmesan. You need about 600 ml. Around two parts cheddar and one part parmesan.

Assembling the lasagna:
Get an ovenproof dish and put some bechamel sauce in the bottom of it. Sprinkle some cheese over the sauce then put the first layer of lasagna sheets. Put a layer of the ragu sauce on top of the lasagna sheets then bechamel sauce on top of that and then sprinkle with cheese then lasagna sheets again. Repeat this until you get to the top. You should end up with lasagna sheets on top and then put the rest of bechamel sauce and cheese on the top.

Pasta al forno

2008-06-18T03:12:00.000-07:00

This was an excellent soul food dish. The sauce is like a traditional Italian ragù (aka bolognese), which is so much better than the northern European version of ragù. Like lasagna this really benefits from a night in the fridge (intensifies the flavors a bit) so be sure to make enough to last for lunch the day after.

What you need:
500 g penne
125 g mozarella, in small pieces
150 ml parmesan cheese, grated

For the ragù:
300 g mince meat
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
3 pieces of celery, thinly sliced
2 carrots, in small pieces
500 g crushed tomatoes
200 ml red wine
10 basil leafs
50 ml olive oil
2 teaspoons of salt
1 pinch of sugar

For the béchamelsauce:
1.5 desert spoon of butter
1.5 desert spoon of flour
300 ml milk
3 pinches of salt
About 1 pinch of white pepper
About 1 pinch of nutmeg

How it's done:

Heat the oil for the mince in a big pot. Add the mince, celery, carrots, onion and garlic. Separate the mince a bit with a fork.
Add the tomatoes, wine, basil, salt and sugar and boil under a lid for about 30 minutes.

Melt the butter for the béchamelsauce in a pot on low heat. Add the flour and mix properly. Add the milk gradually and whisk all the time. Boil the sauce on low heat for 5 minutes and whisk occasionally. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg according to your taste.

Turn on the oven, 225 C.

Boil the pasta according to the packet. I would recommend al dente.

Coat an ovenproof pot with butter. Add half the pasta and then put half of the ragù and béchamelsauce on top. Add 1/3 of the parmesan cheese and all the mozarella.
Put the rest of the pasta on top and then put the rest of the ragù and béchamelsauce on top of that as well as the remaining parmesan cheese.

Bake it in the oven for 20 minutes.

2007 Via Collina Dolcetto d'Alba

2008-06-18T02:50:00.000-07:00

Lots of red fruit in this one, especially cherry, and sweet tannins. Very nice with pasta with roast tomato sauce. Would probably go for something a bit more heavy with steak etc.

£6.99, 14%, Waitrose

Bonterra Chardonnay 2006 Mendocino County

2008-04-14T06:06:00.000-07:00

£9.49 at Waitrose.

Cave de Turckheim Pinot Blanc Reserve 2005

2008-04-14T06:05:00.001-07:00

£7.06 at Virgin Wines.

Linguine with Stilton and onion

2008-04-07T08:07:00.001-07:00

Serves 1

1 1/2 tbsp olive oil or butter
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
100g linguine or spaghetti
40g Stilton or other blue cheese, crumbled
1 tbsp double or whipping cream, crème fraiche or Greek yoghurt
2 heaped tbsp finely chopped parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Grated Grana Padano or Parmesan to serve (optional but nice)

Heat a frying pan, add the oil or butter then once it’s melted tip in the onion, stir and leave over a low heat to fry. Pour a kettle of boiling water into a large saucepan, bring back to the boil, add salt, then add the pasta, stir and cook for the time recommended on the pack. Before you drain the linguine set aside half a cup of the boiling water. Add 3 tbsp of water to the onion and tip in the crumbled cheese. Leave over a low heat to melt then stir in the cream or yoghurt (I used yoghurt which was fine) Drain the pasta and add to the pan along with the parsley and toss well together, adding a splash more water if you need it. Season generously with black pepper. Spoon into a warm bowl and sprinkle over some grated Grana Padano or Parmesan, if you have some. Some dark leafy green salad would be a good accompaniment.

Wild Mushroom and Asparagus Risotto

2008-04-05T07:44:00.000-07:00

1,4 litre chicken stock
225 ml dry white wine
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
125 gr finely chopped onion
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
370 gr Arborio rice
140 gr wild mushrooms, cooked and coarsely chopped, approximately 3/4 cup
200 gr asparagus, cooked and cut into 1-inch pieces, approximately 1 1/2 cups
60 gr grated Parmesan, approximately 1/2 cup
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

In an electric kettle or medium saucepan with a lid, combine chicken broth and white wine and heat just to simmering. Keep warm.

In a large 3 to 4-quart heavy saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onions and a pinch of salt and sweat until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the rice and stir. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until the grains are translucent around the edges. Be careful not to allow the grains or the onions to brown.

Reduce the heat to low. Add enough of the wine and chicken stock just to cover the top of the rice. Stir or move the pan often, until the liquid is completely absorbed into rice. Once absorbed, add another amount of liquid just to cover the rice and continue stirring or moving as before. There should be just enough liquid left to repeat 1 more time. It should take approximately 35 to 40 minutes for all of the liquid to be absorbed. After the last addition of liquid has been mostly absorbed, add the mushrooms and asparagus and stir until risotto is creamy and asparagus is heated through. Remove from the heat and stir in the Parmesan, lemon zest, and nutmeg. Taste and season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

*Cook's Note: If fresh wild mushrooms are not available, reconstituted dried mushrooms can be used instead. Place 2 ounces of dried mushrooms into a bowl and cover with warm water. Allow to sit for about 30 minutes or until all the mushrooms are soft and pliable.

Monasterio de Santa Ana Monastrell 2005 Jumilla, Spain

2008-01-29T07:51:00.000-08:00

Catena Malbec 2005 Mendoza, Argentina

2007-11-26T01:43:00.000-08:00

Great red quite similar to Zinfandel.
Some strawberry flavors coupled with vanilla oak and soft tannins and spice.
Medium to full bodied.

Had it with pasta and veal meatballs in tomato sauce which was a very good match.

£8.24 at Waitrose

Yalumba Eden Valley Viognier 2006 S Australia

2007-11-26T01:36:00.000-08:00

Very interesting wine. Apricot, peach and blossom flavours and a bit of toffee and spice as well. Quite rich texture.
Hard to match to food, had it with salmon but I think a lighter wine would have been a better match. Probably would go well with light asian food (i.e. same match as Gewurztraminer).

£9.49 at Waitrose

Risotto of ceps with spring onions, grated truffle and parmesan

2007-11-20T06:27:00.000-08:00

Risotto of ceps with spring onions, grated truffle and parmesan

This is an ideal main course for vegetarians that can also be served in smaller portions as a starter. Rather than make risotto the laborious, traditional way, I blanch my rice in advance, which halves the last-minute cooking time. The result is just as deliciously creamy, provided you use a good risotto rice.

Serves 4 as a main course

For the sautéed ceps:
250g fresh ceps, cleaned
2 tbs olive oil, plus extra to brush
sea salt and black pepper
a few knobs of butter

For the risotto:

200g risotto rice (such as carnaroli or vialone nano)
about 600ml vegetable stock
10g dried ceps (or porcini), rinsed
4 tbs olive oil
2 banana shallots, peeled and finely chopped
100ml dry white wine
2 tbs mascarpone
2 tbs freshly grated parmesan
2 spring onions (green part only), finely chopped
20g butter

To serve:

fresh truffle slices, to garnish
a few deep-fried parsley leaves
truffle-infused olive oil, to drizzle

Halve two large ceps. Chop the rest and set all the mushroom aside until ready to cook.

For the risotto, bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Add the rice and blanch the grains for 5 minutes. Drain well and spread out on a lightly oiled tray. Let cool, then cover with cling film and set aside until ready to cook and serve. (If preparing several hours ahead, refrigerate.)

Put the stock in another saucepan with the dried ceps. Bring to the boil, then turn off the heat and leave to infuse for 10-15 minutes. Strain the stock and return to the pan. (You could use the ceps for another dish.)

When ready to cook, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a saucepan and add the shallots. Stir over a medium heat for 3-4 minutes until beginning to soften. Tip in the rice and cook, stirring, for 1-2 minutes, then pour in the wine. Let bubble until almost totally reduced, then add a third of the infused stock. Stir occasionally until the rice has absorbed almost all the stock. Add another third of the stock and cook, stirring from time to time, again until the liquid is nearly all absorbed. Pour in half of the remaining stock, stir and simmer until absorbed. Now taste the rice to see if it is al dente. Add a splash more stock if the grains are still a little chalky. Remove the pan from the heat.

Heat a griddle pan until hot. Brush the ceps with a little olive oil and season well. Put the halved ceps on the griddle and cook for 4-5 minutes on both sides until nicely charred and cooked through. Heat the rest of the oil in a large frying pan and add the chopped ceps with a few knobs of butter. Season well and sauté over a high heat for 3-4 minutes until lightly browned.

Return the risotto to a gentle heat and add a little more stock. Stir in the sautéed ceps, then the mascarpone, parmesan, spring onions and finally the butter. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Divide the risotto among warm bowls and top each with a griddled cep half. Garnish with the truffle slices and parsley crisps. Drizzle over a little truffle-infused oil and serve immediately.

Villa Maria Private Bin Sauvignon Blanc 2006/07 Marlborough, New Zealand

2007-11-20T03:50:00.000-08:00

Another Villa Maria!
Dry Sav Blanc with lots of fruit flavours and a zesty finish. Lots of gooseberry and apple. Very light texture and almost looks like water.

Recommended to very light food like salads and so on. I had it with pasta and homemade walnut pesto and it was a bit overpowered by the garlic and parsley flavors from the pesto.

£6.74 at Waitrose.

Roasted roots with mustard, rosemary and honey

2007-11-20T03:11:00.001-08:00

From this article:

Roasted roots with mustard, rosemary and honey

This is a lovely way to prepare a mixture of winter root veg - and particularly useful if you have a veg box delivered containing a bit of this and a bit of that. Alternatively, stick to just one or two roots. Salsify is especially delicious cooked this way. Serves four.

3 big tbsp wholegrain mustard
2-3 tbsp runny honey
100ml olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2-3 large sprigs rosemary
About 1.5kg mixed root veg (such as parsnip, celeriac, carrot, salsify and swede), peeled and cut into large chunks

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Combine the mustard, honey and oil in a large bowl. Add plenty of seasoning and the rosemary, then tip in the veg. Mix with your hands, then transfer to a roasting dish. Cover the dish with foil and roast for half an hour, then uncover, give everything a good stir and turn up the heat to 190C/375F/gas mark 5. Continue to roast for about half an hour, or until soft and nicely caramelised.

Pumpkin risotto with crispy sage

2007-11-20T02:51:00.000-08:00

From this article:

Pumpkin risotto with crispy sage

Sage, with its sophisticated savouriness, is my favourite herb to partner the sweetness of pumpkin or squash. Here, it provides both a flavouring and a crispy edible garnish. Serves four as a generous starter.

600ml vegetable or chicken stock

1 small onion, chopped

2 tbsp olive oil

12 sage leaves, finely chopped

170g arborio rice

250g pumpkin or squash (peeled weight), diced small

To finish

2 tbsp sunflower oil

50g butter

Salt and ground black pepper

12-16 sage leaves

A piece of Parmesan or pecorino

Heat the stock until almost boiling, and then keep over a very low heat. In a heavy-based saucepan, sweat the onion in the oil until soft but not browned. Add the chopped sage and cook for a couple of minutes.

Now add the rice to the pot, stir to coat the grains with the oil, then pour in about a third of the hot stock and bring up to a gentle simmer. Cook until almost all the stock has been absorbed, stirring regularly but not all the time.

Add the pumpkin or squash and a little more stock, and continue to simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until the stock has been absorbed. From now on, add more stock a little at a time until the pumpkin is soft and the rice nicely al dente. You may not need all the stock. The texture of the finished risotto should be loose and creamy.

When it is almost ready, heat the sunflower oil in a small pan and fry the whole sage leaves until crisp - this takes a matter of seconds - then transfer to kitchen towel. Stir the butter into the risotto and season well. Divide between four serving bowls and throw a few crispy sage leaves over each portion. Bring the cheese and a grater to the table for your guests to help themselves.

Savoy cabbage and parmesan soup with croutons

2007-11-20T01:50:00.000-08:00

From this article.

Here's a little cheffy trick: when we get a big wheel of Parmesan, we cut off the tough skin and save it for adding to soups to infuse them with that intense Parmesan flavour. At home, you can collect skins over time and keep them in the freezer. If you don't have enough, just add a handful or so of grated Parmesan. Serves four.

For the soup

6 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, sliced
1 garlic clove, crushed
½ tsp caraway seeds, plus extra
1 medium savoy cabbage
1 medium potato, peeled and diced
1.1 litres vegetable stock
80g Parmesan skin
Coarse sea salt
½ mild red chilli, deseeded and thinly sliced
80g Parmesan, grated (optional)

For the croutons

8 thin slices baguette
Olive oil
1 medium ripe tomato
1-2 garlic cloves, peeled

First make the soup. Heat four tablespoons of oil in a big pot and sauté the onion on medium heat until soft but without much colour (about five minutes). Add the garlic and caraway, and cook for two minutes. Remove four of the outer leaves of the cabbage, shred finely and set aside. Roughly shred the rest of the cabbage, then add to the pot along with the diced potato, and stir for two to three minutes. Add enough stock just to cover the vegetables, add the Parmesan skin, reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the potato is tender. Remove the Parmesan skin, taste the soup and season accordingly. Remove from the heat, allow to cool for a few minutes, then blitz roughly with a hand-blender or liquidiser. Add more stock if it is too thick. Adjust the seasoning.

For the croutons, preheat the grill to high. Put the bread on a baking sheet and drizzle with oil. Grill for two minutes a side, or until golden brown. Grate the tomato. Rub the croutons with garlic, brush with tomato and finish with a sprinkle of salt.

To serve, heat two tablespoons of oil in a frying pan and sauté the reserved cabbage with the chilli and salt. Cook for three to four minutes, or until the cabbage softens. Spoon the hot soup into bowls, add grated Parmesan (if using), top with the fried cabbage and finish with a few extra caraway seeds scattered over the top.

Hoummus recipe

2007-11-15T03:06:00.000-08:00

From the Word of Mouth blog:

"Bunches - Other bloggers out there seem to have this covered but here is my tu'penny Well, you the know the ingredients - chickpeas, tahini, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and a touch of paprika at the end. For reasons that I am not quite sure about mine always turns out better with tinned chickpeas than soaking and cooking my own. Our Leon recipe makes a batch weight of about 150kg but if I scale it down using 1 tin of chickpeas I would go with most of a tablespoon of tahini, 1 or 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped (depending on how much garlic you like), a good squeeze of lemon juice and about 40ml of extra virgin, salt to taste. You are also going to dribble in some warm water to the food processor as it is going round to loosen it up because chickpeas have some of the same properties as cement."

Walnut and parsley pesto

2007-11-15T02:40:00.000-08:00

From the same article about walnuts as the walnut soda bread recipe below.

Walnut and parsley pesto

Pesto is, of course, perfect with pasta, but I also serve this one as a sauce-cum-relish with grilled lamb chops or steak. Serves four.

100g walnuts

1 fat garlic clove garlic, peeled and roughly chopped

100g hard, mature goat's cheese (or Parmesan), grated

50g flat-leaf parsley leaves

About 150ml good olive oil (or extra-virgin rapeseed oil)

Juice of ½ lemon

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Put the walnuts and garlic into a food processor and process until finely chopped - but still with some granular texture. Add the cheese and process again briefly. Add the parsley and blitz again to chop the leaves, then begin trickling in the oil, while the processor runs. Stop when you have a sloppy purée. Taste, season as necessary with lemon juice, salt and pepper. If you don't have a food processor, you can make the pesto with a large pestle and mortar, crushing the ingredients together in the same order.

Store in the fridge - if you completely cover the surface of the pesto with oil so all air is excluded, it should keep for a couple of weeks.

Ken Forrester Chenin Blanc 2006 Stellenbosch, South Africa

2007-11-15T02:33:00.000-08:00

Nice and easy Chenin Blanc with lots of tropical fruit flavors and a bit of acidity mellowed out with some honey. Slight mineral finish. Dry.
Probably better in summer with a salad than in November with pasta but still good.

Bargain £5.24 at Waitrose.

Villa Maria Private Bin Pinot Noir 2005

2007-11-15T02:03:00.000-08:00

Really nice Pinot Noir with lots of berry flavour and cheery. Slightly oaked.
I had this one as an apertif but would probably go well with pasta, pizza, chicken or beef.

Don't remember the price but I think it was around £15 at Sainsburys.

Monteforte Soave Classico 2005 Veneto, Italy

2007-11-04T13:49:00.000-08:00

Nice dry Italian white made from 100% Garganega grapes (which makes the best Soave). Very fruity, fresh and quite a lot of citrus flavours. No honey or perfume flavours.
I had it with tagiatelle with gorgonzola sauce, peas and parma ham.

Can be found at Waitrose for only £6.64.

Da Luca Primitivo / Merlot 2005/06

2007-11-04T13:45:00.000-08:00

Nice and simple full bodied Italian read and at £5.21 you can drink it every day. :-)
Mix between Merlot and Primitivo. Goes well together with meat and pasta dishes, I think I mainly had it with pasta with tomato based sauces and pizza etc.

You can find it at Waitrose.

Walnut and honey soda bread

2007-11-04T13:39:00.000-08:00

Found this recipe in the Guardian. It was really easy to do and tasted great. The recipe says that you should leave the bread in the oven for 30-40 minutes but we found that 30 minutes was enough and probably a little bit less would be better. I guess that depends on your oven though, we put it on the bottom part of the oven as well.
It was really nice with some butter and sliced parmesan, the cheese and the slightly sweet bread was a nice combination.

Walnut and honey soda bread

Sweet and savoury at the same time, with an incredible depth of flavour, this quick bread is wonderful with cheese. Serves six.

200g walnuts

200g honey

500g wholemeal flour

4 tsp baking powder

10g salt

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/ gas mark 6 and lightly oil a baking sheet. Divide the walnuts into two roughly equal piles. Put one half into a food processor or a mortar, then crush to a coarse powder. Using your hands, break the other pile of walnuts into large, rough chunks. Put the honey in a pan with 300ml water and heat gently until the honey dissolves.

Put the flour, baking powder, salt and all the walnuts in a large bowl and combine. Pour in the honey water and mix to a soft dough.

Turn the dough out on to a lightly floured surface, shape it into a rough, round loaf and place on the oiled baking tray. Slice a deep cross into the top, going almost right the way through to the baking sheet.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes, until well risen and golden brown. Remove, set aside to cool and serve immediately - at the very latest, eat within 24 hours.

Guy Saget 2006 Sancerre

2007-11-04T13:22:00.000-08:00

Very nice Sancerre with lots of citrus and gooseberry flavours and a mineral aftertaste. Also some honey taste. Medium to full bodied and dry.
100 % Sauvignon Blanc and made in the Loire Valley. Even though it's cold climate wine I found this Sancerre a bit fuller in flavor than other Sancerres I had, which is not a bad thing.

http://www.guy-saget.com/

Parmesan crisps

2007-11-04T13:08:00.000-08:00

Supereasy to do and very nice to a number of Italian dishes. I had it with risotto and parmaham rolls so far.

You need:
A good Parmigiano Reggiano (a.k.a. parmesan)
Something to grate it with

How it's made:
Put a bakingpaper on a bakingtray. Grate the cheese on a plate or something. Put little round piles of the grated cheese on the bakingtray. A trick is to make the piles quite small and thin, this makes the crisps crispier. Bake for about 5 minutes at 175 degrees C. The crisps should be nice and a bit brown. Pull them off with a knife or something, be quite careful not to break them. Directly put them on a piece of kitchen paper for a bit to dry off any fat. Done!

Temporary recipe dump

2007-09-27T03:03:00.000-07:00

Cave de Beblenheim Pinot Gris d'Alsace 2005 Alsace, France
Canaletto Pinot Grigio / Garganega 2005 Veneto, Italy

Parmesanchips
25 st

Så enkelt och så utomordentligt gott. Utmärkt som drinktilltugg, på en sallad, i en soppa eller som garnityr till medelhavsinspirerade rätter med kött och fisk.

200 g färsk parmesan
1/2 dl svarta oliver

Sätt ugnen på 175 grader. Riv osten på den grova sidan på rivjärnet. Skiva oliverna. Lägg bakpapper på en plåt och skeda upp ca 20 högar ost. Lägg ett par olivskivor på varje hög och sätt in i ugnen ca 5 minuter. Osten skall ha smält och blivit lite brun. Låt svalna på pappret och lossa sedan försiktigt. Parmesanchipsen går bra att förvara någon vecka, men de kan mjukna något.

Risotto con funghi

Du behöver:
1/2 l italienskt rundkornigt
ris (vialone)
1-2 dl olivolja av bästa
slag
2 klyftor vitlök (kan
uteslutas)
1 finhackad gul lök
2 dl vitt vin
8 dl svampbuljong (eller
annan vegetarisk buljong)
400 g färsk rensad svamp
salt och svartpeppar

Om svamp kan man tala länge i Italien. Särskilt om svampen är den präktiga Karl Johan som man plockar själv om hösten. Svampen skärs ofta i skivor för att sedan torkas i ugn. På så vis blir den hållbar och kan sedan serveras året om!

-Skölj riset under rinnande kallt vatten och låt det rinna av.
-Värm oljan i en rejält tilltagen kastrull eller panna. Lägg gärna i ett par vitlöksklyftor och låt dem sakta puttra med en stund - ett tips för alla som gillar vitlöksdoft och smak! Tag upp vitlöken och lägg sedan i den fint hackade gula löken.
-Låt fräsa med oljan utan att löken tar färg. Rör flitigt.
-Häll i riset. Rör om och späd efter ett par minuter med vin och så mycket buljong att det nätt och jämt täcker riset. Låt koka utan lock. Rör då och då i grytan.
-Späd sedan med buljongen undan för undan tills all buljong sugits upp av riset.
-Häll ner svampen och rör om ordentligt så den blandar sig med riset. Salta och peppra efter smak.
-Efter ca 18 minuter har riset fått den rätta, fuktiga konsistensen - med mjukt ytterhölje men ännu hård kärna.
-Servera risotton, gärna direkt ur grytan!

Risotto alla Milanese

Du behöver:
1/2 l italienskt ris
(rundkornigt vialone)
1-2 dl olivolja (jungfruolja)
finhackad gul lök
8 dl ljus buljong
2 dl vitt vin
1 g saffran (2 påsar)
salt och peppar
2 dl riven parmesanost

-Värm oljan - det ska vara rikligt av den varan! - och fräs löken några minuter utan att den tar färg. Rör runt ordentligt. Häll i riset och saffranet och låt fräsa. Häll på buljong och vin så det täcker riset.
-Koka och rör. När riset börjar bli torrt, fyll på mer buljong och vin. Späd undan för undan tills ytterhöljet är mjukt medan kärnan fortfarande är fast. Koktid ca 20 minuter.
-Häll i parmesanosten och krydda. Risotton ska nu vara fuktig, nästan som gröt. Helst ska den serveras ur en urgröpt parmesanost, som ger risotton extra smak.

Fettucini puttanesca

Du behöver:
4 klyftor finhackad vitlök
2 msk olivolja, extra virgin
2 msk färsk basilika, riven i bitar
1-2 pepparfrukter, Diabolo eller Serrano (lite mildare)
2 msk kapris, utan vätska
100 g sardeller
400 g svarta oliver (helst Kalamata)
1 kg mogna tomater, skalade och grovhackade
2 msk tomatpuré
salt och nymalen peppar efter smak

Till servering:
riven parmesanost

-Värm oljan i en medelstor kastrull.
-Bryn vitlök, den finhackade chilin och basilikan i kastrullen tills vitlöken fått en ljusbrun färg.
-Blanda ner de övriga ingredienserna. Koka upp.
-Sänk värmen, sätt lock på kastrullen och låt allt sakta puttra 40 minuter.
-Tag av locket och låt all vätska koka bort så att du får en härligt tjock sås.
-Koka pastan som sedan blandas med den varma såsen.
-Lägg upp på tallrik, strö över riven parmesanost och garnera med några färska basilikablad.

Passionsfruktssufflé

Du behöver:
4 äggulor
8 äggvitor
4 + 4 msk socker
1/2 dl passionsfruktsjuice
smör + socker till formarna

Till såsen:
1 dl passionsfruktsjuice
1/2 dl vatten
1/2 dl socker
1 msk kallt osaltat smör

Till servering:
florsocker
2 msk hackad pistaschmandel

Syran från passionsfrukten gör äggvitorna styvare och sufflén blir stadigare. Hur många frukter som går åt beror helt på hur pass mycket saft de innehåller. Skulle det bli någon frukt över, halvera den och servera bredvid sufflén på tallriken.

-Dela passionsfrukterna och gröp ur dem. Kör inkråmet i mixer och sila det sedan till en slät juice. Mät upp 1 1/2 dl juice. Ta undan 1/2 dl till suffléerna. Koka upp resten till såsen tillsammans med vatten och socker. Ställ den åt sidan (smöret rör man ner vid serveringen).
-Vispa äggulorna luftigt. Tillsätt efter ett tag 4 msk socker och vispa vidare.
-Gör samma sak med äggvitorna.
-Vänd ner 1/2 dl passionsfruktsjuice i äggvitan. Vänd därefter ner äggulan.
-Smörj och sockra fyra lite större portionsformar. Fyll formarna med smeten nästan ända upp.
-Sätt formarna i hett vattenbad ovanpå spisen (använd flera plattor) tills suffléerna har höjt sig en aning.
-Lyft försiktig upp formarna ur vattnet och placera dem i 180grader ugn i ca 15 min eller tills de är höga och börjar få lite färg.
-Lossa suffléerna ur formarna. Pudra över florsocker. Värm såsen och vispa ner det kalla smöret. Strö hackad pistaschmandel över såsen och servera genast.

Bagels for breakfast

2007-09-24T02:57:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things for breakfast is bagels.
Toast a bagel lightly (bagels with sesame seeds are nice). Butter. Put on a lot of Philadelphia cheese. Put some Serrano ham on this followed by some sun dried tomatoes (fresh tomatoes, roughly chopped works nice as well). Sprinkle with extra virgin olive oil and finally black pepper. Delicious!

Canaletto Primitivo 2004/05

2007-09-24T02:47:00.000-07:00

This was a suprise hit for only £4.74 at Waitrose. First time I tried Primitivo grape and this wine is 100 % Primitivo. Very nice round flavour and again reminded me a bit about Zinfandel (which happens to be one of my favorite grapes at the moment). Primitivo is related to Zinfandel so it's quite similar.
I had it with a rustic pizza from Deliverance

Les Espalines Cuvée Les Tendrelles 2004 Gigondas

2007-09-24T02:37:00.000-07:00

This wine packed a nice punch with 14 %. Reminded me quite a lot about Zinfandel. It's yours for about £12.50.
Prefer this to Crozes-Hermitage which is a bit more chalky.
Definitely an autumn wine.
Gabriel Meffre 2004 Gigondas is a slightly cheaper Gigondas but I didn't try it yet.
Both can be found at Waitrose.

Lambstew with beans, olives and tomatoes

2007-09-24T02:07:00.001-07:00

This is very easy to make. Had it with cheddar mash and then with cous cous for lunch the day after. Definitely a red wine dish. I had it with a nice Gigondas but Italian reds like Primitivo will work great as well (and cheaper than Gigondas).
This is an autumn/winter dish.

Recipe makes two big portions and two lunch size portions.

You need:
500 g of minced lamb
1 onion
3 cloves of garlic
1,5 - 2 red chili
2 red peppers
Olive oil
1 piece of meat stock
300-400 ml of water
200 ml of cooked beans
100 ml black olives
About 8 normal sized tomatoes
About 6 mushrooms
1 pot of parsley
Salt and pepper

How it's made:
Chop the onion, garlic, chili and peppers.
Fry the meat with some olive oil until properly fried. Add onion,
garlic, chili and peppers and fry for another minute or so. Add stock and
water and let cook for 30 minutes.
Add beans, olives, tomatoes, mushrooms and parsley after about 20 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper. Serve.

Grape guides

2007-09-04T03:20:00.000-07:00

I found these nice grape guides on the Oxford Wine Society webpage.

White Wine Grapes

Red Wine Grapes

No-bake berry cheesecake

2007-09-04T03:11:00.000-07:00

Saw this one on the F-Word, seems pretty nice.

Ingredients
8 servings

8 digestive biscuits

6 tbsp caster sugar

100g unsalted butter

Berries

300g blueberries (or blackberries)

2 tbsp caster sugar

splash of crème de cassis or water

Vanilla cream cheese

400g cream cheese

6 tbsp icing sugar

juice of 1/2 lemon

1 vanilla pod, split

600ml double cream

To finish

Icing sugar to dust

Method

Make the topping first. Coarsely grind the biscuits in a food processor. Melt the sugar in a heavy-based non-stick pan until it begins to caramelise, then carefully add the butter, shaking the pan to mix the caramel with the butter as it melts. Add the ground biscuits and toss to coat in the caramel. Tip on to a plate, chill for 5 minutes until firm, then break into pieces. Wipe out the pan with kitchen paper.

Tip the blueberries into the pan and sprinkle with the 2 tbsp sugar and a splash of cassis or water. Cook over medium-high heat for a minute until the blueberries are slightly soft. Spread out on a plate and leave to cool.

For the vanilla cream cheese, put the cream cheese, icing sugar and lemon juice in a large bowl. Add the seeds from the vanilla pod and beat until smooth. In another bowl, lightly whip the cream to soft peaks, then fold into the cream cheese mixture.

To shape individual cheesecakes, line 8 ramekins with cling film. Fill with the cream cheese mixture and level the tops with the back of a knife. Chill until ready to serve.

Sprinkle the crumbly topping on top of the cheesecakes and spoon the blueberries around the plate. Dust with icing sugar and serve immediately.

Crozes Hermitage

2007-09-03T04:37:00.000-07:00

Full bodied wine from Syrah grape. Made in Rhône.
Great with steak. Probably would go for something lighter for pasta though.
Also good on its own, although I prefer it with food.
Usually cost around £8 to £15.

Tagliatelle di pollo

2007-09-03T04:19:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorite recipes. Probably best enjoyed with a white wine.

This is for four portions.

You need:
400g tagliatelle
250g chicken breast
300g leaf spinach
Half an onion
150g goats cheese
400ml cream
3 cloves of garlic
Fresh parsley
Fresh chive
Pinenuts
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil

How its made:
Slice the chicken in thin slices. Chop the onion, herbs and garlic finely. Fry the garlic gently in some olive oil. Add the chicken and let it fry.
Add the cream, herbs and goats cheese (in small pieces). Let this cook until the cheese is melted. Lower the heat.
Put on water for the tagliatelle.
In another pan, roast the pine nuts. Put in a bowl for use later.
Fry the onion with some olive oil in the same pan. Add the spinach leafs and fry this.
Put the cooked pasta in the sauce and let this cook together a bit.
Put the spinach on a plate, add some roasted pine nuts, add the tagliatelle on top of this. Add some more pine nuts, a string of extra virgin olive oil, some black pepper and maybe some basil.

Montepulciano d'Abruzzo

2007-09-03T04:10:00.000-07:00

Quite like this one. From the montepulciano grape.
Can be found in quite a lot of stores and is usually quite cheap.
Great for pasta dishes.

Pasta sauce with pancetta and mushrooms

2007-09-03T03:44:00.000-07:00

This is my freestyle version of an "Tomato and anchovy pasta sauce" recipe found here.

This will be enough sauce for three big portions or four medium sized ones.

You need:
500ml roast tomato sauce
1 onion
25-50g of anchovies in oil
70-100g of pancetta (italian bacon)
50ml of Creme Fraiche
Some mushrooms

How its made:
Heat some olive oil in a big pan, chop the onion finely. Choose how many anchovies you want, I took about half a 50g tin. Chop the anchovies finely. Fry the onion gently until its soft and nice but not colored. Add the anchovies. Cook for something like 10 minutes and stir.
While the anchovies and onion is cooking - Take another pan and put in a small amount of olive oil. Fry the pancetta in this pan. They fry very fast so don't leave them too long. The goal is to get a nice brown color. Use some kitchen tweezers to turn them. Put them on kitchen paper so they get dry and crispy.
Chop the mushrooms into quite fine pieces and fry them in the same pan as the pancetta just left. Leave the oil from the pancetta in there. When the mushrooms are nice and brown reduce the heat.
Stir in the roast tomato sauce and simmer for about 15 minutes.
Put in the mushrooms and the creme fraiche. Bring back to a simmer and add the pancetta (break it into smaller pieces). Taste and season with salt and freshly grounded black pepper (be careful not to salt too much, the anchovies and pancetta will have added some salt already).

Directly put it on top of freshly cooked pasta, trickle with extra virgin olive oil, put some black pepper on and add a few fresh basil leaves.

Make your own pasta!

2007-09-03T03:34:00.000-07:00

I bought a pasta machine. I think the best brand is Imperia and you can get them in well sorted department stores. Mine cost £45 at Selfridges.
Making the pasta isn't really hard but you probably need to be two people to handle the actual rolling and cutting.

I used this recipe which was good. Makes about 450g of pasta which should be enough for three big portions or four medium sized ones.

Roast Sieved Tomatoes

2007-09-03T03:29:00.000-07:00

Found this recipe in Guardian Weekend. It was quite easy to make and it was a great base for a pasta sauce. Only problem is that you need to buy and carry home a lot of tomatoes. ;-)
Two kilos of tomatoes fill up two oven trays so if you want to do more than 1 litre you need more trays.
Don't worry if the sauce looks to watery, it is easy to reduce in the pan.

Roast sieved tomatoes

Here's the basic procedure, but do vary the amounts of garlic and herbs to suit your own taste. Makes about a litre.

At least 2kg ripe, full-flavoured tomatoes - use different varieties and a mixture of sizes, all cut in half

2-3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 tbsp olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

A few sprigs fresh thyme and marjoram (optional, but preferable)

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Arrange the tomato halves - tightly packed but not on top of each other - in an ovenproof dish. Mix the garlic with the oil and trickle evenly over the tomatoes. Season lightly with salt and pepper, and throw in the herbs, if using.

Roast for 45-60 minutes, until the tomatoes are soft, pulpy and slightly charred. Rub the mixture through a fine sieve, discard the skins and seeds, and that's it - your sauce is ready to use.

From this article.

Ravenswood Zinfandel

2007-09-03T03:15:00.000-07:00

Tried Zinfandel grape for first time with this wine. It was really good. Quite fruity and spicy and not as heavy as Shiraz or more full bodied wines. Drank it with fresh pasta and tomato based sauce which was an excellent combination. Would probably go for something heavier for steak etc.

Ravenswood Winery

Ravenswood Zinfandel at Tesco