Grilled and marintated vegetables

Grilled and marinated vegetables are a delicious hearty but fresh company with all grilled meats, especially lamb and beef. It could also goes well with grilled goats cheese. To prepare, put a side at least 1 hour time. (served on ciabatta bread, this makes a delicious vegetarian sandwich)

Ingredients:

2-3 Aubergines
3-4 Sweet peppers, red (and yellow)
4 Courgettes
6 ripe tomatoes
1 bunch of basil, 1 bunch of parsley, some marjoram
3 garlic cloves
Olive oil, Sherry vinegar, salt, pepper
optional, but delicious, a bunch of green asparagus

Preparation:

Put the peppers as whole in the oven, 200 Celsius, 40 minutes.

Slice aubergines thinly approx. 1 cm, sprinkle with some salt and leave for about 30 minutes.
Slice courgettes.
Half the tomatoes.

In a heavy grill pan, or over a BBQ, grill the courgettes on both sides, about 1-2 minutes, leave still slightly crisp. Drain the water from aubergines, then grill.

The peppers need to be peeled. After they have browned – blackend in the oven, remove and put in a plastic bag to cool a bit, this will make it easier to remove the skin. Remove skin and seeds, tear in pieces.

Grill asparagus.

Squeeze the juice of the tomatoes over a sieve to remove the seeds, into a large dish or bowl.

Add the crushed garlic cloves, salt, pepper, olive oil and vinegar, then combine all vegetables in the sauce. Add lots of roughly chopped basil and parsley, some marjoram, season to taste, add oil and vinegar if necessary.

Now grill the tomatoes quickly, cut in half again and add to the vegetables.

Mix well and leave for a little while to infuse with the rest of the vegetables.

First BBQ of 2008, Chicken, Garlic, Chili, Lemon

First BBQ of the year, at Steffi’s house in Nivenheim…as usual, I take control of the shopping. For me a real BBQ essential is having tons of meat, fish, poultry, sausages and vegetables to throw on the hot coals. Salads on the side, also worth investing in, then you need some very good bread, baked potatoes, slow BBQ’ed whole garlic cloves, grilled juicy tomatoes, maybe even some whole grilled, slow cooked and caramelized onions, sauces from aioli to chived up sour cream, Sirachi and BBQ sauce, there are so MANY things that need to be part of it.

The pre BBQ shopping trips are always the battle, who much, which cut, who will eat all this food, but it must be a lot.

On our first BBQ of the year we had this delicious chicken which came out better then anticipated. It was actually the best!

Grilled Chicken, Lemon, Chili, Garlic:

Chicken crowns, (2 breast on the bone, could also be a whole flattened chicken)

Garlic, Chilli, Lemon rind chopped in pieces, Pepper, Olive Oil,

The above are rubbed over the chicken, left aside for some 1/2 hour. Before grilling, season with Salt.

On the grill it goes. Then, once nice and crisp on all sides, wrapped in tin foil and left on the side of the BBQ to fully slow cook and the juices are retained.

Simple, delicious.

And again, Penne all’Arrabiata – one of the best recipes in the world

I am reposting this recipe, posted originally June 2, 2006. It got some many hits and views that it needs to be on top again!!

This fantastic, simple and delicious recipe is from one of the greatest chefs. Thanks Theo and River Cafe Cookbook for this. It changed my life. The recipe is so quick and simple to make, tasty, spicy, yummy, it became instantly our favorite.

(I actually got it of Theo Randall, he was the Head Chef and partner at the River Cafe in London who now runs his own place Theo Randall at the InteContinental, on Park Lane.)

penne, de cecco, nothing else. don’t even think about another brand.

1 tin of good pelatti or chopped tomatoes

fresh garlic, 4 – 6 whole cloves (now in spring there are those beautiful pinkish fresh garlics…)

1 red hot chili, halved, without seeds

a bunch of basil leaves

olive oil, extra vergine, again, don’t trade down for somethin cheap crap oil

Now, this is the key to a great sauce…

Slowly cook the whole, peeled garlic cloves in enough olive oil so that they are covered in the oil, add the chili. It is crucial that the garlic and chili simmers very slowly in the oil, remove the pan if necessary and put back on the stove in order for it not overheating. (When Steffi did it last time she wanted to rush and the garlic burned and exploded, what a mess)

When the garlic is very light golden brown, quickly fry the basil in the oil. then remove it and put aside.

add the tomato and cook slowly for about 12 minutes on low heat. Be careful when adding the tomatoes as the oil is hot and it will blubber like mad.

Season with a pinch of sugar, Maldon sea salt and fresh ground black pepper. taste and season again until you find it right. you can now remove the chili, or leave it, depends on how spicy you like it.

Boil the pasta in water with plenty of salt. (if there is not enough salt in the water so you can actual taste it, the pasta and sauce will taste lame. so taste the water and make sure it is salty enough. often pasta tastes of nothing although the sauce is OK, that’s often because it was boiled in water without salt…)

when the pasta is very al dente remove, drain and add to the sauce, mixed it well, again and again and slowly finish in the sauce. the sauce will now really infuse into the pasta. be careful that you don’t overcook it, needs to remain al dente. add the basil.

serve with fresh Parmesan to grate and a nice bottle of red wine. We always get the £6 Crozes Hermitage from Sainsburys with it, it tastes strong enough but not overpowering, and the shop is open till late.

its the simplest and best dish I know. try it. if you don’t like it let me know. i invite you to my place and cook them for you.

Buon Appetio.

Scaloppine al Limone – Veal Escalopes with Lemon

…cooking yesterday needs to be shard…the best since a while was cooked in our pots and pans for dinner. after an extensive shopping day (and the first real day off in 4 weeks or so) we ended in Selfridges food halls, I think one of the best places to shop all you need food. By the way, if you are after some real continental items such as Braten Sauce etc. you find it here.

We decided to cook paper thin veal scaloppine, pan fried in some butter and olive oil to give them a nice golden color, served with a lemon sauce made with Italian unwaxed lemons, and all of it served with fresh taglierini.

The secret lied in the sauce, the freshness, acidity and deep flavor of the lemons going in harmony with the fresh made veal stock and cream sauce, light, balanced and endless deep. I pan fried in some olive oil wedges of lemon with a large piece of fresh new season garlic, added a few leaves of sage, a tiny sprig of rosemary, a pinch of salt, sugar and pepper. The lemons and the juice starts to concentrate to a thick syrup like liquid after a while, adding a bit of water and simmering on until the lemon rind is completely soft and delicious to eat.

After the scaloppine were pan fried, set a side in a baking dish, the pan is deglazed with some white wine, reduce, add the lemons and the juice, reduce slightly and add veal stock, the juice from the scaloppini and a dash of cream, season, some chopped flat parsley, all of it over the scaloppine and for a minute or so in to the oven. Served with fresh cooked taglierini, delicious.

I made this dish before but never with the slow cooked lemons and the concentrate juice which really makes a difference.

(For a starter we had, Steffi’s inspired Chicore also called Endive Belge salad, with lots of orange segments and a few completely squeezed and mashed out ones, with the flesh, some balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper, a very fresh and crisp way to start the dinner.)

Turbot, pan fried with lemon and capers, roast potatoes and cherry tomatoes

Turbot is a very delicate flat fish, like a flounder. In German we call it Steinbutt, Stein = Stone, Butt = I have no clue, maybe butt? Stones on the butt? The grey color makes him invisible for enemies. As I’m more of a culinarian then a marine biologic I am unable to get into more detail. Go to wikipedia.

A delicious recipe is tough the Turbot, roasted, served with new potatoes, boiled or lightly roasted, and a light sauce of capers, lemon and cherry tomatoes, made with some fish stock. It is once again an Italian recipe from guess who? and is light and fresh.

Preparation Time
20 minutes preparation and 10 minutes cooking

Ingredients (for 4 people)
4 Turbot Filets, approx. 180-200 gr. per person
1 Lemon, peeled, without seeds and cut in dices
12 pieces of Caper Apples (large capers), halved (Caperi di Pantelleria)
8 hands full Fresh baby Spinach, washed and rinsed
16 pieces Medium sized new Potatoes
2 Tea Spoons Flat parsley, chopped
1 dl Fish Stock
2 pcs. Large tomato, peeled, de-seeded, and in cubes
Olive Oil, Salt, Pepper

Preparation:
1. Boil the potatoes, slice and saute in olive oil, keep warm when lightly browned.
2. Season fish filets with Salt and Pepper. Preheat oven to 170° C.
3. Pan-fry fish in a hot pan in olive oil for 2 minutes on each side,
then place on a non-stick tray in the oven. (max. 3 more minutes)
4. Deglaze the pan where fish was fried with fish stock, bring to
boil, then add lemon, capers, tomatoes and parsley. Season with
salt and pepper and take pan aside.
5. In a other pan, sauté quickly the spinach in some olive oil, season
with salt and pepper. (alternatively, and this is the best way I know to make spinach is: Place washed spinach on a baking tray, season with salt and pepper, drizzle with olive oil, place a few minutes in a very hot oven, toss and serve.)
6. Serve on hot plates; a bed of spinach in the middle, the fish on top, potatoes and the sauce.

Spanish Tortilla

A Spanish Tortilla is a great quick meal, warm or cold, substantial and the left over can be eaten the day after like a piece of cake. Part of the “secret” to get a nice cake shaped tortilla, without it tasting like an egg cake, is to take plenty of potatoes. Slices of tortilla, individually wrapped are also a nice addition to a picnic basket or as kids lunch box.

The name Tortilla probably comes from Torta which means Cake in Spanish or Italian. Tortillas, depending on which part in the world have quite a few variations, in Spain it is the Potato layered omelette I’m talking about here, in Mexico and other parts of South America it’s a maize “flat bread or crepe” which comes then for enchiladas, tacos, nachos etc. in Jewish its a blintz, in Russia a blini and in central Europe a crepe…anyway, here how I do my Spanish Tortilla.

To make a Spanish Tortilla, boil whole peeled potatoes until nearly soft, then slice, saute in a pan with plenty of olive oil. Season well. You can add chopped or sliced garlic, onions and some chilies. Season the potatoes well, then add the beaten eggs, lightly seasoned, about 4-6, just enough that all spaces between the potatoes are filled. I squeeze the potatoes into the pan, flatten it, so there is less space for the egg mixture, to much egg makes it taste more like a Royal then a Tortilla. Cook slowly, then put the whole pan into a oven at about 120-150 Celsius, until the egg is cooked.

Flip over on grease paper. Leave to cool a bit. Done.You can also add basil, green beans, spinach, tomatoes, Tabasco, other herbs, etc. This is really nice with some fresh salad with olive oil and sherry vinegar dressing, a glass of wine.

Roast Chicken, parsley, garlic, pagnotta bread, lentils, rucola

Once again, I was walking around the kitchen where I work, the smell from the wood burning oven againg and again draws me closer to it and my brain immediately sends signals to my stomach, chefs are all over the place preparing great food, doing prep work, butchering, cleaning vegetables, fileting fish, seafood, live lobsters are cooked and crabs are picked, meat is hanging in the fridges, bresaola is hanging to dry, all home made, … and then, again and again I have to stop when I see Theo or Gillian preparing what I would say is some of the best food in town. It is every time an ultimate inspiration to watch them smoothly working like an orchestra, in a perfect swan lake ballet choreography, see the glow in the eyes while they prepare a new delicacy. The best thing about it, they all always have time to explain, show and share how to and what is best. Thanks. One chat and walk is as inspiring as reading 1000 cookbooks.

Chicken with garlic, parsley, pagnotta bread, lentils, rucola…this dish I was told, is originally from Wolfgang Puck’s Spago in California. It is a simple, juicy and tasty, elegant and rustic way to roast a chicken. Whether one is a pro or hobby cook, it is just mind buggling to watch them and chat about the food. The garlic and parsley infuses a mild interesting flavor to the chicken.

The chicken:

1 whole free range chicken
Garlic cloves, boiled (to take some of the sharpness)
Bunch of flat parsley
Olive oil

Pagnotta bread (or Poilaine if you cant get the Pagnotta which you most likely cant get)

Prep the chicken as if you wanted to grill, cut out the bottom and lay flat, remove bones. Chop garlic with parsley. Stuff into all open spaces. Sear the seasoned chicken in a pan, roast in the oven with the bread on top, about 15 – 20 minutes at 160 Celsius, slowly. Don’t cook the hell out of the tender juicy animal or it will go dry.

For the lentils:

Lentils de Puy
Chili
Sage
Garlic
Red wine vinegar Olive oil

Cook the lentils slowly in water with a bunch of sage, a pierced chili, garlic clove, salt. Strain when cooked, leave some of the water, add olive oil, salt, pepper to taste, vinegar. before serving, remove garlic, chili, sage.

Finishing it off:

Cut the chicken in large pieces, same with the bread. Put on top of the lukewarm lentils, some rucola leaves, chicken, bread, drizzle with the juice and some olive oil. Done. Enjoy.

(to all ingredients I don’t use any words as “best extra virgin olive oil” and other adjectives as this is a given if you want to prepare good food, don’t go for the Tesco Chickens and alikes…buy free range, from the local butcher, good vegetables and so on, it’s worth it worth every fucking penny spent)

Free range, home made “Chicken Noodle Soup” with root vegetables

…after this incredible unhealthy food lovers alcohol loaded weekend in NYC I had the urgent feeling to do something good for my system and incredible appetite. I am not into gym, running and other body killing habits so I decided to cook a Chicken Noodle soup. Tina, Steffi’s sister helped preparing it and what came out was one of the most delicious broth I had in a long long time…

Following my instructions she bought a really good free range chicken from the local butcher, about 1.2kg of size.

Put the chicken in a large heavy cast iron pot, add cold water, chopped up carrots, celery stalks and celeriac, leeks, 2 halved onions roasted black on the open face side (for the color of the soup), some parsley, pepper corns and 1 bay leaf. Simmer gently for about 1 1/2 hours. Skim the scum from the soup to get rid of all impurities.

Remove the chicken from the stock. Drain stock through fine sieve and bring back to boil. I took all the meat of the bones, kept the whole breasts for Chicken – Rice and Curry salad and put the same variety of vegetables used before, but cut in cubes, into the stock. Boil until soft, add the pieces of chicken and separately boiled risoni or short noodle pasta. Salt, pepper to taste.

Amazing, simple, so delicious and with the remaining chicken bones I cooked a second stock, can be used for a delicious risotto!

Image of real happy free range chickens by foxglove. Thanks! (when you are in London, I’ll cook you the soup…)

Loup de mer (f) Seabass (en): roasted with potatoes, olives, capers, white wine, garlic and tomatoes

Popular demand and lots of interest I now add another recipe (my top mega favorite one) for a roasted Sea Bass with potatoes, olives, capers, white wine, garlic and tomatoes. This precious, possibly becoming rare fish due to high demands is also called Loup de mer in French, Seabass in English and Bar de ligne is Line caught seabass, so all the same. There are differences of provenance, i.e Chilean, Balck, European etc Seabass. A superb sea fish, one of the most precious and highly popular due to its firm and tasty texture, no small bones to fight with, fairly straight forward to grill, roast or steam and really nice and moist flesh. It is one of my favorites too, not a budget fish but a great hit on every dinner table with friends to impress or just a delicious Mediterranean (or oriental if differently cooked) dish. You can get wild seabass and seabass from farms.

read here more about seabass if you want to become a specialist on Wikipedia or on M&J Seafoods for a good weekly report of the situation, including availability and price guide (go direct to the weekly market report in the middle of the front page)

Seabass roasted with potatoes, olives, capers, white wine, garlic and tomatoes

ANYWAY, enough, here is my favorite way of preparing a lovely Seabass of about 1.6.-1.8 kg for 3-4, we usually eat one in two. Here is the recipe:

1 large Seabass, clean, scaled, some parsley inside
4-6 starchy potatoes, peeled, sliced 1.5cm
1 small glass of capers or caper apples
100 grams of Kalamata olives
Cherry or normal, sweet ripe tomatoes
Garlic
White wine, dry
Sea salt, pepper, the best fruity spicy virgin olive oil you can get your hands on
Baking paper, baking tray

Boil water for the potatoes, boil them in salted water a few minutes only so that they are still raw inside, strain, lay on baking tray, drizzle with good olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, about 1 dl of white wine, capers, tomatoes, garlic in whole cloves, and more olive oil. (not the olives yet).

Bake for 10 minutes at about 200 Celsius, then put the salt and pepper seasoned fish on top, bake in oven at 180 Celsius for about 20 minutes. Add the olives after about 15 minutes, if too early they burn / caramelize. Baste the fish with the liquid on the tray.

When cooked, the fish must come easy of the bones. Take skin of, fillet, serve, drizzle with olive oil and sea salt. The flavor of the fish, olive oil and white wine will make the potatoes moist and incredibly flavorsome. It is so simple but quite awesome dish.

Can you taste the sea? It just reminds me so much of the salty moist air when sitting in a fresh breeze on the coast in Spain…

Beef carpaccio with horseradish and rocket

To start with, it only works with great meat. I found that besides the Ginger Pig butcher in Marylebone which sell the greatest well aged and top quality beef, Lindgates on Holland Park is closer to where I live and as good.

The quality of the meat and the flavor is key to this dish. I like the combination of fresh, wild hot horseradish, Maldon sea salt and good Olive Oil, with the fresh spicy flavor of ruccola makes one of the best starters you can get. Theo Randall once served this to me as “canape” where he rolled a thin slice of beef with some rocket and fresh horseradish inside, what a great and simple stuzzicino.

Buy well matured beef fillet in a whole piece. Slice it thinly and put the slices between cling film and beat it thin. Lay on the plate, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, coarse sea salt, ground pepper. (you can add a few drops of fresh lemon juice), serve with fresh horseradish and rocket. Yes it’s that simple and there is nothing else that should be added. Keep it simple.

And that’s what it looked like in my “restaurant”, and tasted just wonderful.

Butcher Shop, Lidage, Holland Park Road 110, London.

Something for the cold winter; Spaghetti with meatballs

Spaghetti with meat balls, more an American then Italian cult dish, kinda New York, I find it somehow “mafioso” to cook a tasty meatball sauce. It always reminds me of the movie Goodfellas, when the Boss, Paul Sorvino, used a razor to slice the garlic and he used to slice it so thin that it used to liquefy in the pan. “Later, the central figure’s drug-fuelled paranoia is signalled by his obsession with the meatballs and tomato sauce he’s cooking as the FBI move in. ‘Keep and eye on the sauce and watch the helicopters’, is almost his last order before the Feds arrive…”

I use minced beef only for the meatballs, some add minced pork. Use 500 grams of good quality, not to lean, minced beef. If its to lean the meatballs will be dry once cooked (for that 1/3 of minced pork could be added) but also all the great flavors of the beef are in the fat and will then integrate nicely into the sauce. Soak 2 or 3 slices of white toast in some milk, crush until a paste. Chop one nice golden onion, a few (3-4) garlic cloves and add this together with the bread to the meat. Add a few spoons of good extra virgin olive oil, a few dashes of Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce, salt, ground pepper, some Provence herbs if you like and mix very well with your hands until a compact dough texture is achieved. Check seasoning. Form meat balls with your hands oiled so the meat doesn’t stick, about the size of a golf ball or a bit smaller. Keep on the side.

Take a large heavy pot that can go in the oven. Heat. Add oil, fry meat balls until evenly colored but not to dark. Remove fried meat balls. Add some chopped onion and garlic to the pan, a few whole stalks of celery, fry with remainders of meat balls and roasting crust in the pan, I always add a bit of butter because it helps the roasting crust to melt and give away all those flavors. Add tomato paste, deglaze with red wine, reduce red wine until thick consistency.

Add the meat balls and 2 or 3 tins of chopped toamtoe. Stirr well and simmer. Salt. Pepper. Bayleaf. Thyme. Rosemary.

Gently cook in the oven with the lid on the pot for about 1 hour with lid and 20 minutes uncovered. Check seasoning. Remove celery stalks.

Serve with De Cecco Spaghetti Nr. 12, the thicker spaghetti’s are better for this rich sauce.

Parmesan served on the side. Drink full bodied Italian red win, i.e. Nero d’Avola, Sangiovese (Chianti) or some new world power wine, often thoughwithout finesse. I prefer old world wines. They are more elegant.

Loup de Mer with Courgettes, Tomato, White Wine Sauce

This is a really good recipe if you are starving for a good piece of fish. It combines a ever so elegant tasting roast sebass with the sweetness of fennel and sunny freshness of vine tomatoes. The white wine sauce is not so Italian but gives it a intersting dimension. The flat parsley and basil round it all off. A drizzle of reduced balsmic breaks the soft roundness of the white wine sauce.

All together it’s somehow an inspiration from a Enrico Derflingher dish, he is a Italian Michelin starred chef I once worked with. He was executive chef in the White House and in the Buckingham Palace and many other places. Now he has a restaurant in Tokyo. We cooked it once at home after he gave me some professional instructions, which from real chefs are ususaly quite vague as many staps are logic for them. Below recipe works 100% and I did put this step by step instructions together for my dad a long time ago, I thought this should be shared here and now!

Loup de Mer with Mediterranean Vegetables

(Recipe for 4 persons)Ingredients and preparation

this picture is from my cuisine…home made. (the kitchen in our previous flat in Swtizerland)

Before you start:

New potatoes, approx 4-6 pieces per person, wash and boil until cooked, then place
under tin foil in réchaud. Don’t cook them in the steamer pot.

2-3 dl of dark balsamic vinegar (place in a pot and simmer slowly until reduced to a
thick sirup, keep aside)

White wine sauce: reduce some white wine with same amount of fish stock, add a dash of cream, mix with mixer and season with salt, pepper, a dash of tabasco, lemon juice.

Other preparation and ingredients:
4 whole Loup de Mer filets of 180-200 gr. each, filets cut in half i.e. 2x ½ per Person
4 Zucchetti (medium size) cleaned and cut in slices of 0.5-0.7 cm
1 Fennel cut in slices of 0.3-0.5 cm
1 whole garlic, only peeled
1 packet (500g) cherry tomatoes de-branched and washed
10 branches basil, de-branched and chopped roughly
10 branches of flat parsley, de-branched and chopped roughly
(all together you should have a good cup full of roughly chopped herbs, more basil
then parsley)
Extra virgin olive oil, sea salt and ground black pepperMise en place (approx. time to prepare vegetables is 45 minutes)

Cooking:
(the whole cooking will take max. 8-10 minutes. Important is that the vegetables are
crispy and the fish only cooked for about 4-5 minutes)1. Season fish with salt, pepper and olive oil

2. Pan Fry fish on the skin side in a medium hot pan. (Fish should sizzle lightly)

3. Place fish skin side up on a non-stick tray when skin side is golden crispy
(sauté only on the skin side) The bottom side of the fish must be raw.

4. Take a large sautée pan and heat medium, add plenty of olive oil, the whole
garlic clove and vegetables (stir and remove garlic after 2 minutes)

5. Sautée for 4-5 minutes (vegetables should not get to much colour and remain
very crispy)

6. Place fish in oven 160° Celsius for approx 4-5 minutes (the cooking stage

should rather be on the raw then over cooked side as the fish would dry out)

7. Add tomatoes to vegetable pan and sautée for other 2 minutes

8. Remove vegetables from stove, add herbs, season well with salt and pepper
and check the seasoning several times.

9. Slowly reheat the Balsamico Reduction, check that it is not too thick, otherwise
add some water.

Platting: (optional)

10. Prepare 4 hot plates; place 2-3 spoons of the vegetables in the middle, a few
tomatoes around it. (serve the potatoes separately)

11. Place Fish on top of the vegetables and sprinkle with some olive oil

12. Around the fish, put a few thick drops of balsamic reduction (where the arrows
are), the remaining can be served in a sauce pan.

13. Place the remaining vegetables in a gratin plate, put fish on top, cover with tin
foil and keep in warm but switched off oven.

14. enjoy