Obsessed with tomatoes

Tomatoes are essential ingredient for tomato sauce, pasta dishes, salads, cooking in general. It is unbelievable what kind of rubbish tomates we get in supermarkets. Grown in greenhouses, tasteless, lifeless without soul and juice. Toamtoes are suposed to be the paradise apples, the hormone Serotonin is responsible to evoce feelings on happiness (…)

Whilst they all look the delicious, on the grapes, different sizes, cherry sweet, cherry spicy sweet, plum, whatever. It has nothing to do with the real tomatoes that seduced me in Spain, in this small vegetable shop run by a local farmer and organic vegetable grower. Make a tomato Spaghetti Pomodoro Fresco with a “good” tomato and you will seduce any diner you cook for, just as the Paradise Apple (or tomato?) aparently seduced Adam and Eve, or the snake, cant remember.

Anyway, problem is that most people dont buy this delicious fruit, because they are expensive and sometimes slightly beaten, not like the supermarket artificial tomato which shine, are faultless and keep for days in the fridge. Same applies for fruits, we all want organic grown but impecably looking fruit and vegetable?

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.

Chanterelles and Morilles: Taglierini, funghi trifolati

It’s this lovely mushrooms, sauted in a hot frying pan in some olive oil, new seasons garlic, seasoned and fresh parsley. All very quick, then mixed with some fresh taglierin, olive oil, some fresh grated Parmesan cheese. Done. Delicious.

In Italian they call the mushrooms sauted in this way “trifolati”, it also goes deliciously on a toasted Poilaine bread, rubed with garlic. That’s it.

Curry Wurst, Kölsch Beer, Cologne and Düsseldorf

Curry Wurst is the first thing I always go for when in Germany…it’s a national speciality and translates as Curry Sausage. The one who does not know about this delicacy would assume it’s a sausage made with Curry. It is not, it’s much simpler…a grilled sausage, topped with Ketchup and Curry Powder, served with French fries. Apparently Curry Wurst was invented in Berlin 1949 by Herta Heuwer, there is also a patent trademark certificate.

The secret of a perfect Curry Wurst lies in different and complex components.

1. The sausage: Sausage making is an art. In the UK there are lots of sausages and people are proud of these, but to compare them with German sausages is only for fools. For Curry wurst the sausage is grilled or roasted.

2. The Curry Wurst: The art of making sausage is a phylosophie for itself.

3. The sauce: real good curry wurst sauce is not Ketchup but a sauce made of tomato extract and spices, chili, curry, etc…

4. Curry wurst is a Imbiss (Snack) and the best ones are found on roadside grill shaks.

5. My favorite place so far is in Düsseldorf (im Hafen) and is called Curry. It’s a stylish young and hip place, the Düsselfdorf fashionistas also don’t shy back of having a bottle of bubbly Prosecco with the Imbiss. The fries are delicious and home made. Various additional sauces are offered.

6. Beer: Beer is another great asset Germany has, again, the Brits think the ales and bitters they have are the best…forgett about it, try a Kölsch (blonde beer from Cologne) or an Alt Beer (old beer) in Düsseldorf and you will instantly know the difference, it’s enough reason to cancel your flight ticket back to the UK, and if the beer is not enough, then its the beer and curry wurst…

7. Here are some fabulous links and places to explore:

Curry in Düsseldorf

Curry Wurst from Berlin, the whole story

Wiki on Curry Wurst

Peters Brauhaus in Cologne for fabulous local food and Kölsch

Kölsch beer on Wiki

Kölsch bier on Wiki

Go and check it out for yourself, Cologne a nice old city with lots of charm whilst I personally prefer the more sophisticated small fashion town of Düsseldorf.

Here we are self pictured over an Alster Bier, at the Düesseldorf Neumark, a lovely vegetable, fruit and meat market in the middle of the city!

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.

Loup de mer – know your fresh fish.

A lot of people look for Loup de mer (Sea bass). I have 2 on here that work very well, especially the Seabass roasted with potatoes, olives, capers, white wine, garlic and tomatoes.

Recently I got an amazing shot of a just line caught seabass, about 2.5 kilos heavy and wilder then wild. Line caught fish dies because they suffocate when caught, that’s immediately. If fish is caught on large trawlers with nets hanging in the sea for days, the fish drowns and the flesh starts to “cook” in the salt water. (i.e. if you put meat in salt water, its like preserving in brine) Therefore look out for sustainable fished fish!

How to know your fish is fresh:

The eyes are shining, bright, bulging.

The fish is covered in sea slime. (scales are plenty and not dry)

The gills are bright red.

The fish doesn’t smell fishy but pleasant of fresh sea air.

The meat when sticking finger into is not soft but resilient.

Happy cooking.

The Year of the Dragon – Kum Hay Fat Choy!

Kum Hey Fat Choy – or happy new year in Chinese!

Tomorrow the new Chinese Year of the Pig starts and the year of the Dog ends. Each year in the Chinese calendar is represented by one of the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac, the Dragon, Snake, Horse, Ram, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig, Rat, Ox, Tiger and Rabbit. London’s China town and Oxford street are colorful decorated with red lanterns, dances, dragons, firecrackers and fireworks take place. The year of the pig is supposed to bring good luck and prosperity. Now this time it is a golden pig year, which happens once in six decades. London (and all other) Chinatown’s are colorfully decorated, there is a parade, the restaurants are full and everybody goes for great lunches and dinners. There is even some sort of a baby boom in China…it’s the lucky year to make children that will become rich and successful. On the day before New Years day people clean their houses, pay the loans, get new clothes etc. My friends are going for Hot Pot to China Town tomorrow, I have never had it the real way and perhaps we will join!

I was born in January 1977 which was also a Dragon year, besides the Dragon year I was born in the period of Fire, so I am a Fire Dragon!! In China, the Dragon is the sign of the Emperor of China or the male element Yang. The Dragon is the symbol of power and wealth and many other great things… In Chinese tradition fire is one of the five elements. It is associated with the planet Mars, summer and the south, and the colour red. It is believed to govern the heart. Fire is associated with the qualities of dynamism, strength and persistence, and with restlessness and a sense of adventure.

Ok, now take a break, here is a video I found on youtube, it is cracking funny and has nothing to do with Chinese New Year or Dragons, Pigs and other animals, listen to it carefully from the beginning to the end…it is some guys that order in a Chinese take away shop and then call up another one, the first one repeats the order to the second one, then chaos, it’s hilarious.

And here is one of my favorites when I cook Chinese at home…

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)

Snow in London and Swiss Cheese Fondue Moitié Moitié

January 24th, 7am up my street in central London, Snow has fallen, the first time in 2 years since I am here. Amazing what a bit of snow can cause in a city not equipped with all the machines and equipment just working its way through meters of snow, normal in Sils Maria, the Engadin village in the Swiss Alps where I grow up…buses delayed, traffic jam, trains running late or not at all. But everybody was so cheerful and happy this morning, I wonder how many million people took a photo with their mobile phone. And everybody late to work had a good reason. It’s wired, even I slept a half hour in when I saw the snow as I thought, like some other millions, good reason to be a bit late.

Days like this scream for a steaming, bubbling and smelly hot Cheese Fondue. My mum makes the best one and this is the modified (as usual) version of me: (for 4 persons) This one is called Fondue Fribourgoise Moitié Moiti

300 grams Gruyere

300 grams Vacherin Fribourgoise

3 dl light White Wine (Fendant du Valais, a Swiss Chasselas grape white wine is ideal, you can get it in Nicolas sometimes)

3 teaspoons Maizena or other Corn Starch

0.5 dl Kirsch

2-3 cloves of garlic

ground pepper

Rub Coquelon (earthenware fondue pot) with garlic, heat white wine (I always leave the garlic in the wine) add the grated cheese and stir with wooden spoon continuously until cheese is dissolved over medium heat. Dissolve corn starch in Kirsch, add to cheese and stir, cook gently for about 5 – 8 minutes until creamy and thick. Add ground pepper generously.

Serve with bread (preferably dark bread) that is about 1 day old, in cubes. You can also serve some crispy blanched broccoli and other veg to dip with it.

Drink loads of White Wine and at least a bottle of Kirsch with it.

The Swiss way. Perfect when some snowflakes hit the road.

For more infos check here Ruedis website.

Saint on a grill and Sauerkraut by Henri de Tolouse Lautrec

The Art of Cuisine by Henri de Tolouse Lautrec and Maurice Joyant

is my favorite treasure in my cookbook library, published in 1966, I just love the way the food is described, the stories, the illustration. Recipes are only workable for experienced cooks as they are not very exact. Let’s start with a partial extract from the books cover:

“For Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, painting was, first of all, a way of living. Thus, he brought to his art a zest for life as well as an impeccable style. It is an exciting discovery that Lautrec applied this same exuberance and meticulous technique to the art of cuisine – that he invented recipes and cooked new dishes as an artistic creation worthy of his serious attention. This volume is a collection of recipes which Lautrec invented, or which were garnered in his company from clever cooks and conscientious mothers of all classes of society. It has been illustrated with the menus that Lautrec himself designed and decorated, as well as with a rich abundance of other appropriate Lautrec paintings and drawings….”

Some of my favorite recipes are in the chapter “Ultima Ratio Finis” and “about certain vegetables”

SAINT ON A GRILL (Saint sur le grill)

With the help of the Vatican, try to procure for yourself a real(!) saint.

Treat him as St. Lawrence was treated on August tenth, A.D. 258. When you have whipped him, lay him on the grill over a big bed of charcoal. Like his predecessor, if he is a real saint, he himself will ask to be turned over in order to be grilled to a trun on both sides.

GARNISHED SAUERKRAUT: (Chocroute garni, this really works and is a great winter dish)

Use one pound of sauerkraut per head. Take some nice sauerkraut straight from the tub; wash it and drain carefully.

Into a cooking earthenware pot (preferably a Le Creuset) put butter, place very good processed lard or (even better) goose fat, the sauerkraut, a piece of rump steak, and pork butt or even some preserved goose. Moisten to height of the ingredients with some good bouillon. Add several juniper berries and a good pinch of peppercorns. Cover, and let simmer for three or four hours on a gentle heat, then add half a bottle of good Rhine or Epernay wine. (or Champagne)

If the sauerkraut is to be served for lunch, begin it in the afternoon of the previous day – it can never be overcooked.

Two or three hours before serving add some round potatoes and, an hour before, add some Toulouse or Morteau sausage, Strasbourg or Frankfurt sausages, and cervelat.

Skim the fat before serving.

Per person: 2 Tbs. each of butter and ohert fat; 1/4 lb. each beef and pork. 1 small piece of goose, 3 new potatoes, 1/2 cup wines, 1/4 cup hard spicy sausage.

Find more good stuff on the Independent Online.

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…

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.

Steffi’s Lasagne and Ned’s Noodle Bar

Late evening, getting back from work, sometimes I am the lucky one to encounter Steffi in her cooking outfit swinging the wooden spoon in steaming pots and pans. She recently started cooking, only when I’m not there because I also love to cook and then usually intervene, take over and it ends in a mess, tears…and so on, until we get to the first glass of wine. Anyway the food at home is always the best. I prefer it a million times over all restaurants.

Steffi’s first great success was a most delicious lasagne. I took a picture but messed it up, so I will post it soon with her recipe and a nice picture. Absolutely delicious. It’s quite amazing how it got together, I asked her to go to M&S and buy lasagne, the lasagne they do is good solid stuff, put it in the oven for 30minutes and it tastes good, I usually eat a family size lasagne myself… Now on that specific day she decided to make a lasagne herself. Later I called from work and asked what’s cooking, she is making lasagne, hallelujah I thought, this is going to be chaos, bechamel sauce burning, garlic exploding in hot oil, … guess what, it was the best lasagne I had in my life! And lasagne is not an easy one to make, you have to get the right balance between moist and sauce, seasoning, cripsy on top, enough bolognaise and enough bechamel, but not to much etc. It was just delicious. Interesting to see how somebody is becoming a passionate cook. She always like good food and was interested in cooking, but not so confident. I think many people are slightly insecure about cooking for others, especially maniacs like me. I think the most important is just to read recipes, look at food pictures, try it out, season, seasoning is important, buy good produce and then just do it, cook it. But seasoning is really important, you can cook the best spaghetti sauce in the world, if the spaghetti’s are boiled in water without salt or not enough it will always taste bland and once cant figure out what went wrong. When I cook I find that trying every thing many many times is important and the fun of it. OK, enough waffling now, great cooking and now the controversial side to it. (but with time being a precious thing, sometimes the following kind of food is just great…)

The title of the post was about Ned’s noodle bar and rating Home delivery food places, in two words, FAST FOOD. I noticed there are masses of restaurant rating websites, magazines, papers and journalists etc. But when searching a rating of home deliveries, i.e. Domino’s, Ned’s, Pizza Hut, Feng Sushi etc. there are no ratings for this services. Or at least I haven’t come across a decent one. From now on I will start to do this. Rate and comment home delivery services.

Today starting with Ned’s Noodle bar.

Ned’s delivers a selection of Asian noodles, you can choose from a great menu, they also have changing dishes on the menu, and then you select the type of noodles you want, Udon, Egg noodle or rice noodle. My preferred ones are the thick Udon. I often order Malaysian beef, spicy, with rump steak, choy sam, onions, bean sprouts, french beans, red peppers, red/green chillies, soy, lime, coriander. Delicious. Could eat two boxes every time. Also the sweet and sour chicken or the thai green curry noodles are superb. They consistently deliver good solid quality. Only once the green curry was burnt, but only once from several times I ordered. The Prawn crackers are a delicious addition, you can also order spicy sauce, Ben & Jerry’s ice creams, beers and drinks. On the phone friendly and helpful, prices are fair, delivery prompt and the motor bike guys always walk up the stairs to meet one. Rating in 5 of 5 = 5+, thanks Ned’s Noodle Bar for making our life sometimes after long working days, coming home hungry and the fridge is empty, a tasty and easy closing!! The beauty of Ned’s is also the

cute boxes… I didn’t really mange to make a photo that shows the really beauty of it, go to flickr and search Ned’s Noodle, there are some great shots there. (the picture is from “

sunday morning and an organic breakfast

Sunday morning, warm weather sunshine (not normal in London although we have summer) so I decided to go and shop some bread for breakfast.

Shopping bread is not like you can go to any shop and get decent bread. You need to go to a specialist.I walk down Westbourne Grove to Fresh & Wild a very cool, great products organic food shop, if your really into it you can even get organic tooth brush…The Muesli with summer fruit:

1 Peach in slices
1 Apple in slices
1 passion fruit, halved, scooped out
2 bowls for the muesli (good crunchy muesli, I used Pertwoods, it contains also dried fruits, nuts, oats, rye, barley etc. just healthy.)
1 plain yogurt
honey or maple syrup
Rachel’s organic milk

top the muesli with some fruit, a few spoons of yogurt, fruit again on top, passion fruit over it, honey, milk.

pronto, healthy and it tastes delicious on a hot summer Sunday morning

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

Chocolate trip to Belgium

…On Friday we went to Belgium to visit a Chocolatier, Galler. Mr. Galler a great guy, very passionate, personally with some of his business partners took us around for lunch to one of the cafes they run. Very stylish place, stylish packaging, great little jewels of pralines to chocolates, all packed in Hermes style orange. He opened delicious, special wines for lunch, 2 white 2 red. The selection proved to be extraordinarily intelligent with

Chateau Simon and Les Proquerolles, both whites from south of France, different characteristics and “off the beaten path” as a in the know traveller would say. Reds a were a Alsace Pinot Noir and Chateau Pibarnon from Bandol. Food was average, conversation good.

Now the cool stuff: a chocolate tasting in 3 variations, preparation methods 14th, 16th and 18th century!!! All lined up on a nice little tray, short description of characteristics. So good. Origianally, by the Aztecs, the chocolate drink was a thick, brown liquid of crushed cocoa beans, spices, honey, milk and water. With a kind of mortar whisked until foaming.

here you find Mr Galler, some info on him and a interesting web site. (note that I have no business affiliation with him and this is not advertising, it is just about the pure passion and love for chocolate)

www.galler.com