The Food Diaries

Grilled Sardines

Off to the best fishmongers in town (Steve Hatt) to buy some fresh fish for an upcoming Sushi Night that am helping to organise as part of the Dinner Club. Was hoping to pick something up for a light lunch as well, and just my luck! Found some super fresh, gutted and filleted sardines (I can’t be bothered otherwise, and normally fishmongers grumble about being asked to do this fiddly task).

How to prepare:

Drizzle the sardine fillets with some olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place under the grill, skin side up till the it starts to bubble and turn golden (3 minutes or so).

Serve on finn crisp, with a dollop of horseradish and some chopped chives.

Roasted Duck Breast, orange root vegetables and red currant sauce

Had a friend over for dinner who was delayed, so rather than stick to my old standby of seafood risotto got inspired by some duck breasts I found at the corner supermarket. So went home and browsed through some recipes to come up with the combo below, which worked really really well - and it took no time at all.

Recipe:

- two duck breasts, skin scored (though not through to the meat)

- 1 tbs honey

- 1 tbs soy

- 1 tbs whiskey (optiona)

- 1 small butternut squash

- 1 sweet potato

- a handful fresh thyme (or 1 tbs dry)

- 1/2 cup red wine

- 2 tbs red currant chutney

Marinate the duck in the honey, soy and whiskey. In the meantime, cut the butternut squash lengthwise, core and cut into wedges (don’t bother peeling them). Do the same with the sweet potato. Place in a roasting dish and set aside.

Take the duck breasts out of the marinade and fry in a pan on a medium heat, skin side down for about 5 minutes and much of the fat has melted away. Turn over to the meat side and fry for an additional minute. Take off heat and place the duck aside on a plate.

Spoon out most of the fat from the pan and into the roasting dish to coat the vegetables. Add some thyme and salt and pepper and place in a preheated oven (200c) and roast for 10-15 minutes, turning over occasionally.

Meanwhile, return the pan to the heat, and add the wine and scrape up the bits to coat. Once the wine has reduce, add the red currant chutney, stir, and turn off heat.

Take the vegetables out of the oven and add the duck breasts, skin side up and return to the oven for about 10 minutes (for medium). Turn off heat, leave oven ajar and let rest for 5 minutes. To serve, slice up the duck thickly, spoon over the sauce and serve the vegetables on the side.

Serves 2-3 (depending on the size of the duck breasts)

Full Marks Cocktail

Full marks (pun intended) go to Andrea the bartender at Callooh Callay (a fab spot in Shoreditch, London), who came up with this award-winning cocktail. It is a concoction made up of Makers Mark Bourbon, Dark Cacao, walnut liqueur, whisky barrel bitters, and port and marasca cherries.

Here’s my attempt to recreate this at home. I managed to track down the walnut liqueur and the rare whiskey barrel bitters (!), but am still searching for the mascara cherries (had to make do with the somewhat nasty and artificial maraschino cherry).

Results? It more or less looks and tastes the part, but really, is not up to par with Andrea’s, which is much darker and complex in flavour. I may have to pay the bar a visit very soon.

Home-made biscotti (though not home-made by me, but by my friend Olivier, who is a great baker).

Did you know, biscottimeans twice-baked in Latin? These biscuits were traditionally baked in this manner in order to ensure they were dry enough to be preserved longer.

Though am not normally a fan dry/crispy biscuits, freshly baked biscotti are a real treat.

Recipe:

A basic recipe has 2 cups flour to 3/4 cup sugar to which is added 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt and 1 tbs lemon rind. Then add in 125g butter cut into little pieces and mix together till a coarse meal is formed. Now add 1 cup coarsely ground roasted hazelnuts, as well as 3 eggs (first beaten together with 1 tsp almond extract) and mix till a dough is formed. 

The biscotti are first baked in long slabs (at 150 degrees celsius for 35 minutes) , and then cut into 1/2 inch slices (once cooled), and then baked again until they are toasted and dry (10 minutes on each side).

Note: If you find the dough too dry to form the slab you can moisten it with a couple tbs milk.

Italian grilled aubergine and rocket salad

Ingredients:

- 1 small aubergine, thinly sliced into rounds

- a bunch of wild rocket

- a handful of parmesan (parmigiano reggiano) slivers (I use a vegetable peeler)

- Olive oil

- Balsamic glaze

- Chopped sun-dried tomatoes (optional) - note: my entry on how to make these will come in August when I prepare my annual supply!

Fry the aubergine slices on a grill pan with a little olive oil till golden. Arrange the rocket on two plates (four if a light starter), sprinkle with the parmesan, drizzle on the olive oil, balsamic glaze, and salt and pepper. Arrange the aubergine slices on top and garnish with the sun-dried tomatoes.

Chef’s note: for a not-so-authentic version add sliced avocado.

Serves 2-4.

Scrambled eggs on Finnish rye crispbread

Recipe:

In a small pan add the following:

- 1 whole egg

- 2 egg whites

- 2 tbs grated cheddar

Stir constantly over medium heat till just set.

Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve on Finnish rye crispbreads

Serves 1.

Crab, chilli and lime pasta recipe

So I’m not a fan of Gordon Ramsay’s. I don’t like his attitude towards the people who work for him (am not convinced yelling at people is the way to get the best out of them), I don’t like the way he spreads his name across so-called gastro pubs, which are over-priced and underwhelming. And it looks like he is struggling to hold onto his Michelin stars (Claridges, with its £150 set menu has just lost its only remaining star in the 2010 Michelin Guide).

Having said that, I fell in love with the recipe the minute I chanced upon it when channel surfing one day and it has since become one of my staple recipes.

Store cupboard essentials:

- canned crab meat  (you can find it in the same aisle as the canned tuna fish),

- frozen, chopped chilli (Waitrose does these amazing bagged versions of chilli, ginger, garlic, and even lime leaf which you can find in their frozen section - life is too short to chop)

- fresh limes (or a bottle in the fridge will do)

- pasta

- frozen peas

Chef’s note: I use spaghettini instead of angel hair pasta (and in the photo above I used corn/wheat free pasta), I don’t bother deglazing with wine but add more lime, and I try to raise the veggie content by adding frozen peas to the cooking water 3 minutes before draining the pasta.

Serves 4 as a starter

Ingredients

• 200g angel hair pasta
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 red chilli
• 4 spring onions
• Approx 75ml dry white wine
• 1 lime
• 250g white crab meat
• Handful of flat leaf parsley
• Salt
• Black pepper
• Olive oil
• Extra virgin olive oil

1. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. When it comes to a rolling boil, add the pasta and cook according to pack instructions until al dente (approximately 3-4 minutes).

2. Heat another large pan with the olive oil. Chop the spring onions, thinly slice the chilli (deseed if you prefer) and crush the garlic. Sauté for 1-2 minutes and season with salt and pepper.

3. Add the wine to the pan and cook out for a minute to reduce. Add the crab meat, stir together and allow to heat through.

4. Drain the pasta and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Add the pasta to the crab mixture, chop the parsley and toss the ingredients to combine.

5. Divide between warm plates and serve immediately with a generous squeeze of lime juice, and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Saade Lebanese Kitchen - Devonshire Rd, Chiswick

I skipped the home baked pita breadmaking tonight in exchange for dinner with the girls at a new Lebanese restaurant in upmarket Devonshire Rd (home to La Trompette - a fab local restaurant by the owners of Chez Bruce and Glasshouse). Super friendly owner (Hanna) and decent Lebanese food. Though my heart still belongs to the Maroush “chain” of Lebanese restaurants. Nothing beats their fabulous Shish Taouk and freshly squeezed juices.

Oh, and if you are ever looking for a truly local bar (All Bar One need not apply) then you can do much worse than the Pickwick - complete with eccentric locals, a warm fireplace, and pretty decent selection of drinks. I think we ended up at the Lebanese restaurant on the basis that it gave us an excuse to drop by the Pickwick!

I seem to be stuck in a Mexico state of mind (no bad thing). Trying to combat the drabness of winter and bring a bit of sunshine into my life (one way or another). Looked in the fridge and found a few ears of corn (which I normally just zap in the microwave for three minutes and eat with a sprinkling of my Mexican Tajin spice and butter). But I remembered my friend Lynne once serving Mexican-style corn, and a successful attempt months ago to recreate it. Not sure if I remembered it right but it certainly tasted good.

Mexican Creamed Corn

4 ears of corn (slice off the corn as close to the husk as possible)

a knob of butter

A small onion, finely chopped

1 green chili, seeded and chopped

Juice of 1 lime

1/4 cup sour cream (regular or light) or Mexican crema (if you are lucky enough to find it!) or cream cheese (for a richer taste)

Melt the butter in a saucepan and fry the onion till soft and translucent (4-5 minutes). Add the corn and continue cooking for an additional 4-5 minutes until they are just tender. Add the chili, lime and sour cream. Turn off the heat and stir till mixed through.

Season with salt to taste and garnish with chopped spring onions and Tajin.

Serves 3-4 as a side dish.

Any suggested variations?