The Food Diaries

Montreal bagels from  St.Viateur

St. Viateur bagels (named after the street in Montreal where this bakery first opened in 1957) are hands down the best bagels in the world (and I’m not interested in hearing arguments to the contrary). Briefly boiled then baked in a wood-burning oven - these bagels are particularly dense and chewy and are at their best when toasted (unless of course you can’t wait till you get home and eat them still warm from the oven). Definitely worth a detour of any length.

I like them best as follows: a toasted sesame bagel, spread with good quality cream cheese and a dash of pepper. If you like you can add a few slices of smoked salmon and a squeeze of lemon. Or if you want to go all out - add a couple slices of red onions and some chopped capers.

Tomato and mozzarella salad

You know summer is around the corner when the insipid and pale excuses for a tomato, which litter the supermarket shelves over the cold winter months are finally replaced by the real thing - deep red and fragrant  - still smelling of the vines.

I’ve been waiting for months now to eat a proper tomato, so I’ve kept it simple - the smallish cherry variety, quartered and placed in a bowl with some rocket, torn pieces of buffalo mozzarella, a good dribble of olive oil, and some salt and pepper. I also like to serve it with a big blob of my basil cream sat in the middle.

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The Tang Dynasty Cocktail - lychee-based, partnered with the equally floral Bombay Sapphire Gin

In a cocktail shaker filled with ice shake together: 35ml Bombay Sapphire Gin, 15ml Lychee liqueur, 10ml Sloe Gin, 25ml Lychee puree, and the juice of 1/2 lime. Pour into a chilled glass filled with ice.

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Return of the Red Camargue Rice Salad with Feta

Here’s another take on a red rice salad and I think more successful than my previous attempt. The main difference is that I used more long grain rice proportionate to the red rice and I used some lovely grilled pimientos and chopped mint for a fresher taste.

Fry up a finely chopped medium onion and garlic clove in a little olive oil till transparent. Add 1/4 cup red rice and 1/2 cup brown long grain rice and stir till well coated. Add 1 1/2 cups of water (or a nice vegetable stock), cover and simmer till all the water has been absorbed. Mix together one crushed garlic clove (though I prefer to pound it to a paste using a mortar and pestle for a less sharp flavour), 1 tbs sherry vinegar, 2 tbs olive oil, 1 tbs Greek yogurt, 1 tbs green tapenade, 3 small grilled and peeled pimientos finely chopped/crushed (I find the kind find in a jar perfectly suitable, from Spain or Chile) , and a little salt and pepper. Pour over the still warm rice and mix well. Crumble some feta cheese on top, sprinkle with sumac and chopped mint and serve.

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)

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?