The Food Diaries

Asian-Austrian Pumpkin Soup

This is an interesting fusion of Austrian and Asian flavours, which work surprisingly well together (courtesy of my Austrian friend Barbara).

Chop up some pumpkin into chunks, place in a pot of water and bring to a boil. Reduce down to a medium heat, add a bay leaf and a few juniper berries and cook till tender. Drain the pumpkin, reserving the cooking liquid for later. Fry an onion in a little olive oil, add the pumpkin pieces and stir around. In a bowl, mix together a selection of the following spices: ground nutmeg and mace, ground coriander and turmeric, ground garlic powder and a little smoked paprika. Add a little water to moisten and stir till it becomes a paste. Add to the pumpkin and stir till well coated in the spice mixture. Add some coconut milk, a vegetable stock cube, and some of the reserved cooking liquid (you can adjust the quantities of these three ingredients as you go along) and cook for a few more minutes. Whizz everything together in a blender, return to the pot to heat through. Season with sea salt and pepper.

Serve with a drizzle of roasted pumpkin seed oil and a glass of Austrian Pinot Noir, such as the lovely Cuvee Reserve Esterhazy.

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WILD RICE SOUP >

Curried wild rice and chicken soup

This is a great recipe to use with bits of a leftover roast chicken.

Make a stock using the carcass of the roast chicken, whatever bits of meat are leftover (if not, substitute with a couple extra chicken thighs). 1 each of onion, carrot and celery (chopped), cover with water and simmer for about an hour. Meanwhile, simmer 1 cup of wild rice in 4 cups water till the wild rice pops (the white interior will emerge). This will take about 50 minutes.

Strain the stock and In a blender puree together the onion, carrot, celery and the chicken meat (moisten with a little stock). Return to the pot with the rest of the stock and heat through. Now add 1 tbs curry paste, 1 tbs mustard, 1tbs tomato paste, 200ml soy cream or light cream, and season to taste with sea salt and pepper.

Serve in soup bowls with a large garnish of the wild rice and roasted flaked almonds.

Optional: For additional crunch and colour you can add a garnish of onion, carrot and celery, finely diced and softened in a little olive oil. You can also add a drizzle of walnut oil.

Melon & Rosé

Wines have been produced in Provence for over 2,500 years and the Provençal rosé is one of the lovliest produced - much lighter and drier than the rosé available from places such as California. Amazingly more rosé is drunk today in France than white wine! My favourite is the wine produced by the Mas Sainte Berthe, nestled in the foothills of Les Baux de Provence.

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THE WINE DIARIES - PINOT NOIR >

I love melon paired with rosé wine, served as a starter with some crusty bread and perhaps a slice or two of prosciutto.

Asparagus Mimosa

I think this may be the last of the asparagus recipes, as we are now at the close of the season; ending where we began, with the long green tender shoots of asparagus.

This is a lovely and simple recipe, which can look particularly dramatic if you use eggs which have a deep orangey hue to them (in the UK I only use the Burford Brown variety).

Take a bunch of asparagus (around 350g) and either boil, steam or grill them till just tender. Place on a serving dish. In the meantime, in a pan of boiling water carefully place 2 large eggs, and simmer for 9 minutes. Immerse immediately in cold water, then peel, separate the yolks and the whites, and chop. To make the dressing mix together 1 tsp Dijon mustard, the juice of half a lemon, 2 tbs olive oil, 1-2 tbs mixed chopped herbs (from parsley, tarragon, chives and chervil), some sea salt and pepper. Mix in the egg whites and spoon over the centre of the asparagus spears. Sprinkle over the yolks, add a little more salt and pepper.

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ASPARAGUS & PARMESAN >

SIMPLE POACHED EGGS >

Peruvian Ceviche - a Japanese-inspired recipe

Ceviche is a fab alternative to sushi - especially for those not a fan of raw fish. The citrus juices “cook” the fish to a delicate opaqueness. There has been quite a bit of Japanese influence over Peruvian food due to a wave of immigration to the country starting in 1899. Nobu, for instance, is of Japanese-Peruvian origin and this recipe draws on some of the flavours from his own recipe for ceviche (found in The Cookbook).

Choose a selection (1-3) from the following fish (for a total of 500g skinned fish fillets): wild sea bass, turbot, organic salmon, gurnard, pollack, sea trout. Cut the fish fillets into thin slices (cut against the grain - i.e. across the width of the fillet). Place in a shallow bowl.

Mix together: the juice of 3 limes (50ml), 2 lemons (75ml), 25ml yuzu (or substitute with the 1 orange), 1 tbs soy, 1 tsp each of finely grated garlic and ginger, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp Japanese Chili pepper - Nanami Togarashi (or 1 mild red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped). Add 1 small red onion, very finely sliced, 2 celery sticks, also finely sliced and pour the sauce over the fish.

Leave to marinate between 20 minutes and 4 hours (the less time you marinate the fish, the more delicate and fresh the flavour).

Spoon the fish and marinade into 5 individual cups or glasses and garnish with halved cherry tomatoes.

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PRAWN COCKTAIL STACK >

PANKO-CRUSTED SALMON >

Asparagus with feta with lemon zest - from Ottolenghi’s Plenty

The asparagus season has been particularly bountiful this year, so am having to expand my repertoire of asparagus recipes. This one is ever-so-slightly adapted from Ottolenghi’s wonderful new recipe book Plenty.

Throw a large bunch of asparagus (500g), ends trimmed, into a roasting dish. Drizzle with 1tbs rapeseed oil and sprinkle with Maldon sea salt. Place in a hot oven (200c) for around 10 minutes (or until the tips are nicely grilled). Transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle with crumbled feta (60g), the zest of 1 lemon, a little olive oil, and some freshly ground pepper.

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ASPARAGUS & PARMESAN >

OTTOLENGHI’S MARINATED MOZZARELLA SALAD >

Prawn Cocktail stacks - A modern twist on the retro appetizer.

Using a presentation ring (or you can use an empty can opened at both ends) stack the following in order: 1 shredded gem lettuce, 1 small sliced avocado, a drizzle of yuzu (a Japanese citrus fruit that tastes a bit like mandarin) or lime, a layer of marie-rose sauce (my version is made by mixing together 2 tbs mayonnaise, 1 tsp ketchup, 1 tsp yuzu, 1 tsp Sriracha, 1 tsp cognac or whiskey, a dash of salt) and then topping with a 1/2 cup of cooked prawns and a dusting of smoke paprika.

Remove the ring and serve with some rye toast. Serves 1.

Crab cakes @ Wagamama

Wagamama was opened nearly 20 years ago by the genius that is Alan Yau (I like to call him the Ang Lee of restaurateurs as he has moved across many food genres - Japanese canteen food, Honk Kong style Chinese Hakkasan, retro modernist Japanese Sake No Hana - and more recently super authentic Italian deli and bakery Princi).

Us Londoners, with a Wagamama in every part of town take for granted the speedy service, the super fresh ingredients, the clean tastes, the honest prices and the accessible menu.