The Food Diaries

Ricotta all’Insalata - a herby ricotta dip served with crostini and crudites

This recipe is so yummy and fresh - and, despite being predominantly being made up of cheese (!), seems quite a healthy option.

In a bowl (or food processor) mix together 450g/1lb fresh ricotta, 1 garlic clove finely chopped, 4 spring onions finely chopped, 2 tbs chopped mint, 3tbs chopped parsley, 3tbs olive oil, the juice of 1 lemon, some sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to develop the flavours. Bring to a room temperature before serving with a drizzle of olive oil and a garnish of chopped chives.

Here are some ideas of what to serve with the ricotta: 1) as an aperitivo - with some crostini (sliced, grilled baguette rubbed with a cut garlic clove and drizzled with olive oil), carrot sticks (I used the purple variety), and a few olives, 2) stirred into hot pasta or new potatoes, 3) as a sandwich filler

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BLACK OLIVE TAPENADE >

Celery & stilton wedges

Here’s another good addition to the Aperitivo Hour repertoire, which features the killer combo of stilton, walnuts and celery, with a little added sweetness of the apricots to balance out the flavours.

In a mixing bowl blend together 125g stilton and 125g cream cheese till well combined. Now add 1/2 cup of toasted and crushed walnuts, and 30g (around 6) dried apricots, finely chopped. Season with sea salt and pepper to taste. Spread on celery wedges (cut on an angle from about 6-8 large sticks of celery). Use the back of the tins of a fork to even out the spread and garnish with a dusting of paprika and a small piece of walnut.

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SPANISH TAPAS PLATE >

Aperitivo hour: Smoked red pepper & feta dip

This dip looks quite coarse but is really delicious, especially when served with some warmed pita bread (and a few crudites wouldn’t go amiss either).

Try and track down a jar of Greek flame-roasted red peppers (350g), such as the Karyatis brand - these are as good, if not better than making your own. If you do make your own (i.e. roasting and peeling your own peppers) you will need about 3 whole red peppers. The process is so slow and tedious however I’m not going to bother describing how to do it here!

Roasting onions is a whole lot easier. Place 2 red onions or shallots (125g) in a hot oven (200 degrees) for about 35 minutes, till soft.

In a food processor, pulse together the red peppers and the peeled onions (don’t puree them into oblivion, they should looked chopped). Now add 180g crumbled Feta cheese, 3 tbs olive oil, 1 tbs sherry vinegar, 1tsp thyme leaves, chopped. Blitz till a coarse texture is achieve.

Note: for a creamier texture, add 3 tbs cream cheese along with the Feta.

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CANNELLINI BEAN BRUSCHETTA >

Tamari roasted almonds

These are a great snack, and apparently very good for you too (high in protein, cholesterol reducing, etc.).

Take 500g (3 cups) raw almonds and spread onto one layer on a baking tray. Bake in a preheated oven at 150 for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven. Warm 1/4 cup tamari soy sauce with 1/2 tsp sugar and stir till dissolved. Pour over the hot almonds and let rest 5 minutes, stirring around occasionally to ensure the almonds are well coated.

Transfer the almonds back to the baking tray using a slotted spoon (in order to ensure none of the liquid is transferred over. Discard the remaining liquid. Put the almonds back in the oven for another 25 minutes, turning them over occasionally to ensure an even roasting. To test if done slice an almond in half. It should be lightly golden inside.

Goes great with a NEGRONI COCKTAIL.

Gulf shrimp & Dunganess crab legs with Thai dipping sauce

To make the dipping sauce mix together 2 tbs thai fish sauce, 3 tbs lime juice, 2 garlic cloves, crushed, 2 tsp palm sugar (or substitute brown sugar), 1 finely chopped green chilli.

Potato Latkes - a holiday treat

A Jewish Eastern European speciality, latkes (a type of potato pancake) is eaten during the December Hanuka holidays. I’m off by two weeks this year, but you don’t need much of an excuse to whip these up. They are delicious eaten on their own with a little sour cream and apple sauce (in Eastern Europe there is a tendency to mix the sweet and salty - in Poland they sprinkle sugar on top!) and really terrific as a side to a rib roast.

Peel and grate coarsely four large Russet potatoes (King Edward or Desiree will do fine too). Put in a mixing bowl with two eggs and 1/3 cup matzoh meal (you can usually find it in the kosher section of the supermarket, otherwise substitute with a mixture of half plain flour and half fine breadcrumbs). Season with some sea salt (about 1 tsp).

Heat up a good glug of rapeseed oil in a pan to medium-high. Using an ice cream scoop (or large spoon) drop the mixture into the pan (don’t crowd them too much). You may need to add some more oil if the pan gets too dry and for the new batches. Continue cooking till they crisp up nicely to a golden brown and then flip over to crisp the other side. It will probably take around 8-10 minutes. Once they achieve an all-over tan then transfer to a baking tray.

When you have finished all the mixture (I tend to use two pans to speed up the process) pop the baking tray in a low to medium oven (150c) to to ensure the latkes are cooked through and to keep them crisp till you are ready to serve. They can keep like this an hour or two if need be.

Serves 6 as a side dish.

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OKONOMIYAKI - JAPANESE PANCAKES >

Winter starters: Roasted marrow bone with a parsley and garlic breadcrumb topping

This recipe was inspired by a dish I once ordered at the bar at HIX London. Don’t be put off, the end result is a luxurious (yet inexpensive) treat, and the garlicky topping so moreish. You may need to speak to the butcher at the supermarket (if you don’t have a good local butchers shop) as the meat displays rarely have them on offer.

Take four pieces of veal or beef marrow bone and place on a baking sheet, marrow-side up (in the photo above the two pieces in the lower row are correctly placed, creamy filling side up). In a small bowl, mix together two heaped tbs finely chopped parsley, 2 tbs fine breadcrumbs, 1 finely chopped garlic clove, 1 tsp coarse sea salt. Heap the breadcrumb mixture over the bone pieces. Place in a hot oven (200c) for 20 minutes.

Serve with crisp toast or crackers, scooping out the marrow with a long thin spoon.

Serves 2.

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Aperitivo hour: Cheese & Chili Biscuits

This is a great way to revive dried out bits of cheese lurking at the back of your fridge!

In a large bowl mix together 150g grated cheese (I used Red Leicester), 150g finely cubed butter, 150g flour, a good pinch of sea salt, and a pinch of dried chili flakes.

Once all the ingredients have been incorporated into a rough dough (you can also used a food processor), roll out onto a floured surface and cut using a small cookie cutter (2.5cm wide, 1cm thick). Alternatively, roll the dough into a 2.5cm thick sausage (wrapping the dough in cling film may help) and cut into 1cm discs.

Bake in the oven for 12 minutes at 180c, making sure to keep some space between the biscuits as they will expand out.

Notes: These freeze (unbaked) really well, ready to be popped straight into the oven.

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PISTACHIO SHORTBREAD >

Aperitivo Hour: Cannellini bean bruschetta with smoked garlic

In a food processor blitz a can (150g) cannellini beans (rough or smooth, depending on what you prefer). Pour into a small frying pan with a little olive oil and stir around till warmed through. Season with sea salt and pepper. You can also add a dash of truffle oil.

Toast four small slices of sourdough bread, rub with a cut clove of smoked garlic. Spread the puree overtop and sprinkle with some chili flakes. Add a drizzle of olive oil and serve along with a glass of Pugliese Primitivo (aka Zinfandel), such as the organic Fatalone.

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FUNGHI PORCINI CROSTINI >

Italian Food Course Lexicon: 1. Apertivo

Italians are renowned for their catwalk of food courses: aperitivo (before you sit down to a meal), antipasti (literally “before the pasta”), primi (pasta or risotto course), secondi (meat/fish course), contorni (side dishes), dolci (desserts). Depending on what you fancy or your appetite levels these can be mixed and matched.

Aperitivo is one of my favourite pastimes and has become increasingly popular in Italy. It is often served in bars for free when you order a drink, with the bar counter laden with everything from cheese & prosciutto to pastas and salads.

Warning: it will be nearly impossible to move onto other courses when you start with an aperitivo.

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FA L’AMERICANO COCKTAIL >

Stuffed Courgette Flowers

Fry a small, finely chopped onion in a little olive oil till soft and transparent. Now add a handful of pinenuts, and stir till golden. Add a handful of chopped currants, a sprinkling of cinnamon and cumin, 1 tbs honey, and moisten it all with a 1/4 cup vegetable stock. Stir in 1 1/2 cup cooked rice, season with salt and pepper and transfer to a bowl.

Lightly wash 12 courgette flowers (with or without the courgettes attached) and then stuff with the rice mixture (about 1 tbs per flower). Fold over a couple of the petals to seal in the rice and then twist the remaining petals together, tuck under and place on an oiled baking tray. Drizzle the stuffed flowers with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake in the oven for around 10-15 minutes at 180 till crisp and golden.

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Stuffed tomatoes with tuna

Here’s another fab summer recipe which makes the best use of ripe tomatoes in season. You can serve these as appetizers or as part of a light lunch.

In a bowl, mix together a can of good-quality tuna, 1 tbs mayonnaise, a dash of olive oil (unless the tuna was already packed in olive oil), a large squeeze of lemon juice, a small handful of chopped gherkins or capers, 1 mashed white anchovy fillet (optional), and some sea salt and pepper. Take a few smallish tomatoes (but not cherry variety unless you want extra work), and split in half (lengthwise for the long tomatoes, across the width if round). Gut them of their seeds and juices and fill with the tuna mixture. Garnish with small basil leaves.

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STUFFED PEPPERS >

Stuffed sweet piquante peppers appetizers

I love these little peppers produced by Peppadew, particularly on a slice of toasted rye spread with cream cheese.

For something a tad fancier, take a dozen peppers, and stuff them with a mixture of soft curd cheese and a sweet chilli sauce, then dip the creamy side in either crushed, toasted pistachios or walnuts.

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Spanish tapas - Iberico ham & manchego

I probably have Spain on my mind (World Cup finals perhaps?), or maybe it is the heavy summer days which explains my sudden craving for cold Spanish tapas.

Jamón ibérico is a ham made from the Iberian black pig, which are free to roam in the pastures and oak forests of southwest Spain, spending their days foraging and munching on acorns and roots. The finest quality meat comes from those which only feed on acorns in the oak forests (la dehesa) in their last period, and then are cured for 36 months.

I am not normally a big fan of cured meats, but Iberican ham is an exception; for its sweetness, softness, and richness of flavour. Though be warned, it is not the cheapest of cured ham options!

How to serve: on a large wooden board places several slices of the ham, alongside some slices or chunks of manchego cheese, some small squares of membrillo (Spanish quince paste), a few green olives, and of course a glass of sherry or Rioja.

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A PROVENCAL APERITIF >