Absolutely GENIUS. Now where's that 1982 Chateau Mouton Rothschild?
Friday 28 January 2011
Sunday 23 January 2011
Tea or coffee?
For me it has to be coffee, recently however I have found myself drinking more tea at home, probably because it's so bloody convenient but also because despite the choice it seems quite hard to find the good stuff, especially filter coffee. That was until this morning when I opened a stupidly good packet of Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee. I never really associated Jamaica as a source of high quality coffee, from now on I will always go out of my way to find it.
Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee is a classification of coffee grown in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica (funny that!). It is renowned for having a silky full body and none of the bitterness usually associated with coffee. The main reason for this is the location - at 7,000 feet above the capital Kingston the berries are shrouded in mist allowing them to ripen very slowly and develop their flavour to the max. The climate of the region is cool with high rainfall and the rich soil provides excellent drainage, ideal for coffee production.
It is precisely this combination that contributes to the smoothness and flavour that has earned Blue Mountain coffee the reputation of "best coffee in the world" (can't believe I've only just discovered it!!). It also happens to be one of the most expensive and sought-after coffees in the world with over 80% of it being exported to Japan, clearly fans then!
Basically, if you see some just buy it, you really won't be disappointed. Oh and don't even think of adding milk or cream, you don't need anything other than a teaspoon of sugar if you like it a little sweet.
Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee is a classification of coffee grown in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica (funny that!). It is renowned for having a silky full body and none of the bitterness usually associated with coffee. The main reason for this is the location - at 7,000 feet above the capital Kingston the berries are shrouded in mist allowing them to ripen very slowly and develop their flavour to the max. The climate of the region is cool with high rainfall and the rich soil provides excellent drainage, ideal for coffee production.
It is precisely this combination that contributes to the smoothness and flavour that has earned Blue Mountain coffee the reputation of "best coffee in the world" (can't believe I've only just discovered it!!). It also happens to be one of the most expensive and sought-after coffees in the world with over 80% of it being exported to Japan, clearly fans then!
Basically, if you see some just buy it, you really won't be disappointed. Oh and don't even think of adding milk or cream, you don't need anything other than a teaspoon of sugar if you like it a little sweet.
Sunday 16 January 2011
Chickpea this out!
Who doesn't like chickpeas!?? To me they are without doubt a "superfood" in that they go well with so many other ingredients. Have 'em with squid, Moroccan dishes, lamb, chicken, beefy stews, curries, falafel, salads, soups or even just hummus. If you don't like them you're a freak...
That many people don't associate chickpeas with Italian cooking has always surprised me as they do tend to figure in some really tasty dishes. Admittedly you don't see a lot of them in Southern Italian cooking (they tend be associated with the North) yet this is a really simple dish that takes me right back to Sorrento. Pasta e ceci (pasta with chickpeas) is a Tuscan dish but as a kid I used to get served a basic version of this at school once a week, school dinners needless to say, are far superior over there than they are over here...
Easily serves 3 (4 at a push):
1 small white onion
1 clove of garlic
1 stick of celery
1 carrot
2 bay leaves
1 sprig of rosemary
1/2 dry red chilli
2 tins of chickpeas (drained)
700ml of vegetable or chicken stock
150g of Ditalini pasta (any small shell like pasta will do)
1 handful of parsley
1 handful of celery heart leaves
Parmigiano Reggiano
Finely chop the onion, celery, garlic and carrot and gently fry in a little extra virgin olive oil for 10 mins making sure that they do not take on too much colour. Add the bay, rosemary and chilli and cook for a further 5 mins.
Tip in the drained chickpeas, stir well and cook for a few minutes before pouring in the stock. Cover and leave for 25-30 mins until the chickpeas are nice and tender.
At this point remove the bay and rosemary then ladle roughly half of the broth into a separate bowl.
Blitz the rest with a hand blender and return the whole chickpeas to the pan, season, add the pasta and cook to your liking (I like mine with a bit of bite).
The last thing to do is to chop your parsley and celery heart leaves (these provide a refreshing bitterness to the final dish). A good tip is to never chop your herbs too finely, you'll leave all of their delicate flavours on the chopping board...
Grate over some Parmigiano, drizzle over some extra virgin olive oil and serve with torn crusty bread. Despite its basic appearance you will not believe bloody good this dish tastes! Oh and a nice glass of medium/full bodied white will go down a treat, try a white Burgundy. Sweet.
That many people don't associate chickpeas with Italian cooking has always surprised me as they do tend to figure in some really tasty dishes. Admittedly you don't see a lot of them in Southern Italian cooking (they tend be associated with the North) yet this is a really simple dish that takes me right back to Sorrento. Pasta e ceci (pasta with chickpeas) is a Tuscan dish but as a kid I used to get served a basic version of this at school once a week, school dinners needless to say, are far superior over there than they are over here...
Easily serves 3 (4 at a push):
1 small white onion
1 clove of garlic
1 stick of celery
1 carrot
2 bay leaves
1 sprig of rosemary
1/2 dry red chilli
2 tins of chickpeas (drained)
700ml of vegetable or chicken stock
150g of Ditalini pasta (any small shell like pasta will do)
1 handful of parsley
1 handful of celery heart leaves
Parmigiano Reggiano
Finely chop the onion, celery, garlic and carrot and gently fry in a little extra virgin olive oil for 10 mins making sure that they do not take on too much colour. Add the bay, rosemary and chilli and cook for a further 5 mins.
Tip in the drained chickpeas, stir well and cook for a few minutes before pouring in the stock. Cover and leave for 25-30 mins until the chickpeas are nice and tender.
At this point remove the bay and rosemary then ladle roughly half of the broth into a separate bowl.
Blitz the rest with a hand blender and return the whole chickpeas to the pan, season, add the pasta and cook to your liking (I like mine with a bit of bite).
The last thing to do is to chop your parsley and celery heart leaves (these provide a refreshing bitterness to the final dish). A good tip is to never chop your herbs too finely, you'll leave all of their delicate flavours on the chopping board...
Grate over some Parmigiano, drizzle over some extra virgin olive oil and serve with torn crusty bread. Despite its basic appearance you will not believe bloody good this dish tastes! Oh and a nice glass of medium/full bodied white will go down a treat, try a white Burgundy. Sweet.
Wednesday 12 January 2011
Shankarama
Another often overlooked cut of meat, especially when it comes to home cooking, is the humble shank. It is basically the portion of meat around the leg bone beneath the knee, it's pretty tough so requires a long and slow cooking process. Not ideal if you're in a rush (I thought it would be a good idea to cook this on a Monday night - didn't eat till 11pm!) but if you have a couple of hours to spare on a Sunday evening it is one of the most delicious and rewarding dishes that you can prepare.
Ossobuco (veal shank) is a personal favourite of mine and one the most ridiculously tasty things around, especially when eaten with the traditional 'risotto alla milanese', but as veal shin is fairly hard to come across I'll talk about that another time.
For this particular dish all you need are a couple of lamb shanks, the rest of the meal is pretty damn straight forward to prepare.
Serves 2 hungry people
2 lamb shanks
2 shallots finely chopped (small onions will do)
1 stick of celery finely chopped
1 clove of garlic (crushed)
1/2 a dry red chilli
1 sprig of rosemary
1 tbsp on tomato puree
250 ml of red wine
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp of red wine vinegar
400ml of beef stock
1 tin of butter beans
1 large handful of flat leaf parsley
Preheat the oven to 140-150 degrees C.
Grab a tall pan and brown the shanks in a little olive oil for a few minutes before removing and setting to one side. Add the onion, celery and garlic to the same pan the lamb was in and cook on a medium heat until translucent. Throw in the whole sprig of rosemary, the dried chilli and stir in the puree - cook for a further 5 mins or so ensuring that the onions don't begin to take on too much colour.
Tip the shanks back into the pan, turn up the heat a little and after a minute or two pour in the wine, bring to the boil.
Pour in the chopped tomatoes and butter beans, season, stir and add the vinegar.
Now add the stock (this should cover all the meat in the pan), bring to the boil one more time, cover and slide in the oven for 2 and 1/2 hours stirring every now and again.
That's it! The meat will literally fall off the bone...
I served the shanks on a cushion of olive oil and rosemary mash. To do this just bring a few spuds to the boil with a clove of garlic and a sprig of rosemary. When the potatoes are tender just pour in a few extremely generous glugs of extra virgin olive oil, season well and mash. If in doubt as to how much oil to add to just add a little at a time until you have smooth consistency.
Place a dollop of mash in the centre of nice plate, position the shank on top, pour over the sauce and garnish with chopped parsley. SHANKARAMA!
But best of all you'll end up with enough sauce to make a bloody fine pasta sauce for the following day! Plenty for more than two people.
Just bring a pan of salted water to the boil and add some nice hearty pasta like fettucine, tagliatelle or even tortelloni.
As the pasta cooks for the required time just heat up the sauce adding a little flour to thicken if necessary. Spoon the sauce over the pasta, grate over some fresh parmesan and sprinkle with some of the leftover parsley. Unbelievably good....
Ossobuco (veal shank) is a personal favourite of mine and one the most ridiculously tasty things around, especially when eaten with the traditional 'risotto alla milanese', but as veal shin is fairly hard to come across I'll talk about that another time.
For this particular dish all you need are a couple of lamb shanks, the rest of the meal is pretty damn straight forward to prepare.
Serves 2 hungry people
2 lamb shanks
2 shallots finely chopped (small onions will do)
1 stick of celery finely chopped
1 clove of garlic (crushed)
1/2 a dry red chilli
1 sprig of rosemary
1 tbsp on tomato puree
250 ml of red wine
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp of red wine vinegar
400ml of beef stock
1 tin of butter beans
1 large handful of flat leaf parsley
Preheat the oven to 140-150 degrees C.
Grab a tall pan and brown the shanks in a little olive oil for a few minutes before removing and setting to one side. Add the onion, celery and garlic to the same pan the lamb was in and cook on a medium heat until translucent. Throw in the whole sprig of rosemary, the dried chilli and stir in the puree - cook for a further 5 mins or so ensuring that the onions don't begin to take on too much colour.
Tip the shanks back into the pan, turn up the heat a little and after a minute or two pour in the wine, bring to the boil.
Pour in the chopped tomatoes and butter beans, season, stir and add the vinegar.
Now add the stock (this should cover all the meat in the pan), bring to the boil one more time, cover and slide in the oven for 2 and 1/2 hours stirring every now and again.
That's it! The meat will literally fall off the bone...
I served the shanks on a cushion of olive oil and rosemary mash. To do this just bring a few spuds to the boil with a clove of garlic and a sprig of rosemary. When the potatoes are tender just pour in a few extremely generous glugs of extra virgin olive oil, season well and mash. If in doubt as to how much oil to add to just add a little at a time until you have smooth consistency.
Place a dollop of mash in the centre of nice plate, position the shank on top, pour over the sauce and garnish with chopped parsley. SHANKARAMA!
But best of all you'll end up with enough sauce to make a bloody fine pasta sauce for the following day! Plenty for more than two people.
Just bring a pan of salted water to the boil and add some nice hearty pasta like fettucine, tagliatelle or even tortelloni.
As the pasta cooks for the required time just heat up the sauce adding a little flour to thicken if necessary. Spoon the sauce over the pasta, grate over some fresh parmesan and sprinkle with some of the leftover parsley. Unbelievably good....
Thursday 6 January 2011
Curry your gran!
It's late(ish), you're tired, you left a bag of newly bought clothes on the train the night before, your football team is shit and you're hungry. There is only one thing that can help - a cuzza!!
Now on a night like this you'd be forgiven for dialling one in, but this is dippolicious we're talking about and so long as you have a few basic spices and ingredients to build your curry around, you'll have no problems in stirring one up in 30 mins or so. Seriously, you can pretty much use whatever you have available as almost all ingredients are interchangeable with other ones, just be sensible. I had no meat this eve so I used the vegetables I had to hand.
Serves 2 with loooooads left over for the next day:
1 and 1/2 tbsp of cumin seeds
1 tbsp of coriander seeds
2 cardamom pods (split and seeds removed)
2 tsp of garam masala
2 tsp of turmeric
mustard oil (vegetable oil will do)
2 medium white onions
1 garlic clove
2 carrots, finely cubed
1 hot green chilli (red is fine)
1 squash (peeled, deseeded and roughly chopped)
1 tin of chick peas (400g)
1 tin of coconut milk (400ml)
1 tin of chopped tomatoes (400g)
200g of spring greens (400g of spinach will work)
A handful of chopped coriander
Coarsely chop your onions and garlic and add to a tall pan. Fry these in a little mustard oil over a medium heat for about 8 mins. Meanwhile grind your spices in a pestle and mortar until you have a combined powder.
Add the cubed carrot and chopped chilli (I kept the seeds in), tip in your spices and mix well for a couple of minutes before adding the squash. Cook for just over 5 minutes or until the squash begins to fluff on the outer edges.
Stir through the chick peas, season, cook for a minute and add the coconut milk. Stir well.
After a minute or two pour in the chopped tomatoes, stir, cover and leave for 15 mins or until the squash can be easily pierced with a fork.
At this point roll up your greens like a cigar and run a sharp knife through them, you'll end up with nice ribbons that can be just dropped into the pan and left to wilt for a few minutes.
Ladle into bowls, scatter with coriander and add a squeeze of lemon to finish the dish. Serve with rice or a folded chapati like I did. Get stuck in!
Now on a night like this you'd be forgiven for dialling one in, but this is dippolicious we're talking about and so long as you have a few basic spices and ingredients to build your curry around, you'll have no problems in stirring one up in 30 mins or so. Seriously, you can pretty much use whatever you have available as almost all ingredients are interchangeable with other ones, just be sensible. I had no meat this eve so I used the vegetables I had to hand.
Serves 2 with loooooads left over for the next day:
1 and 1/2 tbsp of cumin seeds
1 tbsp of coriander seeds
2 cardamom pods (split and seeds removed)
2 tsp of garam masala
2 tsp of turmeric
mustard oil (vegetable oil will do)
2 medium white onions
1 garlic clove
2 carrots, finely cubed
1 hot green chilli (red is fine)
1 squash (peeled, deseeded and roughly chopped)
1 tin of chick peas (400g)
1 tin of coconut milk (400ml)
1 tin of chopped tomatoes (400g)
200g of spring greens (400g of spinach will work)
A handful of chopped coriander
Coarsely chop your onions and garlic and add to a tall pan. Fry these in a little mustard oil over a medium heat for about 8 mins. Meanwhile grind your spices in a pestle and mortar until you have a combined powder.
Add the cubed carrot and chopped chilli (I kept the seeds in), tip in your spices and mix well for a couple of minutes before adding the squash. Cook for just over 5 minutes or until the squash begins to fluff on the outer edges.
Stir through the chick peas, season, cook for a minute and add the coconut milk. Stir well.
After a minute or two pour in the chopped tomatoes, stir, cover and leave for 15 mins or until the squash can be easily pierced with a fork.
At this point roll up your greens like a cigar and run a sharp knife through them, you'll end up with nice ribbons that can be just dropped into the pan and left to wilt for a few minutes.
Ladle into bowls, scatter with coriander and add a squeeze of lemon to finish the dish. Serve with rice or a folded chapati like I did. Get stuck in!
Wednesday 5 January 2011
Sweet Soho
Personally I'm a savoury man through and through but I defy anybody to tell me that they don't like cake(s). Having said that it is quite hard to find good cake, even more so if you are looking for the Italian kind. There is however one place in London tucked away in the middle of Wardour St. that has quite simply the best stuff this side of Milan.
Princi is located at 135 Wardour Street, London, W1F 0UT and is a gem of a place. The first thing you notice when you go in are the pizza's, ignore these as pizza should ONLY be served straight out the oven. Further back however you'll see rows and rows of sublime looking cakes and wonderful looking sweet things, stop right there - that's what you want.
Don't expect anybody to explain how to order or get served though, this is a genuine Italian place after all so you are going to have to work hard to get noticed, and speak loudly too.
Get cracking and you might find yourself taking home a box of these badboys.
Oh and one more thing, it WILL be busy so don't expect a seat or a nice little table. Just get the cakes and get out. Sweet.
Don't expect anybody to explain how to order or get served though, this is a genuine Italian place after all so you are going to have to work hard to get noticed, and speak loudly too.
Get cracking and you might find yourself taking home a box of these badboys.
Oh and one more thing, it WILL be busy so don't expect a seat or a nice little table. Just get the cakes and get out. Sweet.
Monday 3 January 2011
Sorry Rudolf!
For some the idea of eating deer just seems wrong and misplaced in today's modern society, and if you have kids you couldn't pick a worse time than around Xmas to prepare a meal using this kind of meat. Either way it tastes absolutely divine, has a lower fat content than beef and can be obtained far more cheaply too, yet despite this it isn't very accessible in supermarkets and as result most people tend not to think about when it comes to cooking.
I love it and tonight I prepared a meal inspired by a recipe I found online.
Serves 3-4 people:
500g of diced venison (shoulder)
extra virgin olive oil
50g of unsalted butter
2 medium white onions
2 decent sized carrots
2-3 sticks of celery
1 swede
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 hot green chilli (I keep the seeds in)
2-3 bay leaves
3 tbsp of redcurrant jelly
1 bottle of red wine (cheap stuff will do)
a few sprigs of rosemary
400 ml of beef stock
250g of oyster mushrooms
1 handful parsley
Roughly chop all of the veg into small chunks and add to a heavy pan with a few glugs of olive oil, half the butter and the bay leaves. Fry this off gently on a medium heat for 10-15 mins stirring frequently. Remove from the pan and add to a large bowl
Lightly flour the venison (this will help it seal) and season with salt and pepper before adding to the same pan with a few more glugs of oil and the remainder of the butter. Cook the meat on a high heat until nicely browned all over (approx 5-8 mins).
Return the veg to the pan, add the redcurrant jelly and stir for a few minutes before pouring in roughly 500ml of red wine (pour yourself the rest!). Bring to the boil, add the rosemary and turn the heat down slightly for a few minutes.
Add the beef stock, place a lid on the pan and slide into a preheated oven at 175 degrees C for 1.5 hours stirring half way through.
Remove from the oven, place over a low heat and add the roughly chopped mushrooms. Cook for a further 10-15 mins, garnish with chopped flat leaf parsley, season and serve with a glass of red (I had a Valpolicella Ripasso). Spot on.
Sorry Rudolf! Actually I'm not, I'm bloody grateful.
Trivia: the word venison derives from the Latin vēnor (to hunt or pursue) and originally described meat of any game animal killed by hunting.
I love it and tonight I prepared a meal inspired by a recipe I found online.
Serves 3-4 people:
500g of diced venison (shoulder)
extra virgin olive oil
50g of unsalted butter
2 medium white onions
2 decent sized carrots
2-3 sticks of celery
1 swede
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 hot green chilli (I keep the seeds in)
2-3 bay leaves
3 tbsp of redcurrant jelly
1 bottle of red wine (cheap stuff will do)
a few sprigs of rosemary
400 ml of beef stock
250g of oyster mushrooms
1 handful parsley
Roughly chop all of the veg into small chunks and add to a heavy pan with a few glugs of olive oil, half the butter and the bay leaves. Fry this off gently on a medium heat for 10-15 mins stirring frequently. Remove from the pan and add to a large bowl
Lightly flour the venison (this will help it seal) and season with salt and pepper before adding to the same pan with a few more glugs of oil and the remainder of the butter. Cook the meat on a high heat until nicely browned all over (approx 5-8 mins).
Return the veg to the pan, add the redcurrant jelly and stir for a few minutes before pouring in roughly 500ml of red wine (pour yourself the rest!). Bring to the boil, add the rosemary and turn the heat down slightly for a few minutes.
Add the beef stock, place a lid on the pan and slide into a preheated oven at 175 degrees C for 1.5 hours stirring half way through.
Remove from the oven, place over a low heat and add the roughly chopped mushrooms. Cook for a further 10-15 mins, garnish with chopped flat leaf parsley, season and serve with a glass of red (I had a Valpolicella Ripasso). Spot on.
Sorry Rudolf! Actually I'm not, I'm bloody grateful.
Trivia: the word venison derives from the Latin vēnor (to hunt or pursue) and originally described meat of any game animal killed by hunting.
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