Newcastle fish curry and chocolate cups

I really wanted to cook something for Bert and Jim and turned to Nigel Slater for help. I adore Nigel's recipes but don't own any of his books, so it was especially delightful to open up 'Appetite' like a new adventure. I spent too, too long reading all about soups and things to do with tomatoes, so it was a hasty impulse that led me to 'a fresh tasting and really quite spicy fish curry'. I didn't stick to the recipe very well, so here is what I did instead:

First stage:
Turn left out Bert's house, walk to the river, take a right and stroll along until you come across the Fish Co-op. Here, buy salmon, white fish and shellfish. I got a big fillet of Atlantic salmon, half a Hoki fish from New Zealand waters, and more than 200g raw King prawns from somewhere local - I forget precisely where. They were beautiful and grey and long-whiskered.

Second stage:

Chop up two white onions and soften in a pan in oil.
When soft, add in a teaspoon of brown mustard seeds (I couldn't find black) and cook for a couple of minutes. Chuck in four small-medium red chillies chopped - sans seeds - two teaspoons garam masala, one of ground tumeric and let this all cook for a minute or two until it smells beautiful.

Rough chop four or five tomatoes and add to the pan; dice up one yellow zucchini (we are in Australia!) and a handful of mini sweetcorn and also add in. Let this cook for about five minutes until the tomatoes break down.

Pour over vegetable stock (I used about 375ml of ready made and added in a dash more of water - any point up to about 500ml) and, when boiling, pop in the diced up fish and prawns. I cut the fish into a pretty chunky size so it would take about five minutes to cook through - and match the prawns' cooking time. Clap on a lid and, when the prawns are pink, pour in 150-200ml coconut milk. I forgot to season, but put salt and pepper on the table.

Served with rice. And lots of chat about Thai food.

************

Next course...

Berto had shown me the Australian food writer Stephanie Alexander and I was reading her book 'The cook's companion' whilst watching an Aussie daytime tv show where they made very rich looking chocolate desserts - much like the chocolate pots (probably a Jamie recipe) I made, using my Hay-on-Wye espresso cups. I digress. The tv recipe looked great but, once looked up online, proved to have about a hundred egg yolks in which seemed too extravagant, so I found a Stephanie Alexander alternative - including the whites this time, to make it more moussy and light. She calls it 'Fudgy Chocolate Mousse' and after her scathing comments about the European way of cooking scallops, I didn't dare mess her recipe around, other than to change the order and specify Lindt. And the way to fold in egg whites... :

Melt 200g Lindt 70% chocolate; add in 100g soft, unsalted butter until melted; beat in four egg yolks, one at a time.
Whip four egg whites until soft peaks form; sprinkle over 2 teaspoons caster sugar and whip until 'satiny'. Fold a big spoon of egg white into the chocolate mix; when combined, mix in the rest of the whites 'quickly but thoroughly'. Spoon into Verity's ever so stylish espresso cups with brown vertical stripes and put in fridge.

Normally you should bring them to room temperature before serving, but it is so darn hot this Australian summer, that I didn't. I did, however, serve them alongside half a sliced mango, fanned over a matching plate, with the chocolate cup sitting in the half-crescent.


Post Script: We had them again the next night and although still pretty tasty, I think they were better eaten on the day. High praise from me: I think this is one of the best uses for chocolate. High praise from Jim: he didn't have a beer after football so he could save his tastebuds for the chocolate pot. That is the biggest compliment my cooking has ever received!


'Appetite' by Nigel Slater, Fourth Estate, 2001 (ISBN 1841154709)
'The cook's companion : the complete book of ingredients and recipes for the Australian kitchen' by Stephanie Alexander, Viking [Penguin Books Australia], 1996 (ISBN 0670863734)


9.01.08

Oh what a night...

... late (in) December. Last night, in fact.

I realised I never think too much about drink, somehow thinking it separate to food, however a night in Soho made me re-think this.

Sambuka. I have never had a shot of sambuka and last night I lost my sambuka-virginity, if that doesn't sound too awful, like a teenager in an alley beside a pub, in the freezing cold. I can't give a very sophisticated description, but it was most definitely hot, wince-inducing and then warm inside and anniseedey on the lips. Yum!

Peroni: my original favourite and still the best. A separate eulogy no doubt to follow...

Peach bellinis at Bar Soho were utterly gorgeous - they smelt like summer and were far too good to drink slowly. It didn't have the gloopy bits that fresh puree often has, so it must have been finely pressed or thinned out. The only drawback was that the bar was really quite loud, however we got a seat and there was a lively feel.

Dom Perrignon rose at Kettners. Yes, really! This bar was so beautiful - my friend urged me to take a trip to the ladies just to view the perfectly made up dining rooms on the way! The chamapgne was wonderful, but I think it was the atmosphere that completely made the experience. It was Utterly, Utterly!

In a dramatic act of bathos we then sojourned to Eds Easy Diner for Peanut butter milkshake - shared, this time - fries and mayo, the Classic burger for my friend and a cheeseburger with Emmenthal for me. I love this place, and love their food - but always end up waddling away it is so good.

A cheeky espresso at Bar Italia finished the night perfectly... I think I have never laughed, drunk and talked so much! It was a really lovely evening and completely confirmed to me that I really want to stay in London. And I found I have another foodie friend who likes to eat out: what a good evening!

Wodka

Very brief notes on this Polish / Eastern European restaurant.

First to the Piano bar on Kensington High Street for a drink, to meet up with Bez et al. on an utterly miserable, wet evening.

Then on to Wodka. It was glamorous, dimly lit and we started by drinking pink champagne. To eat: rabbit terrine with plum chutney (fibrills of lettucy bits - a very good idea - and a smear of green over the terrine). Followed by Polish hunter's stew with potatoes; incredibly hearty with deep flavours. The meat was light, like rabbit or chicken - or phesant?

I never got to the dessert as I had to leave to get the last train, but the poached pears would have been the lucky recipient of my affection.
http://www.wodka.co.uk/html/#home

Vivo Argentina!

Friday night: the Argentinian restaurant on Broadway market, E8.
A 10 oz rump steak, red wine, the special condiment (sounded a bit like 'chimmi chura' -?) of herbs and oil and possibly chilli to spoon over. I don't want to be annoying and gush, so I'll just say it was the best meal out I have had in a long time, and all the more beautiful for the staff and the intimate atmosphere, and the hand-winched grill over the fire.

And because the company was good, and he insisted on paying, which was lavish and charming.

Red wine and red meat: is the secret to happiness really so simple?

For the love of macchiato

I have finally found the perfect relationship. Of course the cracks will appear, in time, I will get disillusioned; that is what happens. So I am just enjoying the moment and not thinking of the future. But each time it succeeds - how happy I am!

Surely, it must be a rare, once-in-a-lifetime thing to find a cafe that serves a consistently perfect macchiato? I now have a Sunday morning habit and have been holding back from visiting mid-week, incase it breaks the charm. I am also afraid of someone else making the coffee, incase it is the guy-with-the-earring who holds the magic, and not the cafe in general. Such nervous flutterings of my heart when the coffee is placed in front of me!

Today, to prolong the pleasure, I had a slice of cake; homemade on the premises, the sponge was perhaps made with ground almonds rather than flour, and berries baked into the centre. Utterly delicious, and not too sweet.

But now the cruellest wait: a whole week before I can go back again!

Skuzz

I had such a rubbish food day this morning that I spent the afternoon making up for it.

The milk was sour at breakfast time, so I decided on peanut butter on rice cakes. But I had eaten all the rice cakes. So I had some trusty ryvita with marmite which, after a bite, I surmised were quite nasty tasting and maybe a bit mouldy, so I ditched that too. I ended up with my head in a tub of cold roast chicken, like your favourite drooling mutt.

At cake time I was pleased with the birthday bakery I had done: one damp lemon and almond cake and one lemon drizzle cake. The latter wasn't as light as I hoped and the top could have been more tart... but it seemed to go down well with everyone. And after yoga I gave in to temptation and strolled the two minutes down the road to my local 'Miso'. Empty as my tum, except for a few couples, I had instant service. Whilst waiting for my food, I sat at the counter swinging my legs and reading the menu. It occured to me just how great it was to live so close to so much different food. I must have finally eaten enough Indian to warrant a break and then had to decide between Thai, mixed-Asian, fish and chips, chinese, non-vegetarian Indian, African (I think), Italian...

Back at home, slimy noodles and vegetables - with free prawn crackers - were the perfect choice. Noice.

Broad beans and pasta

That was supposed to echo the song 'boiled beef and carrots' but I see now it's a bit too obscure. Anyway ...

How happy I was for the broad beans in my veg box this week! Utterly beautiful inside their lumpy pods and just the thing to kick start summer cooking. This is what I did with them:

Cook conciegli (sp?) pasta shapes in boiling, salted water. 3 minutes before ready, throw in a couple of handfuls of broad beans and frozen peas. Then pop in a whole tomato. Leave for 20 seconds then pull the tomato out of the water: peel and chop roughly*.

When pasta and peas are cooked, drain and return to the pan, adding to it:

the chopped tomato
one crushed clove of garlic
grated parmesan
black pepper
virgin olive oil
a modest slick of cream (it really doesn’t need it if you use oil, but I just love cream. So there.)

Swish around until combined and the cheese is melting, then serve with more black pepper and grated pamesan.

The garlic is pretty subtle and the tomato makes it very fresh; it would have enjoyed a handful of parsley or perhaps basil, too. My only tip is don’t make enough for two people, unless you have two people. I had to stretch out on the sofa like a beached whale after.



*this whole exercise is to make it easier to peel, rather than some random, ritualistic act.