When Italy met India...

...or coriander mini polpettone in creamy curry sauce served with gralic and coriander naan bread.

I should probably start with a disclaimer: this is not a recipe for an Indian meatloaf (though it actually sounds like a good idea for the future).

You'll need:
around 300g of minced pork
1 egg
chili powder
ground coriander
leaf coriander
pepper and salt
breadcrumbs (optional)

For the sauce:
150/200g creme freche
medium curry powder
garam masala
chili
leaf coriander
ground coriander
turmeric (optional) (use if you want a super yellow effect)

1. Mix the mince and the spices, add the egg. If the mixture is too loose to form mini balls, add some  breadcrumbs.
2. Form small balls, no more than 3cm in diameter.
3. Warm the oil on a grill pan.
4. Fry your mini polpettones.
5. Take a second pan, add your cream and mix it with the scpices. Remember not to overheat the sauce, as it will loose the nice creamy consistency if you do.
6. Prepare your naan (today I was short of time and so used a ready-made one, but I will explore the joy of proper naan making at some point, I promise)

et voila! Super tasty dinner in less than 15 minutes. If you're very hungry you can also serve it with rice, but for me it's already very filling as it is.

Bon appétit!

Murakami inspired breakfast

I'm reading Murakami's 1Q84 and I noticed that whenever there is description of a meal, smoked mackerel is mentioned. I realised that I haven't eaten mackarel for a while, so I decided to rectify this oversight today morning.

Some people say that fish doesn't go with dairy, but it's not true! I mixed my smoked mackarel with soft white cheese and added a generous dose of ground pepper to create this very simple sandwich mix. I served it on a freshly baked, still warm baguette. Very tasty and very healthy at the same time :)

It should also go very well with cucumber.

On the topic of sandwiches: living in the country where sandwiches were invented has the advantage of having a sandwich shop around nearly every corner. There are many network shops in the UK specialising in sandwiches. While there is nothing in particular that I have against them, I still think that it is the small local sandwich shops which are worth attention. So if you're ever visiting Westminster, try Stiles Bakery. It's situated on a small cobbled street called Strutton Ground right off Victoria Street. Good quality and even better prices. Yet, my ultimate favourite sandwich shop in the UK so far is Oxford based Mortons. An absolute must if you're visiting Broad Street.

Bon appétit!

Ratatouille

Somehow the first post seems to be particularly important, so I gave a lot of thought into the choice of recipe...

What could come out of these ingredients? yes the one and only RATATOUILLE!!! Needless to say what inspired me:

This traditional Provencal dish can be prepared in many ways. I had three takes on the subject so far.

Take one:

 And after transferring it onto the plate together with my new signature sauce (details on the sauce below :))

Take two:

Take three:

 Ratatouille is a vegetarian recipe, but my version contained pepper salami. In my opinion it fits very well.

Tip: whichever way you prepare your own ratatouille, always be generous with thyme.

My ratatouille tomato sauce.
I invented a new sauce to go with my ratatouille. It's very simple. You just mix together tomotoes, finely chopped onion, garlic, lots of thyme and add some white wine vinegar. Don't forget to start with some oil before you put all of the ingredients in the pot.

Then you allow some time for the sauce to reduce, et voila! I'm sure I will use it in the future for other recipes :)



Bon appétit!

Recollections of a food lover

What will follow is a story of love. A story of enduring passion that fears no challenge. A story of unconditional committment and everlasting joy. A story of love for food.

I write this to have a record of my recipes, experiments with other ppl's recipes and anything else about food, really, because this is what I really enjoy. I decided to send these words into the vacuum, without any expectation that anyone will ever read this. If, however, for some strange reason you decide to read any of the upcoming posts, I hope you will enjoy them.

Perhaps these recollections of a food lover will become more than just a list of recipes. What I really would like to do is to tell my story through food. I recognise that this won't be an easy task - to put everything about me a la carte...