Meaty feast for a rainy autumn evening

A perfect recipe for a depressing rainy day. I think that this new invention of mine could be a deserving replacement of a Sunday roast. All in all, what could go wrong if there is wine involved? ;)

You'll need:
2 medium size potatoes
150-200g of mince beef
75g of chopped tomatoes from a can/carton
50ml red wine (I usually use dry wines for cooking)
blue cheese
fresh basil
cinnamon
salt & pepper

1.Start by peeling the potatoes and cutting them into 5mm slices (normally I wouldn't mention the need to peel, but living in England has taught me that everything is possible). Boil them in salted water until they are nearly ready.
2. Fry the mince. Adding some water will prevent it from from collecting in bigger lumps and will make it softer. Only add salt & pepper for taste. Once it turns brown, add tomatoes, and after 30 seconds or so add the wine. The mixture will be very watery at this point, so you will need to reduce it quite significntly.

3. Spread the potato slices on the bottom of a heatpoof dish. Sprinkle with cinnamon.

4. Transfer the contents of the pan on top.
5. Sprinkle with blue cheese crumbles and freshly cut basil leaves.

6.Put in the oven set to 200 degrees for 10-15 minutes, et voila!

Bon appétit!

Sunday morning special

It's a tradition in my house to have scrambled eggs for breakfast each Sunday. Now, I know that making scrambled eggs is something that absolutely everyone can do, it's said to be only slightly more difficult than boiling water. Yet, nearly everone has their own special way of doing that. Some prefer it well stirred, some stir only at the end. Some like it with ground pepper, some believe it's a heresy to add it. And of course, there are many different things you can add to your eggs: dill, onion, bacon, blue cheese, chili or even bamboo or carrots. Below I present my favourite way of preparing scrambled eggs, which is with tomatoes and bacon.

You'll need:
eggs
bacon
tomoto(es)
tomato concentrate
salt

You start by cutting the bacon into small slices and chopping the tomoto(es). You need to fry bacon first, then add chopped tomoto(es). Add a tea spoon of tomoto concentrate, and then add the eggs. Don't forget a pinch of salt (only a pinch coz bacon is usually already salty).

 Personally, I prefer it well stirred. a few more minutes on the pan, et voila!

Perhaps it doesn't look most appetising (the tomotoes give it a slightly funny consistency), but it's really yummy.

TRICK: If you want your scrambled eggs to have a really smooth texture, add a few spoonfulls of milk when frying your eggs. I don't use this trick for this particular version of scrambled eggs though, coz it doesn't go well with the tomatoes which are already a juicy addition.

Bon appétit!

Everyone wants to be Italian

Many moons ago one of my friends organised a pasta night. She made sicilian tomato and tuna pasta. This is my take on it. I made only some small variations.

You'll need:
spaghetti (d'uh)
chopped tomates from a can/carton
1 tuna can
fresh basil
3 garlic
tarragon
lemon pepper
olive oil
salt (for pasta)
Freshly grated hard cheese (parmesan or regiano)

The sauce can be made while boiling pasta. Add all of the ingredients into a pan (except for grated cheese of course). The only thing that needs chopping is basil. No need to chop garlic. Put whole cloves in. They will give out the taste, and will have to be removed before serving. It;s part of the magic of this recipe. I cut mine into halves, that's why there seem to be so many in the picture. Simmer on low gas. No need to add salt.

When the pasta is ready, sprinkle it with olive oil and add the sauce. Stir everything and transfer into a plate. Sprinkle with grated cheese, add a few leaves of basil on top for extra effect, et voila!

Bon appétit!

Every day is a discovery :)

Every day is a discovery. A world of new tastes opens before me. Today, thanks to Colin, it was a Cornish lard cake. Sounds not so tasty, but it actually was pretty decent. I love discovering new tastes, which is why I will never say no to even the most unusual food. Not even a bug could scare me (I ate ants when I was a kid so what's the difference :P). Be it an ostrich or a reindeer, it can always end up on my plate.

This post is really a huge thank you note to all of my wonderful friends who, over the years, helped me to discover new flavours in life. Thanks to whom I know how a real Hungarian pörkölt and lángos, Swedish pickled herring, Bolivian beans stew, Indian tarka daal, Sicilian tomato pasta, Slovak bryndzove haluski and many other dishes taste like.

Truth be told the real reason why I love food and cooking is because it is a social phenomenon. It is a chance to meet together and put all the problems on the side. To feel at home. To feel part of a group. Some of my best memories involve me and my friends having a meal together. My meals are there to show you how much I appreciate you.

Bon appétit!

Fig delight

This is not my idea, but it's seriously worth trying. Figs go very well with mozarella!! Served on a bed of mixed salads with a dressing of my own invention. The original recipe has a cranberry dressing, but I was short of cranberries (dried are not good enough). So I made a cherry and lime dressing to go with it. Be careful though and don't add too much, because it's very intensive. Simpy mix 3 tea spoons of cherry syrup with a quarter of lime and add a tea spoon of olive oil, et voilà!

Bon appétit!!

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...