Sunday lunch...

There was a touch of spring in this pasta that was part of a nice sunday lunch with friends. It's simple and easy:

1. Saute finely chopped garlic and chili in olive oil [I like lots of garlic and hot chili but adjust to your own taste].

2. Add pre-cooked and peeled broad beans.

3. Add freshly cooked pasta to the pan with some of the water the pasta was cooked in.

4. Mix to coat pasta + season [I only use pepper as there's salt in the pasta water + the parmesan].

5. Add herbs of your choice [we used parsley, mint and basil] + pangritata [crunchy parmesan bread crumbs - reserve some to garnish] and a little parmesan - toss with some additional olive oil to finish.

We served the pasta with a braised artichoke and additional parmesan. There are lots of variations of this pasta that you could do - what about cauliflower, broccoli, fresh peas, anchovies or capers? I'm sure you could come up with many great combinations.

Note: Pangritata, often called 'poor man's parmesan' as it was used as way for Italian peasants to extend, what is, an expensive ingredient. I think this is still a useful technique today but, in addition, pangritata is simply loved for the texture and other flavours it contributes [regardless of whether you are on a budget or not]. It can be used to add flavour and texture to many other dishes as well. So simple but so delicious and crunchy.

To make pangritata:

1. Take some good quality day old bread [mostly I use sourdough] and remove the crusts. Wizz in a food processor until it's bread crumbs [not too fine - chunky will give a better result/texture in the dish]. Do this in batches for a better result.

If you have extra bread and time, make a large batch of crumbs and freeze in meal-size portions so that you have them on hand for a quick pangritata.

2. Put crumbs in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil and mix - add more if you need it.

3. Add grated parmesan and mix.

4. Spread onto a baking sheet and cook at 180 C until crunchy and golden.

Alternatively, you can do this in a pan and vary it by sauteing garlic in the pan before adding the bread crumbs - or even herbs if you like.

More zucchini flowers!

The grower of these stunning zucchini flowers also supplies The Buffalo Club in Brisbane.

These incredibly fresh zucchini flowers were a lovely surprise from Jerome at Sourced Grocer. He sent them home with Dr H to cheer me up, as I was recovering from a not-so-nice dental procedure - and it worked. Certainly took my mind off the whole experience! They were a joy to look at and I was very touched. Thanks Jerome!!

I think these are the best and freshest zucchini flowers I've ever seen in a shop. They were a pale 'spotted' variety that I don't think I have seen for sale, with the flowers attached. The flower is very large compared to the size of the zucchini, which I liked very much as the flower can take more filling and the zucchini is so young that it isn't even necessary to slice it lengthways before you batter and fry.

We stuffed them with a mix of ricotta, mint, parsley, parmesan, chili, garlic. I hope the grower has plenty more to supply as I hope to be able to buy more in the future. A lovely treat and absolutely delicious.

Buttermilk pancakes...

A surprise visit from my parents for afternoon tea meant only one thing: a batch of pancakes! You can make the batter in a snap and be cooking them as you chat - then serve them up piping hot with maple syrup, jam, fruit or whatever takes your fancy or have on hand.

On this particular day it was blackcurrant jam and some leftover cream. My mother prefers maple syrup but was very happy with this jam [a French jam from Burgundy - from Pennisi deli] and didn't seem to mind too much that we'd run out.

I also didn't have any buttermilk and made a substitute that I often use: put approx. 1/4 cup natural yogurt into a 2 cup measure and add a little milk and mix to thin the yogurt; add a little more and then add the rest of the milk to make 2 cups of milk and yogurt mix. It works well.


Buttermilk pancakes [from a Donna Hay recipe]

2 cups plain flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 egg
1 1/4 cups milk
3/4 cup buttermilk
75g butter, melted

1. Place flour, baking powder, sugar, egg, milk, buttermilk and cooled melted butter in a bowl.
2. Whisk or beat [I use hand held electric beaters] until well combined.
3. Heat non-stick frying pan or cast iron griddle over medium heat - lightly grease.
4. Cook 1/4 cup of the mixture until bubbles rise to the surface and begin to pop [approx. a couple of minutes or so], then flip and cook for another couple of minutes until puffed and golden.
5. Repeat with the remaining mixture.

Note: Of course you can make these any size that you desire. I use a 1/4 cup measure to scoop the batter as it's quick and keeps the size uniform.

Batter can be made the day before.

The batter can be made entirely on buttermilk, if desired.

Chocolate pots de creme...

This luscious chocolate pot was the happy end to a long Sunday lunch, which also included goat cheese tarts and mushroom soup. It was all that I love in a chocolate dessert: strong flavour, not sweet and a dreamy, smooth texture.

Our friends had constructed the whole lunch from The Balthazar Cookbook [by Keith McNally, Riad Nasr & Lee Hanson], which we had given them, incidentally, as it's one of their all time favourite restaurants.

I like this cookbook a lot. It looks great but, most importantly, it's comprised of a great selection of achievable, well written and formatted recipes. It's straight forward, concise and each recipe is preceded by a introduction [something that all my favourite cookbooks seem to feature, I've noticed]. I like the way it places the recipe in a context and may give a tip or preparation/serving suggestion. There's also a chapter for the basics: sauces, dressings, stocks, confits, tapenade and mayonnaise - always handy.

Balthazar, in case you're not familiar, is a renowned brasserie in SoHo, Manhattan - so do something nice for yourself and pay a visit should you be visiting NYC.


Chocolate Pot De Creme

1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
225g [8 ounces] Valrhona semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
6 large egg yolks

Preheat oven to 130 C or 250 F.

1. Combine cream, milk, sugar and vanilla in a medium saucepan.

2. Whisk to combine and bring to boil over a medium flame.

3. Add chopped chocolate and whisk until chocolate has melted.

4. Remove from the heat.

5. Lightly beat egg yolks in a medium sized bowl.

6. In a slow, steady stream, add egg yolks to the chocolate-cream mixture while whisking. Whisk until smooth.

7. Divide the mixture among 6 ramekins, bowls, pots or even espresso cups.

8. Place ramekins in a large casserole or high-sided baking dish and pour cold water into the baking dish so that it comes half way up the ramekins.

9.Cover tightly with foil and bake on the centre rack for 1 1/4 hours.

10. The custards should jiggle slightly in the centre when finished. Let cool to room temperature and then refrigerate. Serve cool.


My friend served his chocolate pots with fresh raspberries but you could also serve a crispy biscuit on the side like a tuille or perhaps madelaines, as I enjoyed in Paris.

Balthazar Restaurant
80 Spring St
New York
NY 10012
[between Broadway and Crosby]

+1 [212] 965 1414 for reservations

www.balthazarny.com

Ladro Greville...

Whole baked snapper stuffed with lots of garlic, herbs, fennel served on a warm risoni salad and finished with a herb and grappa butter.

White base pizza: mozzarella, tallegio, potato, rosemary, truffle oil and basil.

Super fresh salad: fennel, radicchio, rocket, chicory and witlof.

Before the crowds flooded in.

Ladro Greville
162 Greville Street
Prahan

03 95102233

Lunch:
Fri - Sun: 12- 3pm

Dinner:
Mon - Fri: 6 -late
Sat - Sun: 5.30 - late

Bar:
Mon - Thu: 6 - late
Fri - Sun: 12-late

www.ladro .com.au
eat@ladrogreville.com.au

Ladro Gertrude
224 Gertrude Street
Fitzroy

03 94157575

Lunch:
Sundays: 12 - 3pm

Dinner:
Mon - Fri: 6 - 11pm
Sat - Sun: 5.30 - 11pm

www.ladro.com.au
eat@ladrogertrude.com.au

Little fishes...

Here's a little bit of Movida to have at home. Frank Camorra, chef and owner of Melbourne restaurants Movida and Movida Aqui, imports this excellent range of fish and shellfish from Spain. They also appear on the conservas menu at the restaurants.

Luckily for us, we can buy them at Sourced Grocer. My friends said the mussels were particularly good.

Ps: The bottle in the background is a really delicious pomegranate vinegar from Oliviers & Co. Highly recommended.

Pearl jam..

Gooseberry and Vanilla jam.

Pearl Cafe have started a line of their own products - and here's a fine example! A beautiful golden jam packed with chunky fruit and vanilla bean seeds. Dr H was thrilled to see Dan's promised jams are now for sale and was even more thrilled to find there was gooseberry on offer [a fruit he is particularly fond of].

We're looking forward to what else their might be in the future.

Pearl Cafe
28 Logan Road
Wooloongabba
Brisbane
Queensland