thepassionatecook

Asian-style prawn salad bites

It's blog party at Dispensing Happiness today... and the theme is "Tiki Party". For much that I tried, I could not find my Polynesian outfit, but the reality is that I am doing you a favour be remaining fully clothed, anyway. Christmas indulgence is to blame.
The theme Stephanie chose is perfect, as I've been wanting to reveal some more recipes of our finger food extravaganza anyway. This is another one inspired by "Asian Bites": grilled king prawns, shredded and seasoned Asian style (think fish sauce, brown sugar, lemongrass), a bit of a kick with some chopped chilli and spring onions, then served on a lettuce leaf which takes the edge off a bit.
Incredibly easy to make, incredibly forgiving as it will taste even better made a day ahead and just needs to be spooned onto some washed and dried gem lettuce leaves. Nothing easier than that!

For people who're unfamiliar with blog party, I was supposed to bring along a drink, too. May I suggest a wonderful tamarind margarita, as enjoyed recently at Wahaca, a restaurant in London which serves Mexican street food. Combine two units of  Tequila with one unit each of triple sec, tamarind concentrate and lime juice, shake with ice cubes and pour into a tumbler with a salt rim. Heaven. So much so that the only picture I could muster was incredibly blurry (ah, yes, I'll admit I had more than one!!!) This cocktail will become a staple in my house, though, wo I shall add a photo as and when.

Happy Blog Party, everyone!

Smokey aubergine dip with crudités

As I was commenting to some friends the other day, living abroad as well as maintaining a food blog has opened a whole new culinary spectrum to me and I find it thrilling to discover new flavours, new ingredients and new ways of combining familiar foodstuff every day. For instance, my ignorance vis-a-vis aubergines (or eggplant or melanzani or whatever they might be called in your neck of the woods) has over the last couple of years turned into a bit of a love affair, although I have not yet reached the level of confidence that would allow me to engage in weird and whacky kitchen experiments.

This humble vegetable has recently made a star appearance in my house which I'd like to share with you, if you let me. As I have mentioned before, we established new food traditions for Christmas last year and, albeit less stringent in its execution than some folks are with their stuffed beast and brussel sprouts (which they will make year after year without fail despite the fact that the family doesn't even like it) we stuck to our theme at least. Christmas Eve, therefore, saw large platters of finger food arranged before heading off to church, which we then slowly polished off throughout an evening of unpacking presents and singing carols, ever more boldly as the evening went on, with the courage gained with some glasses of wine and champagne.

Having tried my hand at quite a few catering events over the years, my finger food repertoire is vast and I know exactly which items lend themselves to advance preparation and which don't. I still take pleasure in trying new things and find myself leafing through cookbooks just to find myself wondering how each individual dish could be translated into a canapé of sorts. It is therefore hardly surprising that I should try out quite a few new ideas over the holidays, in the safety net that is my family - there's nothing worse for your nerves than making something for the first time for a crowd of people who you don't know and who expect only the best from you. This time, I took much inspiration from a brilliant book I discovered a while ago, without using it much until now. It is called Asian Bites and covers little dishes (not really finger foods, but I find most of them can easily be converted) from Asia, spanning the whole of the continent from Turkey to the Far East. What a bounty of exotic flavours... absolutely amazing. Luckily, everything I have tried so far uses ingredients that are readily available around here or easily substituted, and everything has worked brilliantly.

This here was a great addition to the platter of crudités and hoummus that has become a staple around here, simply because my children prefer to eat some vegetables raw (especially carrots and peppers) and also because it's healthy and wholesome - making up for all the foie gras and truffles and other indulgences we're known to consume over the festive period. It is easy and straight-forward in its preparation and tastes even better prepared a day or two ahead, allowing the flavours to develop their full potential. Smokey and smooth, but also refreshing in flavour, this is one dip that I have made many times since, it's also great served alongside an omelette in the morning or to accompany fish and meats, as well as serving as a healthy spread in a lunch-time pitta or wrap. A true allrounder and a very tasty one at that!

Other aubergine recipes on thepassionatecook:
Salmon on aubergines and slow-roast tomatoes (April 2005)
Caramelised aubergine tartare with curried nuts and almonds (April 2005)
Aubergine parmigiana (July 2006)
Red pepper, aubergine & scamorza terrine (January 2008)
Aubergine, tomato & pine nut croustades (October 2005)

WTSIM copycat: Mixed berry tart courtesy of Lucullian Delight

This round of WTSIM Andrew is hosting is a bit of lazy one... not only because we don't even have to come up with a recipe ourselves, but merely re-create one recipe out of a previous edition, also because I am incredibly late, which is not entirely my fault, seeing that Andrew emailed everybody and their dog about what my challenge would be, but forgot to include ME in the email ;-) and by the time I realised, I was already swamped with other things, like deadlines for articles for National Geographic and assignments to be handed in at uni - not to speak of the dreadful weather outside which really didn't have me storming out to get summery berries!

So, my challenge was berries. Great theme for winter, thanks Andrew! ;-) But the tart I chose could have easily been done with frozen berries as well, so should please both hemispheres. I had a really tough time choosing... for the longest time, I thought I'd explore one of the savoury recipes from Foodblogga or Exceeding the speed limit - I have never paired pork with berries, even though one of my favourite poultry dishes is quail stuffed with raspberries. But in the end, I couldn't resist Ilva's glorious photography... and since I know I can always trust her recipes (with a delay in posting such as mine, I could not afford the recipe not to turn out), it was settled: I would be making a mixed berry tart with a rosemary crust.

Now, I am usually quite lazy when it comes to making tarts, I know the dough is quickly put together, but it's more the fact that I am too impatient to spend an hour pressing the dough into the fluted tin and hope that everything will be nice and even, I am a perfectionist that way, I can't deal with bumpy bottoms and need a nice crust:filling ratio. But the idea of putting rosemary into the dough seemed like such a great addition, so I conceded. While I was making it, I thought I should have added more of the herb, but as it turned out, the 1 tsp does give it a nice and subtle hint of rosemary without being too much in your face.

Although I didn't follow the recipe by the book, I didn't end up writing the recipe down, so please, refer to Ilva's original recipe - her pictures are much better than mine and it's always good to get things straight from the source, so please head over to Lucullian Delights and try this delicious tart for yourself!

Carrot, courgette & hazelnut muffins with lime cream cheese frosting

I have long shrugged off the proposition of having (albeit organic) vegetables delivered to my house, thinking it would be too limiting. Not in the sense that the contents don't change enough over the weeks and I'd get bored with them, rather that I am far too impulsive when it comes to food... I spend my day thinking about the stuff pretty much non-stop (and I am sure that even as I am sticking my head into my books to study Iridology or Traditional Chinese Medicine or whatever else a given day might bring, there's a recipe sneakily developing in some dark corner in the back of my brain) - when I set my mind on having jerusalem artichoke risotto one day, I won't be settling for a Thai green vegetable curry just because I've got leftovers!

Some time at the beginning of my naturopathy course last autumn, I started ordering from my tried and trusted supplier again. It's probably because the nutrition lecture on food labelling really brought it home to me how easy it is for big food companies to mess with your head and not actually tell you what goes into their products, let alone how they're produced and how that f*** up the nutritional content. Did you know that the vitamin content stated on your average orange juice carton is "before" not "after" pasteurisation? And did you know also that up to 90% of, say, vitamin C, is lost in the process, no matter how (supposedly) *gently* they do it? And that any vitamin added AFTER is likely to be in a "cheap" form, meaning that its bioavailability is low and you're body struggles to absorb it, if it gains anything at all from it?

So I did change my ways and very selfishly buy almost exclusively organic now. The first change was the regular delivery of boxes from my favourite supplier. After a little incident last year (which I won't go into, because I am almost certain it wasn't their fault, they just employed a marketing agency which employs less than ethical methods of generating revenue) our relationship had gone a bit stale, so I did investigate and compared them with other suppliers in my area and sure enough, they came out top again. What I like the most about them (apart from the fact that the delivery guy is a handsome and chirpy chap) is that you can state your likes and dislikes for produce and they'll tailor-make each week's box for you. For example, I don't like beetroot, so that's NEVER going in. EVER. Also, if I have too many clementines or kiwis left over from the previous box, I can request that these fruits are not included and replaced by something else in any given week.

I usually have a deluxe vegetable box, which carries the (seemingly) more "unusual" vegetables (e.g. artichokes, aubergines) and an essential plus fruit box which get delivered on a Thursday, and to be honest, I have to order some extra stuff on top, which I either order through them (juicing oranges, extra herbs, onions, garlic, but also great organic salmon...) or though Ocado, the only supermarket delivery service where I can trust that the quality is what I paid for and I get ripe fruit and vegetables that don't go mouldy halfway through the day they're delivered.
With all that food, of course I do have things left over by the time my next box comes, just because what I learnt in nutrition doesn't mean that I have gone off food. I am still as passionate and temperamental when it comes to all things edible and I still need to satisfy my cravings for things that aren't necessarily in the fridge that day. But I don't fret over it any more because there are so many things I can do with what's left. So Thurday usually sees the unpacking of the boxes, cleaning the produce (I soak everything that we eat skin-on in water with a dash of cider vinegar for 30 mins to get rid of any - potential - creepy crawlies and most germs) and taking out any unconsumed vegetables and fruit from the last delivery which I will then convert into favourite easy lunches that can be made ahead for the next week: soups (great recipe of last night's lentil, courgette, broccoli and salmon one-pot to follow), quiches, frittatas, dips for starters or an afternoon snack the next day (again, recipe for a mouth-watering smokey aubergine dip coming soon), the list goes on.

What I hadn't thought of until yesterday is that you could actually use vegetables to make sweet things, too! Carrot cake I have grown up with (albeit a version very different from the British tradition, and with chocolate drizzle, instead of the dreaded icing you get here), but to use courgette in muffins? La Tartine Gourmande had some recently and although I had shrugged similar ideas off before with a "yeah, like, whatever" (that I've perfected over the years by observing my teenage daughter), the idea stuck in my head so much so that I had to try some for myself yesterday.
So these muffins combine three left-overs (or actually four, if I count the eggs) from my organic delivery scheme: courgette (aka zucchini), carrots and Medjool dates, as well as hazelnuts and ginger left-over from Christmas baking. And I am learning that you can make the most delicious dishes from scraping together some random things emerging from your organic box: I am a big fan of the brown stuff, but honestly, after tasting these muffins, I will never need a triple chocolate muffin ever again! Moist, gently spiced and topped with (another concept I have never understood, but now love after trying it) cream cheese topping gently infused with lime... pure bliss!

Scallop ceviche spoons with avocado & mango

At the start of the new year, the word most people have on their lips is the dreaded "D-word"... whether that means diet or detox is irrelevant, but everybody seems to overdo it over the holidays - not surprisingly, it's like you suddenly have time on your hand and the first thing you think of is food. Also, I always buy far too much, no matter how well I plan it - my typical shopping lists for the three Christmas days and the one for New Year's are both usually 2 A4 pages long and by the time I hit the shops, I never quite know what each ingredient is for (especially much-used items that might appear in various dishes, like herbs, onions, garlic...), so am unsure about quantities... and as a result, we're still eating leftovers of our New Year's dinner well into January.

Let me indulge you in a mean and lean fingerfood then - the basis of the recipe is from Nicky's fantastic book delicious:days. I've had numerous conversations with her over the years where we discussed the format the ultimate cookbook should take, analysing the ones we loved and hated... and I have to say that I find hers perfect in every way, except, maybe, that it's not 1000 pages long. But there's more where this one came from!

I modified and simplified her recipe slightly, as she has two types of fish cured in different marinades - I just put them all together and it worked a treat. Also, I used mainly scallops and only a little halibut, just because I love scallops for ceviche and because a little indulgence never hurts (except, maybe, the balance sheet). If you decide to serve this as a starter instead, arrange the ceviche in martini glasses or bowls. The first times I ever had ceviche was when I lived in Mexico and it was always accompanied by good-quality tortilla chips. I wouldn't have it any other way.

A beautiful and healthy way to see in the New Year - may it bring you everything you wish for (and more)!

Barcelona: Culinary City Snapshot

What's your country's cuisine in a nutshell?
Spanish cuisine is drawn largely from a strong tradition of fresh, seasonal, healthy produce, put to great effect by relatively poor people. The indigenous Mediterranean staples - tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, wheat, legumes, vegetables and citrus fruits – are complemented by rice, nuts, fruits and spices in the southern and central regions as a result of Moorish occupation in the Middle Ages and by seafood and sea fish in the Atlantic north-west. Cheeses and pork products (hams, fresh and cured sausages) are ubiquitous, but red meat is relatively rare. Roasts and stews are found everywhere and paellas in the coastal south. Tapas – snacks eaten with alcoholic drinks that can be found all across Spain – originated in the 13th century when King Alfonso X recovered from illness by drinking wine and nibbling small dishes between meals.

What's the current food trend?
From here on I'm going to stick specifically to Catalonia rather than Spain as a whole, and mostly to Barcelona as this is what I know best. The main trend right now is away from over-elaborate haute cuisine – both classical French food and the experimental creations of Ferran Adrià and his restaurant El Bulli – and towards what is known as 'ingredient-led' cooking. This is about using simple, top-quality ingredients, with contemporary tools and culinary processes, to create simple but exquisite flavour and texture combinations. We are seeing the emergence of "bistronomic" restaurants – tiny eateries staffed by equally small teams of highly-trained chefs producing excellent New Catalan food at very economic prices. I'd recommend Àtica on Carrer Galileu.

What local food is not to be missed?
Everyone must try the tapas, but you need to be careful because there are some awful places as well as hundreds of good ones. I'd recommend Cervesería Catalana, but beware - you may have to queue or even book in and come back later. But it's worth it.

Which local food might I want to steer clear of no matter how much locals insist?
There's no particular food you should avoid, although some may be put off by some of the offal-based dishes and the pigs' heads that stare at you from market stalls. What you should avoid is the plethora of tourist traps, especially those along the sea-fronts. Watch out for the places with large picture displays on the pavement illustrating international gourmet dishes such as pizza, omelette, hamburger, schnitzel and toast. And the places that employ staff to drag you in off the street. As always – eat where the locals eat!

What are the food oddities in your country?
The extent to which pasta is consumed in Catalonia will surprise many people. The origins can be traced in the 13th-century Catalan conquest of Sicily. Spring onions – known locally as calçots – are an oddity inasmuch as Tarragona hosts annual festivals in their honour.

What to bring home from my trip?
A cake from Escribà would make a totally unusual gift, but probably wouldn't survive the journey. How about some Texturas from Solé Graells, so you can try your own molecular gastronomy at home? A Lladró porcelain figurine if you're feeling very generous. Failing that, the city is full of small pieces of artwork (from posters to ashtrays to soup bowls) in the style of Gaudí, Miro and other classical Catalan artists.

Which cuisine features most strongly in your city?
Local Catalan first, then Italian (probably as many as all the other non-local cuisines put together), thirdly “other Spanish” (mostly Asturian and Galician seafood), followed by Argentinean (steak houses). You can also find Nepalese, French, Mexican, Indian, Moroccan, Tibetan, Cuban, German, Greek and Iraqi cuisines.

Which are your favourite gourmet addresses?
I'll give you five very different ones: Cinc Sentits for perfection in creative simplicity, Àtica for perfectly-cooked home-style classic Catalan cuisine at affordable prices, Koy Shunka for great Japanese food and a brilliant experience interacting with your chef, Cerveseria Catalana for a taste of classical Catalan tapas at very reasonable prices, Lasarte for pure luxury and top-class fine dining.

What's your city's attitude to food in general?
Catalans have a healthy pragmatic attitude to everything. So although they really appreciate good food and classical culinary traditions, they don't fetishise their food in the way that the French and Italians can do and they're always open to new ideas. That attitude has brought Catalonia to the forefront of European cuisine in recent years. There's also a strong emphasis on making good use of cheaper and more plentiful ingredients and bi-products, such as using "yesterday's bread" to thicken a multitude of classic peasant-style soups, or rehydrating it with tomato and olive oil for the traditional snack pa amb tomàquet.

Which area is best for food – where to browse for restaurants while on the go?
You'd be far better off researching your restaurants in advance. If you really want to find your own hidden gem, get uptown away from the old city into Corts and Gracia and look in small side streets. Unlike in some cities, wandering about is a pretty safe activity at 10pm in most districts of Barcelona.

What's the biggest flop and best avoided?
You might think it was eating on and around the main tourist street, La Ramblas, but actually there are some reasonable restaurants there. Not the best, but not the worst either.

What are the big names in the restaurant scene?
The biggest names are not all in Barcelona.The biggest of all is Ferran Adrià, whose Michelin 3* restaurant El Bulli in Cala Montjoi near Girona is ranked #1 in the world in just about every list. And the Roca brothers' 2* El Celler de Can Roca in Girona town is mind-blowingly good. Santi Santamaría's more traditional 3* Can Fabes is in Sant Celoni to the north-east of Barcelona and Catalonia's legendary Carme Ruscalleda runs her 3* Sant Pau at Sant Pol de Mar on the coast south of Girona. Other big names include Fermí Puig, Carles Gaig, Xavier Pellicer and Mey Hoffman.

Catalonia is a land of great food and I could fill the page with a list of the big names in the business.

What are the most reliable restaurant guides for your area?
Try this website for an excellent list of the best and most interesting in town.

What to be aware of when dining out? Firstly, note that Catalans eat very late by the standards of non-Mediterranean countries. Most restaurants don't start up the kitchens until 8.30pm and locals typically sit down to eat at 10pm. Also be aware that most restaurants are closed on Sunday and Monday. There are some that are open on these days. If in doubt, check out the global food noticeboards such as eGullet and Chowhound, which usually have open threads with conversations about opening hours. So be aware of potential transport problems getting home after a meal out, although there are always plenty of taxis that are good value for money if shared by three or four people. One thing not to worry about is the cost of wine to accompany your meal. Whereas you can easily double the price in many countries, a wine pairing in Catalonia typically adds 35% to the bill.

Addresses of places mentioned: 
Cervesería Catalana, Carrer de Mallorca, 236, 08008 Barcelona (Gracia)
Àtica, Carrer de Galileu, 159, 08028 Barcelona (Corts)
Cinc Sentits, Carrer d'Aribau, 58, 08011 Barcelona (Eixample)
Gresca, Carrer de Provença, 230, 08036 Barcelona (Eixample)
Koy Shunka, Carrer de Copons, 7, 08002 Barcelona (Barri Gòtic)
Lasarte, Carrer de Mallorca, 259, 08008 Barcelona (Gracia)
Escribà, Rambla de Catalunya, 63, 08007 Barcelona (Eixample)
Solé Graells, Princep Jordi, 2, 08014 Barcelona (Sants)
Lladró, Passeig de Gràcia, 101, 08008 Barcelona (Gracia)
El Bulli, Cala Montjoi Ap. 30, Roses, 17480 Girona
El Celler de Can Roca, Carretera de Taialà, 40, 17007 Girona
Can Fabes, Sant Joan, 6, 08470 Sant Celoni
Sant Pau, Calle Nou, 10, 08395  Sant Pol de Mar

This Culinary City Snapshot, including the photography, was kindly provided and published with permission of Trig of Aidan Brooks:Trainee Chef who lives and works in Barcelona.