Viva Piñata!

Chapin Breakfast

My first stop, and first meal in Central America was a traditional Guatemalan breakfast of huevos (scrambled eggs), frijoles (black beans) and plantain chips. This is usually served with chilmol (tomato salsa). The combination is delicious and filling, and best served of course with a cafe con leche.

Off to pastures new...

The start of this year had a distinct air of change about it. I figured it was time to spread my wings and see a bit more of the world, and to put into context the amazing events of the past few years. The doom and gloom and daily grind of London started to nag away, along with anxieties about my next steps as a chef, writer, consultant or whatever. So I have decided to put my life in London on hold and head out in search of all sorts of experiences that I'm sure will colour my life and imagination.
My first stop is Central America, then onto South America and New Zealand. From here on I will endeavour to capture my thoughts and observations as I travel, with a bias on food - but I'll also post up other random nonsense too, just for the hell of it.
Happy reading.

Paella

Winning Masterchef and being on the telly has had so many positive implications over the past couple of years (a few negatives too I hasten to add), but one of the best things has been the array of amazing people people I have met, and old friends with whom I have become reacquainted. One such gathering was a fundraiser for a group of 16 people who paid hard cash in return for my cooking skills, with all proceeds and profits going to the charity Teach a Man to Fish (once the ingredients had been bought). So with 16 hungry mouths to feed, and the prospect of a humble dinner transforming into a bit of a night to remember, I knew that I had to pull off a show-stopper of a dinner.
A Paella was the perfect choice; joyous ingredients - with lots of delicious shellfish, colourful, flavoursome and of course great for everyone to share - the consummate party food. For the best bargains, I headed to Billingsgate Market to procure excellent quality shellfish. Langoustines really added that extra 'glamour' to the dish, and made a great talking point too. The Paella pan and rice were purchased at Brindisa, along with a Torta de Santiago which made light work of dessert, I served slices of the almondy tart with Strawberries and sliced Figs in a Jerez Sherry syrup.

Recipe wise, I have foolishly forgotten quantities, please change accordingly.
For 16

1 Box (3kgs) Langoustines
2 bundles (1.5 kgs) Razor Clams
3 kg Venus Clams
2 kg Mussels
1.5/2 kg Callaspara White Paella Rice
500ml Vermouth
1 Btl White Wine to flambe the Langoustines
1.5/2 L Chicken Stock
2 Fennel Bulbs
6 Pimentos/Sweet Red Peppers
10 Banana Shallots
6 Fat cloves of Garlic
1 kg Shelled fresh Peas
5g Box of Saffron
Parsley/Tarragon to garnish

To prepare, the shallots, garlic, and fennel are slowly sweated down for 15 to 20 minutes in good olive oil. Intermittent splashes of Vermouth are then added, along with the saffron strands. This base is cooked for a further 10 minutes to allow the full flavour of the saffron to permeate the shallot base. In the mean time, the clams and mussels are cleaned and thoroughly washed. The razor clams are steamed open for a minute or two in white wine and chicken stock, the resulting juices strained and saved for the Pealla. The Razor Clam meats are then removed and keep warm. The shells saved for decoration.
Then the red pepper is then added to the shallot mix, along with the rice which is coated in the richly fragrant saffron/shallot base. The stock is added, along with the clam juices, seasoning and the fresh peas. The whole dish is covered with foil and left for 5 mins. After 5 mins the clams and mussels are placed into the swelling rice, hinges down and recovered and left to cook for 25 minutes until the rice is cooked and the clams and mussels have opened. The dish was finished with an army of Langoustines, that were flash cooked in a little butter, olive oil and white wine, then roasted in a hot oven for 10 minutes. All the luscious juices were kept and drizzled over the paella. The Langoustines were then draped over the dish for effect.
Buen Provecho!

R is for a return to blogging

Well it's about bloody time I know! I have spent the past year or so on an extended blogging sabbatical, as life and career have been both demanding and eventful. I decided not to blog as I had needed a bit of breathing space from being online; where before my blogging was dictating to some degree what I would cook or photograph, I now have let my imagination take the front seat and have stopped worrying about creating an online gastronomic beauty parade. Don't get me wrong, I still love and adore beautiful, luscious and delicious looking food, but through it I hope to string together more of a personal narrative about my passion for food, colour and life itself. Happy reading!

Recipe : Warm Saffron Chickpeas with Clams, Scallop and Pomegranate, Mandarin Oil

This cute little starter recipe is one I conceived for a recent dinner party I catered for. All the dishes nodded towards the flavours and aromas of North Africa, as I thought it fitting for a summer dinner party - wholesome foods, with rich but delicate flavours.
At the base of this dish are chickpeas which add substance and rich nuttiness. These are simmered very gently in a fragrant broth of vegetable stock, spring onions and saffron. I was careful not to overheat them as I wanted a subtle contrast of the warm legumes with cool, juicy pomegranate and fine shreds of red onion. To add extra flavour, steamed clams were mixed through - and the dish topped with a juicy seared (diver-caught) scallop. A few peashoots added a flourish of green to the dish.

For 2
2 large (diver-caught) Scallops
300g Palourde or Venus Clams
1 Pomegranate
1/2 Red Onion
1 300g tin of Chick Peas
3/4 Spring Onions
Good pinch of Saffron
500ml Vegetable Stock
Splash of white wine for steaming open the clams
Peashoots to decorate

Firstly set to work on the broth to simmer the chick peas in - lightly saute the chopped spring onions until translucent, add the saffron and the vegetable stock - bring to a gentle simmer. Drain the chick peas and add to the broth, remaining on a gentle simmer until they become plump and absorb the flavours of the broth. Finely slice the onion and set aside, and remove the juicy seeds from the pomegranate, keep these cool until serving. Steam open the clams with the white wine - discarding any that refuse to open. Season the scallop and sear for a few minutes on each side in a little butter, until caramelised and juicy. To serve add the clams to the warm chickpeas, along with a spoonful or the strained cooking liquor. Divide between bowls, and scatter with the red onion and the chilled beads of pomegranate. Finish with the seared scallop and peashoots and a drizzle with a Mandarin infused olive oil (I use Colonna).

Back again after a long absence...

Hello again! Yes, I know it's been an inordinate amount of time since my last post (almost 7 months!), but I have been busying myself with all sorts of opportunities that have come my way. Since I now have a bit of spare time on my hands, I intend to blog as much as possible - posting up all of the great things I have been up to. I must admit I have missed my blogging so will now set to work over the next few weeks posting like crazy. Thought I'd update my profile photo too!
Looking forward to comments and getting in touch with you all soon,
Best,
Steven X

Simple Suppers: Tagliatelle with Confit Tomatoes, Mozzarella and Basil

Now that my cooking hours have sharply increased this year (more about that when I can talk about it..), I tend to find myself cooking projects at the weekend, particularly things that require patience and slow, sustained cooking. Confit is one such method, and is one that is particularly in vogue with countless chefs. I figured that this method would work well with tomatoes that I had shamelessly bought out of season - but would yield a delicious bounty that would grace some perfectly cooked pasta and a torn ball of Buffalo Mozzarella. You need many hours for this, so it's a perfect job that you can start in the morning and enjoy the fruits of your labour in the evening.
To prepare the tomatoes (I used plump vine tomatoes for maximum flavour) they were first blanched in hot water and refreshed in iced water to remove their skins. The seeds and ribs were removed and the tomato flesh cut into quarters and laid flat on a shallow baking tray. These were then anointed with slivers of garlic and a few thyme leaves, some good extra virgin olive oil and Maldon or Halen Mon sea salt.
The tray is then put into a low oven (80 degrees) and left for at least three to four hours until the tomatoes are softly cooked and silky.
These became the perfect base for a light pasta sauce with a hint of garlic and tumbled through some Tagliatelle. Torn Mozzarella and basil leaves finished the dish off, along with a final drizzle of good olive oil.

Prawn to be wild... Langoustines in a White Wine, Garlic & Parsley Butter

It was my best friend’s birthday recently and as a treat I had decided to cook her one of her favourite foods, Langoustine. I absolutely adore these creatures, even if they do cost a small fortune – but are worth every penny for their succulent, sweet meat and imposing rosy armour. I picked up a kilo of these beauties alive from Billingsgate Fish Market (which I must confess is a great place to buy speciality fish of all persuasions, if of course you can deal with a 4am alarm call and schlep to East London). These Scottish Langoustine were loving transported back to my fridge where they lay under a wet tea towel until they were swiftly dispensed with.

My kilo and a bit bought me 20 juicy crustacea - which deserved the very simplest of treatment and complimentary flavouring. The pairing of garlic and white wine seemed the most delicious and obvious choice, their flavours melding well with butter, a twist of half a lemon and parsley to create rich winey, garlicky juices that are perfect mopped up with crusty white bread.

20 Live Langoustines (Scottish ones are best)
1/2 bottle of White Wine (Sauvignon Blanc is a good choice)
2 Cloves of Garlic
50g Butter
Handful of Parsley
Zest and juice of 1/2 Unwaxed Lemon

Firstly pull the meats off from the heads and set aside. Keep the heads as these will be used for the sauce. Remove the intestinal tract from the Langoustine (by pulling the middle section of the tail out - the intestines will be pulled out too). Shell the body meats, leaving the tail section as decoration. Cover in cling flim and keep cool.
Put the heads in roasting pan and place in a hot oven and cook for 15/20 mins until the shells start to sear. Transfer heads and any juices to a saucepan on a high heat and add the wine. Cook down to burn off the alcohol, and smash the heads with a rolling pin to release as much flavour as possible from the Langoustine heads. Strain the juices through a fine sieve, reduce by half and set aside.
In a non stick shallow pan, melt the butter until it foams and add the garlic - cooking it until it's aroma is released, but doesn't burn. Add the Langoustine and cook for a minute or two on one side. Turn the Langoustine, then pour in the winey stock and turn the heat down to a simmer, coating the meats constantly. Cook for a minute or two and turn off the heat.
Finish with a squeeze of lemon, seasoning and some chopped parsley. Serve a peppery salad, and hunks of crusty bread on the side.

Clams with Sea Kale in a Miso Broth

After what has been such a splendid Christmas and New Year I am most certainly feeling the effects of my excesses. Not that I have gone crazy, but I wish to reinstate a wider balance of foods that feel alive, vital and fresh - and to cut right down on saturated fat content, whilst upping intake of Omega 3s and 6s. There are many cuisines that naturally lend themselves to this eating ideology; Japanese being the foremost in my mind (Thai, Vietnamese, Malayasian also other great examples), as the Japanese diet as we all know includes a great deal of fish, vegetables, soya protein, green tea and many delicious broths.

As I was in Borough yesterday to wish some suppliers a Happy New Year, I happened across a box of sea kale at Tony Booth's. I have to admit I hadn't really cooked sea kale before, and was intruiged to both cook it and taste it properly, as it had been some time since I had eaten it. I decided to create a dish around the sea kale - a dish that was light, with the essence of the sea. Naturally I needed some seafood, and a few handfuls of Palourde clams seemed like a perfect compliment to the delicate flavours of the sea kale. Keeping in a Japanese flavour tradition - the base of the dish would be a miso broth, given extra depth of flavour with an added piece of Kombu seaweed. The dish was finished with some very finely chopped spring onions and a sprinkling of Arame seaweed.

For 2:
400g Palourde or Venus Clams
6/8 stalks of Sea Kale
A good splash of Sake to steam open the clams (I used Vermouth..you can use white wine)
1 packet of Miso broth or a generous teaspoon of Miso paste mixed with 300ml of Dashi
1 piece of Kombu seaweed
3 Spring Onions
Zest and the a squeeze of half a Lemon
Arame seaweed to garnish

Firstly blanched the sea kale in salted water for three to four minutes until tender. Refresh in ice cold water to keep the green and pat dry on kitchen paper. Make the miso soup - I used a packet (not the best I know), but a fresh miso broth is best made with miso paste, mixed with Dashi and Wakame. To my miso I added the dried Kombu and let it steep for 5/6 minutes before removing. Keep the broth warm - but don't let it boil and check the seasoning, adding some good soy if need be. Next steam open the clams with the Sake or Vermouth and the lemon zest in a hot pan, clamping down the lid until they are all open. Discard any that haven't opened. Sieve the liquor from the clams into the miso broth and plunge the kale into it too, to warm it through. To serve, layer the sea kale in a deep bowl and pile over the clams. Pour over the broth and garnish with the spring onions, arame and a light squeeze of lemon juice to add a sparkle to the flavours. To make this a little more substantial, I would add some beautiful cubes of fresh tofu that are one of the best sources of protein and iron, (as well as also being low in calories).

Gazetteer : Fifteen, Watergate Bay, Cornwall

One of the excursions out of Penzance I made during my stay was to Jamie Oliver's Fifteen at Watergate Bay, Newquay. As I was flying back to London that afternoon, I figured it would be a great place check out as I am already a fan of Fifteen in London. The restaurant is flanked by the most awesome views of the the beach (which had huge waves crashing onto it that day), as well as feeling smart and very buzzy, even for a wet post-Christmas lunchtime. With my usual head for timing (ie. not great) I had not figured in enough time to finish lunch, as I had a mad dash to the airport with my friends Katie and Nic, needless to say what I did have was fabulous, fresh and very delicious. We ordered a an appetiser platter for three; brimming with the vivid colours of smoky chorizo, salami, roasted crown prince squash, unctuous mozzarella and deliciously cooked broccoli spears with chilli. I love plates of food that can be grazed and picked at; this was definitely one of the best I have had in a long time and came with fresh Italian breads and a bowl of luscious extra virgin olive oil. Based on that one dish alone, I will certainly be going back there on my return as it is well worth a visit if ever you are in Cornwall.

http://www.fifteencornwall.co.uk/

'Grey Gardens' in Cornwall - The Scarecrows of Mousehole

The random beauty of Newlyn

Christmas Lunch is served!

Christmas Lunch as enjoyed by John, Dean, Nikki, Bela, Katie, Nic, Becky, Steady & Steven.
Three Bird Roast with two Stuffings and trimmings,
Cranberry Sauce & Bread Sauce
Roast Potatoes in Goose fat
Brussel Sprouts with caramalised Chestnuts
Roast Parsnips, steamed Carrots
Spiced Red Cabbage
Port Gravy

The burnished bird and the trimmings

This was the last stage of a marathon morning of cooking - getting all the trimmings cooked and ready to serve with the bird. I had opted for a fetching lattice work with bacon, that gave the bird roast a very Victorian feel. I had some left over Quails which were roasted along with chipolata sausages and prunes that went soft and beautifully sticky. Two solid days and weeks of planning later and I was nearly there; about to serve up Christmas lunch, Stevie Wallis style.

Christmas drinks at the Navy Inn

With Christmas breakfast out of the way, the bird in the oven and everything else peeled, prepped and ready, it was decided that we all take a stroll on the beach and take in a Christmas drink at the Navy Inn in Penzance. The Navy Inn is really great pub that not only is a great place to hang out and read the paper, but also is a great place to try local Cornish Ales and eat their fabulous food which utilises locally caught fish and shellfish. Here are some us in all our Christmas finery.

Russian inspired 'Tzar's Christmas Breakfast'

So with the salmon beautifully cured, I got on with creating a 'Tzar's' breakfast, don't ask me why - but it was an idea that I had, which included me extravagantly rolling a soft boiled egg in gold leaf and scattering the plate with 'jewels' of beetroot. If ever there is a time when silliness and extravagance prevails, Christmas morning is it. So there we have it - a breakfast fit for a Tzar (or Maharajah!).

Christmas Breakfast - Salmon cured two ways: Beetroot and Fennel & Juniper

There's something obligatory about having Smoked Salmon for breakfast on Christmas morning with scrambled eggs and a glass of Bucks Fizz (sounds very suburban - and it really is, in fact it is teetering on naff...). But I do love it anyways, although I must admit that with a colossal lunch ahead all I really fancy is a soft boiled egg and some granary toast, especially if you have a few hours of cooking and slugging Champagne ahead of you. This year I had bigger plans and set to curing my very own salmon in two ways, not only to impart some extra flavour, but in the case of the beetroot I wanted the salmon to be stained with the deep crimson of this lovely root. This incidentally works rather well on Smoked Salmon - which helps cut through the fattiness of the usual packs sold in most supermarkets.
For the first piece I salted the fish liberally, then finely sliced a bulb of fennel (I used a mandolin) with which I covered the fish with. To this I added a marinade of
100ml of Gin, a pinch of caster sugar, the zest and juice of a lime and some crushed juniper berries. Pour over the salmon, cover with cling film and leave for an hour. The beetroot version is more simple but visually very pretty when served. For this I just boiled a smallish beetroot for 20 minutes or so, which I peeled and sliced into thin slices, again layering over the salted fish. I left this for a bit longer as there wasn't as much acid present to 'cure' the fish. Both pieces were then cleaned of their marinades and sliced finely ready for breakfast.

Happy New Year 2008 everyone!

Meringues with Chestnut & Kahlua Cream

Having dealt with the awesome Lemon Tart, it was now time to deal with the pool of egg whites that were left over. As John and I had practically been cooking for most of the day (whilst the rest of our throng were kicking back down at the pub), it was time to think of a use for the whites. "I know - I'll make meringues!" I spurted, now feeling the effects of the second bottle of Champagne that both John and I had decided were for the cooks use only! So I set to, and left them to cook away in the oven over night.
In the morning I was blessed with these billowing clouds that were gilded with gold leaf and then filled with a sweet chestnut cream laced with Kahlua. I served them with a hot chocolate sauce - like the one I made on Masterchef, but without the bijou copper skillet.