Carbonara delle isole
I made this Carbonara dish a while ago and I decided to call it Isle Carbonara because the two main ingredients I used come from the two big Italian islands. My Sicilian friend Martina brought me a Ricotta Salata, and in the fridge I had a piece of Mustela, a cured pork loin typical of Sardinia, which is used as an additional ingredient to basic soffritto for regional dishes. Continue reading “Carbonara delle isole”
Stir Fried Spicy Chilli Chicken (La zi ji ding)
Chicken with chillies is a recipe from Sichuan’s Chongqing, which means it’s very spicy and mouth-numbing. The idea is that when you have the finished dish, it will look like a plate of chillies, and you can then have fun searching for the smaller pieces of chicken among the chillies.
The main spices are dried red chillies (of course) and Sichuan peppercorns, and if you want to know how much to add? The answer is lots, as long as you can bear it! The traditional chilli to peppercorn ratio by weight is 4:1. Continue reading “Stir Fried Spicy Chilli Chicken (La zi ji ding)”
The Christmas Menu at Spaghetti House
Every year the Christmas period starts a bit earlier. Fact. Isn’t it everyone’s favourite rant through the autumn months? Yet, when I received an invitation to sample the Christmas menu at Spaghetti House, I could feel nothing less than excitement. Only the mild weather at the end of September was stopping me from wearing a Christmas jumper!
Mapo tofu (mapo doufu) recipe – spicy tofu with minced pork
Mapo tofu is one of the most well-known dishes from the Sichuan cuisine, and as with most Chinese recipes, there are many variations to the recipe. It is also extremely easy to make, and the main ingredient is soft tofu (medium can also be used if necessary, but is not ideal, but stay away from silken and firm – here’s a guide to tofu types!)
This version uses more minced pork than usual, and doesn’t have as much sauce as some of the other versions. If you decide to use less pork, then you can reduce it to 100g without affecting the flavours. You can also add a tbsp of chicken stock powder to it instead.
Continue reading “Mapo tofu (mapo doufu) recipe – spicy tofu with minced pork”
Chinese mixed vegetables (Su Shi Jin) with Clearspring Umami Paste
Chinese cooking can often be at odds with a vegetarian diet (of course, there are exceptions), and that’s partly because in Asia, umami, aka the fifth taste, is just as important as your sweet and your sour. This is what made MSG such a core ingredient. This is also the taste that Clearspring‘s organic Japanese umami paste offers to provide in a form that’s much healthier and still suitable for vegans. As a fan of Clearspring’s miso, I was keen to try out their umami paste when Clearspring offered samples.
The paste comes in two flavours, ginger and chilli, and in a tube form that’s easy to squeeze and easy to store. This recipe uses the ginger version, as it’s a traditionally non-spicy dish.
Continue reading “Chinese mixed vegetables (Su Shi Jin) with Clearspring Umami Paste”
Kerb: a New Food Market in Camden Lock
From Friday 12th August, Kerb new food market will serve up an incredible variety of street food to their Camden Lock crowd. The events and catering company Kerb was founded on the principle of enriching street life through food: the Kerb Camden market is the epitome of this core.
35 food stalls, international menus and a fully equipped bar, opened seven days a week. I went to their opening night to get lost in this food wonderland. Please find below my findings, if I was you, I wouldn’t miss it! Continue reading Kerb: a New Food Market in Camden Lock
A night at Gatti’s City Point – champagne and fine dining at the heart of London
A new Italian restaurant has opened in the heart of the City. Except Gatti’s is really a veteran that has been serving traditional Italian food to its loyal London clienteles in Broadgate Circle for over 15 years. The new Gatti’s is in essence a rebirth of the restaurant, retaining the old team, at a new location – still walkable from Liverpool Street. The juxtaposition does not end here. Gatti’s City Point is a mere 2 minute walk from Moorgate Station, yet it manages to remain a little tucked away from the throngs of the city.
The evening was bright yet chilly as I arrived at Gatti’s City Point for a special tasting event. Continue reading “A night at Gatti’s City Point – champagne and fine dining at the heart of London”
The Just Eat London Food Fest
It was early evening and we were amongst the first in the cue at Red Market in Shoreditch, to attend the Just Eat Food Fest last night. The weather couldn’t have been more inviting, the sun was coming down leaving us in a warm atmosphere, made only better by the dj playing, the food-loving chilled crowd and a gorgeous selection of food stalls to select from. We were there to try it all (or most) – and I would like to say it was for your sake, but I would tell a lie: I enjoyed every single bite of it. Also with £4 for one token (which buys you a full portion of any food form the stalls) and £8 for three tokens, what can go wrong? But let’s start the food talk.
Rose coloured pork with fermented tofu (Meigui Furu Rou) – a healthier recipe
Happy Bastille Day everyone! Sadly I didn’t have a blue bowl to serve this in, but this pork and fermented tofu recipe traditionally adds a dash of red to your table, and is best served with some white rice. It is also traditionally made with pork belly, as you need a fattier cut to make this tender, but this way of cooking it combines frying and steaming, and results in nice and juicy meat with pork cheeks – and is not as slow to cook as other recipes using pork cheeks.
The fermented tofu can also be replaced with soy sauce and normal tofu if you really can’t get hold of it, although of course the taste won’t be the same, but the pork cheeks will still be tender with the fry then steam method! This recipe works with the red version of fermented tofu, which is what gives the meat that lovely red colour at the end. It takes around 2 minutes to prep, followed by 5 minutes of active cooking time, then 45 minutes in the steamer. Continue reading “Rose coloured pork with fermented tofu (Meigui Furu Rou) – a healthier recipe”
Strawberries and cream cupcakes
It might be a good year or just the wonderful local Turkish shop where I buy my fruit, but this year I had the best strawberries in a while. From mid May till now, I always
have a box in the fridge ready to dig into! Then, when a special co-worker was leaving, she said she likes Victoria sponges, cheese cake and cupcakes. So I decided to bake her a batch of these wonderful cupcakes made with strawberries and ricotta. Strawberries and cream cupcakes are the perfect summer recipe I found in the book Eat Me! By Cookie Girl, a great source of inspiration when I feel like baking something special and getting creative with the decoration! This time I knew I had to decorate the cakes last minute in the office – which is why I did as little preparation as possible and decided to go for a messy look, like in the photos! This will make 12 cupcakes.
Blender & Basil 