a trip to the bbq man

A trip up to see the nice man who does great bbq pork and birds up the street is always a great treat, even though something you do more than once a week technically should fall outside the treat category. He's been doing his art forever, and the consistency alone of what is churned out has to be totally respected. Just a handful of fatty slices of char siu atop steamed rice and a

smattering of green onions and minced ginger is a polystyrene takeaway container and throwaway chopsticks of legends. I'll never tire of this.

Barbecuing at home (without any outdoor space I have to add) has its small but not impossible challenges and a set of why bothers when our friend does his so well. But when all that is said, he doesn't have ribs in his collection. This is easy slow long cooking simplicity. Smokey it may slightly fail on to a degree, but taste and texture wise, hard to beat without getting all too fancy.

Great barbecue ribs

Enough for 4

2 racks of small pork loin ribs - 5 or 6 ribs per person

1½ tsp smoked paprika
a good splash of soy sauce
a good splash of Worcestershire sauce
20g tomato ketchup
30g dark brown sugar
20g HP sauce
20g strong mustard

Place the racks curved-side down, and using a small knife to peel the edge of the translucent membrane away from the smaller end of the rack until you can get a grip of it. Pull this towards you, so the membrane comes away from the bones.

Mix together the marinade ingredients and rub about half into the ribs well. Put in a shallow dish, cover and leave for at least a couple of hours, turning once or twice during this time to make sure the entire rack is coated.

Heat the oven to 140°C. Cover the dish tightly with foil and cook for about 2½ hours until tender, basting once or twice during this time, removing the foil for the last 15 minutes. The racks ought to be close to falling apart by now but still remaining intact.

If possible, heat a barbecue or a griddle pan until hot, drizzle the ribs with the rest of the marinade and cook until blackened and charred. Serve immediately.

If it is not possible to barbecue over a fierce flame, crank up the oven to 200°C and conduct this last bit without any cover on the ribs until a crust appears.

tomatoes, mozzarella, anchovies, breadcrumbs

Seeing as burrata with tomatoes was the last thing I committed to paper, why not continue the theme I thought. Dull as it may seem, the simplicity of adding sharpness and salt to a tomato is a wonderful thing to do. As this is a baked number, plum tomatoes tend to hold their shape better than the majority of the round varieties, but don't let that stop you if round ones are what you have.

Baked tomatoes with mozzarella, anchovies and breadcrumbs

Serves 4

12 plum tomatoes

175g fresh breadcrumbs
8 anchovy fillets
2 large cloves garlic
a good handful of basil leaves
a ball of mozzarella
6 tblsp olive oil

Chop the anchovies, peel and finely chop the garlic and cut the mozzarella into small dice.

Preheat the oven to 220°c/gas 7. Slice the tomatoes in half lengthways and scoop the seeds into a bowl. Place the tomatoes skin-side down in a roasting tin so that they nudge up against one another.

Mix the tomato innards with the breadcrumbs, anchovies, garlic, basil, mozzarella and two tablespoons of the olive oil.

Season the stuffing with salt and black pepper, and pile the filling into the tomato halves. Pour over the remaining olive oil and bake for 25 minutes until the filling is golden.

a half decent hummous

Is it hummous, hummus, hommos, humos, hommus or hoummos even? It certainly isn't humus, we know that for sure. Weirdly my spellcheck only recognises hummus. It's now actually having a problem with my recognises, but I'm refusing to put a z in there.

Never tire of it, can eat it for ever, and it also does the business in so many other ways other than just jabbing some arabic bread into a pot of the stuff.

Hummous

Serves a few as just one element of a mezze (or is it mezzeh or meze even?) spread, but make sure it always features

225g tinned chickpeas
6 tblsp tahini paste
2 cloves of garlic, peeled
6 tblsp lemon juice
3 tblsp olive oil
cayenne pepper
freshly ground black pepper
salt
olive oil, for drizzling

Whizz up the chickpeas in a food processor or blender with a little of the liquid from the can until they are smooth.

Add the tahini, garlic, lemon juice and olive oil and work in the processor or blender until very smooth. Season with the peppers and salt. Turn into a dish, scraping out all of the hummous from the mixer bowl with a rubber spatula.

Flatten the top slightly, then drizzle over some olive oil and serve with warm pitta bread.

dragon fruit; no

 

How to ruin a perfectly good fruit salad

 

Step 1; Cut up some wonderful seasonal fruit

Step 2; Add dragon fruit

Hey Bingo; You’re done

 

Words cannot do justice to how deeply I mistrust the dragon fruit. I will give this a go, but do bear in mind every time I even have to type 'dragon fruit' a little bit of me dies inside, and I need to go have a lie down.

A more pointless waste of space on the fruit laden tables of the market I've yet to witness. Give me the heady aromas of a durian over this piece of scentless nonsense and you'll see how desperate a situation we have found ourselves in here. I'll even take a slice of almost equally pointless star fruit before engaging in a lump of this nonsense.

I've taken to a declaration of me being highly allergic to the fruit now, to the point where, if challenged, I will claim to carry a little medical pack not unlike an insulin survival kit. Only my syringe and small penfill vial is charged with orange juice or coconut water or just anything far more palatable for that matter.

Papaya and avocado salad

Vinaigrette for 12 salads
½ cup brown sugar
1 cup water
Large pinch salt
2 tsp red pepper flakes
½ cup lemon juice
½ cup rapeseed oil

Mix sugar, water and salt for five minutes. Add pepper flakes and lemon juice.  Add oil, and check for taste, it may need more lemon juice and salt

For each salad
⅓ large avocado cut into large chunks or slices
¾ cup ripe papaya chunks or slices
2 tblsp shredded basil
2 tblsp shredded mint
1 cup greens, tatsoi and mizuna
Little salt and pepper

Toss the greens with a little salt and pepper and a good splash of vinaigrette.  Place on a plate. Toss the avocado, papaya, both herbs with the rest of the vinaigrette. Scatter the fruit on top of the greens.

If the fruits are too ripe do not dress them but place them on top of the dressed greens and drizzle vinaigrette on them.


 

barbecued flatbreads

If you’ve got a spanking hot oven and an array of just about any food that can be scooped, spread, grabbed or rolled, then you’re going to need a stack of these coming out hot and fresh. The whole notion of fresh bread straight from the oven is the very same the world over, in any language, associated with every food type. Breaking the stuff is as important as eating is, and such a satisfying task to master in the kitchen. These breads are perfect with anything grilled, with or without the spicy glaze

Barbecued flatbreads

Serves 6

250g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
250g strong white bread flour
5g easy-blend yeast
10g salt
1 tblsp good-quality olive oil (plus extra for glazing; optional)
325ml hot water or an equal mixture of hot water and natural yogurt

For the glaze
½ tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp coriander seeds
20g unsalted butter
2 tblsp olive oil
A good pinch of smoked paprika

If you want to make a glaze for your flatbreads, start with that; otherwise, skip this and go straight to the next paragraph. Heat a small frying pan over a medium heat, and when hot toast the cumin and coriander seeds for a minute or so until they release their fragrance. Grind with a pestle and mortar. Melt the butter, whisk in the olive oil, the ground cumin and coriander, and the paprika. Brush the glaze over the breads just before putting them on the grill, or do so just after they come off the grill - both approaches work well.

To make the flatbreads, mix all of the dry ingredients in a bowl and make a well in the centre. Tip the water (or the yogurt/water mix) into this well, pour in the olive oil, and mix together. Knead the dough until smooth, silky and elastic, then brush it with oil, cover and leave to rise until doubled in size. Deflate the dough, then leave to rise a second time, again until almost doubled in size.

Tar off pieces of dough the size of small lemons. Using plenty of flour on both your hands and the work surface, shape them into rounds and roll out to 3-4mm thick. Leave each one to rest for five minutes or so.

Brush the flatbreads with the seasoned butter glaze or olive oil (both optional), then cook over a hot barbecue for four to five minutes, turning once, until puffed up and just beginning to char. Serve right away, no delay, no nonsense.

 

the romance of a steak tartare, no really

It all sounds terribly romantic, but when I’m stuck and can’t come up with anything to prepare for a meal at home, I often turn to what has now become the reliable steak tartare. Well, that is on the abnormally rare occasion where the charm of instant noodles don't overwhelm me. This is a no cook piece of genius that is both simple and elaborate. It holds a lot of ingredients but can easily impress through the lack of cooking. The only thing to be careful about is the quality of the ingredients, spanking fresh beef and good eggs kind of speak for themselves really.

Steak tartare

Serves 4

1 large onion
5 cornichons
1 tablespoon capers
2 sprigs Italian parsley
1¼ pounds sirloin steak, preferably organic and grass-fed
4 very fresh organic egg yolks
Tabasco sauce to taste (lots)
Ketchup to taste (more than you think)
Fleur de sel and freshly ground pepper

Finely chop the onion. Separately do the same to the cornichons, capers, and parsley. Place them in small serving bowls and set aside.

Using a very sharp knife, trim the sirloin, removing as much fat as possible. Cut the meat into ¼-inch dice.

Divide the meat among 4 individual serving plates. Shape the meat into a dome, make an indentation in the centre, and nestle the egg yolks in it.

Serve with the onion, capers, cornichons, parsley, Tabasco, ketchup, fleur de sel, and pepper on the side for each guest to season the tartare according to their taste. Serve with a green salad and chips, should the occasion merit a fryer on the go.

 

bread and tomato salad

Tomatoes, flavour wise are never better than they are right now. This is a great use for them in season, a salad of bright flavours, quite raw and punchy. Don't hold back on anything but the very best olive oil and lively basil, make and eat without delay. 

 

Bread and tomato salad

 

Serves 4

 

250g open textured bread such as ciabatta

600g ripe and juicy tomatoes

1 small cucumber

1 fresh, new clove garlic

1 red or yellow pepper

1 large bunch basil

1 handful olives

8 anchovy fillets

150ml green and peppery olive oil

1 tblsp red wine vinegar

 

Set the oven at 180 c/gas 4. Slice the bread thickly - the pieces should be about 1 cm thick - and lay them on a baking sheet. Sprinkle each piece very lightly with olive oil then bake them for about 15 minutes, till they are lightly crisp.

 

Slice the tomatoes, but don't be tempted to peel or seed them. Put them in a large serving bowl. Peel and seed the cucumber and cut it into rough chunks, then add to the tomato.

 

Finely chop the garlic, cut the pepper into small dice and add both to the tomatoes. Tear the basil leaves from their stalks then add them to the bowl. Rinse the anchovies, then mix them in with the salad.

 

Put the oil and vinegar into a small dish, season it with salt, I think you can be quite generous here, and some black pepper. Toss the dressing, bread and salad gently together and then add the pieces of toasted bread. Eat before the bread gets too soggy.

kimchi

Absolutely everybody needs to keep a pot of home made kimchi in the fridge for that pick me up some dishes always seem to lack. Making it at home is the easiest thing too, so very rewarding indeed. Dump some on steamed rice for a midweek comforter, pop on the side of a steak for some zing, drop a few bits into your noodles for a laugh.

 

1 large Chinese cabbage

4 litres water

100g coarse salt

1 small head of garlic, peeled and chopped

6cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped

60ml fish sauce

80ml chilli paste

1 bunch spring onions, cut into 3cm lengths

1 medium daikon radish, peeled and grated

1 tsp honey

 

Slice the cabbage lengthwise in half, then slice each half lengthwise into 3 sections. Cut away the tough stem heart chunks.

 

Dissolve the salt in the water in a very large container, then submerge the cabbage under the water. Put a plate on top to make sure the cabbage stays under water, leave this for 2 hours.

 

Mix the other ingredients in a very large glass bowl. Drain the cabbage, rinse it, and squeeze it dry. Mix it all up, preferably by hand.

 

Pack the kimchi in a clean glass jar large enough to hold it all and cover it tightly. Let it stand for one to two days in a cool place, around room temperature to allow the fermentation take hold.

 

Check the kimchi after a couple of days. If it’s bubbling nice and gently, then it’s ready and should be refrigerated. If not, let it stand another day, when it should be done good and proper.

 

Once it’s fermenting it is basically ready to go, store in the fridge for another few days at least to allow the full potential to develop.  If you want, add a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds over the kimchi for serving. It’s probably prudent to eat the kimchi within about 3 weeks. After that, it can get too fermented.

blue marlin, in a bag, on the beach

Cooking something en papillotte means that you encase it in a wrapping of parchment and essentially steam it in its own juices. Just recently, blue marlin caught that morning in the waters off the south coast of Sri Lanka and baked with a piquant combination of Maldivian dried fish, pickled onions, aubergine, burnt lime, tomatoes, black olives, capers and herbs. This recipe can be made with a wide number of fish, as long as the fillets are the same size and thickness; try tilefish, halibut, cod, haddock, salmon, or sea bass.

 

Blue Marlin en papillotte with tomatoes, olives and a bit of Sri Lanka

 

Serves 4

4 (150 gram) marlin fillets (1 inch thick), skinned
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 medium tomatoes, seeded and diced
8 Kalamata or other brine-cured black olives, halved

a small handful of capers

1 medium onion sliced thinly and pickled in the caper brine
1/2 tsp local masala

8 wedges of grilled lime

8 baby aubergines, halved and roasted in olive oil
2 tblsp unsalted butter, cut into bits

8 leaves of basil

 

Put a rack in middle of oven and preheat oven to 220°c. Cut four 12-by-15-inch sheets of parchment paper (or foil)

 

Fold each sheet crosswise in half to crease, and then unfold. Season fish with salt, pepper and a pinch of the masala and put 1 fillet to the right of the crease on each sheet. Top each fillet with the diced tomato, one quarter of the capers and olives, one quarter each of butter and the basil

 

Working with one package at a time, fold left half of parchment over fillet. Starting at one corner of crease, fold edge of parchment over in triangles (each fold should overlap previous one), following a semicircular path around fillet, smoothing out folds as you go and tucking last fold under to seal papillotte completely.

 

Heat a large baking sheet in oven for 5 minutes. Put the papillotte on hot baking sheet and bake for 9 minutes.

 

To serve, transfer packets to four plates; with a knife, slit top of each packet and tear it to expose fish (use caution: steam will escape). Slide fish and sauce onto plates and discard paper.
 

the spice of sri lanka

 

The place is properly magical, the food all consuming, the people curiously incredible and hypnotic. The island where your watch, quite literally, stands still for a few brilliant moments in time

Sri Lankan fish curry

 

Serves 4

 

900g seer fish fillet, or any firm white fish although salmon will do just fine

1 tblsp sunflower oil

1 large onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

8 fresh curry leaves

½ tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp chilli powder

2 tblsp sri lankan curry powder (see below)

2 medium-sized tomatoes, skinned and chopped

50ml tamarind liquid

400ml coconut milk

Salt

Mango or lime chutney to serve

 

For the Sri Lankan curry powder

2½ tblsp coriander seeds

1 tblsp cumin seed

1½ tsp fennel seeds

A healthy pinch of fenugreek seed

2.5cm piece cinnamon stick

3 cloves

2 green cardamom pods

6 black peppercorns

 

For the curry powder, toast everything over a high heat in a dry pan and then simply grind everything together in a spice grinder into a fine powder. Store in a screw top jar

 

Rinse the fish under cold water and dry on kitchen paper. Heat the oil in a large, shallow pan, add the onion, garlic, curry leaves and fry gently for 7-10 minutes until the onions are soft and only just turning lightly golden

 

Add the turmeric, chilli powder and 2 tblsp of the Sri Lankan curry powder and fry for 1-2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, tamarind liquid, coconut milk and 1 tsp of salt and simmer gently for 15 minutes

 

Add the fish to the pan and spoon some of the sauce over the top of the fish. Turn the heat right down and simmer gently for 5 minutes, then cover the pan and set aside for 30 minutes. The fish needs to take in the flavour of the sauce and after 30 minutes should be cooked through - but if not, just return to the heat for a few more minutes until it is. Serve with some steamed basmati rice and some poppadoms should you feel inclined to do so

 

a couple of ways with beef

When in the mood for Meat

Only Meat will do

So, a slab of sirloin, deep, dense, ruby red and well aged, and just a little bit too much to cook off as a steak alone did indeed lend itself to a couple of courses last night, and a generous trimming resulting in thin shavings of the meat was the way to get things started. There's something utterly luxurious about raw food - oysters, sushi and caviar being exemplary versions, and a carpaccio of sorts with terrific quality beef falls easily into this category.


Carpaccio in the traditional manner is a fine thing, although more often than not the true flavour of the meat lost a little in sauces that seem to have gone too far down the mayonnaise route. Much more preferable for me is very very good quality salt, pepper and olive oil - nothing more needed to pronounce the true taste of the beef. Adding a fist of rocket leaves, thinly sliced radishes, some raw asparagus and some Parmesan shavings and true completion has been achieved, but as ever there are no fixed set rules here.


Steak in particular is the one and only food item I think about when I'm in need for a proper treat. The first meal I'd go for if I hadn't really eaten for a few days. It needs precious little more than salt and pepper, particularly in this instance - natural in every sense. This little nugget might cause a bit of debate, but honestly a great steak doesn't always need a starch sitting along side, in fact I'd go so far as to say it pretty much doesn't deserve the unnecessary distraction.


If you can fill your house with the luxurious smell of beef charring on a hot grill then going out for an expensive steak dinner very quickly loses its' charm. One joint, two courses, thank you very much.

Pink grapefruit and vanilla

So here are the two ingredients that happen to be in my top ten must haves knocking around the kitchen: vanilla and grapefruit. I've just received the most delicious package from one of my absolute favourite people ever, Michelle, who sent me them from a wonderful little vanilla grower in Sri Lanka, and they are simply the most heavenly scented vanilla pods I've come across in an extremely long time. Before they were even opened, the smell was remarkable, and reminds me so much of the island, their people and the simplicity they put towards their existence, I cannot wait to go back. Put this with pink grapefruit, which for a reason I'll go into in good time, I can't seem to get enough of right now, and keeping with simplicity, we'll knock up a little sweet refreshment.

This crystalline sorbet has a blissfully tangy, bittersweet flavour. Buying a whole bottle of Angostura bitters for it might seem extravagant, but think of it as a holiday season investment, because it will last for ages. Use it to re-create proper Champagne cocktails, or add a few drops to a glass of tonic water to make one of the few good grown-up non-alcoholic drinks to offer drivers. It's also quite interesting drizzled over roasted root vegetables, too.

Pink grapefruit and vanilla granita

Serves 6-8

500ml freshly squeezed pink grapefruit juice

100g caster sugar

1 fat vanilla pod, split and scraped

2 tsp Angostura bitters

Put a shallow metal tray, such as a scrupulously clean small roasting tin, in the freezer to chill. Whisk the juice, sugar, vanilla seeds and bitters together until the sugar has dissolved.

Throw the scraped vanilla pod into a jar with white sugar and leave to allow the scent to flavour. Use this vanilla sugar in anything from desserts to sweetening your coffee.

Pour the mixture into the cold metal tray and return it to the freezer for 20 minutes before checking. Once ice crystals have started to form around the edges (in my freezer this took 40 mins), gently lift them with a fork into the not so frozen middle part. Return to the freezer.

Repeat the process every 20 minutes until all the mixture is crystallised (allow 1-2 hours). Scrape the crystals into a lidded plastic container and store in the freezer for up to four days. Serve in glass tumblers that have been chilled in the freezer until frosty. 

Mushrooms on toast

Serves 4

The mushrooms are out! I picked a couple of handsome puffballs tucked under the safety of a huge yew tree this morning, and I just feel there's a huge season just about to explode. This really is the time of year when nature shows off some of her more wonderous creations.

A terrific Sunday brunch number here, and with the addition of a poached egg, an awesome start to a lazy day. I love this as it is, but if you’re at the right time of the year when wild mushrooms are in season, or your farmers market has some interesting varieties, do not hold back. Otherwise, good firm all year round varieties will hold up well enough.

Remove the bread element and throw the remainder of this recipe through hot pasta and there’s another dish to add to your repertoire too. Take the same ingredients and throw over a couple of cups of hot stock, cook for another 5 minutes then liquidise and you've got soup!

12 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced

2 tblsp olive oil, plus extra to drizzle

Few thyme sprigs, leaves only

1 garlic clove (unpeeled)

lightly crushed sea salt and black pepper

1 tsp caster sugar

14 oz sliced mushrooms

Few knobs of butter

Splash of sherry vinegar

Handful of flat-leaf parsley, chopped

4 thick slices of rustic white bread

Sauté the shallots in a pan over medium heat with the olive oil, thyme, garlic and seasoning for 3-4 minutes until starting to soften. Add the sugar and increase the heat to high. Stir and cook for a few more minutes until the shallots are lightly caramelised.

Add the mushrooms and butter. Fry for a couple of minutes until lightly browned, then splash in the sherry vinegar and add a little more seasoning. Cook for a minute or two until the liquid has evaporated. Toss in the parsley.

Toast the bread and place a slice on each warm plate. Spoon the shallots and mushrooms on top and drizzle with a little more olive oil to serve, if you like shave over some Parmesan too. I'm actually now pretty freezing, so the soup version gets the nod for lunch...