This is my second version of gnocchi bake (you find the first version here). I think gnocchi is a nice substitute for pasta. Ok, yes, technically it IS pasta, but both texture and taste is different because of the added potatoes.
Next up I want to make my own gnocchi, but lackling the time or patience, I recommend the brand Del Ugo. It is fresh gnocchi, that doesn’t need to be cooked before added to the bake.
This dish is rich and creamy, and some days call for nothing less than creamy indulgence. The recipe is very simple, but the pancetta gives the gratin all the flavour it needs. Sometimes there is no need to complicate matters.
Gnocchi bake with pancetta, serves 4
500 g fresh gnocchi
100 g pancetta cubes
200 ml creme fraiche
100 ml cream
chopped parsley
1 handful grated cheese
Fry the pancetta crispy. Drain on kitchen towel. Grease an oven dish. Add gnocchi (uncooked) and the pancetta. Mix creme fraiche and cream (+ salt and pepper) and pour into the dish. Scatter the parsley and top with the cheese. Bake in 200C 20-30 min.
Although I love cooking, I don’t particulary enjoy to cook for only myself. If I need to I want something that’s quick, but still enjoyable. There are other times when that type of cooking is required too. Like when Christopher is working late and not home until 10pm.
This dish is for such occasions. Apart from podding the beans it will only take the same amount of time as it does for the pasta to cook. In my case that was 12 minutes. And the result was summery and lovely.
Farfalle with smoked salmon, broad beans and chives, serves 2
250 g farfalle or other pasta
400 g fresh broad beans in their pods
150 g cold-smoked salmon
100 ml Philadelphia
juice from 1/2 lemon
chives
salt
white pepper
Pod the beans. Cook the pasta. Fry the beans in butter until soft. Add some lemon juice, salt and pepper. Mix the Philadelphia with lemon juice, salt and pepper. Drain the pasta. Top with smoked salmon, beans and cut chives. Perhaps add some freshly ground black pepper and dig in.
This week has been filled with food, more so than usual. On Saturday we went to Trinity, on Sunday Jess & Chris had us over for dinner and treated us to lovely chicken with homemade barbecue sauce and salads and lovely baked peaches with meringue nests, whipped cream and butterscotch sauce.
On Wednesday, Jenny and I tried the bubble teas you can find all over Soho, and even in Harvey Nicks (review to come).
Tonight I will celebrate my birthday again, this time with my London bound friends. We’re first having drinks at The Living Room and then dinner at Nopi, which I am really looking forward to.
I’ve had the fridge full with egg whites, as I mentioned before, and I wanted to use them up rather than throwing them away and decided to bake a cake for work. This would be a bit much for Christopher and myself to share…
The cake starts with a regular sponge as the base, which is covered with meringue, then a layer of dulche de leche, a layer of lightly whipped cream and honeycomb, and then the same again
Dulche de leche is easy to make, all you need is a can of condensed milk. Put it in a pan and cover it with boiling water, let it boil on medium heat for 2 hours. Top up with boiling water as the water disappears. Leave to cool, open the can and inside you have the loveliest toffee. If you cook the can for less time it will be paler and more runny, if you cook it for more than 2 hours it will be darker and thicker. I think the 2 hours one is perfect, but it is quite thick, so slightly runnier would make it easier to assemble the cake but it would taste less toffeey.
The cake was gorgeous (if I may say so myself) and the colleagues described it as decadent. It is definitely a cake I will make many times over.
Spongecake with meringue, dulche de leche and honey comb, 10 pieces
Sponge:
175 g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
3 eggs
175 g caster sugar
175 g very soft butter
1 tsk vanilla
Sift the flour into a bowl. Add the other ingredients and beat it all together with an electric whisk. Divide between two rounf springforms covered in baking parchment.
Meringue:
5 egg whites
250 ml caster sugar
400 ml rice krispies
Beat the egg whites foamy. Add half the sugar and beat until stiff peaks. Add the rest of the sugar and continue beating until you can turn the bowl upside down without anything falling out. Fold the rice krispies into the meringue. Divide between the two springforms and spread it out onto the unbaked sponge. Bake in 150C for 35-40 mins. Leave to cool completely.
Filling:
1 can (397 g) dulche de leche
300 ml lightly whipped cream
honeycomb
Place one cake on a plate. Spread/place dollops of the dulche de leche on top. Spread half the cream on top. Sprinkle with honeycomb. Place the other cake on top and repeat the procedure. Serve straight away.
Smithfield is an area close to Farringdon tube, well know for its meat market and John Torode has his empire Smith’s of Smithfield here. It is also in this area where you find Fergus Henderson’s restaurant St John.
The restaurant is located in what looks like an old factory or storage area. It is painted white, both inside and outside and as soon as you step inside you see the bar and a few tables, and to the right you have the dining room.
I don’t know how to describe the place other than very rustic, perhaps a bit rough, but that is part of the concept. A good concept it seems as the restaurant is full up this monday evening, and the clientele vary in age and ethnicity.
As soon as we sat down the bread and butter appeared on the table, and a minute later the bottle of sparkling water I had ordered appeared as well; Hildon water rebottled with the St John logo. The service continued to be this efficient all evening, and I was actually impressed how good the waiters were. Quick, efficient, knowledgeable and friendly. This together with the excellent food made you like the place instantly.
I started off with the famous bone marrow with parsley salad. The plate also held two large slices of brown toast and sea salt and all you needed for a tremendous food experience.
Christopher opted for duck hearts with radishes which were very nice and tender, but the bone marrow was even nicer.
My main was wood pigeon with courgettes and I got two large pieces of tender, still slightly bloody meat. Gorgeous. And the mushy courgettes were all you needed to go with it.
Christopher chose the lamb sweetbreads as his maincourse and they came with bacon and turnip. What a dish! I have tried sweetbreads before in restaurants but it was never this good. These were melt in the mouth smooth exploding of flavour. The smoked bacon was a perfect match as well.
Quite full at this stage we welcomed the 15 minutes wait (announced on the menu) it took for our dessert to arrive on the tables. We shared half a dozen freshly baked madeleines that were gorgeous! Buttery and soft. Total bliss! Till efterrätt delade vi på ett halvt dussin madeleiner, som vi båda älskar.
This is another place I highly recommend, especially for fellow foodies. But even if you’re feeling less adventurous there is plenty of fish etc. on the menu.
St. JOHN Bar and Restaurant
26 St. John Street
London
EC1M 4AY
It was my birthday yesterday and I got spoilt absolutely rotten. At lunch time, my dear colleague Caroline took me to L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon (just next to the Ivy in Covent Garden) and we had a fabulous lunch. The restaurant offer a prix fixe menu, regular a’la carte and also small plates a’la carte, which we went for.
First of all we recieved an amuse bouche from the kitchen; heavenly foie gras with a foamy top.
There after the small plates arrived two by two. First up was this lovely egg in cocotte with a wild mushroom foam. Absolutely delicious!
We also had the crab waffles with tarragon. The display was wonderful and the red and black theme comes through the whole restaurant. The waffles were absolutely lovely; crisp on the outside and soft on the inside wit the crab meat.
Next up was the langoustine fritter with pistou. Simple but very nice.
We also had the arctic char with squid and squid ink. The fish was perfectly cooked and just fell apart. It was also nice to find char in a London restaurant, in Sweden it is a common fish, but not here.
The last dish was pig’s trotters on toast with pancetta and slivers of parmesan. Absolutely fantastic!
I highly recommend a visit, and I know for sure I will be back. Thanks Caroline!
L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon
13-15 West Street,
London
WC2H 9NE
The birthday girl to the left and her housemate to the right
It is my dear friend Gaby’s birthday on Wednesday and to celebrate it she invited a few friends to Trinity to enjoy a splendid tasting menu on Saturday.
A fabulous idea we thought, not missing an opportunity to go back, and it is safe to say we were not disappointed.
We sat at the chef’s table just by the kitchen and were so spoilt. The menu started off with a chilled pea and mint soup with croûtons, homemade ricotta and lemon purée. I am not a fan of chilled soups in general, and although this was very nice, I still think a soup is lacking a little when served chilled, but that is just my personal opinion. Christopher for example, loved it.The flavours were all there, and the velvety smooth soup had the perfect balance of contrast from the mint and the lemon.
Next course was seared yellow fin tuna with pak choi and sesame and soy dressing, which was probably the dish I was least fond of. The tuna was perfectly cooked, but didn’t have that much flavour to it. It also felt like a generic combination of flavours and less interesting than the other dishes.
The scallop that followed on the other hand was superb! The large perfectly cooked scallop with white gazpacho, pickled grapes and almonds were a heavenly combination. I could never (sadly) recreate the gazpacho which was more like a cream than a soup and it married so well with the grapes.
Next up was slowcooked duckbreast, spinach, pickled girolles, potato gratin and a lovely confit of duck leg pastry parcel, which took this dish to another level together with the raisin reduction.
The palate cleanser was green tea yoghurt, which on the menu sounded nice, but quite ordinary. But there was nothing ordinary about the taste. Thick green tea yoghurt on the bottom of a glass, then a small strip of jelly, and on top this lovely creamy foam.
Instead of the dessert on the menu we recieved a whole spread of desserts; warm chocolate pots, chocolate chip icecream, little apple pies, cheese, a huge and lovely cherry soufflé, strawberries, shortbread and vanilla mousse, chocolate mousse with peanut crumble… It was so much it was difficult to take it all in, but it was all lovely. I can safely say that the birthday girl was thrilled to bits!
Trinity
4 The Polygon
Clapham Old Town
London SW4 0JG
It is actually my birthday today, and I will continue with the gluttany by going out for both lunch and dinner. Reviews to come of course.
As a food blogger I prefer to look for inspiration with other bloggers than the big recipe sites. Partly because the blogs are updated more frequently, but also because the blogs are more personal. It is like asking a friend for a recipe. If you know that a certain blog write about things you like, you know it is very probable that you will like the next post as well.
A blog I really treasure and that I would happily cook everything from, is Smitten Kitchen. Although Deb usually uses someone else’s recipes I like her selection of recipes because it is what I like too.
A few days ago I tried her mom’s recipe for meringues with chocolate and nuts because I have several beakers of eggwhites in the fridge. The meringues were not too sweet, and the dark chocolate and nuts contributed to that fact. Nice and crisp they disappeared quickly when I brought them to work the next day.
Chocolate chip meringues with nuts, makes 20
The original recipe is posted here at Smitten Kitchen. If you prefer European measurements you find them below.
2 egg whites, at room temperature 1/4 tsp salt 1/8 tsp cream of tartar – I used baking powder though 1 tsp vanilla 175 ml caster sugar 175 g dark chocolate, chips or chopped 60 ml chopped nuts
Beat the egg whites foamy. Add the cream of tartar/baking powder, salt and vanilla. Beat until soft peaks occur. Add the sugar bit by bit and contnue to beat on high speed. When stiff and glossy fold in the nuts and chocolate. Use a tablespoon to spoon the mixture on to baking parchment. Bake for 25 minutes in 150C. I baked two trays at the same time, swapping place after half the time. The meringues are done when they are slightly golden and crispy on the outside. Check that they are dry and crisp underneath and they are done. Store in an airtight container.
Friday again, my favourite day of the week. This week has been fairly quiet, due to the holiday coming up I think. I am suddenly aware of how tired I am.
After a weekend away it was nice to relax at home this week, but at least I have had time for baking and cooking.
We’re off to the cinema tonight. For the first time in our part of London, Clapham, and I am ashamed to say that we have lived here for over a year now. We have been to the cinema in this year though, not often, but a few times, but usually we go straight after work in central London or to see obscure (no, not really) Swedish films that only the arty cinemas show.
Tomorrow, we’re going to Trinity for the tasting menu to celebrate dear Gaby’s birthday. I am tres excited about that, haven’t been to Trinity for, let’s see now… 3 months. That is too lon! We don’t have to cook at all this weekend as we are going for dinner at our friends Jess and Chris on Sunday, and on Monday we’re eating out again, at St John this time, to celebrate my birthday.
As my brain is always on food mode, sometimes dinner ideas pop up in my head as a rough sketch and then when I stand in the kitchen with my nippy on it all just comes together.
A few days ago I was planning to make stuffed peppers and lamb mince seemed like the obvious choice. And just about to start cooking the seasoning just came to me. Sumac, garlic, cumin, a hint of chilli, paprika to further enhance the peppers. And it really worked. I prebaked the peppers on their own while cooking the mince separetly, then stuffed the peppers and topped them with grated strong cheddar. Baked for a while longer and served with rice and a cold sauce with sambal oelek. Perfect weekday bliss!
Stuffed peppers my way, serves 2-3
3-4 bell peppers
500 g lamb mince
olive oil
1 tsp sumac
2 tsp sweet paprika
1 tbsp cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp turmeric
2 tsp concentrated beef stock
1 tbsp mild chilli sauce
1 handful grated sharp cheddar
Cut a lid off each pepper. Clear out the seeds and membranes. Rinse and place on parchment paper in a tin. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and white pepper. Bake for about 20 mins in 200C. Fry the mince in olive oil in a frying pan. Add the spices, garlic, chilli sauce, stock, salt and pepper. Season to taste.
Pour the liquid away from the peppers. Fill them with the mince. Add the grated cheese on top. Put them back in the oven for another 15 mins. Place a pepper on a plate and put the lid on a bit ascew. Serve with rice and the cold sauce below.
Cold sauce with sambal oelek
200 ml creme fraiche
2 tsp sambal oelek
1 tbsp mild chilli sauce
salt
white pepper
Mix all the ingredients. Leave for half an hour before serving.
This is my second version of gnocchi bake (you find the first version here). I think gnocchi is a nice substitute for pasta. Ok, yes, technically it IS pasta, but both texture and taste is different because of the added potatoes.
This dish is rich and creamy, and some days call for nothing less than creamy indulgence. The recipe is very simple, but the pancetta gives the gratin all the flavour it needs. Sometimes there is no need to complicate matters.
Scandelights 