The best sandwich ever!

Known fact #1: Everyone loves a fried egg.

Known fact #2: Avocados are the stuff of dreams.

Known fact #3: Peanut butter comes from heaven.

Known fact #4: Bacon jam. (No facts needed).

Combine them together and put between two slices of well-toasted bread. Et voila! Food coma: read, the best sandwich ever!

Bacon jam, avocado and fried egg sandwich with spicy peanut butter

Chop bacon into chunks and add to hot pan. Render out the excess fat, add in (brown sugar + garlic powder + onion powder + paprika + cider vinegar + Worcestershire sauce + salt + pepper) and simmer. Blitz the mixture coarsely to make bacon jam. Deseed an avocado, slice thinly and squeeze some lime juice over. Crack egg into pan, season and cook over-easy. Toast Kaiser Roll.  Whip (smooth peanut butter + Sriracha) and slather on bun lid. Smear bacon jam on bun, top with fried egg and avocado and cover with lid.

A lesson on appreciating the lesser things

Everyone is a fan of chicken: roasted, fried or in a curry.

Sadly, the same adulation is not bestowed upon the humble offal. With a reputation for looking disgusting, I am not surprised that they end up in the bin. 

Chicken livers though, are on an entirely different league. Surprisingly creamy, they melt in the mouth if cooked right. I have only ever had them in curries (slightly overcooked); they were fed to me as a child, for being nutritious. But I guess I needed to treat them right for once.

This recipe is inspired by Rachel Khoo and Nigel Slater, the latter of whom advised quite correctly that chicken livers are paired best with a dash of vinegar and sweet caramelised onions. I have added figs and grapefruit to bring out the sweet and sour flavors even more.

Chicken liver, caramelised onion and fig salad with grapefruit brulee

Fry seasoned chicken livers in butter for 3 mins. Finish with (white wine vinegar + sage). Caramelise sliced onions in butter. Brush figs with (honey + olive oil + salt + pepper) and broil for 5 mins. Season escarole and toss with (olive oil + sherry vinegar). Sprinkle grapefruit slices with sugar and blowtorch. Arrange (grapefruit segments + caramelised onions + chicken liver + figs) over salad.

Minced meat and a million possibilities

Minced meat is one of my favorite ingredients to cook with, because it is so versatile. It can taste great on its own, but is  also a perfect vehicle for carrying a multitude of flavors as well.
I love a good meatball.
The variety of ingredeints you can incorporate into the humble meatball is infinite. Make it Italian with fennel and provolone, or Moroccan with some harissa and preserved lemons. You could even keep it Desi by adding in coriander and garam masala. However, today it is time for soup.
This recipe was created for those blue days when you just need a bowl of comfort to apply to your face. Umami pork meatballs with miso paste in a delicious dashi broth- that's the formula to happiness. Atleast, I think so. 

Sesame miso pork meatball and udon noodle soup

Steep kombu in water, bring to boil and add in (bonito flakes + dried shitake). Simmer for 20 mins and strain. Mix (pork mince + ginger + garlic + dark miso) and shape into balls. Season and fry in pan. Add in (mirin + dark soy + sesame seeds) and cook till glazed. Add (sake + light soy) to broth and cook (udon noodles + pak choy) in it. Pour soup into bowls, add meatballs and garnish with (scallions + red chilli + furikake).

Happy Slurping!

Some late night inspiration to lip-smacking lamb cutlets with cucumber salad

I sat down for dinner at 11 the other day to a meager meal of rice and yellow lentils, and an incompleteness weighed down on me. What was it? Then with the corner of my eye I spotted the shy glass jar hidden behind the cutlery holder at the far end of the table, the jar of spicy lime pickle. As I bathed (okay that's an exaggeration) my humble dinner with its contents and took a bite, I could taste salvation. The pungency of the mustard oil came together beautifully with the acidity of the lime, and my! I'm sorry but I can't talk anymore, I'm salivating already.
There is nothing I can think of that this pickle can't transport to culinary heaven, but just for heck's sake I've landed on lamb cutlets. Served with pita bread and this amazing cucumber salad (the recipe for which I have shamelessly plagiarized from someone somewhere but nobody cares because it is so darn good), I reckon this could be one of the best entrees for an al fresco lunch.

Lime pickle lamb cutlets with cucumber pomegranate pistachio yogurt salad

Blend together (lime pickle + salt + mustard + honey) to make marinade. Rub lamb cutlets with it and grill until just blushing inside. Smash cucumbers with a rolling pin and dress in (yogurt + salt + pepper + pomegranate molasses). Scatter over (toasted pistachios + pomegranate seeds + mint). 

Adios!

Humble beginnings and mushroom spaghetti with a crunchy Asian twist

As introductory posts go, I'm about to let you know how the idea for creating this blog was conceived.
There I was sitting in front of my laptop on a Tuesday as lazy as any other, grazing over a recipe for rare beef and horseradish in choux pastry, when it struck me. Don't ask me how or why. If I couldn't actually make all the food I'd always wanted to, then wouldn't writing a blog about it ease some of the pain? And I decided. I'd launch my crazy concoctions into the world wide web, no matter how un-achievable they were for me at the moment, in the hope that it somehow would be a source of fulfillment for me.
So in case you were wondering, the underlying mantra to my (ahem, virtual) cooking is: I cook what I want to eat. Beautiful produce and world cuisine are two things I get my inspiration from. And I absolutely love contrasting tastes and textures. The first recipe I'd like to share draws heavily on each of these elements. It is more of an idea than a recipe though. Combining fresh Asian flavors with the Italian rustic breadcrumb topping seemed obvious, especially when served with some seriously slurpalicious spaghetti.

Spaghetti with Asian mushrooms and pangritata

Chop finely (garlic + ginger + cilantro stalks + red chillies + lime zest). Heat peanut oil in pan. Add aromatics, season and sauté. Add in torn (enoki + shitake) mushrooms and stir fry for a while. Cook (spaghetti ) in boiling salted water. Blitz stale ciabatta to make crumbs, add to pan. Toss until crisp. Add in pasta and season. Scatter picked cilantro leaves. Squeeze half a lime.

Until next time. :)