When I was young the way to eat sea urchins (rizzi in Maltese or ricci in Italian) was to break them open at the beach, rinse them with sea water and then scoop out the custard-like orange gland and enjoy the sweet and briny flavour either on fresh bread or else just scooping them out with a spoon and eating them. They used to be abundant and we would have them for lunch. … [Read more...]
Recipe: Slow cooked honey pork belly
Time is one of today's luxuries. It is something we all crave for but many seem to be short of. So when we find time on our hands, nothing beats reading a good book or taking the time to cook. In today's frantic world, it is a luxury to take hours to cook but slow cooking doesn't need to be complex and this recipe is a sure winner not only because of its simplicity but also … [Read more...]
Recipe (Atsushi Tanaka): Tuna with pickled kohlrabi
Japanese chef Atsushi Tanaka of Restaurant A.T. in Paris prepared a really tasty dish at Flemish Food bash mixing partly cooked and smoked tuna with kohlrabi. It was a perfect summer dish and one which was really enjoyable. The Japanese chef (see interview here) has been called the Picasso of the kitchen by his former master Pierre Gagnaire and has a very contemporary style … [Read more...]
Recipe: Spaghetti with fresh bottarga (fish roe)
Fishing is part and parcel of Mediterranean life despite the fact that overfishing has made it much less enjoyable for everyone over the years. I remember as a young boy going to fish with my father and losing patience because we would catch just a handful of fish. This must have been more than 20 years ago. Now with the benefit of hindsight, the actual joy of fishing is not … [Read more...]
Recipe (Anthony Genovese): Rigatoni with smoked aubergine, cardamon powder and chocolate
Anthony Genovese, chef of the Il Pagliaccio in Rome, Italy cooked his version of a pasta all norma giving it a very modern twist with the addition of smoked aubergine, cardamon powder and chocolate at Flemish Food Bash last month. The end result was delicious and a combination worth trying. The Italian chef who spent his childhood in France has been influenced by some of … [Read more...]
