roasted tomato soup

There are many variations on how to prepare tomato soup, and by far, this is my most favourite and the easiest with the least ingredients. I love serving this with baguette, the crunchy outer texture compliments the rustic taste of the soup.

Serves 4

1kg ripe cherry tomatoes

4 large tomatoes

4 cloves of garlic

4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 small red onions

a small bunch of fresh basil

extra virgin olive oil

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Prepare a medium roasting tray. Preheat oven to 220 degree C. Quarter the large tomatoes and together with the cherry tomatoes, put all into the roasting tray. Drizzle over a good lug of olive oil season with salt and pepper. Crush and peeled the garlic and toss into the roasting tray. Put in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes.

In the meantime, peel and roughly chop the onions and put in a hot saucepan with a few lug of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Sweat the onion for a few minutes without browning over low heat. Stir the balsamic vinegar, turn up the heat to medium and let it cook away and reduce down. Take the tray of tomatoes out of the oven and add everything into the pan of onion.

Carefully pour everything into a blender, add the basil (reserves some for garnishing) and whizz to a fairly rustic consistency. Serve in a bowl, optionally topped with freshly grated Parmesan cheese, drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and the reserved basil.

pasta alla primavera

 

This Italian phrase, primavera [pree-muh-VEHR-uh]  means “spring style” and refers to the use of fresh vegetables (raw or blanched) as a garnish to various dishes. The origin of the dish is traced back to New York, where the chefs at Le Cirque restaurant came up with a riot of vegetation doused in butter, cream and lots of parmesan cheese. This version is a lightened and simplified rendition of this classic, but still captures the spirit of the 70’s and 80’s high style dining fashion. The dish may contain almost any kind of vegetable, but firm and crisp vegetables, such as broccoli, carrots, peas, onions, and green bell peppers with tomatoes are the usual preference. Classic primavera sauce is based on a soffrito (the sweating of vegetables in low heat without browning) of garlic and olive oil and finished with Parmesan cheese. Further versions, such as this one is based on a heavier cream or Alfredo style sauce.

Serves 4

1/2 pound spaghetti

a small bunch broccoli, about 1 heaping cup of florets

1 small zucchini, diced

4 asparagus’ spears

1/2 cup snow peas/honey beans

3 minced garlic cloves

2 tablespoons tomato paste

a bunch of basil leaves, chopped

4 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup chicken/vegetable broth

1/2 cup heavy cream

a handful of freshly grated parmesan cheese

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cook the pasta to al dente. Bring a large pot of water to boil and salt it well. It should taste like the sea. In the meantime, fill a large bowl with ice water to prepare the waterbath.  Boil the broccoli for 1 minute. Add the asparagus and boil another minute. Add the snow peas/honey beans and boil for 30 more seconds. Remove all the vegetables and plunge them into the ice water. Once they’re cool, drain in a colander.

If you want, you can boil your pasta in the same pot you boiled the vegetables in, or you can start over and boil new water. In a large saute pan, heat the butter over medium-high heat.  When the butter melts, add the garlic and zucchini and cook for a minute. Add the tomato paste and cook for another 2 minutes. Pour in the chicken/vegetable broth and turn the heat to high to bring it to a boil. Add the cream and toss in all the vegetables you boiled. Stir to combine. Turn the heat down until the cream-chicken broth mixture is just simmering, then add the parmesan cheese and stir again to combine. If the sauce seems too thick add some more of the broth.

As soon as the pasta is done, drain and transfer it into the sauce and stir to combine. Add the basil and season to taste. Serve immediately.

 

jacket potato

There’s nothing better when you’re hungry than a hot, steaming, fluffy jacket potato. Even simply served with a knob of butter, or a drizzle of olive oil, or maybe with sour cream and some salt and pepper, it is one of the most comforting things to eat. The beauty of them is that they can be topped with some amazing combinations. When it comes to jacket potato, i’ve always use Russet potato, which is more suitable for baking compared to other type of potatoes. I’ve always ensure that my pantry is fully stocked, sometimes when i have nothing to do and some cravings, i turn to jacket potato. It also serves as a good snack, day and night, and also a good pairing with any main dishes for dinner.

To bake your potatoes, wash the potatoes well, dry them and prick several times with a fork/knife. This is to allow steam to escape during the baking process and avoid the potatoes from exploding in your oven. Pour some olive oil into your hands and rub over the potatoes, then scatter over some salt which should stick to the oil. Place directly on the shelf in the oven and bake on 220 degree C for 1 to 1½ hours, depending on the size of the potato. I personally prefer to wrap the potatoes in aluminium foil before baking which will help to retain moisture, while leaving it unwrapped will result in a crisp skin. When cooked, the potato should be golden-brown and crisp on the outside and give a little when squeezed. Split open to potato and serve with some of my favourite toppings:

Hollandaise sauce: personally my most favourite. Learn how to prepare hollandaise sauce here.

Three cheeses with chives: grate over some Parmesan, Cheddar and crumbled Feta. Sprinkle over some finely chopped chives.

Prawns: dress your prawns with mayonnaise. Lovely!

Smoked salmon and sour cream: when you split open the potatoes, make quite a large well in the centre and add the smoked salmon with sour cream, dress lightly with lemon juice.

Mozzarella and basil:torn-up some mozzarella ball into pieces, a little squeeze of lemon juice and some fresh whole basil leaves, a drizzle of olive oil and some salt and pepper.

pesto

Nothing beats the taste and freshness of a home-made pesto. It it so easy and so universal, you can use it for any purpose and companion for any dish you could think of. Most people associated pesto with pasta and pasta only, when in reality, you can pair pesto with just about everything, roasted chicken, shellfish, bruschetta, fish, veal, steak, roated vegetables, jacket potato or with cheeses such as balls of Mozarella, the list is endless. You can make pesto in a food processor, or traditional pestle or mortar (i can attest that pounding pesto in pestle and mortar over time would results in a firm biceps and triceps!) Toast the pine nut lightly, though some would prefer to do them until they’re colored, which would develop a creaminess taste rather that nutty one.

Serves 4

1/2 a clove or garlic, chopped

salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 handfuls of fresh basil, leaves picked and chopped

a handful of pine nuts, very lightly toasted

a handful of Parmesan cheese

extra virgin olive oil

Pound the garlic with a little pinch of salt and basil in a pestle and mortar, or pulse in a food processor. Add the pine nuts and continue the pounding (or pulsing). Remove the mixture into a bowl and add half of the Parmesan. Stir and add the olive oil – you need just enough to bind the sauce and get it to an oozy consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then add the rest of the Parmesan and pour in some more oil and taste again. The key is getting it right to keep tasting and adding cheese or oil until you have the righ semi-wet but firm mixture. Optionally, you may add a squeeze of lemon juice at the end to have a little bit of acidic taste into the pesto, but it’s not essential.

** To have an authentic Genovese pesto, use pecorino Romano cheese, or Parmigiano-Reggiano instead of Parmesan. These type of hard sheep’s milk cheese, gives out a much strong flavour to the cheese. Unfortunately, both these cheese are considered an indulgence, expensive and such a rare variety that to-date, i have yet to find any grocery store (Tesco, Carrefour, Jusco, Cold-Storage, Isetan, or even Mercato) that actually have these cheese on their shelves.