Scrumptious Sacla Sauce

I just tried a new sauce by Sacla on some gnocchi with crispy sage. The sauce is part of Sacla's new range by Lawrence Dallaglio and is a creamy blend of tomatoes, mozzarella and basil. It had a perfect texture to accompany the pasta and a piquant umami flavour, which probably came from the tomatoes.

http://www.dallagliobysacla.co.uk/

Supper and Scrabble

Lovely seared tuna with an olive and tomato salsa and saffron mash. Picking up some tips from the chef (my dad) and the secret to a good mash is to use floury potatoes (not waxy ones), boil them until well cooked, then mix in with a chunk of butter (not oil), some milk/crème frêche and mash it up! We got the tuna from a brilliant fishmongers - Moxen's - which is luckily just down the road from us. A good way to cook this is to soak it in olive oil and then sear it for a couple of minutes in a hot pan.

This was followed by a sticky toffee pudding and an epic game of Scrabble: 390-317 to me!

Sushi

Just had some sushi, from Waitrose. It was only mediocre. The rice didn't have much flavour, but the fish was O.K. I'll make my own next time, although it's a lot more trouble!

Haddock with Miso

Just had some really yummy Icelandish Haddock with miso and chilli lime on udon noodles which my mum made. Miso paste is really great - and not just for miso soup!!

Also had very special burrata cheese on bread and lettuce. Unfortunately, the burrata was a little bit old, but it was still delicious and creamy! (For those who don't know, burrata is a quite obscure cheese made from mozzarella and cream.)

Chapter One

I was very lucky to be taken out to Chapter One in Bromley by my mum with my grandparents. Andrew McLeish is the head chef and has gained a Michelin star for his restaurant.

When I saw the menu, I immediately knew what to choose: The Velouté of Jerusalem Artichoke with Truffled Gnoochi followed by the Pan Fried Halibut with Lobster Celeriac Remoulade, Chanterlle Mushrooms and a Hazelnut Emulsion.

We were all a bit shocked at first when we were brought something completely different, but soon realised that it was a little extra, courtesy of the chef! They brought me a pescetarian-friendly salad with truffles after finding out that I didn't eat fois-gras. Grandma complained about the cruelty of the meat to the poor waitress while my grandpa and mum scoffed theirs down!







My soup was completely amazing - velvety and
rich and beautifully enhanced with the truffles.











My fish was cooked to perfection - crispy skin and juicy fish underneath. The lobster thingy was very extravagant and I don't usually like mushrooms particularly, but these were definitely an exception.










Pudding....YUM! This is a photo of my grandpa's 'Assiette of Desserts'. I had the baked banana which was really lovely and sugary!

Grandma's gorgeous salmon!

My grandma's secret salmon recipe is probably the best salmon EVER! I don't know quite how it's cooked, but I do know that it's delicious. Really light and perfectly cooked so that it breaks away in pieces. We also had some delicious crispy potatoes and of course, not forgetting the greens (very important) - broccoli and carrots.

And for pudding, my special treat - apricot sponge with custard! Yummy!!!

William Curley - Amazing Cake!

As a treat for being such a good teenager and foodie (and starting this blog) 'The Better Foodie' a.k.a my mum brought home a yummy surprise for me - a cake from William Curley http://www.williamcurley.co.uk/ (a top-notch chocolatier and patissier for those who are not acquainted with high quality confectionary).

This was absolutely delicious! Mango, passion fruit and chocolate! Called the 'Passion Fruit and Mango Entremet' Really light and wonderfully comforting after a day of being late and forgetting tests!

Delicious Winter Supper...

Skye Gyngell's spicy tomato and chickpea curry topped with maple syrup and soy sauce, accompanied by a dijon mustard mash!

This is a really yummy vegetarian meal, either both together, or on their own.

We also had a delicious chocolate fondue made with Cru Virunga 70% Chocolate from Original Beans -

http://www.originalbeans.com/blog/

Just mixed with a few spoons of cream and a chunk of butter and it was lovely dipping fruit and brioche into it.

Here is a similar recipe for the chickpea dish:

Chickpea curry

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 600g/21oz dried chickpeas
• 1tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1tsp mustard seeds
• 1tsp fennel seeds
• 1tsp cumin seeds
• 1tsp coriander seeds
• 5 cardamom pods
• 1tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 red onions, peeled and sliced
• 1 small bunch of coriander, roots included
• 1 red chilli
• 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
• 4 carrots, peeled and diced
• 3tbsp maple syrup
• The juice of two limes
• 3tbsp soya sauce
• Two jars of good-quality tomatoes
• 50g/2oz unsalted butter

Method

1. Soak the chickpeas overnight. Drain and place in a large pot of cold water. Add a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda. Cook over a medium heat for around 45 minutes or until tender. Drain and set aside.
2. To make the base of the curry, warm up the spices in a small pan, being careful not to burn them, as this will result in a bitter taste. Grind using a pestle and mortar.
3. Add the vegetable oil to a pot large enough to hold all the ingredients comfortably and place over a medium heat. When the oil is warm, add the onions and cook for five minutes to soften them. Chop the coriander and the chilli very finely and add to the pot along with the garlic and the spices.
4. Add the diced carrots and cook for 10 minutes. Then add the maple syrup, lime juice and soya sauce, stirring well to combine the flavours, and cook for another few minutes. Add the tomatoes and turn up the heat slightly. Cook for 15 minutes to thicken the sauce.
5. At this point it should taste hot, sweet and slightly sharp. Keep the pan over the heat until the carrots are cooked through but still firm. At this point, add the chickpeas and the butter.

And a similar one for the mash:

Dijon mustard mash

Ingredients

• 2kg large floury potatoes
• 150ml single cream
• 75g Butter
• 1 tbsp dijon mustard
• Salt

Method

1. Peel the potatoes and cut into large chunks. Place them in a large saucepan of salted water and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and cook for about 20 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.
2. Drain the potatoes well and mash until smooth, either with a traditional potato masher or in a blender.
3. Warm together the cream, butter and mustard in a small saucepan and pour into the mash, stirring with a wooden spoon until it is smooth and creamy. Season to taste with salt, adding extra mustard if needed.

What's better than Miso Ramen to keep warm on a freezing day?

...as far as I'm concerned - nothing!

If you've just come back from an epic snowball fight with your mates and are shivering on the kitchen desperately looking for something to eat, wanting to try a new dish, or are a complete lover of ramen, it is the perfect meal to make your day, and so easy!!!

It's also the number 1 hangover cure in Japan!

If you want to try making this, here's a recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 litre of vegetable stock (Also works with water)
• 3 spring onions (finely chopped)
• Fresh coriander
• Fresh ginger (2 cm piece – finely chopped)
• Sweet white miso paste (about 3 tablespoons)
• Sunflower oil
• Fresh ramen noodles (quantity depends on personal preference)
• Prawns (Or any other ingredient - e.g. Tofu)
• Lime juice
• Tamari (or soy sauce)

Method

1. Gently fry ginger and spring onion in 1tpsp (or less) of sunflower oil. Be careful that they don’t burn.
2. Add 1 litre of hot vegetable stock
3. Bring to the boil. Start to cook ramen noodles in water – they take about 1 minute if fresh.
4. Add about 3 tablespoons of miso paste (add more to taste)
5. Add the ramen noodles. Add the prawns – if they are not already cooked then they will take about 3 minutes and will go pink when they are done, if they are cooked then simply warm them in the soup.
6. Add the juice of half a lime and a generous splash of tamari.
7. Serve with chopped coriander leaves.

Enjoy!