Overcast Light

26/09 OVERCAST LIGHT

Food for thought? Food for fuel? Food for fun. Because to be honest, when the going gets tough, the tough get seriously hungry. This is always the case when it comes to uprooting your life, and this meal is an all in one pre- and post-adventure comfort. It really is just a way to plate up nearly all my favourite ingredients at once (as is the case here, often ready in the fridge).

This particular one holds particularly fond memory in my mind. The blissful last week in Australia, where everything was perfect because it was coming to an end (for now). There was one day where I should have been preparing, but instead shared this and a bottle of grigio in the overcast warmth - my kind of heaven. This is always going to be a plate of overcast happiness.

Ingredients (all approximate) - 

1 Salmon Fillet
3 Eggs
100ml Milk
1 Broccoli
1 Avocado
200g String Beans
70g Goats cheese
Lemon
Salt + Pepper


What I did - 

Really not a stressful cook, just one to do when you have some time at home to juggle the different ingredients. Start by throwing the salmon fillet under a hot grill for about 15 minutes with some lemon, salt and pepper. It doesn't need to cook through, just catch enough to colour on one side.

Whisk the eggs together until pale, add the milk and a chunk of the goats cheese and beat again. In a small baking dish, flake the salmon in the bottom. Pour over the eggs, sprinkle with salt and pepper again and throw into the oven for about 20 minutes at 200degrees. The heat needs to be high so that the eggs inflate around the fish.

While the bake is on, steam the broccoli and beans, or blanche them for 5 minutes. Really don't cook these through, keep them crunchy and hot. Drain/take them off the heat and add to a large salad bowl. Crumble the remaining goats cheese over, gouge out the avocado and squeeze the life out of the lemon. Quickly tumble through the bowl, the heat from the vegetables will melt the cheese with the soft avocado and lemon. It should end up a white-flecked bowl of sharp greenness.

Once the eggs have inflated appropriately, like a blimp, take the dish out of the oven. Serve direct from the dish at the table. Have your guest deal with the wine. Immediate perfection.

JG

Over or Under

06/09 OVER or UNDER

There is a strange moment before any journey where you need to stop and meditate on all the turns and paths ahead of you. The road isn't always going to be straightforward, or smooth - you face the decision to go over the mountain or under it. If the mountain defeats you, where then will you go? The rugged peats of these profiterole mountains are an untameable beauty, yet inside these small pastry mountains is a creamy heaven waiting to be found.

Together they collide in spectacular form, the clashing textures are unified with nutty cocoa creaminess - eloquent I know. They appear to involve much more work than there actually is - the most annoying part will be washing up just because you end up with a stack of used bowls. They are calming to make, and provide quick reassurance that even the most daunting adventure is always full of surprises. 

Ingredients (all approximate) - 

150g Plain Flour
50g Butter
3/4 Cup Water
1/2 Tsp salt
3 eggs
100ml Cream
50g Dark Chocolate
1tbls Nutella
Handful of chopped almonds


What I did - 

Don't panic! This isn't a recipe of pain, it is a thing of great beauty. Simply because it involves little to no skill and creates delicacies of awe.

Start by melting the butter into the water with the salt. Once dissolved add the flour and return to the heat for a brief moment while you mix it into a single paste - the water will evaporate and it will become a dough almost instantly. Transfer to a food processor (or a bowl and a strong, fast arm) and one by one add the eggs. The end result will be a sticky paste - less of a dough than before. Dollop tablespoon amounts onto a lined baking tray and bake for 40 minutes at 180 degrees. Easy.

Turnt he oven off and let them cool completely into puffed pastry shells. Whip the cream with the nutella until firm, then using a piping bag poke a hole in each pastry and  squeeze until they are fattened with the nutty cream.

Put in the fridge while the chocolate is attended to. Melt until black and glistening. Then bathe the top of each profiterole in the molten chocolate. Sit them upright on a tray and scatter the almonds on the top.

Leave in the fridge for half an hour before eating so that all the different components come to an agreeable temperature and the chocolate is wonderfully matted. Fiddly fun, and you've now got cream on your face.

JG