Bloody Murder

 

10/03 BLOODY MURDER

 

There is undeniable passion embodied in the colour red - lust and rage, blood and sex. Red is almost an absolute, so all consuming that when cause up in the heat of the moment all reason is lost. The imminent arrival of the Queen of my banquet of idols has delved deeper and deeper into my emotions and left me with a nervous wreck of a rebel heart. The intensity of my state of mind is echoed in the relentless attack of red in this plate.

Red Tomatoes have been flayed almost passionately torn apart. The flesh-like beetroot bleeding dark burgundy through the dish. Even the devil wouldn't recognize the pure white goats cheese now tainted with a bloody hue, like a virgin touched for the very first time. The smoked paprika and vinegar darken all the ingredients, taking the last life from the ghost town of a fridge and giving it its own tale to tell.

P.S. This was made in the extreme heat of the moment, and is actually far better over a tangle of peppery rocket leaves cold from the fridge - something I didn't have at hand.
 

Ingredients (all approximate) - 

100g Tinned Beetroot
1 Tomato
1/2 Tsp Smoked Paprika
1 Tsp Dukkah (sans. Peanut where possible because they are the devils work)
1 Tbls Vinegar
Sprinkle of Lemon Zest

 

What I did - 

Strew the bloody beetroot around a large flat platter so that they look like flayed pieces of purple flesh in a pool of blood. Slice the tomato thin, with almost samurai precision so that they resemble the inner workings akin to an anatomical drawing. Strew them over the beetroot. That's the base for the salad, and not only need some herbal remedies.

Crown with the pure chalky white of the goats cheese and watch as it is ruined by the blood from the beets. Dust with smokey paprika, the heat fighting off any unwanted spirits like incense in a cathedral. Then ceremonially throw some soil on the vegetable burial - add the nutty dukkah to the top. Finally cutting through the earthy sweetness with a pour of sharp vinegar and a fine zest of lemon.

The bloody plate has been put to rest, and appears gory and rich but is actually quite refreshing cold from the fridge or on toast or on salad leaves. This salad isn't Joan of Arc, but sometimes there is beauty in abject horror.

JG

Swimming Upstream

02/02 SWIMMING UPSTREAM

Returning home, to an old way of life can often be as isolating as being in a completely alien city. It takes time for your mind to adjust, for your body to settle and your sleep to synchronise to a new moon. With time away the old and familiar become foreign whereas constantly experiencing the new is common - if not always easy. There may always be a Starman waiting in the sky and if food is the one thing that can bring us back, this is the man who fell to earth.

All the elements here are from different meals since returning home, thrown together to help battle the intense seasonal change from minus five to over thirty degrees. The ingredients here are collectively light and hydrating, tied together with a sharp spritz of lemon. The only thing needed to help your body cope with the heat is a frozen glass of wine. We are all salmon fighting the current, but sometimes its best to let it take you home.

Ingredients (all approximate) - Cold from the Fridge

1 Salmon Fillet (steamed)
2 Heads Broccoli (steamed)
1 Wedge Lettuce
1 Egg (hard boiled)
Lemon
Salt + Pepper

What I did - 

Most times in summer the desire to cook is completely absent, so the simplest way to prepare this is to use all the old leftovers. The ingredients don't have to be exactly the same as here, but the combination of fish, an egg, a lettuce and steamed vegetable is perfect - all served cold from the fridge.

Peel the last few green leaves off the decaying iceberg lettuce, or nice fresh one if lucky. Folded them in half and sliced them into long thin strands, this helps keep them sharp as you pile on the other softer ingredients. Arrange the strands into a welcoming nest.

Dice up the head of broccoli so that its a fine green scattering which can be used to fill the lettuce nest. The salmon had previously been steamed for about 15 minutes and then the leftovers steeped in lemon juice overnight. This makes the pale pink flesh easy to flake apart and add to the green nest.

If there isn't a hard boiled egg in the fridge, quickly boil one for four minutes and then crack the shell off. Crown the fleshy salmon with the yolk before dusting in crystalline salt flakes and pepper.

These ingredients are all orphaned, but together help bring you back home. There's no place like it.

JG