Orange and Purple Cauliflower with Cumin Sauce

Photo courtesy of Photography by Sadiq

There are four groups of cauliflower: white, orange, green and purple. Orange cauliflower contains 25 times the level of vitamin A of white varieties and the colouring of the purple cauliflower is due to a natural build up antioxidants which gives its distinctive colouring.
I've combine the two types of cauliflower for contrast and extra benefits of added vitamins. This dish can be eaten hot or cold.

1 orange cauliflower
1 purple cauliflower

1 tablespoon chilli flakes
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
3 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 small bunch of coriander
4 cloves garlic
100g salted butter
1 teaspoon dijon
1 lemon
Good pinch of sea salt

Method:
Place a large pot of water over a high heat and bring to the boil. Cut the cauliflower into small bite-sized pieces and place it aside for when the water is ready.

Place a small pan over a medium heat and lightly toast the cumin until fragrant then add the butter and chilli. Once the butter clarifies, remove from heat and in a food processor place butter, oil, coriander, garlic, dijon, juice of lemon and salt. Blend together for 30 seconds then the dressing is ready. Once water is boiling cook the orange cauliflower first for about 4 minutes. Using a strainer sieve out the cauliflower and repeat with the purple variety. To serve simply drizzle the dressing over top.

Monkfish Curry with Wild Cabbage and Worcester Apples

Photo courtesy of Photography by Sadiq

This dish is based on my favorite fish curry recipes, I discovered a lovely recipe for monkfish curry in one of Skye Gyngell's cookbooks. It's not often I follow someone else's recipe, however I do love the way Skye cooks and her books are wonderful. Until she left Petersham Nurseries, it was my favorite restaurant in London and to overcome my withdrawals since she's left, I've been delving into her books.

This version of Skye's monkfish curry is served with peppery foraged wild cabbage. I've also added worcester apples which are currently in season and brown shrimp to balance out the sweet and tart of the apples—a lovely alternative to rice and bread.

800g monkfish sliced into 2cm chunks
400ml coconut milk
400g canned plum tomatoes
1 red onion
25g butter
1 small bunch coriander with roots
3 cloves garlic
2 red chillies
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon palm sugar
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
2 kaffir lime leaves
1 lime

1 wild cabbage
8 worcester apples
60g brown shrimp
Sea salt
Extra virgin olive oil

METHOD:
Peel and thinly slice the onion, put butter in a large heavy-based pot and place over a low-medium heat to melt. Add the onion and cook gently until onion softens and turns translucent. Place a small fry pan over a medium heat and add the fennel seeds, coriander seeds and mustard. Lightly toast the seeds until fragrant, remove from heat and ground into a rough powder using mortar and pestle then add to onions. Peel and crush the garlic, dice the chillies, finely slice the roots of the coriander and add all three ingredients to the onion along with fish sauce, palm sugar, torn kaffir leaves and juice of the lime. Turn heat up to medium and cook for 5 minutes, add the plum tomatoes and turn heat up until sauce is just bubbling. Cover pot with lid and turn heat down slightly, cook for 20 minutes, stirring periodically.

Cut the apples into quarters and lay over baking tray then drizzle with a couple tablespoons of olive oil. Place apples in oven set at 180ºC for 15 minutes. Remove the large stalk base of the wild cabbage, wash the leaves and slice into 2cm width strips. Place a large pot with lid over a high heat and add a good dash of olive oil, once hot cook the wild cabbage with a good pinch of salt (you may need to do this in 2 batches). When the cabbage is cooked it should have wilted and be a vibrant green colour and still slightly crisp along the center stalky center, not black.

Once the sauce has cooked, add coconut milk and turn up the heat slightly, when the sauce is just simmering stir in the monkfish and remove from heat. Leave to stand for about 4-5 minutes, the heat of the sauce should be enough to cook the fish, making it tender and soft.
Serve the fish curry over a bed of wild cabbage and cooked apples, garnish with brown shrimps and torn coriander leaves.

Polenta Slice with Burnt Pineapple, Pancetta and Blue Sauce

Photo courtesy of Photography by Sadiq

Polenta is traditionally an Italian dish but I've tweaked around with the flavours a little. The sweetness and the caramelising of pineapple bounces nicely with salty pancetta and creamy blue sauce over a set polenta. A fun alternative for a dinner main.

Polenta:
250g coarse polenta
675ml water
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
25g butter
50g grated parmesan

1 pineapple
24 slices of pancetta
2 red chillies, diced
1 small bunch torn coriander leaves

Blue Sauce:
200g gorgonzola
75ml double cream
100ml buttermilk
1 teaspoon dijon mustard

METHOD:
Start by making the polenta, place water in a large heavy-based pot and put over high heat and bring to the boil. Add the polenta and salt, turn down the heat to medium and stir with a wooden spoon. After about 4-5 minutes the polenta will thicken and will resemble mashed potatoes. Remove from heat then stir in butter and parmesan until well incorporated. Line a 30x20cm (3cm high) tray with parchment paper and pour in the polenta and evenly smooth out. Leave the polenta to cool for about 2 hours before cutting.
To make the cheese sauce place the gorgonzola and cream in a saucepan, put over a medium heat, stir the sauce until the cheese is almost melted. Remove sauce from heat and pour in a food processor with buttermilk and dijon, blend together until smooth.
Lay pancetta on a baking tray and cook at 180ºC for 4 to 5 minutes. Top and tail the pineapple then slice off the skin by sliding a sharp knife round the edges. Slice the pineapple into quarters lengthways then remove the core. Cut each quarter into 1cm thick slices lengthwise place a fry pan over high heat. Once the frying pan is hot and smoking a little grill each slice of pineapple on both sides until it starts to brown and go a little black.
To construct slice the polenta into 8 pieces and lay on a serving platter or individual plates. Layer each polenta slice with 2 slices of pineapple, a good spoonful of blue sauce, 3 pieces of pancetta and finally garnish with a sprinkling of chillies and coriander.

A Well Balanced Salad

This salad is a perfect balance of sweet, salty, creamy, bitter, nutty and fragrant and almost fat free. Full of roughage and fiber to provide midday into early evening energy. Failing that a simple and quick dinner that'll please your conscience.

1 pineapple
1 radicchio
1 bunch breakfast radish
200g blue vein cheese
70g brazil nuts
1 small bunch coriander

Method:
Coarsely chop the brazil nuts and sprinkle over a baking tray, roast in oven set at 180oC for around 7-8minutes. Top and tail pineapple then remove the core and slice pineapple into 2cm cubes. Slice radicchio in half, separate and wash the leaves. Cut the tops off radishes and finely slice into small rounds.
To construct the salad you can either make one large platter or 4-6 individual portions. First lay down torn piece's of radicchio followed by even amounts of pineapple, radish, blue cheese and finely garnish with brazil nuts and roughly chopped coriander leaves.

Chicken Adobo with Camargue Red Rice

A reprint of one of my older recipe's with a shinny new photo from the amazing Etienne! And this time I got the spelling right. 
Adobo is a Spanish word for marinade however this is a Filipino dish traditionally cooked with chicken thighs and drums. But some recipes include pork served with plain rice and a hard boiled egg. I love the combination of salty and sweet, and was surprised at how simple it is to make. I developed my own version for Kaffeine where its incorporated into a salad with camargue red rice (wild rice found in the south of France) and coriander. Out of the several hundred salads I've created at work this has to be the one that out sells all the others.

500g boneless skinless chicken thigh
60ml dark soy sauce
60ml malt vinegar
60ml water
60g demerara sugar
8 peeled cloves garlic
16 peppercorns
2 bay leaves
200g camargue red rice
70g rocket
20g coriander leaves roughly chopped
1 tablespoon sesame oil

METHOD:
Bring a medium pot of water to the boil add the rice and cook for 30 minutes
Cut each chicken thigh into 6 pieces and place in a bowl with roughly chopped garlic and add the soy, vinegar, sugar, water, peppercorns and bay leaves. Place the chicken on a medium heat and cook for 20 minutes stirring occasionally. Once the rice is cooked drain and cool under cold running water then put the rice in a large mixing bowl add the coriander and mix together. When the chicken has cooked strain the marinade from the chicken, don't throw away the marinade. Place the same pot back on a high heat and add the sesame oil followed by the chicken and cook till the meat falls apart around 4-5 minutes, pour the marinade back in the pot and cook for a further 5 minutes till the sauce thickens then remove from heat.
Add the chicken to the rice and combine, now its time to construct the salad. On a serving platter or 4 individual  lay down half the rocket leaves followed by half the Adobo and repeat the layer one more time and serve.

Brown Sugar Cod Salad

Finally we can throw our soup bowls and duvet in the back of the cupboards, and make the most of whats left of the summer. What I'd do for a duel passport so I can chase the sun.
My latest salad use's the best of summer produce and delicate cod baked in brown sugar with fragrant flavours. Virtually fat free and completely satisfying.
Also I must once again thank Etienne for his fresh batch of wonderful and colourful photo's,

1kg cod fillet
4 tablespoons muscovado sugar
1 teaspoon sea salt
50ml fish sauce
1 long red chilli
2 cloves garlic
1 bunch coriander
2 limes
2 large aubergine
4 nectarines
2 baby gem lettuce
50ml extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper for seasoning

Method:
Remove the tops of aubergine and slice in half lengthways, then cut each half into 8 wedges and lay over baking tray, season with salt and pepper. Drizzle olive oil over aubergine and bake in oven set at 180oC for 30 minutes.
Place cod fillet on a baking tray and sprinkle with sugar, salt and pour over fish sauce. Peel garlic and roughly chop with chilli, finely slice the roots of coriander and scatter over fish with chilli and garlic. Cut limes into quarters and squeeze out the juice over fish, cover tray in foil and place in oven pre-heated to 180oC for 15 minutes.
Cut the base of the gem lettuce and separate the leaves and wash then pat dry with paper towels. Slice nectarine's in half and remove the stone, slice each half into 4 wedges.
To construct the salad you can either make 4-6 individual portions or one large platter. First place a wedge's of aubergine and nectarine in lettuce leafs and lay out over serving plate. Gently flake fish over salad and dress with fish cooking juice's, lastly garnish with coriander.