Cannot find the English translation, this
is a new favorite fish found in the market in Rovinj, according to locals, this
fish is becoming rare.
The flesh is delicate, reminds me of
river fish, Shad 鰣魚, caught in the rivers in France.
Showing posts with label 2015-10. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2015-10. Show all posts
Freshly pressed olive oil, Istria, Croatia
3 different bright green oils, from
different varieties of olives, pressed in the last 2 weeks. This summer was so
dry and hot, the olives were smaller and less in quantity.
Flounder
My favorite part on such flat fish is the
rice like muscles next to the fins, which are firm and juicy. The best is of
course those on turbot, wild ones are less easy to find now and expensive,
next good is flounder.
1. Gut the fish and wipe dry, sprinkle salt
on both surfaces, fridge for a couple of hours.
2. Wipe dry again before baking, at 200˚C
for 12 minutes (slightly less than 1kg fish), switch off oven, leave door ajar
to rest for 10 minutes.
3. Peel of the skin and enjoy.
Hotel Adriatic, Rovinj, Croatia
Last year this old
hotel in the center of the town had undergone a multi-million dollars renovation. The building is in the protected zone and the facade was kept the
same, the inside is completely gutted and modernised.
Right in front of the little harbour on one side, open sea on the other, the giant outdoor sofas are
the best spots in town to while the time away.
Olive harvest meal
After a day's work in
the olive field, the reward was a big dinner prepared by friend's mother in the traditional way. Started with
platters of local ham, pancetta, and different cheeses.
Olive harvest
Helping a friend in
Rovinj, Croatia to harvest olives. The olives are still green, have less oil
than harvest them in a month's or two's time when they turns black. However with the rainy season coming, picking them now has far less risk of turning bad and become
low quality oil.
To ensure the best
quality, meaning low acidity (rancid), the olives are mechanically pressed within
24hrs, at 28˚C in a small mill.
The oil is bright green, with strong aroma and a spicy note. It is
dangerous good, I can eat a lot with freshly baked bread.
Chocolate cake with chocolate olive oil sauce
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| Chocolate cake with chocolate olive oil sauce |
I like dark chocolate dessert, this is my
latest favorite version, irresistible when served hot from the oven. The
chocolate sauce (optional) with olive oil is a new inspiration, only for those
who like the aroma of good green olive oil.
1. Melt 40gm dark chocolate and 40gm butter
on water bath.
2. In the still warm mixture out of water
bath, whisk in 1 egg, 30gm brown sugar, and 1 big pinch of salt
3. Fold in 60gm almond powder. Divide mixture into 6 cupcake moulds.
4. Bake at 170˚C until firm, around 25
minutes.
5. For the sauce, melt 50gm dark chocolate in
water bath, stir in 20-30gm extra-virgin olive oil and a pinch of salt.
Today's "catch" from the fish market, Rovinj
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| Plaice, John Dory & mackerel |
Smoky Caponata
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| smoky Caponata |
Also used a mixture of seasonal produce like pumpkin, zucchini for colour and texture. On top I added smoked pimenton (Spanish smoked red pepper powder) in the sauce, gave the dish richness and a smoky flavor.
1. Cut eggplants and other veg (e.g. carrot,
pumpkin, zucchini, sweet potato) into 2cm cubes, bake at 160˚ until just
cooked, around 30 minutes.
2. Cut tomatoes into big cubes, sweat in
oil briefly, season with salt, soy sauce, vinegar, smoked pimenton, brown sugar
to taste, mix in baked vegetable and cook for another minute to thicken.
Restaurant Riva, Labin, Croatia
Brought by a friend to
this seafood restaurant in the Istrian coast of Croatia, specialise in raw and
cooked langoustines. The owner has contact with small fishermen who use net boxes
to catch langoustines alive. It is the first time I have tasted langoustines
that are caught an hour ago.
The flesh is firm,
mildly sweet.
The lightly cooked
ones are actually sweeter, but the texture is different.
The raw red tuna
sashimi is also tasty.
Dessert is coffee ice cream
with warm chocolate olive oil sauce, chocolate and olive oil goes so well
together, delicious.
Cepes cooked whole
The forests in Istria are full of mushrooms, one of the common type is cepe/boletus. I like the small ones with the top still firm and
the green gills not developed yet.
Usually they are cut into slices and seared
as such, or cooked with eggs.
I saw this cooking method in a friend's cook
book and try it on these Istrian cepes, it is a good way to beautifully present
the mushrooms and enjoy their sweetness.
1. Brush/wash/shave off the sandy parts from the mushroom.
2. Sear at medium heat in butter, olive oil
and a big pinch of salt, turn around until slightly golden.
3. If a heavy bottom pan is used, put the
lid on and rest until cooked through, soft and liquid comes out. Or
finish in the oven at 150˚C.
4. Take out the cepes, add a small handful
of parsley in the pan and reduce sauce, pour on top of cepes.
Seasonal fish
The lady said that it is a good fish to eat
but is less and less found. So I bought one of sea bream, Kavala and red
snapper to compare taste.
1. Gut the fish and keep the scales, place
a small handful coarse salt below and on top of fish then rest for a few
hours in the fridge.
2. Bake at 200˚C for 12 minutes and rest
with oven door ajar for 5 minutes.
3. Peel off the skin with scales, the flesh
is more juicy cooking like this.
Indeed the texture of Kavala is most
delicate and tender.
Lightly seared squids
I tried the trick of salting lightly fresh
fish for a few hours before cooking to firm up the flesh, on these super fresh
squids, it worked, very tasty and texture still soft.
1. Remove the purple outside skin of squids,
the side wings, pull the legs out, remove the transparent fin inside. Remove
the guts, eyes, and jaw from the legs.
2. Wipe dry. Add a few big pinches of salt
and stir well, keep in the fridge for a few hours, liquid will come out.
3. Wipe dry squids, smear with fingers quickly
a super fine layer of cornstarch.
4. Sear on pan with a little coconut
oil until lightly golden.
Raw organic milk dispenser
This little town, Rovinj, Croatia, never ceases to
impress me. There is now a raw organic milk, yogurt, and fresh cheese dispenser,
all from a local farmer who re-stocks the products every morning.
The milk is so sweet and thick, delicious.
Sardines
The sardine in Adriatic sea is not as fatty
and big as the Atlantic version, nevertheless, they are still fine to eat, as a
wild fish low in the food chain.
1. Wipe dry (with gut intact), sprinkle salt
generously all over, arrange them in the direction that belly is down and back
fin up. Keep in the fridge for half a day, liquid will ooze out.
2. Wipe dry, sear at medium heat with olive
oil until just cooked. Eat the flesh and leave the gut and back bone behind, save a lot of cleaning work and keep the flesh moist.
Da Francesco, Cherasco, Italy
On driving east, decided to stop at this
town for the evening. While wandering the streets, saw the fantastic painted
wall and ceiling on a second floor room.
On closer look, it is a restaurant and
the menu looks good, instantly decided to go in and have an Italian meal.
Run by young people, husband Francesco the Chef
and wife Francesca the Manager. All dishes are well prepared, with a creative
touch, and more affordable than in France, very pleased.
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| onsen egg, melted cheese, black truffle |
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| snail and saffron couscous |
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| delicate spaghetti in meat sauce |
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| lamb cutlets with goat cheese sauce |
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| delightful dessert - A surprise taste combination |
Mountain food
Passing the
mountainous Auvergne area in the middle of France, saw a country inn with a
roaring hot fire going, very welcoming sight when it is 9˚C. The place is
packed with hikers, having hot drinks and lunch.
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| Truffade |
I can't resist the
temptation to try an interesting looking local dish, Truffarde, so I joined in.
It is a tasty, but
really filling dish of cheese and potato, I tried my best to not to waste food,
but impossible. As I also have to leave a little room for the excellent wild
blueberry tart.
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| wild blueberry tart |
Autumn colour
Autumn comes early this year, but with wonderful
colour! On the annual trip slowly traveling east, crossing Italy to Croatia, I
had a great time indulging in the gorgeous autumn colour.
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| near Auvergne |
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| near Auvergne |
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| near Grenoble |
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| near Col Madeleine |
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| near Col Madeleine |
Green pepper harvest
Harvested a big basket
of green peppers, the weather is turning bad fast and there is no hope for them
to turn red anymore.
I used some in
juicing, and some I baked until soft, remove the skin and season with olive
oil, salt and black pepper, simple and tasty.
Oat porridge
It seems like we only
make porridge from rolled oat, those flattened pieces of oat, obviously because
it is faster to cook.
Unfortunately rolled
oat is more industrially processed then we want to think, including softening
the grain by steam to easily flatten them, hence loosing a lot of nutrients.
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| soaked oat and pumpkin seed |
So I use the grain
instead, first soak them for half a day, in doing so remove the growth inhibitor
enzyme naturally exists in all grains. In the evening, I boil the oat in water
with a pinch of salt, leave it in a thermo-flask to swell up overnight.
In the
morning, they are fluffed up and just need to bring to boil again before
serving. Not a lot of work, just need some planning, the reward is oat porridge with good texture.
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| oat fluffed up in thermo-flask |
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