Nicoise salad

Nicoise salad

Ingredients

For vinaigrette

115ml lemon juice

180ml extra-virgin olive oil 

1 medium shallot, minced

15 gm minced fresh thyme leaves 

30gm minced fresh basil leaves 

10gm minced fresh oregano leaves 

15gm Dijon mustard 

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For salad

1 tuna steak, slice into six pieces

3 hard boiled eggs, peeled and either halved or quartered 

6 small new red potatoes

Salt and freshly ground black pepper 

2 medium heads butter lettuce, leaves washed, dried, and torn into bite-sized pieces

10 cherry tomatoes cut into two

115gm green beans, stem ends trimmed and each bean halved crosswise

60gm niçoise olives 

60 gram mushrooms(optional)

Method

1. Marinate tuna steaks in a little olive oil for an hour.

2. Place the Dijon mustard in a bowl and add olive oil a little at a time,whisking continuously.

3.When it get thick,add lemon juice, shallot, thyme, basil, oregano, and mustard; mix well.Season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside.

4.Cook potatoes in salted water,transfer to a medium bowl with a slotted spoon. Toss warm potatoes with some of the vinaigrette; set aside.

5.Return water to boil; add green beans. Cook until tender but crisp, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain beans, transfer to reserved ice water, and let stand until just cool, about 30 seconds; dry beans well. Toss beans with vinaigrette and salt and pepper to taste;set aside.

6.Toss lettuce with  vinaigrette in a large bowl until coated. Arrange bed of lettuce on 2 serving platters. Toss  tomatoes,mushrooms with vinaigrette,arrange on the lettuce bed with reserved potatoes and beans in a mound at edge of lettuce bed.

5 Arrange hard boiled eggs, olives ,drizzle eggs with a few drops of dressing and serve immediately.

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Krazy Kochi: Buffet Weekends at Casino Hotel, Cochin

Krazy Kochi: Buffet Weekends at Casino Hotel, Cochin

Fish Colbert

Fish colbert

INGREDIENTS

4 fish fillet (small to medium size)
2 Eggs
60ml milk
200 g of Breadcrumbs
Salt
Pepper
Extra virgin olive oil

Method

1.In a dish prepare beaten eggs with milk, salt and pepper.

2.Dip each side of the fillet in the beaten eggs

3.Then breadcrumbs to coat completely.

4.Preheat extra virgin olive oil in a pan and fry the fillet until they golden   brown on the both sides.

5.Drain on kitchen paper.

6.Serve hot with french fries or roquette leaves,a piece of lemon and tartare sauce

Tartare sauce


2 egg yolks, at room temperature
15ml fresh lemon juice
185ml light olive oil
30ml sour cream
15gm finely chopped gherkins
15gm finely grated brown onion
30gm finely chopped capers
30gm finely chopped fresh continental parsley
15ml fresh lemon juice, extra
Salt & freshly ground black pepper

Method

1.Place the egg yolks and lemon juice in a bowl and whisk for 30 seconds or until   well combined.
2.With the continuous motion, gradually add the oil in a thin steady stream until   mixture is thick and pale. Transfer mayonnaise to a medium bowl.
3.Add sour cream, gherkin, onion, capers, parsley and extra lemon juice to   mayonnaise, and stir to combine.
4.Taste and season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a serving bowl, cover with   plastic wrap and store in the fridge until required





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Minestrone

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minestrone

      Ingeredients

1 carrot (150gm)

250g spinach or cabbage leaves

250gm potatoes

2 courgettes/zucchini

200g tinned black eyed beans

2 medium sized stalks of celery

1 L chicken or veg stock

1 clove of garlic,chopped

200g tinned peas

2 peeled medium tomatoes (to peel these, sink in boiling water for 2 mins, then drain, rinse in cold water and peel)

10 fresh basil leaves

200g macaroni

60ml Extra virgin olive oil

Salt to taste

1 small glass of white wine

Parmesan cheese (to serve)

     Method

1.Peel the carrot and potato,cut into 1cm cubes

2. Clean the celery and zucchini,cut into cubes

3. Heat the olive oil in a pan, add the garlic and fry until it turns golden (5-7 mins),add basil fry for a minute    more

4.Add all the vegetables.Stir for 2 mins until it’s nicely covered in the oil.

5.Mix the wine and fry the mixture for a further 2-3 minutes (to evaporate away some of the alcohol, leaving just the grape’s taste).

6.Pour the stock,let it boil,simmer. Stir and cover.

7.Use enough salt,cook till the vegetables are almost done then add the pasta

8.Add extra boiling water if the soup become very thick, check the doneness,pour into bowls, drizzle a little olive oil over each and serve with a shared bowl of grated parmesan cheese and super-crusty bread.





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Clam Chowder

    Clam chowder is often served in restaurants on Fridays in order to provide a seafood option for those who abstain from meat every Friday, which used to be a requirement for Catholics before liturgical changes in Vatican II, and on Fridays during Lent. Though the period of strict abstinence from meat on Fridays was reduced to Lent,the year-round tradition of serving clam chowder on Fridays remains. It is believed that clams were added to chowder because of their relative ease to collect.There are many varieties like New England Clam chowder,Manhattan Clam Chowder,Rhode Island clam chowder,Delaware clam chowder,Outer Banks clam chowder, Minorcan clam chowder Etc.Here we are trying the New England clam chowder 

New England clam chowder

Ingredients -

1.2kg Whole Baby Clams, reserve juice

6 slices Bacon, cooked crisp, drained, crumbled and set aside.

1 dash White or Cooking Wine

1 small Onion, chopped

4 inside stalks Celery, sliced, with leaves

2 medium Carrots, thinly sliced

5 cloves Garlic, pressed

7ml Worcestershire Sauce

5gm Thyme Leaves

1.1L Heavy Whipping Cream

445 gm Red Potatoes cubed, with skins

240ml Clam Juice

15 ml Butter

1 Bay Leaf 

Salt and Fresh Ground Black Pepper, to taste

1 Lemon, cut in wedges

Preparation:

1.Heat butter in a stockpot.

2.Sauté onion, celery, carrots, and garlic in butter or wine until vegetables are soft..

3.Stir in cubed potatoes and clam juice.

4.Bring to a gentle boil.

5.Reduce heat to low. Cover stockpot and simmer 15 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.

6.Stir in whole baby clams and reserved liquid, Worcestershire sauce, thyme leaves, heavy whipping cream, bay leaf, and crumbled bacon.Simmer for 15-20 minutes.Remove from fire and serve with lemon wedges. 

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Ratatouille

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Ratatouille

Ingredients :

60ml olive oil
2 onions
3 bell peppers, cut into one inch squares(different colors)
2 eggplants, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 zucchini, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
4 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
900gm tomatoes, chopped
15 gm fresh thyme
salt and pepper
60gm fresh basil

Howto:-

1.Prepare the bell peppers,eggplant,zucchini,tomatoesand garlic,mince the thyme and sliver onions.

2.Heat olive oil in a heavy pot on medium heat.Add onions to oil,stir for two minutes.

3.Add bell peppers, stirr for a while then eggplants, stirring well to coat it with oil. At this point all the olive oil will have soaked into the eggplant, so stir often to keep them from burning.

4.Add zucchini and stir it in once the eggplant has softened a bit.

5.Add the garlic to the vegetables, stirring well for two, three minutes and the tomatoes too.Mix the thyme along with salt and pepper to taste. Stir well and cook for two more minutes.Turn down heat and cover the pot. Simmer until everything is soft and well blended (about 40 minutes)

6.Stir in basil and remove from heat. Serve on top of rice if desired.



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