There are some seminal moments in a man’s life…losing his virginity, the birth of his first child (not necessarily connected) and seeing his country win the rugby World Cup. For me it was meeting Rosemary Shrager (www.rosemaryshrager.com) last week in Herefordshire.
I’d been asked by Mr W, my flamboyant and self-professedly fabulous producer friend, to take part in the new series of Australian Ladette to Lady. Picture the scene as eight feral Aussie girls closely related to Ted Bundy are snatched from the Outback and taken to a finishing school in the depths of Herefordshire for 6 weeks in an attempt to ‘lady-fy’ them. We had been drafted in as the so-called cream of English aristocracy (don’t ask) to give the appearance of dignified social interaction, whilst secretly encouraging them all to behave as atrociously as possible on camera. Tonight was to be the dinner party.
Now let me tell you about Rosemary. As one of the country’s most respected chefs Rosemary Shrager was whipping up soufflés while Jamie Oliver’s parents were still in primary school and I was to sit next to her at dinner…
Whilst the Ladettes served us a starter closely reminiscent of wallpaper paste I chatted to Rosemary about all things epicurean when suddenly the penny dropped:
“Wait a second, aren’t you that chap who loves cooking ? Yes ! The producer showed me your Spanish tortilla on the internet – it was rather wonderful !”
Suddenly life just became more complete.
I chatted to Rosemary ten to the dozen for the next two hours (poor lady, she must have been exhausted by the time I shut up) and perhaps only to put a sock in it she suggested we stay in touch and I come along to see one of her new projects….fingers crossed and watch this space – the opportunity of a lifetime awaits !
Anyway, I digress… this week I’ve got a quickie for you – a tasty, tangy little salad dressing with a Spanish twist to go with that sumptuous Spanish Omelette – and me apparently getting carried away with the word “REALLY” (salad dressing can be exciting too you know).
Next week look out for my chorizo and toasted pine nut burgers – perfect for this unusually pleasant English summer !
x
(Incidentally while I've been writing this Claudia Schiffer has been eating breakfast with her husband two tables down - Zoolander Egg White Omelette to be posted soon)
Saturday, 13 June 2009
Saturday, 16 May 2009
The Hardy Brits and the Tortilla Espanola...
A couple of weeks ago myself and a bunch of friends were chilling out on Parsons Green, London and typical Brits that we are figured that as it was the first day of the year we hadn't seen rain or cloud it had to be BBQ time...
I cooked up this simple tortilla espanola whilst my friend Alex cremated a few sausages... by the time it was ready the temperature outside was cold enough to hang meat but we stuck it out regardless...
Lulu - you asked for the recipe to my tortilla espanola so this one's for you ... ;@) x
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFEXLKS7z3s
Ingredients
1kg potatoes
6 eggs
1 onion
2 peppers (one red, one yellow)
1 handful shredded chorizo
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper
Method
Easy as falling off a log ... first off get around a kilo of potatoes, peel them and slice to look like 5mm thick crisps - try using a mandolin for this to save time but mind your fingers !
Deep fry the potato in batches in vegetable oil until they have browned off and could be eaten immediately. Drain and put to the side.
Meanwhile slice your onion finely and slow cook it with a good glug of olive oil with the lid on - when they have cooked down in their own juices and taste sweet you've made "confit onions" (throw that phrase in when people ask you the ingredients and await appreciative coo-ing noises).
Remove the stalk and seeds from the peppers, slice thinly and fry in a dash of olive oil until browned off slightly.
Add the potatoes, confit onions and peppers to a bowl with the eggs (beaten) then two good pinches of salt and some pepper.
Mash the sweet b'jesus out of the mix until all ingredients are well mixed, heat up a small frying pan really hot with a dash of olive oil then tip the mixture in.
Give the pan a shake and if the whole thing moves its sealed on all sides - turn down the heat to medium-low and cook for four minutes.
Wipe a large plate with olive oil (so it doesn't stick), place this on top of the tortilla and flip the whole thing onto the plate. Slide it back into the pan on the uncooked side, seal it off as before and then cook on a medium-low heat for another four minutes.
Es todo ! Serve with green salad ... simple dressing recipe to follow.
I cooked up this simple tortilla espanola whilst my friend Alex cremated a few sausages... by the time it was ready the temperature outside was cold enough to hang meat but we stuck it out regardless...
Lulu - you asked for the recipe to my tortilla espanola so this one's for you ... ;@) x
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFEXLKS7z3s
Ingredients
1kg potatoes
6 eggs
1 onion
2 peppers (one red, one yellow)
1 handful shredded chorizo
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper
Method
Easy as falling off a log ... first off get around a kilo of potatoes, peel them and slice to look like 5mm thick crisps - try using a mandolin for this to save time but mind your fingers !
Deep fry the potato in batches in vegetable oil until they have browned off and could be eaten immediately. Drain and put to the side.
Meanwhile slice your onion finely and slow cook it with a good glug of olive oil with the lid on - when they have cooked down in their own juices and taste sweet you've made "confit onions" (throw that phrase in when people ask you the ingredients and await appreciative coo-ing noises).
Remove the stalk and seeds from the peppers, slice thinly and fry in a dash of olive oil until browned off slightly.
Add the potatoes, confit onions and peppers to a bowl with the eggs (beaten) then two good pinches of salt and some pepper.
Mash the sweet b'jesus out of the mix until all ingredients are well mixed, heat up a small frying pan really hot with a dash of olive oil then tip the mixture in.
Give the pan a shake and if the whole thing moves its sealed on all sides - turn down the heat to medium-low and cook for four minutes.
Wipe a large plate with olive oil (so it doesn't stick), place this on top of the tortilla and flip the whole thing onto the plate. Slide it back into the pan on the uncooked side, seal it off as before and then cook on a medium-low heat for another four minutes.
Es todo ! Serve with green salad ... simple dressing recipe to follow.
The beginning of the journey...
Ever since I was knee-high to a grasshopper I have been obsessed with food. In the early years it was a pretty basic case of just eating as much of the stuff as possible which inevitably ended up in me being the porkiest kid in kindegarden, but in later life it became more about that magical culinary alchemy known as cooking.
Over the years I've scraped together knowledge from every available source - books, tv and anyone who was willing to pass on their skills ... its a journey in every sense given that one of the greatest inspirations has always been travelling ... whether it be France, Tokyo, Hong Kong or California its always the food that sticks out in my mind.
Nowadays I get invited to a lot of dinner parties - its nice to be invited and of course I always say yes, but nowadays the host always seems to exclaim "Great ! So what are you going to cook ?"
I love it though - food has that unique ability like nothing else to please, inspire and unite - so with that in mind I've started this blog... I always thought the idea of a blog was slightly narcissistic and self-indulgent - I mean who cares what Patrick has to say about anything ?
Well hopefully if you share my passion for food then some of what I have to say will whet your appetite ... for me its actually a practical exercise... I'm forever messing around with recipes only to forget how I've made something so for the most part this blog is an aide memoire (culinaire) .... here's to a journey full of great food and great company at the end of which we arrive sated in every imaginable sense...
:@)
Over the years I've scraped together knowledge from every available source - books, tv and anyone who was willing to pass on their skills ... its a journey in every sense given that one of the greatest inspirations has always been travelling ... whether it be France, Tokyo, Hong Kong or California its always the food that sticks out in my mind.
Nowadays I get invited to a lot of dinner parties - its nice to be invited and of course I always say yes, but nowadays the host always seems to exclaim "Great ! So what are you going to cook ?"
I love it though - food has that unique ability like nothing else to please, inspire and unite - so with that in mind I've started this blog... I always thought the idea of a blog was slightly narcissistic and self-indulgent - I mean who cares what Patrick has to say about anything ?
Well hopefully if you share my passion for food then some of what I have to say will whet your appetite ... for me its actually a practical exercise... I'm forever messing around with recipes only to forget how I've made something so for the most part this blog is an aide memoire (culinaire) .... here's to a journey full of great food and great company at the end of which we arrive sated in every imaginable sense...
:@)
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