Tag: Vegetables

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Ramen Love With You

Ramen

I, like most people, am a huge ramen fan; it’s simple make up, warming qualities and intense Asian flavours just tick all the right boxes for me. It really is no wonder that since it’s invention in the early 1900s, that it has become one of the world’s most popular dishes. Indeed, in Japan each region has its own distinctive ramen variations  rangeing from Northern Japan’s iconic pork bone broth variety to the South’s miso ramen.

While I really do appreciate the time and effort that goes into creating a traditional ramen, sometimes I simply can’t wait more than twenty-four hours for my broth to intensify! As a resolution, I have put the following recipe together for a quick and very simple pork-belly and egg noodle mid-week ramen supper. (I apologise in advance for all the ramen rules I’m breaking, and if this recipe even qualifies as a ramen – but I made it for a few friends a few weeks ago and they weren’t complaining!)

Pork Belly Ramen

Pork Belly Ramen, Serves 4

INGREDIENTS
For the broth
2 tbsp Mirin
150 ml of Dark Soy Sauce
2 Garlic Cloves
1 thumb sized piece of Ginger
1 tbsp Muscovado Sugar
2 Litres of good quality Chicken Stock
4 Spring Onions

For the Ramen
750g Pork Belly
1 tsp Crushed Chilli Flakes
4 Eggs
250g Egg Noodles
A small handful of Coriander

METHOD
Begin by slicing the pork belly into quarters and bake in the oven at 180°C on a baking tray with a drizzle of soy sauce and sprinkling of crushed chilli flakes. This will need baking for about 30 minutes or until fully cooked through.

To make the broth, heat the mirin and soy sauce in wok and slowly bring to the boil. Once boiling grate in the ginger, add the garlic finely sliced and stir in the muscovado sugar so that it all dissolves. Leave the mixture simmering for a further 5 minutes. Next add the chicken stock and spring onions, finely sliced, and leave simmering.

While your broth is simmering away, place a large saucepan of water over some heat until boiling, to this pan add both your noodles and eggs. Remove both after four minutes exactly and place in a waiting bowl of cold water. Leave to cool. Once cooled, carefully peel your now soft-boiled eggs.

Taking four deep-dished bowls, evenly divide up the noodles between each. To this add an even amount of pork belly. Next top your bowl up with the broth, slice the eggs in half and float in the broth. Finish with a sprinkling of coriander, a drizzle of soy sauce and extra chilli flakes if you want to spice things up.

There you have it, my super easy but super tasty Ramen – and done in a flash!

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Dough, Bath

Dough Bath Review

Having been set up by two native Southern Italians last summer, Bath’s newest pizzeria promises to deliver a truly authentic slice. More than this, Dough’s mission is to challenge common pizza conceptions; whilst there are numerous debates over toppings, how often do you find yourself questioning the base of your pizza? 

And that is exactly what you will find yourself doing as soon as you’ve sat down at Dough. Expressing their aim through the catchy phrase; It’s all about the base, it is unsurprising that as soon as you open your menu you are faced with no less than seven different pizza doughs to choose from. 

These doughs range from a simple multigrain base, right through a Turmeric infused dough and even a ‘Grano Arso’ or ‘burnt grain.’ Although rather crude sounding, the latter actually has origins stemming from rural poverty that was rife in 19th century Italy where the peasants – too poor to afford flour – used to sweep up and use the grains burnt from the harvesting machines.

Dough’s waiting team we’re polite helpful and incredible knowledgeable. Ours was all to keen to offer insight and guidance to which pizza to pair with which dough and with as much adeptness as your high-end someiller!

To view Dough’s menu in full, please click here: http://doughpizzarestaurant.co.uk/menu/

The overall effect of Emiliano Tunno and Massimo Nucaro’s brainchild is excitement. As soon as you walk into Dough you are instantaneously delighted. Welcomed by the almost theatrical nature of the open kitchen, the light, simple and smart decor that comes equipped with subtle nods towards its Italian parentage via cool monochromatic photographs offers a point of direct refreshment to Bath’s quintessentially Georgian surroundings. Especially being sandwiched between the famous Corridor in Bath and the historic Northumberland Place. 

Dough Bath Review
Photo courtesy of Dough: http://doughpizzarestaurant.co.uk/gallery

The restaurant itself is spacious without feeling too intimate. Bare bulb pendant light fittings, simple wooden tables, exposed piping, an open pizza kitchen and a metallic-charcoal wall that is emblazoned with a large brass ‘Dough,’ all combine to create a clever atmosphere that is an astute crossover of authentic rustic Italian and modern cosmopolitan eating.

Emiliano comfortably takes centre stage in the kitchen and there is no missing him; he’s the one twirling and spinning pizza dough in mesmerising shapes several feet above himself in the open kitchen! And that seems a perfect metaphor for Dough which, for me, is marking a brave new spin on one of the world’s favourite dishes.

Dough Bath Review
Photo courtesy of Dough: http://doughpizzarestaurant.co.uk/gallery

 

When my ‘Smokey’ pizza arrived – tomato sauce, mozzarella, speck (smoked prosciutto), smoked mozzarella and rosemary – it looked quite simply perfect.

Dough Bath Review
The Smokey and The Napoletana

The sparing use of ingredients let the rich tomato sauce sing through under delicately sliced and appetisingly pinked speck – not done any justice in my above photo! Just as well as Massimo takes great pride and time in selecting all of Dough’s produce – the most of which comes straight from the pairs’ hometowns in Southern Italy. 

The overall flavour was one of oak, earth and fire. The Rosemary served as a clever fresh twist at the end. The Grano Arso base which was grey in appearance really heightened the whole experience. Crisp, bubbly and slightly chewy it was all you want from a base. Its taste was subtly bitter which made it the perfect vehicle for the toppings. 

I can, in all honesty, say – bar my recent trip to Venice – that it was one of the best pizzas I’ve had in a while! It was light and scant of any overwhelming oily or greasy nature. Afterwards, you didn’t feel stodgy or over indulged, you felt satisfied and content. 

I thoroughly enjoyed my trip to Dough and taste of Emiliano Tunno and Massimo Nucaro’s one of a kind pizzas. They really are true pioneers who are carving themselves out their very own niche in the world of pizza – a world which up until very recently I believed to be crowded, saturated and overdone. Its so wonderfully refreshing to see Dough thinking and cooking in new and exciting ways.

My one suggestion – Dough, if you’re reading this – would be to introduce a starter where you can sample all the doughs before you order; perhaps a ‘Dough’s ball dish‘ with a garlic dipping sauce. 

Having said that, without such, I’ll defiantly be returning at least six times to try the rest!

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Munchkin, Squash and Chorizo Soup: Recipe

Munchkin, Squash and Chorizo Soup

As the nights seem to have already completely drawn in and temperatures are plummeting by the day, I know I am not only speaking for myself when I say that the hunt is well and truly on to find those warmth sustaining recipes to see us through till spring.

Luckily for those still on the hunt, this is one such recipe.

I’ll be honest, up until very recently I was under the firm impression that a munchkin, was the name for a small jolly fellow living somewhere over the rainbow. It appears I’d be mistaken for believing that this is the sole meaning of the word. In fact, it turns out, a munchkin is also the term for a little pumpkin. I wasn’t that wrong then, both being small jolly fellows and all that!

Anyway, back to the food, this recipe drew inspiration from bonfire night where that post-halloween pumpkin soup and hot dogs seem to be a universally agreed menu at every November 5th Firework party. This got me thinking as being a self-confessed pig I am by my very nature terrible at choosing between foods, and instead much prefer ‘and’ to ‘or.’ In the same way, on bonfire night I can never make my mind up, soup or dogs, dogs or soup? But should I really have to choose?

Well my friends, no longer! I have seamlessly combined the two to make a cockle-warming, nose-clearing and dam right filling soup. Simple and tasty this works perfectly in all situations; firework displays, dinner parties, winter walks, those snuffly bed bound days and it even serves as the ideal partner to brighten any grim Monday desk lunch!

So here it for all to use – I’d love to hear your feedback on it, either here or on Twitter or Instagram.

INGREDIENTS

1 butternut squash – cored, peeled and chopped into squares
1 Munchkin –  – cored, peeled and chopped into squares
1 Red pepper
1 red onion
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried sage
3 tsp of crushed chillies
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1.2 litres (2 pints) stock (either chicken or vegetable)
150ml double cream
Salt and black pepper
150g good-quality smoked chorizo

METHOD

Firstly Preheat your oven to 180°C. One you have peeled and deseeded the munchkin and squash and chopped both into rough chunks place them in a roasting dish. Next deseed and slice up the pepper and place this in too. Drizzle the tray in olive oil, a sprinkling of salt and pepper and add the sage and half the cumin. Cover with tin foil and place in the oven to roast for around 40 minutes or until soft.

Next, chop and fry the chorizo in a heavy based sauce pan. Once beginning to crisp, peel and chop the onion and garlic and add to the pan. After the onion has softened add the roasted squash, munchkin and pepper. To this, add the chillies and remaining cumin. Once combined, pour in the stock, and simmer for 25 minutes.

Once this time is up, blend the soup until smooth using a stick blender, then add in the cream and taste for seasoning.

When you are ready to serve the soup, sprinkle on roasted munchkin seeds that have been tossed in cumin and if you have any remaining chorizo, fry it off into little lardons – these make the perfect garnish!