Recipes

Melting Chocolate Cakelets

Serves six

Ingredients:
1/4 lb Caribbean dark, unsweetened chocolate
1/4 lb butter
2 tablespoons plain white flour
3 eggs
1 cup fine sugar
Butter and semolina to grease ramekins
6 tinfoil ramekins

Method:

• Melt chocolate together with the butter
• Fold in the egg yolks, sugar and flour and blend until the mixture is smooth
• Whisk the egg whites until stiff and add to the chocolate mixture
• Grease the ramekins with butter and sprinkle with a film of semolina to prevent sticking
• Fill with the chocolate mixture and chill in the refrigerator for one hour
• To set, bake in a medium-hot oven (200°) for six to seven minutes

'Orecchiette' Pasta with Fresh Clams and Courgette Flower Sauce

Serves four

Ingredients:
2 lbs fresh clams
1 clove garlic
1 chopped shallot
A sprig of thyme
Parsley
A glass of dry white wine
1 courgette
1/2 cup tomato pulp
16 courgette flowers
Extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup fish stock

Orecchiette ('small ears') pasta
8 oz flour
2 oz durum wheat flour
2 cups water
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Method:

• Clean the clams carefully under running water
• To open, cook them gently in a pan with the olive oil, shallot, thyme and parsley
• Add the white wine and fish stock, cover the pan and continue cooking until most of the clams open, discarding those that remain shut
• Remove the clams from their shells and strain the pan juices
• Slice the courgette into fine strips and shred the courgette flowers, removing the stalks
• Cook over a low heat in a large frying pan with a little extra virgin olive oil
• Add the clams, the juices in which they have been cooked and the tomato pulp, roughly chopped
• Add the drained orecchiette pasta, previously cooked in a large pan of salted water, trickle on a little olive oil and toss over a vigorous heat, mixing well together

For the Orecchiette:

• Working on a cool slab, form the flour into a pyramid shape and add water and olive oil
• Mix and knead to form a dough and allow to stand for half an hour
• Pull pieces from the dough, roll them into small 1/2" balls and, using a knife, flatten and twist each one to form a 'little ear' shape

Sauté of Tender Young Vegetables Flavoured with Black Truffles

Serves four

Ingredients:
1/4 lb baby carrots
1/4 lb tiny corn cobs
1/4 lb small turnips
1/4 lb snow peas
1/4 lb asparagus
1/4 lb baby leeks
1/4 lb fennel
1/4 cup grated black truffle
Extra virgin olive oil
1 pint vegetable stock
1 chopped shallot
1 clove garlic

2 sheets filo pastry

Method:

• Clean and wash all vegetables
• Blanch in salt water to which a little lemon juice has been added
• In a pan, gently simmer the shallot, garlic and previously grated truffle
• Add the vegetables
• Gradually add the vegetable stock and allow to cook for ten minutes
• On a floured surface, roll out the filo pastry into several layers and bake in a hot oven (220-230°) for about ten minutes
• Allow the wafers to cool, then gently form into a cup shape
• Fix this cup to the serving dish with a small dab of creamed potato, an excellent natural 'glue' in cooking
• Arrange the vegetable strips tastefully upright inside the cup

Spicy Rack of Lamb with Sweet and Sour Caponatina

Serves four

Ingredients:
1-1/2 lbs rack of lamb (best end of neck)
Handful of mixed spices (cardamom, pepper, juniper berries, coriander)
1 unpeeled garlic clove
1 shallot
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt to taste
1 cup cooked lamb juices

4 baby bell peppers
1 large bell pepper
2 courgettes
1 aubergine
1/2 cup pine nuts
2 tablespoons raisins
1 glass white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
Extra virgin olive oil

Method:

• Scrape clean the cutlet bones, score the fat part of the lamb with a knife so that it will be crunchy when cooked
• In a cast-iron pan, brown the meat in a little extra virgin olive oil together with the spices, garlic and shallot
• Bake in a medium oven (180°) for about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside

Slice the meat onto a serving dish and serve with its own gravy and the caponatina.

For the Caponatina:

• Clean the large bell pepper and aubergine and cut into cubes
• Wash the courgettes and dice, discarding the seeds
• In a non-stick pan, toss each vegetable separately in a little olive oil as different cooking times are required. Drain the vegetables of any excess fat
• In a large steel pan, caramelise the sugar and drench with white wine vinegar so as to form a dense syrup
• Add the vegetables, raisins and the previously toasted pine nuts
• Clean and wash the baby bell peppers and drop them into the deep fat fryer
• Drain them of excess fat, cut open the top and fill with the nutty vegetable-fruit mixture, known as a caponatina.