07 October 2006

Easy peasy lunch


I had planned for a girlfriend to come over to my place for a good, long talk for old time's sake. She was a senior of mine at Warwick and we used to have chats that would run into the wee hours of the morning about everything from life to God to us. Lunch was to be at my place and, having just laid hands on a lovely Indigo coloured 20cm Staub Cocotte, I chose to prepare a quick chicken dish that would be a cinch to prepare with the cocotte.

Marinated with the same One Thousand and One Nights spice blend (Tarragon, Bear's Garlic, Rose petals, Cloves, Cumin, Peppercorns, Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Fenugreek, Star Anise, Ginger, Cardamom, Coriander, Onion, Garlic, Bay leaf, Celery and Salt) I used before, with just a little bit of olive oil, it was seared to a healthy shade of brown then left with the self-basting cover on for just 15 minutes. It came out perfectly juicy and flavourful, while the remnant sauce in the pot was wiped clean by my girlfriend with a slice of bread. JM Thiercelin definitely does this spice blend temptingly well.

To accompany it, I chose a truffle-oil based sauce to dress the salad (mixed greens and red, carrots and walnuts).

White Truffle Salad Dressing
Serves 2-3

Ingredients

150 g mixed salad
a handful of baby carrots
a handful of Californian walnuts
1 ½ tsp Dijon mustard
2 tbspn white truffle oil
1 tbspn olive oil
½ tsp truffle vinegar
a pinch of vanilla salt
½ - 1 tbspn water

Method
Whisk mustard, truffle oil, olive oil, truffle vinegar and salt together.
Add up to 1 tbspn water to achieve the right consistency then toss green salad in dressing.
Top with carrots and walnuts then serve.


As we shared sob stories about our healthily painful lives (we all need a little dose of pain occasionally, so we figured), I couldn't help but cradle Moka for some comfort as well as show him off at the same time. This warm and fuzzy bundle makes me feel like a kitchen-crazy proud mama now. But no, he's never going to end up on my stove, ever.

4 comments:

fe li ci a said...

waah.. the more you mention Cocoa being on the stove ... the more it creates images in my heaad maaaaaaaan......stooooooooooooop.

hahahahaha... oh no... looking at you cuddling Cocoa.. now i abit scared go see you. i'm not a fan of animals laaa.. and i almost never touch animals willingly. heheeheh...

Anonymous said...

hi..i was wondering whether do you know where to get fresh herbs such as rosemary, thyme, coriander back in singapore???

and i love your bunny..i used to keep bunnies while growing up but then they tend to escape from my clutches.. :(

Anonymous said...

fel> MOKA, not COCOA! Excuse me! And cuddling animals is so nice! How could you not enjoy that???

Bel> Hi, your best bet for fresh herbs like rosemary, thyme and coriander would be at Chia's vegetable supply stall in Tekka Market near Little India. Just walk around the wet market and listen out for strains of jazz or bossanova then follow that.

Failing which (if you can't find it or they don't have them by some freak chance) then you should head over to Jason's Market place at the basement of Raffles' City Shopping Centre. Good luck!

Anonymous said...

You cut your hair and lost your tan!

;P