Radicchio Salad

I blogged about Orangette's wonderful read, and the accompanying recipes before. I haven't yet (cross fingers!) attempted a recipe of hers that doesn't work like a dream. Not only have they been a cinch to put together, they have always been packed with flavor. Her Radicchio Salad with Garlic and Black Pepper epitomises this beautifully.

Using a sharp mandolin (not sure why you would keep a blunt one anyway), thinly shred a small head of radicchio. Mix 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and olive oil each, to a minced clove of garlic and a dash of black pepper. Pick up a shred of radicchio, dip it into the dressing and eat it. Adjust dressing if necessary - I added just a tad more lemon juice and olive oil for a more luscious coating to each shred. Serve with parmesan shavings and tuck in!

When salad gets boring, and Thomas Keller

My favourite addition to salads has got to be fried haloumi cheese. You get a beautifully crispy crust and totally awesome salty molten cheese that makes any boring old salad alive again. Best results come with sufficient oil - something I learnt not to stinge on from Thomas Keller's latest cookbook "Ad Hoc".

I haven't tried any of his recipes but the book has been an exciting read so far. Yes, I'm one of those freaks who actually reads cookbooks from cover to cover within a day. Meanwhile, the copy of Milton Friedman's 'Capitalism and Freedom' has been sitting on my desk for the longest time and I'm barely past chapter 2. I barter traded reading a book for my boss to watch a video I thought would change her life. It was a 3 part 20 min Youtube video and I now realise I got the shorter end of the stick.

Anyway, back to the book. I love the conversational tone in the book and all the little tips Thomas Keller added. I was worried the recipes would still be somewhat fussy but was significantly relieved when I read the part about not being silly about having to cut carrots into perfect batons. I hope to try one of the recipes soon - CH already has and gave awesome reviews. I'm also still working towards visiting Per Se and The French Laundry someday, soon.

Tender Tentacles

The other is simply boiled and served with a gentle squeeze of lemon. This was not the first time I tried the recipe for Galician Octopus, and it was even more delicious than I remembered it to be. Soft, tender octopus with just the right amount of bounce in its meat; tossed through a scrumptiously tangy and sweet dressing; what's not to love?

I made a little extra and spooned it over cruncy baby spinach, but alas it was still not enough to satiate my guests. They wanted more! They wanted bread to soak up all the juices!
The recipe for the dressing is reminiscent of the usual salad dressing I concoct for lazy/fat nights. But who would have known that jazzing it up with some smoked paprika and thinly sliced red onions would have made that much of a difference?

I'm adding red onions to my list of staples!

Simple Pleasures

How many times have I said 'Alright, today I shall bake a tart!'. Just in the past week alone, I must have said those 7 magic words at least 50 times. Ever since I became the proud owner of a gorgeous cookbook all about tarts (Eric Kayser's Sweet and Savoury Tart), I keep telling myself I really have to get down to baking the handsome Parma Ham and Pear tart. Or even the Bacon and Mushroom Quiche.

Unfortunately, I STILL haven't gotten down to it.

Instead, I succumbed to preparing far simpler dishes. None of the fiddly-diddly dough-kneading, even though the tarts seriously look finger-licking good. Perhaps tonight, tonight!

Many people overestimate the amount of work that is needed for cooking in general, and especially for food that looks fit for the cover of Donna Hay. Alas, it is not true! The effortlessness of wrapping bacon around a piece of chicken thigh, baking it at 180 degrees celcius for about 20-30 mins or until the middle registers 70 degrees celcius then garnishing it with chopped parsley, cannot be ignored.

The bacon bathes the chicken in its flavourful juices and protects it from the harsh heat in the oven hence keeping it moist. Pair it with a big serving of salad tossed in balsamic vinegar and olive oil, and it'd be a meal fit for... well in this case, me.

On another gloriously bright Saturday morning, the day called for something humbly plain. A pack of pork sausages, onions, hotdog buns, strawberries, lettuce and haloumi cheese later, I put together one of my all-time favourite salads, and made some sweet onion relish to complement a couple of hotdogs. 'Delicious' wouldn't even begin to describe it. Beautiful company with such a pure meal made that Saturday one of my most memorable Saturdays ever.

On the single rare occasion I actually bothered to put in just a little more effort, I had 8 spectacular pieces of lamb cutlets to thank for the blast of inspiration. Spotted in the meat section of Cold Storage one very innocent Sunday morning while grocery shopping, I could not peel my eyes off them and found my hands inexplicably wrapped around them shortly after. Somehow, somewhere, they ended up in the chiller section of my refrigerator, coated in a mixture of cumin, mustard seeds and black pepper all freshly pound in my under-used mortar and pestle.

After spending some tender-loving time in the frying pan with just a spot of olive oil, they were served with couscous (dried mint, lemon juice, salt, pepper and dried cranberries soaked in some hot water) and baby spinach salad (balsamic vinegar, olive oil, sugar, raisins, haloumi cheese).

The lamb cutlets (at about 65 degrees celcius on the meat thermometer) had only the faintest hint of pink and were succulent to the last bite. The combination of spices also fortuitously worked marvellously well with the lamb. It imparted an earthiness that complemented the natural gamey flavour one would find in lamb. The tangy and crunchy salad, together with the fluffy couscous grains were side dishes the lamb cutlets were certainly most proud to be placed next to. Or actually, sandwiched between.

Perhaps all I need is to make more grocery shopping trips, and wait for the inspiration to come. But in the meantime, I don't see much wrong with simple pleasures, or pleasures simply put-together.

Alright, today I shall bake a tart!

And now at a street near you!

There are days when all you want is a big bowl of meepok, extra chilli, extra black vinegar. There are days when you know you wouldn't make it through the day if you don't get your hands on some chocolate fudge cake within the next half hour. And then there are those days when you're really looking forward to winding down the day with a big, huge bowl of crisp leafy salad tossed in some ultra-light but tasty dressing. Something 'light, plentiful and delicious'.

I had been searching for this elusive bowl of salad, a bowl that would be substantial enough to be an entire meal in itself. But more often than not, the salads I found were tiny little pretentious fistfuls placed in the middle of a big plate. In the worst of occasions, they were not well-dressed having been tossed in some oil-based dressing when the salad had not been completely dry, causing the dressing to slip off callously.

By sheer accident however, I chanced upon the ONE. I was with a couple of friends for some drinks after work one day and wasn't in the mood for the usual pub grub of ribs, sausages or mash. So I ordered a healthy sounding Soba Noodle Salad despite the seemingly hefty price tag on it. It arrived with great aplomb, and upon the first bite convinced me to willingly part with every dollar I forked out for the bill.

Soba Noodle Salad Takeaway

Such a contradiction of worlds, to have found such a fantastic bowl of salad in Brewerkz of all places. Before then, I would never have stepped into it because of the wanna-be vibe I got just from itz name. But I've been a faithful customer, bringing groups of friends there for 'drinks', however only ordering salad and water. Sure, I felt a little out of place, but it's that good. Even my mum raves about it now.

I was over the moon when I found out Brewerkz opened another outlet along Bukit Timah Road. Among the other outlets, this is its smallest, which explains a more limited menu. But all the westies would be happy to know that the Soba Noodle Salad is on the menu.

Lately, I discovered a couple of new, wonderful eateries near my home in the western part of Singapore. One of which has been blogged about by CH recently, that I've become a regular at together with my family. It's always nice to know that the ride home after dinner is a mere 5 minutes away, and not a 10-minute-walk-to-the-carpark-then-a-30-minute-drive away. More good news to come for all the westies out there!

Update (May): I visited the Bukit Timah outlet recently and ordered what else but the soba noodle salad, but was disappointed by the portion and the dressing that lacked oomph. I hope it's a teething issue!