Ladies night

"Mm oh yeah,what a night", and team Casa Rosada played an away game!!!

It all began two and half months ago. I got a call from Andrew and Else, friends who manage villas.They had a proposition. An outside catering job in one of their villas.

Friday May 7th
We meet them for a drink at Porto Seguro, Joao´s bar in the Praia Verde resort. Joao , a native Braz ilian makes a mean caipirinha. This national cocktail of Brazil contains fruit, sugar and cachaca, also known here in Portugal as aguardente.Unbeknown to us Else went to the bar and ordered a second round. It was 8.pm low season and poor old Joao and Carole his wife had their coats on ready to close up. I found myself unsteady on my feet and wasn´t going to attempt driving the car even a short distance without some sustenance. Joao and Carole bless them proceeded to rustle up a familial dinner of prawns and garlic. I passed on the bottle of wine that was put on the table to accompany it....

The brief:
To cater a set dinner for ten women as part of a hen night celebration. Andrew assured us they were sophisticated clients, and not any old Club 18-30 malarkey. We agreed on a budget of €30 a head to include 1 bottle of wine per person.

Tuesday 11th May
Two menus composed and sent to Andrew for him to forward to the client.No vegetarians and no dietary requirements.
I had an inkling...." There may be trouble ahead".......

Tuesday 22nd June
Menus returned through Andrew. The client had ignored the request to choose one of the two menus, table d'hote style and decided to read it as an a la carte menu. Her order -

10 tapas starters

3 Roasted quail with ras al hanout cous cous and Moroccan carrot puree


3 Grilled lemongrass tenderloin of pork with ginger noodles


4 poached salmon and 3 bean salad with tomato basil and anchovy dressing


1o chocolate and brandy Bolo de bolacha maria ( portuguese cookie cake )


Thursday 24th June
Meet again with Andrew and Else at a networking menu tasting evening. They said they themselves had understood my table d´hote option quite clearly. I decide that I will proceed and cook three different main courses , in the light of the salmon being ordered by four people and the fact that the dish was cold, so could be prepared in advance and assembled at the villa. I took a bet with Andrew that they hadn´t realised the poached salmon would be a cold dish.

Friday July 9th
Site visit to the villa. Make notes. Everything in order.
It´ll be alright on the night!!!!

Monday July 19th
Return home (with stonking hangover after staying overnight at friends house,
as a result of a marathon celebration of my birthday the day before) to find email and phone message from Andrew informing us of client having asked him if we could cater breakfast and a barbecue lunch as well as dinner on Saturday!! The answer was NO. How could I shop, prepare and cook three course dinner for 10 if I was otherwise occupied in the villa all day?- However we said we would do a simple breakfast of fruit and yoghurt, coffe and juice,but absoutely not lunch.


Thursday July 22nd
client changes their mind again. Doesn't want breakfast or lunch now.


Saturday July 24th
8.00am - shopping in the market, butcher and fish stall. Home and relieved that we were not catering until the evening, so whole day ahead for prepping at ones own pace. What else could go wrong?!!!! - The arranged time for us to pitch up at the villa was 5.30, to set the table, organise the kitchen and get ready for the clients to sit down at 7.30.
Receive a call from Andrew at 1.30 to say the client now wanted to have dinner at 10.00 pm so would it be alright if we arrived at 8.00. No problem. Allowed time in the schedule for afternoon nap!!!

7.00pm - Showered, changed and packed the car up.

7.40pm - Set off a little hesitantly. No conversation between us on the ten minute journey!!!!

7.50pm -Arrive at the villa, Andrew and Else waiting outside for us. Unpack the car and install ouselves in kitchen amidst flurry of hens introducing themselves in Kaftans, beach towels and bikinis. Rap music blasting so loud it was making even the hen nite banners on the wall swing. Hens continue drinking. This is going to be no "dinner with gershwin." Set about cleaning kitchen , while Andrew transforms the back terrace from nothing to romantically lit dinner area.

9.00pm- two hens, dressed for more than dinner, plonk themselves on sofas in the open plan kitchen living area.
They inform us they are hungry and is the food ready. Our answer - Ready when you are. They become impatient with the rest of their party, who are still showering and doing beauty playground. Meanwhile I´m having kittens as every 10 minutes the power keeps blowing and plunging us into darkness, Not only that but the oven I´m trying to get to 180º
keeps zeroing itself every time the power fuses!!!- It was due to the air conditioning overloading the system when it was competing with the oven and extremely powerful extractor fan. Andrew finally turns it off, only for a hen to switch it on again.

10.00pm- I put the quail in the oven regardless. The high decibels of Whitney Houston, are now seriously testing my concentration.

10.10pm- 9 glamorous hens (They failed to tell us that one member of the party had dropped out) finally fall into their seats at the dinner table and start on the tapas. We have now decided we quite like them!!!While i´m cooking the main course one of the hens comes into the kitchen to get a bottle of hot sauce from the cupboard. - I am speechless.

10.30pm- we serve the main course- They ask Andrew why the salmon is cold. Andrew explains to them that poached salmon is normally served that way. - What did I say earlier? None of them can remember what dish they had ordered. The majority of the main courses were not eaten, so they were packed up in tupperware containers and put in the fridge. It materialised they had gone to the open air night club on Friday night and not returned home till 7am. If we had turned up with breakfast, as was once on the cards nobody would have been home. They had decided at 3.00pm to have a barbecue. So when it came to dinner and with 24 hours of high alcohol consumption behind them, all these lovely hens wanted was a few grains of corn perhaps. I should of made a bowl popcorn for the main course.

11.15pm - Even though they couldn´t eat their main courses, they were eager to be served the chocolate dessert. That´s girls for you!!!- not a morsel left, they had even devoured the orange garnish

12.10am- our job is done, order is restored in the kitchen and we bade the hens good night and a fond farewell!!!

"Salt and pepper to taste"

Salt pans of the sapal, Castro Marim

Understanding proportion and balance in cooking is the key to successful seasoning......

When you read a recipe, it invariably says "salt and pepper to taste", this sounds simple. No not simple at all - just exactly how much does this mean? Cooking is about proportion and balance, and seasoning plays an important part. Some recipes indicate a pinch of salt. What is a pinch? Two fingers go into my bowl of sea salt beside my cooker and scoop up some grains, but we are not all given the same size fingers. My fingers are slightly smaller than Clarissa Dickson Wright´s and may be half the size of Chef Ramsay, who knows? By the way never do this with wet fingers or you will scoop up much more than you intended!! Seasoning advice in recipes is only a guide. Proper seasoning comes with practice. I never measure seasoning, I add it instinctively . Everyone has a different palate, I dont hold with the idea that if a dish comes to the table perfectly seasoned in chef´s opinion, it is bad manners to add salt and pepper. You must do what you like according to your taste.I cant imagine eating savoury foods without salt and pepper.
Even Strawberries get some help from a little black pepper. Tomatoes can often do with a good kick start to encourage them, and salting sliced tomatoes in a colander can do no harm either.
Seasoning gives balance to a dish - even if something is overcooked, if it is seasoned correctly you can often get away with it. However if something is over salted, it can ruin the flavours. Seasoning should enhance the flavours of the food, not dominate the taste. Meat and fish should be salted before cooking otherwise as it seals during the cooking, it builds up a barrier against whatever you are adding to it. Adding a sprinkling of fresh herbs over a dish just before serving allows their flavour to come through strongly, whereas herbs added during cooking can get lost in a melee of flavours. When you are making a sauce, you season at the beginning and then taste it at the end and adjust it accordingly. There are some foods that require great care with salting, hams, some other cured meats and parmesan already have a salty taste. Mozzarella on the other hand needs coaxing in order to counteract its blandness. Salt is imperative when cooking polenta - it slows down the swelling process of the starch so that the flavour has time to develop and the liquid can be evenly absorbed. I always use coarse sea salt, but any salt is acceptable.The correct ratio is one teaspoon of coarse sea salt per cup measure of polenta, unless the recipe is for sweet polenta,in which case less is fine.If you use a processed table salt, add half a teaspoon in place of the one teaspoon of coarse sea salt
Always use good quality, natural unrefined rock or sea salt,( flor de sal ) because it caramelises and melts during cooking but does not add too much salty flavour.



Chilli salt and pepper squid with chorizo, tomatoes and new potatoes

This is an amalgam of recipes. Its roots are in Spanish cooking, but I have adapted
a recipe of Peter Gordons and combined it with a classic Rick Stein, and a bit of Donna Hay!!!


8 large squid, cleaned and separated into body and tentacles

150ml olive oil

8 large mild red chillies, seeded and sliced

1 Tablespoon  flor de sal

1 teaspoon roughly cracked black pepper

200g cooking chourico sliced at an angle into 8 pieces

2 ripe tomatoes cut in half

16 new potatoes scrubbed boiled and cut into halves

handful fresh parsley leaves

juice of one lemon

For this dish have your grill griddle or frying pan very hot.

Cut the squid in half lengthways from the pointed tail to the body cavity,
and then cut into eighths.
Combine the oil Chillies, salt and pepper. Heat a frying pan over high heat.
Add half the chilli mixture and cook for 1 minute. Add half the squid
pieces and cook for 2-3 minutes or until the squid turns opaque and just cooked through.
Remove from the pan and continue cooking with the same ingredients.The heat will make the body curl up, but don´t worry. Remove to a large warm plate and do the tentacles, which need about 30 seconds longer. Next fry the Chourico pieces for about 30 seconds on each side.
set aside on the warm plate with the squid. Fry the tomatoes for about a minute each side. Mix the potato with the parsley and divide between 4 plates. assemble the squid and tomatoes on top drizzling with some of the lemon juice and the remaining olive oil, Serve immediately garnished with rocket leaves



Strawberries with black pepper and balsamic
Serves 4 to 6.

Balsamic vinegar and black pepper intensify the flavor of strawberries and bring out their sweetness.. Only use the best balsamic vinegar



500g ripe strawberries, rinsed, hulled, and sliced

3 tablespoons sugar

1.5 tablespoons good-quality balsamic vinegar

Freshly ground coarse black pepper

Place the sliced berries in a medium non-reactive bowl (such as glass).

Sprinkle the berries with the sugar and balsamic vinegar, and toss gently to coat. Allow the berries to macerate in the vinegar and sugar mixture for about 15 minutes.
Add 4 to 5 grinds of coarse black pepper to the berries, and toss to coat. Allow the flavors to blend about 5 minutes more before serving.
Serve with home made ice cream, lavender creme fraiche or honeyed mascarpone

An invitation you can´t refuse?

Salmon which way?

K, so there's this girl at my school right, and we discussing the pronunciation of salmon right. Then, she made a bet with us that the correct way of saying salmon is -saL mon-, not -sa men-, as you would normally say it. but...no but yes but its cos its samen right...


Poached samon and three bean salad with tomato basil and anchovy dressing
This recipe is a development of what I came up with for my masterchef qualifying round back in 1996. I am serving it this weekend as one of three dishes for the prato principal ( main course ) of a hen party at a local villa rental
Serves 4

4 x 175g salmon
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons sea salt
1 teaspoon of Wynad peppercorns

FOR THE SALAD

3 cups cannelini or butter beans, drained and rinsed
250g broad beans
250g french beans or runner beans
6 samll pequillo peppers julienned
Fresh oregano , basil, parsley and thyme

FOR THE DRESSING - mix together

3 vine ripened tomatoes skinned deseeded and finely chopped
3 Anchovies finely chopped
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice ( approx. 2 limes)
1/4 cup virgin olive oil
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped

Place the salt, peppercorns and bay leaves in alarge deep frying pan with 5 cups( 40 fl oz )
of water and bring to the boil. Cook for 5 minutes then remove from the heat. add the salmon, cover and leave for 15 minutes. Remove he fish from the stock, carefully skin and break into strips or large chunks. Toss all the salad ingredients together in half the dressing. Plate up the salmon on a bed of the salad with the rest of the dressing poured over the top.

Take it as red

There is more to a tomato than being red. Grown in a good soil and fully ripened by the sun to a deep red on the vine, before picking, the tomato is an integral part of our daily cooking.
Today I picked the first salad tomatoes of the season.One of my strongest culinary memories was having a vine ripened tomato from my father´s modest little green house pressed to my nose, leaving an indelible impression on me of what real freshness was about.This was a time when seasons still dictated what we ate. When you pick a tomato, try this same test, twist and sniff as you remove it from the vine. This will give you an indication of how this tomato is going to perform for you.
There is nothing better than a salad of sweet vine ripened tomatoes, skinned, sliced and drizzled with virgin olive oil and a dash of lemon juice, sprinkled with sea salt and left for half an hour to marinate in the fridge. Serve with freshly torn basil leaves.Tonight on offer here was a light salad of tomatoes concasse ( diced tomato) new potatoes, broad beans, peas and feta cheese dressed with a mint and basil pesto.
In its raw state the tomato contains lycopenes anti carcenogenics that can inhibit or reverse the growth of cancerous tumours. Raw juicing is the optimum way to extract and obtain this life saving goodness, or so say the "food police" Try not to let boosting your Lycopene levels become an obsession. Getting yourself stressed over your food intake will become counter productive!!!!!!
Why not just enjoy the multitude of recipes you can concoct with raw tomatoes. Bruschetta, salsa,tricolore salad, and for a quick shot to the blood levels, Bloody Mary or Virgin Mary, or as a close friend once renamed it `The Portuguese Mary.`

Tomato bruschetta
Serves 4
8 slices of rustic country bread
4 garlic cloves
6-8 ripe tomatoes,diced
extra virgin olive oil for drizzling*
salt and pepper

Toast the slices of bread on both sides on the barbecue or under the grill.
rub them with garlic while they are still hot and put back on the barbecue for amoment.
Arrange the tomatoes on the bread. season with salt and pepper and "drizzle"* with olive oil.


Simple salsa of tomatoes, red onion and coriander

10 tomatoes topped and tailed, finely chopped
2 large or 3 small red onions
3 small dried chillis crushed
2 cloves of garlic
Handful of chopped fresh coriander
salt and pepper
a good drizzle* of olive oil
drizzle* of balsamic

* somebody come up with a new expression , please

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl with a wooden spoon and leave to marinate overnight
Add another handful of chopped fresh coriander before serving
This makes a great accompaniment to a dish of grilled squid or served with sliced avocado as a refreshing starter.

So why not put your feet up and knock up a Bloody Mary.The secret to a top notch Bloody Mary
is balancing the flavours of Tabasco sauce, Worcester sauce, celery salt and black pepper with the vodka and tomato juice. I think it is a very personal thing. You may prefer more or less Tabasco, or you may want to omit the celery salt altogether. The drink was invented at Harry´s New York Bar in Paris in 1921, by Fernand `Pete´Petiot, who was inspired by the Hollywood star Mary Pickford. Like most cocktails made with tomato juice, Bloody Mary is a reviver or pick me up. My personal feeling is that it is more of a restorative. I like to drink it with Eggs benedict on an American muffin, mid-morning after having over indulged the night before - So Hollywood!!!! " Blood Mary is the girl I love, now ain´t that too damn bad "

My recipe for the perfect Mary

50ml Vodka
2 dashes Worcester Sauce
Juice of half a lemon
2-3 dashes of Tabasco
150ml fresh or very good quality canned tomato juice
pinch of celery salt
black pepper

One third fill a glass with ice. Add the vodka, Worcester sauce, lemon juice, celery salt and Tabasco. Pour on the tomato juice, Stir vigorously then season with black pepper. Taste and adjust the seasonings.

The San Marzano´tomatoes, the cooking variety are a few weeks behind. Something to look forward to, and when they flourish the kitchen will be busy cooking sauces for the freezer, making tomato tarte tatins and later in the season sundrying and dry roasting. Finally at the end of the summer when the last few stragglers are failing to redden, jams and chutneys will be the order of the day.

Cardinal rules

Today every fruit stall in the market is stacked high with bunches of cardinal grapes. This variety is a perfect table grape for eating, seedless,with a beautiful sweetness and an ideal size for making raisins. I just can not entertain the thought of the christmas cake in 35º heat, but if needs must the kitchen planner says start drying fruit now. The apricots just didn´t happen this year so step up cardinal and get ready for sun drying treatment.
When carefully dried, they become raisins. Grapes can be crushed as a dessert topping. They can also be juiced for a luxurious and refreshing treat.Use them as attractive additions or centres of attention in fruit salads,tarts or as an accompaniment to a dessert.
Store grapes refrigerated as they are ripe when they are picked, and the high temperatures we are experiencing at the moment will cause them to wither or ferment. Under refrigeration, these grapes keep for up to two weeks

4 Quick ideas with CARDINAL GRAPES

1. For a fresh summer treat, freeze cardinal grapes until firm.
   
2. Great as an alternative to iceblocks on a hot day,
   
3. Serve them with thick natural yoghurt for breakfast or dessert.
4. For a fresh summer salad, combine watermelon cubes, cardinal grapes, sliced plums and nectarines and peaches. Drizzle with a little honey just before serving.

Remember you heard it through the grapevine at Casa Rosada

Almost the fields of Piedmont

Tomates sem basilico? - Unimaginable. The heady perfume that wafts the air as you brush past Basil is unparallelled.

An emerald forest in terracotta pots. Grown from seed our basil has flourished this year, giving us a bumper crop that if cut constantly and in the right way will keep the kitchen busy for the next couple of months. The basil will season much of our summer food here at Casa Rosada. It will accompany home grown tomatoes, home cured anchovies, sardine fillets and grilled fish spattered with fresh basil oil. Pestos every which way, fresh goats cheese and some scentsational salads.
It is the heart and soul of pesto. Its deep emerald leaves infuse olive oil to finish off a bowl of samarejo( Cordoban gazpacho) and a robust white fish steak such as Corvina comes alive when drizzled with this vibrant green emulsion.
In Portugal we have manjericos,a smaller leafed variety and a taste a little more towards aniseed.
The manjerico is strongly associated with the feast of St. Anthony, held on June 13. It is known as Saint Anthony´s manjerico: the lovers flower.The streets are decorated in bright colours and are full of people partying and dancing into the night.Bush basils (manjericos ) are found for sale on every corner. The tradition is that boyfriends should offer a Manjerico to their girlfriends. These bring a little flag with a verse on it, a little like fortune cookies or in Italy Baci chocolates. These potted bushes smell like basil but you should first touch it and then smell your hand, otherwise it may die!!!!

How to cope with a bounty full of basil.

BASIL OIL
100g basil leaves
250ml best quality extra virgin olive oil
a few extra basil leaves
Blanch the basil leaves in boiling water for five seconds, then drain and refresh with cold water. Squeeze it dry, then liqidise with the olive oil, Decant, add the few extra basil leaves and refrigerate until ready to use.

SALSA VERDE
Pound basil leaves with half the quantity of mint and parsley, some anchovies and capers, then blend to a verdant sauce with lemon juice and olive oil. Eh voila, in minutes a perfect accompaniment to cold pork or chicken.

FOR A SIMPLE SUMMER SUPPER
Coarsely tear up some cooked chicken breasts, put them in a bowl and add plentiful torn basil, ( torn because the meeting of knife and basil leaf ends in bruising, and god forbid you dont want a little bruiser ruining your salad) chopped mint and rocket. Mix together well with lemon juice. Tip the resulting mixture into a salad bowl of pre-cooked cous cous. Stir in extra virgin olive oil, more lemon juice , salt and pepper. Serve immediately

Los paraguayos - the user friendly peaches

These gorgeous little confection like fruits get my vote every summer.
They are marketed under different names. Here in Portugal and Spain, they are known as Paraguayos. Their most common labelling is the Doughnut peach, because of their shape.
I have even heard that Tesco in the UK are marketing them in long flat boxes like those used for doughnuts!!! ( Well if it becomes a fun new way to encourage children to eat their five a day, I´m all for it).
They are also known as `bagel peaches´, `saucer peaches´ and `saturn peaches´, all relating to to the resemblance they give. Flat peaches were first grown in China in the 19th century and called Pan Tao peaches.

TEN REASONS THAT GOT ME MY FLAT PEACH ADDICTION

1. They are sweeter than other peaches

2. They have a delicious hint of almond about them.

3. They taste more delicious than any other peach variety I know.

4.They have less acid.

5.The flesh comes away from the stone easily.

6.Because of their size they can be eaten in your hand,

7.Their thin skin is less furry than other peaches so they can be eaten with the skin on,
thats if you want to spill juice all down your front!!!

8. If you prefer to peel them the skin comes away easily.

9. Because of their shape they are easily segmented into quarters.

10. They make my life so easy when preparing the breakfast at Casa Rosada

Easy peasy pesto fresco!!!!

When its 34º you need a light supper or tapas starter that is cool and refreshing.This pesto has to be the easiest and quickest no nonsense component of a simple weekday supper.
I have used dry roasted peanuts instead of the traditional pine nuts normally used in pesto
Once you´ve made this its up to you to decide what to serve it with.
This is what we did with it at Casa Rosada.

Squid pota or octopus salad
with coriander ginger mint and basil pesto

500g cooked pota ,squid or octopus
rocket leaves to serve

FOR THE PESTO

1 cup fresh mint leaves
1 cup coriander
1 cup basil leaves
2" cube of ginger peeled and chopped
half a cup of dry roasted peanuts
half a cup of freshly squeezed lime juice ( approx. 2 limes )
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
sea salt to taste

Blend all together in a processor. Adjust the texture to make it thinner by adding more olive oil and lime juice until you reach a desired consistency. The fresh kick you get out of this is truly amazing.Toss your choice of fish in the pesto and serve on a mound of rocket leaves.

Variation on the theme

Cannelini bean salad
Noodle salad
Prawn salad with beans
Chicken rocket and chinese leaf salad

Still life with still lemonade

I need a refreshing drink on hand in this weather so today I have bottled some home made
lemonade. This is a recipe handed down to me by my dear mother. The only thing I have changed is the sugar content. My mother was hooked on war time rations and economy so used saccharin tablets. I have converted this to sugar, but left her original version in brackets for you to see.

Mum´s home made lemonade

( Makes 1.75 litres ) 3 pints

6 Large Lemons
150g ( 5oz ) granulated sugar ( 30mg saccharin 2x 15mg tablets )

Thinly pare the outer zest of 3 of the lemons
Using a zester or potato peeler.

Make sure you have no white pith as this will
make the lemonade taste bitter.

Put the zest in a large bowl and add the squeezed juice
Of all the lemons and the sugar.
Pour in 1.5 litres of boiling water ( I use bottled )
Stir well, cover and leave overnight in a cool place.

Next day stir again then strain through a sieve.
Pour into bottles and chill thoroughly

Pull up a sun lounger in the shade of the garden, and nod off on your Dick Francis