Mushroom Cappuccino

        A couple of weeks ago, as I finally made the recipe catalog for my blog, my husband – on looking at the page with the soups – frowned: “And where is mushroom cappuccino?!” There was a good reason for his bewilderment: I cook this dish pretty often, probably, even once a week, because, first of all, my husband really loves it and, second, it’s very easy to make. This second reason in fact has always stopped me from putting the recipe in the blog: it seemed to be too simple and too ordinary.

         On giving it a thorough thought, however, I came to the conclusion that this soup can’t but appear in the blog. It is a fool proof variant of a beautiful dish that can be served as a starter at a very formal dinner party or as a light yet nourishing lunch on an ordinary week day. It is the dish that can be found on the menu of most of the restaurants – whether you will go to a small eatery or a posh place at a five-star hotel. It is the meal that is cooked in almost all home kitchens – experienced grandmothers and even not very strong amateur cooks manage to nail it. It is a creamy treat with earthy aroma that is enjoyed by lots of people around the world – both by unpretentious foodies and demanding gourmets. Does it mean that I can’t put a recipe of “yet another mushroom soup” here? I don’t think so! On the contrary, I feel obliged to share the recipe of one of my favourite soups – and a warm garlic and parmesan toast – that always accompanies mushroom cappuccino at our home!

Fish Checkerboard with Rice Cream and Mushroom Fumet

         Last year Alessandro Pavoni, the chef and owner of a one hat restaurant Ormeggio  in Sydney, appeared a few times on Masterchef Australia Series 3 – mostly to take part in the so called “immunity challenges” where the amateur cooks compete against professional chefs for the right to win immunity from elimination rounds of the show. One of the signature dishes that Alessandro once brought to the Masterchef kitchen was Cuttlefish checkerboard. It looked so impressive that I started to think of the ways to reproduce the dish at home.

            From the very beginning I decided to substitute cuttlefish with plain white fish which is more readily available in the local markets (and enjoyed more in our family!). The question was how to make it black. Needless to say, it’s next to impossible to get the squid ink (which is used in the original recipe) in Kolkata. I wanted to find a black food condiment that could be used for “painting” the fish – just the same way as I did for creating fish “braid” – but I failed, so I had to leave the idea of making Pavoni’s dish for a while.

            This year, however, when a friend from Italy brought me a jar of Tartufona – thick bread spread made with black truffles – I realized that I can eventually make my “checkerboard”. In order to stress the earthy flavour of truffles I substituted the calamari broth with mushroom fumet. Looking at my serving plate I couldn’t but admit that’s it’s totally a fusion dish: pieces of fish marinated in Italian truffle paste, served on a bed of Indian basmati rice cream with traditional French fumet. It is amazing sometimes to see how different elements combine and merge to form a sheer delight on the plate!

Scone Festival

         Audax Artifex was our January 2012 Daring Bakers’ host. Aud worked tirelessly to master light and fluffy scones (a/k/a biscuits) to help us create delicious and perfect batches in our own kitchens!

I've never made the scones before but they were always on my list of “trying-to-cook-one-day dishes”. It turned out that they are very easy to make, fast to bake and – amazingly – very versatile! These small biscuits can be savory and sweet, with any kind of added ingredients, and can be served as a tea/coffee accomplishments, as a cocktail snack or as a side for a main course.

As Audax provided us not only with the detailed instructions for making the perfect scones, but with the links to the recipes of scone variations as well, I couldn’t resist a temptation to visit my all-time favourite web-resource where I discovered the dishes that use basic scone dough for creating something new. I got really inspired to cook quite a number of different things and it turned out that during this month’s challenge I made a journey around the world!

Trilogy of Mushrooms

         There is always a story behind any dish: it may be romantic, funny, nostalgic, mysterious and – sometimes – unbelievable. Here is one.

            Once I decided to have a cup of tea at the lounge of a five-star hotel while I was waiting for my husband to come. I headed to the restroom to wash my hands first and as I was about to leave it, I caught a sight of some books and magazines on a coffee table (yes, there was a coffee table in the restroom…and a sofa, by the way). One of the huge volumes was a collection of the best vegetarian dishes served at the hotel chain throughout the country. Of course, I couldn’t resist sneaking peek into it. The book was amazing: full of spectacular pictures and mouth-watering dishes, with the detailed recipes included. My attention was drawn to an appetizer called “Trilogy of Mushroom” – a dish of, probably, the most well-known Indian Chef Hemant Oberoi. I loved the idea of putting three elements together: a stuffed mushroom, a mushroom toast and mushroom crème-brulee. I knew that it wouldn’t be a problem for me to stuff a mushroom and to make a toast but I definitely needed the guidance for a savory crème brulee. As I tool a notebook and a pen out of my bag (planning to rewrite the recipe quickly) a girl walked into the restroom. She misinterpreted the look of an enthusiastic cook with the look of a hungry person and, assuming that my date hadn’t come and I was left all alone, without any opportunity to have a proper lunch, – offered me some help. I realized that I actually looked weird: sitting in a restroom, looking through a cookbook – so I felt that I owe her an explanation. To say true, she didn’t quite believe me when I told her about my food blog – in her opinion, I am too skinny for a good cook. Anyway, we sort of made friends with that girl and even went to have tea at the lounge together (you can’t carry on a conversation in the restroom, can you?).

            As far as the dish is concerned, I recreated it that same week. I had just got a blow torch and was eager to use it in action! So, a savory brulee was made, together with simplified versions of a toast and a stuffed mushroom (Hemant Oberoi used different types of mushrooms while I had an access only to one). 

            The story, however, does not end here. A few weeks later, without any explanation, that book was sent to our office on my husband’s name (do they have cameras in the restrooms?!). Well, probably, one shouldn’t act so weirdly at a five star hotel. By saying that, I’m more than happy to have this incredible book now – with the original recipe of the dish and much more!

Italian Fiesta

            It’s always good to have a recipe of a dish and to keep it in front of your eyes while you cook. Sometimes, however, it’s better to enter a kitchen door with empty hands: no printed lists of ingredients, no cookbooks or culinary magazines – thus no restrictions whatsoever, just an awesome feeling of liberty and a great opportunity to bring some novel ideas into life.

            Once as I was heading towards my kitchen (the lunchtime was approaching and I had to prepare at least anything for my husband) I didn’t have an exact notion of what I was going to cook that day. I looked at a piece of fish, fresh vegetables and button mushrooms – and instantly decided that I wanted to go Italian: baked fish with mushroom sauce and gremolata, mashed potatoes with red pesto and – pasta! – some home-made egg yolk ravioli on a bed of rocket leaves. The final dish was bursting with flavours and looked stunning on a plate (it perfectly corresponded to the image I had in my mind when I started to cook). Believe me, you don’t need a recipe to bring a real fiesta to your dining table on an ordinary weekday: just follow your culinary intuition and a call of your gourmet heart and you will produce a meal that goes beyond any expectations!

Crepes with Poached Eggs and Mushroom Duxelles

It’s a common thing in Russia to make a big pile of crepes early in the morning so that the whole family can enjoy them for breakfast. I don’t want to sound too disloyal to my national cuisine but I really find it too boring to serve crepes just as they are – only with some sour cream, honey or jam on the side. Instead of having four or five plain crepes I prefer to indulge only in one or too but cooked in a more elaborate way. I love my crepes to be stuffed, maybe even baked and served with a nice sauce or fruit compote. Yes, I want a complete, mouthwatering dish on my plate – and every time I try to come up with a new one.

Once I read about the so called Breton crepes: you cook one side of a crepe, flip it and break an egg in the centre (!!!), top with sliced ham and grated cheese and fold it before transferring to a plate. I tried to make some but without ham – just with an egg that should ideally become “poached” inside a folded crepe. I really got my soft, gooey egg but I was not quite happy with the whole dish – it definitely lacked finesse. So, as I made this dish some time later again, I poached the eggs in advance and carefully folded them into precooked crepes. Then I went even further: topped with mushrooms, sprinkled with cheese and put under the grill. What I got on the plate was exactly what I was looking for: a tasty and refined dish, full of flavours and looking more than just nice – especially when I cut though my crepe to reveal a bright egg yolk. A sunny surprise inside an ordinary crepe – for a positive start of the day!