EGGS

Potato omlette



6 large organic free range eggs

300 g waxy potatoes

150g cooked ham (omit ham for a vegetarian potato omlette)

1 medium red onion

10 cherry tomatoes

2 cloves garlic

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 pinches of paprika or mild chiil powder

2 small pinches of cumin

10 basil leaves (torn)

1 teaspoon of lemon juice

sea salt (to taste)

freshly ground pepper (to taste)



pre heat oven to 190c/375f/gas mark 5, and place a saucepan of salted water to boil.

Cut your potato into dice, and add to a pan of salted boiling water, cook the potato till

tender but holding there shape.While potato is cooking finely chop the red onion, garlic,ham and tomatoes, and reserve until called for.

Lightly whisk the eggs,season and add torn basil leaves 2 pinches of paprika/chilli and 1 pinch of cumin. Reserve

Drain the potatoes in a colander and shake excess water until dry. Heat a 12"/30 cm saute pan or skillet with the olive oil until hot, place potato into hot oil and saute for 2 minutes, then season with salt and pepper, and 2 pinches of chili or paprika and 1 pinch of cumin. Saute for a further minute then add chopped onion, continue to saute until onion has softened, season and add garlic, saute for a further 2 minutes, then add ham, continue to saute until all ingredients in the pan are mixed then pour on seasoned egg mixture, continue to cook until bottom of omlette has set, transfer saute pan to a hot oven 190c/375f/gas mark 5, with the door left open so that the top sets, as soon as eggs are set it is ready.

Slide the omlette out whole on to a large plate, serve immediately.

BREAD

Who doesn't like bread?

Malta although not noted for culinary wonders, like all countrys they have hidden gems, there use of rabbit, little pastizzi(small filled cheese cakes, made with a flakey pastry but bearing no resemblence to english cheesecakes), and of course the bread.
Maltese bread is special, very special, that special that your average maltese is said to consume roughly 1 kg a day.
Loafs are big, and for just over half a euro you can eat one yourself...............if your in malta.
Maltese loafs are based on an old tradition of bread making, probably originating from the knights of the order of saint john, similar breads exist in Rhodes.
Methods used are similar, but not identical to the true sourdough bread, made famous by San Francisco.
A maltese loaf is a textural revelation, a thick heavy crust, with a slight burnt note, chewey, moist and slightly sour, which is not devoid of the odd air hole. Most breads would be kocked back, a method used to knock the air out of the dough, during rising, this results in less holes in the finished loaf, this part of the process is omitted with maltese bread.

I have flirted with bread baking at home, with varying degrees of success, it's a very emotional process, almost theraputic, the kneading, then the wait for your loaf to prove, with the baking filling the kitchen with that lovely aroma from the alcehmic process that has happened during incorporation of yeast,flour and water, then introducing your creation to very hot oven.

My last attempt this weekend past, will be my best effort yet, the result was a lovely granary loaf, with a reasonable crust, one that i would be proud to share..........only i didn't.
Bread making so far for me has consisted of the use of dried packet yeast, and well known brands of bread flour. I want more, i want the real deal, i want sourdough .

I have had a recipe for a starter dough for a couple of years, but have never had the courage to take the plunge, after our trip to malta i bought back another starter recipe, i now have two so it's time, the time has arrived!

Over the coming weeks i will make the starter, hopefully with regular feeding i will produce a starter dough that will remain with me for many years, i will post the recipe and progress of my efforts, hopefully daily.

Watch this space.............

French laundry cookbook

Five years ago, i chanced upon an article, featuring a restaurant in the Napa valley, california's wine country. The restaurant being reviewed was the French laundry. To say i was taken in by this review would be an understatement, so you can imagine my surprise 2 years later when i found a copy in my local bookstore. This book had to be bought, even though it was £40.

Is this the book that single handed changed the face of the modern cookbook.

What do you look for in a cookbook?

I think most serious amateurs would be looking for a lot more than just recipes. We all have our books jam packed with recipes, some handed down from relatives others bought secondhand or new, but there comes a point in every cooks journey, when an extra little bit of insight is needed, into the workings of an excellent chef and restaurant, in simple terms a culinary genius!



The whole book feels right,looks right, and reads very well. A well structured book, with outstanding food photography, shot with a flair that draws you into it's beautifully crafted pages!
The book takes you in a journey through the finesse of the restaurant and the special people who make it happen.

There are some wonderful recipes, although you would need a lot of skill and patience to undertake such offerings, but this is a book, from one of best restaurants in the world.

The recipes are not traditional recipes as you might find in your run of the mill cookbook,but rather plates of food, sometimes small bites, some complete courses. This approach really appeals and with the stunning photos to back up most dishes you are able to see the courses as they would be presented.

I have often broken down elements of each recipe, i once took the orange glaze that is served with pacific moi, and recreated this glaze to be used with pan fried duck, which worked wonderfully! I have used basil oil, instead of chive oil in a tomato dish, this is allowed, you are not trying to match or better Mr keller, but learn from him, you are not cooking 3* michelin cuisine at home,but you can sure impress!
A favourite recipe that i have adopted time and time again would have to be lemon sabayon tart with a pine nut crust, absolutely adorable!

The french laundry cookbook is large, it contains 325 well crafted pages and a total- 100 recipes, this does not include the several pages on purveyors a first for a cookbook, which highlights the intense relationship between nature,purveyor and cook. There are pages on how to make flavoured oils, braising,stocks,sauces,powders, how to stain and use kitchen tools properly! There are six pages titled the importance of......................
These pages refer to ingredients or techniques, giving an insight to often overlooked, but important cooking practices.

If only you read the page on salt,pepper and vinegar, you would gain a great deal of knowledge, i sure did!

NO doubt professional cooks the world over have benefited with insight and knowledge, now not a lot of cookbooks can make that claim!
I have seen this book grace shelves across the globe from delhi to valetta, then back to singapore.
Most memorable sighting was in a restaurant cum guesthouse, which sported a bookshelf in the dining room, this was north india, the guest house was so-so, but the food serious!
Unfortunately for myself this is probably the closest, i will ever come to the French Laundry, but for now i can live with that, if only for a while!

Probably one of my best investments to date, and without a doubt an eye opener!

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to The city kitchen blog. In time we hope to recreate recipes of old and post the new.
I have a passion for the culinary world, whether it be recipes or their execution, food related issues, restaurants and of course eating.

Sometimes my food is rustic, traditional, occasionally classic, but always enjoyable.
I like to play in the kitchen, and have an interest in the science behind the cooking, but only in a practical sense.
Most of the time we stick to practical, why? Because it works.

At present, in this diminishing financial climate, plus the need to be more aware of humane issues surrounding our larder, we still need to feed ourselves,familys,friends and loved ones.
At home this is what we do. By trying our hardest to minimize our waste, buying sensibly with the need to maintain a healthy unprocessed robust diet, that we enjoy and gain pleasure from. Surely if you are here reading this,you share our views, if you are here by mistake take a minute to read our thoughts and recipes.
At present i have certain goals, some achievable, some more difficult. In a perfect world we would shop at farmers markets, buy from independent sources, but we all know the world is not perfect, but every little change no matter how subtle whether it be a boycott of caged hens and chickens, or the odd item that is organic,it is all positive.
On recent trips to the stores,i still see trolleys laden with junk, full to the brim, with a hefty price tag to match,but these super shoppers stand in the aisles bemoaning the price hikes, without realising that a change of eating habits could mean a considerable saving to health and pocket.

I will endeavour to change my ways, will you?