BRUSCHETTA Á LA FAÇON GIOVANNA

It’s not often that I can write about a recipe with such heightened passion. As an avid gourmand and cook, I have come across so many fabulous recipes, but this one has left the greatest stamp on my heart (and stomach for that matter)!

It takes me back to a wonderful period of my life, when I was living in Paris, learning French and embracing la belle vie! My dear amie italienne, Giovanna, also an avid Francophile cooked for me in her shoebox apartment, just a short walk from Gare de l’est! We sat on her bedroom floor (under her elevated bed), eating off a make shift table and drinking a 10 euro Bordeaux from plastic tumblers. Bliss! Since them I have been totally enamored by the simplicity and wholesomeness of Giovanna’s Orecchiette de pomodoro!

So in the spirit of THE CAPTIVE CANAPÉ I have translated the original dish to a bruschetta recipe. But ether way, it will always transport me back!

So please, it’s my pleasure…go on, fall in love with this recipe…I promise you too will be transported!

Captive companion: Giovanna, merci beaucoup pour cette recette incroyable

Captive location: Una Tratoria in Capri

Captivating comment: “C’est très Italienne!”

Captive drop: A Barolo if budget permits, though really any red wine is a fine complement!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup of olive oil

3 packets of cherry tomatoes (the best you can afford), halved

4 whole cloves of garlic, peeled (or more if you are like me and just can’t get enough)

8 sprigs of basil

16 shaves of Parmesan cheese

Crusty sourdough loaf

1.     Heat olive oil over medium heat in a heavy based frying pan

2.     Add cloves of garlic and allow them to infuse the oil for 3-5 minutes. Make sure they do not burn

3.     Add tomatoes and cook for 10-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes are super soft.

4.     Slice off bread and toast

5.     Add tomatoes to top of toast (be generous), and finish off with a sprig of basil and two shavings of Parmesan cheese.

6.     Serve immediately (this is very important, as the recipe contains quite a bit of oil and you want the toasts to still remain crunchy!)

7.     Delizioso!

Note: This tomato recipe also goes perfectly with Orecchiette (the hand made ear like pasta). Simply cook the pasta as per the instructions on packet, once cooked al dente, mix in with the tomatoes and then serve with the basil and Parmesan!

THE QUEEN’S SWINDLE

I am totally enamored by these sandwiches! Foremost as they don’t look or taste like a sandwich; perhaps part of the reason for my overwhelming admiration! They are fit for a queen, given their delicate nature and fine ingredients (fish roe can be substituted for caviar if your budget and ethical position permits). The combination of fish roe, olive tapenade and Persian feta on top could just as well be jewels in the Queen’s crown. And they taste divine. So why is this such a swindle? Nobody will ever guess that they have a base of white bread!

Such a versatile canapé, really. They can be served for morning, afternoon or high tea and also pre-dinner or pre-lunch nibble. I find basil and dill to be the most apt herbs to use as the filling, given their piquant taste, though you can get extra adventurous and use super fresh thyme! Quality of the butter is important, as is the shape. A perfect circle departs from typical sandwich form and helps to seal your deception.

Captive companion: Paul, my favorite Queen

Captive location: A hot new design studio in Singapore.

Captivating comment: “Ummm doll, can you pass me another of those little canapé things!”

Captive drop: Champagne darling…

Ingredients:

1 loaf of white bread, sliced lengthways (if possible)

1 cup of basil

1 cup of dill

50g olive tapenade

50g Persian feta cheese or chèvre (goats cheese)

50g fish roe

50g French butter

1.     Butter two slices of bread, add basil or dill to top and sandwich with second slice

2.     Cut off the crust

3.     Using a rolling pin, roll the bread flat

4.     Take a round cookie cutter and push out the maximum amount of discs from the slice.

5.     Top each disc with a pinch of cheese, fish roe and olive tapenade

6.     Repeat until all ingredients have been utilized

Pop the champagne darling!

THE QUINTESSENTIAL DOLMA

The Greeks will always claim that they created Dolmas or Dolmades, along with Pythagoras theorem and democracy, though their heritage can also be traced across Turkey and the Middle-East. History aside, I can’t help but feel sorry for Dolmades. They always seem to be present, though rarely attended to and never the star of the show. They’re often relegated to the side of a mezze plate, overshadowed by bolder more attractive savories. Their delicate vine leaves usually collect a sprinkling of cigarette ash and wind up in the kitchen trash the next morning.

But it doesn’t need to be like this, if only you give Dolmades a chance to stand alone…they truly will shine! Their versatility means you can stuff them with a variation of meat, vegetables, nuts, rice and spices. The focus should be on creating a flavorsome filling and for this reason, I only added a little rice for texture. Below is my recipe, which is far from traditional, though very tasty! Follow your palate, throw in what you like and if brave serve with a pungent homemade tzatiki for that extra garlic kick…Yamas!

Captive companion: Pavlos, my dear Greek friend, eternally proud of his heritage.  

Captive location: A Ouzerie in Skiathos

Captivating comment: “I can’t believe you made dolma!”

Captive drop: Ouzo on the rocks

Ingredients

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1 brown onion, sliced finely

½ Fennel, sliced finely

1 leak, sliced finely

4 cloves of garlic (or more if your palate permits!)

1 carrot grated

1 eggplant grated

2 zucchini grated

Bunch of dill, sliced finely

Bunch of flat leave parsley, sliced finely

1 cup of cooked brown rice

1 jar of vine leaves (20-30 vine leaves)

Salt and pepper for seasoning

Olive oil to serve

1.     Heat olive oil over medium flame in a heavy based. Cook off onions and whole garlics until for 5-7 minutes, until onions are translucent. Add in fennel and leak and continue to cook for additional 5 minutes. Continue to add in remaining vegetable ingredients and herbs.

2.     Stir mixture regularly and for a slightly smoky flavor, allow mixture to catch on bottom of pot. Continue to cook for 10-20 minutes, until mixture is broken down. 

3.     Add in rice.

4.     Remove garlics, crush them with a fork on a board and return to mixture. Allow mixture to cool for 10 minutes.

5.     Lay out one vine leaf flat on a clean bench, remove stem and add table spoon of mixture to the base of the leaf. Fold up the side facing closest to you, then fold in the sides of the leaf, then roll the leaf towards the top. Voila…repeat until you finish the mixture

These Dolmades will keep for up to five days in an airtight container in the fridge.