Ramen is the ultimate comfort food
Readers may remember my piece last July, on queuing for two hours in the rain to buy a cronut (a cross between a croissant and a doughnut) at Dominique Ansel’s, bakery in Soho. And very delicious it was too.
Well they are still queuing around the corner of Spring Street, but Dominique’s latest genius creation is a play on the milk and cookie theme, a chocolate chip cookie with ice cold milk inside.
Essentially it’s a shot glass-shaped chocolate chip cookie lined with chocolate and then filled with Tahitian vanilla flavoured organic milk. Ansel created a special aerated dough, crispy on the edges with a moist centre and Valrhona chocolate chips. As with the cronut customers are limited to two per person at present.
Apparently his inspiration came after he tasted his first Oreo cookie a few weeks ago!
Apart from all that, small plates are everywhere from chic neighbourhood restaurants to gastro pubs and posh places.
These plates are meant for sharing so one can order and sample five or six dishes or even seven or eight. Tiny desserts too are a brilliant concept, almost guilt free so we’ll try two or three little bites.
A raw fish section on many menus is super popular. John Dory had several choices, including Kampachi with crispy fish skin and Myoga ginger, Spanish mackerel with yaita olives, wasabi greens and tiny blobs of lemon mayo.
I also had periwinkles and winter chantrelles on toast and a lobster roll with a bowl of gaufrette potatoes before Dulche de Leche tart with mascarpone cream and a few flakes of sea salt over the top. They were small plates…
Meat balls were served in a variety of ways and on sliders (tiny burger buns skewered with a bamboo skewer), there was roast or fried Brussels sprouts, and cauliflower and kale in lots of guises.
Brooklyn is still hopping; Best BBQ is Fette SV, Williamsburg.
For the best pulled pork sandwich made with heritage pork of course head for Mighty Quinn close by on 27th N 6th Street. St Anselm also in Brooklyn has a cult following prepared to wait over an hour in the local pub Sputyen Duyvil while their table comes free.
America’s love affair with bacon continues. It’s all about amazing house made bacon and amazing ice creams, sometimes in combination.
Anyone for blue cheese ice cream with candied bacon and burnt orange cheesecake or housemade vanilla ice-cream with Pork crackling and chocolate sauce? I’m not so sure…
Lard is super cool and at Pearl and Ash one of the hottest items on the menu is smoked bread with organic chicken fat. How about that for a turn around, the word is out that good fat is good for you after all.
A recent study from Cambridge University and the Harvard School of public health published in the Annals of Internal Medicine reported that they found no link, repeat, no link between consumption of saturated fats and heart attacks or other cardiovascular problems.!
The coolest chefs are cooking over ‘live fire’. The allergy and food intolerance is now big business. Ramen shops are popping up everywhere.
I stayed at the Ace hotel and loved it. The best breakfast I ate was at the Breslin and Buvette.
By the way, I pay all my own bills so I can say whatever I like, no strings attached!
Ramen is the ultimate comfort food, it needs to be well flavoured, but it can be varied in so many ways. The broth can be a mixture of chicken, pork, dashi, miso or vegetable based. Noodles can be traditional wheat ramen noodles, or you can use buckwheat or brown rice noodles if it needs to be gluten free. The meat can be braised brisket or short ribs, pork shoulder, pork belly or bacon, tofu or shrimp. It’s whatever vegetables are in season, fresh herbs that you like. You can top it with softish hardboiled egg, nori, sesame seeds or nuts. The variations are endless. It’s also a fantastic way to use leftovers at any time of year. Here’s a basic starting point.
Heat chicken stock with soy sauce, mirin and ginger. Simmer gently for 5 to 10 minutes. Discard the ginger. Season with salt and pepper. Add the sesame oil, squash and sliced chilli and simmer for 10 minutes.
Cook the noodles in boiling water until just tender (usually 4 to 5 minutes but check the directions on the package). Drain well. Add the mizuna to the soup, cook for 1-2 minutes, then add the coriander and lime juice. Place the noodles in each bowl, top with the sliced chicken. Ladle the broth over noodles. Shell the eggs, half and lay ½ an egg in each bowl and sprinkle with lots of green spring onions and garnish with a lime wedge. Eat while very hot — broth first and then other ingredients or any way you want.
Lower the eggs gently into a medium sized saucepan of boiling, salted water. When water returns to the boil, cover the pot and turn off the heat. Allow to rest for 7-8 minutes. Drain the eggs and cool in a bowl of cold water. Crack the shells, peel and cut in half lengthwise just before serving.
Put the yoghurt into a bowl; add a very little garlic and a pinch of salt. Set aside.
Melt some butter or extra virgin olive oil in a pan; fry the eggs on a high heat. Transfer the eggs onto a warm plate. Add more butter or oil to the pan; add a generous sprinkle of smoked paprika. Put a dollop of thick yoghurt on top of each egg. Drizzle with paprika butter or oil and serve immediately with toasted sour dough bread.
Makes 4 small plates
First make the Parmesan Aioli and then the chorizo bread crumbs (you’ll have more than you need). Put the oil into a cool pan, add the diced chorizo. Toss on a low heat until the oil starts to run and the chorizo begins to crisp. Careful. it’s easy to burn the chorizo. Drain through a metal sieve, save the oil and return to the pan. Increase the heat, add coarse breadcrumbs and toss in the chorizo oil until crisp and golden. Drain and add to the chorizo.
Trim and split the sprouts in half. Fry in hot oil for 3 or 4 minutes. Spread a slick of Parmesan Aioli on a plate; preferably oval shaped. Arrange six fried half Brussels sprouts on top, some cut side up, tuck a few bits of anchovy in here and there. Sprinkle chorizo crumbs and sprigs of flat parsley over the top. Serve immediately while the sprouts are still hot. They also scattered some celery tops and little tiny pieces of kale over the dish — the combination was super delicious.
Serve with cold cooked meats, fowl, fish, eggs and vegetables.
Put the egg yolks into a bowl with the mustard, garlic salt and the white wine vinegar (keep the whites to make meringues). Put the oil into a measure. Take a whisk in one hand and the oil in the other and drip the oil onto the egg yolks, drop by drop, whisking at the same time. Within a minute you will notice that the mixture is beginning to thicken. When this happens you can add the oil a little faster, but don’t get too cheeky or it will suddenly curdle because the egg yolks can only absorb the oil at a certain pace. Add the grated Parmesan and chopped parsley. Taste and add a little more seasoning and vinegar if necessary.
Just six weeks to go until The Kerrygold Ballymaloe Literary Festival of Food and Wine 2014. Tickets are still available for many of the inspirational talks but advanced booking is advised - www.litfest.ie for more information and to see the full list of events.
This year at Ballymaloe we are offering a Spring and Autumn Walk on the Wild Side with Darina Allen on Saturday, April 26, from 9.30am to 5pm and Saturday, September 20. Suitable for chefs or for anyone with an interest in foraging for pleasure or to earn a living. www.cookingisfun.ie
Slow Food Ireland has just re-launched its website www.slowfood.com. The next East Cork Slow Food event is a Celebration of Local Food at Sage Restaurant, Midleton. 021-4639682 - book now, places are limited.
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