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Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Food Bloggers Workshop with Chef Sergi Arola


We were recently invited to attend a workshop by twice Michelin-starred Spanish Chef Sergi Arola, at Arola, JW Marriott by HT Cafe. The chef shared some of his favourite recipes along with some tricks and tips. Here are some snapshots of the dishes along with the recipes. If you want to try any of these dishes, they are available at Arola.
 

Patatas Bravas
Ingredients:
5 potatoes
1 litre sunflower oil
5 fresh tomatoes
1 fresh red chilli
1 egg
3 garlic cloves
1 tsp lemon juice
5 tbsp olive oil n Salt to taste
Black pepper powder to taste
2 springs fresh parsley
 
Method:
Cut the potatoes into exact halves. Scoop with a pineapple corer, and then scoop at the centre with a small scooper.
Put the potatoes in a tray and cover them with sunflower oil. Cook in the oven at 1500°C for 45 minutes, and then remove.
For the spicy tomato sauce:
In a pan, heat olive oil, add crushed garlic cloves and sauté. Add chopped fresh red chilli, sauté and add chopped tomatoes. Cook for one hour over slow flame. Season the sauce and blend.
For garlic aioli:
In a bowl, break the whole egg, add chopped garlic, lemon juice and salt, mix well and start whipping it; add olive oil slowly to form an emulsion, whip till the aioli is firm, then season it.
Deep fry the potatoes, take out on a paper towel and sprinkle with salt.
Fill the centre with spicy tomato sauce and top with garlic aioli. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley. 


Tandoor Lobster
Ingredients:
1 lobster
100 gms almond flakes
100 gms black olives
1/2 cup cream
2 garlic cloves
5 pieces rigatoni pasta
1 tbsp spicy tomato sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
Fresh oregano for garnish
Salt to taste
Black peppercorns to taste
 
Method:
Remove the lobster meat whole from tail. Marinate with olive oil, salt and crushed black peppercorns.
Slice the black olives and roast them in the oven at 1200°C till dry. Cool them down and blend to powder.
Toast the almond flakes with crushed garlic clove, add cream and simmer till almonds are cooked. Puree in the blender and strain with fine strainer.
Blanch the rigatoni pasta in boiling salted water.
Roast the marinated lobster in a tandoor till cooked. Remove and cut.
Toss the blanched rigatoni with olive oil, chopped garlic and spicy tomato sauce.
In a plate, sprinkle black olive powder and put the lobster on it. Put the rigatoni on each piece of lobster. Garnish with fresh oregano leaves. Serve the warm almond cream on the side.


Crema Catalana
Ingredients:
For orange form
500 ml milk

500 ml cream

1 stick cinnamon
10 gms orange peel
10 gms lemon zest
150 gms sugar
150 gms egg yolk
20 gms orange sorbet

For Mousse

50 gm Marie biscuit
200 ml milk n 100 gms sugar
100 gms cream

Method :
Make a Marie biscuit mousse from all the above ingredients in martini glass. Prepare the orange form by combining all the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to boil maintaining the temperature at 40°C. When the mixture reaches the required temperature, remove from fire strain and cook in an oven at 10°C for 20 minutes for steam. Then remove it, cool it down and add it to a nitrogen can.
Finally, take the martini glass in which the mousse is set, then put one quenelle of orange sorbet.
Put the orange form and sprinkle sugar syrup over it. Gratinate and serve.
(Recipes via HT Cafe)

Venue: Arola
Lobby Level, JW Marriott, Juhu

Phone: 66933000 

Monday, December 24, 2012

Review: Polpo Cafe & Bar at Shatranj Napoli


There's a reason why we love Bandra so much! There's never a dearth of new places to visit. Polpo Cafe & Bar is an extension of the classic upscale family restaurant Shatranj Napoli. It is aimed at the younger crowds with a gorgeous al fresco cafe and an indoor bar. 

The all day dining place has multiple menus, cafe menu, bar menu and the shatranj food menu. We visited with a group of bloggers and tried a range of dishes. Let's talk about the ones we'd recommend! 

To start with, their Sangrias are one of the best that we've had. The blonde sangria, sparkling sangria and the red sangria, all of them were fruity and flavourful. A fellow blogger, Prachi absolutely loved the Limoncello! Read her review here
 

Next, we called for the starters. Some of the dishes we loved were the Asparagi al Prosciutto - asparagus wrapped with Parma ham, absolutely delicious, Pollo della Che - mustard marinated grilled chicken with garlic mayo, loved the flavour of the garlic mayo, Zucchine Fritte - batter touch sliced zucchini, served with tartar sauce, crispy and yummy!



In the mains, we called for the Gnocchi alla Ciociara  - gnocchi cooked with chili flakes, bacon, italian sausage, porcini & tomato-cream and the Gnocchi al Gorgonzola - gnocchi tossed in a creamy gorgonzola, both were well prepared and lived up to our expectations. The Toscana pizza was next on our list of mains -  basil pesto, mozzarella, chicken, onions & bell peppers on a thin crust base - perfect! The Penne alla Romana pasta prepared in cream sauce with chicken and mushrooms was also worth the try. The other ordered a couple of other mains, but these were our favourites!


And when we thought this was all, our round of desserts was served. The Bailey's Surprise - a sinful and delectable merge of succulent chocolate mousse and baileys, Tiramisu - a delightful combination of soaked sponge in coffee and rum and layered with mascarpone cheese and sabayon. and the Pizookie - freshly baked, hot out of the oven cookie topped with vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce and nuts. When you are not too hungry, we would suggest, start with the desserts, they cannot be missed!




A special meal had to be ended with something special. Italian Stallion – a peppermint and sambuca shot was our last course! Gulped in one go, we were happy and high! :)

Venue: Polpo Cafe and Bar
Shatranj Napoli, Union Park, Off Carter Road, Bandra West
Landmark: Below the Big Nasty

Phone: 26499844
 
 (Photos Courtesy: Kumar Jherumalani)