Warm Sesame Crusted Marinated Tuna Salad with Courgette Fritters and Aioli Globe Artichokes

For the Marinade:

1 Clove Garlic

Half Onion, Finely Chopped

1 Tsp Soya Sauce

1 Tsp Spicy Vinegar

1 Tsp Salt

1 Tbslp Olive Oil

Warm Sesame Crusted Tuna Salad

400 gms Fresh Tuna, cut into 2 cm Cubes.

50 gms Sesame Seeds

300 gms Potatoes ( quartered )

80 gms Sundried Tomatoes

6 Black Olives

1 Yellow Sweet Pepper

50 gms Rucola

Courgette Fritters

1 Shredded Courgette

2 Tablespoons Flour

Half Teaspoon Dried Thyme

Salt and Pepper

Half Beaten Egg

Aioli Globe Artichokes

1 Globe Artichoke

3 Slices Fresh White Bread

2 Tbslp White Vinegar

1 Tblsp Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice

4 Cloves Garlic

1 Teaspoon Salt

1 Teaspoon Sugar

100 ml Olive Oil

2 Tsp Chopped Parsley

Put the Tuna in a Plastic Food Box, add the marinade and shake gently so that it will coat evenly. Let it marinate for at least 1 Hour.

Boil the Globe Artichoke in Salted water for 40 Mins until tender. You can test for doneness by making sure one of the outer leaves comes off easily. Once it is cooked, let it cool for a few minutes then cut it in half lengthwise. Rub the insides with lemon juice so that it will not discolour.

Make the Aioli by putting all the ingredients except the olive oil in a blender and while whizzing on number 1, add the olive oil in a trickle.

Drain the Tuna from the marinade and pat dry, then press all sides in the sesame seeds to which some seasoning has been added. Fry , turning to colour all sides, for 1 minute each side and keep warm. Throw the rucola in the same pan where you fried the Tuna Chunks and stir to mop up all the juices and sesame seeds.

Boil the quartered potatoes in Salted water to which some Coriander seeds have been added.

Slice the Sundried Tomatoes into Julienne ( Strips )

Cut up the Yellow Capsicum into large dice and add to the boiling potatoes at the last minute.

For the Courgette Fritters, Combine all the ingredients gently together and shallow fry in oil for 3 mins on each side until golden brown.

Drain the potatoes and sweet yellow pepper and combine with the Sundried Tomatoes and Olives.

For plating, while still warm, start with the wilted rucola at the bottom,add the other salad ingredients and the Tuna Chunks on top. Place the Globe Artichoke Half on the side and fill with the Aioli.

Leave some space where to put the Courgette Fritters. Decorate with Lemon Slices and Parsley.

OF WELLS AND FOUNTAINS

I guess we have all experienced the sensation of involuntarily applying a notion to ourselves when we read about it for the first time. Allow me to elucidate.

You read that some people are Night Owls and others are Early Birds and you try to pigeonhole yourself into one of those two categories whilst deep inside you know that you can actually be both, according to necessity. Whether one stays up late or rises early is mostly determined by the work one does. I have had the opportunity to do both, at some times even concurrently (which amounts to burning the candle at both ends) and I must say that after a few days, my body, metabolism, motor functions and alert phases adjust pretty easily. I can understand that not everyone adjusts as well as I; reasons may be myriad but the most important one is motivation or the lack of it.

There are three types of people in the world, those who can count and those who can’t. I am not sure into which category I can place myself. Ther are two kinds of righters, too: thos who can spel and thos who canot.

It always simplifies matters when you give folks just the two options, doesn’t it? Black on White is so much more easy to understand and identify ourselves with than shades of grey. Is it a coincidence that shades of grey are more appreciated by individuals who make more use of their grey matter?

There is one thing worse than a person who can’t and won’t cook; that is a person who can’t cook, and does. Joking apart, most humans cook because they have to, not because they want or love to, and it shows! (tastes too)

Never has the maxim “if you can’t do what you like get to like what you do” been more appropriate than in this instance.  Those who for some reason have to cook for themselves and others need to put their heart in it. You can’t just do it for the money or because you have to eat something!

Going off at a tangent on the same subject, I had read that certain personalities from which we can draw a certain amount of enlightenment are similar either to fountains or to wells. Thus, we can use phrases like “a fountain of knowledge” or “a well of wisdom”. This doesn’t mean that only these two types exist, mind you! It’s just that I chose these two types to focus on.

If you stand under a fountain (or even near, if the wind is blowing in your direction) you will get soaked, even if you just sit there passively. Fountains are mostly shallow but they continously recycle the water which is filtered along the way. These types of personalities could be school teachers who build up their knowledge during their formative years and impart that knowledge throughout their working career. They only need to top up to compensate for natural spillage and evaporation.

Wells, on the other hand, are deep, usually covered resevoirs. To tap a well, you need to first discover it, dig deep or uncover it, then you have to use some method to draw water from it. The well needs to have a way of replenishing itself with new water to replace the water that is drawn from it. If you draw water at a faster rate than it can refill, the well will empty. If it refills at a faster rate than is being drawn, it will overflow.

I DO feel like a well in character. I can output , give of myself, teach, show, communicate, write , paint, cook for a period of time but at a certain point I feel the urgent need to replenish myself, learn something new, new ways, methods, updates, info, news, read….any source really. The more I give of myself, the more I need to top up. I need to keep the well topped up, otherwise I feel empty.

That is the balance in life which I have continually sought for many years.

TV Recipe

Partly Herb Crusted Salmon on Filled Puff Pastry Roll topped with Lemon Sauce

Preparing a fine meal with quality ingredients is the most practical way we show our love. How we plate shows the depth of our caring.

OF CONFLICTS AND CONTRADICTIONS

Were one to inspect my profile description on this blog, one will find the word “contradictory” and that is the subject I would like to dwell on today.

That life is full of contradictions one can hardly disagree with, but I would like to point out those contradictions that mostly pass us by undetected and hence remain undocumented.

I shall start with the seemingly constant tug-o-war between the mind and the body. While the average mind will accept, if not outwardly look for, change, the body, on the other hand, thrives on routine. We’ve all heard of the biological clock and how more rhythmical than a clock can a body get? Our body needs consistency in nutrition, work, rest, relaxation, bowel movements, sleep, emotions, stress levels, etc…the list could go on and on. I should not and certainly will not generalize, but as far as I’m concerned I prefer to vary my schedule, diet, routine, ( can one actually vary one’s routine ? if you vary it, it will not be a routine anymore now would it ? ) but that will mean that I’m stimulating my mind while sacrificing the body rhythm. Ahh well…you cannot have your bread buttered on both sides, I suppose.

A contradictory or shall I say conflicting aspect which I regularly encounter in my work sphere is whether to continue boosting a product which is selling well or try to ‘push’ another which is not as saleable. Whether to stick to what you KNOW your clients like or whether to try to get them taste what you think they should be eating.

All chefs get a lot of satisfaction when they come up with new recipes which become popular with their clients and I am no exception in this regard, but at the back of my mind there is always the thought that ‘the customer is king’ and will sacrifice my creative streak if that is the way to keep a particular client happy.

There are various schools of thoughts about the subject. Some chefs insist on ‘doing their own thing’ and expect their clients to not only like it but also come back for more, even if they risk that the ‘more’ is not more of the same but rather something completely different. 

Pork Loin filled with Ricotta and Apple

Roasted Quail filled with Maltese Sausages and Dried Figs

Professional Scenario

Let's take the cat out of the bag !

Since I have started working as Chef de Cuisine at Villa Maria , The Vineyard, around a month ago,  I have started to adjust to the new lifestyle, work schedules, driving longer distances and training other members of the team, among other things. I was never a person who finds it difficult to adapt and here it is certainly no exception. The minor challenge is getting familiar with the equipment and kitchen layout and the major challenge is FEELING rather than knowing what each particular customer's expectations are so that you can surpass them.
It is all about surprising clients and making them feel that they are getting more ( as a culinary experience ) than they are actually expecting and paying for. In this respect, I feel that I have so far succeeded, even though most of the feedback I get is through the owners rather than through the clients themselves.

Even though it is early days still, I can feel I am at home here, in my element, so to speak. This is partly due to the fact that the owner of the Villa / Restaurant shares with me the passion for good, genuine food presented in a professional modern style. We do not yet have any laurels to sit on as a team, and even if we had, we would not, because we like to keep ourselves on our toes, in the fast lane, on the cutting edge.

We never rest because we believe that a Chef is as good as his last meal and that our best achievements are still in the future. That is looking forward for you !

Getting Down To It

This title has two meanings ( again ) .

Once you hit this blog, you have to get down to the very bottom and find the very first post so that you will have more of an indication of what it is all about. Sometimes it is not enough simply to read a person's opinion, but one must delve into the motivation of that same opinion because that is what gives an insight into the author's character and most often than not shows it in a new light.

On another note, it is a well known fact that sometimes you cannot sit around waiting for some inspiration to hit you before sitting down to post. You have to actually sit down and hit some keys, even if after you're done you feel that you have to erase the first paragraph. The mere fact of starting off gets the inspirational juices flowing. The Italians say "L appetito vien mangiando" which translates into "your appetite improves while eating".

Same thing happens with my cooking. So many new ideas come to me while I am actually cooking that sometimes I wonder why I ever bother to plan at all ! Ahh but the planning should also be. I heard somewhere that failing to plan is planning to fail. I believe that wholeheartedly. But plans should not be too rigid. Since the planner and the executor are the same person in this instance, the former can leave as much leeway to the latter as desired.