Informal summer dinner

This year we were lucky and got to enjoy warm summer full of sunshine. Even though I still had to go to work, evenings seemed longer and I just didn't want to waste them. Often I invited friends for dinner, just impromptu, no fuss, no hassle. Many times we enjoyed it on the balcony, or when it was few more of us, we sat around the table. This was one of those evenings. The wine was flowing and everyone was happy. The dinner I prepared was fairly simple, light and fresh, mostly inspired by Italian flavours. 

Langoustines

Whether fresh or frozen, cooking "langoustines" (Nephrops norvegicus) should be performed with the greatest care. What makes the difference is the attention to detail in the composition of the court bouillon, which will be used to cook our delicate shellfish. Then the cooking time will be a major element for the full success of the preparation of our graceful ladies, which can also be found under the name of Norwaigan lobster.

BONITO FILLET WITH AROMATIC RICE

Recently Barbora has visited Kat in Paris. We had so many plans in terms of the blog, places we wanted to visit like cafes, patisseries and markets, but we also wanted to cook something together. While we were at a fishmonger on Rue du Nil, we spotted a very attractive looking piece of fish. It was Bonito fillet. Its from the tuna family but smaller. As Kat is more experienced in Japanese cooking, we chose a delicious recipe with rice and seaweed.

The rice is cooked, then cooled and mixed with the ginger, black sesame seeds and sushi vinegar. We sliced the Bonito and marinaded in soy sauce with sake for 15 mins or so. Then just assemble, cut roasted roasted nori on top and its ready. So simple yet its healthy and very tasty. Barbora has never tried raw fish before, but she was very impressed. If you can't find Bonito fillet use tuna steaks instead, just cut them a bit smaller. All the other ingredients are available from japanese supermarket, even some health stores sell basic sauces and sushi rice. Try whole foods market in London, for example.

Dinner Party (part one)

I love entertaining my friends. And I love cooking. This time it was a meal for 5 and I decided to try something new, maybe a bit risky. I cured a side of Salmon, better known as Gravlax, the great Swedish classic. It takes 3 days to marinate and cure the salmon but its absolutely worth it. I used a marinade from Sloe gin, blackberries and clementines. Then I added the herbs after 2 days. The rest of the spread was also with a Swedish touch, beetroot, dill boiled potatoes, cucumber, crème fraiche. It was delicious and light. So there was enough room for the desert.