Anchovy Gratin

You know when you go to a good fish market and you just see the beautiful array of fresh fish with sparkling eyes and bright gills accompanied by the fresh smell of the ocean?  Well, I didn’t get these anchovies at one of those markets. I was in the supermarket and had a yearning for fish, but the area for fish was depressing. The fish were all so dull and dry and old and everything stank. But I saw these cleaned anchovies and thought oh why not. I got 150g for €1.50 -- why not, right?

I've always had anchovies either in the form of a gratin or in a tin.  Many people dislike the latter, but it's quite nice to use instead of salt.

So this gratin.  It's easy, it's versatile.  Omit the chili, add some capers, some olives, some sun-dried tomatoes.  If the fish is fresh, it's excellent.  If it's not, you may need to bake it for longer but it will still taste good.  This makes a good appetizer. 

Ricotta Gnocchi with Lemon and Basil

Have you ever had ricotta gnocchi?  They're more delicate than their potato cousins.  Apparently they're from Florence, but I'm not so sure.  I spent the day in Florence yesterday and ate like a queen.  Let me digress from this and tell you about the florentine steak actually.  The Florentine steak is the best steak in the world, way better than those cows that get special spa treatments, trust me.  It's the breed of cow, and strangely enough, if you rear them anywhere out of Tuscany, they don't taste the same.  It's the grass, the water, the climate....It's a t-bone that's cut to about 3cm thick, and it's put on the grill for just a couple of minutes on each side as it has to be eaten rare.  A little bit of olive oil, a little bit of salt, a little bit of salad and roasted potatoes, and it's fantastic.  It's a thing to try if you haven't.

So let's go back to these gnocchi.  I got the recipe from Bon Appetit and I was a bit worried at first because the dough was so soft, but it ended up tasting really nice! This was made with a simple sauce with just some fresh herbs, cheese and lemon zest, perfect for the summer. 

Cannellini Soup with Steamed Cod (and other kitchen adventures)

After two months in Germany I'm finally back home in Italy.   I loved Berlin, I really did, I enjoyed every minute of it.  The people, the restaurants, the events, the efficiency - oh the efficiency.  I've always envied German efficiency. I arrived in Italy and I had spent over an hour and a half -- and this is not a hyperbole -- at the airport waiting for my suitcase.  So it took a bit to readjust to the Italian system, but now that I'm back, it's all good, because I've got my kitchen.

But my kitchen adventures have not been all too successful.

I missed German pretzels so I attempted them on the first day I got back.

They were alright as bread but they did not taste like pretzels.  Trouble shooting:  I needed sodium caustate in the water as the poaching liquid for the bread dough before baking, but I used sodium bicarbonate instead.  Also, I had let them rise overnight on the counter rather than just an hour which may have caused overfermentation and a slightly...sour taste.

Cafe Slörm (Berlin)

Good honest coffee, good ambiance, and good people. What else do you need from a café? This café, situated in Prenzlauerberg, Berlin, faces Danzigerstrasse, with small wooden coffee tables, chairs and stools outside - hard to miss because you’ll always see a few people there reading a book, chatting with friends, or just there enjoying the coffee. Despite facing a major road, it’s very quiet. Small and dainty, inside is filled with gorgeous vintage furniture like 70’s bar stools. It’s.. hipster but unpretentious. Both the baristas and the diners are down to earth people. It’s a place where you can chat with the baristas, and my goodness they’re good people.

Once I went, and upon paying, I couldn’t find my wallet. I told the barista, Stefan, that I would run back home and grab it and that I would be back in 10 minutes. The barista looked at the ready-made coffee and insisted that I drink the coffee first, as it would go cold. I could have just run away afterwards, but no, I left the coffee home and ran back home. I ran back in the speed of light but after 10 minutes of turning my house inside out I could not find my wallet. I ran back to the café and the barista was there with my wallet. “We tried to get in contact with you to let you know you left your wallet here but there was no number inside or anything.” My jaw dropped. See, I’m Chinese and Italian, I come from populations that are used to robbing people blind. If this was in Italy or China, the barista would have kept the wallet and that was that.  Plus he's cute as well, which is always a plus. 

 This place has one of the best coffees I’ve had in this town. It has a very relaxing and friendly atmosphere, with few things on the menu so the point is coffee. They have cookies, scones, cupcakes and some sandwiches, that don’t appear to be particularly enticing, but looks can be deceiving.

Citrussy Olive Tapenade

I'm now the girl in the office that makes all kinds of dips and spreads.

So despite being in Berlin, all my colleagues are Italian, and there's nothing I hate more than cooking for Italians.  Italians are so...conservative. I'm sure you know.  It has to be done just this one way, the way their mother does it.  No changes, no creativity, they want authenticity.  So forget trying to cook them anything remotely Italian at work.  Therefore I make spreads.  I've made my guacamole, hummus and last Saturday I made this tapenade for them, and they liked it.  See, don't make pasta for Italians, make something totally not Italian and they'll try it.

Plus I don't have much in my kitchen and I borrowed a food processor from the office so it's one of the few things I can make. 
 

 This is a..more refreshing tapenade because of all the citrus notes.  Lots of lemon zest, lots of orange zest, and not so much garlic and anchovy fillets.