a sunday at petersham nurseries

as beautiful as london is, and as much as i love this city... there are times when you need to escape. we did just that; and took advantage of a beautiful late summer sunday to make an escape to richmond, london. to the petersham nurseries, to be precise. a dreamy, offside garden hide-away, in midst of pots and plants. so relaxing and peaceful. and the food...! oh, the food. have a loot at it for yourself. we had: 

***

raw baby vegetables served in a clay pot, with baba ganoush

whole artichoke with mustard dressing

risotto with herbs

flower salad

roasted stuffed red peppers
roasted quail with flowers
a limeaid with mint
***

and some more good, healthy things. (side note: to be honest, i didn't get to eat that much healthy food in london... i was too busy and too distracted... oh, and the flapjacks, that i discovered... those certainly didn't help much either...). the cookbook i acquired there, arabesque, by greg & lucy malouf (the chefs at the petersham nurseries café) will soon be featured and reviewed here. it will be good! it's currently my good-night-lecture, accounting for a lot of sweet dreams, indeed...

fig heirloom buffalo caprese

once upon a breakfast table... black figs, heirloom tomato halves and buffalo mozzarella caprese balls with a thyme-honey dressing and fresh oregano. it embraces the start into the colder season, with still a hint of fond memories of summers past. cheers to summer, hello autumn!

ingredients:

2 black figs, in eighth

1 cup heirloom cherry tomatoes, halved

1 pack buffalo mozzarella globes

handful oregano leaves

1 tsp. maldon sea salt

1 pinch freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp. thyme-honey

1 tbsp. fig balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

directions:

assemble the figs, heirloom tomatoe halves and mozzarella on a plate, adorn with the oregano. sprinkle with salt and pepper. make a quick dressing with the honey, olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and drizzle on top. 

truffled grilled pumpkin & peaches with pecorino

the transition from summer into fall is something that makes me so homey-feeling... though it's got a twist: on the one side, you try to squeeze the most potential out of the summer finale and enjoy every second of sunshine and warmth - on the other side i already embrace the colder weather and the fog (frequent in zurich) and any possibility to weark heavy knit sweaters (and socks, and blankets, for that matter)! a dish that combines both, summer and fall? well, summery peaches and autumnal pumpkins make a great love affair, really. grill everything (another summer tradition), add a hint of truffle and mint, sprinkle with some salty, strong pecorino... and you've got september on a platter!

truffled grilled pumpkin & peaches with pecorino

ingredients:

1 piece pumpkin
1 courgette / zucchino
1 peach, cut in eighth
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. butter
1 handful shaved pecorino
3 mint sprigs, leaves coarsely chopped
1 tbsp. truffle oil
1 tbsp. grape seed oil
1 orange, zest and juice
1 drop acacia honey
1 pinch chili flakes
1 tsp. pink pepper corns, freshly ground
1 tbsp. Maldon sea salt (or more to taste)

directions: 

if you have a grill: fire it up! if you don't, well then simply preheat the oven to doo degrees c (or 400 degrees f) and turn the grill / upper heat function to full. line a baking sheet with parchment paper. slice the pumpkin very thinly (use a mandolin, if you prefer, and make sure your fingers are safe). same with the courgette (if you like slice it horizontally to get long shaves). cut the peach in eighth.
place the pumpkin and courgette on the baking sheet. drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with some maldon sea salt and the pink pepper corns. place in the oven, on the highest rack, and roast / grill for 20 minutes. 

in the meantime, heat the butter in a frying. fry and pan the peach pieces (the butter should be bubbly now with the juice and sugar of the peaches) until soft and caramellized. prepare the dressing: truffle oil, grape seed oil, orange zest and juice, honey, chili flakes, remaining pink pepper and maldon sea salt to taste. shave the pecorino cheese and finely chop the mint. when slightly charred, remove the pumpkin and courgette from the oven. let cool for a few minutes. then arrange on a plate, drizzle with the dressing and decorate with the peach pieces, pecorino shaves and mint. serve tepid.

garlicky sauteed rainbow chard & pasta

on my first day in the modern pantry's kitchen, my very first task was rainbow chard. and i loved this task, since i love colorful vegs, so much. i love their look, how they feel in your hand. so, i treated the buckets full of pink, purple, red and yellow chards like they're my babies. 

this dish, though, was prepared before my cooking stage. so, yes, i guess i do have some new insights on how to prepare rainbow chard, now. for example, to trim the stems from the leaves, they use a short knife and simply tear it along the stem, upwards, towards the tip of the leaf, on both sides of the stem. then, the stem is sliced into 3cm long pieces, and if necessary halved (lengthwise). okay, not exactly rocket-science up to here. but this input here might be new (or at least it didn't occur to me as necessary): the chef's at the modern pantry cook the stems separately. meaning: not just 2 minutes before you add the leaves - but actually in a separate frying pan. do that, and you'll have much nicer colored stems, as the colors don't mingle with the greens of the leaves. 

ps: here i'll use the recipe the way i did it (before my modern pantry work experience) - namely, in one saucepan and in one go (lazy ass that i am...). i hope you'll have fun, anyway.

garlicky rainbow chard & pasta

ingredients:

1 medium bowl differently colored rainbow chard

2 garlic cloves, sliced

2 tbsp. rosemary needles, chopped

1/2 lemon, juiced

1 pinch chili flakes

1 tsp. acacia honey

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 pinch maldon sea salt

spaghetti or any other pasta, cooked

handful black olives, pitted, minced

handful cherry tomatoes, halved

directions:

wash and clean the chard. separate the leaves from the stems. slice the stems in 2cm large pieces and do the same with the leaves. heat the olive oil in a frying pan. add the garlic slices and fry for 2 minutes, until golden. remove and place on some paper towel to soak up the excess olive oil. sautee the stems in the frying pan with the olive oil, adding the rosemary, chili, honey and salt, for about 3 minutes, until softened. then add the chard leaves as well. cook until soft. 

in the meantime, cook the pasta of your liking. drain and drizzle with a bit of olive oil. if you can, add a bit of the pasta cooking water to the chard pan. put the garlic back to the chard pan, add the lemon juice and season with more salt or pepper to taste. if you are adding no pasta, stop here, and serve the chard as a side dish.

if you want to make a whole meal out of it, continue by adding the tomato halves and the olives to the pan, stir to heat through. combine the chard with the pasta.

red curry roasted vegs

normally, with curry paste you just make a curry. end of story. but since it's a flavorful spice-mix, and very versatile, actually, i thought why not use it for a vegetable marinade? plus: i love one-bowl-dishes.... so simple, yet this is so surprisingly different. the roasting renders the vegs nutty (but nice, chuckle). after i roasted the cauliflower, broccoli, aubergine and potatoes in the oven, i added a bit of coconut milk in the end, sprinkled some chopped thai basil on top, and voilà, you're done! 

more pictures of london will be up, soon. today is my day off (my feet welcome the change), so i try to manage to edit a few more pictures. also, i'll have lunch at nopi (me, myself and moi, on my own). then i'll probably go buy the second book of the fifty shades trilogy and drink tea somewhere posh. and in the evening, my friend and i cook dinner together (i wouldn't want to go one whole day without touching a saucepan... god forbid). 

red curry roasted vegs

inspiration from here

ingredients:
1 small broccoli head, cut into roses
1 small cauliflower head, cut into roses
2 potatoes, cubed
1 aubergine (eggplant), cubed
3 tbsp. red curry paste
1 cup coconut milk
1 teaspoon acacia honey
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. fleur de sel
3 tbsp. black sesame, toasted
1 cup thai basil leaves, coarsely chopped or torn apart

directions:

preheat the oven to 220 degrees c / 400 degrees f. line a baking sheet with parchment paper. wash and prepare the vegetables: cut the broccoli and cauliflower into roses and cube the potatoes and aubergine. place in a bowl.

combine the coconut milk, red curry paste, honey, garlic cloves and half of the salt in a small bowl. season to taste, with more salt, curry paste or a drop of harissa / sriracha sauce. 

pour half the spice mix over prepared vegetables, and stir until combined / all the vegetables are coated in the coconut curry mix. spread them evenly on the baking sheet. place in the oven and roast for 30 minutes, turning the vegs maybe once or twice in the process, until golden and slightly charred in places.

remove from the oven and leave to cool for a few minutes. arrange on a plate and drizzle the remaining coconut curry mix over. add the toasted black sesame and the thai basil leaves. serve tepid.

london diary II: cityscapes

i just love london from every angle... so many of them have been captured by my camera - but the hunt is endless, of course. as is the sifting and editing of the pictures. to be continued. need a breakfast now (ps: i know it's already late, i slept in, since i start work in the evening today. can't wait!). ta!

london diary part I: the modern pantry

this first week in london went by so quickly... 'work' at the modern pantry was so much fun! so many nice faces, nice insights. and still so much to learn! on top of that, london simply is my kind of town. i feel home here, although i've never before spent an awful lot of time here (except for a few short days in a row every time). it's just overwhelming. every corner offers inspiration. so... i'm sorry i didn't get to blogging and showing you pictures yet! i've been busy collecting inspiration so far. and be assured: there is plenty of material to treat you to some really good london posts. so exciting! for now, i'm gonna go to bed early(-ish), as i want to be super fresh for tomorrow's new 'work'-week (i take this thing super seriously, and it's so much fun). 

so, i thought i'd start with impressions from the modern pantry itself. look at this laid-back style! it really creates an atmosphere of being in someone's home. we went dining there on saturday night (i was nervous, laugh) - and boy, was it good! the crew/chefs (i love to call them my mates already) were so nice - all of the week, actually - but they gave us special treatment. they served us everything on the menu, can you believe that? literally everything! we almost rolled home. only almost. here are a few pictures, tbc. see you soon, guys! ta!

orange thyme beetroot salad

hi, dears! this is me writing from london! in my friend didi's living room, under a blanket, a (few) cupcake(s) in front of me. living the good life. omg, london is so amazing... i never want to leave this city. the weekend was fabulous. but the week started even better: with the cooking intern at the modern pantry. yay, finally! 

the first day was a whirlwind of overwhelming impressions: friendly faces, exotic smells, steaming pots, a very well equipped pantry and cooling room, racks and racks with spices on them, on the job tips from the sous-chef himself, a few funny jokes in between chopping and mincing and taking it all in and soaking up as much as possible. it was like heaven on earth for me to be able to do this. thank you so much, again and again, everyone at the modern pantry, who is putting up with me - and, so much more than only that, kindly and patiently shows and teaches me things and offers me smiles. it's been the best day. so good, in fact, that i didn't want to leave in the end (of my - admittedly rather short, compared to the others' - ) shift. 

although i have to say... my feet sure do hurt! right now, i am only thinking of eating the leftover cupcake crumbs, writing a post for lola and then... going to bed. i'll make sure to post some pictures of london tomorrow, i hope. so for now: bye, see you soon! thank you for stopping by. xo

orange thyme beetroot salad

ingredients:

5 small beet roots

1 kg coarse sea salt

1 blood orange, juice

5 sprigs thyme, leaves picked

1 tbsp. grape seed oil

1 tsp. acacia honey

1 tsp. fleur de sel

some dried chile flakes

directions:

preheat the oven to 250 degrees c (400 degrees f). wash and clean the beet roots. pat dry. place the coarse sea salt on a baking sheet. line the beets on top of the salt, with their roots pointing into the salt. place in the oven and roast for 45 minutes, or until the skin of the roots begins to bulge. remove from the oven and leave to cool.

remove the roasted peel, carefully, and slice each root into eighth. prepare a dressing with the orange juice, thyme leaves, grape seed oil, acacia honey, fleur de sel and chile flakes. pour over the roots and marinate them in it for half an hour, at least. serve as a starter or as a side dish to: a piece of really good meat, like a beet filet. your boy(friend) will thank you.

a cooking adventure begins: the modern pantry

hello dears! my mini cooking stage at the modern pantry restaurant in london is about to start, soon! to be precise: i'm leaving for london on friday night - and i will be back two weeks later. sadly, my holidays will be mostly used up afther the two weeks, so i wasn't able to go for much longer. but two weeks should be enough to take home a lot of inspiration, a pinch of know-how, a few new techniques and some behind the scenes stories, directly from a professional restaurant's kitchen! hooray!

my (and everyone else's, for that) guess is i'll also be pretty humbled by this experience... to be a chef sure is the toughest job in the world! still, all this, plus the backache i get from standing in a kitchen for too long, or cuts from (very sharp) knives and scratches from fish, burnt hands from oven and pans, soiled finger nails from artichokes, or sweaty and greasy hair from standing at the stove all day... well, it hasn't stopped me from loving this world and dreaming of it incessantly. now, finally, my dream comes true and i can be part of it - if only for two weeks.

so, anyway... i'm excited! i guess that much is clear. so if you're looking for me within the next two weeks, i'll be there, in this first picture, right next to the lovely tea time arrangement. drooling! well... technically, i'll probably be covered in tomato sauce and sweat somewhere in the hidden corners of the smokey kitchen... not so glamorous... but that's just as well, if not better. so, if you miss me, please stop by as i will make sure to post some pictures and updates whenever i find the time. also, you can follow me on instagram (my user name is @beautifulinside) which will be fed on a regular basis. 

sending you love, some rosewater-pickled cherry-greetings* and a hug!

scarlett, the aspirational chef*

* i think the modern pantry uses them for some thing or other.. i've spotted a container labelled with this on their gallery. holy dessert, can i try first, please?

** okay, let's not overdo it, i will be the help to the help of the aspirational chef, rather... laugh! but hey, i'm aspirational, and i'm in a kitchen, surrounded by real (sic!) chefs...! chefs! what more can you possibly ask for? eh, see?

chimichurri on steak & home made chips/crisps

some food deserves to be loved just for the mere name of it... like s'mores (which, by the way, i believe is a fab invention and also love to eat). or many of the austrian specialities; like buchteln (an austrian, steamed yeast pastry that's served warm with vanilla sauce), datschi (an austrian yeast fruit tart) or powidl (austrian name for plum sauce). another such an adorable food name - from the other end of the world, however, is chimichurri. 

chimichurri is a bright green salsa, similar to a pesto, however without the nuts or cheese in it. it consists of mostly parsley and / or cilantro and garlic, and it's commonly used on argentinian grilled meat. you see, chimichurri has many convincing and indulging aspects - however its name is what attracted me right away (yes, i fall in love quickly, madly and deeply, and there is often no way back, i fear). let me asure you: chimichurri did not, ever, let me down. 

apart from the chimichurri however, on this night, i also made home made potato chips (or crisps, as the english fellows would call it). the plus side of making your own chips: they're home made (obviously)! the down side however is, that it takes a lot of deep frying time. alas, a chip pan would have been wonderful. but... with a bit of patience (and the ability to still force a smile when you're greasy after) you will have a wonderfully fulfilling result. and an added bonus for the possibility to add funnily colored potatoes!

so i'm sending you off into the day / night (on my side of the world) with some chimichurry-nice wishes! adios!

chimichurri on steak & home made chips/crisps

chimichurri 

ingredients:

1 cup parsley leaves, washed and patted dry

1 cup cilantro leaves, washed and patted dry

2 garlic cloves

1/2 cup olive oil

2 cm jalapeno or other green chile

1 tbsp. white wine vinegar

1 tbsp. lime juice

1 tsp. fleur de sel, more to taste

6 black pepper corns, freshly ground

utensils:

a food processor

directions:

combine the herbs, garlic, jalapeno, vinegar, lime juice and olive oil in a food blender. pulse a few times until the desired consistency is reached (note on that: i quite like my chimichurri not too smooth, i.e. with a few solid parts in it, too. because one, it's not a pesto after all, and two, it looks better on the steak. but of course, feel free to blend it as much as you desire). season with salt and pepper. 

if used immediately (which i recommend), then fine. if you want to preserve it or prepared it ahead, then simply drizzle some olive oil on top and cover with foil. don't store in the fridge if you plan to use it later, because the oil will get hard. but you can store it in the fridge in a jam jar for up to 5 days (or so i think). 

home made chips/crisps

ingredients:

4 large, firm potatoes, maybe one purple or blue colored one

3 cups peanut oil

maldon sea salt, to taste

fresh thyme sprigs, leaves removed

utensils:

a vegetable slicer

a lot of paper towel

a small but steep saucepan for deep frying

a sieve

directions:

first prepare the maldon sea salt and thyme spice mix: combine the salt and the thyme in a mortar, and grind well. put aside.

wash the potatoes and pat dry. i chose to leave the skin on, but you can peel them if you want. slice the potatoes into 1mm thin (almost able to look through) chips and spread evenly onto layers of paper towel, and pat dry firmly and thoroughly. heat the peanut oil in the saucepan, until tiny sizzling bubbles appear when you add a potato slice. now place a batch (about a handful, not more, otherwise they'll stick together) of chips into the hot oil, allowing them to dance around the oil for 1-3 minutes. the best indicator for them is the color: when they're golden to slightly brownish looking, they will be crisp! remove with the sieve and place on more paper towel to dry. sprinkle with the thyme salt immediately. now deep fry one batch of chips after another and proceed the same way, until all potatoes are deep fried. serve immediately.

note: the chips can be served on the next day, still, however they will likely turn a bit... soft and squishy. like any chip or crisp would.... so, not what you want from a crisp crisp, right? so, basically, they're meant to be eaten just in time. munch-munch! enjoy!

of course, now a little side note for the meat... 

well, you know me, i'm neither a meat lover, nor a meat expert... this ojo de agua (from argentina) beef filet however turned out nicely. probably because the meat itself was so good, i couldn't spoil it? or maybe because i was just lucky. but anyway, here's my meat advice: take the meat out 20 minutes before using them. heat frying butter in a frying pan, on very high heat. place the filets in the pan and fry, on each side, for 2 minutes. the cooking time depends on the thickness of the meat, of course, and your desired done-ness. i like mine medium. which basically means the meat has to feel as firm as the skin on the inner side of your hand, right below your thumb. you know that rule, right? it's silly, but it's also... sort of a good guide to the perfectly satisfying meat. then again... maybe it was just my lucky day? everyone has some of these, so i just say thank you to the god of beef filet. so, thank you, and god luck to you, too.