Fresh Direction for Food/Blogs/Art

These guys got in touch with me from Australia and I love what they're doing. They're called the 'Bookery Cook' and they are doing something very unique with their recipes, art, design, and whole approach to food. As you might have read (check it here) I'm not that fond of what is happening right now with food in the media. You have to check out their blog and join them on FuckBook. Lots of wicked recipes, has to become a great cookbook...

Monday Night is Pasta Night

I'm sorting out a new pasta dish tonight (more later if it's successful), so I thought I stick up a classic NYC dish...


Penne in vodka sauce


Although this dish has not been anywhere near Italy, it is still one of the tastiest pasta dishes, and really easy to make too. Pretend you’re in the New York mafia when you’re eating it and talk about getting someone wacked. Let's just say that this comes under Italian-American cuisine!!!

Feeds 4

salt and black pepper
a good knob of  butter
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 pack assorted Italian meat (Parma ham, salami etc), thinly sliced
2 tins chopped tomatoes
1 teaspoon caster sugar
2 red chillies, chopped
25ml/1fl oz vodka
500g/18oz penne pasta
1 small pot double cream
freshly grated Parmesan

Put a large pan of salted water on to boil.
Melt the butter in a large frying pan, add the garlic and fry for a couple of minutes. Then add the sliced meat and fry for a further 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, sugar, chilli and some black pepper, and cook for 5 minutes before adding the vodka.
Then it’s time to put the pasta into the boiling water and cook for 10 minutes (or whatever it says on the packet).
When the pasta is ready, add the cream to the tomato sauce and cook gently for 2 minutes. While this is simmering, drain the pasta and put back into the big pan. Add the tomato sauce to the pasta and mix well.
Cover with grated Parmesan and serve.

Pro Bono Street Recipes - TRINCHADO

I used to eat this at the Dias Tavern in Cape Town as often as I could. Each time I'd go there I'd alternate between this and the Espedata (a serious Kebab) and I'd always be dragging my copywriter or whoever there for a quick lunch (2 hours that would then turn into a serious Jol).  Last time I was in Berlin I bought this dish from a crazy food stall (actually an old caravan) on a visit to a street festival held in June around the Kunstraum museum and park. It’s from Portugal originally but the recipe has mutated into something very Eurocentric. Bring it on!


Feeds 2

15g/1/2oz unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
675g/1 1/2lb rump steak, cut into small cubes
1 large onion, chopped
3 or 4 small hot red chilli peppers, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
725ml/scant 1 1/4 pints/3 cups beef stock
1/2 bottle red wine
1 bay leaf
1 tin black olives, or a couple of good handfuls
salt and black pepper

Heat a large pan over a medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Add the butter and oil.  Once the butter is melted, add the beef cubes a few at a time and brown well on all sides. Don’t cook too many cubes at once, crowd the pan or rush this step: this is what gives the dish its flavour. Remove the cooked cubes and leave to one side on a plate.

Lower the heat to medium, add the onion and chilli and cook until softened, about 10 minutes.
Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Pour in the stock and red wine. Stir until the sauce thickens a bit, about 3 minutes. Then add the bay leaf, olives, browned beef cubes and any juices that may have accumulated on the plate.  Bring to the boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, for about 2 hours. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.

Serve with lots of crusty French bread for dunking.

Killer!!!

My Street Food Cookbook is sizzling on the fire. Been checking out some killer ideas from around the globe, but then again isn't that what it's all about?
Photo above is of an ingredient from back a yard Trenchtown, from one of my new new new recipes that I'm mixing up right now, and the photo below is an inspiration for a dish from a township in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda...

Roll on Summer...

First real day of spring! Sun is shining and everything is sweet, makes me want to move my dancing feet. Praise be to Robert Nesta Marley - rest in peace bru! Roll roll roll on the summer months and outdoor times!!!
I'm gonna leave you with a shot from a festival last year. Don't know who the fuck he is but he was certainly cuddling up to the one he loved!!!