March is gone now, and while the weather is still just as cold as it was in January, the sun sets at 7:30 pm now and the days oficially feel normal. It felt like a very long month to me but also had lots of fun and was very happy with everything that happened.
1
slow cooked beef
At the beginning of March, I decided to finally use the crockpot I bought for £12 during black friday. I was craving something rich and elegant, and I decided to try making this slow cooked beef dish which I was very happy with.
1. 750g of beef chuck
2. 1/2 a diced onion
3. beef broth
4. salt and pepper
5. rosemary
6. garlic powder
7. barbecue seasoning
1. start by seasoning the beef with salt, pepper, garlic powder and barbecue seasoning generously.
2. using a slow cooker (crockpot) set the heat to high and place the meat into the bowl.
3. add the diced onion into the bowl.
4. add the beef broth and top with a rosemary stem.
5. leave to cook for roughly 4 hours, after which you can save the broth and take out the beef to pull appart and eat.
I ate this with some dauphinoise potatoes, but you can also enjoy it in a sandwich, with pasta, or whatever you’d like.
2
Felix Project
I’ve had a really nice time coming here, and thought it would be nice to share in case anybody reading this finds it interesting for themselves to take a part in as well. Sometimes London can feel like a very cold, dog-eat-dog city, but I’ve had the chance to meet some super lovely people here and as cheesy as it sounds, helps me feel like I’m a part of something bigger than me. Here’s the link to their page.
3
Potato Gnocchi + Homemade Pesto
I followed this recipe from Naiara Sabandar’s substack page, where she posts some recipes of her own in a really nice way to follow. Here’s the link to her substack page. I’ve followed the recipe almost entirely, but I added sunflower seeds to the pesto as well.
gnocchi
1. potatoes
2. flour
3. egg
pesto
1. spinach
2. basil
3. parmesan
4. garlic
5. toasted pumpkin seeds
6. toasted sunflower seeds
7. olive oil
8. salt and pepper
1. wash the potatoes but leave the skin on and use your fork to pierce some holes into the skin.
2. heat up the oven to around 190 degrees and pop the potatoes into the oven for around 45 minutes (or until the inside is soft). On a tray, place the pumpkin and sunflower seeds and also place them into the oven for around 20 minutes (or until they are toasted)
3. while the potatoes and the seeds bake, begin blanching your spinach and basil by putting clean leaves into boiling water and then transfering them into a bowl with ice water.
4. squeeze the water from the blanched greens and chop up into small pieces.
5. in a food processor, add some parmesan cheese cubes and the cut up basil and spinach.
6. then, blend in some garlic paste ( I like to use a grater to create the paste) and some olive oil and mix again.
7. add in the seeds and some salt and pepper and once you reach a nice consistency place the pesto in a jar.
8. take the potatoes out and remove the skins.
9. with a fork, mash the potato apart and then create a little “volcano” with some plain flour. In the center, make a hole to add 1 egg into.
10. mix all the ingredients and knead the dough until it’s no longer sticky.
11. roll out the dough into tubes and cut the gnocchi shapes and set aside on a bowl with a towel.
12. boil some water with some salt and place your fresh gnocchi’s into the water. When the gnocchi floats to the surface that means they’re ready.
13. In a separate pan, add some pesto and splash a bit of pasta water to make a smooth sauce.
14. mix the gnocchi’s into the pesto sauce and then serve.
4
Sunday birthday celebration at Rochelle Canteen
We celebrated Eseniya’s birthday at Rochelle Canteen, and I was reminded how much I enjoyed long lunches where you need to take pauses between bites because of how full you are. We had a 3 hour lunch, and when we realized that the staff lunch was going to begin, we understood it was time to go (all the tables around us leaving wasn’t enough of a hint). The food at Rochelle is always delicious in my opinion, and the place makes it feel as if I’m in somebody’s backyard in the most wholesome way. Great choice from the birthday girl!
5
White pork ragú with Pappardelle
This month I tried to cook new things at home, and the latest recipe I tried out was this white pork ragú that I was craving after I had eaten something similar at the Prince Arthur some months ago. It was so so yummy and while the recipe takes time to make I really recommend making this for a big group of people on a weekend or something like that. I’m thinking if making a traditional red beef ragú at some point but this ragú was super fulfilling to make.
white pork ragú
1. 500g pork shoulder (boneless)
2. 150g pancetta
3. carrots
4. onions
5. celery
6. thyme, rosemary, sage
7. olive oil
8. salt + pepper
9. garlic
10. white wine
11. chicken bone broth
12. milk
1. Preheat your oven to 160 degrees
2. Season the pork with salt and pepper and heat 1 tbsp olive oil in an ovenproof heavy bottomed pan over medium - high heat. Sear the pork on all sides and set aside.
3. In the same pan, fry the pancetta for 10 mins until browned, lift out onto a plate with a slotted spoon, leaving the fat behind.
4. Add the onion, carrot, celery, fennel seeds and a pinch of salt and pepper and cook over medium heat until soft.
5. After 5 minutes add the garlic and continue cooking. Then add the pork and pancetta to the pan and mix.
6. Add the wine and simmer to reduce the wine by at least half.
7. Add the chicken broth, milk, and another good pinch of salt and pepper and bring to a simmer.
8. Tie the rosemary, thyme and sage together with string and place into the mix.
9. Cover and cook in the oven for around two hours.
10. take the pan out of the oven and with a fork pull the pork apart.
If eating straight away, cook your pasta in a pot of boiling salted water then mix with the ragu. Serve and top with lemon zest and parmesan.
6
Sobremesa Drawing Series
I wanted to share this pencil drawing I made which I would like to turn into a series of drawings that document table settings before and after being used. I started this drawing in January, with the purpose of submitting it to an open call that I was interested in joining. The drawing didn’t make the cut, but I enjoyed the process of making it a lot. I’ll try to complete one of these drawings each month.
To end today’s post I want to share a picture of my mom in Naoshima two years ago because today (31st of August) is her birthday :)