writing, ideas, food, utopia
The experiment is at an end, and judged on looks alone it is a triumph - those grated golden curls couldn't be more lovely. But on flavour, we have a hung jury. The effect of these flecks of proteinous gorgeousness on pasta or in a salad is very good indeed, I just wish it was… Continue reading Cured egg yolk: final chapter, first round
The yolks have entered their final stage - out of the cure and into the muslin. I don't have one of those cheffy meat cupboards (shocking omission, to be remedied in my next kitchen) so they are hanging at the back of the fridge. This is probably a little colder than the ideal, but I'm sure… Continue reading Cured egg yolk – day 17
I've managed to resist disturbing my yolks for almost a week. It's definitely time to see what they've been up to. Left undisturbed for a respectable interval the salt and sugar mix has set much more firmly - as hard as a rock in some places. I dug the yolks out quite cautiously, with the… Continue reading Cured egg yolk – day 10
Yesterday I started curing some egg yolks, in preparation for a recipe in Magnus Nilsson's Fäviken cookbook. I can't resist checking them to see how they are progressing, and today there is already a change! The yolks are visibly firmer, more intensely orange, and starting to hold a more solid shape. I ruffle up the dampened… Continue reading Cured egg yolk – day 2
Salted anchovies have been a recent joy in my winter salad dressings. Chopped or mashed - depending on how soft they are - and mixed simply with good olive oil and white wine vinegar (or more robustly with a little dijon mustard, and red wine or walnut vinegar), this is a regal dressing for any… Continue reading Salted anchovies
I have a small standard olive tree in a large pot on the small area of decking outside my central London apartment. It thrives in its exposed, dry spot, though the unpredictable weather means it doesn't always live up to the promise of its copious spring blossom. It usually manages to produce between half a… Continue reading Green olives
Some of the most delicious olives I have ever tasted were the ones foraged from the grounds of a friend's house near Vence in the south of France. The huge old tree had obviously produced a massive crop, and when I visited in spring the ground was littered with the tiny fruit, shrivelled by the… Continue reading Black olives
Jane Levi 