softshell crab with soba & roasted vegetables

Here's another of those dishes I made for the dinner party. (A follow-up to the baked potato soup and baked scallop dish). For main course, I served a Japanese inspired dish with crab and soba. As the scallop was already rather heavy, I decided to go with something lighter for the mains. Here's what we had.

Softshell crab - deep fried in a light coating of flour. I drizzled on wasabi mayo for some kick.

Cold soba - seasoned with a light soya-mirin dressing, sprinkled with sesame seeds, spring onions and seaweed.

Roasted beetroot and pumpkin - these were roasted and coated at the end with a sweet miso dressing (mirin, miso, soya and sugar). The dressing took on a lovely pink hue which I drizzled onto the plate.

Pickled ginger - these I made my own - simply ginger soaked in sugar syrup and rice vinegar.

Edamame (soy beans) - these were boiled quickly and strewn on the plate for colour and texture.

There's quite a lot going on the plate (maybe too much). The next time, I'll do without the roasted vegs.

PS. There was still dessert , but by then no one (and I mean D) remembered to take pictures. For dessert, we had a Nigella-inspired chocolate pavlova - I served it with strawberry compote instead of raspberries.

baked mornay scallop with minted pea puree

It's a real pity the baked mornay scallop can't be seen in this picture. Well, there is one - under the mesclun salad. (D took the picture!!)

Anyway, this dish was really well-received with my dinner guests. The mint pea puree at the bottom was a fantastic foil to the slow-roasted roma tomato sitting on it. The baked half-shell mornay scallop precariously on the tomato, followed by the balsamic vinaigrette dressed salad. I also made a dill cream sauce which was absolutely unnecessary.

For the mint pea puree - boil peas in cream till very tender but still green. Add sprigs of mint and more cream. Season with freshly cracked pepper and sea salt. (Don't overdo the mint, or not you'll get toothpaste tasting peas)

For the roasted tomato - half the roma tomatoes and season well with slt and pepper. Add either fresh thyme or rosemary if you have any on hand. If not, you can do without. (PS. Local tomatoes will not do here - they are almost colourless and extremely tasteless. Roma, plum or vine-ripened are of course costlier but worth the few more dollars)

For the mornay - melt cubes of butter in a pan and add several tablespoons of flour. Fry the roux till the floury smell is gone. Add warmed milk slowly until it becomes saucy. Add cheddar at the end to make it a cheesy sauce. Add to raw scallops, top off with more cheddar and parmesan cheese and baked at very high heat. Always slightly under cook the scallops. When they are served, they will be perfect.

For the vinaigrette - whisk very quickly 1 part balsamic and 3 parts extra virgin olive oil together until emulsified. You can add a tsp of dijon mustard if you wish.

This is happy food - the emerald green of the peas, the warm orange and the sweetness of the tomato, the comforting creaminess of the cheese and the mornay sauce, the ocean saltiness of the scallop, the freshness of the salad. Just wonderful combinations. Try it to believe it. Happy daze.

a baked potato soup

Cooking for friends has always been something I look forward to. Though these days, the cooking has been far and between (with a looming deadline beckoning, it's getting a little difficult to slave an entire day in the kitchen). So friends, keep your prayers coming and fingers crossed that I'll complete that dreaded paper soon.

Here's one of the dishes I made as a starter for one of those dinner parties several weeks back. The 'baked' bit is a kinda of a misnomer - the soup is not actually baked, but its served like how a baked potato would be - with sour cream, bacon and chives. This soup is one of my favourites - the potato and the sour cream at the end means no flour or cream is added during the cooking process. Also, the combination of the bacon, chives and sour cream is a classic trio made in heaven.

I made a chicken stock using chicken bones, celery, onions, bay leaves and black peppercorns. Afterwhich, I sauteed a chopped onion in oil till translucent - be careful not to brown it (if not you ger brown bits in your pale cream soup). Next, I added chopped peeled potato chunks. And cooked them for a bit, with a ladle of stock. I added all the stock and cooked till the potatoes are tender. Cool. Blend. Season to taste. I fried the chopped up bacon (never ever use the fakey ones in a bottle), chopped up the chives and that's it. Baked potato soup. It was a hit.