An Edible Voyage

August 2021 Agrodolce. That addictive, lip-smacking Italian goodness, the epitome of Mediterranean cuisine. It's so good in fact, even challenging fennel submits to the most delicate and delicious of dinners. Heat the oil from the anchovies, fry finely chopped garlic, pine nuts and slivered fennel, before stirring in honey, raisins, red wine vinegar and the anchovies.  Simmer until the liquid evaporates and, at the last moment, toss through fresh dill.  Serve on flatbread - if you want to go homemade, see below for the softest, fluffiest, moorish, yet super simple flatbread around. Quick Flatbread Melt 50g butter in 3/4 cup warm milk.   Add 2 cups plain flour.  Knead for 2 mins.  Rest for 30 mins.  Divide in to 4.  Roll in to rounds approx 0.3cm thick.  Cook one at a time in an oiled pan over medium heat for around 90 secs on each side, or until it bubbles up and turns golden

June 2020 I'm often wary of miso.  I think it's the thought of it that I don't like.  And it's very easy to go overboard, adding too much and eclipsing all other flavours in a dish.  But, most of the time, I do actually enjoy the strong umami taste.  I was a little skeptical of how it would work as the main ingredient of this pasta 'sauce', and although I feel it would be too much as a main dish, it makes an elegant starter, taking minutes to prepare.  Asparagus is lightly pan fried with miso, mixed in to cooked fettuccine with a little of the cooking water, and topped with dill, fresh from the herb garden. 

September 2019 To stock me up for my journey home, I wanted to find some good, solid Ukranian cuisine.  Puzata Hata was just the place - a cheerful canteen with a wide selection of Ukraine's most iconic dishes, decent quality, and big portions for a small price tag.   The potato vareniki were surprisingly flavourful for what it is effectively a potato dumpling, although, as expected, they were rather mono-textured.  The dill crepe cake was a bit like a salad in cake form.  The crepes gave it an interesting texture but it had a surprisingly overpowering flavour and the liberal mayonnaise made it rather rich. Find these, alongside many other Ukrainian specialities, at Puzata Hata.  There are many branches across the Ukraine, including several in Kiev.