Bila Orang Tak Selalu Blog, Blog!

OMG I'm on a Blogging ROLLLL!! Never written so many posts in a day!
This time, I'd like to share an interesting- not so simple (why should it be!? Otherwise we wouldn't have anything to do and that beats the purpose!- sheesh)- recipe for Roast Vegetable Tart. It's perfect for times when you feel like a melange of wholesome flavours, creamy, soft vegetables in your mouth, egg and cream and quiche-like substances.
Tried it over at Auntie Laila's (location of my Christmas Chronicles)- Nadia seemed like she liked it. If Nadia likes a recipe, it's worth highlighting.
I stumbled upon this recipe when I was browsing Ottolenghi's blog- eager for some pictures and recollection of my extravagant GBP13.00 salad lunch at Ottolenghi's N1 (Islington) little eatery. To this date, I'm still trying to convince myself that it's worth it. Which it is, to a certain extent. But that story is for another day.
Yotam Ottolenghi's supposedly "Meal for All Seasons" for under a fiver looked interesting; especially this Roast Vegetable Tart.

Serves two

1 large red pepper
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into 3cm dice
Half a small courgette, cut into 3cm dice
2 small onions, peeled and thinly sliced
1 bay leaf
200g shortcrust pastry
3 sprigs of thyme, picked
50g goat's cheese
4 cherry tomatoes, halved
1 large free-range egg
130ml double cream
About 50ml olive oil
Salt and black pepper

• Set the oven to 230C/Gas 8. Use a small serrated knife to cut around the stem of the pepper and lift it out along with the seeds. Shake the pepper to remove all the remaining seeds and discard the stem and seeds.

• Place the pepper in a small ovenproof dish, drizzle with a little oil and put on the top shelf in the oven. Mix the sweet potato in a bowl with two tablespoons of olive oil and some salt and pepper, lay in a medium baking tray and place on the oven shelf beneath the peppers.

• After 12 minutes add the courgette to the sweet potato and stir gently. Return to the oven for another 12 minutes or until both vegetables are cooked but still firm. Leave the pepper in the oven for another 10-12 minutes, or until it is thoroughly brown, then remove and cover with foil until it cools down. Once cool, peel and break roughly into strips.

• While the vegetables are roasting, sauté the onion on the stove top along with the bay leaf, some salt and a tablespoon of olive oil. Cook them on a medium heat for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they turn brown, soft and sweet. Remove from the heat, discard the bay leaf and set aside.

• Reduce the oven temperature to 160C/Gas 3.

• Lightly grease a 16-18cm tart tin with a removable base. Roll out the pastry to a circle roughly 3mm thick and large enough to line the base and sides of the tin, plus extra to hang over the edge. Carefully line the tart case with the pastry, making sure you don't puncture it. Press the pastry so it covers the base and sides of the tin, with the excess hanging over the edge.

• Line the pastry base with a large sheet of baking parchment (make sure it covers the base and sides) and fill it with ceramic baking beans. Bake blind for 40 minutes. Carefully remove the paper with the beans. Give the case another 10 minutes in the oven so it turns golden brown. Remove and allow to cool a little.

• Now, scatter the base of the tart with the cooked onion and top with the roasted vegetables; try to arrange them evenly, then scatter half the thyme over them. Next, dot the veg with chunks of cheese and then with tomatoes, cut side facing up.

• Whisk the egg and cream in a small bowl, along with some salt and pepper. Carefully and slowly, pour this mix into the tart. Make sure the top layer remains exposed so you can see the vegetables and cheese. Scatter the remaining thyme on top and place in the oven. Cook for 30-40 minutes or until the filling sets and turns golden. Remove and allow to rest for at least 10 minutes before breaking off the excess pastry, taking the tart out of the tin and serving.

We skipped the whole paper and beans thing. I don't know how much this procedure does to the flavour of the tart; but mine went perfectly well. Maybe a better quality cream will avoid it being slightly watery. And baking the shortcrust pastry first is extremely essential!

In my attempts to share my experiences eating and describing the food I ate, I have discovered my tendency to use the same vocabulary, adjectives and expressions. But I think when a food is good, it's good. You can find all the adjectives in the world, but at the end of the day; I'm back to describing my food and the atmosphere that complements it.

I don't want to just review restaurants, because; (a) I'm hardly a pro. I might not know what I'm talking about when it comes to describing flavours and ingredients, (b) I love the pictures I take more than words. And they're not even professionally taken. (c) It's not always about eating out, and if it is, my destinations do not tend to be fancy eateries or easily discoverable places. They're usually random acquaintances and cheap. They also sometimes cost a bomb. So, it's not exactly a "gastronomic guide on a budget" type thing either.

But, the Cut Bar, is a different story. I didn't exactly get to taste the whole range of things on their menu, neither did I (again, for obvious reasons) had a chance at their mixes or beers. So I don't know if it's exactly fair to review it's whole menu. What I can tell you for sure is that, these kinds of menu come rare; you don't always get a bar/pub without a particular theme in mind- to whip up a menu presenting such a variety of flavors. (Other than the usual fishcakes, fish and chips and jacket potatoes). I'm betting the cut's chefs made up the menu themselves, rather than the usual house-own-version of things from the good ol' "fairytales" and "folklores."

A dear friend celebrated her 21st Birthday and decided to treat us lucky girls to a rather intimate theatre show at the Young Vic. We had dinner at The Cut Bar after the show and one glance at the menu got me excited. And it's not like I can even eat any of the meat!

Here's the menu.

I LOVED how they worded their menu, and of course, the actual things they whipped up themselves. There's a part organic-part carnivorous- part contemporary- part fusion- part adventurous feel to it.

It's relish. It's mayo. It's Mustard. It's Bang Bang Sauce. Whatever THAT is.

It's also Rabbit. Duck. Beef. King Prawns. Tofu. Mushrooms.

I write as I fast (It's Ramadhan 09) and my mouth waters.

The service was slow; but my Grilled Portobello Mushroom & Jura Cheese w/ Marmalade & Red Onion (v) came when I was famished- I forgot about service. The burger wasn't even what I'd called massive. A table mate and I were contemplating whether she should get rid of the Relish that came with her Tofu on Black Bread sandwich, while I, my marmalade. (Though, I secretly didn't want to.)

The waitress claimed that the chef wasn't happy to forgo the relish. (Another sign of the recipes being developed in-house). I was partially convinced that the Marmalade-Red Onion Combo will serve my senses fine.

Oh my god it was AMAZING!

Whatever Jura Cheese was, (It's actually unpasteurised cow's milk- part of the Gruyère family), I was in L.O.V.E. I munched each heavenly bite with a secret smile, contented by my choice, fully aware of what the sweet acidic marmalade is doing to the soft grilled mushroom and my cheese. Until...

I bit into ENGLISH MUSTARD! Or Horse Radish. Or Wasabe. Or one of those.
It took me sometime to realise that that must've been it. I thought I was sick all of a sudden! That really spoilt my appetite- albeit only for a few minutes.

But, all in all, in retrospect, it was a good melange of flavours- even better when I got rid of the mustard.
As Malaysians like to say it THANKS GOD!

I CANNOT BELIEVE I FORGOT ABOUT MY POFFERTJES.
I JUST CAN'T.

How can one forget something one went searching throughout the Netherlands for?
How can one forget something that can be mouthful to pronounce but all one can think about is having mouthfuls of?
How can one forget dessert!?

Pronounced pof-fer-ti-yes, for anyone trusting my Dutch skills, they call it "Dutch pancakes" in english. Of course, anything that's made of flour and can be modified with all things sweet and nice are pancakes. Such an easy way out! Wikipedia calls them "traditional Dutch batter treat" which is much more vague but I like it. I later found out they're "batter leavened with yeast." Either way, one thing's for sure- you'll ALWAYS have room for these "whatever nationality pancakes" or "traditional whatever batter treat", if they come with sugar.

With a bit of research- if you call wikipedia research- I found out poffertjes are turned before one side is completely done, which results in a much softer core than pancakes have. They typically are served with powdered sugar (LOADS of them) and butter.


Temporary poffertjes "houses" appear across The Netherlands from September to March, which was what we found as we walked aimlessly on the streets of Rotterdam. It was a huge tent set up like a proper restaurant/ cafe, with generated heating, and an "indoor" outdoor area for smokers. Something like those street side soju-bbq stalls I see a lot on Korean tv.


Wait, maybe this one had a permanent established foundation with the tent rather attached to it. Anyhow, these cafes usually have these in dozens, but mine had half dozens as well. Remember spending approx. EUR 4.00 for a plate.

Anyhow, I had mine with bananas and cream and a dollop of syrup caramel. Tell me, how can that go wrong?

NB: I must say, this was nice as you can taste the slightly salty lump of cooked batter, rather than thinner versions of pancakes where you tend to get too caught up with the toppings- although, that IS usually the idea (don't reckon people fancy nutella spread or cream and strawberry syrup just like by themselves much). The powdered sugar got a bit too much at a point.

Have poffertjes with a nice warm latte and you'll be contented for the day. That's my promise.

Looking at these gorgeous photos I had on file reminded me how I tend to zoom my photos straight up. This can get boring, having forgotten to capture the presentation and overall look. But, since I found out my simple 100% automatic digital camera is pretty good at capturing granular, macro, details of my food, I was influenced.

Anyhow...

You don't always find shops you can custom made your order. You also don't always find a simple aglio olio missing from an Italian Menu. Ciao, on a little street corner behind Park Street in main Bristol, was this little family run, Italian eatery that offered cheap GBP5.00 lunches (pasta plateaus or pizza) with a soda to go with. Since they didn't have a an aglio olio (the only other thing Italian that I LOVE! besides seafood tagliatelle) on the menu, I asked them if they could make some for me using angel hair. The chef dude said he'd do it however I like it, recommending the pasta along the way, and describing me how he'd prepare it. I was in waiting heaven- if there was one!

And yes, I had him put those wondrous sun dried tomatoes as well!

Also had a bite at the seafood pizza; at the risk of stealing the show from my spaghetti.