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AhmedAli
FOODS AROUND THE WORLD
RECIPES
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Once seen as a climate fix, vegan burgers now languish at 1% of the US market amid rising meat culture
just a single egg white can be transformed into enough elegant meringue shards to crown more than four servings of pudding, as I discovered when, earlier this year, I was invited by Cole & Mason to come up with a recipe to mark London History Day and decided to do so by celebrating the opening of the Shard in 2012. Meringue shards make a lovely finishing touch to all kinds of desserts, from a rich trifle to an avant-garde pavlova or that timeless classic, the Eton mess. As for the leftover yolk, I have several recipes, including spaghetti carbonara (also featuring salt-cured egg yolks that make a wonderful alternative to parmesan) and brown banana curd.
The combination of pineapple, salt and tamarind was part of my childhood in Malaysia. In fruit salads and the famous Penang laksa, the mix of sweet, tangy, salty and acidic is so vibrant and distinctive that, for me, it is almost synonymous with the country of my birth and, more importantly, its incredible range of foods and flavours.
t has come to my attention that I haven’t written a column dedicated to red wine in almost two months. So sue me – it’s been hot. Mercifully, though, temperatures look to be dropping soon, so we can once again cup the bowl of a wine glass without worrying about it getting a little warmer as its aromas unfasten.
Al cartoccio is the Italian form of en papillote, meaning “contained” or “in paper”, which is an effective cooking method that traps the moisture (and flavour) released from the ingredients and creates a steamy poaching chamber – it’s a bit like a Turkish bath for food! Once out of the oven, but still sealed, the scented steam trapped in the paper returns to liquid and creates a brothy sauce. Fish with firm white or pink flesh that breaks into fat flakes is particularly well suited to cooking al cartoccio, both whole fish (cleaned and on the bone) and individual filets (estimate 110g-140g per person).
Late-season plums are wonderful to bake with; juicy and slightly astringent as you get closer to the skin, they soften into a rich, almost winey sweetness. And, when they’re nestled into soft almond cream and scented with star anise, they make a delicious tart for any time of day. Serve warm with pouring cream as pudding or cold with a cup of tea.
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