Engage Simplicity

Bottom-line - Anything, be it anything, should have the power to humble you at some level. When you come across a down-to-earth person, there is nothing more rhetorically impelling than that presence. I have met very few who impress me to that level, and they, in my list of people I respect, are of the highest order.

Everyone craves attention, to some, it acts as an outlet to things bottled up and to some its just a way of life. It gives you a sense of power when you act out of your usual self and it is indeed quite engaging to make yourself feel that 'you've arrived'. But, somehow that always is a turn off to the opposite, as when you have the liberty of standing next to another, that platform automatically becomes an equal and should be treated thus.

A lot of people I know personally are engagingly simple in every manner possible. These are the ones who stand out from the crowds and always leave a lasting impression and a little lesson on how to conduct oneself in the company of others. These are the kind of people who are a living example of a perfect being and I, for one, try and take on a bit of this persona thus balancing out my own personality.

It's come to such a level that I crave for the simple things in life, materialistically I am still far away from it, but inside, it feel's the right choice to have made by embracing a more open outlook towards the thing called life. I know years down I'd probably reach that platform and it would do me, if no one else, a lot better and I could lead an actual "life in style".

The simplest form of food I make is my biggest flattery, I create many a dish which range from simple to complicated. But the ones I create without giving it much importance due to its simplicity are the ones which garner the most bouquets. One of my favourites is a dish which you would probably scoff at as frighteningly easy when you see how its actually made, it is roasted garlic, but the power it holds in most dishes as a topping or an ingredient is infinite. I would not technically name this as a dish, as its more an ingredient and usually accompanies or acts as an additive to many of my recipes. It's a must have for garlic lovers and you would probably eat it by itself most of the time.

Ingredients:

1 head Garlic (large cloves, peeled and seperated)
2 tablsp Olive Oil
Sea Salt to taste
Foil

Slice the garlic, lengthwise as thin as you can. I usually use a manual slide chopper to get paper thin slices, but it works as good with a sharp knife.

Fold a square of foil from all the sides to have 1/2 inch standing edges. Spread the slices of garlic in one layer on the foil, drizzle with olive oil and a sprinkling of sea salt. Pop into an oven with a overhead grill function on the topmost level of the grill. Grill for five minutes or a little more till the edges of the garlic brown (they brown pretty quickly so keep an eye on the dish). Remove and cool, use as desired.

Another method of making roasted garlic and the less tedious and common way is to peel the papery thin outer layers of a full head of garlic, leaving the final skin intact. Chop the tip by about 2mm from the top in one swift slice of a sharp knife, drizzle with olive oil and sea salt and pop it whole into an oven. You can bake this till well browned on the top and remove to peel and use as required. This gives you a softer roasted garlic and can be used in many dishes such as soups and sauces.

Though I like the paper thin crispy version better. I leave it to you to decide which suits you the best.   I love these by itself, on pizzas, as a topping on pastas and salads and to an extent even with my daily rice and dal. A little overwhelming, but then again - no one stopped you from indulging in the simple things of life.

Getting back on the bandwagon

It does pay to get back on track when down and out. I had a bit of a run in with our friend the "Flu" & his hot sidekick "Fever" last week and was completely zapped out of all energy stored for the week.

The first few days were reminiscent of old grandma recipes with hot starchy rice dishes, various cocktails of milk, honey, turmeric, spices, ghee, tea, and other ingredients which only my house help could identify as medicine with chants of "baba, it will do wonder's for you, just one cup, ok - half, ok - no - dont drink it but pinch your nose and gulp it down" the hot liquid should scare those germs away in a jiffy. Well I buckled down to all the pampering and confusion, emerging victorious, but definitely felt as though the illness had been coughed away, or rather frightened out of its wits.

By the end of the week, I had my taste buds reactivated, I had to dig into something a little more luxurious, indulgent with a hint of tasty. Of course, the idle mention of ordering in or digging in at some fancy restaurant  was shunted by the other members of my family who threatened me with doctors and more grandma recipes, I quietly crawled away into my corner deciding what to do next.

Well, I have been blessed with making food myself, tasty food to an extent. I decided, my new-found energy and rigour could be put to good use in the kitchen and I could jump right back on the bandwagon of what I do best - cook !

This was the time to get spontaneous, I selected the first few ingredients which caught my eye and landed up making a delicious spaghetti dish which is simple, defined, garlicky, the way I like it and best of all - a perfect antidote to boring, tasteless dishes which I have been through in the last week

Ingredients:

1 cup Spaghetti (Cooked in boiling water till al-dente, drained & tossed in a tsp of olive oil)
8-10 Button Mushrooms (Sliced thinly)
4 Babycorn's (Blanched & Sliced)
A bunch of Baby Spinach Leaves
1 small Onion (quartered & separated)
8-10 Garlic cloves
1 tablsp Chilli Flakes
2 tablsp Olive Oil
Salt & Freshly Crushed Pepper
Grated Parmesan Cheese (optional)

Peel and crush the garlic cloves with the flat side of a large knife or a spatula

Wash, trim and roughly chop the spinach leaves and keep aside

Warm the olive oil in a pan till well heated but not smoking, toss the garlic and stir well till fragrant but ensuring the garlic does not brown. Toss in the mushroom and turn up the heat to high, toss around well, adding a tsp of olive oil if it gets too dry. In about a minute, turn down the heat and add the onions and spinach leaves. Once the spinach leaves lose water and limp, toss in the other ingredients including the spaghetti, babycorn and seasoning's. Toss well, crush more pepper atop the dish if required and sprinkle the grated parmesan. Serve immediately.

Bless taste !           

O'-I-Live to make it happen one day

There is an interesting observation at Italian Restaurants abroad, be it a small or an extravagant one, the moment you are seated the exhaustive wine list is brought out, the concierge helps you with the selection, with his/her mind reading prowess, he/she can guess your taste, liking, mood and the amount you are willing to spend, saving you the trouble of going cross eyed trying to determine the best choice off the menu as it involves rapid eye movement between the wines and the little amount column on the right (especially if you have "company").

Now comes the other interesting part, the wine once brought out, uncorked, poured and tasted, the practice, as is observed, involves a small shallow white plate to be placed in front of you. The assorted bread in its individual basket having a wide assortment of baked delights is unwrapped from its warm and snug white cocoon, and then in one swift movement your pristine white plate has a pool of rich olive oil and a swirl of balsamic vinegar. This is indulgence at its best, your pick of yeasty warm bread should be dipped into the olive oil balsamic vinegar mixture and savoured fresh off the basket.

I love this tradition, it's much like a bowl of peanuts or cashews with your beer, back in our Country. Unfortunately, in India, even though Italian Cuisine has fast caught on, the tradition of serving the welcome bread basket (except in a select few places, very few, in my case, probably only one of which I am aware) with the above oil-vinegar concoction is lost. Understandably, Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar is no easy on cost, but the fact that Italian Cuisine Restaurants are highly priced and in vogue with times, it should be made mandatory to serve up this divine delight. So what if its supposed to be complimentary!

Of course you can have this tradition replicated at home. The next time you serve up pasta or even garlic bread, have this on your table to delight your guests and make it your own little welcome:

Bread

From you nearest bakery, pick up dinner rolls, a French loaf, baby round breads and a few packs of your local pau (this particularly tastes amazing).

Mix Butter and a minced garlic clove and spread on the inside halve of Dinner Roll, fold close and pop in the oven to warm for three minutes on high.

Mix Butter, Paprika and your favorite herb and smother in the baby round breads, close and warm with the dinner rolls.

Slice French Loaf into thick slices, drizzle a mix of olive oil, Tabasco and parsley (coriander) onto the slices and grill for two minutes.

Your local pau can be heated, as is, with a little butter and served warm

Spread a pristine white napkin in a wicker or bamboo basket, mix and match random breads and place in the napkin, add a couple of bread sticks in the corners, fold napkin on three sides, leaving one side open as an outlet to release the hot steam. Serve immediately.

Olive Oil & Balsamic Vinegar Serving 

As pictured below, I had got this bottle form one of those wine festivals in Goa, it was gifted to me by an Aunt who found the bottle quite quaint and thought it would be an innovative addition to my innumerable kitchen items. It was originally meant to be for wine, where it was to be used for chilling the wine by pouring it in the inner compartment and adding chilled water in the outer. Of course, I was super excited to be the owner of a typical Italian Olive Oil - Balsamic Vinegar serviette. The inner chamber now holds the highest quality Balsamic Vinegar, and super rich, extra virgin Olive Oil in the outer compartment.

Keep this on the table for your guests to individually pour out the olive oil  and balsamic onto their plates when you serve the bread.


Butter

One thing I give most high-end Italian restaurants in India credit for, is their choice of butter's served with the  Bread Basket. Every place has a distinct recipe and most of them go quite well with the assorted Bread. You can whip up some of them in your own kitchens and serve with your bread basket.

Garlic Butter: One of my all time favourites, whip softened butter till well blended, add 1 or 2 cloves of crushed garlic, salt and a sprinkling of garlic powder. With a spatula, cream the butter till well mixed and spoon out in a small bowl. Serve cold or at room temperature

Spicy Butter: Another exotic spreadable delight, In a mixer, combine one fourth cup of butter with 2 tablsp of  olive oil and lemon juice, process until well creamed, add garlic salt and chilli flakes and blend again. If you want it to be slightly more pinkish in colour, add a pinch of red chilli powder before blending once again. Spoon out in a small bowl and serve immediately.

Peppered Green Butter: This is an innovative creation. In a mixer, combine one fourth cup of butter with 2 tablsp of olive oil and few leaves of parsley or coriander, process until well creamed, add one chopped green garlic and freshly crushed pepper. Mix well and serve.