Scallops and Salmon Roe Cold Pasta

Another cold dish from last night's dinner.  This one is inspired by the cold pastas I had at a small Japanese Italian restaurant called Sagrantino.  Since I don't have the recipe for it, Mr. Bear and I made up our own together.  Try and see if you like it!

Serves 2
Difficulty: Low

Ingredients:
100g angel hair pasta (I had sphaghetti at home so I used that instead, but I think the results would have been better if I used something thinner like angel hair or spaghettini.)
4 large sashimi grade scallops, cut in quarters
6 cherry tomatoes, cut in halves
2 tablespoon salmon roe
4 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon ginger, finely chopped
1/2 tablespoon anchovy paste
Salt and black pepper, to taste

Method:
1. Add scallops and tomatoes into a bowl with red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, ginger, and anchovy paste.  Mix well and add salt and pepper for seasoning.  Add 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil before leaving the mixture to cool in the refrigerator for use later.
2. Cook the pasta in salted water in a large pot according to the instructions on the package.  Transfer cooked pasta into a bowl with ice water immediately to stop the cooking process. Drain the pasta completely and toss it with 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a large mixing bowl to prevent sticking.
3. Add the scallop and tomato mixture to the pasta, toss well and season to taste.
4. Top with 1 tablespoon of salmon roe on each portion and garnish with thinly shredded ginger when served.

Notes:
Put plates for serving the pasta in the freezer just before you start cooking.  Cold pasta is best served on a chilled plate so that your pasta will remain cool while you're eating it.

Tuna Tartare with Avacado

The weather is getting warmer and warmer these days and so Mr. Bear requested for some refreshing cold dishes for dinner tonight. For one of the dishes, I chose to make the popular Tuna Tartare from BLT Steak in NYC by Chef Laurent Tourondel. It makes a good appetizer for summer dinner parties. It's pretty easy to put together and definitely has an impressive presentation to wow your guests.

Adapted from BLT Steak in NYC by Chef Laurent Tourondel.

Serves 4
Difficulty: Low

Ingredients:
350 grams (12 oz) sashimi grade tuna, cut into 1/8-inch dice
2 tablespoons shallots, finely chopped
1 tablespoon flour
Peanut oil for frying shallots
1 teaspoon wasabi paste
2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoon mirin
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon/lime juice
3/4 teaspoon honey
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 ripe avocado, peeled and cut into 1/8-inch dice
Salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste

Method:
1. Pour the oil into a small saucepan to a depth of 1 inch. Heat the oil until a small piece of shallot sizzles rapidly when added. Toss the shallots with the flour. Add the shallots to the oil and fry until golden, 30-60 seconds. Remove the shallots and drain on paper towels. Season with salt.
2. Stir together the wasabi powder and 1 tablespoon water. Whisk in the soy sauce, mirin, mustard oil, vinegar, and honey. Add pepper to taste.
3. Toss the tuna with the olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.
4. To mold, place a 3-inch tartlet ring or a cube pastry mold on a plate. Fill with a layer of avocado and top with the diced tuna and fried shallots. Lift off the ring gently. Drizzle the sauce around the tuna and serve.

Notes:
I don't have a tarlet ring or a pastry mold so instead I created my own mold using aluminum foil. Tear off a long piece, and fold it lengthwise in 3 inch folds, until you have a long strip 3 inch wide.  Form a circle or a square mold with this long strip.  After you've filled it up with your tartare, you can simply "peel" it off. My tuna tartare might not come out as perfectly shaped as you get it at BLT but I think they still look pretty decent! ;-)

Escargot Macaroni

Thanks for stopping by!  This is a place where I share with you my passion for good food and all things food related.

Admittedly, I wasn't much of a cook and even now I'm still by no means a good cook (nor am I a good writer), but I'm learning.  Cooking was a bit intimidating to begin with, but after a few trials and thankfully I managed not to burn down my newly remodeled kitchen, I finally started to enjoy the process.  Good food brings people together and when the food I make brings a big smile to the faces of people I love, that alone is worth all the hard work.

I've not only learned to follow recipes, but also to tweak them a little based on preference or the ingredients I have at home.  I hope one day I'll be able to make a lot of things from scratch and write my own recipes.  In this blog, you will find a complication of the recipes that were tried and tested by me - thanks to Mr. Bear for being the guinea pig as I embark on those little culinary adventures.

Today let's start with something simple! The Escargot Macaroni was what Mr. Bear and I had for dinner tonight.  It's one of the two free pasta recipes I picked up from a local gourmet supermarket last weekend.  They both look pretty easy to make so I thought I'd give them a try.  I have also tried the other crab meat pasta the other night and I will blog about that later in a separate post.

Have fun cooking!

Adapted from City'super's recipe

Serves 4
Difficulty: Low

Ingredients:
80 grams gruyere cheese
40 grams unsalted butter
24 pieces escargots (canned)
2 tablespoons pommery mustard
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 tablespoons onion, finely chopped
2 pieces lemon
4 cups macaroni
2 pieces egg yolk
1 packet Italian basil (I will find out exactly how much is one packet)
Sea salt, to taste
Black Pepper, to taste
Extra virgin olive oil

Method:
1. In a large mixing bowl, add cheese, 1/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, pommery mustard and a dash of salt.

2. Cook the macaroni in heavily salted water for about 6 mins just shy of al dente.

3. In the meantime, heat the cooking pan under high heat with 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil and butter, saute onion and escargots until the onion turns brown.

4. Add cooked macaroni and garlic to the pan, lower the heat to medium high and cook for 2 more minutes.

5. Add lemon juice into cooking pan and mix well.

6. Finally, add egg yolk and fresh basil to the mixing bowl. Add all ingredients from pan into mixing bowl. Mix well and serve.