So, it's been a year since I last posted. It's been a busy year for me settling back home, finding a job (or four.) Now I finally have a schedule that lets me have time to play with recipes and maybe start posting again, so hopefully I'll actually keep up. Who knows. To make up for this year of absence (and to keep my promise to the Red Heads by giving them the recipes) I'm posting an aphrodisiac feast. Figs, avocado, honey, and rosemary all show up as featured ingredients in InterCourses: an Aphrodisiac Cookbook and they will all have a place in this drool inspiring meal. I borrowed InterCourses, and although none of these recipes are from it, I was very inspired by the pictures and stories in it. Learning about each ingredient really made me want to explore them more.
I did not originally put this together as one meal, so it includes two recipes using bacon (turkey bacon for me) but let's face it, bacon makes almost anyone feel that "oh yeah" moment with their taste buds. The bacon in the risotto is optional, but it is oh so tasty. Proportion-wise I seem to have made this for a double date or a group of four friends having a night of tapas. So get some wine and make a girly movie night of it!
Figs Wrapped in Bacon
Serves 12 individual figs
Ingredients
• 12 dried figs
• 1 cup port (the cheapest you find or have)
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 oz goat cheese
• 4 strips of bacon
Preheat the oven to broil
In a saucepan heat the port to a boil then slowly stir in the sugar until dissolved. Turn the heat down to a simmer and add the figs to the port and let soften for at least 10-15minutes. When softened, take the fig out of the port (keep the port sauce, it’s wonderful on top of strawberries or a spinach, apple grape and gorgonzola salad.) Stuff the figs with goat cheese and wrap with a third of a strip of bacon each then set on a baking sheet. Leave them in the oven for 8-10 minutes until the bacon is cooked. Serve and drizzle with the port sauce. Enjoy!
Fried Avocado with Bruchetta
Makes 8 Fried Avocado Slices
Ingredients
• 1 avocado cut into slices (you can probably fry 2 avocadoes with the amount of flour and egg used)
• 1 egg
• ½ cup flour sugar
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 1 pinch cumin
• ½ cup olive oil
• ½ cup bruchetta
Mix together the flour, Italian seasoning and cumin in a bowl. In another bowl beat the egg. Dip the avocado slices in the egg, then the flour mix. Heat the oil in a skillet and lighty fry the avocado slices until golden brown. Top with the bruchetta. Nom nom nom.
Pear & Gorgonzola Risotto
Adapted from Dave Barker’s recipe on jamieoliver.com
Serves 2-3 full servings or 4-6 as a side dish
Ingredients
• 1 ripe pears, peeled and cored and diced
• 2 tbsp honey, for drizzling
• 2 cups (approx) chicken stock, preferably free-range or organic
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus extra for frying
• 1/2 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• ¾ cups arborio or other risotto rice
• ½ cup dry vermouth or a good dry white wine
• 6 strips bacon
• 1 ¼ cup Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled,
• ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• Small bunch of fresh rosemary tips and extra-virgin olive oil, to serve
1 Drizzle the pears with honey. In a skillet, heat the pears until softened and colored around the edges. Remove and set aside to cool.
2 In a saucepan, heat the chicken stock. In a separate pan, heat the olive oil and the extra butter, add the onions, and garlic, and fry very slowly for about 15 minutes letting the onions brown and reduce. Add your rice and turn up the heat. Lightly fry the rice, stirring constantly so it doesn’t stick to the pan. After a minute, when it looks slightly translucent, add the alcohol, and keep stirring. Any harsh alcohol flavors will evaporate and leave the rice with a lovely subtle, slightly floral flavor.
3 Once the vermouth or wine has cooked into the rice, add a ladle of hot stock and a good pinch of salt. Turn down the heat to a simmer so that the rice doesn’t cook too quickly. Keep adding ladlefuls of stock, constantly stirring to release the creamy starch out of the rice. Allow each ladleful of stock to be absorbed before adding the next one. Carry on adding stock until the rice is soft but still has a slight bite. This will take around 15 minutes. (If you run out of stock before the rice is cooked, use some boiling water.) Check the seasoning carefully and adjust to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. While the rice is cooking, multi-task fry the bacon and cut into small pieces in-between stirs. This will keep the bacon warm and crispy before you put it in the rice.
4 Once the rice is soft, stir the Gorgonzola, the cooled roasted pear slices, bacon and a small bunch of rosemary tips until the cheese melts and the pears are warmed through. Remove the pan from the heat, add the butter and Parmesan and stir well. Place a lid on the pan and let it rest for 2 minutes. (This is the most important part of making good risotto, as it helps it become really creamy and lets the flavors infuse.) Check seasoning and adjust to taste as required. Spoon onto plates or bowls, making sure that every plate gets a good amount of both sweet roasted pears and the beautiful, salty, melted Gorgonzola. Garnish with an extra grating of Parmesan, remaining Gorgonzola, a drizzle of good extra-virgin olive oil and a few more thyme tips.
MOVIE RECOMMENDATION: Chocolat
Yeah, I know that this movie should have been saved for when I actually post a chocolate dessert, but I couldn't help it! Besides, my recipes won't look nearly as delicious as the concoctions on the screen. Chocolat films the chocolate in such a way that makes it very sensual. Chocolate is yet one more aphrodisiac, and a dark chocolate truffle or mousse of some kind is certainly the perfect way end to this feast. If you do watch Chocolat with this meal, be sure to have some chocolate handy, you will need it. This movie is beautiful both in the story and visually stunning. Having Johnny Depp in it doesn't hurt, either. :-)
