Month: June 2015

Cabinets of Curiosities

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Cabinets of curiosities were collections of objects in a period when the science disciplines were not fixed as they are today. If you had to fit the objects into modern categories, you would classify them under ethnography, archeology, biology, medicine, art or hoax. Cabinets of curiosities provided an interpretation of the world according to the collector-patrons that assembled them and were put to use to elevate or asset their status. Then the science books were written and the cabinets fell out of favor, got assimilated in museums or vanished into oblivion. I do not know how their contemporaries viewed those collections. Did they realize the objective point of view or did they take the small indoor universes as a somewhat credible transformation of the world? Could they distinguish between the thrill of the bizarre and the potentiality of the measurable and actual? I cannot answer with certainty, because the association I have is the disappointment of a child when he realizes that the mystical and the unexplored is chastised in a world of precise maps …

Chocolate mousse with olive oil

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We are Greeks and we put olive oil into anything. For this recipe we use high quality chocolate and unripe extra virgin oil, but if it is too intense for your tastes, skip the ‘unripe’ part which gives a distinct fruitiness to the result. It’s a rather uncomplicated recipe, unless you have a toddler who wants to participate in every step. Adapted from a recipe by Stelios Parliaros. Serves 4-5 200g good quality dark chocolate  (66% cocoa solids) 40g extra virgin olive oil 4 egg yolks 4 egg whites 50g caster sugar 2 Tbsp brandy Break the chocolate into small pieces and drop into a bowl with the olive oil. Fill a small saucepan about a quarter full with hot water, then sit the bowl on top so it rests on the rim of the pan, not touching the water. Put over a low heat until the chocolate has melted, stirring occasionally to mix with the olive oil.Remove the bowl from the pan. Cool slightly. Beat the egg yolks with the brandy until pale yellow. Whisk in the …

Fennel and crumble gratin

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This is an unusual combination of Mediterranean ingredients with British resourcefulness, facilitated by an Israeli chef. Fennel is a Mediterranean plant, attested in Mycenaean Linear B tablets as ma-ra-tu-wo (it is still called marathos in Greek). Linear B was used by professional scribes for administrative purposes – we know that fennel was stocked or traded in Mycenaean palaces in the late bronze age (Helen of Troy enjoying fennel with honey?). Fennel was introduced in the British Isles probably by the Romans. It is mentioned together with thyme, another ingredient of this recipe, in the pagan “Nine Herb Charm”, intended to treat poisoning and infection. Crumble toppings became popular in the UK during WWII, as an economical alternative to pies due to shortages of ingredients as a result of rationing. (Despite its humble and rustic associations it crossed the channel and became popular with the french). These two different ‘streams’ come together in this recipe of Ottolenghi , with some dissonance, because of the sugar in the crumble. You can have it cold or warm, as a starter or as a …