Ravioli and crème brulée

A new toy for my birthday, a pasta maker. (Not my photo, I got it off t'internet). I used it once but was very dissatisfied with the results. I didn't cry, though, just seeing it as a learning or practice session. And I threw away the resulting tagliatelle.

 

In making pasta, the most important thing is to get the dough right. I've done a bit research, and the consensus seems to be, don't handle it any more than necessary. That is, don't knead it particularly, because the subsequently rolling will give it a good old battering and develop gluten sufficiently.

 

 

 

 

 Very easy in practice. Just get some eggs and flour, and whizz them in the food processor, until the  dough looks distinctly unappetising, then bring it together with your hands, and leave it in the fridge for at least half an hour, or until you're ready.

 

 

 

 

 

Next, decide where you're going to eat out for a meal. This time, we decided we wanted Indian, and we thought we'd be a bit adventurous. We headed to Tooting, home of a lot of Indian restaurants, and chose a Keralan, the Rhada Krishna Bavan. We were lucky to get in there, because it was just about full by the time we received our starters - partly because there was a party of 14 celebrating a birthday.

They seemed mainly to be medical-type staff, unsurprising given its proximity to St George's. 

I liked the place, although I wouldn't massively rave about it, and I would certainly go back if I lived - or worked - nearer. Although there's a door-to-door bus service, it is, nevertheless, a long trawl along Streatham High Road and the arse-end of Furzedown.

Usual poppadom accompaniments but slightly different from my usual

My starter was, if I remember correctly, a Vada. I think I went for the lentil option. It was drier than I expected but pleasant enough and went will the accompanying sauce.

I thought I had ordered a fish curry, but when it came it was prawn curry. That didn't bother me in the slightest, indeed it was really delicious. The picture I took of the entire dish didn't turn out well. This picture illustrates one of my pet hates with a lot of long-established English restaurants - and in that I specifically include Indian. Sad salad.

What is sad salad all about? This really is a case in point. Juicy king prawns, a rich aromatic sauce. Green peppers, crispy and succulent. The right amount of onion. and to set it off, tired lettuce and a slice of lemon. I had no intention of eating either, and they had no aesthetic appeal. Just made the dish look amateurish. Can I make a plea? Please stop serving sad salad!

The next step is to go home and go to bed.

Next morning: 

Mix egg yolks and caster sugar

Heat cream and vanilla essence on the hob

Mix the two mixtures together and pour into ramekins

Gather the ramekins together and put them into a bain marie. When we made egg custard at school, two out of the 16 girls in my cookery group were called Ann(e) Marie (it was that sort of school). Whenever I put custard dishes in a roasting tin of water, I think of them. Weird, because I wasn't close to either and never kept in touch after we left school.

Leave the custards to cool

Then, because it's not even mid-March and it's hot and sunny, leave the house and head out to the Common for a walk.

Pass by the house you've often coveted and yet never photographed.

Decide, after all, not to go to the Common, but, instead. head down to Balham. Why, I don't know? Pleasant enough town, the Spiritual Centre of Nappy Valley.

Wander around Balham and take photos of its Parish Church

And go home.

Once home, the excitement begins!It helps if your trusty assistant has already peeled, sliced, boiled and mashed a sweet potato. All I had to do was crumble some goat's cheese, and mix the two together.

As a novice, I did find rolling and cutting the pasta to be tricky, especially as I was paranoid about the dough drying out. But, conversely, it was easier than I feared.

And, then, simply pop them in the pan for about 5 minutes

However, in this house, food is made for eating. Photographing it comes a very poor second. So no further photos of the pasta, as we wanted to eat it piping hot!

Finally, sprinkle sugar on the crème brulée

Ideally, you should also photograph the finished product, post-blow torching, but there was an epic fail with the blowtorch. It had no adverse effect on the finished product, but the only way to extinguish the flame is to let it burn until the fuel runs out!