Deconstructed Caprese Salad

I love the taste of a good Caprese salad, but I always hated the way it is presented. I have done it in layers, in form of a tower, etc, etc... I think the way I did it this time is the one I like best.

Deconstructed Caprese Salad

Ingredients:
A bunch of tomatoes, mixed, any size, color, and kind.
1 small bunch basil.
1 small bunch purple basil.
Sea salt.
Freshly ground black pepper.
Dried cracked chili pepper.
2 to 4 buffalo mozzarella balls.
Olive oil.
Sherry vinegar.

Method:

1. Chop the tomatoes in different sizes and ways. Put them into a bowl, add the salt and let them rest for 5 to 10 minutes.

2. Add basil, olive oil, vinegar, and pepper to the tomatoes and toss to mix.

3. On a plate, place the mozzarella on one side, sprinkle some cracked chili pepper on top and garnish with a couple of basil leafs. Drizzle with some olive oil. Place the tomatoes by the mozzarella and serve right away.

Enjoy! The Fat Guy.

Malbec Short Ribs

This is a dish that requires 20 minutes of work and 2 hours of patience. Very tasty, especially for a cold winter day. Serve it with potato purée.

Malbec Short Ribs
(or Cabernet if you can't get Malbec wine)

Ingredients:
2 kg. short ribs cut 8 cm. thick.
1/2 tablespoon chopped parsley.
1/2 tablespoon chopped thyme.
1/2 tablespoon chopped rosemary.
1 tablespoon neutral vegetable oil.
250 gr. smoked pancetta or bacon, chopped.
1 big yellow onion, chopped.
1 carrot, chopped.
1 celery stick, chopped.
1-1/2 cups red wine (malbec or cabernet).
2 cups beef broth.
Salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Potato purée for serving.

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.

2. Heat the oil in a large sauté pan. Add the pancetta and fry at medium heat until golden and crunchy, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from pan and add to a large dutch oven (preferably with lid). Add the ribs to the pan, turn the heat to mediumhigh and sear the beef on all sides until golden, 5 minutes. Add to the dutch oven.

3. Add the onion, carrot and celery to the pan and cook at medium-high until tender and slightly browned, 5 minutes. Add the wine and the broth and using a spatula, scrape the bottom of the pan to release the burnt and stuck beautiful tasty bits. Add the liquid to the dutch oven and the chopped herbs. Cover (if you don't have a lid, use foil), and cook in the oven for 4 hours turning the ribs once.

4. Place the ribs on a serving dish and let them rest for 10 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, pass the liquids throw a fine sieve and into a small pan, and cook at high heat until reduced and thickened, 5 minutes. Adjust seasoning.

Place the ribs on serving plates, add a spoonful of purée and some gravy on top.

Enjoy! The Fat Guy

Sweet Potato Gnocchi

You can match this gnocchi with anything you want. I have tried them with arugula and hazelnuts, borwn butter and white truffle, and this one, which for me goes excellent. I'm sorry I don't have a photo of the completed dish, but truthfully speaking, they are so good that we never have time for the photo once they are finished.

Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Brown Butter and Sage

Ingredients:
800 gr. sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed.
350 gr. ricotta cheese.
1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated.
2 tablespoons brown sugar.
2 teaspoons salt.
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg.
2-3/4 cups all purpose flour.
200 gr. unsalted butter.
6 tablespoons sage, chopped.
Sage leafs to serve.

Method:

1. Boil the sweet potatoes in salted water until tender. Using a purée masher, mash the sweet potatoes. Transfer 3 cups of the purée to a bowl with the ricotta and mix well. Add the Parmesan, brown sugar, salt, nutmeg and mix well. Start adding the flour 1/2 cup at a time until you get a nice dough.

2. Drop the dough onto a floured surface and divide it in 6. Using your hands, roll each piece of dough into a sausage of 2 cm in diameter and around 50 cm long. Cut each sausage into 20 to 25 pieces. Transfer to a floured tray.

3. In a pot of boiling salted water, working in batches, drop the gnocchi until “al dente”, around 5 minutes. Let them cool.

4. In a large sauté pan at medium-high heat, melt the butter and cook until the solids turn brown, about 5 minutes. Add the sage and take off the heat.

5. Transfer half of the brown butter to another large sauté pan and add half of the gnocchi to each pan, and cook at medium-high heat until the gnocchi are heated through, around 5 minutes.

Serve right away with a couple of fresh sage leafs per plate.

Cheers! The Fat Guy.

Ceviche

This is my version of a Peruvian Ceviche, a little different, it's made with hot potato. You can make it with any kind of white fish. Try it, it is really good.

Ceviche Peruano with Hot Potato

Ingredients:
450 gr. firm white fish fillets.
1 bell pepper, cut into thin strips.
1/4 teaspoon hot chili powder.
1/2 cup olive oil.
8 small potatoes, whole.
2 spring onions, white parts and some light green, julienne.
1 small red onion, in half and cut into rings.
The juice of 2 lemons.
1 haas avocado, filleted.
Salt and freshly ground pepper.

Method:

1. Boil the potatoes whole and keep them warm.

2. Cut the fish into bite size and not thicker than a slice of smoked salmon. Place the fish on a plate and using the bottom part of a glass, squeeze it to remove its milk and to break its structure.

3. Right before serving, mix the fish with the lemon, then the olive oil, salt, pepper, and the rest of the ingredients.

4. Break the potatoes into pieces using your hands, place them on the plates, add the olive oil and fish mixture and serve right away.

Enjoy! The Fat Guy.