A total coup today. My culinary day began by finding cochinillo (little darling baby pig) at €20 a piece in my local butcher. I bought one for me and the boys and ordered 2 for wednesday for the staff. I am trying not to think about how it is possible to have such a thing at such a price. I also got a couple of legs of lamb for today. Boned them. If you know what I mean. Anyway..........they also had the new De Cecco Specialità Regionali pasta back in stock. It comes in packaging like the pappardelle but is not egg pasta. This pasta is out there. Dark blue. In boxes. Find it.
When I got up to the villa Sultan (that is actually his name) was there with his organic vegetables virtually tripping out of the box they were so fresh. Spinach like I have never had. Leeks so sweet even mes enfants will eat them. Big dark green broccoli. Tight bright white cauliflower etc it goes on. Sultan set up The Flying Aubergine 655 070 078 delivering organic vegetables around the island. The produce of the island may be limited in variety but what does come out of the ground is second to none and it is of course even more so with organics. It is a goddamn shame that there is no organic meat on the island. I suggested to my butcher a while back that the organic movement was, sooner or later, coming to ibiza. His reaction? "over my dead body. "
On of the cool things about working in this sort of place is that I can say to the gardener "You there... Come here." Then I can tell him what herbs I would like him and the rest of his team to plant for me immediately regardless of cost.
So anyway today....
For lunch - cauliflower and pimenton soup with cauliflower croutons (see recipix) and leftover polenta croutons.
Leg 'o' lamb marinated with rosemary, garlic and lemon zest a la plancha. Basmati rice and spinach.
I love making soups. If anyone tells you to lightly fry onion and whatever then add liquid and boil until it is cooked - kill them. Sweat that mother gently until it is cooked through and add the hot stock right at the end then blend. Whilst doing this I effed about taking photos and thinking about stuff and just before lunchtime (2pm) I realized I hadn't got any sauce to go with the lamb. It didnt need any cos there was goodly amount of juice come out of the resting meat but who cares? I blended some cooked spinach with anchovy, garlic, gherkins capers and olive oil. Very good. Completely unnecessary unfortunately since they were having spinach anyway but like I say, who cares?
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