Tricolore Dinner For Two

Linguine al pesto

Who doesn't like Italy and their food...fresh pasta, ciabatta, pizza, olives...and all the fresh vegetables. Unfortunately I can't just travel to Italy right now, therefore Italy has to come to London (at least the food). I made my favorite tricolore salad and some delicious and simple linguine al pesto

Mozzarella, Parmesan, tomatoes, avocado, pine nuts, olive oil, linguine and basil leaves

 halved tomatoes with chopped basil and mozzarella pieces...

...with green salad, avocado, black olives, olive oil, vinegar and lemon juice. Done!

Pasta!

Linguine al pesto with fresh Parmesan and roasted pine nuts

Recipe -->

Winter Salad

Quince, chicken and chestnut salad- something different. Sounds exotic, tastes delicious and is easy to make. 

All you need is (for two people)
200 g fresh chestnuts
300 g chicken breast
1 quince
1 pack fresh salad of your choice
Dash of orange juice
Olive oil, balsamico, salt and pepper

First of all preheat the oven to 180°C, then cut a large X with a sharp knife in the chestnuts. Place the 'x'-ed chestnuts on a backing pan in the oven and let them roast for about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile peel, quarter and core the quince, like an apple. Cut the quince into thin slices and put them with some butter in a saucepan to roast gently. Check if the chestnuts are ready! If yes, start peeling them. Be careful: they are really hot.

Chicken: Heat a frying pan with either oil or butter. Add the cut slices of chicken, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Turn the chicken over and cook until it's slightly brown and crunchy. While the chicken is cooking, wash the salad.

Now put the peeled chestnuts, quince and chicken into one pan and cook for another minute, add some orange juice for more flavour.

To assemble the salad, put the washed salad on a big plate, place the chicken, quince and chestnuts on top and drizzle with oil, balsamico and cracked pepper.

Perfect combination, the roasted chestnuts are slightly sweet, the chicken is perfectly soft, tender and juicy. The crunchy quince adds a sweet and unique touch. Enjoy!

quince...for no reason rarely used in kitchens 

Add caption

x the chestnuts

quince are easy to peel...

looks like an apple-pear 

Are they ready???

Pierre Victoire

This French place is brilliant, a absolut gem. Pierre Victoire is a small and cosy restaurant in Soho, perfect for a cosy winter night when it's getting cold outside.

The food is delicious and well priced, the wide choice of food includes French food and Mediterranean delicacies, like Italian Pasta and also Lebanese dainties. The atmosphere is nice, a perfect place for a dinner with friends but also for a romantic date. Make sure you make a booking! For lunch and early dinner they have a two course set menu for only ₤9 / ₤12.90.

Address:

5 Dean Street, Soho

London W1D 3RQ

As a starter we had a maze platter to share, with stuffed wine leaves, hummus, tatziki, falafel, eggplant salad, crostini and olives....excellent!

The starter goes perfectly with the smooth red wine

The Rib-Eye steak with mashed potatoes and beans

And a lovely salad with chicken, dried tomatoes, potatoes and an amazing mustard dressing

The steak was perfectly tender and the sauce delicious....oh boy...I want to eat that again.

And even the espresso macchiato was perfect...all Italian...

Healthy salad

Salads are always an easy, healthy and quick meal, but sometimes you run out of ideas what ingredients to use. Here is a delicious salad recipe

Things you need for 1-2 people:

1 package of lettuce ( I chose a mixed leaves salad)

2 beetroots

1 pomegranate ( if you don't want a big mess in your kitchen, buy the ready to eat pomegranate cores)

200 g goats cheese

1 ripe Avocado

2 carrots

100 g cocktail tomatoes

honey

oil and vinegar

salt and pepper

fresh rosemary

As I love bread (especially with olive oil) I would recommend to buy some ciabatta or baguette for the salad. Traditional Italian bread is sold at Princi, Wardour Street, Soho (love that place)

1. First of all wash the salad, tomatoes and carrots

2. Peel the carrots and the avocado

3. Stir-fry the rosemary with some olive oil and honey in a pan, then add the goats cheese, you can either put the whole cheese in the pan or cut into thick pieces. Roast gently until the goats cheese is gold brown

4. Meanwhile cut the avocado, the beetroot and the tomatos into bit size pieces and grate the carrots and put them with the pomegranate in a salad bowl

5. Take the golden roasted cheese out of the pan and add it together with the lettuce in the bowl

6. The just add salt pepper and oil and vinegar to taste FINISHED

fresh pomegranate

goat's cheese beetroot salad

Italian bread