White Anchovy and Grapefruit

This snazzy little starter follows from the previous post where C and I purchased white anchovies. I've been keen to recreate this dish at home, ever since I had it at 5&10. It's the dish that changed my mind about anchovies.

White Anchovy and Grapefruit
(serves 2)

1 ruby red grapefruit, pith removed and segmented
8 white anchovy fillets
oil

It's honestly too easy for a recipe. You merely arrange the in circular or linear fashion on your plates and drizzle the oil over the top. This dish has such juicy flavours, but it's light, so it makes the perfect starter before a dinner party or cocktail evening. I should be so lucky to have it that often.

White Anchovy and Potato Salad

After a nice wine tasting at Shiraz, C and I picked up a bottle of rose and, what we'd really come for, some white anchovies. Which ten years ago would have been a complete surprise. You see, as with most people, anchovies represent the last bastion of childhood culinary terrors. Through a little bit of faith at my favourite local restaurant, I revisited these beauties and found they were rather tasty.

So today, I am pleased to present the salad we conjured up: white anchovy, radicchio, and potato salad with a mustard vinaigrette. There's the potential for much bitterness in this salad if one uses old radiccho. Just don't do that to yourself. Buy fresh, buy local, and wash it down with a nice rose...


I love happy endings like that.

Banana and Cardamon Bread

Banana and Cardamon Bread
(makes 2 loaves)

3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs at room temperature for 30 minutes
2 1/3 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 cups coarsely mashed very ripe bananas (6 large)
1/4 cup crème fraîche
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/3 cups walnuts (4 oz), toasted and chopped

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 2 (9- by 5- by 3-inch) metal loaf pans, then dust with flour, knocking out excess.
Sift together 3 1/4 cups flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt into a bowl.

Beat together eggs and sugar in bowl of electric mixer at medium-high speed until very thick and pale and mixture forms a ribbon when beater is lifted, about 10 minutes. Reduce speed to low and add oil in a slow stream, mixing, then mix in bananas, crème fraîche, and vanilla. Remove bowl from mixer and fold in flour mixture and walnuts gently but thoroughly.

Divide batter between loaf pans, spreading evenly, and bake in middle of oven until golden brown and a wooden pick or skewer comes out clean, 1 to 1 1/4 hours.

Cool loaves in pans on a rack 10 minutes, then turn out onto rack. Turn loaves right side up and cool completely.

Image credit: www.notebookmagazine.com