10 an open Recipes

consider pansies , violets, johnny-jump-ups, nasturtiums, and marigolds. all are edible with interesting flavors. use flowers that have not been sprayed with pesticides (some available at gourmet shops and whole foods markets), shaved cheese hard cheeses such as parmesan or pecorino romano take on an attractive lacy look when shaved paper thin and placed upon an open-faced sandwich, rolled cheese cut cheese into 1/4 squares. put 1 tsp of olive oil on your hands and roll cheese squares into balls. then roll in cumin, curry, or finely chopped herbs, piped herbed mayonnaise or creme fraiche use an icing flower tip and place a fresh or thawed frozen pea atop the piping, layer it place a small spinach leaf, with stem , atop an open-faced sandwich. place a thin slice of hard-boiled egg on top of that and sprinkle with either nutmeg and sea salt, pickled ginger and a dot of wasabi, or a combination of crushed herbs, chopped egg & asparagus finely chop hardboiled eggs, using only half as many whites as yolks, and press onto an open-faced sandwich with a mayonnaise based filling. upon this, lay a short piece of asparagus, citrus , herbs & spices cut small triangles of fresh lemon or orange, removing peel. sprinkle lemon triangles with fresh basil or parsley and orange triangles with cinnamon or curry, grilled vegetables grill red and green peppers, zucchini, or pearl onions. cut peppers into strips, zucchini into squares, and leave pearl onions whole, use a very small cookie cutter to cut hearts from thin slices of pickled beets. or, cut small hearts from bread, dip in melted butter, and sprinkle heavily with curry before toasting in a 350 degree oven, herb or nut dip cut filled tea sandwiches into triangles and butter the long cut side. press this buttered side into crushed s or very finely chopped nuts

tomatoes, finely chopped (2 1/2 cups), chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, extra-virgin olive oil, white-wine vinegar, black pepper, salt, smoked cheese such as gouda , mozzarella, or scamorza, thick) slices country-style bread (from an 8-inch round loaf), eggplants

chicken stock (can be made with a cube or two ), tinned sweetcorn, imitation crab sticks, cut into 1-inch pieces, crab claws , cracked open, egg, beaten, soy sauce

english muffins, eggs, milk, avocado, peeled, pitted and cubed, salsa (this is an estimate, add more or less according to taste), monterey jack cheese or 1/4 cup cheddar cheese, shredded, dried red chili

sole fillet, cut into pieces (marinated in lemon and salt to taste), turmeric powder, coriander powder, red chili powder, ginger-garlic paste, water (to make gravy), cumin powder, oil, methi seeds, green cardamoms , opened and pounded, onion, sliced, green chilies, chopped, tomato puree, salt, chopped cilantro (, for garnishing)

olive oil, half an onion, chopped, garlic, chopped, half a red pepper, chopped, paella rice, hot fish stock. when buying the fish , i ask the fishmonger for some fish bones and heads (cut the gills out from the heads as these taste bitter) and simply simmer these in a couple of pints of water for 20 minutes together with the prawn shells and heads and a fish stock cube if you like, then strain), dried thyme, sachets saffron powder, some squid rings, chopped tomato, frozen peas, various pieces of firm-fleshed fish and seafood - for example, monkfish tail, cod fillet, salmon fillet, tiger prawns shelled and deveined, queen scallops with corals removed, mussels scrubbed and de-bearded, herring, trout, mackerel, whatever - it s up to you. use as much as you like, depending on how hungry the troops are! (be careful with mussels - before cooking, discard any that are cracked or open, and do not close when tapped sharply. after cooking, discard any which haven tsp opened.), chopped parsley, lemon wedges to serve

organic chicken , jointed, flour or plain , for dusting chicken, salt and freshly ground black pepper, extra-virgin olive oil, chorizo sausage , sliced at an angle, 1/4-inch-thick, pancetta, rind removed, onion, finely diced, garlic, finely chopped, saffron , infused in a little of the hot stock, chicken stock, heaped tsp smoked paprika, paella rice, flat-leaf parsley, handful fresh peas, mussels, prawns, shells and veins removed, squid, trimmed , gutted and cut open, then scored lightly in a criss-cross fashion and cut in to small pieces, lemon