THE SUN-SOAKED PLATE...Mediterranean recipes for family and friends

It’s probably fair to say that we are living in what appears to be an age of great culinary awakening. It’s reflected everywhere from the aisles of our supermarkets and grocery stores that are stocked full with every possible ingredient you could ever wish for to the endless food-related programmes on television from celebrity chefs who have transcended the foodie sphere and become general household names. Our food has never been so trendy as we all wait for the next sexy new ingredient to come along. Could it be Spirulina, N’duja or Burrata? ….Personally I couldn’t care less!

One of my favourite Mediterranean summer treats are delicious, fresh figs. Sweet, fragrant and juicy…they are one of life’s finest fruity pleasures. Ideally they are consumed sun-warmed straight from the tree and I must confess that occasionally, while I’m driving around the island and see a beautiful tree fat with ripe figs, I just have to pull over and devour a couple before happily continuing on my journey. Apparently, Mallorca was one of the largest fig producers worldwide some years ago and near the village of Llucmajor, you’ll find Son Mut Nou , an experimental farm of 15 hectares specializing in the cultivation and study of figs and fig trees. Thousands of fig tress grace Son Mut Nou finca and there are over 600 varieties hailing from all corners of the Balearic Islands, the main land, and other far away, exotic lands such as China, Syria, Cyprus, Greece, Egypt, Italy, Australia, South Africa, Israel and Japan, including one from Fukushima! ...

Over 100 delicious Mediterranean recipes! ORDER NOW! Classic Mediterranean food through a modern lens. From sun-drenched shores to cool, lush valleys, the unique climate of the Mediterranean has long been associated with delicious, simply prepared food abundant with flavour. In recent years these remarkable ingredients have been utilised by the region's best chefs to create a cuisine that builds on the history and traditions entrenched in the areas food and reinterprets them into something new: A Modern Mediterranean cookery.  In this book, Marc Fosh, the Michelin-starred chef behind Palma de Mallorca's Restaurant Marc Fosh, takes us on a tour of the bountiful produce of the Mediterranean and shows us how to harness its flavours in new and exciting ways. Organised into 18 chapters by key ingredient; covering everything from tomatoes, garlic, almonds and olive oil to octopus, chorizo, saffron and truffles, the book is a love letter to the Mediterranean and ...

They might look intimidating, but artichokes are simple and delicious. Ok, I know they can be a little fiddly and they do need a lot of care and attention to prepare, but once you’ve got the hang of it becomes easy and you’ll wonder why you never bothered to prepare and cook them before. The artichoke has a long and interesting history. For many years, although it was cultivated and eaten in Italy, it was unknown in France. During the 17th century it was thought to be an aphrodisiac and women were not allowed to eat them! Fortunately,

Winter can sometimes feel like the least generous season for cooks, a barren and lean time of year as we wait patiently for spring to arrive with all its rich bounty and colourful, sprightly ingredients to entice us back into the kitchen. It is, however, the perfect time to indulge in old fashioned, heart-warming dishes designed to keep out the cold and revive flagging spirits and jaded palates during gloomy winter’s days.

Menu Natural at Marc Fosh Restaurant It’s hard to believe that the humble cauliflower is now deemed to be trendy and so much in vogue that the once-unfancied brassica has usurped kale as the hipster vegetable of choice. But is it really that surprising? For a vegetable it’s endlessly versatile and makes a great centrepiece. You can sauté it and blend it to add smoothness in sauces and a creamy texture to soups, but I love to simply roast it. Roasting isn't usually the first cooking method you think of for cauliflower but the results are quite delicious. It can be cut into thick slices and tossed with a little olive oil or butter, some fresh herbs and finished in the oven or roasted whole. It may just be a regular, humble, garden cauliflower, but there's something really exciting about seeing it come out of the oven whole. I often flavour

Who doesn't start the New Year pledging to begin a new healthier lifestyle? I do it every year. This year I’ll undoubtedly promise myself again that I will join a gym, eat more vegetables and salads, lose a little weight and try to go jogging at least 3 or 4 times a week and…undoubtedly it won’t happen! Annually we all make New Year resolutions in an attempt to start afresh and turn over a healthy new leaf and not surprisingly eating a healthier diet and losing weight generally tops the list of most people. But here's the cold, hard truth about New Year's resolutions: They don't work. While we believe these resolutions will make us better people once the calendar flips from December to January, the truth is that most of them are forgotten after a week or two. Miss a day at the gym, or skip a 1,000-word daily quota on that novel you

Tis’ the season to be jolly, eat turkey, Brussels sprouts, mince pies, and shuck a few oysters. Oysters are one of those great celebration ingredients. In season during any month that has an ‘R’ in it, September to April, oysters spend the Summer fattening up their plump little selves for their long Winter’s hibernation making them sweeter and crisper than at any other point in the year during the chilly winter months. In many countries around the world such as France and Spain, oysters feature prominently in celebrations for Christmas and New Year’s and between 50% and 70% of all oysters eaten are shucked and slurped up between these two holidays. The Olivar market in Palma has been in a period of transition over the last few years

  Only when you understand and respect the essence of an ingredient can you properly come to enhance its flavor through cooking. Guided by nature, our kitchen will reflect the seasons. Thinking globally and sourcing locally is not just politically correct; it's also personally rewarding for the farmer, the chef and the diner. Everybody wins. Fosh Farm is set in the beautiful location of Finca Son Mir, where the rhythms of the seasons are at their most apparent. Our Mediterranean, culinary garden, surrounded by red earth and olive trees, grows unique, seasonally appropriate crops using organic and sustainable techniques.

“In the flames of the fire lives something that can help ingredients reach their fullest potential.” These are the words of Bittor Arguinzoniz, the chef/owner of an extraordinary restaurant, high in the hills of the Basque country. His rustic restaurant, Asador Etxebarri has revolutionised the simple art of cooking over a flame and has attained a cult-like status, Michelin stars and was recently voted number six in the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list.     The barbecue is now fully established as high-end food and Bittor infuses every course with smoke from the homemade goat butter to the caviar-size spring peas to the grass-fed

--> I spent a little time in the company of Silvia Anglada recently. Her restaurant, Es Tast de na Silvia is the certified epicentre of Slow Food in the Balearic Islands, located in Cuitadella (Menorca). As I watched her cooking and explaining her philosophy, I soon realised that Silvia is incredibly passionate about the food we eat, where it comes from and how it is grown. She has been at the forefront of the slow food movement in Spain over the last few years and her restaurant promotes the use of locally produced, seasonal, biodynamic foods. She believes deeply in a reconnection with the lost rhythms of nature, the traditions of the past and working the land. She also believes in producing and eating great, local food in a relaxed, sociable way and wastes absolutely nothing from any of her ingredients in the kitchen…her delicious dessert was flavoured with juice from the “inedible” skins of broad beans!

              Wild asparagus or “Ttrigueros” as they are known here in Spain, grow all over the Island of Mallorca in March and April.  The locals spend hours scouring the fields and roadsides filling their baskets with them.  Growing wild throughout the Mediterranean, the Romans are believed to have been the first to domesticate asparagus . After the fall of the Roman Empire, asparagus was cultivated in their monastery gardens, along with medicinal herbs. Cultivated for more the 2000 years, asparagus will grow wherever it can find a good footing. Wild Asparagus loves secluded hedgerows and undisturbed country roads. When choosing asparagus , look for firm, brightly- coloured spears with tight, crisp tips. (Very large stalks tend to come from older plants and can be tough.). If the stalks bend without breaking it’s a good sign that they have definitely seen better days. Asparagus is usually boiled or steamed, but can...

--> One of the biggest food trends for 2018 is the fermentation of foods. From Asia’s top chefs refining age-old recipes of kimchi, miso and fermented tofu to artisan producers around the world making craft beers, all-natural sourdough bread, or the finest organic chocolate, to “food nerds” experimenting with bubbling jars of kombucha , fermented food is growing in fame and finding its way into the repertoires of the worlds top chefs in restaurants all over the planet. Yes my friends, sauerkraut is now sexy! I think the growing interest in fermenting is tied to a bigger food movement that is concerned with the provenance of food … people want to know the story of what they eat. In the past, all food had a story – where the berries were picked, how, when, where and what was hunted. Over time, supermarkets have made us lose our connection with food. I believe people are now looking for more variety and individuality in their food as most mass-produced food is aimed at the...

  As a chef, I’m more than a little obsessive about finding the best ingredients for my kitchen; I also believe that we as cooks have a duty to really get to know and understand where those ingredients come from, how they are made and why they are so special. One of the ingredients that I’m obsessing about right now is Acquerello rice . It’s organic, aged Italian carnaroli rice. That's right, aged! It is grown using a crop rotation system and is the only rice variety sown on the farm, to avoid the possibility of inadvertent hybridisation with other varieties. After the harvest, the grains of Acquerello carnaroli are aged from one to three years, a process which, by allowing the rice to “breathe”, optimising its qualities and characteristics. Aging renders starch, proteins and vitamins less water-soluble, improving the consistency of the grains and enabling them to absorb more cooking liquid. When cooked, the grains become bigger, firmer, do not

--> At our restaurant, we love to slow cook delicious, tender beef cheeks until they practically melt in your mouth. They are consistently popular with our guests; especially during the winter months when there is a little chill in the air. I would argue that stewing and braising are the quintessence of good home cooking. Rich comfort food with robust flavours in the shape of pot roasts, casseroles, hot pots and stews, cooked slowly to create memorable dishes that are not only delicious but also economical. There is a myth that slow cooking is a lot of bother and takes too much time. The reality is that braising can be quick and easy to produce, leaving you time to get on with other things while the meat is cooking and tempting you with all those fabulous aromas that float around the kitchen.

Ingredients                serves 4 400g cooked chickpeas, drained 150g spinach, cleaned and chopped 1 tbsp ras el hanout 1 large egg yolk 2 tbsp Gram chickpea flour, plus extra for dusting Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

--> When it's cold outside and the rain is lashing against the windows we tend to look to uncomplicated comfort foods, certain dishes that can be easily made from simple ingredients to warm our souls and sooth our cold bones. If you are looking for a little comfort during the long winter nights, there’s nothing more satisfying than a big bowl of steaming hot soup. For most of us, soup represents nourishment, healing and comfort and t he secret to good soup is to make the perfect stock.   Stocks need a little care and attention but if you follow these basic rules, you’ll be rewarded with clear-looking, healthy broths with flavours that are true and clean. For a simple chicken stock, place 2 clean chicken carcasses in a large saucepan and cover them with cold water. Bring the stock slowly to the boil and skim the impurities and fat from the surface as they rise to the top. Turn the heat down to a gentle simmer. Add 2 small diced onions, 2 crushed garlic cloves, 2...

--> These days there are so many great little restaurants all over Mallorca where talented, young chefs have opened their own establishments in far-flung villages such as LLubi, Selva, Caimari, Orient, Llosesta and Mancor de la Vall as well as the Island's capital, Palma. They are the type of restaurant where you can really feel the passion and see and enjoy all the different styles and philosophies of each chef. They are not the faceless type of restaurant opened out of vanity by people who can't even boil an egg and have never even worked one day in our industry.

--> Serves: 4 RAS EL HANOUT Don't be put off this recipe by the number of ingredients. The spice mix is simple to make…although you can buy it. It keeps well in a jar and can be used so many other dishes. It lends a wonderful aromatic flavour to the lamb. 2 teaspoons black peppercorns 2 teaspoons fennel seeds 4 teaspoons coriander seeds 16 cardamom pods 2 teaspoons yellow mustard seeds 4 teaspoons cumin seeds 1 cinnamon stick 1⁄2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper 2 teaspoons turmeric

-->     This week I received a little present from the Michelin starred chef, Ricard Camarena . Apparently he has spent the last few years developing a new product called “Letern” and he very kindly sent a nicely packaged bottle to all the Michelin starred chefs in Spain. Ricard Camarena has been using this anchovy essence for the last six years as a taste enhancer and as a substitute for salt in his stocks and broths, whether they contain fish, meat or vegetables. “Anchovy brine is my salt”, he states, “It’s the umami of the sea and has everything the sea contains: salt, iodine, oxide and the salting of fish over time”. I must admit that I liked it a lot and it has inspired me to make my own mix. So what is umami and why are chefs obsessing over it?