Archive for August, 2010

Sashimi

Tuesday, August 31st, 2010

This is a sytle of serving raw fish, which must therefore be absolutely fresh for your catered guests. Bream, salmon, trout etc. may be used, either individually or as a mixture of different fish. The thoroughly washed fillets are very thinly sliced with a sharp knife and the slices arranged neatly on the plate. A delicate garnish, such as a decorative leaf, curl of carrot or chopped spring onion may be used in sushi catering.

Sashimi is served with dipping sauce normally soy sauce and wasabi paste. This is pungent, like horseradish sauce. It is obtained in powdered form and made up with little water, as if using dried mustard.

Teppanyaki

Monday, August 30th, 2010

Yakitori and teppanyaki are Japanese styles of catering  poultry or meat. Grilled fish is known as shioyaki.

Restaurants that specialise in serving grilled foods are known as teppanyaki restaurants and in most cases the food is cooked on a table-top grill in front of the diner.

For yakitori, small pieces of chicken, duck or other small birds are marinated for 30-45 minutes in a mixture of soy sauce and sake (rice wine) or sherry, pierced on skewers and grilled over charcoal.

For teppanyaki, the best quality steaks or pork fillets or chops are marinated for 45 minutes to 1 hour. They are then dried well and grilled on flat metal plates or domed grills of perforated metal.

Marinade

3 tablespns soy sauce 3 tablespns sweet sherry 1 tablespn sesame oil 1 tablespn white vinegar 1 tablespn sugar

Yakitori and teppanyaki dishes would usually be accompanied by a dish of lightly stir-fried vegetables, e.g. shredded Chinese or ordinary cabbage, mushrooms, sweet peppers, broccoli florets, bean sprouts, asparagus tips, etc. Bowls of dipping sauce would also be served.

Pasta with Creamy Curry Sauce

Saturday, August 28th, 2010
  • 8oz (225g) wholewheat pasta shells
  • 2oz (50g) cashew nut pieces
  • 4oz (lOOg) cooked peas
  • 1oz (25g) polyunsaturated margarine
  • 1oz (25g) plain wholemeal flour
  • 1/2pt (275 ml) milk
  • 1/2 teaspoonful ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoonful turmeric
  • Good pinch ground cardamom
  • Good pinch paprika
  • Seasoning to taste
  • Parsley to garnish

Method

1. Cook the pasta shells in boiling water until just tender; keep warm.

2. Meanwhile, heat the margarine in a pan and add the flour; saute gently for a few minutes.

Remove from the heat and pour in the milk, stirring continually.

3. I Bring to the boil and then simmer to make a thick sauce; add the peas and sprinkle in the cumin, turmeric, cardamom and seasoning; cook for a few minutes more.

4. Mix together the cooked drained pasta, cashew nuts, and creamy curry sauce; serve immediately, topped with paprika and some coarsely chopped parsley.

Bean and Pasta Stew

Saturday, August 28th, 2010

If your catering clients request this dish, it should be served to no more than 10 guests as you start to loose some of the flavours when catering for larger numbers.

  • 3oz (75g) wholewheat pasta shells
  • 3oz (75g) well cooked haricot beans (freshly prepared, leftovers or tinned)
  • 1 large carrot
  • 1 large leek
  • 1 large onion
  • 1 large potato
  • tablespoonful vegetable oil 275 ml water
  • tea spoons full mixed herbs 2 tea spoons full of tomato puree Seasoning to taste

Method

1. Peel and slice the carrot and onion; chop the leek into V2 in. sections; peel and cube the potato.

2. Heat the vegetable oil in a pan and gently saute the prepared vegetables for a few minutes.

3. Add the water, herbs and tomato puree; bring to boil, then cover and simmer the vegetables for no more than 10 minutes.

4. Add the beans and pasta and cook for 10 minutes longer, or until all the ingredients are just tender.

5. Season to taste and serve.

Lettuce Nut Salad with Garlic Dressing

Friday, August 27th, 2010
  • 2 0z (50g) wholewheat spaghetti rings 1 large crisp lettuce (Webbs are ideal) 1 head of chicory
  • 1 small curly endive
  • 3oz (75g) walnuts
  • For Dressing
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed (190ml) vegetable oil 1 tablespoonful lemon juice Seasoning to taste

Method

1. Cook the pasta in boiling water, rinse through with cold water and set aside.

2. To make the dressing, crush the garlic with the seasoning, place in a bowl and very gently add the egg yolks; blend.

3. Now add the oil drop by drop, whisking well after each one to make a thick sauce. (This can also be done using a blender if you have one.) Stir in the lemon juice.

4. Add more oil or a drop more lemon juice if the dressing is too thick

5. Wash and shred or chop the salad greens; combine and arrange them in a bowl; sprinkle with the pasta around the edge and the chopped nuts in the centre.

6. Serve the garlic dressing separately to your catered party and toss the salad at the table, just before it is eaten.

Fresh Veg to make Stock

Friday, August 27th, 2010

In this era of food it’s all about taste, it’s got to taste good, and it’s got to be fresh. People have wised up to food so they don’t want artificial flavours, and you need to try and source your ingredients locally, so if you are going to succeed you have to do all you can to provide this.
Look at London for instance you’d think you can’t find things locally because it’s so built up, but you’d be surprised, go to an allotment near you they’d be happy to sell you some veg. Borough market is an ideal place to buy veg just ask where it was grown and i guarantee you find somewhere where it was grown not more than 5 miles away. So if your catering for friends impress them with your locally sourced veg grown with no pesticides, and i bet you will taste the difference.

To make a vegetable stock

1 onion, 2 carrots, 2 sticks celery, 1 parsnip, 2 cloves garlic, salt and pepper, 1 bunch parsley and 1litre water.

Put the water in a pan and boil, now chop every thing into 1 inch pieces, don’t even bother to peel, and put everything in the pan, now season with salt and pepper, bring to boil, now cover the pan and leave to simmer for about 2 hours. Now strain the stock so all you have is the liquid, and there you have it, vegetable stock, now use this to make gravy or maybe a nice pie or casserole.

Green Pepper and Pasta Salad

Friday, August 27th, 2010
  • loz (75g) wholewheat macaroni
  • 2 green peppers
  • 4-6 spring onions
  • 2oz (50g) roasted peanuts
  • 2oz (50g) Gouda cheese or similar
  • 1 large carrot
  • Approx. 4 tablespoonsful mayonnaise
  • Seasoning to taste
  • 1 small white cabbage to serve

Method

1. Cook the macaroni in the usual way and rinse through immediately with cold water.

2. Wash and chop the onions, slice the peeled carrot; trim and chop two of the peppers; cube the cheese.

3. Mix them all together in a bowl with the well drained pasta, and just enough mayonnaise to moisten; season to taste.

4. Shred the cabbage very finely and lay it in the base of an attractive serving bowl; spoon the mixture over it.

5. Slice the remaining peppers crossways to make rings and arrange these on top of the salad, then sprinkle with the nuts.

Cauliflower and Pasta Salad

Thursday, August 26th, 2010

Ingredients:

  • 602 (175g) wholewheat pasta shells 1 medium cauliflower
  • 1 green pepper 4 firm tomatoes
  • 6 tablespoonsful mayonnaise
  • 2 02 (50g) ground nuts Lemon juice Seasoning to taste

Method

1. Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling water until just tender; drain and rinse through with cold water; set aside.

2. Break the cauliflower into florets (these can be used raw, or steam them for 5 minutes to soften slightly when catering).

3. Finely chop the green pepper, quarter the tomatoes.

4. Grind the nuts to powder and mix into the mayonnaise, adding a little lemon juice and seasoning to taste.

5. In a bowl, combine the pasta, cauliflower and green pepper; pour on the dressing and mix gently but thoroughly.

6. Serve decorated with the tomatoes.

Perfect Steak

Thursday, August 26th, 2010

In London catering is becoming a booming industry where a lot of people are jumping on the band wagon, that’s why you have to make the right choice of who you want to do your event. Do you want a special event that people will remember, or do you want an event where you think i could of done better. I know which one I’d choose that’s why at london-caterer.co.uk we specify our menus to suit the individuals needs, we won’t just send you a menu of what we’ve done before, we ask questions on what you really want then design a menu for you, we believe in the personal touch.

So try this to believe in our quality, a perfectly cooked bit of steak. ( medium)
Buy a piece of steak, heat a teaspoon of oil in a frying pan, and leave till it is hot.
Season the steak with salt and pepper on both sides, then add to the pan, don’t touch the steak for 6 mins.
Once you’ve waited 6 mins turn the steak and cook for a further 4 mins.
Now turn the heat off and add a teaspoon of butter to the pan, with the spoon scoop up the melted butter and pour over the steak, continue this till it looks perfectly glazed.
Now take the steak out of the frying pan and put on a plate, and leave for 5 mins.
Now tuck in and enjoy a perfectly cooked steak medium done, even some of the best restaurants in London get this wrong but it’s so simple.

Pasta Shells with Sesame Sauce

Thursday, August 26th, 2010
  • 6oz (175g) wholewheat pasta shells
  • 2oz (50g) roasted sesame seeds
  • 6oz (175g) cottage or ricotta cheese
  • 4oz (lOOg) bean sprouts
  • Soy sauce
  • Seasoning to tast


Method:

1. Grind the seeds to a powder; sieve or blend the cottage cheese to make a smooth puree; combine the seeds and cheese with the soy sauce and seasoning to taste; add a little hot water to make a pouring consistency.

2. Cook the pasta shells in boiling salted water until just tender; drain; mix with the bean sprouts.

3. Pour the sauce over the pasta and sprouts, stirring to make sure it is evenly distributed.

4. Serve at once; If you are using this recipe for catering return to the pan and heat through very gently for just a minute or two and serve.