Marry Me Bourdain!

Any man who can talk food like Anthony Bourdain is a man after my own heart!  Tony (I like to call him that!) makes you want to eat everything he sees, touches, cooks and eats. He brings such emotion to food that you sometimes wonder if emotional eating is really that acceptable, considering his metabolism, it probably is. And of course it doesn't hurt that he is such a beautiful man, in fact, if there is a perfect celebrity that exists (for me) it's tony!

It's stuff like this that makes me love him more"

"Now, I famously hate salad bars. I don't like buffets (unless I'm standing on the serving side: buffets are like free money for cost conscious chefs). When I see food sitting out, exposed to the elements, I see food dying. I see a big open petri dish that every passing serial sneezer can feel free to drool on and fondle with spittle flecked fingers." - A Cook's Tour

Dear God he is soooo right! There is nothing like fresh, beautifully plated food and we still live in a country where it is possible to 'not' eat out of a can, bag (yuck!) or carton and we need to enjoy that as long as we can! Despite being fussy about the way I like my veggies chopped and the way I like my mis-en-place, I have succumbed to asking our resident 'didi' to pitch in when I am scurrying back at 7 pm from some godawful meeting I was subjected to for the simple reason that I work in the F&B vertical, this is said specifically for brands I would die before eating or using at all for that matter! This recipe is something I concocted from vague memories of making 'piperade' maybe a decade ago, I just had to read how much Tony loved eating it and I could tell exactly what it ought to taste like. This is a variation of sorts because we don't get Cod (Bacalao) here but the rest is pretty close. And the sad fact that I used a Thai red chilli instead of a Spanish one (sigh!) but all in all, we have had this three times in 10 days, so thanks Tony, love ya like a food crazed woman loves a chef!

Balacao al Pil-Pil: Bacalao is essentially a dried and salted piece of cod, but this recipe is done with a fresh fillet and it works great for a quick, wholesome meal in a not so cold country. Native of Basque county. The fish is lightly cooked in olive oil, garlic cloves and rings of pepper, I used jalapenos coz I like the zingy tang. The piperade topping is good for us Indians since light, fishy, low on the spice dishes rarely work with us and I have to cook for a family, so I certainly don't need those disdainful stares that say "we know you like to experiment but we like food"!

Ingredients:

300 gms fish in 3 fillets
Use a white boneless fish like bekti, surmai, sole, red snapper or sea bass. I would love to use cod but not frozen


4 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp EVOO
Salt
Pepper
1 jalapeño sliced
3 cloves of garlic
2 dry red chillies, cut into four pieces

Piperade:

1 red bell pepper, chopped small
1 capsicum, chopped small
1 red onion, chopped small
4 Cloves of garlic, smashed
4 tomatoes, blanched with skin removed and chopped coarse
1 red chilli chopped, we don't get Spanish red chilli so I used a Thai one, you can substitute with Tabasco if u like
2 tsp sweet paprika
Fresh ground black pepper
Salt
1 tsp sugar
3 tbsp olive oil

For the fish, heat oil in a non stick, throw in the garlic and red chillies then sear fillets on both sides, I use thin fillets so I needed just 2 mins on each side, do this on a high fire so it browns the fish a bit. Remove and drizzle the pan oil over the fish. Add the oil for the piperade in the same pan, scrape the fish crisps into it, add the onions, garlic and the peppers with the chilli. Season with paprika and pepper, stir and fry till its all a bit soft. Add the tomatoes and salt and sugar. Simmer till soft and pulpy. I sometimes use 1/4th cup of wine to get it to be more like a sauce consistency. Enjoy!