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Papalosophy

CLOSED. Win a copy of Joel Serra and Aldo Chacon’s unique Spanish cookbook

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By Catherine Franklin | November 7, 2016 | Win

THIS COMPETITION HAS CLOSED. THANK YOU TO ALL WHO ENTERED.

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When Joel Serra Bevin and Aldo Chacon set about creating a truly original cookbook, they aimed for something that would blend their styles and tell the personal story of how a wild blonde child from New Zealand found himself in the world’s gastronomic hub armed with a sharp knife and even sharper wit.

Joel started writing ‘Papalosophy’ while he was in London, with one eye out the window staring towards cold grey skies, and the other on a sunny future in Barcelona. The recipes were created over a lifetime spent seeking out authentic flavours and creative preparations with influences from Catalan roots, world travels and an obsessive study of the world of gastronomy, nutrition and eating anything and everything.

‘Papalosophy’ is about being a rockstar every day – in and out of the kitchen. It is about making your dreams reality. It’s a way of cooking and a way of living. It’s about catching what you eat. But more than catching what you eat, it’s about catching life and owning it.

It’s also about sharing. Finally, it is about always expecting the unexpected. In the kitchen, the best plates are never planned and nor are the wonderful people and exciting twists of fate that life presents you with.

WIN

We are giving away one copy of the ‘Papalosophy’ cookbook. To enter:

Competition closes 30 November 2016.

Get a taster of this unique cookbook with the recipes below:

Lamb Shanks with Potatoes, Anchovies & Parsley Gremolata

Ingredients

Allioli (find the recipe here)

1 leg of lamb

4 potatoes, roughly cut

5-10 rosemary stalks

2 brown onions, finely diced

3 cloves of garlic, finely diced

2 bay leaves

1 tbsp of fennel seeds

10-15 anchovies

2 cup of dry white wine

4 tbsp of parsley, leaves picked

Zest of 1⁄2 a lemon

Juice of 1 lemon

1 tsp of capers

Olive oil

Cracked black pepper

Salt

Method

1.

Prepare allioli, following the linked recipe, then set aside. Season lamb in oil, salt, pepper and chopped rosemary and place in the fridge for 20 minutes.

2.

Prepare the gremolata by mixing chopped green peppers with parsley, garlic, whole capers, lemon zest and juice, salt and pepper.

3.

Spread baking dish with gremolata then arrange potatoes, anchovies, onions and rosemary and cover with wine. Lay the lamb on top and slather the whole thing with beautiful, beautiful allioli. Transfer to a medium-hot oven and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes for tender pink lamb. Remove from the oven and cover for 15 minutes before serving in thin slices with olives, onions and another clump of allioli for the garlic addicts out there.

The Story

New Zealand is famous for a few things. A hulking team of All Blacks, one of the most progressive and positive relationships with the indigenous Maori, devastating nature (Lord of the Rings didn’t really require CGI when it came to filming the landscapes), and sheep.

It doesn’t matter how far I stray from the land of the long white cloud, everyone always has a joke about the Kiwi love affair with wool. And it’s true, show me a slender lamb leg in blue pumps and I swoon. Combine it with dark silvery anchovies, garlicky alioli, the fresh bite of green olives and rosemary and I enter a fleece-induced weakening of the knees. Maybe it’s because New Zealand and Spain celebrate sheep and lamb in the kitchen so seriously that I announce with such pride my ties to both nations.

Olive Oil Chocolate Mousse, Strawberries and Orange Mascarpone

Ingredients

100g of dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa)

300 ml of cream

1⁄4 cup of olive oil

Strawberries

1 tbsp of sumac

Juice of 1 lemon

Mascarpone

1 tsp of cinnamon

Juice and zest of 1 orange

2 tbsp of rosemary finely chopped

1 tbsp of brown sugar

1⁄2 cup of walnuts, toasted

Fresh berries, any variety you like

Salt

Method

1.

For the mousse, melt dark chocolate in double boiler then reduce heat and gently stir in olive oil and salt then take off the heat and let cool. In a separate bowl, whip cream to soft peaks then begin to gently fold the chocolate into the cream until combined, then cover and set aside.

2.

Macerate the strawberries by removing stalks then toss with sumac and lemon juice and set aside. For the rosemary crunch, toast walnuts then blend with rosemary and brown sugar until crumbly then set aside. Finally combine mascarpone with orange zest and cinnamon until smooth.

3.

Serve mousse with fresh blackberries, wild strawberries and any other seasonal berries, big dollops of mascarpone, rosemary crunch and fresh orange zest.

The Story

Chocolate transcends classification in the food pyramid, it seems more at place on the bedroom dresser alongside aftershave, gold watches, silk ties and the good life. Every dark square has only ever satisfied one human need; pleasure. Chocolate should be neither chewed nor chomped. Neither gnawed nor gulped. And definitely not munched or masticated. It must be licked, savoured, relished and adored. It must be loved.

I grew up in Australia where chocolate was milky and bland (thank you Cadbury and your 23% cocoa solids). And while Spanish chocolates sent every year from gastronomically-minded grandparents made life a little smoother Down Under, the world of the dark bean was uninteresting and I spent my meagre pocket money on gob stoppers and wizz fizz (Google both for a visual of 90s childhood heaven). And then I met Lindt.

Like my coffee, I now take my chocolate strong and black – hold the milk and sugar. I began with the basic milk chocolate (43% cocoa solids), advanced to 55%, then easily stepped up to 70%, became adventurous with the now mainstream 85%, and then, in a blackening spiral, discovered their 99% gold label and chocolate ecstasy.

Fall in love, or fall in chocolate, because as someone more poetic than me once said, “it’s kind of the same thing”.

Find out more at papalosophy.com.

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