Blog - Flying Fourchette

Lunetta – Brooklyn, NY

January 8, 2012

[Update: This restaurant is now closed – Feb 2014 🙁 ]

Lunetta is a lovely, quaint Italian trattoria on Smith Street in Cobble Hill that’s been a favorite of the neighborhood for years. The low-lit scene with rich shades of scarlet invites you to slow down, relax, and enjoy every delicious bite you’ll be taking, and no one is ever going to rush you.

Owner and chef Adam Shepard offers a hearty market-driven menu of small plates accompanied by plenty of pleasing Italian reds and whites by the glass. Lunetta is a member of Slow Food New York so what you’re getting here is fresh meat, dairy, and produce sourced from local, natural, and organic farms as well as a selection of Lunetta’s homemade cured meat and cheeses.

One tip – waste no time in ordering bruschetta for the table, they’re all scrumptious! From left to right: chicken liver, balsamic and roasted onions – lunetta ricotta with honey and lemon – cannellini beans with garlic and sage – white anchovies and sweet cream butter – roasted mushrooms & vin cotto

Creamy polenta and roasted mushroom ragu

Tagliatelle bolognese rustica

Lunetta meatballs – Berkshire pork and grass-fed beef, walnuts and toasted garlic red sauce with pasta

Roasted butternut with sage and brown butter

Grilled Berkshire sausage, lunetta made saurkraut & gigante beans

Lunetta is exactly the kind of laid-back neighborhood restaurant you’d expect to find in Italy – the food is superb, the atmosphere inviting and it’s so comfortable and unpretentious you’ll want to make this place your regular joint. Try getting one of the comfy red banquettes, or even better one of the 6 prime bar seats overlooking the kitchen for a bit of action.

Lunetta

116 Smith St.

Brooklyn, NY

T: 718-488-6269

map

Main course Recipes

Latin-Style Chicken and Rice

January 7, 2012

One of the staples of Hispanic cuisine, chicken and rice (or arroz con pollo as it is most commonly known) is a favorite dish of many countries in the Caribbean and Latin America, and also the one with the most variations – everybody seems to have his own take on it!

One-pot dinners like this one are attractive because they’re usually really easy to prepare, can feed a crowd, are fairly cheap, and there’s no contesting that the mixing and slow simmering of all these ingredients together increase the flavor factor tenfold. This simple version of chicken, peas and rice gets elevated with the addition of saffron which imparts the whole dish with a sophisticated taste. Feel free to add any other thing you’d like…but keep the saffron, it truly makes it shine!

Latin-Style Chicken and Rice
Adapted from Gourmet
Serves 4

2 lb chicken thighs with skin and bone
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into bits
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped (2 cups)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup medium- or long-grain white rice
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
3/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon crumbled saffron threads
1 Turkish or 1/2 California bay leaf
1 cup frozen peas (not thawed)

Pat chicken dry and season with 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper (total). Heat butter and oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet (at least 2 inches deep) over medium-high heat until foam subsides, then brown chicken, turning once, about 10 minutes total. Transfer chicken with tongs to a plate.

Pour off all but 2 tablespoons fat from skillet. Cook onion and garlic with 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper over medium heat, stirring, until golden, about 6 minutes. Add rice and cook, stirring, 1 minute.

Add broth, water, saffron, and bay leaf and bring to a full boil.

Nestle chicken in rice, keeping as much rice around (rather than under) chicken as possible, and add juices from plate. Simmer, covered tightly with lid, over low heat until chicken is cooked through, rice is tender, and most of liquid is absorbed, about 25 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in peas. Cover with a kitchen towel and then lid and let stand until all of liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Discard bay leaf and serve.

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London Restaurants

Bill’s Produce Store, London

January 5, 2012

Let me introduce you to Bill’s, the Sussex-based organic cafe and produce shop from Bill Collison, who went from selling fruits and veggies from a shed to becoming the UK’s most successful retail greengrocer.

Thankfully for Londoners, the mini food emporium has found a home in busy Covent Garden for everyone to enjoy the visual treat offered by the cafe/store and its comfort food. The multi colored interior is cheerfully filled with bright jars and edible products lining the floor to ceiling shelves, raffia strings hanging from meat hooks, flowers sticking out of vintage oatmeal cans, and aged wooden table and chairs to complete the charming bohemian foodie vibe.

The London branch has the same laid back, chilled out, and affordability of the other 4 outlets (in Lewes, Brighton, Cambridge, and Reading), albeit in a slightly more modern building in St Martin’s Courtyard.

Hanging blackboards highlight daily food specials and drinks and I would highly recommend the Hedgerow Fizz – a mix of sparkling wine and elderflower cordial with a giant blackberry floating in it – so delicious I have to have one every time I stop by! You can also opt for a bottle of Bill’s Beer if you like.

The all day menu includes breakfast, lunch, candlelit dinners and takeaway. It’s your usual pub grub with a healthy and seasonal twist and while none of the meals I had here blew my mind, it’s the comforting, farm-like feel of the place and reasonable prices that’ll make your visit totally worth it.

I had the Crispy prawn cakes with a mango, coriander, cucumber, lime, chilli and red onion salsa and a side of braised red cabbage with cinnamon and golden raisins.

The Halloumi and Hummus is a delicious brioche bun filled with grilled halloumi cheese, hummus, roasted peppers’ sweet chilli and yogurt and is served with skin on
chips. I love everything with halloumi cheese and this sandwich was particularly satisfying for lunch!

Fishcakes are generous and tender, served over baby gem and baby spinach salad with homemade tartar sauce.

Take some time after your meal to shop the myriads of groceries and hampers lining the walls, all of which you can take home yourself.

Bill’s is a great pit stop for a quick bite while exploring Covent Garden. Every high street should have a place like this: friendly, warm, and bustling with enthusiastic foodies. If you live too far, there’s always the new cookbook to bring a bit of Bill’s into your home…

Bill’s

St Martin’s Courtyard

12 Upper St Martin’s Lane

London

T: 0-207-240-8183

Main course Recipes

Cod with Acacia Honey

January 3, 2012

Health experts have been advising us for decades to eat more fish for a healthier (and longer) life and with 2012 resolutions kicking in, I thought I’d help out a few of you here! I have never had any trouble adding fish to my weekly diet as I love every single one of them, almost as much as swimming with and photographing them (!). It’s not the case for everyone though and that’s why I’m always thrilled when I find an easy and tasty fish recipe that I know would please the hard core carnivores.

This recipe is adapted from a popular dish at Laurent Tourondel’s BLT Fish in New York where he serves a delightful Alaskan Black Cod with Acacia Honey. This ‘melt in your mouth’ recipe would transform any fish into earthy, sweet heaven. I picked up some nice fillets of cod at my fishmonger but I reckon that it would be as lovely with sole, halibut, and countless other types of fish. After marinating the cod in Acacia honey and vinegar, you roast it in the oven where it achieves a delicious caramelized exterior, coating the luscious, juicy pieces that flakes with no effort.

Cod with Acacia Honey
Adapted from Laurent Tourondel for BLT Fish
6 servings

6 (7-ounce) cod fillet pieces

Marinade:
2 cups acacia or other strongly flavored honey
3/4 cup grape seed oil
1 cup light soy sauce
3/4 cup white wine vinegar

Sauteed Spinach:
1/2 pound spinach, thoroughly washed
1 clove garlic, chopped
Grated nutmeg
1 tablespoon butter
Salt and black pepper

To prepare the marinade: Combine honey, grape seed oil, soy sauce, and white wine vinegar. Cover the fish with the marinade, cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.

Remove the fish and place in a pan. Caramelize the fish under the broiler and finish in a preheated 400 degree F oven until the fish reaches medium. Reserve some of the marinade to use for sauce.

To prepare the spinach: Heat the butter in a hot saute pan. When the butter begins to brown, add the garlic. Add the spinach. Cook until tender. Season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper, to taste. Set aside.

Heat reserved marinade to boiling point, reduce heat and simmer for two to three minutes.

To assemble the plate: In the center of each of 6 large bowls divide the spinach. Place a portion of fish on top and pour approximately 2 tablespoons of reserved marinade, over the top of each fish.

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London Restaurants

La Fromagerie, London

December 24, 2011

There are few things in the world that makes me as happy as cheese, so it’s no surprise that a place like La Fromagerie, considered ‘the best cheese shop in England’, is one of my favorite refuge in the city.

Part cheese shop, part deli and part café, this hidden gem just off busy Marylebone High Street has become increasingly popular among shoppers and restaurant-goers alike. The café with few small tables and large communal table serves daily changing, simple yet excellent meals (think cheese plates, charcuterie, fresh salads, ploughman’s lunch, etc.), superb coffee and wine from the best wineries.

The deli section offers a nice assortments of olive oils, jams, chutneys, organic pantry staples, and fresh produce.

I had a nice salad of ribboned zucchinis and fennel topped with a fresh mound of goat cheese and a sprinkle of pine nuts…delicious and very ‘fresh from the market’ feel.

A generous plate of prosciutto and cornichons.

Desserts are also a treat and changes daily.

And then there’s the Cheese Room, worth the trip alone… Very knowledgeable staff ready to help you whip up that cheese tasting at home or just recommend the ripest specimen to enlarge your cheese repertoire, from the leading favorites to rare and superb surprises.

Owner Patricia Michelson is the author of the critically acclaimed book Cheese, her second published on the subject which made her an authority worldwide, and her passion and knowledge is reflected everywhere in the shop.

Some cheese are even matured right at La Fromagerie cellar, and all of them end up being cared for by the loving hands of the affineur who’ll make sure every morsel sold here is perfect and as flavorful as can be…a treatment reflected in the prices but well worth spending on as any cheese lover will tell you.

If that wasn’t enough, tasting sessions are being held regularly where customers can enjoy the cheeses on offer paired with quality and rare wines, usually around a specific theme. I have yet to attend one of those but you can stay up-to-date by visiting their events section or subscribing to their newsletter… you surely won’t be disappointed as they’re known all over for their impeccable pairing!

La Fromagerie
2-6 Moxon Street
Marylebone
London W1U 4EW

t: 020 7935 0341

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Lunetta – Brooklyn, NY

Latin-Style Chicken and Rice

Bill’s Produce Store, London

Cod with Acacia Honey

La Fromagerie, London

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