kumquats

who would've thought it?

such big flavour from such wee fellas

such a welcome change from orange, lemon and grapefruit

see what you think...

...and while you're at it (if you're in the US) tune in for my tv debut later this week

enjoy!

contrary to popular opinion, I happen to believe that everything goes better with bread...fresh, doughy, crusty loaves...sliced thick, buttered and filled with a medley of ragamuffins from the refrigerator; those pot luck combos always seem to be sensational!

I was messing around with the kumquats and made a relish, of sorts by mixing 10 oz/ 300g of kumquats (sliced and seeded) with 2 tblspns brown sugar; 1 tblspn white wine vinegar; pinch salt; 1 tspn marash peppers (or chili flakes); 1/4 cup water. heat over a medium flame until it all reduces to a gorgeous, orange mush (well, the skins stay intact, but the pulp dissolves to jam). this takes about 15 mins

lay out 10 sheets of prosciutto on a sheet of baking parchment, carefully overlapping, to create a 'wrap'. spread the kumquat relish over the top third of the prosciutto. place 2 duck breasts (skins removed)end to end on top of the relish and then carefully roll the parchment over. you want the prosciutto to wrap around the breasts in a roll. secure this with some cooking twine. transfer it to a baking dish, douse it in some olive oil and bake the whole thing, uncovered at 400f for 30-35mins. remove it, cover it with foil and let it cool

you can serve it with a yummy hot potato salad or with green beans and mint and blood orange segments all tossed in good olive oil

or you can make the sandwich that I concocted:

spread: creme fraiche or cream cheese on thick slices of fresh bread, top with watercress and alternating slices of blood orange and duck breast

you could also add some basil or cilantro/ coriander leaves with the kumquat relish...or use 2-3 chicken fillets

the cheat's version: by some sliced roast chicken and prosciutto from the deli, some 'bonne maman' marmalade and creme fraiche, a blood orange, some water cress or spinach and some crusty bread...

I was chastised recently for comparing nigella lawson to marcella hazan and declaring that nigella was decidedly 'foxier'

'mr hazan might disagree with you' was the retort

fair point. anyway, marcella delivers recipes which are so simple that you think, 'it can't possibly be interesting', then you taste the finished goods and realise just how sexy simplicity can be

well, I adapted marcella's 'torta sbricciolina' for this citrus emsemble...simple, grown up, perfect with black coffee in the wee hours:

mix: 5oz/150g flour; 3oz/90g corn meal; 5oz/150g almond meal; 4oz/ 115g sugar; 1 tblspn finely chopped glace / candied orange peel and the zest of 1 lemon

rub: in 2 egg yolks until you have rough 'breadcrumbs', then rub in 4oz/115g salted butter. the mix will come together to resemble a crumble topping; it will hold its form when squeezed

crumble: the cake mix over the base of a buttered 9 inch springform cake pan and bake in a pre-heated (375f / 190c) oven for 40 mins. remove from the oven, sprinkle 1 tblspn icing/ confectioner's sugar over the top. slice into wedges whilst still warm and in the pan

whip: 1 cup whipping cream with 1 tblspn sugar. when cream starts to thicken, add 1 cup creme fraiche and continue to whip until the cream is fluffy, but still a little loose

slice: 1 cup kumquats diagonally (trust me; this makes it easier to remove the seeds...hold them up to the light to make sure that you have removed them all); place kumquat halves cut-side down into a dish of castor /superfine sugar

heat: a non-stick skillet and, when hot, place the kumquats cut-side down onto the surface. they will caramelise in a minute. watch the sugar bubble. you want them to brown slightly

pile: the whipped creme fraiche in the centre of the crumbly cake

scatter: the warm, caramelised kumquats onto the mountain of creme

serve: with bloody good coffee and pithy conversation

*this topping would also be sensational on top of my flourless orange torte...click the pic for a link to the recipe

tragedy struck this week

it arrived on my doorstep with a knock on the door (clearly tragedy has my address...)

'who's there?', I inquired

silence

another knock. another 'who's there'. more silence

third time around, my curiousity had piqued enough to get my nose out of the refrigerator. I half suspected that it was a new tactic being employed by the jehovah's witnesses; 'silent salvation'

it was seamus lopez, the mercurial, bag-piping, mariachi loving lounge singer

he was meant to be on his way to dusseldorf with his new one man revue; shamrock salsa

instead, he was looking forlorn and wearing a 'dr who' scarf

turns out that he had been struck down with tonsilitis. a cruel blow. he could neither sing nor play his pipes

poor bugger...

luckily, I had just made a batch of kumquat ice cream. a hit of vitamin c, cool and creamy...all that and a syrupy smother of contreau brown sugar sauce

he was back in business in no time...in fact, he stayed to pose for the pics in this newsletter

the ice cream: slice 1 cup of kumquats in half diagonally and remove seeds. whack them in the microwave for 2 mins. beat 1 cup creme fraiche; 1 cup cream; 3/4 cup superfine/ castor sugar and 2 eggs yolks. then heat this mix over a low heat until it thickens and starts to simmer. take it off the heat to cool. puree the kumquats in a blender and then stir them through the egg & cream mix. pour this into an ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturer's instructions

a foxy little sauce: stir 3 tblspns cointreau through 2 tblspns brown sugar. pour this over the ice cream. on second thoughts, leave the ice cream alone and just kick back with a glass of cointreau...

recently, I was approached to appear on a tv show to discuss quick, easy, healthy summer dishes...

as soon as I was asked, I thought of the mango recipes which appeared in my first newsletter

they loved the idea, and that is how I found myself on the set of 'ready for the weekend', the show that runs through USA channel's movie of the week

it was an absolute hoot. the hosts, dan and christine, were very gentle with me...and apart from a minor disaster with the mango ice cream (someone stored it in the fridge instead of the freezer), everything went very well

so, please tune in this thursday...the movie is 'sabrina'...and somewhere in the middle of it, I will be waxing lyrical about carmelised mangoes and sexy scallops. the movie starts at 9pm, so open a bottle of something lovely and settle in

this shoot was all very last minute and I had totally forgotten that I was meant to be meeting my friend, lisa, for dinner

she was in town from melbourne for the night and we were due to meet at 7pm in beverly hills

for the uninitiated, getting from santa monica to beverly hills during peak hour traffic is a feat to rival rising from the dead. there was no chance of going home and freshening up first. I got there permissably late, threw the keys to the thunderbird (aka the mannixmobile) to the valet and rushed downstairs to meet lisa

her greeting:' mannix, are you wearing makeup?'

I told lisa about my day, we laughed a bit, popped the cork on some champagne and settled in for the night

a glass or so into the champagne, who should sit down at the next table but fabio...I kept thinking, 'he would be the perfect model for one of my newsletters! I have to ask him'

then I would remember that I was sitting there sporting a face full of pancake and lose my nerve

but who needs fabio when I have the devilish seamus lopez to pose for me?

let the love flow...

mannix@thelovebite.com