Spaghetti Il Nero di Sepia - with sea bream, Indonesian tiger prawns and black garlic

I've been looking for a bulb of black garlic since visiting Ferdie's Food Lab at the end of last year, and sampling Simon's prawns with fermented garlic. It's sweet, sticky, and unlike anything else you will taste (although it is slightly reminiscent of blackened, burnt onions, but much much sweeter and without the bitterness).

I finally managed to track it down and paired it with spaghetti Il Nero di Sepia (squid ink spaghetti), which we brought back from Priano last year... in keeping with the black theme.

Sea Bream fillets, giant Indonesian tiger prawns (absolute beasts), thinly sliced radish and plenty of lemon to add a sharp tang to the sticky sweetness of the garlic...

http://iblog4.me/

Blood oranges... Ruby red orbs and a host of tarts

Blood oranges are in season right now and the lovely Stirling at South Lambeth Market got hold of a few kilos of the ruby red citrus fruit for me last weekend.

There's something about the taste of blood oranges... they remind me of a trip I made to Florence in February about five years ago. Each morning we'd eat these tartly sweet red globes as we planned our day exploring the city.

Sweet, slightly tart and with a beautiful delicate fragrace, these fruit are perfect for pastry... And jelly. And salad. And soup.

First on my list of things to try was a fresh and fragrant king prawn, carrot and szechuan pepper salad... reminiscent of springtime. Light and refreshing.

When life gives you blood oranges... make a blood orange tart... or a host of tarts.

The first I made was a twist on a classic lemon meringue pie, replacing the traditional lemon curd filling with blood oranges (and a squeeze of lime for sharpness)...

I also used the blood orange curd to make a more traditional tart with icing sugar and blood orange zest...

And then topped a couple with caramelised blood oranges soaked in Grand Marnier.

Finally, a blood orange and chilli jelly. Tiny cubes of cool, smooth, tart and sweet jelly contrasting with a fiery chilli burn.

I also made a blood orange, carrot and ginger soup and still have half a dozen blood oranges to use, which will be juiced, segmented, and savoured....