Sunday lunch with friends

You know how people say that it’s the little moments that make you truly happy? I really believe that, and what’s not to love about a day spent with friends, cooking, eating and drinking till you can’t move off the sofa? I wanted to share some pictures, two recipes and also introduce my favourite line of crockery. It might be an unusual thing to mention unless you’re very much into interior design, but I find that the food tastes better when it’s in a beautiful plate.

Let me introduce you to my friends at Cerami, a company that has beautiful plates, bowls, and mugs that everyone will love. I’m particularly in love with the blue Sevilla range, that makes me want to be in Greece having lunch by the sea. Ever since I discovered Cerami, whenever I am out eating I always check out what plates the restaurant has (yes I’m weird)! The whole range is microwave and dishwasher safe, which super convenient because I am lazy when it comes to washing plates etc by hand. Also, their customer service is second to none; quick replies, offering help as much as possible and very quick delivery, I had my order after 2 days.

They’ve also given me an exclusive discount code for you all – with FANI20, you get 20% off everything! If you place an order I’d love to know what you picked, message me, leave a comment or DM me on Instagram to let me know!

On to the food and the recipes as promised; short ribs tacos (can easily by veggie if you take the meat out), tomahawk steak and banoffee pie for dessert. Both types of meat were made using sous vide. Sous vide is a method of cooking where the meat is in an air-tight plastic bag cooked in a water bath. It ensures the meat is always tender and cooked to a precise temperature throughout. I will offer an alternative method if you don’t have sous vide!
Beef short rib tacos
Recipe:
Short ribs
1 bottle of red wine
1 lt of good quality beef stock
1 head of garlic
Thyme
With sous vide: Temperature 77.5 degrees Celcius, for 24 hours
Without:
Short ribs need to be slow cooked either way to get this juicy meat for the tacos. Slow cook for 12 hours in a pot with the red wine, thyme, beef stock, garlic.
Then burn on a pan, before pulling meat apart for the tacos.
We used ready-made tacos, and made the pickled onions.

For the quick pickled onions: Finely cut your red onions, add to a jar with half apple cider vinegar, half part water, ginger, paprika, and garlic and let sit overnight.

For the coleslaw: Grate one large red and one large white cabbage, one green apple, a lot of lemon, olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Make it veggie: Add more avocado, more coleslaw, maybe some grated cheese!

Tomahawk steak
Recipe:
1.6kg tomahawk steak
Garlic
Olive oil
With sous vide: Temperature 54 degrees Celcius, for 2 hours,
Add rosemary, garlic and oil, and use a blow torch to burn a couple of minutes each side
Without: Burn olive oil and butter in a big pan, then add the steak for 2-3 minutes on each side. Baste with rosemary and crushed garlic.

And now for my favourite part, as I have a massive sweet tooth!

Super easy Banoffee pie
Ingredients:
For the base:
150gr Digestive biscuits
140gr unsalted butter
For the caramel:
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
2 bananas (not too ripe)
For the cream:
2 packs of double cream
Vanilla paste/extract
1-2 large teaspoons of icing sugar
Optional: grated dark chocolate on top

1. In a food processor blend the biscuits until they are finely milled, add the melted butter and a touch of salt. Press the mixture down in your tin, I used a 20cm one with a removable base that makes it easier (same I’d use for a cheesecake). Cover and put in the fridge.
2. Put the can of condensed milk in a pot with boiling water. Let it boil for 2.5-3 hours. This is the easy way, and it works so that’s fine by me! After you’ve let it sit for a while, in an attempt not to burn yourself, open the can. You might need to stir the caramel a bit to make it softer. I added a bit of salt to balance the sweetness.
3. Add the caramel top of your biscuit base, cut your bananas up and place them over the caramel.
4. In a separate bowl take your double cream, add a large spoonful of icing sugar (that was enough for me, but if you want it sweeter add some more), a bit of vanilla, and with a handheld mixer (or without if you have the patience!) mix for a couple of minutes until you get whipped cream. Stop as soon as you have it though, as you don’t want to ruin your beautiful cream.
5. Add your whipped cream on top of the banana/caramel combo and smooth down. Cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours, or overnight.
6. Add grated chocolate before serving!