IL PARADISO, MALLORCA

My brother is much more into Chinese food and kebabs than fine dining but he did come up with the brilliant recommendation of Il Paradiso Marivent when we were in Mallorca. It is a beautiful restaurant perched on a cliff edge with incredible views. If you can, try and book a table on the balcony but if not, the terrace is also spectacular.

As we only booked that day we were seated on the terrace but it was still an intimate setting and you could see for miles out to sea.

Like always we had a couple of drinks while we looked at the rather large menu full of Italian and Mediterranean classics, salads, pastas, seafood and meats. We also nibbled on some amazing olives, Italian bread, truffled ricotta and a caramelised tomato and onion paste. All absolutely delicious - Pascal and I were fighting over the truffled ricotta!

There were so many starters Pascal and I wanted so we ended up ordering a selection which consisted of mozzarella & tomato, tuna tartar with a quail egg, thin parma ham filled with lobster cream flavoured with cognac & dill and bresaola with burrata (my favourite), rocket & truffle dressing.

It was all incredible - superior fresh ingredients which tasted all the more delicious thanks to it's stunning setting.

For mains Pascal went for the Black Angus beef tenderloin served with a béarnaise sauce and garnished with asparagus wrapped in pancetta and potato puree. It was cooked to perfection and he loved it….I even had some food envy!

Now I made a bit of an error and was so busy tucking into my pappardelle with sautéed shrimps, black olives, capers, anchovies, chilli sun dried tomatoes and fresh basil that I forgot to take a photo! Whoops! I just couldn't stop myself as it was amazing - plus I even managed to have lots of Parmesan too….Pascal seems to believe fish and cheese don't go together but for me, cheese goes with everything!!

We had a lovely bottle of wine which I would also recommend.

WOW! A fantastic restaurant - we will definitely be going back and I cannot wait….perfect for a special or romantic night out. For once I can admit that my brother was right!!!

Il Paradiso

Joan Miro 243
Palma de Mallorca
07015
Balearic Isles 
Spain
Tel: +34 971 103379

BAKED RIGATONI WITH PARMA HAM & SPINACH

Having returned from our lovely holiday I should be cooking air and water and not consuming a thing - instead I am still larding it up! It had been 48 hours since we last had pasta and the weather forecast said storms and rain (couldn't be more wrong) so we chose to cook this washed down with some red wine….we would have been better off with a bbq and some rose!!

Anyway I have had this recipe for years so I was extremely pleased to finally cook it - I think I ripped it out of the Sunday Times magazine in about 2001!!

Ingredients for 6:

300g rigatoni (you can always use penne if you can't find this)
Salt and pepper
60g butter plus a few extra knobs
2 garlic cloves crushed
60g plain flour
75ml dry white wine
1 litre whole milk
Half tsp ground nutmeg
175g Parmesan, grated
130g parma ham or similar, cut into strips
200g baby spinach
Obviously I added a little bit of extra grated cheese but this is optional

Ignore the thyme in the picture - no idea how it found itself there!!

Preheat the oven to 200 C and boil the kettle for the pasta.

In a large saucepan of salted boiling water, add the pasta and cook it for two thirds of the cooking time on the packet (it will cook more in the oven). Once finished drain and set aside. Pascal added a knob of butter to it so it didn't stick together.

While this is cooking, in another large saucepan melt 60g butter over a low heat.

Add the garlic and cook for a minute (without browning). It will smell delicious!

Add the flour and whisk together with the butter and garlic to form a yellow paste. 

Let this bubble gently for a couple of minutes, so the flour has a chance to cook, and then tip in the white wine and whisk. It's times like this I wish I had an electric whisk!!

After another minute start adding the milk, a little bit at a time and whisking as you go. The flour mixture will loosen and it will come together into a smooth sauce.

Next add the bay leaf, bring to the boil and then turn the heat down so the sauce can simmer gently for 10 minutes.

Remove the bay leaf, then mix in the spinach, two thirds of the Parmesan, the nutmeg, the ham and season generously.

Finally mix the sauce with the pasta and pile into an oven proof dish. 

Sprinkle with the remaining cheese (I added some cheddar too as I am a piglet) and a few knobs of butter.

Put it in the oven and bake for 25 minutes until browned and bubbling. Ours was super hot when it was ready so we had to set aside for 10 minutes.

Finally serve and tuck in!

It was delicious and I think it would work very well with a green salad. Pascal found it a little too creamy and if we did it again we would just use half the sauce. It all worked so well though and was very easy - another good dinner party dish as you could prepare it all beforehand. I think peas would be another great addition and if you couldn't buy parma ham, you could substitute with lardons. I am already looking forward to tucking into the leftovers with Arabella!

MOOD BEACH CLUB, MALLORCA

Sorry for the radio silence but I have been on holiday to Mallorca with Pascal - it was blissful - a week of sunbathing, swimming, reading, eating and drinking…..literally all my favourite things!! Like last year we stayed at the Hotel Melia de Mar which I would really recommend if you are looking for a holiday without kiddies (no under 16s allowed)!

We only booked the holiday the night before we went so I was pretty stuffed re restaurants - normally I make reservations a month before….not the case here and when I tried to book Flanigans I was told they were completely and utterly fully booked. We therefore ended up going to Mood Beach & Restaurant which I knew nothing about (I didn't even have time to look up the menu online) but it ended up being the perfect location.

The restaurant is perched on the cliff edge with phenomenal views of the sea, there is a lot of white, very helpful staff, great music, and then huge sun beds and a swimming pool for day time.

We started with a drink - a g&t for me and a Ricard for Pascal much to his delight! 

The menu was full of goodies - a combination of English and Spanish and lots of pasta, fish and steaks and even "Lean" options which we ignored!!!

We started with prawns in garlic, Iberian ham and mushroom montadito (scrambled eggs scented with truffle oil and wild mushrooms on Mallorcan bread).

The prawns were big and juicy, the ham full of flavour but my favourite were the scrambled eggs and mushrooms - I will definitely be recreating this at home.

For mains we went for one of their specials - sea bass in salt which is a favourite of non fish eater Pascal! It really was fantastic. Served with vegetables and potatoes and a hot butter sauce and crispy onions.

I need to stop ordering burgers and start ordering fish more often - it was so fresh and tasty plus after I finished I didn't feel like I was going to explode!!

Obviously there was room for a digestive - an amaretto for me and god knows what for Pascal!!

As I said, a great meal in a beautiful setting with brilliant, attentive staff….we will definitely be back here - it is perfect for a romantic meal or for fun with a group of friends.

Mood Beach & Restaurant

Ctra Palma-Andrtx km 11,
Costa D'en Blanes,
Calvia 07181,
Mallorca,
Islas Baleares,
Spain

Tel: (+34) 971 676 456
Email: info@moodbeach.com

MY BIG GREEN SALAD

My sister and her boyfriend came round for supper last week - this can cause some what of a dilemma as our taste in food couldn't be more diverse. Firstly Eddie doesn't eat cheese…..I know…..this is completely foreign to me and I really don't get it. Plus my sister is a vegetarian, she used to still eat a bit of sausage and salami (!) as well but now she sticks just to fish and she likes things as plain as possible (the opposite to me). 

So considering Pascal is a complete carnivore and I am a cheese freak we had a mental block at what to cook. In the end we decided on a barbecue with a cheeseburger and sausages for Pascal and I, a burger and sausages for Eddie and then a tuna steak for Kirsty. As for sides, my blue cheese coleslaw would go down like battery acid so we did a roasted vegetable quinoa salad (will post the recipe this week) and a big green salad from Fay Ripley's second book.

Ingredients for 4-6 people:

200g runner beans, trimmed (I just use whatever beans they have in the supermarket)
350g frozen petit pois
1 courgette, trimmed
200g baby spinach
30g fresh mint leaves, chopped

For the dressing:

3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard (I put wholegrain in the picture by mistake)!

Boil the kettle or a saucepan of water. Once it is boiling, throw in the runner beans and simmer for 3-4 minutes. 

Then add the peas for a final minute.

Drain and rinse under cold running water.

Put the spinach in a large serving bowl.

Add the chopped mint.

Using a potato peeler, slice very thin strips of courgette length ways.

Then throw in the peas and beans.

Mix all the dressing ingredients together with a fork.

Season and then mix all together.

It couldn't be more simple! This goes with absolutely everything - a barbecue, a roast, fish, pasta bake…the list is endless. Once you have made this, you will make it repeatedly, it is so easy and delicious and tastes great the next day too. I would also be tempted to add some avocado too.

SPINACH AND GOATS CHEESE QUINOA

Since discovering quinoa last month I have cooked with it several times but haven't got round to blogging about it. End of term craziness - I can't believe it is July already, this year has flown by. 

On Father's Day Arabella was with her father and Pascal was in France with his kids. I did think of spending the day dieting but quickly changed my mind and decided to do something healthy instead. Quinoa is a good thing to cook when you are on your own as you can easily do just one portion plus it is filling, tasty and delicious. This is another Pinterest recipe - I do LOVE that website!!

Ingredients for 1 person:

80g quinoa
1 garlic clove, crushed
40g goat's cheese (you can use less but I love cheese)
20g sunflower seeds
40g spinach
Squeeze of lemon
1 tbsp olive oil

This will give you a big healthy portion!

Boil 160ml of slightly salted water and then add the quinoa.

Cover and cook the quinoa until it is soft and tender and the water is absorbed. This will take about 15-20 minutes.

While this is cooking, slice your cheese and crush the garlic.

Once the quinoa is cooked, set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and add the sunflower seeds. Cook for another couple of minutes until lightly toasted. Then add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes.

Then add the spinach.

Then the cooked quinoa and cheese.

Once the spinach starts to wilt, add a squeeze of lemon.

Stir until the cheese is melted. Put in a bowl and tuck in!

Yum - cheesy, nutty but green! It tasted incredible and was the perfect supper. It would also make a great lunch or side dish to fish or chicken. I can't wait to cook it again soon - so much healthier and tastier than pasta or rice and really quick and easy.