Travels for Taste

Tales of travel and food with a touch of spice

Ponti’s Italian Kitchen,Oxford Street- review

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This was my favourite haunt for an after work gossip session with my best buddy from work about 2 years ago. Even if we were dog tired we managed to cheer up as soon we stepped in. In winter months especially it was brilliant to watch the flames in the huge oven licking the base of the pizza pans.

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Recently a close pal of mine was in London for 2 days for a business trip, thankfully he was a short distance away from Oxford Street  so I treated him to brunch at Pontis. I am so glad that they didn’t fail to impress.

He had Smoked salmon with Eggs scrambled and I have Eggs Florentine with freshly squeezed orange juice.

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In the past I had a really memorable meal on my buddys birthday here are some photos from back in 2012!

1-28th Sept'12 Niroo's B'day at Ponti's

They have lots of seating available and there are also tables outside – prefect during the summers, the place is ALWAYS full during peak tourist season so thats when I tend to avoid going there.

1-28th Sept'12 Niroo's B'day at Ponti's1

They have a wide variety of biscuits and cookies for sale  and an ok wine selection as well. Its a family managed unit so the service is very good and friendly.

My first ever visit to Pontis though was at their branch at Wimbledon in the Food Court. They made my friend and  me the fluffiest omelettes ever!

For an authentic taste of Italy in the heart of the West End , this is a brilliant option.Being family managed it is more of tradition I think to serve good honest food and over the past 2 years have since the menu change too ,so am sure there is a constant thought process behind the whole thing.Comforting to know isn’t it?

*Reviewed of my own accord.Paid for in full by me. All opinions expressed and photographs used are, as always, my own. No monetary compensation was offered or provided for a positive review.

Tasty and Quick Pasta for two from ”nothing”

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We all have those days when we realise that all those reserves we had stowed away in various places – the fridge, the cupboard are well..not there and you are hungry and it’s too late to step out.

Panic not! There are ALWAYS a few things here and there which can be thrown in to make something superb! I made some very tasty and quick pasta yesterday and it was such a satisfying experience I cannot tell you how pleased I was with the outcome. Please feel free to throw in stuff that you have, that needs using up. Waste not want not I say!

Ok so here goes.

Ingredients:

  • Pasta – whichever type you have left enough for 2 people – used tagliatelle and generally 2 rolls are good for one very hungry adult 🙂
  • Sea salt (basically just regular salt)
  • olive oil or regular vegetable oil 1 tbsp
  • Tomato puree/ 1 large tomato sliced and diced fine (I scraped off some leftover tomato puree in a can that was at the very back of my fridge  – just in time !
  • Chilli flakes as per taste)
  • Chorizo – again I have a small portion lying around and it packs a punch in the taste department!
  • Spring onion finely chopped, I had a small bit left over from a bunch and it tasted awesome with the chorizo
  • Dried herb mixture – 2 tsp (or use fresh herbs off your kitchen plants – my dried herb mixture is a bit of left over artisan mix from one of the many food fairs I go to 🙂 it has garlic,parsley,chilli,sun dried tomatoes,salt and basil)
  • 2 – 3 cloves garlic sliced very fine and deep fried to give a superbly crunchy deep taste
  • Some cheddar cheese, I had 2 different packs tied with a rubberband and lying quietly in a small corner of my fridge door – ha! perfect find for pasta I say!

Method:

  • Boil the pasta in a saucepan with a sprinkling of sea salt and drizzle some olive oil as it nears the point when it’s cooked completely, this will ensure it does not get sticky and stodgy.
  • As soon as the pasta is on the boil, in another saucepan,heat 1tsp olive oil or sunflower oil and fry the garlic until it is crisp, to get them to crisp slice them superfine,as much as you can manage to without slicing off your fingers;)
  • Then throw in the chorizo slices and as they cook they release a lot of oil and it really can add a lot of flavour and you don’t want to waste that so quickly chuck in the chopped spring onion and the tomato puree,stir and cook this mixture for about 2 minutes on a very low flame.
The oil from the Chorizo adding flavour to the spring onion
After the Chorizo is cooked it should look like this
  • Drain off the excess water from the pasta ensuring there is just a little bit to allow the pasta to remain smooth.
  • Turn off the heat at this point and mix well.Then add some chilli flakes and the cheese – as much as you have or as much as your waistline and conscience allows 😉
  • The heat trapped inside the pasta and the sauce will melt the cheese and it just disappears into the pasta giving it that perfectly cheesy not over-the-top taste,which is ex-actly what you want folks!The yummy deliciousness that this pasta is makes me want to dive right into the plate and its smoky garlicy flavour with just the right amount of chilli and chorizo which is my absolute personal favourite for pasta dishes,what more could one ask for!?! 🙂
  • I wish I had some smoked ham,fresh basil and some more chorizo – but hey this was so good I am going to make it again and again!
  • I hope you do too and if you do drop me a line here in the comments, I love reading what you have to say!I am most looking forward to those comments where you were in a similar situation and used the ”nothing” from your fridge and made pasta as delicious as mine – just use your imagination!
The best pasta I've ever made!

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  • I am entering this recipe into the ”No Waste Food Challenge” for Jan ’14,hosted by the lovely Elizabeth who blogs at  Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary and has taken on the baton to host this challenge from Kate over at Turquoise Lemons who initiated this very challenge,couldn’t think of a post more apt for this I say ! If you too would like to link up but find the details on Elizabeths blog. Find the whole round up here
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  • I am entering this frugal recipe for Credit Crunch Much hosted by Helen of Fuss Free Flavours and Camilla of FabFood4all and for Feb’14 hosted by Angela of My Golden Pear. Making use of ingredients which I wouldn’t have otherwise used together and finding things lurking in my fridge which have been salvaged and not chucked into a food bin a few days later, I think this recipe definitely fits the bill for this challenge.
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Tasty and Quick Pasta for two from ”nothing”

Angel Hair Pasta and Prawns in Thai Red Curry and white wine sauce

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I loved the name of this recipe by Chef Delia and hubby was also so excited about eating that we went to supermarket that she endorses and got us some really nice White Cooking wine and vermicelli pasta which I used as ”Angel Hair”. The other thing about this recipe that I found appealing was that it was easy to make, serves 2 as a main meal if prepared with suggested quantities and is a really satisfying dish to both cook and eat!

Why is it called Angel Hair ? Capellini Pasta literally means Angel Hair – because this pasta is the finest, thinnest… and when boiled it opens up and is so delicate , almost like how an Angel’s hair would be! Since it is a very light pasta it pairs well with sea food and is sold in nest like shapes that open up into silky strands on boiling …ummm perfect !

Ok my cheat sheet for this recipe , I used Thai red curry paste from a bottle but you can make your own too.As with other types of pasta, it is generally cooked until it is al dente, or firm to the teeth.

I love this angel hair pasta as it cooks really fast and the sauces are taken up so well by the strands.

Serves:2

Marination Time: 4 hours Preparation Time: 15 Minutes Cooking Time:25 Minutes

Ingredients:

  1. 175gm Angel Hair Pasta.
  2. 2 packets of prawns.
  3. 2 tablespoons light olive oil.
  4. 4 large tablespoons Thai Red Curry Past.
  5. 4- 5 large garlic cloves skinned and very finely sliced.I love the skins so I kept them, they add a diferent twist and crackle that I cannot resist!,
  6. 2 large tomatoes skinned,de-seeded and chopped.This was the first time in my life I skinned tomatoes and must say it was fun 🙂
  7. Grated zest and juice of 1 lime
  8. 200ml dry white wine
  9. For the garnish – 3 tablespoons fresh coriander finely chopped,fresh lime thinly sliced.

Method:

  1. Marinate the deveined prawns in the Thai Red Curry Paste and set aside for as long as you can before cooking the meal, as suggested by Delia for 4 hours in a fridge is ideal.
  2. To start with the sauce ,add oil in a pan and the chopped garlic, fry till i is a beautiful golden brown and the kitchen starts to give away a delicious aroma that tantalises your senses…ummm , then go in the pan the lime zest and juice , the tomatoes and wine  and on a high heat cook and eventually reduce  for about  8 minutes.
  3. Now add the prawns and mix well on a high heat, then reduce to a low flame and let this bubble again for 3- 5 minutes.
  4. Turn off the heat once prawns are well cooked and cover and keep warm till the pasta is done as we have to be ready to serve this immediately when the pasta is ready , being thin it does not stay very easy to scoop out and handle once boiled.
  5. In a large vessel boil water with salt and cook the pasta , it is done in 3 minutes precisely.
  6. In bowls ready for serving spoon out the pasta ,whatever water comes with it , wil be soaked up by the pasta and the sauce.
  7. Serve the prawns in the Thai red curry paste and white wine sauce on top of the Angel Hair Pasta.
  8. In one word – Perfect !

Finito;)

Now for some pics- hover over each pic for a description, pics are followed by credits to the sites which inspired this blog post,Cheers Folks and do drop me a line if you liked this recipe and made it for your family 🙂

And last but not the least my sweetheart, my patient hubby for buying me the ingredients and for being my time keeper for this dish, I am eternally in love with you …..

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