pot-roasted poussins agro dolce

That's what I had for dinner tonight with some friends. Agro dolce if you don't know is a delicate Italian sweet and sour sauce. Jamie says there's something so comforting, deep and dark about this dish. And it's true. This is a fantastic dish to be served in the colder months of the year. Or perhaps a rainy summer evening, like today.

I love how the dish came together. It's so earthy with the scents of rosemary and cinnamon; but not at all heavy. I particularly love the sauce. The tangy-ness of the sauce is provided by a mixture of red wine vinegar, sun-dried tomatoes and Chianti wine. And the sweetness comes from the orange and sultanas.


I served the dish with baked potatoes stuffed with bacon, anchovies and garlic; another one of Jamie's recipe that I've made a couple of times before.

before

after baking in the oven for an hour

And for something sweet to complete the evening, I attempted to recreate a dessert I had at the London food festival last weekend: dark chocolate mousse with strawberries and coconut whip.

I enjoy this kind of cooking, the one with no recipes where I got to 'play' with my imagination and just go by look and taste.


The first layer of the dessert is some chopped fresh strawberries sweetened with vanilla sugar. Next is the dark chocolate mousse made with combining mascarpone cream, dark chocolate and folding some cream for lightness. It's then topped with coconut whipped cream, and garnished with grated coconut dark chocolate and fresh strawberries. It's summer in a martini glass.


Have a great weekend.