al fresco – Cook and Drink

Pea and Mint Soup

2 July 2026

We love refreshing chilled soups during summer. Could be gazpacho, could be avocado and cucumber soup or this classic. It’s delicious and uplifting when it’s really warm. Serve with crusted bread for a lovely, light starter.

What You Need

1 small Shallot
1 clove of Garlic
400 ml of Vegetable Stock
175 grams of (frozen) Peas
handful of fresh Mint
Lemon Juice
Black Pepper
2 tablespoons of Cream
Olive Oil

What You Do

Chop the shallot, the garlic and the mint
Heat the oil in a large pan
Add shallot to the pan and glaze for a few minutes
Add garlic to the pan and gently sauté for one or two minutes
Pour in the stock and bring to the boil
Add peas and reduce heat
Leave for a few minutes until the peas are relatively soft
Add mint and cream
Allow to simmer for one or two minutes
Add some lemon juice and black pepper
Hand blender until smooth
Taste and adjust (mint, lemon juice, black pepper)
Pour into a large bowl and allow to cool
Cover and chill in the refrigerator for three or more hours
Spoon the soup into cold soup bowls and decorate with a sprig of mint

PS

Don’t overcook the peas. If you do, the soup will become too smooth and it will not be bright green.
You could add some olive oil just before serving and pulse with a hand blender. This will give the soup a velvety, rich feel plus it will make the taste more complex.

Pea and Mint Soup ©cadwu with lemon juice, vegetable stock, shallot, garlic and cream, to be served cold — Pea and Mint Soup ©cadwu

Roasted Bell Peppers

18 July 2024

The recipe of Peperoni alla Piemontese goes back to 1954 when Elizabeth David published it in her (third) book Italian Food. The dish is a true classic. Super simple, tasty, uplifting and a tribute to summer. The recipe as published by Elizabeth David was popularised by Delia Smith in her TV series and her book Summer Collection, published in 1993. A helpful video is available via her website.
Bell peppers are popular in Piemonte and it seems they were originally prepared with anchovies and parsley only. It was probably Elizabeth David who came up with the idea to add tomatoes. Later others added tuna, which we think takes away the lightness of the dish. Another option is to replace the anchovies with black olives, making it a vegetarian dish.
We prefer using sweet long bell peppers. They combine very well with the flavour of the tomatoes and the juices. Delia Smith uses quartered, peeled tomatoes which helps to brings the flavours and textures together. Our alternative is a bit more work: we use tomato confit. The tomatoes are very tasty with hints of garlic, rosemary and thyme.

Wine Pairing

Enjoy the roasted peppers with a crisp white wine or rosé. If you want to spend some money, then buy a bottle of white Piemonte wine, made with the arneis grape. The wine is made in the Roero area close to the village of Canale. A wine with a bright, intense yellow colour, present aromas of ripe fruit (especially apples), very fragrant. The taste is delicate and fruity with good acidity and a long finish.

What You Need

2 Sweet Bell Peppers
8 Tomato Confit
4 Anchovies
1 Clove of Garlic
Black Pepper (optional)
Olive Oil

What You Do

Preheat your oven to 180 °C or 350 °F. Halve the bell peppers lengthwise. Slice the garlic. Chop the anchovies. Use a shallow baking dish. Add 2 tomatoes, some garlic, some anchovies and a generous amount of olive oil (and/or cooking juices of the confit) to each halved bell pepper. Transfer to the oven. The peppers will be ready in 30+ minutes. Enjoy with crusted bread. No need to serve with basil!

Spicy Grilled Octopus

24 March 2021

We have all experienced chewy, fibrous and tasteless octopus, so how to make sure your octopus is juicy, tender and full of flavours?

Since octopuses don’t have bones, they have very tough connective tissue (collagen) between the muscles. When heating the octopus for a few hours, the collagen will break down into soft gelatine and the meat will become tender and juicy, just as you would like it to be.

‘How to speed up the process’, you wonder?
You could add vinegar to the cooking liquid, you could prepare the octopus by storing it in brine for a few hours, you could beat and pound the flesh, you could freeze the octopus for a few days, you could try adding a wine cork to the cooking liquid (hilarious!).
Unfortunately none of these short cuts make a significant difference.

The best method is to stew the octopus in a large pot or in the oven. This may take 4 hours or more. Octopuses contain a fair amount of juices and you want to capture these and their lovely flavours, which is exactly what you do when stewing an octopus.
Cooking an octopus in water for hours means losing these flavours; not something you want to do.

There is only one alternative to slow cooking: buy (frozen) baby octopuses. Marinate them for a few hours, grill them for 2 minutes and enjoy with a glass of wine or a nice cold beer.

What You Need

6 Baby Octopuses
For the Marinade
- Neutral Oil
- Soy Sauce
- Sweet Soy Sauce (Kecap Manis)
- Fresh Ginger
- One Garlic Glove
- Teaspoon of Cumin
- Tablespoon of Chilli Bean Sauce (Toban Djan)
- Water (optional)
Chinese or Japanese pickles

What You Do

Clean the octopuses and remove the beak. Grate the ginger, chop the garlic and combine with the other ingredients. You’re looking for a powerful marinade with lots of chilli and (sweet) soy sauce. Allow the octopuses to marinate for a few hours.
Heat your grill, dry the octopus and grill for 2*1 minute. We prefer using a non-stick contact grill. Cut of the mantle and slice the tentacles in two. Serve on a warm plate with pickles and share.