I've always loved the colour of the sky after sunset. 'I love' isn't particularly the word I love to use, and what I mean here is more like 'I adore'. I've always adored and almost worshipped the colour, especially with gold.
Take a look at this picture, for example. I took this from my front window in winter at the hour that I..err..love. Deep, mysterious, and enchanting blue with little golden lights in other people's windows. The moon looks white in the picture, but it was actually yellowy gold. I then wanted to establish when exactly this colour appears in the sky and found out that it's 30 minutes after sunset on a clear day.
I then stop what I'm doing and just stare. My mind becomes empty just for a minute or two. I feel tremendously calm and untroubled. Have a look at the sky at this hour and see how you feel :)
This is Nigel Slater's recipe from his book called, 'Tender'. I just halved the recipe for me to enjoy as solo lunch. Absolutely delicious!
Ingredients (for 1 person):
(for the potatoes)
12 new potatoes, scrubbed
6 garlic cloves, with skins on
olive oil
a few sprigs of rosemary or thyme
(for the dressing)
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 and a half tbsp olive oil
Preheat oven to 200C.
Preheat oven to 200C.
Put the potatoes in an ovenproof dish or roasting tin. Add the garlic to the potatoes. Drizzle over a little olive oil, then scatter with flakes of sea salt and the leaves from the rosemary or thyme sprigs. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour until they are puffed and golden and their insides are fluffy.
Pour the vinegar into a small jar with a lid and add the mustard, olive oil and some sea salt and pepper. Shake it hard to give a thick dressing. When the potatoes come from the oven, press down hard on each one with the back of a spoon so that they crack open slightly, then pour over the mustard dressing. As you eat, press the soft garlic from its skin.