Food for Love by C. Fonseca

Author:C. Fonseca
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ylva Publishing
Published: 2018-07-27T17:31:56+00:00

That afternoon, when Lili entered the restaurant kitchen, Alex and Tim had already checked off and put away the deliveries, prepared the vegetable stock—that would later be strained to form the base of the chilled spring pea soup—and explored Ailie’s garden for the day’s fresh pickings. Tim was in the prep kitchen, assembling tonight’s addition to the tasting menu: a ballotine of free-range duck filled with sourdough crumbs, caramelised orange, anchovy, and leeks. The boned, rolled, stuffed, and trussed duck would be roasted to perfection; the skin crispy just caramelised, the meat tender, still pink. It would be served simply, with golden pan juices and ginger-carrot puree, and garnished with a sprig of fresh thyme. That was the plan.

With their sleeves rolled up, Alex and Lili worked together at the marble-topped bench. The pale-gold dough had rested for thirty minutes, and Alex used a bench knife to divide it into four equal portions. Lili lightly floured the surface of the counter and kneaded the dough with her bare hands.

“This happened when? At half past midnight?” Alex put the knife down and stared at Lili, her hazel eyes wide. “You were in your pyjamas, and she massaged your back?”

Lili turned her head from Alex back to the dough. “Don’t look at me like that. Jess was very professional the whole time.”

“Ah-ha. Sure. She had those very professional strong hands and long fingers on your body.” Alex snickered. “Was that before or after you demonstrated the pleasure of single malt whiskey?”

“Why was I stupid enough to tell you about it?” She picked up the wooden rolling pin and evened out the dough to less than the thickness of a credit card.

“You were flirting with her,” Alex said, passing over the next piece of dough. “You’re not going to deny that, are you?”

Lili grinned, kept her hips still, and moved her upper body from side to side. She winked at Alex and laughed out loud. “She fixed my back.”

“She did more than fix your back, my friend,” Alex said. “It’s been a long time since you’ve laughed like that.” Alex punched her lightly on the arm. “Oh my God, you like her.”

Lili shrugged.

“Ah, I had my suspicions. I mean—you like her. You find her attractive. Desirable.”

Lili put the rolling pin down. “Come on, Alex. Get the filling from the under-bench fridge before the dough becomes sticky, and the ravioli cutter while you’re at it. And could you scatter a little more flour on the bench.”

“Yes, Chef.” Alex poked out her tongue.

“Of course I’m attracted to her. Jess is gorgeous.” A puff of flour erupted in a cloud around the bench as Lili blew out a breath. “I’m only human.”

“Okay, I got a bit carried away. Sorry about that,” Alex said. “So, what are you going to do about it?” Alex placed a teaspoon of goat’s cheese mixture on the thin dough sheets two centimetres apart and then brushed the dough around the filling with egg wash.

Lili placed a sheet of pasta on top and pressed down around the filling, making sure there were no air pockets.

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