Tasty food, tasteful meal

FOODIE

Interior architect Mike Knowles knows that food needs to look as good as it tastes.

There are many who claim to be interested in food. But you can tell the pretenders from those who are true gourmands when you enter their home for this column. Food connoisseurs don't just do a dish, they whip up an entire meal and then present it in such a way that even the simplest meal looks like a treat not to be missed.

Interior architect Mike Knowles who, along with his wife Preeti, runs a very successful design consultancy, falls in that category of food enthusiasts.

The Knowles' residence in New Delhi is bathed in soft light, highlighting their rather nice design sensibilities. The table is set complete with candles and different glasses, and the setting seems perfect for a meal that is more likely than not to have both style and substance.

Knowles has planned this down to the last detail. He says, "All that will be served is very healthy and it's all very simple. It's like our design. We like to push simplicity here and the same is true with food."

The meal starts with gazpacho, which Knowles points out is good for you, with its mix of onions, tomatoes, capsicum and green chillies. This, says Knowles, reduces the tummy. Encouraged by this, I glug back the stuff.

Knowles' mother was, he says, a good cook, but his parents passed away when he was still in his teens, and his interest in cooking was perfunctory.

A meal meant eating out and, he says, "My early girlfriends suffered." But happy domesticity is what finally turned Knowles into a good and interested cook.

Bruschetta with chillies accompanied by red wine was the next course. "India has the best tomatoes in the world." he says, adding, "I don't like an abundance of sauces. I like good and healthy ingredients."

And that is reflected in the entire meal that Knowles produces, be it the gazpacho, the bruschetta or the sole that he serves up as the main course. The only chink on this healthy front is the chips, but even here he says, "I like to parboil the potatoes as they then require less oil to fry."

Knowles' decision to serve sole as the main course even though the capital is in the grips of a mad, unpredictable monsoon, he says, is because now things have changed: "Now you get good fish in different markets all the year round so this thing about not eating fish in the months with R in it is no longer true."

The asparagus is a nightmare to cook, he says, because in India we still don't get the best. The way Knowles cooks asparagus this evening is based on celebrity chef Jamie Oliver's recipe. After tasting the asparagus, I would say that both Knowles and Oliver know their onions when it comes to cooking.

The red wine flows freely, as does the food. Next comes feta cheese with melon and then a platter of dates, figs and nuts to bite into, for the conversation is also flowing freely.

Says Knowles, "The food and wine at the end of a hard day is my reward. My home is tactile and friendly and I am a happy man. I have a great wife."

Congenial company, good and healthy food "" the evening looks like it could go on and on. But even amidst such conviviality, goodbyes need to be said and they are said as I sail into the inky-blue night, happy in the thought that here is one family that doesn't just pay lip service to healthy food.

FAVOURITE RECIPES

Spice-Encrusted Sole
½ kg sole, cleaned and lightly salted
2 tbsp sumac (available from INA market in New Delhi)
Pinch of oregano
Pinch of cayenne pepper

Heat a skillet, lightly smear with olive oil. Coat the sole in the spices. According to thickness, roast the sole for 2-4 minutes each side. Serve with Jamie Oliver's asparagus, game chips and crisp mixed salad.

Side dishes
For Jamie Oliver's asparagus, remove the fibrous ends of the asparagus (how much depends on how good you want the end result; in Delhi, I end up wasting at least half the spear). Heat 4 oz of butter in a pan. Broil the asparagus gently in the butter for four minutes after which add a quarter pint of chicken stock and boil for a further two minutes.

For the game chips, cut large potatoes with their skins into sizeable wedges. Parboil for five minutes and then fry in very hot oil. Arrange the fish onto the plate, carefully pile on a portion of game chips and top with asparagus.