Easiest matcha tiramisu

London's newest sushi spot, and mitochondrial uncoupling

Fun at Tonari

Food news of the week:

It’s too easy and fun to make cake yourself at home, but this lemon cake is sent from the gods. Second, I can’t wait to share my experience at London’s hip new sushi baby Tonari, in today’s review below. Third, there’s plenty of hype around Hide for a reason. They are terribly consistent, delicious, and now they have a new truffle roast chicken snuggled under delicate crisp skin. Heart= won over. Food and drink pairing of the week includes Flour and Grape talk too, down there.

Science of the week:

Mitochondrial uncoupling, as you can hear about here too, is this phenomenon where electrons and protons leave the mitochondria without making ATP (the energy currency our body uses), but instead releases heat. It’s now linked to longevity, one reason being that the process is known to reduce reactive oxygen species, which is a normal byproduct when energy is made ‘normally’ but damaging to cells in large amounts. If you’ve heard of brown fat, that’s basically a ton of uncoupled mitochondria packed together. Your diet plays a part: diets high in unsaturated fat and vegetables can signal to mitochondria and tell them to uncouple.

Insight of the week:

There’s a difference between self-intellectualisation and self understanding/awareness. I’m still learning, but the former is a defense mechanism used to not integrate harsh emotional experiences into one’s reality to protect a sense of self (eg putting all your effort into organising a funeral instead of finding time to sit with the grief). The latter is the capacity not to impulsively rationalise, but simultaneously look inwards and be able to observe and analyse the way you react in different situations.

Recipe of the week:

Made this ridiculously simple matcha tiramisu over the weekend and we discovered the beauty of having actual coffee in it, which provides an enjoyable accent of bitter in addition to the matcha. Since the matcha is the star here, feel free to make weaker coffee.

Yeah ok I cheated and didn’t go down the traditional route here with raw eggs, but if you do wish, definitely go ahead and do it the traditional way by separating three eggs and mixing the yolks with a half cup of white sugar, and beat the egg whites separately in a clean large bowl until they reach stiff peaks. Then, you can fold the mascarpone into the egg yolk mix and finally add the beaten egg whites and matcha powder to finalise the creamy mascarpone layer.

Matcha tiramisu (makes one tiramisu, serves around 4, or in the case of last weekend, two greedy girls)

Ingredients:

500g mascarpone cheese

12-15 sponge fingers (if you can, find the Savoiardi ones, and the amount you use will depend on how big your tiramisu container is)

100g or a half cup of white caster sugar

1 teaspoon of matcha powder

For the coffee dip:

1 cup (240ml) of drip coffee or coffee made to your liking (optional: add a tablespoon of rum or brandy to the coffee and mix well), left to cool in a shallow wide bowl

For the topping: 2 teaspoons of matcha powder

Directions:

In a large bowl, whisk together the mascarpone and sugar well, for at least a minute. Sift in the teaspoon of matcha powder and whisk everything until the powder is well incorporated. For the first layer, dip a sponger finger into the coffee, and repeat until the base of your container is covered in soaked fingers. Then put half of the mascarpone mix on top. Complete the layer by sifting 1 teaspoon of matcha powder on top of the whole layer, making sure to coat it evenly by moving your sifter around as you tap on its side. Repeat for the second layer: dip sponge fingers in coffee, layer on top with mascarpone mix, and then top with the sifted matcha.

Let this cool and set in the fridge for 10 minutes before cutting and enjoying. Everything is glossy, creamy and wonderful!

Restaurant of the week:

Mid to late winter is when uni and fatty tuna shine, and what better way to celebrate than at London’s humble new joint.