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Archive for June, 2016

Veal Cannelloni

Posted in Food, Party Food, Pasta, tagged , , , , , , on 13 June 2016| 2 Comments »

Veal Cannelloni

This is a delicious party dish from Croatia where the cooking has lots of Italian influences. Most veal these days is ethical rose veal (even in Italy, where they’re adamant it’s the traditional production methods) so don’t write off veal too quickly … it’s definitely worth trying.

Wine Suggestion: definitely drink a Croatian white if you can find one but failing that try a white from Eastern Italy, like a good Verdicchio or Pecorino.

Veal Cannelloni – serves 6

  • 250g dried cannelloni tubes
  • 300ml tomato sauce (see recipe below)

For the filling: 

  • 650g veal mince
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
  • 45ml olive oil
  • 150ml dry white wine
  • 2 tbsp tomato puree
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 15 turns black pepper
  • 300g fresh spinach, wilted over a medium heat, drained and chopped
  • 15 rasps of nutmeg
  • 50g Parmesan cheese, grated

For the béchamel sauce: 

  • 75g butter
  • 125g plain flour
  • 1 litre full-fat milk
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 50g Parmesan/Pecorino

Make the filling by combining the veal, onion and garlic in a food processor and pulsing briefly to make a coarse paste.

Warm the olive oil in a large frying pan over a high heat, add the veal and cook until browned. Add the white wine, tomato puree, salt and pepper and keep cooking, covered, for 20-30 minutes. Stir in the spinach, nutmeg & Parmesan.

Next make the béchamel sauce. Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat, then add the flour to make a roux. Cook for 2 minutes, then remove from the heat and slowly add the milk, whisking to avoid lumps. Return to the pan, add the bay leaf and stir until thickened. Add half the Parmesan/Pecorino and set aside.

Heat the oven to 180ºC/gas 4.

Spoon a ladle of the béchamel over the base of a large greased rectangular baking dish. Spoon some of the veal into each of the cannelloni tubes (use both ends of a teaspoon to do this).

Arrange the filled tubes in a single layer in the dish and pour the tomato sauce over. Cover with the remaining béchamel, top with the remaining cheese and bake for about 40 minutes. Leave to rest for 5 minutes before serving.

(Original recipe from Rick Stein’s Venice to Istanbul, Penguin 2015.)

 

 

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Niçoise, camping style

Posted in Uncategorized on 13 June 2016| Leave a Comment »


Off to France camping for a few weeks and here is our first lunch. We recommend packing a bag of cooking essentials that includes salt, good extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar and a black pepper mill. 

Tuna Niçoise – serves 4 

  • 2 eggs 
  • 4 new / waxy potatoes 
  • 200g green beans 
  • A couple of handfuls of soft lettuce leaves, like butter lettuce 
  • 2 tomatoes, quartered 
  • 200g tuna in olive oil, drained
  • 16 small black olives 
  • 8 white anchovy fillets, spli (optional)
  • 2 tbsp olive oil 
  • 1 tsp red wine vinegar 
  • Salt & black pepper 

Put the eggs in a pot of boiling water and cook for 7 minutes. Place them under cold running water to stop them cooking. They should be just soft in the middle.

Cook the potatoes and green beans in separate pots of boiling salted water until tender, then drain. Cut the potatoes into bite-size cubes.

Gently toss the warm potatoes and beans in a large bowl with the tomatoes, olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. 

Tear the lettuce over the base of a serving platter and spoon the potato, bean and tuna mixture on top. Scatter the olives, quartered eggs and anchovies over the top and serve. 

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Marinated Piquillo Peppers

Posted in Food, Spanish, tagged , , , , , , , , on 10 June 2016| 3 Comments »

Marinated Piquillo peppers

So easy to prepare, but the real key is getting top quality roasted peppers. If you can find Navarrico Piquillo peppers from Spain then rejoice. They are expensive but the tin is jammed full so you will get several tasty dishes out of it.

Wine Suggestion: This dish works great with an extra dry and savoury Sherry and our pick is a dry Amontillado which is salty, savoury, nutty and yet with super low acidity it is a perfect balance to the sweet, smokey and piquant peppers.

Pimientos del piquillo aliñados (Marinated piquillo peppers) – serves 4

  • 225g piquillo peppers (see above)
  • 1 clove of garlic, thinly sliced
  • 1 tbsp sherry vinegar
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • a handful of roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley

Drain the peppers and either leave whole or tear roughly. Toss with the rest of the ingredients, season with sea salt and black pepper, and leave to allow the flavours to come together for 30 minutes or so.

(Original recipe from Moro: The Cookbook by Sam & Sam Clark, Ebury Press, 2001.)

 

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Turkey & Courgette Burgers

Posted in Food, tagged , , , , , , on 6 June 2016| 2 Comments »

Turkey & courgette burger

These delicious burgers have taken over our neighbourhood, everyone is making them, and they should because they are delicious!

Wine Suggestion: a fresh, vibrant rosé suits the dish and the time of the year. Something like the Roc des Anges “Effet Papillon” rosé made from Grenache Gris really hits the mark with this.

Turkey & courgette burgers with spring onion & cumin – serves 4-6 (about 18 burgers)

  • 500g turkey mince
  • 1 large courgette, coarsely grated
  • 40g scallions, thinly sliced
  • 1 medium egg
  • 2 tbsp chopped mint
  • 2 tbsp chopped coriander
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ½ tsp coarse ground black pepper
  • ½ tsp cayenne
  • about 100ml sunflower oil for searing

Soured cream & sumac sauce:

  • 100g soured cream
  • 150g Greek yoghurt
  • 1 tsp grated lemon zest
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 small garlic clove, crushed
  • 1½ tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp sumac
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp black pepper

Make the soured cream sauce by putting all of the ingredients in a small bowl. Stir well and chill until needed.

Preheat the oven to 220ºC/200ºC Fan/Gas Mark 7.

Mix all of the ingredients for the meatballs, except the sunflower oil, together in a large bowl. Shape into small burgers – they should weigh about 45g each and you should aim for around 18 of them.

Pour enough of the sunflower oil into a frying pan to get a thin layer on the bottom, about 2mm thick. Heat well and sear the meatballs in batches over a medium heat on all sides. Cook for about 4 minutes, adding more oil as needed, until golden brown.

Carefully transfer the meatballs onto an oven tray lined with greaseproof paper and cook in the oven for 5-7 minutes, or until just cooked through. Serve warm or at room temperature, with the sauce spooned over.

(Original recipe from Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi & Sami Tamimi, Ebury Press, 2012.)

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Rick Stein’s Venetian Ragú Bolognese

Posted in Food, Italian, Pasta, tagged , , , , , on 1 June 2016| 1 Comment »

Rick Stein’s Venetian Bolognese Ragú

We ♥ Pasta!

Wine Suggestion: We often advise to serve food with wine from the same region as they tend to naturally complement each other. This is never more the case than with Italian reds and tomato-based sauces. Italian red wines, such as Sangiovese, are high in acidity and are a perfect match for acidic tomato sauce; so find a good Sangiovese as you’ll need one for this recipe anyway – and it would be plain wrong not to drink the rest.

Ragù Bolognese – serves 6-8 

  • 1 celery stick, finely chopped
  • 2 carrots, finely chopped
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 60ml olive oil
  • 300g beef mince
  • 300g pork mince
  • 100g lean smoked bacon, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 15 turns black pepper
  • 100ml Sangiovese wine
  • 60ml water
  • 500ml passata
  • 2 tbsp tomato puree
  • 1 sprig rosemary
  • cooked tagliatelle & freshly grated Parmesan to serve

In a heavy-based saucepan, fry the celery, carrots and onion in the olive oil for about 10 minutes.

Add the beef, pork and bacon and brown. Season with the salt and pepper, then add the wine, water, passata, tomato puree and rosemary. Cook, covered, over a low heat for about 2 hours.

Serve with the cooked pasta and freshly grated Parmesan.

(Original recipe from Rick Stein’s Venice to Istanbul, Penguin, 2015.)

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