Posted in Food, Italian, Side dish, Vegetarian, tagged Cooking, Food, Italian, Potatoes, Recipe, side dish, Vegetarian on 20 June 2012| 3 Comments »
Rosemary flavoured potatoes are available everywhere in Tuscany and we love them!
Patatine Novelle al Rosmario – to serve 4
Heat the butter and oil in a large pan, add the rosemary, garlic and new potatoes, then cover. Cook on a low heat until golden brown. Discard the garlic and rosemary and sprinkle with some sea salt to serve.
(Original recipe from The Silver Spoon, Phaidon Press Ltd. 2005)
Posted in Food, Grillo, Italian, Pasta, Vegetarian, Vermentino, Wine, tagged Cooking, Food, Italian, Pasta, Pesto, Pistachio, Recipe on 13 June 2012| 2 Comments »
This is a classic Sicilian dish. Casarecce is the pasta shown in the picture but you can use penne if you can’t find it. You can roast the pistachio’s in advance but don’t chop them until you are ready to make the pesto as they will go rancid very quickly once their oils are released.
Casarecce con pesto di pistacchio – to serve 4
Heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas 4. Spread the pistachios out on a baking tray in a single layer and roast for about 8 minutes. Check them near the end to ensure they don’t burn.
Chop the pistachios. Take ¾ of the pistachios and the garlic and pound to a paste with a pestle and mortar. Pound the basil into the paste, then gradually add the olive oil. Add the remaining pistachios and the pecorino and pound just briefly to make sure you keep some pieces of pistachio. Season.
Cook the pasta in lots of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain and put the pasta back in the pan, reserve a little of the cooking water. Toss the pasta with the pesto and add a bit of the cooking water to loosen if necessary. Grate over some more pecorino to serve.
Drink with: We tried a Vermentino from Colli di Luni DOC (Hills of the Moon) in the hills of Liguria in Italy which worked very well and is a classic partner for Pesto dishes. To be even more authentic to the dish we would suggest something Sicilian made from Grillo; you need minerality, nuttiness, fresh acidity and fruitiness wrapped in a medium bodied wine.
(Original recipe from Georgio Locatelli’s Made in Sicily, Fourth Estate, 2011.)
Posted in Food, Gruner Veltliner, Italian, Pasta, Shellfish, Wine, tagged Cooking, Food, Italian, Pasta, Scallops on 10 June 2012| Leave a Comment »
This is a delicious recipe from Marcella Hazan’s The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. Marcella recommends using canestrelli which are tiny little sweet scallops which are also know as Queen Scallops or Queenies. We didn’t have canestrelli to hand when we made this but achieved a similar effect by chopping up larger scallops so there are lots of little pieces through the dish. Serve the sauce with spaghettini if you can get it, but thicker spaghetti will work too.
Scallop Sauce with Olive Oil Garlic and Hot Pepper – to serve 6
Wash the scallops in cold water, pat dry with a tea towel and cut into little pieces about 9mm thick.
Put the olive oil and garlic in a saucepan, turn the heat to medium and cook until the garlic becomes pale gold, add the parsley and chilli. Stir and add the scallops and a couple of large pinches of salt. Turn the heat to high, and cook for about 90 seconds, stirring often, until the scallops become opaque and loose their shine. Careful not to overcook them or they will be tough. Taste and adjust the seasoning. If there is a lot of liquid in the pan, remove the scallops with a slotted spoon, and boil down the watery juices. Return the scallops to the pan, turn quickly, then take off the heat.
Toss well with the cooked spaghettini, add the breadcrumbs and toss again.
Drink with: An easy, simple and fruity Grüner Veltliner (GV) works well by not overwhelming this delicate sauce and the spicy white pepper spices in GV complement the spices and chilli in the dish. Don’t spoil the balance by getting a powerful and complex GV.
Posted in Food, Italian, Sauvignon Blanc, Vegetarian, Wine, tagged Cooking, Food, Healthy, Italian, peas, Risotto, Wine suggestion on 2 June 2012| Leave a Comment »
A bit of a celebration of peas. The original recipe also suggested topping it off with pea shoots at the end but unfortunately we couldn’t find any today. Not as tasty as some of our richer risottos (with much more butter and cheese) but very nice all the same.
Pea risotto – to serve 4
Melt the butter in a large saucepan, add the onion and cook gently for about 10 minutes until very soft but not coloured.
Whizz about a third of the peas in food processor with a ladle of stock to make a purée.
Stir the rice into the onion, turn up the heat, then sizzle and stir for about a minute. Add the wine and bubble until it has all be absorbed, stirring the whole time. Continue cooking this way, adding a ladle of stock at a time and stirring continuously until the rice is tender and creamy. It should take between 20 and 30 minutes.
Stir in the pea purée, the remaining peas, Parmesan and seasoning, then turn off the heat and leave to stand for a few minutes. Drizzle with a splash of good olive oil before serving if you like.
Wine Suggestion: A Sauvignon Blanc should complement the fresh green pea flavour you can often find similar characteristics in the wine. We prefer the more subtle versions from the Loire Valley but there are some excellent examples from Marlborough in New Zealand that don’t go too over the top, like Morton Estate.
(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)
Posted in Food, Healthy, Italian, Vegan, Vegetarian, tagged Cooking, Easy, Food, Healthy, Italian, Salad, Vegan, Vegetarian on 31 May 2012| 2 Comments »
A delicious Tuscan salad which is usually made with stale bread – we think the bread in Tuscany may contain less preservative as our bread rarely gets a chance to go stale. This version uses baked croutons for a similar effect. Make sure you leave the salad for about 30 minutes before serving to allow the flavours to mingle.
Panzanella – to serve 6
Crush the garlic with a little bit of salt in a mortar, then deseed and chop up the chilli and crush with the salt and garlic until you have a coarse paste.
Add the vinegar and sugar and mix then tip into a large salad bowl. Add the olive oil and beat together.
Chop the rest of the salad ingredients into bite-size chunks or slices.
Tear the bread into small chunks and bake in a moderate oven until golden and crispy, then add the salad bowl.
Tear over the basil and add to the bowl with a bit of salt and pepper, then toss lightly and leave to stand for about 30 minutes. Toss again before serving.
Wine Suggestion: Wines from a region tend to complement the foods from that region (kind of like a chicken and egg thing). A glass of straightforward Chianti will have the right sort of acidity and rusticity to complement this perfectly.
(Original recipe by Alastair Hendry in Olive, June 2010.)
Posted in Fish, Food, Healthy, Italian, Pasta, tagged Cooking, Easy, Fish, Food, Healthy, Italian, Pasta, Recipe on 28 April 2012| 2 Comments »
This is so delicious!!! Make sure you use top quality tuna in olive oil (we like Ortiz). It’s really healthy too. What more can we say?
Note to Cara – Jono reckons Cian will like this one 😉
Linguine with tuna sauce – to serve 4
Heat the oil in a medium pan. Toss in 2 tbsp of the parsley, the garlic, chilli and ginger and fry for a few minutes until starting to soften. Add the tomatoes and cook for another few minutes. Fold in the tuna and season generously. Leave the sauce to simmer for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta, then drain and return to the pan. Pour the tuna sauce into the pasta and toss well. Sprinkle over the rest of the parsley and serve.
Wine Suggestions: We think a light Italian red would be good here. Try a Langhe Nebbiolo or something from Basilicata if you fancy going south.
(Original recipe from BBC Good Food.)
Posted in Food, Italian, Pasta, Vegetarian, tagged Cooking, Food, Italian, Pasta, Recipe on 18 April 2012| 4 Comments »
Jono hasn’t made fresh pasta since he broke his hand and we’ve missed the lightness and texture it has. Now he’s better we had to make this minty Spring Ravioli. Needless to say we made masses, but despite the quantity they just slipped down so easily and disappeared in a flash. Fresh pasta is a bit of a labour of love but if you give yourself plenty of time it’s not that difficult and you feel very smug and clever afterwards.
Ravioli of pecorino, potato and mint – serves 6
For the pasta dough
First make the pasta:
Throw the flour and eggs into a food processor and whiz until it looks like breadcrumbs, then tip out and bring together with your hands.
Knead the pasta dough until it feels smooth and silky (your hands should be aching!). Wrap it in clingfilm and rest in the fridge for at least half an hour.
For the filling:
Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas 6. Prick the potatoes with a fork, then roll them in some sea salt and bake for about an hour. Cool, cut them in half, and scoop the potato into a bowl, discarding the skins.
Pick your mint leaves and finely chop half. Add the butter, pecorino, nutmeg, lemon zest and the chopped mint and mash well with the potato. Taste and add more seasoning if it doesn’t taste absolutely delicious.
For the ravioli:
Dust the work surface with flour. Take a quarter of the pasta dough (keep the rest wrapped well in the fridge) and press out flat with your fingers. Set your pasta machine to the widest setting – and roll the pasta dough through. Lightly dust with flour if it sticks. Click the machine down a setting and roll through again. Fold the pasta in half, click the machine back to the widest setting and roll through again. Repeat this process 5 or 6 times. The pasta will eventually become smooth and silky.
Now roll the dough through all the settings on the machine, from the widest to the narrowest. Keep lightly dusting both sides with flour as you go. When you’ve got down to the narrowest setting, fold the pasta in half lengthways and then in half again, then in half once more until you have a kind of square. Turn it 90 degrees and feed through the machine again at the widest setting. Roll the pasta through each setting for the last time. For ravioli you need to keep going until you can clearly see your hand through the pasta.
Now you need to work quickly to make your ravioli before your pasta dries out. You can cover with a damp tea towel to protect it if necessary.
Cut the pasta into a 5 x 15 cm strips.
Place 4 tsp of filling along the strip and lightly brush the pasta with water.
Put another strip over and mould carefully around the filling on the bottom sheet, pushing out any air bubbles.
Cut into squares with a crinkle cutter or into circles with a pastry cutter.
To cook the ravioli:
Bring a pot of salted water to the boil and cook the ravioli for about 3½ minutes.
While it is cooking, put a couple of knobs of butter in a frying pan and heat gently. Drain the ravioli with a slotted spoon, reserving a little bit of pasta water. Add the ravioli to the melted butter with a little of the cooking water and lightly simmer until you have a sauce that coats the pasta lightly. Serve on a platter and sprinkle with mint, some pepper and shavings of pecorino.
Aren’t you clever!
Wine Suggestion: We went with the suggestion in the recipe book which was the Italian white, Arneis. Ours was by a producer called Ascheri from Alba and was very nice indeed.
(Original recipe from Jamie Oliver’s Cook with Jamie, Penguin Books, 2006.)
Posted in Fish, Food, Italian, tagged Cooking, Fish, Food, Recipe on 11 April 2012| Leave a Comment »
A great balance between the meaty and oily Gurnard and the sweet onions, salty capers and vinegar. You want the onions to be al dente so don’t cook them too long.
Fried Gurnard with Sweet & Sour Red Onions – to serve 4
For the sweet and sour onions
Cook the sweet and sour onions first. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan, then add the onions, honey, ½ tsp salt and some pepper and cook gently for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they are soft but still have a bit of a bite, but don’t let them brown. Keep warm.
Pour the olive oil into a wide shallow pan to a depth of 1cm and heat to 180ºC (buy a cheap jam thermometer in a cook shop for this). Season the fish fillets on both sides, coat in the plain flour and knock off the excess. Lower the heat slightly and add the fish and cook for 1 minute on each side until lightly golden and cooked through. Lift onto kitchen paper and drain briefly.
Serve the fish on warm plates and spoon some of the sweet and sour onions over. Scatter with capers and serve.
Wine Suggestion: Acidity is important here we’d recommend a white Inzolia or Grillo from Sicily.
(Original recipe from Rick Stein’s Mediterranean Escapes, BBC Books, 2007.)
Posted in Food, Italian, Pasta, Pork, tagged Cooking, Easy, Food, Italian, Jamie, Pasta, Recipe, Sausages on 9 April 2012| 1 Comment »
Good Friday night stuff this. We always have a stash of good quality sausages from Sienna in the freezer. This is a Jamie recipe called “Proper blokes’ sausage fusilli”. We assure you that proper ladies like it too!
Sausage Pasta – to serve 4
Crush the fennel seeds and chillies in a pestle and mortar until coarsely ground. Heat a splash of olive oil in a heavy frying pan. Skin the sausages and add the meat to the pan, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Fry for a few minutes until it starts to colour and the fat has started to render, keep crushing it until it looks like coarse mince. Add the crushed fennel and chillies and cook on a medium heat for about 10 minutes until the meat looks crispy and golden brown.
Stir in the oregano, then pour in the wine and reduce it by half. Add the lemon zest and juice. Turn the heat to low while you cook your pasta according to the pack. Drain the pasta but reserve a little cooking water. Toss the pasta well with the sausagemeat, then add the butter, Parmesan, chopped parsley and a few spoons of the reserved water. You should have a loose, shiny sauce. Taste and adjust the seasoning, then serve with some extra Parmesan.
Wine Suggestion: The recipe book suggests a Valpolicella Classico which would be good but we reckon the bit of extra acidity from a Chianti would work better. Or if you like your wines fruitier and softer try something from the Tuscan coast, the Maremma.
(Original recipe from Cook with Jamie by Jamie Oliver, Penguin, 2006.)
Posted in Food, Italian, Vegetarian, tagged Baking, Bread, Cooking, Food, Italian, Recipe, Vegetarian on 2 April 2012| 1 Comment »
This takes time to make but with little effort and is well worth it. It supposedly keeps well too but ours didn’t last long enough to test this theory. If you’re not keen on fennel seeds you can leave them out or else substitute sesame or poppy seeds.
Pagnotta con finocchietto – makes 1 oval loaf
Brush a baking tray and the inside of a large bowl with oil.
Sift the flour into another bowl with the salt, sugar and yeast and make a well in the centre. Sprinkle over ½ tsp of the fennel seeds and pour in the water and butter. Mix with the tips of your fingers until you have a soft dough.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Shape it into a ball and put it in the oiled bowl. Cover with clingfilm and leave to rise in a warm place without draughts for an hour (the hot press is good).
Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and punch dozen. Shape into an oval and place on the oiled baking tray. Brush the top with a little oil and cover with clingfilm. Leave to rise in a the same warm and draught-free place for another 40 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 220ºC/gas mark 7.
In a small bowl, mix the egg white with a pinch of salt.
Brush the top of the loaf with the egg white and sprinkle over the remaining fennel seeds. Use a sharp knife to make a cut right down the length of the dough.
Bake in the middle of the oven for 20 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 180ºC/gas mark 4 and continue to bake for another 10 minutes.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly before serving warm with some cured ham or salami.
Wine Suggestion: A light fruity red will be perfect here – try a Chianti perhaps from the Rufina district.
(Original recipe from Gino d’Acampo’s, Italian Home Baking, Kyle Books, 2011.)
Posted in Beef, Food, Italian, tagged Beef, Cooking, Food, Italian, Peposo, Polenta, Recipe on 26 February 2012| 1 Comment »
We’ve made Jamie Oliver’s take on this classic but this version is much superior. Peposo is a Tuscan beef and peppercorn stew. We also cooked polenta to serve this time which is a superb accompaniment and takes about the same time to cook as the stew. Don’t be put off by the massive quantities of peppercorns, they soften and give a warming rather than fiery spice kick.
Peposo – to serve 4
Add the onion and garlic and garlic and cook for another 10 minutes or until they are well softened.
Add the whole and ground black pepper and the bay leaf and fry for another minute before adding the wine and tomatoes. Taste for seasoning and bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to very low and cook, covered, for 1½ hours or until the meat is really tender – check again for salt when it’s ready.
Serve right away with the polenta below or with some bread and cannellini beans or roast potatoes. Or you can refrigerate and reheat when you need it. Leftovers make a good sauce for pasta.
Wet Polenta with Parmesan – to serve 4
This takes ages to make so if you get it on just after your Peposo it should be ready at about the same time. This recipe uses coarse yellow polenta, don’t be tempted by the easy-cook stuff as it is not the same.
Bring the water to the boil with the salt. Add the polenta in a steady stream, stirring like mad with a wooden spoon or whisk to avoid lumps. Simmer for 90 minutes, stirring often with a wooden spoon, until thick and luscious. You should almost be able to stand the spoon in it, but add water if you actually can at any stage during the cooking. When you like the texture, stir in the cheese and butter.
Leftovers can be reheated by stirring over a low heat with a little water.
Wine Suggestion: Regional foods are generally complemented by the wines of the same region so go for a really good Chianti that will be able to stand up to this rich stew. We had a Felsina Chianti Classico which was delicious.
(Both recipes came from the Bocca Cookbook by Jacob Kenedy, Bloomsbury, 2011.)
Posted in Food, Italian, tagged Cooking, Fish, Food, Pasta, Recipe on 19 February 2012| Leave a Comment »
We love it when you come across great recipes by pure chance. We only made this as we had some smoked salmon leftover in the fridge and weren’t able to find filo pastry for the recipe we had originally planned. It was also late and we were grumpy and hungry. This definitely is a mood enhancer!
Linguine al Salmone e Salsa di Pomodoro – to serve 4
Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the onion and cook over a low heat for about 5 minutes. Pour in the brandy and cook until the alcohol has evaporated. Add the tomatoes and simmer for about 10 minutes until thickened. Add the salmon, season with pepper, stir in the cream and heat gently. Meanwhile, cook the linguine. Drain, tip into the pan with the sauce and toss.
Wine Suggestion: You don’t want to overwhelm the flavours and yet still need something to stand up to the cream and rich, smokey Salmon. We would choose a good Albariño from Rias Baixas in Spain, or a dry, Provençal Rosé.
(Original recipe from Silver Spoon, Phaidon, 2009.)
Posted in Food, Italian, tagged Cooking, Food, Italian, Meatballs, Recipe on 12 February 2012| 6 Comments »
A great weeknight supper that we cooked when Jules’ brother Peter came to stay during last week … only to discover that this is one of his reliable weeknight dinners too! Another Silver Spoon convert as we’d given him this book for Christmas.
Rigatoni con Polpettine – to serve 4
Mix the meat, parsley and garlic together in a bowl, then stir in the egg and season with salt and pepper. Shape the mixture into small meatballs, dust with flour and set aside.
Heat the oil in a pan, add the onion, celery, carrot and rosemary and cook over a low heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
Add the meatballs and turn up the heat to medium. Cook until lightly browned all over, add the passata and season with salt. Lower the heat, cover and simmer, stirring now and then, for about 40 minutes.
Cook the rigatoni in a large pan of boiling salted water until al dente, then drain and tip into the meatballs. Mix well and heat through for a couple of minutes.
Sprinkle over some Parmesan to serve.
Wine Suggestion: Italian of course, but it doesn’t need to be anything fancy. We drank a delightful Chianti Rufina from Fattoria di Basciano which was perfect; full of lovely cherry fruit, fresh acidity to match the tomato and ripe, grippy tannins to work with the meatballs.
(Original recipe from Silver Spoon Pasta, Phaidon Press Ltd. 2009)
Posted in Food, Italian, tagged Cooking, Food, Italian, Pasta, Recipe on 31 December 2011| Leave a Comment »
Another great pasta dish from The Silver Spoon: Pasta, Italy’s pasta bible. This has lovely earthy flavours.
Penne Al Prosciutto E Funghi – to serve 4
Put the mushrooms in a bowl and cover with lukewarm water. Leave to soak for about 20 minutes then drain, squeeze out the excess liquid and slice. Melt the butter with the oil in a saucepan. Add the onion and cook over a low heat, stirring now and then, for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Add the mushrooms and ham and cook for a few minutes, then pour in the wine and cook until the alcohol has evaporated. Season and leave to simmer for 20 minutes, adding stock when necessary to prevent it from sticking. Stir in the cream and heat for another few minutes. Meanwhile, cook the penne according to the pack instructions. Combine the sauce and pasta and serve with the Parmesan sprinkled over the top.
Wine Suggestion: A nice rich Chardonnay is a good match for the cream and suitably savoury to complement the ham and mushrooms.
Posted in Food, Italian, tagged Cooking, Food, Italian, Pizza, Recipe on 29 December 2011| Leave a Comment »
Using our friend Barbara’s recipe for pizza dough (we are trying to perfect and find our favourite pizza dough recipe). It worked really well especially if you can get the bases really thin – if not they’ll be too doughy. We are still searching, though for that crispness but a touch more freshness and lightness to the dough.
For the Pizza dough (makes 4 x 27cm/11 inch pizzas):
Dissolve the yeast in the water and add the salt and olive oil. Add drop by drop into the centre of the flour while mixing with your hands. Knead until the dough is a smooth texture and roll into a ball. The dough should be really silky at this stage, but I would suggest rubbing a little olive oil over the ball before resting as this will help prevent it drying out.
Place dough into a large bowl, cover with a linen tea towel and rest for 1 hour in a warm spot (no less than 20C/68F). After this hour the dough should have tripled in size.
Cut dough into four and roll into a ball. On a lightly floured working surface gently press the dough into shape using the heel of your hand and thumbs. Try starting in the middle and pushing outwards. It may help to turn the dough over a few times but this process should be easy enough – we got it into a lovely thin base.
Top with your favourite ingredients – this time we used our trusty tomato sauce, some sausage meat broken up and fried with fennel seeds and some mozzarella which worked a treat.
Wine suggestion: A red wine with Sangiovese in it, or a Barbera. Straightforward and tasty.
Posted in Food, Italian, Pasta, tagged Cooking, Food, Italian, Pasta, Recipe, Vodka on 16 December 2011| 2 Comments »
We thought this was unusual until we found out you can get sugo from Italy with vodka already added! The pasta doesn’t taste like vodka but it gives a kind of glycerous texture. We’re going to cook another pasta with vodka to try and understand the effect better. This recipe is kind of old fashioned – my Granny never cooked pasta but if she did she probably would have done a sauce like this (only without the vodka). That’s not a criticism – it’s the pasta version of a good stew!
Penne Rigate Alla Vodka – to serve 4
Melt the butter in a pan, add ham, tomato purée and parsley, season and cook, stirring now and then, for about 10 minutes. Stir in the cream and vodka and cook until the vodka has evaporated and it doesn’t smell so alcoholic. Cook the penne in salted boiling water according to the pack, then drain. Tip it back into the pan and stir through the sauce.
(Original recipe from Silver Spoon Pasta, Phaidon, 2009).
Wine Suggestion: Try a white from Southern Italy like a Greco di Tufo which is minerally, fresh and relatively full-bodied.
Posted in Food, Healthy, Italian, Vegetarian, tagged Cooking, Easy, Food, Low fat, Recipe, rice, Risotto on 23 November 2011| Leave a Comment »
Mixing fresh tomatoes into a risotto is a revelation and adds a layer of freshness that is enhanced by the crushed fennel – yum! This is a lighter risotto with much less butter and cheese than we would normally add! Still there is loads of flavour and this is perfect for a weeknight (we try and save the butter and cheese for the weekend).
Saffron & tomato risotto – to serve 2
Mix the fennel seeds with the chopped tomatoes. Pour 1 tbsp of boiling water over the saffron to soak. Heat the oil in a wide, shallow pan and add the onion with some seasoning. Cook for a few minutes or until softened. Heat the stock in a separate pan until simmering.
Add the rice to the onion and cook for a few minutes or until the grains are glistening. Pour in the saffron and stir for a minute before adding the wine. Keep stirring until the wine is absorbed.
Add a ladleful of stock and stir again until absorbed. Keep doing this until the rice is cooked but still has a bite. Add the tomatoes and fennel seeds and cook for a minute. Serve with the Parmesan.
Wine Suggestion: Try a medium-bodied and well-rounded white from Italy, like a Fiano or Falanghina. Or you could push the boat out with a top quality Greco di Tufo, full of minerality but still with the freshness needed for this dish – we had none of these unfortunately 😦
Posted in Food, Italian, Side dish, Vegetarian, tagged Cooking, Food, Italian, Mushrooms, Porcini, Recipe on 9 November 2011| 2 Comments »
Because we’re not blessed by abundant fresh Porcini like the Italians we need to be a little inventive to capture the flavours and effect of a genuinely Italian recipe; this one delivers the goods in spades. If you find some fresh porcini grab them with both hands but otherwise try this mixture of wild mushrooms and a handful of dried porcini to boost the flavour.
Funghi Trifolati (Sautéed Mushrooms with Parsley & Garlic) – to serve 4 as a side dish
Meanwhile, clean the fresh mushrooms – wiping them with kitchen paper should be sufficient rather than washing them. Cut them into thick slices.
Lift the porcini out of the water and cut into small pieces.
Finely chop the shallots, put them in a large sauté pan and sauté with the olive oil and butter until soft. Add the garlic, half the parsley, a little salt and lots of pepper. Cook, stirring, for a minute and then add the porcini. Cook for 5 minutes or so and then throw in the fresh mushrooms and some parsley. Cook over a fairly high heat for about 10 minutes, making sure mushrooms don’t stick to the bottom of the pan. There should be very little liquid left by the end of the cooking.
Sprinkle with the last bit of parsley before serving.
(Original recipe by Anna Del Conte, Gastronomy of Italy, Pavilion Books, 2001.)
Posted in Food, Italian, Pasta, Vegetarian, tagged Arrabbiata, Cooking, Food, Italian, Pasta, Recipe, Silver Spoon on 31 October 2011| 3 Comments »
We’ve picked up a habit of paying for pasta dishes in Italian restaurants in town. There’s nothing wrong with the pasta dishes but there’s something wrong with paying €10 (or more!) for something you can make a vat of for far less than that. So we’ve resolved to cook our own pasta dishes from now on – starting with this Penne Arrabbiata from Silver Spoon Pasta. You will probably have most if not all the ingredients already which makes this practically free!
Penne Arrabbiata – to serve 4
Add the tomatoes to the pan, season with salt and cook for about 15 minutes.
Cook the penne in a large pan of salted boiling water until al dente, then drain and tip into the frying pan.
Toss over a high heat for a few minutes, then transfer to a warm serving dish. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.
(Original recipe from The Silver Spoon Pasta, Phaidon, 2009).
Wine Suggestion: Italian wines tend to go with Italian foods as they are naturally high in acidity which makes them a perfect complement to tomato-based sauces. You don’t need to splash out for this dish. We had our favourite every-day wine Il Casolare, an IGT from Marche, which combines Sangiovese and Montepulciano. Interesting and food friendly but smooth and easy at the same time. On offer now in Mitchell & Son for €9.50 – bargain!
Posted in Food, Italian, Vegetarian, tagged Autumn, Cooking, Food, Italian, Jamie Oliver, Recipe, Risotto, Vegetarian, Wild mushrooms on 23 October 2011| 1 Comment »
Another cracker from Jamie Oliver. We have posted other risottos on this blog but none quite compare to this one – no doubt due to the copious quantities of butter and Parmesan. This is definitely a weekend dish! It is supposed to serve 6 but we served it as a starter for 8. Delicious!
Risotto ai funghi e prezzemolo (Roasted mushroom risotto with parsley)
Heat the stock. Put the olive oil and knob of butter into a separate pan, add the onion and finely chopped garlic and celery, and cook slowly for about 15 minutes without letting it colour. When the vegetables have softened, add the rice and turn up the heat.
Keep stirring the rice as it lightly fries. When is starts to look slightly translucent and glossy add the vermouth and keep stirring.
Once the vermouth has cooked into the rice, add a ladle of hot stock and a good pinch of salt. Turn the heat down to a simmer and keep adding ladlefuls of stock, stirring and massaging, allowing each ladle to be absorbed before you add another. This will take about 15 minutes but you do need to taste the rice and check if it’s cooked. If not, keep going with the stock until the rice is soft but still has a little bite. If you run out of stock just use some boiling water.
Meanwhile, heat a heavy ovenproof frying pan or tray until medium hot and add a splash of olive oil. Fry the mushrooms for a minute or more until they start to colour, and season with salt and pepper. Add the garlic, thyme and the tbsp of butter and mix together. Put the pan in the oven and roast the mushrooms for about 6 minutes or until cooked through. We discard the garlic at this stage.
When your rice is cooked take it off the heat and add the 70g of butter , the chopped parsley and the Parmesan. Stir well. Put a lid on the pot and allow it to sit for a couple of minutes.
Roughly chop chop half the mushrooms and stir into the risotto, adding a good squeeze of lemon juice too. Divide between plates and sprinkle over the remaining mushrooms and a bit of freshly grated Parmesan.
Jono & Jules do food & wine 