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August 17, 2014

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The Simple Things

Sitting on the roof terrace of our apartment in Ortigia the other week, espresso in hand, sun on my back, and enjoying the kind of noisy peace you get in a town. It occurred to me that one doesn’t need much to be content – happy even. Around me I could hear the bickering of other people’s children, the buzz of the ubiquitous scooter down the narrow streets and the hovering of the local Nonna. But on that terrace I was at peace. All I needed was the time to sit there and let all that was around, wash over me. It strikes me that that is not a bad plan for life in general. Keep it simple.

The Italians certainly embrace simplicity with their food. An octopus salad is exactly that; octopus in the form of a salad, with perhaps a little lemon juice olive oil. Famously, pizza should only ever have three topping ingredients; tomato, cheese and one other. If the produce is of the best quality, why complicate it? The core flavours sing all the better.

A simple tomato salad
Tomatoes – a range of colours and sizes are best. Tomatoes always taste better straight off the vine, and certainly when at room temperature. Don’t keep them in the fridge!
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt & pepper
Basil

Slice the tomatoes into fairly thick slices, before tearing a few basil leaves over them. Season and drizzle with a little good extra virgin olive oil. Serve.

I often struggle with living in the moment and keeping things simple, getting caught up in the logistics of the event or the next meal to be planned. Simple meals need less planning, yet somehow bring more joy. Sometimes the simple things are the best.

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spadeforkspoon

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June 15, 2014

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allotment, recipe

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Early Summer Minestrone

Home grown veg, no matter how small or misshapen, are a world away from those bought from the supermarket. It has that something special, it’s been cared for by you, it’s got soul. Over the year homegrown veg can provide you with so many fresh and vibrant tastes; from the earliest of peas and beans, to the sugary sweetcorn of late summer, to the pumpkins and roots of autumn.

This soup is like taking a seasonal look at the plot. It’s a vehicle for the fabulously mixed flavours of the allotment this month (or any month actually). At its base is a great chicken stock and a softened soffritto (the classic Italian soup and sauce base); but apart from that the soup is about using what is available. As such a recipe is not what you need to make this, all you need to do is go to the garden and pick what is in season. The soup benefits from the freshest of vegetables, balanced with a good source of carbs. In huge spirit of adding what you have in season, then this should be potatoes or dried beans. I often use broken pasta or some of the tiny pasta shapes like orzo, combined with small dice potatoes and cannellini or a similar bean.

You will need (serves 4)
3 tbsp olive oil, plus extra to serve
1 onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, crushed
2 carrots, cut into fine dice
2 sticks of celery, cut into fine dice
Seasonal vegetables of your choice (at the moment a couple of handfuls of fresh peas and broad beans, 3 large leaves of Swiss chard, shredded, but any veg works)
1.5l good quality chicken stock
1 potato, cut into 2cm dice
100g cooked and drained haricot beans (or whatever bean you have)
150g pasta (I’ve used broken bits of pasta, but orzo or another small pasta is great too)
Grated parmesan and a few mint or basil leaves, to serve

Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan and add the onion and garlic, softening for 5 minutes, before adding the carrot and celery and softening further. Add the rest of the seasonal vegetables in order of cooking time (peas won’t take as long as courgette for example) and allow to soften slightly. Stir in the potato, stir for a moment, then add the stock, the cannellini beans and pasta. Bring to the boil, then simmer for about 15 minutes until the potato and pasta are cooked. Season to taste, drizzle with some olive oil, a grating of parmesan and some torn mint leaves.

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November 12, 2013

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recipe

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Gnocchi

I love these pillow soft potato dumplings. Up until now we’ve bought them, but with some leftover mash in the fridge I decided to have a go at making them myself. Not only was it really easy, the resulting gnocchi were even better than any shop bought ones we’ve had.

Like many families, we eat a lot of pasta. Not many days go by without a dish of pasta pesto, macaroni cheese, or pasta with a tomato sauce. Gnocchi gives us a different vehicle for our range of sauces. Today the gnocchi were split, with the children having them with pesto (a firm favourite with my son), and my wife and I having them combined with crown prince squash and blue cheese.
What you will need (makes enough for 4-6 people)
1kg potatoes
Salt and pepper
1 egg
250g plain flour (you may need more flour depending on the water content of the mash)
Flour for dusting.

Peel and dice the potatoes and bring to the boil, cooking until tender. Cool a little, then mash, and allow to cool completely. Combine the cooked potato with the other ingredients to form a sticky smooth dough; it is best to work the dough quickly to give the gnocchi a light structure. Sprinkle flour on a surface and roll the dough into long sausage shapes. Cut into 2cm lengths, using a fork to press the distinctive ridges in the gnocchi (the ridges allow the sauce to stick easily). If you want, you can open freeze the gnocchi at this point, cooking them straight from frozen for twice as long. To cook the dumplings, bring a saucepan of salted water to boil, drop the gnocchi in, and simmer until they all rise to the surface (about 2 mins). Take the gnocchi out if the water with a slotted spoon, drain well and add to your sauce of choice.

Crown Prince Squash, Blue Cheese Gnocchi
1 Crown Prince Squash
1 red onion (peeled and cut into 8)
3 garlic cloves
1 handful of rosemary leaves
75g blue cheese

Peel and deseed the squash, and chop it into 2cm dice. Place in a roasting tin and add the onion and garlic, as well as half of the rosemary. Roast the vegetables for 30 minutes at 180C until they are soft and slightly coloured. When the squash and onion are soft and cooked, add the remaining rosemary and the blue cheese in small chunks. Allow the cheese to melt a little, then combine with the cooked gnocchi and serve.

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spadeforkspoon

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November 11, 2013

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recipe

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Arancini – worth having leftovers for!

Ever find you make too much risotto? I’ve become pretty good at portion control – enabling us to not waste too much food. We’re also good at using leftovers in other meals; leftover Hunter’s Chicken for example, makes a super sauce for pappardelle when pushed through a sieve and combined with a bit of the pasta cooking water

That said I always end up making too much risotto; the usual 500g packets provides enough rice for a couple of overly generous meals for two, but not three sensible sized meals. Luckily leftover risotto can be transformed into delicious Arancini; balls of risotto encased in crispy breadcrumbs. I like them so much I subconsciously over cater every time I make risotto. Arancini are easily made and comfortably use up any amount of leftover risotto.

What you will need
Leftover risotto
Flour for dusting (seasoned with salt and pepper)
1 egg (beaten)
Breadcrumbs
Vegetable oil (or other oil suitable for deep frying)

Take your leftover risotto and form into golf ball sized balls. It helps to have wet hands to prevent the mix sticking to you. if you have some mozzarella, you can put a small piece in the centre of each ball at this point. The cheese will melt in the heat of the oil later, giving you a gooey cheesy centre. Once your rice balls are formed place them in the fridge for a few minutes to firm up. Coat the balls with breadcrumbs by rolling in the seasoned flour, then beaten egg, and finally breadcrumbs; before returning to the fridge for 30 minutes.

Heat the oil to frying temperature (a few breadcrumbs dropped into the oil should crisp in a few seconds). Lower the rice balls into the oil and cook until golden brown. I always use a saucepan, so I fry three or four balls at a time. Remove them using a slotted spoon and place on a piece of kitchen towel to absorb any excess oil. Serve warm with a tomato sauce, on their own, or cold as a great snack.

Like me you’ll be making too much risotto before you know it.

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October 27, 2013

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recipe

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Hugs and Biscuits

“Can I give you a big hug?” asked my son the other day. “Of course” I replied. A hug is something we all need now and again. I love how children, naturally more uninhibited, will just ask for a hug, or in my son’s case just offer one. The feeling of being embraced is often all that is needed to solve a problem, or to change one’s mood.

Last week, the children and I ended up getting a coffee and biscuit in the great Caffé Bar Italia di Napoli down the road. I’ve never been to Italy, but it strikes me that this cafe is pretty much as the cafés of Naples (the proprietor’s home town) are like. The coffee is good and the range if biscuits and antipasti super. To accompany our drinks we had some small biscuits which were half chocolate and half vanilla. Deliciously crisp and crumbly, yet not overly sweet, they’re called Abracci. The name translates as ‘hug’, and the vanilla and chocolate halves clasp each other as if they are hugging.

Having looked online, I found a number of recipes (including a recipe from the commercial makers Mulina Bianco) and tracked down what seems like a key ingredient; potato starch, which helps the dough to keep its shape when baking, and maintains the ‘hug’. Whether they are served with a coffee or tea, they are a delicious light biscuit and like a hug bring a smile to your face.

Abracci (makes 72 biscuits)

What you will need
Cream dough:
200g flour
50g potato starch
100g of sugar
50g of butter
45g of margarine
3 tablespoons of fresh cream
1 tablespoon of honey
Knife tip of vanilla bean paste
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
pinch of salt

Cocoa dough:
200g flour
50g potato starch
120g of sugar
40g of margarine
60g of butter
30g cocoa powder
40g of fresh milk
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
pinch of salt.

You need to prepare the two flavoured doughs, then combine before baking. First mix the margarine, butter and sugar until creamy. When light and fluffy, add the cream, vanilla and the honey and mix thoroughly. Finally fold in the flour, potato starch, salt and the baking powder, mixing until all the ingredients are thoroughly combined in a dough. For the cocoa dough, repeat the process of creaming the butter, margarine and sugar, before adding the milk and egg. Fold in the remaining dry ingredients to make a dough. Allow the dough to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Take the dough from the fridge and roll to form 30cm sausages. Divide each sausage into 3cm pieces and then combine one cocoa and one cream sausage to form the ‘hug’ shape shown in the photo above. Bake at 180 ° C for 10-15 minutes. The biscuits are ready when the cream part has started to turn golden brown.