Filed under: Cookbook Recipes, Dishes of the World, Food on the Web | Tags: antonio, antonio carluccio, carluccio, Food, food channel, italian, samoriglio, tuna
© Antonio Carluccio
Just turned to the Food Channel on the TV and caught an episode of ‘Southern Italian Feast’ presented by my all-time favourite foodie Antonio Carluccio. It’s hard to believe that I first watched this show on the BBC ten years ago back in England.
After picking up some marvelous ingredients in Palermo’s Vucceri Market, Carluccio cooks a simple Tonno al Forno con Salmoriglio (Baked Pasta with Herbs) which he served with Zucchini al Pomodoro e Basilico (Courgettes with Tomato and Basil). While samoriglio (a mortar-and-pestled mxture of herbs, garlic and oil) is usually used to dress steamed or grilled fish, Carluccio dressed the tuna steaks before baking, adding a few pine nuts and breadcrumbs for added texture.
We have friends coming over at the weekend and, for once, I know exactly what I’m going to cook ahead of time!
Pissaladina
Over the holidays, I have read a number of great food books borrowed from the local library. These include the delightful Rosemary and Bitter Oranges, kitchen memories and recipes of a Tuscan childhood and brilliant The Man Who Ate Everything by lawyer/foodie Jeffrey Steingarten.
As usual when making food for family and friends, I have found a good deal of inspiration from my collection of Italian cookbooks. As Italian food rarely fails to please both the stomach and the eyes, here’s a few of the dishes I made with the odd photo for good measure.
Pissaladina
Inspired by ‘A Book of Mediterranean Food’ by the incomparable Elizabeth David of which I have a cherished 1960 paperback copy in which she writes the following
‘…across the Italian border, these dishes baked on bread dough are called pizza, which simply means a pie, and there are many variations of them, the best known being the Neapolitan pizza which consists of tomatoes, anchovies, and mozzarella cheese (a white buffalo/milk cheese). The local pizza of San Remo is very like the Provencal pissaladiere, but garnished with salted sardines instead of anchovies; it is known locally as sardenara.’
Writing in bleak post-war Britain, David advised getting unbaked dough from a local baker. Although I could ask Kevin for some of his, I usually make dough for my pizze, focacce and ciabatte to the superb recipes in Suzanne Dunaway’s No Need To Knead – Hand Made Italian Breads in 90 Minutes.
1kg onions, sliced
pizza or Italian bread dough
Black olives, stoned
Anchovy fillets
Olive oil
Roll out or hand stretch the dough to fit a large baking sheet or pizza stone. Cover the bottom of a saucepan with olive oil and add the sliced onions. Over a gentle heat, slowly cook the onions until almost to a puree – this will take around 40 minutes. Pour the puree on to the dough, put on the top and decorate it with stoned black olives and criss-cross with anchovy fillets. Bake in the oven, on the pre-heated stone or sheet as you would a pizza, until golden brown.
Salsa di pomodoro (l) and pissaladina onions (r) in the making
Salsa di Pomodoro d’Emilia
Emilia’s tomato sauce from ‘Rosemary and Bitter Oranges’ by Patrizia Chen. Emilia, the cook in Chen’s childhood home, would sometimes vary the recipe on a whim, adding a little rosemary or red wine to this classic sauce.
1 onion
1 carrot
1 clove garlic
½ stick celery
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
400g / 14oz can crushed or chopped tomatoes
Pinch of dried red pepper or chilli flakes (optional)
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Finely chop the onion, carrot, celery and garlic. Saute the vegetables in the olive oil in a medium saucepan over a low heat for about 5 minutes, or until they begin to soften, stirring. Stir the tomatoes into the vegetables. For a little heat, add some red pepper or chilli flakes. Simmer gently for 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thick and flavourful. Season with salt and pepper.
Orecchiette Piccante
Orecchiette Piccante
From Antonio Carluccio’s Passion for Pasta. Antonio Carluccio is possibly the best champion of Italian food, certainly in the UK. His books and television appearances ooze with passion and excitement about great food. I made my own orecchiette by mixing 1lb of flour and five eggs with the dough hook of my Kenwood chef for 3-4 minutes, then wrapping in plastic wrap and resting the dough in the fridge for an hour. I then simply rolled out lots of ½cm thick strings and cut these into little 1cm lengths before flattening each with a thumb to make the individual orecchiette or ‘ears’, using a little flour to stop things getting too sticky.
4 oz / 100g sun-dried tomatoes in oil
4 anchovy fillets, in oil
3 tablespoons coarsely chopped basil
3 tablespoons coarsely chopped parsley
¼ oz / 10g capers 2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 small chilli pepper
1 oz / 25g stoned black olives
6 tablespoons virgin olive oil
½ pint / 300ml water
12 oz / 350g dried orecchiette
2 oz / 50g freshly grated Pecorino cheese
Drain the tomatoes and puree them in a food processor with 2 tablespoons each of the basil and parsley, the anchovies, capers, garlic, chilli pepper, olives, olive oil and water, until the mixture is smooth and glossy. Cook the pasta for 20-25 minutes, or until al dente. Meanwhile, gently simmer the tomato mixture in a pan for 5 minutes, adding a little more water if becoming too thick. Drain the pasta and mix with the sauce. Add the Pecorino cheese, mix together well and serve with the remaining basil and parsley sprinkled on top.
Minestrone
Also from Antonio Carluccio’s Passion for Pasta. Minestrone recipes vary from region to region depending on which ingredients are in season or available. For this vegetarian version – no bacon or ham – I adapted things a little further by substituting a tin or four bean mix for the borlotti beans and adding a little more pasta. These tweaks nudged the recipe to somewhere between minestrone and pasta e fagioli but that’s what I like to do; take a recipe as a starting point, not a prescription.
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, peeled and chopped
1 small clove garlic, peeled and chopped
4 celery sticks, diced
1 tomato, peeled, de-seeded and finely chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
2 potatoes, peeled and diced
A few leaves of fresh basil
1½ pints / 900 ml chicken stock
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 x 13 oz / 375g tin four bean mix, drained
5 oz / 110g dried tubettini
3 oz / 75g freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Heat the oil and fry the onion and garlic until the onion is soft. Add the remaining vegetables and the basil and toss well with the oil. Add the stock and bring to the boil. Cook for 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste and stir in the beans and the pasta. Cook for about 10 minutes, or until the pasta is al dente. Serve hot sprinkled with the Parmesan cheese.
As I’m sure I have mentioned here before, I like nothing better than spending time with good friends over a long meal and a few drinks and yesterday evening was a great example of this.
The Chairman of the Board is a life-long surfer who press-ganged me into a small band of brothers who make a twice-yearly ritual visits to his surf shack on the Northland’s east coast for surfing, seafood, ales and salty tales. Despite two of these trips and daily chats over coffee, we have never managed to get together with our respective partners until last night.
While the Chairman and our better halves settled down to getting to know each other over drinks on the deck, I rustled up a simple anti pasti of tomato slices topped with bocconcini, avocado and basil leaves, dressed with olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic.
After much talk, we moved to the table and settled down to our meal. The primo course was a red pepper soup accompanied by a baby spinach and mushroom salad with a cider vinegar, olive oil and mustard dressing. The secondi was an involtini of chicken served with penne and broccoli.
With dessert, cake and coffee, this little lot took us close to midnight and our friends headed home with a parting request for the recipes below, the plan being, I believe, for the Chairman to extend his cooking portfolio beyond tuatua fritters cooked on a barbecue at the beach.
Red Pepper Soup
This soup is bursting with the best of Provence in the South of France; a combination of garlic, tomatoes, fennel and herbs that provide deep satisfying flavours without being overly rich. In hot weather, try serving it chilled as an alternative to gazpacho.
5 shallots, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
2 red peppers, chopped small
400 ml can choppped tomatoes,
1 tsp fennel seeds, crushed
2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp rosemary
1/2 thyme
2 bay leaves
500 ml chicken or vegetable stock
250 ml low-fat creme fraiche
fresh thyme sprig to garnish
In a pan, lightly saute the shallots and garlic in the olive oil until soft, then add the peppers and cook slowly until the peppers are soft. Add the tomatoes, crushed fennel seeds, paprika, herbs and stock to cook over medium-high heat until mixture comes to the boil. Remove from the heat
and allow to stand for 10 minutes. Blitz the soup in a food processor until almost smooth but still having a little texture. Gently whisk in most the low-fat creme fraiche until smooth and return to a low heat to ensure it is warmed through. Serve garnished with a spoonful of the remaining creme fraiche, a sprig of thyme and a sprinkle of paprika.
Involtini di Pollo con Penne e Broccoli
Taking the swordfish involtini recipe in the ‘Aldo Zilli’s Italian Food for Friends’ cookbook, I substituted chicken for swordfish and lengthened the cooking time accordingly. Find a good butcher who can cut and provide you with a crown; that is, the complete breast of large chicken, organic if possible, like the one I used. You can cut this into two breasts and then cut each again lengthways to provide four more than ample portions to work with.
75g fresh white breadcrumbs
40g pecorino or Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
5 green celery leaves, chopped
small handful of lightly toasted pine nuts
salt and freshly ground black pepper
75ml extra virgin olive oil
4 plump chicken breasts
2 or 3 sprigs of fresh rosemary
500g penne pasta
450g broccoli, trimmed and divided into small florets
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
2 fresh red chillies, seeded and sliced or 1 tsp of crushed chillies
grated zest of 1 lemon
celery leaves, to garnish
Pre-heat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Mix together the breadcrumbs, just over half the cheese, the celery leaves, a little salt and 1 tbsp of the oil to form a rough paste. Place the chicken breasts between sheets of greaseproof paper or cling film and pound with a rolling pin to thin and flatten slightly. Remove the paper or film and lay out the four flattened chicken pieces. Divide the crumb and cheese paste equally among the pieces, spreading it out evenly. Roll
up the pieces and secure each roll with a wooden cocktail stick, or butcher’s string if you prefer. Place the rolls on a baking tray with the rosemary sprigs among them and drizzle with olive oil. Roast on a high shelf for 20 minutes, turning to brown evenly half way through. Meanwhile, cook the penne in a large pan of boiling salted water for 10-12 minutes until al dente and drain when done. At the same time, steam or boil the broccoli for 5 minutes until tender and bright green, before draining and refreshing. Gently heat the remaining 3 tbsp of olive oil in large frying pan and add the garlic and chillies. Cook for 1 minute, then add the broccoli and lemon zest. Cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring or tossing frequently. Stir in the pasta and the remaining cheese. Season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste before plating. Slice each roll diagonally and place on the pasta. Garnish with fresh celery leaves to
serve.
We have invited one of our neighbours over for Sunday dinner. She has recently broken her hand and we thought she could do with a little TLC to help the healing process. We often invite folks to share our Sunday brunch or dinner as it is a great way to be neighbourly, share good food and let people know that they have a special place in your life.
Recently, Wendy and I started to plan our meals a little further ahead to reduce shopping hassles and the seemingly inevitable silence when we ask the kids what they want for supper. Instead, we have worked out family meals for the month and will shop accordingly. Deviation from the planned meals is OK but we wanted to send a signal that we’ll be serving healthy nutritious food that the majority like on a daily basis so if your favourite isn’t being served tonight, it probably will be tomorrow.
For instance, in the past we have habitually tended towards roast chicken with all the trimmings as this is one of the few meals that all six of us will eat without altering to accommodate likes and dislikes. I love roast chicken but one can have too much of a good thing. We still allow for Wendy’s ‘no red meat’ preference but have added a little variety by introducing a different roast every other weekend.
Last weekend, it was roast lamb. While one can do great roast lamb with all sorts of additional ingredients, I needed to keep the kids ‘on-side’ so I chose to keep it simple.
Roast lamb with rosemary and garlic
By using the classic combination of just olive oil, garlic and rosemary, I focused on enhancing the lamb’s natural flavour rather than counterpointing it with another. I’m not claiming there’s anything new in this – Elizabeth, Delia, Jamie and many more besides all have their own variation – but this is about as simple as it gets. Judging by the fact there was just enough left to make a nice sandwich for Monday lunch, I’d say I hit the mark.
2kg leg of lamb
Fresh rosemary
Clove of garlic
Olive oil
Lemon juice
Salt
Pre-heat the oven to 220°C/420°F. Very lightly score the skin all round the leg, like scoring the top of a loaf ready for baking, taking care not to score too deeply. With the leg standing on end, insert a boning knife along side the bone and work around it, carefully separating the meat from the bone to the depth of your index finger (as in the picture) – needless to say, do not insert knife and finger at the same time! Rub the outside of the lamb all over with the cut lemon. Grind the rosemary and salt with a mortar and pestle, adding the garlic and a little olive oil to make a granular paste. Rub this all over the joint and into the gap you made next to the bone. Season with salt, a little black pepper and more rosemary. Add olive oil to cover a pre-warmed roasting tray and add the lamb. Cook for 15 mins and 15 mins per 450g for a medium roast and turn every 20 minutes or so to brown all sides. Remove and rest under a foil tent for 20 minutes minimum to relax the meat before carving.
I like to cook for family and friends but occasionally it can be fun to cook for a bigger crowd.
As mentioned elsewhere, a few years ago I agreed to cater a one hundred cover wedding meal for the son of a good friend. The night before found me in the kitchen of a community centre chopping endless piles of vegetables for a ratatouille, helped by a guest who turned out to be a policeman just back from war crimes duties in Eastern Europe. The next day I was on my own and set to cooking to cook the meal in the garden of the centre, using two barbecues, a gas burner and not a lot else. Although it was a little chaotic, I had a great time and the guests got their meals without any dramas.
A month or so back, I invited my four colleagues from my management team and their partners to dinner at our place. As we’re a new team, we haven’t socialised much so I thought dinner would be a great way to kick back, avoid work talk and get to know each other a little better. Yesterday was the day of the team dinner and, true to form, I was still scanning cookbooks for possible recipes over breakfast. After a few cups of coffee and some thought as to dishes I could cook concurrently, I settled on a menu inspired by Italian food and flavours.
I set out with my eldest and youngest to pick up the ingredients from the local producers and the nearest supermarket. The local supermarkets have a fair range of international ingredients and there are a few European food importers in the area that I can use to get them less common items. However, one of the delights and benefits of living in our township is that we have so many fruit, vegetable and produce growers nearby, most of whom have a farm shop, so picking up fresh seasonal produce is never a chore. Needless to say, we spent a fair amount of time and money assembling the ingredients we needed.
From this mound of produce, my second eldest took over and helped me prepare a meal for ten in just under three hours. With our two large tables pushed together and set with pretty much every piece of cutlery, crockery and glassware we own, we welcomed everyone with wine, freshly baked foccacia and olives, chatting for a while before sitting down to eat the dishes we had prepared. These were:
Chickpea and Leek Soup – based on a chicken and vegetable stock, this is not a strongly flavoured soup but a warming one that suited the cool evening well – inspired by a Jamie Oliver recipe.
Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni – a classic Italian dish of which there are many, many variations to choose from.
Spaghetti with Rocket, Tomato and Olive Dressing – another Oliver inspired dish that’s quick to put together and serve.
Porcini and Roma Tomato Orzotto – my own recipe made with aborio rice,
barley, porcini mushrooms and crushed tomatoes and chicken stock. Since first discovering Barbara Kafka’s Microwave Gourmet, I have rarely made a risotto the traditional way and yet have had raves from risotto snobs who can’t believe I use a microwave.
Peperoni Mandorlati – a delicious antipasti of sauted peppers with almonds, raisins and pomodoro from the always entertaining and authoritative Antonio Carluccio’s Southern Italian Feast.
A selection of desserts followed including pineapple upside-down cake, apple cake and a great cheese board provided by my boss. We accompanied these with a tawny port, a semillion dessert wine and a contraband bottle of homemade limoncella smuggled in from Italy. After coffees and teas, our visitors scooped up their kids – who’d had their own movie and popcorn party in the den -, said their goodbyes and headed home.
The inevitable pile of washing up we faced after closing the door was soon done but we left the tables set up because, this evening, we had close friends and their two daughters over for a cheap and cheerful one-pan dinner. For the second night running, we had ten around the table, with our two families tucking into a simple supper of quartered chickens roasted with cherry tomatoes and basil, served with potatoes and salad.
As a kid growing up on my own, I loved seeing big families sitting down to eat together in the old films and was envious of my Italian neighbours with their loud, boisterous and exciting family meals. I would dream of sitting around a big table surrounded by my family and friends and always thought it would be the best way to spend time. I’m rarely disappointed.
I came home from work this evening to the smell of a great homemade curry and rice, the spices of the curry mixing with the nutty aroma of the basmati rice. Cooking perfect rice should be easy but can be difficult to master unless you have found a foolproof method that works for you time and again. I struggled to get consistent results for ages until I learned to cook rice by the absorption method.
As there are many different variations of this method, here’s one from Mridula Baljekar’s Real Fast Indian Food that works like a dream. One of the best things about this method is that it isn’t time sensitive, so you can concentrate on other dishes knowing that, give or take twenty minutes, the rice will be still be hot and ready to serve.
Cooking basmati rice
10oz basmati rice
20 fl oz (1 pint) hot water
Wash the rice in several changes of water, and then soak it for 15 minutes. Drain throughly and put in a saucepan. Add the water and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to the boil, and then reduce the heat to medium low. Cover and cook for 3-4 minutes, until the surface water has evaporated. Reduce the heat to *very low*, and cook for a further 5 minutes (still covered). Leave to rest until ready to serve, then fork through. Should be nice, dry and fluffy – and if your pan is well sealed, will stay warm for about half an hour.
Don’t be tempted to skip the important rinsing and soaking stages to save time, they are important steps to achieving the final flavour and texture.
Now you have all that hot basmati rice sitting around, how about a fast fish curry to complete that quick meal?
Fast Fish Curry – serves two
2 tbsp cooking oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
½ red pepper, finely chopped
½ green pepper, finely chopped
1 tsp red chili pepper, finely chopped
2 tablespoons curry powder, heat to taste
200g tub creme fraiche
3/4lb white fish fillets, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
salt and pepper
dill and coriander
Heat oil in a frying pan or saucepan over medium heat. Cook onion, red chili, garlic and peppers and stir until tender – about 5 minutes. Mix in curry powder and continue to cook and stir 2 to 5 minutes. Blend creme fraiche and herbs into the mixture and simmer until thickened. Mix in fish cubes and cook – 3 to 5 minutes depending on thickness. Season with chopped dill, salt and pepper. Served on a bed of plain basmati rice and sprinkled with hot paprika powder and fresh coriander, this curry is great washed down with a Guinness.
Fresh is always best, just like those TV chefs are always telling us. Let’s be honest though, there are times when you run out of an ingredient or just can’t be bothered, so go ahead and use garlic paste or powder, chili paste from a tube and dried herbs galore. The first time I made this curry, it was with the cheap cod fillets I found at the bottom of the freezer and garlic from a jar – it still tasted fine.
