Articles Tagged with “Italy”
23/10/2008: Wild Mushroom, Pancetta & Truffle Risotto
Ingredients
- 200 g arborio rice (or other short grained, high starch rice)
- 850 mL ham stock (or chicken/vegetable stock)
- 150 mL white wine
- 250 g mixed mushrooms (such as button mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, porcini, etc)
- 50 g chopped pancetta (or unsmoked streaky bacon)
- 1 small onion, finely chopped …
06/04/2008: Tagliatelle with Fennel and Asparagus
It is nearly asparagus season in the UK (although you can buy imported asparagus all year round). Here’s a recipe I made up tonight…
Ingredients
- 250 g saffron tagliatelle, or plain tagliatelle
- 10 asparagus spears
- ¼ fennel bulb, finely sliced
- 2 tbsp fennel pesto
- lemon-infused olive oil, or plain olive oil
- zest of 1 lemon, or 2 lemons if using plain olive oil
- 1 tsp saffron, if using plain tagliatelle
- 30 g butter
- salt
Method
Boil the asparagus and tagliatelle in separate saucepans of salted water. The asparagus will take about 5 minutes. The tagliatelle may take from 3 minutes to 10 minutes, so consult the packaging. You want to time things so that the tagliatelle finishes cooking about 5–6 minutes after the asparagus.
When the asparagus is nearly cooked, heat the butter and a generous glug of olive oil in a griddle pan. Drain the asparagus and add it with the fennel to the griddle pan.
When the pasta is cooked,…
23/03/2008: Best… News… Story… Ever!
Police in Italy have issued footage of a man who is suspected of hypnotising supermarket checkout staff to hand over money from their cash registers.
26/01/2008: Fennel, Sausage and Bean Casserole
This recipe is ideally made with plain pork sausages, or pork & leek. Try to avoid overly seasoned sausages. If peeling the tomatoes is too much bother, using half a tin of tomatoes would probably work fine.
Ingredients
- 4 Sausages
- 2 × 440g tins of cannellini beans, drained
- ¼–¾ bulb of fennel
- 4 medium tomatoes
- 300 mL chicken stock
- olive oil
Method
Submerge the tomatoes in boiling water. Simmer until their skins split. Remove the tomatoes from the pan and run under cold water. Peel their skins off and chop the tomatoes.
Grate the fennel with a cheese grater, or chop very finely.
Chop each sausage into 6–8 segments. The skin may tear or come loose — discard any loose bits of sausage skin.
In a casserole dish, heat a generous amount of olive oil. Fry the chopped sausages, stirring continuously to prevent them from sticking. Cook for 5–10 minutes, until they are browned.
Add the beans, tomatoes, fennel and stock. Stir until well mixed. Simmer gently for about 30 minutes.
Serve with focaccia or a similar bread.
15/01/2008: Gnocchi all’Amatriciana al Forno
This is a very easy Italian-style meal of my own creation, combining gnocchi with a simplified sugo all’amatriciana. If you prefer, macaroni or another small, cut pasta could be used in place of gnocchi.
Ingredients
- 500g pack of gnocchi
- 400g tin of tomatoes
- 6 rashers of pancetta, or 4 rashers of unsmoked streaky bacon
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 2–3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 green chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
- a small handful of parsley, chopped
- black pepper
- 150g mozzarella
Method
Preheat an oven to 190°C.
Prepare the gnocchi according to the instructions on the packet. Drain and set aside.
Dice the pancetta or bacon and fry with the onion, garlic and chilli. When cooked through, add the tomatoes, black pepper and parsley. Simmer for ten minutes.
Stir the gnocchi into the sauce and then transfer the mixture to a large ceramic baking dish, such as one suitable for making lasagne. Pat down and flatten the surface using the back of a wooden spoon.
Scatter torn mozarella over the top of the dish and bake for 30–40 minutes.
31/08/2003: Spaghetti Bolognese
Yes, I know Spag Bol isn’t actually Italian, but it is Italian-style. The sauce doesn’t just have to be served with spaghetti - any other pasta will do, as would chips, baguettes, garlic bread or jacket potato.
Ingredients
- 450g tin of chopped tomatos
- 500g of lean minced beef, frozen
- 4 rashers of pancetta or smoked bacon
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 to 4 mushrooms, chopped
- 2 to 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 1 glass of red wine
- 1 1/2 teaspoon of dried chopped basil
- 1 teaspoon of dried chopped oregano
- a little beef gravy powder or cornflour
- salt and pepper to taste
- olive oil
- 150g dried spaghetti
- 2 to 3 tablespoons of mushroom ketchup (optional)
- 10 black olives, sliced (optional)
Method
Grill the pancetta or bacon until it starts to crisp. Then leave to cool. Once cool, chop as finely as possible.
Fry the onions and garlic in the olive oil until they start to become transparent. Then add the minced beef. Cook the beef, stirring occasionally, until it has browned. Now…
31/08/2003: Spaghetti alla Carbonara
Traditionally, Carbonara sauce includes raw egg, but that of course carries with it a risk of salmonela infection. My recipe instead uses white sauce as a substitute…