Articles Tagged with "Italy"

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: Penne Gorgonzola

Simple but tasty pasta dish.

31/08/2003: Neopolitan Sauce

A very simple Italian tomato sauce, suitable for pasta.

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…