Culture Through Cookery: Italian food with a Sardinian flare

Non bisogna fare le cose a metà. 
If a job is worth doing, it's worth doing well.

Italy only became a united country 1871 and perhaps because of that the country still has very different regional cuisines.

These recipes are nutritious and delicious, simple and use ingredients that are easily available in the UK. Our chef hailed from Cagliari in Sardinia, but sadly some of their most special specialities contain ingredients not easily available in London or only available at great cost, or are very time consuming to make. So we learned some simpler but delicious dishes.

What may be interesting is that in Italy pasta is a primo platti- something to fill you up before the main course arrives. It tends to be much less 'saucy' that British takes on pasta because they are served as main courses.

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Tagliatelle with peas and porcini

Takes about 45 minutes to make (because you need to soak the porcini)

Serves 6 as a primo platti or 3 as a main course.

Ingredients

·         5 tbsp Italian olive oil

·         1 large onion, finely chopped

·         100 gr of porcini mushrooms

·         2 handfuls frozen peas, defrosted

·         1000 ml hot water

·         black pepper

·         300 g tagliatte all'uovo (egg tagliatelle)

·         300 gr double cream

1. Soak the Porcini in water for about 30 minutes.

2. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan. Add the onion and fry, stirring often, until golden, around 5 minutes.

Sauteeing the onion

3. Add the peas and the water from the porcini and let the water evaporate while boiling and the sauce thicken.

Adding the water from the soaked porcini into the peas

Cooking the peas

4. Once boiling season with salt and freshly ground pepper and cook for 10 minutes.

5. At this stage, add the tagliatelle all'uovo and the porcini and cook briskly until the pasta is al dente (topping up with boiling water if required).

Adding the porcini

6. Once the pasta is al-dente, add the double cream to the pasta along with the pea/porcini mixture

Mixing the Porcini/ Pea mixture with the Tagliatelle

7. Serve at once with freshly grated Parmesan.

Ready to serve

Ready to eat!

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Involtini (Aubergine wrapped around cheese)

serves 4 as a vegetarian maincourse or 8-12 as an accompaniment

Ingredients

·         4 aubergines, washed

·         1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

·         1 smoked cheese (we used smoked cheddar)

·         parsley, garlic, red pepper (according to taste)

·         1 Pinch sea salt

1.      Pre heat the oven to 220c/gas mark 7.

2.      Slice the aubergines lengthways into 5-6 thin slices, discard the very outside strips as they won't roll

3.      Brush both sides of the aubergine slices with olive oil, garlic, red pepper, salt parsley and place under a hot grill for 2-3 minutes per side until they just start to brown at the edges. Leave to cool slightly. We had to do this in two goes.

4.      Slice the smoked cheese (slices about 3cm by 1 cm by 1cm) and place it on one end of the aubergine slice. 

5.      Roll up and place on a baking tray and  repeat with the rest of the slices. You may want to hold them together with cocktail sticks. 

6.      Bake for 10 minutes until golden. Serve hot or cold on their own,

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Pollo all'Arancia (Chicken with Orange)

Takes about an hour to make

Serves 6 

Ingredients

• 6 chicken legs, consisting of a drumstick and thigh, wright 3 pounds total
• 4 large, juicy oranges
• 250g carrots, diced
• Half a lemon
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Flour (1 heaped table spoon)
• 3 cloves garlice (crushed)
• Two red onions, diced
• Salt (to taste)

To make:

1) Heat the oil in a thick bottomed frying pan saute the onion until transparent, with the carrot.

2) In the same pan place the chicken, seasoning it lightly with salt. 

3) Add the garlic

4) Squeeze the oranges and lemon, getting the flesh as well as the juice, and pour  into the pan with the chicken. 

5) Wait for the mixture to reduce. When the chicken is cooked (check that it is not pink inside) the dish is ready. 

N.B. If the sauce is reducing too quickly as the chicken is not cooked enough, put a lid on the pan and add some water to the pan. 

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Classic Tiramisu

Whilst many recipes for Tiramisu include alcohol, a classic tiramisu doesn’t. This version is very tasty, you will not miss the alcohol, and consequently it is also family-friendly and cheaper than the

·         250g mascarpone

·         3 eggs

·         150ml strong coffee or espresso, cooled to room temperature. We made it in a mocha.

·         150ml single cream

·         4 tbsp icing sugar

·         16 sponge fingers (savoiardi)

·         Frozen bar of 70% chocolate.

·         Cocoa powder to dust

METHOD

1.      Whisk the mascarpone with the eggs, until everything is thoroughly mixed together. Whisk the cream with the icing sugar until smooth, then fold in the mascarpone mix

2.      Pour the coffee into a bowl (sweeten with more icing sugar if you like). Take one sponge finger at a time and dip it into the coffee.

3.      After dipping, place into a large dish in layers (see the pictures), layering with the mascarpone mixture before finally dusting with cocoa powder. 

4.      Refrigerate for 20 minutes to allow the flavours to infuse.

5.      Remove the tiramisu from the fridge. Take the frozen chocolate bar and grate a little chocolate over the top of each tiramisu. 

Culture Through Cookery: Tropical Flavours of Nigeria

Onye mbiakwutara anü na ngüsi amagh otu eji gbuo ya, ma öbü sia ya.A person who arrives at a feast when the cooked meat is being pulled out of the pot does not know what was endured by others to catch and cook it (Igbo proverb)

Jollof rice is a popular dish in many parts of West Africa, including Nigeria. The most common basic ingredients are rice, tomatoes and tomato paste, onion, salt, and red pepper. Beyond that, nearly any kind of meat, vegetable, or spice can be added.

Moin moin is a Nigerian steamed bean pudding made from a mixture of washed and peeled black-eyed beans, onions and fresh ground peppers (usually a combination of bell peppers and chilli or scotch bonnet). It is a protein-rich food that is a staple in Nigeria.

Our main demonstrator this week, Ugonna, practiced moin moin on her family all weekend. The final version, made for us, included corned beef and chopped egg and was very tasty.

N.B  These recipes use estimated quantities and the fun of Nigerian cooking is quantities are up to individual taste and style!

We ate roast chicken pieces seasoned with all-purpose seasoning and fried plantain with the rice and moin moin, followed by tropical fruit, for a substantial meal:

Not the best photo, but L-R, Jollof rice, Chicken and plantain

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Jollof Rice makes enough for 12

Ingredients:
easy cook american rice (1kg)
1 bell pepper
2 cans of plum tomatoes
2 medium sized onions
curry powder
4 maggi cubes
1 chicken stock cube
all purpose seasoning
sunflower oil (or an oil of your choosing)

Onions, bell peppers, all-purpose seasoning

Soaking the washed rice in hot water

Method:
1. Blend one can of plum tomatoes, a medium onion (cut into quarters) and a red pepper.
2. Heat up some oil in a large saucepan and add chopped onions.
3. Pour the blended mixture from step 1 into the saucepan and allow to cook for about 15 mins.
4. While that's cooking, wash the rice and soak in hot water.
5. Add i.e. curry powder,chicken stock, maggi cubes to the saucepan.
6. Add the rice.
7. Stir the rice into the sauce thoroughly, add some boiling water until the liquid covers the rice and put a lid on the pan.
8. Cook until the rice is fluffy cook until the rice is fluffy, adding hot water as required, but do not stir again;(see instructions on rice package for time guidelines)
9. Serve with your choice of meat and/or vegetables


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Moin Moin makes enough for 12

Ingredients:
Peeled Black eye beans or powdered peeled black eye beans
Salt
Olive Oil
1 Chicken Stock cubes
2 medium onions
1 Sweet pepper (bell)
Crayfish powder
Scotch Bonnet Peppers (optional)
6 eggs (hard boiled and quartered (Optional)
Corned Beef  (100g) (Optional)
4-5 Foil cups such as these

Blending the beans, peppers, onions together

Stirring in the crayfish power

The foil cups, half full of the puree, with egg and corned beef added

The steamed moin moin packages

Method:
1. Add Black-eyed bean flour/peeled black eyed beans with one bell pepper, the onions, chicken stock cubes  and water  in a blender (water should make up 80% by proportion of the ingredients in the blender) and blend until a smooth paste made.
2. Pour the puree into a large bowl and stir in crayfish powder (20g or to taste), oil (3 tablespoons) and all purpose seasoning (2 tablespoons or to taste).
3. Fill greased foil cups about half full of puree, add egg and or corned beef at this point, mixing it into the puree.
4. Arrange the foil containers with their lids on in a deep cooking pot containing warm water such that cans/foil cups are not drowned.
5. Steam cook for about 30 minutes (adding sufficient water at intervals to the pot).
6. Allow to rest for about 10minutes before eating

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Fried Plantain 

Ingredients:
Oil
5 plantains

Chopped plantain

Frying the plantain in a thick-bottomed pan

Method:
1. Cut the plantain on the diagonal into pieces of about 1cm thick
2. Heat oil in a large frying pan
3. Place the pieces of plantain in the pan and leave until brown on one side, turning so that they can brown on the other.

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Waste not, want not!
Jollof Rice and Moin Moin can be stored in the fridge and reheated by microwave at one’s convenience. It is best to eat plaintain when served although it can be stored in fridge as well.

Culture Through Cookery: A qui il a été beaucoup donné, il sera beaucoup demandé!

Although known as a classic French dish, the quiche originated in Germany. The word quiche means "cake" which came from the German word Kuchen. Today, quiche is considered as typically French. However, savoury custards in pastry were known in English cuisine at least as early as the fourteenth century. Quiche Lorraine is a popular variant that was originally an open pie with a filling of custard with smoked bacon or lardons. It was only later that cheese was added to the quiche Lorraine. The addition of Gruyère cheese makes a quiche au gruyère or a quiche vosgienne.

Perrine and Marie, our demonstrators for the evening, get us into the French spirit

The 'quiche alsacienne' is similar to the 'quiche lorraine', though onions are added to the recipe. The bottom crust was originally made from bread dough but that has since evolved into a short-crust or puff pastry crust that is often baked using a springform pan (which we really recommend! It makes presenting it much simpler!).

The origin of quiche lorraine is rural and the original quiche lorraine had a rustic style: it was cooked in a cast-iron pan and the pastry edges were not crimped. Today, quiche lorraine is served throughout France and has a modern look with a crimped pastry crust. In France, the version is unlike that served in the UK; the bacon is cubed (lardons are used) , no onions are added and the custard base is thicker. We discussed this and we thought it might be because creme fraiche has not been available easily very in the UK until fairly recently, so perhaps this is why British recipes traditionally usually use milk.

For pudding we made a family recipe of Marie's - Tartouilleau. Marie used to cook this cake often with her grandma when she was a child.

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How to make pastry
Il ne faut pas fair ces choses a moitié

Due to the size of the oven, we also made one quiche in advance using ready-made pastry. This also allowed everyone to taste the difference between ready-made and homemade.

Ingredients  (makes enough for two large tartes/ quiches)
350g plain flour
175g softened butter
100ml water
1 pinch of salt

Method

Chop the softened butter into very small pieces and add to a large mixing bowl. 

Measure the flour and salt and add to the bowl with the butter. Using your fingers (well-washed!) mix the butter and the flour together. Flour your hands so that they don't become too sticky.

And you should end up with a soft ball like this!

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Spinach and Bacon Quiche

Ingredients
250g fresh spinach
250g lardons (you could use unsmoked bacon if you cannot find lardons)
3 eggs
400ml crème fraiche
70g grated gruyere cheese (or grated mature cheddar)
salt, pepper

Method

Preheat the over to 210 degrees C.

Put the lardons into a hot pan until they cook. You don't need to add any fat as they have lots of fat of their own.

Whilst the lardons are cooking, halve the pastry that you have already made and roll each quantity out until it is large enough to fill your quiche tins as in the picture below.

Prick the bottom of each quiche with a fork. 

Wash the spinach 

When the lardons are more or less cooked, add the spinach and let it wilt. Stir occasionally so that all the spinach cooks. 

Put the creme fraiche into a large mixing bowl and break in the eggs. Add  a  good pinch of salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper. 

With a wooden spoon break the yolks and stir the mixture together. 

When the spinach is cooked, add the lardons and spinach into the egg mixture. 

Stir in the cheese

Pour the filling mixture into the pastry case.  Pop it into the oven  for around 30 minutes or until set. 

And here you have it! 

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Tomato and Goats Cheese Tarte.
This is an immensely simple tarte to make, but utterly delicious. 

Ingredients:
4 medium tomatoes, sliced
Dijon mustard
Basil leaves
Goats cheese (5 slices)
Pepper, Salt,
Oregano

Method
Preheat the oven to 180C
Line the pastry in a tart pan (You could use half the quantity of what is given above).
Pierce it with a fork.
Spread mustard on the pastry (a thin layer- add more if you like dijon- it give a wonderful kick)
Spread the sliced tomatoes and cook in the oven for 30 minutes.

This is the tarte after it has been cooked for 30 minutes. 

Add the slices of goats cheese

Put a pinch of oregano on each slice of cheese and add basil leaves. Place back into the oven for 3 minutes just before serving, so that the cheese melts.

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Tartouilleau

Ingredients
5/6 eating apples, peeled and cut into small chunks.
2 eggs
100g caster sugar
200g plain flour
100g melted butter
1tbsp baking powder

Method
Preheat the oven at 140 degrees C
Place the apple chunks into the bottom of a cake tin (3 inches deep, 8 inches wide or similar)

Mix the eggs and sugar in a mixing bowl

Whisk them together until the mixture becomes white

Add the flour

Add the butter (in small, soft pieces) and mix vigorously until combined. 

Pour the mixture on top of the apples. Place in the oven . Cook  for an hour. 

This recipe would also work with pears. 

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As a final flourish for the evening, Perrine surprised us with Frogs and Snails that she had already prepared. This is the British stereotype of French food, but both Perrine and Marie said that they never have prepared them before and don't eat them at home - there is not much meat on a frog to justify the work that goes into preparing them!

Escargots stuffed with garlic or mushrooms

Escargots and Frogs, ready to serve

We were all surprised that they were all eaten. Everyone (except one) was brave enough to try these 'delicacies' !

Culture Through Cookery: Best of British

British cookery is often looked down upon, but I wanted to present a recipe that showcased our good local produce, and our other great talent- integration with other cultures.

Salmon with new potatoes is a typical British summer dish. But this version integrates newer flavours. What could be more British than Chicken Tikka Masala, Coronation Chicken, or Spag Bol? None of these dishes would have been recognised by our Victorian forebears, but now they grace our tables regularly, each one tweeked for the British palate.

Crumble is equally delicious, and much more traditional. Bramley apples are one of the UK's best known varieties, and are favoured for their depth of flavour in puddings.

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These Salmon parcels are quick and easy, and easily adapted. They take a short amount of time to prepare and only need about 20 minutes in the oven.

Serves 8

Ingredients:
Small pot sour cream (250ml)
Sunblush tomatoes (8)
Small pot of green pesto (100ml)
8 Salmon fillets
Filo pastry (16 sheets)

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C.
Skin the salmon fillets and half widthways.
Place two sheets of filo pastry at right angles to each other (i.e. in the shape of a cross).
Dab a teaspoonful of sour cream in the centre.
Place half a salmon fillet on top of the sour cream.
On top add a teaspoonful of pesto and one sunblush tomato.
Place the other halved salmon fillet on top.

Making the Salmon Parcels

Twist the filo pastry together so that the parcel is sealed and place in a baking tray that is large enough for all 8 parcels.
Repeat for the remaining parcels.
Put in the oven for 20 minutes. Check one of the parcels in the centre of the tray to see whether they are cooked. The one in the centre will take longest to cook so if it is done, the others should be also.

Other ideas:
For a more traditional take, add sour cream mixed with finely chopped fresh dill in the middle instead of pesto and the tomato. 

We served this with simple boiled new potatoes and sugar snap peas. 
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Cold Watercress Sauce
This is more of a taste-and-see than a recipe.

Ingredients:
Remainder of the sour cream from the Salmon (or one small pot)
100ml cream
Milk (one pint)
Fresh black pepper to grind.
200g watercress.
zest of one large lemon

If you have a blender, blitz the watercress, with the sour cream and lemon zest (if you don't have a blender, dice by hand with a large knife until very small and add to a mixing bowl with the sour cream and lemon zest).
Mix the ingredients together (either in the blender or bowl).
Add the cream.
Add the fresh black pepper (you will want a lot - say 10 good grinds to start - add more after tasting).
You can serve it like this, if you want a thicker sauce, or add milk until you have the consistency and the texture that you want.

This is excellent served with salmon. If you wanted to simply grill the salmon rather than do something more fancy it would be delicious served as a thick  watercress cream. You could even use this (the thick version again) to replace the other ingredients within the salmon parcel.
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Adding the crumble mixture to the top of the crumble - just about to go in the oven

Apple and Raspberry Crumble
You need:
3 cups plain flour
half-2/3 pat softened butter
half a cup golden demerara sugar (up to a whole cup)
21b/ 1kg Bramley apples, peeled, cored and chopped into about 8 pieces per apple.
350g frozen raspberries

Put the oven on to preheat at 350/170 degrees.
To make the crumble:
Chop the softened butter into small pieces in a large mixing bowl.
Add the flour and rub in with your (clean) hands
Add the half cup of sugar. Add more if you have a sweet tooth.

In a large overproof dish add the apples and raspberries, mixing them together as much as you can without making a mess. Sprinkle the remaining half cup of demerara over them. (n.b. if you want to use less sugar, you could use eating apples rather than Bramleys. Bramleys are bitter but have more depth of flavour.
Add the crumble on top, covering the fruit and patting down the crumble.

Cook for around an hour, until the apples are soft.
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Reactions:
"I couldn't believe that this was British food. My view of British food is that it is boring and tasteless." Nadia
"I couldn't believe how simple the parcels were to make." Katie
"I've always wanted to make a British crumble! Now I know how!" Perrine

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Sort-of Cassoulet

As I sat down to my delicious lunch at work today, I felt chuffed with myself. With half an hour to spare yesterday afternoon I flung together what I had to make my lunch for the week - much cheaper than anything I could buy.

It consisted of -

• two large courgettes, halved and sliced (90p)
• half cup of mixed frozen peppers (20p)
• cup of diced frozen onions (20p)
• frozen brick of garlic (equivalent of one clove) (5p)
• one cup of frozen, pre-cooked chickpeas (last bag in the freezer) (15p)
• half cup of green lentils (15p)
• two chicken stock cubes  (20p)
• two bay leaves (from my mother's garden - only two left but luckily I can stock up over Easter!)
• 4 diced pork loin steaks (on special offer) (£3)
• half a bottle of white wine (undrinkable, left over from our party two weeks ago)
• 500g of mushrooms (50p)
• one teaspoon smoked paprika (pimenton) (5p)
• 500ml water
• Olive oil (5p)

I added the veg and pork to the pan with a little olive oil and with the stock cubes, pimenton and bay leaves and stirred whilst it defrosted and cooked. I then added the wine and water and left to cook for ages, so that the lentils would cook. I cooked it until there was basically no water left (it is the consistency of dal). And it is healthy and tastes fab. 

So I am feeling pretty pleased with myself. 

But then I read about this amazing woman, Jack, who has been blogging about her recipes - she feeds herself and her son on £10 a week. I may have made myself 4 large lunches for about £5.50 (my pricing is much more approximate than hers) and that is much cheaper than buying sarnies, but I am looking at her in awe. Honestly, it is so tasty that I think I could do it without the meat, or with much less of it. 

Anyway, look at her awesome blog:

A GIRL CALLED JACK

Vegan Onion and Carrot Soda Bread with Rosemary

Following my last post, I still had lots of peeled carrots leftover. Lots. I could've made one of the other million recipes that called for carrots, but I'm enjoying this vegan/dairy free baking lark. And actually I find that (although this may have lots to do with my rubbish oven) using leftover white/rose wine actually gives me bread with a better texture than the thinned yoghurt I've had to use in the absence of buttermilk in London. Strangely, I bought it in Belgium often by mistake- it's easy to get buttermilk there- fresh milk, less so. Still struggling to understand that... But back to the subject at hand. This bread is definitely savoury but not pungent in flavour. It would be brilliant, thinly sliced, with cheese.  

You need:
Two cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup ground flax
Half cup white/ rose wine (great way to use up leftovers a little past their prime). 
1/2 cup hulled sunflower seeds, soaked in water
Baking soda (I teaspoon)
Salt (I teaspoon)
2 inch sprig of rosemary, chopped finely (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
One cup finely grated carrot, loosely packed (approx three small carrots)
One onion, finely grated.

1. Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl, making sure you add in the bits too big to go through the sieve.
2. Add the carrot and onion and stir through well
3. Make a well in the middle and add the wine (this will evaporate off and I used up some old wine here). If you need more than the half cup and water until you have a dough where all flour is absorbed but not any stickier.
4. Place in a tray or bowl in the bottom of the oven on greaseproof paper and let it bake until when a life goes in and comes out clean.

In light of the uselessness of my oven, I cooked this at the bottom, in a tray sitting in a tray of water, so that it wouldn't just dry out and burn. I also had to cover the top. I just want a new oven! It would take about 40 mins at 220 in a normal oven. Shove in a spike or sharp knife and if it comes out clean the bread is done :)

Makes one small but action-packed loaf which feeds many more than you'd expect!

Carrot and Orange Nutty Soda Bread

Vegan wholewheat carrot and orange soda bread with sunflower seeds and cinnamon. Like a cake but not. Simpler than a cake, less fatty and jam-packed with stuff that's good for you! A hint of sweetness, but not sugary. I've been experimenting with soda bread for a couple of months and this one is a winner! It's easy, it doesn't need time to rise (great when you are living in shared accommodation and cannot just leave things around for hours!). Vegan because it uses wine instead of buttermilk. No alcohol (and surprisingly no wine flavour) is there at the end...

You need:
Two cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup ground flax (v healthy)
Half cup white/ rose wine (great way to use up leftovers a little past their prime). 
1/2 cup hulled sunflower seeds, soaked in water
Baking soda (I teaspoon)
Salt (I teaspoon)
Zest of two oranges
Level teaspoon cinnamon
One cup finely grated carrot, loosely packed (approx three small carrots)

1. Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl, making sure you add in the bits too big to go through the sieve.
2. Add the carrot and orange zest and stir through well
3. Make a well in the middle and add the wine (this will evaporate off and I used up some old wine here). If you need more than the half cup and water until you have a dough where all flour is absorbed but not any stickier.
4. Place in a tray or bowl in the bottom of the oven on greaseproof paper and let it bake until when a life goes in and comes out clean.

In my rubbish, one temperature, oven that was about 2 hours, covered - in a normal oven on 220 it should be about 40 mins.

Makes one small loaf- delicious with honey, butter or marmalade or as an accompaniment to a bowl of carrot soup :)