Tag Archive for 'italy'

Potatoes potatoes potatoes

Published on July 5, 2010 in food culture. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

So, it’s been a while since we did anything food related here, but I have been experimenting with potatoes recently, trying to find simple ways of making them just a little bit better.

It seems, that for texture and consistency, salt is the trick. When boiling them, add as much salt as you dare, but be careful not to pierce the skin of the potatoes after you have done this, as it will cause them to get very salty and uneatable in the end. It works best with smaller types, like Duchesse and Cherie, but larger, newpotatoes and similiar will also work well, you just need to be patient and give them enough time to boil properly.

The salt trick works when oven baking them as well. Place potatoes with skin on a baking tray, drizzle over as much salt as you dare, as much as 2kg is fine, and again, be careful not to pierce the skin. Bake in oven on roughly 200 degrees celsius until they start collapsing inside the skin, that means they are finished and that the texture is just perfect.

Serve with melted butter and chives with a pinch of fine sea salt, Washington or Maldon are my favourites, and just a twist of fresh pepper. Alternately, mix with balsamic vinegear and olive oil for a fresh take on the potato salad!

Use as a side for almost anything  that needs potatoes, or just as a dish on it’s own!

Bolognese!

Published on February 23, 2009 in food culture. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

So, I had another go at my nemesis-pasta-sauce on Friday, the classic Italian Bolognese. This time, it came out pretty well! Why do I refer to it as my nemesis? Well, you see… first, it’s my all time favourite pasta-dish. Not because it’s the most delicate flavoured one, and not becuase it’s the most exquisite one, but because it is the one with the most variations on one single recipe… I NEVER get it the same. And that is what I love about it, because it needs, exactly, love, to be successful.

This variation is supposed to be with chicken liver… but because of bad planning and the lack of availability of this hard-to-get product, I made mine without it. Anyhow, here it is:

What you need for about 4 persons:
- 400grams of ground (minced) beef or veal
- 2 medium carrots
- 1 chinese garlic
- 1 medium onion
- 2 celery stalk
- approx 100grams of pancetta (or a nice bacon)
- between 25 and 50 grams of porcini (dried mushrooms)
- 1 can of high quality ITALIAN tin tomatoes OR 400grams of passata
- 5dl of beef stock
- 1 table spoon tomato puree
- 4 table spoons of dry red wine
- 1 bay leaf
salt and pepper for seasoning
real unsalted butter and extra virgin olive oil

How to do it:
1. Put the mushrooms in cold water (for about 1 – 1,5 hrs)
2. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter with 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan, add finely chopped carrots, onion, garlic and celery – fry this for about 10 minutes.
3. Add meat and diced pancetta or bacon – fry this until the meat is brown. The meat does not need to be cooked through at this point, we still want it to be juicy and soft.
4. Add wine. Turn heat to max and simmer until wine has evaporated. (NO LID!)
5. Turn down heat, add tomatoes and tomato puree and stir well.
6. Add 5dl of stock, bay leaf and some salt and pepper.
7. Bring to boil and then simmer for 2 – 3 hrs. Stir occasionally.
8. Take mushrooms out of water (but don’t throw away the water..)
9. Add chopped mushrooms (and 100g chicken liver if you have) and stir well.
10. Add some of the water from the mushrooms
11. Simmer for another 30 – 50 minutes.

Serve with fresh tagliatelle or spaghetti, fresh brown bread and butter.

The sauce is best when it is thick and rich, and you see the butter and oil start to separate from the sauce at the top of the pan. Add salt and pepper at the end and stir well before serving. There is no set recipe for this dish, so experiment and try your own additions and varieties until you find something you are happy with.

Happy cooking!