Zuppa di Cozze Come la Fanno a Bosa – Sardinian Mussels Soup

19Dec11

View of Bosa, Sardinia along the River Temo from Serravalle's Castle (Malaspina), by Raffaele Sergi, Wikimedia Commons, accessed 19 December 2011

Knowing where a dish comes from is important. When one meets a new friend, the first questions are always “What do you do?” and “Where are you from?”. For our categorizing species, to be able to ascribe a location and a function to a person or a thing is the first step to understanding and appreciating. Bosa is a town on the northwestern coast of Sardinia, the streets of which I’ve explored through the wonders of the Internet, though I’ve never been there. Should I eventually arrive in Bosa in the flesh, I’ll certainly be looking for this wonderful soup, but for now it is at least a place which lives in my imagination, and its flavours live on my tongue.

This is a recipe which, after adaptation from Marcella Hazan, has appeared on Epicurious. I was suspicious of the recipe, its timings, and the order of its execution, so I offer it here with my own adaptations. Finely grated sheep’s milk cheese is the key to the immense savouriness of the broth. It may be possible to substitute Parmigiano Reggiano for the Fiore Sardo or Pecorino Romano, but the result would be inferior. Apparently some Sardinian cooks will use couscous instead of breadcrumbs. I have not yet tried this, but I think it would yield a quite different texture.

This recipe will serve two with salad (we had it last night with sautéed Cavolo Nero), bread, and all the trimmings, or four as a primi piatti.

Ingredients:

1 kilo live mussels

1/3 cup olive oil

1 heaping T chopped garlic (or more!)

1 small bunch chopped parsley

1/2 tsp dried chilies

2 T fine, dry, unflavoured breadcrumbs (mine is always homemade from totally dry stale bread. It sits in a jar waiting to be used.)

1/3 C finely grated Fiore Sardo or Pecorino Romano (or another hard sheep’s milk cheese)

1 glass dry white wine

1 400g can good quality canned plum tomatoes (Hazan recommends San Marzano tomatoes.)

Grilled crusty bread, a slice per serving

Method:

Clean and debeard the mussels. Here is a video that shows you how: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2Od7_XYye0

Heat the olive oil over a moderate flame in a 6 litre saucepan, and add the garlic. Stir occasionally until it becomes golden. Add the parsley, chilies, and breadcrumbs, and then shortly thereafter the wine.

When the wine is bubbling, add the mussels and stir them into the broth. When the mussels have started to open, add the grated cheese and then the tomatoes. Continue to cook until all the mussels have opened.

Either place a slice or two of grilled or toasted bread at the bottom of each bowl, or simply serve a pile of fresh bread along with the soup. It will be required for mopping the plate.

Filed under: Italy, Quick recipes, Regional dishes, Seafood, Shellfish   |  Leave a Comment

Marinated Venison Steaks

11Dec11

We just had venison loin steaks about the size of a deck of cards (but thicker) and that was more than enough rich, flavourful meat. Venison is often paired with sweet sauces – often far too sweet. This one is sticky and rich, but not so horribly sweet. Just right. We ate this tonight with roast potatoes and vegetables and washed it down with an Austrian Blaufränkisch red, which because of its sprightly, mouthwatering acidity went with it surprisingly well.

 

Ingredients:

Venison steaks (one per person – if you are only making two steaks, cut the marinade recipe in half)

1 Cup soy sauce (for the earthy intensity I used half light soy and half mushroom dark soy sauce)

1/2 Cup oil (sunflower recommended)

3 T molasses (I used dark, but use anything from light to blackstrap depending on your tastes)

1 T ground ginger

2 T Dijon mustard

3 cloves garlic, minced

 

Method:

Mix the marinade in a bowl large enough to hold all your steaks. Add the steaks and coat them in the marinade. Allow them to marinate for 1/2 hour to an hour. Then either barbecue them or broil them for 3-5 minutes per side (roughly) for rare to medium rare. Don’t cook beyond medium, as venison becomes very dry when overcooked.

Filed under: Meat, Quick recipes, Venison   |  1 Comment

Pan Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Shallots

13Nov11

I look forward to Brussels sprouts in autumn very nearly as much as I hungrily anticipate the arrival of asparagus in the spring. This recipe has been a stalwart for many years and never fails to win over sprout-skeptics. It’s all baritone saxophone – big, brassy brassica tones and low, smoky bacon. Sweet, velvety shallots linger like a half-forgotten melody, tipsy with a splash of wine.

 

Ingredients:

500 g Brussels sprouts, cleaned and halved

250 smoked bacon lardons (or pancetta, oh my)

3 large shallots, diced

Sea salt

Cracked black pepper

Dry white wine

 

Method:

In a very heavy, preferably cast iron skillet, fry the bacon or pancetta over medium heat, till it begins to render its fat. Add the diced shallots, then the Brussels sprouts shortly thereafter. Let the shallots caramelize on the bottom of the pan slightly before stirring the sprouts through. Again, allow to rest on the heat till the sprouts brown on one side, then cover the pan with a lid. Turn again a couple of times so that the sprouts are sticky and browned. If things start to stick, deglaze the pan with a splash of wine. Serve forth when the Brussels sprouts are just cooked through and slightly soft.

This dish beautifully accompanies all manner of meats, and is a star vegetable at a Thanksgiving feast.

Filed under: Meat, Pork, Vegetables   |  1 Comment

Zucchini Bread

13Nov11

Now, if you’re sensitive and a bit conservative about things, then please stop reading right now – because this recipe is quite simply naughty and inappropriate.

So let’s you and me just wait a moment while the prudes leave the room.

… OK?

First of all there’s the simple matter of the zucchini. The British, with their characteristic reserve (no sex please, we’re British), refer to the zucchini as a courgette, as though a soft consonant and a diminutive ‘ette’ suffix will gloss over the fact that the zucchini – with its racy z and two c’s plumped up like bums or breasts – is quite simply the most carnal of vegetables. Linger at the greengrocer’s  and exchange meaningful glances with passersby near the zucchini and you’ll see what I mean. They’re, how shall we say, longer than they are wide in a most useful way. So please don’t call it a courgette. Give yourself up to the pleasure of the zucchini.

It’s not just the less-than-innocent zucchini that makes this recipe inappropriate, though. Zucchini bread, that staple of the Methodist bake sale, is generally a polite, restrained and penitential enough baked good to express proper Protestant virtue. It simply doesn’t taste voluptuous enough or provide enough moisture to lead you down that broad, easy road to hell. Well this one does. This is a zucchini bread that wants to be cake. And it wants you to eat it.

 

Ingredients:

2 1/2 C plain flour

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp allspice

1/2 tsp mace (or nutmeg if you have no mace)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 C sugar

1 C vegetable oil

3 large eggs

1 T pure vanilla extract (yes, that’s a tablespoon)

2 tsp lemon zest (and there’s that racy z again)

2 C coarsely grated zucchini (about one well-endowed zucchini)

1 C walnuts, crumbled and toasted

 

Method:

Preheat oven to 170C/325F. Butter and flour two 8x4x2 1/2 metal loaf pans.

Whisk flour, cinnamon, allspice, mace, salt, baking soda, and baking powder in a medium bowl to blend and set aside. Whisk sugar, vegetable oil, eggs, vanilla extract, and lemon peel in a large bowl to blend. Whisk in the flour mixture. Mix in the zucchini and walnuts. Pour batter into prepared pans.

Bake breads until tester inserted into centre comes out clean, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes. Turn breads out onto a cooling rack and cool completely before slicing.

This stores fairly well, though generally it doesn’t last long. I usually freeze one loaf and eat the other. It might be tempting to add dried fruit such as raisins or apricots, but they will just sink to the bottom.

 

Filed under: Breads and quickbreads, Cakes, Regional dishes, USA, Vegetables   |  Leave a Comment

Chicken and Beet Greens Soup

31Oct11

Quick and simple.

Take 1 litre of chicken stock, heat it to a simmer and add two handfuls of leftover roast chicken, one finely chopped shallot, a bit of oregano, and three handfuls of macaroni pasta. Just before serving, toss in the roughly chopped greens from a bunch of beets. Crank a little black pepper over the top when serving.

We ate this tonight just with cheese bread and a full-bodied red wine from Cariñena. It’s warming and therapeutic and serves two generously.

Filed under: Meat, Poultry, Quick recipes, Soups and stews   |  Leave a Comment

Apple Clafoutis

30Oct11

How to describe a clafoutis? It is somewhere between a custard, a tart, and a flan, being composed of an eggy batter that is poured into a hot dish. The centre takes on the character of a baked custard, while the top and base acquire a slight crispiness. This is not a traditional clafoutis, which is a Limousin tart made with black cherries or other stone fruits, but an American evolution via the pages of Saveur magazine which I have doctored up slightly, as the original is a bit too sweet and heavy for my tastes – both my sweet tooth and my taste for cream are waning with age.

This dessert is marvelously simple, but the result is so elegant and delicious that it could crown the most princely and elaborate of meals. This should be popped in the oven just as you’re serving dinner so that it has a chance to cool just slightly before serving. The aroma of apples, custard and cinnamon will keep appetites soldiering on until the last. This should be made in an earthenware pie plate, or you can do as I do and make it in an iron skillet. Mine was my grandmother’s and its surface is like silk from well nigh on a hundred years of seasoning.

 

Ingredients:

For the batter:

3 eggs

1 C milk (or cream if you wish)

6 T unsalted butter, melted

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

2/3 plain flour

1/2 C sugar

1/2 tsp salt

 

For the apples:

4 T unsalted butter

4 tart apples, peeled, cored and sliced

a splash of Calvados (or brandy)

ground cinnamon

 

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200C

Prepare the batter: Put milk, eggs, melted butter, vanilla, flour, sugar, and salt into a blender. Whiz it around until smooth and set aside. Grease a large, deep pie plate with butter, then set in the oven to heat.

Prepare the apples: Saute apples in butter over medium heat. Add brandy and cook until apples are slightly soft but not disintegrating – about 5 mins.

Then prepare the clafoutis: Remove the pie plate from the oven and pour half of the batter into the hot dish. Arrange the apples over the batter, then pour in the remaining batter. Sprinkle a bit of sugar and a generous amount of cinnamon over the top and bake until the clafoutis is set, about 25-30 mins.

The last time I made this I drizzled it with homemade quince honey – a bit like a thick quince syrup. Apple syrup or even Maple syrup could also be used.

Filed under: Desserts, Eggs, France, Quick recipes, Regional dishes, USA   |  Leave a Comment

Pancakes, Griddle Cakes, Flapjacks

02Oct11

Pancakes all began in about the same way on two sides of the Atlantic: thin cakes cooked on a hot stone or griddle that make a pleasing and amusing ‘flap’ sound when turned. How the name ‘flapjack’ came, in the UK, to be applied to the sticky, oaty golden syrup bar cookie that must be pressed messily into a pan to bake is anybody’s guess. It certainly doesn’t live up to the onomatopoeia. There’s really nothing more unflappable than English flapjacks. It is really only the combination of carbohydrates and lots and lots of sugar that may be meaningfully compared between the two. Well, perhaps also that they’re both tasty. This recipe is for the classic American pancake, which should be slathered with salted butter, doused with Maple syrup, and served with crisp, smoky bacon for the flavour counterpoint it provides.

When cooking these pancakes the batter should be poured from the tip of a spoon onto a hot, seasoned griddle – about a 1/4 C of batter will do. If no griddle is available, a skillet (but not non-stick) will do, very lightly greased with butter. The butter in the batter itself is enough to lubricate the cakes in the pan. To test if the griddle is hot enough, a drop of water should dance in the pan. If it spreads and boils, the pan is too cool. When bubbles begin to form on the surface of the pancake, take a peek underneath. If the cake is coppery in tone, then it’s time to flip (flap) it. It will take half the time to cook the other side, and it never cooks as evenly as the first side.

 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 C plain flour

1 tsp salt

3 T sugar

2 tsp baking powder

2 eggs

3 T melted unsalted butter

1 C milk

 

Method:

Mix together the dry ingredients. Beat the eggs and add them with the milk and the melted butter. Stir the batter only until the ingredients are just barely incorporated. Don’t worry about lumps. Test the griddle and bake.

 

NB: I have recently seen small plastic jugs for sale with dry mix for pancakes in a pitiful layer at the bottom. The wet ingredients are added and the whole is shaken. Please bear in mind that the dry ingredients for pancakes are flour, baking powder, salt and sugar (that’s IT!), and that shipping vast quantities of packaged air across the globe – and then paying the price for it – is quite simply idiotic.

Filed under: Breads and quickbreads, Breakfast, Pancakes and croquettes, Regional dishes, USA   |  Leave a Comment

Penne Pasta with White Beans and Tomatoes

10Sep11

This simple vegetarian dish is so fragrant with basil that it strongly piques the appetite. It makes an excellent primi piatti before a secondo of fried fish. Either red or white wine to accompany is appropriate. We drank a 2007 Jaboulet Côtes du Rhône, and ate the pasta simply with a side dish of watercress.

Ingredients

500g penne or tortiglione pasta

Olive oil

1 400g tin of cannellini or flageolet beans, drained and rinsed

1 large garlic clove, finely minced

500g ripe tomatoes, diced

a handful of pitted Kalamata olives, quartered lengthwise

1 small bunch fresh basil, julienned

salt and pepper

dry white wine

Method

This is a very quick sauce, so start it only a few minutes before your pasta is al dente. Heat a dash of olive oil in a large skillet. Add garlic and beans and, stirring, heat them through, adding a dash of white wine at the last. Add the tomatoes, olives, basil, salt and pepper, and leave the flame on only just long enough for the tomatoes to be lightly heated. Pour the sauce over the pasta, drizzle lightly with extra-virgin olive oil, and top with grated Parmigiano Reggiano.

Serves four.

Filed under: Italy, Pasta and cereals, Quick recipes, Regional dishes, Sauces, Uncategorized, Vegetables   |  Leave a Comment

Melanzane alla Parmigiana

27Aug11

This is the finest, and possibly the simplest recipe for this dish I have found. The hint of cinnamon in the sauce plays off the nuttiness of the Parmesan magnificently, and the whole is grounded, of course, in the eggplant. So fundamental is eggplant as a fruit that it is a kind of base element. ‘Eg’ in the periodic table of fruits and vegetables.

The name ‘eggplant’ derives from the round, white variety of the fruit, and it is certainly more fun to say than ‘aubergine’. Alan Davidson tells us that the word ‘melanzane’ derives from the Latin mala insana – ‘apple of madness’. Perhaps appropriate, as this recipe is madly delicious. And the eggplant is a member of the Nightshade family. Serve it with good, crusty bread and a simple salad. We had a very smooth red from the Marca Trevigiana that gave the whole ensemble a delightful velvety character.

 

Ingredients

Olive oil

4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

3 X 400g tins chopped tomatoes (a quality brand, please)

1 cinnamon stick

1 small bunch of basil, julienned

4 medium eggplants/aubergines/apples of madness

3 balls of mozzarella, sliced

Grated Parmesan

 

Method

The apples of madness should be grilled or broiled for this. Slice them lengthwise about a finger-width thick and brush them with oil. Grill them until they are completely tender. Some charring is desirable.

While they are grilling, heat the oven to 180C.

For the sauce, heat about 2T of olive oil in a pan and fry the garlic until it is lightly brown. Add the tomatoes and cinnamon (standing back, as the hot oil and the tomatoes tend to react energetically) and simmer for about 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the basil.

Remove the cinnamon stick and spoon some of the sauce into your largest ovenproof dish. Layer up the eggplant slices, mozzarella, and sauce as you would a lasagne. Cover completely with sauce, and cover with a generous grating of Parmesan. Bake for 30-40 minutes.

 

Filed under: Italy, Regional dishes, Vegetables   |  1 Comment

Roasted Okra

27Aug11

Just about any vegetable may be roasted, it seems. Okra really benefits from this treatment, as it turns out less slimy. The okra needs to be small and tender for this recipe, as roasting magnifies the woodiness of larger specimens. I will try this in the future with tomatoes, as a roasted version of stewed tomatoes and okra.

 

Ingredients

about 250g okra per person
salt to taste
pepper to taste
olive oil

 

Method

Preheat the oven to 225C. Top and tail the okra. Toss with a drizzle of olive oil and the salt and pepper (Maldon sea salt and fresh cracked pepper, naturally) in a baking dish. Roast for about 15 to 20 minutes until the okra is lightly browned. Serve up right away.

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