Another first rate, easy to follow recipe from this book. The only slight change I would make would be to reduce the quantity of oil, which was a little over the top, whther it is authentic or not. Otherwise excellent. From Claudia Roden – The Food of Italy, pg. 286
So this isn’t a looker, but the parsnip and cavolo nero mix was a good one and could be used with many things. Sadly the chicken breasts bought for this were off, so some frozen leftover chicken was subbed in and did an admirable job off the bench, albeit certainly contributed to the splodge effect. Just added a little of the suggested sage and it was lovely. From The Doctor’s Kitchen, pg. 214
The challenge with “meatballs” containing spinach and sweet potato is most definitely the moisture. Squeezing the wilted spinach well is obviously required. But the potato is trickier. Leaving the mashed up potato in the fridge for a period helped, however even after 45 minutes the mixture was distinctly soggy. If you’re truly invested then perhaps suspending it overnight in muslin or a sieve would do the job… But I question the worth. The addition of breadcrumbs to the mix to dry things out a little was likely required and it’s quite possible that adding more of them than suggested in…
What a boring thing to be documenting… Well yes, but let’s be honest, Spaghetti Bolognese is almost everyone’s favourite and refining the house recipe is a truly noble cause. And yes, I’m not sure how I feel about presenting it as a sauce on top of naked pasta. But there we go, decisions were made. This version, from Claudia Roden, feels authentic and indulgent, taking a lot of processing with onions, celery and carrots all finely chopped (or even grated), some bacon (well, instructed to be pancetta, but bacon is a very acceptable substitute), and mince and a whole lot…
Concocted from the left-overs of the previous night’s polenta, poured into a tray while still hot and left to cool then sliced into adorable triangles. The general consensus is that this was more successful. Using the griddle pan on the polenta slices is great, adding a little crunch to the otherwise squishy cornmeal. The overnight marinating of the pickles gave them an added punch and re-roasting the leftover roast roots gave them an extra caramelisation that was helpful. I also threw on some peas and broccoli, because why not? Really nice. I want to experiment more with the porridge form…
I was somewhat nonplussed by the individual parts of this recipe as I was cooking. The polenta was fine, albeit uninspiring; roast pickled veg wasn’t blowing my mind; and the pesto was mildly insipid. Altogether, however, it all blended beautifully and was a pleasure to eat. This is with some serious omissions from the dish as well, such as no parmesan, no good olive oil, no sage leaves, all of which would really give some much need pop to the flavours. I held a few of the pickled roots back from the oven and jarred them, adding a few…
Artery clogging indulgence. Extremely nice, although rather longer in the oven to really brown up was required in this case, I think. A slight tweak might be to add a few eggs to the cream mixture, in the interest of setting the liquid a little and making the whole thing a little more unctuous. Though perhaps longer in the oven, or a little more than the recommended quantity of cheese would also achieve this. From Nigel Slater – Kitchen Diaries III, pg. 505
This is a triumph, honestly. I’m continually impressed by the recipes in The Doctor’s Kitchen, they are always so well considered and packed with flavour. This was done exactly as described except for two items: Firstly, I probably quadrupled the quantity of cherry tomatoes in the salsa and have no regrets. And secondly, due to a lapse in organisation I failed to thaw the peas… But I charged on regardless and found that it created the most delightful, sweet and sharp granita that worked actually incredibly well. This would work with so many dishes, possibly more suited to…
There’s no accompanying picture in the recipe to this gothic looking dish, so I can’t confirm whether it’s supposed to look quite so dramatic. However any such treatment of beetroot will surely end up with a similar product, giving a certain sense of zombie roleplay to the occasion… The appeal of which may vary depending on who you ask. I only had one portion of soba (that portion that is bound with a little paper clasp) left as it happened, so I’d suggest that this would benefit from doubling up and using two portions in the future. Additionally a fine…
This is a lovely warming soup, quick, easy and cheap to make in bulk. Perhaps I’d turn down the heat a notch, but then on another day this could easily be just the ticket. Crisping the crispy onions up in the oven seems a faff, but is well worth it. I also squeezed a little lime over the soup just before serving to great affect. The only negative I can possibly attribute is that it was party to my hand blender blending its last, the motor giving up just as the final chunks of cauliflower were liquidised. Highly irritating. From…