Winter Veggie Pasta

This is something I had kicking around for years in an earlier version somewhere in my notes. As it has been foggy and cold for the last few days, I thought I’d revisit it as it is rather too substantial for a summer dish. Needless to say, I didn’t have all the same ingredients as for the original recipe, so think minus cauliflower and carrots and with seabuckthorn instead of agave syrup if you want to try that version out. It is quite quick (apart from the time it may take to do all the chopping) as the sauce takes about as long to make as getting the pasta water to boil and the pasta to cook. By the way, I love pasta that retain the sauce hence my tendency to use conchiglie and fusilli for something like this.

What you need:

• 4 tblsp olive oil
• 300 g of broccoli, cauliflower and carrot, finely chopped
• 1 spoonful Madras curry masala
• 1 large onion also finely chopped
• 100 ml bubbly (Clairette or Moscato)
• 100 ml double cream
• 100 ml crème fraiche
• 1 tblsp agave syrup
• 2 cloves garlic (not pictured)
• salt or vegetable broth to taste
• 50 ml dry or medium dry sherry
• 400 g conchiglie

What you do:

1. Sauté the onions in olive oil, add the Madras curry and allow the latter to brown a bit.
2. Add the veggies and stir for about 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Add the bubbly and allow it to reduce until the veggies are nearly dry.
4. Add the two creams and leave it to simmer for about 5 minutes or until the sauce is quite creamy (the veggies will still have plenty of bite; if you want them soft, cook for longer and replenish with liquid, more bubbly, white wine or pasta water)
5. In the meantime cook the conchiglie in salted water – about as salty as the med, an Italian told me – until they are al dente.
6. Before serving add the garlic, squashed, the salt or veggie broth (instant or cube), bring to the boil briefly then add the sherry.
7. Serve with some freshly grated parmesan or – my preference – pecorino romano.
   

Cheese Souflée Omlet

I am still cooking for my Dad. He really liked this one. It is, again, a dish for two people, with twice the amounts it will make a meal for four, ideally served with a big mixed spring salad. 

 

What you need

• 2 egg yolks whisked with
• 1 tblsp dry sherry
• 1 tblsp sweet soy sauce
• 1 heaped tblsp Italian herbs
• 1 tblsp mustard or1 tsp mustard powder
• grated nutmeg, paprika, salt and pepper to taste
• 2 egg whites whisked with a pinch of salt
• 1.5 dl cream whipped
• 1 small tomme ripe soft cheese (Reblochon, Brie, Camambert, Vacherin Mont d’Or, Gorgonzola dolce), cut into slices of about 5 mm thickness.
• Butter for frying the omelette

What you do

1. Separate the eggs and whisk the egg yolks vigorously with all the ingredients (sherry, soy sauce, herbs and spices. The mixture should be quite frothy.
2. Whisk the egg whites with the pinch of salt until it forms peaks.
3. Whip it until the whisk leaves a trace in the cream.
4. Fold the cream and the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture, making sure that the mixture remains fluffy and light.
5. Melt the butter in a non-stick frying pan. Very gently pour the egg/cream mixture into the melted butter and fry over medium heat.
6. Put in the slices of cheese ensuring that they are evenly spaced.
7. Reduce the heat a little to prevent burning and fry until the top of the soufflé omlet starts solidifying. Season with more paprika, pepper and nutmeg if you feel it is necessary.
8. To ensure that the top is done too, put under the grill for 1, maximum 2 minutes (too long and the soufflé effect will be ruined; the taste is still fine but the fluffiness is gone…)
9. Serve immediately from the frying pan; waiting will deflate the dish.

Remarks

When doing this dish, don’t overdo the salt as the tomme, if it is ripe enough, will actually add plenty of flavour.

How to ripen a tomme? Simple: keep it at cellar temperature for a week, at room temperature for a couple of days. When it feels soft and squashable, it is likely to be perfect.

Cutting it at this stage may be a problem. A cheese knife with holes in it (see picture above) works just fine.  

Risotto Ticinese with Ceps in Marsala and Cream

There are a few English terms for this fungus (what an unappetising word), boletus, cèpe, porcini mushroom,  apparently even “penny bun”. Whatever it is called, the term “Lord of mushrooms”, is probably the most befitting – and is not a million miles from the German “Herrenpilz”.

When I first mentioned that I was going to write about what I do in my kitchen, a friend emailed to ask if this recipe would be part of the project. So here goes.

What you need

Risotto

• 3-4 tblsp olive oil
• ½ onion, finely chopped
• 350 g rice (Carnaroli, Arborio, Vialone; my favourite is Ticinesi Riso Nostrano)
• 50 ml white wine or Marsala mixed with
• 2 sachets of high quality saffron
• 250 ml good quality dryish white wine (See remarks.)
• 1 litre of hot water (depending on the rice)
• sea salt or a veggie stock cube and pepper
• optionally: 2 handfuls of fresh garden peas (which makes this seasonal, sort of…)
• 2 cloves of garlic from the garlic press

Remark: A non-vegetarian option is to include the marrow from two marrow bones.

Ceps in Marsala and Cream

• 25 g dried ceps (making this with fresh ceps is an almost entirely different dish)
• boiling water to cover the ceps
• 1-2 tblsp olive
• ½ onion, finely chopped
• 100 ml good quality marsala
• 1 stock cube or equivalent (I use, non-vegetarian but tasty, venison stock)
• 200 ml fresh cream
• 2 cloves of garlic from the garlic press
• fresh herbs chopped (lovage or flat-leaved parsley)

What you do

1. In a heavy pan, heat up the olive oil and add the onions, stirring until glassy (if you use marrow bone, add it at this stage, chopped but use less olive oil).
2. Add the rice and stir until it too looks glassy.
3. Pour in the white wine and allow to simmer briefly.
4. Add the saffron and the stock cube, then top up with hot water (this speeds things up).
5. Keep topping up with hot water until the rice is done. (See remarks.)
6. Shortly before this press in the garlic and add the peas if you use the optional ingredients.
7. Covered with a heavy lid, this can sit for a while if you didn’t get the cep done at the same time…

1. Soak the ceps in boiling water for about 15 to 20 minutes, then squeeze them out and strain the water if the ceps were sandy, keeping it!
2. In a frying pan, heat up the olive oil. Add the onions and stir until they are on the point of turning golden.
3. Add the ceps and fry for about 1 to 2 minutes, seasoning with a bit of pepper. (If using instant stock, add it now too.)
4. Add the marsala and reduce to about half, then add the strained ceps water and reduce again to about half.
5. Pour in the cream and allow to bubble vigorously, reducing the sauce and thickening it at the same time. (See remarks.)
6. Add the garlic and the finely chopped herbs. 

 

Remarks

About cooking wines: I make it a point never to use a wine or a fortified wine like Madeira, Marsala or Port that I wouldn’t have my family or my guests drink. It needn’t be the stuff that costs an average salary of an ambitious investment banker, but it should be of good quality. In my experience the difference between something to keep the ribs apart and a good meal is that all the ingredients are of as good quality as can be got hold of (and paid for).

There are two very different approaches cooking a risotto depending on whether you want an almost liquid, creamy risotto or a relatively dry, lighter one. For this dish I prefer the latter, which you can achieve with the Riso Nostrano from Ticino, the variety I use when I can get it because there is a creamy sauce that complements the relatively dry risotto rather nicely. However, there are also times when I really prefer a very creamy risotto. This is easily achieved but a little bit more work: keep stirring the rice and add the liquid bit by bit. This type works wonderfulyl with fresh ceps, which I very simply cut into to risotto relatively early on. Adding a lump of mild blue cheese and/or some cream in the last 10 minutes is another way of getting this creamy type of risotto just right!

Next, thickening sauces is a topic I have already covered. Briefly and quoting the passage: cream added at the end of the cooking process, bit by bit while the sauce bubbles vigorously, results in a nicely creamy sauce without the flour flavour. In addition you can very easily check how liquid or how thick the sauce is going to be. 

One last remark: If the sauce is put through the food processor, a very creamy, rich crostini topping results, one that needs eating relatively quickly and usually is...