Yes, we have bought a flat and are renovating it... Can you guess this is going to be our kitchen?
Tuesday, 29 April 2008
Busy
This is what has been keeping our minds busy:
Yes, we have bought a flat and are renovating it... Can you guess this is going to be our kitchen?
Yes, we have bought a flat and are renovating it... Can you guess this is going to be our kitchen?
Codfish cakes
The actual name is pastéis de bacalhau, but codfish cakes will have to do as an appropriate translation. It is also hard, if not impossible, to give a very precise recipe for these beauties: you have to look for a certain type of consistency of the batter, and adjust the quantities depending on the size of the eggs and on the quality of the potatoes.
You need to start by soaking around 200 g of cured (salted and dried) codfish. Two days in advance, skin side up, inside the fridge, changing the water twice. Then, bring a pot of water to a boil. Once it's boiling, turn off the heat, add the cod, cover the pot, and wait around 20 minutes. Remove the cod but reserve the water, you will use it to boil the potatoes. If they are new potatoes, do not remove their skins. Add a slug of olive oil and perhaps a clove of galic, and cook until fork tender. I'd say 3 medium potatoes.
Once the cod is cold enough to handle, remove the skin and the bones. Using your hands, shred the meat trying not to break the fibers of the fish. Reserve.
Peel the potatoes and pass them through a food mill. Add the shredded fish, a finely diced small onion, and finely chopped parsley.
Begin by adding two whole eggs. Then start mashing all this with your hand. Season with salt and white pepper. Be careful not to over-salt. The parsley is important, there should be enough for you to feel its presence when tasting the batter.
Then you will have to judge whether to add another egg, or even two more. You want a thick batter, but not a heavy one.
The next step is to form the cakes and to fry them. You can fry a couple and see if they are coming out light and fluffy, if the salt and other seasonings are ok, and only then proceed with the whole batch.
To form the cakes, use two soup spoons. Dunk them in the hot oil and form a shape that is known as quenelle in French. Fry these quenelles in hot oil until golden.
This is the final result. They should be crisp on the outside, moist and fluffy on the inside, the fiber of the fish holding everything together.
You need to start by soaking around 200 g of cured (salted and dried) codfish. Two days in advance, skin side up, inside the fridge, changing the water twice. Then, bring a pot of water to a boil. Once it's boiling, turn off the heat, add the cod, cover the pot, and wait around 20 minutes. Remove the cod but reserve the water, you will use it to boil the potatoes. If they are new potatoes, do not remove their skins. Add a slug of olive oil and perhaps a clove of galic, and cook until fork tender. I'd say 3 medium potatoes.
Once the cod is cold enough to handle, remove the skin and the bones. Using your hands, shred the meat trying not to break the fibers of the fish. Reserve.
Peel the potatoes and pass them through a food mill. Add the shredded fish, a finely diced small onion, and finely chopped parsley.
Begin by adding two whole eggs. Then start mashing all this with your hand. Season with salt and white pepper. Be careful not to over-salt. The parsley is important, there should be enough for you to feel its presence when tasting the batter.
Then you will have to judge whether to add another egg, or even two more. You want a thick batter, but not a heavy one.
The next step is to form the cakes and to fry them. You can fry a couple and see if they are coming out light and fluffy, if the salt and other seasonings are ok, and only then proceed with the whole batch.
To form the cakes, use two soup spoons. Dunk them in the hot oil and form a shape that is known as quenelle in French. Fry these quenelles in hot oil until golden.
This is the final result. They should be crisp on the outside, moist and fluffy on the inside, the fiber of the fish holding everything together.
Monday, 7 April 2008
New books
We had two friends visiting us for a couple of days. One was coming from London, the other from Rome. As usual, I asked them to bring me something: from London, it was stem ginger in sugar syrup, golden syrup, and some Tiptree jams which I cannot buy where I live (victoria plum and black cherry). Alas, these were confiscated at Heathrow. Given the restrictions on carry-on luggage, of course the security did not allow these things on board.
I was more lucky with the parmigiano reggiano from Rome, although I am not sure what would have happened had my friend been searched.
Most importantly, I asked for cookbooks, and these arrived safely: "The French Laundry Cookbook", by Thomas Keller, and "Le Ricette Regionalle Italiane", by Anna Gosetti della Salda.
Some people may say that I own too many cookbooks, as if that was possible...
I was more lucky with the parmigiano reggiano from Rome, although I am not sure what would have happened had my friend been searched.
Most importantly, I asked for cookbooks, and these arrived safely: "The French Laundry Cookbook", by Thomas Keller, and "Le Ricette Regionalle Italiane", by Anna Gosetti della Salda.
Some people may say that I own too many cookbooks, as if that was possible...
Monday, 31 March 2008
The perfect hangover food
It's easy to cook, it's easy to digest, it's spicy and a bit greasy also. It's very comforting. What else do you need in those mornings? Spaghetti aglio, olio e peperoncini, perhaps the first foreign food I learnt how to cook.
Take 200 g per person of good quality spaghetti. Of the supermarket brands, the best is De Cecco. Barilla is okay. Bring a big pot of water to the boil and add the pasta without breaking it: one of the major sins you can commit while cooking pasta is to break spaghetti; the other is to overcook it. Add plenty of salt.
Finely chop 2 or 3 cloves of garlic per person. Cover the bottom of a sautee pan with olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the garlic and dried red chiles to taste. It's your call here. Be careful not to burn the garlic, remove the pan from the heat if needed. When the garlic is fried, add a glass of white wine (the quantity of wine obviously depends on the amount of oil: use your judgement...) and bring the mixture back to the boil. Move the pan in circles to emulsify the fat and form an homogeneous sauce. Finely chop some parlsey.
Once the pasta is cooked, mix it with the garlicky oil and perfume with the parlsey. If you have parmigiano reggiano, grate as much as you want over the pasta. Enjoy! And next time, try to be a reasonable chap and drink more sensibly. The best solution is prevention! (Right...)
Take 200 g per person of good quality spaghetti. Of the supermarket brands, the best is De Cecco. Barilla is okay. Bring a big pot of water to the boil and add the pasta without breaking it: one of the major sins you can commit while cooking pasta is to break spaghetti; the other is to overcook it. Add plenty of salt.
Finely chop 2 or 3 cloves of garlic per person. Cover the bottom of a sautee pan with olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the garlic and dried red chiles to taste. It's your call here. Be careful not to burn the garlic, remove the pan from the heat if needed. When the garlic is fried, add a glass of white wine (the quantity of wine obviously depends on the amount of oil: use your judgement...) and bring the mixture back to the boil. Move the pan in circles to emulsify the fat and form an homogeneous sauce. Finely chop some parlsey.
Once the pasta is cooked, mix it with the garlicky oil and perfume with the parlsey. If you have parmigiano reggiano, grate as much as you want over the pasta. Enjoy! And next time, try to be a reasonable chap and drink more sensibly. The best solution is prevention! (Right...)
Tuesday, 25 March 2008
Fritto Misto
Ever since our last trip to Rome we have been craving this food and meaning to try to replicate it as best as we could. We had this at Andrea's birthday party, cooked live by a couple of locals in a large pot full of oil and served in paper cones. It was utter bliss.
There are many versions of fritto misto in Italy, each consisting in a different combination of fried foods: fritto misto alla romana, alla napoletana, alla milanese... you get the point.
We simply had fried aubergine, courgette, red bell pepper and some parsley. Look at this picture to see how we prepped the vegetables:
The next step is to prepare the batter. We used a recipe from an italian recipe book we have: Il talismano della felicita' by Ada Boni. Flour (125 g), one tablespoon of oil, one egg yolk, two egg whites, a glass of warm water and a pinch of salt. We read in other places that the water should be cold and that the batter should be prepared just before being used. This book asked for warm water and suggested to rest the batter for at least an hour before using... Everybody seems to agree that one should take care not to overwork the batter, just mix everything together until you get a nice smooth mixture. The glass of water is just a guideline, follow your instinct. The egg whites should beaten to a soft peak and folded into the batter at the last minute.
Shake the pieces of vegetables to get rid of the salt, pat dry, and plunge in the batter. Get rid of any excess and drop into hot oil (180 degrees, use a thermometer). This is how our looked like, and it was very good... although not quite as good as the real one...
There are many versions of fritto misto in Italy, each consisting in a different combination of fried foods: fritto misto alla romana, alla napoletana, alla milanese... you get the point.
We simply had fried aubergine, courgette, red bell pepper and some parsley. Look at this picture to see how we prepped the vegetables:
The next step is to prepare the batter. We used a recipe from an italian recipe book we have: Il talismano della felicita' by Ada Boni. Flour (125 g), one tablespoon of oil, one egg yolk, two egg whites, a glass of warm water and a pinch of salt. We read in other places that the water should be cold and that the batter should be prepared just before being used. This book asked for warm water and suggested to rest the batter for at least an hour before using... Everybody seems to agree that one should take care not to overwork the batter, just mix everything together until you get a nice smooth mixture. The glass of water is just a guideline, follow your instinct. The egg whites should beaten to a soft peak and folded into the batter at the last minute.
Shake the pieces of vegetables to get rid of the salt, pat dry, and plunge in the batter. Get rid of any excess and drop into hot oil (180 degrees, use a thermometer). This is how our looked like, and it was very good... although not quite as good as the real one...
Saturday, 15 March 2008
Beans and chipotles
Remember these beans? We had a large batch in the freezer that we needed to use to free up some space, so we made some soup. The batch was really big, and we were left wondering what else we could do with these beauties.
The inspiration came from a glass of leftover chipotles in adobo sauce that was (and still is) in our fridge. Chipotles are jalapeno peppers that have been dried and smoked. These chillies are preserved in small tins with adobo sauce, which is a concoction of tomato, vinegar, garlic etc. Both the sauce and the chillies are quite used in mexican cooking. What is really unusual about this ingredient is the smokiness paired with the acidity of the vinegar and the spiciness of the peppers. Very inspiring!
Our creation: fry some finely chopped onion in olive oil until golden, and then add good quality tinned tomatoes. Cook on low heat until the sauce comes together. Then add a couple of the smoked jalapenos finely diced, and a few tablespoons of the adobo sauce. Check for salt and keep simmering on very low heat. Then you need to cook the beans. The best is to use a pressure cooker: the beans, a bit of olive oil, add enough water to barely cover, close the pot and cook for 8 minutes after the pot starts whistling. Now add the strained cooked beans to the sauce along with a few tablespoons of the cooking liquid and simmer on low heat until the flavours meld, adding more liquid as needed. Serve with sauteed turnip greens and crusty bread.
The inspiration came from a glass of leftover chipotles in adobo sauce that was (and still is) in our fridge. Chipotles are jalapeno peppers that have been dried and smoked. These chillies are preserved in small tins with adobo sauce, which is a concoction of tomato, vinegar, garlic etc. Both the sauce and the chillies are quite used in mexican cooking. What is really unusual about this ingredient is the smokiness paired with the acidity of the vinegar and the spiciness of the peppers. Very inspiring!
Our creation: fry some finely chopped onion in olive oil until golden, and then add good quality tinned tomatoes. Cook on low heat until the sauce comes together. Then add a couple of the smoked jalapenos finely diced, and a few tablespoons of the adobo sauce. Check for salt and keep simmering on very low heat. Then you need to cook the beans. The best is to use a pressure cooker: the beans, a bit of olive oil, add enough water to barely cover, close the pot and cook for 8 minutes after the pot starts whistling. Now add the strained cooked beans to the sauce along with a few tablespoons of the cooking liquid and simmer on low heat until the flavours meld, adding more liquid as needed. Serve with sauteed turnip greens and crusty bread.
Sunday, 9 March 2008
Codcheeks
A word of warning: codcheeks packed in brine should be soaked for as long as regular cod should, never less! We cooked (not fried) ours in olive oil, and used the oil to mount the sauce, so none of the excessive salt had a chance to escape. It wasn't inedible, but it was a bit far from perfection.
Codcheeks are amazing! This was the first time I ate - or cooked - these things, but many more will certainly follow. My guess is you should soak them in the fridge for 1.5 days, changing the water three times. Maybe two days, I have to experiment. We soaked ours for 24 hours and that was not enough.
Codcheeks are used a lot in Basque cuisine, where they are called kokotxas. I had been curious for a while about experimenting with the pil pil technique: essentially emulsifying the cod's gelatin in olive oil until it forms a thick sauce. Hence, saturday dinner was set.
The wine was also one which I had my eye set on for a while: 2005 Vinha Formal, a 100% Bical wine that is fermented in barrel and aged for 12 months in new oak barrels with a 650 l capacity. It's supposed to be an unusal white wine, very particular. Our bottle showed a very complex nose, but I was expecting a more exhuberant mouth. In particular, I was expecting a more unctuous wine. A very nice wine, but I am not sure I would buy another bottle, especially given the pricetag.
To serve with the kokotxas al pil pil: double-fried french fries and turnip greens that were parboiled and then sauteed in garlic-scented olive oil.
For the kokotxas al pil pil: fry 3 sliced cloves of garlic and a small dried chile until golden in a lot of hot olive oil - 1/2 a cup of oil should do it: you need enough to barely cover the codcheeks. Remove the solids to a plate, let the oil cool a bit, and then add the codcheeks that were patted dry (we used 500 g and that was enough for 3 people and there were no leftovers). The idea is to cook them in oil, not to fry them, so the temperature should not be too high. You will see white bubbles forming: this is the beginning of the pil pil. The cod cooks fairly quickly: 5 minutes or even less. Do NOT overcook! Remove the cod and let the oil cool down to about 60 C. Then start wisking the oil with a small colander. I saw this technique in this youtube video, and it really works! The oil will thicken to form a very interesting sauce. Check the video for more detailed instructions - if you understand Spanish.
Put the cod back into the saute pan, heat and serve sprinkled with parsley and guarnished with some of the fried slices of garlic.
Codcheeks are amazing! This was the first time I ate - or cooked - these things, but many more will certainly follow. My guess is you should soak them in the fridge for 1.5 days, changing the water three times. Maybe two days, I have to experiment. We soaked ours for 24 hours and that was not enough.
Codcheeks are used a lot in Basque cuisine, where they are called kokotxas. I had been curious for a while about experimenting with the pil pil technique: essentially emulsifying the cod's gelatin in olive oil until it forms a thick sauce. Hence, saturday dinner was set.
The wine was also one which I had my eye set on for a while: 2005 Vinha Formal, a 100% Bical wine that is fermented in barrel and aged for 12 months in new oak barrels with a 650 l capacity. It's supposed to be an unusal white wine, very particular. Our bottle showed a very complex nose, but I was expecting a more exhuberant mouth. In particular, I was expecting a more unctuous wine. A very nice wine, but I am not sure I would buy another bottle, especially given the pricetag.
To serve with the kokotxas al pil pil: double-fried french fries and turnip greens that were parboiled and then sauteed in garlic-scented olive oil.
For the kokotxas al pil pil: fry 3 sliced cloves of garlic and a small dried chile until golden in a lot of hot olive oil - 1/2 a cup of oil should do it: you need enough to barely cover the codcheeks. Remove the solids to a plate, let the oil cool a bit, and then add the codcheeks that were patted dry (we used 500 g and that was enough for 3 people and there were no leftovers). The idea is to cook them in oil, not to fry them, so the temperature should not be too high. You will see white bubbles forming: this is the beginning of the pil pil. The cod cooks fairly quickly: 5 minutes or even less. Do NOT overcook! Remove the cod and let the oil cool down to about 60 C. Then start wisking the oil with a small colander. I saw this technique in this youtube video, and it really works! The oil will thicken to form a very interesting sauce. Check the video for more detailed instructions - if you understand Spanish.
Put the cod back into the saute pan, heat and serve sprinkled with parsley and guarnished with some of the fried slices of garlic.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)