My last supper in Rome was a sad occassion. Italy was the penultimate stop on our trip and it would be a delicious yet meloncoly farewell. Spaghetti and clams tossed in olive oil and butter with garlic, chilli and garnished with chopped parsley. Sigh.

Every red-blooded male derives a certain amount of pleasure from devouring the flesh of a dead bovine; I am no exception. Florence has a big reputation for doing a great steak and I can vouch for that personally. Whilst training from Bologna to Florence we met a nice bloke, who makes a living selling antique watches, and he recommended us a good restaurant for steak. Unfortunately it was closed for August, like most of Italy, but the owner of a neighbouring cafe was able to direct us to the next best kept secret in well-trodden Florence.

After they have paraded the side of beef onto the butchers block the carve off a slice from each end for your selection. Naturally, I took the cut from nearer the neck, as it contains a tender round usually known as the rib eye; it weighed in at over 900g! I must stress for a moment that if there was one thing that made this steak truly special it was that is was dry-aged. Dry-aged beef is hung in a cold room with high humidity for a number of weeks, during which time enzymes in the meat work to tenderise the flesh and slow dehydration causes the flavours to intensify; this type of meat can’t be bought at the supermarket.

But if the meat wasn’t already perfect, they go and cook it in real style; over the coals. This adds a fantastic smokey hit to the meat.

Once the steak is cooked to perfection, which for me is rare, it is seasoned with salt and pepper and served with a side order of vegetables. The steak has the most intense and delicious meaty flavour, and is so tender. I can’t recall the last time I had a steak so good, it’s possible I never have.

Whilst dining at Ro’ Cocco’s in Bologna I took the liberty of creating my own pizza, in collaberation with the the helpful kitchen staff. This pizza is simply tomato puree, fresh porcini mushrooms, parma ham and mozzarella cooked, of course, in a wood fired pizza oven. After one bite I dubbed it Pizza San Paolo, because it’s so lush it’s worthy sainthood.

This going to sound a bit strong, but I believe I have cracked the code on serving the best chicken fillet. If you can get past the sketchy photo, courtesy of my web cam, you might just stand a chance of learning how to prepare a chicken fillet that will rival that of many a top restaurant. Best of all, you don’t require any fancy or obscure ingredients, in fact you probably have everything you need already, with the exception of just one thing…

… a Thermapen. You really need a decent thermometer to make this happen to perfection, but I’ll do my best to make it possible without such a device.

Ingredients:

• Chicken Fillets
• Onion
• 2 Eggs
• Light olive oil
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Thyme
• Lemon or lemon juice
• Veggies

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 150C
2. Carefully wrap the chicken fillets in foil (as you would fish) and bake for 40 minutes (until chicken’s internal temperature reaches 60C)
3. Finely slice and onion and slowly caramelise in extra virgin olive oil until evenly brown
4. Season the caramelised onion with sugar, salt and thyme
5. Prepare a mayonnaise:
   1. Separate two egg yolks into a bowl
   2. Add a couple of teaspoons of lemon juice
   3. Whisk the yolk and slowly add 125ml of light olive oil
   4. Season with small amounts of salt and lemon juice
6. Allow the onions to cool almost completely then stir them into the mayonnaise
7. Brown the baked chicken fillets in a hot pan with extra virgin olive oil and some butter (don’t allow the internal chicken temperature to exceed 65C)
8. Serve the chicken on top of the veggies (drizzled with the frying juices) and garnish the chicken with the mayonnaise and thyme
9. Season with salt and pepper

This is not a pasta dish, this is a coup! I was recently watching a video podcast from Jamie Oliver’s web site, it featured an Italian friend of his making pasta. As I watched I realised that making pasta is just too easy not to do, so I decided it was time to try; what a revelation!  Let’s just say that fresh, home-made pasta is going on the weekly menu.

You need to use iTunes to download the pasta episode but a good place to start is http://www.jamieoliver.com/podcast/.

Ingredients

• Plain flour
• Eggs
• Tinned, chopped tomatoes
• Balsamic vinegar
• Garlic
• Olive Oil
• Basil, Parsley
• Parmesan
• (Optional) Parma ham

Method

1. One egg to 100g of flour serves one person (could that be any easier to remember or what)
2. Combine egg and flour in a bowl till the loose flour is taken up
3. Sprinkle flour on the bench and kneed dough till soft, smooth and dough springs back to the touch
4. Divide (and conquer) the dough into equal portions (eg. 400g = 4 portions)
5. Roll the dough with a pin, or wine bottle, into rectangular pieces, thin enough to flap if you blow under it
6. Add 5 or 6 tablespoons of olive oil to a hot pan and lightly brown some garlic
7. Add the tin of tomatoes and chopped basil and parsley the pan; season with salt and pepper to taste
8. Add a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar to the sauce
9. Reduce the tomato sauce while you bring a pot of water to the boil for the pasta
10. Place the pasta in the boiling water for just a few minutes then empty into a colander, add some olive oil to the pasta
11. Serve and garnish with freshly grated parmesan, fresh basil leaves and some pepper; add some shaved Parma ham if you have it!

Sort of. Despite the mirky opening line this is a delicious meal you should really try. I’m hesitant to define a beef fajita by this recipe when my total experience of such cuisine is limited to TGI Friday’s, nonetheless, this both resembles a TGIF fajita in form, and flavour, and was a perfect way to celebrate the fortuitous discovery of some quality beef steak.

Ingredients

• Tender beef steak
• Rice
• Flour tortillas
• Onions, capsicum, lemon, fresh coriander
• Cheese
• Olive oil
• Garlic, Cummin, Chilli
• Tabasco sauce

Method

1. Start the rice and add heaps of Tabasco into the pot (this give you the delicious Chipotle rice)
2. Marinade your steak in olive oil, cummin, garlic, chilli, fresh coriander and some lemon juice for 30 minutes to an hour
3. Slice the onions and capsicum length ways into strips
4. Brown the steak for 3 minutes on each side then remove from pan (allow steak to rest)
5. Add the onions and capsicum to the steak juices in the pan and fry till cooked
6. Slice the steak at angle (should be pink inside)
7. Serve with the Chipotle rice (garnished with grated cheese), vegetables, tortillas and garnish with fresh coriander
8. Season with salt and pepper to taste

It’s cold, you’re hungry; it’s soup time! Field mushrooms are widely available throughout Ukraine, fresh, dried or frozen. So here’s one for your next wintery soup craving.

Ingredients

• Chicken (thighs, wings, drumsticks whatever)
• Onions
• A lot of field mushrooms (not the regular white kind)
• 1 Star anise
• Tumeric powder
• Cheese
• Olive oil
• Parsley

Method

1. Chop and dice a couple of onions
2. Fry in a large pot, with some olive oil, till golden brown with the star anise
3. Add the chicken and mushrooms
4. Cover with water and season with salt and pepper
5. Cook slowly on a moderate heat for an hour or two
6. Add a small teaspoon of tumeric powder
7. Serve and garnish with grated cheese and parsley

Of course some garlic butter toast on the side wouldn’t hurt.

I was inspired to begin making pizzas again, despite the absence of a pizza oven. Presented with only a large rectangular baking tray I decided I would create a slab of pizza. This recipe is good for feeding, and filling, the troops or providing convenient lunch time left-overs. Yum yum.

Ingredients

•  Dough base
  • Plain flour
  • Yeast
  • Salt
• Mozzarella or equivalent cheese
• Tinned tomatoes
• Kalamata olives
• Onion (preferably red)
• Bacon
• Chorizo sausage
• Parsley
• Olive oil
• Parmesan

Method

1. Dissolve a teaspoon or two of yeast in a small amount of warm water for 20 minutes
2. Sift as much flour as need into a mixing bowl
3. Make centre hole in the flour and add the yeast and a little water
4. Turn through the flour mixture adding water as necessary
5. Dough should have a smooth, soft, rubbery finish that pushes back at the touch
6. Kneed for 10-15 minutes, then make a large dough ball and rest in a warm place
7. Allow to rise for an hour then beat down with your fists, again form a dough ball and rest it for another hour or so
8. Add your tinned tomatoes (juice and all) to a saucepan and reduce till thick, mashing if necessary
9. Coarsely chop the onion, bacon, chorizo sausage and parsley
10. Roll out your dough to appropriate size and shape (usually determined by your tray)
11. Brush the top of the pizza base with olive oil
12. Apply the tomato paste topping evenly
13. Cover the base with grated cheese
14. Evenly sprinkle the onion and olives over the base
15. Cover one third of the pizza with bacon, one third with bacon and chorizo and one third with just chorizo
16. Garnish with parsley and parmesan
17. Bake till golden brown at a high heat (250C to 300C)
18. Allow to cool a little, slice and serve

This is a perfect meal to make on a Sunday afternoon, lots of left-overs for the coming week.

Breaking the drought of posts that has been the scourge of this modest blog; I’m starting the year of with a great anytime pasta dish. The convenient aspect to this dish is that most of the ingredients live happily in your cupboard or fridge until you’re ready to use them, no mad rush to the shops required here.

Ingredients

• Tagliatelle pasta
• Basil pesto
• Kalamata olives
• Chorizo sausage
• Tinned corn
• Parmesan cheese
• Fresh parsley
• Lemon (juice)

Method

1. Set the water to boil and set to preparing your ingredients
2. Deseed and chop the olives, slice the chorizo sausage into strips, drain the tinned corn
3. Place the pasta in the pot and cook until just right (a little firm in the middle)
4. Drain pasta in colander return to pot off the heat
5. Add generous amounts of basil pesto and mix through thoroughly
6. Add the olives, chorizo and corn to the pasta
7. Serve quickly and garnish with grated parmesan, parsley and a sprinkle of lemon juice

Enjoy warm or cold!

This is a fantastically simple and completely yummy pasta dish I serendipitously developed the other night when faced with nothing but 2 tomatoes, pasta and some pork for the evening meal. As usual it’s not ‘what’ but ‘how’ that makes it special.

Here’s how:

• De-seed some good tomatoes (2 per serving) and dice
• Add olive oil, the tomatoes, basil and some garlic to a hot pan and fry for a couple of minutes
• Season with salt and pepper
• Cover the pan’s contents with water
• Leave the pan on moderate temperature to reduce completely (no remaining liquid at all)
• Set some water boiling and add your pasta at the moment your tomatoes are reduced completely
• Re-hydrate your tomatoes with generous amounts of olive oil
• When the pasta is cooked al-dente drain and add to tomatoes
• Mix and serve with proscuitto, or finely shaved parma ham, parmesan and fresh basil or parsley

I know cooks are prone to hyperbole but this really is completely delicious. You have to try it.
[See post to watch QuickTime movie] ]]> http://www.swansonblog.com/paul/2007/11/23/pork-and-pasta/feed/ 0