How Big is a Sprig? Cooking with Massimo & Friends Part 2

How is it that this cooking project is now the anchor for days at home?  A lifeline of sorts and perhaps a welcome distraction in the middle of navigating new territory in lifestyle, family time and communications.  Lucky for me slow living and slow food has been my happy place over the years, its almost the perfect foundation for this time we now find ourselves in.

This week has been a big week celebrating Cucina Italiana, what fun.  The message is to stay home and stay safe, can do and will do.  Below are the meals made that have been prepared, savoured, laboured over and indulged in....

‘Bread is Gold’ Recipes Continued… Visit: www.foodforsoul.it

9.  Panzanella with Fennel Cream

Luca Fantin and I managed well in this up market version of the simple and rustic Tuscan fare.  I wanted to try another Panzenella dish while tomatoes are still on tap here in early autumn.  This perhaps is my favourite dish so far for execution and flavour.  Loved the delicate pieces of fennel, orange segments and fresh dill that laced this dish.  Thank you Luca,  P. 134

10. Caramelized Chicken with Bread Puree

This is where the Confit Tomatoes photo above comes into its own, so lovely to slow cook tomatoes with a generous sprig of rosemary and thyme I pulled from the kitchen garden.  A little salt and a little sugar and a tablespoon of olive oil and viola.  The caramelized chicken was perfectly simple with prunes pulsed into a thick sauce and layered with balsamic and organic honey this dish was the perfect quick meal on a Tuesday night.  Sadly the bread puree part did not cut it, quickly it turned to glug and I decided the chooks would be more than happy to eat for breakfast.  I hope they enjoyed my home made vegetable stock I laboured over the day before!!  P. 211

12. Pasta with Mint and Breadcrumb Pesto P.22

My favourite kind of lunch.  Fresh basil, mint and parsley is a kick to push me into winter, green love and no need for pine nuts if you don't have any on hand, breadcrumbs pulsed in the bullet thing will do.  I added a lot more olive oil for moisture as pine nuts are full of nutritious oils and are usually added to a traditional pesto....

13.  Rice Pudding with Pickled Peaches and Pistachio Crumble. P. 153

This is one of those meals where I took a little liberty.  Since there was no pistachios in the larder I used roasted hazelnuts for the crumble which turned out perfect, so good I couldn't stop eating off the bake tray.  Rice pudding is comfort food we know that, adding peaches cooked in star anise, vanilla and balsamic makes it decadent and sweet and balances well with creamy rice.  The biscuit style of crumble on top made for a filling dessert and the best kind of breakfast with the leftovers the following day.  

* Be prepared to labour over the rice, it takes a while to soften, best to attempt while on a cooking mission already. 

14. Bean Soup with Pasta Mista

This is where I began to meditate on the size of sprig of rosemary.  At its heart this reminds me of Pasta e Ceci, a dish that uses cupboard staples (some of us are definitely stocked up on) in a good way.  Pasta Mista means mixed pasta at the end of the day.  This is a simple home fare that needs a little insulata mista on the side to juze it up.  I added slivers of parmesan and fresh basil to give it some life force.  P. 210

15.  Banana Ice Cream with Barozzi Cake P.220

Giuseppe Palmieri introduced me to my first dive into the land of eating Panzenella back in the previous blog post (P. 218 in Bread is Gold).  This is his chapter in the book.  The ice-cream is a staple in the Refettorio kitchen as banana often turned up in crates.  If you make it you have to be a step ahead for the ice-cream.  The cake is from a Modena Pastry shop that was donated on the day so this dessert is extra special for the people who tried it that day.  

I loved it, we all loved it, with balsamic vinegar (of course this is Modena the home of balsamic) and coffee espresso it is full of richness and the crust had a wicked crunch.  I  love a cake with lots of eggs and almonds that have been ground.  Lucky for us we had duck eggs from our neighbours that day.  Together the flavours compete and out do, yet if you didn't have time to make ice-cream you could easily make the cake and add mascarpone and strawberries on the side if you were making it for a special occasion.  Five stars for Yum.

Chocolate cake like this never fails to deliver happy responses from the family.  

14.  Eggplant Soup with Mint P.142

This turned into a fine dip as it is quite thick once blended.  Of course hot you can enjoy with a piece of crusty bread.  I may have been too generous with the coriander and cumin as I am one of those cooks who just pours instead of measures.  Great for a spicy and warm meal at the end of a long day and not much effort to make, so win, win.  

17. Apple, Cinnamon, and Olive Oil cake  P.  419  

A perfect recipe by Chef Alice Delcourt.......I like what Alice said at the end of the book, “Working with food in a professional kitchen, we have the chance to invent ways to use the best and the most of every product.  In a sense, salvaged food becomes a matter of respect: respect for the product, respect for the environment, respect for the world”.     (Bread is Gold)

Perfect antidote right now, respect the food, the growers, the time you devote, allow the simplicity of the food to sing its own praises while you cook and nourish yourself with love.

Listen:  

New Podcast by Samin Nosrat & Hrishikesh Hirway......called ‘Home Cooking’.  Love that Simin champions the home cook along the way, that’s an important message especially now.....

Watch: 

Netflix:  ‘Salt Fat Acid Heat’ with Samin Nosrat......begins in Italy.....say no more.

mj xo