Winter Light, Cooking with Massimo & Friends Part 6
Bread is Gold: Extraordinary Meals with Ordinary Ingredients
When a Cookbook calls you to contemplate more than just the food..........
Lets see what happens, 400 pages and approximately 170 recipes to discover
It is true that until recently I have never made pasta from scratch. I bought the pasta machine, a shiny steel contraption and Jamie’s book on Italian cuisine as gifts for husband and kept my fingers crossed. He prepared the pasta mixing flour and eggs going from novice to pro within weeks so for me, why bother? However, now that ravioli presented itself in Bread is Gold page 32 to be exact well I had to test my fortitude.
Test indeed as I realised this was not going to be simple. How many cooking shows have I seen the cooks smoothing it with a long wooden stick with ease and finesse, starting with a golden ball of dough and divining magic as it turns to a thin metre wide pasta sheet. I thought it would come together in minutes, I was wrong. Out I go to the garage, ‘Rich, I need your help”.
I followed the recipe I got that right, but it didn't say add a little water if it is dry, add some oil if you need to. He quoted the ‘Pasta Bible’ in the buffet drawer and told me how to handle it. Thank God I would have chucked it in the bin, so dry and crumbly..... Lucky I had my coach in all things pasta, it was going to be okay, so without Bread is Gold I may never have tried it. Certainly it was a process, yet now I know how to use the machine too, my hands got tired quick after days in the garden cutting back the perennials. Rolling it out by hand was not going to happen. I now understand why the silver contraption is a wise investment if you plan to make your own pasta.
Recipes from Bread Is Gold Continued…..www.foodforsoul.it
38. Castelmagno and Radicchio Ravioli P. 32The bitter leaves of radicchio and castelmagno is a riot of a flavour that I would definitely make again. I learned a lot in this little pasta and ravioli making lesson, yes beautiful things do take time, but what an achievement at the end of the day. And yes ravioli making could take a lifetime to master...
A fine meal once cooked and plated, Cin Cin Yes, winter is here and is perfect for a little rendezvous in the kitchen, simmering stock, sitting with my cookbooks and a peppermint tea, all will be revealed. Always the day with rumination on seasonal cooking, making ingredients go further, using up the parmigiano rinds in soups and enjoying the bounty of a bowl of perfect home grown lemons.
39. Migas A La Extremena P. 286When I read the recipe for Migas I knew straight away that this was a sort of peasant dish that would make the most of simple ingredients. A great dish to use leftover stale bread that is laying around. I felt fortunate to have plenty of eggs from chickens on hand and this made a fine lunch on a day at home. Left overs were added to some enchiladas that night, and that is the beauty of this food, it continues to keep giving no matter what gets tossed in on the day.
One of the things I love about this book “Bread is Gold” is the simple art of mastering how to use left over bread, it is the foundation of this ingredient, water and flour, universal ingredients, used all over the world, a lot of the time I make breadcrumbs or feed our leftovers to the chickens, but I love the idea of cooking it or roasting it with oil for a crunchy addition to a meal, and what a wonderful way to bulk up a meal when cooking a feast…
Pork, Ham Bone, and Cabbage Broth P. 318Winter in a bowl is how I would describe this delicious soup. Hearty and warming to the bones. What was meant to be a broth turned more into a meal since I used a good sized ham hock and couldn't help but add cannellini beans to give it more depth and what’s more it made a fine dinner with a big slice of pane di casa loaf.
42. Risotto with Parmigiano and Crescenza Cheese P. 302This was a triumph. Creamy and full of flavour due to the two cheeses and bite sized pieces of zucchini and tomato confit to balance the rich flavours. I used a good quality brie since Crescenza would have involved a 45 minute drive to the Italian providore in the city. The thing I loved discovering is how fantastic the carnaroli rice is. So many recipes suggest arborio, this rice is worth hunting down and storing a few tins in the pantry. I found it the other day when I took myself out to lunch at The Italian Place in Braddon, ACT for some Italian love. I got it in spades and lucky for me that had this long grain starchy rice that too this meal to a happy place.43. White Rolls P. 228
This just happen to be amongst a bunch of recipes, obviously a good edition to fill some bellies when you need to get a big meal on the table. I am always happy to experiment with bread recipes because when you find something that works in family life well that is a wonderful thing. It is funny now I can tell quickly by how heavy the dough is if it is going to work or not. This recipe was quite dense, no worry we ate them anyway for a hamburger meal I put together that night. Love a bread experiment so no problem there....
44. Mascarpone Mousse with Caramalised Apples P. 80You know when you make meringue and you just want to eat a few spoonfuls, well this the creamy mousse like version of that. So good with the tart apples that are laced with sugar in the caramelising process. And I think a lovely dessert you can prepare ahead of time or like me you can make it at 3 in the afternoon and just eat two bowls because it is too unctuous to stop.Till next time..........Happy times cooking something that makes you smile.
mj xo
Salute to a winters night, orange peel in a Spritz, a night cooking with the family, bright wattle in a vase, delight for a week of cooking