Another Food Post

Is this turning into a food blog?  Who cares?  It's my blog and I'll post about whatever I want!

Did I ever tell you how much I love Italy?  Tonight, I love her a little bit more.  Whether any Italians would actually make/eat what I had for dinner tonight, I've no idea, but it was certainly inspired by the colours & flavours I've come to associate with Il Maggior Bellissimo Paese.

Tagliatelle Tricolore

This is Tagliatelle with Chicken, Anchovies, Tomatoes & Basil.  But I call it Tagliatelle Tricolore because it's the colours of the Italian flag.

The recipe is dead simple:

Chuck a small tin of anchovies, including the oil, into a frying pan with some medium-hot oil.  Don't worry, the anchovy flavour isn't strong; this just gives the dish a background element which highlights the other flavours.  Allow the anchovies to dissolve into the oil.

Roughly chop a decent handful of vine-ripe tomatoes - into halves or thirds will do.  Add to the frying pan and adjust the heat so the juices are just about sizzling.  You want to soften and reduce the tomatoes, not brown them.  Add a pinch of salt and a few turns of the black pepper grinder at this point.  The salt will help to soften the tomatoes.  Use white pepper for better aesthetics; I just prefer the flavour of black.

Chop 3-4 large cloves of garlic and add to the frying pan.  Waiting until some of the tomato juice has escaped will help prevent the garlic from browning, preserving the flavour.  Add a generous four-finger pinch of unrefined soft brown sugar.  It seems like a lot for a savoury dish, but it really helps soften the tartness of the tomatoes, balancing the dish.

Bring a saucepan of water to the boil and add a pinch of salt.

Thinly slice 1 large or 2 small chicken breasts and add to the frying pan.  Adding it raw at this stage allows it to absorb all the flavours from the sauce, prevents it from browning and results in tender & juicy meat.  Slicing it very thinly ensures it will cook through and big cubes wouldn't work so well with this dish.

Dunk 4 nests of dried tagliatelle into the boiling water.  Keep the sauce moving whilst the pasta softens for 5 minutes or so.  Once the pasta is a few minutes short of al dente, transfer it to the frying pan.  Add maybe a ladleful of the water from the pasta and stir everything together.  Finishing off the pasta in the sauce helps it to really absorb all those wonderful flavours.

Once most of the liquid has been absorbed by the pasta (3-5 mins) grab a good handful of fresh basil leaves and toss through.  Like spinach, they'll wilt almost immediately, so you really do want to add them just before serving.

Slap the whole lot unceremoniously onto a plate, shave some parmesan over the top and garnish with some fresh basil leaves.

Serve with an ice cold Chenin Blanc.  I know it's not Italian, but it bloody works with this dish!

Simple, quick and delicious.  Bellissima!

Non Photography Post

Just a quickie because I really enjoyed my dinner tonight and wanted to log what it was!

You'll want:

• Oil (cooking, not motor or massage);
• Butter (that pasty Euro stuff actually works quite well);
• A large white onion;
• A garlic.  Use as much as you want, especially if you're single;
• Some ginger.  Not of the red-headed stepchild variety;
• Chilli to make it sing;
• Chorizo;
• Prawns.  The larger and fresher the better;
• Vino.  White, obvs.  Chardonnay works well with creamy, spicy seafood dishes like this;
• Rice, cooked.  It's like a risotto, but the quick and lazy way;
• Smoked paprika and turmeric for both colour and flavour;
• Parmesan for seasoning and to give the rice that velvety smooth texture that makes everyone go "Mmmm...!"

Heat some oil and butter in a pan on low-med heat.  I don't do measures, but a good couple of glugs of oil and a thick wedge of butter are about right.

Add a large onion, finely diced and soften in the oil until it starts to go transparent.  You brown it, you bugger it.

Finely chop (or grate) 3 large cloves of garlic and a 1 inch cube of ginger and add to the lightly bubbling pan.

Finely chop some chilli & toss it in.  No measure here, as I used a scotch bonnet because that's all I had.  This would work better with a couple of birdseye chillies, or even a couple of large green jalapeno peppers for the sour element.

Slice up half a ring of chorizo and add to the pan.  You could put this in first and brown it a bit, but all you need is the flavours from the oils to bleed into the dish.

Turn up the heat and add two handfuls of fresh king prawns, peeled.  If you only have cooked prawns, add them later.

Once the prawns have started to colour, pour in a good glug of Chardonnay.  I'd say a small glass, but just pour until it stops searing and starts simmering.  Do this before the onions start browning, even if the pan isn't hot enough and the prawns just went in.

Turn the heat down to a simmer until the alcohol has boiled off and the sauce is velvety & golden.

Add a couple of handfuls of cooked rice, a good pinch of smoked paprika and a good pinch of turmeric.

Bring it back to a simmer and stir until the rice has taken up most of the liquid.

Turn the heat off, then grate in a couple or three tablespoons of parmesan cheese.  Stir it all in and leave to melt into the sauce & rice.

Pour another glass of that Chardonnay, plate up and enjoy.

Big, juicy prawns with garlic, chilli & ginger (always a winning combo) with smoky, meaty chunks of chorizo and a velvety coat of golden rice.  Paradise.

Let me know what you think, if you try it.  Also, let me know if you vary it and how you think that went.