Drunken Bunny

Coniglio in Umido con Vino Bianco & Sambuca

Rabbit, Braised in White Wine & Sambuca

Rabbit is not everybody's cup of tea, I know... but I really love it and this evening there was not a cup of tea involved but a half bottle of wine and a shot of Sambuca! No wonder I call this my "drunken bunny"! It was a perfect meal for an Autumn evening- hearty, down-to-earth and delicious!

This is a typical "alla cacciatore" recipe- the kind of thing that the hunter (cacciatore) may have prepared- just using the simple, county basics he would have found at hand. This means the recipe may vary from time to time, but some classic ingredients are there of course- carrots, onion and celery would never be missing, neither would wine, olives, capers and herbs. But as it is Autumn and the fresh tomatoes are a thing of the past, I decide to keep this a light recipe, using a white, rather than red wine and doing without tomatoes in the sauce. And I must say, that for a first attempt- the result was pretty fantastic!

This was a dish that did take a while to make... it is that time of year after all! But it was very easy and the great thing is that it all happens in one pot. I conceived it as being a "secondo piatto", to be enjoyed after a pasta first course and ate it this evening, simply with a hunk of crusty bread, but you could always add potatoes into the mix and make it a full, one pot meal. Or you could even serve it with rice. But you know what? Stick with the bread :-) The sauce you get from this is just too good!

So, first things first- into the saucepan went the rabbit- in this case, 2 front legs. I left them whole- of course you can chop them up, but at the end of the day, the meat ends up being so tender that it falls from the bone easily anyway... so I left them whole, rather than having to cleave through the bones.

I sautéed them briefly in a little olive oil, with garlic, thyme, marjoram and a little salt and pepper. I added for this 2-person portion, 1 good sized carrot, 1 red pointed pepper, 1 stick of celery, 1 onion and a handful of string beans. In they went, with a little spice mix made of 1 clove, 1 spoke of a star anise and a couple of juniper berries, which I crushed with my mortar and pestle. I added a tablespoon of flour to this and then sprinkled it over everything in the saucepan and stirred everything through nicely. And then in went the wine! With a huge hiss of steam, in went around half a bottle of white wine- a pinot grigio in this case and a shot of Sambuca!

Aromatics came next, in the form of finely chopped parsley, a little rosemary and thyme, a couple of bay leaves and a pinch of dried chili flakes, then reduced the temperature to a low, low simmer for 30 minutes, flipping the legs over occasionally every now and then.

After 30 minutes, the vegetables of course were cooked, so I removed most of them with a slotted spoon to keep them from over-cooking completely and then added a few olives and a teaspoon or so of capers to the sauce, before returning it to the heat to simmer away for another 30 minutes or so. 

Of course, rabbit is very tender and is actually cooked within 30-40 minutes... but trust me- cook it for a good while longer and you will really appreciate how well the meat soaks up the flavors and just how tender it gets. So at that point, I returned the vegetables to the sauce to bring them up to temperature and to let them infuse in all of the rich flavors.

After a final 5-10 minutes at the most of the vegetables warming, the rabbit was ready to serve... and I was ready to eat! And how!

This a´w is a lovely, old-style Italian dish- simple in its ingredients but really rich in its flavors... which is what all good cooking is about- simple and good ingredients and flavors, combined carefully and cooked with passion and love. Go ahead and make it and share a little!

Working that Oven!

Festonati al Forno con Melanzane, Olive, Pomodoro & Scamorza

Oven-Baked Festonati with Eggplant, Olives, Tomato & Scamorza

Looks pretty delicious, doesn't it? Well let me tell you that, yes, of course you are quite right and it really was! But at the same time, let me tell you that this dish was born of the need to use up a few left-overs... the last handful of "Festonati" noodles, the other half of the eggplant from the other night, a last few cherry tomatoes and just a few olives for an extra "kick". Yep- this was good house-keeping and good eating at the same time!

Eggplant, tomato and olives are classics when it comes to Italian and especially Sicilian dishes- you really can't go wrong! So even though this was just a small dish and even though I was careful as always to do a lower fat preparation than most, it was really delicious and satisfying... and quick and easy to boot!

The first thing I did was to turn on the oven, to get it nice and warm to bake the pasta towards the end. Whilst it was warming, I cut the eggplant into thin slices, which I then cut into bite-sized pieces. I lightly salted and peppered them and then popped them into the oven under the broiler for 4-5 minutes from each side- that was all it took as they were cut so small and thin. This meant I had to keep an eye on them, but at the same time, I started the pasta boiling... there is always multi tasking to be done!

Speaking of which, whilst the pasta was boiling, I dropped 4-5 cherry tomatoes into the water with it, so that I would be able to take away the skins. I then cut them into quarters and sautéed them briefly- just 2-3 minutes, with some finely chopped garlic, basil and olive oil and a simple seasoning of salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar.

As soon as the pasta was beginning to become "al-dente" but was still a little too hard, I poured off most of the water and then topped it up with milk to the point that the pasta was just covered. I then fetched the eggplant out of the oven and added it to the pasta along with a generous grating of nutmeg. This would give the pasta the flavor of a bechamel without the thickness- and more importantly without all of the flour and butter!

I then started to layer the pasta and eggplant, with the tomatoes and some sliced black olives, adding grated scamorza cheese in-between and making sure the ingredients were equally distributed. A little more nutmeg and pepper each time made sure that it would be packed with flavor. Whilst it was still piping hot, I transferred it to the hot oven for 10 minutes at 300°F and a further 2-3 just to get it slightly browned on top.

I told you it would be simple- and I promise you it will be delicious! Not as heavy as a maccaroni cheese or a lasagna, this is a nice treat all the same- and your waist-line (and mine!) will be thankful! That we we can indulge in something else that's wonderful tomorrow :-)

Nice and Comfy Under the Covers

Anelletti & Lenticchie al Forno con Porro & Bresaola
Baked Anelletti & Lentils with Leek & Bresaola

Nothing could be more Sicilian than a plate of anelletti, little pasta rings- and also very typical made with down-to-earth and yummy lentils... but nothing could be more German than a cold and rainy day either! Ugh! That's what we had here today... which is why THIS is what I had here this evening!

I wanted to try something a little different again, as usual, and came up with the idea of adding the sweetness of some steamed leeks and the crispiness of some toasted Bresaola to an otherwise simple dish... this extra sweetness and saltiness just made it so much more delicious! May I be excused for saying OMG? Ok, thank you!

The pasta in itself was pretty easy to prepare. I started off with a little sofritto of finely chopped celery, carrot and onion, added a little crushed garlic, the lentils (just 2 handfuls for this generous serving), some finely chopped parsley and a little olive oil and sautéed them together for 2-3 minutes until the onion began to become translucent. I then added enough boiling water to cover them by a couple of inches. I seasoned with salt, pepper, some dried marjoram (I had no fresh) and a little cayenne... then reduced the heat and let them simmer away for 10 minutes.

You may ask yourselves why I always refer to measurements in "handfuls" and I will gladly explain. I once read that the correct amount of cereals, rice or pasta you should eat in relation to your size, is basically one of your own hands full of whatever it is you are planning on eating. If you are on a diet that is. So I usually stick to that as a rule of thumb. It makes sense to me because measuring cups are standardized and the same size to all people, but our hands are, generally speaking, of a size that usually matches the rest of our bodies... so a small Sicilian will have a different sized serving than a tall American. Simple. Still- certain dishes do indeed require that you have a decent amount of mass for them to work... just boiling one handful of lentils and one of noodles would have been pretty pathetic- haha! And I am not on a diet right now- but still eating sensibly... and yep- TWO handfuls of both lentils and noodles makes for a pretty decent sized meal!

After the lentils had boiled for 10 minutes, I added the 2 handfuls of pasta rings and made sure there was enough water in the saucepan to cover them by at least 1". The idea was though, to try to keep the water to a minimum so that nothing needed to be poured off and so that all of the flavors of the sofritto remained in the broth. Just keep an eye on it and as the pasta swells up and cooks, just top it up slightly. 

These pasta rings do take deceptively long to cook- so I light it simmer away for 15 minutes, after which time much of the water had been absorbed, but they were still "al-dente". And for this kind of dish they do need to be a little softer and soupier to taste nice. But that of course would happen in the oven!

Next step was to pour the pasta and lentils carefully into a baking dish. I then covered it with thinly sliced leek, which I seasoned with a little salt, pepper and nutmeg. I gave the leeks a light splash of white wine and then covered them with some delicious Bresaola. You could use any other kind of ham you prefer, but I love the lean, beefy flavor! 

Into the oven it went for 5 further minutes at 200°F and a final 2-3 minutes under the broiler. What the Bresaola does is that it prevents any steam from escaping from the surface of the pasta as it bubbles away in the oven and therefore causes the leeks to steam wonderfully and to cook nicely and gently. In the meantime, what happens is that the Bresaola dries-out and crisps-up wonderfully- despite being on top of the moist and soupy pasta. 

Once it was done, all that I needed to do before serving was to crumble up the crispy ham into the pasta. Underneath were the moist and delicious leeks and of course the combination with the lentils and noodles was fantastic. Sure beats some boring old ordinary soup now, doesn't it? And so cheap, easy and fun to make and eat! Hope you give it a go everybody- you'll like it!

Loafing Around

Sformato di Melanzane alla Menta & Formaggio al Forno
Eggplant "Loaf" with Cheese & Mint

I love eggplant and when I saw the beautiful fresh, purple, Sicilian ones at the market on Saturday, I just had to have one! I can never resist- but the thing is, those lovely, round ones always tend to be so large that they are simply too much for a guy to eat on his own! So this evening, I knew there would be no way I could possibly use up the whole thing... which meant only one thing, which was that TWO great meals would be made from it- and that's a good thing! 

And this is the first dish I have come up with right here... I hope you like it, as I decided to do something a little different- being the risk-taker that I am! Haha!
But all kidding aside- with classic ingredients like mint, parsley, garlic and nutmeg to season this little eggplant dish- how much of a risk are we actually talking about? Nah- you're right... not that much! 

I started off by peeling the half of the eggplant I was going to use and then cutting it into a relatively fine dice. Which is very easy actually- no need to stress over it: just cut the eggplant into thin slices, turn the slices 90° and cut them into strips, turn the strips 90° again and cut across the slices... tada! It's quick and easy- and no, you do not needed any kind of machine or food processor to do it!

I put the diced eggplant into a dry frying pan and turned on the heat- whilst it was warming up I finely dice half an onion and added it to the pan along with a little salt, pepper and a finely chopped clove of garlic. Even without oil, the eggplant and onion WILL start to sweat and soften soon enough- just keep on stirring occasionally and you will be fine!

Whilst the eggplant was cooking away, I finely chopped a handful of both mint and parsley and added these to the pan, seasoned with salt and pepper, stirred it through once and then turned off the heat and set it to one side to cool off whilst I turned on the oven to warm and got busy preparing the batter in which I would bind everything together ready for baking.

For this amount- a regular single portion lasagna-sized dish, I mixed together 2 heaped tablespoons of flour, a half sachet of dried yeast, a little warm milk to blend the flour into a paste and then 1 egg on top of that. I stirred this briskly together until it was nice and smooth and let it also sit for 10 minutes or so, so that the yeast could begin to "do its thing". I am not talking about it rising as much as a bread mixture would, but just long enough for the yeast and gluten to start becoming nicely active, so that the "loaf" would not end up being too dense.

After 10-15 minutes, the batter was ready and the eggplant was cool enough to add to it, without there being any danger of it curdling. I then seasoned it with salt, pepper, nutmeg and a hint of cayenne and then added a nice handful of coarsely grated Parmesan. I added a finely chopped sun-dried tomato... basically just for the hell of it- but it seemed like a good idea at the time... and it did end up tasting amazing in it too!

I poured the mixture into a lightly greased baking dish, added a little extra cheese on top and then popped it into a hot oven of say, 350°F for around 25-30 minutes and then a final 2-3 minutes under the broiler to get the cheese nice and crusty... and very, very yummy!

To tell you that this smelled phenomenal is NOT an exaggeration- the minty and cheesy wonder of it all is something you are bound to love! I served mine up with a couple of cherry tomatoes, which go wonderfully with the mint and eggplant as they add a fruity, juiciness which brings the whole thing to life!

I am going to claim that this will taste equally yummy either hot or cold... but you know me! I had this all polished off before it even had a chance to cool off a little! And if you make it yourselves someday, you will smell it and you will know why! Enjoy!

Rad-ical Wrap

Polpettini Involte in Radicchio con Patate & Piselli alla Menta

Radicchio-Wrapped Meatballs with Minty Potatoes & Peas

Here is a little idea for you- little meatballs made somewhat differently, with a yummy fennel-seed and Gorgonzola touch, baked in the oven, healthy and delicious as can be! Does that sound ok? I decided to pair them with some simple, mint-flavoured potatoes and peas to add a light, fresh contrast... and I do have to tell you that the combination was pretty terrific!

To all extents and purposes, the meatballs are steamed and the radicchio keeps the juices in... but a few minutes under the broiler at the end give them enough of a toasty finish that they don't end up tasting like they have been boiled- not that it would matter with what they are steamed-in... but read on and we will get to that little detail soon enough...

I made the little meatballs out of a quarter pound of half-beef, half-pork mince. I added one half of a small onion, finely chopped, a handful of finely chopped parsley, a teaspoonful of fennel seeds, a good grind of black pepper and instead of salt, my secret ingredient (which I have already mentioned-lol!), a good tablespoon of Gorgonzola cheese. 

These ingredients needed to be kneaded together gently and soon enough, the cheese and meat were well blended enough to bind all of the other bits and pieces of onion and herbs wonderfully... that was all there was to the meat! Easy so far, isn't it?

Next, the radicchio, from which I cut away the bottom third of it to remove the thicker, firmer stalks. A lot of recipes for making things like stuffed cabbage for example, would have you make a triangular cut into the leaves to remove the stalks, which are usually tough and make them hard to roll-up- especially if they are raw... but I like to do something else when I make them...

My preferred method is simply to take a spoon or spatula, lay it on the stalk-end of the leaf and apply enough pressure to crush it down and squash it enough for the stem to loose its firmness- which is only exactly the same thing that will happen when the leaves cook anyway- so why throw anything away?

I formed small meatballs, which I placed onto the leaf at the stalk-end, then folded the left and right side of the leaf closed, then rolled it up and set it to one side. I did not use anything to tie them up and of course they did unfold until I placed them into my little baking dish, but placing them in nice and tightly, side by side holds everything in place rather well :-)

 The meatballs obviously needed a little moisture to allow them to steam and cook nicely in the oven, so I added a shot glass each of Sambuca and of white wine... delicious with the fennel and the radicchio! I then poured boiling water over the little parcels- just a trickle, to get them nice and moist, added a light drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of pepper, covered my baking dish with aluminium foil and popped it into a pre-heated oven at 300°F for 20-25 minutes.

In the meantime, I boiled up a few potatoes for around 15 minutes, then added the peas to the same saucepan and let the potatoes cook for a further 5 minutes until they were nice and soft and the peas were finished at the same time... it's all about timing, multi-tasking... and getting things done!

After 25 minutes, I removed the foil from the meatballs and then let them cook for a further 10 minutes without. Right at the end, I turned on the broiler for 2-3 minutes to give the meatballs a nice, toasty finish... and then dinner was ready to be served!

I drained the potatoes and peas and dressed them up with a little olive oil, some finely chopped mint, salt, pepper and a hint of nutmeg... all as easy as can be!
And there you have it! A very modest meal, but delightful to look at, delicious to eat, inexpensive in its ingredients... and basically just a really nice idea! So I hope you give it a go sometime... I know I will be making this again for sure!

Real Slow Food

Orzo Perlato & Borlotti

Pearl Barley & Borlotti Beans

Whilst fast-food is something that I never eat, I do like to make quick, easy, fun and tasty meals as you all know. And usually I manage to do quite well. But this evening, ladies and gentlefolk, it was not just a simple and down-to-earth dish that I made... it turned out to be a real slow-food dish too!

I love pearl barley and its firm and chewy consistency and one of the good things about it is that it is hard to over-cook and that it still retains its bite even after a prolonged cooking time. I would say that 45 minutes is a good cooking time for barley and as I had read that borlotti beans only take that long when they are fresh, I thought it would be a great combination...

... the flavor of course WAS great, but those lovely little speckled beans ended up taking almost 1 hour and 45 minutes, rather than the 45 that the recipes say they take! Which of course is not the end of the world... I just wished I had been prepared for the matter! Stop grinning! At least you have been warned by me! So I may as well share how I made it now anyway... because fortunately it was worth the wait!

I started off this one, nice, large bowl full by finely dicing half of a carrot, 1 small parsnip, 1 small onion, 1 small clove of garlic, about 2" of leek and a small piece of bacon (about 1 handful). These all went into a saucepan at a relatively high heat until the bacon began to sizzle and the fat that was in it coated all of the other ingredients. 

Once everything was nicely coated and just beginning to brown, I added the barley- 3 handfuls and beans, 2 handfuls and stirred them in too. I seasoned with salt, pepper and a little cayenne and added finely chopped parsley, rosemary and marjoram. Once these were stirred-in, I added a couple of small bay leaves, then deglazed the saucepan with boiling water and carried on stirring to bring up all of the good flavors from the bottom of the pan.

I made sure everything was well covered, by at least 1" in water, then reduced the heat to as gentle simmer. 45 minutes later, the barley was almost ok... but the beans were still pretty raw! Ugh! What to do?

What I did was that I added 7-8 cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters, I added a pinch of sugar and a splash of balsamic vinegar, stirred this all together and let the saucepan bubble away at a low simmer. For 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, we were slowly getting there, but not quite! Most of the water had of course been absorbed by now, so I topped up the broth again and let it carry on for 20 more minutes... making it around 1 1/2 hrs of boiling in all to get things well cooked and delicious! A rule of thumb is that the beans should change color from burgundy/red to a more brownish tone by the time they are done.

I may well use canned beans next time I make it- haha... but let me tell you- this was time well spent as the flavor was delicious! I served it up with a sprinkle of parsley and some freshly ground pepper, a last drizzle of olive oil and a splash of green Tabasco. So if you don't use beans in a can for this one, be prepared to wait patiently... but also be prepared to enjoy!

Southern Comfort

Polenta con Radicchio, Speck & Ricotta Salata

Polenta with Radicchio, Bacon and Salted Ricotta

Of course most Italian food could be considered comfort food- down to earth, hearty and delicious as it invariably is... and with pasta bakes and soups, minestrones and risottos for the colder, winter months, there is always plenty of variety to choose from. Oh- and then there is always polenta too!

I love polenta- quick, simple, satisfying and delicious, it great to use as a side dish to so many meat or vegetable dishes and wonderful as a meal in itself! A friend of mine had ordered polenta with radicchio in Rome just a week ago, which I found to be a great combination... and which inspired me to come up with a version of my own... and I have to admit- I really think that mine was much, much better! I know how bad that sounds... but it is true!

The polenta itself, I made this time around, using some vegetable stock- and yes, I did use a soup cube! Fresh is better, I usually do it... but sometimes when you are running a little late... you know what- it's not the worst thing in the world! And really- who doesn't appreciate a little helping hand every now and then? 

So I got the half soup cube dissolved and boiling away and added 3 tablespoons of polenta. The water was enough to make one good sized bowl of polenta. I reduced the heat to a low simmer and stirred in the polenta little by little. soon enough it began to bubble and spit like a volcano and to thicken up dramatically. I added a little milk to thin it down a little and grated it with just a little nutmeg, then stirred it through and put it on the back burner at a very low heat and let it continue simmering whilst I prepared the radicchio...

I started off by frying a handful of finely diced bacon in a dry frying pan- juggling between stirring the polenta and stirring it, to keep the polenta from sticking and to get the bacon nice and brown all over. Whilst that was going on, I quickly cut the radicchio into relatively thin strips and added them to the bacon with just a hint of very finely chopped garlic. 

At that point, after around 20 minutes of cooking time, the polenta was ready- and the radicchio was ready to be taken off the heat after just 3-4 minutes too. I kept tossing it in the frying pan- the residual heat there was more than enough to let it brown a little and also to let it wilt down and soften up.

With the heat turned off, I added just the tiniest hint of honey and a drop or two of balsamic vinegar... and with one last toss for good luck, I was ready to serve!

I spooned the radicchio on top of the polenta first, followed by the crispy little bacon bits, then a nice sprinkle of grated, salted Ricotta, some freshly ground pepper, a sprinkle of parsley and a dash of olive oil... YUM! I mean- you KNOW that tasted good! You just do! And you know very well that the next miserable, dark and dreary day when you are needing some warming and delicious comfort food, that this is what you need to be making and eating- and enjoying! 

That's what cooking and what great food is all about!