Tag: italian
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Cheese: Calcagno Pecorino With Black Peppercorns
I love Italian cheeses and this one is one of my favourites. It is made from sheep’s milk and generally aged for several years. I have read that it hails from Sardinia and Sicily I am going to use it as a secret weapon in my Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe but this cheese can be used…
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PK’s Spaghetti Aglio E Olio (Garlic And Oil)
This traditional Neapolitan pasta dish could not be simpler nor more sublime. The first time I made this spaghetti tossed in garlic and olive oil, I thought I had died and gone to heaven. 🙂 How amazing is this? You only need flour, water, garlic, olive oil and cheese (Parmigiano-Reggiano if you have it). You will…
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Balsamic Vinegar
Balsamic vinegar has the lovely sour and tangy taste you expect vinegar to have but with a sweetness. The sweetness is either produced naturally in traditional methods or from added sweeteners in the mass produced versions. I use this particular vinegar in salad dressings, on cheese and marinades. It is lovely when dripped into olive…
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Spaghetti Carbonara With Cream
This rich creamy spaghetti carbonara will not win any health awards but jeapers it is tasty. 🙂 It also isn’t particularly authentic due to the addition of cream. I love the more traditional egg only version too (Spaghetti Carbonara) but this one is my go to comfort food pasta dish. I make it in large batches…
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Pasta: Spaghetti, Spaghettoni, Capellini And Bucatini
Spaghetti is my favourite type of pasta, especially the hollow version (called bucatini) as I find the texture nicer and it holds the sauce better. For most of us, spaghetti is the convenient form of long circular strands of dried pasta (pasta secca) made from wheat and water. Home-made raw pasta (pasta fresca) can have the addition…
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How To Make Browned Butter Sauce
Browned butter sauce has a caramel/nutty flavour and I think the addition of sage works just as well for seafood, pasta, chicken and beef. The pleasure of watching and smelling this sauce cook is sublime. The stages are so clear that they belie the difficulty level. When you get it right for the first time…
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Basil And How To Store It
This ‘king of herbs’ is an amazingly aromatic cooking annual. It grows to about 15cm tall and although it does better in summer sun it will provide all year. It dries well but I would avoid freezing it as it doesn’t hold up well. I use it in salads, pasta, pizzas, pesto, soups and stocks.…
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Hyssop
An annual herb that if you like it you will have to grow it yourself. Most places don’t sell it fresh and you are missing out if you can even get it dried. It is very easy to grow and I keep it trimmed down to a 15cm box as it is vigorous vertically. It…
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Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s Osso Buco Slow Cooker
Considering how much I love lamb shanks I am surprised it took me this long to cook Osso Buco for the first time. I always use Hugh’s recipe for the shanks (River Cottage’s Citrus Braised Lamb Shanks) so it is a no surprise I am using his Osso Buco Alla Milanese. You will be using…
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Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s Gremolata
If like me you love slow cooking cuts of meat like lamb shanks and osso bucco you will love the addition of this garnish. It brings tastes of the grassy parsley, cleansing citrus flavours and then the bite of the garlic. It counters the meatiness of the slow cooked meats’ sauce perfectly. I even love…
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