Recipes

Ragu alla Bolognese

The one thing that surprised me most about Italy is how simple italian food really is; nothing is added that isn’t necessary and ingredients are given the room to speak for themselves.

In Florence we chanced upon a delightful local eatery called La Burrasca, just on the dodgy side of the Central Market. My partner, who has a famed aversion to all things “flavoursome” (with a particular loathing of garlic) fretted over whether the penne al ragu on the menu was cooked with the offending clove; after all this was Italy, they put it in everything. We asked our waiter if the ragu was made with garlic and his response was quite unexpected; “Of course not, this is ragu! It would not be ragu if there was garlic!”. Delighted, my partner ordered it and loved it. So much so, he ordered it three nights in a row!

So the humble ragu taught me an important lesson in italian cooking: keep it simple. It seems the obligatory addition of garlic to all Italian dishes is a culinary assumption most of us are all guilty of making. Unsurprisingly, the Italians harbour an aversion to extraneous elements being added to their most treasured dishes. Why mess with Tuscan perfection? After all a ragu is a ragu and you don’t need to add garlic to make it taste italian.

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Risotto Bianco (White Risotto)

This is risotto’s ground-zero; risotto stripped right back to it’s bare bones of rice, stock and cheese – the basics.

Risotto Bianco is, in essence, the root-recipe for all risotto but don’t be fooled, just because it’s simple doesn’t mean that it isn’t incredibly tasty! In this risotto, the cheese is the true star of the show; without any other strong flavours compete with, the parmesan takes centre-stage and boy, does it shine!

A cheese lover’s dream come true, Risotto Bianco is blissfully velvety, coddlingly rich and packs a knock-out parmesan punch that leaves you wanting more. This is home cooked comfort food at it cheesy best.

With a dish this simple, it is always tempting to add additional flavour elements to the risotto itself. If it were my risotto I wouldn’t, as this would detract from the essence of the dish but of course I’m not the person making your risotto; it’s your kitchen and ultimately you are in charge! However, if you do decide to add ingredients to the recipe just don’t go overboard. Personally, if I wanted to bring some additional elements to the dish, I would rather serve the risotto as an accompaniment to a main meal. Perhaps pairing it with something like grilled chicken breasts (simply marinated in garlic, thyme and lemon), some rocket and oven-roasted cherry tomatoes.

Should you like to read more on my thoughts on risotto, please click here

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RECIPE NOTE: The rice quantities for these recipes vary depending on the number of people you are feeding and whether you intend making the risotto as a main meal or an accompaniment. As a general rule of thumb, I use approx. 70-80ml of rice per person for a main meal and 50-60ml as an side dish. Generally, risotto recipes on my blog are based on 2 people eating a full portion.

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Risotto Rosso (Red Wine Risotto)

Now I adore red wine, really I do but it has taken me a long time to get my head around the mere idea of risotto rosso. It’s not that I was adverse to using wine in cooking; like most of us, I regularly add red wine to braises and stews but to add it to a risotto? It just seemed wrong. And its not just me, generally people do seem a bit put off by the notion of a red wine risotto, which is a shame as it really does make for a delicious meal. I know this because I eventually tried it for myself and discovered that I was wrong, oh so wrong.

One evening, whilst making a risotto, I was momentarily gripped by a flash of culinary adventurism and reached for the red and not the white! In a splash there was no going back, I was having ruby colored risotto for dinner! It wasn’t without trepidation that I took my first bite, followed by my second, then third – all too soon I was licking the plate (sorry, over-share)! It was incredibly tasty and satisfying, everything you’d want from a risotto.

Risotto rosso works especially well as an accompaniment to most meat dishes, although I wouldn’t serve it with anything cooked in red wine as this would just be overkill. It is however, particularly good when served with a juicy steak and a rocket salad!

A word of advice though, the wine will be the prominent flavor in the risotto so you really should try to use a decent red when making it!

Should you like to read more on my thoughts on risotto, please click here

For more Italian recipes from the Muddled Pantry, please click here

RECIPE NOTE: The rice quantities for these recipes vary depending on the number of people you are feeding and whether you intend making the risotto as a main meal or an accompaniment. As a general rule of thumb, I use approx. 70-80ml of rice per person for a main meal and 50-60ml as an side dish. Generally, risotto recipes on my blog are based on 2 people eating a full portion.

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Risotto ai Funghi (Mushroom Risotto)

In my experience, when it comes to risotto most people’s frame of reference seems to be the omnipresent mushroom risotto. In fact, I would wager that precious few have ever tired any other sort of risotto and who could blame them – mushroom risotto is utterly delicious! Given its popularity, it is tempting to dismiss mushroom risotto as de rigueur but don’t. It is for good reason that this risotto remains an enduring classic and, as a bonafide fungi-fiend, I would rate it as perhaps my all time favorite mushroom dish.

Should you like to read more on my thoughts on risotto, please click here

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Limoncello

The saying goes “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade”  but when I discovered my new house came with its very own lemon tree, all I could think of was to make limoncello!

I have to admit I first heard of limoncello from an insufferable TV chef (who shall remain nameless) but like most things that he prattles on about, I simply dismissed it as yet another “pucker” marketing fad. It wasn’t until I visited Rome that I realised how wrong I was (about limoncello, not the TV chef). At our local pizzeria (in a slightly dodgy back alley off Via Cavour) I spied the liquor on the menu and I just knew I had to try it. Chilled to perfection, it was sweet, refreshing and satisfyingly potent, proving to be an excellent aperitif and the prefect foil to our cheesy pizza dinner. And so yet another culinary obsession was forged. Naturally we loaded our suitcases with bottles of this lemony delight but as my stash diminished locally, I began to look upon my laiden lemon tree with fresh eyes. Where once I simply saw the potential for lemonade, I now saw limoncello!

I won’t lie, my method for making limoncello is arduous and frankly should you have an insatiable craving for it, you would be better off just buying some from your local bottle-store. If, however, you find yourself with a glut of lemons and the patience to wait 3 months, then this is the recipe for you. Sometimes sweet perfection is worth waiting for.

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Classic Caesar Salad with Grilled Chicken

The first time I ordered a Caesar Salad I was completely overwhelmed, but not in a good way. It was just too salty, too greasy, too cheesy – it was just too much of everything and yet tasted of nothing in particular. Undeterred by this travesty of a salad, I decided to try making it at home. I told myself that such an iconic salad couldn’t possibly be so bad and I was right, it’s actually tastes bloody incredible! Done right, a Caesar Salad is salty, it is cheesy and yes, it is greasy but it is all a question of balance. The salad should be light but robust, subtle but punchy. In my opinion, the key is the lettuce-to-dressing ratio – get that right and it will make all the difference.

Admittedly the addition of the grilled chicken is an aberration but hey-ho, I’m no Caesar purist! I find the chicken lightens the overall dish and turns the salad into a substantial meal…and whilst I’m owning up to culinary aberrations, I also prefer using baby gem lettuce over the traditional cos! Scandalous I know, but I’m just muddled that way.

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Prosciutto, Figs, Rocket & Walnut Salad with Pecorino & Balsamic Crème

In Cape Town our fresh produce is almost entirely seasonal and when figs come into season you’ve got to make the most of their short-lived availability.

For me, this is the ultimate fig dish; this gorgeous salad is culinary alchemy on a plate and best of all it doesn’t require any cooking (unless you consider toasting some bruschetta cooking!).

Some times the most amazing food doesn’t require any effort at all and this little gem of a salad is about as perfect and easy as they come.

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Chocolate Chip Cookies

If cookies were currency my family would be millionaires.

Okay, so this amazing cookie recipe didn’t make us our fortune but it certainly “bought” us some childhood friends! I wish my family could take credit for these cookies but the recipe was in fact given to us by a friend’s mother. However, we churned out so many of these delectable morsels we became synonymous with being “those kids with the cookies”. My mother would send us off on school outings with a massive round white Tupperware filled with these delicious nibbles and invariably we would come home with just a few crumbs and a couple of new friends.

These cookies are not your typical chewy, gooey kind that are so popular today – they have a much shorter texture with a sugary finish that almost dissolves on your tongue. In fact, they are very reminiscent of “Famous Amos Cookies” from the 80s/90s – in both taste and aroma! Of course, these cookies are absolutely prefect for dunking in just about anything! Personally though, I can only manage to scoff a couple at a time as they pack quite a sugar-punch.

The following recipe makes quite a few cookies but I wouldn’t recommend halving the quantities as you don’t want to mess with the Cookie Chemistry. At any rate, if you can’t trust yourself to have so many cookies in the house then give them away to your neighbours – you never know, the cookies may just “buy” you some new friends!

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Phad Thai (Gai or Goong)

Phad Thai Gai

The origins of Phad Thai are both fascinating and insidious in equal measure and are a testament to the power of food. Firstly, it may surprise most to learn that this ubiquitous Thai dish is relatively new to Thai cuisine. Conceived as a solution to a national rice shortage during World War II, the then fascist Thai government created and promoted Phad Thai as a symbol of Thai national pride and actively encouraged street vendors to sell it en masses – a government campaign with the dual objective of both reigniting a flagging sense of Thai Nationalism and addressing a crippling food shortage. In essence, Phad Thai is culinary propaganda at its tastiest.

Sadly, Phad Thai has to be one of the most corrupted Asian dishes in the World. Outside of it’s native Thailand, this wonderful noodle dish has been bastardised beyond recognition by dubious Thai takeaway joints in an ill-advised attempt to make it appealing to a non-Thai palette. I can only imagine the shock that must befall so many tourists who order Phad Thai in the back streets of Bangkok only to end up wondering what on earth they’ve been eating all these years! My version is by no means truly authentic but I’ve tried to replicate the original as best I can – the main difference between my version and the usual takeaway fare is that the only vegetables that are cooked are the bean sprouts and spring onions – the rest are served raw on the side. You can decide if you want to add chicken or prawns, the latter being the more authentic version, but the recipe works well without either.

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Veal Masala with Mushrooms

Much to my carnivorous delight veal has become increasingly easy to source in Cape Town and when I do chance upon it, I enviably buy some to make escalope milanaise (basically an Italian weiner schnitzel) for my partner’s dinner. I usually always make sure that there’s enough meat left over so that I can make myself one of my favourite Italian dishes – veal masala with mushrooms.

This sweet and satisfying meal is surprisingly easy to make and is just the right side of retro-dining chic without being a culinary cliché.

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