March usually brings about all things spring, from ads for lawn furniture and shorts to the first delicate blooms. Yet it's still winter and that means warming food and drinks.Don't get the grill out yet - unless you want to cook in the middle of an ice storm.
What is great about the cold blustery winds of this month is that it brings on hankerings for comfort food. You can still make rib sticking stews and casseroles.If you're tired of what you've been eating for the past three months change up the recipes. Now is a great time to try that French classic cassoulet.This is a lush, flavorful blend of duck confit cooked with cannellini beans, onions and pork.Crushed tomatoes give it color and zing. Make it one cold Saturday night,and have plenty of toasted French bread to sop it up.If cassoulet is too much then stick with what you know and then vary it. Baked macaroni and cheese can be spiced up with everything from a sprinkle of paprika between layers to adding a layer of crumbled chorizo. Try adding julienned ham slices or bacon slices. Experiment with different kind of cheeses such as a sharp New England or smoked Gouda . Change up the pasta Sub in gemelli or rotelli instead of the usual elbow macaroni. Spaghetti, too, another great meal for a snowy day can get some variety too. Add kale to the sauce for some color and nutrition. Try a vodka - arrabiata hybrid sauce instead of the usual tomato one.
Cold March days are good for baking too. Since the month is associated with everything Irish, think about baking Irish soda bread.It's only four ingredients : flour, baking soda, salt and buttermilk. It's also an easy bake that requires very little kneading and no proofing. You can add raisins to vary the flavor. Another Saint Patrick's Day treat is a batch of stout cupcakes. These are a fun activity on a cold and rainy Sunday afternoon. It's basically a chocolate cupcake with a kick. Make a stout -fudge frosting to really liven them up.Stout can also be baked into brownies as a way to make the recipe exciting.March also brings about Mardi Gras and Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday.Mardi Gras has the King Cake, a sweet and spiced bread that's topped with a rich tri color icing and a plastic baby inside. Make it without the icing and baby for a breakfast or brunch bread. Shrove Tuesday is the same day as Mardi Gras. , March 5th. A hearty stack of breakfast for dinner pancakes would be appreciated and enjoyed by the whole family.Try your hand at thick ,hearty whole wheat or buckwheat ones.Try them as savory, stuffed with ricotta and ham or sweet with Nutella.
It's still winter. It's still time to make hearty dishes and desserts that will keep you well fed and warm. Try some cold weather classics while there's still a chill in the air.
Friday, March 1, 2019
Thursday, February 28, 2019
British Classics For The Weekend
British food can be a wonderful mix of hearty and whimsical. It's a hearty fair of meat and mash - potatoes or sausages and savory pudding. It is a sturdy meal, easily made.
The New York Times Food section yesterday had a kind of mini salute to the United Kingdom Melissa Clark, gave us a recipe for a sheet pan supper of sausages with potatoes, red cabbage and onions.It's an easy go to meal for the English, making it as much as we cook roast chicken.It's also easier and less time consuming too.It starts with wedges of red cabbage and halved potatoes.Ms Clark seasoned the cabbage with sprigs of rosemary and thyme.along with lightly crushed caraway and coriander seeds.Next is a layer of thinly sliced onions which will soften and brown, melt into the veggies beneath them. The sausages used are usually pork, chicken or turkey but bratwurst and spicy chorizo can also be used as well. She brushes them with mustard, a practice not widely done in Britain but doing this creates a kind of gravy with the meat's juices. This is great in flavoring the veggies, Use a nine by thirteen rimmed sheet pan.It should have some depth because the heat will steam the sturdier cabbage and potatoes.It's an easy dish but it does take about an hour to cook with a break in between to flip over the cabbage and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Serve a good ale with it for a true pub feel.
Famed London based chef and baker Yottem Ottolenghi loves the whimsical sounding Toad In The Hole. Like Ms. Clark, he makes this British classic his own by changing up the recipe.It's a two hundred year old recipe with meat bits being dropped in a Yorkshire pudding batter. Chef Ottolenghi combines what he loves in British cooking well cooked meat - crisp pancake and a velvety gravy.However he deviates with subbing in homemade meatballs in for the sausage. These have an Italian vibe to them thanks to the addition of pancetta., Italian bacon. There's also rosemary sprigs and garlic added along with the surprising lemon zest.Pork, onions and sourdough are the main ingredients with milk added for moisture. The batter itself is a Yorkshire pudding zinged up Indian pale ale and Dijon mustard. The gravy itself get a boost from the pale ale but it 's mostly a chicken stock also flavored with two small onions, rosemary sprigs and balsamic vinegar. Flour thickens it to the velvety texture Chef Ottolenghi loves.The batter is prepared first followed by the gravy and the meatballs. After the meatballs have been made, it's then roasting them before encasing them in the batter. It's then baking them in a 400 degree oven for half an hour more.
Nothing beats a hearty British meal , whether it's a sausage sheet pan one or toad in the hole. Have it with a mug of ale and enjoy. It's the best of England at home.
The New York Times Food section yesterday had a kind of mini salute to the United Kingdom Melissa Clark, gave us a recipe for a sheet pan supper of sausages with potatoes, red cabbage and onions.It's an easy go to meal for the English, making it as much as we cook roast chicken.It's also easier and less time consuming too.It starts with wedges of red cabbage and halved potatoes.Ms Clark seasoned the cabbage with sprigs of rosemary and thyme.along with lightly crushed caraway and coriander seeds.Next is a layer of thinly sliced onions which will soften and brown, melt into the veggies beneath them. The sausages used are usually pork, chicken or turkey but bratwurst and spicy chorizo can also be used as well. She brushes them with mustard, a practice not widely done in Britain but doing this creates a kind of gravy with the meat's juices. This is great in flavoring the veggies, Use a nine by thirteen rimmed sheet pan.It should have some depth because the heat will steam the sturdier cabbage and potatoes.It's an easy dish but it does take about an hour to cook with a break in between to flip over the cabbage and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Serve a good ale with it for a true pub feel.
Famed London based chef and baker Yottem Ottolenghi loves the whimsical sounding Toad In The Hole. Like Ms. Clark, he makes this British classic his own by changing up the recipe.It's a two hundred year old recipe with meat bits being dropped in a Yorkshire pudding batter. Chef Ottolenghi combines what he loves in British cooking well cooked meat - crisp pancake and a velvety gravy.However he deviates with subbing in homemade meatballs in for the sausage. These have an Italian vibe to them thanks to the addition of pancetta., Italian bacon. There's also rosemary sprigs and garlic added along with the surprising lemon zest.Pork, onions and sourdough are the main ingredients with milk added for moisture. The batter itself is a Yorkshire pudding zinged up Indian pale ale and Dijon mustard. The gravy itself get a boost from the pale ale but it 's mostly a chicken stock also flavored with two small onions, rosemary sprigs and balsamic vinegar. Flour thickens it to the velvety texture Chef Ottolenghi loves.The batter is prepared first followed by the gravy and the meatballs. After the meatballs have been made, it's then roasting them before encasing them in the batter. It's then baking them in a 400 degree oven for half an hour more.
Nothing beats a hearty British meal , whether it's a sausage sheet pan one or toad in the hole. Have it with a mug of ale and enjoy. It's the best of England at home.
Wednesday, February 27, 2019
The Best Yogurt Homemade
The perfect yogurt should be thick and creamy. There should be a definite tang that works well in both savory and sweet dishes.Where to get this kind?At home. The best kind is the artesenal, straight from your kitchen sort. All it takes is a starter and your favorite brand of milk.
Priya Krishna, grew up with perfectly made and cultured yogurt and made it the subject of an article for today's New York Times Food section. Yogurt is a big part of the Indian cooking tradition and most immigrants bring over a starter culture when they move to the States.It's used in a variety of different dishes,mostly savory.It is a staple of South Asia because it holds up so well.It's in the cooking of every section of the area, from the vegetable heavy foods of Gujarat to the light gravies and biryanis of Sindhi food in Pakistan. Yogurts are never store bought. They're made at home without all the fancy yogurt makers. The most important part is the culture.It's two bacterias, lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus.Their function is to ferment the lactose or milk sugar to produce lactic acid.The increase in this reduce the milk's pH and causes the milk to clot or form a soft gel. It can be bought at Amazon and Wal-Mart however these won't make for a good tasting yogurt. The starters have to be taken off other starters, whether from family or friends in the community. It does cement bonds in the Indian community.
Is the milk just as important. That can vary. Some swear by certain brands, some don't care, as they just place special emphasis on the culture.Ms Krishna supplies a recipe from her cookbook,Indian-ish (Howard Mifflin Publishers 2019)that she wrote with Ritu Krishna All it takes is four cups of organic whole milk and 1/4 cup of full fat yogurt with live active cultures. She recommends checking the ingredient list however if you know someone with an active culture then definitely ask them for some.First add 1/4 inch of water at the bottom of a Dutch oven. This will prevent the milk from sticking when cooked. The milk is almost boiled and then cooled until it goes down to 135 degrees F. As the milk cools, smear the bottom of a one quart lidded glass container with the starter yogurt.Ms.Krishna suggests a dab , not smearing the whole bottom. When the milk has cooled to the proper temperature whisk in the remaining yogurt. Stir until completely mixed and then pour into the container. Leave the lid on loosely to allow the air to escape.. Place the jar in an unheated oven with the oven light on for one hour. You can tell when it's done when it jiggles like Jello.Some batches can take up to five hours to set. It will last for four to six weeks.
The best yogurt is the one straight from the kitchen. Make it to day and then experience its' tart , creamy lushness. It's an easy cook
Priya Krishna, grew up with perfectly made and cultured yogurt and made it the subject of an article for today's New York Times Food section. Yogurt is a big part of the Indian cooking tradition and most immigrants bring over a starter culture when they move to the States.It's used in a variety of different dishes,mostly savory.It is a staple of South Asia because it holds up so well.It's in the cooking of every section of the area, from the vegetable heavy foods of Gujarat to the light gravies and biryanis of Sindhi food in Pakistan. Yogurts are never store bought. They're made at home without all the fancy yogurt makers. The most important part is the culture.It's two bacterias, lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus.Their function is to ferment the lactose or milk sugar to produce lactic acid.The increase in this reduce the milk's pH and causes the milk to clot or form a soft gel. It can be bought at Amazon and Wal-Mart however these won't make for a good tasting yogurt. The starters have to be taken off other starters, whether from family or friends in the community. It does cement bonds in the Indian community.
Is the milk just as important. That can vary. Some swear by certain brands, some don't care, as they just place special emphasis on the culture.Ms Krishna supplies a recipe from her cookbook,Indian-ish (Howard Mifflin Publishers 2019)that she wrote with Ritu Krishna All it takes is four cups of organic whole milk and 1/4 cup of full fat yogurt with live active cultures. She recommends checking the ingredient list however if you know someone with an active culture then definitely ask them for some.First add 1/4 inch of water at the bottom of a Dutch oven. This will prevent the milk from sticking when cooked. The milk is almost boiled and then cooled until it goes down to 135 degrees F. As the milk cools, smear the bottom of a one quart lidded glass container with the starter yogurt.Ms.Krishna suggests a dab , not smearing the whole bottom. When the milk has cooled to the proper temperature whisk in the remaining yogurt. Stir until completely mixed and then pour into the container. Leave the lid on loosely to allow the air to escape.. Place the jar in an unheated oven with the oven light on for one hour. You can tell when it's done when it jiggles like Jello.Some batches can take up to five hours to set. It will last for four to six weeks.
The best yogurt is the one straight from the kitchen. Make it to day and then experience its' tart , creamy lushness. It's an easy cook
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
Delicious Dump Dinners
A dump dinner may not sound too tasty but it's actually a flavorful melange of meats, veggies and spices. It's an easy way to create lunch or dinner without so much fuss. Best of all, it requires very little prep time.
What is a dump dinner exactly? It's basically where you dump everything in a crockpot or Insta Pot and cook for a few hours. There's no elaborate cooking where you have to use everything from a bain Marie to a skillet. Prep time is a snap too,.It just cutting the ingredients into chunks, sometimes adding liquids and always adding spices. Another plus is that even tweens and teens can make dinner , freeing up their parents to do other household chores or errands.Another plus is that dump dinner ingredients can be bought in bulk, saving money along with being perfect for freezing. Many dump dinner affectionados make soup.It's an easy cook and an easy freeze. Try chicken soup, filled with the old fashioned goodness of chicken, broth and carrots.You can turn it into a minestrone by adding tomatoes and chickpeas , along with some kind of small pasta and spinach. A comforting potage, especially during these blustery days is a dump potato soup.it's taking Yukon Gold potatoes and cooking them with chicken broth, onions and garlic. After cooking it can be topped with crumbled bacon and sour cream. Best of it it can be frozen to be eaten on those days when cooking is impossible.
There are also dump dinners (which can be turned into dump lunches too.). Stews are the easiest to make because it's just chopping and tossing. A beef stew is always a good choice. Give it an Italian spin by adding diced tomatoes and a variety of other veggies such as zucchini bell peppers , celery and potatoes. Tomato paste and red wine vinegar are also added. Make it even more heartier by adding some pasta such as gemelli or rotelli to the mix. The beef and beef broth can be cooked and vegetable broth subbed in to create a hearty vegan soup. Use chickpeas for protein.A sure fire pleaser is turkey breast. It can be flavored with lemon garlic or a turned into a spicy one with dried mince garlic and paprika. Italian seasoning also spikes it up some. Serve with rice instead of stuffing for a different kind of turkey dinner. Another idea is pulled pork.It's just pork roast, apple cider vinegar and barbecue sauce slow cooked for six to eight hours. Then shred and serve on hamburger buns. You could also do the same with other meats too for variation.
Dump dinners are an easy and tasty meals It's just dump everything in your crock pot or Instapot and leave. The result is a delicious and flavorful slow cooked dish.
What is a dump dinner exactly? It's basically where you dump everything in a crockpot or Insta Pot and cook for a few hours. There's no elaborate cooking where you have to use everything from a bain Marie to a skillet. Prep time is a snap too,.It just cutting the ingredients into chunks, sometimes adding liquids and always adding spices. Another plus is that even tweens and teens can make dinner , freeing up their parents to do other household chores or errands.Another plus is that dump dinner ingredients can be bought in bulk, saving money along with being perfect for freezing. Many dump dinner affectionados make soup.It's an easy cook and an easy freeze. Try chicken soup, filled with the old fashioned goodness of chicken, broth and carrots.You can turn it into a minestrone by adding tomatoes and chickpeas , along with some kind of small pasta and spinach. A comforting potage, especially during these blustery days is a dump potato soup.it's taking Yukon Gold potatoes and cooking them with chicken broth, onions and garlic. After cooking it can be topped with crumbled bacon and sour cream. Best of it it can be frozen to be eaten on those days when cooking is impossible.
There are also dump dinners (which can be turned into dump lunches too.). Stews are the easiest to make because it's just chopping and tossing. A beef stew is always a good choice. Give it an Italian spin by adding diced tomatoes and a variety of other veggies such as zucchini bell peppers , celery and potatoes. Tomato paste and red wine vinegar are also added. Make it even more heartier by adding some pasta such as gemelli or rotelli to the mix. The beef and beef broth can be cooked and vegetable broth subbed in to create a hearty vegan soup. Use chickpeas for protein.A sure fire pleaser is turkey breast. It can be flavored with lemon garlic or a turned into a spicy one with dried mince garlic and paprika. Italian seasoning also spikes it up some. Serve with rice instead of stuffing for a different kind of turkey dinner. Another idea is pulled pork.It's just pork roast, apple cider vinegar and barbecue sauce slow cooked for six to eight hours. Then shred and serve on hamburger buns. You could also do the same with other meats too for variation.
Dump dinners are an easy and tasty meals It's just dump everything in your crock pot or Instapot and leave. The result is a delicious and flavorful slow cooked dish.
Monday, February 25, 2019
Kitchen Cleanssers Go Natural Or Not
The kitchen is the one room in the house that always needs to be clean.The fridge has to sparkle, the microwave had to gleam and the floor has to shine. The question is do we achieve through the natural cleansers our grandmothers used or use powerful but sometimes damaging soaps and rinses.
Many home chefs swear by bleach.it does wonders in the bathroom, leaving surfaces sparkling and super clean. Yet is it safe to use in the kitchen, especially around food?. You can but use it sparingly .If it's used to clean out a messy refrigerator use only a tablespoon to a gallon of cold water. parts of the fridge should have already been washed in warm soapy water, namely a mild dish detergent like Dawn or Palmolive. Bleach has been used as cleanser for porcelain sinks.It gets rid of any of the yellowing hard water stains. It's usually poured into the sink, straight, not cut by water. Using a sponge, scrub the bottom and the sides then rinse.It should stay clean for a few days. Another cleaning agent is hydrogen peroxide. This also works just as well however there is a caveat with working with it. It is strong. Inhaling it or accidentally getting it on the skin can be dangerous, causing burns.Use it blended with water .It can also be used also to clean cutting boards too, just use it sparingly.
Two of my favor cleansers are apple cider vinegar and baking soda. They're harmless if they get on the skin or in the eyes and yet clean just as well as bleach and hydrogen peroxide. Apple cider vinegar is great for cleaning the microwave. You can soak three or four paper towels with it and then place on the microwave's plate.it's then cooking it for five to six minutes and letting the vinegar steam the interior clean. Another must have is Angry Mama, a plastic container that does the same work as the soaked paper towels. This is a container that has parts water and vinegar mixed. in it.It's then placed in a microwave for seven minutes and steams come out of the Angry Mama's head. The left over vinegar water mix can be used to clean the stove too..The vinegar does an excellent job of getting rid of tough stains such as tomato soup and curry. The plate does have to be washed and that's usually done with Dawn. I also like using the vinegar to clean the fridge shelves and crisper. Baking soda is a good cleanser in a pinch too but it does take some elbow grease to clean a sink with it. It's also good for scrubbing away stubborn tea and coffee stains in mugs too.
A clean kitchen is a home chef's pride. It's up to you how you want to clean it. With chemicals or natural,it's your choice. Whatever works to get it sparkling, go with it.
Many home chefs swear by bleach.it does wonders in the bathroom, leaving surfaces sparkling and super clean. Yet is it safe to use in the kitchen, especially around food?. You can but use it sparingly .If it's used to clean out a messy refrigerator use only a tablespoon to a gallon of cold water. parts of the fridge should have already been washed in warm soapy water, namely a mild dish detergent like Dawn or Palmolive. Bleach has been used as cleanser for porcelain sinks.It gets rid of any of the yellowing hard water stains. It's usually poured into the sink, straight, not cut by water. Using a sponge, scrub the bottom and the sides then rinse.It should stay clean for a few days. Another cleaning agent is hydrogen peroxide. This also works just as well however there is a caveat with working with it. It is strong. Inhaling it or accidentally getting it on the skin can be dangerous, causing burns.Use it blended with water .It can also be used also to clean cutting boards too, just use it sparingly.
Two of my favor cleansers are apple cider vinegar and baking soda. They're harmless if they get on the skin or in the eyes and yet clean just as well as bleach and hydrogen peroxide. Apple cider vinegar is great for cleaning the microwave. You can soak three or four paper towels with it and then place on the microwave's plate.it's then cooking it for five to six minutes and letting the vinegar steam the interior clean. Another must have is Angry Mama, a plastic container that does the same work as the soaked paper towels. This is a container that has parts water and vinegar mixed. in it.It's then placed in a microwave for seven minutes and steams come out of the Angry Mama's head. The left over vinegar water mix can be used to clean the stove too..The vinegar does an excellent job of getting rid of tough stains such as tomato soup and curry. The plate does have to be washed and that's usually done with Dawn. I also like using the vinegar to clean the fridge shelves and crisper. Baking soda is a good cleanser in a pinch too but it does take some elbow grease to clean a sink with it. It's also good for scrubbing away stubborn tea and coffee stains in mugs too.
A clean kitchen is a home chef's pride. It's up to you how you want to clean it. With chemicals or natural,it's your choice. Whatever works to get it sparkling, go with it.
Saturday, February 23, 2019
A Good Basic Pasta Sauce
One recipe every home chef should have in their arsenal of recipes is a good homemade tomato sauce. It should be robust enough to support any pasta and delicate enough to let the various
ingredients shine through. It should be one that also can be altered to fit the home chef's whims. In other words - the perfect sauce.
The basic sauce recipe is usually made in a large sauce pan. This creates a quick cook which can be frenetic especially when you're cooking pasta at the same time. This is why I prefer my crock pot sauce - my version of my Mom's. A sauce should start with a good glug of olive oil such as Bertoli's extra virgin. It gives the sauce body and silkiness. You can start off with sauteing diced onions for it. This is one of the flavor support that give the pasta sauce sweetness. If the onions are too strong sub in a teaspoon of onion powder.Garlic is the second support thrown in. Usually two minced or crush cloves will do it. Again, if you're not big on it, add one minced small clove or sprinkle in garlic powder or garlic salt.Now it's time for the tomatoes. Many feel that crushed tomatoes add more flavor and texture. I prefer a plain, organic base such as Tuttorosso plain sauce and tomato paste.It creates a smooth, satiny textured sauce that works with every kind of pasta from spaghetti and angel hair to gemelli and penne.Salt and pepper are necessities for a good sauce. The controversy comes in the sweeteners. Many put in sugar or carrots. These can give the sauce a candlylike taste. Use a dark honey. I prefer Carmel Honey Company's California Wildflower. Just a dollop or two give balances out that tomato -y tang.You can add basil - dried or fresh if you want.
The basic sauce can be varied. Melissa Clark had an interesting spin on it in last Wedneday's New York Times Food section. Her A Good Appetite column features a kind of lamb ragu. Her sauce has the usual ingredients : crushed tomatoes and paste, onions and olive oil. Then it veers off. She adds not only lamb but also anchovies.Both bring a sweetness to the sauce and balances out the sometimes metallic taste of the tomatoes. She suggests omitting the fish if you 're not a big anchovy fan but they do add to it. She also recommends varying the recipe with pork. This definitely will add flavor. Many Napolitano home chefs add a good amount of pork to their sauces. Another variation to Ms Clark's recipe is marjoram - which is stronger tasting herb than oregano. It's up to you if you want to add that..Beef or even beef strips are a great addition if you're going for a stick to your ribs sauce. Chicken can also be added. Many love a sauce rife with seafood. Use this basic one and then add whatever strikes your fancy - shrimp, clams , tuna.
Every home chef should have a good tomato sauce in their repertoire. It a kitchen basic that highlights any pasta. Best of all it can be varied at the cook's whim.
ingredients shine through. It should be one that also can be altered to fit the home chef's whims. In other words - the perfect sauce.
The basic sauce recipe is usually made in a large sauce pan. This creates a quick cook which can be frenetic especially when you're cooking pasta at the same time. This is why I prefer my crock pot sauce - my version of my Mom's. A sauce should start with a good glug of olive oil such as Bertoli's extra virgin. It gives the sauce body and silkiness. You can start off with sauteing diced onions for it. This is one of the flavor support that give the pasta sauce sweetness. If the onions are too strong sub in a teaspoon of onion powder.Garlic is the second support thrown in. Usually two minced or crush cloves will do it. Again, if you're not big on it, add one minced small clove or sprinkle in garlic powder or garlic salt.Now it's time for the tomatoes. Many feel that crushed tomatoes add more flavor and texture. I prefer a plain, organic base such as Tuttorosso plain sauce and tomato paste.It creates a smooth, satiny textured sauce that works with every kind of pasta from spaghetti and angel hair to gemelli and penne.Salt and pepper are necessities for a good sauce. The controversy comes in the sweeteners. Many put in sugar or carrots. These can give the sauce a candlylike taste. Use a dark honey. I prefer Carmel Honey Company's California Wildflower. Just a dollop or two give balances out that tomato -y tang.You can add basil - dried or fresh if you want.
The basic sauce can be varied. Melissa Clark had an interesting spin on it in last Wedneday's New York Times Food section. Her A Good Appetite column features a kind of lamb ragu. Her sauce has the usual ingredients : crushed tomatoes and paste, onions and olive oil. Then it veers off. She adds not only lamb but also anchovies.Both bring a sweetness to the sauce and balances out the sometimes metallic taste of the tomatoes. She suggests omitting the fish if you 're not a big anchovy fan but they do add to it. She also recommends varying the recipe with pork. This definitely will add flavor. Many Napolitano home chefs add a good amount of pork to their sauces. Another variation to Ms Clark's recipe is marjoram - which is stronger tasting herb than oregano. It's up to you if you want to add that..Beef or even beef strips are a great addition if you're going for a stick to your ribs sauce. Chicken can also be added. Many love a sauce rife with seafood. Use this basic one and then add whatever strikes your fancy - shrimp, clams , tuna.
Every home chef should have a good tomato sauce in their repertoire. It a kitchen basic that highlights any pasta. Best of all it can be varied at the cook's whim.
Friday, February 22, 2019
A Family Classic Updated
One of my favorite dishes growing up was zuppa di montagna. It's a simple layered bread and cheese casserole,made moist with the addition of vegetable broth. I've been making it in the microwve for the last few years I decided to make it in the oven this time.
There was one problem though, no one has ever written down the recipe which was my Piedmontese great grandmother's and probably made for centuries before her. I scoured the internet until I found a comparable recipe on Our Italian Table. It was a take on the Sardinian version zuppa Gallurese.
It starts with cubing French or Italian bread. Mine was so stale, it was an easy snap.
There was one problem though, no one has ever written down the recipe which was my Piedmontese great grandmother's and probably made for centuries before her. I scoured the internet until I found a comparable recipe on Our Italian Table. It was a take on the Sardinian version zuppa Gallurese.
It starts with cubing French or Italian bread. Mine was so stale, it was an easy snap.
It's then making the broth. I made two cups using Herb-Ox vegetable bouillon
The next step is super easy -layering.It's bread Swiss cheese , a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese and,broth .Repeat the four ingredients in an olive oil greased glass dish.I used Sargento Baby Swiss slices which is the best. You can add a layer of Savoy cabbage too for more authenticity. Kale and Swiss chard would work.
It's then popping in the oven for forty-five minutes at 325 degrees Farenheit. I had to lower the temperature because I used s glass dish. Always lower the temp by 25 degrees when using glass.
It bubbled up into brown crusty goodness.
The flavor was amazing. I loved the texture too.
It was chewy , gooey and even crunchy. This is the recipe I'd recommend to every home chef.
If you're looking for a comforting winter dish on a cold night - this is it. It's easy and delicious .. Best of all it has two kinds of cheese and Italian bread.
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