Pasta con le sarde

November 1, 2018 ~ donquioaty ~ 1 Comment

It has been a while since DonQui Oaty returned from Sicily. Back in his home paddock he has continued to experiment with some of the foods he discovered while he was away, doing his best to recreate them in his own kitchen.

One of the most interesting and unusual dishes he came across in Sicily was pasta con le sarde or pasta with sardines. Probably dating back to the Arab conquest of the 8th century, it is unlike any pasta dish DonQui has ever tasted. Saffron, raisins, pine nuts, almonds and wild fennel bring the tastes of North Africa and the Middle East to merge with Sicilian cooking.

pcs sicily — DonQui’s first taste of pasta con le sarde at Trattoria La Locanda, Piazza Armerina

What follows is DonQui’s version of the ancient recipe. He is rather pleased that it turned out as good as what he had sampled in Sicily.

Ingredients for 2 people

1 small onion, finely chopped;

2-3 anchovy filets, cut into pieces

2-3 sardines (ideally fresh), filleted and cut into pieces

a bunch of fresh wild fennel tops (or a tablespoon of dry wild fennel)

a good pinch of saffron strands lightly pulverised with a pestle and soaked in a little boiling water

a glass of dry white wine

a handful of currants or sultanas soaked in water for 20-30 minutes (currants are traditional)

a handful of toasted pine nuts

a level tablespoon of ground almonds

a teaspoon of tomato purée (tomato paste) dissolved in a little water (optional and not traditional)

olive oil

water to dilute

salt and pepper to taste

a handful of toasted breadcrumbs

150g dried bucatini, linguine or spaghetti

Notes

Wild fennel (finocchio selvatico) is not easy to come by outside Sicily and it is quite different from cultivated fennel. DonQui uses some dried finocchio selvatico he brought back from his travels. He understands that a reasonable substitute can be made from dill along with ground fennel seeds.

Fresh sardines are best. They are not in season at the moment so DonQui uses tinned sardines preserved in oil as a reasonable substitute.

Method

Pour boiling water over the saffron and the sultanas or currants and let them sit for 15-30 minutes. This allows the dried fruit to re-hydrate. It also brings out the saffron flavour and colour from the strands.

Gently toast the breadcrumbs in a dry pan on medium heat until they turn golden.

Fry the onions in oil until they soften and begin to colour.

Add the sardine and anchovy pieces and continue to gently fry. The fish will break up and begin to dissolve (approximately 3-5 minutes on a low-medium heat)

wine and sardines.jpg — Add the wine and reduce

Turn up the heat and add the wine, letting it boil off until reduced by about half.

Then add the fennel and the saffron (with its soaking water). Cover and simmer gently for about 10 minutes.

Strain the sultanas/currents from their soaking water and add them to the sauce along with the ground almonds, diluted tomato purée, and half the pine kernels. The almonds and tomato purée will thicken and bind the sauce. Add a bit of water to dilute as needed.

Bring the sauce back up to a gentle boil and simmer for about 5-10 minutes uncovered to allow the flavours to come together. Stir frequently to avoid scorching, adding more water if needed to dilute. Taste for seasoning, adding salt and pepper according to taste.

Meanwhile prepare the pasta in salted boiling water until done (about 12 minutes) then strain. If you have a good supply of wild fennel add some to the pasta water.

Mix the pasta into the sauce over the heat

Tip the strained pasta into the pan with the sauce and mix it together well. Add a dash of the pasta cooking water to dilute and keep everything moist.

Turn into a serving dish, sprinkle with the toasted breadcrumbs and remaining toasted pine nuts. Then serve.

In some parts of Sicily the final dish with the breadcrumb topping is put into a hot oven for a few minutes to crisp up. DonQui has not tried it this way yet so cannot say if it is an improvement or not.

The result is an astounding combination of flavours which DonQui highly recommends.

Duchess was quite taken a-back on first tasting but the more her tastebuds became accustomed to the flavours the more she liked it. She thought capers might be an interesting addition and although they are not a traditional ingredient, she may well be right.

A little extra virgin olive oil served on the side makes an excellent addition. A little drizzle seems to bind the flavours beautifully. Do not be tempted to add any cheese — it would clash horribly with the taste.

A crisp southern Italian white wine makes an excellent accompaniment. DonQui chooses the Gambino Winery’s Tifeo bianco, made from Carricante and Catarrato grapes grown on the slopes of Mt Etna. It is a perfect match.

Cooking like a Sicilian

September 14, 2018September 14, 2018 ~ donquioaty ~ 1 Comment

DonQui has the opportunity to try his hand at Sicilian cooking under the watchful eyes of the chefs from Duca di Castelmonte, near Trapani.

Duca di Castlemonte is an old farm estate now converted into an excellent country restaurant and guest house.

DonQui Oaty’s first lesson is in making a traditional Sicilian spiral pasta (busiate).

This is done by rolling out a thin finger of dough then gently rolling it around a wooden stick to produce an elegant spiral. The stick is first dipped in flour to stop the dough from sticking to it.

Make the spiral by rolling it around a kebab stick

DonQui takes his time with the first one, learning that it is best to make them quite thin and not too long.

Once he gets the hang of it he is able to produce them with confidence but it is a time consuming process which would be best done with several willing helpers. DonQui is fortunate that the dough (hard flour and water — no eggs) is pre-made for him.

The sauce is a Trapanese tomato pesto. The ingredients (for two) are:

2 pealed garlic cloves
approximately 2 tablespoons of blanched, lightly roasted almonds.
a small bunch of fresh basil (torn up)
a pinch of salt and pepper
a generous glug of olive oil
pulp of 4 red, ripe tomatoes; peeled, seeded and roughly chopped

Peel the tomatoes by first immersing them in boiling water

To peel and seed the tomatoes: score the skin in quarters, cover with boiling water for about 5 minutes then let cool. The skins will peel off easily. To de-seed, squeeze the tomato over a bowl and the seeds and excess liquid will come out leaving just the pulp.

Method:

Use a mortar and pestle to make the pesto

Prepare the pesto by first mashing up the dry ingredients and garlic, with a mortar and pestle, until it forms a sort of paste. Add the torn basil and pound together a bit more until well blended.

Add the tomato pulp and olive oil then mash it all together until well mixed. Set to one side.

Cook the pasta in salted boiling water (You don’t necessarily need to use home-made pasta). Drain and tip out into a bowl and mix in the pesto.

Serve with a good sprinkling of chopped roasted almonds on top then enjoy.

It is one of the most divine pasta dishes DonQui has had the opportunity to taste. In his view it does not benefit from the addition of cheese.

What to do with the Mascarpone?

July 3, 2017 ~ donquioaty ~ 2 Comments

DonQui’s previous broad bean risotto recipe requires a dollop of mascarpone — a deliciously decadent Italian mild, creamy cheese. It is an essential ingredient as without it the risotto will not have the same deep, rich, creamy taste.

This leaves a small problem — what to do with the left over mascarpone? The smallest container of mascarpone DonQui could find was 250g and yet he only needed a couple of tablespoons for his risotto.

He has several ideas. Mascarpone is great in deserts and is a key ingredient for tiramisu. This is a dish DonQui has not yet attempted. Mascarpone is also excellent accompaniment to summer fruits such as strawberries and raspberries in place of cream. But don’t get excited that it might be a low calorie alternative to cream as the fat content is similar to clotted cream and more than whipping cream.

Pasta is another option and this is what DonQui goes for. He cooks up some wide egg noodles. When done he drains them, puts them back into the pot, adds a splash of white wine and then stirs in all his left-over mascarpone along with some salt, pepper, grated parmesan cheese and a handful of chopped roasted hazelnuts.

He serves this with grilled asparagus on top with some fresh sprigs of thyme and an extra sprinkling of hazelnuts and parmesan cheese. Simple in the extreme this dish is absolutely delicious — as good or better than the broad bean risotto.

DonQui could have used something other than asparagus — perhaps sprouting broccoli or even french beans. As it is still in season and is also grown locally, asparagus is what DonQui goes for.

He grills the asparagus rather than boiling or steaming it. He finds it tastes so much better this way — simply sprinkled with olive oil and put under the grill for roughly 3 minutes on each side, depending on the thickness. He has more to say on asparagus in a previous blog post.

DonQui adapted this recipe from Epicurious’ 20 Ways to Use Mascarpone where one will find other ideas.

Chicken, mushroom and white wine pasta

December 12, 2015 ~ donquioaty ~ Leave a comment

DonQui recently tried out this recipe from Passion Cook

pasta 1.jpg

And very good it was indeed.

He made a small variation on the original recipe by reducing the wine and stock together for about 15 minutes and only then adding the cream right at the end.

pasta 2.jpg Whenever using cream in a sauce, especially with wine, DonQui always adds it at the end as this prevents it from separating or curdling.

A sprinkling of fresh parsley added a bit of colour.

Pasta Bolognese

November 15, 2015November 15, 2015 ~ donquioaty ~ 1 Comment

Most people know that bolognese sauce comes from Bologna in Italy. Yet in the city of its birth it is never… never… eaten with spaghetti. Tagliatelle is the traditional noodle for the meaty sauce, for the simple reason that it scoops it up so much better.

DonQui does not know why spagbol — or spaghetti bolognese — has become such an international classic. Whenever he eats it he is left with a pile of sauce in the bottom of his bowl as the spaghetti simply does not pick it up the way tagliatelle, penne or other larger noodles do. So when he makes bolognese sauce he does not serve it with spaghetti.

Visitors are on their way up from London so DonQui sets about preparing a big batch of pasta bolognese. It is a great dish to prepare in advance and can fill hungry visitors almost as soon as they have arrived or be held for later.

This is how he does it:

Ingredients (for 4-6 people depending on appetite)
400-500g lean minced beef
500ml tomato passata (puréed tomatoes)
1 onion finely chopped
1 carrot chopped
1 garlic clove crushed
a good bunch of oregano (chopped). DonQui has a plentiful supply growing on his allotment but you can use dried oregano if you cannot find fresh.
a good dash of red wine
a splash of balsamic vinegar
a pinch of hot chilli powder (or more if you like it hot — DonQui uses about 1/4 teaspoon)
salt to taste
olive oil for cooking

Method

Gently fry the chopped carrot in olive oil until it starts to brown and soften — about 3-5 minutes —then take out of the pan and set aside. This will allow the carrots to retain a nice little crunch when warmed up with the rest of the sauce later on.

Gently fry the chopped onion and when it begins to colour add the crushed garlic, chilli powder and salt. Stir together for a minute or two then throw in the minced meat.

Cook the meat on a medium heat until it has all browned and any water released from the cooked meat begins to evaporate. Then add the wine, the passata, oregano and balsamic vinegar. Give it all a good stir, bring it to the boil, then put a lid on the pan and let simmer very gently for a good half hour or longer until the flavours have nicely blended and the sauce reduced a bit. Five minutes before serving stir in the carrots.

Taste for seasoning, sprinkle on a bit more oregano if you have it and serve over your favourite pasta — but not spaghetti!

Add grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese if you like — DonQui does.

DonQui tried it with garganelli — a rolled egg pasta — which went rather well. The sauce had a deep, tangy taste and DonQui probably ate more than he should have.

Even the visiting little man liked it.

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donquiblog

A Whimsical Food and Travel Blog

pasta

Cooking like a Sicilian

What to do with the Mascarpone?

Chicken, mushroom and white wine pasta

Pasta Bolognese