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Roasted Red Pepper Ketchup |
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Written by Bear
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Wednesday, 20 February 2008 |
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 I, like many in this world, was brought up with the belief that when it came to ketchup, Heinz had it all sown up. Ketchup was something that came of the grocers shelf and you compared it to the product from Heinz. That was it, there was no way through it. A lot of this was pure ignorance, some from a bit of marketing hype from Heinz themselves.
What I did not know, when I was young, was that a ketchup did not necessarily need to be from tomatoes at all. And in fact, moving away from that restriction opened up a whole new world.
With a proliferation of large red peppers in our allotment they seemed a good candidate for bottling. Digging round the internet and experimenting a little brought me to this recipe. It worked well, and the result is now favoured over my rather wonderful Tomato Ketchup!
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 20 February 2008 )
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Written by Administrator
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Tuesday, 19 February 2008 |
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In reaction to eating in Nandos the other day, I present a proper Piri
Piri chicken. Piri Piri is a South African word for the very small hot
chilli. This recipe can be a bit on the firey side, so you may want to
be cautious how many chillies you actually use.
Like my other recipes, quality ingredients count. Nandos uses cheap chicken and it shows. Don't fall for the same mistake! Use a small, free range bird. They are richer and cook faster, which is good with domestic cookers. If you have lots of people, dont buy a big chicken, buy two small birds - looks more fun too!
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Written by Bear
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Tuesday, 19 February 2008 |
 Tomato soup is a bit of a big deal with me. We grow our own tomatos from seeds which we get from a fantastic supplier called Seeds of Italy . We grow a good mixture, but always make sure we have plenty of the large firm plum tomatoes that the itallians love for making sauces and soups. If you grow several varieties, combining them in different ways can make wonderful soup variations - some sweeter, some lighter, some richer.
This recipe could not be easier and if you have been brought up thinking Heinze Tomato Soup tastes of tomatoes, then this will blow your socks off!
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 20 February 2008 )
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Written by Bear
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Tuesday, 19 February 2008 |
 This world famous sauce from Bologna in Italy has, like much that travels round the world, lost it's special character in a thousand pre-packed dishes and bottles.
DON'T buy it! Make your own. To do this properly is really not very difficult, though I admit it is hardly the quickest dish out. As a Ragu it can be made with anything - beef, pork, veal, venison, but here I am making it with pork and beef - about half and half.
One of the keys to this dish is the tomato contribution. This dish should not be drowned in tomato, however the tomato sauce used should be very rich. In Bologna they often achieve this by cooking the meat and the tomato seperately, combining them later in the proceedure.
I started using this method a few years ago and the difference to the sauce was quite astounding.
Also, try to avoid using spaghetti. Nothing particularly wrong with it, but it's shape makes combining with the sauce very difficult. Btter using something like Tagliatelli, or even penne. In Italy they only serve Spaghetti Bolognaise to tourists.
THis recipe makes quite a lot - but it freezes very well!
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 20 February 2008 )
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Written by Bear
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Tuesday, 19 February 2008 |
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Why have I called this Italian Pizza? To differentiate it from other rubbish!
One of the biggest problems of cooking your own pizza is the lack of a pizza oven. Not one of those metal conveyer belt things that delivery services use for their revolting offerings, but the blast furnace things you find in Italy; often wood fired (though sometimes electric) and running at very high temperatures - twice what the average domestic cooker can achieve!
Pizza is the ultimate fast food. Contrary to what has been said in the press, proper pizza is a healthy meal that combines two of Italy's primary ingredients - tomato and good bread.
Unfortunately, a company called Pizza Hut would like the world to think that their fatty, salt-ridden, processed, transfat drenched piece of inedible cardboard is the real thing. It is not. Not even close. Even the far more respectable Pizza Express really is not doing Pizza the full justice it deserves.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 20 February 2008 )
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