#whysogood

[monotoneguro]

WHY ARE THESE SO GOOD?! #chocolatechurro #turtlechips #whysogood #WHY https://www.instagram.com/p/CWl8spKBZdW/?utm_medium=tumblr

[theresacraneinthepond]

Questions about bread

Am I the only one who thinks... -bread is the absolute BEST with butter -brioche is the queen of all bread -the top of the bread is the best part -sometimes it’s fun to sqish bread Into ball then eat ???

[keat1009]

😍 #toodelicious #Icannot #why #whysogood #love #thanks (at Hong Kong Kim Gary Restaurant)

[dish2remember]

Goat Tagine

(It seems like a lot of liquid but it’s not.)

2 tablespoons ghee/butter

1 medium onion, finely diced

1 pound goat stew meat, cut in 1" cubes

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 can (28 ounces) plum tomatoes, chopped

1 cinnamon stick

1 ounce dried apricots, roughly chopped

pinch saffron

2 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade

Spice Mixture

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt

few grinds of black pepper

Garnish

1 cup baby arugula or other young spring green

1 cup cubed roasted butternut squash

Melt the ghee in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook the onion until soft and transparent, about 5 minutes. Place the spices for the spice mixture in a medium bowl and whisk to combine thoroughly. Toss the goat in the mixture until well-coated. Add the goat and garlic to the Dutch oven with the onions; increase the heat to medium high and cook, stirring frequently, until the goat is browned. Stir the tomatoes, cinnamon stick, apricots, saffron and chicken stock into the Dutch oven with the spiced goat. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Remove the cover and continue cooking until the sauce has thickened and the goat becomes fork tender, about another half hour. At this point, the stew can be refrigerated and reheated later. Divide the stew between four bowls and top with the greens and roasted squash. Serve immediately. 

[dish2remember]

Chicken and Paprika Stew (Pileci paprikas) - from Dalmatia cookbook

[Used bacon instead of pancetta, left out the green pepper and used chopped potatoes instead of the dumplings. Nice and rich. Great for winter.]

Serves 4

150 grams pancetta, diced 30 ml extra virgin olive oil 3 brown onions, chopped 1 green bell pepper, diced 1 tbsp paprika 1 kg chicken drumsticks 250 Dalmatian tomato sauce (recipe below) 250 ml chicken or vegetable stock sea salt freshly ground pepper

Polenta dumplings 250 grams polenta 500 grams waxy potatoes 2 tbsp olive oil or lard

In a saucepan over high heat, saute the pancetta in the olive oil until translucent. Add the onion, green pepper and paprika, season well with salt and pepper and saute. Then add the chicken drumsticks, turning them to coat. Cover with a lid and cook over low heat, turning the chicken occasionally, until all the liquid has evaporated and the chicken is a nice brown colour, about 30 minutes. Add the tomato sauce and chicken stock, and season with salt and pepper. Braise over a low heat for another 20-30 minutes.

For the dumplings, bring 1.25 litres of salted water to boil, then whisk in the polenta. Boil over high heat for about 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to a simmer, stirring occasionally, and cook for almost 50 minutes. If you are using instant polenta, time is significantly shorter. Follow the packet instructions.

In a separate saucepan, boil the potatoes in salted water until cooked. Mash them and add to the cooked polenta, mixing well to combine. Add the olive oil or lard and, while the polenta and potato mixture is still hot, use two spoons to shape it intto quenelles. Serve with the paprikas.

Dalmatian tomato sauce

400 g large ripe tomatoes 3 garlic cloves, chopped 50 ml extra virgin olive oil 1 tablespoon sugar

For the tomato sauce, bring some salted water to the boil in a large saucepan. Score the tomatoes at the base with a knife and blanch them for a couple of minutes. Peel the skin off the tomatoes and discard. Cut the tomatoes into 1 cm cubes.

In another saucepan over high heat, cook the garlic in the olive oil for a few seconds, making sure it doesn’t start to colour. Add the tomato and chilli and season with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to low and cook for about 1 hour. It’s very important to make sure the sauce is cooked on low heat, never going above a gentle simmer. If the sauce is cooked on too high a temperature, it will change the flavour and taste a bit dull. Adjust the seasoning and add the sugar if the tomatoes taste too acidic.

[dish2remember]

Venetian duck ragu

[YA. Good for guests. Didn’t use wine and forgot the milk. You need less pappardelle than you think. Thick pasta is filling and can dominate the sauce.]

1 tbsp olive oil

4 duck legs

2 onions, finely chopped

2 fat garlic cloves, crushed

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp plain flour

250ml red wine

2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes

1 chicken stock cube, made up to 250ml

3 rosemary sprigs, leaves picked and chopped

2 bay leaves

1 tsp sugar

2 tbsp milk

600g paccheri or pappardelle pasta

parmesan, grated, to serve

Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the duck legs and brown on all sides for about 10 mins. Remove to a plate and set aside. Add the onions to the pan and cook for 5 mins until softened. Add the garlic and cook for a further 1 min, then stir in the cinnamon and flour and cook for a further min. Return the duck to the pan, add the wine, tomatoes, stock, herbs, sugar and seasoning. Bring to a simmer, then lower the heat, cover with a lid and cook for 2 hrs, stirring every now and then.

Carefully lift the duck legs out of the sauce and place on a plate – they will be very tender so try not to lose any of the meat. Pull off and discard the fat, then shred the meat with 2 forks and discard the bones. Add the meat back to the sauce with the milk and simmer, uncovered, for a further 10-15 mins while you cook the pasta.

Cook the pasta following pack instructions, then drain, reserving a cup of the pasta water, and add the pasta to the ragu. Stir to coat all the pasta in the sauce and cook for 1 min more, adding a splash of cooking liquid if it looks dry. Serve with grated Parmesan, if you like.

[dish2remember]

Pork in Milk (from Country Cooking of Italy)

[Yum. Fatty, creamy, sweet, and delicious. Used a 1 pound boneless pork shoulder in 3 cups of whole milk with about 8 or 9 sage leaves.]

1 Boneless Pork Loin Salt and Pepper 2 tbsp olive oil 4 tbsp butter Leaves rom 1 bunch of sage, half whole, half coarsely chopped 2 cups whole milk 2 cups heavy cream 4 to 6 wide strips lemon zest

Season the pork generously with salt and pepper. Heat the oil and half the butter in a Dutch oven over medium0high heat, then add the pork fat side down, and cook until browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn the pork and brown on each of the other three sides for 2-3 minutes.

Pour off the fat from the pan, then add the remaining butter. Add the whole safe leaves and fry for about 1 minute, then slowly pour in the milk and cream. Add the lemon zest, season with salt and bring the liquid to a simmer (do not boil). Reduce the heat to low, partially cover the pot, ad simmer for 1 hour, turning the pork after 30 minutes.

Add the chopped sage leaves and continue simmering for another hour, again turning the pork after 30 minutes. Uncover the pot and continue to summer, turning the pork every 30 minutes, until the pork is very tender and the sauce has reduced by about three-fourths and turned golden brown, another 1 and a 1/2 to 2 hours.

Transfer the pork to a cutting board and let rest for 10 minutes. Carve into slices, arrange on a platter, and pour the curds and meat juices over thes lices before serving.

[dish2remember]

Celeriac Purée with Spiced Cauliflower and Quail’s Eggs (Ottolenghi / Nopi)

[The celeriac is the star of the show. Cauliflower just adds a bit of crunch/texture. Slightly strange at first but the flavours build and work really well together]

For the celeriac purée:

60 ml olive olive, plus 1 tbsp to serve 1 large onion, roughly diced (160g) 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped 2 bay leaves 1 large celeriac, peeled and cut roughly into 2cm pieces (600g) 500 ml vegetable stock 2 tbsp tahini paste 2 tbsp lemon juice 1/2 tsp ground cumin 1/2 tsp ground coriander 1/2 tsp sweet smoked paprika coarse sea salt and black pepper

For the spiced cauliflower: 2 tbsp olive oil 1 large onion, thinly sliced (160g) 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced 2 tsp ras el hanout 1 medium cauliflower, trimmed and coarsely grated (650g) 2 tbsp finely diced preserved lemon skin 90 g almonds, skin on, toasted and roughly chopped 50 g parsley, roughly chopped For the quail's eggs: 2 1/2 tbsp olive oil 6 or 12 quail's eggs

If you make the purée the day before, just cover it with cling film – actually touching the surface of the purée – to prevent it forming a skin. It’s better at room temperature rather than fridge-cold, so bring it out of the fridge at least half an hour before serving.

First make the celeriac purée. Place the 60ml of olive oil in a medium saucepan on a medium-high heat. Add the onions and fry for 5–6 minutes, stirring often, until soft and starting to caramelize. Add the garlic and bay leaves and cook for another minute before adding the celeriac. Fry for 8–10 minutes, stirring often, so that all sides are golden-brown. Pour over the stock, bring to the boil, then simmer on a medium heat for about 15 minutes, until the celeriac is cooked through. Remove from the heat, discard the bay leaves and transfer to a blender or food processor. Blitz to form a smooth purée before adding the tahini, lemon juice, cumin, coriander, 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt and a good grind of black pepper. Set aside until ready to serve. (You can make this in advance and keep it in the fridge-see above.)

Put the oil for the spiced cauliflower into a large sauté pan and place on a medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for 5 minutes, until soft. Add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes, then add the ras el hanout and cook for another minute. Pour over 100ml of water and stir through for a minute before removing from the heat. Fold in the cauliflower, preserved lemon, almonds, half of the parsley and 1 teaspoon of salt and set aside to cool.

When ready to serve, divide the purée between six plates. Drizzle 1/2 teaspoon of oil over each portion, spread the cauliflower on top and sprinkle over the smoked paprika and remaining parsley.

To fry the quail’s eggs, place a large frying pan on a medium heat and add the oil. When hot, crack each egg individually into the pan and fry for 30–60 seconds. Season with a pinch of salt and a grind of black pepper, then place an egg or two on top of each portion of cauliflower and serve at once.