Jamie's Kitchen
Page 6
SERVES 6
1 × pesto recipe (see page 106)
200g Maris Piper or Desirée potatoes, peeled
600g fresh or 450g dried tagliatelle (for fresh, see page 101)
1 handful of fine green or yellow French beans, trimmed
1 handful of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
First of all, make the pesto (see page 106). Slice the potatoes 1cm thick and put them into a large pan of salted water — the idea is to cook the pasta in this pan as well, so make sure it’s big enough. Bring to the boil, cook the potatoes until tender but still holding their shape, then add the pasta to the same water. If you’re using fresh pasta, add the beans at the same time, as they will both need about 3 minutes; if using dried, add the beans 3 minutes before the pasta is done. Don’t worry too much about the potatoes breaking up, as very often when you’re served this in Genoa, the beans are a little overcooked and sometimes the potatoes have broken up into small pieces but the flavour remains sublime — it adds to the whole character of the dish.
Once the potatoes, pasta and beans are cooked, drain, reserving some of the starchy cooking water. Now place the potatoes, pasta and beans in a large bowl with the pesto. Toss together to coat, then add a splash of cooking water to loosen slightly — you don’t want it to be too claggy. Season to taste with sea salt and black pepper and serve straight away. Delicious with extra grated Parmesan on the table and a nice bottle of crisp white wine.
pesto
There are no real rules for pesto — as long as you make it fresh and use the best ingredients it’ll always taste superb. The key to getting it spot on is to keep tasting and adding cheese or oil until you have the right flavour and consistency.
SERVES 6
½ a clove of garlic, peeled
1 big bunch of fresh basil, leaves picked and roughly chopped
1 handful of pine nuts, very lightly toasted
1 good handful of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
extra virgin olive oil
optional: 1 lemon
Pound the garlic with a little pinch of sea salt and the basil leaves in a pestle and mortar, or pulse in a food processor. Add a bit more garlic if you like, but I usually stick to ½ a clove. Add the pine nuts to the mixture and pound again. Scrape into a bowl and add half the Parmesan. Stir gently and drizzle in the oil — just enough to bind and to get it to an oozy consistency.
Season to taste with sea salt and black pepper, then add the rest of the cheese. Pour in a little more oil and taste again. Keep adding a bit more cheese or oil until you’re happy with the taste and consistency. It may need a squeeze of lemon juice at the end, but it’s not essential.
taglierini with a simple sweet tomato sauce & shrimps
Taglierini is a similar shape to fettuccine or egg noodles and lends itself well to creamy, buttery or light tomato-based sauces and especially little seafood numbers like this one. Feel free to use tagliatelle, if you’d prefer.
SERVES 6
8 ripe plum tomatoes
olive oil
300g small peeled prawns or shrimps
1 clove of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 lemon
2 shots of Vecchia Romagna or Cognac
150ml single cream
600g fresh or 450g dried taglierini (for fresh, see page 101)
1 bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked and roughly chopped
Blanch and skin the tomatoes (see pages 110—11), then halve and chop into small pieces.
Put a couple of lugs of oil in a pan, add the prawns, garlic, and tomatoes, finely grate in the lemon zest, then fry for 2 minutes. Add the booze and allow to flame, if you like (the flame should go out after about 30 seconds, so don’t worry!). Pour in the cream, allow to simmer gently for a couple more minutes, then remove from the heat. Season carefully with sea salt, black pepper and the lemon juice.
Cook the pasta in boiling salted water — fresh will need only 3 minutes and dried will need to be cooked according to the packet instructions. If your sauce has cooled down, reheat it now. Once cooked, drain the pasta, tip back into the pan and toss with the parsley. Check the seasoning, then serve with the sauce on top.
Try this: Crumble over a little ricotta or feta cheese — just a little bit — both these cheeses have a nice texture, go really well with prawns and make it look great.
And this: A handful of spinach added at the end gives a nice vibe — the heat will wilt it into the sauce.
Or this: You can use tinned tomatoes for this dish but you won’t get the same freshness or lightness you get from fresh tomatoes.
BLANCHING TOMATOES
This is one of the first things you learn at college, when you make tomato concassé, which is basically peeled, deseeded and finely chopped tomatoes. However, it’s also handy for peeling cherry or plum tomatoes before roasting them, as their skins aren’t digestible. Also good for removing the skins of peaches and plums, etc.
1. Use a small knife to remove the core from the tomato.
2. Lightly score the other end with a cross.
3. Carefully plunge the tomatoes into boiling water for around 30 seconds, or until the skins start to peel away.
4. Remove the tomatoes with a slotted spoon and cool in cold water.
5. Remove the skins.
6. Cut the tomatoes in half.
7. Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds.
8. Slice or chop the tomatoes as you like.
‘sourcing olive oil in Italy, November 2001. we had lunch with the adorable Cassini family.’
From left to right: Elisa Cassini, Rinaldo Cassini, David Gleave the wine don, Vittorio Cassini, Elina Cassini, me, my best mate Jimmy Doherty, Gennaro Contaldo the Italian stallion, and my editor the lovely Lindsey Jordan.
lasagnetti with chickpeas, parma ham, sage, cream & butter
I had a soup in Italy made by the Cassini family’s lovely mother, Elina, whose son Enzo is the manager of Zafferano restaurant in London. Her other son, Vittorio, makes fantastic olive oil under the Zafferano brand. Mrs Cassini made this amazing soup using massive dried chickpeas, and prosciutto hock with broth. Since the day I ate it, I’ve wanted to adapt it into a pasta recipe and so here it is. Lasagnetti is basically a smaller version of lasagne. If you’re not going to make fresh lasagnetti, you can buy fresh lasagne sheets prepacked and cut them in half lengthways, or use some tagliatelle. If you’ve got time, then dried chickpeas soaked overnight will give the best results, but you can use tinned or jarred.
SERVES 6
150g dried chickpeas
1 ripe tomato
1 small potato, peeled
olive oil
8 slices of Parma ham
4 rashers of smoked streaky bacon or pancetta, sliced
1 bunch of fresh sage, leaves picked
100g unsalted butter
2 leeks, trimmed, washed and finely sliced
1 clove of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
300ml quality chicken stock
100ml single cream
600g fresh or 450g dried lasagnetti (for fresh see page 101)
1 good handful of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
extra virgin olive oil
Soak the chickpeas overnight in water. Drain, then bring to the boil in fresh water and simmer for 40 minutes, or until tender. Add the tomato and potato to the water as this will flavour and soften the chickpea skins. Drizzle 2 lugs of olive oil into a casserole pan, add the Parma ham and bacon, then fry until golden. Scatter in the sage leaves and stir until lightly crisp. Add the butter, leeks and garlic and slowly fry until softened. Drain the chickpeas (discard the tomato and potato), reserving the cooking liquor, then add to the pan. Mush up a quarter of them to give a pasty, smooth consistency to the sauce. Give them a good stir and pour over the chicken stock, or you could use the cooking liquor from the chickpeas. Pour in the cream, bring to the boil, then simmer gently for 15 minutes to let all the flavours mix. Season to taste with sea salt and bla
ck pepper.
Cook the lasagnetti in boiling salted water, then drain, reserving some of the starchy cooking water. Throw the pasta into the chickpea pan — this can now be taken off the heat. Add most of the Parmesan and carefully stir the whole lot together, adding some of the reserved cooking water to loosen, if needed. Divide between plates and serve immediately with the rest of the Parmesan sprinkled over the top and a good drizzle of peppery extra virgin olive oil.
Try this: Rehydrate dried porcini mushrooms in boiling water, then drain and add with the leeks and garlic for a lovely intense flavour.
SLICING HERBS & LEAVES
Normally I rip up herbs as this tends to bruise more of the flavour out of them, but sometimes there is call for delicate, finely sliced herbs or salad leaves like spinach — the French call this ‘chiffonade’.
1. Pile the leaves on top of each other.
2. Roll them up like a cigar and hold them together.
3. Finely slice, making sure you tuck in your fingers.
4. Never do this in advance to any herb — always make sure it’s done at the last minute or the herbs will wilt and turn black.
the easiest, lightest & most flexible gnocchi
I’ve made gnocchi with potatoes and with semolina — in fact, I’ve made just about every type of gnocchi possible! However, it’s the lightness that you’re after, so make sure you use really good-quality crumbly ricotta from an Italian deli, not the stuff you find in the supermarkets.
SERVES 4
500g ricotta cheese, preferably buffalo
2 handfuls of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 bunch of fresh basil, leaves picked and finely sliced (see page 114)
1 lemon
1 whole nutmeg, for grating
1.5kg fine semolina
Stir the ricotta, Parmesan and most of the basil together, grate in the lemon zest and half the nutmeg, then season to taste with sea salt and black pepper. Empty most of the semolina into a little tray so it’s about 1cm deep. Take a tablespoon of the ricotta mixture. To smarten up its shape you want to scrape it from one spoon to another — do this a few times, it’s called ‘quenelling’ in French and is a classic thing to do in cooking (they don’t have to be perfectly shaped, so don’t worry too much about this!). Once the gnocchi is shaped, place on the semolina base in the tray. When they’re all done, sprinkle the rest of the semolina on top and give the tray a gentle shake to ensure the gnocchi are covered. Leave for 2 hours before turning them over on to their other side. Leave for at least 2 further hours, but preferably overnight, in the fridge to set, making sure they don’t touch. The semolina will stick to the ricotta, forming a coating to protect it during cooking. To cook the gnocchi, add to a large pan of boiling salted water for 2 minutes, or until they float to the surface.
To serve, toss the drained gnocchi in unsalted butter, then sprinkle with a little extra Parmesan and finely sliced basil (see page 114).
gnocchi with fresh tomato & morel sauce
Dried morels have a slightly smoky flavour, which is a nice contrast to the ricotta. Feel free to use fewer morels mixed with cheaper mushrooms, if you like.
SERVES 4
1 × gnocchi recipe (see page 116)
1 handful of dried morels
olive oil
1 clove of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
8 ripe plum tomatoes, peeled, deseeded and finely chopped (see pages 110—11)
1 bunch of fresh basil, leaves picked and finely sliced (see page 114)
2 handfuls of freshly grated Parmesan
1 knob of unsalted butter
Make the gnocchi. When they have firmed up in the semolina, just cover the morels with boiling water and let them soak for 15 minutes to rehydrate, then drain. Drizzle 4 tablespoons of oil into a pan over a medium heat, add the garlic and fry until soft, then add the morels and tomatoes. Simmer gently for 5 minutes, breaking up the morels, if you can. Cook the gnocchi in boiling salted water for 2 minutes, or until they float to the surface, while you season the sauce to taste with sea salt, black pepper, basil and Parmesan. Stir in the butter. With a slotted spoon, remove the gnocchi from the water and stir into the tomato and morel sauce. Divide between serving plates and sprinkle with a little extra Parmesan, if you like.
risotto
This is a great recipe for making risotto. You want it to be smooth, creamy and oozy, not thick and stodgy.
SERVES 6
approx. 1.2 litres quality stock, such as chicken, fish, vegetable
olive oil
unsalted butter
1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
½ a head of celery, finely chopped
400g risotto rice
2 wineglasses of dry white vermouth (dry Martini or Noilly Prat) or dry white wine
90g freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Stage 1: Heat the stock. In a separate pan heat 2 tablespoons of oil and a small knob of butter, add the onions, garlic and celery, and fry very gently for 15 minutes, or until soft but not coloured. Next, add the rice and turn up the heat.
Stage 2: The rice will now begin to lightly fry, so keep stirring it. After 1 minute it will look slightly translucent. Add the vermouth or wine and keep stirring — it will smell fantastic. Any harsh alcohol flavours will evaporate and leave the rice with a tasty essence.
Stage 3: Once the vermouth or wine has cooked into the rice, add the first ladle of hot stock and a good pinch of sea salt. Turn down the heat to a simmer so the rice doesn’t cook too quickly on the outside. Keep adding ladlefuls of stock, stirring and almost massaging the creamy starch out of the rice, allowing each ladleful to be absorbed before adding the next — this will take around 17 minutes. Taste the rice — is it cooked? Carry on adding stock until the rice is soft but with a slight bite. Don’t forget to taste and check the seasoning. If you run out of stock before the rice is cooked, add some boiling water.
Stage 4: Remove from the heat and add a knob of butter and the Parmesan. Cover and allow to sit for 2 minutes. This is when it becomes outrageously creamy and oozy like it should be. Eat it as soon as possible, while the risotto retains its beautiful texture.
1. Slowly fry the vegetables.
2. Add the rice.
3. Keep stirring until the rice is translucent.
4. Add the white wine or vermouth and cook down. It might flame at this point, which is great!
5. Add the stock one ladle at a time.
6. Keep stirring until the rice is cooked.
easy chicken stock
Stock is usually one of those things that even chefs don’t have time for at home, but here is a really easy recipe for a good chicken stock. I find that I tend to make this after we’ve had our Sunday roast — I just throw the carcass in a pan with any root veg and herbs I happen to have. However, you’ll probably get a cleaner-tasting stock if you use raw carcasses.
MAKES 4 LITRES
2kg raw chicken carcasses, legs or wings, chopped
½ a bulb of garlic, unpeeled and bashed
5 celery sticks, roughly chopped
2 medium leeks, roughly chopped
2 medium onions, roughly chopped
2 large carrots, roughly chopped
3 fresh bay leaves
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
5 sprigs of fresh flat-leaf parsley
5 sprigs of fresh thyme
5 whole black peppercorns
Place the chicken carcasses, garlic, vegetables, herbs and peppercorns in a large, deep pan. Add 5 litres of cold water and bring to the boil, skim, then turn the heat down to a simmer. Continue to simmer gently for 3 to 4 hours, skimming as necessary, then pass the stock through a fine sieve. Allow to cool for 30 minutes, then pop in the fridge. Once the stock is cold it should look clear and slightly amber in colour. I usually divide it into small containers at this point and freeze it. It will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days and in the freezer for 2 to 3 m
onths.
roast squash, sage, chestnut & pancetta risotto
If I could pick a load of ingredients that just shout out ‘Bonfire Night! Christmas! Cosy!’ it would have to be all the ones in this risotto. It’s so damn good — cook it whenever the ingredients are in season.
SERVES 6
1 butternut squash, halved
1 level tablespoon coriander seeds
2 small dried red chillies
olive oil
1 × risotto recipe (see page 118)
12 slices of pancetta or smoked streaky bacon
100g chestnuts (vac-packed are fine)
1 bunch of fresh sage, leaves picked
optional: 6 tablespoons mascarpone cheese
Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/gas 5. Deseed the squash, reserving the seeds, then cut lengthways into ½cm slices. Bash the coriander and chillies with a pinch of sea salt and black pepper in a pestle and mortar (or use a metal bowl and the end of a rolling pin). Sprinkle over the squash, then drizzle with 1 tablespoon of oil. Toss to coat, then line up snugly in a roasting tray and bake for 30 minutes, or until soft. Now get all your ingredients ready and start making the basic risotto.