Ren Behan - Author Wild Honey and Rye

Food Writer

Guest Post

Guest Post: Cucina Ceri – Subbing Processed Carbs for Colourful Veg

By Ceri Jones, of Cucina Ceri

Readers of this blog will know that this January, Ren committed to the Whole30 regime, which draws on the Paleo approach to a diet based on whole foods (meat, fish, veg, fruit, nuts and seeds) to enable the body to re-set itself and become less dependent on sugars and processed foods as fuel.  Since my blog, Cucina Ceri, is full of Paleo inspired recipes I was delighted when Ren asked me to put together a guest post for Fabulicious Food. 

I get my recipe inspiration from just about everywhere – meals out, reading magazines, other blogs, cookbooks and cooking shows on the box – I take my inspiration first and worry about adapting it to my nutritional aspirations later!

I love experimenting in the kitchen, and as a reformed pasta-&-dense-carb-a-holic, I love to find new ways of using my existing pasta recipe repertoire to create tasty new and good for you dishes.  My favourite way of doing this is to replace grain and gluten-heavy foods such as pasta, noodles and rice with vegetable alternatives.  This also increases my daily intake of vegetables at the same time – perfect!

Here are 5 of my favourite ideas –

1. Using courgettes as ‘spaghetti’ or noodles.  I’ve got a piece of equipment called a ‘spiraliser’ but very cheap julienne peeler works just as well.  In a matter of minutes a humble courgette can be turned into fabulous ribbon lengths and served alongside favourite pasta sauces such as bolognese, meatballs, carbonara or pesto.  My current favourite recipe is Pancetta with Courgette Linguini. For a cuisine way further east than Italy I recently cooked up a tasty Prawn Pad Thai.  I’ll be posting this up on Cucina Ceri very soon.

Pancetta with Courgette Linguini

Pancetta with Courgette Linguini 

2. Stuffing veg to carry sauces.  I am loving using squash, hollowed out, roasted and filled with a pasta sauce of choice.  My easy on the eye Squash All’Amatriciana is one of my favourite ever recipes.

Squash All’Amatriciana

3. Using cauliflower as rice.  Stick a head of cauliflower through the grating attachment on a food processor, steam or stir fry with some garlic & coconut oil and hey presto you’ve got a pile of highly nutritious cruciferous veg to serve as an accompaniment to a meal.  I recently served this alongside my Burmese Pork Curry . Cauliflower rice can also be used instead of bulgar in Tabbouleh.

4. Using thinly sliced aubergines or courgettes instead of lasagna sheets.  Certainly no less tasty, than a conventional lasagne I had great fun creating this Faux Lasagna – by layering up beef bolognese, vegetables and creamy pesto sauce.

5. Subbing grain-free flour in gnocchi. This is a recipe I haven’t yet published on the blog as I need to perfect it a little further – a gnocchi made from sweet potato and chestnut flour.  I choose sweet potatoes over plain as whilst white pots are a vegetable they are basically a nutritional non-event. Chestnut flour is one of my favourite substitute flours and like the sweet potato has a slightly sweet edge.  This gnocchi dish is starchy carb heavy so saved for a special treat.  The gnocchi carried both sauces I trialled superbly – Creamy Coconut with Salmon and Spinach, Rocket & Parma Ham.

Cucina Ceri

So there you have it – just a few of my favourite ideas I wanted to share. I would be really interested to know if anyone has any similar recipes or ideas?   Thanks so much Ren for inviting me to guest post – and best of luck with the rest of your Whole 30 journey.  I am reading with interest!

Cucina Ceri Paleo Food Blog

With many thanks to Ceri Jones for this lovely and informative guest post – brimming with healthy ideas!

 

A Guest Post by Wanda Fabbri and a recipe for ‘Brodo di Carne’ and Italian ‘Polpette’

To mark my first blogoversary, I asked my lovely sister in Italy, Wanda, to write a guest post for me. I am hugely inspired by my family and since we are scattered all around the globe (Italy, US and here in the UK) food somehow always connects us. Whether it’s seeing photos of celebrations and sharing what we have eaten and cooked, to reminiscing about happy times spent together round the table as a big family, savouring the delights of my mother’s Polish kitchen  food has the ability to bring us closer together, no matter where we are. 

Wanda has overcome huge obstacles and challenges since moving with her husband and family to Italy, but the move has also created so many new opportunities for them all. My nephew (her son) who is only seventeen has just graduated from an EU funded catering college, gaining a diploma and has already taken up his first placement as a junior chef in a two Michelin starred restaurant. I love hearing about all his culinary adventures as much as I love hearing what Wanda has made, or how much pasta her mother-in-law has made and what she served it with. It has been amazing to watch my niece and nephew grow up as Italians, immersing themselves into the culture of another country and I am so proud of them all.

Wanda’s post and recipe below is one example of how food (once again) infiltrated our weekend telephone catch up!  The other week, Wanda said that she had eaten the most amazing meal and had asked her mother-in-law for her secret recipe for Polpette (Italian meatballs) which she makes in three stages. As soon as she had all the details, she explained them to me over the phone and I set about making them myself, helped by my own little boy who loves being with me in the kitchen and sending photos (the ones within this post) as I went along. Since the process is something of a labour of love, I suggested that Wanda could explain the it in her very first guest post. I hope you enjoy the recipe and story, and give Wanda a very warm welcome here. You won’t find a more authentic Italian family recipe in any cookery book! You will need to pop to the buther’s to make the best meat stock you can but these will be the best meatballs and pasta you’ve ever tried!

Note: I have made this recipe once (see photos) but I was short on time and didn’t get to the butchers, so I made a chicken stock only to the method below for the ‘brodo’ and finely minced/chopped the chicken for the meatballs,  adding the sausage meat.  Since the meatballs are made with mashed potato they are quite soft in texture, a little bit like fish cakes. Next time, I will do it properly to get the best possible flavour.

A Guest Post By My Sister,Wanda Fabbri

I have been following my sister’s Fabulicious Food blog for a year now. I can’t wait to read the updates. I love her traditional and interesting recipes and her photographs inspire me to create dishes based on her varied recipes.

Like Ren, I spend a good part of my time reading, researching and cooking delicious recipes for my husband and two children. I am inspired by my mother’s homecooking and the Polish food of our upbringing, British food which I miss so dearly and, of course, now by Italian food. I am also very lucky because my Italian mother-in-law Carmela, has been a chef for over 50 years. My husband is a wonderful cook, and my son recently graduated from Chef school here in Italy, so I am neither short of ideas or enthusiasm to cook the best dish I can.

I often ask Carmela what makes a  good chef and she simply replies “passion”. She has devoted her whole life to making all types of fresh pasta often cooking dishes that have been lost over time . Although she retired from her professional  kitchen, she still spends hours patiently cooking for all her family and grand-children.  She has a special gift of producing exceptionally tasty sauces usually tomato or mushroom based.

My favourite of her dishes are her meatballs and I finally asked her how she made them.  She gladly shared her recipe with me and her secret seems to lie in the both flavour and  texture. This can only be achieved by following the complete recipe starting form the broth or in Italian “Brodo di Carne”. So this recipe is in 3 parts comprising of broth, meatballs and a tomato sauce.

1.  Broth/Stock “Brodo di Carne”

Prep Time: 30 minutes, Cooking Time: 3 hours, Total Time: 3 hours, 30 minutes

The best broth is made with a combination of meats and fowl. It can also enrich sauces, stews and used as a base for risotto as well as being a base for more complex soups. Broth with tortellini or cappelletti is a standard first course at festive dinners in Northern Italy. For maximum flavour, the meat and vegetables should begin cooking in cold water. This way the meat juices are released into the broth rather than becoming sealed in immediate intense heat.

Ingredients:

3 litres (5 pints) of cold water
1kg (2 Ib) 2 pounds of beef chuck, short plate, short ribs, or brisket
750g (1 1/2 1b) mixed fresh uncooked veal and beef shin and marrow bones
Half a chicken or capon
1 large stick of celery
3 small carrots, scraped
Hand full of fresh parsley
1 medium sized onion, quartered
A tomato (optional)
3 to 5 pepper corns, 2 dry bay leaves
A clove (optional; it reduces sweetness in poultry-rich broths)
Salt to taste

Method:

1 Wash the chicken, remove any excess fat but keep the skin on, and trim excess fat off the beef. Select a good size pan so all the meat fits comfortably in it . Put in all the ingredients except the salt and cover with approximately 3 litres of water or until all the meat is covered.  Cover the pan and bring to boil.

2. Reduce the heat to low-medium heat, remove any scum that has formed to make a clear broth. Do not allow it to boil vigourously or the stock will become cloudy. Cover partially, and simmer the broth for 3 hours until all the meat is  tender and vegetables are  soft and the broth is full-bodied and tasty. Keep checking and occasionally stirring the broth as it is cooking.

3. Retrieve the larger pieces of meat and chicken and set aside. Strain the broth through a fine sieve into a bowl. Add salt to taste only if using immediately otherwise cover and refrigerate for up to 4 days or freeze in small batches for up to 6 months.

Use the meat (bollito) and chicken and use this as a base for the meat balls.

 

 

2.  Meatballs (Polpette)

Prep time 20 minutes, Cooking time 15 minutes

Ingredients:

Meat and chicken from the broth, see above.
4 good quality sausages
1/2 cup of bread crumbs
1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese
1-2 cups mashed potato, or around 1Ib of potatoes
2 eggs
1 tsp mustard
1/4 clove of garlic, finely grated
a pinch of salt
pepper
2 eggs
1/3 cup of water
4 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil

Method:

1. Chop or finely cut all the meat and chicken pieces or use a manual mincer. Transfer the mixture into a large bowl . Take the skins off the sausages and mix the sausage meat into the meat mixture together with all the ingredients.  Don’t add all the water at one time. The mixture should be moist but not so that the mixture falls apart.

2. Shape into small sized meatballs. I usually make 2 different sizes to use in different sauces.

3. Coat lightly in bread crumbs and fry gently in small batches, in extra virgin olive oil turing frequently for about 10-15 minutes if using them in a sauce,and longer if you want to eat them without a sauce. Place the cooked meatballs on separate trays. The meatballs are also ideal with rice and a side plate of vegetables. The finished meatballs should have a soft texture when cut into two. I made around 36 small meatballs in all.

 

 

3. Tomato sauce

Prep time 10 minutes, Cooking time 35 minutes

 Ingredients

1kg (2 Ib) canned plum tomatoes in juice
75ml ( 2 1/2 fl oz ) extra-virgin olive oil
2 large cloves of garlic bruised
1 onion, finely chopped
1 small carrot finely chopped
1 tbsp of  chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
1/2 tsp salt
4 large fresh basil leaves, chopped or alternatively a sprinkle of peperoncino for a spicier flavour.
1/4 litre stock from the broth
4 tbsp of cold water

Method

1. Put the tomatoes into a food mill or push through a sieve, scooping out any excess seeds.

2. Warm the olive oil and garlic together in a pan. Heat gently until the garlic is light golden brown 1-2 minutes.  Add the onion, carrot and parsley and sauté until soft but not coloured, around 10 minutes.

3. Add the tomatoes salt, and basil. Simmer for about 20 minutes until a thick sauce appears and the olive oil comes to the surface. Add the stock , stir and reduce the sauce for a further 10 minutes

4. Add 4 tbsp of water and add the previously made meatballs , re-heat in the sauce for 10 minutes or until hot and serve with pasta of your choice.

Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve immediately.

The sauce should cover about 1/3 of the meat balls and the rest you can refrigerate or put in the freezer. When using the meatballs from the freezer on  another day de-frost and put in a hot oven on a small tray for 30 minutes , add a small cup of water or cook as before in a tomato sauce.

A word from Wanda: 

The culinary world is so vast. Exceptional chefs displaying ambition and passion along side those who are just learning the technical skills to become masters in the living art of cooking, or those who simply delight in cooking at home for family and friends. Whatever your experience these three recipes hold a place in any world kitchen.

Thank you for sharing this wonderful family recipe, Wanda, and for writing this guest post for my blog! 

Guest Post: Top 10 High Street Chocolate Bars (Giveaway Closed)

I’m super excited to introduce my first guest post, written for National Chocolate Week, by Judith Lewis from the Mostly About Chocolate  blog. I met Judith at the recent Food Blogger Connect Conference in London and was so impressed with her knowledge of chocolate that I asked her to put together her ultimate chocolate shopping list – available on the high street – for National Chocolate Week. As well as writing her amazing chocolate-focused blog Judith is also a judge for the Academy of Chocolate…so there isn’t much Judith doesn’t know about a good bar…enjoy!

Top Ten High Street Chocolate Bars 

When I go looking for chocolate in the supermarket or on the high street, what do I choose?  I’ve been asked this question so many times and sometimes it is actually related to my mood – do I want something sweet, high quality, chewy, filling… what do I want out of a chocolate bar at the point at which I’m being asked.

When I was asked to choose my top 10 however, I got a chance to think about it, really ponder it and also take a trip to the supermarket and really test some of the chocolate I hadn’t reviewed that had come on to the scene lately.

I have a feeling sometimes the choices are going to shock you and at times it’ll be wholly predictable.  I’ve chosen to go with the supermarket chains of Waitrose, Sainsbury’s and Tesco for this and while I realise not everywhere has a Waitrose, also not everywhere has a Hotel Chocolat, Thorntons or a Seed & Bean Stockist but they are in a large number of places so I went with what I could get in Manchester or London and also near my own home in Oxfordshire.

Tasting chocolate is an immensely personal thing.  Something I like, someone else may hate.  I favour slightly acidic, fruity chocolate with a heady scent and clean finish.  I’m not a huge fan of a woody/spicy edge nor of leather and tobacco flavours so I tend to choose certain chocolates as top.  In an attempt to be more balanced, I’ve chosen a variety of chocolates for this from the sweet to the dark, from the fruity to the leathery.

You’re going to notice I’m slightly biased – unflavoured, single origin bars tend to be ranked more highly here than flavoured or milk bars.  That’s because taste is personal but I really recommend you discover chocolate for yourself.  You may enjoy Jivara more than Willies, or the Thorntons Tonka more than the G&B Almond.  This is one person’s opinion and I hope it inspires you to try them yourselves!

10 – Lindt Lindor Chocolate Bar – Available at Waitrose & other shops – Now, this isn’t a high quality, fancy chocolate bar but I love the way the bar melts in my fingers as I eat it and how if I let it get warm each square seems to have a liquid centre.  This is a yummy, delightful bar which is a bit too sweet for some but I just live the Lindor truffles and the bar us just as yummy.  I have been known to keep a bar in a pocket until it warms and then get all mucky and messy while eating it!

9 – Thorntons Milk Chocolate with Tonka Bean Bar – Available from Thorntons Shops – The milk chocolate was very sweet and the flavour of the tonka bean is difficult to describe.  It is slightly floral with an overtone of vanilla mixed in with almond and a touch of buckwheat honey.

8 – Valrhona Jivara Milk Chocolate Bar – Available at Waitrose – This sweet malty milk chocolate is delicious.  If you like sweet chocolate or milk chocolate and worry that fancy chocolate will not be appealing but want to start trying something better, this is a good starter bar.  Of all the available milk chocolates, this has a deeper, more interesting flavour and while sweet to me, it also melts and finishes cleanly.

7 – Green & Blacks Almond & Darker Milk Chocolate – I feel I need to specify here that the milk chocolate is slightly darker here.  This is a delicious darker milk with mostly whole almonds in it.  I actually think it tastes different than the miniatures but it is just so yummy.  I really enjoy this as a slightly sweet, almost malted milk chocolate with delicious whole almonds.  Not one for sharing!

6 – Divine 70% Dark Chocolate – Available from a number of shops – This bar is a firm standard in my cupboard.  It is a delicious mild dark chocolate with a slight hint of fruit at times but a good smooth dark chocolate without any hint of a bitter edge.  I have, in the past, been known to take a strip of 4 squares off, melt the rest and use the strip as a dipping stick to dip and lick the melted chocolate off of.  Ya, I know – totally decadent.

5 – Sainsbury’s Santo Domingo Organic Fairtrade Dark Chocolate – Available from Sainsbury’s – I’m not sure whether the flavours were intentional but there is only a light acidity here and the fruit is absolutely a dried grape or raisin flavour.  There is a hint of earthiness that occasionally raises its head but on the whole it is an inoffensive dark chocolate with a slight dried fruit flavour.

4 – Tesco Organic Dominican Republic 70% Chocolate – Available from Tesco – I was so surprised by this bar.  Slightly leathery mellowing into a light raspberry but with an almost spicy (not hot – just flavourful) edge mellowing into a delightful deep brownie chocolate flavour with a light, clean finish.  If this is a flavour profile you enjoy it is absolutely a great buy.

3 – Rococo Sea Salt Milk Chocolate Bar – Available from Waitrose – This milk chocolate is interesting with a malted flavour and a delicious deep milk flavour. I note that there is a slight flavour of something floral.  The sea salt isn’t too intense and for me that makes it delightful because I’m not a huge fan of intense salt flavours in my chocolate. I don’t want the salt to be front and centre and here it really comes through gently. The chocolate isn’t too sticky as some milk can be. The milk chocolate is delicious and I ate a lot in a single sitting! This is a 37% bar and I think they could even go slightly darker and keep this bar yummy.

2 – Hotel Chocolat 120h Conch Purist 65% Chocolate Bar – Available from Hotel Chocolate shops – The tiny granules of this 120 hour conch make this chocolate melt like butter in your mouth.  This chocolate tastes less of fruit and has a subtle flavour. It tastes almost creamy with a slight hint of vanilla. It’s difficult to describe how the finer grain of the chocolate which is a result of the longer conch time really mellows out the flavour of the chocolate and gives it a smoother taste, but it does.

1 – Willie’s Delectable Cacao 71% Madagascan Sambirano Superior – Available from Waitrose – When I opened the foil and released the scent of chocolate and mixed ripe red berries, I knew I was in for a treat.  The initial flavour of fruit is joined with a sharp acidity as the very first thing you get.  I was then surprised a bit as an earthy chocolate flavour developed in my mouth. I’m not a fan of that dark, almost drying sensation but I was willing to stick with it.  The subtle flavours of fruit keep poking their way through the melt but I’m moving it around a lot in my mouth to get it – pushing it to the front of my tongue to let it melt there to capture the fruit and acidity. Lovely experience but really any of the range are delightful!

 

I hope you’ve enjoyed this list and I hope you’ll discover them for yourself.  This is my opinion which does happen to also match the Academy of Chocolate 2011 opinion of which I was one of the judges.  Please do discover these yourselves and comment about what you like from your high street or supermarket shop!

Giveaway

You have FIVE chances to win a selection of my favourites from Judith’s list (minimum five bars) – simply do one of the following:

1. Follow Mostly About Chocolate  (@MostlyAboutChoc) on Twitter and leave me a comment here to tell me you have done so

2. “Like” the Mostly About Chocolate Facebook Page and leave me a comment here to tell me you have done so

3. Tweet this post using the button below and leave a comment telling me that you have done so including your Twitter username.

4. Follow me @RenBehan on Twitter and again leave a comment in the box below to tell me that you have done so, including your Twitter username.
 
5. Visit the Fabulicious Food on Facebook and “Like” and leave a wall post to tell me you have done so.
 
You can enter this competition via any or all of the five ways described above but you must leave me a separate comment for each time you have entered. 
 
The winner will be chosen by an online randomiser. 
 
I will be able to see your email and contact you if you have won, but your email will not be visible to the public and will NOT be passed on.
 
UK residents only please – the chocolate won’t travel well too far!
 
Closing date:  Friday 14th October 2011 at 3pm
 
The winner will be announced in a subsequent post on Saturday 15th October 2011.
 
Look out tomorrow too for a Hotel Chocolat Purist Hamper Giveaway worth £26.00