Blue Food......

Often heralded as one of the few things on the face of the earth which can stimulate all the senses at the same time food plays on your emotions with colors, aromas, taste and design.  All the colors of the rainbow presented to you on the surface of a plate.  Well, all the colors but blue that is.

No blue food here.  Or is there?

Have you ever seen blue food?  Why is it that despite the enormous diversity of cuisine from around the world, blue food doesn't get a look in anywhere.  Obviously the answer to this is that there aren't a huge amount of blue ingredients in the first place.  Here's a little clip of the great american comedian George Carlin thinking he's onto something:

Despite the fact we humans seem to be evolving faster than an aquarium full of sea monkeys we are essentially simple creatures at heart.  Our ancestors would have seen blue and black berries as danger signs and a warning to stay away.  And perhaps a bit of that fear has stuck with us throughout time.  Nature doesn't produce blue food therefore it doesn't seem natural to eat it.

Studies have shown that blue is actually an appetite supressant.  If you want to make sure you don't come home from a night on the town and stuff your face with cold ham and custard put a blue light in the fridge.  Prevent that want for a second helping by adorning your dining room with a blue lamp.  Your neighbors might start to think you've started a 'second job' though.

The recipe below incorporates one of those not really blue foods.  Blue cheese.  This is a hearty meal that is packed full of flavor.  Something that won't take you long to put together but will provide you with oodles of satisfaction.  I like to make it on stay at home Friday evenings in Autumn when I know I'm gonna want to spend more time on the couch than in the kitchen.

Walnuts and Blue Cheese work really well together.  Toasting the walnuts removes their bitterness but be careful not to burn them.  By the time you can smell them, it is usually too late!

Blue Cheese, Walnut and Bacon Spaghetti

Serves 2.  

Prep Time 10 min.  

Cook time 25 min.

Ingredients

200g Mushrooms, thickly sliced
4 slices streaky bacon
½ onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
75g Blue Cheese

¼ cup cream.
½ cup chicken stock
1/3 cup  roughly chopped walnuts.
150g Spaghetti

Method

1. Turn the oven onto 180 degrees C and put the jug on boil for your pasta water.
2.  Heat a dash of Olive oil on a medium heat in a medium sized pan.  Fry the bacon slices until crispy, about 3-5 minutes.  Remove and place on paper towels.

Bacon is not blue.

4.  Place walnuts on an oven tray and toast in the oven until fragrant, about 5 minutes.
5.  Add the onion to the pan.  Cook for 2 minutes, then add the mushrooms.  Cook for a further five minutes.  6.  Add the garlic, season the mixture and cook for a further minute.  Remove the mixture from the pan.
7.  Place the spaghetti in rapidly boiling salted water (it should taste like sea water) and cook as per packet instructions.
8.  Place the chicken stock in the used frying pan and let it reduce by half.  Add the cream and the diced blue cheese.  Cook, stirring frequently, until the cheese has melted and the sauce has thickened.
9.  Add the spaghetti to the sauce, mix thoroughly.  Slice up your bacon and add to the pasta along with the mushroom mix. Scatter the toasted walnuts over the finished dish and eat moorishly with remote control in hand!

L'ultimo Lasagna

Some recipes you treasure. Hidden away from prying eyes, these recipes aren't in the roll a dex. Whether it be handed down through the family or one which you have carefully cultivated over years and years of attempts, these recipes are always a bit closer to your heart.

This is one of those recipes for me. When my Mum first got me into cooking it was a Lasanga that she showed me how to make.  Ask a person to name 3 Italian dishes and no doubt Lasagna would be one of them.  Along with Spaghetti Bolognese and Pizza these three dishes have spread the world over and become synonymous with Italian Cuisine.  From the student who every other night calls dinner some canned good upon toast to the 30-something foodie who owns 17 types of Oil, every palette can recognize the taste and every cook will have tried to replicate their own version.

Commonly thought of as the bolognese it is the rich tomato and meat stew actually know as a ragu which forms the base of two of these champions of Italian cuisine.  The sauce gets it's western name from the region of Italy of which it is a specialty, Bologna.

Like an Italian woman a good Ragu gets better with age.  Slow cooking the sauce allows the rich aspects of the dish to come together and will result in a deep flavor that will leave a lovely linger on your tatstebuds and have you crying out for crusty garlic bread and a good chianti

The recipe below has reached it's crescendo.  Altered throughout the years with the addition of this and the subtraction of that it is now at that point where I am happy to pass this down to the next generation as Ant's famous Lasagna.  Should 2012 come true this will be the last supper.

So here it is.  In all it's glory.  L'ultimo Lasagna P.S.  It's a long ingredient list but you'll find you probably have most of the ingredients in the pantry.  It's time consuming.  But it's worth it.

L'Ultimo Lasagna

One BIG pot of slow cooked Ragu.

Serves 6
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cooking time 2.5-4.5 hours

Ingredients

1 250g ball Mozarella sliced as thin as you can or replace with grated mozarella for a cheaper option

12 dried Lasange sheets.

1/2 Onion, skin removed.
1 Bay leaf
1 Sprig Rosemary
6 Peppercorns, lightly crushed
2 cloves garlic, crushed
750ml Milk
50g Butter
3 Tbsp Flour
100g Parmesan Cheese, grated

500g Beef Mince
250g Pork Mince
150g Streaky Bacon, chopped.
2 x 400g cans Chopped Tomatoes (the more Italian the better)
1 tube Tomato Paste (the more Italian the better)
400ml Beef Stock
750ml wine (minus chef's quota)
1 Carrot, Finely Chopped
1 1/2 Onions, Finely Chopped
2 Stalks Celery, Finely Chopped
3 cloves Garlic, Finely Chopped.
1 tsp Sugar
1 Tbsp Worchestshire Sauce
2 Bay Leaves
A few sprigs Thyme
2 Tbsp Dried Oregano.

The Pasta Sauce

• Heat 2 Tbsp Olive Oil in your largest saucepan on a medium heat
• Add the bacon and cook for 5 minutes until crisp. 
• Turn the heat down a bit then add the onion, celery and carrot and sweat gently for a further 10 minutes.

This trio of vegetables is known in French cookery as a Mire Poix and is the start to many savory sauces.  In Italian cooking it is known as the Soffritto.  In Creole cuisine it is called the Holy Trinity.  Bow down to it's savory goodness.

• Add the garlic and cook for a further 1 minute.
• Turn the heat up high and add the pork and beef mince.  Break the mince apart with the back of a wooden spoon and brown the mince until all the liqiuid it produces is absorbed.  This will take about 10 minutes.
• Add ONE WHOLE BOTTLE OF WINE.  Yes, that's right.  A whole bottle.  

This helps to give the pasta sauce a richness.  If you can't bring yourself to do it then you can add less (400ml if you must).  When choosing the wine go for something quite strong like a shiraz or a cab sav.  There is no need to buy an expensive bottle but don't buy something that you wouldn't drink and was found on special, hidden in the back of a liqour store.

• Allow the wine to reduce by three quarters.  About 20-30 minutes.
• Add the remaining ingredients.  Give a good stir and leave to simmer on a very low heat for as long as possible, but anywhere between 2-4 hours, stirring occasionally.  If the mixture gets too dry add more stock.
• Season with plenty of salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper.
• Allow the mixture to cool for 20 minutes before compiling the lasagna.

Once your pasta sauce is bubbling away you can turn your attention to your bechamel.

The Bechamel Sauce

One of my favorite things I learned in my Lasagna years was the flavoring of the milk for the bechamel sauce.  It turns an ordinary cheese sauce into something much more interesting, with a fantastic savory characteristic that goes so well with the rich pasta sauce.

• Rinse a medium sized saucepan under water.  Without drying it add the 750ml milk.  This will help prevent the milk from burning to the pan.
• Add the onion, bay leaf, peppercorns, rosemary and garlic to the milk.
• Place the milk on a low heat, warming it gently, stirring every now and then until just before it boils.  Take off the heat, place a lid on the saucepan and then leave to infuse until your pasta sauce is off the heat.

Once the pasta sauce is cooling you can start to put together the bechamel.

• Gently reheat the milk.
• Strain the milk into a pouring jug. 
• In a separate saucepan add the butter and melt on a low heat. 
• Once melted add the flour.  Stir to mix.  Let it bubble away for 1 minute, stirring occasionally. 
• Add about 1/4 cup of milk and Combine well.  When all the milk has been absorbed, add a little more.
• Continue to do this until all the milk has been added, whisking continually. 

The art to a smooth bechamel is all in how you add the milk, ensuring you use as much elbow grease as you can muster to ensure that the milk is fully incorporated, with the mix resembles a smooth paste, before adding any more. 

• Continue cooking for about 10 minutes, stirring regularly until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon.
• Take off the heat add the parmesan  cheese.  Mix until it is melted.
• Season with salt and pepper.

Putting it all together 

• Cook Pasta sheets as per packet insturctions. Drain.
• Make a layer of pasta sheets in the bottom of a greased 20x28cm oven proof dish. 
• Add 1/3 of the ragu then 1/4 of the bechamel.  Top with 1/3 of the Mozzarella Repeat twice. 
• For the top layer lay out the pasta sheets then cover with the remaining bechamel.  Sprinkle a little extra grated cheese on top.
• Cook for 30-40 minutes until the top layer is golden.
• Allow it to rest for 10-15 minutes when out of the oven to help the layers stay together when cutting.

Served with a light salad.  You can't get better!

The way to a woman's heart - Chilli and Garlic Prawn Spaghetti

During the Masterchef process we had a few media obligations that we had to fulfill.  Women's magazines, Newspapers and radio stations asking you typical questions about who inspired you to cook, and what is your favorite meal.

One of the common questions was what do you cook your wife when you want to butter her up.  Well my wife and I have been together for 11 and a half years now.  During that time she has seen me develop from someone who liked to cook to someone who is all out obsessed with food.

So it's fair to say that I've also attempted to put together a few fancy dinners for her to celebrate birthdays or anniversaries or to make up for my misgivings that all us men seem to carry with us no matter how hard we try.  It's also fair to say that she has had to consume a few disasters as I work out a new technique or practice cooking my saltless curries.

Now despite the creation of some magnificent multiple course food adventures for which I gave up my creative heart and soul it turns out that a much simpler, more basic meal has become the go to, time to please the Wife, dish.  I'm still trying to work out if it's because it's tasty or because it only uses a few dishes though!!

For the prawns try to buy the ones already shelled.  It doesn't matter if they're frozen or not.  The quality will probably be the same.  Most prawns available are thawed from frozen when you purchase them in any case.

Adjust the amount of chilli to your taste.  A good way to test how hot your chilli's are is to cut the top of the chilli off and lightly press the flesh of the chilli against your lip.  The more the tingle the hotter it is.

Chop your garlic about fifteen minutes before you intend to use it. This allows the oils and enzymes in the garlic to activate providing you with more flavor and more health benefits!

Chilli and Garlic Prawn Spaghetti

Simple food cooked well = Satisfaction

Serves 2
Prep Time 15 Minutes
Cook Time 15 Minutes

Ingredients

3 Cloves garlic chopped finely
1-2 Red Chilli chopped finely
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil + 1 Tbsp
200g thawed Prawns
200g Spaghetti
Handful of Parsley
Lemon to serve


Method

• Shell the prawns if required.  Place in a colander and rinse under cold running water.  Place on some paper towels and pat dry
• Marinate the prawns in 1 Tbsp Olive oil combined with 1/3 of the garlic and chilli for 30 minutes.
• Boil the jug for your pasta water.  Use a big a pot as you can.  Pasta needs space to cook properly.  Ideally you want to be able to place 3 litres of water into the pot.  Make sure the water is at a rolling boil THEN add the salt (it takes longer to boil if you add salt first).  You need to add a lot of salt.  The water should taste like seawater.  I use at least 1tsp for every 1L of water.
• Once the water has returned to a rolling boil cook your pasta as per packet instructions.
• Place the 1/4 cup EV Olive oil in a heavy based frying pan and put onto a low heat.  Add the remaining chilli and garlic.  Cook very very slowly for around 8-10 minutes.  The idea is to gently cook the chilli and garlic while infusing the flavor into the oil at the same time.  You do not want your garlic to go brown as it will become bitter.

Gently simmering Chilli and Garlic

• Drain the Pasta and place back into the pot.  Add the Infused oil, garlic and chilli.
• Place the frying pan back onto a high heat.  Season your prawns with salt and pepper then add to the pan. Cook for about 3 minutes turning once until the prawns are crisp but tender.  Try one if you have to!  Try two!!
• At the last minute add the chopped parsley. Stir to combine.
• Add the cooked prawns to your pasta dish.
• Combine and then serve with a lemon wedge for those that like things with a bit of tang.  

It works really well with Seifred's 2010 Sauvingon Blanc.  I can't promise it will get you extra favors with the loved one, but I can promise you that it is quick and easy, and it tastes good!

What meal do you cook when you want to show that special someone that you care?