Chilli and Chocolate » Featured Post - A Belfast Food Blog

Posts in: 'Featured Post'

Tagliatelle with Bolognese Ragu

Posted: 08 March '10 by Niall

Last weekend I thought I’d make one of my favourite dishes, Bolognese.. A really simple meal that has a million and one recipes for it.

This is the best recipe for Bolognese that I know of and it produces a very tasty, authentic Italian meal. You’ll be surprised by a few of the ingredients – minced pork for instance, and milk too – and by the absence of garlic. The dish is delicious though, and much more flavoursome than the basic spag bol I would make during the week.

One of the most important things to remember is that a lot of Italian dishes start with the same three ingredients: celery, onion, and carrot. I think that the carrot gives a slight sweetness to the dish but, other than this, you won’t notice any discernible flavour from the basic ingredients – they just help to make a more robust and mouth-watering sauce.

The recipe also calls for Tagliatelle rather than Spaghetti. Depending on where you are in Italy, this is either complete blasphemy or the proper way to make Bolognese. For me, I have to say that I prefer the Tagliatelle – it feels much more authentic as it lends itself to the “mix the sauce through the pasta” approach and holds more of the sauce than Spaghetti would.

Making Bolognese Ragu really is a weekend job though as it takes over three hours to cook – but it’s worth every minute.

You can see more photos hereImage 1Image 2Image 3Image 4Image 5Image 6

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 400g minced beef
• 400g minced pork
• 100g pancetta, roughly chopped
• 100g onion, finely chopped
• 100g carrot, finely chopped
• 100g celery, finely chopped
• 2 tins of chopped tomatoes
• 1 glass of dry white wine
• 500ml fresh milk
• 200ml of chicken stock
• 3 bay leaves
• Pepper and salt
• 500g Tagliatelle

Method:

1. Place the pancetta in a large, deep saucepan with some olive oil on a low heat until the fat has melted and the pancetta has a nice golden colour.
2. Add the onion, stirring until the onion is translucent.
3. Add the carrot and celery and the bay leaves and keep cooking until the vegetables start to soften and get some colour.
4. Place the minced meat in a bowl and add some seasoning. Mix the meat together with your hands.
5. Increase the heat to just above medium and add the minced meat. Keep cooking and stirring the mixture until the meat has browned.
6. Pour in the white wine and stir through the mixture, cooking the ingredients until the wine has evaporated.
7. Reduce the heat and add the chopped tomatoes, mixing them through the meat.
8. Leave the mixture on the heat for at least 2 hours. Check your sauce regularly during this time – if the tomatoes reduce too much just add some beef stock. By the end of the two hours you should have an intense, thick tomato sauce.
9. Now, add the milk and some chicken stock, stirring them through your sauce. Leave this mixture over a low heat for another hour.
10. Remove the sauce from the heat, season to taste, and leave to rest.
11. In a separate saucepan, add some water and a good pinch of salt and bring to the boil.
12. Add your tagliatelle and cook until the pasta has softened.
13. Drain your pasta and add several spoonfuls of your Bolognese Ragu, mixing the sauce through the pasta.
14. Serve with some grated parmesan.

Enjoy!

Tags: italian food, pasta, recipe

Categories: Beef > Featured Post > Italian Food > Main Course > Recipes

No Comments - Click to Add Yours

Flour-less Chocolate Cake

Posted: 01 March '10 by Niall

As another weekend drew to a close, I thought that Kelly and I deserved a treat before getting back to the daily grind. When it comes to treats in our house, that means chocolate.

Here’s a recipe for a rich, moist chocolate cake.. And it’s easy. Three ingredients, that’s all!

It’s also a flour-less cake, making it suitable for coeliacs.

You can see more photos hereImage 1Image 2Image 3Image 4Image 5Image 6Image 7

Ingredients

• 450g of dark chocolate, roughly chopped
• 150g of unsalted butter – and a little more for greasing the cake dish
• 5 large eggs, separated

I’d also recommend some whipped cream and/or some ice-cream to serve with the cake – it’s so chocolate-y that you’ll need it!

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 375F/190C.
2. Take a saucepan, half fill it with water, and put it on a medium heat.
3. Place the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set it over the saucepan of simmering water, making sure that the bottom of the bowl is not touching the water, stirring the mixture as it melts.
4. Remove the chocolate mixture from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
5. Butter the cake dish and line with a parchment circle then butter the parchment.
6. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and put into two large bowls.
7. Whip the egg whites until stiff peaks are formed and the whipped egg-whites do not move as you tilt the bowl (you’ll see that Kelly bravely volunteered for the age-old test for telling whether egg-whites are ready – if you can hold the bowl upside-down over your head without getting covered, they’re ready!).
8. In the other bowl beat the egg yolks together.
9. Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate, stirring lightly until the chocolate and egg yolks have mixed together.
10. Using a metal spoon, fold in some of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture, followed by the remaining egg-whites when this first amount has been thoroughly folded in. When folding use light, circular motions with the spoon – do not mix – the idea is to keep air in the mixture. Fold until no white remains without deflating the batter.
11. Pour your cake batter into prepared cake dish. The batter should fill the pan 3/4 of the way up the sides.
12. Bake for 25 minutes -the top of the cake should have a firm crust, like the top of a brownie.
13. Remove the cake dish from the oven and allow it to cool for 10 minutes or so before trying to slice or un-mould the cake.
14. Serve with cream and/or ice-cream.

Enjoy!

Tags: chocolate, coeliac, dessert

Categories: Biscuits and Cakes > Dessert Course > Featured Post > Recipes

1 Comment

Tea Brack

Posted: 25 February '10 by Ciara

I got this recipe for Tea Brack from a work colleague and tried it out at the weekend. I absolutely loved it, although i had to give half of it away to my mother-in-law, being the only one in my household to like this sort of cake! Otherwise i would have eaten all of it myself…

Irish tea brack is a rich, moist cake which is perfect for a breakfast or an afternoon snack. “Brack” comes from the Irish word “brac”, which means speckled.

You can see more photos hereImage 1

Makes 2 generous tea bracks

Ingredients

• 450g Dark brown Sugar
• 2.5 cups of tea (make it in tea pot first)
• half cup of whiskey
• 375g raisins
• 525g sultanas
• 3 eggs
• 450g plain flour (no need to sieve)
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 3 teaspoons mixed spice
• honey for glazing

You’ll also need a little butter and some baking paper to line your baking tins.

Method

1. Dissolve the sugar in the hot tea, mix in the whiskey and soak the fruit overnight in this.
2. Next day, preheat the oven to 17o, gas mark 3 and line the loaf tins.
3. Mix the eggs, flour (no need to sieve), baking powder and mixed spice with the fruit mixture, (i just use a fork) and pour into the prepared tins.
4. Bake for 1 hour.
5. Remove from oven, place on wire rack and immediately brush with honey to glaze (I used a pastry brush).
6. Serve with tea and butter.

Enjoy!

Other information

Please note that these bracks will keep for up to 2 weeks because the whiskey preserves them, although they wouldn’t last that long in our house.

Please also note that instead of the 1/2 cup of whiskey you can just add another 1/2 cup of tea.

Tags: recipe

Categories: Biscuits and Cakes > Featured Post > Irish Food > Recipes

No Comments - Click to Add Yours

Pancakes – How do you eat yours?

Posted: 17 February '10 by Niall

Yesterday was “Pancake Day”, the last day before Lent and a day to celebrate all of those guilty pleasures that might soon be denied us: butter, flour, milk, and eggs.

I have to admit, I was never the biggest fan of pancakes, a result of too many gluey, flavourless versions bought in convenience stores. Crepes were the only exception, especially those bought from the French Crepe stall in St. George’s Market – delicious! But Pancake Day isn’t about crepes – I was after the fluffy, sweet, bready pancakes that you see on American TV.

I came across this recipe in an old cookbook – welcome to pancake heaven!

All that remains is to decide what to have on yours..

You can see more photos hereImage 1Image 2Image 3Image 4

Ingredients

• 135g self-raising flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 130ml milk
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp caster sugar
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 2 tbsp melted butter (allowed to cool slightly), plus a little more for cooking

To serve: real maple syrup

Method

1. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and caster sugar into a large bowl.
2. In a separate bowl or jug, lightly whisk together the milk and egg, then whisk in the melted butter.
3. Pour the milk mixture into the flour and, using a fork, beat until you have a smooth batter. Any lumps will soon disappear with a little mixing.
4. Now for the important bit – Let the batter stand for a few minutes.
5. Grease a non-stick frying pan with a little butter and place over a medium heat.
6. When the pan gets up to temperature add a ladle of batter. It will seem very thick but this is how it should be.
7. Wait until the top of the pancake begins to bubble, then turn it over (or toss it, if you’re feeling brave!) and cook until both sides are a nice golden brown and the pancake has risen to about 1cm thick.
8. Repeat until all the batter is used up. You can keep the pancakes warm in a low oven.
9. To serve, drizzle some maple syrup over your pancake stack and tuck in.

Enjoy!

Other information

• You can try separating the egg-yolk from the white, mixing the egg into the batter, but whisking the whites into stiff peaks before folding the batter into the egg-whites for a lighter, souffle-like consistency.
• After you’ve made the batter allow it to rest – this resting period allows the gluten in the flour to relax so the pancakes will be tender, and lets the baking powder form bubbles in the batter.
• After the batter rests, do not stir it or you will deflate all the bubbles.

Tags: Pancake Day, recipe, Shrove Tuesday

Categories: Dessert Course > Featured Post > Recipes

No Comments - Click to Add Yours

Panettone bread and butter pudding

Posted: 15 February '10 by Niall

We had some Panettone left over after Christmas and with “waste not, want not” being our motto for the new year, I was wondering what I could do to make the most of the bread.

Panettone is a type of bread from Milan in Italy, made with candied orange, lemon zest, and raisins, and is traditionally eaten over the Christmas holidays. Although it was quite rare to see in Northern Ireland until recently, more and more delicatessens stock them now.

I love all of those old-fashioned, school-dinner type of desserts and I thought that the Panettone would be perfect for an Italian bread and butter pudding. I saw this recipe on TV a couple of years ago – Giorgio Locatelli added some grappa-soaked sultanas for a nice, boozy edge to the dessert – and who am I to change his recipe!

You can see more photos hereImageImage 1Image 2Image 3Image 4Image 5Image 6Image 7Image 8

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

For the Panettone

• Panettone, cut into thick slices and buttered
• 75g sultanas
• A little icing sugar
• Some dark Moscovado sugar
• A little jam (I used apricot preserve)
• Some Grappa (optional)

For the custard

• 570ml/1 pint milk
• 55ml/2fl oz single cream
• 1 vanilla pod
• 4 eggs, yolks only
• 30g/1oz caster sugar
• 2 level tsp cornflour

You’ll also need a large saucepan, a whisk, a wooden spoon, and a good deep oven-proof dish.

Method

Method – The custard:

1. Take a knife and slice the vanilla pod down the length of the pod
   Place the pod in a second saucepan, making sure to get all of the small black seeds from the blade of the knife in there as well.
2. Add the milk and cream to the saucepan and bring the lot to simmering point over a low heat.
3. Remove the vanilla pod.
4. Whisk the yolks, sugar and cornflour together in a bowl until well blended.
5. Pour the hot milk and cream on to the eggs and sugar, whisking all the time with a balloon whisk.
6. Return to the pan, and over a low heat gently stir with a wooden spoon. You’ll know when the custard is thick enough when a clear line remains when you run your finger down the back of the custard-covered spoon

Method – The bread and butter pudding:

1. If you are using Grappa to soak the sultanas then place the dried fruit in a bowl and cover with the grappa – you could do this the day beforehand to get the most flavour into the fruit.
2. Preheat the oven to 180°C
3. Cut the panettone into thick wedges and butter each side.
4. Arrange the wedges around a casserole dish, working around the circumference and finally lining the centre of the dish with the edges pointing upwards.
5. Sprinkle the sultanas across the panettone.
6. Pour the custard into the casserole dish, until the custard almost covers the panettone leaving only a centimetre of each point showing.
7. Take your egg-wash brush and dip it into the apricot preserve (or whatever you are using) and brush the points of the panettone that are showing.
8. Sprinkle the moscavado sugar over the apricot jam.
9. Place the bread and butter pudding into the oven for about 45 minutes. When cooked, it will have a slight golden crust on top but will still be slightly wobbly inside, and the moscovado sugar will be sticky and toffee-like.
10. Spoon the dessert into a bowl and pour a little double-cream over the dish to serve.

Enjoy!

Other information

Grappa is a fiery Italian brandy of between 37.5% and 60% alcohol by volume.

Tags: recipe

Categories: Dessert Course > Featured Post > Recipes

No Comments - Click to Add Yours