Carluccio's delivering to Northern Ireland

When Kelly and I visit London our itinerary always includes at least one meal (and a bottle of wine or two) at a Carluccio’s restaurant. Aside from the delicious, authentic Italian food, the friendly staff, and the pocket-saving prices, the in-store deli is a treasure-trove of mouth-watering treats: from truffle butter to dried porcini, imported Italian liqueurs and wines to specialty chocolates.

Carluccio’s was founded in 1991 by chef Antonio Carluccio and has flourished ever since, with 43 locations across mainland UK. When we noticed that they had opened a branch in Dublin (March 2008) Kelly and I were over-the-moon, hoping that a Belfast location was on the cards.

While we’re waiting, however, we can now get our Carluccio’s “fix” online. Until recently they couldn’t deliver to Northern Ireland – but that has all changed! So, as a special treat for Kelly, I ordered a box of Italian delicacies..

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The delivery from Carluccio’s

• Limoncello Di Sorrento 70cl – £19.50
• Vin Santo D.o.c. 37.5 Cl – £16.50
• Cantucci Al Cioccolato (Chocolate Cantucci Tuscan Biscuits) 300g – £4.95
• Burro Al Tartufo (Truffle Butter) 80g – £4.95
• Sugo Al Nero Di Seppia (Cuttlefish Ink Sauce) 140g – £2.95

Limoncello Di Sorrento

Limoncello is a lemon liqueur from Southern Italy, and Sorrento in particular. Served after a meal, it’s an intensely lemon-flavoured digestif that was particularly to Kelly’s liking.

Vin Santo and Cantucci Al Cioccolato

A Tuscan dessert wine, and similar in some ways to sherry. We followed the directions from Carluccio’s an dunked our Cantucci biscuits into the sweet, fiery drink which really enhanced the almond flavour of the biscuits. Delicious, and a nice way to finish a meal when you have guests for dinner.

Burro Al Tartufo

The truffle butter is the one product that we longed for when Carluccio’s didn’t deliver to Northern Ireland – we’d lament the delivery policy as we salivated over the thought of the white, creamy butter infused with the dark, earthy flavours and aromas of the truffle. We enjoyed ours on toasted crusty bread, which was delicious – but I have a feeling that the scrambled eggs with a dollop of truffle-butter melting over the top that we have planned will be amazing.

Sugo Al Nero Di Seppia

We haven’t tried this yet – but I have a great recipe for Spaghetti in Squid Ink Sauce. Make sure you check the blog in the near future for the recipe and photos of how I got on.

What we thought

Finding ingredients and specialist goods in Northern Ireland can be frustrating – impossible, at times – but with the change in the delivery policy at Carluccio’s a world of authentic Italian tastes are a mouse-click away.

We both loved the various products – each and every one was delicious and had us looking up the site to see what else we could order.

The delivery charge was £5.60 – it sounds a lot but, considering the weight of our parcel, I thought that it was fair enough.

You might have already picked up on the fact that we love Carluccio’s.

Other information

You can visit Carluccio’s online at: www.carluccios.com/.

After some wrangling over their rental agreement for the Dawson Street premises in Dublin, and after the reported closure of the Dublin branch, I’m pleased to report that all is well. A week after closing it’s doors an agreement was reached between the restaurant chain and the landlord, saving around 60 jobs and ensuring the future of one of our favourite restaurants in Dublin.

You can find Carluccio’s in Dublin at:
Carluccio’s
53 Dawson Street
Dublin 2
T: (01) 6333957
W: www.carluccios.com
You can also find Carluccio’s – Dublin on Google Maps.

The Roasting Plank Company

With all of the cooking programmes on TV at the minute, it’s rare to come across something new for the kitchen, particularly something that could revolutionise the way that you cook. The roasting plank is just that though.

Plank-cooking works by charring a pre-soaked piece of wood during cooking and they can be used in conventional ovens as well as on gas/propane grills, and charcoal-based barbeques. The charred wood imparts a unique, smokey flavour of the wood choice, and the meat is invariably more tender, moist, and tasty than with other cooking methods.

As well as the flavour, however, the planks are really visually impressive – as soon as I took our plank from the oven, I thought that it would make a great centre-piece for our next dinner party!

Roasting planks (and BBQ planks) are nothing new – they’re a traditional and a much-loved way of cooking meat in North America, South Africa and Argentina: countries that certainly know a bit about meat!

There are several different types of wood used to make these planks, with different wood complimenting different types of meat: Beech Roasting Planks give a more subtle and sweet flavour, which is great for poultry; Cedar Roasting Planks are the traditional wood used for fish and imparts a sweet, spicy flavour; Cherry Wood Paper has a subtle mild, fruity flavour and is excellent for poultry, fish, vegetables and fruit; or Oak Roasting Planks offer a heavier and smokier flavour and are great for red meat and game.

We were lucky enough to be sent an Oak plank to review, and we roasted some pork chops on the wood – you can read the recipe and see the photos here.

The planks must be soaked for several hours before you use them: a minimum of 2 hours if you plan to use the plank at low temperatures; or 4 to 6 hours for higher temperatures. But the rule is “more is better” – you can’t over-soak a plank, but under-soaking will cause more cracks to appear in the precious wood. While our sink was big enough, I’d recommend a bucket as the planks are pretty big – 36cm by 26cm, and 5cm deep.

After soaking, the plank should be dabbed dry with a tea-towel and their cooking surfaces rubbed down with oil and any spices you like. Sarah from The Roasting Plank Company also mentioned experimenting by marinading the wood in whiskey or Guinness for a beef dish, and vermouth or pastisse for fish. That’s part of the charm of these things – you have an almost unlimited licence to let your creative, culinary juices flow.

We roasted our pork chops for nearly two hours on a very low heat (between 100 and 150 degrees C), and while our plank did “crack” and char slightly, it’s completely normal. The planks are designed to last for several years, with a little care – and, to my mind, the cracks do give your plank a bit of character. As time went by, the kitchen became filled with a lovely aroma – the thyme and pork were certainly present, but so was a smokiness that had my mouth watering.

The best part was the flavour, however. I have always found pork to be a bit bland, and usually rely on piquant or pungent sauces to provide a definite taste. The smoky flavour added a different dimension to the meat, and made the dish much more interesting on the palate. The longer cooking time also worked wonders – the meat just fell apart, but amazingly wasn’t at all dry.

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Our verdict:

I loved cooking with the plank – it’s extremely easy to use, it looks great, and the difference in the meat produced by the plank is so distinct: how tender and moist the meat is, with a wood-smoked quality that will have you salivating. And, if like me, you think that the meat is the star of whichever dish it appears in, you won’t be able to resist the chance to do something different with the flavour.

A definite Chilli and Chocolate recommendation for The Roasting Plank.

Other information:

The Roasting Plank Company stocks Oak, Cedar, Cherry, and Beech roasting planks, BBQ planks, and wood paper. You can visit the Roasting Plank Company website by going to: www.theroastingplankcompany.co.uk