Pasta al nivuro di siccia
Posted: 21 May '10 by Niall
Pasta al nivuro di siccia
Ever since I managed to find some sachets of squid ink I’ve been dying to make pasta al nivuro di siccia – pasta in squid ink sauce.
I’d never seen the dish in person and I’ve only managed to track down a few photographs online, which only added to the mystique. It’s always seemed like the most exotic attack on the senses – delicate rings of squid mixed through a healthy serving of pasta, drenched in a midnight-black sauce – you have to overcome some subsconscious barrier which tells you that, despite the marvellous aroma, nothing that looks like that should be in your mouth.
With St. George’s market still several days away we paid a flying visit to the Chinese supermarket on Donegall Pass to locate the last elusive ingredient, the squid.
Finally, and with a growing sense of trepidation, I was ready to attempt the recipe..
You can see more photos hereImage 1Image 2Image 3Image 4Image 5Image 6Image 7
Serves 3-4
Ingredients
- 2 large squid tubes
- 2 sachets of squid ink
- 1 can chopped tomatoes
- 1 medium red onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 500g long pasta (such as spaghetti or linguine – we used the latter)
- 120g grated pecorino cheese (parmesan will do at a pinch)
- Flaked red chilli
Method
- After washing the squid tubes, carefully peel off the outer membrane, taking care not to tear the soft, white flesh.
- Slice the squid tubes into 1cm-thick rings and leave to one side.
- Finely chop the red onion and garlic.
- Cook your pasta in a separate saucepan with some lightly salted water – drain and leave to one side when the pasta is al dente.
- Pour a good glug of olive oil into a deep saucepan and sweat the onion and garlic over a low heat.
- When the onion has softened and become translucent, add the chopped tomatoes and stir thoroughly.
- When the tomato sauce has heated through, add the squid rings and allow them to cook for 5 minutes.
- Add the squid ink and watch your sauce transform from a vibrant red to an inky black.
- Add the chilli flakes (as much as you think you could handle) and stir thoroughly.
- Take your cooked pasta and tip the pasta into your sauce, stirring the sauce through the pasta.
- Serve each portion of your pasta and squid ink sauce in deep dishes, grating the pecorino and drizzling some good olive oil over the pasta at the last moment.
Enjoy!
Thought for food
Traditional Italian cookery dictates that it’s sacrilege to add cheese to any seafood dish – but seafood with pecorino (well, anything with pecorino) is our guilty pleasure. Kelly and I just love the flavour far too much to leave it out. Whether you add cheese to this dish or not is between you and your conscience.
Squid ink is an intense black colour and has a strong iodine taste which is strangely addictive. I just couldn’t get enough of the pasta in squid ink sauce – it was on my mind for hours after our meal, and I found myself making excuses to visit the kitchen for another nibble.
Other information
Image 7 is taken from another, excellent blog – FX Cuisine (just until we get a decent one ourselves!).
Categories: Featured Post > Italian Food > Main Course > Pasta > Recipes > Seafood
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Seared scallops with black pudding and cauliflower puree
Posted: 27 January '10 by Niall
Scallops with black pudding and cauliflower puree
This was a dish that we first tasted in Clenaghan’s in Aghalee and we loved it that much that it’s become a favourite treat in our house.
The delicate flesh and sweet flavour of the scallops goes surprisingly well with the rich, spicy rounds of black pudding, and the cauliflower puree provides a subtle base and creaminess for the whole dish.
The secret to perfecting this recipe are the quality of the ingredients: fresh scallops and Clonakilty black pudding are a must. We usually buy our scallops from the Northern Ireland Fishermen’s Federation stall and the Clonakilty black pudding was bought from the Greenmount Farm Shop – both of which are in the City Food and Garden Market in St. George’s Market on Saturday mornings.
I usually slice the scallops along the middle to make two. There’s no reason to do this other than they make for an easier mouthful, and it looks like you’ve double the scallops on your plate!
I’ve also added some curry spice to my cauliflower puree to emphasise the sweet flavour of the vegetable and bring another dimension to the recipe. Cauliflower makes a fantastic canvas for other flavours too. So let your creativity run riot and add whatever you like to the puree – grated nutmeg and even mustard work well.
You can see more photos hereImage 1Image 2Image 3Image 4Image 5Image 6Image 7
Serves 2
Ingredients
Ingredients: Seared scallops with black pudding
- Half a Clonakilty black pudding, cut into rounds that are about the same size as the scallops
- 6 scallops
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Splash of olive oil
Ingredients: For the cauliflower purée
- 1/2 a small cauliflower
- 100ml (6 tbsp.) cream
- 150g (10 tbsp.) butter
- A good pinch of curry spice
Method
Method: For the seared scallops with black pudding
- Take a sharp knife and slice where the orange scallop roe (also called “coral”) meets the scallop. There is also a small membrane which runs around the scallop and should come easily free once the roe has been removed.
- Brush your frying pan with olive oil and fry the black pudding on a medium heat until both sides have become crisp. Transfer the black pudding to a plate lined with kitchen paper and keep warm.
- Rub the scallops with a little olive oil and season them with salt and black pepper.
- Increase the heat of the frying pan until the oil smokes slightly.
- Place the scallops in the frying pan and cook – one minute on each side should do. Each side of the scallop should have a nice golden crust.
- Pat the scallops dry on kitchen paper.
Method: Cauliflower puree
- Boil the cauliflower in the milk until the cauliflower has become soft.
- Put the cream and cauliflower into a food processor and blend until smooth.
- Pass the mixture through a sieve.
- Cook the butter until golden brown and add to the puree, along with the curry spice.
- Season to taste with salt.
To serve
- Place a piece of black pudding in the centre of each serving plate with a scallop on top.
- Pipe or spoon a little of the purée in between.
Enjoy.
Other information
Clonakilty black pudding comes from County Cork. Produced by Edward Twomey from an old Harrington family recipe, and just crumbles in your mouth with the most delicious, more-ish flavour.
You can visit the Clonakilty black pudding website here.
You can also read more about St. George’s Market, Belfast here.
Categories: Featured Post > Recipes > Seafood > Starter Course
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How to make Creamy Fish Pie with Mushy Peas
Posted: 16 December '09 by Niall
Creamy fish pie with mushy peas
Kelly and I both love fish pie, and it makes a regular appearance on our dining table. It’s a real winter dish, being warming and filling, and it’s also economical – those fish fillets can be expensive, but combining them with potatoes, cheese, and creamy sauce makes them go that bit further.
Fish pie is something that should be relatively easy to make but it can go disasterously wrong – from a flavour-less, watery consistency all the way to a glue-like gloop. To my mind, the success of your pie comes down to the quality of your bechamel and the flavour of the creamed potatoes, but particularly the former. It really does pay to apply yourself – and your taste testing tastebuds – to this part.
This fish pie is filled with a mixture of smoked and unsmoked fish. Some recipes add salmon or prawns, but I think that that’s a bit over the top, and doesn’t really contribute anything to the recipe – the flavour of the smoked haddock in particular would just overshadow the more subtley flavoured prawns. The addition of parsley is important, however – it not only tastes good, but it also adds a splash of colour to an otherwise anemic, pale pie. The golden cheese crust is also vital in my book.
I usually accompany the fish pie with mushy peas. Although you can buy tins of mushy peas, nothing comes close to those that you can make yourself. It does take a bit of effort (soaking the peas overnight) but, believe me, it’s all worth it.
This recipe makes a hearty, four person Fish Pie.
You can see more photos hereImage 1Image 2Image 3Image 4Image 5Image 6
Ingredients
For the fish pie
- 600g of any firm white fish – we use cod or haddock fillets
- 200g of smoked haddock
- 750ml milk
- 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
- 1 large carrot, roughly chopped
- 1 stalk celery, roughly chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- some fresh parsley, chopped
- a few peppercorns
- 400g mature cheddar, grated
- 1kg floury potatoes, such as Maris Piper
- 125g butter, plus extra to grease the dish and dot on top of the pie
- 75g plain flour
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the mushy peas
- 250g of marrowfat peas
- Bicarbonate of soda tablets
- 11/2 pints of boiling water – and more fresh water to cook
- Sugar, butter, salt and pepper (to taste)
Remember! If you want to make mushy peas they need to be left to soak for between 12 and 16 hours – so you’ll need to do this the night before you plan to eat.
Method
For the fish pie
- Place the fillets of fish in a medium saucepan. Add the milk, onion, carrot, celery, bay leaf, a couple of stalks of parsley and the peppercorns.
- Place the pan on a low heat and let the milk heat up gently. As soon as it comes to a simmer, switch off the heat and cover the pan. The fish will continue cooking in the hot milk. This is my favourite way for cooking fish – it keeps the flesh plump and moist, and doesn’t add or detract from the flavour.
- Peel the potatoes, cut them into even, bite-sized chunks so that they cook evenly, and put them in a large pan with just enough water to cover and put the pan on the hob over a high heat. Add a teaspoon of salt and let the water come to the boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook the potatoes until a fork will pass easily through the flesh, but not so much that they disintegrate in the water.
- Carefully drain the potatoes and allow them to cool in a colander for a minute or two. Return them to the pan and mash them, adding 50g of the butter, using a spoon to mix the creamed potato at the end until you have a golden, smooth consistency. Put the mash to one side.
- Stand a sieve over a large jug and tip in the fish and milk mixture.
- Take your oven dish and break the cooked fish fillets into it – not too much though – you ideally want nice chunks of meaty fish in your pie.
- Heat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
- To make the béchamel sauce, put the remaining 75g of butter in the clean pan and melt it over a low to medium heat. Add the flour and stir well with a wooden spoon to make a roux. Cook for two minutes, stirring every few seconds. Then gently whisk in one third of the hot fishy milk. The paste will quickly turn into a very thick sauce. Add another third of the milk, whisking all the time, and then the final third, so you end up with a creamy sauce.
- Add the chopped parsley and after tasting the sauce you can season the béchamel with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Reduce the heat until it is very low and let the sauce simmer gently for a couple of minutes.
- Pour your creamy, fishy bechamel sauce over your fish.
- Spoon over the mash and spread it carefully across the surface of the fish sauce.
- Sprinkle the grated mature cheddar over the top of the creamed potatoes, making sure that the surface is covered evenly.
- Place the pie in the oven and bake for about 25 minutes or until the top is starting to brown and the fishy sauce is bubbling up the sides of the mash.
For the mushy peas
- Dissolve the bicarbonate tablets (they usually come in a box) in one and a half pints of boiling water.
- Pour the solution over the dried peas.
- Leave to soak overnight, or for at least 12 to 16 hours.
- Drain the peas, then put them in a saucepan and just cover them with cold, fresh water.
- Bring to the boil, then simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Once the water has reduced and the peas have become mushy add salt, pepper, sugar, and butter to taste.
To accompany the dish
Fish pie is a rustic dish and deserves a glass of something equally tasty and uncomplicated. Rather than white wine, what about a glass of chilled lager? The slightly bitter Budweiser Budvar would be perfect – light and crisp, with a buttery flavour common the Czech beer, and with plenty of hops on the nose.
Enjoy.
Categories: English Food > Featured Post > Recipes > Seafood
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Spaghetti with Prawns and Chilli
Posted: 28 September '09 by Niall
Spaghetti and prawns
This easy pasta supper is probably the meal that’s made most often in our house, and is great for during the week when you’re not in the mood to spend too long in the kitchen after a long day at work.
Also known as “picchi-pacchi spaghetti with prawns and chilli”, the dish is a Sicilian specialty (the further south you go in Italy, the most prevalent the chilli becomes in the local dishes).
You can see more photos hereImage 1Image 2Image 3Image 4Image 5Image 6
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 500g dried spaghetti (i.e. one packet)
- 250g of pomodorino tomatoes
- 4 tbsp olive oil (and some more the drizzle over the finished dish)
- 3 fat garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2 medium-hot red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
- A good handful of fresh basil, roughly chopped (don’t use the dried stuff!)
- 350g uncooked and peeled king prawns
- Parmesan to grate over the dish (entirely optional)
Method
- Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Add the spaghetti and cook according to the packet instructions, until al dente
- Pre-heat the oven to 150 degrees
- Take each prawn and run a sharp knife down the back of the prawn, removing any black “thread” that is there and opening the prawn up
- Drizzle some olive oil on a roasting dish and place your prawns on the dish, sprinkling them with a little black pepper
- Gently roast the prawns in the oven until their flesh has turned pink – it’s important not to overcook the prawns at this point otherwise you’ll be left with a dry, tough prawns that really aren’t that pleasant to eat
- Meanwhile, working over the sink, gently squeeze and burst the tomatoes to rid them of most of their seeds, then roughly chop
- Shortly before the spaghetti is ready, heat the oil in a pan over a low heat
- Add the garlic and red chillies and sweat gently until the garlic has become slightly translucent
- Add the tomatoes and increase the heat slightly, cooking gently for 30 seconds until heated through and just starting to break down
- Season to taste with salt and pepper
- Drain the spaghetti well and return to the pan. Add the tomato mixture, prawns and chopped basil
- Toss together until the sauce is thoroughly mixed through the pasta, and plate up
- Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle over the grated parmesan cheese, and serve
Wine Selection
The dish is light and full of seafood-sweetness and zingy tomato, and deserves a similarly light, zesty accompaniment – a citrus-y Pinot Grigio would be perfect.
Other Information
“Picchi-pacchi” simply means a fresh, raw or barely cooked sauce.
We ALWAYS have a good Parmesan to grate over this dish, even though a true Italian would blanch if you suggested add Parmesan to a seafood dish.
Categories: Featured Post > Italian Food > Main Course > Pasta > Recipes > Seafood
