I just ate my entire body weight in pasta – a trip to Sicily…

AAAAARRRRRRGH!

Last week I was lucky enough to spend a week’s holiday in Sicily – land of the slow food movement – and if I didn’t just spend the entire 7 days doing my best foie gras duck impression. Turns out, those Sicilians really know their onions. And tomatoes… and coffee, chocolate, cheese and ice-cream…

Drive or wander through the island – avoiding the other scooters and crazy motorists to a cacophony of honking horns and dire Italian radio – and you can’t help but be struck by the incredible natural abundance.  As the hot hot sun beats down on lemon and orange trees and olive groves the air is scented with fresh sage and lavender and the roadside stalls heave with swollen, ripe tomatoes, you realise, this is going to be tasty. Bloody tasty.

Even a trip to Carrefour (full disclosure: mooching in foreign supermarkets is one of my ultimate nerdy pleasures) reveals piles of fresh, wonderfully misshapen fruits – surrounded by greedy buzzy flies – and stacks of grana padano, mounds of shiny jellyfish and squid and giant swordfish jutting into the aisles. Whole baby rabbits – their little blue eyes staring glassily through the clingfilm peek at you. And there is row upon row of wine and coffee and olive oil.

World's LARGEST garlic.

Our barbecues – beef, pepper and chilli kebabs - and lamb chops marinated for days in oil and rosemary, huge langoustines grilled over the coals and pasta dressed in a lemon and thyme dressing (fresh from the garden!) with tomatoes and olives in lashings of oil – were intense. From the peach and ham salad to the peppers stuffed with garlic-y, cheesy risotto, everything was fresh and everything was bursting with flavour.

In Noto, a stunning Baroque town, we went for ice-cream at the famous Cafe Sicilia. there we scoffed on granita (in mouth-tingling lemon, juicy blood orange and punchy espresso), smooth hazelnut and rich chocolate gelato and I wolfed down a cassata, made with ricotta, candied fruit and pistachio.

In Modica we bought chocolate from Antica Dolceria Bonajuto - a stunning little artisan chocolate shop where they have made chocolate the same way for six generations. And the chocolate was flavoured with nutmeg or orange peel, pepper or vanilla. Amazing. We were offered and duly tried (more than once) ‘mpanatigghi - a South American empanada – which was filled with meat and chocolate. It was sweet, spicy and slightly metallic. Not entirely lovely but you know, interesting…

Gelato in Syracuse

At dinner in slow-food tavernas we feasted until we could barely move (seriously, it was filthy) on pork gelatine, arancini - deep fried rice balls – juicy olives, local cheese and salami, mussels, swordfish, homemade ravioli, huge snails, grilled courgette and peppers, so juicy and tender, lasagne cacate, sausages cooked in red wine, giant calzones and tender tomato salads. And that was just for starters!

We ate in bustling squares and in peaceful terraces,  we were served with grace and panache and we washed down our food with gallons of punchy red wine.

On a silly level I loved polishing off my meal and then troughing on a crème brûlée vienetta (why why why can’t we get them in the UK?!) and I loved the gorgeous vanilla wafers with my morning espresso. I loved the way that on every corner adults of every persuasion ate icecream at all hours – quite rightly in my opinion. And I jolly well adored seeing the “let’s pizza” hot pizza dispenser in the airport. That’s right. A machine that dispenses slices of pizza. Holy macaroni! The only downside was that it was broken when we rushed to use it but still, a country that has pizza dispensers is all right by me…

Sicily is without question a bombastic place. The dramatic history, the stunning and some times dreadful architecture, the mountains and coastline, the noise and the fuss, the sheer drama of the place is incredible. For those that like to eat and drink and eat and drink again - go. Wear loose fitting outfits and buy a bigger swimsuit. Worry about your diet when you get back. Feast. You won’t regret it! 

As fresh as it gets.

Recipe: Simple Supper (Halloumi, Super-salad and Butternut Squash)

Not "rocket" science

OK, so here’s the thing, it would be really disingenuous for me to only post the meals I cook that are extra special or the cakes that look, in my modest and humble opinion, pretty darn sweet. I don’t always spend THAT long in the kitchen. Sometimes I’m hungover, sometimes – like today I’ve been on the road with work – and sometimes I am just bone idle.

This is a meal – for 2 - that takes up hardly any brain cells, less than an hour to rustle up and won’t bust your purse.

To buy:

*1 x small butternut squash   *1 small bag of rocket   *Big handful of pinenuts   *Olive Oil   *Balsamic Vinegar   *Wholegrain mustard   *juicy tomatoes (I love pomodoro)   *1 x pack of halloumi cheese   *Salt and Pepper   *Paprika   *Big knob of butter

To make:

1. With a sharp knife and lots of attention carefully remove the skin and chop the butternut squash into big juicy cubes.  Pop on a roasting dish with loads of salty butter, a big sprinkle of pepper and lots of paprika, shake well and pop in an oven pre-heated to about 170Oc.  Roast for around 40 minutes but until it looks golden, charred and oh-so-soft. Shake and taste as you go along and add more spice if you like..

2. About ten minutes before the Butternut Squash (BS if you’re feeling risqué) is done, chop the halloumi into even slices lay on another roasting tin and pop under the grill – turning once – until it’s charred but still soft. It will squeak like a mouse when you chew it – hurrah!

3. A few minutes before everything’s expected to be ready, toss the rocket onto your plate, chop the washed tomatoes (which I never keep in the fridge so they should be warm-temperature) and add to the salad along with a big handful of toasted pine-nuts to each plate. (To toast just add to a pan with a tiny drizzle of oil and brown or pop in the oven for a few minutes)

4. Make a simple salad dressing by combining equal measures of Good olive oil and balsamic vinegar (about 5 tsps of each for two plates) and a big tsp of wholegrain mustard and blend by furiously stirring. Add to the salad and season as you like.

5. Chuck your Butternut squash and the halloumi onto the plate and tuck in.

As a meerkat might say – simples. This is the kind of meal you can faff about with and change as you go along, you can chuck in whatever veg you have knocking about your home. I love it.

Do any of you have any other tips on simple suppers? What do you make when you’re pooped and starving. And ordering a Dominos does NOT count!! x

Recipe: Pizza the Action

Nice as (Pizza) Pie

 

Saturday night in with Harry Hill on the telly, only the remnants of a hangover left and ‘Up’ to watch with a big slice of cake. What else could improve on this happy scene.  Hmm… I know. PIZZA PIZZA!  

You need to start making this a couple of hours before you want to eat it but it’s mostly just waiting for dough to rise or sauce to thicken so it’s easy to combine with dossing around, or even something vaguely productive at the same time. 

To buy: 

*300g strong white or ‘OO’ flour   *1 tsp salt   *2 tbsp Olive Oil   *1 x 7g sachet of yeast (about half a level tbsp)   *300ml warm water and for the sauce: *1 small onion finely chopped   *1 clove garlic finely sliced   *2 tbsp Olive Oil   *1 x 400g tin of tomatoes   *2 tbsp tomato puree   *Basil   *1 tsp sugar  *Pinch of chilli flakes   *salt and pepper and whatever you like for the toppings. I had: *Buffalo mozzarella   *cheddar cheese   *parmesan   *shalots   *Spanish chorizo. 

To make: 

1. First make the dough. Sift the flour onto a clean work surface and the salt and make a well.  In a jug add the yeast to the warm water and stir in the olive oil until it’s dissolved.  Slowly add the yeasty water to the well and draw in the flour. Form into a dough and knead for about ten minutes or so.  Pop into a floured bowl and keep in a warm place for a few hours (until it doubles in size). You will need to spend almost that long cleaning the work-top if like mine it has become plastered with doughy-glue! 

2. To make the sauce saute the garlic and onions in the oil for a few minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and season to taste. Boil and then simmer very gently for a few hours until it is thick and a glorious rich red gloop. 

3. Retrieve the dough – which will look HUGE – from your hot place and knead it really well on a floured work-top (yup, the one you’ve just painstakingly cleaned. Darn!) and then split to make 2 or 3 pretty hefty pizzas (you can save the dough to freeze/chill if you don’t want it all at once) and then make into squares or circles or attractive-looking splodges. 

4. Place the pizzas on an oiled tray. Spoon on the sauce and your toppings. Cover with cheese and a drizzle of oil if you wish. 

5. Pop into an oven which has been preheated to about 220Oc/200Oc fan and cook for between 15 and 20 minutes, so that the cheese is bubbly and the edges begin to look crisp. Serve with a smile and a dip for the crust if you like. 

So there we have it.  My pizza was actually very thick and I could only eat half at one sitting but I lurve cold pizza so that was only a bonus. It was really good fun and much better than my last attempt (in a villa in Italy where there was a real stone oven) when the pizza started like glue and ended up like biscuit. Eurgh. I think I would like to make this again and reckon it would be heaps of fun for a dinner party where everyone would get to make their own pizza. Noms.