Baked codfish with anchovies and parmesan cheese

A really interesting recipe from my Italian cookbook. I don't think I have had anything similar in my life. First, deskin 2 cod fillets. Divide them into half lengthwise. On each of these portions, place 1/2 tsp of chopped anchovies. If the anchovies are salted, soak them in water to get rid of the salt. Roll the fillets up from the thickest side and reserve. Pour boiling water oven 250 g of spinach and leave for 2 minutes. Drain and squeeze out as much moisture as possible. Place the spinach in the base of an ovenproof dish. Arrange 2 tomatoes sliced on top of the spinach. Arrange the fish on top and pour over 100ml of cream. Place 1 slice of wholemeal bread, and 25g of rocket in a food processor and blend until finely chopped. Stir in 25g of grated parmesan cheese. Sprinkle the topping over the fish and bake in preheated oven at 220 degrees for 16 minutes until the fish is cooked. Serve with freshly cooked pasta.

M's verdict: 8/10
N's verdict: 9/10

I really like this dish for its uniqueness and how the taste of the anchovies complement the simplier taste of the codfish. Need some practice cooking this dish, as the fish was undercooked. That's why i increased the time in the oven from 10 minutes (in the cookbook) to 16 minutes.

Herb baked chicken with tagliatelle

A really simple dish to prepare, which doesn't require any frying. First place 3 chicken thighs on a baking dish. Season with salt and pepper. In a bowl, mix 1 and a half slices of wholemeal breadcrumbs, 1 tsp of oregano, 1 tbsp of sundried tomatoes paste and 1 tbsp of olive. Press the breadcrumbs onto the chicken thighs. In another bowl, mix 1 can of plum tomatoes, 1 tbsp of white wine and 1 tbsp of chopped fresh basil. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon the tomato mixture onto the sides of the chicken thighs in the baking dish. Place in a preheated oven 200 degrees and cook for 30 minutes. Serve with cooked tagliatelle.

M's verdict: 6/10
N's verdict: 7/10

M think it's boring. She likes the breadcrumbs though and that's probably why it's a 6 rather than a 5. I quite like this dish, it's simple, healthy and I do like the breadcrumbs as well.

Classic minestrone

I have always thought that the distinctive taste of minestrone soup is from beef stock. I only realised that it is actually the bacon that gives it that wonderful flavour when I cooked it yesterday. First chop up 3 bacon rashers and fry it in butter and olive oil for 3-4 minutes. Leave the juices in the pan and add 1 large onion finely chopped, 1 garlic clove finely chopped, 1 celery stick finely chopped and 2 carrots finely chopped. Add one ingredient at a time, stirring well after each addition. Cover and cook gently for 8-10 minutes until the vegetables are softened. Add 1 can of chopped tomatoes, 1.1 litre of stock,bring to the boil, cover the saucepan, reduce the heat and simmer gently for 20 minutes. Stir in 175g of finely shredded green cabbage, 50 g of french beans, trimmed and halved and 50 g of spaghetti pieces. Cover and simmer for another 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Return the bacon to the soup, bring it the boil and serve with crusty bread.

M's verdict: 8/10
N's verdict: 8/10

M really likes the soup, she said that it was extremely savoury, full of the taste of the various vegetables. Of course, she may be biased as she had the soup at 3am, having had no dinner previously. I enjoyed the soup as well, and at least in my view, it did taste exactly like minestrone soup. The recipe requires 3 tbsp of peas as well but as M abhors peas, it's not in my cooking. So if you like them, by all means add them.

Gnocchi and parma ham bake

Cook 1 finely chopped onion and 2 finely chopped garlic cloves in olive oil for 5 minutes till softened. Stir in 175g of plum tomatoes, peeled and skinned, 2 tbsp sundried tomatoes paste and 250g of cream cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Add 1/2tbsp of finely chopped fresh tarragon. Bring to the boil and lower the heat, simmer for 5 minutes. Add cooked gnocchi to a large oven proof dish. Add the tomato sauce and toss gently to coat the pasta. Combine 125 g of finely grated cheddar cheese, 50g of white breadcrumbs and 1/2 tbsp of fresh tarragon. Scatter over the pasta mixture. Top with 50 g of parma ham and 10 halved pitted green olives. Cook in preheated oven at 180 degrees for 25 minutes until golden and bubbling.

M's verdict: 7/10
N's verdict: 7/10

Very intense tomato taste. I find it too strong. M is fine with it. I like the texture of the gnocchi which becomes something like mashed potatoes after its time in the oven. The parma ham is a nice crisp topping for this dish. The key problem is the olives. I think I should have washed the olives to get rid of the brine as it gave a sour flavour to the overall package.

Mushroom risotto

I had the most wonderful mushroom risotto at Marcus Wareing at The Savoy. It was rich, full of the taste of mushrooms, yet light: it didn't feel heavy on the stomach. And of course, as I mentioned in the entry on this restaurant, it had a poached egg on top, an interesting complement to the mushrooms. Well, as you all would expect, I decided to try to make mushroom risotto. This recipe is taken from the BBC website.

Ingredients
1 tbsp dried porcini mushrooms
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
225g/8oz chestnut mushrooms, sliced
350g/12oz arborio rice
150ml/¼ pint dry white wine
1.2 litres/2 pints hot vegetable stock
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
25g/1oz butter
salt and freshly ground black pepper
freshly grated parmesan cheese, to serve


Method
1. Soak the mushrooms in hot water for 10 minutes, then drain well. Heat the oil in a large, heavy based saucepan and add the onion and garlic. Fry over a gentle heat for 2-3 minutes, until softened. Add the mushrooms and fry for a further 2-3 minutes, until browned.
2. Stir in the rice and coat in the oil. Pour in the wine and simmer, stirring, until the liquid has
been absorbed. Add a ladleful of the stock and simmer, stirring again, until the liquid has been absorbed. Continue adding the stock in this way, until all the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is plump and tender.
3. Roughly chop the soaked mushrooms and stir into the risotto, along with the parsley, butter and salt and pepper. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

M's verdict: 6/10
N's verdict: 7/10

The texture of the risotto was perfect, at least to me, and it wasn't the ridiculously creamy kind normally served at Italian restaurants in England. The problem was, unfortunately, the taste, which is my fault, I guess. Or the supermarket's fault actually. They were out of dried porcini mushrooms. As an alternative, I just grabbed a packet of dried wild mushrooms and it simply didn't have the intense flavours associated with porcini mushrooms. I will have to try and make this dish again with porcini mushrooms to see whether I can recreate that taste i savoured at Marcus Wareing. Oh and there's no poached egg, as well, I am embarassed to say this, I can't seem to poach eggs.

Tagliatelle with chicken, asparagus and mushrooms

This is my first time cooking with asparagus. It has been always been an enigmatic vegetable to me. It just looks so different and tastes so different from everything else. For this recipe, first melt 1 tbsp of butter in a frying pan, then add 2 spring onions chopped and 180 g of diced chicken. Fry for 2 minutes. Add 8 chopped chestnut mushrooms and continue frying for 2 minutes. Add 1 tbsp of white wine and allow to reduce. Pour in 150 ml of cream and 1 tbsp of chopped chives. Cook gently for 5-7 until the sauce has thickened and the chicken is tender. Mix in cooked tagliatelle, toss and mix thoroughly. Serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese.

M's verdict: 5/10
N's verdict: 5/10

Was hoping the asparagus added a special taste to the sauce but it turned out to be an average creamy pasta. Nothing exceptional.