Sugo di Salsiccie

If you read this blog often, you may have noticed that I have a fondness for foods that are a touch on the expensive side. In truth, the foods that I choose to write about are those that are out of the ordinary and also coincidently, just happen to be a bit dear. We are all accustomed to dishes with chicken and beef. Or potatoes and carrots. I just don’t see the point in writing about everyday food. Nor do I want to write of the common and mundane. How boring. The reason I write this blog is because I want to inspire others to eat more glamorously.
But in reality, if Mike and I ate pigeons and black truffles every night, I think our rent wouldn’t get paid. So yes, we do eat a lot of “normal” food too. And one of those economical ingredients I take advantage of is sausage. They are inexpensive and yummy and I buy several varieties from the butcher and freeze them to use later. However, there are times that it feels as though sausages are coming out of our nostrils from over consumption and too many dinners. As a result I am always trying to think up of fresh, new ways to serve and eat them.
One of my favorite ways to cook sausages is to remove the meat from the casing to turn them into a luscious sauce for homemade tagliatelle. For this dish I use spicy Italian style sausages, made from pork, chilies and small chunks of fat. I know a lot of people find the idea of fats in food repulsive, but I absolutely love it.
Fat is what gives food rich taste and full, rounded texture. Low fat food is devoid of both these qualities and that is why low fat food and diets are unsatisfying, and in the long term unsustainable. Please don’t get the wrong idea with this bold statement. Everything should be in moderation. I don’t mean one should go and gorge on a tub of margarine.
When I talk of fat, I mean natural and delicious ones. Like pure olive and nut oils. Unsalted cultured butter. And yes, that too includes duck fat and pork fat.
Not hideous and dangerous man made hydrogenated grease, which is what margarine is. I have never understood why in this day and age people eat such a vile concoction. These hard and saturated fats taste dreadful and are bad for ones health. I avoid them like the plague and they definitely have no place in my cooking.
Anyway, back to the sausages.
Buy sausages from a real butcher- not the supermarket. Ask the butcher what he puts into the sausages. The best sausages are those made from pure meat and fat with seasonings, spices and herbs. Try to stay away from sausage meat that is made into a fine paste from meat scraps with extenders and binders. The more unadulterated the mix, the better the sausages will taste.

Ingredients
1 large red onion, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
1 star anise
2- 3 Tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
350g spicy pork sausage meat (use an Italian style or Spanish chorizo)
150ml rose wine
400g tin Italian cherry tomatoes (pureed in a mouli)
250 ml very good homemade stock (stock cubes will be too salty with sausage meat)
1 tsp brown sugar
Plenty of freshly chopped parsley
Black and white pepper

Method
Place the onion, celery and star anise into a saucepan with the olive oil. Cook over a low heat for 30 minutes (or until the onion is reduced and caramelized).
Add the sausage meat. Turn the heat to high and cook to just remove the raw color from the meat. Do not brown, it makes the meat hard.
Deglaze with the wine and simmer for a moment.
Add the tomatoes, stock and sugar. If you don’t have homemade stock, just use water. Simmer for 1 hour.
Season the sauce with pepper and finish with lots of parsley. You probably will not need salt, but add it if you think it needs it.
This amount of sauce is perfect for 300g of fresh homemade tagliatelle.
Serve sprinkled with a hard but mild tasting ewes’ milk cheese. I particularly like this sauce with a Spanish Manchego. Try to avoid Grana or Parmaggiano. I don’t think they combine well with chili.
Enough for 3 serves.

The Blind Gourmand.

I know it may seem that I have been lazy lately in the cyber world of food blogging. The truth is I can barely focus on words in a book, let alone those on a computer screen. My vision has become blurry in the past few weeks and as a result I have an appointment later this week to have my eyesight assessed.
By no means has this hindrance dampened my love of preparing delicious foods. Here are a few examples of the fine foods I have cooked in the past week. I am sorry I cannot give you recipes and instructions, but rest assured I will resume writing as soon as my vision is corrected. I hope you find these pictures tantalising. They certainly were divine to eat.

Chargrilled Scallops marinated in Chili and Garlic, with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes, and Balsamic Vinegar.

Radicchio, Pancetta and Red Wine Risotto.

Barramundi Roasted with Greek Oregano, Lemon zest and Cherry Tomatoes.

Wild Hare Braised with Red Wine, Thyme, Cinnamon and Juniper served with Filei Calabresi.

Swordfish Steaks marinated with Anchovy, Capers, Lemon zest and Rosemary.

Desiree Potatoes baked with Fennel and White Wine.

Banana with Lime, Passionfruit and Vanilla Syrup.

Summery Roast Fish

I love the idea of “one pan cooking”. It is practical and does not require much effort and you get a fantastic exchange of flavours throughout the final dish. It is good too, because there is only one dish to wash after (not that I do the washing around here!)
Because it is Summer now, I am using summery flavours, and this combination works really well. But you could use any herbs or vegetables. Use whatever is in season or whatever looks good. The best fish for roasting are the oily ones. You could use cutlets, fillets or whole fish. The thicker the fish, the longer the cooking time-adjust accordingly.
For a vegetarian version, just leave out the fish altogether, it will still taste delicious.

Ingredients
400g fish fillets
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp finely chopped fresh thyme
1 tsp finely chopped lemon zest
Fresh black pepper
Sea salt
200g kipfler potatoes, or other small waxy potato
200g ripe cherry tomatoes
200g small onions
200g olives, black and green
1 whole head of garlic, unpeeled but separated into cloves
Zest of 1 lemon, finely julienned
Fresh thyme, left on the branch
Fresh black pepper
Sea salt
Extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
50ml white wine

Method
Marinate the fish with the first 6 ingredients. Leave for as long as you like, covered in the fridge. Bring to room temperature, before roasting.
Place all the remaining ingredients, except the wine, in a roasting pan. It should all fit snugly, so choose an appropriate size pan. Give it a light mix, so everything is slicked with a bit of oil and bake at 180c for 1 hour. From time to time check the pan is not burning. Add a touch of water if it seems to be drying out.
Remove the pan from the oven, and leave for a while. Turn the oven to 230c and allow it to heat for a few minutes.
Lay the fish fillets over the roasted veggies and splash over the white wine.
Roast for another 10 minutes or until the fish is cooked through.
Serve straight from the pan with lots of crunchy bread. This will serve 2 people, but this recipe will double or triple very easily. Cooking times will be the same (give or take).