1 post tagged “fennel”

Given the alarming lack of a tasty man in the near vicinity, a dreadful cold, a hungry family and a cold afternoon, may as well get into the kitchen.  Every so often I come over all domestic, an inexplicale phenomenon given that I consider myself an animal about as domestic as a hammer-head shark. 

This is what I've cooked up so far:

"Sformato di Finocchi e Patate" (Fennel and Potato Pie)

Take two heads of fennel, cut them into quarters and simmer for 10 minutes.  Peel two large potatoes, cut into fairly thin slices and boil for 3 minutes.  Let the fennel fry a little in a little butter.  Butter abundantly the bottom of a shallow dish.  Layer the fennel and potatoes with lots of grated parmesan cheese.  Bake in the oven at c.180°C for about 15 minutes.  Turn out of the dish: if it comes out clean then you can call it "sformato.." etc and your friends will say "Wow!"  If it all breaks up, don't give a shit, put it in a bowl and call it "Baked Fennel and Potato" and your friends will say "wow" anyway.

Aubergines Jewish Style (from the fabulous and very difficult -to-get Jewish cookbook I got from my friend Fiorella who is "in" with the right crowd)

Cut 3 aubergines into cubes, add salt and drain off liquid.  Coat them lightly in flour and fry.  Chop some celery, carots, onion and basil finely and fry in a little oil.  Add half a kilo of peeled tomatoes, a few capers, black olives (take out the stones unless you want to pay your friends' dental bills), half a soup spoonful of vinegar, the same of sugar, salt and pepper.  Cook till the sauce is thick.  Add the fried aubergines and cook for 10 minutes more.  Go to aubergine heaven.

Artichokes

Take a large crate of artichokes that you got for Christmas and a pair of surgical gloves (unless you want black fingernails for weeks).  "Clean" the artichokes: this involves chopping away an alarming 80% of the vegetable and getting down to the core.  If you are not entertaining important or influential people, or Marco Pierre White, do yourself a favour, chop them in half to clean out the "beard".  Fry with lots of garlic in vegetable oil.  Have your telephone cut off while you eat them.

Roast Loin of Pork

Take the loin of an unfortunate swine and "seal" it by frying every side of it lightly in a pan with oil and garlic.  Put it in a roasting dish.  Make shallow cuts on the top and insert rosemary and bayleaves (previously plucked from a herb garden in picturesque manner), pour on a little oil and a little balsamic vinegar.  Cover well and roast at about 200°C for a couple of hours.  Parboil some carrots and parsnips and add these to the dish half an hour before the roast is ready.  A little before this, drain off some of the juice.  Put a large spoonful of sugar in a small pan with some vinegar, and heat until the sugar is dissolved.  Add the roast juice and reduce.  Add a small glass of orange juice and reduce.  Uncover the roast, and pour the sauce over it, leave to roast a further half hour, basting regularly. 

Naturally if a tasty man shows up, none of this necessary and you can make do with a sandwich made of whatever's in the fridge.