I suppose I should start this entry with a sourdough report. As promised, the moment the kitchen timer went off I tore off a hot corner of bread, slathered it with butter and devoured it. There are no photos of that first slice because there simply wasn't time - I would have had to put down the butter knife to pick up the camera. The crust was satisfyingly crunchy - it made a fantastically loud crack when bitten. The centre was light and airy - the little bubbles were perfect nesting places for blobs of melting butter. The taste ... well, there was no taste. I completely forgot to add salt to the dough and so the bread tasted of absolutely nothing ('supermodel sourdough' - good looking but no substance). On the positive side, that is a mistake I will not make twice. Stay tuned for the second batch.
Today I made ravioli with sage butter. It was the first time I had ever made pasta from scratch and I now understand what all the fuss is about. Let me take you on a homemade pasta journey ... the whole event starts with a dough made from flour, eggs, olive oil, salt and water. The dough is kneaded (by hand) for 10-15 minutes, left to rest in the fridge, rolled out on a pasta machine*, cut, filled with ricotta and herbs, folded and sealed - and hey presto, Ravioli! The plump little beauties are then cooked in salted water and tossed in melted butter and sage leaves. This process took three hours, but the final result was definitely worth the effort. They were beyond delicious. Eating them was as close as I have ever come to a religious experience. Hallelujah!
* I have never been good at subtlety so I am just going to come out and say this ... I want one of these for my next birthday. Thanks Ed.
I also co-cooked zabaglione semi freddo with my kitchen partner. I don't usually share cooking, but this particular recipe requires you to stand over a bowl of egg yolks and whisk continuously for half an hour - not my idea of a good time. The basic mixture is egg yolks, sugar and a rather generous slog of both sherry and rum (not a dessert for a designated driver). There is a magic moment when the rather uninspiring eggy mixture suddenly turns into a pale creamy mousse. The mousse was then frozen and once semi-solid, served with an Italian fruit salad (Ciao!).
Today I made ravioli with sage butter. It was the first time I had ever made pasta from scratch and I now understand what all the fuss is about. Let me take you on a homemade pasta journey ... the whole event starts with a dough made from flour, eggs, olive oil, salt and water. The dough is kneaded (by hand) for 10-15 minutes, left to rest in the fridge, rolled out on a pasta machine*, cut, filled with ricotta and herbs, folded and sealed - and hey presto, Ravioli! The plump little beauties are then cooked in salted water and tossed in melted butter and sage leaves. This process took three hours, but the final result was definitely worth the effort. They were beyond delicious. Eating them was as close as I have ever come to a religious experience. Hallelujah!
* I have never been good at subtlety so I am just going to come out and say this ... I want one of these for my next birthday. Thanks Ed.
I also co-cooked zabaglione semi freddo with my kitchen partner. I don't usually share cooking, but this particular recipe requires you to stand over a bowl of egg yolks and whisk continuously for half an hour - not my idea of a good time. The basic mixture is egg yolks, sugar and a rather generous slog of both sherry and rum (not a dessert for a designated driver). There is a magic moment when the rather uninspiring eggy mixture suddenly turns into a pale creamy mousse. The mousse was then frozen and once semi-solid, served with an Italian fruit salad (Ciao!).
In today's demonstration we were shown how to cook: Lebanese cold cucumber soup*, Yoghurt parfait with mint oil and whey, Poached monkfish with red pepper sauce, Monkfish with red pepper vinaigrette, Braised fennel, Meringue roulade with strawberries, Lemon meringue roulade, Eton mess, Almond meringue with strawberries and cream, Coconut kisses, Puff pastry, and Pickled Ox tongue (I am trying to be open-minded, but ... no thanks).
*This is essentially runny tzatziki that you eat with a spoon. Allegedly refreshing.
*This is essentially runny tzatziki that you eat with a spoon. Allegedly refreshing.
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