Slow Food Bible: Margaret Barca
Penguin $19.95
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What's it about? Contrary to popular belief, ‘slow food' is not about taking three days to make a roast. It's about the joys of taking time to enjoy food and appreciate fresh ingredients and includes great tips, from browning meat, to picking great fruit and veg, down to making chutney.
Why should I buy it? Perfect for winter, it's filled with classic recipes for braises, roasts, soups and pasta sauces laid out simply. Don't miss the bread and butter pudding or baked custard.
Saffron & fennel chicken
Serves 4
2 onions, quartered
3 cloves garlic, crushed
4 ripe tomatoes, peeled
and quartered
4 small fennel bulbs, trimmed and cut in thick slices
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons Pernod
3 fresh bay leaves
4-5 saffron threads
salt and freshly ground black ?pepper
4 chicken maryland pieces, skin ?removed
500 g potatoes, peeled
and quartered
2 cups chicken stock
chopped fennel fronds, to serve
Place onions, garlic, tomatoes, fennel, olive oil, Pernod, bay leaves, saffron, salt and freshly ground pepper in a large bowl. Stir well to mix. Add chicken and stir to coat. Cover well and refrigerate overnight or for at least 8 hours.
Remove chicken from the refrigerator an hour before cooking, to bring back to room temperature. Place chicken and marinade in a large, heavy-based saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce heat, partially cover and simmer for about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add potatoes and chicken stock, and simmer for another 30 minutes, until potatoes are tender. Check for seasoning, sprinkle with the feathery fennel fronds, and serve.
Afghani lamb with chickpeas, mint ?& yoghurt
Serves 4
225 g dried chickpeas
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 kg boned lamb leg, cut into 6-cm cubes
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 onions, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 ½ cups water
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
½ teaspoon ground paprika
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
salt and freshly ground black? pepper
500 g potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
steamed rice and fresh mint leaves, to serve
Yoghurt sauce
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 cup plain yoghurt
Soak the chickpeas in plenty of cold water overnight. Drain.
Heat oil in a large non-stick pan over medium heat, add lamb in batches and sauté for 5-6 minutes, turning until browned on all sides. Transfer to ?a ?plate and set aside.
Add onion and garlic to the pan and cook for a few minutes until softened. Return the meat to the pan, add the drained chickpeas and the water, and bring to the boil (skim the surface to remove any scum). Add the spices and mint, season with salt and freshly ground pepper, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 1 hour.
After this time, add potatoes and lemon juice, and some more water if needed. Simmer for another 30 minutes, until meat is very tender and potatoes are cooked.
To make yoghurt sauce, simply mix the garlic into the yoghurt and season with salt.
Serve this dish with steamed rice, scattered with mint leaves. Serve the yoghurt sauce on the side.
Oxtail braise Moroccan-style
Serves 4
3 kg oxtail pieces, trimmed of? fat
1 cup plain flour
1 tablespoon ground ginger
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 large onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
rind from 1 preserved lemon (page 211)
8 cloves
1 teaspoon ras al hanout (see? note page 63)
800 g canned crushed tomatoes
2 bay leaves
zest of ½ orange
1 ½ cups red wine
2 cups beef or chicken stock
creamy mash (page 194), to? serve
Preheat oven to 160ºC.
Mix together the flour and ginger. Dredge oxtail in seasoned flour and dust off any excess.
Heat oil in a large, heavy-based flameproof casserole dish. Add meat in small batches and brown all over. Transfer to a dish and set aside. Add onions, garlic, celery, cinnamon, preserved lemon, cloves and ras al hanout to the casserole and stir for a minute or so, until well mixed. Add tomatoes, bay leaves, orange zest and wine. Place browned oxtail in casserole dish, then add enough stock to cover the meat. Increase heat and bring to the boil. Cover dish, place in preheated oven and cook for 1?hour. Remove from oven, stir gently and cook for a further 1-1½ hours, until meat ?is falling from the bone and the sauce is brown and sticky.
Serve with the creamy mashed potatoes alongside.
Red capsicums stuffed with beef & pine nuts
Serves 6
6 small to medium-sized red capsicums
chopped fresh basil, to serve
Stuffing
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium-sized onion, diced
250 g lean beef mince
90 g short-grain rice, rinsed
1 tomato, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
½ teaspoon ground allspice
½ teaspoon ras al hanout (see ?note page 63)
½ cup pine nuts, toasted
salt and freshly ground black ?pepper
Sauce
1 red onion. diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups tomato passata
(see note page 73)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3-4 fresh basil leaves
Slice the stem end off each capsicum, and remove seeds and membranes.
To make stuffing, heat oil in a frying pan and sauté onion for a few minutes until soft. Add the beef mince and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Remove from heat and add rice, tomato, parsley, spices and pine nuts. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.
Preheat oven to 180ºC.
To make the sauce, heat oil in a frying pan, sauté onion for 4-5 minutes or? until soft, then add tomato passata and paste, and fresh basil leaves. Simmer for 5 minutes, then pour into a casserole dish large enough to? hold ?the capsicums upright (they should fit together snugly).
Spoon stuffing into the capsicums (leave a little space at the top, as the rice will expand when it cooks), and place in the casserole dish on top of the tomato sauce. Cover, place in preheated oven and bake for 1 hour.
To serve, place one capsicum per person on each plate, spoon some sauce over and scatter with chopped basil.
Tagine of lamb & quince
Serves 4-6
200 g dried chickpeas
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 kg lamb shoulder, cut into cubes or chunks
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 brown onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground sweet paprika
pinch of saffron threads
1 cinnamon stick
2 quinces, peeled, cored and? quartered
2 ½ cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
1 sweet potato, peeled and sliced
warmed flat bread, and couscous (page 192), to serve
2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander leaves, to serve
Soak chickpeas in cold water overnight. Drain, place in a saucepan, cover? with fresh water and bring to the boil. Partially cover and simmer for?45?minutes until tender, adding more water if necessary during cooking ?time. Drain.
Heat oil in a large flameproof casserole dish over medium to high heat and? sauté lamb in batches until browned all over. Transfer to a plate and set? aside.
Preheat oven to 170ºC.
Add garlic and onion to casserole and cook until softened. Add ground spices, saffron threads and cinnamon stick, and cook for 1 minute, until fragrance is released. Return lamb to the casserole dish, add the quinces, stock, honey and lime juice, and bring to the boil. Cover dish, place in preheated oven and cook for 1½ hours, checking occasionally. After this time, add the cooked chickpeas and the sweet potato. Return to the oven for 30 minutes, until meat, quinces and sweet potato are very tender.
Serve with warmed flat bread, and couscous scattered with coriander leaves.
Prunes are often included in a tagine. Just add ½-¾ cup pitted prunes with the cooked chickpeas and the sweet potato.