martin dawson
pfm Member
Bucatini all’ Amatriciana with Pecorino cheese heaven !
Regards,
Martin
Regards,
Martin
Cream - NO!!
I knew I would risk being banned, luckily Tony isn't too much into cooking. I have grown far less dogmatic in recent years, I tend to favour cooking with products as fresh as possible, this means having usually a nearly empty fridge. So you often end up cooking a meal with what you have left, and this can be for instance cream and spaghetti.Cream - NO!!
You eat with your chickens! Do they like peccorino?I love carbonara too and with our own chickens, the results are stunning.
I like a Puttanesca sauce with lots of garlic, anchovies, crushed red pepper, black olives, and capers. This is a sauce with tremendous "character", and it seems like all the ingredients come together just right. Combine/toss it with al dente spaghettini, and finish with some coarsely grated Pecorino. Heaven.
What do you like?
indeed an aboration.
Talking of pretension after that opening sentence!I start by taking all available fish, or anything else dredged up from the sea, including..and especially, anchovies..and hurling them unceremoniously into the bin.
I do a pretty basic Spag Bol type thing, variously using fresh or canned Tomatoes, or something like Dolmio. I'm not proud. I use fresh basil if I have it. Alternatively if starting from scratch I'll happily use dried basil and sometimes a bit of dried Oregano. Onions, or Garlic or both.. depends on mood.
I use lean beef mince but am very particuar about browning it first. It is imperative to cook out the 'offal' flavour which can pervade even the best mince, and to encourage the caramelisation. just as you would with finest steak. or roast beef. Very hot pan, very little oil, get it 'catching' in the pan then add a little water.. rinse and repeat. Nothing worse than under-browned mince. A glug of EVOO (New one on me that.. a bit of pretension I'm happy to mock.. ) can always be added once the sauce is progressing, but bit pointless at the browning the meat stage.
A lunchtime favourite is simply a couple of inches of decent chorizo, sliced or chopped, and sweated down before adding skinned and chopped fresh tomatoes from the garden. A bit of seasoning and that's it. I'll happily substitute chopped bacon or ham.. but Chorizo contains pretty much all the flavour needed for a complete sauce.. all on its own. Serve with whatever pasta is lying about. I may add shop bought or even freshly caught mushrooms, chillies, even halved olives. Whatever is available. It's variable, but never less than edible.
I'm not good at Carbonara. I always finish up with pasta and scrambled egg. but it still fills a corner... One day I'll get it right.