Risoni Pasta with Charred Cauliflower, Peas and Pancetta

This is a simple warm pasta salad flavoured with fresh flat leafed parsley, thyme and good thickened cream.

I love easy weeknight dinners that have all the benefits of a labour intensive meal. This pasta is perfect for spring afternoons with a bottle of wine.

Ingredients

Serves 2

2/3 cup risoni pasta

½ cup peas

¼ small cauliflower

 150g pancetta

¼ small red onion, finely chopped

3 tbsp flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped

½ tsp fresh thyme

3 tbsp thickened cream

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Directions

Bring water to boil and cook risoni pasta as directed on the packaging. Usually 5 – 7 minutes.

Chop cauliflower into small pieces and coat in olive oil, salt and pepper. Cook in a frypan on high heat, turning only once the bottom is charred. Continue to do so until all sides have a nice dark brown charring. Add peas and reduce heat to medium. Add 1/3 cup of water and let reduce.

Once the water has reduced and the peas are a bright green, add cream and mix well. Set aside.

In a separate pan, lightly fry pancetta and add to cauliflower. To finish, combine risoni, cauliflower mix, red onion, parsley and thyme. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Marty's Meatballs

This is one of my favourite things to cook, but every time I make it, it changes. It’s really never the same each time, but I’m going to post my last make so I finally have something captured. Meatballs are a two pronged endeavour; purists would argue less is more, and others would argue that more is the end of the story. I like more. But granted, there is a time and a place. On a winter’s night I want heat, I want texture, I want spice and I want complex.

Meatballs have been prepared all over the world for many years and there are records in the Ancient Roman cookbook Apicius that make reference to meatballs.

Ingredients

Serves four - five

For the meatballs

500g beef mince

2 eggs

½ cup panko breadcrumbs

½ large onion

½ large field mushroom

2 large cloves garlic

1 tsp cumin

1 tbsp black pepper

4 cloves, crushed

1 tsp nutmeg

3 ground bay leaves

1 tbsp ground mustard

1 tsp salt

½ teaspoon chilli flakes

For the Sauce

2 cans whole, peeled tomatoes

3 large vine ripened tomatoes, diced

½ cup red wine

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 large onion, diced

1.5 large field mushrooms, diced lengthways

Olive oil for cooking

1 tsp mustard powder

1 tsp cumin

½ chilli flakes

1 tbsp paprika

1 tbsp parsley

1 tbsp nutmeg

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Start by finely dicing all of the meatball ingredients and combine, using your hands to meld the mixture. Roll into small balls and let sit in refrigerator.

In a pan, heat olive oil and fry meatballs off on medium to high heat, browning evenly, then set aside. Add more olive oil to the pan and add garlic, onions and mushrooms to brown. After cooking for 3 -5 minutes, remove from pan and add a dollop of red wine to deglaze. Let the alcohol cook out of the wine to leave behind the grapey nodes. Add tomatoes, both fresh and canned and then add back garlic, onions and mushrooms. Add the herbs and cook for 5 – 10 minutes, adding and adjusting herbs, salt and pepper to taste. It is a matter of trial and error until you reach your desired taste.

Bake in the oven with meatballs for 40 – 60 minutes at 180 degrees. Serve with pasta, as desired. 

French Onion Soup

The art of perfecting this dish isn't overly difficult; it’s all in the timing.

French onion soup is a dish that dates back as far as Roman times. The modern day version, as we know it came to life in France, originally as a peasant’s dish, as onions were cheap and in surplus.

Combing butter, sugar, wine, cheese and bread, this dish marries many pleasures and creates a decadent dish that nobody will ever say no to!

Ingredients

Serves four – six people

1.5 Pounds of Onions

1 Cup of Salted Butter

½ Cup Raw Brown Sugar

1 Small Garlic Clove

½ Cup Sherry

¼ Cup Bourbon

3 Cups of Beef Stock

Stale Crusty Bread

2 Tbsp Flour

2 Cups of Gruyere Cheese

Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

As important as the flavors are, texture is equally important; when dicing the onions, cut them in half, the slice long ways to achieve long pieces. As the onions do soften and break down and being the only ingredient, it’s quite nice to have the longer pieces.

 

Melt the butter into a pot, once heated, cook onions and garlic for 15 – 20 minutes. The onions must be well browned. Do not add salt at this point, there is enough in the butter and despite much debate about the pros of sweating the onions, it’s better for a long cooking process for them to retain as much juice as possible. After this add the sugar and caramelize the onions. Onions have a naturally occurring sugar and caramelizing with brown sugar adds a wonderful mellow flavor that pairs well against the saltiness of the remaining ingredients.

Once caramelized, add both alcohols and cook for 5 minutes until the initial alcohol has cleared. After, add the flour to the onions and cook through to remove the taste of flour. Once done, add the beef stock and stir well and leave to stew for an hour on a low heat. This is one of the most important things to pay attention to, the soup flavors need to meld and good soup takes time.

Grate the cheese and slice thick pieces of crusty bread. Gruyere cheese has the consistency of mozzarella with the taste of a full bodied cheese; it’s a win-win. If you don’t have Gruyere, mixing mozzarella with a strong cheese of your choice is a perfect substitute. Next, toast the bread until it is crisp.

After an hour of cooking, the soup should be thick and rich with texture and taste. Add salt and pepper to taste then place the soup in soup ramekins that are oven friendly. The soup should be thick enough to hold the bread and cheese on top. Once dished, melt under a grill or broil until the cheese is well browned and melting ridiculously over the edges.