Cooking with Sheridan 050112Here’s a terrific way to use leftover panettone from Christmas and New year celebrations.  The recipe is from the 2012 Paesanella Calendar which photographer Andrew Payne and I put together recently.

Place the blueberries and half the raspberries in a bowl. Combine 1 tablespoon Grand Marnier and 1 tablespoon sugar. Pour over the fruit. Leave to to macerate for one hour.
Make a coulis by pureeing the remaining raspberries with remaining liqueur, sugar and ¼ cup warm water. Taste for sugar. Set aside.
Toast the panettone slices on both sides until golden.  Place one round in the middle of four plates.
Spread the mascarpone over each round, leaving a little for the top.  Spoon the macerated fruit evenly over each pizza and top with a scoop of mascarpone. Drizzle each with the pulp of half a passionfruit.

This recipe is from my new book, The Cook’s Garden (NH$49.95).  It’s perfect to serve on cool spring nights, or for lunch in the garden, and you can add other vegetables such as sweet young peas and sliced button mushrooms. Freshly chopped spring herbs are also a good addition. The rice should always be creamy when cooked but still al dente (slightly chewy).

Steam the asparagus until just cooked, and cut into 3-cm (1¼-in) lengths. Reserve some of the tips for garnishing.
Heat the oil and butter in a large heavy frying pan and sauté the onion and garlic until translucent. Tip in the rice and stir until all the grains are coated with the butter and onion mixture. Pour in the wine and stir with a wooden spoon until the wine has almost disappeared.
Add a ladleful of the boiling stock and stir into the rice. Once the liquid has disappeared, add another ladleful. Continue like this, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, until the rice is creamy but still al dente and all the liquid has been absorbed (it may take the smaller quantity of stock). This will take about 30 minutes. Season to taste.
Add the asparagus and extra butter (if using) and combine well, being careful not to damage the tips. Stir in the grated cheese. Serve immediately. Garnish with freshly ground black pepper, reserved asparagus tips and shaved parmesan cheese.

This wonderful Italian pasta dish is cheap to make and makes a very satisfying meal served with a mixed green leaf salad and crusty bread. You’ll find it on the menu at Signorelli Gastronomia, Pyrmont, Sydney.

Clean the vongole by immersing them into water with the flour for 30 minutes.  Rinse well and drain.
Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a large saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. Add the vongole, wine and cover.   Steam over a high heat for 3-4 minutes, add chilli, garlic and shake the pan, until the shells open.
Meanwhile, cook the linguine in plenty of boiling salted water until al dente (about 8 minutes), then drain well and coat with olive oil. Add the linguine to the vongole.
Add the remainder of the olive oil, butter, chopped parsley and lemon juice to the saucepan and toss through. Season with freshly ground pepper and serve in a deep pasta bowl.

On a bleak winter’s day, nothing can beat this tasty Italian vegetable soup.

In a large pan, sweat the onions, garlic and bacon in the oil until onions and garlic are softened – be careful not to let them brown.  Add the celery, carrots, potatoes, zucchini and peas and cook until vegetables are softened. Add the chopped tomatoes, chicken stock, bouquet garni and season to taste. Bring back to simmering point and skim the surface.Throw in the rice and simmer gently for about 30 minutes.  Check seasoning.  Remove bouquet garni. Ladle into warm bowls, swirl through a little pesto and pass the parmesan at the table.
Tip: substitute tinned butter beans if the borlotti beans are hard to find.  Alternatively soak 125g dried beans overnight in water to cover.  Drain and cover again with water and simmer until tender.
Note: tastes even better the next day!

Here’s a hearty soup recipe from a new collection of Tuscan recipes, simply called “Tuscany” (Phaidon). Ribollita literally means ‘re-boiled’ and is a method of using up stale bread and left over vegetables or beans as a soup. In some areas of Tuscany, ham fat and bacon rind are also added to the vegetables.

Put the cannellini beans into a large pan, pour in water to cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 40 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in another large pan. Add the onion, celery, carrots, potatoes and courgettes(zucchini) and cook over very low heat, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes. Season with salt, add the Swiss chard and cabbage and cook, stirring, for a few minutes. Cover the pan. Drain the beans, reserving the cooking liquid. Press half the beans through a sieve (sifter) into a bowl, then stir the purée into the pan of vegetables. Add the reserved cooking liquid and simmer for 1 hour. Add the remaining whole beans and parsley and simmer for another 1 – 1½ hours.
Remove the soup from the heat and season with salt and pepper to taste. Make a layer of bread slices in a tureen and ladle some of the soup over it. Continue making alternate layers of bread and soup until all the ingredients have been used, then let stand until the bread is completely soaked. Serve immediately with a healthy drizzle of Tuscan extra virgin olive oil.

An utterly delectable dessert, served at Bells Restaurant, Killcare. “If people are making it at home and don’t want to make the gelato and sorbetto, they can buy good quality from the shop and assemble,” advises chef Steve Manfredi. “The praline is easy to make and lasts well if put in an airtight container away from heat and humidity.”

To make the Raspberry Sorbet, combine all ingredients and churn in an ice-cream machine following the manufacturers instructions. Make this the day before so the sorbet can be set

To make the Vanilla Gelato:In a bowl, beat together the yolks and half of the sugar. You can beat by hand or in mixer. Beat until thoroughly smooth and creamy. Put cream and the remaining half of the sugar into a saucepan over medium heat. Scrape vanilla seeds from beans with the tip of a small knife into pan; add to cream. Heat the mixture until just before it starts to simmer (do not let it boil). Remove mixture from heat and let stand 10 minutes.

While the mixture is standing, prepare an ice water bath in a bowl large enough to set another bowl easily inside of it. Set aside. Whisk in 1 cup of the cream mixture in a slow stream into the yolk mixture to temper it. Add another cup of the cream mixture; continue to whisk. Transfer the egg yolk mixture back to the saucepan with the remaining cream and vanilla. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until it is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon (You can run your finger in a line over the back of the coated spoon. If the mixture doesn’t run, but stays in place on the spoon, it should be thick enough.) Remove from heat. Pour custard through a medium-mesh sieve into a stainless steel bowl set in the ice-water bath. Let cool completely, stirring until completely chilled.
Freeze custard in an ice cream machine (Take care not to over churn or it will go grainy.) Place in freezer for four hours to set.

To assemble - either one large or 15 x 120 ml individual- line with vanilla gelato first and then scoop a ball of raspberry sorbetto in the middle. Place in freezer until needed. To serve, scatter some pistachio praline on serving plates,  take cassata from mould, place on praline and sprinkle with more praline on top. Serves 15.

To make the Pistachio Praline:
Dissolve glucose over low heat. Add the sugar in 4 lots. After completely dissolved it will begin to caramelise. When it is a golden caramel colour, add the pistachios and mix well. Turn it out on a flat metal tray and let it cool. Once cool, chop it fine or pulse in a food processor. Store in an air-tight container.

Flavoured with red wine and Italian sausages, this is a terrific dish to serve on a cold winter night.

Heat oil in a large heavy-based saucepan or frying pan.  Add onion, celery and pancetta. Cook until vegetables are soft.
Remove sausage skins, add sausage meat to pan and cook until no longer pink.  Add half the wine and boil until it has evaporated.
Stir in the rice until grains are coated with oil and translucent.
Start add simmering stock, one ladleful at a time, stirring until absorbed.  Continue stirring and adding stock.  Halfway through cooking, add remaining red wine and rinsed beans.  Finish cooking.
Remove pan from heat, stir in butter and parmesan cheese.  Season to taste.  Cover with a lid and leave for a few minutes before serving on heated plates.

One of the recipes Justine Schofield (a finalist in the first MasterChef series) will be demonstrating next Saturday at the Campsie Food Festival.

To make the sauce: heat the oil in a large heavy based saucepan. On medium low heat fry the onion, garlic and anchovies until soft. Add the tomatoes and bay leaves and soften slightly. Add the white wine and cook off for 5 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper. Add the passata.  Fill the empty jar half way up with water and add to the tomato sauce. Bring to the boil and then turn down to a low heat. Simmer for 1 hour.
For the polpettine: Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a pan and soften onion, chilli and garlic. Remove from pan a cool slightly. In a medium bowl, mix veal and pork mince with beaten eggs, ricotta, parmesan, parsley, thyme, tomato paste, the onion mixture and salt and pepper. With your hands combine well.
Form the mixture into small balls. Drizzle oil in a non-stick frying pan and fry the small meatballs until golden.  Add to the tomato sauce. Cook on low heat for another 40 minutes.
Serve with penne pasta.

The Campsie Food Festival is a celebration of all things multicultural and delicious. The main street (Beamish Street) is closed to traffic as people sample dishes from Korea,  Japan, Thailand, Hungary, Turkey, Fiji, China, Indonesia and more.
More info  www.canterbury.nsw.gov.au/www/html/2012-campsie-food-festival.asp

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“Here’s a quick and easy way to dress pasta with huge flavour,” says chef Guy Grossi.  “It uses fresh ripe tomatoes bursting with flavour.  When heated, the tomatoes release their juices forming a luscious coating for the pasta. The pasta has a little ‘chew’ to it which creates texture and depth”.

Wash and core the tomatoes and cut into 1cm cubes. Boil pasta (recipe below), and as it nears its cooking time, heat the olive oil in a pan at high flame and add the garlic. As the garlic starts to brown add the tomatoes and crush with a fork. Add the basil, oregano and parsley, season to taste and allow to simmer for a couple of minutes.
Drain the scilatelli (or penne or spaghetti), and then toss in the pan with the sauce. Serve immediately with freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and extra freshly chopped parsley.

To Make the Scilatelli:
Sift and blend flours, make a well and add the eggs, olive oil and a pinch of salt. Mix together to make dough and add water as needed. Knead for 10 minutes, until dough is soft and elastic but not sticky.
Roll out into 1cm thick logs and cut 0.5 cm pieces at a 45degree angle, then place a skewer in the middle of each piece and roll on bench so that pasta is wrapped around the skewer then gently pull out the skewer leaving a hole through the middle of the pasta.

This tasty  dish which I enjoyed recently at Ostaria Da Rioba in Venice is cheap to make and makes a very satisfying meal served with a mixed green leaf salad and crusty bread. Baby clams or pippies are equally good.

Wash the clams under running water then put in a bowl covered with water and leave in the refrigerator overnight, changing the water as often as you can.
An hour before cooking, add a tablespoon of salt to the water to help them  expel any sand.  Drain and wash again.
In a large frying pan, heat the oil, add the garlic and chilli and toss well. When softened, add the clams and wine, cover with a lid and toss over high heat until they open. Give the pan a few good shakes to distribute the heat.
Meanwhile cook the spaghetti in a large pan of rapidly boiling salted water until “al dente”, about 7 – 8 minutes.  Drain. Turn the spaghetti into a large serving bowl, add the clams and toss well, adding plenty of freshly chopped parsley and the lemon juice and zest. Season to taste.