i won!

 

not much, but i did win the competition!!!
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/public/competitions/article2461554.ece

santa lucia

Today in Sicily we celebrate Santa Lucia.

Santa Lucia helped the Sicilians to recover from a famine in 1646,

by 'sending' a ship full of wheat...if you believe in miracles.

It is tradition that on this day no pasta or bread should be eaten,

but rice, in the form of Arancine and Cuccia, a dessert made with boiled wheat and ricotta cream.

Today I am preparing Arancine, not because I am devoted to the Saint,

but because when you leave far from your country of origins

sometimes you do miss those delicacies typical of that place.

To make about 20 Arancine you will need:

100 g mince beef

1 chipolata

1 small carrot

Half small onion

1/2 glass of wine

Tomato paste

500gr Arborio risotto rice

50 g grated cheese like Parmesan

80gr butter

300ml milk

50 g flour

250 g mozzarella

125 g ham

3 eggs

Flour

Grated nutmeg

Breadcrumbs

Oil for frying

You will also need a small bowl (5cm dia) and some cling film to assemble the Arancine.

I find in fact that the Japanese cooks are much more advanced when dealing with rice

and from some cookbook I have noticed they use the cling film to shape their rice bowls.

Good idea!

Method:

First of all prepare a small amount of meat sauce with

the carrot, onion mince + chipolata, wine

tomato paste and let cook for 1 hr

In the meanwhile boil the rice with a teaspoon of salt.

Also prepare a béchamel sauce with 50 g butter, 50 g flour and 300ml milk

you will need a pretty dense one. When ready add salt pepper and a little bit of grated nutmeg

When the rice is cooked dress it with 30 g butter, 2 spoons ev olive oil,

50gr Parmesan, 1 egg, salt & pepper. Saffron if you have it. I do.

Let it cool.

Add the thinly chopped ham and mozzarella to the béchamel sauce.

Prepare the ingredients in order of assembly

rice : small bowl covered with cling film : meat sauce : ham/béchamel sauce:

flour : beaten eggs : breadcrumbs :

NOW

Place about a spoon of rice on the cling-filmed bowl

and spread to the side making sure you have rice at the bottom as well.

Place condiment (meat sauce or béchamel sauce) with a teaspoon in the bowl.

Cover condiment with 1/2 spoon rice. Cover with cling film (do look at picture above) press and form a ball.

Flour the ball, pass it in the beaten egg, then into the breadcrumbs. Place on a tray waiting to be fried.

When they are all ready heat some veg oil in a small deep pot and deep-fry the Arancine in small batches.

Drain excess oil with kitchen paper.

Serve.

Enjoy!

chilli con carne

last night i prepared chilli con carne!
if you wish to prepare same way i did it you would need:
1 onion
1 clove garlic
2 carrots
2 courgettes (to make it lighter)
1 can borlotti beans (i prefer them to red kindeys)
1/4 tube of tomato paste
500 gr mince beef
1 glass wine (mine was champagne)
1 glass water
garlic powder half teaspoon
smoked paprika half teaspoon
tumeric powder a very tiny amount
cinnamon powder a very tiny amount salt and 1 oxo chicken stock cube ev olive oil about 3 spoons 50 gr corn
200 gr rice
100 gr grated cheddar
how to do it: chop the onions the carrots and the garlic into fine pieces, sweat them slowly in a 3l cast iron pan for about 5 mins add the mince and brown it for 5 mins. add wine, stock cube, water, tomatoes pure and the powders let cook on a slow heat for 1 hour. then add the chopped courgettes and a pinch of salt over them cook for further 30 mins. add the can of beans and simmer gently for 10 mins. in the meanwhile you should have boiled some rice grated some cheddar cheese. now the fun part begin: heat a spoon of ev oil in a heavy bottomed pan when hot hot hot add the corn COVER THE PAN and let it pop shaking gently the pan all the time!!
when popcorn is ready add salt to it.
how to serve it:
layers:
rice
chilli
cheddar
popcorn
i also added some sour cream with chives to complete the layering...
aaaaaaah!!!.... and i left the chilly bit of the chilli to individual taste.
i added to my own portion a very generous amount of west indian west pepper sauce.
NEVER WITHOUT ENCONA!
below: popping the corns

and the other biscuit