An Adventure in Rome...

OK, maybe not. Who can afford airfare these days? And what to do with the kids, give them to a relative or sherpa them around?  Hmm... no, we'll stick to Italian style family meals in our very own home. Maybe for ambience we'll string up some vines and paint a mural on our ceiling.

Romanesco Cauliflower  & Fresh Pasta 

• One head of Romanesco Cauliflower also called Romanesco Broccoli
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1 tbsp anchovy paste
• 3 tbsp olive oil plus some for drizzling*
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup grated pecorino cheese plus more for garnish**
• chili flakes (optional)
• flat leaf parsley for garnish
• lemon wedges

For fresh pasta- Recipe from Mark Bittman's 'How to Cook Everything'

Use only half of the yield for this dish.

• 2 cups organic un-bleached flour (I used one cup white & 1 cup whole wheat from a local grain CSA)
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 lg eggs, 3 egg yolk
• water if needed

I'm cooking for kids so speed is essential. I have tried to make pasta dough on the counter with a well in the centre of my flour for the eggs and never had much success with it.  I am sure it is touch and practice and one day when I have time I may try it again but for now I will stick to the food processor.

Put flour and salt in a food processor, pulse a couple times to combine. Add eggs and yokes, pulse for an additional 30 secs or until a ball forms. If it is dry add some water slowly, if wet add a bit more flour, a tiny bit at a time.

Wrap in plastic and rest for 30 minutes in the fridge or longer. Can stay there for up to 24 hrs. Then process dough with a pasta machine. Unlike an Italian grandmother I have never been able to roll it out and form little shapes. I use a Kitchen Aid to form sheets then roll it up to cut long strands.

For Sauce:

Cut cauliflower into florets, parboil for 2 mins in a large pot of water (big enough to cook pasta), drain and shock them in cold water. Reserve. Meanwhile keep water at a boil and cook pasta.

In a large fry pan heat olive oil on medium heat. Cook garlic, anchovy paste and chili flakes if using, until you can smell the paste and the garlic is soft, roughly a minute.  Add the cauliflower florets cook for a few minutes more. When pasta is done add the noodles to pan, the cheese and drizzle with enough olive oil so that the noodles do not stick to the pan. Toss mixture and check seasoning.

At the table either just before serving or on individual plates, grate more cheese over top noodles, drizzle with more olive oil and garnish with parsley, fresh pepper and lemon wedge.

*I have a cooking olive oil and a higher quality one for drizzling at the table.
**We use  a microplane grater for our cheese so it is very light.

photos by Jeff.

Another simple Tomato sauce for pasta

This is the simplest sauce that I know how to make for all types of pasta dishes- including the lasagne with fresh ricotta that my family joked about  on the weekend.... Yes I made the sauce too! Would have made fresh pasta sheets if husband hadn't stopped me.


The original recipe is from Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking: Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter, but in good Italian Grandma fashion we started using what ever was on hand to make it. Our recipe as it stands goes a little something like this.

• The original recipe calls for 2 lbs of fresh tomaotes or 2 cups canned tomatoes and liquid. I sometimes combine fresh and canned together if I don't have enough of either or. Peel and core fresh tomatoes, roughly chop in halves or quarters.
• 1 medium onion peeled and cut in half.
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, peel and lightly bruised (not in original recipe).
• Roughly 1/4 cup butter quartered.
• 2-3 tbsp Olive oil (the original recipe doesn't call for any but if you have a good one, use it).
• Season to taste with salt & pepper.

Use olive oil to coat the bottom of a heavy bottomed sauce pan and add all the ingredients, turn to medium high, bring tomato liquid to a boil and turn down to a simmer. Stir and check every once in a while. When tomatoes get soft, start smooshing them with a wooden spoon. Depending on how soft and harmonious you want your sauce, will determine the final cooking time. We usually cook ours for an hour or more. The longer you cook it the richer the sauce will be. Once you reach your desired consistency remove the onion and the garlic. 

It is that simple.

There is a lot of room to play with this recipe, adding capsicum peppers, or dried chili, slow cooking a couple whole basil leaves or adding other classic Italian seasonings such as rosemary or oregano.

photo by me.

Kitchen Jobs

painting brute force
tongs anyone?

I have actively been looking for jobs that the babies can do in the kitchen while I am cooking. Such as squeezing lemons, adding salt and pepper, brushing bread with oil etc. Even if seems a little mundane and not very exciting to me, tearing bread for croutons is a new adventure for them. However with this new found independence comes consequences for me..... olive oil to lemon juice, spills happen, so I brace myself to wipe up more, do more dishes and (what I dread most) more laundry.

Last nights dinner,

Potato & Pear soup with crusty croutons.