taste2taste

August 2, 2018

Not Quite Coleslaw

As a Kid I just loved a classic coleslaw salad served with burgers cooked on the grill, or with one’s fish and chips, as they do in Cape Cod, Massachusetts

However, these days, my tastes have become a little more ‘fancy,’ (as my children put it) and my wife just hates mayonnaise. So, this summer, I found myself looking for a way to reinvent coleslaw that my kids would still eat, my wife would find delicious and the finished salad would also be a lot more healthy and nutritious than the original

This is my really simple recipe for an offbeat version of this famous side salad, which I came up with as the BBQ season kicked off here on the Eastern Seaboard of the US and the summer truly got into its stride

Try it out!

Ingredients

Key Ingredients

Three or four large raw peeled rainbow (multi colored) carrots but you can also use regular carrots
One raw medium red cabbage, outer leaves discarded
A heaped quarter cup of rough chopped raw walnuts
A quarter cup of golden raisins (sultanas)
A generous tablespoon of blood orange infused olive oil (I used Arlotta’s Californian version which I picked up in Irvington Farmer’s Market)
A tablespoon of Aged Balsamic Vinegar
A generous pinch or two of sea salt and several grinds of black pepper to taste

Method

Grating the veggies

If you own a food processor this is going to be unbelievably easy – simply attach your grater disc and blitz the carrots and cabbage! If not, then it will mean a little more work – you will have to hand grate the carrots and cabbage
Combine the cabbage and carrots in a large bowl
Add the walnuts and raisins and toss everything together
Pour in the oil and balsamic vinegar, add the seasoning and toss again

Combining ingredients

Serve as a great summer side to outdoor eating, whether meat or fish. I hope you enjoy this quick, easy to make salad full of summer color with a sweet citrus tang and a nutty crunch as much as my family and co-blogger Lindsey do!

Infused Olive Oil from:

Blood Orange Infused Olive Oil – Premium Organic Kosher California

June 15, 2018

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Sicilian Food Stories

Italy is one of my favourite countries to visit. I love the culture, the people and of course their passion for food- growing it, making it, talking about it and eating it! On my travel bucket list was Sicily and an Italian cooking course which I did recently.

Piazza Duomo, Catania

I visited Catania and Southern Sicily staying in a beautiful villa on an agriturismo farm in Rosolini with Flavours Holidays. Sicily has so much history that has influenced the cuisine. My key learning was ‘less is more’ with the simplicity of the recipes, using only a few ingredients and the amazing local produce. The understanding of how to combine them to ‘make them sing’ . Using olive oil with one or two herbs at most , perhaps a touch of garlic, delivering an incredible tasting dish- a symphony on the tongue!

Mount Etna view, Catania

In Catania, Mount Etna, Europe’s largest active volcano dominates the area and its black soil is fertile producing some fantastic food & wine such as lemons, olives, olive oil , honey, chestnuts, pistachios, almonds, Etna Rosso wines but more of that later.

A trip to Savia, the oldest Pasticceria in Catania was a must. Friday afternoon was busy with locals enjoying an espresso and a pastry. I tried two Sicilian specialities – Arancini al Ragù & Cannoli.

Arancini at Pasticceria Savia, Catania

Arancini are risotto rice balls filled with a rich tomato, vegetable, meat & cheese filling, dipped in breadcrumbs and fried until golden. The Sicilian arancini are ‘cone shaped’, with the shape supposedly making it easier to eat, by hand as the locals informed me. A bit of a challenge, I did eventually resort to using a fork, very tasty and filling with the layers of flavour.

Cannoli – a Sicilian Speciality, Pasticceria Savia

The cannoli were fabulous- thin, crisp outer shell with a lightly whipped ricotta filling with tiny cubes of candied lemon and crushed pistachios at each end. Much lighter & less sweet than those I’ve tried before and absolutely delicious.

Pistachio pastry and an espresso at Pasticceria Savia, Catania

Meandering around the cobbled streets in search of pizza, I found myself outside Pizzeria Locanda Cerami, a restaurant with a buzzy atmosphere and full of locals, always a good sign. They had a fantastic selection but what caught my eye was one using pistachio pesto instead of the usual tomato sauce- something I’ve never had on a pizza but can highly recommend.

Pizza with Pistachio Pesto at Pizzeria Locanda Cerami, Catania

It was delicious with some local cherry tomatoes, speck, mozzarella and crushed pistachios on top. A perfect Friday night Sicilian supper with a glass of Etna Rosso taking in the atmosphere. I found out afterwards from Claudia, our Cooking School host , that I had eaten in one of the best pizza places in Catania. I did a walking tour of Etna, visiting a cave and then via a cable car & all terrain vehicle up to 2500 metres .

Trekking on Mount Etna

Walking around with the contrast of black volcanic rock & soil, white snow, and steam rising from the enormous craters. An incredible and unforgettable experience- other worldly and magical. We visited a farm to taste some of the local olive oil, pesto, honey , fruit curds, and wines produced on Etna. After enjoying the pizza I bought some pistachio pesto and chestnut honey. Following a day trekking on Etna I was ready for dinner and stumbled upon one of the best restaurants in Catania – Giardino Di Bacco.

Fantastic fish tasting plate at Giardino Di Bacco,Catania

I chose their fish tasting plate so I could sample a number of local dishes . I tasted swordfish rolls and long rolls, squid stuffed with prawns and asparagus and tuna wrapped in lemon leaves and grilled. I also enjoyed a glass of Frappato Sicilian red wine. This was one of the best meals I have eaten and definitely a restaurant I would go back to and recommend. After my short visit to Catania I met up with my fellow Flavours Cooking Crew- 8 enthusiastic foodies for a week cooking and touring around Southern Sicily. Our base was a beautiful 19th century villa on Schembari farm near Rosolini surrounded by fields of olive, lemon, almond and carob trees- so picturesque. Carmela our chef was a great teacher, and she guided us through lots of Sicilian specialities with a smile and nod of encouragement and approval – she only spoke Italian- so Claudia our fab host translated.

Carmela our chef making arancini

The savoury recipes we cooked were: arancini, ravioli filled with ricotta, tomato sauce, cavatelli pasta, meatballs with Sicilian lemon, caponata with aubergines, Falsomagro, or ‘ False Thin’ , a rolled beef or veal joint layered with salami, ham, sausagemeat and boiled eggs, then cooked in a tomato sauce-served in slices . Definitely a dish for festivals and celebrations.

Sicilian Meatballs wrapped in Lemon Leaves from the farm

Homemade Cavatelli with tomato sauce

One of my favourites was Scacce Modicane – a savoury thin pastry filled with various fillings including ricotta & sausage; tomato, aubergine, basil; potato, parsley & onion with some local casiacavallo cheese then rolled up like a Swiss roll & baked.

Making Scacce Modicane

It was then sliced – delicious eaten just warm and also the next day cold – perfect picnic food.

Scacce Modicane

The sweet recipes were cannoli, the trickiest recipe we made but great fun.

Also biancomangiare, a cold blancmange made with homemade almond milk, sugar flavoured with lemon rind & topped with crushed pistachios.

Torrone- caramelised almond brittle

We made almond biscuits and torrone- caramelised almond brittle. This was used to top my favourite dessert a semi freddo – semi frozen ice cream- served with a dark chocolate sauce using the famous chocolate from Antica Dolceria Bonajuto, the oldest Sicilian chocolate maker in Modica. Rich, indulgent and totally yummy. Definitely Delizioso!

Semi Freddo with torrone & dark chocolate sauce

We would have classes in the morning and eat what we cooked for lunch. The classes were lots of fun- with banter & bonding over who could roll the thinnest pasta!

We also visited Modica, with its history of chocolate making; Syracuse and Ortigia Island , a fab foodie market with lots of tomato paste, nuts & cheese purchased- especially after meeting Antonio the cheese maker from Borderi Gli Artisti.

Antonio the Cheese maker from Borderi, Ortigia Island

He had Italian charisma, flirting and plying us with samples of his triple baked ricotta and pecorino with peppercorns. A great character and very effective salesman as we all ended up buying lots of cheese.

Cheese from Boderi, Food Market, Ortigia Island

We enjoyed lunch at a fish restaurant, sampling the mussels, clams, calamari and prawns, Frito Misto Di Mare and pasta alla Norma – with aubergines and rich tomato sauce.

Sicilian seafood platter, Ortigia Island

We went to Marzamemi, an old fishing village , with some wonderful wine tasting & canapés at Feudoromaddini a local vineyard nearby.

Wine Tasting at Feudormaddini Vineyard

We visited some picturesque towns such as Noto & Ragusa Ibla – beautiful baroque architecture, cathedrals and churches, and stunning views.

Claudia & Flavours Cooking Crew in Noto

Sunset travelling to Ragusa Ibla

I fell in love with Sicily – a beautiful island with great culture, people and food. I hope to return to see more of the island for more Sicilian food stories.

Carmela & Flavours Cooking Crew

March 24, 2018

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Fresh Tuna Tacos

As a food blogger, I love discovering new food ranges and their creators, especially if there’s an interesting story. I met Lizzy Hodcroft, Founder of The Sweet Beet UK in London at a Food Show in November 2017 and we chatted about all things foodie – no surprise there!

The Sweet Beet Range

I tasted Lizzy’s range of tasty condiments – with the strap line: ‘Born in Texas, Made in the UK’ . I was intrigued to know how Lizzy became a condiment creator and had to find out more. Lizzy was born in Scotland, grew up in Texas, and moved to Newcastle, UK, to train as a chef. Quite quickly, Lizzy realised that it was important to find value in herself and her foodie passion whilst being in control of her own destiny. Summed up in her own words as ”dancing to my own sweet beet”, and a brand name was born. Previously Lizzy had a street food business in Newcastle and lots of customers asked about where they could find the tasty homemade condiments that were a key feature of her dishes. After attending a local Business Accelerator, the opportunity to utilise her chef’s expertise in a different way became clear. Business plan in place, Lizzy relished the development of the Sweet Beet brand and range, no pun intended! The goal of launching the range in retail became a reality. In 2017, she launched Maple Bacon Jam, winning a Great Taste Award in the same year and Habanero Lime Jelly. The range quickly expanded in Autumn 2017 with Texas Beer Jelly, Oak Smoked Apple Butter & Strawberry Chipotle BBQ Sauce. Lizzy’s proudest achievement was being awarded Young Entrepreneur of the Year in October 2017 at the Win Awards, which recognises the achievement of women in business in the North East of England. Lizzy supports other Start Ups through her Mental Health & Wellbeing Group, part of Entrepreneurial Spark. She is happy to share her personal story about the challenges of setting up a business, the struggles as well as the success.

Habanero Line Jelly used to glaze the tuna

The Sweet Beet range of five can be purchased on the website, Fenwick stores and Farm shop’s & Deli’s throughout the U.K., and also as of February, 2018 from Ocado, the on line retailer. The weblinks are included following the recipe below.

In taste2taste style we have come up with our tasty fresh tuna taco’s recipe. It’s easy to make and pairs perfectly with the Habanero Lime Jelly condiment, with its great balance of sweet red peppers, lime citrus tang with a warming kick of Habanero chilli. We have served together with our taste2taste take on ‘cowboy caviar’ – a veggie combo of sweet corn, black beans, mixed bell peppers as a salsa/side. You’ll find the original recipe in our blog archives via the following link:

https://www.taste2taste.com/2015/07/01/july4-a-side-order-of-cowboy-chow-for-the-bbq/

I have adapted it very slightly for this recipe.

Ingredients

Ingredients ( serves 2)

400g/ 14 oz fresh tuna steak, cut into 2 slices. I used wild yellow fin tuna handline -caught, certified sustainable by Marine Stewardship Council. You can also use Ahi tuna steak.

2 teaspoons of vegetable oil, I use rapeseed

freshly ground sea salt & black pepper

squeeze of fresh lime

6 teaspoons of The Sweet Beet habanero lime jelly

2 large corn & wheat soft tortillas

3 leaves of cos lettuce, washed & shredded

1-2 teaspoon sour cream ( optional)

’Cowboy Caviar’ salsa/side:

1/2 tin of black beans, 120g/ 4 oz drained I used Epicure Organic

1 small tin of sweet corn, 160g/ 5.5 oz drained

1/2 small red pepper finely chopped

1/2 small orange pepper finely chopped

1/2 small red onion finely chopped

1 small handful of fresh flat leaf parsley , chopped

Juice of 1/2 fresh lime

Freshly ground sea salt & black pepper to taste

Method

Marinade the tuna in oil, salt & black pepper & squeeze of lime for about 10-15 minutes. Heat a chargrill pan to medium hot .

‘Cowboy Caviar’ Veggie Salsa/Side

Prepare the cowboy caviar & combine in a bowl. Sear the tuna for 1 – 1.5 minutes on each side. The tuna will be rare in the middle with chargrill marks. If you prefer your tuna slightly more cooked , increase the cooking time by 1 minute on each side. Remove from the pan and while still warm glaze with 4 teaspoons of the habanero lime jelly. Allow to rest, then slice into bite size pieces.Heat a frying pan on medium heat and warm the soft tortillas for 5 seconds on each side. Remove from pan and spread a teaspoon of habanero lime jelly and a teaspoon of sour cream ( if using) on each tortilla. Add few teaspoons of cowboy caviar, shredded lettuce and sliced tuna. Roll ‘em and eat! Serve with some more cowboy caviar veggies on the side. I served with a Numero Uno craft lager brewed with agave nectar and lime zest from Flying Dog Brewery, MD, USA.