Melanzane

A simple Italian classic, compliments of my good friend Josh!

Ingredients

• 1 large eggplant
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• dry bread crumbs
• salt and pepper
• olive oil for frying

What to do

Slice the eggplant into 1/2 cm thick slices, lay flat on paper towel, sprinkle with salt and allow them to dry for about half an hour.  The salt encourages the eggplant to sweat and helps to dry them out, avoiding soggy melanzane.

The eggplant absorbs the salt, so only salt them once, otherwise they will be too salty to eat!

Season the beaten egg in a bowl with salt and pepper.  And place the dry bread crumbs in a separate bowl.  Dip each piece of eggplant into the egg before coating in the bread crumbs.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan.  The oil is hot enough when it starts to bubble when tested with a piece of the melanzane.  Fry each piece on both sides until lightly golden.  

Pat dry on some paper towel and serve immediately.

Classic Bruscetta

This recipe is so very, very adaptable. Add or subtract any number of ingredients. This is a recipe in which the quantities are very hard to list. You should be able to eyeball the amount of tomatoes you need to cover the number of bread slices you choose to make.

Ingredients

• A loaf of quality rustic bread, sliced into one inch slices
• One clove garlic
• Olive oil to coat your frying pan, or as much oil as you like!
• An assortment of ripe tomatoes, cut into smallish chunks
• Fresh basil leaves, torn or cut into pieces
• Olive oil to dress the tomatoes
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Finely grated Parmesan cheese - optional

What to do

Mix the tomatoes and basil. Drizzle on olive oil and toss gently; then salt and pepper the tomatoes. The more salt you use, the most juice will be released. Let this marinate while you prepare the bread.

A perfect marriage - tomato and basil!

In a non stick fry pan, brown the bread slices in the olive oil on both sides, until it's a nice golden color. 

Remove the bread from the pan. Cut off one end of the garlic clove, and rub carefully over the hot bread slices. The garlic "melts" into the bread by using this method. 

Now pile on the tomatoes, Parmesan if you wish, and enjoy the juice running down your chin!

Delicious! I opted not to use Parmesan this time,
but again, this really is a dish you can make your own.

My Bolognese Ragu

Hi there,

Just to get things started, here is a recipe that I have modified over the years and am making for dinner tonight.  It's quick, simple and keeps for a few days, so it's great for lunch and dinner the next day or freezing (without the pasta) for a later date.

It takes a little more than an hour to make, but it can definitely save you time next week if you choose to freeze and re-heat!

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons of butter
• A good glug of olive oil
• 60g of pancetta (or bacon), chopped
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, peeled and grated (not too fine though)
• 1 celery stick, finely chopped (almost minced)
• 500g veal mince
• 500g beef mince
• 4 tablespoons of tomato paste
• 1 cup of red wine (I love this with a glass or two of Barolo, so I usually just use that).
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 cups of beef stock (salt reduced is best and preferably a good quality)
• 1/3 cup of milk
• 2-3 chicken livers, finely chopped  (This is optional, but definitely adds to the creaminess of the sauce, so I strongly recommend using it!)
• 500g fresh tagliatelle
• Parmesan cheese (has to be fresh and grated, none of that dry powdery smelly spew rubbish please)
• To serve:  Like I said, I love it with a Barolo, but any nice Italian red will go well and if you like, smear some thick slices of italian bread with a good quality olive oil and toast in a fry pan on both sides until nicely golden!

What to do


Melt the butter and olive oil in a large saucepan.  Add the pancetta, onion, carrot and celery.  Mix well and cook over low heat until the onions are transparent and soft, stirring often.

Raise the heat and add the mince.  Cook until just starting to brown (it doesn't have to be completely browned all the way through).  Stir through the tomato paste and cook for about 1 minute or so.  Add the wine and simmer for another minute or so.

Add the bay leaves and half of the stock.  Once the stock has been absorbed stir through the remaining stock and milk.  Season well.  And simmer covered for 2.5 - 3 hours.

About 20 minutes out from the sauce being ready, bring a large pot of generously salted water to the boil.  Once it is at a rapid boil drop in the pasta and stir IMMEDIATELY.  I find this helps to stop the pasta from sticking together.  Continue to stir the pasta until it is well coated and the water is murky.  Boil uncovered until the pasta is Al Dente.

While the pasta is coming to the boil, if you are game to use the liver, stir this through the ragu now and simmer for another couple of minutes, before taking the sauce off the heat.

Once the pasta is Al Dente, drain and give it a good coating of olive oil before tossing through the ragu sauce.

Serve in a large deep bowl, with heaps of sauce and sprinkle with some parmesan.  Enjoy!