Panzanella
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons good olive oil
- 1 small French bread or boule, cut into 1-inch cubes (6 cups)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 large, ripe tomatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 hothouse cucumber, unpeeled, seeded, and sliced 1/2-inch thick
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1/2 red onion, cut in 1/2 and thinly sliced
- 20 large basil leaves, coarsely chopped
- 3 tablespoons capers, drained
For the vinaigrette:
- 1 teaspoon finely minced garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 3 tablespoons Champagne vinegar
- 1/2 cup good olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Heat the oil in a large saute pan. Add the bread and salt; cook over low to medium heat, tossing frequently, for 10 minutes, or until nicely browned. Add more oil as needed.
For the vinaigrette, whisk all the ingredients together.
In a large bowl, mix the tomatoes, cucumber, red pepper, yellow pepper, red onion, basil, and capers. Add the bread cubes and toss with the vinaigrette. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Serve, or allow the salad to sit for about half an hour for the flavors to blend.
Basic Pasta Dough
This is a very compressive recipe adapted from Jamie Oliver. Traditional pasta only has two ingredients- do not be tempted to use olive oil or salt. The type of flour is also important. Get my flour from “Giando” in Wanchai! http://hk.dining.asiatatler.com/news/mercato-by-giando-opens-at-fenwick-pier
Ingredients
1. 400g Tipo '00' flour
2. 4 large free-range eggs
Directions
1. Place the flour on a board or in a bowl. Make a well in the center and crack the eggs into it. Beat the eggs with a fork until smooth. Using the tips of your fingers, mix the eggs with the flour, incorporating a little at a time, until everything is combined. Knead the pieces of dough together.
2. Once you’ve made your dough you need to knead it with your hands to develop the gluten in the flour, otherwise your pasta will be flabby and soft when you cook it, instead of springy and al dente. You’ll know when to stop – it’s when your pasta starts to feel smooth and silky instead of rough and floury. Then all you need to do is wrap it in cling film and put it in the fridge to rest for at least half an hour before you use it.
How to roll your pasta:
1. If you haven't got a pasta machine it's not the end of the world! When it comes to rolling, the main problem you'll have is getting the pasta thin enough to work with. It's quite difficult to get a big lump of dough rolled out in one piece, and you need a very long rolling pin to do the job properly. The way around this is to roll lots of small pieces of pasta rather than a few big ones. You'll be rolling your pasta into a more circular shape than the long rectangular shapes you'll get from a machine.
2. If using a machine to roll your pasta, make sure it's clamped firmly to a clean work surface before you start (use the longest available work surface you have).
3. Dust your work surface with some Tipo ‘00’ flour, take a lump of pasta dough the size of a goose egg and press it out flat with your fingertips. Set the pasta machine at its widest setting - and roll the lump of pasta dough through it. Lightly dust the pasta with flour if it sticks at all. Click the machine down a setting and roll the pasta dough through again. Fold the pasta in half, click the pasta machine back up to the widest setting and roll the dough through again. Repeat this process five or six times. You're working the dough, and once you've folded it and fed it through the rollers a few times, you'll feel the difference. It'll be smooth as silk.
4. Now it's time to roll the dough out properly, working it through all the settings on the machine, from the widest down to around the narrowest. Lightly dust both sides of the pasta with a little flour every time you run it through. When you've got down to the narrowest setting, to give yourself a tidy sheet of pasta, fold the pasta in half lengthways, then in half again, then in half again once more until you've got a square-ish piece of dough. Turn it 90 degrees and feed it through the machine at the widest setting. As you roll it down through the settings for the last time, you should end up with a lovely rectangular silky sheet of dough with straight sides - just like a real pro! If your dough is a little cracked at the edges, fold it in half just once, click the machine back two settings and feed it through again. Whether you're rolling by hand or by machine you'll need to know when to stop. If you're making pasta like tagliatelle, lasagne or stracchi you'll need to roll the pasta down to between the thickness of a beer mat and a playing card; if you're making a stuffed pasta like ravioli or tortellini, you'll need to roll it down slightly thinner or to the point where you can clearly see your hand or lines of newsprint through it.
5. Pasta dries much quicker than you think, so whatever recipe you're doing, don't leave it more than a minute or two before cutting or shaping it. You can lay over a damp clean tea towel which will stop it from drying.
Squid Ink Tortellini with prawns and smoked salmon
Ingredients
1. 200g smoked salmon
2. 250g ricotta cheese
3. 200g prawns
4. A little olive oil
5. Thyme
6. Brandy (optional)
Directions
For the pasta make as the basic recipe, but incorporate 2 tablespoons of quid ink with the eggs and add 50g of flour.
1. Fry the salmon and the brawns in the pan with a little thyme for a few mins.
2. Add 2 tablespoons of brandy and cook until the liquid has evaporated. Be careful with the brandy as it could go on fire in the first min- always have the lid of the pan on hand!
3. Allow to cool for 15 mins, until room temperature.
4. Mix with the ricotta- your filling is done
5. Start rolling out you black pasta and cut into 2 inch squares-or 2 inch rounds (use a glass- perfect)
6. Go on youtube and learn how to fold a tortellini (it would be silly to try to explain it- you really need to see how its done)
7. Cook in heavily salted boiling water for 4 mins!
Fresh Strawberry Granita
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ripe strawberries, hulled and halved
- 1/3 cup white sugar, or to taste
- 1 cup of water
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice (optional)
- 1/4 teaspoon balsamic vinegar (optional)
- 1 tiny pinch salt
Directions
- Rinse strawberries with cold water; let drain. Transfer berries to a blender and add sugar, water, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, and salt.
- Pulse several times to get the mixture moving, then blend until smooth, about 1 minute. Pour into a large baking dish. Puree should only be about 3/8 inch deep in the dish.
- Place dish uncovered in the freezer until mixture barely begins to freeze around the edges, about 45 minutes. Mixture will still be slushy in the center.
- Lightly stir the crystals from the edge of the granita mixture into the center, using a fork, and mix thoroughly. Close freezer and chill until granita is nearly frozen, 30 to 40 more minutes. Mix lightly with a fork as before, scraping the crystals loose. Repeat freezing and stirring with the fork 3 to 4 times until the granita is light, crystals are separate, and granita looks dry and fluffy.
- Portion granita into small serving bowls to serve.