Rachel Roddy’s Anglo-Italian cottage pie.

- Rachel Roddy’s Anglo-Italian cottage pie recipe | A Kitchen in Rome | Food | The Guardian
The most important part of the recipe is roughing up the surface with a fork, which I am now going to refer to as gadrooning.

100g rindless streaky bacon
3 tbsp lard, dripping, butter or other suitable fat for frying
1 onion, peeled and diced
1 small leek, trimmed and diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
2 sticks of celery, diced
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper
400g minced beef
1 tsp Marmite (optional)
300ml light stock
1kg potatoes, peeled
Butter
Whole milk

In a heavy-based pan over a medium low heat, gently fry the bacon in the fat.
Add the onion, celery, leek, carrot, bay leaf and a pinch of salt, and continue frying until the vegetables are starting to soften and turn translucent.

Crumble the mince into the pan and stir, breaking it up and moving it around until it has lost any pinkness.
Add the Marmite (if using) and pour over the stock.
Leave to simmer for an hour, by which point it should be rich and thick with just a little liquid.

Meanwhile, boil the potatoes in well-salted water until tender.
Drain, then mash with butter and milk, seasoning to taste.

Put the mince in the bottom of a Pyrex or porcelain oven-proof dish, then spoon over the mash and fork it into place, creating rough peaks on the top.

Bake on the top shelf of an oven heated to 190C (170C fan)/gas 5 for 25 minutes, until the edges are bobbing and the top is golden.

Baked cheesy aubergines by Rachel Roddy.

- Rachel Roddy’s recipe for baked cheesy aubergines | Food | The Guardian

Richard Olney’s aubergine, tomato and ricotta gratin.

- Rachel Roddy’s recipe for aubergine, tomato and ricotta bake | A kitchen in Rome | Food | The Guardian
Serves 4
800g aubergine (ideally, the small elongated variety)
Olive oil, for frying
1 medium onion, diced
1 garlic clove, peeled and chopped
500g ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped
Salt and black pepper
Sugar (optional)
250g ricotta
1 large egg, beaten
150ml double cream or mascarpone
60g parmesan, grated, plus more for topping
A splash of milk (optional)
A small handful of basil leaves

- Cut the aubergine into 3mm thick slices lengthways, or if you are using large aubergines, across.
If you wish, salt the slices.
Pour oil into a frying pan until it reaches 25mm up the sides, then set over a medium heat.
Once hot, fry the slices in batches until golden on both sides, then lift from the pan and blot on plenty of kitchen towel.
You may need more oil; don’t let it get too hot.

- Dispose of the oil, wipe the pan, return it to the heat and add 3 tbsp of fresh oil.
Fry the onion until soft and translucent.
Add the garlic, tomatoes and a pinch of salt, then cook until most of the water has evaporated away and the tomatoes are thick and saucy – which usually takes about 15 minutes.

- Mash the ricotta.
Add the egg, cream, a pinch of salt and half the parmesan.
Beat into a thick cream – it should pour slowly, so if it is too thick, add a little milk.
Taste and add salt, as needed.

- Set the oven to 200C/400F/gas 6.
Line the bottom of a small, deep gratin or baking dish with the aubergine slices, season with pepper, rip over some tiny pieces of basil, sprinkle with the remaining parmesan and then spoon over half the tomato sauce.
Repeat: another aubergine layer, more basil, more parmesan and the rest of the sauce.
Finish with a layer of aubergine slices, then spoon over the cream and dust with parmesan.
Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 190C/375F/gas 5 for another 15 minutes, or until the surface is set and a rich golden brown.
Rest for 15 minutes before serving.

Fermented! Italian la giardiniera.

- The Probiotic Jar - The Probiotic Jar

- Melanzane a scapece (Marinated Eggplant) | Memorie di Angelina

- Homemade Giardiniera | Memorie di Angelina
Giardiniera is an Italian relish of pickled vegetables in vinegar or oil.
The Italian version includes bell peppers, celery, carrots, cauliflower and gherkins.


- Rachel Roddy’s recipe for pickled garden vegetables | Food | The Guardian
Italian la giardiniera, which simply means a preserved mix of seasonal garden vegetables.
This March batch included carrot, turnip, red cabbage, beetroot (leaving no doubt about colour – soft pink or absolute purple depending on proportions) fennel and red onion.
This method makes a pleasing, entry-level pickle, with both crunch and jolt, its flavour sour and assertive enough to fill your mouth in a single bite but just sweet enough not to be abrasive.
The pickle equivalent of easy-listening maybe (serious fermenters and pickle aficionados may like to stop reading now).

As a guide, 1kg of vegetables, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces, needs 750ml pickling liquid made by mixing 550ml white wine vinegar with 200ml water in a pan, then adding a heaped tablespoon each of fine salt and sugar, and whatever you fancy of the following: a crushed red chilli, peeled or crushed garlic, bay, dill, peppercorns, juniper berries or coriander seeds.
Then heat it slowly.
Once at boiling point, add all the vegetables, stir, cover the pan and leave on the heat for one minute.

And that is pretty much it.
Add a tablespoon of olive oil to the bottom of each of two large, sterilised jars (wash them in boiling water and dry in a low oven).
Now use a slotted spoon to lift the vegetables into the jars, cover with pickling liquid, share out the spices and screw on the lids.
If you can, wait a week, although they’re good to eat the next day.
I keep my pickles in the fridge for up to two months.
They taste better when cold anyway: brighter somehow, the sweet and sour and taste even more pronounced – especially next to a cheese sandwich, a slice of savoury pie or boiled meat, or simply savoured straight from the jar against a kitchen counter.

- Melanzane a scapece (Marinated Eggplant) | Memorie di Angelina

Rachel Roddy’s Ciambotta Calabrese (Calabrian-style tomato, potato and aubergine stew).

- Rachel Roddy’s recipe for tomato, potato and aubergine stew | Food | The Guardian

Serves 4

600g ripe tomatoes
1 large onion
1 large potato
2 red peppers
2 medium aubergines
Olive oil
Salt

Peel the tomatoes by plunging them into boiling water for two minutes, then under cold water, at which point the skins should slip away. Chop the tomatoes roughly (scooping out the seeds, if you wish). Peel and slice the onion into half moons and chop the peeled potato, red pepper and aubergines into chunks the size of a nutmeg.

In a large, wide frying pan or casserole, fry the onion in plenty of olive oil and a pinch of salt over a low-medium heat, until soft and translucent. Add the potato, stir and add a small glass of warm water so the potatoes bubble. After five minutes, add the tomato and allow to simmer gently for 30–40 minutes or until soft, rich and saucy (add a little water if it starts to look dry).

Now you have two options: you can simply add the aubergine and peppers to the pan about 10 minutes after the potatoes and cook everything together. Alternatively, in a separate pan in a couple of inches of olive oil, fry the chunks of aubergine and pepper in batches until soft and golden, draining on kitchen towel and then stir into the tomato in the last few minutes of cooking. Either way, once cooked, taste and add salt as necessary. Serve at room temperature.

Cherry and ricotta tart.

Rachel Roddy’s recipe for cherry and ricotta tart | A kitchen in Rome | Life and style | The Guardian:
Cherry and ricotta tart by Rachel Roddy.
You will need a tart or flan tin 24cm in diameter and 3cm deep (those with a loose bottom being particularly good).



Serves 8–10
For the pastry
150g cold butter, diced
300g plain flour (ideally 00-grade)
A pinch of salt
60g sugar (optional)
2 medium eggs, lightly beaten

For the cherry layer
500g cherries, sweet or sour, pitted
Strips of zest from 1 unwaxed lemon
A glass of red wine
50 –100g sugar, depending on cherries, or 300g cherry or sour cherry jam

For the ricotta layer
500g ricotta
1 egg
75g sugar
Extra egg, for brushing








- Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Add the salt and sugar (if using), then the eggs.
Mix into a soft pastry.
Wrap in greaseproof paper.
Chill for at least 1 hour.

- Put the cherries in a pan along with the zest, wine and sugar.
Bring to the boil, reduce to a lively simmer and cook until the cherries are tender and collapsing – but not mushy.
Use a slotted spoon to lift the cherries from the pan, raise the heat and reduce the liquor to a thick syrup that really coats the back of a spoon.
Take the pan from the heat, return the cherries to the syrup and leave to cool.

- Combine the ricotta, egg and sugar.
Set the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4.

- On a lightly floured surface, roll two-thirds of the pastry into a disc a little larger than your baking tin.
Drape the pastry over a rolling pin, unfurl it into the tin and press into the corners.
Trim the excess pastry away with a knife.

- Spoon the cherries into the shell.
Carefully spoon the ricotta mixture on top.
Roll the remaining pastry into a circle, then cut into strips to make a lattice, which you can lay as simply or as cleverly as you like.

- Brush the lattice with beaten egg.
Bake the tart in the middle of the oven for 45 minutes, or until the lattice is golden and the ricotta topping slightly puffed.



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Very best recipe for meatballs.

Rachel Roddy’s Note:
In Rome, polpette (meatballs) are served alone, with bread and vegetables on the side.
Let the meatballs rest.
Beyond that, freedom reigns: the type of meat, the inclusion of bread, eggs, herbs and seasonings.
The ingredients are pretty standard: beef – twice minced if you can, bread soaked in milk, eggs, a little finely chopped garlic and parsley, and lots of salt and pepper.
You want a rich, soft sauce that has the right balance of acidity and sweetness – a mix of fresh and tinned tomatoes works well.
There was confirmation from Roberta, my butcher, the following morning: if I wanted really soft, plump meatballs I should poach them.
Poaching gently, however – a steady bob over a low flame – keeps things tender and plump, which is exactly what I want in a meatball, for now at least.
The meatballs should bob for 15 minutes or so, turning the sauce a deep rusty red.
Once done, you turn the heat off and leave them in the sauce: they are better after a rest.
In plate-separatist Rome, polpette are served alone, with bread and vegetables on the side.

Polpette al sugo (meatballs in tomato sauce)
Serves 3-4
2 slices of day-old bread (about 50g), crusts removed
A little milk
500g minced beef
2 eggs, lightly beaten
A small garlic clove
A sprig of parsley
Salt and black pepper

For the sauce
750g ripe, fresh tomatoes
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1–2 garlic cloves, peeled or crushed
A pinch of red chilli flakes (optional)
A tin of peeled plum tomatoes, chopped roughly in the tin
1 tbsp tomato puree (optional)
Salt

- Rip the bread and soak in a little milk until soft, and easily crumbled.
Squeeze out excess milk.
Put the crumbs in a large bowl along with the beef and lightly beaten eggs.

- Peel and chop the garlic very finely along with the parsley, salt and pepper.
Add to the meat, then use your hands to mix everything together.

- Divide the mixture into 12 meatballs: if the mixture is very sticky, flour your hands lightly.
Let the meatballs rest.

- Meanwhile, make the sauce.
As the tomato sauce was simmering and the meatballs were resting in the fridge.
Peel the fresh tomatoes by plunging them first in boiling water, then in cold, at which point the skins should slip off.
Then chop them roughly.

- Peel the garlic and crush for a milder flavour or finely chop for stronger.
Put 4 tbsp of the olive oil in a large, deep frying pan or cassarole and cook the garlic gently over a low heat until it is fragrant.
At this point you can remove the whole garlic if you wish.

- Add the chopped tomatoes and chilli.
Cook for 5 minutes, then add the final 2 tbsp oil and the tinned tomatoes.
Add 1 tbsp tomato puree if you feel it needs it.
Add bay leaves.
Season with salt and pepper.
Cook for 20–40 minutes, or until the sauce is rich and thick.

- Drop the meatballs in the sauce, making sure they are submerged.
Turn the heat to low, cover the pan and poach for 15 minutes, by which time the meatballs should be cooked through but still tender.

- try adding Spearmint to the mixture. It really is tasty.

OR:
- Preheat the oven to 220C/gas mark 7 and grease a baking tray.
Using your hands, mould them into roughly 40g balls if you are eating them alone or with mash or rice, or 20g balls for eating with pasta (you could weigh the first one to get an idea).
Put the balls on the prepared tray and bake for 15 minutes for big ones or eight minutes for small ones, turning them once, until they are just starting to brown.
Alternatively, fry the polpette in a sauté pan in a little olive oil, turning them carefully until evenly browned.
Drop the meatballs in the sauce and cook them in the sauce for 15 minutes - 20 minutes.

- Serve with bread on the side, or with mashed potatoes or rice.
If you are serving them with pasta, remove the meatballs from the sauce with a slotted spoon on to a warm plate.
Mix the sauce with cooked spaghetti in a wide bowl, then dot with the meatballs and serve.

- Rachel Roddy’s very best recipe for meatballs | A kitchen in Rome | Life and style | The Guardian:

- Classic Italian meatballs in tomato sauce recipe - Telegraph:

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Spring minestrone. By Rachel Roddy.

- Rachel Roddy’s spring minestrone with basil pesto reicpe | A kitchen in Rome | Life and style | The Guardian:
‘Today’s recipe is for minestrone, a big spring soup,’ says Rachel.
‘This is one of 10 recipes I make all the time, varying it according to what is available.’

Spring minestrone
Serves 4
1 onion (ideally white)
2 celery stalks, with leaves
1 small fennel bulb
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt
1 potato (around 100g)
100g green beans
A parmesan rind
1 litre water
1 courgette
200g white beans, cooked
150g peas (preferably fresh)

For the pesto
50g basil
30g pine nuts or almonds
100ml olive oil
1–2 garlic cloves
50g parmesan or pecorino, grated

1 Peel and finely slice the onion, along with the celery and fennel.
In a large heavy-based pan, warm the olive oil over a medium-low heat, then fry the onion, celery and fennel, along with a pinch of salt, until they start to soften – about 5 minutes.

2 Peel and dice the potato, then trim and chop the beans.
Add both to the pan – cook for another few minutes, stirring to make sure nothing catches.

3 Add the parmesan rind and water. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes.
Dice the courgette, add to the pan, and simmer for another 15 minutes.
Add the white beans and cook for another 10 minutes, adding the peas when you think best.
Taste and add salt as necessary.
Take off the heat and set aside, ideally for at least an hour.

4 Meanwhile, make the pesto.
Pulse the basil, pine nuts, olive oil, and garlic together in a blender until you have a paste, then stir in the cheese.

5 If the soup has become too cool, re-heat it very gently, then divide between bowls, topping each one with a spoonful of pesto.

Minestrone. By Rachel Roddy.

Minestrone is a moveable feast in Italy, varying from one region to the next.
One thing’s a constant, though: it’s a chorus of vegetables, cooked slowly over a low flame.
- Winter Minestrone with Farro and Beans | rachel eats:
serves 6
Rachel Roddy's Adapted from the Riverford Farm Cookbook by Guy Watson and Jane Baxter.

5 tbsp good olive oil
1 onion finely chopped
1 leek finely chopped
1 celery stalk finely chopped
2 carrots peeled and chopped into small dice
2 turnips peeled and chopped into small dice
2 cloves garlic peeled, crushed with back of knife and chopped
400g tin of plum tomatoes
425g borlotti or cannellini beans drained
200g farro soaked in cold water for 1 hour and drained
water or stock
a parmesan rind
salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Good olive oil and freshly grated parmesan to serve.

Gently warm the olive oil in a large heavy based pan and add the chopped vegetables (onion,celery, leek, carrots, turnips but NOT garlic yet) add a sprinkle of salt, stir well to coat the vegetables in oil, cover the pan.
Cook slowly for about 30mins or until the vegetables are soft and slightly caramelised.

Add the garlic and cook for another 2 min’s.

Stir in the tomatoes and then allow everything to bubble away for about 10 minutes.

Add the beans, farro and parmesan rind, cover with water (or stock if you so wish) and bring the pan to a gentle boil.
Reduce the pan to a lively simmer and leave bubbling away for 30minutes or until the farro is tender.

Season the minestrone and add more water if you feel it is too thick.

Allow the minestrone to rest for at least 30 minutes, allowing the flavours to mingle and develop before very gently reheating and serving minestrone in warm bowls with a dribble of raw oil and freshly grated parmesan.