Food highlights 2016

This year simple ruled.  The dishes I remember and liked most were unfussy and just plain tasty.

For instance I loved this Schiacciatella at Sud in Concord.  A very simple pizza crust with a tomato base, cherry tomatoes and a sprinkling of oregano, served with olive tapenade and pesto.

Also brilliantly simple was the asparagus triangoli from Fred’s

The baked mash at Bouche on Bridge was silky and well seasoned, I could have easily demolished the whole bowl, but I didn’t want to look like a greedy guts!

And the roast short rib from Ho Lee Fook in Hong Kong, sooooo tender

On the sweet front, the almond croissant from Lune in Melbourne was spectacular, best I’ve had.

And the vanilla masalada from Leonard’s Bakery in Honolulu, for $1.50, was a total winner.

And finally – the dessert trolley at Bistro Guillaume full of good old French classics was a sight to behold

And my favourite recipes I made this year?

This crispy potato roast has very few ingredients but looks and tastes fabulous and will be making an appearance on the Christmas table

Similarly, this roast capsicum dish is so easy, and great if you have a table of shared dishes

Also on the vegetarian front is this zucchini and spinach pasta, which I make regularly

These sweet ricotta fritters are gorgeous and it was one of my most popular posts of 2016

I’ve perfected Mamma Rosa’s almond bread, I was very pleased with my Christmas batch

So that’s a wrap for another year.  Thanks to all of those who read and comment! I wish you all a lovely and peaceful festive season, and see you in 2017!

 

 

 

Roasted salmon and beetroot

This lovely and simple recipe comes courtesy of Curtis Stone’s Good Food, Good Life cookbook. In it he calls for golden beetroot, but I don’t come across them much so went for the standard red variety; I used the thinnest setting on my mandoline (0.75mm) for slicing.  He also suggests using one large 750g salmon fillet, which I tried the first time I made it, and while this looks nicer from a presentation perspective, it is easier to get an even cooking result with individual portions.  The tarragon is lovely, it is not a herb I use much, and I forgot how fragrant it is.  A nice green salad would go well on the side. Serves four.

Ingredients
4 medium beetroot (about 500g) scrubbed and very thinly sliced
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
4 individual salmon fillet portions
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh chives
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh tarragon

Making it
1. Preheat oven to 230 degrees and line a baking tray with baking paper.

2. Toss the beetroot with 1 tablespoon of the oil, season, and lay on the baking tray slightly overlapping. Roast for 20 minutes and remove from oven

3. Place the salmon on top of the beetroot, brush with olive oil and season. In a small bowl combine the herbs and then sprinkle over the salmon. Return to the oven for about 15 minutes or until salmon cooked to medium rare (should be pink in the centre). Remove from the oven and serve.

In my Christmas kitchen, December 2016

‘Twas three weeks before Christmas, and in the Napoli house,
the KitchenAid was stirring, much faster than a mouse.
Pretty boxes were laid with paper doillies with care,
Wouldn’t St Nicholas have a feast if he arrived there.

I think St Nicholas would be pretty delighted if he stumbled into my kitchen in the midst of my frenzy of Christmas sweet making in my kitchen. At this time of year, I love to make biscuits and sweets to give to friends, the boys’ school teachers, work colleagues, and clients. It is even more fun hand delivering them.

This weekend’s haul included crostoli, recipe here

Some moreish little whiskey biscuits, recipe here

Almond bread, which turned out particularly fantastic, I had to put it quickly in boxes before I ate it all, recipe here

And some pistachio biscotti, recipe here.

After that I needed to sit down for a bit.

Fortunately, with all the eggs I needed, our chooks have been going great guns, each of them laying every single day for the last ten days or so.  One of the girls (my bet is on Lily), has been laying some whopper eggs.  We were pretty impressed with this 88 grammer a week ago

But then, last Friday morning out of the nesting box came this one, 105 grams! I liken this to giving birth to a 14 pound baby, and I’m surprised whoever laid it didn’t sit down for a week to recover. But no, she laid the next day too.

Here is the Monster Egg as we called it pictured next to a 70 gram egg, which is considered “extra large” in the supermarket.  It is exactly fifty percent more in weight. And here it is in my hand, to give you a feel. I’m hoping this means the girls are happy!

I hope you are having a lovely December in your corner of the world.  Have a peak at other kitchens in the In My Kitchen series, hosted by Lovely Liz at Bizzy Lizzy’s Good Things.

Buon Natale from the Napoli Household.

Panettone and Pandoro

To me, it never feels like Christmas is coming until I open the first panettone.  In late November, the Italian delis around Sydney are filled with different varieties shipped from the big brand Italian bakeries – the more traditional with candied fruit or sultanas, or more recent varieties with flavours like limoncello cream and chocolate.  I am a bit  particular about the ones I buy, and that means mostly avoiding the ones you’ll find in the major supermarket chains. Among the mass produced ones, brands I like include Motta, Paluani and Bauli, which you’ll typically buy for $10-$15. Pay up and you’ll get something more bespoke or artisan.

There are lots of stories about the origin of panettone, including one that it was named after some bloke called Tony (“pane di toni”). In any case it is known that it originated in Milan and was always made for Christmas and New Year, with Angelo Motta becoming one of the early large producers back in 1919.  Pandoro (“bread of gold”) on the other hand comes from Verona, and, as its name implies, is a golden fluffy sweet bread without any fruit.  Typically made in a star formation, give it a shake in the bag with the provided icing sugar and it is meant to resemble snow falling down a mountain.

If you are ambitious, you could try and make some of your own, but its a three day proving process and a real labour of love.  I’ll leave it to the experts thank you very much; but if you’re up for it, you’ll find a recipe in a book I have and really like, The Italian Baker.

I love my panettone and pandoro straight up with a good espresso.  But there are plenty of other things you can do with it, starting with making it French toast for breakfast. Slice your pandoro or panettone to the desired thickness; in a bowl beat an egg, a little milk, a little icing sugar and some vanilla extract, dip your pandoro and fry in a pan with melted butter.  Add some yoghurt and fresh fruit and dust with icing sugar.  Buonissimo.

Then there are plenty of desserts, like this Amalfi lemon delicious with limoncello custard, recipe here.

Or this caramelised panettone with grilled peaches, recipe here

For a very rich and very extravagant dessert that will feed a crowd, try this blueberry, mango and praline trifle, recipe here

A family favourite is this Torta di Verona recipe.

How ever you have it, you can’t go too far wrong. Buon natale!