ITALIAN FOODIES

                                   
So, the coundown to Christmas has begun and how nice is this weather, it actually feels like Christmas. I was complaining last week that there was no Christmas atmosphere this year but since the weather became really cold and crisp it has turned all Christmassy:) The tree is up and the princess is amazed by it, we have to stand in front of it about 10 times a day and just point at all the lights and the babababababa balls, I know everyone says it but it really is so much better with little ones around. Our last day is this Sunday and we close until Jan 3rd - yipeeeeeeeeee!! It will be so nice to just relax because even if we are not in La Cucina there are always phone calls and one of us is always popping in just to keep an eye on things so it will be really nice just to switch off. I don't know how we will manage when we open a second business, we will have no life!!!!

I know most of you only have eyes for turkey at the moment but I'm sure a roast chicken might feature somewhere over the holidays and I wanted to share this recipe with you as an alternative to the regular roast chicken. This recipe is based on Ursula Ferrigno's spatchcock poussin recipe and I have to say it was one of the nicest recipes I have ever had for roast chicken, It was so tasty and the combination of flavours work so well together and it is really easy to prepare. I served it with roast potatoes done in goose fat which is available from all supermarkets these days.

                                        

what you need:

 - 1 medium to large chicken. I used an Organic, corn-fed chicken from Superquinn. There really is no comparison in taste and the main difference is the colour of the meat. The meat in the legs should be brown not white.

 - 2 tbsp olive oil

 - 4 rosemary sprigs

 - sea salt and black pepper

 - 350ml white wine - dry

 stuffing

 - 150g ricotta cheese

 - 55g gorgonzola cheese - I know a lot of people don't like blue cheese but you really don't taste it, it just adds a great flavour.

 - 55g grated parmesan cheese or fontina cheese

 - 4 slices mortadella finely chopped(optional) Mortadella is an Italian cold meat, it's available in Superquinn or any Italian deli.

 - a handful of fresh flat leaf parsley chopped

 - 1 tbsp marjoram - I haven't seen any of the fresh variety in Limerick???? I used dry that one of our Polish staff gave me.

 - 1 tbsp chopped fresh sage

 - 25g melted butter

what to do:

 - preheat the oven to 220 degrees

 - to make the stuffing, place the ricotta, parmesan, gorgonzola, mortadella, herbs and butter in a bowl and mix.

 - gently ease the skin from the breasts of the bird and spoon the stuffing into the area between the skin and meat. I rubbed whatever was left all over the outside of the bird. Brush the chicken with olive oil, season and top with a sprig of rosemary.

 - place the bird in an oven tray and pour over the wine. Roast for 25-30 mins, reduce the heat to 180 degrees and cook for a further 15 mins until the chicken is cooked through.

 - to make your potatoes, par-boil your potatoes in plenty of salted water. Heat your goose fat in a tray over a high heat, add a couple of sprigs of rosemary and unpeeled garlic cloves. Add your potatoes and transfer to the oven and cook  for 30-40 mins. 

                                

buon appetito!!

                                     
Hi, my name is Lorraine and I really don't like polenta!! Ok my confession is out, I think it is probably the only Italian food I don't like - shock horror:) The first time I had it was in Rome, we were staying with a friend and his family and his dad wanted to cook us his speciality which was polenta. At the time I had never heard of it but assuming that I would love it as I do all Italian food I was really excited but I couldn't stand it. It was quite difficult actually because there is probably nothing more insulting to an Italian than not liking their food so I put on my bravest face and munched my way through. I rarely saw polenta mentioned in Ireland until recently and it seems to be in all the food magazines and seems to be making guest appearances on a lot of restaurant menus. I recently had chocolate polenta with quail as a starter but wasn't too fond of it to be honest so I decided with all this new found fame it's getting in Ireland I would actually make it myself at home to give it one last try. I have to admit not going into this wholeheartedly and used the instant polenta that we have in La Cucina but I just wasn't prepared to give it my all and then not eat it so instant polenta it was - please don't hate me;)

I've seen a lot of people enquiring as to what polenta is on a lot of forums recently so here's a little background on it courtesy of the Silver Spoon and Carluccio:

In Roman times polenta was a porridge made from the flour of various grains and pulses such as broad beans, spelt etc. Today polenta is actually made up of yellow or white maize flour, there are 2 types of polenta: fine grained, pale straw coloured Veneto polenta or large grained, bright golden-yellow Lombard or Piedmontese polenta. The former is always served all'onda( with a consistency like mashed potato and the latter is served firm like this recipe. Vicenza in Veneto is actually the best place to eat polenta e baccala which is air dried cod cooked in milk with polenta and another speciality in Veneto is polenta e osei, polenta with sparrows - don't think I'll be making that any time soon;) 

Polenta is best made in a copper pan by cooking the maize flour with water until it achieves a fairly solid consistency. It takes about 40 minutes to cook and requires consistent stirring to prevent it sticking. Due to the effort and time required an easy cook variety called polenta svelta has been created for the likes of me;), it is made by pre-cooking ordinary polenta which is then dried and milled again. The results are not as tasty and this is why lots of butter and grated Parmesan are required when using this type of polenta.
 
what you need:

 - 5 tbsp olive oil

 - 1 small onion, finely chopped

 - 1 garlic clove, finely chopped

 - selection of mushrooms, field and wild if you can get your hands on some. I find it quite difficult to find different variety of mushrooms in Limerick, if anyone knows where let me know. Superquinn have just begun stocking a gourmet mushroom selection in their superior range which are really good so I used 2 packs of these.

 - 1 tbsp of fresh chopped flat leaf parsley and basil.

 - 120ml dry white wine  

 - poletna: make according to packet instructions if using instant polenta, I used 250g for 2. Add about 25g butter and lots of parmesan cheese to taste. If you are looking for polenta flour Susan in Olio e Farina has it in stock!!

what to do:

 - when your polenta is ready pour it into a round shallow tin and spread it evenly into a layer of about 1 cm. Leave to cool until set.

 - heat your olive oil in a pan, add the onion and garlic and fry for 5 mins until soft and just starting to brown. Stir in the mushroom and parsley and cook for another 5 mins until golden brown. Season, add your wine and simmer for 5 mins. Remove from the heat and stir in your chopped basil.

 - cut the polenta into wedges and heat a griddle pan. Brush your wedges with olive oil and place on your pan grilling both sides for 2-3 mins.

 - put a polenta wedge on a serving plate and serve your mushrooms on top and sprinkle with some basil leaves.


                       
THE MILLION DOLLAR QUESTION - DID I LIKE IT?????? NO!!!! I have to say as a dish it looks amazing and so appetising BUT I took a couple of forkfuls and that was it, I ended up making a sandwich with my leftover lamb and the mushrooms. The mushroom mix was absolutely delicious and would be great as a side to meat so I'll definitely make them again but the polenta I'm afraid I will leave to the Italians;)

Buon Appetito!!!