Comfort food - old school style

It has been rather chilly here in Sydney and nothing is nicer in the cold weather than a really hearty, old fashioned soup. My original plan was to make a soup based on vegetables, barley and ham hocks - but when I went to the butcher they had run out of ham hocks (everyone else in the neighbourhood must have had a hankering for soup making too) The lovely butcher suggested he cut me some pieces of osso bucco as an alternative and that it would work really well with the barley.

Well, the lesson here ladies and gentlemen, is listen to the butcher. He was dead right, and this soup turned out beautifully. Absolutely bursting with flavour, full of delicious nutty tasting barley and lots of veges. Not only was it tasty, warming and satisfying - it was also super healthy. I cooked the soup for around 3 hours, so it isn't one to whip up after work or when you are in a hurry. It does however, freeze beautifully, so do a big batch on the weekend and freeze it in portions to have whenever you fancy.

I love the addition of silverbeet to this soup - please note that we are talking silverbeet here (the big tall dark green leaved stuff with the white stalks. Also known as Chard) not English spinach. English spinach is far too delicate for this super robust dish. If you really hate silverbeet, then just leave it out - but I love my greens and I think it really adds extra flavour and texture to this soup. I also prefer the soup to be quite thick, but add more stock or water if you prefer it a bit lighter. I was so happy with the addittion of the osso bucco to this soup I will be doing it this way from now on. Try it and see if you agree....

Beef and barley soup

You will need: 2 medium carrots, 1 parsnip, 1 leek (use only the white part), 2 brown onions, 3 or 4 stalks of celery, 1 bunch silverbeet, 2 medium potatoes, 3 pieces of beef osso bucco (with the bone still attached of course! You want that precious marrow), 1 cup dried barley, 2 litres beef stock (I just used the commercial kind from the supermarket, but if you have homemade stock, then use it), 3 cloves garlic, 2 bay leaves, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 bunch fresh continental parsley, a couple of pinches of cayenne pepper, salt and pepper to taste.

Method: Wash the carrots, parsnip and potatoes thoroughly. Leaving the skins on, (more flavour and more vitamins!) dice them into pieces 1-2 cm in size. If you want super chunky soup, then by all means cut them bigger. Now cut your celery into pieces, around the same size as your other veges. Set your veges aside.

Cut the really thick white stalks from the silverbeet and then slice the green part - you can cut it quite thickly as it will shrink a lot once you cook it. Set the silverbeet aside. Slice the leeks, dice your onions and finely chop the garlic.

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot. Add the onions, leek and garlic and cook them on a medium heat until they are soft and slightly transparent. Add the carrot, parsnip, potato, celery, bay leaves, cayenne pepper and  season with a generous pinch of salt. Cook the veges for about 10 mins, stirring regularly so they do not stick to the bottom of the pot. Add the osso bucco and cook for another 5 minutes.

Add the beef stock and top the pot up with water so that it only leaves about 3 fingers width of space between the liquid level and the top of the pot. Cover the pot until it comes to the boil and then turn it down to a very gentle simmer. Allow to simmer like this, stirring occasionally for about 2 hours.

After 2 hours, add the barley and stir it in well. Simmer for a further 45 minutes and then add the silverbeet. Let the soup cook for another 15 mins or so. If it gets too thick, just add some hot water. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as required.

By this stage most of the meat - if not all - should have fallen off the bones. Remove the meat and bones and chop any larger pieces of the meat into smallish pieces. If there is still marrow in the bones, then remove it and chop it up too. Return all of the meat (minus the bones) to the pot.

Just before serving, chop up the fresh parsley and fold it through the soup, keeping a little in reserve to put on the top. Serve with crusty bread.

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Viva l'italia !

Spaghetti bolognaise would have to be one of my favourite comfort foods and it is a dish that most people really love. I have two distinct ways of making the bolognaise sauce for this - the first is the "I just got home from work and I'm starving and I want dinner asap" version which is pretty quick and basic, and the recipe I would like to share with you today, the "Lovingly simmered as if made by your own Italian Nonna" version. This version should be allowed to slow cook for at least a couple of hours. It takes its cue from the more traditional approach to bolognaise and contains two kinds of meat - beef and pork. The flavour is beautiful and that extra time makes all the difference!

Today I decided to go a step further and make a large tray of lasagne using the bolognaise sauce - I don't make it that often and usually cook it with the aim of freezing it in one serving portions for a quick and easy dinner. I have included my lasagne recipe too, if you are so inclined.

I have a real soft spot for Italian cuisine - I am not Italian (often people ask me if I am!) but when I was growing up, my parents had close friends from the north of Italy - the Bertollini's who ran an old school Italian family restaurant in the town of Seymour in country Victoria. They often took care of me and I remember playing in the kitchen of the restaurant where the old lady, Nonna would hand make pasta for the restaurant. She was always in the kitchen and I don't think I ever saw her without her apron on. Although I was very young, they made a huge impression on me. They were loud, loving and chaotic and food was always the centre of their world. I remember the incredible aromas from that kitchen, beautiful northern Italian dishes - I still remember the sublime smell of wild rabbit cooked with garlic and rosemary and slow cooked sauces and ragu. My most vivid childhood food memory is standing on a chair so that I could reach the table and Nonna showing me how to hand roll Gnocchi by rolling it off the fork, a skill I took into my adult life and into my own kitchen.

I spent so much time with them that I actually spoke Italian before I spoke English and would apparently speak Italian at lightening speed to my bemused non- Italian speaking Australian mother. I would also drink the Bertollini's homemade wine like a little Italian kid. My mother tells the story that I usually protested when they tried to top my glass up with water - the older you are, the more wine and the less water you are supposed to get. Bambinos only get a little splash of wine. I didn't like this at all and would tip the watered down wine into the sink and yell Vino! Vino! until I got a higher wine/water ratio. My love of wine clearly carried through to my adulthood. I blame the Bertollini's!!

Nonna's Slow Cooked Bolognaise Sauce

You will need: 500g minced beef, 500g minced pork, 2 medium carrots, 3 sticks celery, 2 large onions, 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley stalks (no leaves) , 3 large cloves finely chopped garlic, olive oil, 700ml Passata (or 2 x cans crushed tomatoes), 1 1/2 cups red wine (I use Shiraz), 1litre beef stock, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1 tablespoon mild paprika, 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg, 3 teaspoons sugar, salt, pepper.

Method: Chop the carrots, celery and onions into small cubes. Heat a splash of olive oil in a large saucepan and then add the carrot, celery, onion and parsley stalks. Cook on a medium/high heat for about 5-7 minutes, until the onion starts to turn transparent. Add the mince and garlic. Cook for another 5-7 minutes until the meat is all browned. Add the paprika, cayenne and nutmeg and combine well.

Turn up the heat and add the red wine. Combine well with the meat mixture and let it bubble vigorously for about 5 minutes. Add the Passata (or tomatoes), sugar and plenty of salt and pepper. Mix well and then add the stock. Bring the pot to the boil and then reduce the heat until bubbles are only just breaking the surface of the sauce. Simmer for 2 - 3 hours, stirring occasionally to ensure that the sauce does not stick on the bottom.

If the sauce becomes too dry, top up with a little bit of water as you go. When the sauce is cooked, taste it for seasoning and adjust if neccessary (this will usually depend on how salty - or not - your stock is) If your minced meat is not super lean, there may be a thin layer of oil on the top of the sauce when it cools. Simply spoon this off before serving, or dividing into containers for freezing.

This recipe will make enough for a large Lasagne, or 4-6 takeaway containers of sauce to freeze. Each container will serve 2-4 people if serving with spaghetti or other pasta.

 Lasagne al Forno (Baked Lasagne)

You will need: 1 quantity of slow cooked bolognaise sauce (see above), 4 cups milk (plus a little extra), 2 heaped tablespoons plain flour, 2 heaped tablespoons butter, 1/2 cup grated cheese (mozzerella is good), 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese, Generous pinch cayenne, 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg, salt, pepper, 1 pack fresh lasagne sheets.

Method: In a saucepan, melt the butter over a medium heat. Add the flour and using a whisk, combine well. Allow the flour and butter to cook for a few minutes, being careful not to brown or burn the mixture. The flour will take on a pale appearence as it cooks. This is what is called a white roux, and is the basis for your bechamel sauce.

Remove the pan from the heat and add about a quarter of the milk, whisking constantly until it is smooth. Keep adding the milk until it is all combined. Return the pan to the heat and cook on a medium heat until it starts to thicken. Add the cayenne, nutmeg and season with salt and pepper. If the sauce becomes too thick, whisk in more milk. When it is the consistency of custard, remove from the heat and stir in the parmesan cheese. Set aside.

Heat the oven to 240C. Line a baking dish with baking paper. Put a few tablespoons of the bolognaise in the bottom of the dish, then a layer of pasta, another layer of bolognaise and another of pasta. Now add half of the bechamel sauce, and complete the layers of pasta and bolognaise until you are left with a pasta layer on top. Add the rest of the bechamel to the top and sprinkle with cheese. Cover with a piece of baking paper.

Cook for 45-50 minutes, until the pasta is tender and the lasagne is browned on the top. Allow to stand uncovered for at least 10-15 minutes before serving. Don't be tempted to try to cut it into portions the second it is out of the oven - it needs time to rest. It will be easier to handle and will look much better if you are patient. This dish is ideal for making the day before serving (just reheat) and is suitable for freezing. Serves 8-10 people.

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Luscious Louisiana

"There is no dish which at the same time so tickles the palate, satisfies the appetite, furnished the body with nutriment sufficient to carry on the physical requirements, and costs so little as a Creole Gumbo. It is a dinner in itself, being soup, piece de résistance, entremet and vegetable in one.”

-William H. Coleman,

Historical Sketch Book and Guide to New Orleans and Environs

Gumbo originated in New Orleans, Louisiana and to me represents multiculturalism in a pot. It combines the flavours of Africa, Spain, Native America and France to produce a dish full of flavour, that owes its heritage to many people and many places. It is said that there are as many ways to cook Gumbo as there are cooks, so you will see many different versions. It is a thick soup/stew that contains rice (if there is no rice actually in it, it is always served with rice on the side) to this, broth and other ingredients are added. Some use pork, chicken, sausage and seafood, some use just vegetables. The Cajun folks tend to make a darker, heavier Gumbo that has a roux (flour and browned butter) as a base and does not use tomatoes. The Creole style uses tomatoes, and okra (which does the same job as the roux, binding the dish) The Native Americans use leaves from the Sassafrass tree to do the same.

My Gourmet Goddess version tonight borrows from the Creole tradition and uses purely seafood. I chose flathead fillets, clams, calamari and prawns. I also used chilli in the dish, which is not usually done - it is usually served seperately in the form of chilli sauce (like Tabasco) so people can add as little or as much as they like. I was just cooking for myself tonight, and I know what I like so I just put the chilli right in there! Feel free to use it or not.

Some notes about the ingredients....

Tabasco Smoked Chipotle Sauce - This particular Tabasco isn't that easy to find in Australia, although if you live in the city, the David Jones Foodhall does stock it in their "American" section. You can also buy it online. USA foods out of Melbourne is a good source if you live in Australia. http://www.usafoods.com.au/

 If you can't get it, don't worry - just use normal Tabasco from the supermarket. It will not the have the same slightly smoky undertaste, but it will still taste good.

Okra - If you are not familiar with this vegetable, it is a long green pod native to West Africa and is related to the Hibiscus plant. Although it originated in Africa, it spread with the slave trade and is now eaten all over the world, throughout Asia and the Middle East, America, Nepal and India. When you slice it, it releases a clear sap that helps to thicken any dish that contains it. The texture when cooked is pleasantly gelatinous and it soaks up flavours particularly well. I think that it is at its best in Gumbo.

So, to tonight's dish - this amount will serve 4 people and you can freeze it , but if you do be sure to remove the meat from the clams first and disgard the shells.

Gourmet Goddess Creole Gumbo

You will need: 1 large onion, 1 medium carrot, 1 stalk celery, 1 large potato, 1 tin diced/crushed tomatoes, a couple of handfuls of okra (chop them into three), 1 bay leaf, 1 tablespoon paprika, 4 cloves chopped garlic, 1/2 tablespoon sugar, 1 red chilli chopped finely, 2 white fish fillets chopped into chunky pieces (I used flathead this time), a couple of handfuls of clams in the shell, 6 shelled raw king prawns, 1 medium calamari/squid cut into rings, 1 litre fish or vegetable stock, 1 cup cooked white rice, Tabasco Sauce (the smoked chipotle version if you can get it, otherwise just use the normal one) salt and pepper, olive oil, fresh parsley to serve.

Method : Dice the onion, carrot, celery and potato into small cubes. Heat a splash of olive oil in a deep pan and add the chopped vegetables, along with the bay leaf, garlic and chilli. Cook on a medium heat until the onion starts to turn translucent. Add the okra and combine well. Let it cook for a couple of minutes, then add the tomatoes, tabasco, sugar and stock. Allow to simmer for 15minutes, then add the cooked rice. Simmer for another 5 minutes.

Add the seafood, combine well season with salt and pepper. Put the lid on the pan and let the seafood cook for about 5 minutes, stirring once during the cooking. The dish is ready when the clams open up (disgard any that do not) Taste the dish and adjust the seasoning if you need to.

Serve in soup bowls with fresh parsley.

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