Dan and Andy's Tasty Fritatta

I whipped this up the other night, with new friend Dan. A fritatta is basically an Italian omelette, that is cooked in pan. 5 large eggs, room temp 2-3 tbsp milk pinch salt/pepper whisk together and set aside 1 medium red onion, sliced finely 2 cloves of garlic, crushed finely 2 or 3 roma tomatoes, diced 1 small or 1/2 large sweet potato, peeled, diced and microwaved for 2-3minutes until soft. sea salt extra virgin olive oil cracked black pepper 1/2 tsp dried italian herbs Method fry onion, and garlic in 3tbsp olive oil, until soft. Add your diced tomato, and sea salt, and continue to cook for 5-10 minutes over a low heat, until the tomato softens, and blends with the onion and garlic. The olive oil will carry the flavours beautifully. Add sweet potato, cracked black pepper, italian herbs and the egg mix. Adjust seasoning if necessary. Cook on low heat for 2 minutes, then transfer under a hot grill and cook the top until the fritatta is golden and puffy. Voila.

Italian food here in Griffith

Griffith has a long history of Italian culture. Last nite I was fortunate to receive a beautiful feast with my friends Natalie and Rick. Natalie is Italian descent.

Menu

gondoletti (Italian crumbed steak)
tuna and rice balls crumbed with parmesan
potatoes with olives and herbs
char grilled capsicum with olive oil and chili
salad of mushrooms, tomato passata, sweet corn
lovely sweet potato in olive oil, baked in foil
garlic bread

wine from my cellar, a crisp dry white
set amongst the ripening shiraz vines on a cool summer evening...

It's amore

This is a baked pork sausage, cannellini bean and vegetable dish.

6 or so Italian pork sausages (must be pork, and preferably Italian style with fennel)
1 tin cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 fennel bulb, sliced
2 or 3 roma tomatoes, sliced
white wine vinegar
olive oil
sea salt
pepper

Easy Method
Place sliced fennel bulb and tomato in an oven proof dish, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with good salt
Bake in hot oven 10 minutes to start the cooking process
While baking the veg, brown the pork snags in hot olive oil
Add browned snagalinis to the fennel/tomato and add your rinsed beans, a little vinegar
Cover with a lid and bake for a further 25-30 minutes until vegetables are nicely cooked, and the beans are all gooey

Serve in a warm bowl with crusty bread and a side salad...

More Italian Simplicity

Spotted this recipe in the paper* the other day, it's by Karen Martini, head chef at various Sydney and Melbourne eateries and TV presenter on Better Homes and Gardens here in Australia.

I've adapted it to suit what is available out here in country New South Wales.  Like most of her recipes, it is pretty easy: the method involves making a delicious chicken broth, then adding chicken balls and noodles with garden peas and italian parsley for freshness.  I would serve this with a crisp white wine, somefing like an early drinking Hunter Semillon, or if you are in the Northern Hemisphere, a crisp dry white wine from your local area..

Mushroom, Chicken Ball, Pea and Noodle Soup

The stock

using a leftover roast chicken carcass and bones, simmer in about 2 litres of fresh water with an onion, carrot, celery, coupla parsley stalks, 2 bay leaves, a couple of peppercorns and 1tsp sea salt.
u can halve the carrots and onion and chop the celery into large pieces.  U can use a packaged chicken stock instead, but this soup really needs a good freshly made stock.  It tastes so much better then cardboard and msg.  Simmer the stock for about 45minutes, thats all, turn off stick a lid on it and go out for a while. The house will be smelling devine when u return.

Drain the stock thru a seive, into a clean saucepan, and bring back to the boil, simmer and skim any skum off the top (this helps clear the stock, stockmakers usually do this sort of thing)

The chickenmeatballs
salt/pepper
olive oil
2 or 3 french shallots (éschallots)  little brown onions
2 or 3 thyme sprigs, or 1tsp dried thyme
4 buttom mushrooms, or swiss brown mushrooms sliced and diced or
30g dried porcini mushrooms revitalised in a little boiling water  & dice them up
2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
500g minced chicken or u can mince your own in the food processor, just don't overwork it or u will get rubber.
1 egg
1/2 cup breadcrumbs

Fry up the french shallots, thyme, garlic and mushies in the olive oil. Let it cool for 5 minutes
Combine all the ingredients and make into small meatballs about 3cm round. use water on your hands to shape and make round.

To make the finished dish:

Put a good handful of broken spaghetti into the simmering stock and cook for 6 minutes, stirring
Add the chicken balls and cook for 5 minutes
Add 2 eggs (adds richness, cheap protein,  and thickens it), juice of 1 lemon, check seasoning and add roughly torn parsley leaves,  and a good handful of frozen peas. Give it a stir and leave for 5 minutes to rest while u cut up some bread and chat with your friends.


* as seen in Sunday Life magazine

A Week of Simple Home Cooked Italian Food

Working in the wine industry during vintage can be a 24/7 affair: early morning starts, late night finishes with weekends thrown in for good measure.  Simple, fresh wholesome food with plenty of vegetables helps restore the energy levels, especially when it has been hot.  Food such as Mediterranean food, that is wholesome and restorative, food that is filling without overdoing it.  Avoid the buttery French and northern European food, base your diet instead on good olive oil, vegetables small amounts of meat and fish and you are there. No wonder Italians are so healthy, they work hard and eat extraordinarily well.

I stayed the first week with my boss, the Head Winemaker, Anthony in Canowindra New South Wales. If you throw a dart at the map of NSW, the bulls eye would be Canowindra.

Anthony is Italian descent, and has a passion for Southern Italian food, food from his parents' birthplace in the region around Naples.  You could call it peasant food, as it certainly is not sophisticated, but it sure is tasty, economical and healthy. His partner Katie, together with their twin baby girls Sofia and Lola, and Pishta the jack russell make excellent company.

All vegetables and herbs are straight from Anthony's 1/2 acre garden which also includes an orchard of citrus, apples, figs and stone fruits.  A couple of free range hens, a duck and 2 quails complete the lifestyle.

Monday night: Pre Dinner Drinks and Chicken Cacciatore

Tanquary Gin and Tonic over ice, cucumber assisting with the flavouring in this delighfully refreshing (sour) drink

The Chicken Cacciatore, or Hunter's chicken, is cooked for several hours in the oven until the meat falls apart.  The large ceramic baking dish is simmering gently; at the table it is oily (not greasy), dotted with green and black olives, and the sauce is all tomatoes and fresh herbs, served with a simple penne pasta. An introduction to Italian cooking simplicity.  Served al-fresco with oranges raining down from the over-loaded tree.

I feel like a well fed winemaker-hunter.
Tuesday night: Pork with Peas, Phillip Shaw no.11 Chardonnay

After a hard day in the heat, this dish of pork and peas was devoured with a good local chardonnay

Pasta with Peas and Pork ribs, again cooked for several hours on the stove top. Tomato based sauce with the garden peas adding freshness.  Pork ribs flavour the sauce and are served as a second course.  Fresh garden salad of rocket, raddichio, leaves with a red wine and olive oil dressing

The mid weight chardonnay goes down adequately, although a wine higher in apparent acid would probably work better though - like a lightly oaked chardonnay or semillon.

Wednesday night: Zucchini Slice, tomato and cucumber salad

Zucchini slice: garden fresh zucchini, 4 eggs, a cup of flour, grated cheese and baked in a moderate oven until browned. Served with tomato/cucumber salad. It's filling without fattening, the salad is light and refereshing counterpoint to the slightly denser baked dish.

No wine tonight, just water.
Thursday night, my turn in the Kitchen: Rissotto of leak and peas, served warm with sliced chicken breast

Leak rissotto with garden peas, olive oil and topped with pan fried chicken breast (caramelised in a hot fry pan with olive oil and sea salt, finished slowly in the oven) and fresh flat leaf parsley.  Accompanied with a salad of basil, rocket, raddichio, lettuce.  Anthony loved it and proceeded to add a fig and pecorino cheese. This salad became the second course, washed down with glasses of quality soft drink, thirst quenching from the heat.
Dessert was a couple of icecreams from the local service station!

Unfortunately no Friday night dinner as I headed home for the weekend, but leftovers were eaten for lunch!

Saturday night: Back at home in Griffith, Italian Style Sardines in oil with green beans. See recipe here'tis

Sunrise Friday morning at Canowindra looking towards Cowra

Happy eating!

Italian Meatballs Yummy

500g pork mince meat
1 small red onion chopped finely
2 cloves of garlic, minced
3 tsp italian seasoning or dried italian herbs
salt/pepper
grated lemon rind (the skin) of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon lemon juice

mix ingredients together into a small meatball a little smaller then a golf ball!
and brown in fry pan using olive oil

for the sauce
1/4 cup of parsley
1 large tin of chopped tomatoes
small amount of garlic
1 tablespoon of tomato paste

simmer ingredients for 45 minutes
after 15 minutes, put meatballs in and cook for 15mins

serve with spaghetti and grated parmesan cheese on top, and a glass of red wine!

bon appetito