Friday 13 January 2012

´KitchenVoyage Food Calendar 2012







KitchenVoyage Seasonal Food Calendar 2012 has arrived!  and this year with some of the best food festivals around the world. A lot of new ingredients are waiting to be used in our kitchen, just download The KitchenVoyage seasonal food calendar to know what to cook in this season. Remember eating according to the season is healthier, eco-friendly and cheaper!


Download for Excel 2010


Download for Google Docs and Excel 2003-2007

Notes.
* Please confirm Food Festival dates before you go.
*If you have some troubles downloading please contact me




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Wednesday 11 January 2012

Oranges your winter best friend

Photo by Lovestruck
This winter in England has been relativity mild and some of the Hospital has notice a big affluence of patients due the quantities of virus around.  And given the financial crisis and the increasing competitiveness in the job the worst can happen with you is stay a whole week in bed with a cold. One of the best things that you can do for help your body to combat the winter pathogen is have an orange a day. One orange a day covers the daily recommendation intake of Vitamin C by day - Something you don’t expect to be advertised in pharmacies and TV ads-
Oranges  are also rich in minerals (magnesium and potassium) and anti-oxidants and fibre.
Oranges it is believed  started to be cultivated in China and is a possible hybrid between pomelo and mandarin they are available all year around their natural season is from middle autumn until first day of the summer.
Despite their sweetness the orange only has 36, 5 kcal by 100g (around 70 kcal by piece) and also the intake of orange will help against cardiovascular problems and the bad Cholesterol: Low-density lipoprotein (LDL). Their high level of folic acid help pregnant women and the anti-oxidants help to keep young your body.

Seville orange marmalade by Basecadet
Exist several oranges varieties, the British favourites are the Seville oranges in season now and are perfect for making marmalade. When you go to the market to choose your perfect orange you need to look more for the weight than the colour. More weight means more juice. Like another fruits is recommended to keep fresh in the fridge trying to avoid contact between each other.
To obtain the properties of the orange is preferably eat it in its natural state, make a juice is a great option also although you will miss some of their fibre. If you make a juice consume immediately to not lose any of the properties. Even if you refrigerate most of the vitamin will be lost after 30 minutes.
Mandarin, grapefruits, pink grapefruits are also in season and have similar benefits.

More: Orange juice prices hit record and the fungicide Brazilian juice in USA


Three Seasonal oranges juices to make at home before going to work


Plenty of Vitamin C in a morning juice. Photo by helter-skelter  
Orange juice with 
Grapefruit
Juice 1 grapefruit – 1 orange – 1 lime – and dilute with 75 cold sparkling water.


Carrot and Beetroot.
Juice 1 large orange, 175g carrots, 100g beetroot and 100g fennel


Orange Powerful Smoothie
Juice 1 large orange and a whole carrot. Transfer to a food processor and add 1 unpeeled frozen banana plus one dried apricot and some ice cubes. Blend and serve.



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Monday 9 January 2012

Argentina Pasta recipes

Windows shop with Gnocchi´s in Buenos Aires. Photo by Jessica
Even though I try to focus with Mediterranean food and British food, this New Year I will bring to you some of the recipes from Europe that become very popular in South America after the big migrations of the 20th century from Europe to the Americas.

It´s well known that Buenos Aires like New York was flooded with Italians during and after the II World War and with them they bring all their recipes. Argentina is worldwide famous for its quality beef, but also in the cafes and restaurant of Buenos Aires the pizzas and pasta are the also the star dishes at the Argentinian homes.
I share 3 recipes that always enjoyed when I was living in the River Plates coast. The first the popular raviolis with a tasty meat sauce called Tuco a real adaptation to the dish, the another are the ñoquis (gnocchi’s)  where every 29th of each months is traditionally to have it putting some money under the plate for luck. And then you can try the sorrentinos, another popular fresh fill pasta known as Sorrentinos it´s believed that was invented in the vanished restaurant Sorrento in Buenos Aires,  although the origin must be from some forgotten town of south Italy.

Potato Gnocchi.  
Ñoquis with tomato sauce and parmesan cheese
You need x 4 -6 serves: 1kg waxy potatoes (scrubbed and unpeeled) – 250 to 270g of flour – 1 egg – 25g butter (softened). 1tbsp of salt – ½ tsp of grated nutmeg. Parmesan cheese to serve.

1. Bring to the boil a salty pan of water with the potatoes in. Cook until the potatoes are tender but not falling apart. Drain, let cool down until you can manage the potatoes and so you can peel them.
2. Mash the still hot potatoes using a food mill or similar, then spread some flour over a work surface and drop the mash potatoes onto the work surface.

Gnocchi mash
Cutting the Gnocchi´s

3. Now sprinkle over with half of the remaining flour and mix lightly.
4. Add the egg to the mixture plus the nutmeg and knead lightly, adding the remaining flour when it´s necessary. When the dough is light to the touch and no longer sticky is ready to be rolled
5. Divide the roll into 4-5 parts. In a new floured work surface, roll each dough until you have a dough stick of about 2,8cm of diameters. Cut with a floured knife into pieces of 2,8cms long.

Making Gnocchi s with a fork
Traditional Gnocchi shape

6. With a common table fork, one by one press and roll lightly with your thumb the gnocchi over with the fork prongs.
7. Bring to the boil a large pan of salty boiling water and drop your gnocchi’s in. Be sure they have space. Best cook in 2-3 batches. When the gnocchi rise to the surface after 3-5 minutes the gnocchi are done. 
8. Drain and put them in a serving dish, cover with a tomatoes sauce and sprinkle some parmesan cheese

Raviolis with Tuco sauce
Ravioli with Tuco sauce
You need x4 serves
Ravioli dough:  500g plain flour – 2 white eggs – 1 egg – 1tsp of salt – 2 tbsp olive oil.

Ravioli filling: 400g fresh spinach (washed) or 180g frozen spinach – 175g ricotta cheese – 70g parmesan cheese – 1 egg – ½ tsp grated nutmeg.

Tuco sauce: 1 small onion (chopped) 50g red pepper – 50g green pepper (both finely chopped) – 2 grated carrots – 2 can chop tomatoes – Pinch of nutmeg – Bunch of parsley.
400g of stewing beef (also used silverside or shin of beef) in chunks.

Ravioli dough.
Ravioli dough well
1. In a big bowl place the flour with salt and make a well in the centre. Break onto the middle the egg whites and the whole egg, plus the olive oil.
2. Start beating the eggs with a fork and gradually drawing the flour from the inside walls of the well. As the paste starts to thicken continues mixing with your hands until you have dough, adding more flour if still sticky or some lukewarm water if it is too dry.
3. Spread some flour over a working surface and knead the dough for about 10-20 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic. You can also with this dough smash onto the work surface time to time. Cover with a cling film and let rest for 1 hour.
4. Split the dough in 2.  With a floured rolling pin flat the dough into a disc until you has less than half centimetre thick (ideal 3 mm like a kitchen towel). When is ready with a cutter create rectangle for approx. 30cm long and 10cm wide. 

Ravioli filling. (Meanwhile you are resting the ravioli dough)
1. In a saucepan with some depth, put in the spinach without draining and cook in a gently heat for 5 minutes covered. Drain and let cool down squeezing out as much moisture as possible. Reserve the moisture. Chop very finely the spinach.
2. In bowl combine the spinach with the ricotta, egg, parmesan and nutmeg. Season with a pinch of salt and a good quantity of pepper and mix all very well. Cover until you need to use it.

Making the raviolis

Place the filling in the sheet
Cover and remove the air with your fingers.

1. In a lightly floured working surface, place half of the pasta sheets. 
2. Then place small teaspoon of filling over the centre of the pasta sheets in rows with a separation of 5 cm each other.
3. Cover with another sheet of pasta, pressing down gently and removing any air pockets and selling with your hands the sheets as good as you can

Sealing the raviolis with a fork
Cook the raviolis in salty water

4. Using a fluted pastry wheel or a pizza cutter cut between the rows to form the classic ravioli shape. If you don’t have a fluted wheel, seal the ravioli pressing with a fork the edges.
5. Let rest the raviolis for at least 30 minutes in a floured surface.
6. Bring to the boil a large pan of salty boiling water and drop your raviolis in. Be sure they have space. Best cook in 2-3 batches. When the raviolis rise to the surface after 3-5 minutes the raviolis are done. 
7. Drain and put them in a serving dish, cover with the Tuco sauce

Tuco sauce:
1. Heat 4 tbsp. of olive oil in a sauce pan at medium low heat. Sauté the onions and peppers for about 5 minutes.
2. Add the meat chunks and laurel leaves. Brown the meat. Add the carrot and stir
3. Add the tomatoes and season. Simmer until the meat is tender about 2 hours (depending of the kind of meat that are you using)
4. Turn off the heat and add chopped parsley. At the end I like to fall apart the meat.

Sorrentinos 
Sorrentinos argentinos
You need x 4 serves
Sorrentinos dough: 500g flour – 2 tbsp olive oil – 1 tsp of salt – 1 egg yolk- Lukewarm water.

Sorrentinos filling: 400g ricotta cheese – 100g mozzarella cheese (grated) 150g York ham (finely chopped) – 50g parmesan cheese – 1 egg – ½ tsp grated nutmeg.

Sorrentinos filling: 
1. In a big bowl mix very well the entire sorrentinos filling. Season with salt and pepper, cover and set aside.

Making the sorrentinos
Sorrentinos ready to cook
1. In a big bowl place the flour with salt and make a well in the centre. Break onto the middle the yolk egg, plus the olive oil.
2. Start beating the egg with a fork and gradually drawing the flour from the inside walls of the well adding at the same time a tiny splash of the lukewarm water. Add more flour if still sticky or some lukewarm water it is too dry.
3. Spread some flour over a working surface and knead the dough for about 10-20 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic. Cover with a clean film and let rest for 15 minutes. 


Shaping sorrentinos without pasta accesories
Filling Sorrentinos

4. Split the dough in 2.  With a floured rolling pin flat the dough in floured work surface  into a disc until you has less than half centimetre thick (ideal 3 mm like a kitchen towel). When is ready with a circle cutter of at least 6cms. diameter cut the dough.
5. Spread the dough circle over a floured working surface, then place small teaspoon of filling over the centre and cover with another dough circle. With your fingers press down gently and removing any air pockets and sealing with your hands the sheets as good as you can.
6. Seal the sorrentinos pressing with a fork the edges.
7. Bring to the boil a large pan of salty boiling water and drop your sorrentinos in. Be sure they have space. Best cook in 2-3 batches. When the sorrentinos rise to the surface after 3-5 minutes the raviolis are done. 
8. Drain and put them in a serving dish, cover with your favourite sauce.


Fresh Argentinian Pasta Notes.


*Like in Italy in Argentina they use any kinds of accessories for make the pasta recipes quicker and with a professional look. Pasta machines, pasta shape cutters and pasta sieve or spoon sieve are a must in every Argentinian kitchen. Today are easier to find on-line or Italian gourmet shops.
*For remove the pasta from the boiling water is recommended use a sieve spoon or a pasta sieve, for avoid any braking. Fresh pasta is much more delicate than dry pasta.
*Before cooking the pasta can be frozen for up to 3 months.
*With the leftover dough(s) you can make pasties to cook in the oven or spaghettis.


Three easy tomatoes sauces recipes


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