Smokin' hot!

Nduja from Calabria

'Nduja (pronounced 'un-doo-ya) di Spilinga - A firey, smokey, soft spreadable salami which originates from the small town of Spilinga in the region of Calabria, in the deep South of Italy. 

In 2008, a stumble upon the roadside Trattoria da Mimma, in the Capo Vaticano area of Calabria, changed my life. Ok, well as far as food experiences go, the simple pasta dish I had at this trattoria had me craving it well after the holiday ended. To this date, I think this single food item forms one of the most memorable dishes I have eaten on all my travels. 

Ah, the joys of the simple things in life. Spicey and smokey, there is just something so addictive and moorish about the flavour. Fast forward a year or two later after my trip and I spot a Calabrian stand in London's Borough Market and I was ever so excited to see the 'nduja for sale here! It also started appearing on some pizza and pasta menus in London overtime.

It is apparently made with various parts of the pig that produce a high fat content, including belly, shoulder and jowl. The meat is ground very finely and then mixed with some salt, and ALOT of roasted and ground sweet and hot peppers (another region specialty). It is then stuffed back into the large intestine and smoked for about a week, then dried for three weeks or more. Then voila, you have this versatile ingredient, that can be spread on bread, eaten with cheese, mixed into pasta sauces and a whole host of other recipes that I can't wait to try!

For now though, it is best as a quick and simple pasta sauce.

My quick pasta alla'nduja e pomodori (Serves 2)

Ingredients
1. Enough pasta for two people (traditionally served with a long fusilli of the region, but linguine or whatever pasta you prefer is fine)
2. 1-2 tbsp of 'nduja to taste, depending on how much spice you can handle
3. Handful of cherry tomatoes
4. Salt and pepper to taste and basil to garnish

Method
1. Cook your pasta as you normally would
2. At the same time, in a little olive oil, throw in some cherry tomatoes and add the nduja to gently melt it. I prefer the cherry tomatoes still relatively fresh, so only cook these until the skin bursts. You could also use chopped tomatoes (tinned or fresh) if you prefer a more tomatoey flavour with just the hint of 'nduja.
3. Drain the pasta, reserving some of the cooking water and mix the pasta into the sauce. Add some of the liquid if the sauce is to dry. 
4. Salt and pepper to taste and garnish with basil if so desired. I have also seen it served with ricotta, so you could add a dollop of ricotta or other soft cheese when serving, to soften the flavour of the 'nduja - it will melt and mix into the sauce.
5. Enjoy!

Quick and tasty dinner - 'nduja with pasta

Trattoria Da Mimma - Capo Vaticano in 2008

Fusilli alla 'nduja - the original dish I had

New Experiments and a Fresh Tart

Lemon and Lime Tart

I love citrusy and tangy foods. I have made a lemon meringue tart only once before, four years ago, inspired by my brief stint in the South of France at the time. For some odd reason as much as I enjoy this dessert, I have not made it since. 

Then Delicious magazine came and it was on the cover page and calling out to me to bake it, in an attempt to expand my repertoire. Of all the shortcrust pastry recipes I have tried, this one turned out the best. I didn't have to mould and press and mend the dough into the tart tin. It fell in in one go and did not break, so I will definitely be using this recipe again. 

The tart filling had the right amount of zest and sourness I thought (if you prefer your tart sweeter, this tart is not for you!). However, it was slightly under cooked and needed perhaps another 10 minutes. I made small tarts with the leftover pastry and filling and they were a good alternative if you prefer a less citrusy filling to pastry ratio!

Rick Stein's Lemon and Lime Tart (serves 10-12)
(Takes 25 minutes to make, 50 minutes to cook, plus resting and cooling)

Ingredients

For the pastry
250g plain (all purpose) flour, plus extra for dusting
25g icing sugar
150g chilled unsalted butter, cubed
2 medium free-range egg yolks
1 egg white, lightly beaten

For the filling
3 large or 4 small lemons
2 limes
6 eggs
250g granulated sugar
150mL double cream
icing sugar to dust (optional)

Method - For the Pastry

1. Begin by sifting the flour, icing sugar and a pinch of salt. Next, chop your butter into small cubes and, if you have a magimix, pulse until it resembles fine crumbs. 

Add the yolks and 1-2 tbsp water, then pulse again until the pastry comes together. Remove and gently knead the dough before wrapping in cling film and leaving to chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

2. Once the pastry has chilled, roll it into a thin layer (using flour to dust) to line a 25cm diameter, 3cm deep loose bottomed tart tin. Prick the base of the tart with a fork and put it into the fridge to chill for 25 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 200ºC/fan 180ºC/gas 6/395ºF and place a baking tray in the oven to pre-heat as well.

3. Line the tart tin with baking paper and baking beans, and bake for 12-15 minutes until the edges are very lightly browned. Remove the baking paper and beans, and bake for another 4 minutes. Remove once again, brush with the whisked egg white, and return to the oven for a final two minutes. Remove from the oven and reduce the heat to 120ºC/fan 100ºC/gas ½/250ºF.

For the filling

1. Begin by grating the zest from the lemons and set aside, then squeeze the juice from all of the lemons and limes (to achieve 150-175ml of liquid). In a separate bowl, lightly beat the eggs and sugar together by hand (you don’t want the eggs to be frothy), add the citrus juice and cream, and sieve the resulting mixture. Add the lemon zest last.

2. To bake the tart, to avoid spilling, Rick Stein suggests placing the baking sheet back in the oven, placing the pastry case on the tray and pulling the shelf half way out of the oven. Pour the filling into the pastry case, slide the shelf back into the oven and cook for approximately 50 minutes (until just set). The mixture should be quite wobbly in the centre still but will continue to firm up after it comes out of the oven. Remove from the oven and leave to cool (don’t refrigerate). Dust with icing if you feel inclined and serve on the same day if you can.

Perfect pastry

Fresh out of oven

Slightly runnier than it should be

Mini lemon tarts

You Rich and Evil Tart!

A Rich and Indulgent Tart

Chocolate and raspberries - you really can't go too wrong with this combination, the sharpness of the raspberries cutting the rich and bitterness of the chocolate in a perfect marriage of flavours. 

A new Magimix in tow (thanks peoples!), and a reason to bake had me sampling this recipe I had bookmarked for awhile now. The pastry was rather delicate and hard to roll out without breaking but nonetheless, once baked, you will know no difference! My tart tin was smaller than the recipe called for so I had plenty of chocolate mixture leftover. Baked in small ramekins, this makes for an easy and quick (but very rich) dessert. I would perhaps add some orange zest to the mixture and serve with creme fraiche or cream, if you are not concerned with the extra calories from what is already an extremely indulgent dessert! 

Silky Chocolate and Raspberry Tart (Serves 10-12)
(Takes 30 minutes to make, 50 minutes to cook, plus 35 minutes chilling)

Ingredients

1. 1. 150ml whole milk
2. 2. 500ml double cream
3. 3. 65g golden caster sugar
4. 300g good quality dark chocolate (ideally 70 per cent cocoa solids), broken into small squares
5. 4. 2 medium free-range eggs
6. 5. 1 tsp vanilla extract
7. 6. 200g fresh raspberries, plus extra to serve (optional)
8. for the crisp chocolate pastry
9. 7. 175g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
10. 8. 25g good quality cocoa powder
11. 9. 50g icing sugar
12. 10. 100g chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
13. 11. 1 medium free-range egg yolk
14. 12. 3-4 tsp cold water

Method

1. 1. For the pastry, sift the flour, cocoa powder, icing sugar and a pinch of salt into a food processor. Add the butter and whizz until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs. Beat the egg yolk briefly with the water. Add to the food processor and whizz until the mixture starts to stick together. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly until smooth. Shape into a flat disc, wrap in cling film, then chill in the fridge for 15 minutes.
2. 2. Remove the pastry from the fridge and roll it out thinly on a flour-dusted surface. Use it to line a 25cm (across the top), 4cm deep, loose-bottomed tart tin. Trim the pastry edges, then chill in the fridge for 20 minutes.
3. 3. Put a baking sheet onto the middle shelf of the oven and preheat to 200°C/fan180°C/gas 6. Line the pastry case with a sheet of crumpled baking paper and a thin layer of baking beans or rice, then blind bake on the preheated baking tray for 15 minutes. Remove the paper and beans/rice and blind bake for 5 more minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool and crisp. Turn the oven down to 170°C/fan150°C/gas 3½.
4. 4. For the filling, put the milk, cream and sugar into a pan and slowly bring to the boil, stirring gently. Take off the heat, add the chocolate squares and stir until smooth. Cool slightly, add the eggs and vanilla extract, then mix together well.
5. 5. Scatter the raspberries in the tart case. Pour over the filling, carefully slide the tart back onto the baking sheet in the oven, then bake for 20-30 minutes or until the filling is cooked but still slightly wobbly. It will continue firming up as it cools. Remove and leave to cool somewhere cold (but not in the fridge) until set. Serve cut into thin slices and serve with additional fresh raspberries if desired.

Chocolate Pastry

I used 70% Cocoa Lindt chocolate

Perhaps less raspberries than this to allow more chocolate space!

Silky Chocolate Ganache

Out of the oven