Hey Pesto; it's a Gnocch-out!

Potato selection is important, I picked what Foodworks called 'Red Potoatoes'

For the delectation of my peers I produced for the Food Fair home-made potato gnocchi with a fresh pesto sauce. I chose gnocchi because since I was about 50cm high it's been my absolute favorite thing to have for dinner. I'd made it fresh once before on a school trip to Italy but we didn't have to do the hard yards ourselves, there were professionals to take over when we got tired. The pesto I chose because it's easy to make, tastes good and is (according to the Wikipedia page on gnocchi) a traditional accompaniment to those delicious little dumplings.
All told the exercise took about three hours. Most of that it preparing the gnocchi dough. My first problem was that we didn't have a working set of scales. Consulting a bunch of different internet sources I established I'd need about 1.5kg of potatoes (floury ones) and 2 cups of plain flour. In the end I held a kilo of flour in one hand and the potatoes in the other, moving potatoes until they were about the same weight. After boiling them until their skins start to fall off you peel the potatoes. This is traditionally done by hand and turned out to be a very tedious process.

Wouldn't this be great with a prospective beau?

After this came the fun part: mashing the potatoes and kneading them with flour.
In the process you gradually mix in a whisked egg. The aim is to create a dough that's just sticky enough to hold together. Mum helped me with this part, while at the same time telling stories about the Italian families she grew up friends with, who, along with us Irish, used to make up the Catholic community in Reservoir.

While I was waiting for the potatoes to boil I made the pesto. You toast about 1/2 a cup of pine nuts (they cook very quickly, be careful not to burn them!) then blend them with 3 or 4 cloves of raw, chopped garlic and 1 cup of olive oil. Next cut up a large bunch of basil and blend that in to. Remember the aim is not to create a puree, just a very finely chopped mixture. Finally stir in about 1/2 of grated Parmesan cheese. Don't do what I did and add extra cheese, you'll just make it too salty.

Having finally achieved a gnocchi dough you just roll it out and cut into gnoccho-sized pieces. Rolling them on a fork will give the distinct gnocchi shape, but I couldn't be bothered so just rolled little balls. After cooking (I'm sure everyone knows how to cook gnocchi) place them in bowl and mix the pesto though before serving. Unlike most pastas where the sauce goes on top pesto works best in an even covering.

At the Food Fair my little gnocchi were widely appreciated (maybe those who didn't like it just didn't say anything). I probably won't make them again in the near future (the time! the mess!), though I think gnocchi making would be a great activity to do on a date. The pesto on the other hand is dead easy. I think it's set to become a staple.

A Bistro for All Seasons

Seasons Bistro Bar & Deli is among a growing cohort of establishments in the Macedon Ranges catering to the higher end of the culinary market. Located just off the main street of picturesque Riddells Creek the venue opened just a few years ago after a series of unsuccessful businesses had occupied the premises.

Big windows, exposed rafters and skylights give the place a bright, open feel without leaving you feeling exposed. Dark wooden tables and leather upholstered chairs give the place a classy feel while exposed brickwork makes it feel rustic. In one corner is an open fire, around which club chairs and tables with newspapers are arranged, which would make a a great place for a cozy morning coffee.

Seasons caters to a pretty upper middle class sort of a crowd, mostly young professionals with children. They work in the city but enjoy a rural lifestyle. Accordingly the prices are higher than the pub down the road, and the proprietor has fiercely resisted the inclusion of a Parma and Chips on the menu. While you'd probably describe it as serving 'modern Australian cuisine' in reality that means everything from bacon and eggs to tapas to Greek lamb and Indonesian vegetable fritters.

Every Thursday the place does a 3 course set menu for $40 (with a glass of house wine), while on a typical night a main from the à la carte menu will set you back between $25-35. They also serve breakfast and lunch, as well as coffee, cakes and gelato all day. Recently they've also installed a pizza oven and serve pizza they describe as 'made the Italian way'.

For reasons of economy I decided to breakfast at my chosen venue. We sat at a table for two against the back wall. Partly because it was the coolest spot (the airconditioning leaves something to be desired) and partly because it allows you to observe all the goings on.

I ordered the House made Buttermilk Pancakes Mixed Maple Berry Compote with Vanilla Ice Cream for $15.50 along with a $3.90 cappuccino. The pancakes were exquisite. A soft light texture, not overly floury though. I found the sweetness of the berry compote and the ice cream a bit overwhelming. I think I might have preferred the savory option.

It was intriguing to watch the staff interact with regular customers. Trying to make them feel individually valued, laughing when they didn't have the time to think up a reply, striking that balance between efficiency and service. Unpicking the subtle hierarchies which governed that 3 staff members and the owner's interactions. Guessing at the social status of the customers as they came through.

All in all a very pleasant experience. It's like about 4 shops from Fitzroy combined into one and made a bit more rustic. The only place really worth dining in town,  

Gnocching on Heaven's Door

Freshly cooked gnocchi alla romana

Gnocchi are traditional Italian dumplings, that are today typically made from potato, wheat flour and egg (though variations include gnocchi made with cheese, breadcrumbs and semolina). Originally the dish seems to have come from the Middle East, but gnocchi first hit the big-time as sustenance for Roman legions as they spread through Italy and Europe around the beginning of the first millennium.

The gnocchi that the Romans ate was made from semolina dough and egg, it wasn't until the 16th century, after Columbus had returned from the Americas bearing the potato, that modern potato gnocchi began to emerge. The dish I present today is gnocchi alla romana, a version of the dish that uses semolina and remains a staple of Roman kitchens today.

Unlike potato gnocchi, which are effectively boiled potato dumplings, gnocchi alla romana are baked and consist primarily of milk and semolina (the coarse, corn-like middlings of durum wheat) with smaller quantities of egg. The whole mixture is cooked over a stove until it resembles a thick porridge. This dough is then rolled out flat and flat cookie sized disks are cut out. These disks are then placed in a backing dish, covered with butter and Parmesan, and baked until golden brown.

Gnocchi with veal parcels

Historically gnocchi alla romana consumption has largely remained confined to Rome (where it is traditionally prepared on a Thursday), however, semolina based gnocchi variations are common throughout southern Italy (malloreddus of Sardinia for example). Today, gnocchi alla romana can be found throughout Italy and France, though it remains relatively uncommon outside Europe.

Modern variations of the dish increasingly feature strips of prosciutto and veal.

A Foul Dish to Swallow

Bas-relief in the tomb of Mereruka, Saqqara,

Foie gras (literally 'fat liver') is a French delicacy made from the artificially enlarged livers of force-fed ducks or geese. The origins of the dish appear to date back to at least 2500 B.C.E. with the force-feeding of geese appearing in a bas-reliefs throughout Ancient Egyptian tombs in Giza and Saqqarah. It's not clear if the Egyptians specifically sought the livers of their fattened animals but the Romans certainly did. After the fall of the Roman empire foie gras largely vanished from European plates until the 16th century when in 1570 Bartolomeo Scappi (chef de cuisine for Pope Pius V) included it in his Opera dell'arte del cucinare. 

Modern computer controlled force-feeding

It's believed that foie gras survived the thousand years between the fall Roman empire and its reappearance on gentile plates because of its importance in the Jewish culinary oeuvre, as a replacement for religiously proscribed lard and dairy fat. One of Europe's largest Jewish populations, at the time, lived in northeastern France. As the French ruling classes sought ever more ostentatious displays of wealth, the expense, delicacy and exoticism saw foie gras become an increasingly regular presence on the tables of the aristocracy throughout the 17th century.

While by the 1800s foie gras had cemented its place in French haute cuisine, it wasn't until the 1970s that its consumption became widespread in France. Today, France produces around 80% of the world's foie gras and eats around 90%. The industry is worth and estimated $US 2.5 billion to the country.

Seared foie gras, served with stawberries.

Foie gras is considered a particular delicacy due to the rich buttery taste imparted by its extremely high fat content. While most familiar to Australian diners as pâté, or other similiar low temperature preparations, increasingly it is served in France roasted, grilled or sauteed. The difficulty of cooking the delicate organ without burning it adds to the luxury value of the dish, as only highly skilled chefs can achieve satisfactory results. Once cooked, the liver is so flavorsome that it requires little or no seasoning.

Serious concerns around the ethics of foie gras production (ramming a life-time's worth of grain down a bird's throat in the space of 2 weeks is a pretty nasty exercise) mean that many jurisdictions now ban the production or import of foie gras from force fed animals. Luckily, for ethical gourmands there's hope yet. Increasingly, foie gras is produced by timing the slaughter to coincide with natural, seasonal, engorgement of duck and geese livers. Hope for bird-lovers everywhere!

Basquing in Reflected Glory

The Basque Country is a region straddling the border between far north-western Spain and southern France. Linguistically and culturally it's quite distinct from Spain, as well as France and the surrounding regions. The Basque have reasserted their identity since the end of the Franco regime and in recent decades Basque food has conquered the world of haute cuisine.

Map of the Basque Country. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Heavily influenced by proximity to the ocean many Basque dishes typically feature fish grilled over charcoal complimented with some combination of meat, potatoes, legumes, tomatoes, peppers, capsicum and asparagus. Of particular prominence in Basque cooking is Bakaiļao, or dried and salted cod. As early as the 7th century the Basque were making fishing expeditions into the North Atlantic, so intrepid were their seamen that the Basque are credited with the invention of the rudder. The absence of refrigeration necessitated that the fish be dried and salted, a tradition that continues to this day.

Dried and salted cod. Source: Spanish Food World

One typically Basque preparation is Bakailao Vizcaya. Here I will present a very simple version of the dish. The recipe calls for a large piece of salted cod, 4 onions, 4 capsicums, a can of crushed tomatoes, a jar of roasted bell peppers, a bunch of asparagus, half a dozen bell peppers, olive oil, plain flour, sugar, salt, chilli and paprika.

Rehydrate the cod by soaking it in fresh water for 24 hours, changing the water every few hours.

Once the fish is re-hydrated juliette and roast the capsicum at 180ºC. Next fry the onion in olive oil before adding the capsicum, asparagus, bell peppers, tomatoes and sugar, salt and paprika to taste. Simmer for 30 minutes.

Your finished product should look something like this, Source: Mathias Bjørge

Drain the cod and cut it into serving-sized portions. Coat each piece in flour and fry it in olive oil. Next lay the pieces out in a baking dish, cover them in the tomato and capsicum sauce and bake for 15 mins. Serve as is.

Source recipes: here, here and here.