Marco Torri vs Jane Hornby: The Carbonara cook off (with a recipe)

A couple of weeks ago, I was having a chat with a friend and one of the hardest questions a food lover will ever have to answer was asked. "If you had to eat the food from one country for the rest of your life, where would it be?” I paused for a little while, but in truth, I knew the answer straight away. Not because it was an easy answer, but because I had thought about the answer to this question on many occasions, and on every occasion, the answer would be Italian. Surprising maybe, being that I am Chinese, but nothing excites me more than the variety and produce from "The Boot".

When the offer to take part in a Carbonara taste off arrived in my inbox, I jumped at the chance. In one corner, we have Marco Torri, head chef at Semplice and proud owner of a Michelin Star. In the other, we had Jane Hornby cook, and author of "What to Cook and How to Cook It", a brand new cook book, packed with straightforward recipes all beautifully visualised. This was going to be an interesting contest.

After some chat with both "contestants" and keeping our hunger at bay with focaccia, olive oil and cured meats, the chefs headed off into the kitchen to prepare their dishes. When they both arrived, you could see that they were both very different.

The first one we were presented with was much wetter with a heady aroma. The sauce was deeply savoury packed with a good strong cheesy punch, not of parmesan, but of Pecorino, we all decided. A smoked ham perhaps? Definitely a few ladles of pasta stock into the sauce, a chefs secret I once saw on the telly.

The second was a lot less saucy and much milder in overall flavour. The sauce was definitely thicker and the ham used was much milder, without as smoky a hit, definitely less pepper. I actually preferred this one; it wasn't as much an assault on your senses, but a comforting bowl of pasta.

It turns out the second one belonged to Jane, but both were very enjoyable and the fact that both troughs were emptied of their contents was all the chefs needed to know. We had a leaf through Jane's book and the recipe was there in all its glory, well illustrated and simple to follow. I have attached Jane's recipe at the bottom of this post so have a go yourself, and I would definitely recommend getting hold of a copy of "What to Cook and How to Cook it". You won't regret it.

*Thanks to Marco Torri and Semplice Trattoria for hosting the event*

Spaghetti Carbonara

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 10 –12 minutes

Serves 2 (easily doubled)

Just six ingredients come together to create something quick and indulgent. For an extra touch of luxury add a dash of cream – just two tablespoons or so – to the Parmesan and eggs before mixing with the pasta.

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1 tsp flaky sea salt

200 g (7 oz) spaghetti

1 clove garlic

4 rashers smoked dry-cured streaky

bacon, or 100 g (3½ oz) smoked

bacon lardons or pancetta cubes

1 tbsp mild olive oil

40 g (1½ oz) Parmesan cheese

3 medium eggs

salt and pepper

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1

Put a large pan of water over a high heat and bring it to the boil. Add the salt, then add the spaghetti and bring back to the boil. Stir once, turn the heat down a little, and boil for 10 minutes, or until the pasta is just tender.

2

While the pasta cooks, start the sauce. Squash the whole garlic clove without peeling it. You can do this by simply bashing it with the bottom of a pan. Chop the bacon into small pieces, if using. Heat a large frying pan over a medium heat, then add the oil. After 30 seconds, add the chopped bacon or lardons and the garlic. Fry the bacon and garlic for 8–10 minutes, or until the bacon is golden and crisp and the fat has run out. Discard the garlic and take the pan off the heat.

3

While the bacon cooks, finely grate the Parmesan cheese and beat the eggs in a jug with a fork. Mix half of the Parmesan into the eggs. Season with salt and pepper.

4

When the pasta is just tender, reserve a cup of its cooking water, then drain it in a colander.

Tip the pasta into the bacon pan, add 2 tablespoons of the reserved cooking water, then pour over the egg and cheese mixture. Toss everything together quickly (tongs are useful here), so that the egg mixture, bacon and its juices coat the pasta. The residual heat in the pan and the pasta will be enough to just cook the eggs to a creamy sauce within about 1 minute.

5

Scoop the pasta into warmed serving bowls, then sprinkle with the rest of the cheese and a little black pepper, and serve immediately.

A recipe: Gin and Tonic Gummy Sweets

Blogging is a great way to meet new friends and to share passions of yours. Food has been good to me, but I have a secret passion for multi coloured rhomboids. Yep, I am a Lego addict.

I have loved it since I was a young child and remember it fondly. I remember the time that my best friend and I spent hours constructing a giant gorilla with compartments for minifigs, of the time I witnessed a friend pelt a half completed fire engine at the wall, only to see it explode into a thousand pieces across his front room, and of the Christmas my little sister bought me the Lego Batmobile. LEGO IS AWESOME!

It shocked me to discover that my passion for Lego was shared by many others. A few tweets to and fro and just like that, Lego Club was formed, an afternoon rediscovering our childhood, nattering over nibbles and alcohol. Each member of Lego Club was prescribed to bring something, and when I announced that I would be bringing gin and tonic, little did they know what was in store.

Gin and Tonic Gummy Sweets

I love sweets. I love gin and tonic. So why not make some gin and tonic gummy sweets? These have to be made, idiot proof and incredibly easy. I used a rectangular container and just cut into squares but if you have molds, even better.

1 x Sachet of Hartley's Jelly Lime Sugar Free

3 x Sachets of gelatine (normally about 35g)

1 pint of gin and tonic (about 50/50, I mean, you want it to taste of gin, right?)

Some lemon sherbet, optional, but a worthy addition

1. Put the gin and tonic into a small sauce pan. Sprinkle the lime jelly and unflavored gelatin over the generous G&T. Leave alone for a few minutes.

2. Place sauce pan over medium heat and stir until gelatin is dissolved, about 2-5 minutes. When mixture is liquid and all gelatin has dissolved, remove from heat.

3. Once it has cooled down a little, pour into mold. I used a cling film lined takeaway box (I am all style). If you have nice shaped molds, I would use them.

4. Let it cool down and then I chucked them into the fridge. They were ready after 2 hours but may be ready sooner. Remove then chop up into little squares. For a final flourish, sprinkle a little lemon sherbet before you eat them.

And in case you were wondering, here's what I made in Lego club:

(MiMi's Pic)

Dutch Pie. It's not Dutch and isn't really a pie (Recipe)

The minute I included my first recipe, more people want me to cook. It's a noble effort, I do like cooking after all, I am just very, very lazy. I work fairly late on most days and by the time I get home, I really just don't want to spend any time in front of the stove. Convenience certainly has taken over.

So, when Catty of the Catty life (not to be confused with cattylife) was asked to recommend somebody by those good people at Abel and Cole, I am sure she cackled a little and gave them my name.



Abel and Cole specialise in delivering organic food straight to your front door. Healthy convenience food. So there it was, no sooner had my details been submitted, as if by magic a box full of fresh produce landed on my doorstep. It was full of sorts of wonders and opening up the box, it felt a little bit like Christmas. Half the fun was identifying what had arrived and I was now the proud owner of potatoes, fairtrade bananas, apples, leeks, cucumber, beetroot, celeriac to name just a few of the contents. The next question, what was I going to make? I slept on it and took my predicament to work. A short discussion with my Dutch workmate led me to a dish her mum used to cook for her, so here is my rendition of Dutch Pie, which isn't really a pie or Dutch.

Dutch Pie Ingredients
500mg lean beef mince
3 tablespoons of curry powder
Fennel seeds to taste (I just used a pinch)
1 leek
1 clove of garlic
3 large potatoes
1 celeriac
3 leaves of savoy cabbage

1. Firstly, I would prepare the mash. I simply diced the potatoes and celeriac and boiled until soft enough to run through with a fork. Season then start mashing, adding in butter and a little cream if you are feeling particularly naughty. It needs to be smooth, get rid of the lumps but firm enough to form a topping.

2. Next up, the mince. Chop the leek finely and fry gently with the garlic until softened. Add the mince at this stage, gently browning it. Mix in the curry powder and fennel seeds. Blanche the spinach so that they just start to wilt and remove from the water.



3. OK, time to assemble. Get your pie dish, place a cabbage leaf on the bottom, and spoon half the mince mixture on top. Add another leaf of cabbage, and top again with the rest of the mince. Final leaf of cabbage on top, then pipe the mash on top. Glaze with egg or milk (if you want a super crisp topping) and then chuck it into the oven for as long as it takes for the top to brown. Probably about 15 minutes at a high heat (210 degrees should be good) but keep an eye on it.



4. Remove and dig in. I served mine with a simple homemade coleslaw, but that's only because that's what we fancied and had to hand.

So there you go. It's not Dutch and it's just about a pie but I was quite pleased. Tasted good and wasn't that hard to put together.

WMPC: Mum's Chicken Rice (a recipe!)

Where's my Pork Chop? Sorry Danny, but you're not going to get it off me.

Not so long ago I attended a very interesting meeting of food bloggers discussing PR engagement. After this contretemps, we all congregated to the pub and socialised over a few bevvies. I got talking to the Food Urchin and he explained to me a little project of getting bloggers to cook him a meal every week. A few beers later, I had agreed to participate.

I love cooking, but it scares me. I am far too critical of my own food and care far too much what people think. What the hell had I let myself in for?

Anyway, in my minor panic and long deliberations about what I wanted to cook, I decided to resort to a dish I had never cooked before but I knew was delicious, my mothers chicken rice. I never really use measurements, but I have tried to provide them where I can. I mostly cook to taste.

Mum's Chicken Rice (enough for two)



2 x Chicken thighs (deboned and cut into chunks)
2 x Chicken drumsticks
200g Jasmine rice
A handful of chestnut and shittake mushrooms (sliced)
100ml of dark soy, light soy and oyster sauce
1 chilli
A "thumb" of ginger
2 cloves of garlic
Chicken stock for the rice
Sesame oil and spring onions (optional)
White pepper

1. Mix the light and dark soy with the oyster sauce in a mixing bowl, add the chicken, season with white pepper and then leave to marinade.

2. Chop the ginger into fine pieces and crush and chop the garlic. Wash and then dry the rice so most of the starch is removed. Fry the garlic and ginger gently so the flavour is released and then add the rice and cook for a minute so the flavour is combined with the uncooked rice.

3. You can transfer the rice into a rice cooker or saucepan. Cook in 2/3rds stock, 1/3rd water. Keep an eye on the rice, it needs to cook halfway.

4. Whilst the rice starts to cook, remove the chicken thigh pieces from the marinade and stir fry on a high heat. Once sealed, reduce the heat, add the mushrooms and chilli and continue to cook. Add the marinade and some stock until a gravy is formed. Corn starch can be used to thicken.



5. Once the chicken is cooked, add the chicken and gravy to the half cooked rice and continue to cook the rice until it is light and fluffy.

6. Whilst the rice is finishing cooking, fry the drumsticks so the skin crisps up. When the rice is done, serve up together with some finely chopped spring onions and a drizzle of sesame oil.

Fingers crossed, this recipe turns out to be as good for you as it has been for me over the many years that my mum has cooked it. Bon appetit!