Everyone has their own recipe. I haven't cooked either of these yet, but I have tasted both dishes at his restaurantand they are the dog's boll...
Roberto Morsiani is a master chef from Bologna, the city that gave its name to the meat sauce that goes on spaghetti. Chances are, what you know in Ireland as 'spag bol' bears very little relation to the real thing. Bolognese sauce is a meat sauce with a touch of tomato, not a tomato sauce with some mince chucked in. Roberto's recipe below would feed from six to eight people. Allow about 150g of spaghetti or tagliatelle per person. You can taste Roberto's recipe at Janet's Coffee House in Dun Laoghaire, but only during the day.
Traditional Bolognese Sauce
Ingredients
500g of minced pork, loin or neck
800g minced lean beef
200g minced pancetta
100g diced Parma ham
150g cubed salsiccia (??? - Anyone know what this is)
250g finely chopped onion
150g finely chopped carrot
100g finely chopped celery
1 glass of red wine
300g of tomato paste
800cl of meat stock
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons of olive oil
Method
1. Use a heavy deep pan with a lid. Put 30g of olive in the pan and place on a high heat. Add the pancetta, stir continually with a wooden spoon and let it cook until crisp.
2. Take the pan from the heat and remove the pancetta, setting it aside. Put the pan back on the heat and add the onion, the carrot and the celery. Lower the heat and cook the vegetables, stirring occasionally. When the colour has deepened, add the chopped salsiccia. Stir and let the flavours mix for about 5 minutes, then add the minced pork. Stir well, then add the minced beef and at a high heat let the meats brown.
Purists can cook the minced beef and pork separately, then add them to the vegetables. The reason is that they will brown better on their own than they will when cooked with the vegetables. It's not vital, but it does improve the dish.
3. Once the meats have browned, add the cooked pancetta that you set aside, and add the glass of red wine. Let this evaporate, then add the tomato paste. Take care that the paste doesn't stick by stirring well.
4. After about 3-4 minutes add half of the meat stock, stir well and reduce the heat until the sauce barely simmers. Cover the pan, leaving a space for venting, and let the sauce reduce while it darkens and the flavours intensify. The longer this process takes, the better the sauce will be. Gradually add the rest of the stock, a little at a time, letting the sauce reduce between each addition. Add the diced Parma ham half an hour before the cooking is complete.
5. When the sauce is ready remove it from the heat, cover the pan with its lid, and let the sauce rest. The longer it rests, the more intense the flavours will be. The day after it's made it's at its best.
Janet's Coffee House and Deli, Upper Georges Street, Dun Laoghaire.
Tel. 01 663 6871.
And the Souffle ....
Roberto Morsiani is one of my favourite Italian chefs. A native of Bologna - Italy's gastronomic centre - he has had a long career in catering. Before moving to Ireland with his Irish wife, Janet, he had fourteen restaurants, one of them garnering a Michelin star. Roberto has decided that these days he wants a day job, so he and Janet now run the eponymous 'Janet's Coffee House' in Dun Laoghaire, which closes at 5 o'clock, leaving his evenings free.
He once cooked this cheese soufflé for me, and I loved it. Here's his recipe for 'Sformato di formaggio Grana', or Grana cheese soufflé. If you're feeling rich, you can make it with Parmesan.
for 10 soufflés
500 g grated grana Padano cheese
1/2 litre fresh cream
12 eggs
1 pinch grated nutmeg
1 pinch of fresh ground white pepper
salt
1 knob of butter
for the spinach bed
1 kg boiled spinach
40 g fresh cream
30 g. grated Parmigiano cheese
salt
2 spoons extra virgin olive oil
Grease the insides of 10 ramekins with a knob of butter and put aside.
Beat the eggs lightly with a pinch of nutmeg. Add the cheese and mix carefully to distribute the cheese evenly.
Add the cream and season with pepper. When it is well mixed fill the ramekins to two thirds of their height.
Put the ramekins into an oven tray. Fill the tray with water to half the ramekins height.
Cover with tin foil and put into a preheated oven 160 degrees centigrade for around 40 minutes.
After 30 minutes take off the tin foil and cook the last 10 minutes uncovered. This will help them brown slightly.
Meanwhile wash the spinach leaves well and boil them in a small amount of water with a drop of olive oil and a pinch of salt. When they are cooked, drain them well and squeeze them to eliminate as much water as possible.
Put the rest of the oil into a frying pan as soon as the oil is warm add the spinach. Fry lightly, add the Parmesan cheese and mix well. Add the cream at once and mix, tossing the spinach in the pan to absorb all the cream.
Spread the spinach out to cover the bottom of a starter plate.
Using a knife, ease the soufflé carefully out of the ramekin, moving the knife around the edges and pushing up from the bottom. Place the soufflé on top of the spinach and serve at once.
Roberto Morsiani is a master chef from Bologna, the city that gave its name to the meat sauce that goes on spaghetti. Chances are, what you know in Ireland as 'spag bol' bears very little relation to the real thing. Bolognese sauce is a meat sauce with a touch of tomato, not a tomato sauce with some mince chucked in. Roberto's recipe below would feed from six to eight people. Allow about 150g of spaghetti or tagliatelle per person. You can taste Roberto's recipe at Janet's Coffee House in Dun Laoghaire, but only during the day.
Traditional Bolognese Sauce
Ingredients
500g of minced pork, loin or neck
800g minced lean beef
200g minced pancetta
100g diced Parma ham
150g cubed salsiccia (??? - Anyone know what this is)
250g finely chopped onion
150g finely chopped carrot
100g finely chopped celery
1 glass of red wine
300g of tomato paste
800cl of meat stock
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons of olive oil
Method
1. Use a heavy deep pan with a lid. Put 30g of olive in the pan and place on a high heat. Add the pancetta, stir continually with a wooden spoon and let it cook until crisp.
2. Take the pan from the heat and remove the pancetta, setting it aside. Put the pan back on the heat and add the onion, the carrot and the celery. Lower the heat and cook the vegetables, stirring occasionally. When the colour has deepened, add the chopped salsiccia. Stir and let the flavours mix for about 5 minutes, then add the minced pork. Stir well, then add the minced beef and at a high heat let the meats brown.
Purists can cook the minced beef and pork separately, then add them to the vegetables. The reason is that they will brown better on their own than they will when cooked with the vegetables. It's not vital, but it does improve the dish.
3. Once the meats have browned, add the cooked pancetta that you set aside, and add the glass of red wine. Let this evaporate, then add the tomato paste. Take care that the paste doesn't stick by stirring well.
4. After about 3-4 minutes add half of the meat stock, stir well and reduce the heat until the sauce barely simmers. Cover the pan, leaving a space for venting, and let the sauce reduce while it darkens and the flavours intensify. The longer this process takes, the better the sauce will be. Gradually add the rest of the stock, a little at a time, letting the sauce reduce between each addition. Add the diced Parma ham half an hour before the cooking is complete.
5. When the sauce is ready remove it from the heat, cover the pan with its lid, and let the sauce rest. The longer it rests, the more intense the flavours will be. The day after it's made it's at its best.
Janet's Coffee House and Deli, Upper Georges Street, Dun Laoghaire.
Tel. 01 663 6871.
And the Souffle ....
Roberto Morsiani is one of my favourite Italian chefs. A native of Bologna - Italy's gastronomic centre - he has had a long career in catering. Before moving to Ireland with his Irish wife, Janet, he had fourteen restaurants, one of them garnering a Michelin star. Roberto has decided that these days he wants a day job, so he and Janet now run the eponymous 'Janet's Coffee House' in Dun Laoghaire, which closes at 5 o'clock, leaving his evenings free.
He once cooked this cheese soufflé for me, and I loved it. Here's his recipe for 'Sformato di formaggio Grana', or Grana cheese soufflé. If you're feeling rich, you can make it with Parmesan.
for 10 soufflés
500 g grated grana Padano cheese
1/2 litre fresh cream
12 eggs
1 pinch grated nutmeg
1 pinch of fresh ground white pepper
salt
1 knob of butter
for the spinach bed
1 kg boiled spinach
40 g fresh cream
30 g. grated Parmigiano cheese
salt
2 spoons extra virgin olive oil
Grease the insides of 10 ramekins with a knob of butter and put aside.
Beat the eggs lightly with a pinch of nutmeg. Add the cheese and mix carefully to distribute the cheese evenly.
Add the cream and season with pepper. When it is well mixed fill the ramekins to two thirds of their height.
Put the ramekins into an oven tray. Fill the tray with water to half the ramekins height.
Cover with tin foil and put into a preheated oven 160 degrees centigrade for around 40 minutes.
After 30 minutes take off the tin foil and cook the last 10 minutes uncovered. This will help them brown slightly.
Meanwhile wash the spinach leaves well and boil them in a small amount of water with a drop of olive oil and a pinch of salt. When they are cooked, drain them well and squeeze them to eliminate as much water as possible.
Put the rest of the oil into a frying pan as soon as the oil is warm add the spinach. Fry lightly, add the Parmesan cheese and mix well. Add the cream at once and mix, tossing the spinach in the pan to absorb all the cream.
Spread the spinach out to cover the bottom of a starter plate.
Using a knife, ease the soufflé carefully out of the ramekin, moving the knife around the edges and pushing up from the bottom. Place the soufflé on top of the spinach and serve at once.
Had to re think tea . We were gonna have fish pie but had to do smoked cod and chips because the deep fat fryer was the only thing you could cook with . Found a really good batter recipe