Old english sausages ragu'

It’s again the time of the year when it’s tradition to cook and eat sausages all around UK: from the 31^st of October to the 6^th of November it was “the sausage week”. If you have been out on the 5^th of November for the bonfire night, you probably know that the traditional dish of the day is bangers and mash, but lots are the recipe you can find with sausages… even in the italian cuisine.

So for my weekend I decide to treat me with a new pasta recipe: Penne a candela with sausages ragu’.

For the occasion I went in a specialized butcher near Marylebone: The Ginger Pig… no other name could be more right for the product I was looking top buy. The shop was full of costumers and the smell of the sausages I bought it was irresistible. I choose the Old English Sausage, just made with english pork and herbs.

Here is the recipe for 3-4 people:

- 350/400 gr of  pasta: we hardly recommend Penne a Candela Pastificio dei Campi

- 3 sausages

- A jar of peeled tomatoes

- Half onion

- olive oil

- A glass of red wine

- Salt and pepper

- Fresh rosemary

Place some oil on the bottom of a pot, and soon after the finely chopped onion. Let it cook a bit and then add the sausage. Take off the skin and mince it in the pot. Let it get brown and then add the wine slowly. Then add the tomatoes, salt and pepper. Let simmer, stirring occasionally for about half an hour.

Prepare the pasta al dente then drain it and toss it in the sauce for a few minutes before serving. Add some Parmesan if you like but I can tell you that without is divine anyway!

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The recipe chosen after the british cheese week

 
It's definitely autumn and almost Halloween and so have to be the season also for... pumpkins! I love them but I admit I cook them really rarely. Pumpkins are so sweet and tasty and they go so well with certain herbs that every recipe is a new discovery.
This time I decided to use the butternut squash and a special cheese I bought from the british cheese week!

I went in fact to Neal's Yard Dairy last week, the amazing cheese shop that you can see in these pictures. I was looking for the Kilree Goat's Cheese that won lots of prices this year, but I couldn’t find it so they gave me a  very interesting cheese to cook with: Berkeswell an unpasteurized sheep's milk cheese , creamy, with nutty flavor and a bit different from the average english cheeses as also Chrispople says on his blog.

  I then thought about pumpkins and  I found an interesting recipe with cream of pumpkins and salted pumpkins, rosemary, pumpkins seeds and pancetta... but then I also saw some streaky bacon and it was a deal.
 
This is the recipe for 3 people:
 
- 300 gr Pennoni Pastificio dei Campi

- a little butternut squash,

- 150gr of Berkswell cheese,

- onion

- rosemary

- some pumpkins seeds,

- olive oil,

- butter salt

- and streaky bacon .

Let’s start by the cream: in a sauce pan put some finely chopped onions and olive oil. Let the onions get goldish and then add the pumpkin pealed and cut in little cubes. Add some white wine and when evaporated, some salt and just water. At this point I also added some rosemary.
When the pumpkin was almost melted I added the cheese in little cubes too (leaving some of it a part) and I stirred until all became a cream. You can use even the blender if you want.

While the water for the pasta was boiling, in another pan I put the rest (1/3) of the pumpkin cut in julienne (little sticks) with a bit of butter, rosemary and pumpkin seeds.
I added some salt to the pumpkin and the streaky bacon… just amazing colors all together and the smell was great.
When the pasta was al dente I added the pasta to the pan with the cream of pumpkin and the rest. I toss it all on a low fire and then I served it with some more grated cheese on top, fresh rosemary and pumpkin seeds.
A nice way to welcome the autumn! I hope you will enjoy like we did!

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Lots of fresh vegetables and new flavors are coming soon!

 
Inspired by the nice sunny weather we have in London in these days, the warm temperature and the new bunch of vegetables that will soon hit the market, I decided to cook tonight a "Welcome spring!" recipe.
 
I choose to mix some ingredients that I tried once in a quiche and that I think go really well together: savoy cabbage, speck, carrots and a bit of taleggio cheese to unify everything!
 
It's a light and tasty dish that doesn't exaggerate with flavors but I think it's just right to embrace the new season and get ready for the new products coming soon !

Follow my steps on facebook and twitter  while I'm cooking it and ...for the picture wait tomorrow!

In the meantime, here are the ingredients for the recipe I will cook tonight. For 2-3 people, you can buy :
 
- 250g of pasta: I chose Penne a Candela di Gragnano, a smooth sided penne that i think will be better for the consistency of the cabbage and the speck with the creamy Taleggio.

- 300g Savoy cabbage in strips

- 2 carrots cut in strips too or "julienne style"

- 1  shallot finely chopped

- Olive oil, salt and pepper

- half glass of white wine

- 70gr of Taleggio cheese

- 80 gr.speck in strips or cubes
 
See you around 8.30 pm to follow my steps and culinary tweets?

EDIT 24/03: Did you follow my gastro-tweets yesterday? if not, here are all the steps to prepare the pasta you can see in this picture. Gorgeous I have to admit!

From @linguinadc tweets on the night of the 23th of March ( without the mistakes created by the auto-correction system on my blackberry. argh!)

Let's start cleaning the cabbage. Take just the young leaves!  Put the cabbage to boil and leave it for 15 minutes!

While you are waiting for the cabbage, clean and cut the carrots. Put the onion in a pan with some oil and let it cook. In the meantime cut the speck in stripes.

Add the speck and the carrots to the onion and let it cook while you drain and cut the cabbage. Add the cabbage to the pan and cover! After a bit add some white wine and put the pasta to boil.

While the pasta is cooking and almost ready, add the Taleggio cut in little pieces. When the pasta is "al dente", just drain it and place it in the pan with the rest. Toss it and serve it.

Last tweet: Add some black pepper and just enjoy! I have to say... I have already finished my portion! :( loved it!

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Another great english tradition... ready to be spiced up by some italian food

I was reading today about this nice english annual celebration, the Guy Fawkes Night, also known as Bonfire Night and all the events organized for the 5th of November, anniversary of the failed Gunpowder Plot of 5 November 1605.

As many of you know, the use of the term "Guy Fawkes Night" originates from the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, a failed conspiracy by a group of provincial English Catholics to assassinate the Protestant King James I of England and replace him with a Catholic head of state.

 The festivities involve firework displays and the burning of bonfires, upon which an effigy (traditionally that of Fawkes) is ritually burnt.

In Italy we don't have so many occasions for fireworks. We normally use them celebrating the 15th of August, a religious festivity, now also seen as a mid summer party occasion. Then of course there is New Year's Eve but it's not really different from what everyone does in UK.

Looking at some food website in these days, i couldn't  ignore all the recipes and menu suggestions for tomorrow: I learned about the Parkin, or the Toffee Apples, but i was a bit disappointed by the main courses... soup or chilli con carne ?!

I understand the spicy factor of the chili, but what about the soup? So at this point i would cook some Penne all'Arrabbiata, with just  tomato sauce, garlic, chili and parsley: very easy and quick to prepare also for a big number of people ... and yes, spicy enough to enjoy the Bonfire Night.

So what is your plan for tomorrow night? Are you going to watch the fireworks somewhere or you will be so lucky to be able to see them from your own flat? And are you going to have chili con carne or pasta?

Anyway i wish you to enjoy the party!

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