Pasta - Craig Cooks

Smoked Salmon Gnocchi

February 27, 2017 by admin Leave a Comment

Last night I made gnocchi, using the tried and tested Philip Johnson recipe.

The sauce was made from
– 2/3 cup white wine, reduced by 2/3
– 2/3 cup cream
– 1/2 cup grana padano or parmesan
– 1/3 cup feta cheese
– 1/4 cup mild blue cheese
– 2 egg yolks to thicken

Cherry tomatoes were halved. Chopped fresh garlic sautéed in oil, cherry tomatoes added, then a few tbsp of sherry vinegar and a couple of teaspoons of sugar.

Each plate had a couple of smoked rainbow trout pieces seared in a pan, then fresh basil on top and a slide of seared lemon.

Very happy with this. It’s going on my cafe menu.

Seafood and Zucchini Pasta

February 27, 2017 by admin Leave a Comment

We have a zucchini glut, so we’ve been making “Zoodles” – pasta from zucchinis turned into noodles using a spiralizer. Google it.

The zucchini noodles just need to be warmed in a microwave for 30 seconds, then add the rest of the meal.

Tonight I added crab meat, prawns marinated in pesto and then seared.

Blue swimmer crabs, cooked in salty water. Fiddly but tasty.

I had sautéed some garlic, then added 2/3 cup white wine and reduced, then added halved cherry tomatoes and garlic. I put the prawns into the pan to finish them off and add flavour.

My original plan was to sear the prawns and zucchini flowers on the BBQ, but it was a total fire ban day.

So it was topped with pan-seared zucchini flowers and haloumi.

Fine.

Zucchini and Smoked Salmon “Pasta”

January 15, 2017 by admin 1 Comment

So we have this gizmo that turns vegetables into ribbons or strings like this. It works by hand.

Here is zucchini ‘pasta’ with cherry tomatoes, leek, smoked salmon, capers, chilli, garlic, parmesan, basil and olive oil.

Last time I blanched the ‘pasta’ and it went limp, so this time I simply microwaved it on 8/10 for 50 seconds to warm it so it retained some texture.

Great. Simple.

We’ll be doing this a lot more.

Spaghetti Puttanesca

October 20, 2015 by admin Leave a Comment

I’ve been making pasta for years but only recently learned how to make it much better, thanks to Giorgio Locatelli’s “Made in Italy“.

This spaghetti has 3 1/2 cups of flour, 3 eggs, 2 egg yolks and some salt.

The trick is to knead the dough for 10 minutes after it is all combined, and then rest it for an hour at room temperature under a damp cloth. You end up with a wonderfully supple dough.

The sauce here is uncooked, again Locatelli’s recipe – chopped white anchovies, diced tomato, black olives, capers, basil. Simple and brilliant.