fredrikegerman (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
fredrikegerman) wrote2009-05-12 08:45 pm
fredrikegerman) wrote2009-05-12 08:45 pm
Cooking time again
Yes, it's cooking time again. Today I made a particularly successful...
I made spinach fettucine, remembering to salt and (especially) lightly oil the pasta, and stir it well when I put it in to boil and several times thereafter. Otherwise it tends to stick side-to-side and not cook properly.
I started the sauce by cubing 4-6oz of frozen bacon and lightly frying it in a heavy cast iron pan. Don't cook it through, just get it to release most of its oil and then fish it out into a little bowl with a slotted spoon.
I then sauteed two kinds of mushrooms in the bacon pan. First I put in porcini / baby bellas, washed and sliced (a mandoline works so much better than chopping by hand for most mushrooms!). When those were mostly done I added some oyster mushrooms, pulled apart and coarsely chopped (no mandoline here), plus a bit of salt. I needed to add a bit of olive oil. Finally, as things were starting to get a bit juicy I added half a pound of frozen green peas and stirred them in so that they'd cook a bit.
Meanwhile, I grated a mess of parmesan cheese, added 2T flour to the bacon, and shook and opened a can of evaporated skim milk.
I removed the cooked shrooms and peas and commenced with the saucing. First, I put 4-6 finely chopped shallots in the pan with some olive oil. I then added 1T or so of basil-in-a-tube we had kicking around. After a bit of sauteing I added the bacon and flour and stirred to form a roux. I turned down the heat and slowly stirred in the evaporated skim milk. After a moment cooking I gradually added the cheese (1c or so? Most of the back end of a wedge) to form a fairly thick sauce (could have stuck with 1-1/5T flour I think).
Stirred in the veg, turned off the heat, and added about 1T of pastis (anise liqueur) and some white pepper.
Put the fettucine in a bowl and stirred in the sauce.
The key here, I think, is the mixture of shallots, oyster mushrooms, pastis, cheese, and white pepper. Be very careful with the bacon; any more than this and it'll be too smoky and overpower the other flavors. Could easily use butter and no bacon and make the all-veggie version.
The pastis was a particularly happy accident; I might otherwise have used vermouth (good in a standard Alfredo sauce), but we were out.
Fettucine with mushrooms and shallots
I made spinach fettucine, remembering to salt and (especially) lightly oil the pasta, and stir it well when I put it in to boil and several times thereafter. Otherwise it tends to stick side-to-side and not cook properly.
I started the sauce by cubing 4-6oz of frozen bacon and lightly frying it in a heavy cast iron pan. Don't cook it through, just get it to release most of its oil and then fish it out into a little bowl with a slotted spoon.
I then sauteed two kinds of mushrooms in the bacon pan. First I put in porcini / baby bellas, washed and sliced (a mandoline works so much better than chopping by hand for most mushrooms!). When those were mostly done I added some oyster mushrooms, pulled apart and coarsely chopped (no mandoline here), plus a bit of salt. I needed to add a bit of olive oil. Finally, as things were starting to get a bit juicy I added half a pound of frozen green peas and stirred them in so that they'd cook a bit.
Meanwhile, I grated a mess of parmesan cheese, added 2T flour to the bacon, and shook and opened a can of evaporated skim milk.
I removed the cooked shrooms and peas and commenced with the saucing. First, I put 4-6 finely chopped shallots in the pan with some olive oil. I then added 1T or so of basil-in-a-tube we had kicking around. After a bit of sauteing I added the bacon and flour and stirred to form a roux. I turned down the heat and slowly stirred in the evaporated skim milk. After a moment cooking I gradually added the cheese (1c or so? Most of the back end of a wedge) to form a fairly thick sauce (could have stuck with 1-1/5T flour I think).
Stirred in the veg, turned off the heat, and added about 1T of pastis (anise liqueur) and some white pepper.
Put the fettucine in a bowl and stirred in the sauce.
The key here, I think, is the mixture of shallots, oyster mushrooms, pastis, cheese, and white pepper. Be very careful with the bacon; any more than this and it'll be too smoky and overpower the other flavors. Could easily use butter and no bacon and make the all-veggie version.
The pastis was a particularly happy accident; I might otherwise have used vermouth (good in a standard Alfredo sauce), but we were out.
no subject
no subject
no subject
Of course, then I also heard about another person who claimed we were all wasting energy by using too much water to boil pasta.
no subject