GONE WITH THE WIND - AUTUMNAL TALES!

Sat, 12 Nov 2011 15:49:00 GMT

So, I am just back from Atlanta, Georgia, where I was representing the London Chapter of les Dames D'Escoffier, the philanthropic organisation that exists to help women in all aspects of the food and beverage industry, and of which I am the London President. An amazing week of delicious food fromthe Deep South and I am now completely convinced that Grits and Polenta are the same thing! But I think I've had enough collard greens for a while.... did you know that they call Cavolo Nero (my absolutely LEAST favourite vegetable) Dinasour Cabbage? The name kinda fits... Anyway, prior to my USA trip (and yes, thanks for asking, the jetlag is almost gone!) I was in Umbria for one of my autumnal truffle and red wine weekend cuinary adventures, and it was really fun and we had such amazing food and wine! Montone, where the courses are run, is a really special little hilltop village, and the hotel is really cute, serving fantastic Michelin starred food accompanied by the most fabulous wines...

I felt really lucky to be there, and spend a couple of extra days holed up in my hotel room working on the Foodoir, (which is due for delivery very very very soon now... eek!!)

But here is what one of my lovely guests said about the Umbria experience:

“I was in Italy last week with Valentina Harris (ex TV chef and author of over 30
cookbooks) and Giancarlo Pollito (Michelin starred chef and owner of the hotel) on a weekend break to Italy which includes hands on personal cookery classes as well as visits to some of Italy’s best wine and olive oil producers. It was amazing and I would recommend it to anyone.

Its really a personal trip as Valentina is with you the whole time giving expert advice along the way....there’s too much to say about the trip but if you look at the plan of the visit I did, which is on the website, then you will get an idea to what I was up too. I cooked within the hotel kitchen for an evening as well as tasting some of the best food Italy has to offer.

Dates for Umbria 2012 are now up and ready - so please don't delay and book right now!

Next weekend I shall be running the cookery/tasting theatre at The Tea and Coffee Festival at Southbank Centre, teaching a food and wine matching dinner at La Cucina Caldesi, and celebrating my son Jamie's birthday. Then the following week I am off to Egglestone Hall for a couple of days of demonstrations before heading back for another doubtless fab day at The Bertinet Kitchen in Bath and then at the weekend I shall be doing a couple of demonstrations at The Free From Festival, back at Southbank Centre. Hope to catch up with some of you at one or other of these events perhaps?

Meanwhile, the big news in our house is that my other son, Ben, has launched his own pasta company and can be found every weekend at Southbank either at The Real Food Market, or at one or other of the food festivals which happen there. So please do drop by to see him and taste some of his delish pasta - after all, he was taught by the very best there is! Naturally, this has meant that a lot of experimenting has been going on at home...and we are all learning to live with the fine semolina and flour dust which now covers every surface permanently!

And speaking of pasta, here is this month's recipe for you to enjoy! Top tip: it is a great one to make now and freeze, ready for Christmas - a grest vegetarian alternative, it can be cooked straight from frozen and of course you can vary the filling as you with - ricotta and spinach is great too!

Buon appetito and happy cooking to you all!

ROTOLO DI PASTA /PASTA ROLL

With Mushroom, Mascarpone and Walnut filling SERVES 6

Ingredients

500 g cleaned and chopped wild fresh mushrooms

50 g dried porcini mushrooms, soaked in warm water for 3 minutes, then drained and chopped, reserve liquid

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

300 g freshest mascarpone

60 g finely chopped walnuts

150 g freshly grated Parmigiano

2 eggs, beaten

2 tablespoons freshly chopped flat leaf parsley

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

METHOD

Gently sauté the fresh and dried mushrooms together with the butter, stirring frequently. Strain the reserved liquid and use this to baste the cooking mushrooms if necessary. When they are soft, dry and thoroughly cooked, set aside to cool completely. Chop or processes finely, then stir in the Mascarpone, chopped walnuts, the Parmigiano, beaten eggs, chopped parsley and seasoning. Set aside until required.

Make the pasta as normal using 5 eggs, 250 g semola or finest semolina and 250 g plain white flour and roll into a wide sheet with a rolling pin. The size of the sheet will depend on how large your cloth is, you will need to allow enough fabric at each end of the roll to be able to tie the cloth securely in place, and also how long or wide your fish kettle/pan is going to be. Spread the filling evenly and not too thickly over the sheet and then roll the pasta up like a “Swiss Roll” making sure there is no air between each turn of the spiral. Keep within 3 centimetres of the edges of the cloth. Wrap it tightly in a clean muslin cloth or large napkin. Tie the ends tightly. Bring a fish kettle or wide pan of water of salted water to the boil. Slide the wrapped roll into the water carefully and boil gently for about 45 minutes. DON’T LET IT SAG IN THE CENTRE. Remove carefully and drain. Unwrap and lay on a board to slice with a very sharp knife. Arrange the slices on a plate and spoon over a little tomato sauce or melted butter. Any leftover filling can be used to simply toss through freshly cooked pasta as a simple, rich and effective sauce.

N.B. One thing that is really useful about this dish is that it can sit quite happily in the hot water, once cooked, until you are ready to serve it, for up to about 30 minutes. Another point worth mentioning is that you should make sure the cloth is not saturated in fabric conditioner as this will really affect the flavour of the dish.

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September Blog

Sat, 03 Sep 2011 00:00:00 GMT

It has been a very busy summer since I got back from Australia in May! That was a real adventure, including meeting my first Huntsman spider – not something you want to happen just when you’re in the middle of cooking for 20 in an unknown kitchen!

As usual, there is lots going on, though I must confess I have spent many long hours working on my food biography, or Foodoir as it is affectionately known around here, due for publication in Spring 2013, which seems like a long way off, but probably isn’t really!

Valentina's Blog

GONE WITH THE WIND - AUTUMNAL TALES!

Dates for Umbria 2012 are now up and ready - so please don't delay and book right now!

METHOD

September Blog