I'm a qualified Chef ask me a question?

Posts : 8 Join date : 2013-08-23

You have a question about food...ask me I am happy to help:)

Admin Posts : 616 Join date : 2011-11-11

Brilliant Daz :-) I don't have a question at the moment . Maybe you'd like to post some of your favourite recipes?

Posts : 8 Join date : 2013-08-23

Daz? ...recipes are my secret how can I keep anything mysterious if I give all my secrets away:)

Admin Posts : 616 Join date : 2011-11-11

mpbaz wrote:: Daz? ...recipes are my secret how can I keep anything mysterious if I give all my secrets away:)

lol...Sorry Baz... Daz is a friend on here..got confused.i won't share my amazing recipes then :-)

Posts : 8 Join date : 2013-08-23

ohhh...you confused Moi with another and then you expect a recipe? you first:)

Admin Posts : 171 Join date : 2011-11-10

Why shouldn't spaghetti ever be eaten with a bolognese sauce and why should you never add oil to the water before you boil pasta??

:p

Posts : 8 Join date : 2013-08-23

Im not Italian oli so as you know the answers you will have to tell me cheeky.. however without looking I will guess oil shouldn't go into liquid before boiling as it is used to keep the pasta apart not as a cooking aid as such it would I would have thought make the pasta soggy?

The spaghetti one ref the sauce I have no idea of at all...I am guessing it was never designed to be eaten with such a sauce?

Admin Posts : 616 Join date : 2011-11-11

hahaha! Oli is fanatical about Italian food and how it should be cooked. :-)

Posts : 8 Join date : 2013-08-23

I was classically taught which is basically French!! We had some basics in Italian cooking ref 'al dente' pasta and the different types and we had an Italian restaurant manager...but that's it!!

Admin Posts : 171 Join date : 2011-11-10

lol ok

Never add oil to the water because although it does stop the pasta from sticking it coats each piece of pasta with oil which makes it harder for the sauce to stick to it. If you find your pasta is sticking....STOP BUYING RUBBISH CHEAP PASTA!! lol

As for Spag Bog...do you have several hours?!

Admin Posts : 171 Join date : 2011-11-10

Storm wrote:: hahaha! Oli is fanatical about Italian food and how it should be cooked. :-)

It's a spic thang cheers

Posts : 8 Join date : 2013-08-23

I wouldn't have thought of that although surely it isn't that much of a problem is it? Surely pasta will stick eventually if you do not cook it 'al dente' though wont it?

I don't mind talking food hell..I asked for it didn't I?

So basically what sauce is designed for pasta? What is Bolognese sauce is designed for?

Over to you Oli!!

My lecturer at college was a 'spic' oops sounds bad saying that so I have some understanding in what you mean:)

Admin Posts : 171 Join date : 2011-11-10

Glad you asked that question (shurrup Storm!)

Matching sauce to pasta is a very scientific process which has taken Italians centuries to get right. So you have to forgive us when PEOPLE GET IT FUCKING WRONG! ARGH! Razz

Spaghetti is usually eaten with a very thin sauce. Tomato and basil, carbonara etc. This is because the sauce runs down each strand evenly. A meat based sauce is usually eaten with larger strands like Tagliatelle or Fettucine because the flat side traps the mincemeat when you roll it on the fork. With spaghetti you tend to find yourself with a bowl full of mincemeat after you finish the pasta.

Pasta shells are usually stuffed or made with a cannellini bean or pea based sauce/soup because the shell traps a bean in each piece.

Pasta parcels (ravioli, tortellini, canneloni etc) are usually eaten either with a broth or a sauce that compliments the stuffiing i.e ricotta ravioli would be eaten with a neopolitan tomato and basil sauce. Meat Tortellini with a butter, sage and parsley sauce.

Posts : 8 Join date : 2013-08-23

I see, I understand to make a proper Italian tomato sauce takes hours!! So spag bolognaise is British then

Posts : 8 Join date : 2013-08-23

I love tagliatelle and fettuccini and large shells.ermm

Admin Posts : 171 Join date : 2011-11-10

It depends...

To make a really good rich bolognese you do need a few hours to let it simmer and allow all the lovely flavours to fully develop and meld together. But that's not to say that you can't make a damn fine meat ragu in half an hour after work...It all depends on what you're trying to make. Bolognese should not be confused with a meat ragu which is quick, simple and cheap to make.

Here's an example:

For a really nice smoky and spicy tomato sauce for something like penne or fusilli try cutting 2 or 3 smoked frankfurters in half and frying them in a little olive oil. Add half an onion finely chopped and fry until soft. Turn down the heat and add a finely chopped or crushed clove of garlic. Don't burn the garlic because then it gives off a very bitter taste. Add the chopped or pureed plum tomatoes as soon as the garlic begins to go golden. Add salt, pepper, pinch of oregano, pinch crushed chilli flakes, and a couple basil leaves and lthen partly cover and eave to simmer (stir occasionally) while you boil the water for the pasta. By the time the pasta is cooked the sauce will have been been simmering for about 20 mins which is plenty of time for a quick thin tomato sauce. You don't have to eat the franks if you don't like them. They are there really only for flavour.

Admin Posts : 171 Join date : 2011-11-10

The other thing people always get wrong is how much salt to add to the boiling water. About a tablespoon per pint is perfect.

Admin Posts : 99 Join date : 2011-11-09

I do miss this site... Where has everyone gone?