Whole Wheat Fusilli Bolognaise

Ingredients

• olive oil
• 6 rashers higher-welfare dry-cured smoked streaky bacon, sliced 1cm thick
• 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary, leaves picked and finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced
• 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 500 g quality British beef mince
• 200 ml red wine
• 1 x 280 g jar of sun-dried tomatoes
• 2 x 400 g tins of plum tomatoes
• 500 g dried fusilli
• Parmesan cheese
• extra virgin olive oil

Preparation

Preheat your oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4. Put a casserole pan on a medium heat, add a splash of olive oil then cook the bacon, rosemary, garlic and onion for about 5 minutes, stirring now and then, until soft. Add the mince and break apart any lumps with a wooden spoon. Let it cook for a couple of minutes until starting to brown then pour in the red wine.

Let that bubble away while you drain and blitz the sun-dried tomatoes in a food processor. Add them to the mince with the tinned tomatoes. Stir well and break the plum tomatoes apart a little. Cover with a lid then cook in the hot oven for 1 hour. Remove the lid after 30 minutes, and if it looks a little dry, add a splash of water to help it along.

About 10 minutes before the time is up, cook the spaghetti according to packet instructions. Drain, reserving a mugful of cooking water, then return the spaghetti to the hot pan with a few spoons of Bolognese, a good grating of Parmesan and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Mix it about to coat the spaghetti and to stop it becoming claggy, loosening with a splash of cooking water if needed. Divide the spaghetti between your plates or bowls, add a good spoonful of Bolognese to each one then shave over a little Parmesan before serving.

First time we tried this recipe was: on April 13, 2014 after a canal walk to the aqueduct!

Pizza Capriccio

 

 

Ingredients

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour or 2 tablespoons cornmeal, to work with dough

1 pizza dough

extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling

coarse salt

1/2 cup tomato sauce

1/4 cup basil leaves, shredded (10 leaves)

1/2-3/4 lb fresh mozzarella cheese, very thinly sliced

6 cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 (14 ounce) can quartered artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

1/4 lb prosciutto di Parma, cut crosswise, into 2-inch slices

1/2 cup frozen green pea

2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped

 

Preparation method

Preheat oven to 425.

Dust the dough with the flour or cornmeal and stretch out to a 12-13" pizza. Place the dough on a pizza tray and pierce it with the tines of a fork. Drizzle with EVOO, season with a little salt, and bake 10 minutes.

Remove the crust from the oven and top with the tomato sauce, basil, a thin layer of the mozzarella, the mushrooms, and artichokes.

Bake another 10 minutes, or until the cheese bubbles and the crust is crisp. In the last 5 minutes of baking, add the prosciutto, peas, and eggs and another drizzle of EVOO.

First time we tried this recipe was: on March 4, 2014 at the Picolo Diablo after researching scene locations at the Savoy and Solomon Island languages and customs at the British Museum!



Savoy Ballroom

British Museum

Beef Lasagne

Ingredients

 

For the ragu

• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 4 celery sticks, finely chopped
• 2 carrots, finely chopped
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• 1 sprig rosemary
• 700g/1lb 9oz beef mince
• 340g/12oz pork mince
• 1 bottle red wine (750ml/26½fl oz)
• 2 x 400g/14oz cans tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 200ml/7fl oz beef stock
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

 

For the bechamel sauce

• 1 litre/1¾ pints whole milk
• 2 bay leaves
• ¼ onion
• pinch freshly grated nutmeg
• 50g/2oz butter
• 50g/2oz plain flour

 

For the lasagne

• 14 sheets fresh lasagne pasta
• 3 125g/4½oz balls mozzarella, cut into small cubes
• small handful grated parmesan
• freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp butter

Preparation method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
   
2. For the ragu, heat the olive oil in a frying pan over a low heat and fry the celery, carrots and onion for approximately 15 minutes, until softened and golden. Add the garlic and rosemary and fry for two more minutes.
   
3. Add the beef and pork mince and cook until the liquid from the meat has been absorbed.
   
4. Pour in approximately 400ml/14fl oz of red wine and stir well. Cook for approximately 45 minutes.
   
5. Once the wine has evaporated, add the tomatoes and stock. Leave the mixture uncovered to cook slowly for two hours. Top up with more warm stock if necessary. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
   
6. To make the bechamel sauce, place the milk in a large non-stick saucepan, add the bay leaves, onion and nutmeg and gently bring to the boil.
   
7. In a separate saucepan melt the butter and add the flour. Beat well and cook for two minutes. Remove the milk from the heat and add a little to the flour mixture. Combine well, and when all the milk has been absorbed, add a little more. Continue to do this until all the milk has been added, whisking continually.
   
8. For the lasagne, blanch the pasta in salted boiling water for three minutes. Spoon a third of the bechamel sauce into the bottom of a lasagne dish in a layer, then place some of the pasta strips over the top. Follow this with some of the mozzarella and parmesan, and sprinkle over freshly ground black pepper. Follow with a layer of ragu. Repeat this step twice until all the ingredients have been used up. Dot knobs of butter over the surface and cook in the oven for 30 minutes, or until golden-brown on top and completely cooked through.
   

First time we tried this recipe was: on March 4, 2014 at the Picolo Diablo after researching scene locations at the Savoy and Solomon Island languages and customs at the British Museum!


Savoy Lobby and Entrance

British Museum