Can you ever get enough of those long chain organic acids, the essential ingredient in any recipe. Not just any fat but the highest quality fat that you can lay your hands on. Fat is not just the ideal medium to carry flavor but also many vitamins are consumed through fat. So what can I say, fat can be a healthy choice.
There does seem to be a lot of discussion around on the benefits of the traditional unadulterated animal fat as being a better alternative to manufactured grain based, partially hydrogenated, oils. My personal rule of thumb is the less manufactured a food ingredient the more suitable it will be for food and more importantly flavor. Suet is the beef organ fat surrounding the kidneys, it is a long chain fat whose chains are 17 carbon atoms long (according to Wikipedia). It which can be melted or rendered down to tallow which is a clean white solid fat at room temperature.
Making Fresh Pasta
Making fresh pasta from scratch is great fun and comes with the added gadget appeal of requiring a pasta machine. Here I am making Fettuccine as an example. The basic rule of thumb is one egg (70g) to 1cup (100grams) of flour. In this example I have used 400 grams of flour so 4 eggs needed. As eggs vary in size the dough may need a little more flour or a little water. When I am making fresh pasta I prefer the dough to be a little on the dry side.
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Thai Green Curry Paste
Just can’t beat the fresh flavour of a green curry made from scratch. And great therapy to mash and grind the ingredients into a paste.
This recipe will make 5 to 6 tablespoons of paste. I generally freeze this, with minimal effect on flavour and good for a few months.
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Napoli Sauce – Italian tomato sauce
The most important step in making a good Napoli sauce is in selecting the right tomatoes. I am sure home grown tomatoes are a great for a Napoli sauce, but I have tried and get the best results by using canned Italian tomato. A wise Italian explained to me to only use canned tomatoes that contain only tomatoes and tomato juice. The theory goes that additional citric acid is only ever added because the tomatoes where not fully ripe when they where canned in order to preserve them. Whether or not this is true by following this tip I have ended up with the best tasting Napoli sauce.
This is a general purpose sauce that can be used with pasta dishes, pizza toping etc… I generally make a big pot full an freeze it in 2 cup quantities so it is always on hand to make a quick pasta e.t.c…