Food from Kitchens around the World
Recipes collected and inspired from different corners of the world. Cooking is not just about sustenance – it is a journey and an art. Every corner of the globe has its own cuisine, reflecting the local produce sold at the many street and farmers markets. From biggest cities to the smallest villages, they are full of tastes, smells and colours. Once you become comfortable in the kitchen and with the ingredients you pick up, you can give you creativity a free run and make a cuisine of your own.
Recipe of the Day
Slow Food is a global, grassroots organisation founded in 1989 to counter the rise of fast food, disappearance of local food and people’s dwindling interest in what they ate, where it came from, how it tasted and how our food choices affected the world. Its recipes favour slow cooked dishes that are best suited as warming winter dishes such as braising dishes, casseroles and pot roasts. They may take long to cook, involving more planning, but they can be prepared beforehand and taste better when reheated. Slow cooking involves less expensive cuts that requires slow cooking on low heat but the finished product has melt-in-the mouth tender meat in juices rich in flavour. Braising is mostly done in wine and jellied stock producing syrupy and flavoursome sauces. Here is one of my favourites:
Osso buco
The best slow cooked meal must be Osso Buco. I had heard people raving about marrow and could not understand the attraction until I had it myself. Osso Buco – literally bone with a hole – is a specialty from Milan of cross-cut veal shanks braised with vegetables, white wine and broth. The modern version has tomatoes, traditionally it did not. I prefer it with tomatoes and a proper Osso Buco has to be garnished with gremolata – a mixture of chopped parsley, grated lemon zest and chopped garlic – served with risotto alla Milanese.
Ingredients:
1.3 kg knuckles of veal cut in 4cm thick cross pieces
2 tblsp olive oil
25g butter
1 onion, sliced
1 carrot, sliced
2 wine glasses dry white wine
250g tomatoes or ½ can of crushed tomatoes
1 dessert spoon tomato purée
150ml jellied chicken stock
pinch of powdered cayenne pepper
sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3 rounded tablespoons parsley
grated rind of one lemon
Utensils: flameproof casserole with lid; cutting board; vegetable knife; tongs; wooden spoon for stirring
Time: preparation – 30mins; cooking – 4hrs
More Winter Warmers here
Preparation:
- Bring the meat to room temperature. Cut the sinew surrounding the meat in three or four places to prevent the meat edges from “curling up” so the meat pieces remain flat when browning.
- Heat a big casserole, add oil and when hot, drop in butter. When the butter foams, start browning the Osso Buco two to three at the time, lifting them out and set aside when brown, taking care they do not stew.
- Add onion and carrot to casserole, cover and cook on steady heat without stirring for about 2-3 minutes. Return the meat to casserole, make sure bones are upright so the marrow does not fall out during cooking.
- Pour wine over the meat and reduce to half. Scald and squeeze tomatoes to remove any seeds, skin and chop the flesh or used canned crushed tomatoes and add to casserole with tomato purée. Stir in garlic, stock and cayenne. Season well with salt to taste. Cover and braise in oven on 120°C for four hours.
- Make the gremolata: mix garlic with parsley and grated lemon rind. Plate the Osso Buco with gremolate sprinkled on top. Serve with risotto Milanese (see Winter Warmers).
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