Archive for August, 2010

You can find buffalo mozzarella in almost almost every supermarket and delicatessen across the UK, but the quality and taste can vary massively depending on the production method. Buffalo milk gives mozzarella an intense, herby and full flavour, and treated the right way can give you an immensely delicious cheese. With our Italian background, finding the very best Mozzarella is extremely important, and we’ve hit gold with our traditionally produced hand-rolled buffalo milk mozzarella. So, what makes ours better than the rest…?

Taste: This amazing buffalo mozzarella ticks all the boxes in terms of flavour and texture: soft and milky, slightly salty and packed with the aromas of herbs and musk, just as tradition would have it. It melts in your mouth and leaves you with a beautiful rich aftertaste.

Region: Buffalo mozzarella is only produced in Campania and in some areas of Lazio and Puglia, but the best is only from the provinces of Caserta and Salerno near Naples. We get ours from the town of Aversa, traditionally one of the most renowned for this product.

Quality: The DOP certification guarantees that this mozzarella is only produced following the traditional methods of hand rolling and using exclusively fresh buffalo milk. This mozzarella is produced strictly within two hours from the milking process.

Production: Antico Caseificio Serra is known as a true pioneer of the past century. That’s why this mozzarella is perfect.

Cost: We always let you know the price per kg so you can easily compare our prices. Our hand rolled buffalo mozzarella is not only superior in quality, but it is also better value than the mozzarella found in the supermarket:

Natoora “Hand Rolled Buffalo Mozzarella“ £19.96/kg

Abel and Cole “Laverstoke Park Buffalo Mozzarella” £23.12/kg

(prices checked on 31/8/2010)

Juicy, sweet nectarines are a fantastic summer treat. We love both the yellow and white varieties on offer at the markets in Italy.  Try them in this tasty strudel as a delicious alternative to apples…

Makes 2 small strudels

1 sheet of ready puff pastry, around 350g
100g of  creme fraiche
2 nectarines, thinly sliced
40g of red currants or blueberries
4 tbsp sugar
icing sugar for decoration

Roll out the puff pastry, but keep it on its paper. Place it horizontally (with the long side facing you). Cut in 4 sections, making sure not to cut the paper. Puncture the two sections on your left hand side with a fork, slit across the shorter side the other two sections with a knife, but do not cut too close to the edges. These are going to be the tops of your strudels.

Spread some crème fraiche on the bottom sections, then arrange the nectarine slices making sure you leave enough space on the edge to seal afterwards.  Dust with the sugar, put more crème fraiche, then the berries on top.

Fold the right hand side of pastry over the left one, and carefully peel off the paper. Cut the extra paper so that you are only left with the one in the bottom. Seal the edges of your strudels with a fork and transfer on a baking tray.

Cook at 200*C in the bottom half of a preheated oven for 20 minutes.

Dust with icing sugar and serve once cooled.

It’s certainly starting to feel like summer is over in the UK – I had to dig out my winter boots already this week and to rub salt in the wound got splashed by a very inconsiderate car. It might seem unbelievable, but the sun does in fact shine for slightly longer in other countries. In Italy, the beautiful sun not only tans speedo clad bodies all along the beaches, but also gives us some truly fantastic culinary delights.

Thanks to our lovely Italian buyer Roberto, we can at least enjoy some second hand sun through the treats on offer at Milan market. Although available all year, vegetables like tomatoes, courgettes, peppers and aubergines are particularly good at their peak in the summer months. The markets are packed with these sunkissed delights, so its a great time to make the most of them!

At Natoora, we have a bit of love affair with tomatoes.  We could sing their praises all day long, particularly at this time of year. At the moment we have seven wonderous varieties on offer. Take advantage of their versatility and amazing flavours with our simple tomato guide!

Great for Salads

Datterini and Baby San Marzano Tomatoes

These are so good and so sweet you don’t want to spoil them too much by cooking a sauce with them. Of course you can have them with pasta, but try adding them last in the pan (you will have halved them first). We love them in salads, and try marinating them with your favourite herb and extra virgin olive oil to dress meat, fish or the most amazing brushetta you will ever have. Their flavour is very intense and sweet, so bear that in mind when you add other ingredients to your salad… these like to be the star of the show!

The Meaty Beasts

Bull’s Heart Tomatoes

The meatiest tomatoes of all, big, soft textured, are amazing in salads. For their shape and texture, they’re also interestingly good pan fried. Their flavour is decisively more delicate compared to the above varieties and for this reason they pair deliciously with intense ingredients, so use them if you need meaty texture to pair something more overpowering… a good example is a starter of tomatoes with bottarga.

The Saucy Ones

San Marzano Tomatoes

Buy these if you’re thinking of making a quick tomato sauce for pasta, or a chuncky raw sauce for fish. They’re incredibly flavoursome and meaty, and the water content is quite low so you’ll get a sauce that will hold on to the pasta with the right amount of sweetness, which will not overpower the other ingredients.. they’re great “binding” tomatoes. Plus, the skin is quite thin, so if you quickly blanch them whole, it will peel off very easily. This is a basic preliminary operation when using them in cooking. Try doing this first, then dice them up thinly, add capers, garlic, salt, pepper, add on top of fish when baking.

Home made tomato passata

On top of tasting best at this time of the year, tomatoes are also cheaper at the moment so it’s good to make the most of them by buying large quantities. Of course one can eat only so much, so what to do with them if you’re not feeding an army? Make passata!

5kg San Marzano tomatoes
2 onions
250g carrots
250g celery
salt

Wash the tomatoes, them roughly chop them. Dice up the vegetables and put everything in a large pot. Boil for half an hour, removing any water forming on the surface. Puree in a moulin and pour into clean, dry jars. Sterilise for 15 minutes (follows the jars manifacturer’s instructions) and once cool, close and store. You will have a great base for any tomato sauce ready in minutes.

Notes on preserving

Always use sterilised jars, and make sure the vegs are perfect by discarding any speckled parts. This will ensure a perfect preserve and will make it last for longer! Always close the jars when the contents are cool, storing them in a cool dry place, away from the light. If you notice any activity in the jars or moulding, discard immediately and do not eat.

Top Tomato Tips

- Vine vs Single: Buying on the vine is a pretty definite guarentee that your tomatoes have been ripened on the vine as opposed to being gassed with ethylene to make them look red and ripe. Of course all the tomatoes we sell have been ripened on the vine, whether they are still attached to it or not, but you can’t be so sure in the supermarket.

- Do not refrigerate: Tomatoes can lose their flavour if kept too cold so these red delights are best kept at room temperature.

- Peeling: The best way to remove the skin is to quickly blanch them whole. The skin should loosen so you can easily peel it off.

- Not so tasty: The vine and stalk are actually toxic so best avoiding eating that part, no matter how good they smell! In the 1600s, us Brits thought the whole tomato was a pretty nasty cousin of deadly nightshade and deemed it unfit for consumption! Oh how very very wrong we were…best eat a few more to make up for such a terrible error in judgement!

If we’ve managed to spread some tomato love today, try our tomato selection today. All our favourites in one handy bag!

Discover the best of British…

The British apple season is upon us and it’s time to enjoy some fantastic flavours fresh from the tree.

New in this week are the outstanding Discovery Apples. They range in size and colour but that’s all part of their Great British charm. Rosy cheeked and with a hint of tartness, they are absolutely packed with flavour, crunch and refreshing juice.

They were ‘discovered’ in the late 1940s by a fruit farm woker who planted some pips of Worcester Pearmain (a 19th century variety) crossed probably with Beauty of Bath. As a seedling the Worcester Pearmain strawberry tinged apples, this explains the Discovery’s occasional hint of beautiful strawberry flavour.

Find out more about Discovery apples here.

Discovery Apple Salad with Walnuts

Serves 4
5 large Discovery apples or 8 smaller ones
2 handfuls shelled walnuts
2 bunches mache
2 bunches red chard
350g Stichelton
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
pinch of sugar
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 finely diced shallot
pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper

To make the vinaigrette, whisk together the 2 vinegars in a small bowl with the mustard and a pinch of sugar. Add the oil in a slow stream, whisking constantly until emulsified. Stir in the shallots and add a pinch of salt and some freshly ground black pepper.

Core the apples and cut into rough chunks. Mix with the leaves and walnuts, then dress with vinaigrette. Finish with some nice chunks of Stichelton.

Learn how to make pasta dough from the master of pasta – Theo Randall! Theo kindly let us give you a preview of this easy to follow guide from his new cookbook “Pasta”.

Serves 4

150g tipo 00 flour
50g fine semolina, plus extra for dusting
1 large organic egg
3 large organic egg yolks

Place  all  the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until they form a yellow ball of dough. At this point, the dough should have a smooth, firm but slightly sticky texture, almost like plasticine. If it seems wet, add an extra teaspoon or two of flour. Divide the dough into 2 equal balls and immediately wrap them in cling film to prevent drying out. The dough will keep in the fridge for up to 10 days. You can freeze it but I wouldn’t recommend it, since it can discolour and lose a lot of moisture on thawing.

With the rollers of your pasta machine on their widest setting, pass a piece of dough through, then fold into 3. Give it a quarter turn and pass it through the machine again. Repeat this 5 or 6 times so the gluten in the pasta is thoroughly worked, then pass it through the machine to roll out, progressively narrowing the rollers by one notch each time. Make this as thin as you feel comfortable with. The more the pasta has been worked initially, the thinner you will be able to roll it. Make sure the pasta sheet is no more than 60cm long, otherwise it will be difficult to handle and it may break.

Now cut into your favourite shape, dust with semolina and leave covered in the fridge overnight.

This recipe has been taken from Theo Randall’s “Pasta”, a fantastic cookbook on all things pasta!

Plums are a fantastic summer treat. Packed with juice and full of flavour, choose any sweet variety to enjoy in this delicious tart…

600gr 00 flour
240gr unsalted butter
300gr sugar
2 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
a pinch of salt
zest of 1 lemon
650gr sweet plums
150gr peeled almonds
100gr soft amaretti biscuits
icing sugar for decoration
amaretto di saronno liqueur

Work the flour, sugar, salt, butter and eggs until you get a nice dough. Cover in cling film and place in the fridge for at least half an hour.

Blend the amaretti and almonds in the mixer (keep a few almonds on the side for decoration) until finely grated.

Roll out the dough and cover a large tart mould (23cm diameter), but keep 1/4 on the side to later make the lattice.

Dust the dough with 2/3 of the amaretti and almonds, then cover with the roughly chopped plums. work the remaining amaretti and almonds with a couple of spoonfuls of liqueur, dust on top of the plums. Place the whole almonds for decoration.

Roll out the remaining dough and cut some long strips, place on the tart to form a lattice.

Cook at 180* for 40 minutes. Once cool, dust with icing sugar.

These fiery little orbs are perfect stuffed with our mix of tuna, anchovies and capers…

500g round chillies
4 anchovies
2 tbsp. capers
200g tuna in oil
250ml white wine vinegar
2 bay leaves
3 cloves
3 juniper berries
½ tbsp. dried oregano
1 tsp black peppercorns
250ml white wine
salt

Wash the peppers and remove the top using a sharp knife (and possibly wearing gloves!). Use a small teaspoon to carefully remove all seeds and ribs they may have.

Put the wine and vinegar in a pot with the spices and herbs and some salt, bring to the boil and blanch the peppers for 3 minutes. Drain and put the peppers upside down on a cloth or some kitchen paper to dry, possibly overnight.

Roughly chop the tuna, anchovies and capers with a knife, then quickly blend in a mixer, for approximately 5 seconds (you want to mix the ingredients without reducing to a cream).

Use a teaspoon to fill the peppers, trying to get rid of all air that could be trapped inside the peppers (less air helps in preserving for longer).

Put them in sterilized glass jars and fill with EVO oil to cover. Wait a few hours (the peppers will soak up some oil and you will need to add some more. Close the jars tightly and store in a cool dry place. Store for 2 weeks before opening. They can keep up to a year (if you resist).

Aubergine is at the peak of its season at the moment so it’s the perfect time to enjoy its creamy flesh. With ripe tomatoes, basil and mozzarella, this dish makes the most of some great seasonal produce.

Serves 2

2 large aubergines
4 ripe San Marzano tomatoes
garlic
fresh basil leaves
125g mozzarella
parmesan
salt and freshly ground black pepper
chillies

Chop some basil leaves and garlic and mix with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Wash the tomatoes then slice and place in a bowl with a crushed garlic clove, some roughly chopped basil, salt and pepper and a dash of E.V.O. oil. If you like a bit of a kick, add some chilli. Leave to marinade.

Wash the aubergines and cut off the top. Slice in half lengthways. Slit across and rub sparingly with the herby mix, trying to season the inside of the pulp. Make sure you don’t cut near the skin. Drizzle with olive oil.

Place in a preheated (200C) oven on a baking tray and cook for 25 minutes until soft. Top with the tomatoes, cook for a further 5 minutes. Then add the mozzarella slices and sprinkle with parmesan, grill for a couple of minutes and serve, garnished with whole basil leaves.

If you like to have something with it, try some cous cous or a refreshing mixed leaves salad.

Pressure cooking is not only a great time-saver but can even intensify the flavours of your meal. Try this delicious pork recipe – it’s finished off in the oven for that lovely roast flavour, but pressure cooked first to save you up to 40 minutes! Pressure cooking will also leave the meat beautifully tender. Find out more about pressure cooking here.

500gr apples (preferably renetta)
2 tbsp rum
1 onion
100gr smoked pancetta, diced
50cl vegetable stock
1 chilli
1 pork loin roast of around 1kg
extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp potato flour
salt

Sear the joint on all sides in the pot with some oil and the diced pancetta.

Add the sliced apples, the rum, the sliced onion, the chilli and the stock.

Close the pot, bring to the boil (until the valve whistles). Then reduce heat to minimum and cook for 40 minutes.

Remove the joint, leave to cool, slice and place in an oven dish.

Blitz the sauce with a blender adding the potato flour, then pour the sauce on the meat.

Finish in the oven at 180C for 20 minutes.