Tag: Autumn produce

AUTUMN PRODUCE- lemons and quinces, wild mushrooms and homemade pasta

Autumn Produce Returns to Victoria

The shift into cooler weather always brings my favourite autumn produce in Victoria. This week’s market haul was especially inspiring: vibrant cime di rapa, glossy artichokes, fennel bulbs, chicory, and beautifully firm heads of red radicchio—much sturdier than just two weeks ago.

Cime di Rapa with Italian Sausages

As soon as I saw the cime di rapa, I knew what dinner would be. I sautéed the greens with chilli-flavoured Italian pork sausages and tossed them through orecchiette with plenty of strong, salty pecorino. A classic, comforting Pugliese combination that never disappoints.

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Cime Di Rapa

There were artichokes, fennel and even chicory for sale, and because of the colder weather the heads of red Radicchio seemed firmer than two weeks ago.

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Fresh autumn produce from Victoria: chicory, radicchio, fennel and artichokes.

Lemons, Quinces and Autumn Baking

A dear friend dropped off a generous bag of lemons from her father’s tree—fresh, fragrant, and perfect for the quinces I still had from last week.

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This time, I baked the quinces with honey and Tuaca, the golden-brown liqueur from Livorno made with brandy, citrus, vanilla and gentle spices. I added black peppercorns, cinnamon quills, star anise, a dash of vanilla, and slices of four large lemons.

The lemons caramelise into something like a crisp-edged marmalade: intensely flavoured and wonderfully sharp against the sweet quince. A modest splash of alcohol is enough, though a more generous pour would certainly be luxurious.

Yet again, I baked the quinces with different flavours. Honey as the sweetener and Tuaca from Livorno –  this is a sweetish, golden brown liqueur, and the ingredients include brandy, citrus essences, vanilla, and other secret spices – probably ordinary simple cinnamon and nutmeg .

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There was also a bit of water.

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The baked quinces were fragrant, magnificent tasting and I enjoyed preparing them.

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A Gift of Wild Pine Mushrooms

Another surprise was a delivery of saffron-coloured pine mushrooms (Lactarius deliciosus)—also called saffron milk caps—from friends in Red Hill. The small ones are beautiful left whole, while the larger mushrooms slice perfectly and become meaty and rich when cooked.

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Holly our friends’ Cocker Spaniel, loves her photo being taken. She seized the opportunity for another photo session. She is a muse like photographer William Wegman’s photographic Weimaraner dogs.

Cooking the Pine Mushrooms

I cooked the mushrooms gently with garlic, parsley, sage, thyme, rosemary, a little nepitella, and a splash of white wine. The result was a deeply savoury sauce that paired beautifully with freshly made egg tagliatelle.

THE COOKING OF THE MUSHROOMS AND THE HOME MADE TAGLIATELLE

 

Homemade Pasta: Simple and Satisfying

Making pasta at home is easier than many people think—just 100g of flour per egg.

For two people (with a small portion leftover), I used 300g of durum wheat flour and three eggs:

  1. Place the flour in a bowl and make a well.
  2. Add eggs and a pinch of salt.
  3. Bring the mixture together with your fingers.
  4. Knead into a smooth dough.

You can also use a food processor—mix until the dough looks like breadcrumbs, then gather it into a ball with your hands.

I divide the dough into three pieces, wrap them, and rest them in the fridge for an hour. Rested dough passes much more easily through the pasta machine. Flatten slightly and roll several times before cutting into tagliatelle.

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Freshly rolled egg tagliatelle made with durum wheat flour.

JUST TO SHOW OFF

This week I also made a rustic pasta from rye flour, rolling it between sheets of baking paper and cutting it into simple strips. Earthy, quick, and very satisfying.

Very simple.

Related Recipes & Posts

Mushrooms and home made Pasta:

WILD MUSHROOMS, I have been foraging again

PASTA WITH MUSHROOMS – Pasta ai funghi

WILD MUSHROOMS – Saffron Coloured, Pine Mushrooms and Slippery Jacks

QUADRUCCI IN BRODO, Squares of home-made Pasta in Broth

GNUCCHITEDDI (Making small gnocchi shapes using my great grandmother’s device)

Pasta with cime di rapa (rape is plural):

ONE OF MY FAVOURITE VEGETABLES – Cime di Rape

PASTA with ‘NDUJA, CIME DI RAPA and PORK SAUSAGES

CIME DI RAPE (A winter green)

About Nepitella:

STUFFED BAKED MUSHROOMS with Nepitella

Quinces:

AUTUMN FRUIT and baked quinces

A Tale about QUINCES

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AUTUMN FRUIT Cumquats (Kumquats) and Quinces

I do like Cumquats and Quinces – both are Autumn fruit.

The photos were taken at my friends’ house in the south – east of South Australia. Each time that we are together we get productive in her kitchen.

My friend  likes to make preserves – cumquat and whisky marmalade, pickled cumquats and cumquats preserved in brandy. She also makes quince jelly and quince paste. On this particular weekend we used some of her abundant  autumn harvest.

She has the round shaped cumquats. The elongated variety of cumquats are much sweeter and are very good eaten fresh and whole . I like to eat both varieties raw and whole.

Here are photos of some of the methods used to make the cumquats in brandy or Cointreau or a mixture of both. Rum or Whisky is also good.

You could add some extra flavourings if you wish: cinnamon sticks, cloves, allspice, star anise or glace or crystallized ginger.

The jars and lids will need to be sterilised. You may have your own way to this, for example:

  • Use the hot cycle in your dishwasher
  • cover them with hot water and boil them, for about 10 minutes
  • fill them with boiling water, place them on a baking tray lined with a tea towel and put them into a 110 C oven for about 15 minutes.

Although my friend had several kilos of cumquats, the recipe is based on using 1 kilo of cumquats.

You can use as much alcohol of your choice as you wish, for example a ratio of 3 cups of alcohol to 2 cups of water – adjust according to taste.  You will not necessarily know how much liquid you will need to cover the cumquats in the jars but you can always make more if you run out of the alcohol and water mixture.

Sugar – use 800g per kilo of fruit.

Use only whole fruit that are bright orange in color and have firm, undamaged skins. Make sure that they have stems.

Wash and dry them and remove the leaves. Leave the little green stems, then prick each one a couple of times with a thick needle.

Cover with water and bring them slowly to the boil. Simmer them uncovered for about 10 minutes – the must not collapse.

Drain them carefully and gently – they must remain whole. Reserve the water to use in the alcohol mixture.  Combine water with sugar, bring to the boil and boil for about 5 minutes. Take off the stove, add alcohol and mix well.

Place the fruit gently into the prepared jar. Add some spices or ginger among the cumquats if you wish. Top with the syrup. Do not crowd them too much as they may break. Cover with lids. Allow to stand for at least two weeks before using.

4 quinces,  cinnamon quills,  3  lemons, sliced,
About 200g sugar,
2 cups of water

I wiped the fuzz off the quinces and preheated my oven to 140C (fan-forced). I cut the quinces into quarters and sliced lemons and placed them in between the pieces of quinces.

Added sugar and water.

Covered them with foil and baked for at least 3 hours until quinces are soft and a rich red  – I removed the foil about 15 minutes before they finished cooking.

Jelly ( from the juices) in the left over quinces.

SEE EARLIER POSTS ON QUINCES (click on links):
A Tale about QUINCES
MOSTARDA and COTOGNATA- Sweets in Moulds
PRICKLY PEARS Fichi d’India and a paste called Mostarda

CREMA DI PEPERONCINI – Hot Pepper Paste in Autumn

Chillies are at their best in Autumn. I generally never waste produce and when friends give me some of their fresh seasonal crops  I get enthusiastic and active.

These chillies were grown in Adelaide and  this time I decided to make a chili paste that was not Harissa.

I have been making Harissa for a very long time since one of my Sicilian relatives who lives in Augusta introduced me to it about thirty five years ago.  Augusta is in south eastern Sicily and  is an important Sicilian  and Italian naval base and trading port.  Giacomo is a mechanical naval engineer and was often called out to work on naval vessels in the gulf, some vessels  were from Tunisia, Algeria and Libya  and he was introduced to this hot chilli paste through his contacts. There are many recipes for this paste and it is an important condiment in Middle Eastern Cuisine.  Some make it with dry chillies, some with fresh chillies and some with roasted chillies. I usually use cumin and caraway seeds and garlic when I make it. I use Harissa in many ways and always to accompany cuscus.

I also like to make Salsa Romesco , a condiment popular around Barcelona in north-eastern Spain.  Like when making harissa there are many variations to recipes  but this condiment is commonly made with red peppers,  garlic, tomatoes, white bread and almonds.  Sometimes I have  roasted the peppers and added some roasted chillies as well.

Crema di Peperoncino is a chilli paste that is very popular in Calabria. It is usually made with fresh chillies , salt,  garlic and olive oil.  I thought that would combine my experiences for making Harissa and Romesco and make a roasted chili paste. No spices, just chillies, salt, garlic and extra virgin olive oil  – Crema di peperoncini.

Isn’t that what cooking is all about?

I kept is very simple.

I could have made a milder paste by adding some ordinary red peppers which are also very much in season but I decided to just keep the Crema di pepperoncini hot, hot. hot….And it was. I used the other red peppers in a salad.

The photos demonstrate what I did.

Use any type of red chillies that you have.

INGREDIENTS: red chillies, garlic to taste, 3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, teaspoon of salt (preservative), more extra virgin olive oil to place on top.

Grill/ Roast the chillies on high heat. Turn once until blackened and charred all over. Do the same with unpeeled garlic cloves.

Allow to cool.

Remove the skins and seeds – you can leave some seeds if you would like it hotter!

Blend all the ingredients together.

Place in a sterilized jar and top with a layer of more oil to seal. I keep my jar in the fridge and make sure that each time I take some out of the jar I replace a layer of oil on top (to stop mold).

See previous posts:

HARISSA (A hot chili condiment)

SALSA ROMESCO (Romesco sauce, this recipe is made with roasted peppers, tomatoes and almonds)