Planet to Plate Cookbook | All Things Sicilian and more

EARTH HOUR

● Earth Hour will take place at 8:30pm local time, Saturday, March 28, 2015.
● In 2014 one in three Australians took part in Earth Hour, turning off their lights to show their support
for cutting carbon pollution and tackling global warming.
● Earth Hour began in Sydney in 2007, initiated by WWFAustralia
to raise awareness of the effects of climate change. 2,200 businesses and over 2 million people took part.
● Earth Hour has now spread to 162 countries and over 7,000 cities, making it the world’s largest
environmental movement.
● Anna Rose is National Manager of Earth Hour Australia and was recently named the Australian
Geographic Conservationist of the Year.

2 amazing recipes.

This is a collection of 52 recipes by Australia’s top celeb

PLANET TO PLATE: The Earth Hour Cookbook
In the lead up to Earth Hour on Saturday, March 28 2015 at 8:30pm, Earth Hour Australia will release Planet
to Plate: The Earth Hour Cookbook a collection of 52 celebrity chefs including Margaret Fulton, Matt
Preston, Neil Perry, Luke Mangan, Kylie Kwong, Jill Dupleix and Matt Stone. The recipes are
combined with firsthand stories from Australian farmers highlighting the impact global
warming is having on their farms and the availability of our favourite foods grown here in
Australia.

I am proud to say that I also have a recipe in the Planet to Plate: an Earth Hour Cookbook (even if on this list my name has been misspelled).

This book spotlights global warming impacts on Aussie food and farmers.

In an Australian publishing first, Planet to Plate will uniquely and beautifully incorporate firsthand
stories from Australian farmers highlighting the impact global warming is having on their farms and the nation’s availability of fresh, homegrown food. Burning fossil fuels such as coal and gas makes global warming worse, contributing to more extreme weather and droughts that threaten farming communities and Australia’s supply of fresh food.
Anna Rose, National Manager of Earth Hour Australia and Australian Geographic Society Conservationist of
the Year, says that the launch of Planet to Plate is an innovative way to remind Australians of one of the
strongest reasons to take action to tackle global warming: our food.
“Besides being a collection of the very best recipes from the country’s top chefs, Planet to Plate will highlight
the fact that global warming is already affecting produce we enjoy in our everyday lives including fresh
vegetables, cereals, bread and fruit.
“Our much loved farmers are the custodians of the nation’s food bowl and need our support to minimise the
harm carbon pollution is having on the supply of fresh food that we are so lucky to enjoy in Australia.”

The Food Stylist for the cookbook is Fiona Rigg – she was the food stylist for my first book, Sicilian Seafood Cooking.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Proceeds from the cookbook will go to supporting Earth Hour’s work with schools, small business and
community groups.
Families, friends, schools and communities across Australia are encouraged to purchase a copy of the
cookbook for some inspiration on Earth Hour night. Millions are expected to host or attend an Earth Hour
gathering, dinner or BBQ in their community to help spread the word about the need for action on global
warming and what individuals can do to help.

Photos above are from pages of Planet to Plate: The Earth Hour Cookbook.

The information about Earth Hour and Planet to Plate: The Earth Hour Cookbook is taken from Earth Hour Australia: the MEDIA RELEASE and DIARY ALERT.

You may see a number of Italian recipes cooked al guazzetto. This is just another Italian style of cooking.

A little bit of Italian grammar here in case you are confused: you may be familiar with other Italian culinary terms like alla romana (cooking style originating in the region of Rome, ie Roman style) alla contadina or alla paesana (peasant style) or alla campagnola (rustic or country style) – The above words are all feminine words and therefore have alla in front.

Other common terms like al forno (cooked in the oven) or al vapore (steamed) – have al in front because they are masculine words.

Al guazzetto means that it is cooked in some liquid. To confuse you even further in umido is also a culinary term that means the same thing (poached or simmered or braised). Perhaps in umido implies that it may be more slow cooked or that the liquid is significantly reduced – but perhaps I am being pedantic here.

There are many recipes for fish cooked al guazzetto and less so for meat – most contain tomatoes and broth to concentrate flavours. However, in Foods of Sicily and Sardinia and the Smaller Islands [Giuliano Bugialli, John Dominis] there is a recipe from Sardinia called Pollo o coniglio al guazzetto and this is the inspiration for the following recipe. I cooked pollo (chicken) rather than the coniglio (rabbit).

The recipe reminds me of a Sicilian way of cooking potatoes called Patati nno’ Tianu (Patate in tegame in Italian) that basically contains the same ingredients. In this recipe cubed potatoes (Italians would peel them, I do not) are placed in a heavy saucepan with a good lid. Add all of the other ingredients and cover with some water. Seal with the lid and let them cook slowly. They will absorb the water and be soft and fragrant.

The saffron in this braise is fabulous.

1 chicken (I always buy free range) cleaned and cut into pieces

1 onion, sliced finely

½ cup of extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves of garlic

½ cup of parsley, cut finely

1 tablespoon vinegar, 1 splash of wine

2 large pinches of saffron

1 tablespoon of capers

salt and pepper

Method:

Brown the chicken pieces in hot oil. Remove it and set aside.

Sauté the onion and garlic.

Add the chicken and parsley and sauté it for a few minutes longer.

Add vinegar , saffron and wine, capers and seasoning.

Add a few tablespoons of boiling water or more white wine as it is cooking if necessary,

Serve hot and preferably with Fregola

* Fregula or Fregolona is uniquely Sardinian. It is a type of pasta/couscous from Sardinia and is similar to North African Berkoukes, Middle Eastern Moghrabieh, and Israeli couscous.It is also lightly toasted.

My recipe was published in the following publication:

Planet to Plate: The Earth Hour Cookbook is a collection of 52 amazing recipes from Australia’s biggest culinary names.

March 2015

In 2015 WWF, Earth Hour is about celebrating Australian food and farming.

It is a collection of the very best recipes from the country’s top chefs; Planet to Plate is full of information on how global warming is already affecting produce we enjoy in our everyday lives including fresh vegetables, cereals, bread and fruit.

Planet to Plate uniquely and beautifully incorporates first-hand stories from Australian farmers highlighting the impact global warming is having on their farms and the nation’s availability of fresh, homegrown food.

See: EARTH HOUR, Planet to Plate: The Earth Hour Cookbook 2015

Tag: Planet to Plate Cookbook

EARTH HOUR, Planet to Plate: The Earth Hour Cookbook 2015

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POLLO AL GUAZZETTO (Sardinian Chicken braised with Saffron)

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