Spaghetti con le polpette

Or Spaghetti with meatballs

One of my favourite films of all time is Malèna. I happened to be flicking through the tv channels when a film, which was just showing the title at that time, caught my attention. I cant remember now why I was so drawn to the movie; it could have been the song that they were playing at the time or the cinematography. As soon as the actors started talking...aaaah italiano. The film didnt have any subtitle and to be honest, since they were talking so fast, I couldnt understand a thing or two. I  decided to hang on in a few and before I knew it, I have watched the film from beginning to end.

The film was beautiful, it reaches out to you, it was melancholic and nostalgic despite not I understanding anything. Obviously the movie underpins on the universal theme of L-O-V-E; love for humanity, faithful love of the husband, and love from the little boy to Malèna. Monica Belluci, the beautiful italian actress who played Malèna was at her element. Her luminous beauty sometimes outshone the movie in general. The movie also went back to basic, and didn't really need words to tell a story. But in hindsight, I could have wanted to be able to translate italian to english  when the boy said in italian, from the last scene of the film, "Of all the girls who asked me to remember them, the only one I remembered is the one who did not ask."

When I was reading the wikipedia (click here) about the movie, after I caught it again on telly with subtitles this time, I found out that there was really no raving reviews except for the cinematography and original score (Damn! the song and the cinematography were the reasons that got me after all. Hehehe.) The plot was simple and  revolved around Malèna's beauty and her punishments for being beautiful. How vain huh? Hehehe.

Spaghetti con le polpette or spaghetti with meatballs is quite a simple dish. It is also a beautiful italian dish. And is made out of L-O-V-E. Its beauty exudes exuberance and zest. I never thought that you can actually taste exuberance and zest on any dish but this dish has them and more.

This pasta dish is also my little boy's latest favourite and couldn't stop talking about or gobbling it for that matter, pun intended. If that weren't enough testament of how simple and beautiful this dish then I don't know what is.

This dish is definitely a keeper and I suppose I will be whipping it again tomorrow and again and again for the rest of our lives...

Buon appetito! Salute! :)

 *Snagged from Mama's Italian Cookbook
Serves 6

Ingredients

400 g/14 oz beef mince

1 onion, finely chopped

1 egg

4 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

plain flour, for dusting

5 tbsp virgin olive oil

400 ml/14 fl oz passata

2 tbsp tomato puree

400g/14 oz dried spaghetti

salt and pepper

6 shredded fresh basil leaves and freshly grated parmesan cheese, to garnish

Place the potato in a small saucepan, add cold water to cover and a pinch of salt, and bring to boil. Cook for 10-15 minutes, until tender, then drain. Either mash throughly with a potato masher or fork or pass through a potato ricer.

Combine the potato, mince, onion, egg and parsley in a bowl and season to taste with salt and pepper. Spread out the flour on a plate. With dampened hands, shape the meat mixture into walnut-sized balls and roll in the flour. Shake off any excess.

Heat the oil in a heavy-based frying pan, add the meatballs and cook over a medium heat, stirring and turning frequently, for 8-10 minutes, until golden all over. Add the passata and tomato puree and cook for a further 10 minutes, until the sauce is reduced and thickened. Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of lightly salted water to the boil. Add the pasta, bring back to the boil and cook for 8-10 minutes, until tender but still firm to the bite.

Drain well and add to the meatball sauce, tossing well to coat. Transfer to a warmed serving dish, garnish with the basil leaves and grated Parmesan cheese and serve immediately.

Beef and Red Wine Pies

Tomato sauce/ketchup in an egg cup. Hehehe.

Tomato sauce/ketchup in an egg cup. Hehehe.

I am proud of these babies. Lol. But it would probably take a while for me to bake them again. Not because they were hard to make but just the time  they took from preparation to bake; my little boy said they took 6 hours. I lost track of time. I remember prepping midday and my little boy finally digging in the final product at around 7pm. I supposed its easier to short cut the process by buying ready made short crust and puff pastries, that way the process could have been much easier but as I am a creature of habit and an old school in the kitchen, and so I do everything from scratch; I cooked the filling for 2 hours, after marinating the beef overnight. I mixed, rolled, chilled and blind baked my own short crust pastry and I mixed, rolled, chilled, folded (6 times!) my own puff pastry.  Hence toiling through the best beef pie ever in the kitchen for 6 hours. All the time, my thought bubble was "These (babies) better be good!"

My little boy said they were the best pies he has ever tasted so I reckon all the hard work is worth wait. Those words from my little boy are good enough for me.

He has been urging me to bake meat pies for the longest time, and I have not taken the bait until now. Now I know why; its tough standing, cooking in the kitchen and rolling and folding doughs for 6 hours straight. As I have been whining for some time now about not having much of a challenge in the kitchen, he issued the marching order for me to bake meat pies, I finally took it. Once and for all.

And so my question now is, what's the next challenge.....

Tricks No More:

• Marinate your beef in red wine overnight. This will make your beef so amazingly tender.
• Use the same red wine you marinated your beef in for cooking the filling.
• I suggest you dont use/buy deep dish pie tins ( I did!), trust me it will make your life easier
• When blind baking, use foil instead of baking sheets. I got this trick from Dorie Greenspan. Pie and tarts' base is evenly baked. I couldnt agree more. I only trust the experts.

Make 6

Ingredients:

1/4 cup (60 ml/2 fl oz) old

1.5 kg (3 lb) chuck steak, cubed

2 onions, chopped

1 clove garlic, crushed

1/4 cup (30 g/l oz) plain flour

1 1/4 cups ( (315 ml/10 fl oz) good-quality dry red wine

2 cups (500 ml/16 fl oz) beef stock

2 bay leaves

2 sprigs fresh thyme

2 carrots, chopped

500 g (1 lb) home-made or bought short crust pastry

500 g ( 1 lb) home-made or bought puff pastry

1 egg, lightly beaten

Directions:

1. Lightly grease six metal pie tin measuring 9 cm (3 1/2 inches) along the base and 3 cm (1 1/4 inches) deep.

2. Heat 2 tablespoon of the oil in a large frying pan and brown the meat in batches. Remove from the pan. Heat the remaining oil in the same pan, add the onion and garlic and stir over medium heat until golden brown. Add the flour and stir over medium heat for 2 minutes, or until well browned. Remove from the heat and gradually stir in the combined stock.

3. Return to the heat and stir until the mixture boils and thickens. Return the meat to the pan, add the bay leaves and thyme and simmer for 1 hour. Add the carrot and simmer for another 45 minutes, or until the meat and carrot are tender and the sauce has thickened. Season, then remove the bay leaves and thyme. Allow the cool.

4. Preheat the oven to moderately hot 200C (400F/Gas 6). Divide the shortcrust into six and roll out each piece between two sheets of baking paper to a 25 cm (10 inch) square, 3 mm (1/8 inch) thick. Cut a circle from each shortcrust sheet big enough to line the base and side of a pie tin. Place in the tins and trim the edges. Line each pastry shell with baking paper and fill with baking beads or uncooked rice. Place on a baking tray and bake for 8 minutes. Remove the paper and beads and bake for another 8 minutes, or until the pastry is lightly browned. Allow to cool.

5. Divide the puff pastry into six portions and roll each piece between two sheets of baking paper to a square. Cut circles from the squares of a dough, to fit the tops of the pie tins. Spoon some of the filling into each pastry case and brush the edge with some of the beaten egg. Cover with a pastry round and trim any excess pastry, pressing the edges with a fork to seal. Cut a slit in the top of each pie. Brush the pie tops with the remaining beaten eggs and bake for 20-25 minutes, until the pastry is cooked and golden brown.

Note: You can make a family-size pie using the same ingredients, but substituting a 23 cm (9 inch) metal pie tin. Bake in a moderately hot 200C (400F/Gas 6) oven for 30-35 minutes. Any remaining pastry can be rolled and used to decorate the pie or frozen for later use.

The alcohol content of the red wine dissipates on heating. While it adds a distinct flavour, you can use all stock if you don't like to use wine.

Beef caldereta (beef stew) one way

I had a gnawing craving for beef caldereta (beef stew), and for some reason the beef caldereta from this spanish restaurant that I used to frequent at home kept popping up in my mind. And as Im the type of a person who doesn't leave any stone unturned, I vagabondly (for lack of better term) visited one blogsite to the another until I found the one.

And so finally, with tongue-in-cheek, as I have tried many recipes from different blogsites and alas they are not really what they are seemed to be, I dawdled my way through cafenilson blog and surprisingly, found 'the one'. And as far as Im concerned, this is the best recipe closest to the one I usually order in that spanish restaurant. The blog has two recipes - the author's and one from a Filipino chef on parallel review, and as nothing is impossible in this world, and persistence is my name, I tweaked the recipes once again by combining them together and creating a recipe one-way. Hence the name of this recipe: Beef caldereta (beef stew) one way. Lol!

Beef Caldereta is a filipino dish but the spanish influence is all over it. What with Philippines under Spanish rule for 300 years, I am no longer surprised.

The recipe also asks for red wine and sherry, so take it easy on them huh, lest you get so excited and drink yourself silly. :)

The result speaks for itself; the beef just simply melts in your mouth and is ridiculously tender that seemingly having a mind of its own, the meat just separates and breaks on its own term.

Inspired by http://www.cafenilson.com/2009/03/beef-caldereta-two-ways/

Ingredients:
1 kilo beef, cut in bite size pieces
1 1/2 cup red wine
2 tbs olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium size onion, diced
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/3 cup brine of green olives
1 large tomato, diced
1 tsp paprika
1 carrot, diced
1 tbs grated cheddar cheese
1 small can liver spread
10 green olives (or black olives)
2 pieces roasted bell peppers (any color)
1 carrot, diced
1potato, diced
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbs sherry or brandy

Directions:
Marinate beef in red wine overnight (this is really important as I believe this makes the meat extremely tender).
Boil meat in enough water until tender.  Remove and reserve stock.
In olive oil, saute garlic and onion.  Add the meat to brown.  Add tomoto paste, olive brine and tomato.  Simmer until meat is tender.  Season with paprika.  Add stock and wine as needed until meat is tender and cooked. Add potato and carrot.
Thicken sauce with liver spread and cheese.  Add olives and peppers.  Season with salt and pepper.
Add sherry and continue to simmer on low until cooked or reduced.