Starch and carbs
Freshly made pasta with a tomato and basil sauce
I’ve never made pasta. Today I did.
The truth is I don’t eat much pasta but I do like it—very much in fact. I consider it a bit of a luxury. Like with puff pastry, making pasta has a technical side which I enjoyed. The lesson kept it simple—Pâte Fraiche avec Sauce Tomate au Basilac. Probably a good thing. The pasta was cut into thin strips but what I really want to do is get jiggy with it. Top of the list is to make a Raviolo at home, or Ravioli.
I love the combination of tomato and basil. I’m always happy when munching on Bruschetta. This tomato sauce isn’t just a tomato and basil sauce. This has got a smokey bacon flavour to it, having been made with the rind and lardons from a chunk of smoked bacon. FTW!
Classic risotto
In the demo, chef also knocked up a classic white wine Risotto. Risotto is another treat dish for me. Plonk me in an Italian restaurant and I’ll be looking for a risotto. From a profit perspective, a risotto is an awkward dish. At its best, risotto is cooked fresh to order but that’s expensive because it’s time consuming. Some restaurants have it on the menu. They cook it most of the way, portion it off, then finish it to order. And this works. But the rice is never at its absolute best. Chef’s choice.
BTW, always serve risotto on a plate—never a dish. Chef says a dish is probably covering up the addition of too much stock which will leach out of the sides. Serious no-no.