9 March 2011

Food, food glorious food... today I'm finishing up the assigned demos with a demo for the local TAZA Chocolate Company, of Somerville MA. They're a bit of a Horatio Alger story; were horrifically damaged by the floods last year, but have rebuilt and are back in business. Instead of the obvious, I've broken out a recipe from Chocolate Fest last year; an amazing Sicilian Ragout from the blog FX Cuisine taken from a 19th Century Sicilian Cookbook. Love this website; this guy is THOROUGH. Want to know how to make an authentic Bolognese, or Pressed Duck? Got three days? Here's the disclaimer: "The reason you can't do it at home is the Presse à Canard, a duck crusher that you would pay thousands of dollars if only you could find one for sale."

Here's the recipe... the garlic and cayenne are my "modern" additions. I like a lot of cayenne; love the afterburn that doesn't disguise that first mouthful of chocolate, cinnamon and red wine. I used a Severino fresh cavatelli. It does a magnificent job of trapping the sauce.

SICILIAN RAGU WITH CHOCOLATE & CINNAMON

1 large onion
1tsp minced garlic
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 lbs ground beef
8 oz red wine
12 oz Tomato Puree
3 oz bitter dark chocolate, chopped
2 sticks of cinnamon
ground red cayenne to taste
ground black pepper to taste
salt to taste

DIRECTIONS

Peel and finely chop it the onion. Saute the chopped onion in a heavy-bottomed pot with a little oil. When soft, add ground beef, and sauté over high heat, mixing constantly. Brown the meat all over. You need enough surface and heat, or the meat will render its juice, lowering the heat and making any further browning impossible. If this happens, remove half the onion-meat mixture and sauté in two installments. The browning is an important part of the flavor base. With the heat still on high, add the red wine and let it bubble and the alcohol evaporate. Scratch the bottom of the pot with your spoon to dissolve any browned bits stuck to the pot.
Add the tomato purée, then the chocolate. Let the chocolate melt, and mix. Add the cinnamon sticks, pushing down into the sauce. Cinnamon is a very common ingredient in Sicilian meat ragù and a clear oriental influence on Sicilian cuisine. Add cayenne, black pepper & salt to taste. Cover and simmer on a very low flame for at least 40 minutes. Serve over pasta, with Parmigiana Reggiano.

I've got 21 months of recipes and food items to catch up on... happy eating!