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Tag Archives: salt-baked

EXOTIC SPICES, VENICE & ‘FORBIDDEN’ BLACK RICE

25 Saturday Mar 2017

Posted by eatingcloudsinitaly in Uncategorized

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

black rice, black rice salad, carnival masks, Commedia dell'Arte, cuttlefish, diamonds, exotic, forbidden rice, La Serenissima, marilyn monroe, Rialto market, risotto, risotto al nero di seppia, salmon, salt-baked, sepia ink, spice trade, spices, Venice, Venice Carnival

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If Marilyn Monroe had been alive and living in Venice around the 14th or 15th century she would have been singing a song not about diamonds but that ‘Spices Are A Girl’s Best Friend’. At that time La Serenissima (‘the most serene’), an honorary Byzantine title bestowed on the Republic of Venice, was the hugely wealthy epi-centre of a global spice trade where spices were the very height of luxury, afforded only by the rich, and more sought after than diamonds.

IMAG4739 - Copia

Speaking of diamonds I’ve just spotted an advertisement for an exclusive new beauty treatment  ….clearly only for the mega-rich and mega-bored….to be massaged with crushed diamonds.  I say no more…..the world’s gone mad!

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Venice, a floating jewel of a city, oozes exoticness to me with its dark hints of intrigue, mystery and romance all of which come together at Carnival time:  those very far-from-serene weeks of revelry, colour, costumes, confetti-throwing, food and indulgence that starts almost immediately after Epiphany and continues until the arrival of Lent. Coinciding with pagan spring festivals Carnival is a transition time from the end of winter to the beginning of spring and is a time when you’re allowed to express another side of yourself.

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© visit venice Italy

From early times masks could be worn at any time in Venice helping the wearer conceal his identity and social status, allowing total anonymity for any illicit (or criminal) activities or lending mystery and glamour for romantic trysts and seduction. It wasn’t until around the 18th century that mask-wearing was limited to carnival time.

There are two types of mask: carnival masks (where anything goes) or masks of one of the archetypal characters from the Commedia dell’Arte.

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Arlecchino Commedia3

© where-venice   © venetian masquerade masks

Begun in Italy in the early 16th century Commedia dell’Arte was the first form of professional theatre – usually performed outside in the piazzas and based on witty dialogue, improvisation….and masks.

The main characters include: Arlecchino (Harlequin), Pantalone (‘Money’), Medico della Peste (Plague Doctor), Columbina (Arlecchino’s mistress), Scaramouche (Rogue Adventurer) and Pulcinella (Crooked-Nosed Hunchback). Pulcinella is in fact the direct forefather of Punch in the English Punch-and-Judy puppet show.

‘Martedi grasso’, ‘mardi gras’ or ‘fat tuesday’ as I prefer, marks the end of Carnival when everyone can have their final fling before saying “farewell to the flesh” and entering the forty days of fasting and penitence leading up to Easter.

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Well we’re now in Lent and I seem to be doing very little fasting or penitence (actually none), but I’ve at least put together this ‘flesh-less’ recipe of fish and rice. Venetian cuisine with its access to the Lagoon is naturally full of fish and seafood dishes including their traditional ‘risotto al nero di seppia’ – risotto with cuttlefish ink.

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Venice’s famous Rialto Market is a lively daily market close to the Rialto Bridge. Seasonal fruit and vegetables are always on offer and if you’re early enough you can buy the freshest lagoon fish directly from boats as they draw up at the quay. Otherwise you can trawl the stalls offering locally caught seafood making sure to pick those tagged as “nostrano” (‘ours’).

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Either from a point of cleanliness (sepia ink stains your teeth and mouth black!) or from sheer laziness I decided to skip using sepia ink and use my latest discovery, black rice. ‘Forbidden Rice’ or Black Rice is a highly treasured rice from Asia. Apparently in ancient China it  was forbidden for anyone to eat it except the Emperor and the Royal Family because of its health benefits.

You can check out the health benefits and buy this product at: https://forbiddenfoods.com.au/products/forbidden-black-rice but for this particular recipe I’m using the Italian equivalent, a black variety of brown rice – if that makes sense! You should be able to find a similar variety in any specialty supermarket.

RECIPE
SPICE & SALT-BAKED SALMON with FORBIDDEN BLACK RICE SALAD

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For 2
Preparation time: 15-20 minutes
Cooking time: 20-25 minutes

SPICE & SALT-BAKED SALMON

Ingredients
350g salmon fillet with the skin on
Juice of ½ lemon
Coarse salt
Selection of spices such as:
Star Anise
Cloves
Coriander seeds
Black pepper
Cardamom pods
Toasted sesame seeds to garnish
Dried edible flowers to garnish (or fresh herbs)

Method

Wash the salmon fillet and make sure there are no bones in it. Sprinkle with lemon juice and put aside.

Take a non-stick frying pan and pour in enough coarse salt to totally cover the bottom of the pan (to a depth of about 4-5mm).

Scatter with the spices and place over a medium-hot flame.

When hot – you’ll be able to start smelling the spices – place the salmon, skin-side down, onto the spiced salt. Let it sit for 1-2 minutes until you see the flesh starting to turn white then put the lid on and allow to steam for about 5 minutes.

Remove from the heat and let sit covered for another few minutes.

To actually steam the salmon over water would probably only take about 5-6 minutes but I found this method needed a bit more time, plus resting time.

To serve sprinkle sesame seeds over the salmon and decorate with edible dried flowers or fresh herbs

Take the covered pan and remove the lid at the table so that you can savour all the wonderful spice smells.

‘FORBIDDEN’ BLACK RICE SALAD

Ingredients

200g black parboiled rice
5Tbsp olive oil
1Tbsp balsamic vinegar
Juice of 1 lemon
1Tbsp honey
Salt & pepper
3 spring onions, chopped
6 small/medium tomatoes, chopped
small bunch of fresh basil, chopped

Method

Cook the rice in boiling salted water for 18-20 minutes. If you can’t get parboiled, cook the rice for between 45 minutes – 1 hour.

Drain and rinse in cold water. Stir in all the other ingredients and allow to sit for a short while to ‘mingle’!

Halve the salmon fillet – removing the skin – and serve alongside the black rice salad.

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SALT-BAKED SARDINES with HERBED POTATO CHIPS (A Warm Summer ‘Fish & Chips’ Salad)

25 Wednesday Jun 2014

Posted by eatingcloudsinitaly in Uncategorized

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

easy, fish and chips, herbs, italian lakes, italy, lake como, lake garda, lake iseo, potato chips, salad, salt-baked, sardines, summer, twite shad, warm salad

2 sarde

‘Twite Shad’…there, I’ve said it! A few years ago I went for a weekend to Lake Como (and yes, I did see George Clooney!) where I found a restaurant offering “missoltino con crostone di polenta fritta e alborelle” or as the English translation read….”salty twite shad with polenta and bleaks”. Fabulous!…particularly as I could not make sense of either version!

terrace lake comoSadly the restaurant was shut otherwise I’d have eaten this dish just to discover exactly what it was! Instead I’ve been hoping to casually drop it into a conversation to see if anyone could enlighten me ….and now, some years later I thought I’d bring up the subject again (so far I’ve had no luck finding out what ‘bleaks’ are but I’d welcome any comments on this!)

Meanwhile, what exactly are ‘twite shad’ ? Well it seems that I ate some the other day as ‘pasta con sardine’ in this lovely lakeside bar/restaurant because the fish generically called ‘sardina’ in the lakes area of North Italy are strictly speaking freshwater – ‘twite shad’.

GardagnaWhen twite shad are salted and dried around Lake Iseo, Lake Garda or Lake Maggiore they are called ‘sarda’, whilst in Lake Como the sun & wind-dried version are called ‘missoltini’. So at least I’ve discovered something! The usual way of serving these lake ‘sardines’ are pan-frying or grilling and serving with polenta or as part of a pasta sauce with fresh herbs.

Monte Isola, the small island in Lake Iseo, is renowned for their salt-preserved sardines – an art which has been around for at least a thousand years. The fishermen still go out every sunset to set their nets, returning at dawn to collect their catch. The fresh fish are then salted for 48 hours before being left to dry for about a month.

After the drying they are arranged in containers, covered in olive oil and left for at least four months. It was hard work (and I imagine still is) with little remuneration and done by all the family – on the whole the men were in charge of the fishing and drying and the women tending the nets…..and of course the preparation and cooking!

Sardine circleUsing the same idea of salting then covering in oil, I decided to salt-bake some sardines and then serve them warm as a salad with some of the wonderful Lake Garda olive oil. If like me you’re not a great one for cooking fish – then this might appeal to you because it really is quick and easy….and with minimal smell!

RECIPE:
SALT-BAKED SARDINES & HERBED POTATO CHIPS
I serve this as a warm salad starter or, with more sardines, as a main summer dish. The sardines are served slightly warm and the chips hot.

Serves: 2
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes

fish & chips 2a

4 sardines (or 2 per person)
1 kg coarse sea salt
1 egg white
Olive oil
1 lemon
Ground black pepper
Fresh parsley

Preheat oven: 200C/400F

2 sarde 2

You could ask your fishmonger to gut the sardines for you but sometimes, because they’re small and it’s simple to do, they prefer that you to do it yourself.

In which case, wash the sardines and remove the scales by taking a sharp knife and rubbing it down the outside of the fish from tail to head.

Then open up the belly by running the point of your knife from the tail to the base of the head. Remove the guts – they pretty much fall out themselves – and rinse the inside.

Believe me, if I can do this then anyone can!

Ready to cook1

Pour the salt into a bowl and mix in the egg white until it all starts to slightly stick together.

Take a baking dish and press half the mixture on the bottom. Lay the fish on top of the salt and dot with some parsley sprigs.

In the salt

Pour over the remaining salt mixture pressing it down well over the sardines, making sure it’s completely sealed – it will look like a white dome.

Place the dish in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to sit for 5 minutes.

Clean off the salt and carefully lift out the fish. Rinse off all salt residue under running water gently rubbing with your fingers to remove as much of the skin as possible.

Massage lightly with olive oil and lay on a plate in a warm place.

HERBED POTATO CHIPS
Serves: 2
Preparation time: 10-15 minutes
Cooking time: 10-15 minutes

herb slices 2a

cooked pots 1a

Preheat oven to 200C/400F

1-2 potatoes, depending on how many slices you want
Fresh parsley and basil leaves (or any herb of your choice)
Olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Finely slice the potatoes or, even better, use a mandolin.

Lay slices on a non-stick baking dish, brush with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and place one sprig of parsley or basil onto each slice. Cover with another slice of potato and brush again with olive oil.

Place dish in oven and bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown and crispy at the edges. Remove from oven and serve immediately.

Serve sardines with fresh parsley surrounded with herbed potato chips. Grind over some freshly ground black pepper and an extra drizzle of olive oil.

fish & chips 2a

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