Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Make Food
Following a recipe isn't always the best...
You can't always trust a recipe. Food photography can be so misleading. I had a disappointment with a recipe our of the weekly Canvas magazine that comes with each Weekend Herald. The recipes were for meals that could be whipped together quickly, and one of the items was mince bolognese. I've made a fair share of these and thought, well, why not try a recipe for once instead of simply flinging the ingredients together.
Well that was a mistake. Firstly, for meals that could be whipped together quickly, no fuss, why then should a step be 'simmer for an hour until sauce has thickened'? I don't have time to simmer for an hour when I make spag bol!! Even after simmering, my sauce wasn't really that thick (probably a clear centirmetre of liquid still hovering above the mince mixture) nor was it that tasty. I suppose I prefer my bolognese sauce to be more tomato than meat, and really, the sauce was more meat ever so slightly tinged with tomato.
Next time? Stick to the basics. Canned tomato, a couple of garlic cloves, half an onion, salt, pepper, fresh basil, tomato paste. Simmering? Yep, but only for maybe 20 minutes at the end!!
And don't forget the little detail that just makes it fab - shavings of the best parmesan cheese you have in the fridge...
Following a recipe isn't always the best...
You can't always trust a recipe. Food photography can be so misleading. I had a disappointment with a recipe our of the weekly Canvas magazine that comes with each Weekend Herald. The recipes were for meals that could be whipped together quickly, and one of the items was mince bolognese. I've made a fair share of these and thought, well, why not try a recipe for once instead of simply flinging the ingredients together.
Well that was a mistake. Firstly, for meals that could be whipped together quickly, no fuss, why then should a step be 'simmer for an hour until sauce has thickened'? I don't have time to simmer for an hour when I make spag bol!! Even after simmering, my sauce wasn't really that thick (probably a clear centirmetre of liquid still hovering above the mince mixture) nor was it that tasty. I suppose I prefer my bolognese sauce to be more tomato than meat, and really, the sauce was more meat ever so slightly tinged with tomato.
Next time? Stick to the basics. Canned tomato, a couple of garlic cloves, half an onion, salt, pepper, fresh basil, tomato paste. Simmering? Yep, but only for maybe 20 minutes at the end!!
And don't forget the little detail that just makes it fab - shavings of the best parmesan cheese you have in the fridge...
# posted by City Girl @ 1:27 pm 
