Ragù e polenta

Ragù e polenta
Ragù e polenta

? This is a guest post by none other than Devvers! ?

The other Sunday we finally had time to do some slow cooking, and after looking through “Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking” by Marcella Hazan, we decided to make ragù and polenta.

For those of you which are not familiar with this book, it is an encyclopaedia of Italian cooking; there is a section talking about ingredients and techniques and every recipe is detailed and precise. It truly is kitchen essential, and definitely worth investing in.

The ragù took about four and a half hours to make, so it can’t be rushed. We served the ragù on top of the polenta and grated plenty of parmesan cheese on top – delicious!

So, to the recipes: Continue reading “Ragù e polenta”

Paella (traditional Valencian style)

Valencian Paella
Valencian Paella

Paella is a very simple dish that Valencian peasants would cook using cheap, fresh and widely available ingredients. Yet despite its innate simplicity, people repeatedly misunderstand and complicate it, causing us Valencians a great deal of stress in the process, because we know it could be so much better and yet people keep insisting on bastardising our national dish in every possible way! ?

Also if you, like me, do not live in Valencia and hence do not have access to some of the “niche” local ingredients, I will also provide acceptable replacements that follow the original spirit. I live in the UK, so my suggestions will reflect what I can find in local markets and supermarkets. If it’s not in my list, it quite probably is not acceptable, so don’t add it ?

Hope you enjoy it!
Continue reading “Paella (traditional Valencian style)”

Polpo

A glass of Aperol Spritz
Aperol Spritz

We were looking for somewhere to grab some snacks and have a drink with a friend, but we hadn’t booked anything, and this being Soho on a warm day, we were very lucky that Polpo had a table downstairs, as every other place was so full of people. Continue reading “Polpo”