I like trying new things, so yesterday, I tried two!
The bargain bin had failed me for the first time. There was nothing in there except a few Melton Mowbray pork pies and a huge bag of smoked haddock. Rubbish. It's always bloody smoked haddock. I probably could live off kedgeree for a pound a week if I wanted to. That is, until the boredom drove me insane.
Instead, I headed for the offal section. The only things in there I hadn't already tried were calves liver and pigs liver I'd heard enough people rant and rave about how great calves liver was, so I thought I'd better see what all the fuss was about.
A funny thing about liver is the way it is priced. A good portion of lamb liver will set you back about 50p. Calves liver on the other hand costs a small fortune. At £17 per kilo it's approaching fillet steak territory!
To accompany my liver, I thought I would make a creamy marsala sauce. I was also craving pasta and I started thinking about this technique, which I'd been meaning to try for ages. I decided to try the absorption method on some penne.
I got home and preheated the hob (one of the many retarded things you're forced to do when you have an electric cooker) in preparation for the pasta. The idea, as far as I gathered, is to coat the pasta in olive oil and slowly cook it in just a little bit of liquid. It's quite like a risotto really. I made a mixture of 50% cream and 50% chicken stock. Then I realised I'd left the penne in the pan on the preheating hob. Genius.
After discarding the five or six burned penne (I got off lightly there I think) I added just enough of the cream and stock mixture to the pan so the pasta was just covered. I added a dash of marsala and some crushed garlic too.
The pasta went on a gentle simmer. A bit of pancetta was added later along with a handful of parsley. The pasta took a fair bit of time to cook and I had to add more of the cream and stock mixture. At the end I was left with just enough sauce to serve the pasta with.
So it looked just like normal pasta. The difference lies mainly in the texture. It was softer than cooked dry pasta but not in a soggy overcooked way. It reminded me of some fresh pastas. There was an unusual richness to the flavour too. I suppose that must be because the pasta took on the flavour of the sauce.
This stuff was nice but I have a fondness for the texture of plain old boiled pasta. I'll make absorption pasta on occasion in the future, but the old fashioned method will be used in the bulk of my pasta-based meals.
As for the liver, that was flash fried in butter and thyme with a glug of marsala. I then removed the liver from the pan, reduced the pan juices and added some cream. Yes, this was a very rich meal.
I can now see why calves liver is so expensive. It is delicious, has a lovely texture and, most importantly, doesn't taste much like offal. Compared to lambs liver it has a very mild flavour so even people who hate offal could stomach it. Of course, I cooked it rare. I tried to get a picture to show you but this happened.
Hang on, is that liver or Uranium? Great, I just ate radioactive meat. This is a stupid camera. I'll think I'll just stick to this picture.
I like trying new things, so yesterday, I tried two!
The bargain bin had failed me for the first time. There was nothing in there except a few Melton Mowbray pork pies and a huge bag of smoked haddock. Rubbish. It's always bloody smoked haddock. I probably could live off kedgeree for a pound a week if I wanted to. That is, until the boredom drove me insane.
Instead, I headed for the offal section. The only things in there I hadn't already tried were calves liver and pigs liver I'd heard enough people rant and rave about how great calves liver was, so I thought I'd better see what all the fuss was about.
A funny thing about liver is the way it is priced. A good portion of lamb liver will set you back about 50p. Calves liver on the other hand costs a small fortune. At £17 per kilo it's approaching fillet steak territory!
To accompany my liver, I thought I would make a creamy marsala sauce. I was also craving pasta and I started thinking about this technique, which I'd been meaning to try for ages. I decided to try the absorption method on some penne.
I got home and preheated the hob (one of the many retarded things you're forced to do when you have an electric cooker) in preparation for the pasta. The idea, as far as I gathered, is to coat the pasta in olive oil and slowly cook it in just a little bit of liquid. It's quite like a risotto really. I made a mixture of 50% cream and 50% chicken stock. Then I realised I'd left the penne in the pan on the preheating hob. Genius.
After discarding the five or six burned penne (I got off lightly there I think) I added just enough of the cream and stock mixture to the pan so the pasta was just covered. I added a dash of marsala and some crushed garlic too.
The pasta went on a gentle simmer. A bit of pancetta was added later along with a handful of parsley. The pasta took a fair bit of time to cook and I had to add more of the cream and stock mixture. At the end I was left with just enough sauce to serve the pasta with.
So it looked just like normal pasta. The difference lies mainly in the texture. It was softer than cooked dry pasta but not in a soggy overcooked way. It reminded me of some fresh pastas. There was an unusual richness to the flavour too. I suppose that must be because the pasta took on the flavour of the sauce.
This stuff was nice but I have a fondness for the texture of plain old boiled pasta. I'll make absorption pasta on occasion in the future, but the old fashioned method will be used in the bulk of my pasta-based meals.
As for the liver, that was flash fried in butter and thyme with a glug of marsala. I then removed the liver from the pan, reduced the pan juices and added some cream. Yes, this was a very rich meal.
I can now see why calves liver is so expensive. It is delicious, has a lovely texture and, most importantly, doesn't taste much like offal. Compared to lambs liver it has a very mild flavour so even people who hate offal could stomach it. Of course, I cooked it rare. I tried to get a picture to show you but this happened.
Hang on, is that liver or Uranium? Great, I just ate radioactive meat. This is a stupid camera. I'll think I'll just stick to this picture.
