Old-school chicken liver parfait

Ingredients:

· 300 g butter, softened

· olive oil

· 2 shallots, peeled and finely chopped

· 2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped

· 400 g higher-welfare chicken livers,trimmed

· a few sprigs fresh sage, leaves picked

· 1 small wineglass brandy

· sea salt

· freshly ground black pepper

· 1 pinch ground mace

· 1 loaf French or ciabatta bread

· 1 punnet salad cress

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 110ºC/225ºF/gas ¼. Put half the butter in an ovenproof saucepan and pop it in the oven to slowly melt until it’s separated – this will take about 10 minutes. Strain the yellow clarified butter into a separate bowl and set aside to cool. Discard the remaining milky-coloured butter.

2. Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan. Slowly fry the shallots and garlic for 10 minutes, until soft and tender, then remove to a plate. Wipe the pan clean with some kitchen roll, turn up the heat then throw in the livers and most of the sage. Cook the livers for a couple of minutes on each side, until lightly coloured but still a little pink in the middle – if you overcook them they will lose their smooth texture and become grainy.

3. Pour in the brandy. If you're using a gas hob you can flame it until the alcohol cooks off, but watch your hair! Simmer for a minute or so, then take the livers off the heat and tip them into a food processor with the cooked shallots and garlic. Blitz until you have a smooth purée. Add the rest of the softened butter and continue to blitz, then season well and add the mace. Transfer the mixture to a serving bowl.

4. Sprinkle the remaining sage leaves over the parfait, then spoon over the clarified butter. Leave the parfait to set in the fridge for 1 hour. It will taste beautiful straight away, but it’s even better if the flavours are left to develop for a couple of days. If the butter seal isn’t disturbed it should last as long as two weeks, though it never lasts that long in my house!

5. When you are ready to serve, slice up the bread and griddle the little toasts. Pile them onto a board next to your parfait with a pile of snipped cress on the side and dig in.

 

Chocolate mousse

Ingredients:

6 oz. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, preferably 60% to 62% cacao, chopped

· 2 Tbs. unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces

· 3 largeeggwhites

· Pinchoftablesalt

· 3 Tbs. granulatedsugar

· 3/4 cupcoldheavycream

· Chocolate shavings for garnish (optional)

 

Directions:

1. Put the chopped chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl and set the bowl in a skillet of barely simmering water. Stir the chocolate with a heatproof spatula just until it is melted. Remove the bowl from the skillet, add the butter to the chocolate, and stir until the butter is completely melted and the mixture is smooth.

2. In a medium bowl with an electric hand mixer on medium-high speed (or with a balloon whisk), whip the egg whites and salt until they barely hold soft peaks. While whipping, gradually sprinkle in the sugar—go slowly, as adding it too fast may cause the whites to fall. Continue whipping until the whites just start to hold stiff peaks (see photo below). Don’t overbeat or the dissolved sugar may weep out of the whites.

3. Wipe the beaters (or whisk) clean and then whip the cream in a large bowl until it’s fairly thick and holds a soft peak when the beaters are lifted.

4. With a large spatula, gently fold about onethird of the egg whites into the chocolate until the mixture is no longer streaky. Fold in the remaining whites. Scrape the chocolate mixture into the whipped cream. Add a flavoring, if using (see variatons below). Fold gently until the mixture is uniform in color and texture.

5. Divide among 4 dessert dishes and serve immediately, or refrigerate for at least 30 minutes for a slightly firmer texture. Garnish with chocolate shavings, if using.

Note: The risk of salmonella infection from consuming raw egg whites is low, but the only way to be completely safe is to use pasteurized egg whites.

Variations:

Hazelnut: 3 Tbs. Frangelico

Bourbon: 1 Tbs. bourbon

Coconut: 1/2 cup toasted sweetened coconut (serve immediately to retain texture)

Italian Cuisine

Reading

Exercise 1

Read the text and retell it

 

Italian cuisine is known and popular worldwide. Everybody knows pizza, pasta and ciabatta. But there are a lot of other delicious dishes. Italian cuisine is characterized by fresh food of the Mediterranean region, which significantly differs the original Italian cuisine from its simulation in the world.

Typical products, used in Italian cuisine are:

different vegetables, wheat flour, cheese, olives and olive oil, spices, fish and, seafood, beef, poultry, beans, fruits (lemons, oranges, peaches) and berries, white mushrooms, almonds, wine, Italian liqueurs, grappa.

Italian cuisine differs from region to region:

Roman cuisine

Sicilian cuisine

Sardinian pastries

Lazio cuisine

Cuisine of Rome is based on seasonal ingredients coming mainly from the Roman Campaign, and a fairly simple way of cooking. It is therefore important ingredients are vegetables, meat (lamb and goat meat) and cheese (Pecorino romano and ricotta).

The island of Sicily for centuries been under the domination of different cultures, so cuisine combines elements of different countries. From these cuisines Sicilian cuisine has adopted a love to spices, as well as to the "exotic" fruits and vegetables (melon, apricots, citrus fruits, sweet peppers).

Sardinian cuisine is based on simple ingredients that originate pastushechih and peasant traditions: bread, cheese and meat. The central role in the kitchen Sardinia got tuna, eel, lobster and other seafood.

The capital of Lazio and the whole Italy is Rome, where the best restaurants and many famous cafes, specializing in ice cream are placed. Extensive use of lamb and veal are typical for regional cuisine and cooking of high quality products is simplified.

Italian cuisine is very popular all over the world, but there are a lot of different dishes, which you haven’t tried yet. Try as many different Italian dishes, as you can, because it's worth it.

Italian cuisine has developed over the centuries. Although the country known as Italy did not unite until the 19th century, the cuisine can claim traceable roots as far back as the 4th century BCE. Through the centuries, neighbouring regions, conquerors, high-profile chefs, political upheaval and the discovery of the New World have influenced its development. Italian food started to form after the fall of the Roman Empire, when different cities began to separate and form their own traditions. Many different types of bread and pasta were made, and there was a variation in cooking techniques and preparation. The country was split. For example, the North of Italy (Milan) is known for its risottos, the central/middle of the country (Bologna) is known for its tortellini and the South (Naples) is famous for its pizzas. Italian cuisine has a great variety of different ingredients which are commonly used, ranging from fruits, vegetables, sauces, meats, etc. In the North of Italy, fish (such as cod, or baccalà), potatoes, rice, corn (maize), sausages, pork, and different types of cheeses are the most common ingredients. Pasta dishes with use of tomato are spread in all Italy.

In Northern Italy though there are many kinds of stuffed pasta, polenta and risotto are equally popular if not more so. Ligurian ingredients include several types of fish and seafood dishes; basil (found in pesto), nuts and olive oil are very common. In Emilia-Romagna, common ingredients include ham (prosciutto), sausage (cotechino), different sorts of salami, truffles, grana, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and tomatoes (Bolognese sauce or ragù).

Traditional Central Italian cuisine uses ingredients such as tomatoes, all kinds of meat, fish, and pecorino cheese. In Tuscany pasta (especially pappardelle) is traditionally served with meat sauce (including game meat). Finally, in Southern Italy, tomatoes – fresh or cooked into tomato sauce – peppers, olives and olive oil, garlic, artichokes, oranges, ricotta cheese, eggplants, zucchini, certain types of fish (anchovies, sardines and tuna), and capers are important components to the local cuisine.

Italian cuisine is also well known (and well regarded) for its use of a diverse variety of pasta. Pasta include noodles in various lengths, widths and shapes. Distinguished on shapes they are named — penne, maccheroni, spaghetti, linguine, fusilli, lasagne and many more varieties that are filled with other ingredients like ravioli and tortellini.

The word pasta is also used to refer to dishes in which pasta products are a primary ingredient. It is usually served with sauce. There are hundreds of different shapes of pasta with at least locally recognized names.

Examples include spaghetti (thin rods), rigatoni (tubes or cylinders), fusilli (swirls), and lasagne (sheets). Dumplings, like gnocchi (made with potatoes) and noodles like spätzle, are sometimes considered pasta. They are both traditional in parts of Italy.

Pasta is categorized in two basic styles: dried and fresh. Dried pasta made without eggs can be stored for up to two years under ideal conditions, while fresh pasta will keep for a couple of days in the refrigerator. Pasta is generally cooked by boiling. Under Italian law, dry pasta (pasta secca) can only be made from durum wheat flour or durum wheat semolina, and is more commonly used in Southern Italy compared to their Northern counterparts, who traditionally prefer the fresh egg variety.

Durum flour and durum semolina have a yellow tinge in color. Italian pasta is traditionally cooked al dente (Italian: firm to the bite, meaning not too soft). Outside Italy, dry pasta is frequently made from other types of flour, but this yields a softer product that cannot be cooked al dente. There are many types of wheat flour with varying gluten and protein levels depending on variety of grain used.

Particular varieties of pasta may also use other grains and milling methods to make the flour, as specified by law. Some pasta varieties, such as pizzoccheri, are made from buckwheat flour. Fresh pasta may include eggs (pasta all'uovo 'egg pasta'). Whole wheat pasta has become increasingly popular because of its supposed health benefits over pasta made from refined flour.

 

Speaking

Exercise 2