Come facette mammeta - Guest post by Linda Poulnott

When I meet up with friends and family members and we have one of those long, wide ranging chats, the subject of computers, online life and social networking inevitably comes up. Everyone seems to know what an addict I am to the various social networks I am a member of…. And the same question seems to come up frequently: “but I heard that there are loads of trolls. Don’t you get trolled a lot?” 

I can honestly say that save for a couple of heated exchanges on twitter which involved more bad language than abuse, I have never been trolled. In fact, I have met so many wonderful like-minded people thanks to the online world. 

One such person is Linda Poulnott, my guest post author for this blog post. I met Linda online initially through our admiration for Johnny Marr’s guitar playing and songwriting. We eventually realised we had so much more in common; we are both learning to play guitar (and love guitars in general), are crazy about music and enjoy cooking, eating out, food and wine. The magic of the internet means that despite the fact she lives in southern Italy and I am in London, we were able to find each other and share our passions. Pretty amazing, right?

Well, it certainly doesn’t stop there. Linda’s time spent in the Bay of Naples makes her something of an expert on southern Italian cooking. Can you imagine my delight and complete surprise when she offered to write for Snig’s Kitchen on that very subject? 

I just made up to be able to host this post from Linda, which is the first of a series of three. I am sure you will enjoy it, and like me, can’t wait to see the her next two posts. 

Linda's photos are of her local food market. If you're anything like me, you will be most envious of the fantastic produce available. I'm drooling at my keyboard!

Anyway, over to you, Linda!

Come facette mammeta (like mother makes)

How to cook like a Neapolitan Mamma!                                         

First of all, I’d like to thank Snigdha for giving me the chance to write a guest spot on her blog. We met through our shared enthusiasm for guitars, Johnny Marr, good music and good food! Although I’m originally from Scotland I’ve been living in the Bay of Naples for over 20 years. I’ve always been passionate about food, but when I originally came here I knew very little about traditional Italian cooking. My knowledge was based purely on the often complicated, adaptations of Italian dishes  by British TV chefs, British ”Italian” restaurants and a few holidays spent in Cattolica and Rimini during the 80’s.

Italians have always been known for their love of good food. I've worked and travelled in many parts of the country and have to admit that the people here in the Campania region are the most food obsessed people I've ever met! In my opinion, they produce the best dishes in the nation. This has always been a poor area of Italy, so for centuries people had to become experts in, what is called, "cucina povera"(poor cuisine).

As the years passed and I became integrated into the local community, I learned a lot and was surprised to discover that real Italian homecooking is very simple and tasty. I had to learn to cook well when I started living with my Italian partner, Antonio, 10 years ago. They say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, and nowhere is this truer than here in the Bay of Naples. 

One of my happiest moments was when Antonio told me that I was better at cooking than his Mamma!! I didn't even believe that that was possible.

TOP TIPS TO COOK LIKE MAMMA

1. Always use fresh, local ingredients that are in season. The one exception is using canned beans or chickpeas. There really is no difference in flavour and it saves loads of time during preparation.

2. When cooking pasta always wait until the water is boiling before adding salt and DO NOT add oil. I've never once seen an Italian doing this. Give it a stir then leave it. Don't put a lid on the pot either. The best way to check if it's ready is by trying it rather than relying on packet instruction timings.

3. Less is more. I was pretty shocked to discover than in Neapolitan cooking very few herbs and flavourings are added. They really like the true flavours of the food to shine through without overpowering them. I've never seen locals mixing lots of herbs in the same recipe or "drowning" their food with lemon juice or balsamic vinegar. The most popular pizza in Naples is Margherita (cheese and tomato). You very rarely see a Neapolitan with lots of pizza toppings, and NEVER with ham and pineapple!

4. Don't keep your tomatoes in the fridge. They tend to lose their flavour. 

5. Mozzarella is also usually kept out of the fridge in a bowl of cold water which is changed often.

6. Keep the extra virgin oil for salads and dressings. Using it to cook food will usually overpower the dish and can make it quite bitter and peppery. Normal blended olive oils are better.

7. When making risotto always keep your stock pot simmering and add a ladle at a time to the rice and stir often.

8. If you want a truly genuine Neapolitan experience when eating you must learn to do the "Scarpetta" (little shoe). This is what we call the essential, mopping up of leftover sauce on the plate with a big chunk of bread.

Many thanks to Linda for her lovely post, written for no incentive whatsoever than the enjoyment of readers. I look forward to hosting her future guest posts!

Guest Post by Anjali Hall: Anjali’s Sunday Paneer Curry (Vegetarian)

I confess that I do not cover anywhere enough meat free food on this blog. Him Indoors is a passionate meat eater, and is only up for veggie food which packs a big flavour punch. And I love meat and fish too much to insist on Meat Free Mondays or anything similar. So other than a handful of vegetarian recipes, most of my dishes are meaty ones.

Indian vegetarian food is, however, marvellous. Somehow the spices, variety of vegetables used and the cooking techniques make dishes which are full of flavour and satisfying to even hardened ‘meat heads’ like us. We have both remarked if we ever had to give up meat, we would have to survive on Indian vegetarian food. The various dry and wet curries, the lentils, bhajis..... drool!

Anjali Hall is yet another of my young, super talented former students. So I am delighted that she offered to write me a guest post with an original recipe for a vegetarian Paneer Curry.

Anjali is a former BPTC student from 2010-12. Everything you need to know about her inner strength, perseverance and staying power is evidenced by the fact that she did the course Part Time whilst looking after her daughter and holding down a job. I’m exhausted just writing about that achievement!

She’s an amazing, intelligent, lively person, who was always a friendly face in my drafting lectures and employment law seminars. If you are a twitter person, you will find her at @anjalisagenda

Anjali is also a committed vegetarian who somehow puts up with my meaty obsessions at Snig’s Kitchen. Thanks to her influence, I will put more effort into covering meat free dishes. 

Paneer is a fresh Indian cheese made without any aging process. It literally is all the curds compacted, with the fluid drained off until it forms a solid block. My mum used to make her own. Thankfully you will be able to get it in many supermarkets (particularly if you live in an area where there is an Indian community) or you can get it from Indian run grocers. 

So I’m so pleased she has shared her culinary talents with me and my readers. I’ll hand over to her, without further ado!

Anjali’s Sunday Paneer

Not a healthy dish by any stretch but it tasted very good! My mother in law actually asked me for the recipe, so I’ve taken the time to write it down for her, and at the request of Snigdha, who admits that her superb food blog is lacking on the veggie recipes front! Dedications over.

We had this on a Sunday when I was scraping the bottom of the fridge and freezer for ingredients. I rarely follow recipes because I never have the right stuff in and I’m terrible at organising shopping but do love reading recipes and stealing the best bits from all of my faves.

Anjali’s Sunday Paneer Curry

Ingredients:

Paneer

Onions

Ginger

Garlic

Sweet pepper (thought this might bring a nice touch of colour to the dish)

Peas

Milk

One tub of honey flavoured greek yogurt

Spices:

Haldi (turmeric)

Jeera (cumin)

Garam Masala

I cut the block of paneer into cubes and shallow-fried them until they had a nice brown colour. Afterwards I plunged the cubes into a bowl of warm water. I don’t know why I did this, but I saw someone do it once and you see all the oil floating to the top so it somewhat eases my health conscience. Oh and it keeps the paneer moist.

Then I sliced an onion and red sweet pepper into thin slithers and fried them in a little bit of oil. I was going for the hot-dog sweet caramelised effect so this took about 5 mins. To this I added garlic and ginger (I cheated and used the frozen cubed ones as it was all I had) and fried these for a bit.

In a bowl I added half a teaspoon of haldi, two teaspoons of jeera and two teaspoons of garam masala to a bowl, added a bit of water to make a paste and then poured the mixture into the pan with the onions & co. 

I will at this point admit that my choice of spices was *entirely* based on trying to manipulate the colour of the finished dish.  I was also going to make a spicy tomato dish so I didn’t want this curry to have any red in it. Silly, I know.

So, I let that bubble away for a few minutes then added a cup of frozen peas, half a cup of water and a cup of milk.

At this point I panicked- the ‘curry’ was very watery and I didn’t have any cream in or plain yogurt to thicken it. Decided to add a tub of Yeo Valley Greek honey flavoured yogurt and hide the evidence so no one would know what had gone into their lunch.  I added it spoon by spoon initially as I didn’t want it to turn the dish sweet, but then got bored and added in the whole thing. The sauce thickened up nicely and I took it off the heat once the peas were cooked. I added the paneer, gave it a taste and actually the honey flavour worked really well with the spices.

Delicious!

….and now my in laws know the truth about what really went into our Sunday lunch!

Jerk Chicken Bahamas style: A Guest Post from Lena M Bonaby

If you read this blog every now and then, you will realise that I am a full time Senior Lecturer at a Law School in Central London. I have had the pleasure of teaching many students from different cultural backgrounds.

It is often surprising the frequency with which we eventually turn to matters food and drink. I think that each culture's heritage is firmly rooted in its culinary heritage. And it is in discussing our similarities and differences that we can cross the bridges of distance between nations. Many years ago, Keith Floyd pronounced that to know a country, one had to eat a country. I have repeated it many times, not because I am unimaginative, but because to me, it really seems to be the truth!

Lena M. Bonaby is one of my former students (formerly Lena Hield). She was a hard working and committed student. She was called to the Bar after successfully completing the course to qualify as a Barrister and returned to Freeport in the Bahamas to practice. Yes, whilst I slave in the grey and cold and rain, Lena gets to work in the tropical sunshine! There are days it is inevitable that I sink into envy, but never bitterness. Lena was always a student who deserved every success and her smile was like the bright beautiful sunshine of her homeland. She really was able to brighten a room, just by being in it. 

Lena married McKell Bonaby in February 2011 and in November 2012 welcomed son Blaine into the world. Blaine is an adorable little boy, who apparently falls asleep to the strains of Beyonce singing 'Halo'. 

All new arrivals need time and care. And we can forgive it if they take their parents' attention from other things. So I hope you won't mind if Lena has been unable to post a picture of the completed dish. She has meant to, but I think we all agree that it is only right that little Blaine comes first.

Now, without further ado, I'll pass you over into the far more capable hands of Lena....

My love for cooking began when I was a little girl. My mom was a stay at home mom, and she began cooking when she was only eleven years old.

She had numerous cookbooks, and tried just about every recipe that one could think of. I use to watch her cook, and I would taste whatever she cooked. My love for cooking stems from my love for food, and from watching my mom cook.

When I was old enough, around ten, she allowed me to assist her with some dishes. I was cooking on my own from I was about eleven or twelve, just like my mom, but my cooking was limited as she was the sous chef in our home.

By the time I was twelve, I had mastered many dishes, including one of my favourites, Lasagne.

I absolutely love cooking, and I can cook and bake 80% of my favourite foods. 

I love making Lasagne and other Italian dishes, and various Caribbean and Indian dishes. My favourite cake that I love making is pineapple upside cake.

Lena M Bonaby's Jerk Chicken Recipe

(Serves 4+ depends on whether the chicken leg is separated from the thigh)

Prep Time: 15-20 minutes

Total time: 3 hours +

Jerk marinade:

4 chicken thighs (with legs, attached or detached) 

1 lime, juiced

3 large garlic cloves, chopped

1 bunch scallions, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

1 jalapeno, chopped

3 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil, plus more for greasing grill grates

2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce

1/8 – ¼ cup light brown sugar (to taste)

2 teaspoons ground allspice

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper (season to taste)

Fresh parsley, for garnish

Directions:

Score chicken and season with kosher salt and ground pepper, and put in a casserole dish or into a resealable plastic bag.

Combine all marinade ingredients in a blender (or food processor). Blend all of the marinade ingredients together in until smooth.

Cover the chicken with the jerk marinade and toss to coat. (If you used a casserole dish, cover it with plastic wrap OR if you used a resealable bag, ensure that you secure the bag properly with a tie or knot). Refrigerate the chicken with the marinade for at least 2 hours for the flavours to meld. If you have the time, let the chicken marinate overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake for about 35 minutes in the oven.

Remove from the oven and finish on the grill (use oil on the grill to prevent the chicken from sticking to the grill).

This is the chicken before it has been grilled

Preheat grill to high. Grill for 2-4 minutes on each side

Transfer the chicken to a serving platter, garnish with fresh parsley and serve.

Snigdha's interfering busybody notes (why can't she just keep her nose well out of it?!):

350 degrees Fahrenheit works out to 177-180 degrees Celsius/Centigrade.

Please marinate in a non-metallic bowl, as the acids in the marinade will taste funny if left in a metal bowl.

Scallions are the American name for spring onions.

A jalapeno is obviously a chili. If you can't find them then substituting another type of chili should be fine.

If you can't find low sodium soy sauce, then you could use regular, but you may need to drop the amount of salt you add.

Allspice is not a mixture of spices, but a powder made from grinding the Allspice berry (AKA Jamaica Pepper).

Kosher salt is salt with no additives, so if you cannot find specifically 'kosher' salt, then use additive free salts such as Maldon Sea Salt.