The past is a strange mirror to look into. And sitting here, in the attic surrounded by boxes and old sketchbooks from art college I feel my breath catching a little with memories.And all that work I did in college? Well, looking at it now, it wasn't very good. Does everything we do pale and fade into the average when we look back, only the occasional thing really standing out as any good? Or is everything preparation for what is to come, footnotes and experiences on our journey?But life isn't about everything being incredible, the highlights wouldn't be highlights if there was nothing to compare them to. Mostly we go along, quite happily, occasional highs, occasional lows, but mainly somewhere in the middle.Most of the food I cook is nice enough, nothing spectacular, but then there is the occasional thing that goes into the canon of special food that's a real treat. Simple things generally, like a roast chicken, drowning in tarragon butter and encased in crisp Parma ham; softly scrambled eggs infused with curry leaves and spices and served with lots of green chillies; beans, chorizo and broth with pork; simple fish curry; tagliatelle with chestnut mushrooms, chilli, garlic and olive oil; salmon with curried spelt; a tomato salad at the height of summer, dressed with shallot vinaigrette and chopped parsley.*All these things are in contrast to an average midweek meal of a risotto for example, or even a jacket potato with butter and cheese. A meal made with not much more than an easy supper in mind. Perhaps some cubes of garlic courgette liven it up a little, or a salad on the side cuts through its comforting richness, but it's still the everyday. And that everyday should be celebrated as much as the extraordinary. A little touch of something extra here and there can make things livelier than you think. If things are done with care, no matter how simple, they mean something and are greater for that thoughtfulness.We last had pizzoccheri about seven years ago, cooked for us by Mary Ann in her apartment in the Alto Adige, northern Italy. Hearty and rustic it was served with the traditional chard which I've swapped for tender stem broccoli. For some reason, it's a dish that has stuck in my mind. I don't know why particularly, it's nothing special. It's comforting and homely, just the meal to get your strength up for a long day's Italian sheep herding, or whatever they do that close to Switzerland.The pasta is so easy to make, you roll it by hand so there's not even a need for a machine. I'm of the belief that drenching things in garlic butter will generally improve them -- unless its the jam knife for your morning toast, which has the opposite effect -- and that is the case here. You would think buttery garlic potatoes, comforting ribbons of pasta and healthy greens cooked together with melting cheese is heavenly. I thought so, but the rest of the family were less than impressed. There were upturned noses and downturned mouths.Maya liked the potatoes (who wouldn't?) but not the rest, Noah seemed like he'd spent the meal having to read a report on boredom and Bee said it "had potential, but even if it is a 'classic' recipe that doesn't mean we need to eat it."If you don't want to make the pasta yourself, use a wholemeal tagliatelle or something with a little weight to it. And you can use shredded savoy cabbage or chard as the original does. I used Tilly Whim cheese from Farmdrop instead of the traditional Fontina or Tomi. It needs a semi-soft cow's cheese that will melt deliciously over everything. You could use coarsely-grated Gruyere too if you like.IngredientsFor the pasta:50g plain flour150g buckwheat flourA pinch of saltEnough water to bring it together into a nice softish dough. About 150mlFor the rest:300g small potatoes, or Maris Pipers, cut up200g tendereste broccoli, sliced in half, lengthwiseA good few handfuls of cheese such as Tilly Whim or FontinaA generous grating of Parmesan50g butter2-3 cloves of garlic, finely gratedA drizzle of olive oilSalt and pepper to seasonMethodMake the pasta by bringing together the flour, salt and water in a large bowl and mixing until it comes together in a flaky dough. Continue kneading, rolling and stretching it in the bowl until you have a smooth, silk and slightly elastic dough. Add more flour to it to help keep it from sticking to your hands as you go.Leave it to rest, covered for about half an hour.Heat the oven to 180c.Make the garlic butter by heating the butter until melted, seasoning well then add the garlic. Heat gently for a few minutes being careful to not let the garlic colour. Remove from the heat.Flour the worktop and roll out the pasta to about 1-2mm. Roll up and slice into ribbons then cut into pieces about 4-5cm long. Toss with a little flour to keep from sticking together.Bring the potatoes to the boil in salted water for about five minutes then add the pasta and cook for ten more minutes. Add the broccoli and cook for a couple of minutes then drain everything.Put a layer of the potato mix in a baking dish then sprinkle with half the cheese.Cover with the remaining potato, pasta and broccoli then add the remaining cheese.Season with a little salt and pepper, pour over the garlic butter and cook in the oven for about twenty minutes, until the cheese is melted and starting to brown.Drizzle with a touch of olive oil and serve hot.*There are of course, plenty of disasters and things that were best glossed over, never to be repeated, but certainly to be learned from.
Pizzoccheri, broccoli, garlicky, buttery
in Recipes
Simplicity is beauty. I've had more pleasure from a ripe and juicy nectarine than I have from a complicated fondant.According to William Morris, things should either be useful or beautiful, and if you mix that with the idea that less is more and apply it to food, you should be OK. It's something the Italians know well with their cooking; start with good ingredients and you're pretty much all the way there. And, the Spanish as well, which is where the idea for this dish came from.Today's recipe is elegant and parsimonious in its ingredients, it uses clams which are at their best at this time of year from the cold waters around the UK. It's much more than the sum of its parts. I've used Cornish ones but this dish would be equally delicious with what the Scottish call 'spoots'. I'd call it Occam's razor clams.Ingredients12 baby potatoes, halved1 small white onionA bunch of parsley200ml garlic oil (made by grating four cloves of garlic into 500ml olive oil and heating until golden. Leave to cool then strain and keep in the fridge for up to a week)1tbsp flourA bag of clamsSherry vinegar to tasteWater for the sauceSalt and pepper to seasonMethodSoak the clams in cold water for about 20 minutes in a few changes of water then give them all a good slosh about until all the grit and sand has been cleaned away.Make the green sauce by blitzing together the parsley, a good load of garlic oil and a generous splash of sherry vinegar. Season well, taste and perhaps season a little more, not forgetting that vinegar is a seasoning and brings out flavours too, so adjust as you like. You may want it sharper, saltier or sweeter with more oil.Cook the potatoes in salted, boiling water until tender. About ten minutes. Drain them and run them under cold water to stop them cooking any more.Heat the garlic oil in a large, heavy saucepan, something like a le Creuset casserole.Finely chop the onion and gently sauté in the oil, well seasoned with salt, until soft and just starting to think about turning golden.Add the potatoes and cook them for a few minutes until they start to catch here and there and colour a little.Stir in the flour and add a splash of sherry vinegar then stir in a good splash of water until you have a thick sauce the consistency of double cream.Add the clams and cook with the lid on for about five minutes, until they've all opened. Or at least until all the ones that are going to open, open. Throw the others away.Add the green sauce to the pan, stir well, warm through and serve with some more chopped parsley and a little bread to mop up the incredible juices.