new year, old favorite

Courgette sauce with basil and beaten egg yolk, from Marcella Hazan’s The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking.

An old favourite this. The flavour of the courgette is right at the front, as although it tastes creamy, it hasn’t got any cream in it.

The trick is to ensure the flour and milk binding doesn’t split in the butter, which means it really is a matter of turning the heat right down under the butter and pouring it in bit by bit and stirring constantly.

May Day Food Post

I’m pleased to say I’ve been doing more cooking again recently. Maybe it’s the bank holidays, maybe it’s the lengthening evenings.

First up, hake and salsa verde from Claudia Roden’s The Food of Spain. It’s supposed to be with asparagus, but it hadn’t quite made its appearance in my grocers by this point, so I did it with peas and the water the peas in which the peas had been cooked. By moving the hake slowly around in the pan, the hake releases gelatin, which further thickens and binds the salsa verde. Will be doing this with asparagus this week I think. It’s very simple and fresh tasting.

fish, in a green sauce with peas and new potatoes, on a white plate, on a walnet table, books and magazines in the background

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