What's Tagliatelle? - Bolognaise in 1974

For most people in the UK pasta needs no introduction.  Yet in 1974 the writer of the cookbook felt the following explanation of tagliatelle was needed:

'The paper-thin egg noodles or tagliatelle are frequently served in Italy with a substantial sauce of minced beef'

The food culture of the UK has always built on the diversity of our population with people from all over the world and in particular India, China, Thailand, the Amercias as well as (like my own family) much of Europe each, contributing to the variety and quality of food in our own kitchens as well as restaurants and takeaways.  Tagliatelle now needs no introduction.

Bolognaise is one of my staple recipes so it was interesting to see how the 1974 version varied. The 1974 version was a slow cooked stew of beef, mushrooms, stock, tomatoes and wine built on a base of onions and garlic.  It was rich and flavoursome and shows that my normal additions of green peppers and baked beans are unnecessary.

I added a good sprinkling of parmesan, which reminded me of the pot of parmesan my parents used to have in their cupboard with a lid that twisted round to allow different amounts to be sprinkled on the food - (however, mine came from a block of cheese in the fridge....)

Ingredients:

Tagliatelle
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
500g Beef Mince
1 onion
1clove garlic crushed
250g Mushrooms
2 level tablespoons plain flour
Tin Tomatoes
1 Teaspoon Salt
Black Pepper
1 teaspoon chopped parsley
1 teaspoon mixed herbs
2 teaspoons tomato puree
1/4 pint red wine
1/2 pint beef stock
Parmesan

Method:

Heat the oil in a large saucepan and cook the onion over a medium heat until soft.  Add the crushed garlic and mince meat and stir until the meat has browned before stirring in the mushrooms.  Sprinkle over the flour and the tomatoes, herbs and tomato puree. Pour in the red wine and stock and bring to the boil.  Cover with a lid and reduce the heat so that the sauce simmers gently for 45 minutes.  Remove the lid and bring back to the boil for about 10 minutes whilst you cook the pasta. Serve in bowls with the sauce poured over the pasta and sprinkled with grated cheese.

Norfolk Vinegar Cake

Vinegar isn't something I normally put in cakes but living in Norfolk I really wanted to try Norfolk Vinegar cake. Vinegar cakes were traditionally made when eggs were in short supply such as during the first world war.  They also keep well so were often sent to soldiers fighting in the trenches.

As well as the unusual addition of vinegar in Norfolk Vinegar cake it has an unusual ommission - eggs.  In most cakes eggs are essential for enabling the cake to rise.  Once you get rid of the shell, eggs comprise a protein rich white and a fat rich yolk. Normally when you mix fats (like oil) with water the fat forms a layer on top of the water.  Eggs contain a specific type of molecule called lipoprotein which enable the fats in cakes to mix with the watery elements like the milk.  When we make cakes we try and beat in a lot of air, whether that is during the creaming of sugar and butter or the addition of beaten egg white.  The structure of the pre-cooked cake mix is basically foam of very small bubbles.  As you cream together the butter and sugar the butter traps air on the surface of the sugar crystals.  The egg then helps these air bubbles retain their structure and mix in with the watery liquids.  When the cake is cooked the fat melts and the trapped air expands.  The egg protein combined with the flour stops the air completely escaping and the cake rises.

"Chemical Baking Powder" by Unknown - Collection of Lynn Purvis. Licensed under Public Domain via Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chemical_Baking_Powder.jpg#/media/File:Chemical_Baking_Powder.jpg

Until the the invention of baking powder eggs were the only thing that made cakes rise.  The active ingredients in baking powder are a mix of bicarbonate of soda and cream of tartar.  Cream of Tartar is an acid - potassium hydrogen tartarate (KC₄H₅O_6). Bicarbonate of Soda is an alkali - Sodium Hydrogen Carbonate (NaHCO3).  When these two chemicals are mixed in a liquid there is a chemical reaction which produces carbon dioxide gas amongst other  things (NaHCO₃ + KHC₄H₄O₆ → KNaC₄H₄O₆ + H₂O + CO_2). The carbon dioxide gas gets trapped in the cake mixture and as the cake is cooked the gas expands, making the cake rise.


Norfolk Vinegar cake rises using the same principle as baking powder.  The acidic vinegar in the cake replaces the acidic cream of tartar in baking powder and reacts with the bicarbonate of soda that is also in the ingredient list to produce the carbon dioxide that makes the cake rise.

Felt a bit odd adding vinegar to cake mix

Frothing of Vinegar + Bicarb=Carbon Dioxide

Mr Vitty was rather skeptical about the use of vinegar in cake, but the resulting cake was quite nice.  The texture of the cake mix was less runny than a normal cake mix and the final result was a cake with a texture similar to that of a rock cake.  It was also quite sweet - perhaps in an attempt to mask any residual vinegar taste.  If I make it again I think I'll add some grated apple to moisten it a little and some cinnamon, nutmeg or all spice to give it a bit of a more interesting flavour.  This could also be easily adapted to a dairy free vegan cake by replacing the milk with soy or almond milk and substituting the butter for a dairy free alternative.  Theoretically I guess you could substitute the vinegar for anything acidic - orange juice perhaps?  It's good for when you get that cake craving but can be bothered to go out and get eggs.

Ingredients:

225g Butter
450g Self Raising Flour
225g Caster Sugar
450g Dried Fruit
180ml Milk + 1 Tablespoon
2 Tablespoons Cider Vinegar
1 Teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda

Method:

Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs and then mix in the sugar and dried fruit.  In a large jug mix together 180ml of milk and the vinegar.  Mix the bicarbonate of soda with the remaining tablespoon of milk and add to the milk/vinegar mixture.  Mix the foaming milk into the dry ingredients and quickly place in a 23cm round baking tin.  Cook at 180 C for 30 minutes and then turn down the oven to 160 C continuing to cook for about an hour or until a knife placed into the cake comes out clean.

Bread Pudding

Bread Pudding is one of the things I remember from my childhood as something my grandmother used to cook.  It's the first recipe in an old diary I use to write down recipes I've picked up from family and friends.  Mr Vitty used to have a saturday job in a bakery when he was much younger and said they used to make it from left over bread that had sat outside in the yard for a few days (with the predictable vermin/bird activity).  Mine didn't quite go through that 'maturation' process but I like that it makes use of left over bread (although I don't generally have much of that), reflecting the thriftyness of the past which we don't seem to value any more. 

Ingredients:

Large loaf of bread
500g Dried Mixed Fruit
225g Brown Sugar
1.5 Teaspoons Mixed Spice
125g Suet
125g Butter chopped into small pieces
1 Egg

Ready for the Oven

Method:

Soak the bread in cold water for 15 minutes.  Squeeze out the excess water and then mix in the fruit, brown sugar, mixed spice, suet, most of the butter and the egg. Place in a roasting tin and fleck with the remaining butter.  Cook at 180 C for 11/4 to 11/2  hours.  Remove from the oven and dredge with caster sugar.  Eat warm or cold.

Ready to Eat

Gardeners Chicken

My new year resolution to shop more locally got off to a good start as I investigated our nearest butchers - 3.6 miles away in Swanton Morley (local is a relative term in this bit of Norfolk).  As far as possible their meat is produced in the county. It's a really friendly shop which has a little deli at the back.  I bought a lovely chicken from them which formed the basis of Gardeners Chicken one of the January recipes in the 1974 cookery year.  Mr Vitty really didn't like this recipe (although I thought it was quite nice).  Its a chicken casserole with potatoes, turnips (which I couldn't get so substiuted with swede) and bacon.  The chicken is cooked on the bone which meant that Mr Vitty had to dissect his food, something he hates doing - no matter how good it tastes.

The flavours of this stew were quite simple and classic, with few herbs or spices compared with a modern equivalent. The sauce was also quite thin.  I'd happily eat it again, but I don't think Mr Vitty will.

Ingredients:

1 Chicken jointed into portions
50g Streaky Bacon with the rind cut off and diced
2 large onions thinly sliced
2 sticks celery diced
125g Mushrooms
50g Unsalted Butter
500g New Potatoes
250g Turnips or Swede diced
Tin of Tomatoes
Bouquet Garni (I used Bay, Thyme and Rosemary)
Salt and Pepper
Parsley
Orange Rind

Method:

In a large casserole dish brown the chicken and bacon in the butter.  Remove from the pan and soften the onions, celery and mushrooms in the remaining juices.  Place the chicken on the bed of vegetables and add the potatoes and diced turnips.  Tip in the tin of tomatoes and season with salt and pepper and the bouquet garni.  Seal the casserole with tin foil to prevent any steam escaping and put the lid on the casserole dish.  Cook in a pre heated oven at 150 C for about an hour and a half or until the chicken is well cooked and falling off the bone.  Before serving sprinkle over the parsley and finely grated rind of half an orange. 

I took the leftovers for lunch at work and just took the chicken off the bone so it was easy to microwave.

Crepes Suzette 1974

Over Christmas we were lucky enough to be cooked for by our families, so for New Year we decided to have a nice meal with just the two of us.  I rarely cook game so took the opportunity to try a main course of pheasant with boulanger potatoes and cavolo nero with bacon and chestnuts.  That was preceeded by smoked salmon blinis - one of Mr Vitty's favourites.

Pudding provided the ideal opportunity to get one of my food year resolutions underway with a recipe from the 1974 cookery year - Crepes Suzette.

A '70s Classic

This classic dish of pancakes in a caramelised orange sauce is something I'd never attempted before (or even eaten), but went well after the richness of the pheasant.  Unusually the 1974 recipe called for baking powder to be added to the pancake batter which made them slightly spongy, something I don't think I'll be doing in the future.  The sauce could have been a little more caramelised but the sweet, orangey, slightly alcoholic juice soaked into the pancakes. I'd forgotten to buy the lemons needed to make the sauce slightly sharper, but the creme fraiche helped balance the sugariness.

Pancakes, butter, oranges, alcohol

Pancakes soaking up the buttery, orangey juices

Crepes Suzette
 
100g Plain Flour
2 Eggs
300 ml Milk
Pinch of Salt
50 g Sugar
Juice of 2 oranges
Juice of half a lemon
2-4 Tablespoons of Grand Marnier
25 g Butter

Make the pancakes by whisking together the flour, salt, eggs and milk into a smooth batter.  Allow to stand for 30 minutes or leave in the fridge until you need it.  Cook the pancakes in a large frying pan with a little butter and layer with greaseproof paper to prevent them sticking together.

Put the sugar in a large frying pan over a low-medium heat and leave to caramelise, resisting the temptation to stir the sugar until it begins to melt at the edges.  When the sugar is golden brown stir in the orange and lemon juice.  Allow to reduce a little and then add the Grand Marnier.  Burn off the alcohol.  Add the butter in small lumps and allow the sauce to thicken slightly. Fold the pancakes into quarters and put them in the pan in the syrup, turning them over so they are coated in they syrupy sauce.  Add some orange segments and allow the pancakes to warm through before serving with creme fraice or cream.

New Year Food Resolutions

Its the time of year for making changes (or at least resolving to).  I'm terrible at keeping New Year Resolutions and therefore tend to make the same ones annually!  The annual food related resolutions are:

1. Shop more locally

2. Eat more seasonally

3. Diversify the meals we eat (we tend to get stuck in a rut)

 (and lose weight of course)

I live in rural Norfolk a region of the UK which is dependent on the agrifood industry for much of its economic growth.  The land I drive through every day on my way to work produces fruit, vegetables, poultry, pigs, dairy products (as well as vegetable oil, sugar and bootiful turkey).  Norfolk also as one of the longest coast lines in the country with the associated remnants of a fishing industry.  Good farm shops are around but it takes more effort to visit them than doing my weekly on-line sainsburys order.  Yet having vegetables grown in Peru which have been flown half way around the world so I can eat strawberries in December is bad for the planet and doesn't help me diversify the foods I eat.  I know I'll never be able to only eat food produced/sold locally (I'm not imaginative or disciplined enough), but I plan to increase the amount of locally produced food we eat to reduce the food miles and help the survival of our local small businesses.  Some of the regional food producers are the best in the world at what they make and with a bit of extra effort I can make sure we make the most of the skill and abundance of the people and land around me.


To help in both the seasonality of our eating and in diversifying what we eat I'm planning to cook one recipe each week from my 1974 copy of the Cookery Year.  The book was a wedding present for my parents and published the year I was born.  I 'borrowed' it in 1994 when I went to University and last year one of my colleagues rebound it for me in return for me teaching her how to cook profiteroles (which I still haven't done).

Like some of Nigel Slaters books (which I love) The Cookery Year gives recipies for each month with ingredients that are in season.  It also explains what to look for in terms of quality of ingredients and uses what to us now are unusual cuts of meat.  The quanity of double cream used in some of the recipes is a little alarming, but I'm sure we'll cope.