Sunday, April 09, 2006
Bresaola with Sprouting Broccoli
Is it just my impression or have I lost my way with this blog? Maybe it's just that the novelty has worn off, but looking at my most recent posts I have the feeling that the soul is gone. The recipes are not really different, but the stories around them are getting kind of samey. I'm either tired or not, happy with my job or not, bitch about the weather or not, and really don't say much else. Maybe the problem is that my life is just utterly boring. I personally would disagree with such a verdict though. The weekend with our friends was great fun and the trip to Germany, although hard work, was also quite enjoyable. I even find my normal weeknights quite fun, although most of my friends disagree with me arguing that an evening spent surfing the Internet and playing poker can hardly be classified as fun.I think that the real reason is fatigue. Not blogging fatigue, but more something along the lines of winter blues. I have had enough of the Irish winter. The sun seems to have forgotten that we exist, the days are grey and cloudy and the atmosphere is such that you can either get depressed or go mental. Or do both, as I am. I go from bitching to crying and back again, give off the occasional tirade of obscenities when cycling to and from work and would really like to blow my neighbours' flat up purely because they like to watch TV. In my defence I should add that the telly is just about loud enough for us to hear it and that they have it turned on from the time I get up at 7.15 a.m. to the time I go to sleep around midnight.
I have felt like this many times before and generally when I was down food used to pull me right back up again. In Munich I used to read cookbooks and dream of what I would do if my kitchen consisted of more than two hobs and a small fridge. In Cape Town we would go out for lunch to one of the many wonderful restaurants or I would drag poor Lofty around Woolworth's, which in South Africa is very much like the UK's Marks & Spencer. In Prague I got over the stress of writing my dissertation by cooking and baking for hours on end. And here in Dublin I combined all of the above and added lots and lots of cookery programmes on TV. But nowadays, I miss most of my favourite TV shows because I'm at work and when I come home I do not have much time and energy left to read recipes or cook elaborate meals. Add to that the depressing monotony of winter produce and you will understand why I'm disheartened.
But I'm trying hard to get a bit of fun back in the kitchen. The trip to Munich has surely helped with that. As I said, I filled our cupboards and fridge with all kinds of goodies that are either very hard to find or incr
edibly expensive here in Dublin: a selection of biscuits, a smoked duck breast, a bag of sea salt, beluga lentils, a bloc of foie gras, some duck rillettes and some wild boar salami from Käfer's fine food outlet; seven different kinds of Swiss chocolate and a selection of French, Spanish and Austrian cheeses totalling nearly a kilo and some Haribo gummi bears from my mum's wholesaler; three different kinds of Austrian ham from the market; a bottle of Lofty's favourite sherry, a piece of Black Forrest ham, some Serrano ham, a garlic salami and a Mettwurst (a traditional German, cured pork sausage that is eaten raw with lots of onion) from my dad's local supermarket; and two kinds of risotto rice, yet another salami (this time a hard Italian one), a block of Parmesan, a smoked scamorza cheese, truffle oil, truffle butter, and some fresh Bresaola from Spina's Italian delicatessen. Can you believe that I actually managed to get all this, along with the chocolate my dad had bought me for easter, a bottle of wine from Emily, coffee from my friend Rainer, my mum's old laptop computer and a bagful of PC accessories, all of which had a combined weight of over 50 kilos, on the plane with me without having to pay for overweight luggage? I'm still not sure how I did it, nor can I imagine ever having lifted this load. But I must have done because it is here in my fridge now. So let's use it up, starting today with some Bresaola, served carpaccio style with blanched broccoli and roast garlic vinaigrette.50 to 70 g BreasaolaAfter dinner, I enjoyed a nice cup of Espresso, made from the coffee my friend Rainer gave me: Organic, shade grown, fair traded coffee harvested by a group of Zapatistas in Chiapas in southern Mexico. They finance their schools, hospitals and other social institutions as well as their (non-violent) struggle with such projects as growing and exporting such excellent coffee. If you're interested, check out the German importers' website at cafe-libertad.de. They export all over Europe and have information in several European languages.
2 big handfuls of sprouting broccoli (alternatively, you could use ordinary broccoli florets, rocket leaves, green or white asparagus or artichoke hearts)
3 cloves roast garlic (if you don't have any, take a whole head of garlic, chop off the top and roast in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 10 to 40 minutes until soft and golden)
4 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan shavings and sliced radishes (optional) to serve
Blanch the broccoli in a large pot of boiling salt water until just starting to go tender, about 3 minutes. Refresh in cold water, drain and cool completely.
Squash the garlic in a bowl, stir in the oil and vinegar and season to taste with salt and pepper.
To serve, arrange the Bresaola slices on a plate. Top with the broccoli and drizzle with the vinaigrette. Scatter with Parmesan and radishes and serve immediately, accompanied with some fresh, crusty bread.
Christine at 8:08 pm
