I don’t watch a great deal of television, but certainly I see more in the autumn and winter than I would on brighter evenings in the middle of the year. When I return to television having been away for the summer months it can be quite exciting and the winter schedules always contain new programmes
I tuned in last week to catch the new Nigella Lawson show. In this new offering entitled Nigellizzima, the name alone leaves us in no doubt as to the theme; of course it is Italian. It turns out that the lovely one spent a year in Florence as a teenager and fell in love with the country and its food. In this show she brings, as she says herself, a spirit of Italy into the kitchen using easily found ingredients in this part of the world.
Many people claim a love for Italian food, but I have a problem with that as it is far too sweeping a statement. Italy is a large and diverse country and to suggest that your love of pasta dishes or pizza makes you an Italian devotee is a great misconception. There are distinct cultural differences throughout and the climate and crops vary. Perhaps what binds it all together is an attitude rather than one particular taste. Recipes are handed down from generation to generation, food is seen as an inherent part of the fabric of everyday life and simple cooking techniques combined with fresh ingredients seem to be common. These would be the reasons that I would hold affection for Italian food. In truth many Italian dishes have a peasant heritage and so are not as meat heavy as we expect or sometimes replicate. In Italy a traditional ragu (or bolognaise as we like to call it) would be used more sparingly over the pasta. We tend to pile the meat sauce on the pasta and, you know, if that’s how you like and enjoy it then so be it. Also true Italian pasta sauces are often simple and quick to prepare; taking no longer to make than it takes the pasta to cook.
So what did I think of Nigella’s take on all things Italian? Well I’d have to be honest and say that I wasn’t overly impressed with all of the recipes featured on the first show; indeed one or two left me quite cold and I would have serious reservations about some of the ingredients used. However, I have to fully support her approach, in that she is simply taking inspiration from a particular place, taking it home and making it her own. Ms Lawson makes no secret of the fact that she likes hot chillies and they tend to creep into many of her savoury recipes whether it is true to the place of origin or not. I fully support this maverick approach of simply being influenced by something and then creating something new. Why should there be rules with food when we should enjoy being creative and watching it evolve. Food is to be enjoyed and in this global village that we are blessed to be in, we have so much more to choose from and that’s a good thing.
Trying new things is good for us and opens up many possibilities. Once we allow ourselves the space to do something different we can even deconstruct our own traditions and do something new. Anyone who has been into James Whelan Butchers recently will know that we are doing something very different with pork and beef. I have to urge you to come and try our pulled pork or pulled beef pittas. Again both are traditional Irish meats but we are slow cooking them with a barbecue method and placing them in a pitta pocket. The result is outstanding and yet it has a truly traditional Irish feel in that it ticks all those boxes of being warming, filling, nutritious, meaty and delicious; as they say, “what’s not to like?”
I want to encourage you to try a little deconstruction of your own. Take your favourite meat and cook it in a different way. Or try a new meat altogether, have you tried cooking Wagyu beef yet perhaps? Try new combinations of your favourite recipes. For example rather than cooking an entire meat pie, just cook the filling and minimise the pastry to a cooked pastry disc popped on the top, or dispense with the pastry altogether and replace it with dumplings or herby breadcrumb crust instead. Flex your muscle with herbs and spices, swap a few or use some mild curry spices in a non curry dish; you’ll be amazed at the subtle differences you can achieve. Naturally you can expect to have failures or dishes that don’t work as well but you might also stumble on something new and sensational. It is not about throwing out the tried and tested but creating new ones. Allowing yourself such experimentation will also quickly dissolve the panic that often surrounds cooking – the “I can’t complete this dish if I don’t have all the ingredients in a recipe” panic. Start to make (educated) substitutions and know that there are many routes to food satisfaction. In fact many of our much loved European influenced recipes today come from a peasant tradition. Soups, one pots, stews and casseroles all come from a history where people had to use what was to hand; there was little choice in the matter. Being without one particular ingredient didn’t ruin the meal, it went ahead without it or with something in its place. Our current worship of the chef sometimes renders us inflexible and like sheep we follow the rules to the letter. Shake off the shackles I say and try something new. Essentially it is what they are at on the television. We watch in wonderment when all they’ve really done is taken the time and tried something new. Be your own television programme and let the great experiment begin.
This post was written by me, Pat Whelan, owner of James Whelan Butchers and a passionate advocate of local artisan food. My family have been producing quality Irish Angus beef for generations using a traditional dry aging process. This tradition is one that I continue to practice at our abattoir on our family farm in Garrentemple, Clonmel. These posts aim to impart some of the wisdom to readers and help them get the best out of the meat they eat! Our meat is available online here! I welcome your feedback to [email protected]
We hope you enjoyed reading this post by Pat Whelan of James Whelan Butchers. Pat is a 5th generation butcher, cook book author and the director of James Whelan Butchers with shops in Clonmel, the Avoca Handweavers Rathcoole and Kilmacanogue, Dunnes Stores Cornelscourt, Rathmines and Swords in Dublin. Sign up to our newsletter for more updates from James Whelan Butchers
Tags: foodie articles, italian, James Whelan Butchers, Television
