Comments on: Project: Cooking – Ribollita, Chinese lettuce thing, rice balls… http://www.michelle.koenig-schwartz.com/chronicles/2009/12/02/project-cooking-ribollita-chinese-lettuce-thing-rice-balls/ Thoughts, Opinions, and Irrational Ranting Wed, 06 Apr 2011 15:29:40 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Sandy O'Sullivan http://www.michelle.koenig-schwartz.com/chronicles/2009/12/02/project-cooking-ribollita-chinese-lettuce-thing-rice-balls/comment-page-1/#comment-2766 Sandy O'Sullivan Fri, 04 Dec 2009 03:30:26 +0000 http://www.michelle.koenig-schwartz.com/chronicles/?p=86#comment-2766 Lovely!!!! I think if you're wanting to bring out the flavours in the Ribollita, the real trick is not to sort of add stuff with salt (cos its cheating and everything tastes like salt, but to brown off some of the ingredients. It might be that a really browned off (not angry) onion or garlic might do the trick. I also wonder if you could add some paprika or if you think that would alter the flavour too much? A stock might do it, but let's face it, stock is really just another way of adding salt to something like this to give it flavour. The other thing I'd be inclined to do, but you might already do this, is to get rid of the seeds of any tomatoes you include. And to keep it Italian (as though that's one flavour, I know I am about to cross regions), some strong flavour adds might include a browned off fennel bulb or some oregano... and a definitely Italian boost to the flavours would be an add of some Aceto balsamico - how more Italian can you get that that eh? And also, as you prolly know both rosmarino (rosemary) and salvia (sage) were very strong traditional flavours, that they've been somehow recast as English is just the bloody English nicking stuff and pretending it was always theirs. The buggers. The other thing that might be worth thinking about is a finishing off of fresh basil and fried garlic. That might not work, but it feels like it would. Might be too strong a flavour eh? I know that you might not like mushrooms, but if its because of the texture rather than flavour, mushrooms are another really good stock base, if stewed in salt and strained. Bloody hell... I've just gotten myself hungry!!! Lovely!!!! I think if you’re wanting to bring out the flavours in the Ribollita, the real trick is not to sort of add stuff with salt (cos its cheating and everything tastes like salt, but to brown off some of the ingredients. It might be that a really browned off (not angry) onion or garlic might do the trick. I also wonder if you could add some paprika or if you think that would alter the flavour too much? A stock might do it, but let’s face it, stock is really just another way of adding salt to something like this to give it flavour. The other thing I’d be inclined to do, but you might already do this, is to get rid of the seeds of any tomatoes you include. And to keep it Italian (as though that’s one flavour, I know I am about to cross regions), some strong flavour adds might include a browned off fennel bulb or some oregano… and a definitely Italian boost to the flavours would be an add of some Aceto balsamico – how more Italian can you get that that eh?

And also, as you prolly know both rosmarino (rosemary) and salvia (sage) were very strong traditional flavours, that they’ve been somehow recast as English is just the bloody English nicking stuff and pretending it was always theirs. The buggers. The other thing that might be worth thinking about is a finishing off of fresh basil and fried garlic. That might not work, but it feels like it would. Might be too strong a flavour eh? I know that you might not like mushrooms, but if its because of the texture rather than flavour, mushrooms are another really good stock base, if stewed in salt and strained.

Bloody hell… I’ve just gotten myself hungry!!!

]]> By: stark http://www.michelle.koenig-schwartz.com/chronicles/2009/12/02/project-cooking-ribollita-chinese-lettuce-thing-rice-balls/comment-page-1/#comment-2765 stark Thu, 03 Dec 2009 02:38:07 +0000 http://www.michelle.koenig-schwartz.com/chronicles/?p=86#comment-2765 Yum with a side of YUM! Thems was some good eats, baby! Yum with a side of YUM! Thems was some good eats, baby!

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