Cookbook reviews | Dinner du Jour

As a bit of a self-confessed cookbook addict (six new cookbooks in the last six weeks, ahem!), I know what Domini Kemp is talking about when she said in her column last Saturday, “Who needs another cookbook? I know if the amount I have on my shelves is anything to go by, then I certainly don’t. But yet, I love flicking through cookbooks any chance I get.” Her own beautifully styled new book, Itsa Cookbook, is a compilation of over 100 of the best-loved, most-cooked recipes from her weekly Irish Times column, with photographs that make you wish you could pull up a chair and tuck in. Recipes I’ve already made from Domini’s column over the years that are now included in her book are chickpea, sweet potato and chorizo stew; beans and bacon; coriander chicken with chickpea, feta and coriander salad; and salmon en croute with dill and pistachio pesto. A short list of recipes from the book I’m looking forward to trying include sweet corn fritters with tomato salsa, lemon and garlic poached chicken, baked sweet potatoes with lemon and chilli, and chocolate sorbet.

Domini is not only a food writer with a weekly column in the Saturday Irish Times Magazine, but is also a professionally trained chef and restaurateur (she and her sister, Peaches, own and run the Itsa Food Company). Yet for all that, Domini says in her introduction, “But every day I cook at home, where time, nutrition, satisfaction and taste are all key factors. I love to take a recipe, tear it apart, try to make it simpler and tastier and eliminate anything that isn’t utterly critical.” What this has resulted in is a book filled with foolproof recipes aimed at the everyday cook who still wants to eat well — and which one of us doesn’t fit that description?

You can’t get more foolproof than this recipe for balsamic roast chicken with rocket (that’s arugula to those of you in the States), cherry tomatoes and Parmesan. It literally takes 5 minutes to put together and cooks for 30 minutes in the oven — how’s that for an effortless midweek meal? It’s a fantastic recipe to have up your sleeve.

Balsamic Roast Chicken with Rocket, Roast Tomatoes and Parmesan
adapted from Itsa Cookbook by Domini Kemp

Serves 4

This takes only minutes to pull together, but is tasty and sophisticated enough to serve for guests. The flavors are very similar to Jamie Oliver’s cherry tomato and sausage bake, not to mention the same effortless cooking method, so if you like that, you’ll love this too.

4 chicken breasts or supremes, skin on or off
a few tablespoons olive oil
a few tablespoons balsamic vinegar
a few cloves garlic, peeled
fresh thyme or rosemary if you have it
salt and freshly ground black pepper
9 oz (250 g) cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
4 handfuls rocket (arugula)
a few chunky shavings of Parmesan or Pecorino
crusty bread, to serve

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).

Place the chicken in a roasting tray or baking sheet and pour over the olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Add in some garlic, herbs and season well, then add in the cherry tomatoes. Roast for about 30 minutes, or until the chicken is fully cooked through, basting the chicken with the cooking juices once or twice.

Arrange the arugula (rocket) on 4 plates. Top with the chicken and some tomatoes and loads of cooking juices (which is like a warm and simple vinaigrette). Top with some Parmesan shavings and serve with plenty of crusty bread to mop up the juices.

Catherine Fulvio is one busy lady these days. In addition to running Ballyknocken House and Cookery School in County Wicklow, she’s been filming her new series, Catherine’s Roman Holiday,* which premieres tomorrow in Ireland at 8:30 p.m. on RTÉ, doing cooking demos at summer festivals like Bloom and Taste of Dublin, and writing a fantastic new cookbook, Catherine’s Italian Kitchen, which was released last week.

Catherine was brought up at Ballyknocken, a traditional Irish farm that has been in her family for almost 100 years, and learned to cook from her mother by “hanging onto her apron strings.” Imbued with an appreciation of good food from an early age, the Italian twist in the tale is when she met her husband, Claudio Fulvio, who is originally from Palermo. They and their two young children now spend summers at their other home in Sicily, where Catherine is inspired by their Italian family and friends. This inspiration has translated into a cookbook full of easy and family-friendly recipes that are suitable for all levels of cook and which use ingredients that can be commonly found outside of Italy, meaning anyone can enjoy Italian flavors in their own kitchen, wherever you might be.

This oven-baked fennel sausage and tomato risotto is the first dish that jumped out at me to make, which is no surprise, seeing as how much I also like this cherry tomato and sausage bake. I particularly like this recipe since it has more vegetables than my other favorite risottos, and my kids happily devoured it. Catherine’s eggplant “meatballs” (polpette di melanzane) are already a favorite that I’ve made several times since watching her make them on her first TV series on RTÉ, and that recipe is included in her cookbook now as well. Other recipes I’ve bookmarked to try are the Leek, Gorgonzola and Walnut Pizza, Pistachio and Asparagus Penne, Braised Beef with Garlic, Lemon and Chili, and last but not least, Amaretto and Almond Truffle Tort.

We have a copy of Catherine’s Italian Kitchen to give away, so for a chance to win, just leave a comment telling us what Italian dish you’ve got a hankering for. The winner will be randomly chosen and the competition will close at midnight (US Central Time) on Friday, September 10. As Catherine would say, Buon appetito!

*You can watch sneak preview of the first show here, or even a behind-the-scenes peek at how the show was made here.

Oven-baked Sausage and Tomato Risotto
adapted from Catherine’s Italian Kitchen by Catherine Fulvio

Serves 4 to 6

The original recipe calls for Sicilian fennel sausages, but Italian sausages or good-quality butcher sausages are good substitutes. Catherine notes that this risotto won’t be creamy since there’s no constant stirring, but it’s just as delicious and is a great no-fuss weeknight option.

extra virgin olive oil
1 lb (450 g) Sicilian fennel sausages, Italian sausages or good-quality butcher sausages (I used garlic and herb)
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
1 3/4 cups (300 g) Arborio rice
1 carrot, finely diced
2 celery stalks, finely diced
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 1/2 pints (750 ml) chicken stock
1 x 14 oz (400 g) can of cherry tomatoes or chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup (120 ml) dry white wine or vermouth
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Parmesan shavings, to serve

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).

Heat some olive oil in a large frying pan or casserole dish over a medium heat. Cook the sausages for 15 minutes, until fully cooked. Remove from the pan and slice into bite-sized pieces. Set aside. Add the onion to the pan and saute on a low heat for 10 minutes, until lightly golden. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add the rice, carrots, celery and parsley. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring from time to time. Return the sausages to the pan.

Meanwhile, in a separate pan, heat the chicken stock and tomatoes, then add the wine, stock and tomatoes to the casserole dish. Stir and cover with foil or a lid. Place in the oven and cook for approximately 45 minutes, until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is just tender, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with Parmesan shavings and serve.

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