Fanny Italia #3 - Common Market Cookery - Italy

We know that Fanny Cradock was no fan of Italian cuisine. We know that she felt it was inferior to her beloved French. We know she described it as running the gamut of 'A to B' compared to the 'A to Zee' of France. We also know however that this did not stop her writing about it all the time. Italian cookery was featured throughout the partwork, and even graced two distinct books written by Fanny. In 1974 she published her Common Market Cookery book on Italy, based on her jaunts to the continent for BBC TV's Nationwide programme, followed by the Bon Viveur book of Pasta Cookery in 1975, in partnership with the British Pasta Information Bureau. Not bad for someone who really wasn't fond of the grub.

With Pasta Cookery, Fanny was aiming to concentrate on inexpensive dishes for family meals, or entertaining friends, using varieties of pasta which lend themselves to the 'incorporation of left-overs' such as cannelloni, spaghetti or lasagne. Indeed Fanny says they are 'purse-stretchers at the table', only without the inclusion of the astronomically priced at the time Parmesan Cheese. Fanny's main advice is that pasta should never resemble stewed knitting, nor be flabby. Always al dente, slightly firm to the teeth. You would never eat your knitting, would you?

I'm heading to Turin and Piedmont while in Italy, and as Fanny has already established, these areas are more gastronomic than most. She's still no fan of course, despite, or perhaps as a result of, the skill of Italian chefs of being past masters at conjuring up delicacies from their limited arc of raw materials. Polenta that resembles a bath sponge is one example. Made in a blackened pot, stirred with a vine twig and poured onto a scrubbed wooden table, the Italian family will gather round with their forks ready to eat it. Only on 'high days and holidays' will a little meat or dried fruits be added. You get the impression that Fanny hasn't had a good experience while in Italy, although this book is supposed to be a celebration and an encouragement to visit and recreate the dishes.

Fanny recounts all her travels across Italy, and details the food, and regional specialities that she has found. More than enough for a book. All in about 150 recipes. Not just pasta, but hors d'oeuvres, soups, pizzas, rice, fish, poultry, meat, vegetables, eggs, cheese, sauces, salads, puddings and ice-creams. All showing what a limited diet those poor Italians have. It's not their fault, they just don't have access to the ingredients. They are limited. And poor. Not Fanny's favourites at all.

And don't get her started on the breakfasts. I'll need to watch out for the Italian businessmen, and women in particular, as well as students of both sexes, standing around in slit-alleys of minute cafés gulping coffee, dunking their buns with reverberating sucks. It sounds dodgy. I shall take Fanny's warning, and order large cups of coffee with additional jugs of hot water. I'm sure no-one will be offended. So, I think I am ready to make my way to Italy now and enjoy all that it has to offer. Which Fanny says is not much. Thanks Fanny. All that remains is for me to learn the names of all the pasta shapes. If I do them alphabetically it will be easier I think. All I need to do is learn A and B. Italy here I, somewhat nervously, come.

Quiche Me Quick

With the beginning of Lent looming later this week, Fanny Cradock is all set to rid meat, game and poultry from our diets. Oh. For some of us there is nothing to 'exclude' as we approach a period of practicing a 'little hopefully highly palatable austerity'. But hey, this means a whole partwork devoted to lenten food, and - wait for it - some special vegetarian recipes! Yahoo! She does say they are aimed at the 'less severe' lacto-vegetarians though, which perhaps clarifies her true feelings on the matter. Hang on though, before we get too excited, Fanny also warns us solemnly that this whole season of Lent can be wildly depressing gastronomically...

In an attempt to cheer us up, Fanny introduces four recipes for cod which she describes as 'dull as cold mutton'. It was known in her family as 'divorce meat'. Fanny's father considered any housewife who slipped cold mutton onto the table 'unsupported and unadorned' was providing more than adequate grounds for divorce. We are left to wonder what he thought of cold mutton 'supported and adorned'. Fanny says the same may be fairly said about her cod dishes, so we'll skip merrily over them. Fanny is particularly personally and positively despising of frozen fish fillets. She seems to like vegetarians only slightly more.

Her first suggestion is as equally palatable to her and her household - all devoted meat eaters she proudly tells us - as to her vegetarian guests. Perhaps she doesn't loath us all? Her first recipe idea is a classic one originally from Lorraine - Quiche, or Kiche - for which each local housewife has a recipe which they insist is better than their neighbours. Fanny does too. Her first vegetarian, lenten recipe contains bacon, which again perhaps displays her feelings towards both. I'll leave it out. Her first piece of respectful advice is to stick to a savoury version if serving it to someone actually from Lorraine. Who knew a sweet Quiche was even on the cards, certainly not those horrified luncheon guests who endured what Fanny herself calls a 'grim experience'.

Fanny's upholds her ominous undertones as she readies the pastry case for the Quiche. She calls it 'lining paste' which conjures up thoughts of dismal wallpapering and not cheerfully wow-ing vegetarian guests. This wallpaper lining paste is known as Pâté à Foncer Ordinaire and has a lower fat to flour ratio (roughly one third/two thirds) and a much higher water content, than the standard shortcrust stuff we are familiar with. It's all chopped up with knives, rolled out and used to line a suitable square tin in the usual way though. Yes, square it must be.

The pastry rolls out well. Fanny insists on blind baking with beans. If a raw pastry is used Fanny warns that the custard 'may go down and the pastry will come up in little humps and bubbles', so I'm not risking that. The filling is eggs, single cream (and/or top of the milk, every thrifty), Parmesan (or Parmesan-style for the 'more severe' than I in the vegetarian stakes) and a little seasoning. Poured into the case it is topped with thin slices of Gruyère and baked at two temperatures - first high for only five minutes then long and slow until set. This is Fannys key to success for custard which cuts creamily. The finished Quiche tastes yummily of yesteryear in all honesty, the lining paste is spectacularly crisp and flashes me straight back to childhood. Far from wildly depressing and grim, it is indeed a perfectly palatable beginning to Lenten. The wallpaper may still be ghastly, however, not everything from the 70's deserves a revival.

Crumb Fry With Me

Fanny clearly wants to make the most of having the fryer on, either that or she's completely obsessed with deep frying cheese. I'm hoping it's an obsession. Either way I'm delighted, I've still not been converted by the mahoosive amount of diet and detox suggestions flying around at this time of year. Practically anything that's leftover can be deep fried it seems. This time it's Fannys' Cheese Balls. Like Fanny, I shall skirt over any obvious innuendos, but she does say that her Cheese Balls are extremely popular at 'teenage parties'. Particularly if served with a 'dunking' sauce. For others, they seem perfect when settling down in front of the TV to watch something special - presumably a Fanny Cradock cooking show - if stuffed into a French Bread sandwich. I don't tend to host teenage parties you'll be glad to learn, so it's a Frenchie in front of the TV all the way for me.

Fanny is still using leftover cheese here, which isn't something I tend to have a lot of really. I'm a dedicated cheese fiend, so I'm happy to keep buying more and more. Fanny recommends a mix of strong cheeses here, Parmesan and Gruyère. I KNOW that Parmesan isn't vegetarian, please don't write me nasty letters, just switch it up a little bit with your own preference. I'm not a perfect veggie. I even wear leather shoes. I realise this may all be a bit shocking for you, but focus - we are talking fried cheese again.

To make Fannys' cheesy balls, simply mix the grated cheeses together with some seasoning and fold in gradually a stiffly beaten egg white. At first it doesn't seem at all like they will mix together, but with a bit of a beating I soon have a paste, just as Fanny says. Once well blended, either with a wooden spoon or a small knife, the paste can be rolled into small balls.

I can be a bit overly accurate with some things, and slap-dash with others. Don't judge me. I decide to weigh out the cheese balls into 16g portions before rolling them. It makes me happy. The given mix gives me 13 balls. I like odd numbers. Each one is rolled lightly between my fingers and quickly becomes fairly firm. Fanny says to run your little balls through beaten egg and coat them thickly in fine breadcrumbs. Well, indeed. Nothing can be finer than Ruskoline surely?

Now we are ready to fry! Well, almost. Fanny doesn't recommend this, but I do... Another one of my funny things. I run my little balls through the egg and crumb twice to make sure that the coating is 'safe' and not about to explode in the hot oil spilling molten cheese everywhere. It doesn't take long and much better safe than sorry. They only take around 30 seconds to colour up in the oil. Fanny presents hers in a split French Bread, but its not so clear if that's just a garnish or not. She spears them  individually with cocktail sticks which would confuse me - do I pick one up and munch, or pick the sticks out and gobble the whole sandwich? Guess which one I go for? Fannys' Cheese Balls are so tasty, crunchy on the outside and gooey and salty inside.

While the fryer is still on the go, Fanny has another top tip, which is especially helpful if you have any leftover Christmas Pudding lurking in the back of my cupboard like I do. Fanny had insisted that I hide them there to mature when I made some mini ones from her recipe last year. She was positive that they would be perfectly fine a year later, and probably even better. It's time to discover if they were! They look ok, is that a worry or a good thing? Simply re-steam, roll into balls and dredge in egg and, this time, ground almonds before frying. Fanny calls these her 'Christmas Snowballs', which must be covered with a heavy dusting of icing sugar and topped with glacé cherry 'flames' to serve. They are good, the crunchy fried almond coating is a great twist! I wonder what else I can pop into fry...?

Impromptu Popeye Pudding

Fanny Cradock was a great believer in making the most of food, and not wasting anything. The endless books and booklets she produced were designed to allow the 'ordinary housewife' to budget effectively and prepare sensational dishes that would leave everyone else feeling a little put out by just how fantastic they were. In 1970, at the same time as the Cradock Cookery Programme weekly part works were in publication, Fanny treated us all to her wisdom when entertaining, with a thirteen part TV show called 'Fanny Cradock Invites...'. Of course, there was an accompanying booklet chock full of plans, tips and suggested menus for almost every social occasion. A Cheese and Wine Party to dazzle your husbands bosses, a Cold Sunday Brunch Buffet for 'compulsive party givers who work through the week' (I wonder who she was thinking of?) - even a Teenagers Party complete with the essentials - Sangria, Mulled Wine and cigarettes... I held my own party this weekend for a few friends to come together and watch Eurovision. Fanny had a chapter for a Television Party and suggested a heated trolley which could be wheeled as close to the semi circle of seats as possible, to ensure your lovingly prepared hot items didn't spoil. Why didn't I have one of those! One thing she never suggests though, is what to do with the leftovers. Perhaps this would imply that Fanny never had any, who would dare to leave anything if you found yourself at her party with the luxury trolley approaching? But I had some...

I didn't follow Fanny's plans for a Television Party menu, but did try and incorporate a European theme. Fanny herself released a few books on Euro Food - or Common Market Cookery as she referred to it then. I had some Spinach Purée that I had used to make Spanakopita Pies and also some Scandinavian Beetroot Bread that I had baked leftover. My guests thankfully ate most of the mountains of food I had prepared, but there's always something lurking about afterwards isn't there? So, I was delighted to see the next recipe in the Cookery Programme collection of steamed delights was a Savoury Steamed Spinach Pudding which happened to be made with all my leftovers. 

For this recipe, the bread needed to be whizzed up to make breadcrumbs and added to the Spinach Purée, with some soured cream, Parmesan or similar cheese, some egg yolks and seasoning. Fanny suggests the classic partner of nutmeg as well as salt and pepper. I'd already added some to my purée so didn't add more at this stage. Fanny, I'm ahead of you! 

Fanny says to blend all the ingredients together well. I assume she means in a mix and not whizzed in a blender, but I can't be sure. Gut instincts intact, that's what I do, before adding the final ingredients of melted butter and stiffly whisked egg whites folded gently in.

The final mixture is quite wet and gloopy, and falls into the well-buttered pudding basin easily. It's a wonderful mix of colours with the green spinach and pink Beetroot bread flecks - I'm sure Fanny would be pleased. My breadcrumbs were quite large and noticeable in the mix, rustic looking I'd say. The final instruction was to steam for two hours. The pudding emerged looking glorious and puffed up, just like I remember Popeye's muscles looking as he squeezed open a can of spinach as a child. It cut well, and had a deep earthy taste, the spinach and beetroot combined well. Fanny proclaims this as a perfect vegetarian main course, and I wouldn't disagree, but it also happens to be a perfect way to use up my party leftovers, transforming them into a whole new dish. Fanny has infiltrated my mind though and I am thinking a heated trolley would actually be perfect for the next party...

Resuscitate flaked, baked, left-over laminates

"You bought those expensive croissants , your guests hardly touched them and now they are as hard as rocks." Fanny clearly has had troublesome house guests before writing this section, and is venting her anger on the page. How dare the guests not touch the croissants that were so very expensive? I guess back in 1970 they would be hardly heard of and beyond the purse of many readers of Fannys weekly publication, but Fanny pretends that 'we all know' that they will not re-heat. Once the pesky guests have gone though they can be easily turned into a delicious dish - a Croissant Bake or Quiche au Fromage in Fannys favoured French.

It's essentially a savoury bread and butter pudding, and in fairness to Fanny does seem like a good way to use up croissants. Fanny of course makes her own croissants but does not give the recipe yet (we are still learning the basics), and having made my own before I can understand why she was so very upset that her guests didn't bother with them - they do take a long time to produce. However Fanny concedes that shop bought croissants are just fine, even if 'we all know' that they only have a 'life of a few hours' before they are inedible. I'm imagining many housewives in 1970 in an utter panic once their guests have left trying to whip up this recipe and resuscitate the croissants before it's too late. Luckily it's quick and simple.

First of all, to make a savoury custard. I'm using unsweetened Almond milk for a deeper, nuttier, savoury flavour but of course Fanny uses plain old milk. While it's 'raising to a heat, but not boiled' I whisk up three eggs and an extra yolk. When the milk is at temperature (whichever temperature that is) it's poured on top and beaten in. Fanny warns not to whisk at this stage, as this will create irritating and useless foam. Oops.

Once it's seasoned well with salt and pepper, grated Parmesan (or alternative) is added with some soft white breadcrumbs, before pouring into a well buttered oven dish. Fanny insists these are 'proper' homemade crumbs, passed through a hair sieve. Fanny gets angry at the thought of those horrid packets of yellow grit that look like the sediment from the bottom of poor old Polly's cage, and insists that these are NEVER used. Oh dear, I'm guessing she's seen my Croque Monsieur blog pits and that's why she's so angry. That, and those inconsiderate guests. Can't just be me upsetting her, can it?

Finally the croissants are 'sunk' into the mixture before being baked uncovered. I had to hold them down for a bit to soak in the custard (clearly my croissants weren't as rock hard as Fannys were) and push them down again halfway through baking. Fanny issues a warning that if I choose a dish which is too large the croissants will not be totally immersed and will come out 'black as an old boot' by the time the custard is set. Mine look well baked, but not black as old boots, so perhaps I chose well. The croissant bake is warming, comforting and tasty served with some vegetarian sausages and onion gravy... Just the thing to de-stress once those cheeky and frankly rude guests have gone. 

Eek, it's Fanny's Cheese Flower

I'm a little nervous about unleashing this one onto the blog. I've been carefully thinking how to introduce it, how to name it, what puns to use, which ones not to - but sometimes Fanny has written her own innuendos, and this penultimate flan is such a time. There's not much more I can say.

Essentially this seems like a giant vol-au-vent made to look extra fancy with a scalloped, or 'petalled' as Fanny prefers to call it, edge. Fanny says I can use shop bought or home made puff pastry for this one, and as I haven't used shop bought so far that's what I go for. The rest of the ingredients are store cupboard staples, so perhaps this 'Fleur au Parmesan' is one which could be rustled up in a hurry.

Fanny gives me a pic-strip to show how to create the flower - using a plate as a central template and then a fluted pastry cutter for the petals. Fanny says I can see 'quite clearly' how this is done and also notes that it is 'impossible to go wrong' as the plate stops the cutter going all the way. Ahem. 

The bit I was nervous about was ending up with an uneven number and arrangement of petals, perhaps I was taking this too seriously? I wondered if I should measure them or plot them out, but in the end decided just to go for it. After all, it was 'impossible to go wrong'. It worked! Fanny then tells me to grab two forks and 'bang away' (resist all innuendo thoughts at this point) at the surface staying inside the plate mark to 'fork' all the centre. Please note Fanny says this is a 'springy bounce up and down movement' rather than a 'prod'. Phew. 

Then, brush with beaten, strained egg and bake the flower, before making the cheese filling. For this, Fanny tells me to pop two egg yolks, some milk, flour, Parmesan butter and seasoning in a small pan and heat gently until it boils, thickens and becomes smooth miraculously! It does.

Once it's cool I need to beat in a little stiffly whipped double cream and get my piping bag at the ready! Simply pipe the cheese filling into the centre of the baked flower, and Fanny assures me I have an appetising treat. Apparently. Actually, it tastes not too bad, the cheese reminds me of Primula the way it's piped out. So 70's. So, there we have it, I have recreated Fanny's Cheese Flower and only sniggered several times...