My Fantasy Tuscan Meal

I wasn't going to write about the food I ate in Tuscany way back in April and May this year. I was on holiday and not really on full blog mode. But it's hard to totally switch off, so in this post I'm going to imagine my fantasy Tuscan meal. This is much more fun than me prattling on about the restaurants I went to. And besides, it's far easier, too (I did tell you I wasn't on full blog mode).

Italian menus are very tempting with their selection of antipasti, zuppe, primi, secondi, contorni and dolce. However, I reined in my natural tendencies to have it all, and just plumped for two courses (most of the time). But for my fantasy meal, I'm going for a full four-course affair washed down with a few glasses of Brunello di Montalcino.

The easiest choice out of my four courses is the antipasti in the form of finocchiona, salami made with fennel seeds. Fennel is used a lot in Tuscan cuisine, and I love the aniseedy zip it lends to the sausage.

Onto the next course, and it's a choice of soup, risotto or pasta for primi. This is a no-brainer. After all, I am Mr Noodles, so it has to be pasta (in the form of noodles, mind, not shapes). Besides, I've never really liked risotto that much, and nor did I really take to bread-thickened local soups such as ribollita and papa de pomodoro during my stay in Tuscany.

But choosing a pasta course is hard work, as there are loads of great options. After much deliberation, I'm going for tagliolini al tartufo. There are better pasta dishes out there, but I think this dish of tagliolini in a rich buttery sauce topped with truffle shavings works best with the rest of my meal.

The thing is dishes like papardelle al cinghale, a Tuscan classic made with wild boar sauce, is a bit much in the context of a four-course meal. I also thought long and hard about going for tagliolini al sugo d'anatra e finocchieto selvetico, a dish that bizarrely had an almost Chinese flavour with its combination of eggy noodles in a boozy duck and wild fennel sauce. This was probably my favourite pasta dish from my trip, but I don't want to double-up on fennel, having started with the finocchiona.

Onto the secondi, and there's only really one way to go: bistecca alla Fiorentina. What's not to love about a T-bone steak, usually upwards of 1kg in weight, cooked rare? The only other contender was also from the grill: lombatina di vitella alla griglia. However, when it comes to meat top trumps, T-bone steak beats veal chop.

To accompany my steak, I'm going for a side of roasted tomatoes with basil (remember five-a-day!). I've also got my eye on some roast potatoes with rosemary but I have to say no to leave room for dolci.

At this point in my imaginary meal, I've ordered an espresso and asked for the bill. I know you're thinking I've wussed out of dessert, but I haven't. I just need some air and a little walk before pitching up at a gelateria, where I order a scoop of pistachio ice cream and a scoop of something that's been recommended. Oh yes, this is the life; this is what the Italians call la dolce vita. It's just a shame that it seems such a long time ago!

A Taste of Brazil - Part 2

Feijoada is arguably Brazil's national dish, and being the food geek that I am, there was no way I was leaving Sao Paulo before sampling this pork and bean stew.

Feijoada buffet

I had been expecting a stew where the pork and beans were mixed in together, but instead I was confronted with a buffet consisting of multiple cauldrons and side dishes. The first cauldron had black beans in it, with the others containing different parts of the pig. In no particular order, pork loin, spare ribs, ears, trotters, and two different types of smoked sausage were on offer. The side dishes included amongst other treats: pulled pork, collard greens, roast mandioca, banana fritters, farofa, and rice.

First helping

Now with such a spread, it'd be rude not to go for seconds, and I was tempted by thirds before I was reminded that I was going out for churrascaria that night. The purple-coloured stew wasn't too aesthetically pleasing, and I found some of the meat too salty, but otherwise I loved this dish. It was so full of porky goodness, so comforting and so moreish. The sides went really well with it too, particularly the pulled pork and roast mandioca.

Seconds

Feijoada tends to be served only at lunchtimes on Wednesdays and Saturdays (it's tradition by all accounts). So do make sure that you set aside one of those two days should you want to sample this dish. The feijoada featured in this post was from the charming Botica do Quintana, and whilst it was bloody good, I wouldn't go out of my way to eat there. The thing is Sao Paulo is such a vast city that you'd be better off finding a convenient eatery rather than get stuck in traffic.

The other must eat in Brazil has to be churrascaria. To the uninitiated, these are steak restaurants, where passadores (meat waiters) come by with giant skewers of different cuts of beef, along with various other treats such as sausages and chicken.

I was lucky enough to be invited to Fogo de Chao, an esteemed Sao Paulo churrascaria (muito obrigado to my colleagues, I really am lucky to work with so many great people around the world).

As I'm a great believer of 'when in Rome', a caipirinha was duly ordered. And then the onslaught began with a giant pao de queijo.

What happened next is a blur, as a swarm of passadores descended to push various cuts of beef, whose Portuguese names I can't remember. Locals consider the Picanha (rump cover) to be the best, but I'd be hard pushed to name a favourite. Every cut was amazing, with so much beefiness that I dare not eat steak in London for a good while. I also sampled the sausages and chicken, and they were damn tasty too.

With hindsight, I should have had a better strategy in terms of pacing the meal. After all, the green and red cards that signify whether you want more food or a breather are there for a reason. I also shouldn't have eaten so much from the salad bar either, although Brazilian salads are excellent (and I'm glad that you voted in favour of eating salad in Brazil in my recent poll). Unlike Botica do Quintana, I'd make a special effort to visit Fogo de Chao, and as there are three branches in Sao Paulo, there's a chance that you won't spend too long in the notorious traffic getting there.

I fell for Brazilian food on my trip to Sao Paulo in a way that I didn't for Turkish food when I was in Istanbul. Whilst it'd be fair to say that it isn't the most delicate or the most refined cuisine, there is an endearing, honest and hearty quality about Brazilian food. My only criticism is that it can sometimes be over seasoned and too salty. That aside, I've taken a shine to this cuisine, and I'm very keen to check out what London's Brazilian joints have to offer. Any ideas where to go?

The Compulsory Goodman Post

I wasn't going to write a review until I received the following e-mail....

From: thebloginspectors@londonblogpolice.co.uk

To: eatlovenoodles@googlemail.com

Subject: Blog Code Violation

Dear Mr Noodles,

It has come to our attention that your blog Eat Noodles Love Noodles violates several statutes of the London food blog code, in particular the absence of any reviews of Bob Bob Ricard, Goodman and Hawksmoor.

As your blog is now older than six months, you are no longer in the probation period for which we may turn a blind eye to such lapses. Moreover, any defence based on your blog concentrating on Chinese food and noodles cannot be used as you haven't got round to reviewing either Leong's Legends or Pearl Liang.

Frankly, we've always had you down as a troublemaker what with you being one of the few bloggers not to write about Pierre Koffman at Selfridges last autumn. That and the lack of coverage on burgers – save one perfunctory post – mark you out as someone we need to bring into line.

Given that we know that you've eaten at Goodman, we just cannot understand why you still haven't posted a review. You didn't really think you could get away without writing anything especially as you had dinner there with other bloggers (that Grubworm chap blew your cover with a mention in his review).

We know for example that you started with the pâté, chicken liver & foie gras w/onion jam & brioche toast and that you moaned about the lack of toast. We know that you wilfully refused the burger in favour of an equally excellent 400g USDA ribeye steak. We even know that you thought it weird that one end of the steak was medium, the other end rare and with only the middle being medium rare as requested.

Word is you liked the chips and that you dipped them in the moreish béarnaise. We also hear that you were in your own little world as you didn't pay much attention to what other people had as starters and that you spurned desserts after overdosing on steak.

We also cannot comprehend why you haven't shouted from the rooftops that you had a great night out. Notwithstanding the excellent company, we do know you were impressed by the classy elegant dining room and that you thought the service was unobtrusive and professional. Was it due to your embarrassment that the Argentine 2007 Salentein Reserve Pinot Noir from Mendoza you ordered was too sweet?

Consider this your first and final warning – you have until the end of the week to post on Goodman. Otherwise, we'll seize your blog, rename it Eat Burgers Love Burgers and forcibly insert multiple posts on why you can't get a decent burger in London.

Yours sincerely,

The Blog Inspectors

PS: Ever thought of taking photography lessons? The photos from your Casio can be a bit crap.



If you want to know about the starters, burgers and desserts then Grubworm and Catty have reviews up. At time of writing, The London Foodie, Kavey and Uyen have yet to post but keep your eyes open as I'm sure The Blog Police are on to them.