Italian Food 101 (Part 2) The Gourmet Glutton podcast is on its way. Last time, we kick-started our discussion of Italian food with Chef Apar Chatterjee with a look at the Italian antipasti. We looked at some of the integral components of any self-respecting antipasti platter, including the cold cuts and the breads. This time,…
Cold Cuts, Breads, and Beyond
Italian Food 101 (Part 1) Today, The Gourmet Glutton starts something new. A podcast. In the first season, we will talk about Italian cuisine. And who better to show us the way than Chef Apar Chatterjee, one of my oldest school friends who has tremendous knowledge of Italian food. Incidentally, it is also his birthday…
Red, White and Pink
The first plate of pasta I ever had was a 120-rupee plate of penne in red sauce from an obscure little restaurant in Shyambazar, North Kolkata, around 10 years ago. It had these tubes of pasta mixed up with all sorts of exotic veggies in a red sauce, sprinkled with a generous helping of dried…
Beyond the Braise
The Slow Cook (Epilogue) We’ve almost done with our sow cooking series, centered around the humble braise. We’ve slowly worked our steps through the braise and witnessed the transformation of simple ingredients into ambrosia. Before we conclude, it is worth exploring the slow-cooking technique in the context of some other dishes which do not fall…
Simmer, Serve, and Savour
The Slow Cook (Part 4) We’ve come a long way in our slow cook series, and we have worked slowly and patiently through the steps of making a braise. We’ve prepped the meat, browned it, and combined it with cooked out aromatics and a flavourful liquid in a pot. The hard work is over, and…
Liquids, Layering, and Long Waits
The Slow Cook (Part 3) Last time, we discussed two of the three basic elements of our braise: the browned meat and the aromatic base. Let’s now move on to the third element, the cooking liquid. The simplest choice is obviously water, which works just fine when the aromatic base is complex enough. There is…
Foundation, Fond, and Flavour
The Slow Cook (Part 2) Last time, we began our stew with the initial steps of salting and marinading the meat, talking about how this rather passive and time-consuming step plays a major role in the flavour of the final dish. It’s finally time to turn on the gas, put on a pot, and start…
Meats, Myths, and Marinades
The Slow Cook (Part 1) Last time, we talked about the concept and charm of the dying art of slow-cooked dishes, braises, stews and pot-roasts, in the context of two of my most favourite food books (check it out here). We discussed the overarching formula of all braises, and went through a glossary of some…
The Braise and Stew Compendium
The Slow Cook (Appendix) Here is a list of dishes I’ll be mentioning in my slow cook series. While each of these could do with a separate article, here I will stick to a more restrained approach, describing each dish in a few lines. I’ve chosen a point-wise approach for this than my usual narrative…
The Power of Time
The Slow Cook (Prologue) Here we are again, on the threshold of a brand new year, full of potential and opportunities. The last year has been rough for most of us : plans ruined, expectations thwarted, a whole new array of hardships piled on us all of a sudden. Yet, these testing times have been…
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