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I do have a thing for making things from scratch: call it the purist in me. If I had my way I would be making my own cheese from milk I squeezed from the cow's udder myself. I dream about that kind of closeness to the source, especially when it comes to food.
Unfortunately, I don't live in Laguna, and I'm not confident that I won't poison myself if I do attempt a long-term fermentation project such as cheese-making. Purist I am, but foolish I am not. At least I'd like to think so. =) Some things, one should just buy from the store. Like cheese perhaps, or wild mushrooms, certainly. The selection of ingredients available in Metro Manila has certainly increased in the recent years, due to the rise of the specialty food shop.
That said, I have no good reason to be making pancetta, aside from curiosity and my compulsive nature. =D
I only loosely call it pancetta, because most recipes call for a whole lot more in terms of the spice rub, juniper berries included. I do not know any purveyors of juniper berries in my area, but a friend did suggest dousing the meat in gin for the flavor. It could work, but I was also afraid that the alcohol in the gin would denature the proteins in the meat, leading to the gray, pasty nilagang baboy look. I like nilagang baboy as much as the next person, but pancetta it is not.
I decided to go for the minimalist version instead, rubbing the meat (I used a kilo of whole pork belly to start with) with copious amounts of salt, pepper and minced garlic. Traditionally, the belly is then tightly rolled into a cigar shape, then hung out to dry. Since I had a mortal fear of food poisoning, I decided to do this drying step in the refrigerator instead. I placed the meat on a rack, so that it was kept off the juices that the salt inevitably leached out by osmosis.
After about three weeks of curing in the refrigerator, I was impatient as hell. I was not really worried about the meat going bad at this point because I added enough salt and garlic to keep off a horde of aswang, much less a few bacteria. Besides, it did smell good: very garlicky and pungent. The cross-section looked about right as well. The meat kept its red color, and the fat remained a creamy white. Though not as dry as commercially-available pancetta, my faux version did not have the raw meat feel: it had the consistency of American bacon when sliced, which was what I was looking for.
The ultimate test, of course, is the taste test.
One classic recipe that uses pancetta is Pasta all'Amatriciana. The sauce is the simplest thing, just tomatoes spiked with a little pancetta. I cooked mine with some sauteed onions, siling labuyo, and a chiffonade of basil on top, just to fancy it up a little.
At this point, I could bombard you with raves on how good the spaghetti was, but you might not believe me. It's one of those no-brainer dishes that almost does not need a recipe (I'll write up one anyway, just for documentation). Eating this pasta is a three step experience: first comes the salt and heat from the pancetta and the red chili, that strong first impression; next comes the mellow umami from the meat itself and the cheese; last comes an almost floral aftertaste, which I suspect is from the basil, but may also be from the pancetta itself.
Overall, its one of those dishes you would want to have on a cold day: spicy, warming and substantial.
( Spaghetti all'Amatriciana )
The ultimate test, of course, is the taste test.
One classic recipe that uses pancetta is Pasta all'Amatriciana. The sauce is the simplest thing, just tomatoes spiked with a little pancetta. I cooked mine with some sauteed onions, siling labuyo, and a chiffonade of basil on top, just to fancy it up a little.
At this point, I could bombard you with raves on how good the spaghetti was, but you might not believe me. It's one of those no-brainer dishes that almost does not need a recipe (I'll write up one anyway, just for documentation). Eating this pasta is a three step experience: first comes the salt and heat from the pancetta and the red chili, that strong first impression; next comes the mellow umami from the meat itself and the cheese; last comes an almost floral aftertaste, which I suspect is from the basil, but may also be from the pancetta itself.
Overall, its one of those dishes you would want to have on a cold day: spicy, warming and substantial.
( Spaghetti all'Amatriciana )
The anatomy of a quick, delicious brunch
~ The base: a bowl of steaming rice (inoculate this with Aspegillus oryzae, then Saccharomyces, and you'd have sake. But that's an altogether different matter)
~ 2nd layer: Del Monte Filipino style spaghetti sauce, poured over rice (quantity to taste)
~ 3rd layer: a slice of Provolone cheese (yumyum)
~ 4th layer: pan-seared bell peppers and portobello mushrooms, both marinated in a mix of soy sauce, drained fruit cocktail juice, and thyme.
~ 5th layer: a slice of ham
~ topping: drizzle balsamic vinegar over all (to taste)
Voila! amazing what you can do with holiday leftovers.
Sarap nito. The cheese melts with the heat of the rice, and makes it a bit rich.
(haha. tama ba namang maglagay ng recipe dito? I've been reading too many cookbooks)
***
Natutuwa ako sa Tito namin na sa amin nagsstay for the moment. Bigla ba namang nagluto ng fried frog legs. Siya mismo yung humuli ng palaka sa bakuran namin. Hehe. Napaka-outdoorsy. Parang Steve Irwin (although the crocodile hunter would probably catch the little critter for educational purposes, not for food).
Natakot lang ako tikman dahil baka poisonous yung palaka. Malamang hindi, pero malay mo ba. <-- paranoid
***
I watched Blue Moon with Jerc today. Ok naman siya. Naiyak ako. Malaking bagay na siguro yun, kasi di naman ako yung tipo na madaling maiyak sa pelikula (i think. o baka feeling lang ako)
Wala na akong sasabihin pa, dahil baka ma-spoil pa ang mga nais manood.
***
Bah! Tama na ang katamaran! Back to work.
Incidentally, swerte daw and mga year of the ox ngayong year of the fire dog! Aba, baka swertehin na tayo sa thesis! hehehe
- Mood:
amused
