I seem to be having problems with the modify function lately! 

Ollie,

The issue of whether to use cream or not in carbonara probably depends on which part of Italy you are in and whether dairy produce was widely available. In a recent BBC2 programme on Mediterranean cooking, Rick Stein was in Sardinia, where the big issue for the local chef was not the use of cream (although he didn't) but the type of cheese used - definitely Pecorino rather than Parmesan:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/spaghettiallacarbona_86763.shtml

Btw, I use just a tablespoon of cream myself, added to an egg yolk and freshly grated Parmesan and pepper for the sauce.

Hi Ollie, nice to see you back. Peeped round the door of this thread and couldn't see any gruesome squid posts so I thought I'd risk a post. 


Pecorino...I seem to recall this cheese in Sicily being terribly, unbearably salty - yuk!

I found a veggie Parmigiano in Waitrose, made in Italy but not called Parmigiano. It tastes and grates just the same though.

Also found an old teaching colleague in Waitrose I haven't seen for 20 years! She accosted me with the unflattering words "I've been through the alphabet 3 times and I still can't remember your name!" - as if I have an exotic name...

Jane 

I went to Waitrose today and spent some time looking through all their cheeses but couldn't find any veggie "Parmigiano". Also couldn't find any tzatziki but I expect it was there somewhere - it's a fairly new shop and I've only been there 2 or 3 times. It's also pretty expensive.

More penne this evening, only 5.8 Kg to go! 

Chez Antheil, ce soir, nous avons a fridge stuffed with a load of chillies and peppers which need to be used up so probably a chillie (vegetarian), but on the other flipper I have a most delicious looking Savoy cabbage which is calling out to me in a seductive manner.  Whatever option it will involve beans of some description.

I have a kind of muttar paneer on the go in the oven right now.. I've substituted cubed tofu for the paneer, which you can't get here at all.   I've experimented with other cheeses,  but they all melt,  resulting in a kind of pea carbonara with coriander and cumin, which isn't entirely unpleasant in itself,  but is sadly a long way from the real thing from Southall Broadway.  You can get popadoms and even mango chutney here, so with some chilled Baltika beer and some grated cucumber and carrot in smetana filling the raita spot, all that's missing is the flock wallpaper and the fish-tank to complete the entire experience.  Oh, and of course, someone to ask "Is everything alright for you, Sir" once the dishes are on the table

I take comfort from the fact that The Eastern Room, who are the best Indian restaurant in town, don't have paneer either

I had a go at it, once, Antheil...  it seemed to involve getting started several days before suppertime (already very unlikely for me...) and a lot of squeezing curds through muslin bags etc.  If your recipe offers any kind of inside-track to the final result, I'd be interested, though?

Meantime the Muttar Tofu emerged as being splendidly successful - I fried the tofu cubes over to crisp them a bit, and that makes a big difference.  Another handy idea is to freeze the tofu - when it defrosts it magically becomes a lot more munchable than previously.  I have actually had "muttar tofu" in a Hare Krishna cafe in Copenhagen - although perhaps Denmark isn't the acme of achievement in North Indian cuisine    I think I shall open a second can of Baltika to toast the success of the dish - the other half of the recipe will make a little reprise for Sunday lunch tomorrow

Being a bit of a veggieburger myself,  I use tofu a lot - this may also have to do with it being on sale in the 24-hour supermarket across the road   I've never been to Thailand, but tofu seems to feature in the menus of Thai restaurants in London quite a bit?  I am not sure if that's because it's popular in Thai cuisine in Thailand, or more to lure old hippies like me through their doors?    It appeals to me, as it's a "centre" to a dish which doesn't require soaking for three days, peeling, picking, or filleting.  The downside is that it tastes of roof-insulation foam,  but if you splosh a bit of soy sauce, ginger or garlic around it as a marinade for a while (or dunk it in a curry) it can become quite palatable, and the calorie-count is enviably low.  The freezing/unfreezing thing (a tip I saw in The Grauniad once) is handy if you want a more "chewy" texture.  You can also make a no-fat mayonnaise substitute out of it in the blender (get the Japanese sort of tofu for best results in that sphere).  You can fry it in breadcrumbs for kids instead of fish fingers. Or you can insulate your loft with it.