Currants - Sardines

[Rosamunda]

Currants are available in all the supermarkets "korinthi" or something like that. I used them in my hot cross buns for Easter. As for sardines, tinned are fine, you won't find fresh.

[sammy]

Currants - korintteja (?), they should be available... maybe they can be found in the 'baking' section... can't remember now if this was already mentioned in the recipe, anyway, it could be a good idea to soak the korintti in white wine... but sardines other than canned... tricky. Baltic herring? Might do the trick but naturally, a fresh sardine is a fresh sardine is a fresh sardine so you'd need to accept that herring would be a 'replacement fish'. An option, of course, is to at least try the canned variety of s.

edit: penelope beat me to it

[Hank W.]

Well anyone who puts bloody raisins into human food should be taken out into the behind of the sauna and shot, like the cooks putting peach into pizza... for ananas I let them run before I load the barrel...
- so that takes care of the currants.

For sardines if you want the content or the texture... anything from muikku to silli to canned anjovis will do... depends on what the wanted effect is?

Otherwise thanks for the recipe. Looks doable.

[sammy]

Well anyone who puts bloody raisins into human food should be taken out into the behind of the sauna and shot

Another victim of the "liver casserole" syndrome eh? Join the club but I do think they're okay in some foods.

[Hank W.]

Yes, I've had and made"tajine" and you can make a paste for the "taste"..

Yes sammy, maksa-f*-laatikko a.k.a. "finnish school food" syndrome...

make a Finnish person go on a PizzaHut diet:
ma kesäkeitto
ti mantelikala
ke merimiespihvi
to hernekeitto
pe maksalaatikko
..
ma siskonmakkarakeitto
ti lindströminpihvi
ke tilliliha
to pinaattiohukaiset
pe kanaviillokki

...wheres the barfing smiley...

[Hank W.]

Italian dish... maybe a bit stereo, but...
'Currant tomatoes, an extra-small variety of cherry tomato ???

[CH]

Since it doesn't say black/red/white currant, I would also think they mean the "raisin" currant (corinth) (from which the name for the berry currant comes from, as they looked like the dried corinths... at least according to this web page). But if it's the berry, not the dried grape, they have both black and red currants in the freezer section in most bigger stores. Currant/corinth is again in the baking section, or wherever the dried fruit and raisins are, as previously said "Korintti".

[Hank W.]

Well, as the article is adamant that *no cheese on seafood pasta* I guess it has to be something local.

[Ravvy]

Just do not put them on a pizza.

[sammy]

Well, for example this below Pasta con le Sarde recipe substitutes "currants" with golden raisins... and since the Sicilian cuisine has a lot of Arab influence, I'd be very surprised indeed if "currants" referred to the berries.

http://www.inmamaskitchen.com/RECIPES/R ... sarde.html

And btw loosely speaking currants (as well as the golden raisins, sultanas) are raisins, that is, dried grapes. IIRC the name derives from the location where that particular grape/raisin variety came from - Corinth.

See also this recipe - http://chiccodicaffecucina.blogspot.com ... sarde.html (again, uvetta sultanina - sultana raisins) - interesting also that the original 'adapted' NY times recipe omits saffron, another Arab influence that (based on a small Google survey of Pasta con le Sarde recipes) belongs to this "national dish"

Anyway, raisins might actually also go well with Tagine type, spicy and sweet lamb dishes. I've sort of got stuck with using apricots myself...

[Rosamunda]

Anyway, raisins might actually also go well with Tagine type, spicy and sweet lamb dishes. I've sort of got stuck with using apricots myself...

Me too. Rainbow (Prisma) have wonderful dried Hungarian apricots which are excellent in tajines (and even good for nibbling on the bus!). Also mad about preserved lemons.... I made a ton last year, they go really well with chicken. The only North African recipe I have with raisins is for doughnuts called Sfenaj from Morocco. I have grilled sardine recipes from Tunisia and Algeria but neither uses currants, raisins or sultanas. But raisins are often added to couscous... so why not with pasta?

[sammy]

Me too. Rainbow (Prisma) have wonderful dried Hungarian apricots which are excellent in tajines (and even good for nibbling on the bus!). Also mad about preserved lemons.... I made a ton last year, they go really well with chicken. The only North African recipe I have with raisins is for doughnuts called Sfenaj from Morocco. I have grilled sardine recipes from Tunisia and Algeria but neither uses currants, raisins or sultanas. But raisins are often added to couscous... so why not with pasta?

I think this picture (from the "authentic" sicilian recipe mentioned above) sort of clinches it



Blackcurrants... red currants... best kept for desserts

But yes, speaking of nibblies - I'm very nearly addicted to -ta-dah- Pirkka dates from my local K-Market! (the apricots and figs are good too, but dates are mouthwatering IMO - not "dry" at all; soft, tasty and fruity) And speaking of tagines - I've posted a Mrouzia recipe here somewhere - I suppose you'll easily find it with the search function if interested! Apricots, definitely, but yes it's just a matter of taste. The spice shop guy in the Hakaniemi hall -who also sells Ras el Hanout btw- said that prunes might also be used for a lamb tagine. Haven't tried that yet!

[sammy]

Guess they would be raisins then - probably good to avoid the overly sweet ones.

"Blackcurrants... red currants... best kept for desserts "

Black currants - mustaherukka - are their own ball game - pretty heavy tasting. But have made a great tart sauce (IMO) with the reds that has gone really beautifully with thin grilled/broiled pork steaks (where you beat them à la schnitzel - but no breading)

I suppose that was the original point - the korintti are not so sweet as "ordinary" raisins.

Hmm yes... redcurrant sauce (or even jelly) could well go with some foods, as long as not too sweet. Haven't made any myself, partly because whenever I get them I usually eat the berries as such. Blackcurrants... yum yum.

[Rosamunda]

Yes redcurrants go well with game. I often add redcurrant jelly to the juice from roasting roe deer to make "gravy".

The only thing I make with blackcurrants is Creme de Cassis We pick about 15-20 kilos most years - only last year was a disaster and if we have a late frost this spring then this year will be a disaster too. I think I will wrap the bushes for a few weeks to slow them down a bit.

Prunes have a strong flavour so could go well with lamb. I have cooked rabbit with prunes, really good, but the kids don't like them.

[Hank W.]

I've done pork and prunes, though I use luumuhillo to make the "roll".