For a long time, fluffy potatoes whipped with their weight in butter was locked in association with ‘comfort food’ in my mind. Or perhaps something with an exaggerated cheese pull. But when stress-tested, it was the elimination of indulgence that provided true comfort, more plain familiarity. The solid wooden handrail worn smooth by the hands that have held onto it, rather than the soft, luxurious embrace of a mohair blanket.
When spending months apart from Brandon navigating the possibility of setting up a base on another continent, so much was already new: light, language, architecture, infrastructure – new flavours were sometimes a stretch too far. Comfort lay in the ascetic pleasure of a bowl of chicken broth. And another cornerstone of culinary simplicity and childhood suppers: spaghetti in tomato sauce (the Napoletana kind, not ketchup).
Back in Cape Town, Brandon turned to making pot after pot of Bolognese sauce, spending evenings immersed in chopping finely and caramelising slowly, and for the rest living on Marmite toast with edges so crisp and dark they push the boundaries of burnt, topped with a crumbly vintage cheddar that challenged the limits of aging. As if the hits of savoury-so-intense-it’s-borderline-uncomfortable provided a kind of solace.
To a varying degree, each of us was seeking out umami. And the sauce I turn to when needing an anchor, not only delivers the requisite umami, but the chopping of onions and the subsequent slow cooking requires the kind of attention that works well for quieting the mind. It does take time, and I can’t deny sometimes I wish I could conjure someone to cook it for me. But when it’s done, I’m always the better for it.
To learn the secret to red sauce and how to make it, click the link below.
I'm totally with the first thought ito comfort food: as you put it, "fluffy potatoes whipped with their weight in butter". Anything potato, though. As long as salt and fat are involved.
A family-version of Cannelloni. I have to say a 'family-version' because when I google what traditional cannelloni is, I don't think ours fits the spectrum. But ours is tasty and filled with comfort. It is the type of meal one wants to eat from the pot, is described in our family as 'camp' food - not pretty, but tasty, and usually results in overeating.