I have such a great chat with today's guest: Jason Grenci is a professional food photographer and I love the conversation we have about food. He is a Canadian Italian who transitioned from fashion photography to food photography.

And art started directing art when he noticed the more he was in the kitchen cooking and playing with food seeing the way food reacted to different cooking techniques, the better his photography became.

We chat about the intricacies in the value of learning a little bit of the local language of places you are visiting.

We talk about pizza. Mmm… Pizza. Neapolitan or Roman style, which do you prefer?

We debate milk in bolognese… the traditional way is with milk Jason tells me, by the way. I must give it another go. Stay tuned for my results. (The current recipe for the way I make bolognese is below.)

And mostly we chat about our shared love of Italian food, especially while in Italy!

Jason is extremely knowledgable and his food photos will have you swooning.

Bon appetito!

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soffritto - Italian phrase for onions, carrots, and celery (in French called a mirepoix). Typically sautéed in olive oil, garlic and parsley are often added to the mix as well.
 

Billy’s Bolognese:

about 1lb of ground beef (medium)
1 onion
1 carrot, small chop
1/2 sweet red pepper, small chop
3 - 5 garlic cloves, crushed or finely chopped
2 tbs tomato paste
1 can crushed tomatoes

olive oil
salt

chili flakes (to taste)
garlic powder (to taste)

parmasean rind - optional

Brown beef in olive oil, with bit of salt. Remove from pan. Add more olive oil if needed. Sauté onions, carrots, and peppers. Salt. When onions are translucent, add in garlic and chilli flakes if using. When fragrant, add in tomato paste. Stir. Add back in meat. Stir. Add in canned tomatoes with a bit of water. Bring to boil. Toss in parmesan rind if using. Reduce to light simmer and half cover for at least an hour, staring occasionally. Add in garlic powder if needed. Usually I try and cook for a couple hours. It will thicken up as time goes on, so be sure to keep an eye on it so it doesn’t scorch the bottom.

When you are ready to eat, cook pasta to cooking instructions (ALWAYS al denté). When pasta timer goes off - do not strain into sink! Scoop pasta out and directly into sauce pot! The sauce will stick to the pasta better. Give it a toss. Plate. Pile with parmesan and chill oil (optional). And serve with a glass of milk… or Vino Rosso!

Of course there are variations to this… sometimes I use Italian sausage. Or a mix of pork and beef. Usually I use herb oil instead of olive oil. Sometimes I add in a splash of Worcestershire (which is my dad’s secret ingredient). Sometimes I add in Tabasco… sacrilegious I know… but sometimes if the pepper is a bit too sweet you need the vinegar to balance the sweetness. See where I'm going with this? You taste and adjust. Taste and adjust.

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To follow Jason on Instagram @jason.grenci
Jason Cooks culinary experiences Instagram @_jasoncooks

https://www.jasongrenci.com

To follow Food Is Culture | A Podcast along on Instagram @foodisculture.apodcast

Music and editing provided by @roninimperial from @bigsmokebounce

Podcast Artwork by @giftsfrombilly     giftsfrombilly.com

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