Pasta with broccoli and anchovies

This is a typical dish from Sicily that mixes seafood (under oil anchovies) and vegetables (broccoli): we love this kind of food,  it's really tasty and ITALIAN. 

Ingredients (Metric and imperial) - Party of 4

• 14 oz (400 g) of Pasta (I've chosen Orecchiette)
• 60g (4 tablespoons) Extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Clove of garlic (finely chopped)
•  2/3 Cup (150  ml) White Wine
•  1 Pinch of salt (for sauce) + 2 tablespoons (for boiling water)
• 20 under oil anchovies fillets
• 60g (4 tablespoons) of breadcrumbs
• 1 medium Broccolo
• 1 pinch of pepper
• 1 little chili

Method:

• Cut your Broccoli in little pieces and cook them for 10 minutes in boiling water
• Put into a nonstick pan the oil, the anchovies and the garlic and put the pan on a low flame
• After 1 minute, add the wine and cook for 4-5 minutes
• Add the boiled broccoli (saving some of them for decoration), the salt, the pepper and the chili
• Boil pasta in salted water. You've to stop cooking them 2 minutes before the instruction of the packet says. At this time strain them out of the water (saving a glass of it) and pour it in the pan with high flame, mixing them  with the sauce and ending the cooking time in there. The right way to cook them is firm to the bite ( “al dente", in Italian). If they become a bit dry, then add a little quantity of cooking water while mixing.
• Serve on your plates, adding a broccolo and the breadcrumbs (fry it before, if you prefer)on the top

 

TARALLI from APULIA

This is a typical Bakery product from APULIA:  we love eating them one by one while drinking a good italian wine and t's really hard to stop eating them.
Let's see how to prepare them:

Ingredients (Metric and Imperial) - 30 pieces

• 250g (2 cups) of all purpose flour
• 60g (4 tablespoons) of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 100 ml (7 tablespoons) of white wine
• 3 pinches of salt
• 2 pinches of chopped rosemary or chopped fennel seeds

Method:

• Mix slowly all of your ingredients, after 10 minutes you'll get your perfect and homogeneous dough.
• Cover it with the food film and put in the fridge for 30 minutes
• Take your dough and make lots of cylinders sized as the half a normal pencil.
• Give them the shape of a ring, crossing and pressing the extremities
• Put them (in group of 10) into some boiling water: when they raise up, take them and put on a dry  and clean dish cloth
• Bake them at 350°F for about half an hour
• Enjoy the smell
• One cooking time is over, put them off and wait until they become just warm 
• Now you can really enjoy them!

Salmon Finger Food with black bread

During last years in Italy we're specilizing in appetizers: Before having dinner we have the "APERITIVO" (We can translate it with the word "opening"): So we drink a glass of good Italian wine, or a Cocktail, a glass of Martini or Campari....and eat something of little, called FINGERFOOD (you can easily understand the reason for this name).
Well, today we'll see how to prepare this tasty fingerfood: It's made with black bread (I used rye bread), salmon and creamy cheese enriched with orange skin or rucola or any other herb or spice you like with salmon.

So you just have to take una slice of bread, spread it with your "spicy" cream cheese, add a slice of smoked salmon: Do this 2 times and cover with a last slice of black bread.

Now you have a BIG "sandwitch": so you have to slice it into little squares, to string them with a skewer  and to serve!!

Everyone will be happy about your fashionable Finger-Food

Orange Risotto

This is not a very traditional dish, but such an experiment I did last weekend: I love orange taste and so I tried to join it with a Risotto. Well the result was amazing and I really liked it. I made a Vegan version so I didn'n use butter or sour cream: do the same, you will be surprised!

Ingredients (Metric and Imperial) - Party of 4

• 350g (12 oz) of Risotto Rice
• Half Onion, and the other half finely chopped
• 1 stick of celery 
• 1 Carrot, finely chopped
• 45g (3 tablespoons) of Extra Virgin olive oil
• 4 oranges
• Pepper (the white one is better for this recipe)
• Salt

Method:

• Grate the oranges
• Put in a big pot half onion (not the chopped one), the carrot and the celery,2 pinches of the orange's skin and half-fill it with fresh water, turn the flame on and let it boil for half an hour: this will be the soup with which we will cook our risotto.
• While it boils, squeeze the oranges and put their juice in a jar
• When your soup is ready, put in a large pan the oil and the chopped onion, let it fry for 1 minute and then add the rice, slowly mixing it: in this way it will not stick to the pan.
• After 1 minutes add the orange juice, always mixing (slowly): never forget mixing please!
• When the rice will become a little bit dry, add some of the soup you have just made and...guess...continue mixing!!
• 2 minutes before the rice cooking time (see the instructions on the package) add the remaining orange skin, saving some for the final decoration, and add salt and pepper on your taste.
• Once well cooked, serve it adding some orange skin as decoration

Pasta with Fish, Artichokes and Cheese

My friends,
lets' see how to make this tasty dish, that mix seafood with garden products, like many dishes of Italian cuisine.  Your beautiful dish will be enriched with a cheese :I used salted Ricotta but you can use Parmesan or Pecorino cheese as well.

Ingredients (Metric and Imperial) - Party of 4

• 400g (14 oz) Spaghetti
• 4 medium clean artichokes, divided in 4
• 45g (3 tablespoons) of extra virgin olive oil 
• 400g (14 oz)of Fish fillets (choose your favourite one)
• 1 clove of garlic,finely chopped
• 240ml (1 cup) of Beer
• 15g (1 Tablespoon) Salt for boiling water + 1 pinch for the sauce
• 1 pinch of pepper (optional)
• Grated cheese  (the quantity depends on your taste)

Method

• First of all, finely slice the artichokes
• Put into a nonstick pan the oil and the garlic and put the pan on a low flame
• When the garlic becomes a bit darker, add the artichokes and the ber: cover the pan with its top.
• After 10 minute, add the sliced fish fillets, they will cook in 2 or 3 minutes
• Boil spaghetti (or the type of pasta you've chosen) in salted water. You've to stop cooking them 2 minutes before the instruction of the packet says. At this time strain them out of the water (saving a glass of it) and pour it in the pan with high flame, mixing them  with the sauce and ending the cooking time in there. The right way to cook them is firm to the bite ( “al dente", in Italian). If they become a bit dry, then add a little quantity of cooking water while mixing.
• Add some salt and pepper (your taste will guide you for the quantity, serve on your plates,and grate your cheese on the top.

SALT-OVEN

 

Have you ever heard something about salt-oven cooking? It's an interesting cooking technique, it's easy and you will cook your dishes in a very healthy way. I use it expecially to cook fish fillets, just like the big salmon fillet in the pictures.  You have to half-fill  a pan or a pot (it depends on how many fillets you have to cook) with coarse salt mixed with the spices you want to use. To cook this salmon I mixed the salt with onion, pink pepper and oregan. Turn on a medium flame and when the salt will be HOT, put the fish (only the UNFLAKED skin will be in contact with the salt, so the fish won't become too salty). 

Cover the pan\pot with its top: the spicy steam will raise from the salt and drop on the fish, making it very tasty; it will be well coked in a time between 10 and 20 minutes depending on fillet's thickness (This salmon took about 15 minutes)

 

 

Chocolate Cheesecake

Well, sure you know that Cheesecake is not a very typical italian cake, but I made it for my girl's birthday and wanna share with you all. It's a variation of the classic New York cheesecake: i'll add chocolate and use chocolate biscuits for the basis. Let's see how to make it!

Ingredients (Metric and Imperial) for a 24cm (9 inches) cake tin

For the basis:

• 300g of chocolate biscuits
• 100g of melted butter.

Finely crumble the biscuits and mix them with the melted butter: put this mixture on the bottom of the cake tin and press it. Put the cake tin in the freezer for half an hour.

During this time, prepare your cheese cream:

Ingredients:

• 450g (16 oz) of Ricotta cheese
• 250g (9 oz) of cream cheese
• 150g (5.5 oz)  of powdered sugar
• 200g (7oz)  of plain melted chocolate
•  40gr (1.5 oz)of cocoa powder
•  2 eggs

Put in your mixer the ricotta, che cream cheese and the powdered sugar and mix them for 2-3 minutes, then add one by one the other ingredients untile you have your black yummy cream.

Now get your cake tinn off from the freezer and  fill it with the cream.

Put in the pre-heated oven at 350°F (180°C) for at least 45-50 minutes

Once cooked and cooled, put it in the fridge for at least 3 hours, then serve it with some vanilla ice cream or some sour cream.

Carrot VELLUTATA

Let's talk about another type of VELLUTATA (you can see CABBAGE one here). I can't translate this word, but I want to explain you the meaning: VELLUTO in Italian is like VELVET in english: So this dish is like Velvet in your mouth, delicate, soft and creamy just like Velvet! You can make it with every vegetable you like: Carrots, Cabbage, Potatoes and so on and you can change quantities of spices to have a more spicy or more delicate dish. Let's see how to prepare a cabbage (and potatoes) VELLUTATA.

Ingredients - Party of 4

• 1kg (2.2 Lbs) of carrots, sliced
• 1 big potato, chopped in little cubes
• 1 onion
• 2 pinches of salt
• 1 pinch of pepper
• 1 tablespoon of extravirgin olive oil
• Chili (optional)

Method:
 

• Put in a big pot the oil and the onion, turn on a low flame
• after 1 minute add the cubed potato and the sliced carrots, half-cover with warm water and cook it for 30minutes
• Mix everything with your blender, add the salt, the pepper and the optional chili
• serve it into your little bowls, with some roasted bread or croutons

Risotto with Broccoli, Curcuma and sundried tomatoes

Risotto is a typical Italian dish: we make it in millions of ways, with every ingredient existing in nautre. This is  a simple and vegan one, made with broccoli, Curcuma (a typical indian spice that is sometimes used also in our recipes) and sundried tomatoes!! Let's see how to make it

Ingredients (metric and imperial) - party of 4

• 350g (12oz) of Risotto Rice
• 2 medium broccoli
• 10 sundried tomatoes
• 2  tablespoons  of curcuma
• 2 pinches of salt
• 1 tablespoon of extravirgin olive oil
• half onion, finely chopped

Method

• Wash the broccoli and cut their spikes (we will use only them)
• put in a big pot the spikes, the  curcuma, 1 pinch of salt and half-fill the pot with water
• Boil  it for 10 minutes and get of the spikes 
• Now we have the soup with which we will cook the risotto
• Put the extravirgin olive oil and the onion in a large pan, turn on a low flame and cook it for 1-2 minutes
• Add the rice and start mixing with a  big wooden spoon (in Italian CUCCHIARELLA). The most important thing is NEVER STOP MIXING, slowly but steadily. This will toast the rice, and it’s very important for a perfect result
• After 2 minutes start adding the broth and remember DON’T STOP MIXING. You mustn’t drown your rice, but it must always be half-covered by the soup. When it starts to become dry, add the broth spoon by spoon until the end of cooking time
• 3 minutes before the end of cooking time, add your broccoli's spikes (saving some of them for decoration) and the sundried tomatos, sliced in little pieces,and continue mixing and adding some soup
• When cooking time is over, turn off the flame, and, if necessary, add a pinch of salt and some curcuma more.

Serve it, decorating with some brococoli's spikes

Rosemary Bread

Hello my friend! Today we'll see how to prepare a wonderful, fragrant rosemary bread.
It's not difficult, but it takes a long time because we want to prepare an easy to digest bread, so we MUST use a little quantity of yeast and let it work for 8-10-12 hours!! What we have to do is mix and knead patiently.

Ingredients (metric and imperial)for 1 loaf of bread

• 500g (1.1Lb) of  MANITOBA Flour ( indispensable for long rising)
• 340g (12oz) of fresh water
• 5g (0.18oz) of brewer's yeast
• 15g (1 tablespoon) of salt
•  5g (1teaspoon) of sugar
• 15g (1 tablespoon) of chopped rosemary

Method:

• In a big bowl put the water, the sugar and the crumbled yeast
• Mix it for 1 minute with a spoon: this will "wake up" the yeast
• Add the manitoba flour and the rosemary and start mixing and then knead
• after 2 minutes put some flour on your table (or baking table) and empty your bowl onto it
• Knead your dough for other 2 minutes then add the salt and knead again for another 5-6 minutes 
• Put the dough back into the bowl, cover the bowl with a pot top, put it into your oven (swhitched off, of course) and close it.
• after 2 hours cover a baking tin with some baking paper and put the dough on it
• Give to the dough your favourite shape (I use to bake in FILONE shape, the one in the picture)
• Incise lightly the surface (I always do oblique incisions)
• Cover with a clean dish cloth and put again in the oven
• after 7-8 hourse (it depends on the temperature of your house and on the season) get it out from the oven
• pre-heat the oven at 430°F, put in your dough
• When its surface becomes golden, switch off and open the oven
• Get the bread out and DON'T SLICE now (Yes, you have to resist...) because it will continue cooking inside and it's a very important moment, because too wet parts will dry 

When it's just warm, slice it and eat it with some ITALIAN cheese or Mortadella or prosciutto, or simply with some drops of italian extra virgin olive oil and salt!

Octopus and Beans soup

This is a spicy and warm seafood dish, perfect for winter but, once cooled, you can use it as  appetizer in little fingerfood portions.  It's another example of begetable and seafood mixing, very typical of italian cuisine!
Ingredients (imperial and metric) - Party of 4

• 3 little octopus, sliced in pieces
• 2 cans of boiled white beans
• 1 bottle of tomato sauce
• 1 clove of Garlic, finely chopped
• 1 glass of white wine
• 2 pinches of pepper
• Chili (optional)
• 45g (3 tablespoons) of Extravirgin Olive Oil
• 2-3 pinches of salt

Method:

• Put in a large pot  the oil the garlic and the optional chili and turn on a low flame
• wait 2 minutes and put the octopus: let it fry for about 1 minute, mixing
• Add the red wine and when it's evaporated, add the tomato sauce
• Let the sauce boil, if it becomes a bit  dry, add some hot water
• While the sauce is boiling, open and drain one can of beans: reduce them in cream
• Open the other can and drain it.
• When the tomato sauce changes its color becoming dark add the beans cream and the drained beans into the pot
• Cook all together for another 2-3 minutes, then add the salt, mix it and serve

TIPS: when you serve it, you can add some roasted bread  or some Taralli from BARI and some RUCOLA, it will be very nice!!

Cabbage VELLUTATA

Today we'll talk about a typical Italian dish, called VELLUTATA. I can't translate this word, but I want to explain you the meaning: VELLUTO in Italian is like VELVET in english: So this dish is like Velvet in your mouth, delicate, soft and creamy just like Velvet! You can make it with every vegetable you like: Carrots, Cabbage, Potatoes and so on and you can change quantities of spices to have a more spicy or more delicate dish. Let's see how to prepare a cabbage (and potatoes) VELLUTATA.

Ingredients - Party of 4

• 1 big cabbage, finely sliced
• 1 big potato, chopped in little cubes
• 1 onion
• 2 pinches of salt
• 1 pinch of pepper
• 1 tablespoon of extravirgin olive oil
• Chili (optional)

Method:
 

• Put in a big pot the oil and the onion, turn on a low flame
• after 1 minute add the cubed potato and the sliced cabbage, half-cover with warm water and cook it for 30minutes
• Mix everything with your blender, add the salt, the pepper and the optional chili
• serve it into your little bowls, with some roasted bread or croutons

Crispy Plumcake with sundried plums

Here we are: Let’s see how to prepare a LIGHT Plumcake, to have our pie at breakfast or tea-time without eating too fat dishes. In other words, we can eat it without becoming fat, that’s AMAZING!!

Ingredients (Metric and Imperial) for a plumcake pan pan

• 0,5l (17 oz) of milk  (also vegan milk if you want)
• 150 gr (5oz) of sugar: brown is better and  you can use more or less, it depends on your taste
• 400 gr (3 1/3 cup) of pastry flour
• 16g (1 tablespoon) of baking powder 
• 20 sundried plums sliced into 4 parts
• 4-5 tablespoons of corn flakes (choose your favourites)

Method:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C)
• Grease and flour the cake pan
• Put in a big bowl the sugar, the flour, the baking powder and start mixing them, slowly adding the milk.
• Mix all for 2 minutes and then add the plums.
• Continue mixing for another minute
• Put it in your plumcake pan and cover your misture with corn flakes, pushing them a bit inside it.
• Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about 35 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean. Cool cake for 20 minutes in the pan, then put onto serving plate.

Enjoy it !!

Parmesan pepper and mussels Pasta

Let’s see how to cook this really tasty recipe that join Roman and Baresian tradition. You have to know that one of the most famous dishes in Rome is the PASTA CACIO E PEPE  (Cheese and pepper), and one of the most famous dishes from Bari is Pasta with mussels. We mix them to have a really amazing food! Let’s see how.

Ingredients (metric and Imperial) party of 4

• 2 kg of mussels
• 200g (7 oz) of Parmesan, freshly grated
• 500g (18oz) of fresh pasta
• Some pinches of pepper
• 250ml (1 cup) of White wine

Method

• Clean the mussels with an iron sponge, ripping off the little wire that comes out from the shell
• Put some extra virgin Olive oil in a pan and turn on a low flame: after 2 minutes, put the mussels into the pan, turn the flame high and add the wine, covering the pan with its top
• After 3-4  minutes remove the cover and you will see that mussels are open now or they are starting to open.
• Take the open mussels and put them in a bowl one by one
• If after 5-6 minutes there are still closed mussels, they’re not good, so throw them in the garbage
• Shell your mussels (leave just 2 each person with the shell  for decoration)
• In the pan you have the mussels “cooking water”: filter it with a  strainer and put again in the pan (after have cleaned it of course) and add 1-2 glasses of warm water
• Turn on a medium flame under the pan and bring the mussels cooking water to boil
• Put your fresh pasta in the pan, it will cook into the mussels water and will absorb the true flavor of the sea
• Mix everything  with a cooking nipper (so it will not stick). If it becomes a bit dry, add a spoon of warm water, but not too much. You should arrive at the end of the cooking time with just 3-4 spoons of cooking water in the pan
• Normally fresh pasta takes 4-5 minutes to be cooked, so 1 minute before switching off the flame, add the shelled mussels into the pan
• Once cooked, put everything in a big bowl and add the parmesan, mixing everything very quickly.
• You will see the Parmesan transforming into a very tasty cheese-cream thanks to the interaction between parmesan, warm cooking water and your mixing.

Serve your wonderful dish, decorating with some unshelled mussels.

Light Apple Pie

Here we are: Let’s see how to prepare a LIGHT apple pie, to have our pie at breakfast or tea-time without eating too fat dishes. In other words, we can eat it without becoming fat, that’s AMAZING!!

Ingredients (Metric and Imperial) for a 26cm/10.2 inch round cake pan

0,5l (17 oz) of milk  (also vegan milk if you want)
150 gr (5oz) of sugar: brown is better and  you can use more or less, it depends on your taste

400 gr (3 1/3 cup) of pastry flour
16g (1 tablespoon) of baking powder
3 tablespoons of cinnamon powder

3 apples: 2 of them cut in lithe cubes, the other one in thin slices (to cover our pie, see the picture)

Method:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C)
• Grease and flour the cake pan
• Put in a big bowl the sugar (save a tablespoon for the final cover), the flour, the baking powder and start mixing them, slowly adding the milk.
• Mix all for 2 minutes and then add apple-cubes and 2 tablespoons of cinnamon.
• Continue mixing for another minute
• Put it in your cake pan
• Cover with apple slices and dust with the remaining sugar and cinnamon
• Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about 35 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean. Cool cake for 20 minutes in the pan, then put onto serving plate.

Enjoy it !!