Sunday, 19 January 2014

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 !!

Tuesday, 14 January 2014

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 !!