Zuppa di Topinambour & Porro con Curcuma, Zenzero & Peperoncino al Gusto di Gamberi
Topinambour & Leek Soup with Turmeric, Ginger & Shrimp-Flavored Chili Flakes
A simple soup this evening- but a pretty awesome one at that! Hot and spicy, colorful and terrific, this was ready in just 20 minutes and perfect for a speedy portion of comfort after a long day ending in a bad mood... There's no better way to soothe the beast than to fill his stomach!
It only took a couple of spoonfuls to let the the troubles that the day brought with it fade away and only a couple more to have the evening filled with a warm, satisfied feeling instead! There are so many more things than mac and cheese that are really comforting on a cold, Autumn night- and plenty that are refreshingly different... like this here soup!
Made from 2 large Topinambour roots, 1 leek, a handful of celery leaves, 1-2" of fresh ginger, 1 teaspoon of turmeric and a half teaspoon of shrimp-flavored chili flakes (from you local Asian supermarket), with a little drizzle of simple plain yogurt to make the heat of the chili more bearable... this was something different and new... and totally delicious!
The ingredients here were totally basic, the preparation simple and free of any added fat at all- and the result so delicious that you will hopefully be as thrilled as I was! Less fat, more flavor- absolutely my favorite kind of meal!
Preparation is really simple- rinse the leek and cut it into rings, peel the Topinambour and cut them into chunks- and as for those celery leaves- they can just go in there just as they are.
Boil the ingredients in just enough water to cover them well, together with the turmeric and chili flakes, salt and pepper. Let them bubble away for 15 minutes on a low simmer- no fuss, no problems.
Once the ingredients are nice and tender, either give them a whizz in a blender or food processor, or use an immersion mixer like I did until everything is nicely blended together. Of course you could go on mixing away for ages, or pass the soup through a sieve to get it perfectly smooth... but me? I prefer my soups to have a few little lumps and to be a bit more rustic and have little more character than to be pureed down into what looks like baby-food!
That being said- you are bound to be everybody's baby if you make them this for supper! Serve piping hot with a drizzle of honey, a few more flakes of pepper and a leaf of celery as a garnish- pretty as a picture and tasty as can be!
What a blast of color and flavor!
Insalata di Puntarelle, Arancia & Scalogne
Puntarelle, Orange and Shallot Salad
What
could be a more seasonal Italian salad than this? Oranges, as my
European friends will realize, are a Winter fruit over here, despite the
fact that we have them in our supermarkets all of the time. But of
course, when they are natures own, when they are in-season and when they
are as delicious as these were... they really are something else!
These were the first good oranges of the season and I was totally
thrilled with their great flavor- so much so, that I combined them with
the other great seasonal ingredient that I picked up, the irresistible
Puntarelle- and made this fantastic salad this evening!
I
suppose that everyone if familiar with and loves orange and fennel
salad by now, but as delicious as it may be, this was just so much
better! I added mint to bring some freshness to counter-balance the
savory shallot- and a drizzle of honey to knock it right out of the
ball-park- and yes, it really was terrific!
One
small head of Puntarelle, 1 orange, 1 shallot, a little fresh mint,
salt, pepper, good olive oil and honey- you can remember that, can't
you? It could hardly be any easier!
As
always- it is all about the combination of flavors- they all come
together and just work for you- all you have to do is to introduce them
to one another! Just like any great team!
Remove
some of the longer outer leaves to add here and there as a garnish at
the end, revealing the weird and wonderful little green "pods" as I call
them, within. As you may have noticed in my pasta recipe the other
night, those outer leaves can be used wonderfully as chicory- because
basically, that is exactly what Puntarelle are!
Snap the individual little pods away from the main stem...
... and then slice up as thinly as you like- or can!
Next,
cut the top and bottom away from the orange and then cut away the peel,
right down to the flesh, as you can see in the photo. Using a sharp
knife, simply remove the orange segments from between the membranes.
Once you have removed all of the segments, you will be able to squeeze
the juice from the remainder, into a small bowl- that orange juice will
be the base for the salad dressing.
Slice the shallot as thinly
as you possibly can... I mean REALLY thinly! Nobody likes eating raw
onion that much after all! Then add it to the orange juice with plenty
of good olive oil, a good pinch of salt and plenty of pepper.
Mash
the shallot down into the other ingredients using a wooden spoon until
it softens up and blends in thoroughly... the sweetness of the orange
juice, along with the salt and the olive oil reduce the onion flavor...
but of course the onion flavor of the shallot also give the dressing its
savory tone... like I said- a great team!
Spread
out your Puntarelle and orange segments decoratively, add the shallot
here and there evenly using a fork and then scatter 7-8 finely chopped
mint leaves here and there to the salad before adding the remaining
dressing. Add a light drizzle of honey at the last minute and you are
ready to serve!
With
wonderful salads like this that we can enjoy in the Winter- we don't
have to miss out on anything at all! It's like a plateful of Summer all
over again!
Sfogliatelle Speziate di Pera, Mandorla & Uvetta
Pear, Almond, Raisin & Spice Puff-Pastries
Sweet,
but not too sweet, delicious, but totally delicious- that's what these
little "hand-pies" were! I do love my sweet treats- but I do find that
they are often simply TOO sweet, or too rich for my liking. It is easy
to load things with sugar and butter and cream and to pat ourselves on
the back for doing so- me? I find that a little bit "meh"- I think it
makes for much more interesting eating when
the individual flavors of the ingredients get to maintain their own
character and to stand out on their own. There- I've said it!
In fact, the only sugar I added to these pies was the dusting of
powdered sugar at the end- which, believe it or not folks, is not sonly
decorative, but it is actually sweet too! Although, if it is sprinkled
over something that is already overpoweringly sweet- you would never
know! Haha!
These
made such a lovely breakfast treat this Sunday morning... and actually-
a lovely afternoon teatime treat as well, now you come to mention it!
They were filled with pear, almonds, raisins and delicious spices...
which of course are already exciting enough in themselves!
My
ingredients to make 4 hand-pies were, 1 roll of puff-pastry, 1 pear, 1
handful raisins, 1 handful slivered almonds, 1 cupful ground almonds and
of course the spices: coriander, star anise, cardamom, cinnamon and
cloves.
Of
course, when you are making your pies, you are obviously free to add
sugar, honey or whatever other sweetener you may prefer to the
filling... and of course, it does also depend on how sweet the pear you
use happens to be- but like I said, it's about balance, so taste that
pear and follow your instinct! I will trust you!
A
little spice will go a long way- it will also make your pastries taste
amazing! Especially the coriander, which is an absolutely perfect
partner for pear! So, before I tell you how to put these beauties
together- go and turn on your ovens and get them nice and hot- you will
have these prepared in no time!
I
used 1 segment of star anise, 1/2 teaspoon of coriander seed, 2
cardamom pods, 1 clove- and "cheated" by using cinnamon powder! I just
didn't have any in stick form- and it would have been pulverized anyway!
So yes, they all got ground up finely using a mortar and pestle.
Next,
I grated the pear and added the other ingredients to it- the ground
almonds, the slivered almonds, the raisins and the spices.
I
stirred them together thoroughly and allowed them to sit for a few
minutes. which gave the ground almonds time to soak up the juices from
the pear- which is exactly what their purpose is. Nobody wants a soggy
pie- so if the thing that stops it from being soggy actually tastes
terrific- you are onto a good thing!
You
can cut your pies into any shape- crazily enough, I simply cut around
the grater I used to prepare my pear with and opted for an oval form!
The important... no, VERY important thing to remember is to use a very
sharp knife! It makes ALL the difference!
Fill
up half of each pastry with a generous amount of filling, but still
leave a decent outer edge free of filling so that you can seal it.
Go on- add plenty! It's all good healthy stuff in there after all!
All
you need to do now is to fold the pastries shut and to press down the
edges, simply using a fork, Once you have done that, give each one a
snip with a pair of scissors, which not only looks pretty, but will also
allow the steam that builds up beneath the crust as the pie bakes to
escape.
Bake
in a pre-heated oven at 190°C for 20-25 minutes until they are
wonderfully puffed-up and beautifully golden brown... not to mention
smelling as if they had just floated down from heaven! I kid you not!
It can sometimes be so easy to make something that looks so perfect! Thank goodness! haha!
All that remains to be said is simply "Enjoy!"- and I really hope that you do!
Orecchiette con Cicoria & Pomodorini
Orecchiette with Chicory and Cherry Tomatoes
We
Southern Italians do not like to be bitter people, but we do enjoy our
bitter foods! In Sicily and in Puglia, we especially love our bitter
greens- cavoli of all kinds and of course the pungent chicory that is
loved either raw in salads, or cooked down in dishes like this... an
acquired taste for some- but once your taste buds have been educated to
appreciate the wide variety of bitter tasting ingredients in the Italian cuisine, the more you will benefit from it!
By combining the bitterness of the greens with the fruitiness of the
cherry tomatoes, the sweetness of the shallot and the saltiness of the
ricotta cheese, this a great combination and a maybe more accessible
starting point to begin to get to know the beauty of a little bitterness
now and again... and if you already know and love it- then it is simply
a great meal to tuck-in to and to enjoy!
By
combining the bitterness of the greens with the fruitiness of the
cherry tomatoes, the sweetness of the shallot and the saltiness of the
ricotta cheese, this a great combination and a maybe more accessible
starting point to begin to get to know the beauty of a little bitterness
now and again... and if you already know and love it- then it is simply
a great meal to tuck-in to and to enjoy!
There
are many kinds of chicory and once again, being the frugal fellow that I
am, I used the outer leaves of the "Puntarelle" to make this dish. If
you happen to live somewhere you simply can not get any kind of bitter
chicory, you could possibly substitute dandelion greens to make this-
and if all else fails, some wild arugula. For one portion I needed about
2 handfuls of the leaves- which seems a lot maybe at first, but they do
wilt down quickly, in exactly the same way that spinach does. Other
than that, 1 shallot, 7-8 cherry tomatoes, 2 handfuls of orecchiette and
a little salted Ricotta or seasoned Parmesan for grating.
Simple, rustic, healthy and easy- just like all of the best pasta dishes are! Are you ready for a real taste of the South?
Wash
the greens thoroughly, as they tend to be rather sandy and chop them
relatively finely. Bring your cooking water to the boil, add a good
tablespoon of salt and add the orecchiette and the white stalks first-
reduce the heat to a gentle rolling boil and let them simmer away for
3-4 minutes.
After
3-4 minutes, add the green parts of the leaves, continue boiling for a
further 3-4 minutes and turn off the heat. The orecchiette will not be
cooked yet, but they will be almost there and the residual heat will
make sure they soak up the good, strong flavor of the greens.
Next,
quickly halve the cherry tomatoes, finely chop the shallot and fry them
with olive oil until they become a glorious color and the tomatoes
begin to brown.
Add
the orecchiette, the chicory and a good bit of the water they have
boiled in, stir them through and allow them to continue cooking together
for a further 3 minutes or so. By that time, they will have finished
cooking, thickened the broth, now reddened and enriched by the tomatoes
and they will be ready to serve!
Serve
with freshly ground pepper, a scattering of grated, salted ricotta
cheese and a drizzle of fine, extra virgin olive oil... & buon
appetito!
Fritella al Forno con Feta, Pomodorini & Pancetta
Oven-Baked Feta Cheese, Cherry Tomato & Bacon Pancake
Supper
this evening was small, simple, sensible and delicious... which means
it already has 4 good things going for it, before we even get started,
lol! What made it sensible? Well- the fact that it used-up the last of
the left-overs of this weeks groceries! What made it delicious- well,
bacon, eggs, tomatoes, feta cheese and herbs for example? Need I say
more? I know that you already trust me when I say it is simple to make-
and yes, the portion I made was small- but you may want to make a larger
version for yourselves... as it is pretty delicious!
So, now that we have covered those 4 aspects of my little savory pancake- let's get down to the details and get busy making it!
Although
half of the cooking happens on the stove top, the good thing about this
is that the other half of it takes place in the oven- making it a lot
more convenient and low maintenance than something you have to tend to
the whole time. And just look at the result! Yummy!
The
ingredients were 2 eggs, 2 Spring onions, 1/2 a block of feta cheese,
6-7 cherry tomatoes, a handful of finely chopped bacon, 2 tablespoons of
flour 1 cupful of milk and a little fresh parsley and thyme.
The
main thing that made this different from a regular omelette or frittata
was the addition of flour- which made it more of a pancake- and the
main reason I added it was to give a little more body to it and to help
absorb any excess moisture that came from the tomatoes, so that the
batter remained nice and stable.
Start
off by turning on your oven to get it nice and hot and by frying the
bacon bits together with the Spring onion for 2-3 minutes. This will get
them almost cooked through and will coat the pan with a little fat from
the bacon, which will be plenty for this dish. Set the bacon and onion
to one side to cool and prepare the batter in the meantime.
For
the batter, simply stir the 2 eggs, the milk, the flour and 2/3rds of
the crumbled feta cheese together thoroughly and season with salt,
pepper and nutmeg.
Next, add the now cool bacon and onion, the diced cherry tomatoes and the parsley and thyme.
Sprinkle
with the last 1/3rd of the feta cheese, a few more herbs, a last touch
of pepper and nutmeg, and let it begin cooking on the stove top until
the outer edges begin to bubble, then transfer to the oven to finish
baking for 10-15 minutes at 180° until set, puffy and golden brown.
Yes, a very simple affair- but also a very satisfying and delicious one at the same time! Perfect for a quick and easy meal!
Go
easy on the salt, because the feta cheese is already nice and savory-
but don't skimp on the herbs! They are going to give a great balance and
depth of flavor to combine salty bacon and cheese and the sweet tomato
and mild eggs that go to make up this little creation.
And yes- this would be perfect to serve cold with a salad on the following day... only with it being Winter, you might want to just sit down and finish it off whilst it is nice and hot, to warm you up and make you feel better- and to worry about what you are going to eat in the morning... in the morning!
Enjoy!
