Sweet Special Delivery!

Cartoccio di Filo Dolce con Cachi, Confettura & Cocco
Sweet Filo Parcel with Persimmon, Coconut & Jam

 

It's strange how everybody loves to unwrap a parcel and yet most people don't like to wrap them, isn't it? Well- I am sorry to say that somebody has to do it, folks!

But if it is a parcel like this one, it might even be one that you will enjoy packing as much as unpacking... because it is easy and fun to do!

 

I made myself this for breakfast... and afternoon tea, this morning- with no real plan in mind other than to make some kind of quick and yummy pastry that was not loaded with calories- and didn't require lots of complicated preparation and work... it just happened!

 

I had a couple of lovely, little persimmons and a mission to make something delicious out of them- fast! So I grabbed a pot of jam and a bag of coconut flakes, 4 sheets of Filo pastry... and turned on the oven! There was no time to waste- it was time to simply start improvising!

 

The result was crispy, flaky, light and fruity and delicious... all that whilst being not too sweet and definitely not fatty and overloaded with butter... so it was the perfect thing for me! Hopefully for you too!

 

I began by topping and tailing the persimmons, then cutting them into quarters...

 

... and then in turn, I cut the quarters into slices- ready to be laid-out in that pastry case!

 

This is a very low-fat pastry- but still, butter your baking dish to keep the pastry from sticking and you will see that this will also be plenty of butter to give the base a great flavor too.

 

 
Lay the pastry out, 2 sheets at a time, in a 45° angle to each other, then spread the base lightly with jam (I used raspberry in this case) and sprinkle with coconut. This will give great flavor but also help soak up juices from the persimmon slices.

 

Now add the persimmon slices working from the outside inwards.

 

Sprinkle generously with cinnamon and cover with coconut flakes before sealing.

 

Simply fold the pastry over, one corner at a time, all the way around until your parcel is nicely and neatly sealed.

 

Add a few tiny blobs of butter here and there before popping it into a hot oven, at 170°C, for around 20 minutes until the pastry is beginning to turn brown.

 

Just as the pastry begins to brown, take it out of the oven and add a light drizzle of honey- you will have noticed that I added no other sweetness than the jam and now the touch of honey will be plenty to finish making this pastry delicious- there really is not any need to add more!

 

 
10 minutes later, the pastry will be wonderfully glazed and crunchy, with a rich amber color and a wonderfully fruity, cinnamon and honey-laced aroma!

 

 
Such a simple little thing and so delightful... I was indeed- delighted! Haha!

Autumn Gold

Spaghetti con i Finferli & Ciliegini
Spaghetti with Chanterelles & Cherry Tomatoes

 

When it comes to making great pasta dishes- the rule is always to take it easy... and make it easy! Don't stress and fuss and make convoluted, complicated dishes- just put tasty ingredients together and let them speak for themselves!

This simple dish was made in just 20 minutes... well- after washing those pesky, gritty, bothersome but beautiful chanterelle mushrooms that is! But they are sooo worth the trouble- and actually- it is no real trouble at all!

 

 
This must be the first time that I have ever combined mushrooms with tomatoes in the same dish... but I have to say that the result was so much tastier than I expected! Of course, I prepared them separately, but brought them together, combined with pasta and herbs and a new friendship was born!

 

For 1 generous plate of wonderful pasta, I needed 2 handfuls of chanterelles, a handful or so of cherry tomatoes, 1 shallot, 1 sprig of rosemary, a little fresh parsley and of course spaghetti. The way I measure how much spaghetti to use is by touching my index-finger and thumb together and taking the quantity that fits into that "o" that they form... apparently that amount will be correct proportionally for each of us. I can't remember which doctor it was that told be that- but it's a pretty good and easy method to use I reckon!

 

Simple but still elegant enough to offer guests at a dinner party... and of course perfect at this time of year when they are in season and affordable! You have to love that mellow yellow!

 

Ok- cleaning the chanterelles takes 4-5 minutes- but it is hardly as daunting or as hard work as people always make out! The way to do it is to simply swill them around in plenty of water, push them to one side of the sink, or your bowl, then let the water drain away and take all of the sand and grit with it. Repeat this 3 times and take a look... your mushrooms are lovely and clean- it really does happen all by itself. Let them drip dry before using for at least 30 minutes on some kind of rack or failing that in a sieve, where the water can drain away... simple!

Otherwise- cut the shallot in 2 and cut one half into thin strips and the other into a fine dice. Finely chop the stalks of the parsley and cut the cherry tomatoes in half... done that? Good! Then you are ready to begin!

Put that pot on the boil and start the pasta boiling-by the time that spaghetti is cooked you will have taken care of the rest!

 

Put the chanterelles into a frying pan, dry and let them cook down, give off their juices (which you can pour away) and then dry out a little, before adding the half of the shallot that you cut into slices and plenty of rosemary. Season with salt and pepper, add a splash of olive oil and toss them together until they begin to turn golden brown.

 

In another small pan, fry the finely diced shallot together with the chopped parsley stalk until they begin to turn brown and then add the cherry tomatoes, salt and pepper and cook them down at a high temperature until they are soft and beginning to caramelize a little... mmm! That's plenty of great flavor! You can also add a little garlic if you prefer.

 

After 7-8 minutes or so, drain the spaghetti, add it to the tomatoes and grate generously with nutmeg. Add the parsley leaves, finely chopped, plenty of pepper and a nice glug of olive oil and toss together over a hot stove for 2-3 minutes until the pasta begins to take on the color and flavor of the tomatoes.

 

Serve with the golden and definitely delicious chanterelles on top- Parmesan if you so wish and a last sprinkle of pepper... and quite simply... enjoy!

 

Such a wonderful flavor from the slightly caramelized shallot and the crispy rosemary- a perfect complement to the mild flavor of the chanterelles and the gentle nutmeg flavor... delicious!

 

And the spaghetti, with its gentle sheen of olive oil and tomato is so grateful for the company- like I said... they really went surprisingly well together!

 

Yup! This is another dish that I will be making again- and I hope you will be too!

More Pizza Pan-Demonium!

Pizza in Padella con Zucchina, Ciliegini, Pancetta, Ricotta Salata, Basilico & Origano
Frying-Pan Pizza with Zucchini, Cherry Tomatoes, Bacon, Salted Ricotta, Basil & Oregano

 

Friday evening, home late, tired-out and hungry... isn't starting your weekend supposed to be more of a treat than that? Well, actually... yes it is! So I decided to get smart, take it easy and yes, to make myself to a treat!

Grabbing my trusty frying-pan, a roll of pre-made pizza dough and just a few simple ingredients, I had this amazing pizza put together in less time than it would have taken me to choose, call for and have a pizza delivered- and even had fun whilst doing it!

 

How would you like a slice of this? So tasty, with zucchini, bacon and tomato, but not needing any sauce and plenty different to the usual pizza toppings... it is always cool to try something new, isn't it? Especially when you make it yourself- that's the best way to get is just the way you like it!

 

Which leads me nicely to my ingredients! Contrary to most peoples preference when it comes to pizza- I really do not like having a load of gooey melted cheese on mine... hate me if you must! So for mine, I needed a zucchini- a round one in this case, although any will do... a good handful of finely chopped bacon, around 20 wonderfully small cherry tomatoes, plenty of basil, some grated, salted Ricotta cheese, some dried oregano and some good olive oil.

 

Obviously, you can and SHOULD be free to use other cheeses that you may prefer and MORE cheese than I did if you prefer, but let me just show you how I made mine and then go ahead and have fun making your own... that is the whole point of me sharing with you! What I am hoping for is to encourage people to do something for themselves!

 

So, the first thing to do is to coarsely grate the zucchini and to halve the cherry tomatoes- or cut them into quarters if they are a bit on the larger side.

 

 
Briefly toss the bacon and the zucchini together in a dry pan, adding plenty of pepper, for 3-4 minutes to get them both half-cooked. That way you get lots of flavor into the zucchini from the salty bacon and you also get the zucchini to sweat-out some of its juices.

 

Set the zucchini and bacon to one side to cool and rinse out your pan- and whilst they cool off, cut your pizza dough to size and lay it out in the pan- no need to add any oil at all.

First, lay out some basil leaves, plucked in half if they happen to be very large, then spread out the cool zucchini and bacon evenly on top. It's a good idea to wring the zucchini out and pour off any extra juices so as to not make the dough soggy.

 

 
Sprinkle with the grated Ricotta and lay out the tomatoes with the cut surface pointing up. Sprinkle the tomatoes lightly with salt as this will help them a.) be more flavorful of course and b.) cook more quickly and also not give off moisture into the dough which would make the pizza soggy.

 

Add more grated ricotta, sprinkle with pepper and fold-over the outer edge of the pizza to make it thicker and yummier. Add a last little bit of pepper, a light drizzle of olive oil and then put the pan onto your stove top for 3-4 minutes to start baking from beneath in the pan, before you pop it into your pre-heated oven to finish baking...

Bake at your very highest setting for between 5-10 minutes, depending on how hot your oven gets... mine took just 5-6 minutes to get this lovely and golden brown. Once the cheese has melted, fetch the pizza back out and sprinkle it generously with dried oregano... don't add it right from the beginning as it will otherwise simply burn- this way, it will soak up the juices from the topping and impart its own wonderful flavor to the rest!

 

Oh yes... that is MY kinda pizza!

 

The cool thing about this is that the zucchini basically takes the place of the sauce that you would usually have- and that the tomatoes take the place of the topping! The bacon makes sure that everything is packed with flavor- and the oregano and basil add more depth of flavor still... all good, simple stuff... and tasty too!

 

A nice crisp base and a nice, juicy topping- what's not to love about that? What an awesome snack!

 

Dare to be different- 'cause doesn't that just look lovely?

 

Who says you need a special pizza oven, pizza stone or any other contraption? All you need is to use your head... and a frying pan!

 

I would say that this is just about as good as it gets! And after trying it- I am guessing you will agree with me too! Enjoy!

Spice Like Us!

"Chorba" Piccante di Peperone Rosso & Fagioie Bianchi
Spicy Red Pepper & Butter Bean Chorba

 

"Another soup!?!?!", you cry... "Why, yes indeedy!", I reply!

There are not many meals that are safer bets on the cold, dark evenings, are there? You know you have a bowl of warming and comforting goodness in a soup, you can rely on it to make you better no matter what... can you tell how much I love my soups?

I especially love them when they are quick and easy to make, when I can whip them up out of basic, everyday ingredients... and when they are a little bit different from the same old thing... and I am pretty sure you will like the sound of that too!

 

I love the "chorba" spice mix I picked up from a local Ethnic market- "chorba" simply being the word for "soup" in most regions and indeed countries in the Orient. So there may be many different blends of spices- just as there are many blends of "curry" in India and Asia- but whatever the blend- spices are good!

This was a mixture of turmeric, ginger, coriander, cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, aniseed, garlic and cumin... doesn't that just sound divine? And of course, it would be even better to grind your own... but hey! It was Wednesday evening after work and I have this stuff already, ok? Haha!

 

As well as having the spices, I also had 1 red bell pepper, 1 carrot, 1 onion, 1 stalk of celery, 1 bay leaf, 1 chili pepper, 1 can of butter beans and some fresh parsley... which was all that I needed to make an awesome 2 bowls of soup!

 

What's not to love about being able to make something as delicious and exotic and delicious as this in just 30 minutes? Especially when it really WAS ultra easy! Just take a look and see!

 

So yes, of course I had to wash, peel, clean and dice my veggies- but that kind-of goes without saying when you want to prepare a soup, right? And obviously... that chili needs to be freed of any seeds (unless you have a fire-proof tongue!) and yes of course, I did add the stems of the parsley, finely chopped too!

 

I put all of the vegetables into my pan at once and fried them with a little olive oil, a good pinch of salt and pepper and a half teaspoon of fennel seed... which give great flavor- and make that pepper and those beans a little lighter to digest too!

 

Add the bay leaf and keep on stirring until the vegetables are nicely "sweated down" and are beginning to soften up nicely.

 

Now add the beans, straight from the can, including the liquid, add 1 tablespoon of the chorba spice mix and half of the chopped parsley and stir together until everything is nicely blended together.

 

Add plenty of boiling water and then reduce the heat to a low simmer and let it bubble away without you stirring it for 10 minutes. Those beans are already soft and tender and you do not want to turn them to mush! What will happen is that the soup will thicken up and that the flavors will become nicely absorbed and blend together whilst the pepper, carrots, celery and onion soften completely- it all happens by itself!

 

 
And after 25-30 minutes of cooking time, you will have this wonderful, rich, spicy soup to tuck-into! Again- why heat up some store-bought and synthetic tasting chemistry-set concoction when you can make your own this easy!?!

 

Colorful, flavorful... and wonderful!