Mint-Chocolate Pearfection!

Soufflé di Avocado con Gusto di Cioccolato e Menta
Chocolate and Mint Flavored Avocado Soufflé

Ok my friends- get your ovens turned on and warming up, start boiling a little water, grab yourselves and avocado pear, an egg, some bitter cocoa powder and some mint flavored syrup and let's make ourselves a wonderful little dessert!



Oh, I know- soufflé's are so daunting and difficult you say- but no, say I! I tried this out- it was purely intuition, but my intuition usually serves me pretty well in the kitchen- and I am sure that the photo's speak for themselves and show how light and fluffy this turned out. And no- it did not simply collapse, but was nice and rich and firm on the outside, whilst being creamy and silky smooth on the inside... mmm! And this is how I did it!

Cut your avocado in two, remove the stone, scoop out the soft, tender fruit, chop it up a little and sprinkle with a hint of lime juice. Ok- now you have your avocado prepared and safe from going off color. Next, separate an egg- put the egg white into one bowl and add the yolk to the avocado in another one. Sweeten each bowl with a half teaspoon of stevia. Add 2 tablespoons of vanilla custard powder to the yolk along with 1 tablespoon of baking powder and 2 tablespoons of mint syrup. I used the kind of mint syrup that you can use in cocktails- but if you are making this for adults, you could also use Creme de Menthe. That's really all of the prep work done- now it's time to have some fun and put this all together!


First of all, whisk the egg white, adding a pinch of salt, until it is firm and fluffy. Next, whisk the avocado and egg yolk until it becomes creamy and smooth and incorporates the custard, baking powder and mint syrup.

Now split the avocado cream into 2 portions and add 2 tablespoons of bitter cocoa powder to one. Whisk it in well until it becomes sooth and dark brown and chocolaty- mmm! Now add half each of the fluffy egg whites to each bowl and whisk it in lightly.

Next, take the ramekin you are going to use and set a metal ring into the middle and fill with the green mix. Fill the space around the outside of the ring with the chocolate mix and swirl it around evenly. Now remove the middle ring and ta-da! You have 2 flavors in one! Pretty cool and very easy!

So- now it is time to pour the water that you boiled into a shallow try and to lay a piece of kitchen town down in it. Place your ramekin on top and pop it into your hot oven for 15-20 minutes. The paper towel stops the ramekin from rattling around whilst the water below boils- and the steam that the water produces, helps the soufflé to rise- as of course does the egg white and the baking powder!

Normally you might add a little flour to give added stability, so that the souffle does not fall- but in this case, we have a.) the avocado itself which has a thick and creamy consistency and b.) the powdered custard mix and the baking powder.

And there you go- 20 minutes later you have this firm on the outside but so fluffy and creamy on the inside delight! I was thrilled with the result and hope that you will be too!

Souper Noodles!

Zuppa di Vermicelli Asiatiche con Straccetti di Manzo e Verdure Miste
Beef & Vegetable Ramen Noodles

Quick, easy and always satisfying, a hot bowl of Ramen noodles always does the trick! And yes, of course there are lots of instant noodle snacks out there, that need no more than boiling water to be poured over them and for you to wait for 5 minutes. And yes I know that they do actually taste pretty good. But in just 15 minutes more time and with very little effort, you can have a bowl of noodles like these and a much more satisfying meal...

This may not be an authentic preparation for a ramen dish, but trust me, it delivers and it is easy and it is healthy to boot. Take a look and see just how easy it actually is- and enjoy!

Basically, all that you need to make a tasty noodle soup is a good broth. Well, using the traditional basics of carrot, onion and celery and adding some Asian herbs and spices and of course the flavorful beef, that is hardly what I would call a challenge!

I started by frying the beef strips at a high heat in a little sesame oil. Whilst it was frying, I chopped some garlic, galangal, red chili pepper, lime and coriander up finely and then ground them together into a paste in my mortar and pestle. I then added the paste to the meat and deglazed the saucepan with a little boiling water. Next came celery, red peppers and carrot, which I cut into thin strips of around 2" in length. I topped up the water and reduced the heat to a gentle simmer.

Next, I ground up a tablespoon of salted peanuts and added them to the broth, along with the noodles. I seasoned with a little fish sauce, some light soy sauce, the juice of half a lime and a little sesame oil. I added a little very finely chopped spring onion and  I let the noodles cook for 4-5 minutes and then turned off the heat and allowed them to sit and rest to 2-3 minutes longer. But you can rest assured that 2-3 minutes after that I was settled down, sprinkling a few salted peanuts and a few salted peanuts as a finishing touch and enjoying my steaming bowl of noodles! Souper!

Pizza Primavera

Pizza con Cimi di Rapa, Pancetta, Ricotta, Ajvar e Olive

Pizza with Broccoli Rabe, Bacon, Ricotta, Ajvar and Olives

For want of a better name, I called this blog entry "Pizza Primavera" or " Springtime Pizza", because it is indeed a pizza and it is also officially the first day of Spring- is that good enough for you? The fact of the matter is, that I couldn't think of a nicer way to describe a pizza with a broccoli rabe topping like this and with the cheese-curd and ricotta on there too- it deserves a special kind of name- don't you think?


I somehow didn't think that the slightly bitter broccoli rabe would go well with a tomato sauce, so I came up with the bright idea of using Ajvar- spicy and tangy, to compliment the greens- and a little creamy cheese curd mixed with salted ricotta gave a little mildness to the whole thing. Maybe not very traditionally Italian- but red, white and green nevertheless!

So here we go- and this is a time for straight talking. It is a weekday night and you have been at the office for 9-10 hours. You might possibly want to start messing around with flour and yeast and start kneading a dough. And I would applaud you- I would. But I would also applaud you if you did what I did and used a store-bought pizza dough on the roll. Seriously- life is too short to be exaggerating with every single little aspect of your food being home made. As long as you are putting good, fresh and healthy ingredients onto your pizza, I would say that the dough is the least important aspect of this dish. After all- making a wonderful home-made dough and then putting on a load of fatty cheese, salami or worse kind-of defeats the point! End of rant- on with the fun!


I had to do a tiny bit of prep-work nonetheless for this- but it was all done in 5 minutes! In the time it took to steam the broccoli rabe, I de-stoned the olives, grated some salted ricotta cheese and browned a little finely chopped bacon in a dry frying pan. Easy! Next step was assembly time!


I crushed a clove of garlic and mixed it together with 2 tablespoons of low-fat cheese curds and 1 tablespoon of grated salted ricotta cheese. I added a little pepper, nutmeg and a tiny drop of olive oil. That was topping number one finished. Number two went straight from the jar onto the pastry dough- Ajvar! 1 heaped tablespoon was enough- spread evenly over the pastry, it gives a nice tangy base for the other ingredients- and they went on next. First, a few blobs of the cream cheese mix here and there and then the broccoli rabe, which of course I also spread out evenly. Next came the olives which I also distributed evenly and then came the bacon bits which I sprinkled all over. I gave a final seasoning of freshly ground pepper, a sprinkle of caraway seeds and a little more nutmeg and popped my pizza into a pre-heated oven at 450° for 10-15 minutes, until it was crispy and brown. Your oven may need a little more or less time- just make sure to have a high heat and be close at hand! And as soon as it's ready- get it while it's hot! And buon apetito!

The Power of Sweet & Sour

Straccetti di Manzo e Cipolla in Agro con Patate Dolci Arrostiti
Shredded Vinegar Beef with Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Yes, they do say that opposites attract, don't they? Well, whoever "they" may be- they are absolutely right! This simple dish of sweet potatoes, roasted with herbs and garlic, is the perfect accompaniment to the strips of beef that are highly flavored with balsamic vinegar-pickled onions, with thinly sliced red peppers and thyme... what a delicious combination!

So without any further ado, let me fill you in on how to make this- it probably takes less time to prepare it as it will do for me to write it! So hold on to your horses- this is going to be a quick one again!

The first thing I did was to scrub the sweet potato- you can peel them if you prefer- but I just love the earthy flavor of the peel! I then cut it into quarters lengthways as it was a rather small specimen, but if you have larger sized potatoes you can cut them accordingly into nice wedges. I then popped them into my steamer for 5-6 minutes, to pre-cook them a little them before roasting, so that they would be done faster and have a nice soft center whilst being crispy on the outside.

Whilst the potatoes are steaming, slice a minute-steak into thin strips and marinate it in a little olive oil, oregano, thyme and garlic.

Once the potatoes have steamed for 5-6 minutes, drizzle a little olive oil onto them and sprinkle them with a good pinch of Herbs de Provence. Pop them into the oven at a high temperature  (400-450 °) for 10-15 minutes.

In the meantime, turn the heat up high and add the beef and its marinade into your frying pan, along with the red pepper. Once the meat begins to brown, add the pickled onions and a little of the juices from the jar, or alternatively a little balsamic vinegar of your own. Add a couple of twigs of fresh thyme, stir well, add a little honey and remove from the heat- it's time for supper!

Flip the potatoes over one last time to get the surface moistened with the olive oil at the bottom of the tray and sprinkle with coarse pepper, salt and also a little fresh thyme. Turn on the broiler for 1- minutes whilst you dish-up the meat, to add a nice crusty finish.... mmm! I am pretty sure you are going to like this!

Stereophonic Soup!

Vellutata di Ceci con Cimi di Rapa
Cream of Chick Pea & Broccoli Rabe Soup

This was a really quick, spur-of-the-moment type idea- but one that actually worked really well! The idea of thickening a vegetable broth with a couple of spoons full of flour is pretty awful, I have to admit, but basically, that is what I did this evening... only I used my new favorite ingredient, chick-pea or garbanzo bean flour- which is quite a different story altogether.

I recently made Sicilian "Panelle", and of course had to taste it whilst it was cooking away and though the paste of flour and water, was destined to become something else in that recipe, I still realized that the rich chick-pea flavor it had, was something that could be capitalized on. And this evening I did!

So I needed two little saucepans of course for this- but it was so quick and easy to make that I had no problem with that. All in all it only took me 15 minutes to make! In one saucepan, I carefully whisked 2 tablespoons of chick-pea flour per person into some cold vegetable stock- you need to do it whilst the liquid is cold to avoid getting any lumps. In the other saucepan, I blanched the broccoli rabe in a little salted water for 5 minutes, then rinsed it under cold water to stop the cooking process and maintain the vibrant green color.

I brought the chick-pea broth to the boil and then reduced it to a gentle simmer, stirring constantly. I seasoned it with some dried garlic flakes and a little nutmeg, salt, pepper and a tiny squeeze of lemon. After 5-6 minutes, the broth thickens up and becomes smooth and creamy. The Italian name for this kind of soup is a "Vellutata" which means "made of velvet"- which sure describes this soup. And with no need for any added cream it is especially wonderful if you ask me!

I poured a third of the plain soup into my mixer and added most of the blanched broccoli rabe, gave it a quick blast and in less than a minute, I had transformed the chick pea soup into a lovely green, flavorful broccoli soup! It was so easy! I then first poured the plain soup into my bowl and then added the broccoli soup to one side only. I set some of the intact broccoli in the center and added a little balsamic vinegar and olive oil before serving. I swirled it around once to make it a little prettier- but basically that was it! 2 soups in one in no time at all! And at practically no cost or effort- you have a nice, warming little starter that is more than simply good enough to eat! It is really delicious!

Orient Express

Involtino di Manzo con ripieno di Couscous Speziato & Carote Marinate
Steamed Beef Roulade with Spiced Couscous and Marinated Carrots

Some meals are complicated to put together, daunting and difficult to make and quite frankly, a little bit frightening and off-putting for a lot of people. But I say- be fearless! Go ahead and have fun with your food! There is only one way to learn how to cook- and that is to get up, get into the kitchen and just do it!

It is fine reading a recipe from a cook and following it parrot-fashion, to the "t" and then patting yourself on the back when it turns out ok. But it is a little bit like learning a language from a tape and then never having a real conversation in that language with a native speaker. I think it is great to pick up ideas, have thoughts of your own- and get out there and cook up your own meals. That is what my blog is trying to help you all to do. Have some fun!  No exact measurements, just descriptions, ideas and food for thought so that you might prepare some food for friends!


This is actually a very simple little dish to put together. The only real work, which is very minimal in fact, is in preparing the couscous- so let's start with that. Finely chop cilantro, mint, parsley, chives or onion and some grated fresh ginger and put them into a bowl along with your couscous. I also added some dried dates which I cut into slices- but you could use figs or raisins, or some similar dried fruit- just to give it a little exotic sweetness. I then added a whole, heaped tablespoon of Ras el Hanout "rouge", some salt, pepper and a little cayenne. Cover with boiling water, stir well and allow it 5-10 minutes to absorb it and for the flavors of the herbs and spices to infuse it.

Next, let's marinade our paper-thin steak slices in a little sesame oil, some crushed garlic, a pinch of salt, a pinch of sugar, a little pepper and a trickle of honey. The couscous needs to cool slightly, before we can form the roulades, so lets make use of that time to slice out carrot into the thinnest slices you can manage. Add a couple of slices of ginger, a splash of Cointreau and a squeeze of lime juice and you have a wonderful flavor combination to sautée those carrots with in just a while... but let's get back to the meat first.

Now that the couscous is "cooked" and cool, spoon some onto the meat and then carefully form little roulades, wrapping it up as tightly as possible. It will be a little messy with the meat marinated and all... but it will be worth it! Once you have shaped the little roulades, wrap them tightly in Ceran wrap. Place the rolls into your steamer, close the lid and kiss them goodbye for 10 minutes- it's as easy as that!

After 10 minutes, remove them from the saucepan and carefully snip open the Ceran wrap to release the meat juices- pour these over the carrot slices and turn on the heat. Wrap the rolls in aluminum foil to keep them warm. Whilst the meat "rests" for 5 minutes,

the carrots can cook gently in their marinade and the added juices from the meat, which will reduce down to a nice dressing sauce.


Serve the roulades on a bed of carrot slices, with a little fresh cilantro and a little of the sauce... and enjoy!

Don't Call Me Cup-Cake!

Tortine di Ricotta, Mirtilli Rossi, Carote, Cocco e Granatina
Cranberry, Carrot, Coconut & Grenadine Cup Cakes

Sunday morning, breakfast time and "The Man Who Could Not Bake" is in the mood for something sweet and fluffy. You could say that I would find myself in a difficult situation... but "Ha!" I would reply, "Not I!". No, on the contrary, a challenge is often the most important ingredient putting together something tasty in the kitchen.

So armed basically with the knowledge of how to put together a pancake and little more, I set about creating these little high-rise pancakes- which really is all they are. But they were soooo good! What do you think? Do you think you might like one of these? Or two? Or more?

Ok, you need to prepare a couple of things to get these beauties made. The first thing is the carrot, which needs to be grated finely- I used one small carrot to make 8 cakes. Next, you need to separate 2 eggs. Let's start with the egg yolk and add 2 tablespoons of cheese curds or whichever kind of cream cheese you prefer. I used a very low fat version for my little cakes and it worked fine- it is all a matter of taste. I wanted to make them low-fat and no-sugar... and it is possible! 

I added a little stevia to the egg and cheese, some vanilla and a little cinnamon. I whipped it at a high speed for 2-3 minutes and then stopped to add a couple more ingredients. I added 2 tablespoons of grated coconut, the grated carrot and one tablespoon of flour, along with 1 teaspoon of baking powder to help these little cakes along. Remember- I don't know how to bake! Haha! - but this is what I did and it worked out fine. Another minute of whisking to bring everything together and I was good to move on to the egg whites...

I whisked the egg whites up into a firm, fluffy snow, remembering to add a pinch of salt to give it stability and stop it from collapsing too soon. I also used stevia to sweeten the egg whites- of course you can use sugar- but that would be another story. I added the stevia little by little and kept tasting it until it was right for me- remember- this stuff does taste MUCH sweeter than sugar- so you will need much less- and until I have garnered more experience in using it, all I can say is that it is a matter of trial and error until you get the results that you like. But let's move on for now...

Carefully, I added the stiffly beaten egg whites, spoon by spoon into the flavored batter, stirring it in gently with a whisk so as to not lose the fluffy consistency. I then poured the mix into cup-cake cases to a little past the half-way mark and dropped a good sprinkle of dried cranberries on top. Of course they sink down some, but I have the feeling that they do not all end up immediately at the bottom of the cakes this way.

I put them into a pre-heated oven at 180°C for 20 minutes and grabbed my bottle of grenadine at that point, so that I would be ready to add the finishing touch. I took the cakes out and swiftly trickled each cake with a little grenadine and then popped them back into the oven for a further 5-10 minutes. The sweet syrup seeps in slightly, glazes nicely and simply elevates the flavor of the other ingredients in the most wonderful way! Try it- you'll like it! But you will have to wait for a few minutes for them to cool down a little!