Monthly Archive for settembre, 2011

Marmellata di pere e cioccolato fondente

Published by Candida, on 29 settembre 2011 in Dolci, marmellate and Ricette in Italiano. 1 Comment Tags: , , .

L’abbinamento di pere e cioccolato è classico e siccome ho in giardino un alberello di pere che a casa non sono molto ambite ho pensato di fare questa marmellata. Il giudizio dei famigliari è che il risultato sapeva troppo di cioccolato e poco di pera. Così ho corretto il tiro. Ho usato il 3:1 di Cameo ormai sdoganato anche da Cavoletto. In fondo è solo pectina. Che male c’è? E poi serve a cuocere la pera il meno possibile, farla meno dolce e non togliere l’amaro del cioccolato. Ecco qua dunque: Continue reading ‘Marmellata di pere e cioccolato fondente’

Courgette and goat cheese crumble

Published by Lucina, on 24 settembre 2011 in English Recipes and vegetables. 1 Comment Tags: , , .

courgette and goat cheese crumble

I’ve been looking for a nice , new easy recipe with courgettes, now that they are in season and I frequently get them in my organic vegetables box. I often cook them as a side dish with garlic and parsley or put them in a soup with brie but I fancied something a bit different so I asked around amongst my many foodie friends for some ideas. Apparently there are cookery books entirely devoted to this humble vegetable! Anyway…. I came up trumps with this one, courtesy of Anna. It’s dead quick but really tasty, ideal for a light supper.  It has a delicious crusty topping but it’s lovely and moist inside. And it couldn’t be easier to make. Continue reading ‘Courgette and goat cheese crumble’

Piccole cuoche crescono e vanno in giro per il mondo: Äpplen havretacke

Published by Candida, on 19 settembre 2011 in Dolci and Ricette in Italiano. 2 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Cioè “mele in coperta di avena”, o più semplicemente, una crumble di mele con l’avena, tipica in Svezia (ma probabilmente ovunque oltre il 55° parallelo!). La ricetta e l’esecuzione sono di Laura e di Meret (grazie!). Questo avvio di anno è un po’ trafficato e mi faccio aiutare perfino per i post!! A proposito, il titolo: avrei voluto riferirmi all’originale sequel di Little Women (Piccole donne in italiano). Ma che delusione scoprire che il Piccole donne crescono a cui siamo abituati qui in Italia in inglese è Good wives… Sembrerebbe un caso in cui la traduzione è più incisiva e meno didascalicamente terrificante dell’originale. Che dire? Ma bando alle ciance, ecco il semplicissimo dolcetto nordico. Continue reading ‘Piccole cuoche crescono e vanno in giro per il mondo: Äpplen havretacke’

Cream of mushrooms soup

Published by Lucina, on 15 settembre 2011 in English Recipes and Soup. 4 Comments Tags: , .

Cream of mushrooms soup

I reckon it’s time I blogged another of my favourite soups. I was going to say legendary but perhaps it would be a touch too arrogant! As my readers (both of them…he he) will know I LOVE soups and I possess quite a repertoire. I know that some people find them boring but I am a huge fan! Nothing better than a hearty soup with a chunky piece of bread when the weather starts getting chilly ( the whole year round here in England, then!!!). I think I have waxed lyrical about them before. Anyway….This week in my veggie delivery box there were loads of mushrooms. As I had already bought some myself I ended up with quite a humungus quantity in the fridge so I decided to make a soup. As I didn’t follow a recipe ingredients are  roughly guessed. In truth you can’t go wrong with soups, most of the time. I DID use one thing  you can’t find here in the UK, mind, and it’s the Star Porcini stock cubes! FABULOUS stuff if you are cooking with mushrooms. I used the last one tonight so I must stock up next time I’m in Italy. Actually I take it all back. I’ve just googled them and would you believe it?? You CAN buy them here in the UK after all. I have just found them on Amazon!!!! Unbelievable!! It has made my day!!!! :-) Continue reading ‘Cream of mushrooms soup’

Spiced beetroot and orange chutney

Published by Lucina, on 11 settembre 2011 in English Recipes. 2 Comments

spiced beetroot and orange chutney

Since my rhubarb jam experiment I have had a go at making other types of jam, namely plum and blackberry, and both with very pleasing results. In truth it isn’t rocket science this jam making malarkey! So I thought why not try to make some chutney? After all  the process is the same one: you basically put all the ingredients in a big pan and boil the lot. By the way, for the Italians amongst you: chutney is a relish which is made with vegetables (amongst whom there always seem to be onions), or a combination of vegetables and fruits, cut into small chunks. There are many different types out there: mango, tomato, plum, cranberry…you name it. The base of it is vinegar, sugar and spices. It has a fabulous  sweet and sour taste and it’s a delicious accompaniment to cheeses and cold meats.  I had always wanted to try making some as I love eating it , but have never had the confidence. For some reasons I thought it would be difficult and complicated. Well…it couldn’t be further from the truth. As my friend Carmelita had quite a few beetroots happily growing in her amazing vegetable patch, a few weeks ago we decided to be “brave” and  use them to make some chutney. I scoured the internet for some recipes and came across this interesting looking one on the Good Food website. So we spent an afternoon happily chopping vegetables and boiling them in our witches cauldron. The results were impressive! In theory you are supposed to wait for at least 4 weeks before eating it but I couldn’t resist it and tried it a few days later. Delicious! So I guess it will be even better next month! :-) And the colour is amazing too: bright purple. Continue reading ‘Spiced beetroot and orange chutney’

Crostata di fragole con mousse di cioccolato bianco e limone

Published by Candida, on 7 settembre 2011 in Dolci and Ricette in Italiano. 2 Comments Tags: , , .

Madre degenere che arriva con la torta del compleanno il giorno dopo!

E non ho neanche pareggiato i bordi… Ma la ricetta funziona e quindi la posto. Le fragole possono essere sostituite da altri frutti rossi o dalle pesche. In effetti, l’ispirazione mi è venuta da una ricetta di tartellette di cavoletto, fatte con una versione particolare della pasta frolla, la pate sucrée.  Continue reading ‘Crostata di fragole con mousse di cioccolato bianco e limone’

Gnocchi with gorgonzola and cream sauce

Published by Lucina, on 3 settembre 2011 in Chiacchiere/Chatting and English Recipes. 3 Comments
gnocchi di patate

The Italian people will of course know what gnocchi are but some of my English friends may not be 100%  sure. Well… let me “educate” you: they are little potato and flour dumplings, which you boil in salted water and then dress with any sauce you like (as you would with pasta). You can buy them in many supermarkets in the UK  BUT they are not a patch on the homemade variety. I find the ready-made ones rather hard and stodgy, to be honest. The home made ones, on the other hand, are ever so light and fluffy. I had only made potato gnocchi a couple of times before in the past , previous to this attempt that is, and that was AGES  ago (and one had been a disaster!) so I decided the time had come to have another bash at it. …I was surprised how easy it was to make them and they really tasted great (or I wouldn’t be blogging them, would I?) so here I am sharing the recipe with you. There are many varieties out there: with potato and spinach, pumpkin, nettles (yes! Nettles!) but I decided on the plain,traditional ones. Who knows? I may branch out in the future and attempt different types. The recipe I used is pretty bog standard. The sauce  I dressed them with is a bit rich, I admit, but you can use a simple tomato sauce if you prefer.

P.S. Happy birthday to Laura (Candi’s daughter). 18 today!!!!! :-)

Continue reading ‘Gnocchi with gorgonzola and cream sauce’