Author Archive for Lucina

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Pumpkin risotto

Published by Lucina, on 23 marzo 2014 in English Recipes, rice and vegetarian. 0 Comments

pumpkin risotto

I love risottos  and this one is one of my very favourites particularly since I discovered a variety of pumpkins which is really nice and ideal to cook with. I  recently found it at a farmer’s market in Edinburgh and was pleasantly surprised as this is not the season for pumpkins. Perhaps they keep for a long time. Who knows? I had bpought it before at a local organic vegetable shop but unfortunately it is not that easy to get hold of. It’s quite small and it’s a light green colour.  The flesh is  dark orange and it’s really dense. Completely different from the watery consistency you get with the Halloween type of pumpkins (which are rather tasteless in truth). I gather this would be ideal to use to make the traditional American pumpkin pie, which I have never tried but it’s on my hit list. As the skin of this pumpkin is rather hard and woody and it would be very difficult to peel I decided to gently roast it in the oven first for approx. 40 minutes. Then I scooped the flesh out, chopped it up and used it for my risotto. Delicious! It was so creamy and tasty I decided not to put any butter in it. I have also tried making it with pearl barley ( a pumpkin  orzotto in other words) and it was equally nice. Continue reading ‘Pumpkin risotto’

Kaiserschmarrn

Published by Lucina, on 9 marzo 2014 in cakes, Cucina regionale, Dolci and English Recipes. 4 Comments Tags: , .

kaiserschmarrn

Instead of making the famous pancakes with sugar and lemon that in England are traditionally eaten on Shrove Tuesday ( martedì grasso in Italian) this year I decided to make kaiserschmarrn. Impossible to pronounce, I know, unless you are German. This dish is in fact Austrian and translated it means “the emperor’s mess”. And a mess it certainly looks when cooked, as it is basically a thick pancake brutally torn into pieces, sprinkled with icing sugar and served with plum sauce. I reckon that  it was born a misdemeanour and got later dressed up as a dessert, personally! 😉 Still……I had it for the first time in the famous Café Central in Vienna when I went there at Easter. I confess I found it a bit stodgy and couldn’t even finish it! I then had another lighter version of it in one of the Italian rifugi (mountain huts) in the Dolomites and a different experience it was too!  Much fluffier and nicer (and cheaper to boot!). Anyway, I have done my research. There are several recipes out there. Some of them contain rum and raisins and are therefore richer in taste. But I didn’t have rum nor did I have any raisins so I decided to make a very simple, straightforward version and served it with homemade warmed up blackberry jam. I have seen recipes serving it with apple sauce, strawberry sauce and of course the traditional plum sauce. I thought it was rather nice for a first attempt and different from the usual boring pancakes. Definitely something on the filling side to indulge in if you are in need of comfort food. Continue reading ‘Kaiserschmarrn’

Roasted ratatouille

Published by Lucina, on 2 marzo 2014 in English Recipes, vegetables, vegetarian and Verdure. 1 Comment Tags: , .

roasted ratatouille

I said I would use again the Chocolate & Zucchini book and here I am , true to my promise, sharing a nice, healthy vegetables recipe ( long overdue, after all the cakes blogged recently!).  Everyone will be familiar with the traditional ratatouille. I’ve got to admit I am not a fan: I find it a bit bland, in truth. But not this one! Roasting the vegetables definitely adds to the flavour. Plus it’s even easier to do than the traditional one made on the hob as you put everything in a roasting dish and bang it in the oven, without the need to stir. It can be eaten hot or cold, so it’s ideal if you want to make it in advance. I had some leftover and tossed it in some pasta the following day. It was even nicer! I would definitely recommend it. Continue reading ‘Roasted ratatouille’

Mousse de thon à la Pomme Verte

Published by Lucina, on 23 febbraio 2014 in Antipasti, sfizi, finger food..., English Recipes, fish and starters. 4 Comments Tags: .

tuna and green apple mousse

Come on admit it!!!  Aren’t your taste buds tickled by the name of this recipe alone? The English translation would be: tuna and green apple mousse but I think the French version is MUCH more va va voom, don’t you think?  Plus it is the original name as it comes from the Parisienne food writer Clotilde Dusoulier. She runs this excellent blog called Chocolate and Zucchini, which has become a book. And this is where I have found this recipe. The name of her blog alone sounds very outlandish: chocolate and zucchini….. Not exactly an obvious combination, I trust you agree, albeit, ironically, the very first recipe I blogged was a courgette tea bread.  Anyway, I was duly intrigued by her blog and proceeded to buy the book second hand on Amazon paying the princely sum of 1 p! Yes! 1 p. (ok,plus P&P. But still: a bargain)! How good is that, eh? I was dead chuffed considering it looked brand new.  Good, old Amazon market place! Anyway, the book  is full of very interesting and unusual recipes with a French twist.  The author clearly belongs to the no nonsense school of cooking, which I also subscribe to. All her recipes  seem appealing without being complicated or particularly difficult to follow. A major plus here!  Continue reading ‘Mousse de thon à la Pomme Verte’

Lime curd cake

Published by Lucina, on 18 febbraio 2014 in cakes and English Recipes. 1 Comment Tags: , , .

lime curd cake

This is a simple but really lovely cake. How the idea came about is as follows: during the Christmas period I had treated myself to a jar of homemade lime curd from a local deli, which I had planned to use during my guests invasion (message to the relatives that came to stay: this comment is not meant in a derogatory way, incidentally. I LOVE having people round. Honestly!). Surprisingly (NOT!) I forgot I had bought it and when the other day I found it in my cupboard and discovered with horror it was about to expire (ok, it HAD expired, but only just), I decided to use it double quick in order to spare myself the guilt feelings associated with buying something expensive and outlandish only to chuck it in the bin later on. Continue reading ‘Lime curd cake’

Italian savoiardi sponge fingers

Published by Lucina, on 13 febbraio 2014 in biscuits and English Recipes. 2 Comments Tags: .

savoiardi biscuits

I have used the Italian name for these extremely light and delicate sponge biscuits, which over here are known as lady fingers, for the simple reason I don’t like the English name. It reminds me of body parts from a CSI investigates episode. Savoiardi is much nicer! And apart from anything else it’s a royal name as it means: from the house of Savoy ( which was our Royal family…:-))How posh is that?  Generally speaking these biscuits are used to make other desserts, like tiramisus,  trifles or  Charlottes (which incidentally I have never made). I can see no reason why they can’t be dunked in a nice cup of coffee, though. They are ideal if you are on a fat free diet as their only ingredients are eggs, flour and sugar. What could be simpler? I had never made them before and was intrigued to discover you have to air them , after baking, for at least 24 hours in order to dry them out. So make sure you bake them in advance! Continue reading ‘Italian savoiardi sponge fingers’

The legendary pretzels

Published by Lucina, on 30 gennaio 2014 in bread, Cucina regionale and English Recipes. 2 Comments Tags: , .

pretzels

I absolutely ADORE pretzels but I always thought they could only be done professionally hence never attempted making them. Until very recently, that is. As you know I am experimenting with all things yeasty at present so decided that the moment had come to try them out. Why not? At worst they were going to be a disaster not to be repeated and blogged as a misdemeanour, right? So imagine my surprise when I sank my teeth in my very first pretzel and ….. WOW! I discovered it tasted damn close to the real thing! Ok, ok…I am sure that what I produced was not 100% kosher and a German person might very well turn his/her nose up at my creation (Beate? Your comment, please) but oh boy! They were soooooooo good!! I made them reasonably big in order to be able to cut them in half and butter them. I have tried them three times now and every time they were a success. They are not dissimilar from bagels in the sense that you need to boil them in water first before baking them. But that’s hardly complicated, right? The recipe was found on the BBC Good food website. I have adapted it slightly. If anyone out there likes pretzels DO HAVE A GO! You will be surprised about how easy they are. By the way I had to put a search on google for a video to show me how to knot them up. If you just go on Youtube  you’ll find more than one. Once you have learnt the technique you can do them with your eyes shut. I promise! Rocket science it ain’t!

Continue reading ‘The legendary pretzels’

Blinis with cream cheese and smoked salmon

Published by Lucina, on 18 gennaio 2014 in Cucina regionale, English Recipes and starters. 2 Comments Tags: .

blinis with cream cheese and smoked salmon

I don’t know about you but sometimes I get stuck when I have to produce starters or canapés. Heaven knows why as  there is all sorts of things one can do! Still the imagination sometimes lets me down. And that’s where these little babies can come in handy! Blinis are small pancakes made with buckwheat flour. They are traditionally made in Eastern countries. Candi must know about these as they are popular in Russia. They have become widely known here in the UK too ( I am not sure about Italy) and are sold even in supermarkets. However, it is much more satisfying to produce your own, don’t you think? I had never tried to make them before but I tell you now: I shall do them again. They are really very straightforward and can be made in advance and garnished at a later stage making them ideal as finger food at buffets and parties. Obviously you could top them with lots of other things. Caviar would be very nice, I reckon, if a bit expensive! For this recipe you could use crème fraiche as an alternative to cream cheese. There are many recipes out there to make blinis. I simply used the one written on the packet of the buckwheat flour I bought, which tasted perfectly nice. So here I am sharing it with you. Continue reading ‘Blinis with cream cheese and smoked salmon’

Cream of cauliflower and stilton soup

Published by Lucina, on 8 gennaio 2014 in English Recipes and Soup. 1 Comment Tags: , .

cream of cauliflower and stilton soup

After the excesses of the past couple of weeks and the distinctive lack of vegetables in my diet in favour of sweets, cakes, biscuits, chocolate and all things calorie laden I am back on healthier stuff. In short ….bring back the soups and the salads!!  Soups are a firm favourite of mine and I’m always on the look out for new ones. Sometimes they are just a good way of using whatever veggies you have languishing in the fridge. This cream of cauliflower is a case in point:  I had a piece of sad looking stilton left over from Christmas, one cauliflower and …voilà…this soup was born. I confess I am not a fan of cauliflower (unless it is encased in béchamel sauce!)- not to mention its smell- but I must say I was surprised as to how creamy and tasty this one was. My husband was full of compliments and urged me to blog it as he enjoyed it so much. So how could I refuse? So here goes…. Continue reading ‘Cream of cauliflower and stilton soup’

Savoury brioche with ham,cheese and olives

Published by Lucina, on 30 dicembre 2013 in bread, English Recipes and Torte salate, pizze. 1 Comment

savoury brioche with ham, cheese and olives

Hello everyone, I bet you are all reeling from the Christmas excesses. Well, here’s another excess you MUST indulge yourself in: this incredible savoury brioche. It’s to die for! Amazingly soft and very, very tasty. You will impress family and friends if you produce one of these, I am sure.  I have already made it three times with very pleasing results. This one has ham in it but you could make it vegetarian by substituting the ham with mushrooms. What I like about it is that, unlike other brioches I have seen, it doesn’t contain ridiculously high amounts of butter.  I found the recipe on this amazing Italian blog called Zenzero e limone (Ginger and lemon to you!) and slightly adapted it. The lady who blogs is clearly passionate about cooking and knows her stuff in the kitchen . I will be trying some more of her recipes soon for sure!! Anyway, if you are interested in trying your hands at some yeasty type of bread try this one. Success guaranteed! Continue reading ‘Savoury brioche with ham,cheese and olives’