Author Archive for Lucina

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Roasted red vegetables soup

Published by Lucina, on 29 settembre 2013 in English Recipes and Soup. 5 Comments Tags: , , .

roasted red vegetables soup

Now that the autumnal season is upon us it’s time to give birth to a new soup recipe. Soups are so cheap and quick to make and such an ideal thing to eat on a cold, wet, dull day. Even better if accompanied by some lovely bread! And better still if the bread is home made! :-) Speaking of which: I haven’t updated you lately on my bread making extravaganza but let me tell you that  my experiments in that department are going really well! My sourdough is still going strong and I’ve tried many new recipes. I will have to blog one soon!  Anyway, back to soups. This particular one is slightly more complicated than normal ones as before banging all your veggies in a pan you must roast them in the oven. But trust me: it’s worth it for the flavour! Plus, it’s hardly complicated to roast a few vegetables, isn’t it? So what are you waiting for? Have a go at this one, you soup fanatics. You won’t regret it! Continue reading ‘Roasted red vegetables soup’

Blueberry and lemon friands

Published by Lucina, on 22 settembre 2013 in cakes and English Recipes. 5 Comments Tags: , , , .

blueberry and lemon friands

I bet I’m not the only one that when faced with leftover egg whites puts them in the fridge in the vain hope of using them for something else in the near future, only to admit defeat and throw them away a week later , still unloved and unused. I have done it so many times it’s embarrassing to mention! I might as well throw them directly in the bin rather than having this ridiculous pointless charade to go through purely to spare me from guilt feelings (I hate throwing food away!). I have made meringues in the past, of course, but my repertoire in the egg whites department is pretty limited (I have been meaning for ages to make macaroons, for example, but haven’t had the courage yet). So when I chanced on this recipe from the BBC Good food website which actually requires egg whites, I made a note of it and promised to myself I would try it out next time I was left with the blasted things. As you will recall, this was the case after my disastrous attempt at making custard tarts (I was left with SEVEN egg whites!! Eeek!) . Well….unlike my somewhat disappointing tarts these dainty little cakes were fabulous! And really simple to make. Continue reading ‘Blueberry and lemon friands’

Egg custard tarts ( a misdemeanour)

Published by Lucina, on 14 settembre 2013 in cakes and English Recipes. 4 Comments

egg custard tarts

True to the spirit of this blog allow me to share with you a somewhat disappointing bake I did today. Even Tomik the cat is not happy about appearing in the picture as you can see. Well…I can’t always brag about my successes, can I? So let me share with you what went wrong in attempting to bake these egg custard tarts. Ok, I am being a bit harsh on myself as they weren’t a COMPLETE disaster BUT they were far from being perfect. VERY far. First of all let me tell you why I decided to bake them in the first place: it was the result of watching the Great British Bake off  programme on Tuesday (which I LOVE, by the way)! For the Italians reading this blog: this is the fourth series of a very entertaining reality TV programme shown on BBC 2. It’s actually one of the few things I watch these days. It inspires me to try new things never attempted before (I made bagels following one of the episodes in the previous series) and it’s highly entertaining. For anyone who has an interest in baking, that is. Every week the contestants have to bake three things: two that they have known about in advance and one they haven’t. The worst baker gets knocked out. This week the “secret” recipe (or technical challenge as it is called) was indeed egg custard tarts. Well…what could be difficult about them? They seem rather innocuous, right? WRONG! Continue reading ‘Egg custard tarts ( a misdemeanour)’

Spelt salad with feta cheese and crudités

Published by Lucina, on 7 settembre 2013 in English Recipes and salad. 0 Comments

Spelt salad with feta cheese and crudités

This is a lovely salad that you could make with rice, pearl barley, cous cous or, like in this case, spelt. In truth in a salad you can put anything you want (within reasons) but very often one tends to use the same old things. But there is no need to be boring! This particular salad is very filling and, apparently, very good for you (particular for the  the old intestines) as spelt is a super grain which has many health properties and it is easier to digest than other whole grains. I simply cooked the spelt then added what I had available. You could try different things, of course. Mozzarella instead of feta, or different raw vegetables. Whatever you put I’m sure it would work.  Continue reading ‘Spelt salad with feta cheese and crudités’

Spaghetti alla notte di san Lorenzo

Published by Lucina, on 1 settembre 2013 in English Recipes and pasta. 1 Comment

spaghetti di San Lorenzo

Ok, first of all I have to explain the title here. La notte di san Lorenzo, or saint Lawrence night, is the 10th of August which is when, in theory, you can see shooting stars in the sky. The Italians have dedicated a plate of spaghetti to it, can you believe? (and by the way, sorry if I’m 3 weeks late!) This dish however is not the traditional recipe but it’s my friend Carmelita’s version. She is a siciliana doc and she ensures me that this is what they eat for the notte di san Lorenzo in and around the city where she comes from, which is Catania. One day, a few weeks back, she came round my house and brought a gourmet tin of sardines as a present, complete with detailed instructions on how to make this particular sauce. How could I refuse to try it? The ingredients are very simple: tinned sardines, cherry tomatoes, olive oil, garlic and breadcrumbs. But the taste is out of this world. Honest! So this is a really simple, cheap and packed with flavours dish that even one of my University students could manage. You’ll be surprised how good and quick it is…. Continue reading ‘Spaghetti alla notte di san Lorenzo’

Parmesan and rosemary scones

Published by Lucina, on 21 agosto 2013 in cakes, English Recipes and Torte salate, pizze. 4 Comments Tags: , .

parmesan and rosemary scones

I am a HUGE fan of scones, particularly the cheese variety. They are often what I go for when I visit a tea room (provided they look home made, that is!). Strangely enough I find they are often disappointing (read :tasteless or stodgy or both).  I often judge how good a particular café/tea room is by its scones and if the cheese ones are good they can count me in as a regular customer.  I baked this particular batch on Saturday in honour of my annual posh tea party with the English book group ladies which always takes place at around this time of the year at my house. In theory it should be an al fresco event, read: in the garden. In practice  the weather is always bad (this is England after all!) so we end up staying indoors. And this is what happened this year AGAIN:  it was nice the day before, it was nice the day after but on the actual day it peed down! Anyway for this event tradition wants that I take out my best china, splash out on some expensive tea (this year was Countess Grey by Fortnum and Mason) and lay the table for a posh do. Continue reading ‘Parmesan and rosemary scones’

Red lentils dal

Published by Lucina, on 14 agosto 2013 in Cucina regionale, English Recipes, vegetables, vegetarian and Verdure. 4 Comments Tags: , , , .

red lentils dal

Nothing for ten days and then two recipes all at once? What’s going on? Well….why not, eh? I like living on the edge, me! Seriously, the reason for my absence was simply that I have not been in residence. Like previous years I went to spend a few days in Edinburgh for the fringe festival. Brill! While I was there I met up with my youngest son Tom and , as it’s often the case, we ended up talking about food. Like mother, like son…He loves cooking too and this dal recipe is one of his favourites. So much so that apparently he “inflicts” it on his girlfriend at least once a week (I’m sure she is getting a bit fed up by now, good though it is!).! Anyway, dal is a very common Indian dish made with pulses. This simple but flavoursome version is based on red lentils. What I like about this recipe is that it’s very straightforward and can be used as a base. You can try adding other vegetables to it such as chick peas, potatoes, cauliflower, spinach, tomatoes etc.. I have seen many variations on the internet. Served with the naan bread I have just blogged works really well! :-) Continue reading ‘Red lentils dal’

Naan bread

Published by Lucina, on 14 agosto 2013 in bread, Cucina regionale and English Recipes. 5 Comments Tags: , .

naan bread

I bet I’m not the only one who loves naan bread!  I often order one to accompany a curry when I go to an Indian restaurant. It’s one of my favourite things. Despite my love for it, for some reasons, I never attempted making one until now. I thought it was complicated and you needed a special oven. But apparently not so:  you can use a normal oven at a very high temperature. A bit like what you would do for a pizza. So I had a go (being very interested in bread, as you know) at making some to accompany a vegetarian Indian dish called  dal recommended to me by my son Tom (recipe to follow).  The naan bread turned out just as it should be: lovely and fluffy on the inside and slightly crispy on the outside. Great! Definitely something I shall do again. By the way the recipe I used is by Madhur Jaffrey, slightly adapted. Continue reading ‘Naan bread’

Blueberry preserve

Published by Lucina, on 3 agosto 2013 in English Recipes, jam and marmellate. 1 Comment Tags: , .

blueberry preserve

Let me introduce you to another wonderful  jam to add to the collection of those already blogged. I have actually called it “preserve” to make it sound grander and better. In truth I didn’t have a clue until a few days ago what the difference was between jams and preserves. I thought it had something to do with the sugar/fruit ratio but in actual fact, following an extensive research on Google (and where would I be without it?), I learnt that it’s got more to do with how mashed up the fruit is. Apparently a preserve contains chunkier (if not whole) pieces of fruit. As you can definitely see whole blueberries inside mine let’s go for the posh name. You will be impressed to know that the blueberries I used were actually wild and handpicked by yours truly (with the help of her long suffering husband :-) ). It can’t get more wholesome than this! It’s really satisfying to forage and cook with stuff you have found growing in the wild. Continue reading ‘Blueberry preserve’

Avocado, kiwi and blue cheese salad with toasted seeds and nuts

Published by Lucina, on 30 luglio 2013 in Antipasti, sfizi, finger food..., English Recipes and salad. 3 Comments Tags: , , .

avocado, blue cheese and kiwi salad

Hello everyone I’m finally back from my holidays in the Italian Dolomites. I really had forgotten just how beautiful they are!!! I must make a point of going there more regularly than I have done of late. Last time we visisted those beautiful mountains was over 20 years ago! While I was there, aided by the stunning weather, I did lots of amazing walks, one of them with a lovely ex student of mine and expert climber-Lynne- who coincidentally was in the same area at the same time.  Also, and more importantly for this blog, I tried lots of interesting tyrolean dishes some of which I intend to blog as soon as I have got rid of the excess weight I gained. :-( But how can you not feast on those lovely strudels and canederli  when you are on holiday? You can’t, is the answer but then you have to deal with the consequences which is nearly two extra kilos in my case (and my husband’s!). It would have been even more if we hadn’t gone for punishing walks, I’m sure. ARGH!… Anyway, to cut a long story short I’m back in the UK and on a strict(ish) diet. Continue reading ‘Avocado, kiwi and blue cheese salad with toasted seeds and nuts’