Author Archive for Lucina

Page 13 of 23

Roast chicken with sumac,za’atar and lemon

Published by Lucina, on 7 luglio 2013 in chicken, English Recipes and Meat. 2 Comments

 

roast chicken with sumac, za'atar and lemon

And what on earth are sumac and za’atar, I hear you ask? Well…I didn’t know either, until I got my very first Ottolenghi cookery book for Christmas (called simply: Ottolenghi, the Cookbook. Not much imagination in the title, then) . I started leafing through it (while salivating profusely just looking at the pictures as all the dishes looked incredibly appealing) and quickly realized I had to invest some money in buying these two spices as they seemed to pop up time and time again in his recipes. So there you have the answer to my question: sumac and za’atar are spices used a lot in middle eastern dishes. To be precise: sumac is a spice made from the crushed berries of a small Mediterranean tree and za’atar is a blend of dried thyme, toasted sesame seeds and salt. I think I’ve mentioned before that Ottolenghi is an Israeli chef (with an Italian granddad, you will have guessed from his surname). I tried some of his recipes before and found them delicious. But I confess to be unfamiliar with some of the ingredients he uses, including these two spices. Unfortunately they are not commonly found in supermarkets. Certainly not in those in the north East of England where I live. Perhaps in London would be a different story. Anyway, fear not! If you live in the metaphorical culinary desert, like myself, you can simply buy them on line (which is what I did), together with other fancyful middle eastern ingredients (like orange blossom water, rose water, etc.).  Continue reading ‘Roast chicken with sumac,za’atar and lemon’

Chocolate and beetroot brownies

Published by Lucina, on 30 giugno 2013 in cakes and English Recipes. 3 Comments

chcocolate and beetroot brownies

WHAT? Someone is having a laugh, right? And that’s not just Tomik, the ceramic cat. How can you possibly combine beetroot with chocolate? Impossible! Well…you are wrong and I can guarantee that you would be amazed by the end result if you tried it. Inspired by Candida’s latest posting I have decided to blog this unusual brownie recipe by Hugh Fernley Whittingstall (who else?) which I have successfully baked several times before. Brownies are very easy to make and are rather versatile as they can be eaten warm as a pudding accompanied by lashings of good quality vanilla ice cream or cold with a nice cup of tea/coffee. A warning: they are not for people on a diet, I am afraid, as they contain a high amount of butter but hey! Now and again one must overindulge a little, don’t you think? You can always go for a long walk with dog or a punishing bike ride afterwards to atone.  Continue reading ‘Chocolate and beetroot brownies’

Detoxing water

Published by Lucina, on 18 giugno 2013 in Bevande and English Recipes. 2 Comments Tags: .

cool detoxing water

As Candida has blogged a drink I am following suit and sharing with you this simple and easy detoxing water recipe that my friend Carmelita told me about. It is ideal to drink on a hot, summer day, nicely chilled. I now permanently keep a carafe in the fridge ready for when I need to quench my thirst. All you do is basically put a couple of slices of an unwaxed lemon,  cucumber and fresh ginger in a jug of water then add a few fresh mint leaves. Leave to infuse for at least 8 hours in the fridge and enjoy. Couldn’t be simpler! I keep replenishing the water for approx. three days after which I discard all the ingredients and start afresh. Try it! It’s really refreshing!

Eton mess

Published by Lucina, on 31 maggio 2013 in cakes, Dolci and English Recipes. 1 Comment

Eton mess

What a peculiar name for a sweet, don’t you think? Translated in Italian this would be “il pasticcio di Eton“. Hardly a recommendation in truth!  So who or what is Eton? I hear the Italian people ask…Well, it’s one of the most famous public schools in the UK.  And by the way,  be aware of a false friend  here. “Public school” doesn’t mean “state school” (= scuola pubblica in Italian). It means “private school”. Eton is in fact, one of the oldest, most traditional, exclusive and expensive boarding schools for boys in England. Many famous people went there, including the current Prime minister David Cameron….But what has a public school got to do with the sweet? Easily answered: apparently it is  traditionally served on 4th June at Eton College’s annual cricket game against the pupils of Harrow School.  And now let me tell you exactly what this “mess” is….: it’s basically a Pavlova gone wrong, in other words a mixture of whipped cream, crushed meringues and strawberries (but there are variations using other soft fruits), all folded together. As to the meaning of its name there are several theories out there, which I won’t go into, as life is too short (go on Wikipedia if you are interested). Whatever its origins it is an easy dessert to put together and rather yummy, particularly if you make your own meringues which, ladies and gentlemen, I DID! In that respect it’s an ideal way to use unwanted egg whites. Continue reading ‘Eton mess’

Tuna steak with pistachios and sun dried tomatoes

Published by Lucina, on 23 maggio 2013 in English Recipes and fish. 1 Comment

tuna steak with pistachios

Before I share with you this quick but impressive recipe let me update you on both Tomik the sourdough and Herman the German. I know some of you will be curious to know whether they are still alive and thriving. Well….the simple answer is : YES to both. Tomik is a happy little chappy AND I have now given a couple of his “babies” to friends (David and Annalisa, if you are reading this , I am keeping an eye on you! :-))so his legend goes on! Herman is also doing well and doing the round. I got him back last week, fed him, used him to make a lovely carrot, almond and polenta cake and passed him on again. I’ve worked out that I all I need to do to create a new one is to use my sourdough starter and feed it with milk, sugar and flour. Simple! Now to the tuna recipe of the day. As you know fresh tuna is really expensive but now and again it’s nice to treat oneself to a nice steak. If the quality of the fish is good and the tuna is fresh there is nothing better to eat and you don’t need any fanciful recipes to cook it. You can simply marinate it quickly in a bit of olive oil and lemon and grill it. The mistake I used to make in the past was overcooking it. I hadn’t cottoned on to the fact it has to be pink inside so I always ended up with a disappointing dry steak. Continue reading ‘Tuna steak with pistachios and sun dried tomatoes’

Blueberry sourdough pancakes

Published by Lucina, on 10 maggio 2013 in cakes and English Recipes. 1 Comment

blueberry sourdough pancakes

Not another sourdough recipe, surely!!! Enough already! I hear you say. Well… I must say it’s addictive stuff this sourdough malarkey! Now that Tomik ( read: my sourdough starter, and sorry if I am beginning to sound like a one trick pony!) ) looks well established, bubbly and happy I have been racking my brains for ways to use the excess. In order to feed hungry Tomik I have to discard half of it every day and replenish it with equal amounts of flour and water. It’s a chore, I tell you! Plus it’s costing me nearly as much as my cats! Anyway, if I don’t use it, I lose it, so to speak, and I hate throwing good food away. So rather than chucking it in the bin I have been forcing the excess on friends and colleagues and also scouring the internet for new cooking ideas (as the number of people interested in adopting a sourdough baby is very thin on the ground). There are loads of recipes out there that use sourdough, not just for making bread. They mainly come from the States, where sourdough is very popular. You can make all sort of things with it. Continue reading ‘Blueberry sourdough pancakes’

Herman is dead! Long live Herman!

Published by Lucina, on 4 maggio 2013 in cakes and English Recipes. 5 Comments

Herman the German friendship cake

What an apt title (for those who have followed the story)! I bet you are all curious to see a) whether Herman the German friendship cake was a success and b) what my venerable Italian friends thought of it. If you recall, the day I “gave birth” to Herman was tactical as I wanted his demise (read: the cake making) to coincide with the discussion of the book which took place at my house today. And by the way if you are curious to know what we discussed it was Il fu Mattia Pascal by Pirandello. Wonderful , thought provoking book! Anyway, back to the cake.  I confess I was a bit apprehensive about it. I very nearly baked some scones as a  reserve, JUST IN CASE. The truth is I have a reputation to uphold: I can’t fail in front of an audience!  Anyway in the end I decided to place my faith in Herman and decided not to have a back up. WEEEEELLLLLL…… Continue reading ‘Herman is dead! Long live Herman!’

Sourdough bread (at long last!)

Published by Lucina, on 28 aprile 2013 in bread and English Recipes. 2 Comments

sourdough loaf

As I promised yesterday here I am to blog my very first sourdough creation. YES! Let me introduce to you  my newly born, fresh out of the oven  sourdough loaf, and lovely it was too. Ok there is room for improvement (I would like it to be softer inside, for example, with bigger holes) but give me time, right? You can’t be perfect right from the start. If you recall, when I first embarked on the experiment I mentioned that there are many different ways of starting a sourdough. Well….the same applies when it comes to bake with it:  there are many different recipes and techniques out there! (and by the way: rest assured I will try them). Before I continue let me give you a word of warning: sourdough is definitely NOT for the busy, impatient , “right here, right now” person.   Continue reading ‘Sourdough bread (at long last!)’

Another experiment: Herman the German friendship cake

Published by Lucina, on 27 aprile 2013 in cakes and English Recipes. 7 Comments

the ingredients for Herman

Now that I have successfully achieved my sourdough ( and tomorrow I will blog the evidence of my first creation using it) let me tell you (and please don’t laugh) about ANOTHER experiment I have embarked on: Herman the German friendship cake. And what on earth is THAT, I hear you ask. Basically it’s something very similar to a sourdough , only it is sweet and the end result is  a cake. The idea is that you make a starter dough using flour, yeast, sugar, milk and water (see exact quantities below). You then nurture it and feed it every 4 days and stir it on the other days. At the end of the ten days your  dough (you end up with something similar to sourdough: a yeasty, bubbly mixture) can be used to make a cake (recipe will follow in time). But it doesn’t stop there. Oh no! It would be too easy if it did! Continue reading ‘Another experiment: Herman the German friendship cake’

Oggi sposi!!!!

Published by Lucina, on 27 aprile 2013 in Chiacchiere/Chatting. 1 Comment

Tantissimi auguri a Francesco e Sonia che oggi si sposano! EVVIVA! Francesco è il figlio di due miei carissimi amici -Paola e Claudio- e oggi ci sarà il matrimonio del loro adorato “cocchin”. Purtroppo, essendo qui in Inghilterra, non potrò partecipare al lieto evento ma ciò non vuol dire che io non li stia pensando! Ed eccone la prova. Un augurio sul blog. Chissà che fibrillazione al momento in casa C*******i!!!(questi asterischi sono per proteggere la privacy. Non per nascondere una parolaccia…;-) )!

Tantissimi auguri di una splendida giornata (qui diluvia!) e di una felice vita insieme!!! Baci e abbracci anche dalla regina.

 

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