Archive for the 'English Recipes' Category

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Long live bread (or Viva il pane!)

Published by Lucina, on 11 novembre 2012 in Chiacchiere/Chatting and English Recipes. 3 Comments

Bread is something Italian people simply can’t live without. We love bread. No Italian table is complete without some bread on it. I still remember the shock I had when I first came to live in England all those years ago and realized that a) the most common type of bread you could find in the UK was the plasticky, already sliced variety (God knows the preservatives and chemicals they contain, considering they stay fresh for weeks!) and b) bread is not automatically served at the table when you go to a restaurant. You might get a small slice or a bun with your starter (soup, etc.) if you are lucky, but that is your lot! You are certainly never offered it with your main course. We Italians live on bread. Every region has its own regional varieties. The bread you buy in Lombardy doesn’t look anything like the one you find in Puglia, for example. I have got to say things have GREATLY improved in the UK since I arrived  as a student and you can indeed find lovely baked bread here too, if you know where to look. Even in supermarkets the selection of fresh bread is not bad at all compared to what it once was. Anyway, I have tried over the years to make my own bread and pizza with various degrees of success. I even had a bread making machine for a while but in the end I gave up and resorted to the bakery section of my local Sainsbury. Continue reading ‘Long live bread (or Viva il pane!)’

Carrot cake

Published by Lucina, on 5 novembre 2012 in cakes, Dolci and English Recipes. 3 Comments Tags: , .

carrot cake

Who doesn’t like a good carrot cake? Not me! I LOVE them and this particular one is a winner, especially when you consider that it doesn’t contain any evil dairy (read: butter). It’s by Rachel Allen, whose recipes I really like. I’ve made this particular cake many times and it has always been a success. It’s lovely with a good cup of tea. In the original recipe there is an orange cheese cream icing as a topping but , to be perfectly honest, I find those type of toppings far too sweet and a bit sickly. Hence I didn’t put any on mine. Not much point putting icing on only to scrape it off before you eat the cake, is there? PLUS it’s a lot healthier (all in relative terms, of course) without it. Certainly it doesn’t have as many calories….And who wants to go to an extra class of zumba to burn off the extra 200 calories?:-) Continue reading ‘Carrot cake’

Giant cous cous with green beans and apricots

Published by Lucina, on 25 ottobre 2012 in English Recipes, salad and vegetarian. 1 Comment

giant cous cous with apricots and green beans

I LOVE cous cous and I often make it as a salad, with different ingredients (you can basically put anything you want in it and it always tastes nice). I have been making it more and more ever since we went to Marrakesh (remember, dear Candi???). Sometimes I just serve it plain with some flaked almonds,  pomegranate and fresh coriander to accompany a maroccan stew or tagine. Yummy! Last time I was shopping I spotted a box of giant cous cous on the shelf. I was intrigued so I bought it and had a go at cooking it. I really liked it as it has more of a bite than normal cous cous. It was even nicer the day after as all the flavours had more of a chance to  blend together and develop. Continue reading ‘Giant cous cous with green beans and apricots’

Penne all’arrabbiata

Published by Lucina, on 6 ottobre 2012 in English Recipes and pasta. 2 Comments

penne all'arrabbiata

Can you believe it? I have NEVER in my whole life made or even attempted to make an arrabbiata sauce, which to the non Italians amongst you, means the “angry” sauce. The reason why it’s angry, in case you are wondering, is that it contains loads of chilli, making it quite hot, hence cross! If I’m not mistaken this sauce comes from the Lazio region . I got the inspiration to try it out when I went to Rome, the capital of Lazio, at the beginning of September. Also I had to use some beautiful chilli peppers which had been happily growing on my windowsill, courtesy of my youngest son who is a chilli fanatic and had given me a plant to take care of (I murdered the previous plant he gave me so I had been nurturing this latest one with tender, loving care and it promptly rewarded me with lovely plump red chillies). I understand there are different versions of arrabbiata sauce out there  but the one I made, after loads of searching on the internet, seems to be the kosha one. Continue reading ‘Penne all’arrabbiata’

Butter beans and avocado hummus

Published by Lucina, on 20 settembre 2012 in English Recipes and starters. 2 Comments

butter beans and avocado hummus

Don’t be put off by the pale, snot green colour of this hummus, reader! It is actually a lot greener and not as anemic as the picture suggests. I should have used a white bowl and taken the photo during daytime. Ah well! Not to worry. You have to trust me that this hummus is really easy to make and has a lovely, delicate flavour. I invented it myself as I wanted to use a nice avocado which was languishing in my fruit bowl and was JUST at the right stage of ripeness (and we all know how difficult this is to achieve! I have thrown away many an avocado before! Not ripe enough…bat your eyelids…..too ripe! GRRRR!). Anyway, recently, don’t ask me why, I have been suffering from hummusitis, meaning I have tried my hand at different types of hummus. I used to buy it regularly, in its many varieties, until I realised it’s a cinch to make. Basically you bang all the ingredients in the food processor and voilà! Why waste money buying ready made when making it is as quick and a lot healthier? Plus more satisfying? Candi has already blogged a hummus recipe in Italian. Since I’m on the subject I shall also write the bog standard recipe I use for the traditional hummus at the bottom of this page. AND show you a much prettier picture I took on that occasion. Continue reading ‘Butter beans and avocado hummus’

Chestnut and sage soup

Published by Lucina, on 11 settembre 2012 in English Recipes and Soup. 3 Comments Tags: , .

chestnut and sage soup

Here’s another new recipes for those soup fans like myself who want to experiment a little. Let’s face it:  autumn is on its way (or have we just had it? We have had such a shocking summer this year! Last week’s blamy temperatures will not redeem it…) and nothing is more warming than a lovely bowl of soup with some nice bread. I had a tin of chestnuts in my cupboard which I discovered while pretending to tidy it up. I needed to use it as it was near its sell by date so I scoured my recipe books for some ideas. In the end I plumped for this one by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. In fact, Candi, it’s in his Veg every day book I gave you for Christmas. The sage (which is growing wildly in my garden) gives it an unusual flavour. I like its velvety consistency. Definitely one I’ll make again. Continue reading ‘Chestnut and sage soup’

Spiced plums and blackberries compote

Published by Lucina, on 6 settembre 2012 in English Recipes. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

spiced plums and blackberries compote

Well…. I’m here to confirm that the blackberry and apple loaf was a success at the book group on Tuesday. All ladies enjoyed it so I won’t get evicted just yet. :-)  Here is a very straightforward stewed fruit recipe containing, as promised, my blackberry friends. It’s ideal to serve with some yoghurt or ice cream. It makes a lovely light dessert and it can be made days in advance and stored in the fridge. It’s really simple. AND healthy, for a change. You can stew some sliced peaches with the plums and add other soft fruits at the end, like blueberries and strawberries. Continue reading ‘Spiced plums and blackberries compote’

Blackberry and apple loaf

Published by Lucina, on 1 settembre 2012 in cakes, Dolci and English Recipes. 4 Comments

blackberry and apple loaf

I’ve managed to collect quite a few blackberries lately during my foraging sessions in the neighbourhood. I’ve been keeping an eye on them for a few weeks now and the first ones of the season have finally made their appearance and are ready for picking (despite the shocking summer we have had. Bless them!).  I love all types of berries but there is nothing more satisfying than picking your own in the wild, so to speak (ok, in my case it’s an overgrown hedge near a nursing home in my town, but you know what I mean) . And yet I don’t see many people following my example. I wonder why…All the more for me, I say! I confess I am getting very secretive about my “hunting” grounds. I’m very selfish when it comes down to blackberries. Only my closest friends are allowed to join me. :-)  Anyway I’ve decided to blog a few recipes containing these lovely berries. I’ll start with this delicious and moist loaf with a streusel topping which I road tested last week and am going to take to my book group next Tuesday. You must know that one of the appeals of this group is that we always have a slice of cake, which we take it in turn to make, and a cup of tea while discussing the book. BUT you can’t just produce any old cake. Oh no!  It has to be original (something that no one has made before) and it has to be delicious. Of course no lady in my group would ever consider buying a ready made one. It would be classified as a crime, punishable with expulsion. Continue reading ‘Blackberry and apple loaf’

Three beans chilli

Published by Lucina, on 24 luglio 2012 in English Recipes and vegetarian. 1 Comment

three beans chilli

Here in England everyone will be familiar with the chilli con carne recipe, which, for the benefit of the Italian readers, is basically a spicy bolognaise sauce with the addition of red kidney beans (I believe the original dish comes from Mexico). Well, I have made a vegetarian variation on the theme using peppers and three types of beans (which, I confess, have come out of tins). Instead of the traditional rice as accompaniment I have served it with pearl barley. So, as you can gather, this recipe is extremely healthy and provides plenty of roughage. I hope I have redressed the balance now on the health front as I have blogged many indulgent, calories laden recipes recently. 😉 Continue reading ‘Three beans chilli’

Stasera c’è un party? Megacrostata di pesche al cioccolato

Published by Candida, on 12 luglio 2012 in cakes, Dolci and Ricette in Italiano. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , .

Ecco una soluzione fattibile per quando si ha bisogno di una GROSSA torta. Può capitare di avere molti ospiti a un compleanno, una festa, o, chissà, a un arrivederci a Meret che parte… :(

Questa crostata è davvero molto buona e l’effetto mi ha soddisfatto in pieno. La frolla è al cacao e si fa il giorno prima, lasciandosi a frollarsi, appunto, in frigo. La crosta di cioccolato fondente isola la consistenza della frolla, la crema pasticcera ammorbidisce il tutto e la gelatina al limone lega insieme. Le pesche danno carattere, profumo e sono un bel abbinamento con il cioccolato. Si può fare tranquillamente nel nostro forno di casa (basta che sia ventilato) in una volta sola. Poi cercatevi un pezzo di polisterolo o di legno della misura delle vostre due teglie da forno che ricoprirete di carta stagnola e sarà il vassoio su cui assemblare e presentare la vostra creazione. Per 30.

Allora… al lavoro. Basta mettersi, non è così terribile. Davvero.

Continue reading ‘Stasera c’è un party? Megacrostata di pesche al cioccolato’