Archive for the 'English Recipes' Category

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Pear and raspberry cake

Published by Lucina, on 16 dicembre 2011 in cakes and English Recipes. 0 Comments

pear and raspberries cake

How is it possible to combine an autumn fruit like the pear with a summer one like the raspberry? Thanks to globalization, that’s what! And I have got to admit I am feeling a bit guilty about it.  I am not sure how kosha, or good for the environment, it is to buy raspberries from Argentina in December. I hope readers will forgive me. Candi, do you remember when we were kids and there was none of this luxury of being able to find ANYTHING in the fruit and vegetable world at ANY time of the year? I very much doubt there will be many young people out there who KNOW for sure when certain fruits or vegetables are in season. And another thing: we might be able to find strawberries in the depth of winter but, let’s face it, they are rather tasteless! Anyway, enough rambling! I have made this cake a few times now and it has been a success on every single occasion. I found the recipe (which I slightly adapted) in the Rachel Allen’s book called Bake, which is shortly turning into a Bible for me, as I have made many things out of it already. Continue reading ‘Pear and raspberry cake’

Tomato and apple chutney

Published by Lucina, on 4 dicembre 2011 in English Recipes. 2 Comments
tomato and apple chutney

I’m blogging this recipe as Candi has publicly asked for it. And how could I refuse? :-) I gave her a jar of it  last time I saw her in September (we always give each other presents of an edible nature…or books!) and apparently it was a big success with her family. I confess I was amazed about how good it tasted, considering it was the second time in my life I ever attempted to make chutney. Incidentally the first was the beetroot chutney I have already blogged…equally delicious! See how this blog is pushing me to explore new culinary horizons?  I don’t know why I thought making chutney  would be a complicated affair. It couldn’t be further from the truth! Anyway, I did take some pics when I made it JUST IN CASE it would turn out well. So here’s the recipe I followed, taken from the Good food website and slightly adapted (I added a green pepper to it). The only nuisance is that you can’t eat it straightaway: you have to wait a few weeks, possibly a month for the flavours to develop. I confess I didn’t last that long before trying it. It goes with my impatient nature. By the way it’s only fair to mention:  all the vegetables I used were from my good friend Carmelita’s legendary vegetable patch. In fact we made the chutney together, so she should share in the glory too! Continue reading ‘Tomato and apple chutney’

Honey roast beetroot

Published by Lucina, on 23 novembre 2011 in English Recipes and vegetables. 2 Comments Tags: .

honey roast beetroot

I tried this recipe for the first time at the weekend but I tell you what! I’ll make it again. It was quick but really tasty. I was looking for an easy vegetables dish as I had guests for dinner and not much time to cook-the story of my life these days! :-( . I had beetroot in my cupboard which I needed to use so I started scouring the internet for possible recipes. I eventually found this one from the BBC good food website.It looked simple enough so I had a go. Really nice! My guests loved it too. So here I am sharing it with you.  I’ve discovered beetroot late in life: to be precise a year ago when I started ordering an organic vegetables box every week. You can’t choose the vegetables you get and sure enough one day I found beetroot amongst my delivery. I thought I didn’t like it as I had only ever tasted the awful sliced variety in vinegar before (the one you buy in a jar).  But hey, the real mc Coy doesn’t taste anything like it. … It’s delicious! Sweet and earthy. I love it now. I’ve already blogged a summer salad recipe with goat cheese and beetroot and here is a more wintery dish you can have as an accompaniment to many things, including roasts. Continue reading ‘Honey roast beetroot’

Roasted butternut squash with feta cheese

Published by Lucina, on 10 novembre 2011 in English Recipes and vegetables. 4 Comments

roasted butternut squash and feta cheese

Well…this is the season of pumpkins, is it not, with Halloween just gone, so it’s not surprising that  I’ve found myself cooking a lot of dishes which are pumpkin based. In this case I’ve used butternut squash, which belongs to the same family but it’s  perhaps a bit tastier. Anyway, this is a nice, simple dish you could have as a light supper on its own (perhaps with a nice salad) or as a side dish. The combination of the sweetness of the butternut squash and the saltiness of the feta cheese works particularly well. I have also added some parmesan for good measure, being a cheese lover. Continue reading ‘Roasted butternut squash with feta cheese’

Pasta e fagioli soup

Published by Lucina, on 1 novembre 2011 in English Recipes and Soup. 1 Comment Tags: , , .

pasta e fagioli

This is a nice, hearty soup ideal for those LOOOOONG winter nights when it starts getting dark at 4. How I hate this time of the year! By the way, I am using the Italian name for this recipe for two reasons: firstly it’s a well known Italian dish and secondly it sounds much better in Italian than in English. Its translation would be: pasta and beans soup . But would that sound appealing to my UK friends? I don’t think so. But if I give it its Italian name, hey presto! It sounds exotic and outlandish. In truth it is a humble peasant dish. Nothing exotic about it. I usually make it with chick peas. But I had run out of them so I used borlotti beans instead. It tastes nice with either. I cook it quite a lot when I’m pressed for time (which is very often these days) as it’s a quick soup to make but very tasty too. There are many different versions out there. I would be interested in knowing how you make it, Candi. Anyway my recipe is simplicity personified… Continue reading ‘Pasta e fagioli soup’

Chocolate and pear pudding

Published by Lucina, on 27 ottobre 2011 in cakes, Dolci and English Recipes. 2 Comments Tags: , .

chocolate and pear pudding

As Candi blogged a pear and chocolate conserve a few weeks back  I’ve decided to follow suit with a chocolate and pear pudding. As she has already mentioned, and rightly so,  the combination of pears and chocolate is simply divine. I’ve made this pudding several times already and it’s absolutely delicious. Success every time. And very simple to make too! It should be served warm with a hot chocolate sauce (see recipe at the bottom). What could be nicer on a hot winter night? I’ve used the mighty Nigella Lowson’s recipe, by the way. Candi was on a mission to try all her chocolate cakes back at the beginning of the year. Did you succeed, by the way?

Continue reading ‘Chocolate and pear pudding’

Pasta alla Norma

Published by Lucina, on 19 ottobre 2011 in Cucina regionale, English Recipes, pasta, Primi and sauces. 4 Comments Tags: , , .

pasta alla Norma

It’s about time to blog another pasta recipe, methinks. I have made this particular one several times before, therefore it’s well tried and tested. Its main ingredients are aubergines, tomatoes and salted ricotta. As I was in Italy at the end of September  on a quick visit (during which I met Candi! And what a great time we had, didn’t we?… Having lunch al fresco in a small trattoria by the river Adda, with 29 degrees and the sun shining…That’s the life!) I was able to buy this cheese – amongst MANY other things all of an edible nature!- and bring it back to the UK. But don’t worry English people. You don’t have to go on a trip to Italy to buy the ricotta just to produce this dish…..albeit it would be nice! You can substitute it with pecorino, which you can easily find in many supermarkets ! Anyway… the recipe is Italian (no idea who Norma is, though…) but ironically comes out of one of my many British cookery books,  Jamie Oliver’s to be precise  ( slightly amended). Everybody in England will be familiar with this “simpatico” chef! He toured Italy a few years back, did a TV programme about it and then proceeded to produce a book full of traditional recipes from the many Italian regions  (called, surprise surprise, Jamie’s Italy…). Off we go then… Continue reading ‘Pasta alla Norma’

Crema di cioccolato e nocciole. Homemade dark chocolate Nutella by Stefania (English recipe too).

Published by Candida, on 15 ottobre 2011 in Chiacchiere/Chatting, Dolci, English Recipes, jam, marmellate and Ricette in Italiano. 3 Comments Tags: , , , , , .


Sarà arrivato l’autunno? Lunghe colazioni domenicali al calduccio mentre fuori è un po’ grigio? Mah… Per ora qualche fogliolina appena giallina occhieggia tra la verzura che resiste. Solo l’edera spicca rossiccia. Ma noi facciamo finta che sia venuto il tempo delle nocciole e delle conserve autunnali, anche perché lassù in Inghilterra, almeno, il tempo farà il suo corso, suppongo.

Lungi da voler entrare in concorrenza con la spalmabile per antonomasia! La sua azienda è un pezzo di storia italiana e si è sempre caratterizzata per correttezza anche come immagine e come scelte pubblicitarie (a parte recenti scivoloni). Ma homemade è homemade e non ho potuto resistere a questa ricetta di Stefania, fortunata proprietaria di un nocciolo. Non è difficile, si può scegliere il cioccolato che più aggrada, insomma, va semplicemente fatta.

As we all love chocolate, I guess, I’ll try to give the recipe in English too, for our English friends. Be mercifull or Lucina just correct my language monsters.

E grazie a Stefania Merlo che ha fatto il lavoro, foto compresa!

And thank to Stefania Merlo who did the job, picture included!

Continue reading ‘Crema di cioccolato e nocciole. Homemade dark chocolate Nutella by Stefania (English recipe too).’

I mitici scones inglesi!!!

Published by Lucina, on 3 ottobre 2011 in cakes and English Recipes. 1 Comment Tags: .
scones with jam and cream

Come potete vedere sto rompendo una tradizione e bloggando in italiano e non in inglese. E come mai? vi chiederete…. La risposta è molto semplice. Perchè questa ricetta è dedicata a mia sorella Lizzi che mi ha chiesto di metterla on line. Lei l’inglese lo mastica poco e così eccomi qua ad usare la mia lingua natia. E comunque non penso che le mie amiche inglesi se la prenderanno più di tanto dal momento che gli scones qui sono piuttosto comuni. Ma cosa sono sti scones, si chiederanno quegli italiani che non hanno mai avuto la fortuna di mangiarli? Sono un incrocio tra un biscotto e un panino alle uvette. Morbidi dentro ma con la crosta croccantina. Come il pane devono essere mangiati in giornata perché il giorno dopo già non sono più così buoni. Tutte le tea rooms che si rispettano li servono. Sia quelli dolci con le uvette che quelli salati al formaggio. Ma non tutti gli scones che si trovano in giro sono buoni. C’è scone e scone!!! Io quelli fatti come si deve li  adoro e devo dire che li preparo abbastanza spesso.  Se ci fosse un lavoro di assaggiatrice di scones mi fionderei a fare domanda. Ha ha. A proposito, possono essere serviti semplicemente tagliati a metà e spalmati con il burro o con l’aggiunta di marmellata (generalmente di fragole). I più goduriosi sono come quelli in fotografia: serviti con panna montata e marmellata. DIVINI! Vero Lizzi? Continue reading ‘I mitici scones inglesi!!!’

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’