Archive for the 'pasta' Category

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Linguine with purple sprouting broccoli, goat’s cheese and walnuts

Published by Lucina, on 5 maggio 2012 in English Recipes and pasta. 3 Comments Tags: .

linguine with purple sprouting broccoli

Yes I know, what a long title for a recipe! But that’s the name the Riverford people (the organic vegetable company I buy my veggies from)  gave it . Every week I get my seasonal vegetables box delivered to my door, which includes a leaflet with recipe ideas. I have tried quite a few already over the months and I must say they are usually very nice indeed. This one is what I made last night as in the last box I got I found a bag of purple sprouting broccoli (they are called cime di rapa in Italian). I really enjoyed it so here I am presenting it to you. If you knew what time I’m writing this you would think I have looped the loop, so to speak. It’s exactly 4.08 in the morning to be precise (according to the computer) and it’s still dark outside. But what can I say? I couldn’t sleep so instead of tossing and turning in bed I decided to share my recipe. If that’s not dedication to the foodie cause tell me what is! And by the way Candi, I’m curious to hear whether cime di rapa is a common vegetable in Italy. My mother never made it for us, for example. Continue reading ‘Linguine with purple sprouting broccoli, goat’s cheese and walnuts’

Lasagne primavera

Published by Lucina, on 9 aprile 2012 in English Recipes and pasta. 2 Comments Tags: , , .

lasagne primavera

Looking back on the recipes we have blogged so far  I’ve realized we are very rich in cakes and all manner of sweet things (and I wonder why) but rather poor in pasta dishes. This won’t do!  Considering Candi and myself are Italian I’d say this oversight is close to a crime, so here is a nice recipe suitable for vegetarians I half invented (I saw a similar one in a free supermarket magazine in Italy. I get inspired by all sorts!) which I made the other night. I LOVE all types of baked pasta, particularly lasagne. I’ve tried different combinations over the years (traditional, with spinach and ricotta, with aubergines and mozzarella, with salmon and broccoli, the one Candi blogged with pumpkin and gorgonzola…you name it) and, to be honest, you can’t really go wrong with it. It always tastes great! In this particular one I put grilled courgettes, asparagus and peas. Plus a bit of ricotta cheese for some added interest. I always make my bechamel sauce in the microwave, which makes it dead easy to accomplish. For this particular recipe as the theme was spring (hence the name “primavera”, which means spring in Italian. I used the Italian word for special effects :-)) and the dominant colour was green I used spinach lasagne sheets. Continue reading ‘Lasagne primavera’

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’

Penne with asparagus and ricotta

Published by Lucina, on 12 maggio 2011 in English Recipes and pasta. 2 Comments Tags: , .

penne with asparagus and ricotta

You asked for a recipe with asparagus and here’s another one straight after your lovely lasagne, dear Candi. After all they are in season so we must strike the iron while it’s hot, so to speak. By the way, apologies for the very amateurish photos.  They remind me of those terrible pics you see outside Greek tavernas to entice customers to go in. They achieve the EXACT result, in fact. :-( Still, I don’t possess any professional photographic equipment, only my mobile phone, I am afraid. So you are stuck with these unprofessional pictures. I put them to give you a rough idea of what the dishes look like (much better in reality. Trust me) and to prove I’ve actually made the stuff. The pasta dish I cooked last night is straight out of the Riverford recipe leaflet I get every week with my veggies. (Brilliant outfit! Great service! I advise you to check out the recipe section on their website. There are some really interesting vegetable dishes.) I thought it was very nice (and straightforward) so I decided to share it with you (slightly amended). Continue reading ‘Penne with asparagus and ricotta’

Orecchiette with broccoli, anchovies and cherry tomatoes

Published by Lucina, on 4 maggio 2011 in English Recipes, pasta and sauces. 4 Comments
orecchiette with broccoli

Yeah, yeah. Two recipes in a row containing cherry tomatoes…Where’s my imagination? Well…first of all I really like them. Secondly, I was simply finishing off the other half of the punnet used in the cod recipe…Foxy lady or what? This is an extremely quick pasta recipe, which is also very wholesome. You can make the sauce while the pasta (orecchiette in this case) is cooking. I had a bit of a panic attack when Sainsbury (my local supermarket) stopped stocking the orecchiette, which go particularly well with this sauce. They used to sell the fresh variety too (together with trofie) but then, much to my chagrin, POOF! they vanished. I suspect not enough people in the neighbourhood were buying them…Oh well! Luckily some of my “informers” (read: other Italian people living in the UK) told me that another chain of supermarkets (Tesco) sold them. Guess who cleared their shelves? Enough rambling and let’s get cooking! Continue reading ‘Orecchiette with broccoli, anchovies and cherry tomatoes’