Archive for the 'Cucina regionale' Category

Braised Cauliflower and Puy Lentil Tabouleh

Published by Lucina, on 3 settembre 2017 in Cucina regionale, English Recipes, healthy eating, salad, vegetables, vegetarian and Verdure. 1 Comment Tags: , , , .
braised cauliflower and puy lentils tabouleh

braised cauliflower and puy lentil tabouleh

Calling all vegetarians and vegans out there. This is an AMAZING tabouleh which I have made twice already in the last couple of weeks. Packed full of wholesome ingredients and really bursting with flavour. I know it might sound like a bit of a faff, by looking at all the ingredients, but it is so much worth it. Don’t be scared and have a go. You won’t regret it. It comes from the vegan recipe book Peace and Parsnips  by Lee Watson. I will have to check out his other recipes, considering how good this one is. If you want to cook something healthy today or vary your salads repertoire look no further. Continue reading ‘Braised Cauliflower and Puy Lentil Tabouleh’

La “torta appiccicosa” ai lamponi: ovvero un fondant alla svedese (Kladdkaka)

Published by Candida, on 20 agosto 2016 in Cucina regionale, desserts, Dolci, Ricette in Italiano and teatime. 3 Comments Tags: , , , .

IMG-20160820-WA0002Ecco qua a cosa serve mandare i figli a studiare all’estero. Una tortina svedese di Laura: la Kladdkaka. Continue reading ‘La “torta appiccicosa” ai lamponi: ovvero un fondant alla svedese (Kladdkaka)’

Taralli with fennel seeds (take 3)

Published by Lucina, on 28 luglio 2016 in Antipasti, sfizi, finger food..., Cucina regionale, English Recipes and Torte salate, pizze. 2 Comments Tags: , .
taralli with fennel seeds

taralli with fennel seeds

First of all let me explain what taralli are. They are basically gorgeous little snacks which have a similar consistency to crackers/grissini (bread sticks). They come from the Puglia region, which is the heel of Italy, and they are made with an unleavened dough of flour and flavoured in many different ways (with crack black pepper, chillies, fennel seeds etc.). The main ingredients are: flour, olive oil and white wine. The ones I have made are the most common ones. There are many recipes out there and in theory you are supposed to boil them first before you bake them. HOWEVER I tried twice to boil them first and I had to chuck them in the bin. GRRRRR! They were hard as rock and basically unedible. Mind you: it might have something to do with the fact  I later discovered I had used the wrong flour (strong instead of plain). :-( So I must try boiling them again using the right flour and see what happens. In the meantime let me share this recipe with you for which I’ve used my trusted sourdough (yes! Still alive after all these years!), as suggested by my sister in law Stefania (who apparently has been making them successfully in this way for a while). I have used the recipe she sent me on line which comes from the issuu.com website. Continue reading ‘Taralli with fennel seeds (take 3)’

Strawberry tiramisu

Published by Lucina, on 26 giugno 2016 in cakes, Cucina regionale, Dolci and English Recipes. 0 Comments Tags: , .
strawberry tiramisu

strawberry tiramisu

Dear friends, I am still reeling after the results of the Brexit referendum. I can’t help feeling extremely sad and disappointed at the result. So to cheer myself up I’ve experimented in the kitchen with a summer version of the classic tiramisu. This dessert couldn’t be more appropriate as  “tirami su” in Italian means: pull me up, which is exactly what I need right now!  I  already blogged the classic recipe over two years ago ( see here). Yes, two years! Incredible how times fly. As strawberries are now in season, and you can hope to buy some that will actually TASTE of strawberries, I recommend you try this recipe. It’s simple, it’s light (albeit not from a calories point of view :-( ), it’s different. I’ve already made it three times in the past few weeks and each time it met with 100% approval from my guests. I found the recipe on line on an Italian blog called Le ricette della nonna (= grandma’s recipes). There are several versions floating in cyberspace, a few involving making some sort of custard. But not this one. What are you waiting for? Get your mascarpone and your savoiardi and have a go! Your friends will thank you for it… Continue reading ‘Strawberry tiramisu’

Thai red prawn curry

Published by Lucina, on 7 maggio 2016 in Cucina regionale, English Recipes, fish and rice. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .
Thai red prawn curry

Thai red prawn curry

Hello hello hello and welcome back to me (and to messing about in the kitchen). I confess that not much experimentation has been going on in the last month or so.  What a lazy so and so. In my defence this is mainly due to the fact that I was in Italy for 2 weeks. When I get back from my holidays I am always out of the swing for a little while. This doesn’t mean I am not doing any cooking, you understand, but I tend to opt for the tried and tested. Anyway, enough trying to justify myself. And what’s wrong with being a bit lazy in the kitchen, now and again?. 😉 This recipe comes from the Jamie Oliver’s 30 minutes meals recipe book which I must admit, I haven’t used all that much. Anyway I was astounded by how good this curry tasted and how easy it was to make. I thoroughly recommend it. I slightly adapted it. For example in the original recipe Jamie uses two different types of prawns: the bog standard ready cooked ones and some raw ones. Well, bollocks to that. Too complicated! I went for the easy ready cooked option and ignored the raw ones, which incidentally made the recipe even easier. Also Jamie cooks sugar snap peas in the curry. I chose to serve them separately, hence they are omitted from the recipe. Continue reading ‘Thai red prawn curry’

Focaccia simil-ligure: tentativo numero uno

Published by Candida, on 27 gennaio 2016 in Antipasti, sfizi, finger food..., bread, Chiacchiere/Chatting, Cucina regionale, Ricette in Italiano and Torte salate, pizze. 2 Comments Tags: , , .

2016-01-10 20.50.16

Ecco qui. Finalmente ci ho provato. E senza il minimo diritto.  Neanche una goccia di sangue ligure, solo tanto affetto per posti pieni di ricordi: gli esami di maturità alla luce di una lampada a gas, i giochi in spiaggia dei bambini, gli amici e i cugini, la prima traduzione importante…

E la focaccia c’era sempre. Alla mattina prima di colazione, a mezzogiorno in spiaggia o comprata di corsa correndo al treno per fare gli esami a Milano.

Te la portavano anche i parenti di ritorno, se tu eri rimasta a casa. Ma perché non ha mai lo stesso sapore mangiata altrove?

Qual è il segreto? In Internet c’è un’abbondante letteratura. Dalle mitiche sorelle Simili (a cui devo tanto, ma non la semieretica presenza dello strutto) ai mille blog che ne parlano. Scomuniche, guru, trucchi e consigli. C’è da perderci testa e pazienza.  E allora questo è il mio sunto, la mia semplificazione, la mia personale riduzione facilmente accessibile di cotanta scienza. Migliorabile certo, ma per la mia famiglia un buon punto di partenza.

Continue reading ‘Focaccia simil-ligure: tentativo numero uno’

Il mafè. Manzo stufato in salsa di arachidi. Il Senegal in cucina

Published by Candida, on 12 gennaio 2015 in Chiacchiere/Chatting, Cucina regionale and Ricette in Italiano. 2 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

20150105_200122Dopo tutti i piatti vegetariani di Lucina, io faccio la cattiva ragazza e vi posto questo stufato delizioso che viene dal Senegal. So poco di cucina africana ma chissà quanti profumi che ci perdiamo! Alcuni amici dei miei figli hanno cucinato per noi qualche volta e mi hanno lasciato una grande curiosità.

Questa è una ricetta di una signora senegalese, Mansata, che fa parte di M’AMA FOOD, un progetto della cooperativa Farsi prossimo , un catering tutto speciale gestito da donne per lo più straniere che cucinano i cibi delle loro terre lontane. Ho preso la ricetta dal giornalino della Coop. Continue reading ‘Il mafè. Manzo stufato in salsa di arachidi. Il Senegal in cucina’

Baklava

Published by Lucina, on 14 ottobre 2014 in cakes, Cucina regionale, Dolci and English Recipes. 4 Comments Tags: , , , .
baklava

baklava

These incredibly rich, gooey, sweet pastries are definitely not for diabetic people or anyone on a diet, I am warning you. HOWEVER, they are delicious and a little piece of them goes a long way which makes them ideal to share with a group of friends. They are made with  layers of buttered filo pastry and contain lots of chopped nuts. What holds them together is honey or syrup. So you can imagine the high number of calories that these little beauties possess. Even an hour of Zumba I am not sure would be able to shift them. Anyway, the inspiration to make baklavas came from my holiday to the Greek island of Paxos, back in September, where they seemed to be sold everywhere (Oh happy, sunny days! If only I could be back there. Autumn is definitely upon us now :-(….). I understand, however, that they are Turkish in origin. Making baklava was also one of the challenges on one of the episodes of the Great British Bake off programme, which has just finished. So I had to have a go, didn’t I? The recipe I used came from the BBC Good food website, slightly adapted. I checked other recipes online and they all seem to be very similar. Unlike in the GB Bake off competition I most certainly did not make my own filo pastry. Come off it!  Life is too short for that! Anyway, they were very nice and made some colleagues at work happy. Continue reading ‘Baklava’

Patate Hasselback

Published by Candida, on 2 agosto 2014 in Chiacchiere/Chatting, Cucina regionale, Ricette in Italiano, vegetables and vegetarian. 1 Comment Tags: , .

Mi lancio nei luoghi comuni. Il tempo è impazzito, non ci sono più le stagioni di una volta… E infatti Laura a Bruxelles mi guarda dallo schermo Skype in canottiera mentre io le rispondo con una bella felpetta a maniche lunghe. Lucina in Inghilterra sceglie dal florilegio del blog tutte le ricette rinfrescanti e io penso a qualche bel piattino caldo per le fresche serate di questa mezz’estate con l’ombrello. Il cielo ha più di 50 sfumature di grigio e la programmata gita in montagna da fare col sole dovrà aspettare, mi sa, dicembre. Ecco dunque questo piatto tradizionale per niente estivo ma che noi abbiamo gradito. Ok, molto burro, ma per una volta… (ahi, mi sa che anche la prossima ricetta che posterò non sarà molto light…). Ah, dimenticavo: pare che Hasselback fosse un ristorante svedese (quindi ecco una ricetta degna di entrare nelle tradizioni di famiglia). E la foto? C’era, c’era ma l’ho cancellata per sbaglio! Continue reading ‘Patate Hasselback’

Tzatziki

Published by Candida, on 23 luglio 2014 in Antipasti, sfizi, finger food..., Cucina regionale, Ricette in Italiano, vegetables and vegetarian. 5 Comments Tags: , , .

Si scriverà poi così? Se si va su Wikipedia c’è da perdere la testa nelle giravolte che fa questo nome a seconda del fazzoletto di terra in cui mangiano questo piatto: un po’ dappertutto nei Balcani, divisi da confini arcigni ma uniti da tante cose in comune, tra queste il cibo.

In questo periodo mi ci sono affezionata e  anche se non fa tanto caldo mi vien sempre voglia di farlo. Oggi me lo sono perfino portata in treno accompagnato da 4 felafel e un pezzo di pane (chissà i susseguiosi vicini della Freccia – in ritardo – cosa avranno pensato). Continue reading ‘Tzatziki’