Bagels

Published by Lucina, on 13 gennaio 2013 in bread and English Recipes. 6 Comments

bagels

Following the bread making course I attended back in November (read here)  I’ve tried my hand at different types of bread, with various degrees of success, including bagels. I love bagels and I have been buying the ready made variety for many many years. Sainsbury’s bakery produces some very good ones, for example. I’m not sure how popular they are in Italy but perhaps Candi will comment on it. Anyway, I had always believed they would be far too difficult to make and never even thought of baking them myself. The idea to have a go came from the legendary programme the Great British bake off which I really enjoyed watching back in the summer. During the programme a group of contestants were given the challenge to bake all sort of weird and wonderful things and in each episode the worst contestant would be eliminated. Sure enough in one of the programmes one of the challenges was indeed to make some bagels. I was really intrigued by the fact that you have to boil them ( YES, boil them !) before you can bake them. How bizarre, I thought. Being a curious person I decided to attempt them. My first batch was passable but they were a bit on the dry side ( they should really be soft and chewy). Last week I had another attempt, this time following the River Cottage recipe and I was rather impressed with the end result. They looked quite professional, if I may be so bold,  and they tasted very nice too! Continue reading ‘Bagels’

Fig, apricot and prune cake

Published by Lucina, on 5 gennaio 2013 in cakes and English Recipes. 2 Comments

                      fig, apricot and prune cake

Happy new year everyone! I hope the year 2013 will be a healthy, peaceful one for all! Can you believe that I received MORE cookery books for Christmas? I haven’t counted how many I already have but the number is embarassingly high. I have had to take a few in the loft to make space for the new ones. Even more embarassing is the fact that I usually end up cooking from a handful of them. I reckon I could make something new every day of my life and still not manage to go through all the recipe books I have got. This won’t do! My new year resolution is going to be: cook ONE recipe from at least each of the books I have on my kitchen shelf this year.  And of course, if they work out you’ll be the first ones to know! Anyway let me blog this lovely moist cake which I have successfully made a few times already, the last one being during the Christmas holidays. I don’t particularly like the traditional English Christmas cake. I find it a bit too sweet and too rich. Same goes for the Christmas pudding. This particular  fruit cake, however, is a bit different as it contains figs, apricots and prunes instead of the usual raisins and sultanas. It is soft and moist without being sickeningly sweet. It’s absolutely lovely with a cup of tea or coffee so I advice all those cake fans out there to make it for their friends. They will be thankful! By the way it is by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. Surprise surprise HIS cookery books are getting properly thumbed in my house. But what can I say? His recipes are brilliant! Continue reading ‘Fig, apricot and prune cake’

Published by Candida, on 23 dicembre 2012 in Chiacchiere/Chatting. 1 Comment

 

Cari tutti, dopo una giornata prenatalizia in cui ho combattuto con l’oca che sarà il nostro piatto forte natalizio. L’ho pulita, ho congelato le frattaglie per fare il paté in seguito, ho sciolto a fuoco lento parte del grasso da mettere via per insaporire le patate, ho disossato il collo e l’ho fatto ripieno per la vigilia di Natale. Ho preparato il ripieno per l’oca con le castagne (messe a mollo ieri), mele e salsiccia e poi mi sono resa conto che l’oca era così grande che il ripieno non bastava e di castagne ormai non ne avevo più e così ho fatto un altro ripieno diverso…. dopo tutto questo mi sono seduta con l’oca pronta da cuocere in frigo e la coscienza a posto e ho acceso il computer per fare a chi passa di qui gli auguri. Ecco allora una specie di babbo natalino veneziano, che so che per Lucina Venezia è un posto speciale come Natale è un giorno speciale. Per gli auguri seri invece qui.

 

Frangipane mince pies

Published by Lucina, on 23 dicembre 2012 in cakes and English Recipes. 0 Comments

frangipane mince pies

Jingle bells! Jingle bells! Here I am with a seasonal Christmas recipe typically English to match Candida’s cinnamon buns: mince pies! For the Italians reading this blog they are mini pies, filled with a mixture called mincemeat which is made of chopped dried fruit, apples, sugar, spices, etc. You can buy this ready made in all supermarkets at this time of the year. I bought mine at Marks and Spencer, treating myself to the luxury variety which has brandy inside. Obviously the better cooks would make their own and next year I plan to have a go, I promise. Ironically  I’m not the greatest fan of  mince pies. I find them a bit too stodgy and far too sweet for my taste. However my husband absolutely adores them so in a fit of generosity I promised that this year I would make him some as he had had a particular bad experience with a couple of them. But instead of the traditional ones which have pastry on the top as well as the bottom I decided to make these ones which are topped with frangipane. Well, do you know what? I thought they were fabulous. Much lighter than the normal variety. I would definitely recommend them. And by the way, they are by the mighty Nigella Lowson. Who else? Continue reading ‘Frangipane mince pies’

Kanelbullar alias girelle di cannella alias cinnamon rolls

Published by Candida, on 16 dicembre 2012 in Cucina regionale, Dolci and Ricette in Italiano. 1 Comment Tags: , , .

Tutti i vantaggi di aver mandato una figlia in Intercultura… Briochine alla cannella che in Svezia si mangiano a Santa Lucia fino a Natale. Laura le ha fatte, affrettatevi anche voi, abbiamo già sciupato 3 giorni… Continue reading ‘Kanelbullar alias girelle di cannella alias cinnamon rolls’

Celeriac and toasted hazelnut soup

Published by Lucina, on 9 dicembre 2012 in English Recipes and Soup. 2 Comments

celeriac and toasted hazelnuts soup

Don’t be put off by the odd look of the soup in the picture. I know it doesn’t look all that appealing (in fact the words: dog dinner spring to mind) BUT you have to trust me that the taste is great and it’s very easy to make. Plus it looks a lot better in “real” life, so to speak. The photograph doesn’t do it justice, that’s for sure. What you see floating on the top are toasted hazelnuts which I foolishly crushed before taking their skin off. The result? It looks as if it has been sprinkled with wood shavings. My advice is :don’t be fooled by the appearance (I believe in taste over looks) and try it.  I can already think of variations on the theme like adding some cream  or some blue cheese to it to make it richer. But all in good time. I believe celeriac (sedano rapa) is readily available in Italy too, right? The inspiration to make it came from the greengrocer who sells me the organic vegetables. When I bought the celeriac he mentioned that he had made a soup with it and had added toasted hazelnuts on the top. Well, I tried to recreate it using a bit of imagination and here it is. Tried and tested. Continue reading ‘Celeriac and toasted hazelnut soup’

Soup à l’oignon con uno spruzzo di kirsch

Published by Candida, on 30 novembre 2012 in Cucina regionale, Primi, Ricette in Italiano, Soup and vegetarian. 1 Comment

 

 Di solito si fa in pirottini individuali che fa molto fino. Direi che il pentolone da portare in tavola e pescarvi mestolate tutti insieme è più caldo e riduce molto il lavoro della padrona di casa. La bellezza non va scambiata con spocchia e spesso portati dal bombardamento della moda ci cadiamo tutti. Questa è una zuppa poverissima (pame e cipolle), dopo due di queste potete andare al cinema gratis o aumentare le donazioni al vostro progetto solidale preferito :)

Ho aggiunto, infine, un ingrediente per ricordare una persona cara per la proprietà transitiva dell’amore.

 

 

 

 

 

Continue reading ‘Soup à l’oignon con uno spruzzo di kirsch’

Greek stuffed peppers

Published by Lucina, on 27 novembre 2012 in English Recipes, starters and vegetarian. 1 Comment

stuffed gree peppers

These stuffed peppers are ideal either as a starter or as a light lunch with a nice  salad (which is what I had). I don’t know about you but I sometimes struggle with starters. I really have to rack my brain to think of something a bit unsual. These are great as they can be made well in advance and then served at room temperature. One each would do very nicely as a starter. The recipe is once again from Rachel Allen. Obviously it would be best to make these peppers  in the summer when they are in season but let’s face it:  the truth is that now you can find peppers , as well as any other vegetable you can think of, at any time of the year. Not sure about the taste but that’s a different story.  I don’t think people really know what should be in season and what not anymore. Really quite sad. I still remember now those mini essays I wrote when I was at primary school about autumn fuits, like chestnuts, etc. Oh happy days! Continue reading ‘Greek stuffed peppers’

Sformatini di broccoli e nocciole

Published by Candida, on 22 novembre 2012 in Antipasti, sfizi, finger food..., Chiacchiere/Chatting, Ricette in Italiano, vegetables, vegetarian and Verdure. 7 Comments Tags: , , , .

 

 

 Si vede che ho la farina di nocciole da finire nell’armadio, eh?  Continue reading ‘Sformatini di broccoli e nocciole’

Nuova carotesca versione

Published by Candida, on 17 novembre 2012 in Chiacchiere/Chatting, Dolci, Ricette in Italiano and Verdure. 2 Comments Tags: , , .

  Lucina, sei una inesauribile fonte di ispirazione e la tua torta di carote è stata trasformata in 13 muffin profumati di nocciola. Che ne dici?

All’impasto della torta di Lucina ho aggiunto 100 gr. di farina di nocciole  (o nocciole tritate fini), ho tolto le uvette, le noci e le albicocche. Ho diviso l’impasto per 13 formine da muffin e ho infornato a 180° per 20 minuti. Ecco fatto.