Come siamo messi con la pasta brisé? Non andremo mica a comprarla al supermarket già fatta? Lungi da noi questa tentazione perniciosa e autoproduciamocela, come tendono a fare i Bilanci di giustizia (eh, difficilotto il loro cammino, ma si può imparare tanto dalla loro esperienza). Ne ho provate divcrse versioni, soprattutto perché vorrei ridurre il burro che somministro consapevolmente alla mia famiglia. Ne avevo già postata una senza burro e con la farina di riso qui. Quella di oggi è un po’ più godereccia. Un filo di burro c’è, il resto è ricotta. Ricotta dentro e ricotta fuori dunque. Continue reading ‘Torta brisée di ricotta con radicchio e pere’
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
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’
Halloween in the air? Prepariamoci per tempo
La stagione della zucca è lunga e ormai ci siamo in pieno. La mangiamo spesso, e spesso si trova nella cassetta di verdure a sorpresa che anche noi, come Lucina, abbiamo cominciato a prendere (almeno finché nei campi dell’Italia del Nord si troverà qualcosa). La cascina Rampina di Monticello che ci rifornisce è un’azienda giovane piena di idee e davvero molto in gamba. Le sue cassette sono uno spettacolo di freschezza. Consiglio davvero di farci un giro a tutti i brianzoli/lecchesi. In particolare le sue zucche sono dolci, pastose e per niente acquose. Quello che ci vuole per questa ricetta.
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’
Ecco un’altra ricetta lampo. Solo il tempo di lievitare e di infornare. Ma è il tempo e il caldo che fanno tutto. Noi dovremo solo stufare le zucchine e stendere la pasta e spalmare la ricotta di bufala.
Continue reading ‘Bufalina. Focaccia integrale alle zucchine e ricotta.’
A volte capita di dover imbastire una merenda veloce e non aver altro che un po’ di farina e le solite cose che languiscono in dispensa. Queste focaccine possono essere una soluzione. Sono una versione light del gnocco fritto (Modena) alias torta fritta (Parma) alias crescentina (Mantova-Mirandola, mia nonna insomma). Queste tanto per andare sul salutistico le ho fatte parzialmente con la farina integrale (in realtà stavo finendo le superscorte di farina bianca!)
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’
Cambiato lo sfondo del blog con un colorino più autunnale, posto questa ricettuzza che ho pensato per utilizzare la farina di nocciole che langue nel mio armadio e che è a rischio farfallina (visto che con la torrida estate 2012 i simpatici esserini svolazzanti si sono moltiplicati a dismisura). Ne avevo mangiato una versione forse più nobile nella patria della nocciole, in Piemonte. Ecco la mia proposta, veloce, da fare in fretta, per una domenica sera d’autunno, quando tutta la famiglia miracolosamente si riunisce, fuori è umidiccio, dentro calduccio, il lunedì incombe ma ancora siamo noi, qui dentro, al sicuro. Continue reading ‘Inizio d’autunno? Risotto alle nocciole e zucchine’
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’
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