Cara Lucina, va riconosciuto che il nostro blog sta venendo fuori con una vaga tendenza vegetariana, tutto sommato. Qualche ricettina di carne e di pesce c’è qua e là, ma non molte. Giusto così, sono convinta che la carne vada ridotta per molti motivi, ma non mi sento di eliminarla completamente. In Italia almeno, credo poi che si debba proprio ridurre al minimo il consumo della parte posteriore del bovino. Tutti vogliono solo quella, importiamo solo quella e dall’estero ci vendono la bestia intera e ci mandano solo i tagli pregiati posteriori, tenendosi il resto. Cioè paghiamo quello che non ritiriamo (e che altri più furbi e accorti di noi utilizzano). E’ assurdo. E invece ci sono tanti modi per usare tutta la carne. Almeno se si uccide un animale che vada tutto in bene e non è solo un discorso economico, no? Mi ha educato a un uso più consapevole della carne la cascina Nibai, dove il mio gruppo di acquisto solidale (GAS), il Lambrogas, compra carne e affini. Loro, ad esempio, non vendono vitello perché ritengono che la sua carne sia meno sostenibile del manzo, cioè, se capisco bene, l’impronta ecologica del vitello sia più pesante perché l’energia usata per produrre un vitello in proporzione alla sua resa è decisamente maggiore a quella del manzo. Non sarà un caso che tu abbia postato, tra le poche ricette di carne, un piatto che prevede il pollo e uno l’agnello. Ecco qua, dopo il predicozzo, una ricetta facile per usare la carne trita, non solo sugo e hamburger! E’ comodo da preparare in anticipo, ottimo a fette il giorno dopo, per picnic, lunchbox, panini. Io l’ho fatto e poi surgelato per poi sgelarlo velocemente con il microonde quando dovrò rimediare un pasto in fretta e furia. Per la serie: portiamoci avanti… Un’ultima cosa: con queste dosi viene un po’ piccola, soprattutto se si usa il classico stampo da plumcake verrà un bassina, la terrina. Io questo avevo in casa, ma niente impedisce di raddoppiare il tutto, riconsiderando però i tempi di cottura. Continue reading ‘Terrina di carne ai semini vari’
Monthly Archive for maggio, 2011
lemon and poppyseed cake
The idea to make this particular cake came while I was in Scotland just after Easter. We rented a remote cottage for a week in the middle of nowhere and had a fabulous time walking, thanks to the glorious weather (yes, occasionally the sun shines here too!). To replenish the lost calories every day, after each walk, we treated ourselves to a slice of cake in some lovely tea room or other in the area. One of the cakes I had while I was there was one made with lemon and poppyseeds. I had never had one before but it was absolutely gorgeous. What I particularly liked about it was the tanginess of the lemon combined with the interesting, crunchy texture from the poppy seeds. When I came back I went hunting for a recipe to try and found one by Jill Dupleix which sounded good. My guinea pigs were the bunch of Italian ladies who have the misfortune (or is it a fortune? The jury is still out on that one) to live here in the UK in my same area. I invited them for lunch and presented them with this cake explaining I needed to try it out before it went on the blog (between you and me I think they are getting sick of me and my blog! :-)). Well….they loved it , and so did my husband who had what was left, so here it is. It is lovely and moist inside but it has a delicious crunchy lemon and sugar topping . Mind you: be careful to check your teeth in the mirror for any errand seeds after you have eaten it or they might think you are in need of dental treatment! Continue reading ‘Lemon and poppyseed cake’
Sciroppo di limone per limonata
6 limoni bio non trattati
1 pezzetto di zenzero fresco sbucciato
250 gr. di acqua
500 gr. di zucchero
una decina di foglioline di menta
4-5 foglie di basilico Continue reading ‘Inizia il caldo! Abbasso la Coca Cola’
chicken legs with potatoes and lemon
I have noticed we have blogged quite a few pasta/rice dishes lately but not many meat ones. Ok, I confess I am not a great meat eater. I could easily be vegetarian and in fact most of the time I cook with vegetables, pulses,eggs or cheese not meat. Still it’s nice to eat it, now and again, particularly if you treat yourself to some good quality, organic one. For this recipe I used chicken legs. They tend to be much cheaper than breasts and they are nicer to roast. I downloaded this dish from the Italian Cookery magazine Candi blogged (G2Kitchen). The one with those incredible pictures that puts ours to shame (I still haven’t recovered….he he). On their website they encourage people to try their recipes so I did. What I like about it is that it is dead quick and simple to make, yet it is really tasty. Definitely something I shall be cooking again. As I was unashamedly bragging about it my friend Rossella asked me to blog it so that she can have a go at making it on her “chicken day” (don’t ask) so here goes….
Continue reading ‘Roast chicken legs with potatoes and lemon’
E che asparagi sia! Hai ragione Lucina, bisogna approfittarne, visto che ora sono naturalmente disponibili. Verde asparago, verde pistacchio… E invece no. I pistacchi non sono solo verdi, alla faccia dei luoghi comuni. Il pistacchio appena sgusciato è delicatamente sfumato di rosa, a pensarci bene ha proprio i colori dei boccioli di rosa secchi e profumati che in Turchia mettono nei dolci, nelle conserve e nei liquori. Comunque, eccolo qua, il mio risotto, lui sì, tutto verde.
Continue reading ‘Risotto agli asparagi al pistacchio e limone’
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’
Ancora asparagi, anzi qualcosa che aiuti a smaltire i gambi di asparagi e i ciuffi dei cipollotti. Cosa di meglio allora di una besciamella primaverile, fatta con una buona farina integrale, magari bio? Preparata in quattro e quattrotto con il microonde (un mio pallino, la besciamella in microonde, soprattutto perché così sparisce il problema dei grumi). Continue reading ‘Lasagne primavera’
- 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’
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