Monthly Archive for marzo, 2014

Pumpkin risotto

Published by Lucina, on 23 marzo 2014 in English Recipes, rice and vegetarian. 0 Comments

pumpkin risotto

I love risottos  and this one is one of my very favourites particularly since I discovered a variety of pumpkins which is really nice and ideal to cook with. I  recently found it at a farmer’s market in Edinburgh and was pleasantly surprised as this is not the season for pumpkins. Perhaps they keep for a long time. Who knows? I had bpought it before at a local organic vegetable shop but unfortunately it is not that easy to get hold of. It’s quite small and it’s a light green colour.  The flesh is  dark orange and it’s really dense. Completely different from the watery consistency you get with the Halloween type of pumpkins (which are rather tasteless in truth). I gather this would be ideal to use to make the traditional American pumpkin pie, which I have never tried but it’s on my hit list. As the skin of this pumpkin is rather hard and woody and it would be very difficult to peel I decided to gently roast it in the oven first for approx. 40 minutes. Then I scooped the flesh out, chopped it up and used it for my risotto. Delicious! It was so creamy and tasty I decided not to put any butter in it. I have also tried making it with pearl barley ( a pumpkin  orzotto in other words) and it was equally nice. Continue reading ‘Pumpkin risotto’

Strudel, dolce e salato

Published by Candida, on 16 marzo 2014 in Antipasti, sfizi, finger food..., Dolci, Ricette in Italiano and Torte salate, pizze. 1 Comment Tags: , , , .

Mercoledì delle ceneri è passato da tempo. Ma eccomi qua con la cenere sul capo… nessun post da anni. Lucina che tira da sola la carretta… e io sono finita nella morsa della burocrazia accademica a mangiare insalate e tofu Va be’, cerco di farmi perdonare con una ricetta semplice, sana e DOPPIA. Due strudel, uno dolce e uno salato. E poi la pasta no frill dello strudel è economica, veloce, non grassa e molto, molto versatile (si può usare anche per una veloce piadina, tirata sottile e buttata sulla piastra incandescente).

Chissà quante ricette dello strudel ci sono in giro. Io, vergogna vergogna, ne ho fatti molti per anni usando la pasta sfoglia industriale. E non mi era venuto in mente che era così semplice, economico e sano farla in casa. Per quello dolce ho fatto una piccola variante nel ripieno tradizionale aggiungendo i frutti di bosco. Ma basta sbizzarirsi. Il prossimo che farò sarà ai pistacchi e all’acqua di rose, come suggerisce l’Araba felice, fonte di ispirazione continua.

Poi per una cena svelta mi è venuto in mente di riempirlo con ingredienti salati e farne un sostanzioso primo o antipasto caldo, fate voi… Continue reading ‘Strudel, dolce e salato’

Kaiserschmarrn

Published by Lucina, on 9 marzo 2014 in cakes, Cucina regionale, Dolci and English Recipes. 4 Comments Tags: , .

kaiserschmarrn

Instead of making the famous pancakes with sugar and lemon that in England are traditionally eaten on Shrove Tuesday ( martedì grasso in Italian) this year I decided to make kaiserschmarrn. Impossible to pronounce, I know, unless you are German. This dish is in fact Austrian and translated it means “the emperor’s mess”. And a mess it certainly looks when cooked, as it is basically a thick pancake brutally torn into pieces, sprinkled with icing sugar and served with plum sauce. I reckon that  it was born a misdemeanour and got later dressed up as a dessert, personally! 😉 Still……I had it for the first time in the famous Café Central in Vienna when I went there at Easter. I confess I found it a bit stodgy and couldn’t even finish it! I then had another lighter version of it in one of the Italian rifugi (mountain huts) in the Dolomites and a different experience it was too!  Much fluffier and nicer (and cheaper to boot!). Anyway, I have done my research. There are several recipes out there. Some of them contain rum and raisins and are therefore richer in taste. But I didn’t have rum nor did I have any raisins so I decided to make a very simple, straightforward version and served it with homemade warmed up blackberry jam. I have seen recipes serving it with apple sauce, strawberry sauce and of course the traditional plum sauce. I thought it was rather nice for a first attempt and different from the usual boring pancakes. Definitely something on the filling side to indulge in if you are in need of comfort food. Continue reading ‘Kaiserschmarrn’

Roasted ratatouille

Published by Lucina, on 2 marzo 2014 in English Recipes, vegetables, vegetarian and Verdure. 1 Comment Tags: , .

roasted ratatouille

I said I would use again the Chocolate & Zucchini book and here I am , true to my promise, sharing a nice, healthy vegetables recipe ( long overdue, after all the cakes blogged recently!).  Everyone will be familiar with the traditional ratatouille. I’ve got to admit I am not a fan: I find it a bit bland, in truth. But not this one! Roasting the vegetables definitely adds to the flavour. Plus it’s even easier to do than the traditional one made on the hob as you put everything in a roasting dish and bang it in the oven, without the need to stir. It can be eaten hot or cold, so it’s ideal if you want to make it in advance. I had some leftover and tossed it in some pasta the following day. It was even nicer! I would definitely recommend it. Continue reading ‘Roasted ratatouille’