Cucina e altro
Tornata! Ma la cucina rimane lontana tra ospedale, lavoro e chilometri su chilometri macinati di qua e di là per la Penisola. Così comincio postando una delle ricette fubissime di Araba felice che ho fatto mesi fa e ha fatto successo a casa mia. Mi sono ripromessa di provarne altre versione e di non comprare mai più quelli industriali. Io li ho fatti in padella ma devo riprovarli al forno. Continue reading ‘Sofficini fatti in casa’
parmesan and rosemary scones
I am a HUGE fan of scones, particularly the cheese variety. They are often what I go for when I visit a tea room (provided they look home made, that is!). Strangely enough I find they are often disappointing (read :tasteless or stodgy or both). I often judge how good a particular café/tea room is by its scones and if the cheese ones are good they can count me in as a regular customer. I baked this particular batch on Saturday in honour of my annual posh tea party with the English book group ladies which always takes place at around this time of the year at my house. In theory it should be an al fresco event, read: in the garden. In practice the weather is always bad (this is England after all!) so we end up staying indoors. And this is what happened this year AGAIN: it was nice the day before, it was nice the day after but on the actual day it peed down! Anyway for this event tradition wants that I take out my best china, splash out on some expensive tea (this year was Countess Grey by Fortnum and Mason) and lay the table for a posh do. Continue reading ‘Parmesan and rosemary scones’
Per fortuna c’è Lucina! Accidenti sto trascurando il blog in modo vergognoso. E sarà sempre peggio, visto che domani parto per le mie settimane russe e sarò un po’ qui e un po’ là. Fino a metà settembre niente cucina, poca Internet, ma incontri, seminari, tanto Tolstoj, Puškin e Volga, Volga, Volga…
Per farmi perdonare e per salutarvi per un po’, posto questa tortina in mezzo a valigie da strizzare, regalini (quasi tutti alimentari) da stipare e relazione del seminario ancora da correggere.
Se una amica va in Provenza e ti porta un sacchetto di lavanda da cucina profumatissima, qualcosa ci devi fare. Già penso a un risotto che ho assaggiato in Svizzera, ma in casa avevo della ricotta di pecora da godere e così ecco qua la torta. La lavanda mi piace molto in cucina, l’unica accortezza è stare molto attenti alle dose. Il rischio-saponetta è in agguato. Grazie Elena!!!
red lentils dal
Nothing for ten days and then two recipes all at once? What’s going on? Well….why not, eh? I like living on the edge, me! Seriously, the reason for my absence was simply that I have not been in residence. Like previous years I went to spend a few days in Edinburgh for the fringe festival. Brill! While I was there I met up with my youngest son Tom and , as it’s often the case, we ended up talking about food. Like mother, like son…He loves cooking too and this dal recipe is one of his favourites. So much so that apparently he “inflicts” it on his girlfriend at least once a week (I’m sure she is getting a bit fed up by now, good though it is!).! Anyway, dal is a very common Indian dish made with pulses. This simple but flavoursome version is based on red lentils. What I like about this recipe is that it’s very straightforward and can be used as a base. You can try adding other vegetables to it such as chick peas, potatoes, cauliflower, spinach, tomatoes etc.. I have seen many variations on the internet. Served with the naan bread I have just blogged works really well! 
Continue reading ‘Red lentils dal’
naan bread
I bet I’m not the only one who loves naan bread! I often order one to accompany a curry when I go to an Indian restaurant. It’s one of my favourite things. Despite my love for it, for some reasons, I never attempted making one until now. I thought it was complicated and you needed a special oven. But apparently not so: you can use a normal oven at a very high temperature. A bit like what you would do for a pizza. So I had a go (being very interested in bread, as you know) at making some to accompany a vegetarian Indian dish called dal recommended to me by my son Tom (recipe to follow). The naan bread turned out just as it should be: lovely and fluffy on the inside and slightly crispy on the outside. Great! Definitely something I shall do again. By the way the recipe I used is by Madhur Jaffrey, slightly adapted. Continue reading ‘Naan bread’
blueberry preserve
Let me introduce you to another wonderful jam to add to the collection of those already blogged. I have actually called it “preserve” to make it sound grander and better. In truth I didn’t have a clue until a few days ago what the difference was between jams and preserves. I thought it had something to do with the sugar/fruit ratio but in actual fact, following an extensive research on Google (and where would I be without it?), I learnt that it’s got more to do with how mashed up the fruit is. Apparently a preserve contains chunkier (if not whole) pieces of fruit. As you can definitely see whole blueberries inside mine let’s go for the posh name. You will be impressed to know that the blueberries I used were actually wild and handpicked by yours truly (with the help of her long suffering husband ). It can’t get more wholesome than this! It’s really satisfying to forage and cook with stuff you have found growing in the wild. Continue reading ‘Blueberry preserve’
avocado, blue cheese and kiwi salad
Hello everyone I’m finally back from my holidays in the Italian Dolomites. I really had forgotten just how beautiful they are!!! I must make a point of going there more regularly than I have done of late. Last time we visisted those beautiful mountains was over 20 years ago! While I was there, aided by the stunning weather, I did lots of amazing walks, one of them with a lovely ex student of mine and expert climber-Lynne- who coincidentally was in the same area at the same time. Also, and more importantly for this blog, I tried lots of interesting tyrolean dishes some of which I intend to blog as soon as I have got rid of the excess weight I gained. 
But how can you not feast on those lovely strudels and canederli when you are on holiday? You can’t, is the answer but then you have to deal with the consequences which is nearly two extra kilos in my case (and my husband’s!). It would have been even more if we hadn’t gone for punishing walks, I’m sure. ARGH!… Anyway, to cut a long story short I’m back in the UK and on a strict(ish) diet. Continue reading ‘Avocado, kiwi and blue cheese salad with toasted seeds and nuts’
Lo so che è un tormento accendere il forno con questo caldaccio. Ma lo si può sempre fare alla mattina presto per avere questa torta estiva pronta per mezzogiorno. L’acidulino delle albicocche la rende quasi dissetante. E poi il verde dei pistacchi è così carino con l’arancione della frutta. Ho preso e modificato questa ricetta da un vecchio post di cavoletto, l’ho resa più leggera diminuendo il burro e mettendo un po’ di olio. Ho sostituito la farina normale con quella di farro, così da variare un po’. Poi l’ho fatta più sbrigativa eliminando il montare gli albumi a neve. Per pigrizia e il risultato non è stato male lo stesso. Vedete voi… Continue reading ‘Torta di farro alle albicocche e pistacchio’
Cosa si porta dalla Russia un’italiana golosa? Caviale, vodka, storione e šampanskoe? No di certo, anche se qualche scatolina di caviale rosso ci scappa (quello nero mai, non bisogna mangiarlo, a parte il prezzo, bisogna lasciarli nascere questi storioni). Io mi porto dolcetti (cioccolatini “Ottobre rosso”, pomadka e zefir vari), ma soprattutto fegato di merluzzo (per l’orrore dei più) e aringa.
Sì: aringa, la regina delle chiacchierate in cucina, la compagna dei bliny poveri, quando il caviale è finito, il viatico verso un altro sorsetto di vodka, l’amabile che va d’accordo con tutto, patate, smetana, cetriolini, mazzi di aneto e altre erbette verdi, cipolline dolci e meno dolci.
L’aringa che si trasforma in una dama di gran classe e per le feste, a Capodanno in particolare, si riveste di pelliccia.
Lo so che le aringhe non hanno bisogno di pellicce con questo caldo. Ma si tratta del mio piatto russo preferito, la mangerei tutti i giorni e con l’aringa che mi ha comprato Ženja (“ehi, Candi, non vorrai comprare l’aringa già sfilettata e disliscata, ma lo sai che lo fanno con l’acido?”) e che mi sono portata sottovuoto in valigia da Mosca non potevo non provarci. Mi perdonino tutte le massaie russe e tutti i culturi di filologie gastronomiche varie. Ho tentato di essere precisa, ma mi sono anche concessa licenze quasi imperdonabili. Per esempio, ho usato la barbabietola già cotta al forno. Qui da noi non si trova facilmente cruda. E comunque per la prima volta me la sono fatta a casa. E gli altri non sono nemmeno scappati. L’hanno mangiata (a parte l’allergico di casa). Ed è perfino piaciuta. 
Continue reading ‘L’aringa in pelliccia. Seljodka pod šuboj’
cool detoxing water
As Candida has blogged a drink I am following suit and sharing with you this simple and easy detoxing water recipe that my friend Carmelita told me about. It is ideal to drink on a hot, summer day, nicely chilled. I now permanently keep a carafe in the fridge ready for when I need to quench my thirst. All you do is basically put a couple of slices of an unwaxed lemon, cucumber and fresh ginger in a jug of water then add a few fresh mint leaves. Leave to infuse for at least 8 hours in the fridge and enjoy. Couldn’t be simpler! I keep replenishing the water for approx. three days after which I discard all the ingredients and start afresh. Try it! It’s really refreshing!
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