Archive for the 'sauces' Category

La salsa di noci

Published by Candida, on 13 aprile 2012 in Cucina regionale, Primi, Ricette in Italiano and sauces. 2 Comments Tags: , , .

Certo che dopo la passeggiata siciliana è ben difficile non postare almeno un bel dolcetto a base di mandorle o di pistacchio! Ma ligia al sobrio volere di Lucina ecco qua un sughetto per la pasta che uso spessissimo perché è veloce e gli ingredienti possono essere sempre tenuti in dispensa per salvare la situazione quando arriva un ospite improvviso. Inoltre ormai tutti conoscono le virtù degli omega 3 (e se volete di più fatevi davvero un giro per il bellissimo e utile blog di Gunther Karl Fuchs, Papille vagabonde che si imparano tante cose) e le noci sono una buona soluzione se non sempre c’è una pescheria sottomano.

Ma bando alle ciance (o meglio, ciando alle bande, come diceva mio papà), ecco la semplice ricetta (che viene dalla Liguria) come la faccio io. Continue reading ‘La salsa di noci’

Pasta alla Norma

Published by Lucina, on 19 ottobre 2011 in Cucina regionale, English Recipes, pasta, Primi and sauces. 4 Comments Tags: , , .

pasta alla Norma

It’s about time to blog another pasta recipe, methinks. I have made this particular one several times before, therefore it’s well tried and tested. Its main ingredients are aubergines, tomatoes and salted ricotta. As I was in Italy at the end of September  on a quick visit (during which I met Candi! And what a great time we had, didn’t we?… Having lunch al fresco in a small trattoria by the river Adda, with 29 degrees and the sun shining…That’s the life!) I was able to buy this cheese – amongst MANY other things all of an edible nature!- and bring it back to the UK. But don’t worry English people. You don’t have to go on a trip to Italy to buy the ricotta just to produce this dish…..albeit it would be nice! You can substitute it with pecorino, which you can easily find in many supermarkets ! Anyway… the recipe is Italian (no idea who Norma is, though…) but ironically comes out of one of my many British cookery books,  Jamie Oliver’s to be precise  ( slightly amended). Everybody in England will be familiar with this “simpatico” chef! He toured Italy a few years back, did a TV programme about it and then proceeded to produce a book full of traditional recipes from the many Italian regions  (called, surprise surprise, Jamie’s Italy…). Off we go then… Continue reading ‘Pasta alla Norma’

Orecchiette with broccoli, anchovies and cherry tomatoes

Published by Lucina, on 4 maggio 2011 in English Recipes, pasta and sauces. 4 Comments
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’

Salsa verde

Published by Lucina, on 18 aprile 2011 in English Recipes and sauces. 2 Comments

salsa verde

If you ever need to jazz  up some vegetables like cauliflower or boiled potatoes why not try this flavoursome salsa verde (sorry folks I’m sticking to the Italian name here as the English translation- green sauce- conjures up images of witches’ potions…)?  I had a cauliflower I needed to use last night and wanted to do something more to it than just steaming it (how boring is THAT?). I have a problem with cauliflower. I only like it in a rich bechamel sauce with loads of cheese on the top but that can be quite heavy, as well as time consuming to make.  (Actually I have made some nice soups with it too but still it’s not my favourite vegetable. If anybody out there has some interesting cauliflower recipes PLEASE send them my way). Anyway….. I decided the time had come to make some salsa verde.  In Piemonte it is traditionally eaten with boiled meats. My mum, who was from Turin, used to make it quite often. I reckon it could go very well also with steamed white fish. There are many different variations for this traditional sauce. I changed one of the usual ingredients (gherkins) for another (olives) . The truth? I didn’t have any gherkins in the house! :-( Still, the result was a very tasty sauce indeed! Continue reading ‘Salsa verde’