Risotto Nero with King Prawns

This is a recipe we did sometime ago and we fell in love with. It is not very different from another risotto nero I made with squid .... but this time the combination is more spicy and powerful due to the prawns.
It is not an easy one and it might take more than indicated the very first time. But it is worth! If you try it, consider preparing more prawns an keeping them at hand ....

(Leggi la ricetta --- Read the recipe)

Risotto with Apple and Black Pudding

I have only two regret for this dish we just finished to eat. One, it is finished. Two, I did it after Christmas. Why the latter? This is a great dish perfectly suited for the Christmas celebrations!

Honestly, I made this out of instinct and despite my hate for cooked apples. The result is simply stunning. A delicate savory dish, where the few ingredients combine perfectly. Mmmmmm .....

(Leggi la ricetta --- Read the recipe)

Risotto with mushrooms and salmon

Cold is coming. Here in Belgium we have a 3C maximum today ... and yesterday was less cold but more humid. Result, I am suffering like crazy. Today I even woke up with my hands kind of frozen! Luckily the little one suffer less.

So, what better dish in a cold winter than a stofvlees (see here) and a risotto. And given that mushrooms are still around and that salmon is somewhat a Christmas ingredient. here I present you a nice warm risotto that would be perfect as a starter for the coming eating events!!

(Leggi la ricetta --- Read the recipe)

Ricotta and Courgette Tart

It has took sometime before I posted a new recipe. Reason is busy time in my new job and also the fact that last week we were away from home .... thus, away from my mac. This recipe is something fitting perfectly the season. Light and fresh.

And I served it with something adding some acidity to the entire dish, a little purslane salad.

(Leggi la ricetta --- Read the recipe)

Monkfish ceviche

This time something extremely fast and surely perfect for a hot summer. This dish is a slight variation on something I found in a book from Rick Stein called seafood. I changed few little things, like not using avocado since I hate it. But it is mostly the same.

It is lovely and refreshing ... But keep it as a starter since the flavors are very sharp and with large portions they tend to tire the palate/

(Leggi la ricetta --- Read the recipe)

Lentils and scallops

Aaarrgggg!!! So, here I am deboning and chopping a leg of lamb. Why? Well, today I am making for my very first time a Sheppard's Pie and I go for the version with hand mince. Back to the story, I am here chopping with my just sharpened knife ... and arg! I almost took a good piece of my finger tip off.

So here I am taking a break from cooking. Typing with a big white wrap on my left hand. Posting our last dinner which is a simple lentils soup with roasted scallops. I believe I have read about this combination somewhere, but I can't recall. In any case, this is quite nice and perfectly suited for the cold weather we are experiencing (once again) in Belgium.

(Leggi la ricetta --- Read the recipe)

Veloute of cauliflouwer with a brunoise of scallops

I am sick or at least I feel like. Yesterday we did our Xmas shopping and it was the coldest day of the year. Freezing cold. And I guess I should have brought a scarf along. Now I have headache, I feel cold and humid ... in a word I feel sick!

Well, it does not matter we will be home the entire day playing with little Matteo and cooking. Later this afternoon I will try Coq au Vin for the first time ... while last night I gave a try to a simple yet delicious recipe. This one with a rich and yet delicate veloute which perfectly marries with the scallops.

Delicious you say. Yes, it was ... and I have to say that this recipe is straight from Ramsays's book "A Chef for all seasons". For once I did not change much. Ciao and have a nice sunday.

(Leggi la ricetta --- Read the recipe)

Tart of tomatoes and pistacchio paste

Since I received this pistacchio paste I mentioned last time, I have been exploring possibilities to use it .... sure desserts or bread or green pasta .... but no, what about using it a bit differently. Yes, for example replacing basil in some instances.

This is actually how I came to this simple recipe last night. I took something I did (and posted) sometime ago and changed to accommodate a change in ingredient. The result is a tart with a delicate and special taste worth of being served in a restaurant as starter. Simply stunning.

(Leggi la ricetta --- Read the recipe)

Tomatoes filled with rice

Life is busy .... Matteo Matteo Matteo ... then his mother, then work. Between lack of sleep, diet (which follows after delivery and bestows on the father too), work stress, lack of holidays (even if for not too long finally) ... I am exhausted. Still, Matteo is the best person I have ever met and a wonderfully joyful boy as his posts on his blog demonstrate (or at least his photos).

Still I miss cooking. I have not given up but I need to find my rhythm again. I need to cook things less banal than pasta with tomato juice or roasted fish. But so far no time ....

you must be thinking ... who did this gorgeously looking dish ... well Elke. I only enjoyed eating it and taking a photo of it. It is simple but perfectly suited to this time of the year. Now back to Matteo .... crying for being hugged by papa a bit :-)

(Leggi la ricetta --- Read the recipe)

Courgette filled with smoked salmon

Gosh I am really exhausted today. I arrive home, get immediately into cooking, then cut the plants, then call around, then post on the blog ... and then still 300 photos waiting for me to be fixed. Plus one tasty Chimay Bleu in me .... well. Let's post now.

Yes another fish recipe that I made last long week-end on the Belgian coast. When we saw homemade smoked salmon, I could not resist ... plus I love courgette, and here it is yet another version of stuffed courgette. Very light yet tasty. Elke declared this a dish to be repeated next time we go to the seaside (which is in two days!!!).

Sorry for the short text ... but I am almost sleeping and it is just 9pm. I can't imagine once the little one will show up ... I will need a red bull every day, no every hour !!!

(Leggi la ricetta --- Read the recipe)

Tomates crevettes

It is sad when a very long week-end ... almost a  week ends and the normal rhythm needs to be re-started. Luckily we will have a slightly longer week end coming up next as next monday is holidays!!!

What we did was spending time on the belgian coast, enjoying the nice meat and fish that can be bough there, visiting (for one first year anniversary) a lovely restaurant (Hostellerie St. Nicolas) and just going around taking photos or visiting farms for some artisanal cheese. All in all very relaxing and very much like an holiday.

We are now sadly back ... and forced to work with almost 25 degrees and a fantastic weather (especially for Belgium) but our memory goes back to the last week .... and surely to this dish, which comes straight out of the Belgian tradition and does requires the legendary gray shrimps I already introduced sometime ago. I love this dish .... I could eat it as it were chips!!!

A nice week to everyone, ciao.

(Leggi la ricetta --- Read the recipe)

Ecco la Focaccia - Here it is, the focaccia!!!

While working on migrating everything to my new mac, or should I say playing with my new mac, I decided to give a try at making focaccia. I have followed the recipe of Reinhart, who is (in my opinion) the master baker! He wrote a book on pizza that is both funny to read and perfect in the recipes.

I won't be posting the recipe, since my mac is not ready yet for it and because you can find a very similar approach here (in italian) and here (in english). It is credited to another baker, well ... as we say, things tend to circulate under various names!

When you look closely, you will notice that ... mine has toppings! And how does it work with toppings? Very easy. Put things that can sustain long cooking times (e.g. tomatoes) from the beginning an things which cook fast (e.g. mozzarella and grated pamesan cheese) 10 minutes from the end.

A note on the linked recipes, you can easily skip one folding when you feel that dough is elastic and you can reduce the cooking time to 20 minutes (instead of 30) when using the convection (ventilated) option of the oven. Ah! And I always suggest to use instant yeast.

Gosh this one was really nice, I hope it will be still good today (one day after) at lunch. It will make my working day more bearable ;-)

Red Potatoes terrine with cod and Savoy cabbage

In the end, Elke did let me prepare some fish last friday ... and during the boring working friday my mind started thinking what to prepare and I ended up to try something new. A mix between a potato gateau and a cod terrine. I have to admit that we had some left-over boiled Savoy cabbage in the freezer, which saved me some time. But apart from that ... this dish takes some energy and I was worried it would not taste that nicely.

The result is surprisingly nice. Surely better than it looks. Also eaten the day after (of course, warmed up) was good! Again not a fancy dish, but more of a countryside one. I guess more of an english-belgian-dutch style than french-italian ... but who cares. I have also the suspicion that baccala (or baccalao) would be even a better choice here. I wish I could find it ...

And now back to enjoying the Sunday. This week-end no cooking for me ... but Elke does everything and today I am getting a lasagna (this one). Hurrah!!!

(Leggi la ricetta --- Read the recipe)

Risotto with Gray Shrimps, Curry and Dalmore

Today is a very special day. No no no, it as nothing to do with the fact that finally I could post this recipe (which believe me tastes amazingly good despite looking and being simple) ... but we have seen for the third time our (first) baby. Almost 22 weeks of pregnancy, 400g, 17cm (I think) ... but already such beautiful little feet and hands and head. It is like a miracle. All is there in perfect shape, so we are amazed and relieved. Looking forward to have a little demon dictating what to eat!!

Now back to the risotto. I did come up with this recipe like an engineer, as once Adina described me. A taste engineer ... shrimps go well with curry, curry goes well with tangy flavor, tangy goes well with alcohol, shrimps with vermouth and malt, alcohol with sweet ... I love risotto ... well, let's make a risotto with curry, Dalmore and gray shrimps.

In this dish you need to use the given ingredients and be generous with pepper along a mild curry mix. Why? Dalmore has this sweet tangy taste which fits perfectly with the dish as a background taste, the pepper with a mild curry simply blows the taste buds aways, and the gray shrimps have the aroma to sustain all this. Sure it does not look like a traditional risotto ... and it is not. But surely I will serve it when I have special guests, as it is faboulous!

Now ... back to the echo prints of the baby :-)

(Leggi la ricetta --- Read the recipe)

Scallops and basil souffle

A nice side effect of hosting the DMBLGIT is inspiration. And this is what happened to me and this souffle dish. No no there is no entry with this recipe, but while looking at the photos I saw a souffle and I started wondering why I never did a souffle. Was because as italian I disregard souffles as a posh tasteless frittata? Or because it is said to be very difficult? Or because it is French? Mmmmm .... well, the hell to this. Let's make a souffle.

Destiny wanted that I was on my way to prepare a kind of flan with scallops so the basic ingredients were there. And destiny make me forget buying the proper herbs .... but we have always basil at home. So, after some searching in books and on the net (I guess a visited some blogs of yours as well) I came to a fair understanding of how to make it. Plus trilled by the scallop and basil combination (basil is proving a fantastic herb with fish lately), I set out to try a souffle for the first time in my life.

The result is probably so good that I will never make the recipe I was originally planning. Light, strong flavor of scallops and the basil fitted perfectly. A bit light and, thus, better as starter (we were starving after an hour). As for the souffle effect ... 3 out of 4 came out very very well! The fourth ... well ... I think I did not grease the ramekin on the border and it got attached. Still it grew a lot ... bit instead of looking like a mushroom it looked like a rock! Anyway, souffle is rather easy .... just follow the instructions correctly and do not fill the ramekin too much!

(Leggi la ricetta --- Read the recipe)

Apple Ravioli in Quail sauce

Cooking is a real passion of mine and I love to spend time reading magazines, books or blogs which can provide me with a new inspiration or a combination I did not know. Sure, I do not have much time for it ... but as everybody else I do what I can.

This week Lory has decided to stop (or hopefully suspend) her blog (see here - in italian). I will miss it ... quite some recipes I have done lately show her influence or at least were inspired by her blog or the ingredients she so kindly posted me last year. I will miss checking on her recipe early in the morning (yes ... early like before 7am!) and getting new ideas.

So, today (and I mean it today!) I set out for making one of her recipes as a way to thank her. But I did not manage. I chose for this ravioli recipe, but I could find the Guinea Fowl! Nevertheless, I decided to still use her recipe as a base guideline and do very minor changes in order to use Quails instead. The result was truly excellent (even if quite some work as I like to de-bone myself) to the point we ate almost a double portion!

I would hope Lory would fine this version as tasty as hers ... and in the meantime: thanks Lory, wish you ll the best!

(Leggi la ricetta --- Read the recipe)

Lemon Meatballs

Back to posting. The last days have been busy and not because of the DMBLGIT, which is luckily growing fast in submission. But finally another dish post !!!!
And what a lovely dish! Yes really a lovely dish, which might seem strange for the way it is done or at least it felt so to me when the recipe was described. Why? The meatballs have lemon and they are kind or stewed in water. Mmmm strange but it works.
This recipe is a traditional recipe from Sicily or so I was told by my friend Giuseppe who gave it to me. Since he, like me, is now among the Italians living in the Benelux (and working few cubicles down the corridor from me) for a long time, I cannot discount the recipe has changed. Still it tastes original and lovely.
If you feel you need a side dish with this one, well opt for a mixed greens salad with a simple lemon vinaigrette in order to go along with the taste.

(Leggi la ricetta --- Read the recipe)

Hedgehog risotto in a caciocavallo fondue

Francesco - says Elke excited on the phone - I could not find the porcini but there are the pied-du-Mouton!!! Should I take them???
What the heck are those?? - answer Francesco, who is thinking Pied-du-Mouton sounds like Goat feets - I need mushrooms not meat!!
(and here we went getting annoyed a bit with each other as it happens sometimes due to cultural misunderstanding)

This was the way I heard of these mushrooms for the first time ... we were preparing a dinner for friends and in the end we gave up doing the risotto with porcini and sopressata (here) since I had no clue on this pied-du-Mouton. Wise choice ... given the huge difference in taste. A pity for the guests, given how nice they are.
Anyhow, how did we come up with this recipe .... well, some time I ago I discussed our experience in a restaurant in Italy (here) where we were served a dish with a caciocavallo fondue and how it went well with a Negroamaro wine and some shaved truffle on top ... well, I simply put everything together. But since truffles are not easy to get ... we took this pied-du-Mouton. I put a red wine in the recipe, but something more with more sweetness and pepper flavor .... and we could not be happier!

PS: As for the previous post, this is penciled down for the first starter for the Xmas lunch and will be shared on Waiting for Christmas ... if we find the mushrooms!

(Leggi la ricetta --- Read the recipe)

Vegetarian Pasta Cake

It has been a while since I have posted something like a pasta cake ... which in Italy (or the part from which I am from) we call sformato. To be honest last week-end we had little time to cook for blogging and this is something we did some time ago. I am rather sure it is from an italian magazine but we changed something ... what I do not recall. Anyway, it is light and always something to keep in mind for parties ... I am not sure Francesca would consider this for a Waiting Xmas menu ... maybe for the 31st?!? Yes, we might use it for the aperitif before the dinner on the 31st!!

(Leggi la ricetta --- Read the recipe)

Potato and Strachitunt Tart

What happens when two different cultures meet? For example, what happens when an Italian man (well, let's say grown-up boy) and a Belgian girl (woman actually) meet in the kitchen? Normally, one comes out with a recipe and the other with the ingredients. Take this tart .... it is a Belgian recipe, Elke has made the original various times .... but last time Francesco came up with changing the cheese (and slightly adapt it) .... voila'! The recipe somehow got to its best taste!!! Jokes apart this is our life every day (and not only for food) ... and it is nice to see how we keep doing traditional recipes from two countries, but we also challenge each other in why certain recipes call for certain things. Make life exciting (and sometimes frustrating ... she doe not know who Vissani is !!! :-) ).

Anyway ... this time, since she came up with the recipe, I acted as a consultant ... I supervised while she was cooking, poured a nice wine in my glass, tasted the cheese ... an sit on the sofa'! Sure I took the photo, but that was easy (not that the dish is difficult ...).

As a last note, I am going to send this recipe to the "Waiter there is something inside" event hosted at Cook Sister and themed on topless tarts. Not sure this one cuts the theme ... maybe if I called it "tart tatin of potatoes flavored with strachitunt" .... :-)

PS: The Strachitunt is a cheese ... read the recipe for more info also on how to replace it.

(Leggi la ricetta --- Read the recipe)

Butternut & Chestnut Gnocchi

I have to start from saying thanks to Lory since this dish would have not been possible without her ... she send me the most important ingredients (the cheese and the chestnut flour) of this recipe. So sweet of her!
This has been my first ever time for chestnut flour (I never even smelled it before) and we both at home consider the result very special and worth of begin used maybe on Christmas day. Very nice at the nose and delicate in the taste.
Back to the gnocchi now. This recipe is a combination of various recipes I have seen on the internet and, despite what might be the first though, it is a very delicate dish which in the mouth kicks in with smoked herbs and chestnut, follows with a pasta scent and ends with butternut taste. To be eaten slow in order to enojoy the complexity and lenght of the various flavor in the mouth.
And I admit we had double portion the dish in the photo is very deep ... BTW we use the "squanta affumicata" cheese Lory sent us which is somewhat similar to the smoked ricotta I indicate in the recipe. Deliciooooooous!

As a note, I did not pass the gnocchi on the fork since I consider this step useful with more liquid sauces ... personal preference.

(Leggi la ricetta --- Read the recipe)

Risotto with Porcini and Sopressata

So, we are back ... we had nice time in our short trip to Italy and I will report on a nice restaurant we visit, which marks finally the return of an italian restaurant in my top10 after many delusions. Of course, the recipe I propose here was not done while there but some days before. However, I wanted to share what we consider our best approach to risotto with porcini before the season ends. What makes it so special? The use of coffee as suggested by Lory and the use of a special cured meat called Sopressata (read the recipe and wikipedia for more).

(Leggi la ricetta --- Read the recipe)

Rice and Courgette tart

It was a long time this recipe was waiting to be posted. And when I say long I mean probably about half year ... and, in fact, I see it from the photo ... since I like to believe I make better photos now. It does not mean we did not cook it again. Simply I take the photo once per dish (normally the first time we make it). I am lazy. I know courgette is almost over, but I am sure there is still some around. I find this tart a good alternative to the usual pasta or risotto with courgette and it presents well as a starter or finger food at dinners!

(Leggi la ricetta --- Read the recipe)

Cauliflower soup

Since the weather is getting worse everywhere in Europe ... I share a soup recipe. Yes, we had soup recently, and no surprise as here the weather has been very cold for a couple of days. It is light, delicate and really good for diet ... if eaten alone. If you wonder about the dish, yes it is another Coquet from our service. Wonderful Limoges!

Serves: 4 as starter
FlexiPoints: 1

Suggested wine: probably not needed
Special equipment: A food mill and a mixer.

Ingredients:
500g cauliflower
2 potatoes
1 leek
1 tbsp oil
1 onion
2 dry laurel leaves
1 liter light vegetable stock
50g pine-nuts
Salt and pepper to taste

Ingredient replacement:

Ingredient note: none

How-to:
1. Finely chop the onion. Remove the green part of the leek and slice the rest. Peel the potatoes and chop them in small pieces. Clean and chop the cauliflower in small/medium pieces.
2. Sauté the onion in the oil until it starts coloring or 2’. Add the leek and the laurel leaves. Sauté for 1’ more stirring continuously. Add the stock, the potatoes and the cauliflower. Let simmer for 20’.
3. Season with salt and pepper. Maker a cream of the soup with a mixer and pass it through a food mill in order to have a nice creamy consistency. If the soup looks somewhat watery, let it simmer a bit.
4. Serve warm with the pine-nuts and pepper on top.

Tartin of Tomatoes & Provolone

This time I am posting our dinner. For people reading the italian magazine "Cucina Moderna" ... this is on the latest number ... cover recipe! Ans yes it looks different! It is the usual (popular) case of publishing a photo which is not really what comes out. It is easy to understand why ... Nevertheless, the recipe in real life tastes as it looks: light, fresh and cheesy. My only change here is the low-fat pastry and some quantities as I felt the original version was too heavy on cheese and butter (from the pastry). Well, its side effect ... we are still hungry (and we ate it all!!!).

Serves: 4 as main course or 6 as starter
FlexiPoints: 6 or 4

Suggested wine: We had a really good Soave Classico (La Rocca 2004) with it and it fitted perfectly!
Special equipment: none

Ingredients:
1 sheet of low-fat puff pastry
6 large (salad) tomatoes
140g Auricchio Piccante (piquant provolone cheese)
3 tbsp bread crumbs
Salt to taste

Ingredient note: Auricchio is an industrial provolone of which I fell in love since very little. I do have to say that there are many tastier provolone cheeses, but still I like this one. It is perfect for for this recipe ... as probably most piquant provolone cheeses.

How-to:
1. Clean the tomatoes. Halve them and spoon out the seeds. Season their interior part with some salt and let them rest (cut side down) for 10’ on kitchen paper. In this way, they will loose some of their water.
2. Cube the Auricchio cheese. Dust the interior of the tomato halves with the bread crumbs and fill them with the cheese.
3. Cover a quiche tray with baking paper. Place the tomato halves (cut side up) on the tray paying attention that there is some space between the tomatoes and its border. Cover with the puff pastry with its side in between the tomatoes and the baking paper.
4. Pinch the pastry with a fork and bake at 200C for 15’. Turn upside-down and serve immediately.

Sole and Parm rolls

(Photo@TheFoodTraveller.com - Nikon D200)

What a week. Entirely spent in England, thus no posting. Anyway, I am now back and I realize that there are a lot of recipes we have tried that are still waiting to be posted. So here we are ... starting from this one, which is quite simple and tasty. The secret .... fresh fish and (if you can find it) purple basil. I know I do not speak about it int he recipe, but if you can use it. It gives a bit more sharpness to the entire dish. Now ... for you the recipe, for us ... we go and play with our new toy: the KitchenAid.

Serves: 2 as main course or 4 as starter
FlexiPoints: 4 or 2

Suggested wine: get a nice light Pinot Grigio. That should easily work!
Special equipment: cooking wire or 8 cocktail sticks

Ingredients:
2 medium/small soles
4 slices of Parma ham
12 medium sized leaves of basil
Pepper and olive oil to taste

Ingredient note: none

How-to:
1. Filet the soles of ask you fishmonger to do so. You should obtain 4 nice filets from each sole. Season each sole with very little salt and pepper.
2. Half the Parma ham. Lay down each half. Place one filet on each half slice. Add 3 basil leaves and roll everything. Use cooking wire (or cocktail sticks) to fix the rolls.
3. Warm up a non-stick pan. Grease it with little olive oil and bake the rolls in it for 6’-8’ on medium high heat turning them occasionally. Season with some ground pepper halfway.
4. Remove the cooking wire and serve immediately yon lukewarm dishes.

Flat Oysters under the grill

(Photo@TheFoodTraveller.com - Nikon D200)

I am in the mood of simply things. Therefore, here is another simply but delicious recipe. Grilled oysters a-la-mussels, but with coriander, saffron and basil. A refreshing seasoning which well goes with the sweetness of the flat oysters. Mmm ... wish we had them today and not last Saturday!

Serves: 2 as main course or 4 as starter
FlexiPoints: 2.5 or 1

Suggested wine: oysters call a low-dosage champagne also in this case due to the refreshing coriander and basil mix.
Special equipment: something to open the oysters

Ingredients:
12 flat oysters
2 tbsp finely shopped coriander
10 leaves of basil
4 tbsp bread crumbs (white if possible)
3 tbsp (fruity) olive oil
2g saffron
Olive oil and pepper to taste

Ingredient note: none

How-to:
1. Leave the saffron with the oil for 20’. In the meantime, finely chop the herbs and mix them with the bread crumbs. Season with some pepper.
2. Open the oysters keeping the juice. Leave the oyster attached to the deeper shell and discard the other. Place the oysters (shell down) on an oven tray.
3. Filter the juices through a sieve and add it to the bread crumbs. Stir in the oil as well. Mix well. Distribute the mix on top of the oysters and level with a spatula.
4. Season with some oil and put under an hot grill for 5’-8’ or until the bread crumb mix has golden. Serve immediately.

Rice and vegetables ovenpot

(Photo@TheFoodTraveller.com - Nikon D200)

Something vegetarian and light. We are back on diet, why? We need to fit in the cloths for the wedding in the church and the last thing Elke wants is not to fit in her (I have no clue what) white dress. So we starve. This is a dish that can be eaten in quantities. Light, low calories and healthy as basically rich of vegetables. It is also a very nice alternative to the usual risotto.

Serves: 4 as main course or 10 as side dish
FlexiPoints: 5 or 2

Suggested wine: we enjoyed quite a bit with a Primitivo Rose’ with it.
Special equipment: none

Ingredients:
320g (Arborio) rice
1 onion
1 piece of celery
1 carrot
150g peas
150g cherry tomatoes
5g parsley
800ml vegetable stock
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Ingredient note: none

How-to:
1. Separately, finely chop the onion, cube the celery and the carrot, half the tomatoes. and finely chop the parley.
2. Sauté the onion in the oil for 3’ or until soft. Add the carrot and celery, let sauté for 10’ more. Add the tomatoes and the peas. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the rice and cook on high heat for 1’ more or until the rice has taken some color. Remove from the heat and stir in the parsley.
3. Grease an oven pot with some butter. Pour in the rice and the stock so that the rice has a uniform surface. Cook in an hot oven at 180C for about 40’ or until the stock has been completely absorbed.
4. Serve lukewarm or cold.

Onions with Amaretto stuffing

(Photo@TheFoodTraveller.com - Nikon D200)

We actually prepared this a couple of weeks ago when my best man came for dinner. The recipe comes from (again) Cucina Moderna, but I have changed it a little bit as usual. It is a nice and surprising dish ... but quite rich and not very diet friendly! It goes well with some Balsamico and Lambrusco, and it makes a nice starter. The nice thing is that despite not being prepared a as soufflé ... it actually comes out like if the stuffing were a soufflé. A nice little touch!

Serves: 4 as main course or up to 8 as starter
FlexiPoints: 10 or 5

Suggested wine: Something light like a low-dosage Champagne or a Lambrusco should go. Not too sweet and possibly not dense to balance the richness and sweetness of the dish.

Ingredients:
16 small onions (best if white)
150g Boursin cheese
100g Mascarpone cheese
40g Amaretti cookies
50g grated Parmesan cheese
3 large eggs yolks
5g parsley
1/2 glass white wine
30g butter
Salt and pepper to taste
Aceto Balsamico Traditionale di Modena to taste (optional)

Ingredient note: Boursin can be replaced with Robiola or a similar semi-firm cheese with a bit of acidity.

How-to:
1. Cut the onions in halves. Remove the interior being careful not to leave any opening at the bottom and set the onions shells aside. Discard half of the remaining onion. Finely chop the other half.
2. Sauté the chopped onion in the butter till soft or about 3’. Season with salt and pepper. Let cool.
3. Reduce the cookies into crumbs and finely shop the parsley. Work them together with the Mascarpone, Boursin, 40g of grated Parmesan, the parsley and the egg yolks until a uniform mix is obtained. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Fill the onion shells with this mix. Place them on a metallic oven tray greased with little oil. Season with some pepper and the remaining Parmesan. Bake in an hot oven at 200C for 25.
5. Serve warm and, when used, with few drops of Balsamico on top.

Halibut cakes with mustard dipping sauce

(Photo@TheFoodTraveller.com - Nikon D200)

Fish cakes are something I discovered when I was living in London (UK). They could also be called fish burgers or fish balls, depending how how they are shaped and served. I have always made them with either salmon or re-freshened bacalao; however, this time I only found Halibut. And ... it goes really well. We had them with a very simple and light mustard dipping sauce.

Serves: 4 as main course or up to 10 as starter
FlexiPoints: 3 or 1.5

Suggested wine: A fresh Puilly-Fuisse or Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand would go nicely.
Special equipment: none


Ingredients:
For the cakes
500g halibut
400g potatoes
1 egg
1 tbsp chipped parsley
1 shallot
Oil, salt and pepper

For the dipping sauce
2 tsp grainy mustards (like from Zeeland)
2 tsp extra-virgin oilve oil
8 tbsp low-fat (8%) cream

Ingredient note: if you cannot find the low-fat cream, use half single cream and half milk.

How-to:
1. Peel and boil the potatoes until perfectly cooked in unsalted water. Mash them and let them cool.
2. Remove the skin and bones from the halibut is needed. Chop it to a mince by hand. Finely chop the parsley and the shallot. Mix it with the cooled potato mash, the egg, some salt and pepper. Work this mix until uniform. Make 8 or 10 burger like shapes.
3. To make the dipping sauce, simply whisk all the ingredients together until it looks somewhat bubbly.
4. Bake the cakes on a not stick pan with some oil for 3’ per side or until dark golden in color. Serve immediately with the dipping sauce.

Red cabbage, apple and Sopraffino

(Photo@TheFoodTraveller.com - Nikon D200)

The last days have been extremely busy ... we had time to cook, but very little for posting and even reading our emails. We will try to catch up a bit. Today's post is an interesting one. Recently we got hold of a bottle of Aceto Sopraffino (some info here - in French), which is something on the style of balsamic vinegar ... but different. I will probably post something about all the varieties I have tried so far one day. Anyway, this dish is variation of a standard Belgian savory dish based on red cabbage & apples ... we simply decided to add the Sopraffino to it and ... Whow! I guess this is the way red cabbage should be done! Simply one of the best dishes we had recently!

Serves: 8 as starter
FlexiPoints: 3

Suggested wine: I would suggest a recent German Riesling Trocken from the Mosel area.
Special equipment: none

Ingredients:
250g calf mince meat
500g potatoes
40g butter
2 red onions
1 red cabbage (about 800g)
1 apple (Janagold or Golden Delicious variety)
150ml apple juice
2 tbsp brown sugar
4tbsp + 8 tsp Aceto Sopraffino
1 Laurier leaf
1 tbsp oil
Salt and pepper to taste


Ingredient note: The “aceto Sopraffino” is a vinegar somewhat similar to an Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale but lighter in texture, slightly sweeter and more fruity in flavor.

How-to:
1. Peel and boil the potatoes until cooked. Mash them and work in the butter until a nice puree is obtained. Set aside and keep warm.
2. Slice the onions in little rounds. Clean the cabbage and cut it in stripes. Peel and chop the apple in medium/small cubes.
3. Sauté the meat with the oil for 2’ or till it takes color. Add the onion and let cook for 3’ more.
4. Add the cabbage, apple. apple juice, Laurier, 4 tbsp of Sopraffino and sugar. Season with salt and pepper. Let simmer for 25’ or until the cabbage is soft and the juice mostly absorbed.
5. Serve with the mash and seasoned with an additional tsp of Sopraffino per portion.

Pasta and pears casserole

(Photo@TheFoodTraveller.com - Nikon D200)

How did I ever ended up cooking such a dish?? Well, curiosity ... of my fiancee. We have started receiving an italian magazine every month called "Cucina Moderna". My favorite! In the february edition there is a little insert on a simple menu for St. Valentine even a man can cook (well, like there are no men in kitchen these days ...). Anyway, this recipe intrigued so here I am. I did change it since some ingredients (like the Robbiola) are not easy to find and I could not be bothered to make hearth-shaped pasta. It was really sensational. An amazing taste. Salty and sweet ... we'll eat it again.

Serves: 2 as main course or 4 as starter
FlexiPoints: 13 or 7.5

Suggested wine: it was perfect with Riesling Trocken from the Mosel!
Special equipment: none

Ingredients:
200g tagliatelle pasta
1 shape of Boursin cheese (150g)
1 Pear William
2 fresh sage leaves
40g Grison cured beef
2 tbsp of white wine (possibly Riesling Trocken)
8 tbsp of milk
20g grated Parmesan cheese
15g butter
Salt and pepper to taste

Ingredient note: the Boursin cheese can be replaced with the italian Robbiola or, in the worst case, some ricotta with sour cream. The Grison meat could be replaced with speck.

How-to:
1. Peel and cube the pear. Cut the Grison meat in stripes. Sauté them with the sage in 10g of butter on medium heat for 3’ or until the meat takes color. Add the wine and keep cooking until it has evaporated. Remove from the heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
2. Mix the cheese with the milk until smooth. Season with pepper.
3. Boil the pasta in salted water for two minutes less than indicated in the package.
4. Add the pasta when still hot to the cheese mix and stir well until uniformly distributed.
5. Distribute half of the pasta in an oven dish. Add half of the pear and meat mix. Add another layer of pasta. Finish with the remaining pear and meat. Distribute the remaining butter on top
6. Bake in an hot oven at 140C for 20’. Serve lukewarm.

Turnip roots stuffed with ricotta

(Photo@TheFoodTraveller.com - Nikon D200)

Must be the season, but we are very much into the mood of stuffing everything with ricotta! This time we took a recipe from 'Libelle', where turnip roots (and for the italian .. yes the roots not the leaves!) are stuffed with ricotta and veggies. Originally the recipe called for pancetta, well ... it brings nothing. So, I won't mention it here (despite the fact we put it in). It is nice ... I only wish I had some black dishes to serve it on!

Serves: 4 as main dish or 8 as a starter
FlexiPoints: 3 or 1.5

Suggested wine: low dosage Champagne works very welll ... at least for us!
Special equipment: none

Ingredients:
- 16 small turnip roots
- 1 egg
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 carrot
- 1 leek (white only)
- 250g ricotta cheese
- 10g grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 small onion
- salt & butter

Ingredient note: turnip roots are called raapjes in dutch and it is the root of the italian 'rape'

How-to:
1. Boil the turnip roots for about 12’ or until soft. Rinse them in cold water and wait until they cool down. Remove the skin from them. Cut away the top and remove part of the interior with the help of a coffee spoon. Chop the removed root pulp and set aside.
2. Chop all the other vegetables in small pieces and sauté them in some melted butter for 5’ or until soft. Let cool.
3. Add the (previously) chopped turnip root pulp, the cheese, some salt and the egg. Mix well and use this as filling for the turnip roots.
4. Bake in an hot oven at 200C for 12’. Serve warm.

Onion stuffed with ricotta souffle'

(Photo@TheFoodTraveller.com - Nikon D200)

A friend of mine made this recipe for us three weeks ago and here I am trying it myself. I sligthly changed the original quantities, since I used giants onions!! A critical step in this dish is to boil the onions long enough to be very soft inside. If you feel this step did not work out, soften the chopped onion in some butter ... you do want a melting feeling when eating instead of a crunchy one.

Serves: 6
FlexiPoints: 3.5

Suggested wine: a delicate white like a verdicchio could work.

Ingredients:
- 6 large onions (2 Kg)
- 250g ricotta cheese
- 30g grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 free-range eggs (80g+ each)
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- Oil, salt, pepper and breadcrumbs as needed

How-to:
1. Remove the skin from the onions. Rinse them in cold water and boil them in salted water for about 1 hour (or until very soft). Drain them and let cool down.
2. Remove most of the inside of the onions. When an opening starts forming at the bottom, do not worry. Simply use some of the removed internal layers to close the gap.
3. Chop half of the removed onion and discard the rest. Mix it with the cheeses, nutmeg, the egg yolks, salt and pepper. Whip the eggs white to stiffen and fold them in gently.
4. Fill each empty onion with this batter. Dust the top with some breadcrumbs and oil. Bake on a greased baking tin in an hot oven at 180C for 40' for a suffle-like filling or 30' for a more creamy filling.
5. Let rest and serve at room temperature or straight away depending on if you went for a souffle or a creamy filling.

Lentils and celeriac soup

(Photo@TheFoodTraveller.com - Canon PowerShot G2)

2007 is coming and it is an italian tradition to eat first thing in a new year lentils and (at least in my family) cotechino. There are multiple ways of preparing lentils, one of my favourite is a variation on a classic lentil and farro soup originally from Tuscany. I have here replaced the vegetable stock simply with water and added little cubes of celeriac to make the taste lighter and less rustic.


Serves: 2 as a main course or 4 as a side dish
FlexiPoints: 4.5 or 2

Suggested wine: If you put it next to a cotechino, my first pick would probably be a good barolo. Otherwise, you could try a Pinot Noir ... I have recently tried a nice Belgian one ...

Ingredients:
- 100g mixed dried (green, orange, brown and broken) lentils
- 1 big garlic clove
- 5 fresh sage leaves
- 5 sprigs of fresh thyme
- 130g celeriac
- 1 liter of cold water
- Salt, pepper and oil as needed

How-to:
1. Rinse the lentils in cold water.
2. Chop finely the garlic. Dice the celeriac in small cubes. Slice the sage leaves in large pieces.
3. Put all the ingredients in a soup pot. Season with only some oil and let it simmer until all the water has evaporated. You will need to stir occasionally and reduce the heat to keep the simmering low.
4. Remove from the heat. Season with pepper and salt to taste. Stir well and let it cool down.
5. Warm it up before serving in lukewarm cups.

Monkfish & salmon roe salad

(Photo@TheFoodTraveller.com - Nikon D200)

Sometimes recipes come out of nowehere. I wanted to have some fish and, depressed by the news on banning Beluga caviar (so I will never taste it in my lifetime), I took some salmon roe. Well, I know it is a cheap replacement, but I still like it. Once home ... I saw the horseradish ... and this dish came out. I like it since the monkfish gives some consistency in the taste below the flavor game of horseradish and the roe. I would expect not everybody to like it, though.

Serves: 4 as a main dish or 8 as a starter
FlexiPoints: 2 or 1

Suggested wine: Sharp flavors in this dish, which makes it not really easy to combine to a wine ... at least for an amateur like me. Something white, light and a little bit sweet ... maybe prosecco?! mmmm

Ingredients:
- 100g salmon caviar
- 300g monkfish filet
- 30ml single cream
- 1 tbsp grated horseradish
- 1 tbsp oil
- Salt and pepper as needed

How-to:
1. Whip the cream with the horseradish until foamy. Add the salmon caviar and let marinate for 20’.
2. Slice the monkfish in thin slices with possibly uniform thickness. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
3. Pre-heat a non-stick pan with the oil and quickly cook the fish slices. It will take less than a minute per side.
4. Lay the fish slices on warm serving dishes. Distribute the cream and salmon caviar mix on top. Add some pepper and serve immediately.

Black pudding & gray shrimps burgers

(Photo@TheFoodTraveller.com - Canon PowerShot G2)

What a surprising combination! I would not be fair if I would not say that the inspiring idea of combining dutch shrimps (the gray and little ones) and black pudding came from a visit to Richard Corrighan restaurant in Soho (London) last spring. He uses oysters instead of shrimps. It is a very delicate but yet rich dish. Can be served in mini portions as here done or large burgers as main dish. Try to get black pudding with some cinnamon as this will give the dish a nice extra. Otherwise, add a pinch to it yourself.

Serves: 2 as main course and 8 as a starter
FlexiPoints: 8 or 2

Suggested wines: the wine depends on how spicy the black pudding it. May I dare to suggest a german Riesling from the mosel? I would go for a Dr. Losen due to its minerality.

Ingredients:
- 120g black pudding
- 150g cooked and peeled Dutch shrimps
- 2 brown bread slices
- Butter as needed

How-to:
1. Save 2 tbsp of shrimp for later and mix the rest with the black pudding (skin removed) in a kitchen robot till a good mince is obtained. Refrigerate for 30’.
2. Toast the bread slices till slightly golden on both sides.
3. Use a decoration ring of 2.5 cm diameter to cut out 8 discs from the toasted bread.
4. Take the mix out and make 8 little burgers with the help of the decoration ring so as they can be perfectly placed on the toasted bread.
4. Melt some butter in a hot pan. Add the burgers and the remaining shrimps. Cook well until the burgers are black and the shrimps very crunchy.
5. Serve the burger on top of the little toast with the fried shrimps on the side.

Reblochon and potato tart

(Photo@TheFoodTraveller.com - Nikon D200)

Another tasty recipe from Libelle magazine, actually from the same issue of the stuffed potatoes recipe. This one has a less string flavour, but probably is my favourite of the two. Honestly, I love Reblochon cheese. It reminds me of skiing holidays in the (french) alps ... probably this explains why I loved this dish so much! Of course, you might replace it with any other semi-soft cheese like fontina or camembert ... I would still prefer reblochon here!

Serves: 4 as main dish or 8 as starter
FlexiPoints: 12.5 or 6

Suggested wine: I would go for a barbera d’alba like my favourite Masolino Jisep

Ingredients:
- 250g pate’ brisee
- 6 large potatoes
- 2 tbsp melted butter
- 200g Reblochon cheese
- 3 leaves of sage
- pepper, salt, margarine as needed

How-to:
1. Boil the (not peeled) potatoes in salted water. Peel them and, once cold, slice them.
2. Roll the pastry in a uniformly thick dish and lay it on a quiche form. You might want o either grease the form or use baking paper. Distribute half of the potato slices on it, then the cheese and cover with the remaining potato slices.
3. Distribute the melted butter on top. Season with salt and abundant pepper.
4. Bake in an hot oven for 25' at 200. Serve hot or warm.

Baked stuffed potatoes

This recipe is yet again something we took from the Belgian Libelle magazine. I have been continuously surprised by the consistent good quality of the recipes in this magazine. And I am not judging the taste, which is always personal, but the correctness of quantities and procedure. This one is a kind of jacked potatoes filled something that reminds the "flambe" sauce of Dominos ... yes, I am not joking! We liked it ... despite being very rich (we took double portion)!

Serves: 4 as main dish
FlexiPoints: 12

Suggested wine: red and with fruit power. An Australian shiraz would be perfect.

Ingredients:
- 4 large potatoes
- 200g lightly smokes bacon
- 1 onion
- 100g grated Gouda cheese
- 4 tbsp sour cream
- 2 tbsp oil

How-to:
1. Clean the potatoes (do not peel). Boil them in slightly salted water. Drain them well and let them cool down completely.
2. Cut away lengthwise 1/3 part of the potatoes and remove a good portion of the inside with a spoon without breaking them.
3. Chop the bacon in small cubes. Chop finely the onion. Stir fry in the oil together for 5'. Remove from the heat and add the cream and cheese.
4. Fill the potatoes with the cream mix and bake in an hot oven at 200C for 15'.
5. Serve warm with a salad.

Tomatoes and basil tart

We found this recipe on an old magazine of my mum and it took us something like 2 or 3 years before we finally tried it, which is today. It seems to me a perfect party dish. Simple, tasty cold or warm, it can be done even the day before, light, colorful. Give it a try.

Serves: 4 as main course or 8+ as a starter
FlexiPoints: 8 or 4

Suggested wines: ... it was for a lunch in between shopping, so we had nothing. However, I would suggest a white with a very light lemon taste.

Ingredients:
- 450g tomatoes
- 230g puff pastry
- 20g of basil leaves
- 100ml of oil
- salt and pepper as needed

How-to:
1. Take a quiche ray, grease it or cover it with some baking paper. Lay on it the puff pastry removing the hanging bits.
2. Rinse the tomatoes under cold water. Slice then and gently drain them so to get rid of their water.
3. Rinse the basil leaves. Mix them with the oil in a kitchen robot or a mortar until a uniform paste is obtained. Something looking like pesto.
4. Season the pastry with the basil cream. Add the tomatoes slices and season with the remaining cream, some salt and pepper.
5. Bake at 180C for 30'. Serve warm or cold.

Lightly stuffed aubergines

Finally back in the kitchen or better posting some recipes! Stuffed aubergine are my love and I have been always used a very southern way of stuffing based on tomato and cheese. However, I was recently looking at an old InTaVola (April 1999), where they proposed to stuff it very simply with meat and bake the aubergine twice. Well ... here we go! We tried it. It's nice, light and delicate. Something to be eaten at room temperature. Next time I will add a teaspoon of curry in the filling ... surely it will make this dish even better!

Serves: 4 as main course or 8 as a starter
FlexiPoints: 7 or 3.5

Suggested wine: I would dare to suggest a Rose' or a 100% Negroamaro for this dish.

Ingredients:
- 4 large aubergine
- 200g minced beef
- 100g minced pork
- 3 egg whites
- 1 shallot
- 20g butter
- 2 tbsp (white) breadcrumbs
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp mild curry (optional)
- Salt and pepper as needed

How-to:
1. Rinse the aubergines under cold water and pat them dry with some kitchen paper. Bake them in an hot oven at 180C for 15’.
2. In the meantime, finely chop the shallot. Saute it in the melted butter until soften. Add the minced meat and stir fry gently for 10’. Season with salt and pepper (and curry if used).
3. Half the aubergines lengthways. Use a spoon to empty them of most of their pulp without breaking the skin.
4. Chop the aubergine pulp in small pieces and mix it with the cooked mince and the eggs whites.
5. Fill the aubergine halves. Distribute on top the breadcrumbs and the oil. Bake at 180C for 15’ and finish under the grill for no more than 5’.
6. Serve at room temperature.

Fusion tuna tartar

It was a while my fiancee was asking for some tuna and today we saw a nice piece of (unfortunately farmed) tuna. Quickly, we decided to do something with it. We had some ginger, soy sauce and lots of basil. Thus, I went for a twist in the classic oriental flavours of soy sauce and ginger. Please note I really like the crunchy ginger bite. If you don't, use grated fresh giger instead.

Serves: 2 as main course or 4 as a starter
FlexiPoints: 3 or 1.5

Suggested wine: ... German riesling from the Mosel area !!! Nice, light and refreshing!

Ingredients:
- 300g tuna (possibly from the belly of the fish)
- 2 tbsp (fruity) olive oil
- 20g (unpeeled) ginger
- 10 small green basil leaves
- 1 tbsp japanese soysauce
- Salt as needed

How-to:
1. Chop the tuna in small irregular cubes.
2. Peel the ginger and cut it in a small julienne
3. Mix together the tuna, oil, soya sauce, ginger and some salt. Stir well and let marinate for 20’.
4. Rinse the basil leaves and let them dry. Break them by hand in irregular pieces and add them to the tuna marinate.
4. Serve immediately using a decoration mould to give it a nice shape.

The Italian Potato Gateau

The ultimate party food: the potato gateau!! A dish that can be prepared well in advance and served either cold or warmed-up. A filling dish ... which leaves little space for anything else and help in saving in other dishes. But, most importantly, I dish I loved and craved for since I am a kid. There are various ways of making it and I am sure that each family has its own version in my country. I propose the recipe I got from my mum ... well, almost since (as usual) I changed something ... just some ingredient proportion.

Serves: 5 as a main course or 10+ as a starter
FlexiPoints: 10.5 or 5

Suggested wine: That's a dish I can't pair very well ... or better it should go with almost any wine.

Ingredients:
- 800g potatoes
- 60g butter
- 40g grated parmesan cheese
- 40g grated pecorino cheese
- 100g of roasted ham in one thick slice
- 2 free-range eggs
- 1 tbsp finely chopped parsley
- 200g mozzarella cheese
- 50g smoked cheese or gruviere
- Salt, butter, pepper and bread-crumbs as needed

How-to:
1. Boil the potatoes in their until cooked. Peel and mash them. Work the mash with the butter and parsley till uniform. Season with salt and pepper. Let cool down.
2. Chop the ham slice. Slice the mozzarella and the smoked cheese (or gruviere).
3. Work the eggs, ham and grated cheeses in the mix.
4. Grease an oven tin or a ceramic oven-dish with some butter and dust it with bread-crumbs. Make on layers with half of the potato mash. Distribute the sliced cheeses on top and cover with the remaining mash.
5. Dust the top with more bread-crumbs. Season with little EVOO and bake at 180C for about 40’.

Pizza di Carne (Meat pizza)

Back home and ready to cook something! We have been dreaming to make this dish for a while, basically for as long as we started the diet. It is a weird way of making pizza by replacing the bread base with meat. I am giving you the real recipe and not what we did at home, which is basically the same but with mozzarella light, less meat, no yolk etc ... all changes aiming at reducing the calories (we managed to get to 9 FlexiPoints per portion ...). It was tasty, but the original recipe is way better!

Serves: 2 as main course & 4 as starter
FlexiPoints: 26.5 or 13

Suggested wine: go for a good bodied red wine form the New World or South of Italy. A Salice Salentino or an Aglianico would be delicious with it.

Ingredients:
- 200g minced beef meat
- 200g minced pork meat
- 10 basil leaves
- 180g buffalo mozzarella
- 150g tomato sauce (passata)
- 80g grated parmesan cheese
- 1 whole egg
- 1.5 tbsp of olive oil
- Margarine, pepper and salt as needed

How-to:
1. Work together the meat, 50g Parmesan cheese, egg, some pepper and salt.
2. Grease a 24cm baking tin with some margarine. Distribute evenly the meat mix on the base of the tin.
3. Top the meat with the tomato sauce, basil leaves and the sliced mozzarella.
4. Season with the remaining parmesan cheese, some salt and oil.
5. Cook in a hot oven at 250C for 20’ for well cooked or 15’ for a pinkish meat. Serve immediately.

Carrots and ginger foam

Well I have done it again ... to take a recipe, read it, change something and make it. I seem not able to read a recipe without making it as it is. This time I had a good excuse! The idea for this foam cames from a cold soup recipe I read on the cavolettodibrussels.it blog. Given the diet we are following, I can not afford the mascarpone. Therefore, changing the recipe to make a foam instead of a soup seemed worth a try. This foam has very sharp taste, which can be used to complement other dishes or on its own for a taste shock! I quite like it ... my fiancee not really. She finds it too sharp. So beware ....

Serves: 10 as an amuse
FlexiPoints: 0*

Suggested wine: none! Too sharp on its own for wine ... maybe a young Chablis. Not sure.

Ingredients:
- 700g carrots
- 1 shallot
- 1 lemon
- 20g ginger
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 sheets of gelatin (about 2.5g)
- Water and salt as needed
- One 1/2 L foaming canister

How-to:
1. Peel and chop the carrot, the ginger and the shallot. Put them in a small casserole with the oil and juice of the lemon.
2. Let it cook on low heat for a few minutes until the shallot gets soft.
3. Top up with cold water. You will probably need 300/400 ml. Let it simmer until the carrot is very soft (about 20’ or 30’).
4. Whiz everything in a kitchen robot adding some more cold water if the final cream looks dry.
5. Pass the cream through a sieve twice. Rince the gelatin sheets in warm water and add it to the cream. Stir well until the gelatin has been fully absorbed by the cream.
6. Fill the foaming canister up to 2/3 (discard or eat what is left) and use one cream charger. Shake well and let it refrigerate for at least 6 hours before serving.

Fava with witlof

It was a long time we had fava beans, something very unusual in Belgium ... even if they grow them! I love to eat them with bitter vegetables like the in the italian classic "fave e cicorie" dish. The best approximation is the belgian endive or witlof. So, here we are eating fava beans cream and roasted witlof!

Serves: 2 as a main course & 4 as a starter
FlexiPoints: 6.5 or 3

Suggested wine: we did not have a wine this time. I would expect an old chablis could work. Definitively not a young one.

Ingredients:
- 150g dried fava beans
- 4 witlofs
- 1 potato
- 2 tbsp virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper as needed

How to:
1. Rinse the beans overnight in cold water.
2. Let them simmer with the peeled potato and covered with fresh new cold water until they start breaking apart. Use a serving spoon to mash them into a cream and let it reduce to the desired consistency.
3. Season with the oil, some salt and pepper. Pass it through a sieve and let it cool to room temperature.
4. Cut the witlof in half. Season with salt and pepper. Roast on both sides till soften on a nonstick pan.
5. Serve immediately placing the witlof on top of the fava cream.

Quiche with vegetables and goat cheese

I wanted to post it yesterday, but ... well, for once Italy did not deluded and won in the world cup. Event we celebrated with some champagne! Forza Italiaaaa!!!
Anyway, this recipe comes from the belgian magazine "Flair". We tried it a few times and it is quite tasty. Perfect for this season as most of the flavour comes form the vegetables with some hint of the goat cheese. If it were not for the puff pastry, it would be also quite light!

Serves: 4 as a main course or 10 as starter
FlexiPoints: 8 or 3

Suggested wine: A fresh greco di tufo would be my favourite. A young Chablis would also go.

Ingredients:
- 1 puff pastry sheet (230g)
- 1 red pepper
- 1 courgette
- 1/2 aubergine
- 250ml UHT milk
- 3 large eggs
- 60g goat cheese
- Salt, black pepper and oil as needed

How-to:

1. Chop the vegetables in medium/small cubes. Sautee them for 5’ in a wok with 1 tbsp of oil until soft. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Roll the pastry on a quiche tin. Pour in the vegetables.
3. Whisk the eggs and add them to the quiche. Crumble the goat cheese on top.
4. Bake for 30-40’ at 200C. Serve at room temperature.

Little rice timballo's

When I was living in London (UK) and sharing an flat with friends from Japan and Malaysia, there were few italian dishes, they never heard of, they really liked. For example, stir-fried meatballs stuffed with cheese, flat parsley and garlic ... which they would rather eat with soy sauce than the nice cooking juices. Among all these dishes, there was one they would eat as I would serve it and which was loved: the "timballo di riso" or rice timballo. Well, it takes some time to prepare it. Thus, I did not feel like doing it often. Yesterday night we had a simplified version of it, which is perfect for a starter or a nice main course. It is lighter and less fatty than the traditional as it uses more rice, less cheese, more sauce and no meat. Nevertheless, it is (or in case of our dinner “was”) very tasty.

Serves: 10 as a main course or 20 as a starter
FlexiPoints: 7 or 3.5

Suggested wine: an Aglianico del Vulture like La Firma or a old Chateau Montus went perfectly with it. We took the 2000 vintage for the former and the 1998 vintage for the latter. Just few glasses ...

Ingredients:
- 500g rice
- 10g butter
- 1.5 Kg tomato passata
- 12 leaves of basil
- 1 red onion
- 20g grated Parmesan cheese
- 10g grated Pecorino cheese
- 250g green peas
- 3 large eggs
- 300g mozzarella cheese
- Bread-crumbs and olive oil as needed

How-to:

1. Make a tomato sauce by simmering for 15’ the tomato passata, with some oil, the basil and the peeled onion. Season with salt and stir occasionally. Discard the onion.
2. Boil the rice in abundant salted water. Drain. Mix with 2/3 of the tomato sauce and let it cool down.
3. Boil the peas in some water and add them to the rice mix.
4. Once the rice mix is at room temperature, add the eggs and grated cheese. Work well to obtain a uniform mix,
5. Cube the mozzarella cheese.
6. Take 20 ramekins or muffin forms. Grease them with some butter and dust well with the bread-crumbs. Distribute half of the rice. Distribute the mozzarella and top with the remaining rice.
7. Shave the 10g of butter on top of each ramekin and bake at 180C for 20’-25’. Let it cool down for 10’ in the ramekins themselves. It is important to wait to be sure that each timballo comes out easily from the ramekin.
8. Warm up the remaining tomato sauce. Serve each timballo accompanied by some sauce and basil leaves.

Gratin of scallops in lemon sauce

We have a lemon tree ... yes a lemon tree and we live in Belgium. So far nothing suprising. However, this tree is producing fruits! For me to see a lemon tree with fruits in Belgium, which is not known for its friendly climate, was a shock ... a positive one, of course. I have been thinking how to use these "made-in-Belgium" lemons and I ended up thinking of this scallops gratin. Something light, fresh, summery (even if it feel yet like winter here) and, most importantly, delicious!
Before we dive in the recipe, what is my comment on the lemon fruit? Great, tangy, wonderful scent and aroma ... let's hope it will live long!!

Serves: 4 as main course or 8 as a starter
FlexiPoints: 6.5 or 3.2

Suggested wine: Falanghina

Ingredients:
- 16 large scallops (meat only)
- 50g flour
- 50g butter
- 500ml full-fat milk
- 1 large lemon
- Salt as needed

How-to:

1. Melt the butter in a pan with a thick base. Avoid it to burn. Stir in the milk. Once the mixture is hot (but not boiling), reduce the heat. Stir in the flour through a sieve one spoon at a time. Continue stirring until a smooth white sauce is obtained.
2. Grate the zest from the lemon and add it to the white sauce. Stir well and let cool down.
3. Roughly chop the scallops in big pieces and season with salt.
4. Once the lemon sauce has cooled to room temperature, add the scallops and mix gently. Distribute among four flat oven-proof dishes.
5. Finish under the grill until the sauce is bubbling and has taken a brown colour. Serve immediately.