Tagliatelle fava and pecorino

Well, I just said in my last post I love autumn and I am here posting a recipe based on an ingredient that in southern countries if from spring, but here in Belgium is form the summer. Its season ending as I write.

I cannot avoid doing so!

This dish is a work out of a traditional combination form the Rome area. Something typical of a picnic. Here I simply changed the way things are served and made it into a pasta dish with stunning result. Please note that while cooking takes very little ..... cleaning the fava will take an hour or two!!! But it is definitively worth it.

(Leggi la ricetta --- Read the recipe)

Pasta and feta salad

Holidays are over just like the summer. This time they were short and plagued by poor health, strong fatigue and coughing. Somebody feared the Mexican flu ... Not all was bad. There was cooking, lot of photography (mostly for Matteo, seen his blog lately?), some eating, seeing family after a long time ... and, I though end of all pains.

Well, for one thing I was wrong ... thanks to a careless movement on monday, I am now stranded home with a back slash causing pain when I walk, stand-up or sit-down, when I drive, bend ... damn! Should go away fast, but in painful way.

Sure I can't cook, but since I have some backlog of recipes ... given my lack of mobility if not with pain, I decided to share a recipe we did this summer and that is so easy that maybe even I can cook in this condition. Nothing fancy, just a version of traditional south italian dish called crudaiola ... but made international-friendly.

(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)

Classic vegetarian lasagna

First of all .... come come and join DMBLGIT!!! Send your best photos. Already 24 bloggers joined and 5 judges!


Now back to cooking ... I am in a lasagna mood. The one of today is not the last of the series, since tomorrow I will attempt yet another one. Tomorrow will be rather on the heavy side just like the Lasagna Bolognese I recently posted. Thus in between ... here is a light lasagna dish. A classic, since shen in Italy we speak about vegetarian lasagna, it means with ricotta cheese and spinach.


And yes, use frozen ones .... they work much better for once.

(Leggi la ricetta --- Read the recipe)

Chestnut gnocchi with Castelrosso

What a week! Sunday, apart from cutting my finger, I felt a bit like a cold and with low voice. It is nothing, so monday I was at work .... well, in the end my doctor forced me at home for the entire week due to a flu and a strong laryngitis. I could not even talk for most of the week. Even now I have some coughing and a bit of a pain in the throat. Worst of all, I am full of medicine boxes and got to take antibiotics for 10 days. I know I am being petulant .... but I hate medicines and got bored at home!!

So, to forget about it I want to share with you my latest discovery. And this time is not the recipe ... but the ingredient: the Castelrosso cheese. Something so delicious that it is already a few weeks I need it at home constantly. I wonder how many other people know it already ?? In this recipe, the Castelrosso is perfect and irreplaceable. It is not only the taste but also the way it melts and its texture. This time I would not know how to replace it without changing the dish completely.

Now, I hope I made you curious enough to try and hunt this cheese down. It is worth it !!

(Leggi la ricetta --- Read the recipe)

Sweet bread "tutti frutti"

What a long pause. Incredible how time flies when there is so much to be done. Since last time, my son Matteo has grown and claimed lot of our time. We have also move to another house and another city (Mechelen) ... still in Belgium. A very nice historical place with lot of good food shops as well and, especially, an amazing cheese shop where I can find almost everything even form Italy.

Work got busier both during day and during free time. But things are getting a bit more relaxed ... finally, since I miss cooking. Only issue is that now in the new house we have a smaller combo oven (bad bad) and induction (better better)> We will manage.

Now, the first recipe I want to post from Mechelen is something of a typical Italian flavor ... so typical that I love it and Elke does not !! Again it is based on the paste of pistachios, but this time I have used another amazing ingredient given to us by our friend Minouche. Artisanal candied fruit directly form Sicily. Ohhhhhhh! I could eat them on their own even so full of flavor they are. Not like those crappy industrial plastic-looking things you see around.

(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)

Pasta with ricotta and pistachio nuts

I am stranded home with an annoying throat ache now evolving as sinusitis and headache. I mean seriously, the only way I could find time to be back posting a recipe was to be sick ... bah! Anyway, in this conditions taste-buds are rather insensitive .... therefore, I decided to prepare this simple dish based on a very strong ingredient, the "pasta pura di pistacchi di Bronte" (check here) that a friend gave us as a try (yes Minouche from La Tomaterie again).

The good surprise is that we loved it, the bad one is that ... the dish was delicate and thus difficult for my taste-buds to fully appreciate it.

Sure thing, Elke, who did not like pistachio nuts, now love these ones from Bronte.

(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)

Tagliatelle with roasted bell peppers

I am slowly getting used ... yes, getting used to work in a very different environment (few but nice people instead of thousands but rushing). To putting up a tie every day (well, almost I shall admit). To go back and learn new things for a new job (gosh, only a russian could have dreamed up Triz). I guess I will find a rhythm among jobs, coming baby and driving around which will make me post and cook more. For the moment I can say I feel much better and looking forward to be super busy (and thus post at night and week-end :- )).

And here I am ... finally some time after baby-shopping for a new recipe. BAck to something rather traditional and italian, a pasta based on what italians call roasted paprika salad. Perfect for the spring days that are finally coming ... even if tricky in terms of feeling light but being rather caloric.

Wish everybody a great week-end ... I am going to rest. Busy weeks ahead (I hope ;-) ).

(Leggi la ricetta --- Read the recipe)

Chestnut Tagliatelle with Porcini Mushrooms

Well, after a while I have a longer business trip to UK, where I can manage to commute to work in Southampton (on the coast) from London. Will be tiring, but I always enjoy London even if being away three days from home just before Christmas is not ... well, not the best moment. But sure the shops will be nice and I hope to meet some friends in the evenings for a pint.

Now back to the blog theme. We made this recipe last saturday and yes we were very lucky to find some really tasty fresh porcini. Probably the last. initially, I set out to make a recipe (this one) from Lory for which I she sent me the flour. As usual, I ended up doing something completely different. A truly lovely dish where all components go well including the just cooked mushrooms which roll, feel and look almost like tagliatelle themselves. Even the little touches (the use of cocoa, ground coffee and smoked garlic) help briging the best out of the ingredients.

As I said we loved this recipe: in fact the indicate portions are rather large and we ate it all!! And the chestnut flour proved itself very versatile and easy to use. If only we could find the porcini again .... now, with -7C outside ... I guess it is hopeless.

(Leggi la ricetta --- Read the recipe)

Orecchiette with ricotta and sun-dried pachino

I know I know ... this dish is out of season. However, with all the heavy eating that we are going to soon face, I felt it is also the time for some light tasty dish to be prepared the days before the 24 and 25. Something like this ... easy and tasty while very light. I know this dish relies a lot of some special italian ingredients, but they can all be replaced with still a tasty resul. Just check the recipe.

BTW would it be a nice idea if we all post only photos of our Christmas food?

(Leggi la ricetta --- Read the recipe)

Violet risotto with pears and Herve cheese

Where is Internet? Damn Damn ..... well, last night I had no connection. And as we get telephone, internet and TV from the same provider, this implies we lost some other services too. Luckily is back ... but now I have to post this recipe this morning before going to work instead of comfortably last night!

Anyway, among all nice recipes I did last days I decided to start from this one. Why? Because inspired by the comments on this post, I wanted to show that I really have only 60 seconds to shot a photo and no time to figure out how to treat food difficult to portrait like this one!!

But what is this? It is a dish coming out from an inspiration of four countries .. no five. The original idea of a risotto with pears come to me since I saw this recipe here, but then I got intrigued by a new approach to risotto (thanks Chef Oldani!!) discussed here ... This approached posed a problem ... how do I put in the pears? Well, this time I decided to make a bastardized version of a nice Dutch dish called stoofperen (kind of boiled pears) but in French Muscadet wine (see here). And finally I put in a nice Belgian cheese (or for me the Belgian version of taleggio cheese) to complete (see here). Not satisifed (here is the fifth country), I opted not for a normal rice but for mixing rice with purple rice and sticky rice.

The result? A risotto with a bite which is both mushy (sticky rice) and crunchy (violet rice), very violet (thanks to the violet rice and cheese), nutty in flavor (purple rice), aromatic (from the cheese) and sweet (from the stoofperen). Overall it felt somewhat not European, something rather delicate and sharp at the same time. Nice. We'll do again.

(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)

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)

Pasta with aubergine pesto

The idea for this recipe comes form my mum or better ... she told me she did something similar and I simply add in the coriander (since I love the freshness it gives) and the ricotta salata (already presented before) for its nice sheepy taste. The result is something summery but full of flavor ... to enjoy in this last warmish days before the full winter kicks in!

(Leggi la ricetta --- Read the recipe)

Orecchiette Tre Regioni

Here we are back to recipes and this is the first I try in dual language & with a new format. Let's see if it works. I guess I will have to learn how to write in Italian again!
I know this dish looks and is extremely simple, but it is something quite traditional from Puglia where I have simply changed two ingredients from there in one from Sicily and one from Umbria ... hence the diction 'Tre Regioni' (three provinces). As simple as it is, it is really a lovely dish suited for a late Indian summer! Best with fresh or handmade orecchiette ... and maybe once I will post a photographic manual on the latter ...

(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.

Pears tart

Our mac is going crazy. The monitor died and now it works again. Must be some weird contacting. Well, as I do not like not posting I quickly post something before it dies again. Gosh, how much mac-dependent I am now !! Anyway, this is a simple modification of an earlier recipe, where we use pears instead of apples and the baking/serving is slightly different. I hope you will enjoy it!

Serves: 8
FlexiPoints: 5

Suggested wine: none.
Special equipment: none

Ingredients:
1 kg pears
100g butter
100g flour
100g sugar
5g baking powder
8g vanilla sugar
1 egg
100ml milk
1 pinch of salt
8 tbsp low-fat (8%) cream
Flour and margarine as needed

Ingredient replacement:

Ingredient note: none

How-to:
1. Quarter, peel and slice the pears.
2. Melt the butter in the milk and set aside.
3. Work together the egg and sugar with a pinch of salt. Add the vanilla sugar and the baking powder. Whisk in the buttermilk. Once homogeneous, add also the flour one spoon at a time through a sieve. Work until a bubbly batter is formed.
4. Mix the batter with the sliced pears. Grease a deep baking tin and dust it with flour. Pour the batter in and bake at 170C for about 60’. Let cool down.
5. Serve a generous spoon from the cake in a deep dish with one tbsp of light cream on top.

Apples & Pears Flan

I have been asked to blog a recipe for a Belgian cake ... well, it was a coincidence that this recipe was in the pipeline. I am not sure it is typical, but surely it is Belgian. To give you an idea of how crazy Belgians are for apple tarts, few weeks ago we went to a BBQ of Elke's family ... and everybody except one family brought an apple cake!!! Incredible. We got this version from one of Elke's aunts (Tante Corine) ... it is super delicious! It is actually more a flan then a tart. Lekker!!!

Serves: 8
FlexiPoints: 6
Suggested wine: none
Special equipment: baking paper, 24cm baking (quiche) form

Ingredients:
220g pate sucre (crumble pastry)
100g sugar
18g vanilla sugar
20cl low-fat single cream
3 eggs
3 tbso flour
1 tbsp creme anglais
2 apples
2 pears

Ingredient replacement:
pate sucre -> use any sweet crumble pastry you prefer

Ingredient note: none

How-to:
1. Cover the quiche form with some baking paper and roll the pastry on it. Be sure that there is little pastry hanging at the borders.
2. Slice the apples and pears thinly, mix and distribute them on the base.
3. Work the flour, eggs, sugar, cream and creme anglais together until an homogeneous batter is obtained. Pour on the fruit.
4. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180C for 50’ to 60’ or until the top has browned. Cut off the pastry which hangs out at the border. Serve at room temperature.

Roasted Cannelloni with aubergine & Ikramito

Originally I wanted to do ravioli ... but I ended up trying something different. Yes they look like pancakes, but they are roasted cannelloni. First time I tried in this way and I have to say they are really really nice. Crunchy and very warm. Lighter and much more suited to such a delicate filling. The ikramino's are also an essential part of the dish as they gives the moisture which a normal sauce would give but avoiding to be too saucy. Lovely!!! And definitively a full italian taste!!!

Serves: 4 as main course or 10 as a starter
FlexiPoints: 11 or 4.5

Suggested wine: we had the Serpico 1999 (see previous post) with it. I feel this dish is kind of universal in terms of wine pairing ... even if I would avoid whites with too much acidity and really fruity reds.
Special equipment: none

Ingredients:
10 fresh lasagna sheets (400g)
2 aubergines
5 garlic cloves
250g Buffalo mozzarella
500g Ikramito tomatoes
180g ricotta cheese
10 basil leaves
1/2 glass of white wine
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Ingredient note: The Ikramito (photo link) is normally sold in clusters of 12/14 and looks like a slightly bigger cherry tomatoes. The taste is quite sharp with a thicker skin. It is normally used for salads ... but I love it cooked (as wholes) as well like here!

How-to:
1. Grease an oven pot with some oil. Put the aubergines and 3 garlic cloves in it, and bake at 180C for 40’ or until the aubergines are really soft.
2. Discard the garlic. Peel the aubergine and make a mash out of them. Season with salt and let cool down.
3. Chop the mozzarella in small cubes. Finely chop the remaining garlic. Make an homogeneous mix out of the ricotta, the aubergine mash, the mozzarella and the garlic. Season with salt and set aside.
4. Cook the lasagna sheets for 90 seconds in boiling salted water. Rise the sheets in cold water and let them cool down.
5. Distribute the cheese mix among the lasagna sheets by placing (about) 1.5 tbsp on the centre of each sheet. Roll up the lasagna sheet so as to form the cannelloni.
6. Take a very large pot. Grease it with oil. Once hot, add the cannelloni, the tomatoes and the basil leaves. Season with little salt and pepper. Cook on medium heat for 10’ or until the tomatoes are quite soft and the cannelloni brownish on both side.
7. Press the tomatoes with the back of a wooden spoon. Cook on high heat for one minutes. Remove the cannelloni. Add the wine to the pan, cook for few seconds on high heat stirring continuously and remove from the heat.
8. Serve the cannelloni with the tomatoes on the sides.

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.

Light lasagna with asparagus

(Photo@TheFoodTraveller.com - Nikon D200)

This recipe was on my mac for a while waiting to be blogged ... and in our freezer as well, but for eating. We found the recipe on an Italian magazine and, as we welcome every light recipe, we gave it a try. Actually Elke made it and I only tried (but not very successfully) to take a photo. Not a simple dish to capture ... at least for me. If you like asparagus, give it a try (but probably next year!) ... since that is the dominant taste. The main problem I have with the dish is .... after one hour I was hungry again!

Serves: 4 or 8 as starter
FlexiPoints: 4 or 2

Suggested wine: not really sure here. Feel free to give us a suggestion!
Special equipment: a kitchen robot or a blender.

Ingredients:
250g fresh lasagna sheets
1.5 Kg of green asparagus
650ml half-fat UHT milk
35g corn starch
80 sliced roasted ham
30g Parmesan cheese
5g butter
2 garlic cloves
1 thyme sprig
1 marjoram sprig
Nutmeg and salt to taste

Ingredient note: The corn starch (or mazeina in some parts of the world) is a nice alternative to butter to bind a cream with less fat. Of course, you will miss the buttery taste ... but overall the cream will be much lighter and delicate so suited for recipes like this one. Only side effect ... I am not sure the cream will freeze that well as with butter.

How-to:
1. Cook the asparagus. Remove and halve the heads. Puree the stalks in a kitchen robot.
2. Work the starch with 100ml of cold milk. Slice the ham in stripes.
3. Press the garlic. Put it in a casserole with 500ml of milk, the thyme and the marjoram. Let cook on low heat until it simmer. Remove from the heat and pass the milk through a sieve to remove the herbs and garlic. Stir in the starch and milk mix.
4. Place the cream back on low heat and add the asparagus puree, 1 tbsp of the Parmesan cheese, some nutmeg and salt. Let simmer for 4’-5’ or until creamy. Stir frequently.
5. Grease an oven pot with the butter. Choose a pot which is low and wide and where the pasta sheets can be placed with little (but some) overlap, and without need for cutting them. Alternate in layers alternating the cream, the pasta, the asparagus heads and the ham. Mix the remaining Parmesan cheese with the remaining milk and distribute it on top.
6. Bake in an hot oven at 200C for 25’ or nicely crunchy on top. Serve lukewarm.

Little savoiardi cakes with apple

(Photo@TheFoodTraveller.com - Nikon D200)

Oh well, let's bake some little cakes. Not that we have kids yet, but we love to bake something on sunday for our breakfast during the week. This time I just wanted to try something simple and low in fat. The normal cakes Elke bakes calls for lot of butter, while the savoiardi base not. So, here we are ... making little muffin-shapes cakes using a the savoiardi base with some apple to make it wetter. I have to say the end result is nice with the sugary and light texture of the savoiardi and the moisture of the apple. Nice ... and not a killing calories bomb!

Serves: 12 cakes
FlexiPoints: 2.5

Suggested wine: none
Special equipment: none or maybe a kitchen robot

Ingredients:
5 separated eggs
2 little apples
150g fine sugar
120g flour
3g baking powder
1 pinch of salt
Margarine as needed

Ingredient note: Well, not a recipe note ... but for people wondering what a savoiaro is, well they are also called lady finger cookies in English (wikipedia link).

How-to:
1. Whip the egg whites until stiff. Peel and finely chop the apples.
2. Work the yolks with the sugar until a uniform pale yellow cream is obtained. Add the baking powder and keep whipping.
3. Pass the flour though a sieve. Work the flour in the egg yolks one spoon of the time so as to obtain a homogeneous batter. You might need to use a metallic (hard) whip now as the batter will be somewhat hard.
4. Fold the egg whites. Add the chopped apple and mix well still with a folding movement to avoid the batter to loose its foaminess.
5. Grease a muffin tray with some margarine. Distribute the batter and bake in an hot oven at 180C for 20’-30’.

Orecchiette mustard & gorgonzola

(Photo@TheFoodTraveller.com - Nikon D200)

Simplicity and good ingredients. This recipe embodies this very simple idea. It is extremely simple, you only need to basically boil the pasta and melt the cheese. But the ingredients must be perfect. Use young and creamy gorgonzola to get a creamy piquant taste. Use Meaux Mustard to get a nice kind of sweet and sharp mustard flavor. We really loved this dish ... one of our favorite fast pasta's.

Serves: 4 as main course
FlexiPoints: 9

Suggested wine: I’d go for a Chardonnay, preferably from the old continent ...
Special equipment: none

Ingredients:
400g orecchiette (pasta)
200g young gorgonzola cheese
2 tbsp Meaux mustard
1 garlic clove
1 thyme sprig
1 parsley sprig
Salt and pepper as needed

Ingredient note: The Meaux Mustard differs from Dijon’s as it keeps the seeds and it has vinegar as well. It has a sharp and rustic taste on its own, but I find it very delicate when used for cooking. In Italy we call it also Old Mustard ... no clue why ?! For people in the Netherlands ... Zeeland Mustard is not that different.

How-to:
1. Cube the gorgonzola. Finely chop the parsley and the thyme.
2. Half the garlic clove and scrub the base of a non-stick pan with the two halves. Melt the cheese in such pan on low heat avoiding it to bubble. Once melted stir in the mustard and keep warm.
3. Boil the pasta in abundant salted water. Add it to the cheese sauce and stir well. Add the parsley and the thyme. Season with pepper. Stir well and serve immediately.

Risotto robiola and asparagus

(Photo@TheFoodTraveller.com - Nikon D200)

This dish should go pretty well with the wine I just blogged about ... strange coincidence !! Anyway, asparagus are almost at the end here. This year they were not really particularly tasty (either the green or the white ones). Unfortunate, since they are always loved in our house!! We'll see next year! This recipe calls for robiola ... easy to find in Italy, but not so outside. Still, it is an important ingredient here. So, try hard to get it!

Serves: 6 as main course or 12 as starter
FlexiPoints: 4.5 or 2.5

Suggested wine: the dish is quite aromatic and with some acidity. A young Pinot Bianco could go, since rather fresh and low in acidity.

Ingredients:
- 420g rice (vialone nano)
- 800g green asparagus
- 70g robiola cheese
- 1 shallot
- 40g pecorino cheese
- 4g saffron
- 3 sprigs of marjoram
- 1/2 glass of white dry wine
- Salt, pepper and oil as needed

Ingredient note: Robiola (wikipedia link) is difficult to find outside italy, but it gives a special acidity in the flavor which cannot be easily replaced. You can try to replace with with ricotta in this dish. While the taste will be quite different, it will be still very nice!

How-to:
1. Clean the asparagus and remove their heads. Boil the stalks for 30’ with 2 liters of water, half shallot, marjoram and salt. Pass the stock through a sieve. Keep the stock and the asparagus stalks, discard the rest.
2. Chop the stalks. Add the saffron to the warm stock and let it infuse. Halve the asparagus heads. Cube the robiola.
3. Finely chop the remaining shallot. Sauté it with some oil until soft or 3’. Add the rice and cook it on high heat for 2’ minutes (or until it changes color) stirring continuously.
4. Add the wine and let is get absorbed. Add about half a liter of the stock and let it get absorbed by the rice on medium-low heat (it should be only simmering). Once it is mostly absorbed, add more stock and repeat until the rice is cooked (about 16’). You will most likely be left with some stock.
5. Half way (about 8’) add the asparagus stalks and heads, and continue cooking.
6. At the end, remove from the heat and add the cheeses and stir well to get a uniform creamy risotto. Let rest for few minutes and serve.

Potatoes & carrots in the oven

(Photo@TheFoodTraveller.com - Nikon D200)

Last days gave us quite some nice time for cooking. I will start with posting a contorno (side dish), one of the few I have posted so far. This one came out of necessity ... left over carrots and not enough potatoes. I would have never expected the mix to be so nice. It is suited next to a roast or BBQ.

Serves: 6 as side dish
FlexiPoints:1.5

Suggested wine: depends on the main course!
Special equipment: none

Ingredients:
400g potatoes
400g carrots
2 tbsp (common) finely chopped fresh thyme
2 garlic cloves
5 tsbp oilve oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Ingredient note: none

How-to:
1. Peel and coarsely chop the potatoes and carrots in cubes possibly of similar size.
2. Finely chop the garlic.
3. Mix all ingredients together and season with salt and abundant pepper.
4. Bake in an hot oven and on a metallic tray at 180C for 40’ or until the potatoes have nice brown spots and are fully cooked.

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.

Radiatori with courgette pesto

(Photo@TheFoodTraveller.com - Nikon D200)

This is something that is so simple it took me few years to make! It is something my mum has made for me many times, since it has a fantastic courgette flavor and it is very very light! I propose here her recipe but (yes a but) without Parmesan and with some basil added. I have also opted an unusual pasta shape which I find perfect for sauces which are a bit too liquid.

Serves: 2 as main course
FlexiPoints: 5.5

Suggested wine: despite being a delicate dish a nicely aged wine would go. We opted for an aged Niepoort Redoma and it was a great choice!
Special equipment: none.

Ingredients:
200g pasta (radiatore shape)
2 courgettes
6 leaves of basil
6 leaves of mint
2 small shallots
3 tbsp olive oil
100ml water
salt to taste

Ingredient note: the "radiatore" pasta shape is something in between gnocchi and fusilli. It has the property of absorbing quite some sauce but still keeping a hard bite. Use fusilli corti, eliche or farfalle as alternatives.

How-to:
1. Chop the shallots finely and cube the courgettes.
2. Sauté the shallot in the oil until soft (2’). Add the courgette and cook for 4’ on high heat stirring frequently. Add the water, salt to taste, the basil ad mint, and let simmer until the the courgette is fully cooked (about 10’).
3. Put everything in a mixer and make a smooth cream out of it.
4. Boil the pasta in abundant salted water for 1’ less than indicated on the package. Warm up the courgette pesto in the meantime and finish the pasta with the pesto on high heat for 1’ more. Serve immediately.

Crescia with apples

(Photo@TheFoodTraveller.com - Nikon D200)

Sometimes I am amazed by how many varieties of apple cakes are around. This one is something of a sweet bread ('crescia') stuffed with apples. Light and tasty. Shaping the crescia in the tin can be annoying, but the result is quite nice: a tasty and light alternative to the brise'. Funny is ... I have recently discovered my mum has been doing pastry like this for years. Should have paid more attention.

Serves: 10
FlexiPoints: 8

Suggested wine: none
Special equipment: a 24cm baking tin

Ingredients:
500g flour
500g apples
100g butter
180g sugar
10g instant yeast
2 eggs
1 lemon
50ml calvados
Honey as needed

Ingredient note: none

How-to:
1. Peel and slice the apples. Put them in casserole with 80g of sugar. Distribute 1 glass of water on top and cook on medium-low heat with the lid on until the apples are soft (about 10’).
2. Work together the flour, yeast, butter, the rest of the sugar, the grated lemon zest, the eggs, the calvados and 1 tbsp of the cooking juice of the apple until a uniform pastry is obtained.
3. Roll the pastry in a 24cm disc and one of 30cm. Grease the baking tin with some butter and dust it with flour. Cover the tin with the larger disc. Distribute the apple and cover with the second disc trying to seal the border. Remove the hanging trims.
4. Bake it in an hot oven at 200C for 30’. Brush the top with some honey and serve at room temperature.

Aromatic pasta with Tabasco

(Photo@TheFoodTraveller.com - Nikon D200)

Finally I can blog again ... so many recipes and no internet connection for my Mac prevented from sharing them while I was in Italy. But I am back! This recipe is from the latest issue of Cucina Moderna, an italian magazine I quite like ... despite cheating in the photos (usual things, wrong ingredients, not cooked, etc etc). It is really light and tasty and requires a red wine to bring back the tabasco to life. Perfect for a diet dinner or lunch!

Serves: 4 as main course
FlexiPoints: 5.5

Suggested wine: A red wine with subtle barreling and good mineral taste like the Spanish Terra Cua goes perfectly.
Special equipment: none

Ingredients:
400g pasta (little ‘farfalle’ shape)
2 sprigs of rosemary
10 leaves of sage
4 small shallots
60g butter
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp Tabasco
50ml Cuban Rum

Ingredient note: The ‘farfalle’ pasta shape is peculiar in its having always a bit harder centre, which gives it a nice crunchy bite. Its curves also allows the sauce to get nicely trapped in the pasta giving it a dry look but a saucy bite.

How-to:
1. Make the sauce while boiling the pasta in abundant salted water as described in its package but for 2’ less.
2. Finely chop the herbs together and finely slice the shallots. Sauté the shallots in the (previously melted) butter and oil on medium heat until translucent or about 5’. Add the herbs and sauté further for 1’ stirring continuously.
3. Add the Tabasco and the rum. Stir well and flame the rum. When the flame is out, remove the sauce from the heat and let it rest till the pasta is ready.
4. Once the pasta is ready. Drain it and add it to the sauce. Cook for 1’ more on high heat and serve immediately.

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.

Brussel waffles ... so light, you can't stop!

(Photo@TheFoodTraveller.com - Nikon D200)

One day my parents came over to Belgium and wanted a waffle. And we Italians got baffled by the fact that, apparently, there are two types of waffles in Belgium: Liege and Brussels waffles. The former are soft, sugary and sticky. The latter are crunchy and very light. I love both, but this time I will share the one my fiancee Elke does more often. Brussel waffles. Eat them for breakfast, with powder sugar, icecream, whipped cream, almost anything ... even nutella!!

Serves: 16
FlexiPoints: 2.5

Suggested wine: none !!
Necessary equipment: waffle maker or similar

Ingredients:
- 300g flour
- 500ml UHT milk
- 75g caster sugar
- 100g butter
- 2 eggs
- 10g instant yeast
- salt as needed

How-to:
1. Melt the butter avoiding to get it burned.
2. Mix the flour, yeast, sugar and butter. Add the eggs and whick well.
3. Warm up the milk to room temperature and add it to the flour a bit at the time working it until a smooth batter is obtained.
4. Let it rest for 1 hour. Bake in a hot waffle machine in 16 batches following the machine instruction.
5. Best when just made, they will stay tasty for a couple of days!

Belgian bread pudding

(Photo@TheFoodTraveller.com - Nikon D200)

We had quite some bread left and, since I could not stop eating it, Elke decided to make a pudding out of it. Of course, we did not have one ingredient and we ended up driving around to find it .... or better driving to the local hypermarket and queueing for just one little thing! The belgian recipe reminds a lot of the Christmas Pudding I have eaten a few times in England. Chewy, tasty and heavy! Served with some power sugar on top ... perfect breakfast!!

Serves: 15
FlexiPoints: 4.5

Suggested wine: none!

Ingredients:
- 300g old bread
- 500ml UHT milk
- 75g caster sugar
- 75g brown sugar
- 5 free-range eggs
- 50g raisins
- 1/3 tsp cinnamon
- 8g vanilla sugar
- 1 tbsp honey
- 3 slices of honey-cake with pearl sugar (belgian ‘honig peperkoek’)

How-to:
1. Warm up the milk to room temperature and stir in the honey and sugar.
2. Put the bread and the cake slices in pieces in a bowl. Add the milk and let it rest for 30’ until soft. In the meantime, slightly whisk the eggs together.
3. Use a fork or a wooden spoon to mix well the softened bread until a liquid batter is obtained. Do not use a kitchen robot, since it is nice to have some bigger pieces of bread left. Stir in the raisins, the cinnamon, the vanilla sugar and eggs.
4. Grease a baking tin or cover it with baking paper. Pour in the bread mixture and bake in an hot oven for 20’ at 200C on the lowest part of your oven and for 15’ more at 180C in the middle position of the oven.
5. Serve at room temperature and with some power sugar on top.

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.

Risotto with zucca, balsamic & gorgonzola

(Photo@TheFoodTraveller.com - Nikon D200)
We got of this recipe while traveling in Emilia last summer. We visitied a nice "aceteria" (where they make the famous Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale) and, while tasting, we discussed how to use this precious liquid in cooking. The recipe is simple and tasty, and can be done also with butternut squash, which is easier to find these days that the pumpkin.

Serves: 4 as a main dish or 8 as a starter
FlexiPoints: 9 or 4.5

Suggested wine: a good Lambrusco which fits perfectly with the balsamic flavor.

Ingredients:
- 300g rice (possibly of carnaroli variety)
- 800 Kg pumpkin (or butternut squash) without seeds
- 100g young creamy gorgonzola cheese
- up to 2 liters beef stock
- 40g Parmesan cheese rind
- 1 shallot
- 3 tbsp oilive oil (possibly light and fruity)
- 8 tbsp Traditional Balsamic Vinegard from Reggio Emilia
- Salt and pepper as needed

How-to:
1. Peel the pumpkin, discard the seeds and chop it in medium-small irregular cubes. Finely chop the shallot. Chop the Parmesan rind in small rectangular shapes.
2. Take a deep pot, best if made from cast iron (like a Creuset). Sauté the sliced shallot in the hot oil and, once soft, add the pumpkin. Keep cooking on a medium heat with the lid on until the pumpkin is soft (5 minutes depending on the pot and the pumpkin). Stir occasionally. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Add the rice. Cook on high heat for 2 more minutes stirring constantly.
4. Add about 400ml of the stock and let it get absorbed by the rice on medium-low heat. Once it is mostly absorbed, add more stock and repeat until the rice is cooked. You will need to stir occasionally and, towards the end, to mash the pumpkin with the back of a wooden spoon.
5. After about 10 minutes (about half way the cooking) add the Parmesan cheese. When the rice is almost ready, add the gorgonzola in irregular pieces and let it melt. Remove from the heat and stir in 6 tbsp of Balsamic. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Let it rest for 2 minutes. Serve on four flat dishes seasoning each portion with 1 tbsp of balsamic on top.

Klaaskoeken or Belgian Christmas Cookies

(Photo@TheFoodTraveller.com - Nikon D200)
I know that Christmas has passed, but these ones are lovely and Elke makes them so often in December that I can enjoy them for breakfast or dinner or as a snack almost everyday. Unfortunately, I did not manage to post the recipe before ... as I do not make them, I did not know where it was. Just make them despite Christmas has passed ... have them with some chocolate or cheese or as they are.

Serves: up to 24
FlexiPoints: 5.5 (each)

Suggested wine: well .... coffee or tea!

Ingredients:
- 1 Kg flour
- 33g instant yeast
- 2 large eggs (separated)
- 450 ml UHT milk (at room temperature)
- 160g sugar
- 8g vanilla sugar
- 200g butter
- 2 tsp grated cinnamon
- Egg yolks and salt as needed.

How-to:
1. Melt the butter. Remove from the heat; add the milk and the two egg yolks. Mix well. Stir in the yeast, the sugar and the cinnamon.
2. Beat the two egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiffen. Add it to the mixture.
3. Work in the flour one spoon at a time until a solid dough is made. Knead the dough for 10’. Wrap the dough in plastic foil and let it rest covered for 30’. Keep the dough warm at around 25C.
4. Roll the dough in sheets 1.5cm thick and use a form to make little human (or different shapes). You will need to knead the dough a few times to use as much as possible out of it. Let them rise for 30’.
5. Whisk some egg yolks and use it to grease the top of the shaped dough.
6. Bake in batches in a pre-heated oven at 220C for 6’.
7. Serve warm.

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.

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.

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.

Baked white onions

(Photo@TheFoodTraveller.com - Nikon D200)

I loved this dish since the first time my mum made it for us. It is simple ... but it requires some patience as it needs quite some time in the oven. You can use any kind of cheese here, but I would suggest either a slowly melting cheese (like Grouviere) or a grated mature cheese (like Parmesan).

Serves: 4 as side dish
FlexiPoints: 2.5

Suggested wines: ... depends on the what is served with it. Almost everything goes well.

Ingredients:
- 4 large white onions
- 2 tbsp oil
- 4 tbsp bread-crumbs
- 4 tbsp grated cheese (Parmesan or Grouviere)
- Salt as needed

How-to:
1. Clean and cut the onions is large slices.
2. Grease a baking tin with the oil. Place the onion slices on top. Season with salt.
3. Mix together the bread-crumbs and the cheese. Distribute the mix on top of the onion slices. Alternatively, you might want to make first a bread-crumb layer and than a cheese one. the latter approach works very well with grated Grouviere.
4. Bake at 200C for 30'/40' or until the onion is very soft. Try to use mostly a bottom slot in the oven and only the last 10' or so top slot.

Pasta au Chavignol

How many times a new recipe is made out of emergency? Sometimes. Well, this is one of those situations. We were planning to try aubergines stuffed with goat cheese ... but, unfortunately,
I placed the aubergine to near the back of the fridge where they got frozen! So, here it goes the dinner. What can be do with the cherry tomatoes and the crottin de Chavignol ... bah! A pasta maybe. Well, the pasta was simple, fast and amazingly delicious! We had it yesterday once again and it has convinced us to the point to add it to our recipe collection.

Serves: 2 as a main course
FlexiPoints: 8

Suggested wines: We had it with some typical "pump" wine ... the table wine people buy per liter as it were fuel. This one was a Negroamaro-based one and really fruity and delicious.

Ingredients:
- 200g caserecce or other medium long (and thick) pasta
- 2 crottin de Chavignol (120g)
- 300g cherry tomatoes
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 tbsp oil
- Salt as needed

How-to:
1. Half all the tomatoes and finely chop the garlic.
2. Sauté the garlic in the oil and add the tomatoes after 1'. Keep cooking on high heat for 8'-10' mashing lightly the tomatoes when soft. Season with salt and keep warm.
3. While cooking the pasta in abundant salted water, chop the crottin in medium pieces.
4. Add the pasta to the tomato sauce on medium heat, stir well for 1'. Add the cheeses and stir well until fully melted.
5. Serve warm ... It is important not to eat this dish straight after cooking to allow the cheese flavor to be at it peak.

Conchiglioni stuffed with rucola

Every time we pass by Italy (be for holidays or work) I always end up buying some cokking magazine. This time we came back with a couple of them ... one of these is Cucina Moderna (serie Oro). This issue is packed with some nice and simple ideas and we tries this one first as my fiancee was eagerly longing for it. The recipe is almost the same as the original (I changed only a couple of little details), and it is lovely despite its looking very white!

Serves: 4 as a main course
FlexiPoints: 7

Suggested wines: something white and light. Maybe a Pinot Grigio might work. We went for plain (San Pellegrino) water.

Ingredients:
- 200g conchiglioni
- 320g rucola
- 100g grated Parmesan cheese
- 8 tbsp oilive oil
- 1 garlic clove
- 6 tbsp pinenuts
- 2 tbsp sweet paprika powder
- satl as needed

How-to:
1. Cook the pasta in salted water till al-dente. Rinse quickly in cold water and drain well.
2. Rinse the rucola and the garlic clove. Make a pesto with a mixer out of the rucola, the garlic clove, some salt and 6 tbsp of oil. Fold in the grated Parmesan cheese and some additional oil if it feels too dry.
3. Toast the pinenuts in a hot wok. Add them to the rucola cream.
4. Fill each (conchiglione) pasta shape with the rucola cream. Lay each of them in a oven tray. Distribute the remaining oil and the paprika on top.
5. Put under a hot grill for up to 5’ and serve immediately.

Linguine con fagiolini pinti

Typically summerly ... even if our summer has finished ... yet I felt like posting this recipe I got from my mother. The english name would be "Linguine with string beans", which sounds so boring that I prefer to use the italian name all the time. The original recipe calls for two hard-to-find ingredients: cacioricotta and the fagiolini pinti. The former is a kind of salty mature feta and the latter is a purplish thin string bean variety. Well ... if you find them, perfect. If you don't use the suggested replacement. Taste won't be as good, but still very good!

Serves: 4 as main course
FlexiPoints: 7

Suggested wines: Again ... I dare suggest a rose here!!

Ingredients:
- 400g linguine pasta
- 500g "pinti" or normal string beans
- 1.5g tomato juice (passata)
- 1 shallot
- 16 basil leaves
- 6 tbsp grated cacioricotta or Turkish feta cheese
- Salt and oilive oil as needed

How-to:
1. Clean the string beans and trim them.
2. Stir fry them with a bit oil in a hot deep pan for 3’.
3. Add the tomato juice, the shallot and 6 basil leaves. Season with salt. Let simmer for about 15’ stirring occasionally.
4. Boil the pasta separately. Put the sauce and the pasta in a big bowl. Add the cheese and the remaining basil. Mix well until the cheese is uniformly distributed and serve.

Little pannacotta with raspberries

It was a long time I wanted to try this recipe from the book of Fabio Marangon from the restaurant Cucina Marangon. One of the few times I actually use my dutch in trying to understand a recipe. This said, I have to admit that the recipe is actually a fairly standard one. There is not twist or changes. Yet, we loved it so ... I post it. And I just had the last one few minutes ago!!! Ops, I was forgetting ... do not eat the spaghetti as well, it is only decoration!

Serves: 8
FlexiPoints: 4.5

Suggested wine: ... nothing !!!

Ingredients:
- 450g double cream (40%)
- 1 vanilla pod
- 70g sugar
- 54 rasperries
- 2 gelatin sheets
- 4 dried spaghetti

How-to:
1. Mix the cream with 50g sugar. Split the vanilla pod in two and remove the seeds with the help of a little knife. Add the seeds and the pod itself to the cream.
2.In the meantime, rinse the gelatin sheets in cold water.
3. Cook the cream on gentle heat for 15’ stirring frequently with a whip. Add the gelatin sheets and whisk well.
4. Distribute the cream among 4 small ramekins and refrigerate for 8 to 12 hours.
5. Just before serving, make the raspberry coulis by mixing together 30 raspberries and 20g of sugar. Pass it through a sieve. Distribute it among the ramekins to make a red layer on top.
6. Break the spaghetti in two and make little kebabs of three raspberries each.
7. Serve with the kebab on top.

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.