Stuffed eggplants "greek style".

It's not a greek recipe, it's just what I had in the fridge last week :)

I used to live, when I was a student, with greek and english people and even now, after more than ten years, in my home there always are feta and tea :D

This recipe is a perfect vegetarian second course or single course, it's easy to make and quick to bake.

2 servings:

2 medium eggplants

1 cup feta cheese

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

1/2 cup peeled almonds

1 garlic clove

extra-virgin olive oil

oreganon

salt & pepper

Wash eggplants, cut them on the long side and dig the pulp untill you empty the halves.

Dice the pulp and sautee it in oil with the garlic clove. 

When the pulp is cooked and golden put it in a mixer with feta, oreganon, breadcrumbs and almond.

Ground the mixture but not too finely, just a bit to mix everything well.

Fill the eggplants halves with the mixture then pour some extra-virgin olive oil.

Bake at 360°F for about 20 minutes.

Serve warm.

Bell peppers rolls.

It's been a long time since the last time I've written on this blog.
I had a lot to do in real life and I'm always more into my Italian cooking blog mainly because it took me a while to write in english and I'm always afraid to cut a poor figure.
Now and then, anyway, I feel the need to come back and share something: today it's time for bell peppers rolls.
It's the right time of the year for bell peppers and it's a recipe you can serve as appetizer or side dish, it's quite easy but you have to turn on the oven :D

For about 6-7 rolls:

2 bell peppers ( I did one red and one yellow)

1 cup breadcrumbs

1 teaspoon unsalted capers

2 canned anchovies

1 garlic clove

3 tablespoon olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Put in the oven, pre heated at 390°F, the bell peppers.
Let them roast untill they're soft then put them into a sealing bag while they're still hot.
When peppers are warm peel them and cut them in large stripes.
In a mixer put breadcrumbs, capers, garlic, anchovies, salt and pepper and olive oil. Blend untill everything is pulverized.
Put some mixture on the peppers stripes and roll them.
Put all the rolls on a baking pan, sprinkle with the rest of the breadcrumbs mixture and put in the oven just the time to brown the bell peppers.
Let them cool down and serve.

Chicken roulade with capers and lemon zest.

It's been a long time...

You know: holidays, too hot weather to cook, a lot of work (and that's a good thing!) and I couldn't post anything.

Today I'm back with a really light recipe that still has a summer taste.

I've tried it in a restaurant in San Marino (an indipendent state inside Italy, you can learn something more about it HERE and about the restaurant HERE ) and I really wanted to try this at home.

The result is good even if not just alike the restaurant one (but I didn't have the recipe, just tried all by myself) so I want to share it with you.

It could be a nice appetizer or a light second course.

2 servings:

4 thin slices of chicken breast

1/ cup salted capers

juice of 1/2 lemon

zest of 1 lemon

1/2 garlic clove

extra-virgin olive oil

The first thing to do is to unsalt capers: leave them in cold water for about 1 hour changing water now and then.

Peel lemon zest avoiding the white part and chop finely with a knife, then do the same with unsalted capers.

Put them in a small bowl with smashed garlic and a generous pour of olive oil and the juice of half a lemon.

Mix with a spoon (you shouldn't need more salt due to capers but just try it and see).

Beat chicken breast with a tenderizer then spread some sauce on it. 

Roll it on the longer side and close it in tin foil or any cooking paper than can handle hot temperatures.

Do the same with all the slices then put them in a food steamer or in any pot where you can cook with steam and cook for about 45 minutes.

When the meat is cold cut pinwheels not too thick and cover them with a little sauce before serving.

You can prepare the meat one day in advance and store it in the fridge (same as sauce) but cut it only before serving.

You can decorate with some more lemon zest.

Orecchiette with anchovies and sun dried sweet peppers.

Few months ago I received a great present from a close friend who lives in Basilicata (deep South of Italy).

I received a lot of dried local pasta like orecchiette and cavatelli, wild boar salami, local cheese and much more.

I received also a big packet of sun dried sweet peppers which are typical of Basilicata.

I still have some of them and I used those peppers in a quick but very tasty recipe combined with some orecchiette left.

If you can't find orecchiette you can use spaghetti, penne, maccheroni of any kind. :)

2 servings:

3 medium sun dried sweet peppers 

2 anchovies in oil

3 tablespoons tomato sauce

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 garlic clove

2 cups orecchiette (or the serving size you like of the pasta you have)

Let orecchiette boil in a big pot of salted water, if they're dried they should boil for 14-16 minutes (taste them).

In a pan heat extra-virgin olive oil, add chopped peppers (without seeds) and garlic and stir frying for a couple of minutes then add anchovies and let them "melt" with peppers.

Remove the garlic, add the tomato sauce and stir well.

Cook for 2-3 minutes more then use a blender and reduce the sauce to cream.

Season your pasta hot with this sauce and eat immediately, it's sooo tasty!

Hummus (Chickpeas sauce).

I didn't write for so long but I had a lot to do: it's not only a matter of pregnancy, it's a matter of organization.

Medical check-ups, house revolution to change the guest room in baby room, storms into every baby-related shop to find the right stroller, the right cradle, the right everything.

Today I show you a recipe that's not Italian, it comes from Middle-east and it's common in Arabia as in Turkey as in many other countries around there.

I eat it quite often because a family friend teached me and I find it delicious on toasted bread or with raw vegetables like carrots, celery, tomatoes...

It's really really easy.

For 4 serves you need:

1 can boiled chickpeas

extra-virgin olive oil

salt

paprika or chili

1 garlic clove mashed

chopped parsley to decorate

1 spoon thaini (it's a paste made from sesame seeds, you can find it in ethnic shops)

Whisk all the ingredients untill you have a smooth cream, if it's too thick add a little water and mix well.

Sprinkle with parsley and serve room temperature or cold with toasted bread or raw vegetables.

Enjoy!!

Tomato salad with greek yogurt ( Insalata di pomodori con yogurt greco)

I keep on going with summer and easy recipes, this one is so tasty according to me.

It remember me of my summers at university where I share an apartment not far from the sea with some Greek and English students: we had so much fun together, parties, tea times, plain dinners that became a fancy mix of food from our countries.

Now I start to become over-sentimental so let's go with the salad!

You can decide measures quite roughly, don't need weights :)

You need:

red and ripe tomatoes, I usually prefer San Marzano (the ones long and thin with less seeds that you can see in the picture)

fresh basil leaves

salt

pepper if you like

extra-virgin olive oil

a garlic clove if you like

greek yogurt, how much it depends on how many you are but I use roughly a big spoon of yogurt for each serve

Cut tomatoes in tiny cubes, put them in a bowl with their sauce, add salt, pepper, oil, garlic and the basil leaves well washed.

Mix well, add the greek yogurt, mix again and let rest in fridge for about a couple of hours mixing now and then.

Greek yogurt is really thick but mixed with oil and tomato sauce it will get dilute and your tomatoes will be covered with a tasty creamy sauce, quick and really healthy!

It's perfect with grilled meat or fish, with hamburgers or other dishes.

Garlic and chiles spaghetti (Spaghetti aglio olio e peperoncino)

Today "the easier the better": this is a dish that everyone can do, even if he/she knows nothing about kitchen, it's really really cheap and made with ingredients you always have at home.

Not by chance it's a classic " emergency dish" and "student dish" with canned tuna tomato sauce pasta.

For 4 servings you need:

1 pound spaghetti

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 garlic cloves, finely minced

3 red hot chili peppers, crushed

1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped (if you like it)

Cook pasta as usual, in boiling salted water.

Meanwhile heat in a large pan olive oil, add garlic and peppers, cook untill the garlic is soft, almost undone but not brown.

Remove from heat, when the pasta is "al dente" drain it keeping a little cooking water apart.

Pour spaghetti in the pan, mix well over medium heat, add a little cooking water if it seems dry, add parsley, mix again and serve.

Roasted tomatoes (Pomodorini confit)

For this easy and budget recipe you need tomatoes at their best: fresh, ripe and flavourful so maybe it's more a summer recipe but if you find some good plum or cherry tomatoes you can do it anyway.

You can use them on pasta, on bruschetta, into salads or just as tasty side dish from informal meals (they're great with grilled meat so bbq's are welcome^^) to formal ones (with tuna fish fillet, for istance).

You need:

15-20 good tomatoes

2 finely minced garlic cloves

1 spoon of sugar

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 275 F°, cut tomatoes in half, sprinkle with salt and put them on a dish with the skin up (they have to lose some water) for an hour.

Now put them with skin side down on a baking sheet and add garlic, pepper, more salt, sugar and oregano sprinkling, then drizzle with abundant oil.

Bake in the oven for about 2 hours or untill they're dried but still soft.

Serve hot, warm or cold: anyway is a good way for them!

Mussels in garlic butter sauce ( Cozze in intingolo bianco)

Easy way to cook mussels, prepare a lot of plain crusty bread slices to serve with it because you have to sup up in the sauce!

This quantity is intended as a starter dish (the most part of the wheight are shells) but often people here could have a whole meal with mussels and crusty bread so don't worry and abound^^.

So delicious!

You need for 4:

2 pounds fresh and cleaned mussels

2 minced garlic cloves

a bunch of finely chopped fresh parsley

4 oz. butter (unsalted)

salt & pepper

a glass of white dry wine

Put in a large pan the mussels with butter, garlic, parsley salt and pepper and wine.

Light the stove up, high heat, let the mussels stew for about 15 minute.

Turn off the fire, check the mussels and discard the ones that do not open, put the good ones in a serving bowl then filter the sauce with a strain (this is because often moussels, even if cleaned, leave little pieces of dirt/shell/sand and so on) and pour over the mussels.

You can serve also in individual little bowls, in this case divide equally the sauce and add bread crouton aside and a little bunch of fresh parsley to garnish.

Bruschetta (Toasted garlic bread)

I think Bruschetta is one of the most famous Italian appetizer worldwide: it's simple, low cost, yummy, customizable.

Count about 2 slices per person, the bread must be sliced in thick pieces (approximately 3/8 inch ).

The oil is the king of the ingredients in this recipe so you absolutely need extra-virgin olive oil, a good one.

You also need salt and a garlic clove.

Preheat an oven, broiler, or toaster; grill the bread on both sides until golden brown.

Lightly rub the garlic on the surface of the bread.

Pour a thin stream of olive oil on the bread, and sprinkle with salt.

Serve hot or at least warm.

This is the basic bruschetta but surely not the only way to serve this kind of bread: on top you can add thin slices of pork lard (like Colonnata lard) and Rosemary, tomatoes chopped in tiny cubes with some basil leaves, sliced green olives, sundried tomatoes in slices, dried red pepper powder or slices and whatever else your fantasy and your taste decide.

Grilled chicken breast (Petto di pollo grigliato)

Grilled chicken breast: anything easier than this recipe?

Or more banal?

No, but you can create a tasty dish if you take care of the preparation and of the ingredients, the preparation is quick and you can surely afford and recover the things you need.

It's a light second course, ideal for the ones on a diet: low fats, digestible.

You need:

2 chicken breasts

2 tablespoons extravirgin olive oil

salt and pepper

a stick of fresh rosemary

1 garlic clove

half a lemon

Slice each chicken breasts in 3 thin slices.

Pound the slices with a meat pounder to make them thin and tender.

Cook the chicken on a simple grille or even a non-stick pan.

Do not use any fat or oil to grease the pan, just rub the garlic clove on the whole pan few times to give a light garlic smell.

Season with the extravirgin olive oil, add salt and freshly grated pepper if you like then some rosemary needles and a squeeze of lemon juice.

Serve warm with plain fresh salad or with stirfried spinach.

Canned tuna tomato sauce (Sugo al tonno)

Surfing the web I saw we are all on the same boat: financial crisis is a global matter and families with low incomes and on a budget are a lot here in Italy and abroad.

So today I want to post a cheap sauce for pasta, so cheap and easy that here is quite famous as "student dish": ingredients don't need to be refrigerated and everyone can afford them.

Ingredients:

half a bottle or a can of tomato sauce

salt

basil (even dried one)

garlic (even dried one)

1 can of tuna (with oil if you like or just steamed if you want a light dish)

chili pepper if you like

extra virgin olive oil

Put in a pan two spoons of oil, add garlic and let it fry for a while.

Add tuna, well crushed, mix then add tomato sauce.

Let it boil gently for half an hour then add salt basil and chili as much as you like.

Here you are your sauce, it's perfect with spaghetti, penne, rigatoni, farfalle.

Perch fish with lemon sauce (Pesce persico al limone)

Today I have a very quick and easy recipe, light and tasty, a great solution for dinner when you don't want to cook for hours.

Take a perch fish fillet (one per person), flour it on each side, put it in a pan where you melted a little butter with a garlic clove, let it golden then add the juice of two lemons and salt.

Let it cook for a while (perch is really quick to cook), keep off garlic and at the end add a little parsley if you like.

Here you are the dinner!

So fast and so good...Isn't it easy?

If you don't like lemon you can do the same with white wine.

Of couse you can serve it with any kind of side dish, boiled potadoes and carrots are the best according to me.

Genovese pesto (Pesto alla genovese)

As said few posts ago it's time for basil: what recipe can give all the best from this herb if not Genovese pesto?

It's worldwide famous but often the one you buy at supermarket is: expensive, made with low quality oils, low percentage of basil or dried basil, cashew nuts instead of pine-kernels.

Having a good and healthy pesto is not that difficult, so why don't you give a try?

To prepare a real pesto you should have a lot of patience and a marble mortar and pestle.
Probably you don't have it (I don't have it!) and then I'll give a quick solution at the end of the recipe, but it's an Italian kitchen blog so let's have the traditional recipe first!

Ingredients / 6 persons:

about 20 oz.. pasta ( trofie as seen in the photo are the best but you can also use linguini, spaghetti, gnocchi, penne)

a big bunch of fresh basil (tradition says 30 basil leaves each garlic clove, of course it's up to you at the end)

a glass of extravirgin olive oil

2 garlic cloves

1 spoon pine-kernels

3 spoons of grated cheese ( parmesan, grana padano or pecorino from tuscany, sicily or sardinia: your choice)

a little salt

Important things to know before starting: you should end the preparation as soon as possible to avoid oxidation and having it at enviroment temperature.

Wash basil leaves in cold water, let them dry on a kitchen napkin.

Put a garlic clove in the mortar, crush it and then add, little by little, the leaves: the movement of the pestle should be round and gentle, you haven't to crash leaves, it's the only way to let basil's essential oils spread at their best.

Add salt (big grains, just some).

When you see a green juice comes from leaves it's time to add pine-kernels: they help to mix the sauce and give a gentle flavour.

Turn pestle again and again and then you can add cheese and oil very slowly while mixing.

Now your pesto is ready to give taste to your dish, just remember to save some spoons of the cooking water when drain the pasta: they'll help amalgamating pesto sauce and pasta and have a creamy and soft Italia dish.

Ok now...What can you do if you don't have a mortar and/or no time to act like a 19th century cook?

Whas the leaves, put all the ingredients into a mixer and then mix untill you have a fine cream.

Not to much or the basil and oil become hot with the mixer's turning and it's really bad.

It's not the perfect way of which a Ligurian would be proud of , but it's good enough to invite your friend for dinner and save your wallet and your health in a tasty way!

Borlotti soup with pasta (Pasta e fagioli)

It's a winter soup, it's eaten especially in North of Italy (Veneto, Lombardia, Emilia Romagna and in Tuscany too).

For 4 persons you can use 200gr. of dried borlotti or a can of boiled beans with its water /person (and trust me, the soup with them is pheraps even tastier!).

With dried beans you have to put them in water for 12 hours, then boil them in new salty water for 1 hour and half (about) with canned one you just have to open the tin:D.
Some uses bacon in the base , I prefer ham (just a thin slice crushed tiny).

Put the ham in the pot, add 3 spoons of extra virgin olive oil a clove of garlic crushed gently with the large part of a knife and a little rosmary (on your preference).

Let it fry for a couple of minutes then add all the borlotti except an abundant fistful.

Using the immersion mixer (don't know if it's have a particular name in english, it's the mixer you can immerse in liquids hot or cold directly in the pot or in a bowl or in a tall glass) make a cream blending all the beans then add the rest of borlotti.

Cook on low fire for around 20 minutes, if you want you can add 100 gr. of short pasta (100 gr. for 4 persons, it's seems not so much but the soup is creamy and pasta tend to absorb liquids, if you add more at the end you'll have a concrete block ^^)

If soup results too solid add a glass of water.

Remember to remove the garlic clove:P

Serve hot with grated parmesan and a little olive oil, if you don't add pasta you can toast a slice of bread, pass over it fresh garlic (just a caress^^) and olive oil and serve this plain bruschetta with the soup.