Pasta alla Amatriciana

Certain days I would kill for a good Amatriciana from Da Enzo (in the heart of Trastevere), but because of the distance, we’ll have to put hands on the real recipe.

The Panellets

It seems the worls is being conquered these days of the autumn by pumpkins dressed like skulls and the american tradition of Halloween. To be sincere I have always been a bit jealous of the american kids in the movies, going out with their friends to get high with their most appreciated drug (SUGAR!!) and for free! How in hell we dont want that tradition to be spread? Its amazing!

Salmon Rolls

This is one of the simplest appetizers that always work in any party. It works for vegetarians and for those who want to be impressed. The combination of flavours is really good, and it can be served as finger food. Bring a touch of distinction to your tapas with this dish.

Parmiggiana Estiva

Inspired in the genious recipe of the Sora Margheritta, today we show you the evolution of this italian classic in its summer version. The Parmiggiana is a kind of lasagna, made of eggplant (fried or roasted), tomato sauce, parmesan cheese (from what it gets the name), breadcrumbs and some mozarella to decorate.
This is a more refreshing version of the italian classic.

Risotto al Nero di Seppia

As you might have noticed, I love cooking risottos. It is one of my favourite dishes. Its versatility allows my imagination to fly. So far we have seen the basic and some improved versions. This one is one of my fishy favourites! It specially reminds me of summer. Fits perfectly with a fresh bottle of white wine and a few good friends.

Flawless Hake

One of the biggest problems when cooking fish is the risk of come out fry and flavourless, but there is no risk at all with this recipe of any of that happening. The fish is cooked in the oven and it is covered with a wet cream that avoids it to dry. Therefore, you do not have to be paranoid about cooking temperatures nor times, as this technique gives you flexibility when cooking it.

The Best Roasted Chicken

There are certain recipes of which I am pretty sure of myself, and this is one of them. Other than good ingredients, there is a trick for this recipe to make it amazing!
It is a very recurrent dish, that personally reminds me of my childhood weekends. My mom used to cook it for lunch of saturdays, and we ate it all together before heading to the beach or to the country side. In my childhood memories, it comes with the most amazing french fries, but I keep them for another post. A bit of strategic posting.

Caramellized Onions Pizza

Pizza is one of my favourite dishes. It is succulent and at the same time easy to cook and eat. It is a classic that everyone loves. However, during my period in Italy, I realized that it is really hard to surprise italians cooking this dish. They always affirm that it is impossible to cook good pizza without a firewood oven, and I quite agree on that.

However, the right combination of flavours can substitute the absence of a good oven. The one I am presenting today was a nice surprise for my friends.
In this post I will not cover how the pizza dough is made, but I will soon.
On the other hand, I will explain how to cook caramellized onions.

[iLike] Fave e Pecorino

Pear and Gorgonzola Risotto

Risottos are very good option when having a special dinner or lunch. It is very versatile and it always gives us the chance to surprise someone if it is well done. A strange combination of flavours is always attracting to people, and this time, it isually is a success. It is a very soft and delicate flavour. Moreover with this recipe, you can understand a bit better the dynamics of the risottos, over than the basic one we saw.

[ginTonics] Gingi's Ginger Tonic

My friend Gingi delighted us with this amazing gintonic. Its main peculiarity is the delicate spicy, exotic and intense flavour obtained from the ginger root. To prepare this gintonic, peel a piece of ginger root, and grate it, allowing the juice and the grated root to go into the serving glass. Add one part of gin (this time we used Bombay Saphire) and two parts of tonic water with some ice.

Bon Profit!

Parmesan Bread

Ever since I arrived to Italy, one of my favourites is focaccia. It basically is a grown pizza, but with more olive oil, rosemary and coarse grained salt. These flavours perfectly match in such a spongy douch with a bit of a cracky cover. It has been weeks that I have been trying to reproduce it unsuccesfully.
However, this curiosity has taken me to do some research on bread in general. The other day I tried nut bread and it was not very good either. Nonetheless, the recipe of today was one of the best surprises I have had ever since I started cooking.


It is very simple recipe if you have a kitchen robot, and quite simple if you dont. The only thing is that it takes a long prep time, as the dough has to rest for at least two hours. The results is great and visually appealing.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast


• 1 teaspoon of honey or sugar (i used honey)


• 2/3 cup warm milk


• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour plus 2 Tbsp for sprinkling


• 1/4 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese


• 1 teaspoon salt


• 3 large eggs


• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter


• 1 tablespoon water

1. Mix together yeast, honey, and 1/3 cup warm milk in a bowl and wait 5 min until foamy.(If mixture doesn't foam, start over with new yeast.)


2. Add to the mixture the flour, cheese, and salt, and the remaining 1/3 cup warm milk.


3. Beat in 2 eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. This is where the kitchen robot would be handy.


4. Introduce the butter, and work the dough.


5. Make a ball in the center of the bowl and sprinkle with flour.


6. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let dough rise until doubled (2 hours).


7. Punch down dough (do not knead) and turn out onto a floured surface. Cut dough into 12 equal pieces of size of pool balls.


8. Arrange rolls 2 cms away one from each other in a buttered cake pan and cover with a kitchen towel. Let dough rise for 1 hour and a half.


9. The balls are risen and touching each other. Brush a whisked egg on top of the dough.


10. Cook it for 20-25 minutes at 180ºC

[caption id="attachment_279" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Pan de Parmesano con Seta"][/caption]

Bon profit!

Ricotta and Shrimp Spaghetti

This dish would never apper in an classical italian cookbook. Probably it is one of the dishes that when you explain it to an italian, he would look weird at you, although the key moment is when you make him try without telling him what it is. The usual reaction would be saying that is ok, but that his mother could make it better. Imagine my surprise when a good italian friend of mine asked me the recipe for his mother to cook it! So, here it is the recipe that surprised an italian.

Ingredients:

• Half clove of garlic


• 1 shallot pool-ball sized.


• (if you do not find a shallot) 1 quarter of white onion.


• Half red pepper (same amount of onion)


• 3 sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil.


• 200gr of peeled shrimp (these can be substituted by any other more expensive see food, depends on your budget)


• 150gr of ricotta cheese.


• 100ml of cream.


• A bit of parsley


• 250gr of (black) spaghetti al nero di seppia.

Elaboration:

You are going to need two stoves for this dish. In one of them, at max heat, place one pot with 2 liters of water to cook the pasta.

Meanwhile, start chopping thinly the garlid, and in small cubes the onion and the pepper.
In one pan at medium-high heat, put one tablespoon of olive oil and another of the oil where the sundried tomatoes are kept, and cook the onion, peper and garlic.
Once the onions are golden, add half of the shrimp. Once the shripms are cooked, add the cream.

Meanwhile, the water should be boiling by now. At this moment is when you add the salt, moreless two teaspoons of salt for each 100grams of pasta and liter of water (therefore, for this recipe, 4 ts of salt). Then, follow the pasta box instructions and your own taste to cook it. I like it "al dente", so, I cook it two or three minutes less than what it is written in the box. Add the pasta to the water and drain it when cooked.

The other ingredients should be ready for the blender. Put the mix in a blender and add the parsley and the ricotta cheese. Meanwhile, sautee the rest of shrimps if tha same pan with a bit of white wine and black pepper. Put the sauce back in the pan with the shrimp. In case it is too dense, add some of the water used for cooking the pasta to lighten it.

Put the spaghettis on the dish and then put the sauce on top.

Bon profit!

Carbonara yummy yummy

The first steps for any cook has to be pasta, and there is no better dish to satisfy everybody’s expectations than the carbonara. I have had the chance to see several ways of cooking this Italian classic, but it wasn’t until I arrived to Roma where some friends showed me how this dish was properly done. I take the opportunity also to say something obvious, and Italians do know how to cook pasta, and they do it well, although I have observed that they are very strict with some artistical variations on their dishes, translating into an offense any possible change in the recipe. I hope they know how to forgive me for this. In Spain, we usually cook it with cream. This variant frightens to the death Italians, but in my opinion, it gives a creamy texture that it is not obtained only with the egg.

INGREDIENTS:

• Half finely chopped onion.


• 4 spoonfuls of cream.


• 200gr of bacon.


• 200gr of FRESH GRATED parmesan. It is very important to be fresh grated cheese. This way the cheese is not dry and flavourless.


• 2 egg yolks.


• Nutmeg


• 250gr of Tortiglioni.

PREPARATION:

In a big pot we cook the pasta following the instructions on the package. In a pan, with a spoonful of olive oil, we cook the onions at medium heat. We’ll try not to add any salt, as the bacon and the parmesan are already quite salty. Once the onions have a nice golden colour, we add the bacon and we let it cook for 3 minutes. We do not want the bacon to be crispy, but better if it is tender.

This step is the one that frightens the hell out of any Italian, so, if you want to follow their tradition, skip it. Add some cream and nutmeg with the onions and bacon and let it cook for a while.

Once the pasta is ready, we strain it and we add the sauce. While the pasta is still hot, we mix the egg yolks and a handful of grated parmesan. We mix everything so the pasta gets covered with the sauce and the yolks break and cook with the heat of the pasta.

A nice trick for presenting the dish is to cut some parmesan leafs with the potato peeler, so it looks like parmesan chips.

BON PROFIT!

Smoked flavoured Quiche

For a while now I have had a french flatmate. Her speciality are quiches. She really nails them, and I have been wanting to include this recipe here. It is really simple and eye-catching. You can prepare it beforehand and it is a perfect dish to bring to a dinner potluck. The traditional recipe is Quiche Lorraine, which is made with bacon and emmental. However, I add my personal favourite here, made of smoked salmon and scamorza.

INGREDIENTS:

200gr of Smoked Salmon.
250gr of boiled and strained spinach.
150gr of smoked scamorza. (if you dont find it, you can substitute it with any fat smoked cheese similar to emmental, or emmental itself loosing the smoked flavor then)
3 eggs
200ml of cooking cream.
Puff pastry base.

PREPARATION:

If you have already bioled the spinach and strained them, the rest of the recipe is very easy. Beat the eggs together with the cream. DONT add any salt as the salmon gets salty when cooked. Chop all the ingredients nice and thin. Save 20% of the cheese. Add the chopped ingredients in the eggs mix. Add some fennel and pepper. Place the puff pastry in a baking pan and add the mix. Put the rest of the cheese on top.
Bake for at least one hour (until a knife comes out clean from the quiche, otherwise cook it for 30min extra) at 180ºC.
I prefer eating this dish at room temperature, so, let it cold for a while before eating it.
Bon profit!

Olé Parmigian Chicken

After some of you have asked me, I have decided to include a very easy and fancy recipe. The procedure is very simple and helps you transform a sad chicken breast in a more ellaborate and exquisite dish. Again, I learn this recipe from Jamie Oliver.

INGREDIENTS:

A fillet from a chicken breast.
1 Slice of Cured Ham or Prosciutto.
A handful of freshly grated parmesan cheese.
A bit of rosemary and thyme.

ELABORATION:

Extend the chicken. Sprinkle the rosemary and the thyme on both sides. This recipe doesnt need any salt at all, as the parmesan and the prosciutto are too salty. Put some cheese on top of the chicken and then cover with the prosciutto. To make your life easier, put this structure inside a zipbag and hit it a couple of times and put some weight on it so everything becomes compact. On a non-stickable pan, put a spoon of olive oil on medium-high heat. Place the chicken on the side of the prosciutto andwait a few minutes. After that, flip it and let it cook a while more. You can serve it with a few drops of lemon juice.

Bon Profit!

Best Risotto in the World

Even though it sounds a bit pretentious, I am almost certain that this is the best risotto recipe you can find on the world (let me know if I'm wrong). I have to confess that I have not obtained this recipe by word of mouth or altering any other internet recipe, but, I have obtained from a chef that I admire: Jamie Oliver. Eventhough he is not the cleanest cook in the world, he is a very talented chef, full of orinigal ideas and an entertaining showman.

Risotto is the classiest italian way to cook rice. Risottos are cooked slowly and with broths, finishing the preparation with some type of cheese, obtaning a very creamy rice.
Risottos are called after the ingredients they contain, being the most gamous ones those made out of Funghi (mushrooms), 4 cheeses or vegetables. But, them all are constrcuted from the same initial recipe called Risotto Bianco (White Rice).

INGREDIENTS (for 4 people):

• 1 big thinly chopped onion.


• 4 expresso cups full of arborio rice. (The rule specifies one cup per person and an extra bit. Moreover, the type of rice used in Italy is arborio rice, although Bomba rice is also good)


• 1.5 Liters of Chicken Broth.


• 8 spoonfuls of parmigian cheese, and an extra bit for decoration.


• A glass full of martini bianco.

PREPARATION:

On the one hand we need to heat the broth, before reaching the boiling point, so that when incorporated into the rice, its cooking process is not broken. All the foam that might come out from the heating should be thrown away.

In a big pan (where the whole recipe is developed) we start cooking the onions with a couple of spoonful of olive oil, with a pinch of salt. Once the onion is done, the heat has to be risen to medium high and wait until the rice is transparent. Once is done, we higher the heat to high and then introduce the martini bianco. This has been the point where Jamie shared his amazing secret. We wait until the alcohol is gone and then we lower the heat to med-high and incorporate a bit of broth. (The broth should cover the rice) We will incorporate the broth slowly. Add salt and pepper. This process should be like 15min. Once the broth is gone, we add two "nuts" of butter and the cheese. We mix it really well until it is uniformily soft. Serve in the dish and then decorate with oregan leaves and a bit more of parmigan.

Bon profit!

Tarifa Style Tuna

Tarifa is a small town in the southest point of Europe where I usually go in summer. It is an amazing town and the catch very good tuna from there, so, I dedicate this dish to that town.

Ingredients:

2 Limes
200gr of Fresh Tuna
A handful of fresh coriander.
2 spoonfuls of soy sauce.
1 red hot chili pepper.
Black pepper.
(For presentation) a couple of endives.

Recipe:

We are going to use the limes twice. On the one hand the juice, and on the other hand, the grated skin. Push the limes against a strong surface so they tender and it is easier to get the juice from them. After this, clean them really well with water. Grate the skin of the limes trying not to get any white internal parts. Once the limes are naked (with no skin) cut them up and make the juice. Combine the juice with the grated skin and add the soy sauce, a bit of black pepper, and the coriander (previously washed and thinly cutted).
In parallel, dice the fresh raw tuna smaller than olives. Now you have the cutted raw tuna and the dressing. This dressing is really acid, and this acid is going to cook the tuna. At this point is when you need some experience and personal taste. The longer the tuna is in the dressing, the more it will cook. Personally, I love tuna quite raw, so, I mix it 3-4 minutes before serving. To mix it properly, put everything together in a zip-lock bag, and shake it.

Finally, clean some envide leaves and put un each leave a spoon of the dressed tuna. Cut thinly some red hot chili pepper and put it on top of it.

Bon profit

Spinach Gnocchis (aka Malfatti)

• This recipe is one of my signature dishes. I discover it in the italian city of Brescia, and in an osteria whose name I cannot remember. In this osteria, the dish of the day were these amazing Malfatti ("badly-done" in english). These are a bit messy to elaborate, but totally worthed!

Ingredients:

• 1 kg of spinach.


• 350gr of ricotta cheese.


• 2 egg yolks


• 100gr parmigian cheese


• Salt, pepper and oregan


• Flour.


• Bread Crumbs.


• 100 gr of butter and olive oil

Elaboration:

Boil the spinach (if frozen as specified in the package, otherwise with very few water). Once they are boiled, dry them out really well and chop them finely.
Mix the spinach in a bowl with the ricotta cheese, the egg yolks, 2 tablespoons of breadcrumbs, half of the parmigian cheese, salt and pepper. Mix it really well. Prepare balls a little bit bigger than a chupachups and cover them in flour.
Prepare a pot with around 3 liters of water to boil the gnocchis with some salt. Once the water is boiling add the gnocchis and wait till they float, which will mean they are cooked. Take them out. Meanwhile, melt the butter and mix it with 3 ts of olive oil and oregan.

Serve the gnocchis on a dish and cover them with the butter and oregan sauce, and finish it with some oregan.

Bon profit!