Penne with a sea cicada sauce!!!!

Happy Easter monday everyone!!!!! I hope you had a good day with your families. Unfortunately I had to work and I landed in Tokyo yesterday afternoon....But I had a very good flight so can't really complain...even if sometimes it is really sad no to be able to be with your family (and partner)for this occasions.....

Today's recipe is again an Italian dish...sorry guys but I can't live without my pasta and pizza...even though I'm on a diet and I'm trying not to eat to much carbs.

In Fiumicino, where I live, 2/3 times a week the fishing vessels return to their base and the fishermen sell the super fresh fish at a very good price.

Thats how I got this slipper lobsters, or how we call in Italian cicale di mare ( sea cicada)...when we bought them they were still alive....

That day we roasted some of them in the oven, they very nice but definitely not the best way to cook them, while the day after I made this very delicious pasta sauce.

INGREDIENTS (for 2 people):

10 sea cicadas

garlic

parsley

extra virgin olive oil

a can of chopped tomatoes

Clean the sea cicadas, leaving a couple for decoration, try to remove all the pulp. Make a cut on the back of those left whole. With all the sea cicadas shells and heads make a stock.

Sauté garlic and a bit of parsley with olive oil and the pulp of the cicadas. Add the stock, some more fish stock cook for 2 mins and then add the chopped tomatoes and the whole cicadas. Cook over low heat for about twenty minutes. Season the pasta and garnish with fresh parsley!

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Pizza, Gabriele Bonci recipe!!!!

Gabriele Bonci is one of the most famous Italian bakers from Rome, is the owner of a very famous pizzeria in Rome city centre called Pizzarium!

I love this guy, every thursday is a guest of my favourite italian cooking program “la prova del cuoco” the italian version of ready steady cook! Listening to him while he talks about bread, pizza, how to knead is just amazing and definitely contagious. I wanted to try this recipe for a very long time but I never got the chance before and though it was quite difficult but I was wrong...a beautiful pizza very easy to make! You need to try this!!!

INGREDIENTS:

350 gr. of strong flour (Bonci recommends to use organic and stone-grounded flour)

245 gr. of water

2 tbs of extra virgin olive oil

10gr. of salt

some semolina flour

5gr. of fresh yeast

In a large bowl with a fork mix the flour, yeast and water. When it's almost mixed add the oil and the salt. Mix well until the lumps are gone.The dough will be very sticky and quite fluid.

Let it rest for 10 minutes. Put the dough in a well floured (with semolina flour) surface and knead it gently folding the dough like an envelope and turn the dough by 90º, fold and turn the dough for a few times. You will see the dough getting smooth and less sticky!

Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with cling film and let it rest in the lower part of the fridge for 24 hours.

Take out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature, pre-heat the oven at the maximum temperature.

Drop the dough in the well floured worktop, and with the finger tips stretch the dough. Then with your arms put it on a oiled baking tray!

To help you watch this video, is in Italian but you can see clearly how to fold the dough and how to move it to the baking sheet.

My favourite is pizza margherita but you can use the topping you prefer.

Place first the tray at the bottom of the oven and then move it at the top of the oven. It will take approximately 15 to 20 mins to cook.

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Agnello brodettato!!!! (lamb)

For the Italian version click here!!!

When I posted this recipe on my Italian blog last week I was so happy due to the nice weather.....Is Rome is not to hot, in norther Italy last week they reached 30º, thats to much for the beginning of april. But in Fiumicino its just perfect...Thats one of the reasons I decided to go back to Italy...The life style in summer time is so different!!!

But anyway...lets talk about food again...I got this recipe from the same Italian magazine I told you about on my last post.... There are quite a few very interesting ones...and this is one of the most delicious meals i made in a long time..and for sure it will be on my menu next time I’ll have guests for dinner.

The original recipe is with kid, is it correct?...to be honest I never heard this name before and I just checked on the online dictionary, it should be the young goat, is that right? please let me know if I’m wrong...but I could not find this meat so I used lamb instead.

INGREDIENTS:

1 kg of lamb diced lamb ( I used ribs)

1 gold onion

40 gr. of parma ham

1 small potato

1 glass of white wine

2dl of vegetable stock

1 hard- boiled egg yoke

marjoram

parsley

4 tbs of extra virgin olive oil

salt

Chop the onion and the parma ham finely.

Heat up the olive oil in a large casserole and cook the pieces of lamb until they are evenly browned. Add the chopped onion and ham and gently cook for a minute, pour the white wine and let it evaporate, season with salt and add the hot vegetable stock and potato peeled and sliced, cover and cook gently the lamb for about 45 minutes. Remove the lamb to a plate using a slotted spoon.

With a mixer blend the cooked sauce,the boiled egg yoke,marjoram and parsley. Pour the sauce over the meat and serve very hot!!!

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Snails shaped rolls with parmesan cheese!!!!

For the Italian version click here!!!!

Every time I'm on my way to work from Rome, or coming back home from London I have to stop at the airport newsagent to buy my favorite cooking magazines. I love to relax on the flight( only when I'm a passenger ;-) !!! ) reading this magazines and on my way to London I'm always thinking what to cook when I'll be back home! I know I know I'm nuts!!!

Last week I bought one of the best italian cooking magazines " Sale e Pepe" and I found this very interesting recipe... You Know already that I love making bread, and every time I see a new bread recipe I can't resist, I have to try it....

I really like this rolls...to me they look very pretty....what do you think?

INGREDIENTS:

500 gr. of flour type 0

17 gr. of fresh yeast

80 gr of grated parmesan cheese ( to my taste it's too much next time I will try with 50 gr.)

1 tbsp of sugar ( I used barley malt instead)

2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil

10 gr. of salt

lukewarm water

Sift the flour...Put 100 g of flour in a bowl add the yeast crumbled, barley malt or sugar and 100ml of lukewarm water. Mix well and let it rest for 30 minutes. Place the rest of the flour on the worktop, make a well and in the centre put the fermented mixture, 10g of salt,parmesan cheese,2 tbs of olive oil,150 ml of water and knead for about 10 minutes.

Place the dough in a bowl lightly oiled and let it rise for at least 1 hour and 30 mins.

Divide the dough in 12 small balls(about 40g each), make 1cm thick ropes and roll them into snails shape, single snails or double.

In the single snail make some small cuts with scissors to decorate the bread.

Place them in a baking tray covered with parchment, cover the rolls and let them rest about 40 minutes. Bake the rolls in a warm oven at 220º for about 20 mins.

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