Cherry Clafoutis!!!!

For the Italian recipe click here!!!
And today a nice dessert to celebrate my italian blog 2nd birthday!!!
I found this recipe, the original from the Limousin region in France, in Eleonora’s blog "Burro e Miele". It is so easy to make and so delicious!! A perfect summer pudding!!!
I’ll have to try it with apricot and strawberries, I’m sure is good with all types of fruit!!


INGREDIENTS:
200 ml of milk
100 gr. of sugar
3 eggs
120 gr. of flour
30 gr. of melted butter (optional, I didn’t use it)
500 gr. of cherries (I used pitted cherries)
icing sugar to dust


Preheat the oven to 220ºC .
With a hand blender mix the eggs with sugar and beat until smooth.
Add the flour and once again beat until smooth. If you want add the melted butter and the cold milk little by little. Arrange ht cherries into a lightly buttered baking dish, pour the batter over and bake for about 30 minutes, until golden and set. Let it cool down a bit, dust with icing sugar and serve warm or cold!!!

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Focaccia genovese!!!!

For the Italian version click here!!!!

Hello everyone!!!! No bad at at all...2 recipes in 2 two days in this blog....I’m getting better eh? You can see that I’m in Japan and I have no much to do!!
But let me tell you you have to try this focaccia, for sure is the best focaccia genovese (from Genoa town) I ever made!!! I got this recipe from Vittorio’s blog “Viva la Focaccia” and with his recipe I’m also participating to his contest..so if you fancy you can also vote for my focaccia here!!! Thank you!!!!
Anyway...I do really hope you will understand the recipe...is not really easy to translate it, but I’ll suggest you to watch Vittorio’s video here. It really helps!!


INGREDIENTS:
200 gr. of water
20 gr. of extra virgin olive oil
7 gr. salt
3 gr. Barley malt (1 tsp)
320 gr. of strong flour
17 gr. fresh yeast (or 6 gr. dried yeast)


At first mix the water, salt,malt and olive oil, then add half of the flour (160 gr) mix well until all the flour is absorbed, the result will be a quite sticky and liquid dough. Dissolve the yeast in a bit of warm water (30ºc).
Knead the dough adding the yeast and the rest of the flour until you get a smooth and soft dough.
Cover and let it rest for 10 to 15 mins.
Flatten the dough with your hands and fold the edges into the centre.
Put some olive oil in the middle of a baking tray ( 40cm x 25 cm), place the dough and brush it with a bit of olive oil. Let it rest for 40-60 minutes until double on size.
Gently stretch the dough with your fingers until it covers the baking tray.
Sprinkle the focaccia surface with salt and let it rest for a further 30 mins.
Drizzle the focaccia with some water and olive oil and with the fingertips press and dimple the dough, the water and the oil will pull into the dimples. Let it rest for the last time for about 60-75 mins, in winter even 2 hours or more.
Bake in a warm oven at 220º- 240º C for 15 to 20 minutes.
When ready slide it into a rack, brush on some olive oil and let it cool down a bit!!!
BUON APPETITO!!!! 

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Linguine with asparagus cream and bottarga!!!!

For the Italian version click here!!!!

Here I am with the translation of this recipe ....I was really excited to post this recipe in my italian blog....but I didn't prepare this version!!!! I know I'm not really good on planning things to do...
Are you wondering what is bottarga? Is the Sardinian caviar!!! Bottarga is the egg sack of the grey mullet fish. The roe is prepared by salting, pressing and drying for up to 6 months in cool well aired rooms. There are two types, Bottarga di Tonno (Tuna) and the more prized Bottarga di Muggine (Grey Mullet).
Recently I started a new collaboration/sponsorship with Stefano Rocca and I used the great bottarga di muggine that he sent me (see pictures).




INGREDIENTS for 2:

130 gr. of linguine

250 gr. of asparagus

250 ml double cream

2 garlic cloves
4 tsp of grated bottarga

a few thin slices of a whole bottarga

salt




To prepare the asparagus, cut off and discard the woody ends, then neatly cut the tips away from the stalks. Keep the tips and stalks separate. In a small saucepan heat up the cream and garlic, you don’t need to bring to the boil. Take off the heat, remove the garlic, then set the pan aside. Cook the asparagus stalks in boiling salted water about 4/5 mins until tender, drain them place them into the cream. Blend with a food processor or hand blender until smooth. Add the 4 tsp of grates bottarga and mix well with a spoon.
Cook the pasta and 2 minutes before the end of cooking time throw in the asparagus tips. Drain the pasta and place it in a pan with the cream, toss in a low heat.
Dish up the pasta and decorate with more grated and sliced bottarga!!!

Bottarga

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

rye bread!!!!

For the Italian version click here!!!!

Morning everyone....here we are again in the weekend... nothing planed really for today....but tomorrow first thing in the morning I'll go to vote against the nuclear base in Italy. Tomorrow and monday we can vote in a referendum, like in the 1988 when all the nuclear plants in Italy were closed. Do we really need nuclear plants? There must be a reason if even Germany decided to close all the plants in the next few years...no??? What do you think???
I know it's not an easy subject to talk about....so it's probably better if i stick to my new recipe....
Rye bread!!!! It was the first time for me to bake a rye bread and even to eat it actually....How did I came up with this recipe?
A few weeks ago, as I mentioned in one of my recent post, I started to collaborate with "Molino Chiavazza" and I received quite a few packets of flour. There was also a rye bread flour mixture and here I am with this delicious bread..


INGREDIENTS:
300 gr. of rye flour mixture
200 gr. of water
10 gr. fresh yeast
1 tsp of barley malt
1tsp of salt


In a bowl mix well all the ingredients adding the salt at the end. Knead on a slightly floured surface until you'll get an elastic and smooth dough. Place the dough in a slightly oiled bowl, cover with cling film and let it rest for about two hours, or until doubled in size. Shape the bread and with a sharp knife make a few deep slashes on top of the loaf. Let it rest another hour and bake the bred in a warm oven at 200º for approximately 40 minutes!!!

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Fregola with clams!!!

For the Italian version click here!!!!

Ohhhhhhhh I'm running a day behind.... I should write first my recipes in Italian and English, and then post them...

Today I'm posting another recipe from Sardinia, I haven't been home for a while now and I'm really missing my food..... Fregola is a typical sardinian pasta made with durum flour (semolina) and water. It's made in a traditional plate rolling the semolina and water with the fingertips until small balls are formed. They need to dry in a cloth for 24 hours and then toasted in the oven. They are similar to cous cous. Fregola is delicious in soups, cooked like risotto....basically you can cooked as you like it!!!

My version today is very traditional and you can find it almost in every restaurant in Sardinia and on wedding buffet!!

INGREDIENTS:

200 gr. of fregola

200 gr. chopped tomatoes

1 kg of clams

about 600 ml of fish stock (but you may need more)

olive oil

parsley

garlic

chili pepper

In a saucepan heat the oil with the garlic and parsley then add the chopped tomatoes and chili. Simmer for 10 minutes. In a large pan cook the "fregola" in boiling fish stock (broth) for 6/8 mins. Cook the clams with a drop of olive oil until they open add them with their filtered water to the tomato sauce, cook for a minute or two and then mix everything with the "fregola". Serve hot!!!

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Culurgiones !!!( typical Sardinian ravioli with a potato filling)

For the Italian version click here!!!

Hello everyone!!!!! Today here I’m again with the first recipe of the month....wow we are already in june.. the time is passing by so quickly, and finally summer has already started!!!

Today’s recipe is yet another traditional one from my lovely region in Italy..Sardinia!!!!

They are ravioli with a potato,pecorino cheese and mint filling and they are strictly hand made! My mum used to make them but I never learnt how to close them, I always thought they were to difficult to make. But just a few days ago I watched a video on internet and I tried them for the first time! I’m so happy with the result, my mum saw the pictures on facebook and yesterday she phoned me because se was so happy and she told me even hers,after years of experience,are not so perfect...she said they are absolutely beautiful!!!

Ok I think she really exaggerated, they are nice yes but I don’t think that perfect yet (they will be!!!), but I really appreciate my mums opinion, she would have never said that to me if she didn’t really believe it.

With this recipe I’m also participating to a contest on regional fresh pasta organized by the Chiavazza brothers. To make these ravioli I used their flour, I got recently some of their products to try and I have to say is one of the best flour I ever used!

INGREDIENTS for 30 ravioli:

For the dough:

50 gr. of semolina flour

150 gr. plain flour

1tsp of salt

water as you need (I used about 100gr.)

For the filling:

2 medium potatoes

200 gr of grates pecorino cheese

fresh mint

2 garlic cloves

2 tbs extra virgin olive oil

For the pasta dough simply mix the salt into the water and add it to the flour. Knead well until you have a soft and smooth dough. Cover with a towel or cling film and let it rest for at least 30 mins.

Boil the potatoes in salty water, peel and mash them. In a small pan heat the olive oil with the garlic cloves and let it cool down.

Add to the mashed potatoes the grated pecorino cheese, chopped mint (to taste) and the olive oil. Mix well all the ingredients with your hands, add salt if needed. Leave the filling to rest for about an hour.

Roll the dough flat and cut disks about 7 cm in diameter. Put the filling in the centre and fold it closing the disk edge pinching with the fingers. Is not really easy to explain but I hope my video, at the bottom of the page, will help you to understand better.

Boil them in salty water for a few minutes until tender.

Traditionally in Sardinia we enjoyed them with a fresh tomato and basil sauce and grated pecorino cheese.