Taste of Italy: Grissini

         This recipe is from Hamelman's book - Bread, a baker's book of techniques and recipes, and it's one of the easiest I have found in this book. I just wanted to try something easy, with commercial yeast, before starting my sourdough adventure. (I am secretly planning to bake a ciabatta, only that so far I am too scared of all the kneading and stretching and folding techniques...)
       Until then, let me introduce you this week's stars: italian grissini - rich and crispy bread sticks with fragrant olive oil, made plain or rolled in fine semolina for a plus of texture. This recipe is taking me back in Italy, with sunny gardens, dear friens, long stories and frizzante wine :). These bread sticks (grissini) are very popular in Italy and chances are, if you go out for lunch, that you will get some grissini on the house, as an snack, until you decide what you will have for lunch. I love dipping them into extravirgin olive oil - it gives them an even richer taste.
        Great for parties, ideal as apetizers or snacks, these crispy bread sticks will become soon your favourites, i'm sure! :)

      

Ingredients (for 20-25 de grissini):

500 grams bread flour

260 grams water

60 grams extravirgin olive oil

50 grams unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

10 grams salt

5 grams instant dry yeast

optional: 2-3 tablespoons of fine semolina

Method:

1. Sieve the flour in a large bowl, add the salt, butter, olive oil, water and yeast and knead by hand for 10 minutes (or if you have a standing mixer, mix on first speed for 3 minutes, then at the second speed for another 4-5 minutes).

2. Cover the mixing bowl with a cloth, and let it rest in a warm place for one hour. At this time, you can turn on the oven, and preheat it at 190 degrees Celsius. 

3. When the dough has doubled its size, move it to a lightly floured surface and cut it into small portions of 30-35 grams each. Cover with plastic foil and leave it to rest for 10-15 minutes. 

4. Roll or strech each piece, trying to keep an even dimension along the length, to aprox 20 cm. Before transfering to baking sheets, roll the individual bread sticks into fine semolina - this adds a plus of texture to the grissini. 

5. Bake at 190 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes or until golden brown. 

6. Leave the bread sticks to cool comletely before serving. I can say that they are even crispier the next day. Sore them into an airtight container for up to 5 days.

To serve, dip the grissini in good quality extravirgin olive oil.

Enjoy!

Taste of Italy: courgette risotto - and two tales of passion

        With the weather report which seems to have lost the trace of sun and is invariably stucked on: rain, rainy, showers, heavy showers and so on, one can only say: thank God for comfort food! We all need it these days!

        The way I see it, the perfect comfort food must be easy: easy to make, easy to eat, easy to digest; it must be tasty and it must be sentimental. Looking from this perspective, Italian food ticks all the boxes for me: easy recipes, rich taste and a lot of passion. Passion for simple ingredients, passion for cooking and passion for eating - this is what Italian food is for me. Italians may be simple people, but they definetly know their food: they respect their produce and always know how to transform them into tasty dishes which are going straight to your heart!

         And speaking about passion, let me introduce you to one more tale of passion: Le Creuset. The story begins a long time ago, back in 1925 - somewhere in the North of France - where two Belgian industrialists (Armand Desaegher and Octave Aubecq)  introduced the signature Le Creuset round cocotte dish. They were so passionate about their business, that even if they had to close during the World War 2, they still found the power to come back and to continue their innovative work, creating a wide range of caseroles, dishes, pans, pots and grillers. Up to our modern days, the cocotte remains the most popular cookware piece, and there's a word that says that every Chef must have at least one Le Creuset dish in his kitchen. Read more about the Le Creuset story here. 

         My first Le Creuset dish is a 26 cm cast iron shallow casserole, and I love it! First recipe tried: courgette risotto - one of my favourite - and let me tell you a little secret: it has never tasted as good as cooked in my new Le Creuset!

Courgette risotto recipe (serves 2)

Ingredients:

- 160 grams Arborio rice

- 2 tablespoons olive oil

- one medium onion, finely chopped

- 50 ml white wine

- 500 ml vegetable stock

- 20 grams Parmigiano Reggiano, grated

- 25 grams unsalted butter

- 2 courgettes

- one table spoon of olive oil

- juice from half of a lemon

- salt and black pepper

- 2-3 teaspoons of Parmigiano Reggiano for serving

Method:

1. Heat the olive oil into the casserole on medium heat, add the finely chopped onion and sweat it, stirring ocasionally with a woode spoon until it becomes transparent. Add the rice and continue stirring for 2-3 minutes. Then add the wine and leave it on medium heath for another 2-3 minutes, until all the alcohol evaporates completely.

2. Gradually add the vegetable stock, half a ladle at a time, stirring continually with a wooden spoon until the rice incorporates all the liquid. Add as much stock as it is necessary, and taste the rice from time to time, taking care that the rice remains "al dente". Continue to cook for about 15 minutes. 

3. In the meantime, cut the courgettes into small cubes, add the lemon juice, some salt and pepper and gently fry them into olive oil, in a non-stick pan, for about 5-7 minutes.

4. When the risotto is done, take it off the heat, add the butter and the grated Parmigiano and continue stirring until it becomes creamy. 

5. Add the courgettes and mix toghether with the risotto, then cover the casserole with a lid and leave it to rest for about 2 minutes.

Serve hot, with some freshly ground black pepper and some more grated Parmigiano Reggiano.

Notes:

        For an excellent result, always use special risotto rice. My favourite is Arborio rice, but you can also try Carnaroli or Vialone Nano.

         The wine: if it's not good enoug to drink it, than it's not good enough to cook with it! Always use good quality dry white wine.

          The stock: use home made vegetable stock or alternatively, you can use cubes. Keep your stock hot on the hob, never add cold stock in the risotto as it will lose its creamy consistency.

         For an authentic Italian experience, use freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano and try to avoid the ready-grated parmesan mixtures sold in the supermarkets - you will taste the difference.

Final note:

Although I started this blog more than 6 months ago, I still find it a bit difficult writing in English, so please feel free to let me know if you spot any mistakes, and I will correct them immediatly. Thank you!

Enjoy!

Spinach, red onions and eggs tart

           Whether you needed one more reason to quit eating meat and start trying a vegetarian diet, this tart will definetly catch your attention! It is full of taste and vitamins and it is so easy to make!

          The ideea of making this tart came from back when me and my brother were little kids and my mother used to cook for us a simply delicious spinach cream with wilted onions, some flour, milk and crushed garlic. We used to eat it with one or two fried eggs, secretly hoping that one day we will have Popeye's  muscles :)

         Now that I grew up, I must confess that I dont't really have Popeye's muscles, not even close, but still I enjoy eating spinach and I cook it any time I have the chance to. This time I wanted to cook something special, so I took my mother's classic and gave it a kind of a modern look.

For a tart form wit a 26 cm in diameter, I used the following

ingredients:

for the pastry:

220 grams plain flour

110 grams unsalted butter

two tablespoons of ice-cold water

a pinc of salt

for the filling:

70 grams unsalted butter

one red onion

3 cloves of garlic

half of kilo of fresh spinach

one tablespoon of plain flour

400 ml milk

salt and pepper

two free range eggs

Observations:

- I used only half of kilo of spinach, as that is all I had, but if you want a richer filling, I suggest you to use one kilo of spinach, two tablespoons of flour and 600-700 ml of milk

- as for the pastry, here are some useful tips: make sure both the water and butter are ice-cold, work the pastry as little as possible, and use some plastic foil when you roll it in order to prevent it from sticking. You can read more about how to get the perfect pastry here.

Method:

1. preheat the oven at 180 centigrades.

2. sieve the flour and the salt in a large bowl, add the butter (cut it in small pieces first) and the water and mix it with your fingers until it gets crumbly. Transfer the composition onto a working top and continue working it until it reaches a firm and strong dough consistency. Shape the dough into a ball, wrap it in cling film and leave it to rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

3. meanwhile, prepare the filling: cut the onions into strips and sweat it in butter on medium heath, together with the crushed garlic.

4. when the onions becomes soft, add the roughly chopped spinach and wilt it for about 2-3 minutes. Add the flour and continue mixing for another 3-4 minutes, then gradually add the milk, continuing stirring, until you get a creamy consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste, and set aside to cool.

5. back to the pastry: take the pastry out of the fridge, leave it for 2 minutes at room temperature and then place it between two sheets of cling film and roll it into a thin circle with 30 cm diameter.

6. remove the cling film and roll the pastry into the tart form, gently pressing it with your fingers against the edges. 

7. prick the pastry with a fork in order to prevent it from rise while baking.

8. cover the pastry with baking paper and add enough red beans or baking beans to cover the bottom of the pastry. 

9. bake the tart at 180 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes.

10. when the tart is baked, take it out of the oven, remove teh beans and the paper and add the spinach filling. Using a spoon, make some space into the filling and add the eggs. Bake for another 20-25 minutes, until the eggs are completely baked.

Serve hot, with freshly gound pepper.

Enjoy!

Aubergine and parmesan tart

            It's been a long time since I haven't posted any new recipe in English, so I took advantage of this long and not-so-sunny Easter Bank Holiday and I prepared for you this delicious parmesan and aubergine tart.

          As you have probably noticed, most of my recipes are meat-free, and that is because I rarely cook meat and even more rarely I eat it - I only eat meat a few times a year, mostly around winter holidays.

        I want to show you how vegetarian dishes can be aswell tasty and good-looking, and this delicious aubergine and parmesan tart is a good example. I must admit that I was so scared of baking tarts, and this was mostly because of my fear of not getting the pastry right. Surprisingly I found out that it is not as difficult as I thought it was, and you can get a perfect pastry if you just follow some easy steps and know a few secretes which I will gladly unvail for you.        

     Below are the ingredients for this lovely tart:

for the pastry:

220 grams plain flour

110 grams of cold unsalted butter

two tablespoons of ice-cold water

a pinch of salt

for the Bechamel sauce:
30 grams unsalted butter

40 grams plain flour

300 ml milk

one fresh bay leaf

a pinch of salt

a pinch of ground nutmeg

for the aubergine filling:

fershly ground black pepper

two aubergines

some frying oil

two fresh yolks

40 grams of grated parmesan

a small bunch of fresh parsley

salt and pepper to taste

        

        As promissed, I will start with the most important part: those so very valuable tips and tricks for a perfect pastry:

- First of all, make sure that the butter and the water are ice-cold. I put my water and my butter in the freezer for 20 minutes before starting to work the pastry. 

- When working the pastry, work it qiuckly, and don't mix it too much, as the dough will get warm from the warmth of your hand and it will lose its consistency. However, if your dough becomes too soft and sticky, just place it in the fridge for 10-15 minutes to cool off.

Step-by-step method:

1. preheat the oven at 180 Celsius

2. Prepare the tart pastry: start with sifting the flour into a bowl, add the salt, the butter cut into peices and the water. Mix it with the tips of your fingers until it gets a crumbly consistency, then continue working the dough until it becomes firm.

        

 3. Shape the dough into a ball, wrap it in cling film and live it to rest in the fridge for about 30 minutes. 

4. Prepare the Bechamel sauce: melt the butter into a small saucepan on medium heat, sprinkle the flour and stir firmly for another 2 minutes, then gradually add the milk, lower the heat, stiring ocassionaly with a wooden spoon, add the salt, the bay leave and the nutmeg, and let it boil slowly until it thickens. Whent it has a creamy consistency, take it off the heat and leave it aside to rest. 

5. Blind-bake the pastry: Take the pastry out of the fridge, unwrap it and place it on a sheet of cling film. Cover with a new sheet of cling film and roll acrefully with a wooden rolling pin it until you get a thin sheet  of pastry, sligtly bigger than the tart-dish. I find this clin film technique esier than just rolling the dough on a floured surface, but if you prefer this second method, just be careful to remove the excess flour when finised.  Remove the cling film and carefully place the pastry on the buttered tart-form, pushing the dough against the edges, then lightly prick the pastry base with a fork.

6. Line the pastry with baking paper and  fill it with beans. Bake it for 15-20 minutes, then remove the beans and the baking paper and leave it to cool.



7. Prepare the aubergine filling: Cut the aubergine into small cubes and fry them in hot oil until they become crispy. Drain them out onto a sift and then place them onto some paper towels to remove the exess oil. 

8. Mix the aubergines into the Bechamel sauce, add the egg-yolks, the grated parmesan and the parsley, mix everything togheter and add salt and pepper to taste. 

9. Place the aubergine mixture onto the tart, sprinkle some more grated parmesan and bake it at 180 degrees Celsius for another 20 minutes or until the tart gets golden-brown.

        Sereve it warm or cold, with some freshly chopped parsley and a good cold glass of white wine!

Enjoy!

Sweet potato and rosemary soup

        Sometimes I like freezy days: I can indulge myself with a large cup of tea and rhum, read a good book and cook a delicious soup - it's the only way to comfort myself, look outside and smile!

         For today's cold day I cooked this lovely creamy and full of flavour sweet potato and rosemary soup. I like the way that the rosemary is giving a lovely and powerful  fragrance to the sweet potato, cutting a bit off its sweetness.             

        I like to keep things simple and not to mix too many ingredients. This way, I can taste all the beautiful aromas of each ingredient and feel their distinct flavour.

Ingredients (serves 4):

60 grams unsalted butter

3 tablespoons of olive oil

one big onion, or two small (aprox 200 grams)

3 garlic cloves

2 sweet potatoes (aprox. 650 grams)

2 stems of fresh rosemary 

1500 ml vegetable stock

4 teaspoons mascarpone cheese

salt and black ground pepper 

        Melt the butter and olive oil in a large pan, add the finely chopped onion and garlic and cook over low heat for bout 4-5 minutes, until the onion becomes soft. Then add the peeled and diced sweet potato, the vegetable stock and the rosemary and cook on medium high heat until boiling. When the mixture is boiling, reduce the heat and simmer for about 20-25 minutes until the potatoes are soft. 

        Remove the rosemary stems and pass the mixture through a sieve or blend it into the food processor until you get a smooth and thick cream. Add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

        Serve the sweet potato and rosemary soup with a teaspoon of fresh mascarpone cheese (or very thick double cream), fresh croutons and a drizzle of extravergin olive oil. 

Enjoy!

Cherry tomato, garlic and basil bruschetta

        If you have unexpected guests or you just need a quick and tasty starter for your dinner, this simple but full of flavour bruschetta will definitetly get you out of trouble. Bruschetta is a very popular Italian starter and it consists of toasted bread, brushed with extravirgin olive oil, usually rubbed with garlic and topped with different vegetables, cheeses or even fish or meat. 

        Whenever I make a bruschetta I always use ciabatta bread - it has just the perfect crust and texture to absorb all that lovely tomato and olive oil juice flavoured with nothing more than fresh basil, sea salt and freshly grind black pepper.

        In order to get a perfect bruschetta, always use good quality extra virgin olive oil - it is rich, just a little bitter but full of flavour and it will just bring out the best of that juicy sweet cherry tomato. And please, please use fresh basil (you'll see, once you will try it, you will never ever buy the dry one) - it's strong, it will spread its flavour all around the kitchen and it will make your bruschetta simply unforgettable!

        Yes, it's simple but I will always say that it's the simple things in life that are the most extraordinary! 

Ingredients (for two persons):

2 small ciabatta loafs

10-12 small cherry tomatoes

2 tablespoons of extravirgin olive oil

2 garlic cloves

6 fresh basil leaves

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

        To start, cut the ciabatta loafs lengthways brush them with olive oil and toast them in the oven, or in a non-stick frying pan, or just simply in the toaster until golden and crisp and then rub them with the garlic cloves also cut lengthways.

        Cut the tomatoes into small cubes, put them into a bowl, add the olive oil, a pinch of salt to your taste, the chopped basil leaves and some fresh ground black pepper. Mix them all together and leave them to rest for 5-10 minutes. 

        Spoon a generous amount of the cherry tomato mixture over the ciabatta toast, drizzle some extravirgin olive oil and serve.  

Enjoy!

French brie and chives omelette

         Have I told you how much I love breakfast? Late breakfast - to be precise :). Oh, but I guess I did told you about that matter in a previous post, the one with eggs in tomatoes nests. Well ...anyway, you got the point, right? 

        So, while still enjoying the winter holidays, I had indulged myself with this lovely, creamy, cheesy, beautifully colored omelette. I liked it so much, that I could eat one for lunch aswell, but then I reminded that tomorrow will be another late lovely morning, so I decided to wait! 

        The recipe is quick and easy, I am sure yo will love it. For one of this you need the following:

Ingredients:

two medium eggs

five slices of french brie cheese

a knob of butter

chives

salt and pepper

six grilled cherry tomatoes to serve

toast to serve

        Preheat a small non-stick pan on medium heath, and let the butter melt. Separately, beat the eggs in a small bowl and add a pinch of salt. When the butter is melted, gently add the eggs and allow them to cook slowly, using a wooden spoon or a spatula to push the eggs from the edges of the pan to the center. Add the french brie slices on the top and cover with a lid for about 2 minutes, until the eggs are done and the cheese starts to melt. Fold the omelette in half from the middle, let it cook for another minute and then remove the pan from the heath. Add some fresly grounded black pepper and fresh chopped chives.  

        Serve with freshly grilled cherry tomatoes and toast.

Enjoy!