Pizza chanterelles🍄, fresh sausage, tomato confit 🍅, flakes of parmesan cheese 😋😋😋

The series of pizzas continues. Today I delight you with an amazing recipe of Pizza in colors with chanterelles and sausage. After a beautiful walk in the woods and picking mushrooms what could be nicer than coming home and preparing a fantastic pizza with your wife.😛 Hello everyone, in recent weeks the woods and markets have been filled with mushrooms and for me their search has always been a great fun. When I was a boy I collected all the edible varieties known to me (about fifteen) but now I am more demanding and tend to collect only Porcini and (chanterelles). And the latter are the protagonists of today's recipe.

Ingredients 

800 gr of flour

450- 500 gr of water

1 tablespoon salt

10 gr of brewer's yeast

To season

250 gr of chanterelle mushrooms

250 gr of sausage

tomato puree

150 gr of mozzarella

Flakes of parmesan to taste

1 clove of garlic

salt

oil

Preparation

Dissolve the yeast with water, in a large bowl, add half of the flour and knead 5 minutes, then add the salt the remaining flour and continue to knead, now pour the dough on the pastry board and knead it for another 20 minutes. The dough will be sticky, then add a little flour and form a ball that you will put to rise covered with a damp cloth, for two or three hours. Now we prepare the mushrooms clean them by depriving them of the earth with a damp cloth . Peel the sausage and cut it into chunks. Sauté the garlic in a pan with a little oil now add the sausage and mushrooms, salt and cook for 15 minutes over low heat. Roll out the pizza dough by hand or with a rolling pin and season with tomato puree, bake in a preheated oven at about 250 C minutes. Take the pizza out of the oven and put the mushrooms with the sausage prepared before and the flakes of parmesan and bake again for a few minutes take it out of the oven and serve.

 

Lasagna, pizza, chops and spaghetti with meatballs which is the best 

Yesterday I made these meatballs with sauce very tasty. I wondered... What if I put it on top of pizza? I must say that I could not make a more greedy decision than this. I had friends at dinner who were really impressed by this endless gluttony. For this dough I used only 3 g. of brewer's yeast. The result is a crispy pizza outside and soft inside. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients

500 g Flour

300 ml lukewarm water

3 g Fresh brewer's yeast

10 g Salt

1 tsp Sugar

3 tablespoons Extra virgin olive oil

15 Meatballs with sauce

ricotta

Basil

Preparation

Proceed to the realization of our pizza and meatballs with sauce with cacioricotta cheese. The recipe for meatballs with sauce can be found among the ingredients. Then make the dough. Prepare the dough. In a cup, dissolve the 3 g. of baking powder with warm water and sugar. Little by little insert the flour. Add extra virgin olive oil and continue working. Knead the dough adding salt. At this point knead the dough on the work surface. Until you get a smooth and homogeneous dough that we will put to rest 30 minutes. After 30 minutes start making our folds. Roll out the dough slightly and form a rectangle. Bring the outside to the inside to close. Now take the side and bring it to the other side. At this point keep rolling the dough well. Put the dough to rest for 30 minutes and repeat the folds at times. At the end of folding, put the dough covered with plastic wrap in the fridge overnight. In the morning remove it from the fridge, we will find it doubled and boiling. At this point, spread the pizza with your hands on the lightly floured work surface. Season with a little meatball sauce and bake in a preheated oven at 220 °C for 15 mn. Season with meatballs and a good amount of cheese ricotta , basil and serve the pizza and meatballs with sauce with cacioricotta cheese. 

CHAMPAGNE BETWEEN HISTORY, ART AND CULTURE 

This question comes more and more often, so I would say that it is appropriate to talk about it and try to give an answer. Yes, because... Louis Roederer Cristal

Well, the symbol of preciousness applied to champagne belongs first of all to him, without a doubt. 

When we talk about champagne we always think exclusively of a specific product of viticulture, perhaps associated with the most famous and noble French companies, but we rarely connect it to the set of history, art and culture that are undoubtedly linked to it and that have therefore influenced over time not only its image but also its presence on the market. Undoubtedly as has also emerged from many posts on the subject of wine and derivatives that I have published in the past, the culture of the vine has always been deeply important not only for our country but for the whole of Europe, understood as a set of geographically and culturally different territories but united by some fundamental aspects, one of these religion. It was in fact the success of Christianity that determined over time the survival first and then the spread of viticulture, to meet practical needs of a liturgical type. From this, new and different forms of processes were formed to create products from the raw material grapes. The first point I wanted to address was the role of culture and cultivation of the vine in the European cultural sphere.

Another important factor is history, understood not only as a simple succession of facts but as a catalyst for experiences, discoveries, innovations and experiments. The champagne production area, in this regard, is an example of all this, always suited to winemaking, it was also the scene of important events, both historical and cultural. In fact it is from the distant 898 d. C. that Reims, the heart of the area, was the scene of the celebrations for the investitures of the kings of France, during these occasions rivers of champagne flowed. Already from the twelfth century the prestige of the wines of this area was constantly growing. In the seventeenth century the art of preserving it in barrels and then bottling it, sealing the bottles with corks, was established and perfected.

Another important aspect is the presence of our protagonist not only in the cultural landscape of many territories but also, inevitably, in the different faces assumed by culture. In fact, it appears in the private writings of the French artist Monet, deeply passionate about food and wine and connoisseur of excellent raw materials; however, the quotes that could be made are endless and pass from literature, with the passion of Anton Pavlovic Chekhov for the renowned product so as to dedicate two stories to it: "Memoirs of a rascal" and "Champagne", up to the cinema. 

By Edoard Manet, The bar at Les Folies Bergeres, 1881-1882, London, Courtauld Institute of Art Gallery, is a clear example of the presence of our protagonist in art. The scene is famously set in a café, the place of the realization of nineteenth-century Parisian worldliness. The champagne, similar in appearance to today's, has here the function of celebrating the identity French, highlighting at the same time how the place is frequented by high-ranking patrons. On the opposite side of the counter, the presence of beer (dark bottle with red triangle) is the symbol of the affirmation of the artist's anti-Germanism, a reflection of the complicated European geopolitical situation of the time, and the consequent repercussions on cultural aspects. Finally, the mirror has the function of reflecting the number of patrons of the restaurant, providing information on the liveliness of public life of the time, as well as on the customers of the place. Cultural, historical, social, artistic and literary aspects that could be further explored but that I wanted to mention in this article as a further example of how a product can be the catalyst of the history of man and the territory to which it belongs and, at the same time, become an object of desire and consumption past and present.

😍ITALIAN SALUMI😍 

The culture of sausages in our country of Italy is strong and well rooted, as expressed well by the famous saying "nothing is thrown away from the pig". In fact, the peasant tradition devoted to the breeding of livestock, especially pigs, and the conditions of poverty that have marked the lives of many families for years have led to exploiting everything that animals could offer: from milk to meat. Each region and each territory, however, has been able to find different ways of interpreting the need to preserve meat for a long time, helping to create a variety of products that, today, represent a true wealth of our country. What we want to take you in is, therefore, a delicious tour, from North to South, among the typical Italian cold cuts, to discover some of our excellences.

The tradition of cured meats and, more generally, of sausages stems from the need to preserve animal meat over time. Being an easily perishable commodity, it was unthinkable for families to be able to consume all the meat produced by the slaughter of a pig. This has meant that, in ancient times, when you could not count on means such as refrigerators or freezers, conservation techniques handed down from generation to generation were developed, refining over time and acquiring characteristics that contribute to telling something about the habits of peoples and territories. If salting, drying and maturing are three fundamental aspects, the aromatization with wine, spices, garlic and other tricks are an expression of the Italian butchery art. And from North to South, each region has been able to interpret this art in its own way, making the most of and often enhancing other resources typical of the area. Obviously, it is impossible to mention them all: so let's embark on this ideal tour by discovering some of the typical Italian sausages and cold cuts, from the most representative to the less known, but which are worth discovering.

THE EXCELLENCES OF LAZIO: PORCHETTA DI ARICCIA AND GUANCIALE DI AMATRICE

Moving to Lazio and, in particular, to the Roman hills, we meet Ariccia. A millenary tradition binds this town in the immediate vicinity of the capital to the product that bears its name. In 2011, in fact, the European Union defined the name Porchetta di Ariccia PGI: female pork, cooked and flavored with a spiciness that includes salt, pepper, garlic and rosemary. The processing is complex and requires various steps, from boning to tanning the meat, which will then constitute the filling of the carcass, up to cooking and decisive controls to ensure that the final product has that crunchy crust outside and a tender, compact and highly flavorful interior. The Porchetta di Ariccia PGI can be found whole at the counter, available for cutting, or in logs weighing around 10 kg.

Bean and tuna salad 

The bean salad with tuna is a tasty and quick dish to prepare. The bean and tuna salad is a dish that my grandmother and my mother always prepare, not being a lover of beans I have always snubbed this recipe a bit but since my wife likes it very much, yesterday I prepared it for her and this is the result. I used cannellini beans already boiled to make the recipe even easier and faster but you can also use dried beans or better yet, fresh ones ;) With this ''bean salad I hope to have given you a cue for your lunch today, maybe increasing a little'' the doses if you want to propose it as a single dish. Happy Wednesday to those who pass by here.

It is a legume salad very easy to prepare and very fast. If we do not want to dirty even a pan we can use ready-made beans. Ready-made beans, on the other hand, come to our rescue when we decide to prepare this salad at the last minute. This quick lunch is also very convenient to take to the office or during a pleasant trip out of town. In fact, we can prepare it in advance and store it in the fridge. In this way the salad will be even more tasty and balanced. Try this bean salad with tuna and let me know what you think of this genuine and tasty dish.

Ingredients

300 gr of boiled cannellini beans

160 gr of canned tuna

1 new onion

1 lemon

parsley

salt

oil

PROCEDURE

If you decide to use dried beans, soak them in cold water with a pinch of baking soda for 12 hours. Rinse the beans, put them in a saucepan with water and cook for 40 minutes. Cut the new onion into thin slices and then in half. Drain the beans from the cooking water keeping aside only a ladle and put them in a bowl together with the natural tuna. Add the onion, parsley, salt and oil. Mix the bean and tuna salad and put a fridge to cool for at least half an hour. Serve the beans salad with a slice of lemon. 

White Bean Salad 

Easy White Bean Salad. This prepare-ahead salad is so satisfying, it makes a great lunch or side next to any entree you choose! This cannellini bean salad is a fresh and tasty dish that you can prepare in a few minutes in these days of extreme heat, so you will have a complete salad perfect for the summer. I dressed the bean salad with a citronette and I found it really tasty, if you like the ingredients, try it and let me know. I wish you a good day, and if you did not know what to prepare for lunch, I hope I gave you the right idea, kisses.

Ingredients for 2 people

250 gr of boiled beans

50 gr of rocket

2 tablespoons black olives

50 gr of speck

Ingredients for citronette

2 tablespoons lemon juice

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

salt

Pepper

PROCEDURE

Prepare a citronette emulsifying lemon juice with oil, add salt and pepper. Clean and wash the rocket and place it on a plate with the black olives. Now arrange the boiled beans in the center of the plate and season by pouring the citronette over the whole salad. Finish by adding slices of spek or raw ham on the cannellini salad and serve cold. 

The simple and perfect hummus 

In my book, a savory breakfast toast--Mediterranean-style, of course-- is the perfect way to start the day! Loaded with hummus, veggies and other Mediterranean favorites, it is a healthy,  nutrition-packed and super satisfying breakfast!

Typical of Middle Eastern cuisine, hummus is a chickpea and tahini sauce appreciated all over the world! In addition to being easy and quick to make, it is an extremely versatile recipe that lends itself to various types of dishes. In addition, being very nutritious, it adapts perfectly to the needs of those who follow a vegan or vegetarian diet. The traditional preparation involves the use of mortar and pestle, but for convenience and practicality we preferred to show you the simplest method with the blender. Also for this reason we opted for ready-made tahini, easily available in all supermarkets, but those who wish will find at the bottom of the recipe the steps to make it at home, starting from toasted sesame seeds. Whatever the procedure chosen, once you have obtained the base of hummus you can then decide to flavor it to your liking, for example with paprika and parsley as in our version! Looking for some ideas on how to serve it? Hummus, as well as its variants (see advice), is perfect to accompany pita, falafel and vegetable sticks as an appetizer. 

Hummus (I recommend, no humus, which is the undergrowth) is a typical recipe of the Middle East, especially of Israel, Lebanon, Egypt, Greece, which claim the origin of the dish. The very word "hummus" comes from Arabic and means chickpeas, a legume that was cultivated in the Middle East for the first time 10 thousand years ago. And that even in Italy is highly appreciated and cultivated, making the perfect recipe to be replicated here with local ingredients. Being the Arabic name suggests that it is in an Arabic-speaking country that he was born. The full name is actually ḥummuṣ bi ṭaḥīna, which means "chickpeas with tahini" which in turn is a paste made from sesame, also of Egyptian origin. And it is in an ancient Egyptian document that the first indications of a recipe similar to hummus are found. A similar dish was written in Cairo in the 13th century: it was prepared with chickpeas, vinegar, lemon, spices and oil, but without tahini or garlic.

The homemade hummus has an incomparable flavor, you can customize it as you prefer according to your tastes, adapting it as you see fit to garnish a sandwich or to accompany a piadina, for vegetarian sandwiches and also as an accompaniment to second courses, such as grilled fish, grilled meat...

Today, hummus has become a common vegan food, frequent to be found even in supermarket counters, grocery stores and ethnic supermarkets. It is obtained by mixing chickpeas, taina sauce, lemon juice, garlic and salt. At the end a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, paprika and fresh aromas is added to taste, and traditionally enjoyed with Arabic bread (pita).

INGREDIENTS

1 kg boiled chickpeas

20 gr lemon juice

400 ml oil

180 gr tahini

20 gr salt

PREPARATION

Soak the chickpeas overnight. Then boil them until they are crumbled, finally drain. Blend the chickpeas in a food processor, knead them until you have obtained a puree. Add the tahini and oil, slowly, to emulsify. Put the lemon juice. Serve the hummus with olive oil and boiled chickpeas or pine nuts.

Typical of Middle Eastern cuisine, hummus is now a dish appreciated all over the world. Tasty and nutritious, it is a very simple dish to make. It is a sauce made with chickpeas, garlic, tahini (sesame seed cream) and lemon juice to accompany pite, toasted bread slices or raw vegetables. 

 

Mediterranean diet 

If you've been eating the Mediterranean diet for any amount of time, you know that tomatoes are an essential ingredient that we use on in many ways. And during the hot months, when I can land those extra fragrant, plump, juicy tomatoes, I just can't help but use them raw in something summery like this fresh tomato salad recipe! We are in the middle of summer and we need to eat light foods, especially seasonal vegetables and fruit, but still tasty and healthy foods. In July I gave you some advice on some dishes to prepare for summer lunches, where salads were queens.

Today I talk about a salad with an ingredient that in this season is almost a classic, even if it is an annual plant: the tomato. I advise you to use cherry tomatoes: do you know those small and round tomatoes? They are a variety of Pachino tomatoes, which have become an I.G.P. (Indicazione Geografica Tipica) product for several years. They are very tasty, have a low calorie content, are fresh and promote diuresis. Or, alternatively, grape tomatoes: they are oval tomatoes, tasty and also low in calories. They also contain vitamins and minerals.

The ingredients for your salad

Cherry or grape tomatoes cut in half

10 basil leaves to be cut or chopped

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Method

As I mentioned, you need to cut the cherry tomatoes in half, then put them in a salad bowl, adding basil. Separately, mix the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, pepper and salt in a bowl. Then pour the seasoning obtained into the salad bowl. You can serve the salad at room temperature. What you will have prepared is a simple dish, with common ingredients, but with a really strong flavor. A refreshing and satiating dish to be consumed both for lunch and dinner in these days of sultry. I wish you buon appetito and... Let me know if you enjoyed this salad!

Italian cuisine and soup 

I'm what you call a "souper," defined as someone who will eat soup all year round, even on hot days. And for those of us who can be a bit last-minute (me!), a big pot of soup is the perfect answer to the pesky question, "what's for dinner?" 

A characteristic dish of Italian cuisine, the soup consists mostly of pasta or rice or vegetables, cooked in water or broth and variously seasoned. The soup is a single dish, whether it is a cold salad or a hot soup, it is always a practical solution for quick meals, especially when you have hectic pace of life or short breaks during smart working. For it to be healthy and nutritious, however, it must be well balanced. Waiting for the summer to bring fresh and colorful salads based on vegetables and summer vegetables back to the table, let's review the strengths of the undisputed queen of the table in the cold months: soup. 

Soup is a dish rich in water, and you know that after 45 the sense of thirst begins to diminish and therefore it is even more important to choose foods that are rich in it; it is a dish that can be complete and nutritious; You can prepare it by inserting proteins and vegetables and have a very tasty meal without excess salt, fat or sugar. In short, soup seems to be the best dish for mature age. And it is so: the important thing is to learn to prepare it wisely. Here are some tips to prepare a nutritionally balanced soup, but also tasty and practical especially if you need to cook it in advance and take it to work or consume it in the break from smart working (maybe too short to allow you to cook your dish at the moment). If you want your soup to be a valid single dish, you must include these nutrients in its preparation.

Moderate the intake of carbohydrates (so pasta, rice or other grains) and if you think you need to lose weight, contact a nutritionist to know exactly which portion is suitable for your caloric needs; prefer good fats (above all extra virgin olive oil); always ensure a portion of protein to support the maintenance of muscle mass that with advancing age is physiologically reduced to the advantage of fat; Add vegetables to taste, essential to ensure the right amount of fiber, precious to combat constipation (which could be a discomfort related to menopause) and to increase your sense of satiety. Chickpeas, beans, broad beans, chickling peas and lentils are an excellent source of vegetable proteins and, in addition, are rich in beneficial effects for the body. The only care you need to do in this case is if you suffer from colitis. The strength of legumes also lies in the fact that they are an extremely practical food: they simplify your life in the kitchen because you can make stocks to keep in the pantry (whether you choose the dried ones or the ready-made ones). So you can use them whenever you don't have time to go to the butcher or fishmonger and prepare meat or fish to add to your soup to ensure the necessary protein intake.

The extra tip: if you buy ready-made legumes in a jar, rinse them carefully under running water to eliminate the salt of which their storage water is rich.

The advantages of barley and spelt, if you do not know them yet, will amaze you: they are an excellent source of carbohydrates with a low glycemic index and, at the same time, are functional to the absorption of vegetable proteins of legumes. For this reason, prefer these grains to pasta or rice, which also have the disadvantage of not keeping cooking well if you are forced to cook your soup in advance. A soup based on spelt or barley, even if heated to the last during smart working, is even better. If you like couscous, then practicality is assured because it does not require cooking.

The seeds of pumpkin, flax, sunflower, sesame, chia, poppy – just to name a few – give an extra touch even to the most trivial of soups. In addition, the crunchy sensation makes chewing satisfying and helps the sense of satiety. The most important thing, however, is that they ensure you the right amount of zinc, selenium, magnesium, tryptophan (it is a precursor of serotonin), of which in this period you have an increased need. Even dried fruit (almonds, walnuts, cashews as long as they are always natural and without salt) is rich in important nutrients for your well-being such as omega 3, antioxidants (useful for slowing down the cellular aging process) and melatonin, important for regulating the sleep-wake cycle (which in this period could be altered by hormonal changes).

If you include the seeds or dried fruit in the soup you can reduce the amount of extra virgin olive oil so as not to exceed the amount of fat, although "good". In principle you can consider this proportion: a tablespoon of seeds or dried fruit is equivalent to a tablespoon of oil.

In winter a hot dish is always pleasant to taste, especially if brothed like a soup, which also has the advantage of increasing the intake of water in a tasty way for the palate. When boiling ingredients for your soup, however, remember to use plain water rather than ready-made broths or vegetable cubes to melt because they are both high in salt. In summer soup can be a fresh and refreshing dish.

Take advantage of seasonal vegetables to compose new soups

Savoy, cauliflower, broccoli, turnips, chicory, chard, fennel, artichokes: the vegetables of this period offer you a wide variety of ideas to create new dishes. Here are some ideas that, with a pinch of creativity, you can decline in several ways to compose many different soups:

Couscous is an excellent base for fish soups, especially molluscs and crustaceans. The combination of walnuts and feta is very tasty if combined with a cream of artichokes. Cooked fennel is more draining than raw so they are an excellent base for creating a soup, with the addition of carrots, potatoes (in this case do not insert other sources of carbohydrates) and meat (preferably white). The pumpkin and chickpea soup goes well with croutons (in this case no pasta, rice or other cereals) and toasted sesame seeds.

The abuse of salt, saturated fats and sugars can negatively affect general well-being. Also pay attention to the "hidden" salt in certain foods such as snacks, sausages and preserved foods. Excess sodium does not help at all to eliminate swelling and excess fluids that in this period could be a consequence of hormonal alterations. If you love to eat "tasty" better choose spices: curry, turmeric, cumin are an excellent alternative to the use of salt and in addition they are rich in beneficial properties.

Water: never without. For the reasons we have just listed, it is particularly important to restore your water balance and drink at least 2 liters of water a day to which, to ensure the right hydration without too much effort, you can add infusions and herbal teas that can be allies of your well-being. Certain medicinal plants, in fact, can help you drain excess fluids responsible for swollen legs in the evening but also to keep under control certain discomforts related to the period such as day and night sweats, sleep disorders and irritability. But pay attention to excess sugars: the ideal would be to drink infusions and bitter herbal teas.

Even the mood, which in this period can be a bit "dancer" due to some joke of your hormones, can benefit from certain small tricks that you can adopt at the table. Dried fruit (almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts and cashews, as long as they are roasted naturally without added salt) and extra dark chocolate (in a percentage not less than 78%) are friends of your emotional well-being.

You can only eat one!

Pasta is a must of Italian cuisine, indeed we can say the symbol of our cuisine in the world. Precisely for this reason, for Italians, eating pasta is almost a must every day. But what do experts think about it? Let's find out together. Pasta is widespread in our country in the dry version and usually durum wheat semolina. On Sundays, however, in traditionalist families, fresh homemade pasta stands out, usually prepared with eggs and durum wheat flour or semolina. Today, however, the search for products suitable for everyone, has led to the birth of alternative types of pasta: legumes, corn, cereals, low carb, rice and much more. 

In everyday life, eating pasta means eating: spaghetti, pennette, cannerozzi, pasta of various sizes, bucatini, linguine and so on. Today, however, very extravagant shapes appear, often to entice the little ones to eat pasta. Packs containing colored dough and in the shape of cartoon characters, in the shape of wheels, in the shape of bows of various sizes, rooster crests, accordion, and many others appear.

But apart from its extravagance and variety, is pasta really a food to be consumed daily?

The pasta itself is already a fairly caloric food, 100 grams of pasta can contain an average of 200 cal. If we then think of the fact that it is never consumed alone, but always accompanied by a condiment, be it even simple oil and Parmesan, you can get to ingest even 400 cal with a plate of pasta. Usually, however, the condiments are high in calories, which makes this dish not only very caloric, but also high in glycemic. So eating pasta is bad no matter what? Of course not! We have to be careful about the quantities. Even in diets it is often allowed to consume pasta, but in controlled quantities. So eating pasta does not hurt or gain weight, if you do not exceed. A particular eye also goes to condiments, a condiment rich in calories, such as cream, bacon, butter etc., will increase the caloric intake and therefore make eating pasta a real bomb for our body. 

But given all this, how many times a week is it good to eat pasta?

As I have already said, the way we season pasta is very important, so preferring condiments rich in fiber and low-calorie is ideal. But how many times a week to eat pasta? A study has shown that consuming pasta 3 times a week, with low-calorie condiments, does not make you fat. Obviously the advice is to take it at lunch rather than dinner, so you can dispose of the calories taken. Another tip is to prefer types of pasta with a low glycemic index and consume it on the days of greatest movement. A very important tip is to eat raw vegetables before eating pasta, in this case centrifuged with vegetables can help us. This is useful because, vegetables have a high satiating power since they are rich in fiber and water, so they will make us feel satiated and limit our consumption of pasta. Also watch out for combinations, never eat bread, potatoes or other forms of carbohydrates together with pasta, even if we are careful about calories. The various types of carbohydrates have different types of digestion, so we will slow down digestion and this will not benefit the body.

After these observations we can conclude that: consuming pasta is not wrong if done with balance. Always combine it with light condiments and do not exceed the quantities. Using these measures guarantees the right balance in nutrition and helps not to elevate calorie consumption beyond daily needs.

 

Tuna with Mediterranean belly 

Tuna belly in a pan with cherry tomatoes, a recipe for a second course based on fish with a rich and decisive taste. Very quick to make, it is ideal for a dinner with friends. A typical Mediterranean recipe, fresh tuna meat has a compactness and fleshiness that lend themselves well to recipes like this, the tuna is lightly sautéed in a quick sauce based on a few cherry tomatoes, capers and olives. The result, soft and juicy slices of belly, with a rich and decisive taste. I recommend you try the recipe!

Ingredients

4 slices Tuna belly

10 cherry tomatoes

1 tsp salted capers

20 Olives

2 tablespoons Extra virgin olive oil

1 clove Garlic

Salt

Parsley (chopped)

Preparation

Prepare all the ingredients at hand. In a non-stick pan, add two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and heat over low heat together with the clove of garlic. Leave to brown for a few minutes. Add the washed and dried cherry tomatoes and cut in half together with the capers desalted under running water and the pitted black olives, cook this sauce with lid over low heat about five minutes. (remove the garlic clove). Remove the lid, move the cherry tomatoes slightly on one side of the pan, put a sheet of parchment paper in the center and lay the slices of tuna belly about 1 cm and a half thick on it. Cook the fish with lid about two minutes per side. Remove the tuna from the pan together with the sheet of parchment paper, shrink the cooking liquid, season with salt and add the freshly chopped parsley. Serve the tuna slices with the sauce on top. Soft and juicy, enjoy your meal!

Note

Short cooking times are recommended for the success of this dish.

Spaghetti with pomodorini, capers and lobster

This is one of those first courses that when you find it on the menu of a restaurant you immediately want to order because, in fact, preparing it at home could be a bit complicated. Today, however, thanks to this recipe, you will discover that it is not such a difficult dish to prepare. The cooking of the lobster must be very fast precisely because the meat remains soft and juicy. The cherry tomatoes then, which will cook in the same pan as the lobster, will absorb all its aromas and juices, making the dressing of spaghetti really special. We are very sorry for the restaurants in question, but if you learn how to cook this delicious first course at home, they will have lost customers.

Ingredients

lobster 1

spaghetti 200 gr

garlic

dried chili pepper

tomatoes 300 gr

capers to taste

extra vergin olive oil to taste

salt to taste

fresh basil to taste

fresh parsely to taste

Preparation

First open the lobster to get two halves and clean it of the entrails. In a pan, heat the oil and season with the garlic head cut in half transversely and facing downwards. When the oil is hot, briefly brown the lobster on both sides and cover with a lid. While the lobster is cooking, cut the cherry tomatoes in half. Once cooked, remove the lobster from the pan and set aside. Add a tablespoon of new oil in the pan, together with the one already used for cooking the lobster, and a teaspoon of chili. Blanch the cherry tomatoes, adjusting with salt, for a few minutes until they are slightly wilted. During cooking, lightly crush the cherry tomatoes with the tines of a fork so as to release a little sauce, add the capers. Cook the spaghetti in boiling salted water. Meanwhile, chop the basil leaves with your hands and finely chop the parsley with the help of a knife. Add the basil, together with a ladle of cooking water, to the cherry tomatoes. Drain the spaghetti directly in the pan together with the cherry tomato sauce and stir. Serve the spaghetti with plenty of sauce, parsley and lobster.

 

Spaghetti Carbonara with prawns and coffee

"Italians have only two things on their minds: the other is spaghetti."

– Catherine Deneuve

Pasta is my weakness, my comfort food, my consolation. I like it all, but I have a preference for the dry one. Spaghetti rather than tagliatelle, reginette rather than pappardelle. I like al dente, as they eat it in the South: with that inner thread that has remained white, with a hard heart, which strains the teeth for a millisecond before yielding. I always like it: when I find good ones, I eat a forkful pulled out of the steaming pot, very naked. 

The recipe, you see, is pretty simple but really nice. I allow myself only small technical variations on the execution more than anything else to adapt it to my taste. Away with the foil, first of all, and then coffee beans pounded in a mortar for marinating the shrimps, instead of leaving them whole. It seems to me that the toasted and warm taste of coffee is perceived more and better married with the creaminess of the egg and the sweetness of the shrimp. The world is full of ways and ways to gorge yourself on spaghetti, after all.

Ingredients

200 g Spaghetti

40 g Low-fat yogurt

1 mandarin (juice)

1Egg Yolk

10 Red prawns

50 g bacon

Coffee beans to taste 

Extra virgin olive oil

salt

Pepper

Guidelines

Shell the shrimp and marinate for an hour in the oil scented with bacon - cut into cubes, but raw - and a few coffee beans (3-4) pounded in a mortar. Prepare in a bain-marie, in a saucepan, a cream with yogurt, egg yolk and tangerine juice. Hall with a pinch of smoked salt. Put the cream in a deep pan, which can comfortably contain spaghetti. After the marinade time, drain the bacon cubes well and put them to brown in a pan, without any kind of oil or butter, over very low heat, almost candlelight. Put a pot of water for the spaghetti on the fire. Salt it when it comes to a boil, throw the spaghetti and cook them for the time indicated on the package. When the spaghetti are at 3/4 of the cooking time, drain them immediately (to give you an example: if on the package it is written that they cook in 9 minutes, remove them at 7 minutes) and pour them into the pan that contains the cream, which in the meantime you have heated up: sauté everything for 3 minutes. While the spaghetti are cooking, turn up the heat under the bacon cubes (which will have become crispy outside, but soft inside) and add the shrimps, marinade oil and a few more coffee beans, this time whole. Sauté over high heat for a couple of minutes. Add bacon, shrimp and coffee to spaghetti, mix for a minute at most and serve the hot pasta.

 

Risotto with crispy pancetta 

Bacon risotto is the right compromise between gluttony and healthy food. If in fact the vegetable part guarantees taste and lightness ideal for our diet, adding the fattest touch of crispy bacon we have a triumph of flavor. To prepare an excellent risotto with bacon and give it an absolutely characteristic taste, I suggest you choose the Tuscan rigatino, a type of stretched bacon obtained from the most muscular part of the pig's belly and abundantly covered with black pepper. This really tasty bacon, so much so that it can be safely replaced with bacon, has a slightly spicy taste and a variable consistency, as it is linked to the duration of seasoning. In addition, in San Miniato, a town in the province of Pisa, a variant of rigatino flavored with wild fennel is also produced, which lends itself very well to this recipe with crispy bacon. Very simple and quick to prepare, the risotto all'onda with crispy bacon owes its exceptional flavor to the delicious and peppery taste of the typical Tuscan rigatino. With the right recipe and the best ingredients you can create many delicious dishes such as, for example, the one I propose today.

Ingredients

1 LITRE MEAT BROTH

50 GRAMS BUTTER

100 GRAMS GRAIN BACON

BLACK PEPPER TO TASTE

1 GLASSES WHITE WINE

1 ONION

250 GRAMS CARNAROLI RICE

Preparation

To prepare the recipe for risotto all'onda chop the onion and fry it together with 25 g of butter, then add the Carnaroli rice and let it brown for a couple of minutes. Deglaze with white wine, let it evaporate and cook for another 15 minutes. Remember to add a ladle of broth when the rice dries. Once ready, turn off the heat, add the butter and parmesan cheese and mix well. Let stand for a few minutes before serving. Now prepare the bacon. Place it on the baking sheet covered with aluminum and let it brown for a few minutes under the hot grill. Finally sprinkle the risotto with the crispy bacon and black pepper and serve.

How to make ravioli

Bringing to the table a nice tray of homemade ravioli is certainly a great satisfaction and always gives a sincere and heartfelt appreciation from all the diners; Contrary to what you might think, their preparation is not particularly difficult, just a bit long. The basic equipment for preparing homemade ravioli can be more or less professional; Let's say that elbow grease to knead the dough and a wheel to divide them is already in itself sufficient equipment but if you really want to speed up and optimize the work I would like to advise you what I usually use. A good mixer or a food processor will be fine and will allow you to knead in a moment; Failing that, the strength of your arms will also be fine, indeed, I would say that kneading is a very relaxing activity. 

Ravioli are a format of fresh stuffed egg pasta that recalls the great classics of the tradition of homemade pasta by grandmothers, who with the skillful mastery of the use of rolling pin, are able to pull very thin and very large sheets, with which we perhaps today do not even try to try. The fillings of fresh pasta can have the most varied flavors, but ricotta and spinach is a classic that is really difficult to abandon, also because finding something so simple and versatile, adaptable to all types of seasoning, becomes really difficult.

Ingredients

For about 120 ravioli

For the pasta

400 g flour 

10 egg yolks

2 whole eggs

For the filling

600 g spinach, already boiled and squeezed

600 g sheep's milk ricotta

200 g grated Parmigiano Reggiano

nutmeg

salt, pepper

Guidelines

Prepare the filling of the ravioli: put the ricotta, Parmesan cheese and spinach in the blender. Season with salt, pepper and a generous dose of nutmeg. Blend everything to obtain a cream and transfer it to a piping bag. Sift the flour and place it in a fountain on a wooden pastry board or inside a large bowl making a crater in the center. In a bowl put the egg yolks and eggs and beat them slightly. Collage homemade ravioli 01

Put the eggs in the center of the flour and begin to work the dough by soaking it with your fingertips. Always keep aside a little flour because depending on the size of the eggs it may be necessary to add a few pinches. Continue to work the dough with your hands until a ball begins to form. At this point transfer it to the wooden pastry board and knead it again vigorously until you get a smooth and elastic dough. Transfer the dough to a bowl, cover it with a cloth and let it rest for an hour. After the rest time, take the dough and start pulling the sheets using the sheeter machine. Start pulling it to the thickest thickness and as the dough becomes smoother and more elastic decrease the thickness until you get to the penultimate hole of the machine. Proceed in this way: pull two sheets at a time and place the first on the lightly floured ravioli machine, pressing lightly on the dimples to insert the filling. With the help of the sac a poche arrange the filling in each dimple. Take the second sheet and cover the first then press with a rolling pin exerting a slight pressure in order to highlight the threads of the ravioli cut. At this point, with a decisive gesture, turn the ravioli machine; The ravioli will come off the mold easily. As they are ready, put them to dry on a cloth dusted with plenty of semolina flour so that they do not stick; From time to time turn them over so that they dry well on both sides. Proceed in the same way until the dough is exhausted; Always flour the ravioli machine for an easier cut of the ravioli. Boil the ravioli in salted water; If you need to cook them after a few days it is advisable to freeze them and pour them into the pot still frozen. Resting in the refrigerator, even for a single day, is not advisable because of the filling that would moisten the dough compromising the final result. The only way to avoid this is to spread them in a single layer on a tray covered with a cloth abundantly floured.

Watch also the video on You Tube 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qOFh9waxeA

 

Canadian fruits 😍😋 

Fruits and vegetables, why are we so stupid that we often prefer the foreign one? We have only disadvantages. Sweet, juicy sour cherries from the prairies of Saskatchewan, Western Canada, are a local delicacy that is now taking over the U.S. At one time the sour cherries of western Canada, and in particular of the prairies area, were not so sweet, tasty and resistant. It was in the late 60s that professors at the University of Saskatchewan began a tart cherry breeding program to which an employee of the local federal government, Dr. Les Kerr, made a significant contribution. Studying over the years their survival in the extreme cold and crossing them with other varieties, they gradually arrived at the current sour cherries of the Saskatchewan prairies. This delicious fruit, a little more bitter than cherries but still sweet enough, is loved by the local population; Widely used in cooking, it is also a staple ingredient of many traditional recipes. Although still little known outside Canada, these sour cherries are now slowly conquering the US market and there is a bet on their growing commercial success.

Saskatchewan prairie cherries, in addition to being able to survive extremely cold temperatures (up to -40 degrees) and resistant to diseases, are cultivated in abundance in these areas thanks to an ever-increasing number of commercial farmers. The shrubs are up to two and a half meters tall, begin to bear fruit already after two or three years, and after five the production is about twenty kilos of black cherries per year. The fruit, although slightly sour, is juicier and tastier than the classic cherries, so much so that they can be eaten directly from the tree; Researchers have found that many gardeners harvest cherries before they develop their deep red color and fully ripen. As for their distribution, which since 2018 has begun to include the United States, it mainly concerns the series with the poetic name "Romance"; the Carmine Jewel variety was the first to be distributed, followed by Romeo (characterized by dark red fruits) and Juliet (the sweetest, most suitable to be eaten fresh).

In recent years, these sour cherries have become almost ubiquitous on menus across the province due to their properties, high sugar content, shelf life and powerful antioxidant properties, and purported anti-inflammatory properties. Unlike other varieties, these sour cherries retain their intense flavor and color even at high temperatures. Regional chefs and bakers make extensive use of it, from biscuits, cakes, pies or as a decoration for yogurt and ice cream, while orchards and restaurants process the juice to make wine, beer and even whiskey.

The taste is also an important difference. University of Saskatchewan cherries are actually a lot less sour than Montmorency and can be eaten fresh, while the US cherries are only for processing and are often known as pie cherries. The difference between cherries does not lie in the name. When referring to the Romance series of cherries from the U of S, the two terms can be used interchangeably. More importantly, these healthy cherries are - A little bit TART with a whole lot of SWEET!