GRILLED SPRING ONIONS 

GRILLED SPRING ONIONS: appetizer or delicious side dish that has no season. Spring onions have a sweet and strong flavor, they can be eaten both cooked and raw, they are rich in potassium, calcium and antibacterial properties, so they are not only good but also good for our health. In my opinion, this preparation enhances the taste at its best, it is not raw but cooked at the right point. They are very easy to make, you can grill them both on the griddle, perhaps on the occasion of a barbecue with friends. The spring onions, once grilled, can be seasoned to taste, with oil, lemon or even vinegar, with aromatic herbs to taste, all according to your tastes but also for what occasion they are served, with meat for example they will be excellent seasoned with lemon.

Ingredients

300 g onions (small)

100 ml white wine vinegar

300 ml water

1 tsp brown sugar

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar (if using glaze only one)

1 pinch salt

extra virgin olive oil

Preparation

Pour the water, white and balsamic vinegar, brown sugar and a pinch of salt into a saucepan, bring to a boil, stirring often so that the sugar dissolves well. In the meantime, clean the onions well, removing all the brown outer parts, wash them under running water and dry them. When the mixture of vinegar and water has reached a boil, dip the onions in it. Let it cook for at least 15 minutes if the onions are small, otherwise cook for 20 minutes. This will cause them to soften, if you prefer them very soft, extend the cooking time by 5 minutes. Once ready, let them cool down directly in their cooking liquid, then drain them. Lightly oil a grill and when it is hot, place the onions on top. Grill the onions for at least 3 minutes on each side, when the classic black lines begin to form then they will be ready.

Baked asparagus with speck 

With seasonal asparagus, a delicious and quick idea to make, excellent as a side dish even for the Easter holidays. Baked asparagus with speck can be prepared in a few minutes and are really very tasty, perfect to accompany a nice main course, or together with appetizers. Baked asparagus with speck: a very easy side dish that can be prepared in a few minutes. A simple and tasty dish that can be lightened even more by replacing speck with cooked prosciutto. Tasty with a stringy interior, they will leave you speechless 😉Try this super simple recipe!

Ingredients

500 g asparagus

100 g speck (sliced)

Parmigiano Reggiano 

butter

extra virgin olive oil

salt

Pepper

1 sprig thyme (to taste)

Preparation

Clean the asparagus by removing the hardest part at the bottom, and wash them in running water. For this preparation, I recommend that you cut them quite short, you can then use the remaining part of the stem to prepare a sauce for pasta or risotto. Boil the asparagus in boiling salted water for about 8-10 minutes. They will need to be tender but still maintain some consistency. Drain them and stop cooking by quickly passing them in cold water. Group the asparagus into bunches of 4 or 5, which have more or less uniform length. Wrap each bunch with a slice of speck.

The Dark Side of Delicious

The foods we eat can affect our health and certain foods can raise the chances of getting cancer. With over 1.5 million people diagnosed every year, it's important to know the foods that can be harmful. Here are foods to avoid to minimize the risk of cancer. One in three cancers can be prevented with a healthy diet, physical activity and abstention from smoking. But what can you eat and what should you avoid? We don't always have a clear idea of how to sit at the table and extend our lives.

At the base of our health is water, followed by green tea, a drink that in experimental studies decreases the growth of cancer cells, and fruit juices. Going up a step we find vegetables, which should make up a large part of our diet. Vegetables, raw or cooked, are all beneficial, but particularly broccoli and cabbage that contain indoles and isothiocyanates with potential anti-cancer properties. Then, just above, there is the fruit, which rather than concluding the meal could be used as a "snack" between one meal and another. Going up, complex carbohydrates are placed, with a preference for whole grains, rich in fiber, which have a protective action against cancers, especially gastro-intestinal cancers. Here we also find vegetables rich in carbohydrates, for example potatoes and corn. Then we have to place omega-3s, polyunsaturated fats, also known as PUFAs. These are contained in various foods, such as walnuts and oily fish: sardines, mackerel, anchovies. Poor fish, but rich in healthy substances.

We have arrived at the step of condiments: olive oil, rich in precious substances, garlic and onion which are antioxidants, spices, chili pepper, turmeric and ginger. Then we place a niche for a glass of red wine or hoppy beer, drinks that contain flavonoids, including resveratrol and xanthan, with interesting properties. And we also find room for a square of dark chocolate and a cup of coffee: allowed, or rather accepted, if in small quantities. In the step of limited doses there is a place for milk and dairy products, even higher meat (white meat better than red meat) and last for sausages. At the top of the pyramid are the foods to avoid: carbonated drinks, very sugary sweets and spirits. Finally, a beautiful cross on tobacco and a sedentary lifestyle.

 

Combination of prawns and scallops 

Shrimp and scallops with garlic are a very quick fish-based preparation. It is a delicious appetizer that will be prepared by pouring scallops and shrimp into a large pan and cooking while flavored with lemon juice. A delicious idea that does not require complex preparation techniques and will certainly have an effect.

Ingredients

Scallops 6 

Prawns 8 

Flour  Extra virgin olive oil 3 tablespoons 

Garlic 1 clove 

Basil a few leaves 

Lemon juice 3 tbs 

Salt to taste 

Pepper to taste

Preparation

Rinse the scallops under cold running water to remove any remaining sand. Pat them dry with a sheet of kitchen paper and cut the walnuts in half. Season the scallops and peeled prawns with salt and pepper and sprinkle lightly with flour. Heat the oil over high heat in a large frying pan and pour in the scallops and prawns. Continue to cook over medium heat for 2 minutes, then flip the scallops and shrimp. Add the finely chopped garlic and basil and stir to distribute evenly. Cook for another 2 minutes, until the scallops are golden brown and fairly firm to the touch. Sprinkle with lemon juice and stir to combine. Serve the prawns and garlic scallops piping hot. 

Recommendations

To make the recipe more colorful and tasty, you can add half a sliced zucchini and two or three cherry tomatoes cut in half to the seafood being cooked.

Brunello di Montalcino Biondi Santi

There is no country in the world with so much richness and variety of products, natural as the territory gives them or processed by expert hands in simple ways, which are both ancient and the most contemporary. The journey to discover delicacies continues, from the best known to the lesser-known far from the production area. With Brunello di Montalcino, holder of prestigious records, our culture of food and wine remains unbeaten on the world podium of taste.

Since 1865, the year in which Brunello di Montalcino debuted with the first vintage produced by Clemente Santi, this Tuscan red wine continues to collect successes: it was the first Italian fine wine exported to the United States in 1930, the first served at a reception between heads of state (the President of the Republic Giuseppe Saragat and Queen Elizabeth II) and the only one included among the twelve labels of the century according to Wine Spectator magazinetag. Since 1966 it has been protected with the DOC and since 1980 with the DOCG (the first in Italy, together with Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and Barolo). The territory has also played its part: in 1941 the first public wine shop for the sale of wines in the area was inaugurated in Montalcino, in 1948 a winery opened its doors to visitors for the first time, giving way to the development of wine tourism. Today, the Consortium brings together 219 producers and the hectares dedicated to the production of Brunello are 2100 (with a value of almost one million euros per hectare), scattered in an area rich in biodiversity, with 50% of the land occupied by woods and 10% destined for olive groves, not counting the areas of pasture and arable land; with almost 50% of the vineyards cultivated organically, Montalcino boasts a percentage three times higher than the national average. Who are the main admirers of Brunello? Italy stands out, followed by the United States, Canada, Germany and Switzerland.

Grape varieties: Sangiovese grosso 100%

Alcohol: 13,5%

Time to taste it: special occasions Biondi Santi's Brunello di Montalcino goes splendidly with refined meat-based preparations, including roast. Impossible not to enjoy it even at the end of a meal, alone.

Tasting Notes

Bright ruby ​​chalice. On the nose, a complex and elegant bouquet and a profile that expands and changes minute by minute. First nose chiseled with delicate flowers and sweet spices, followed by a light fruit, a touch of ginger and a hint of verbena and mint. The mineral voice and the tobacco notes at the end are surprising. The taste has class and tension: classic, aristocratic, it is both graceful and austere. Three-dimensional mouth, which develops with progression, maintaining an unmistakable elegance and personality.

 

Octopus alla luciana

Octopus alla luciana is a typical dish of Neapolitan cuisine: in this recipe the octopus is cooked with San Marzano tomatoes, Gaeta olives and capers. Octopus alla luciana is a traditional Neapolitan preparation: the dish takes its name from the Santa Lucia district of Naples, an ancient village of sailors who are experts in the fishing of octopus. As they say in those parts "O purpo se coce dinto a ll'acqua soja", or "The octopus is cooked in its water" and, in fact, this recipe also calls for cooking the octopus in a saucepan with a lid, over low heat and for an hour and a half. To flavor the octopus, San Marzano tomatoes, Gaeta olives, capers and parsley are used.

Good to know: octopus alla luciana is different from octopus all'ischitana, typical of Ischia, which does not include tomato, is blended with white wine and is slightly spicy.

Ingredients

1 Kg two octopuses

350 g San Marzano tomatoes

garlic

parsley

extra virgin olive oil

Capers

olives

Procedure

For the octopus alla luciana recipe, wash the octopus well under water, then cut the bag, empty it and remove the eyes and the leathery beak in the center. Peel the tomatoes and cut them into cubes. Sauté 2 cloves of garlic in a saucepan with 100 g of oil, after a minute add a large sprig of parsley, tomatoes, 1 tablespoon of capers and 2 tablespoons of olives, octopus and cook them over very low heat, with the lid on, for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Serve the octopus whole in a serving bowl or in the cooking pot, cutting them directly on the table.

 

Saffron risotto

Saffron is an ancient spice that is obtained from the stigmas of the flower of the same name. In the beginning it was used for its coloring properties but over time it has become a valuable ingredient with which you can make unforgettable recipes... like saffron risotto! This classic first course is typical of Lombard cuisine where it is often combined with ossobuco, but it is loved in all regions of Italy: from adults and children, from the most refined palates to the most authentic ones. The reason lies in the simplicity of the preparation and in the golden magic of the saffron, which embellishes the rice grains with its unmistakable aroma and color. For a more intense flavor I recommend choosing pistils, but if you prefer, saffron powder will also be fine. Like any self-respecting risotto, moreover, the creaming phase will be essential to obtain the ideal creaminess, neither too soupy nor too dense. If you have always wanted to know how to prepare a perfectly saffron risotto, then, you just have to follow the recipe!

INGREDIENTS

Carnaroli Rice 320 g

Saffron pistils 1 teaspoon

Golden onions ½

White wine 40 g

Vegetable broth 1 l

Water to taste

Extra virgin olive oil to taste

Fine salt to taste

FOR CREAMING

Grana Padano cold from the fridge (to be grated) 80 g

Cold butter from the fridge 75 g

PREPARATION

To make the saffron risotto, first put the saffron pistils in a small bowl and cover with water. Leave to infuse for at least 6 hours or even overnight, covering the bowl. After the infusion time, prepare the vegetable broth and keep it warm. Peel and chop the onion very finely, then pour it into a pan with a drizzle of oil. Turn the heat to low and let it simmer very gently for about 10-15 minutes; To help you, you can add a pinch of salt or a ladle of broth. When the onion is soft and translucent, pour in the rice and toast it for a couple of minutes, stirring constantly and keeping the heat low to prevent the onion from burning. Deglaze with white wine and let the alcohol evaporate completely, then start wetting the rice with the hot broth, one ladle at a time, taking care to wait for it to be absorbed before adding the next one. Keep a light and constant boil. When the rice is almost cooked, you can add the saffron with its infusion liquid (you can keep the pistils stuck to the bottom and use them for decoration). Stir well and finish cooking the rice, adding salt if necessary. Once cooked, turn off the heat and stir in the butter and grated Grana Padano, both cold from the fridge. Add a little more broth, just enough to get the right consistency, then mix everything together, shaking the pan to form the classic "wave". Serve your saffron risotto and garnish with the pistils kept aside!

PRESERVATION

It is recommended to consume the saffron risotto immediately. Leftover risotto can be stored in the fridge for 2 days, in an airtight container, and can be used to make other tasty recipes such as arancini, casseroles, croquettes or a classic sautéed rice!

ADVICE

If you use saffron powder instead of pistils, you can follow the same cooking methods, reducing only the infusion time. Adding salt may not be necessary if the broth is already savory enough, so always taste before salting! If you prefer, you can cook the rice with boiling salted water instead of broth, but the latter gives the dish a more complex and balanced flavor. After serving the saffron risotto, gently tap your hand on the bottom of the plate: if the risotto spreads it means that the consistency is perfect!

 

Passatelli in broth

Passatelli in broth is a very simple, but very tasty, dish typical of Emilia Romagna. Prepared with healthy and genuine ingredients, they are ideal for the whole family. The origins of passatelli in broth lie in Emilia Romagna, the cradle of good food and handmade preparations, such as fresh egg pasta. It is a first course of medieval origins, as can also be read in the information reported by the "Italian Academy of Cuisine", which preserves the deposited recipe. If the proportions for this recipe (eggs, Parmesan and breadcrumbs) remain almost unchanged between the various areas of Emilia, Romagna and Marche, there are different nuances: those who use a pinch of flour to adjust the dough as I did, those who flavor only with lemon zest, those who only with a sprinkling of nutmeg or both. I am sure that you will have historical and familiar recipes of passatelli to make in broth, with the special tool with which mothers and grandmothers have taught how to crush, drag and arm themselves with good pace and patience!

INGREDIENTS

Eggs (about 3) 170 g

Breadcrumbs 140 g

Parmigiano Reggiano (to be grated) 100 g

Lemon zest ½

Nutmeg to taste

Fine salt to taste

Meat broth 1 l

flour 10 g

PREPARATION

To prepare passatelli, start by preparing a good meat broth. While it is cooking, dedicate yourself to the passatelli dough: grate the lemon zest, being careful not to take even the most bitter white part. Beat the eggs for a few moments in a bowl with a pinch of salt. In a larger bowl, mix breadcrumbs (preferably grated from dry bread) and grated Parmigiano Reggiano. Pour in the flour and flavour with lemon zest and grated nutmeg. Add the eggs. Mix the ingredients with the help of a spatula at the beginning, then continue by hand. You will have to work for a long time to obtain a consistent and elastic dough. You can work it right away or let it rest for at least 15-30 minutes, up to two hours wrapped in plastic wrap. Place one piece of dough at a time in a potato masher with holes at least 5 mm wide and mash it directly in the broth brought to a boil (it must not boil vehemently). Use the blade of a knife to cut the passatelli to a length of about 5-6 cm. Cook the passatelli for a very short time, as soon as they come to the surface, drain them directly into individual plates or into a tureen. Serve the passatelli piping hot, if you prefer, seasoning with a little grated Parmigiano Reggiano and freshly ground black pepper!

PRESERVATION

You can keep the passatelli dough for a maximum of one day, keeping it in the refrigerator tightly sealed with plastic wrap. You can also store them cooked, however, they will lose their consistency.

ADVICE

The flour in the dough is optional, you may or may not use it or use it to adjust the dough if necessary.

CURIOSITY

Passatelli belong to the Emilia-Romagna tradition, however they are widely spread in other areas of Italy. For example, in the Marche region where the so-called passatelli di carne are prepared, the meat used for the broth is used in the dough. In Lazio, and more precisely in Rome, passatelli cooked in broth are considered as a festive dish. The traditional tool for making passatelli does not have a specific name other than "ferro per i passatelli", in dialect fèr for pasatèi. The dough exit holes have a width that varies, one from the other, from 4 to 5 mm, thus guaranteeing always different shapes to the passatelli.

 

Stuffed Lobster 

Is a particular preparation of the tasty crustacean that sees the lobster cut in half and cooked in a baking dish with butter, then it will be flavored with a marinade of mustard, parsley, oregano, salt and pepper and served on the table with lemon wedges after a short cooking in the oven.

Ingredients

Lobster 700 g 

Mustard 1 tbsp 

Bread 30 g 

Butter 30 g 

Lemons 1 

Parsley 1 tbsp 

Oregano 1 pinch 

Extra virgin olive oil 

Salt to taste 

Pepper to taste

Preparation

Wash the lobster, cut it lengthwise, put it in a baking dish and butter it with the cut side facing up. In a bowl, mix the mustard with the parsley, add the oregano, salt, pepper, dilute with oil and melted butter. Sprinkle this sauce over the lobster, sprinkle it with breadcrumbs and put in the oven at 200°C for about 30 minutes, serve with lemon wedges.

Tip

For a love encounter, a lobster is enough. There is no need for other aphrodisiac foods, it satisfies the eye and the stomach.

Neapolitan-style fish soup

The Neapolitan zuppa di pesce is perhaps the simplest and purest of all the fish soups in Italian cookery it is nothing more than a variety of seafood simmered briefly in a simple marinara sauce. But don’t let the simplicity fool you—the taste of this dish is incredible.

Ingredients

1 bunch of fresh parsley, washed leaves

1 garlic clove, coreless

100 g white onion quarters

1 hot dried chili pepper

60 g extra virgin olive oil

300 g shrimp tails

500 g fresh, cleaned and chopped squid

400 g cherry tomatoes, halved

150 g dry white wine

1000 g mixed shellfish (clams, mussels, cockles, etc.) purged

500 g mixed fish for soup, cleaned and fillet (see tips)

1 teaspoon salt

6 slices of homemade bread cut into chunks and golden

Directions

Begin by sautéing a few slightly crushed garlic cloves in abundant olive oil. If you like, you can add a bit of peperoncino to sauté in the olive oil along with the garlic. When the garlic begins to give off its aroma and is just barely beginning to brown, you add tomato—ideally, the pulp of fresh, perfectly ripe San Marzano tomatoes, but otherwise use best quality canned tomatoes that you have run through the largest holes of a food mill. Season with salt and pepper (going light on the salt since the shellfish will be salty) and finely chopped parsley, then allow the tomatoes to simmer for about 10 minutes or so, or until they begin to reduce and reach a saucy consistency. Then add a splash of white wine. It is now time to add your seafood, starting with the varieties that take the longest to cook, then progressively adding those that take less time. The origins of the fish soup being what they are, the choice of seafood is pretty loose. But the Neapolitan version will almost always include one or more kinds of mollusks such as squid, baby cuttlefish or octopus, clams or mussels or both, and a variety fish with fins. The fish was, as mentioned, the local catch, so many local varieties of fish, most of them small and some quite bony but flavorful, can be thrown into the pot. Larger fish can be cut into serving or even bite-sized pieces. The most typical fish of all is scorfano, called ‘scorpion fish’ in English. (Scorfano is also typical of the Tuscan cacciucco and some of the Adriatic brodetti.) Triglie—red mullet—is also a common addition. But any firm-fleshed fish that lends itself to simmering will do: monkfish, snapper, catfish, sole. Last night I added some cut up halibut, and it was very nice. Although less typical of this kind of fish soup, sea scallops and shellfish are make nice additions. The more variety, the better the soup they say. You always begin with the mollusks, since they will take some time to cook. With very young calamaretti (baby cuttlefish) let them simmer about 10 minutes before you add any other fish. Octopus or mature squid (which you should cut up into bite-sized pieces) will take much longer, usually about 30 minutes, although you can sometimes find pre-cooked octopus that only needs heating up. Then add you fish and let that cook for another five to ten minutes, depending on the size. Then, finally, add the clams and mussels and simmer them until they open—if, that is, you are confident that they are free of sand. If not, steam them separately and add them at the very last moment, along with their liquid, strained to eliminate any sediment, just long enough for them to heat through. Sprinkle with a bit more finely chopped parsley and serve immediately. Measurements are not particularly important in this rustic dish. The amount of tomato will greatly influence the end taste. Some recipes call for a lot of tomato—equal in weight to the seafood—but most call for about half as much by weight. The ratio among the various kinds of seafood is pretty free as well, but I find a good rule of them is to use about as much fish as other sorts of seafood. Or you can eliminate the fish altogether, and just use the mollusks and some shellfish like shrimp or crab, in which case you will have zuppa di pesce senza spine, or ‘boneless’ fish soup. Zuppa di pesce is usually served with toasted bread, rubbed with garlic and sometimes drizzled with a bit of olive oil. The bread is also wonderful fried in olive oil—but that can be a bit heavy for modern tastes. I often just use bread to sop up the wonderful juices, an act that Italians call fare la scarpetta.

 

Pasta alla Nerano

Is dish from Campania created at the Mariagrazia restaurant, in Nerano in 1952. The recipe calls for a few simple and delicious ingredients: spaghetti, fried zucchini and provolone cheese.

INGREDIENTS

20 OZ. of zucchini

12 OZ. of spaghetti

6 OZ. of Provolone cheese

1 garlic clove

1 bunch basil leaves

extra-virgin olive oil

salt

pepper

METHOD

Thinly slice the zucchini. Fry a few slices at a time in plenty of hot oil until golden. Drain on a paper towel and sprinkle the zucchini with torn basil leaves. Finely grate the provolone, and set it aside. Cook the spaghetti in boiling salted water. Drain once al dente, setting aside two ladlefulls (around 3/4 cup) pasta cooking water. Sauté the garlic clove in a pan with a bit of oil. Remove the garlic and add the zucchini, drained spaghetti, 1 ladleful pasta cooking water, and half the provolone. Finish cooking over low heat, adding the second ladleful of pasta cooking water gradually along with the remaining provolone, mixing until it forms a creamy sauce. Serve immediately with a generous amount of freshly ground pepper.