Fettuccine, olive, capers and pomodorini

Pasta, cherry tomatoes, olives and capers: a quick and easy first course, ideal if you don't have many ingredients at home and don't know what to cook for dinner. This recipe is, like the PASTA ALLA VESUVIANA or the PASTA ALLA GYPSY or the PASTA ALLA PUTTANESCA a great classic in my kitchen and today I wanted to prepare it with fresh and delicious cherry tomatoes just taken from the greengrocer. Do you also have a few ideas for dinner? Do you want a quick recipe that everyone likes? Try the pasta with cherry tomatoes, olives and capers and you will feel how delicious it is. And now... Well, fasten your apron...!

Ingredients

360 g pasta

250 g cherry tomatoes

70 g olives

40 g capers

1 clove garlic

extra virgin olive oil

salt

Preparation

Boil a pot of lightly salted water and, when it boils, cook the pasta immediately and it will cook in the time you prepare the sauce. Wash and dry the cherry tomatoes and cut them in half. Put 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and the peeled garlic, cut in half, in a pan and remove the central core. Let it flavor for a few minutes then add the cherry tomatoes. Add the olives and capers and stir. Add the salt and stir then cook for a couple of minutes over low heat. Drain the pasta directly into the pan and stir by adding a tablespoon of pasta cooking water. Finish cooking the pasta, cherry tomatoes, olives and capers for a few minutes, then put on plates and serve.

 

NEAPOLITAN SAUSAGE AND FRIARIELLI SANDWICH

Sausage and Broccoli It is a classic of Neapolitan cuisine, a perfect combination, a combination that is always well accepted whether it is on a pizza, a sandwich, a simple main course, or why not, even with pasta. According to some, the name friariello derives from the Spanish "frio-grelos" (winter broccoli), while others believe that it derives from the Neapolitan verb frijere (to fry). Excellent to enjoy for a trip out of town or to enrich buffets and appetizers.

Ingredients

450 g flour 

125 ml water

125 ml milk

80 g lard

15 g yeast

250 g sausage

2 bunch of broccoli

100 g smoked provolone cheese

extra virgin olive oil

1 clove garlic

1 chili pepper

10 g salt

egg yolk + milk for brushing

Preparation

To make the Neapolitan sausage and broccoli sandwich, start by letting the milk cool down with water, then add the yeast and let it dissolve. Put the flour in a large bowl and stir in the mixture of water, milk and yeast, making it run down as you knead. When the flour has absorbed all the liquids, transfer to a work surface and add the lard or 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, then add the salt. Knead everything for about ten minutes and finally form a ball and place the dough in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a dry place until doubled. In the meantime, clean the broccoli by removing the toughest stems and wash them thoroughly and boil them for about ten minutes, then drain them and set aside. At this point, brown the garlic with the chili pepper in the oil, then add the crumbled sausage and when it is well colored, add the broccoli. Let it flavor for a few minutes mixing with a spoon, then turn off and let it cool well. Then roll out the well-leavened dough on a lightly floured work surface and form a rectangle. Cover with the sausage, the broccoli and the provolone cut into small pieces and roll up on itself to form a loaf. At this point, divide into pieces and transfer the Neapolitan sausage and friarielli sandwich onto a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Cover and let rise for about an hour. After this time, brush with an egg yolk beaten with a tablespoon of milk and bake in a static oven at 180 C for 15/20 minutes. Then remove from the oven, let cool and serve. Your Neapolitan sausage and broccoli sandwich is ready.

 

French fries with sausage and cheese

Today I'm going to show you a super caloric second course, French fries with sausage and cheese. I know it's not a healthy recipe, but once in a while you can make an exception to the rule.

Ingredients

500 g bagged fried potatoes

3 sausages

250 g béchamel sauce

150 g of fontina or other stringy cheese

100 g grated parmesan cheese

olive oil for frying

Preparation

First, chop the sausages and set aside. Then take a frying pan, pour in the olive oil, dip the fried potatoes and proceed to cook. In the meantime, prepare the cheese sauce. In a saucepan, start heating the béchamel sauce. Once hot, add the fontina cheese and let it melt over low heat, stirring slowly, but without interruption. Finally, add the parmesan cheese and try to incorporate it completely into the cream. When the French fries are ready, drain them and transfer them to a sheet of paper towel to remove excess oil and then place them on a tray. At this point, fry the sausage with a little olive oil. Once cooked, spread it over the French fries and complete by pouring in the cream cheese. Here our fries with sausage and cheese are ready, you will feel how delicious they are. The cheese sauce combined with the French fries and sausage will make the dish very appetizing. Of course, we can only concede it once in a while because it's a calorie bomb.

 

Pizza au broccoli et à la ricotta

À cette période de l’année, avec les beaux jours, j’ai tendance à préférer les pizzas légères, délicates et pas trop lourdes. Mais de temps en temps, vous souhaitez combiner des saveurs riches et audacieuses avec une pizza encore suffisamment fraîche pour la fin du printemps, et c’est ce que fait celle-ci. Le broccoli-rave est audacieux et savoureux, la ricotta salata est brillante et salée, les flocons de piment ajoutent une touche piquante.

La seule véritable astuce pour préparer cette pizza est de veiller à appuyer un peu le brocoli-rave sur la pizza pendant que vous la préparez. Il a tendance à piquer, ce qui peut entraîner une certaine carbonisation dans le four. Un peu de charbon, c'est bien (et ajoute une délicieuse dimension fumée aux saveurs finales), mais bien sûr, vous ne voulez pas que la pizza soit recouverte de légumes verts brûlés. Alors posez-le sur la pizza, appuyez dessus et utilisez les cubes de mozzarella pour retenir les morceaux particulièrement tenaces qui collent, si nécessaire.

Ingrédients

1 boule de pâte à pizza

3 onces de brocoli-rave

Huile d'olive vierge extra

sel et poivre au goût

4 onces de mozzarella, coupée en cubes

1 once de salata de ricotta

flocons de chili

Instructions

Rôtir le brocoli-rave et couper les tomates raisins en deux :

Préchauffez le four à 350 degrés Fahrenheit avec votre pierre à pizza à l'intérieur. Tapisser une plaque à pâtisserie de papier sulfurisé. Mélangez les 3 onces de brocoli-rave avec suffisamment d'huile d'olive pour les enrober généreusement, ainsi que du sel et du poivre au goût. Disposer en une seule couche sur la plaque à pâtisserie. Rôtir à 350 degrés Fahrenheit jusqu'à tendreté, 10 à 15 minutes. Dès que le brocoli-rabe est cuit, retirez la plaque à pâtisserie le contenant du four et augmentez le feu à 550 degrés Fahrenheit. Coupez les 5 à 6 tomates raisins en deux de haut en bas.

Préparez et faites cuire la pizza :

Étirez la pâte sur un rond d'environ 12 pouces. Badigeonner d'huile d'olive, puis garnir de 4 onces de mozzarella en cubes. Disposez uniformément le brocoli-rave rôti sur la pizza. Cuire la pizza sur la pierre jusqu'à ce que le fromage soit fondu et que la croûte soit dorée, en la retournant une fois à mi-cuisson. Lorsque la pizza est cuite, rasez 1 once de ricotta salata sur le dessus. Saupoudrer de flocons de piment au goût.

 

Tagliatelle with sauce, and meatballs 

Tagliatelle with sauce and meatballs is the classic Sunday first course, often prepared at my house on the weekend and that my whole family can agree on, which is quite rare! A rich and tasty dish that evokes many beautiful memories in me and that I always prepare with a lot of joy!

Ingredients

FOR THE MEATBALLS

350 g minced mixed meat

50 g Grana Padano

1 egg

1 sandwich

Half a cup of milk

1 clove garlic

chopped parsley

salt

Pepper

1 pinch nutmeg

FOR THE SAUCE

500 ml tomato puree

1 sprig basil

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 pinch chili powder

salt

Preparation

Place in the bowl the minced meat with the eggs, the grated Grana Padano, three tablespoons of breadcrumbs, the bread soaked in milk and well squeezed, the minced garlic clove, parsley. Season with salt and pepper and a pinch of nutmeg, knead well with your hands until the mixture is soft but compact. Knead the mixture for a long time to make it well blended. Shape into meatballs and dip each one in breadcrumbs. Place the meatballs to rest for 30 minutes in the refrigerator. Then put them on the baking tray lined with parchment paper and bake at 180° for about 10 minutes. Now prepare the sauce. Put the garlic clove in the pan with a drizzle of oil, immediately add the tomato puree. Add a glass of water and cook for about 20 minutes. Season with salt and basil. Add the meatballs to the tomato sauce and continue cooking for another 10 minutes. Cook the tagliatelle al dente in plenty of salted water, remove them with a fork and place them in the pan with the meatball sauce. Mix carefully and serve immediately, enjoy!

The balanced sandwich in our diet 

The classic stuffed sandwich is one of the most popular, appetizing and convenient meals to take with you, at work, on the road, on the beach and during excursions.

It often accompanies us on our lunch break and children like it too. As long as you fill it with the right ingredients, it can be a correct and balanced meal also from a nutritional point of view, providing carbohydrates, proteins and fats. The full of vitamins can be made by adding slices of tomato and salad, taking care to add a piece of fruit to the meal.

The ideal is to make a nice sandwich favoring whole meal bread, rich in fiber, avoiding bread with too much crumb, less digestible and more caloric and milk sandwiches, oil, or focaccia, always for the same reason.

Also pay attention to the filling. If it is true that everyone has their own tastes, it is equally true that a sandwich with tuna and mozzarella is less resistant to temperature changes than one stuffed with simple cooked or raw ham. To stuff the sandwiches you can use almost anything, from cold cuts to vegetable ones of tofu or seitan on the market, to grilled vegetables, spinach, perhaps together with tofu, to sliced tomatoes with basil, tofu and olive oil... All embellished with chopped olives, various pickles, sun-dried tomatoes, walnuts, cauliflower salads, sautéed carrots, stewed peas, stewed beans (clearly they must then be dry to be put in the sandwich) that may have been left over from dinner or lunch the day before. Tuna and any chili peppers, artichokes, mushrooms should always be drained very well before being used to fill our sandwich, this is both to allow us a better preservation and transport of the same avoiding annoying grease stains in the bag, and for health and digestibility reasons. It is also better to remove any fat from cold cuts and ham, prefer lean meats, bresaola or even a nice slice of turkey or smoked salmon, rich in omega3.

It is also advisable to avoid mayonnaise, tartar sauce and ketchup, to have a tasty sandwich, not stringy and not dry, just add a few slices of tomato, salad or grilled vegetables. Don't overdo it even with cheese, it's good and good for you but it's also very caloric and has always been unsuitable for those who follow a diet. Also in this case, it is preferable to choose a fresh and less caloric cheese, perhaps not too soft and rich in water. What doesn't always seem healthier is also less caloric. If the sandwich outside the home is a habit, then it becomes an imperative to pay attention to health and figure, starting not only from calories but also from the choice of healthy and fresh ingredients.

Types of bread and corresponding calories

Values per 100 grams of product.

240 cal- Whole wheat

247 cal- Tuscan or Apulian

260 cal- Michetta

280 cal- Francesino

285 cal- Baguette

290 cal- Soybean

295 cal- Sesame

300 cal- Milk

320 cal- Walnuts

Below are some sandwich recipes with their calories.

Ciabattina with ham and capers

Ingredients for 1 person

salted capers, rosemary, low-fat Greek yogurt, 60 gram ciabatta bread, rocket, 30 grams of taleggio cheese, 40 grams of raw ham.

Chop a teaspoon of salted capers (rinsed and dried) with a few needles of rosemary, then mix with a tablespoon of low-fat Greek yogurt. Fold a 60-gram slipper in two. Spread the cream on the lower half. Add 10 grams of cleaned and washed rocket leaves, 30 grams of thin slices of taleggio cheese, 40 grams of raw ham without visible fat.

Cover with the other half of the slipper.

Calories

345 kcal

Provençal sandwich

Ingredients for 1 person

a round sandwich of 100 grams, 100 grams of tomatoes, 50 grams of peppers, 3 pitted black olives, onion, 50 grams of natural tuna, lettuce salad, 1 egg, basil, vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper.

Preparation

Cut a round sandwich of about 100 grams in half. Sprinkle the crumb with a tablespoon of vinegar mixed with a teaspoon of oil, a little salt and pepper. In the meantime, prepare the filling. In a bowl, combine 100 grams of sliced tomatoes, 50 grams of stripped peppers, 3 pitted black olives divided in half, a couple of rings of raw onion and 50 grams of natural tuna. Place a few lettuce leaves on the bottom half of the bun. Add the prepared mix, half a hard-boiled egg in wedges and a fresh basil leaf. Cover with the other half of the bun.

Calories

460 kcal

Sandwich with eggs and curry

Ingredients for 1 person (for the preparation of 2 sandwiches)

50 grams of sandwich bread (like sandwich), 2 eggs, curry, extra virgin olive oil, fresh salad to taste, 100 grams of cucumber, 20 grams of thinly sliced smoked bacon.

Preparation

Take two slices of soft bread (50 grams) for sandwiches (or loaf of bread) and divide them into 2 triangles. Cook two eggs for about 10 minutes in boiling water, leave to cool, shell the eggs and chop them with a little curry and two teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil.

Spread the mixture on one of the two triangles, add a few leaves of fresh salad to taste, 100 grams of cucumber cut into slices and 20 grams of smoked bacon thinly sliced and browned in a non-stick pan without adding seasonings. Finally, cover the sandwiches with the remaining triangle of bread.

Calories

460 kcal

Farmer's Sandwich

Ingredients for 4 people

2 slices of black bread, a pear and half a carrot, 100 gr of ricotta, 20 gr of pecorino cheese, 1 pinch of chili powder, 1 stalk of chives

Pour the ricotta into a bowl, mash it with a fork and season with the chili pepper and chopped chives. Clean and grate the carrot. Peel the pear, cut it in half, remove the core and cut it into slices. Spread the two slices of bread with ricotta, spread the pear, carrot and pecorino cheese cut into flakes on one. Close with the other slice and serve.

Calories

360 kcal

Maritozzi

These luscious Roman Maritozzi are incredibly light, soft sweet buns filled with loads of perfectly whipped cream. But you don’t have to travel to Rome to eat one! This recipe has all the tips so that you can make Maritozzi at home that will satisfy your cravings and bring your dreams to life! Maritozzi are made of an enriched brioche-style dough that’s not too sweet. However, while brioche dough uses butter, maritozzi uses extra virgin olive oil to create softness and flavor. 

Today I'm playing at home with the dessert that best represents this city, let's prepare together the MARITOZZI WITH CREAM! Maritozzi are a delicious Roman recipe, they are soft semi-sweet buns filled with lots of fresh cream, they are excellent for breakfast, accompanied by a nice cappuccino, they will give the right charge throughout the day! During cooking, their intoxicating scent will spread throughout the kitchen, something unique and special thanks to the aromas used to make the dough really fragrant! 

The recipe for Roman maritozzi is an ancient recipe, simple ingredients such as flour, milk, eggs, sugar, honey, orange peel, raisins and pine nuts. The real recipe for maritozzi dates back to the period of ancient Rome, in fact they were prepared as a gift to be given to future brides, hence the name maritozzo, that is, husband. They were given on the first Friday of March and you could also put a ring or other small gift inside. Today the maritozzo is also prepared with simple dough without adding raisins and pine nuts and to make them even more delicious, they are filled with lots of fresh cream. This is the version of maritozzo that I love the most. 

Ingredients 

100 g water (room temperature)

5 g fresh brewer's yeast

1 tsp sugar

100 g flour

For the dough

Pre-kneading

420 g flour

60 g sugar

60 g sunflower oil

2 eggs

10 g honey

150 g milk

5 g fresh brewer's yeast

1orange zest (grated)

1vanilla flavoring

For brushing

1 egg yolk

50 g liquid cream

For filling and decorating

350 g whipped cream (freshly sweetened)

powdered sugar

Preparation

Maritozzo with cream is the dessert that brings me back to the old and sweet memories of my childhood, I always ate it with my dad when he took me to Trastevere, an ancient district of Rome, we ate it with a nice cup of hot chocolate nearby, it was breakfast on Sundays or when we had to go downtown to do some rides. Let's start with the pre-dough for maritozzi with cream. Start by preparing the pre-dough, a kind of yeast, then in a bowl put the water with the yeast and sugar, stir to dissolve the yeast. Add the flour, a little at a time, stirring with a fork. Knead the dough quickly in the bowl without shaping it, important that you have mixed all the ingredients. Cover with plastic wrap and let the pre-dough rise for about an hour, it should double. Dissolve the yeast in the milk. Take a large bowl, mix in the eggs, oil, milk with dissolved yeast and honey. Add the sugar with the orange zest and vanilla flavoring and mix again, now start pouring the flour a little at a time, stirring constantly. Also drizzle the oil over the dough as you knead it. Start kneading with your hands, adding the leavened pre-dough as well. Knead everything until you finish pouring all the flour. Knead the dough on the table giving it the shape of a nice homogeneous ball that you put to rise in a bowl greased inside and covering everything with plastic wrap. Let it rise for at least 3 hours in the oven with the light on. Take the dough, divide it into 12 loaves of the same size, give each loaf a round shape and then slightly lengthen the ends. Place all the buns on a large baking tray lined with parchment paper. Cover with plastic wrap and let them rise for an hour in the oven with the light on. Put the egg yolk and liquid cream in a bowl, beat with a fork and brush the leavened buns with this mixture, helped with a pastry brush. Bake the maritozzi in a preheated oven at 180° for about 10-15 minutes. Once the maritozzi are cooked, let them cool completely, then with the help of a knife cut the maritozzi with an oblique cut and fill them with lots of fresh cream, you can help yourself with a pastry bag. Cover the maritozzi with lots of icing sugar and serve them at the table, soft and fragrant, irresistible with the delicious whipped cream filling.

Advice

Once the maritozzi are made, you can store them and stuff them later, in this case close them in a plastic bag for food, they can be kept soft for two days. Once filled, store the maritozzi with cream in the fridge in an airtight container for up to two days.

 

Lent means fish

Lent at the table: what to eat in Lent all the customs of Italy. 😻

Crazy about fish! During Lent, it is typical to eat a lighter diet, thanks to the advent of milder temperatures. It is customary to fast from red meat and heavy foods. The perfect time to rediscover the flavors of the sea. Crustaceans, fish, molluscs, lend themselves to an infinite number of classic and creative recipes, united by their healthy properties and low calorie content!

What are the food customs of Lent? The forty days that separate Carnival from Easter are called Lent according to the Catholic religion and, especially in the past, were subject to dietary restrictions that prohibited the consumption of certain types of ingredients. In Lent, animal fats and meat are not contemplated, which is why it is customary to say that we eat lean.

Today, fortunately, we are far from the period in which observing Lent was an obligation, but this could be a time to purify your body before indulging in the rich Easter recipes. As with all traditional recipes, those of the Lenten period vary according to the regions of Italy. The customs and ingredients are different, as they should be, because each territory has its fruits depending on the season.

What you can eat during Lent

The Lenten season, unless it is observed very scrupulously, is not so bad from the point of view of "allowed" ingredients. All vegetables and legumes, fish and bread, but also polenta are allowed.

What you can't eat during Lent

In the past, those who observed Lent following not only the spiritual part, but also the food part, could not eat meat for the whole period and in any case never on the Friday before Easter. Animal fats (butter, lard, lard) are also prohibited, along with eggs and dairy products.

Lent's recipes

Although Lent is no longer observed in a very active way, you have certainly heard the saying "fare un fioretto", which means avoiding eating a certain food (usually sugars or fats) for these forty days. This can only be good for our body. In addition, there are numerous delicious Lenten recipes that deserve to be known and tried, if only to rediscover historical flavors and because the culture of a country or a period also depends on what was put on the table.

Cod and stock fish

Cod and stock fish have always been considered important ingredients in this period. The fried cod is excellent, typical of Neapolitan and southern Italian cuisine, which can be prepared both in larger slices and in more practical crunchy morsels. Very tasty are also the recipes for Genoese stock fish, typical of Liguria, and that of stewed cod characteristic of Veneto. Cod and stock fish are the same part as cod, only the former is preserved in salt, while the latter is air-dried. The cod must therefore be well washed before its preparation, in some cases it was even left to soak in milk to soften its flavor. Stock fish must be regenerated and left to soak in water or milk to recover its softness.

The first courses of Lent

There are many typical pasta recipes for Lent. Among these are pasta with sardines, typically Sicilian and particularly tasty and cheap. This first course is very easy to make and you can get a variation by adding wild fennel. Spaghetti with anchovy sauce is also one of the typical recipes of the period. What we know today as colatura di alici, in Roman times was garum, a condiment that was obtained by squeezing sardines or anchovies. Another typical dish of this period that anticipates Easter is that of lean lasagna. Typical of the Piedmont tradition, this lasagna does not contain meat, but a mixture of capers and anchovies. The classic lean lasagna has then been replaced with white lasagna with vegetables, which are perfect for delighting other times of the year, especially spring which sees the explosion of colors and flavors of dozens of vegetables.

The other dishes of Lent

In addition to first courses, there are also Lenten recipes that can be considered main courses or main courses. This is the case of the Scammaro omelet, a pasta omelet that is prepared without eggs. This is one of the typical dishes of Naples and it is a fairly dated recipe. The first notes of this preparation date back to 1837, when Duke Buonvicino included it in a gastronomic volume on Neapolitan specialties. It seems that the first version of this omelet was commissioned by clerical institutions precisely for Lent, a time of the year when it was necessary to follow the lean diet. In this omelet, prepared without meat and eggs, the main ingredients are oil, garlic, raisins, olives, capers, anchovies, pine nuts and parsley. The spaghetti, flavored with this sautéed sauce, is sautéed in a pan until it forms a light and pleasant crust. As a preparation technique, they are very similar to spaghetti all'Assassina, but in the white version.

Lenten gastronomy also has other ingredients in its basket, such as herring, which in the past was dried or preserved in brine. There is a curiosity related to this fish and Lent and it is really a representation. In the Middle Ages, this period was represented by an elderly, barefoot and rather thin woman holding a herring in her hand. This fish was that of the poor and it seems that a single unit must have sufficed for a single family. The recipe for herring in salad with apples and marinated herring is excellent. Another typical recipe of this period is Cappon Magro, a curious name for a recipe, quite elaborate, of Ligurian origins. It is a kind of seafood salad with different fish and shellfish, combined with a green sauce with pleasantly acidic notes.

The bread of Lent is undoubtedly the ramerino bread, made from a classic dough made of flour, water and yeast, to which a fragrant mixture of rosemary and raisins is added. These buns are usually prepared in small, slightly flattened pieces. Excellent for a snack, but also to accompany the dishes of a more traditional lunch.

Among the desserts of Lent, maritozzi stand out, but you should know that there are different versions. The most famous ones are the Roman maritozzi, small and fluffy round and shiny buns that embrace a generous filling of whipped cream. There are other variations, such as the maritozzi from the Marche region which are slightly elongated and the from Puglia which are braided. The filling, in addition to sweetened cream, can also include raisins and candied orange peel.

 

Calamarata

This calamarata pasta with swordfish ragu is a first-course dish with a real Mediterranean feel, prepared using a typical Neapolitan pasta variety called calamarata, whose name comes thanks to its similarity to the calamari rings it’s often dressed with. In the case of our recipe, the sauce is prepared using diced swordfish sautéed separately and fresh cherry tomatoes flavored with garlic and capers. This type of pasta is now very popular and readily available, but if you can’t find it, you can easily replace it with the paccheri or mezze maniche varieties.

Ingredients

Calamarata pasta 0.75 lb (320 g)

Swordfish 11 (300 g) - steaks

Extra virgin olive oil 2 ½ tbsp (30 g)

White wine 1 ¼ tbsp (20 g)

Garlic 1 clove

Parsley 3 bunches

Black pepper to taste

Fine salt to taste

Cherry tomatoes 1 lb (400 g)

Extra virgin olive oil 2 ½ tbsp (30 g)

Capers in vinegar 0.5 oz (10 g)

Garlic 1 clove

Fine salt to taste

Black pepper to taste

Preparation

To make this calamarata pasta with swordfish ragu, first wash the tomatoes, dry them, and cut them in half. Heat the oil in a frying pan with a whole clove of garlic, then pour in the cherry tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper and stir to help the flavors develop, then add the capers, cover with a lid and continue cooking for 20 minutes over low heat. In the meantime, prepare the swordfish, cutting it into slices if necessary, and removing the skin and dicing it. Heat a pan full of water, salted to taste, to cook the pasta in. In another pan, heat some oil with a whole clove of garlic, add the swordfish, and leave to brown slightly. Deglaze with the white wine, remove the garlic clove, and season with salt and pepper. The water should have come to a boil by now, so you can cook the pasta. After 20 minutes, remove the garlic clove from the cherry tomatoes and fish. Add the diced swordfish to the sauce, and as soon as the pasta is cooked, drain it and transfer to the pan. Sauté everything for a few moments, add the chopped parsley, and stir again. Your calamarata pasta with swordfish ragu is ready to be dished up and served! 

STORAGE

I  recommend eating the pasta right away. Alternatively, you can keep it in the refrigerator for up to a day. Not recommended for freezing. 

TIP

To add even more flavor to your dish, you might like to enhance the tomato sauce with anchovy fillets, or, for a fresh and fragrant touch, why not flavor your calamarata pasta with thyme or chopped fresh mint.

  

Parisian gnocchi 

Parisian gnocchi: what are they and what are their origins? For all lovers of homemade gnocchi, here is a delicious and irresistibly creamy dish: Parisian gnocchi. The term "Parisian" recalls French origins, but these are disputed by the Florentines who claim a paternity dating back to the time of Lorenzo the Magnificent. As is often the case, the history of traditional dishes can be quite intricate, but what matters is that these specialties have come down to us while maintaining their goodness unchanged. In the few and simple ingredients, artfully mixed, is contained the secret of the success of this first course: special gnocchi made with choux pastry seasoned with a béchamel enriched with tasty cheeses. The inevitable passage in the oven will give the typical gratin that distinguishes these gnocchi. Although its origins are controversial, this recipe has an indisputable certainty: it is a delight for the eyes and the palate! 

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE SAUCE

Whole milk 350 g

Gruyere to grate 100 g

Parmigiano Reggiano to be grated 100 g

Butter 50 g

Flour 30 g

Fine salt to taste

Black pepper to taste

Steps

Cook the gnocchi for about 2 minutes, until they are well puffed. Drain them. Gradually remove the gnocchi alla parigina from the water with a slotted spoon and transfer them to a baking dish, without piling them up too much. Prepare the sauce. Melt 40 g of butter in a saucepan, add 40 g of flour, let it toast, dilute with 4 dl of cold milk and, when the mixture has reached a boil, add 100 ml of fresh cream and cook for a couple of minutes, stirring constantly. Season with salt and pepper, season with grated nutmeg, stir in 4 tablespoons of grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and turn off. Finish and cook au gratin. Cover the Parisian gnocchi with the sauce, stir them gently, sprinkle them with 3-4 tablespoons of grated Parmigiano Reggiano, drizzle with 20 g of melted butter and put them in a preheated oven at 180° C for about twenty minutes, until a golden crust has formed on the surface.

Wine experts think this Italian Chianti Classico Red wine would be a match made in heaven with this dish. Gnocchi in Italian gastronomic culture are mostly linked to recipes for first courses, but you only have to go to Austria or Germany to discover that they can be excellent accompaniments to second courses or main courses.

Castellare Chianti Classico

 

Chianti Classico di Castellina is a wine that is a protagonist of Tuscany's oldest winemaking tradition, which on an area of more than 70,000 hectares, embraced by the Chianti mountain range, has seen local grapes grow since Etruscan and Roman times. Here, in the most central part of the region, on a hill complex characterized by limestone and sandy soil, ancient winemaking techniques based on the choice of soils, forms of farming and winemaking practices, gave rise as early as the 1200s to the so-called "Lega del Chianti." In this part of Tuscany, the particularly luminous environment characterized by strong temperature fluctuations, allows excellent ripening of the grapes giving those specific organoleptic characteristics that have made this wine famous all over the world. The production of Chianti Classico di Castellina follows the strict rules that govern the production of Chianti Classico in the land of Tuscany.These rules provide for the cultivation of vineyards at altitudes not exceeding 700 meters protecting this wine with the D.O.C.G.(Denominazione di origine controllata e garantita). In these trademarked vineyards, Chianti Classico Castellare di Castellina is produced following ancient vine training practices such as upside-down guyot. The result is a D.O.C.G. still red wine that embodies all the tradition of native Tuscan wine with a composition characterized by Sangiovese and Canaiolo nero grapes.

Tasting note

 Ruby red. The nose is fragrant, fresh with pleasant hints of red fruit, licorice, currants and a light touch of vanilla. On the palate it expresses a pleasant sweetness, is round, soft and savory. Acidity and persistence characterize a very elegant aftertaste.

Ornellaia

A total of 119 hectares in production is divided into a mosaic of more than 70 different plots according to soil type, exposition and varietal. The great variability of the soils – marine, alluvial or volcanic origins – combines with the lay of the land to create a highly diversified patchwork of micro-terroirs.

Their production philosophy revolves around Ornellaia’s obsession with excellence – at all levels. Every choice made is of absolute importance and implies an all-consuming attention to detail. The best possible quality is reached through meticulous work in the vineyard, mostly executed by hand to respect the specific character of each vineyard. In the cellar each vineyard is treated as an individual, vinified separately, with the objective to express the specific character of its parcel. The base wines mature in small French oak barrels, before being selected and blended to achieve a subtle balance: expressing the specific character of the vintage while keeping Ornellaia’s voluptuous elegance. Sustainable viticulture is an integral part of production philosophy: interventions and external inputs both in the vineyard and in the cellar are minimised.  Ornellaia is a cuvée of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc & Petit Verdot and the faithful expression of unique terroir developed in harmony with nature.

In addition to the iconic wine, the estate produces two reds, Le Serre Nuove dell' Ornellaia, which is a true second vin and Le Volte dell' Ornellaia. Its production includes also two white wines: the historical Poggio alle Gazze dell' Ornellaia and Ornellaia Bianco.

Tasting note

Cherry aromas and creamy touch on the palate and a very well balanced elegant wine. Although finish was a bit weak, I could enjoy the wine throughout drinking... Notes : cherry vanilla blackberry plum. On the nose, balsamic with barbecue meat, bacon, nutmeg, mushroom, tobacco leaf, cocoa, cranberry, restrained oak, forest floor, potting soil. On the palate, black cherry, blackberry, blackcurrant, cranberry, dark chocolate, tar, orange peel, pomegranate. Notes of cherry and raspberry; very red fruit forward, maybe a slight undercurrent of oak, but not much. The palette: leather, cherry, raspberry, stone. A little disjointed: thin on flavor, yet hot on alcohol.

Wine experts think this Tuscan Red wine would be a match made in heaven with this dish. 

Cured meats have been one of our most traditional foods going back to ancient times. They are a popular part of Mediterranean diets and often play a starring role in tapas and antipasto dishes. To put it simply; curing involves the salting, drying and aging of meat as a way of preservation, slowing spoilage, and preventing the growth of harmful bacteria. Cured meat tends to have a deeper flavor and softer texture than fresh meat and people sometimes refer to it as ‘cold cuts’. Prosciutto is Italy’s answer, this thinly sliced dry-cured prosciutto comes in several different varieties from the various Italian regions which produce it. Typically, prosciutto will undergo a curing process that can last anything up to two years.

Ingredients

Pork leg/thigh, salt

Prosciutto has quite a mild taste, and it works well in a range of dishes, or just by itself on a cheese platter.

  

Orecchiette with prawns, zucchini

Ah, carbs...! A single word that can encompass joys and sorrows! However, a clarification must be made. What hurts is excess, as in all things. This dish of orecchiette with prawns is the right compromise between taste and genuineness! After all, all the most correct diets  involve the consumption of carbohydrates. Just don't overdo it with the quantities and seasonings. These orecchiette with zucchini and prawns are very tasty and rich in vitamins. In fact, the 2 ingredients I chose, prawns and zucchini, are rich in beneficial properties. In addition to being excellent, it is a simple and quick to prepare fish first course! 

Ingredients

320 g orecchiette

200 g zucchini

250 g prawns

onion

garlic

olive oil

salt

basil

Preparation

Wash the zucchini and cut it into cubes without removing the skin. To finish, clean the prawns. Wash them, remove the head, shell and legs. If you want, you can leave some shrimp with all the shell to decorate the dishes. Cut the back of each shrimp with a sharp knife, remove the intestines and throw it away. Rinse the prawns, drain the water and pat dry with kitchen paper. Take a frying pan, pour a couple of tablespoons of oil and brown a clove of garlic and a little chopped onion. Toss the diced zucchini inside and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes. The zucchini should remain crispy and should only be a little wilted. In a separate pan, heat a little olive oil and then add the prawns. They will only need to cook for a few minutes otherwise they will become too hard. Once cooked, add zucchini and prawns  in the same saucepan. Season with salt just now and mix. Take a saucepan, fill it with water and bring to a boil. Then put down the orecchiette (you can use the shape you prefer), season with salt and cook. Drain a couple of minutes before in the saucepan with the seasonings and mix everything together. Add a few basil leaves and bring to the table your tasty orecchiette with prawns and zucchini. I hope you enjoyed this recipe! Enjoy your meal and come back to see me soon!