Panzanella is a perfect dish for the hot weather we’ve been having, as it is refreshing, makes good use of the summer’s bounty, and the basic version doesn’t require any cooking. Originally it is an Italian peasant lunch prepared to … Continue reading Panzanella
We love risotto and I’m always trying to come up with new recipes. This spinach risotto turned out really nice, and it was even nicer with the garnishes of pancetta and sous-vide egg-yolk. But the risotto is delicious by itself, … Continue reading Spinach Risotto (Risotto agli Spinaci)
After all the decadent restaurant meals, it is time for something very simple. This plate of pasta takes less than 15 minutes from start to finish. The list of ingredients is very short: pasta, zucchini, parmigiano, salt, pepper, olive oil. … Continue reading Quick Pasta with Zucchini
Lately round zucchini have shown up around here. After seeing Marina using them to make stuffed zucchini, I thought I’d try that too. My version is vegetarian, but I did use her idea of using coriander seed to give an … Continue reading Stuffed Round Zucchini
I had picked up a cauliflower because it was on sale, without knowing what I was going to do with it. Then when it was time to cook I wanted to try something new, and as ravioli is one of … Continue reading Cauliflower Ravioli (Ravioli al Cavolfiore)
Scamorza is a cheese from southern Italy that is often smoked, and it is this smoked variety that is the star of this recipe. You can think of it as smoked mozzarella. I had picked up this scamorza without deciding … Continue reading Penne with Scamorza, Eggplant and Cherry Tomatoes
Burrata is a fresh cheese from the Italian region of Puglia that is like a creamy version of mozzarella. I had never seen it imported before, so when I did see it in Amsterdam I jumped at the chance to … Continue reading Pasta with Burrata, Spinach, and Lemon (Orecchiette Burrata, Spinaci, Limone)
A traditional side dish of Sicily is Bastaddi affucati, a Sicilian type of purple cauliflower braised with wine. I got the inspiration to try this dish from Viaggiando con Bea. Since bastaddu (in Sicilian, bastardo in Italian) is difficult to find … Continue reading Braised Cauliflower (Cavolfiore Affogato)
This post is another example of how good very simple dishes can be. I had never thought of tomato risotto, and saw it for the first time on Le Ricette di Baccos. I tried it, and it was absolutely wonderful. … Continue reading Tomato Risotto (Risotto al Pomodoro)
I don’t like hypes. A hype is usually a reason for me to stay away from something. I appreciate something because of its qualities, not simply because others appreciate it. That’s why it took me years to start reading Harry … Continue reading Eggplant with Buttermilk Sauce
Jerusalem artichokes (also known as sunchokes) have gotten their name because these tubers taste like artichokes. I was curious what jerusalem artichoke gnocchi would be like, and so I decided to make some. The gnocchi tasted as expected: like artichoke! I don’t think you could be able to tell the difference. Making these gnocchi from jerusalem artichokes rather than real artichokes is less work and more economical, as from real artichokes you’d only be using the heart (which is only a small part and a lot of work to get to). Continue reading “Jerusalem Artichoke Gnocchi (Gnocchi di Topinambur)”
Happy Christmas everyone!
Risotto with pear and gorgonzola is a well-known dish in Italy. I had made it before, but a post by Francesca about risotto with speck and apples reminded me that I had never blogged about it. To add some crunch, I decided to include some walnuts as well. The combination of the sweet pear, piquant gorgonzola, and crunchy walnuts works very well with the creamy rice. Continue reading “Risotto with Pear, Gorgonzola, and Walnuts”
There are few vegetables that have different names in the UK, the US, and Australia, but witlof is one of them. Witlof is what it’s called in Australia and the Netherlands, but it is called Belgian Endive in the US and Chicory in the UK. In this post I’m going to stick to witlof, as this is a Dutch salad.
A witlof salad with mandarins and walnuts is a very homey Dutch dish, that is often made with canned mandarins and store-bought dressing. As such it is okay but nothing special. With a few touches I’ve transformed it into something a lot better: using fresh mandarins rather than from a can, toasting the walnuts, and making my own dressing with fresh mandarin juice and zest, honey and walnut oil. Continue reading “Belgian Endive/Witlof/Chicory Salad with Mandarins and Walnuts”
A few weeks ago I prepared fennel ‘meatballs’ for the first time, based upon my memory of having them at the great trattoria Tischi Toschi in Messina, Sicily. I was aware that Luca Casablanca, chef and owner of Tischi Toschi, follows my blog, but I had not imagined that he would react to my post. He did, and he left me some constructive feedback. I loved this, as what better way is there to improve upon my cooking then to get feedback from a master? He wrote: “E’ preferibile non passarle nella farina, l’uva passa deve essere quella nera ” Corinto Nero ” nel soffritto mettere cipolla e non aglio, non pomodoro fresco a pezzi bensì salsa di pomodoro, e mi raccomando di metter almeno la metà di parmigiano . Complimenti e grazie del ricordo.”, which means: “It’s better not to put flour on them, the raisins need to be those black ones “Corinto Nero”, use onions instead of garlic for the sauce, not pieces of fresh tomatoes but a tomato sauce, and I recommend to use only half the parmigiano. Well done and thanks for remembering.”
I decided straight away to honor his reaction by making the polpette di finocchietto again, using his suggestions. As you may remember I was not completely happy with the texture of my first attempt, as they were too wet and didn’t keep their shape. I really needed to fix that as well, as without flour they would be even more prone to falling apart. I decided to wring out the fennel greens with a kitchen towel to remove more water from them, and that worked like a charm. Continue reading “Improved Fennel Polpette”
When I saw Richard McGary’s vegetable tian, I knew I’d prepare one too. A tian is actually named after the traditional earthenware dish they are made in. There are vegetable tians, meat tians, and fish tians. I wanted to prepare a tian as a side dish, and so I chose a very traditional tian provençal with eggplant, zucchini, and tomato. Don’t let the simplicity fool you: this tian bursts with flavor anyway thanks to the slow roasting and the herbes de provence. I do not own an actual tian from Provence. For presentation purposes I opted to make single serving mini tians using small ovenproof dishes, but that did mean that it was more difficult to neatly arrange the sliced vegetables. Continue reading “Tian Provençal”
I had fennel left over after making fennel polpette using only the greens. I decided to use the fennel to make a Sicily-inspired pasta dish with raisins, pine nuts, and saffron. When I made this for the first time, I thought it was a bit bland. Now I added sugar and parmigiano and the result is very tasty. The flavors of the raisins, saffron, and fennel work together very well and are supported by the pine nuts and parmigiano. This is a nice vegetarian pasta dish that I will make again. I am not sure if it resembles any traditional Sicilian pasta dish. Continue reading “Fennel Pasta”
This time of the year zucchini or other types of squash are abundant and so I decided to create a recipe for pasta with zucchini. To give the dish a nice flavor and a nice texture, I separated the seeds from the firmer flesh. I diced the firm part and sautéed the diced zucchini briefly over high heat. I chopped the soft part very fine and cooked it to a ‘sauce’ together with an onion and white wine. The resulting dish was very nice with a lovely flavor and texture just like I intended. Here’s what I did… Continue reading “Tagliatelle alle Zucchine”
As an appetizer for my Sicilian dinner I prepared vegetarian meatballs made from fennel and dill, served with a tomato sauce. In Italy these polpette di finocchietto are made with wild fennel greens, which grow abundantly in Italy in spring. For lack of the wild fennel greens, I decided to use a mixture of fennel fronds (the green stuff on top of fennel bulbs) and dill. We loved the polpette di finocchietto during our wonderful dinner at Tischi Toschi, the best trattoria of Sicily in the port town of Messina. I did not ask for the recipe, so this is my own version. They came out great with a lot of flavor. If you’d like to cook vegetarian, this is also very suitable as a main course. Continue reading “Fennel ‘Meatballs’ (Polpette di Finocchietto)”
Each region of Italy has its own pasta dishes. The most famous foodstuff from Liguria is pesto, and the two typical pasta dishes from Liguria with pesto are Lasagne alla Genovese and Trenette alla Genovese. Both are best with pesto made from scratch using pestle and mortar. Trenette alla Genovese are trenette cooked with haricots verts and potatoes, and served with pesto alla genovese. Continue reading “Trenette alla Genovese”
We have lots of fresh mint in our garden, and so it was easy to decide what risotto to prepare on one of the first summer days we’ve had around here this year. Peas and mint are a classic combination: the freshness of the mint pairs well with the sweetness of the peas. Peas are one of the few vegetables that are usually better frozen than fresh, so this is also a good recipe to make when you have mint in our garden, peas in your freezer, and don’t feel like shopping. Continue reading “Risotto with Peas and Mint (Risotto ai Piselli e Menta)”
The typical pasta dish from the South-Italian region of Puglia is orecchiette with cime di rapa. Cime di rapa is a vegetable that is also known as broccoletti or rapini. It is not the same as broccoli, although the green buds in the center certainly resemble small heads of broccoli. If you can’t find cime di rapa, you can make orecchietti with broccoli instead using the same recipe. It’s not the same dish, but good all the same. This time I used dry orecchiette, but this is even better if you use home-made orecchiette instead. Orecchiette with Cime di rapa is another example of a very simple but delicious regional Italian dish. Continue reading “Orecchiette con le Cime di Rapa”
After the success of parsnip sous-vide fondant, I decided to prepare more vegetables this way. My next experiment was with fennel, and it turned out great. The recipe is very simple and very tasty. The nice thing about parcooking the … Continue reading Fennel Sous-Vide Fondant
Snijbonen are a very common type of green beans in the Netherlands that are available year-round. I have not come across them abroad, but some googling has turned up that they are called “runner beans” in English and “fagiolino al corallo” in Italian. They have a nice fresh green flavor that is different from haricots verts and in the Netherlands they are usually served as a side to meat, cut up into narrow strips diagonally, with a bit of nutmeg. Served like that I don’t care much for them, but I’ve found that I like almost every vegetable if prepared in a nice way. Therefore I created this very simple but tasty pasta dish that is by no means authentically Italian. Continue reading “Fusilli with Runner Beans (Fusilli ai Fagiolini al Corallo)”
Chard is not generally available anymore in this country, but recently a new ‘organic’ store opened up near to my house that carries it. I remember my grandmother serving chard (called “snijbiet” in Dutch), but I had never prepared it myself. Now that I can get it, I made Chard Risotto and Pizzoccheri with chard. For both of them I only used the leaves, and so I had a nice bunch of chard stems in the crisper of my fridge, waiting for a purpose. I remember Emmy had posted a recipe for Baked Chard Stems with Tomato, Garlic, and Parmesan, and that was the inspiration for this pasta dish. We love pasta and eat it almost every day. I decided to try making something like ragù from the chard stems, and it worked out great. Continue reading “Pasta with Chard Stems (Penne alle Gambe di Coste)”
A few weeks ago I dined at my favorite Italian restaurant in Amsterdam: Bussia. The risotto I was served there was a cauliflower risotto and it was the inspiration for the risotto I created. This risotto is very creamy with most of the cauliflower used to make a cauliflower puree and the remainder roasted in the oven for some additional flavor and crunch. As a finishing touch I added some roasted almonds. I was happy with the result and will definitely make this again. If made with vegetable stock, this is an outstanding vegetarian dish. Continue reading “Cauliflower Risotto (Risotto al Cavolfiore)”
Eggplant Parmigiana is a very tasty oven dish, consisting of eggplant, tomato sauce, and cheese. Using fresh tomatoes for the sauce (rather than from a can) takes it over the top. Eggplant, tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil go very well together. This is a classic Italian dish that is clear evidence of how good simple Italian food can be. The main drawback of the classic preparation is that the eggplant is pan-fried with lots of oil, as the eggplant slices are like sponges. I’ve found a way around that: I roast the eggplant in the oven after only lightly brushing it with oil. Salting the eggplant slices helps to cook them. In this case I forgot to buy the mozzarella that I usually put on top, and made an even ‘ligther’ version. The parmigiano does not melt as nicely, but it still makes for a nice dish. It’s your choice whether you want to put mozzarella on top or not. Continue reading “Eggplant Parmigiana ‘Light’ (Parmigiana di Melanzane)”
I saw a nice bunch of newly harvested beetroots with greens, and decided to turn them into a risotto. I thought it would be nice to use everything: leaves, stalks, and of course the beetroots themselves. Turned out I was right, a this turned out to be a very tasty risotto. I roasted the beetroots and the stalks, and especially the stalks became very nice and crispy. Continue reading “Beetroot Risotto (Risotto alle Barbabietole)”
After the success of the spinach tarts I tried a version with leeks and it turned out great! Leeks and shallots that are cooked slowly can obtain a wonderful sweet flavor and the texture of these tarts is very soft. The tarts are relatively easy to make and quite impressive. You could also serve them in ramekins as soufflés, as the tarts rise dramatically (and also fall dramatically). You could try to beat the egg whites separately and fold them in for even more of a ‘soufflé’ effect. Without further ado, here’s how to make these lovely vegetarian tarts, that could be served as a vegetarian dish by themselves or as a side to either fish or white meat.
Continue reading “Leek Tarts (Sformatini di Porri)”
When you think of lasagne, you probably think of the famous Lasagne alla Bolognese with bolognese ragù and bechamel sauce. There are however more types of lasagne, such as Lasagna alla Napoletana with ragù alla napoletana, meatballs, sausage, and ricotta, or this Lasagne alla Genovese with pesto. I had never made it before but I will definitely make it again as it was delicious and surprisingly light. Lasagne alla Genovese is made with a mixture of pesto alla genovese and bechamel sauce, to which vegetables can be added. In this case I added roasted zucchini, an idea I got from the Italian blog Il Marito Perfetto (the perfect husband). Continue reading “Lasagne alla Genovese”
Fennel is a versatile vegetable that can be prepared in many ways: caramelized, in risotto, braised, as a salad, or deep fried as in this recipe. It has a nice flavor that reminds us of aniseed. The Italian way of deep frying fennel is to parboil it and then deep fry it breaded with breadcrumbs and parmigiano. Finocchi dorati are tender on the inside, crispy on the outside, and the lovely fennel flavor is accentuated. This is great as a side dish to meat such as this bone-in veal rib eye (about which I will post tomorrow). I parboiled the fennel sous-vide, but if you don’t have sous-vide equipment you can simply steam or parboil in water. The advantage of sous-vide is that no flavor is lost and that the fennel will be tender but firm to the bite. Continue reading “Deep Fried Fennel (Finocchi Dorati)”
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