Aubergine, Peas & Pancetta Risotto
Today I propose you a light and delicious risotto idea which was approved by the whole family. The kids are not big fans of aubergines but they absolutely loved this risotto! I have to say mashing some aubergines helped. Also thanks to the addition of bacon and peas there was no complaint and they ate the whole plate!
For this recipe I’ve used the stripy purple aubergine in the picture below. Isn’t it just pretty?
I love the beautiful variety of colour of aubergines!
I really hope you enjoy this recipe and please share your remakes! I would love to know your thoughts if you will be making it.
Ingredients for 4 people
250gr risotto rice
70gr cubed pancetta
70gr frozen peas
1 aubergine
A few basil leaves
1/2 onion
1/2 vegetable stock cube
some chopped pistachios
Parmesan cheese
splash of white wine
soy cream (optional)
Preparation: 10 minutes - Cooking: 20/25 minutes
Start by chopping the onion and cut the aubergine in small cubes.
Pan fry the onion together with the pancetta with some extra virgin olive oil for about 5 minutes.
Such a pretty variety of aubergines’
In the same pan add the aubergine cubes and pan fry them with the rest until soft. Keep some on the side for the plating. I decided to mash some of the cooked aubergines so not to hear the kids complaining as they are not big eaters of aubergines.
Add the rice & mix with the rest for a few minutes. Add a splash of white wine and cook all together for an extra 5 minutes or until the wine gets absorbed.
A beautiful risotto which is great for summer!
Now add enough water to cover the rice, some salt, 1/2 vegetable stock cube and some chopped basil leaves. Cover with a lid and stir occasionally. You may need to add more water until the rice is tender. Towards the end add Parmesan cheese and mix. You can add some vegetable spread too to make it creamier. I often add some soy cream too.
Serve by adding the extra pancetta & aubergine cubes on top, some chopped pistachios, more Parmesan cheese & some fresh basil leaves.
Enjoy!
A closeup of this colourful risotto!
Chiacchiere: My Favourite Carnival Treat
Chiacchiere, which in Italian means literally “little chats”, are the symbol of the Italian Carnival and just by eating them I recall many nice memories of my childhood.
Even though they have different names in various parts of Italy, these thin sweet fried pastries are enjoyed all over Italy during Mardi Gras or Carnival season, which starts very soon.
In Italy during "Carnevale" people dress up and every town even the smallest one has its own parade.It's the most colourful and fun celebration of the year!
Even though I’ve been living in the UK for the last 13 years, I like to keep these traditions alive and pass them to the kids too. They love the fact of dressing-up and they are so happy to enjoy these yummy treats! In fact every year even if we are not in Italy to celebrate, we never miss to make them, that’s how much we love Chiacchiere! They are crispy, bubbly and super addicting!
That is also why we decided to organise a cook-long and teach others to make them too. They are too good not to share!
These sweet and delicate dough strips with lemon aroma are deep fried then sprinkled with icing sugar. That's all really! So simple yet so delicious!😋
Ingredients:
250gr plain flour
1 tbsp sugar
1 egg
40 gr butter
1 lemon zest
4 tbsp white wine
4 tbsp Limoncello, Brandy or Marsala. These are the typical Italian ones but if your don’t have them, it’s ok to add 4 more tablespoons of wine instead.
Pinch of salt
Pinch bicarbonate of soda or baking powder
Vegetable oil to fry
Icing sugar
Preparation: 20 minutes Cooking: 5 minutes
Start by mixing flour with baking powder and sugar. Add the cold butter into the flour and mix it with your fingers. Make a well in the center of the flour and add the egg, wine, limoncello and lemon zest.
Mix all ingredients together and by doing so you will end up with a dough. Turn the mixture onto a clean surface and knead the dough until smooth, about 5 minutes. The dough may appear dry at first but do not add extra liquid. It will become easier to handle after it rests. Cover and let it rest at room temperature for about an hour.
The chiacchiere are ready to be fried
Divide the dough into 4 pieces and by using a rolling pin, flatten the dough as much as you can in order to have a thin pastry sheet. If you have a pasta machine this operation should be very easy.
The Chiacchiere have been fried
At this point by using a pastry wheel cutter or simply a knife, cut through the pastry in order to create some nice rectangular strips.
The chiacchiere are sprinkled sigh icing sugar
Now fill a deep bottomed pan with about 3 cm of vegetable oil. Heat the oil on high heat. When the oil is hot, add the strips of chiacchiere. They will immediately puff up. Turn over and brown the opposite side. This literally takes seconds. After the oil heats up, you will have to turn the temperature down to medium high to prevent them from burning. Do not overcrowd the pan or you’ll have difficulty keeping up with flipping the chiacchiere before they become too dark! They must be a light golden colour.
A closeup of these yummy Carnival treats
Let them cool down before dusting with powdered sugar.
Buon appetito!😋
Fried Pasta & Chickpea Soup
This is a very traditional meal in my family and one I deeply loved as a child. My mum used to make it a lot and it was always an incredible success with us kids.
Now it’s my kids who love it at the point that they often request it on the menu.
It’s easy, delicious and requires simple ingredients, the perfect quick and comforting winter meal.
Ingredients:
2 cloves garlic chopped
1 rosemary branch
2 cherry tomatoes cut in 4
extra virgin olive oil
1 can of chickpeas
250gr gnocchetti sardi or any other small pasta
3 cups water
paprika
turmeric
1/2 vegetable stock cube
Preparation: 10 minutes Cooking: 15 minutes
Pan fry garlic, rosemary & tomatoes with extra virgin olive oil for a few minutes until garlic is golden & tomato is soft. Then add in the chickpeas with their water. Adjust with salt & black pepper (I love paprika & some turmeric too) Let it cook for 10 minutes.
In the meantime in another saucepan put extra virgin olive oil to cover the bottom and add the pasta and pan fry the pasta at medium heat until it gets some colour. This will last about 5/10 minutes max, keep on turning with a wooden spoon to prevent burning. The pasta will take various shades!
Now take half of the chickpeas and mash with some water and some of the seasoning too. Add in the saucepan where the pasta is, add 3 cups of water, add the stock and cook until the pasta is cooked. Adjust with salt & water if necessary. Once the pasta is cooked you can add extra chickpeas on top and you are done!
Buon appetito!
Look at all those pasta shades!
Fava Beans Purée With Bread Croutons & Sautéed Chicory Greens
When you feel nostalgic and have lots of pregnancy cravings, you cannot avoid eating your favourite comfort food. Plus if nonna is over from Italy, it’s even easier to get those cravings satisfied!:-)
This is my own version of a very typical South Italian meal. All you need are broad beans, bread & chicory greens combined with some basic ingredients.
In fact this meal is a great example of a basic & simple cooking, very representative of the Mediterranean cuisine from the older days which would incorporate only a handful of simple foods.
Ingredients for about 3/4 people:
Fava beans purée
400gr fresh or frozen broad beans
2 medium potatoes
1/2 onion
Extra virgin olive oil
Water
Salt
Sautéed chicory greens
1/2 kg chicory greens
Extra virgin olive oil
Water
Salt
Black pepper
Parmesan cheese
Bread croutons
2 slices bread
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Oregano
Preparation: 20 minutes - Cooking: 20 minutes
Start by cooking the fava beans and chopped potatoes in a pan at medium heat with extra virgin olive oil and some finely chopped onion for about 5 minutes. Then cover everything with water and cook for another 15 minutes or until everything is soft. Then transfer in a mixer at hight speed and make it into a purée.
In the meantime boil the chopped chicory leaves for 2 minutes then transfer them on a frying pan with extra virgin olive oil, black pepper, salt & grated Parmesan cheese. Cook for about 10 minutes or until soft.
At the same time make the croutons. Cut 2 slices of bread in small cubes and transfer them on a frying pan with some extra virgin olive oil, salt & oregano. Toast the bread pieces by occasionally turning them. After about 10 minutes they should turn golden & crunchy.
Assemble all the elements on a plate and scatter the croutons on top of the fava beans purée.
Buon appetito!😋
It’s such a simple meal yet a real delicacy!
Vegetarian White Lasagna
Sunday in Italy is traditionally the day where people have huge meals with various courses and pasta is a big part of it. Particularly lasagna which is often the Sunday first course of choice.
I make lasagna often but it’s normally the traditional version with tomato sauce as that’s what kids like.
However today I really fancied white lasagna. It’s my favourite! I knew that offering something pretty new to the kids could have ended up in disaster but was determined to go ahead!
I’m so glad I took the risk as not only did they eat it, they absolutely loved it! Happy kids, happy mum!
Ingredients for 6 portions
250gr lasagna sheets
1 courgette
1 handful mushrooms
1 handful asparagus
a few salvia leaves
3/4 cup frozen peas
1 garlic clove
Himalayan salt
Extra virgin olive oil
dry parsley
pistachios (optional)
mushroom cream (optional)
Parmesan cheese grated (optional)
You can make the traditional bechamel sauce by using cow milk or vegan by replacing it with soy milk . Both equally good and healthier as no butter or cheese in them.
the bechamel sauce is ready!
Preparation: 20 min Cooking: 40 min
Start by chopping the garlic and all the veggies and transfer them in a frying pan with extra virgin olive oil, salt & dry parsley. Cook for about 10/15 minutes or until all veggies are soft.
All the veggies are ready!
In the meantime prepare the bechamel. Once ready you can add some of the veggies or simply some salvia leaves finely chopped.
Once both bechamel sauce & veggies are ready, start layering the lasagna sheets with the toppings on a rectangular baking tray. I’ve used a Pyrex glass rectangular oven dish.
A couple of spoons of bechamel at the bottom, followed by a first layer of lasagna sheets (I’ve used 3 sheets for each layer) enough to cover the tray, then used 1/3 of the veggies to cover the first lasagna layer and pour some bechamel on top, enough to cover the veggies. Repeat until you finish all ingredients. My lasagna had 4 layers.
For the top layer mix the remaining bechamel with 1/2 cup of water and the veggies left (about 1/3 cup) and pour it on top. Sprinkle some Parmesan cheese and chopped pistachios (both optional). Some salvia leaves and asparagus tips for decoration.
Finish by adding about 1 cup of water at the sides of your tray, enough to cover with water up to the layer before the top one.
Now you are done!
The vegetarian white lasagna is out of the oven!
Transfer the tray to a preheated oven and cook for about 40 minutes at 180 degrees.
Enjoy warm straight out of the oven!
Buon appetito!😋
This vegetarian lasagna is super creamy & yummy!
Delicious white lasagna!
This vegetarian lasagna is creamy & so comforting!
Sbriciolata With Cream Patissiere, Strawberry Jam & Amarene Cherries
This is definitely one of our favourite cakes! And it's so quick & delicious, it's always a hit with both big and small!
I normally use this pasty base as a quick cake with guests or whenever I visit friends and fill it simply with jam.
This time I went a step further and filled it with Italian style dairy-free cream patissiere, jam and cherries! Soo good!
Ingredients for a round cake tin (9 inch)
Pastry:
150gr self- raising brown flour
150gr self- raising white flour
100gr brown sugar
100ml vegetable oil
1 egg
1 spoon dry freeze strawberry pieces (optional)
Cream patissiere
500ml soy milk
2 eggs
50gr flour
50gr brown sugar
zest 1/2 lemon
1 spoon dry freeze strawberry pieces (optional)
Extra toppings
almond flakes
Puffed rice
Preparation:15 min - Cooking: 30 min
Start by gathering the ingredients for the cream. I use the thermomix as it's not only a food processor but a cooker too. I add all the ingredients inside, (except for the dry freeze strawberries which are added in the cream after its cooked) and cook for about 10’ or until the cream turns thick and then let it cool down for 5’.
While the cream is cooking, take a bowl and mix all the ingredients for the base. The result would be a crumbly dough.
Take a round cake tin lined with parchment paper and put half of the crumble at the bottom. Use your hands to flatten it and make it compact.
The base of the sbriciolata is ready!
Now add a layer of jam, pour the cream, top it with amarena cherries, almond flakes & puffed rice. Put the rest of the crumble on top and make it compact using your hands.
Add extra almond flakes and puffed rice if you like. Cook in pre-heated oven at 180 degrees for about 30’ or until it turns golden. The crust should be super crunchy in contrast with the softness of the filling.
Let it cool down so it becomes even crunchier.
I normally opt for the fastest version which is filling the crumble simply with jam. Adding cream patissiere inside is a slightly longer process but so worth it! Both versions are always a success!
The sbriciolona is out of the oven!
Buon appetito!😋
Top view of the sbriciolona!
The sbriciolona is so delicious!
Intorcinati Pugliesi: My Childhood Cookies
Today I’m so excited to share with you the recipe of one of my absolute favourite childhood biscuits.
They can be called trecce, intorcinati, intorchiate, all names refer to the braid like shape of these biscuits, and they are typically from Puglia, the beautiful region where I'm from in Italy.
The ingredients are incredibly simple and typical of a Mediterranean cuisine, yet these biscuits are incredibly addicting! Must be because of the wine in them? Possibly!🤪
Are you ready to get baking?
Ingredients for about 12 biscuits:
250 plain flour
75 gr brown sugar
75 gr extra virgin olive oil
75 ml dry white wine
pinch of salt
For the decoration:
3 almonds per biscuit
1/2 cup of granulated sugar/brown sugar
Preparation: 30 min Cooking: 20/25 min
Start by measuring all ingredients and place them in a mixing bowl all together: flour, sugar, oil, wine.
Mix with your hands until you get a dough soft and elastic but not sticky.
Let it rest in the bowl covered with a towel for about 20 minutes.
Then pick the dough and start making intorchiate by rolling a bit of dough into twisted shape.
Line a flat baking tray with parchment paper and preheat the oven at 180 degrees.
Divide the dough into 24 approximately equal pieces. Roll 2 pieces of dough with the palms of your hands against a flat surface to make them into a rope shape of about 12cm. Pinch one end of the rope together with one end of the other rope, then twist the two ropes around one another to form a twist, with the dough strands crossing twice and meeting at the bottom to form three spaces. Press the ends together at the bottom to seal them. Continue forming the twists until you have filled the baking tray with 12 cookies.
Press three almonds into each cookie and sprinkle some sugar.
The intorchiate are ready to go in the oven
Transfer the intorchiate into the oven and cook for about 20/25 minutes or until they turn golden in colour.
The intorchiate are out of the oven!
the intorchiate cookies are sooo comforting!
I love to have these biscuits for breakfast and they are great dipped in coffee, in perfect Italian style!
These yummy biscuits are perfect with coffee
They can last up to 2 week in a airtight container but in this household they don't last more than 2 days!😁 I wonder why!
Buon appetito!😋
You can store intorcinati in an airtight container and they can last up to 2 weeks
The intorchiate biscuits are kids friendly. My son loves them!
Italian Potato & Rice Soup
This is a very quick and nutritious recipe made by using just a few simple ingredients.
It’s one of those meals my mum used to make many many times and it reminds me so much of my childhood in Italy.
So simple yet incredibly comforting!
I love to load soups with plenty of herbs and spices as they are so good for our health, plus this type of dish is a great way to disguise them, mainly if you have fussy eaters in the house!
Ingredients for 4 people:
4 potatoes
100gr asparagus
6 cherry tomatoes
1/2 onion
1 garlic clove
ground or fresh ginger
turmeric
paprika
fresh or dry parsley
dry rosemary
fresh or dry basil
400ml water
1 vegetable stock cube
Hymalayan salt
5 spoons extra virgin olive oil
2 spoons tomato paste
350gr risotto rice
Preparation: 10 minutes Cooking: 30 minutes
Start by cutting the potatoes in small pieces and transfer in a pan with some extra virgin olive oil, chopped cherry tomatoes, chopped garlic and onion.
Fry for about 5 minutes until the garlic, onion and chopped tomatoes get soft. Now add the water, chopped asparagus and all other herbs and spices. Cover with a lid and let cook for about 20 minutes. Then pour the rice in the same pan and add extra water if needed to properly cover the rice.
Keep on cooking by stirring often. It should be ready about 15/20 minutes later.
You can top it with extra fresh parsley or basil and some grated Parmesan cheese if you like!
Rice and potatoes soup is ready!
Make sure when possible to add as many herbs and/or spices as possible as they play a crucial role in strengthening our immune system.
Buon appetito!😋
A close-up of the yummy soup
The rice and potato soup is in the plate!
ItalianVegan Green Baked Pasta
This is a great family meal and it's so versatile and comforting. Kids and hubby love it! The crunchy pasta on top is a winner. Here kids call it pasta chips!:-)
Pasta al forno is baked pasta in Italian and there are many versions out there, mainly with tomato sauce.
However I wanted this time to make it white and vegan, loaded with lots of hidden greens for my son to eat without complaining too much.
Also as daughter doesn't like melted cheese which is normally a main ingredient in this dish, I left out mozzarella and made a vegan bechamel.
What don't we do for our kids, right?
Ingredients for a rectangular tray (6 portions)
400gr wholegrain penne
Sautéed veggies
150gr asparagus
1 courgette
4 big kale leaves
1 handful pistachios
1 leek
mint
parsley
extra virgin olive oil
Himalayan salt
paprika
Green Bechamel
1 kale leaf
1 handful pistachios
parsley
mint
Green Bread Crumble
2 slices brown bread
some pistachios
mint
parsley
Preparation:40 min - Cooking: 40 min
Start by cutting the greens for the sautéed veggies into small pieces. Pan fry them in a pan at medium heat with extra virgin olive oil, herbs and spices until soft. About 10/15 min. Then leave on the side.
The sautés veggies are ready!
In the meantime boil the water to cook the pasta.
In the food processor prepare the bread crumble by mincing all the ingredients at high speed. Put aside.
Here is the green bread crumble
Then use the food processor to mash all the greens which are supposed to go in the bechamel. Once they are mashed, leave them in the food processor and add the ingredients for the vegan bechamel.
The greens of the bechamel are ready!
The green vegan bechamel is ready!
Now all the toppings for the pasta al forno are ready.
Mix the pasta with the sautés veggies and half of the bechamel and transfer in an oven rectangular tray. Pour the remaining bechamel sauce on top and sprinkle the bread crumble.
The green baked pasta is ready to go in the oven!
Add a little bit of water on the sides of the tray and cook in the oven at 180 degrees for about 30/40 minutes or until the top pasta is golden and crispy.
Buon appetito!😋
The pasta al forno is ready
Beautiful view of the inside layers!
This pasta is crunchy on top and moist inside!
Crunchy Avocado, Basil & Sun-dried Tomatoes Pesto
There is nothing more satisfying than coming up with your own recipe and seeing the family happily enjoying the food you make, right?
That's exactly what happened with this pesto!
I gave a look at the fridge and immediately got inspired! In instants a new fresh recipe was born. And even better, it got the thumbs up from the whole family!
Ingredients for 4 people:
1 avocado
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
1/2 lemon zest
1/2 lemon juice
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes
2 garlic cloves
small piece of fresh ginger or ground ginger
sumac
oregano
extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
3 teaspoons mixed seeds
Preparation:10 min - Cooking:10 min
Start by putting the water on a saucepan and bring it to boil.
In the meantime put all the ingredients of our pesto in a food processor, except for the bread crumbs & seeds.
Mince everything at high speed and put aside.
The pesto is done!
Make the crunchy crumble by putting bread crumbs and seeds on a pan and pan frying them for 5 minutes or until golden and crispy.
The seeds and bread crumbs are in the pan!
When the water is boiling, pour the pasta and cook it “al dente”.
Now that the pasta is ready take the pesto previously made and toss it in the pasta. Add the crunchy bread and seeds on top as a final step.
Your pesto pasta is ready!
The yummy tagliatelle are ready to be eaten!
Buon appetito!😋
Crunchy pesto pasta is in the plate!
Kids loved it too!
My Nostalgic Parmigiana With Pasta
This is a super tasty recipe which my grandmother used to make for us so many times.
She was an amazing cook and all the food she would prepare had a special trademark, nothing else would taste as good, not even my mum’s food, even though she is a great cook too! Sorry mum!😁
And it's always in moments of great nostalgia that I cook the food of my childhood. Such as this Parmigiana with pasta loaded with so many ingredients, like grandma used to.
The only difference is that she was frying the aubergines while mine are oven baked. Both ways are yummy but second one a bit lighter.
This is a great tray bake recipe, perfect for the whole family or for some gatherings to impress guests. It freezes very well and is perfect for meal prep plans too!
However here it never gets to the freezing stage as it finishes always before!😁
Ingredients for 1 tray (about 6 portions)
2 big aubergines
450gr rigatoni pasta
1 Italian passata bottle (680gr)
1 Italian passata rustica bottle (350gr)
4 boiled eggs
1 mozzarella
10 cooked prosciutto ham slices
grated Parmesan cheese
extra virgin olive oil
Himalayan salt
Oregano
1 + 1/2 cup flour
Preparation: 40/45 min - Cooking: 20/25 min
Commence by pre-heating the oven at 180 degrees.
In the meantime start pealing the aubergines. Cut them in half and then finely slice them to obtain slices of about 1/2 cm or a bit less.
Put the aubergine slices in a bowl and add extra virgin olive oil with a sprinkle of salt and mix well.
Now take another bowl with some flour in it. Put the aubergine slices in it and turn them so that both sizes are covered in flour. Line some parchment paper on a flat baking tray and place all the aubergine slices well separated from each other.
Cook in the oven for about 15 minutes or until they are soft.
The aubergine slices are out of the oven!
In the meantime boil the eggs, cut the mozzarella and ham in small pieces.
Fill a saucepan with water in order to cook the pasta once the water starts to boil.
In another saucepan empty both bottles of passata and cook on a medium heat for about 15/20 minutes with some salt and oregano.
Once the pasta is ready, add some of the passata previously cooked and mix well.
In the meantime as the aubergines are now ready, start layering all the ingredients in a rectangular baking tray.
Start by covering the bottom with some passata, then layer the aubergine slices one next to each other, pour some passata on them and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Add the tomato pasta, just enough to cover the aubergines and half the quantity of boiled egg in slices, ham and mozzarella in small pieces. Add more passata and grated Parmesan cheese, then start layering again the aubergines, passata, the Parmesan, the pasta, the rest of the toppings, more passata and Parmesan.
Cover everything with the last layer of aubegine slices. Cover them well with the remaining tomato sauce and sprinkle more grated Parmesan cheese on top.
Yummy Parmigiana is ready!
You can watch the layering process of the Parmigiana in my highlights on Instagram😊
Transfer in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees and cook for about 20/25 minutes.
Buon appetito!😋
Parmigiana is a complete meal: veggies, carbs & proteins all in it!
A close-up to admire the beauty of each bite!
Focaccia Barese: My Favourite Comfort Food
I have great memories of my childhood and one of those is my grandma inviting all her nephews to her place to eat all her amazing homemade food. Like focaccia!
This is not a fast recipe or a light one sorry!
This is Vegan friendly and the best comfort food for me and who doesn't need to indulge and forget the calories once in a while? 😁
I hope you enjoy this recipe!
Ingredients:
250gr any soft wheat flour
250gr re-milled durum wheat semolina flour
350ml lukewarm water
Extra virgin olive oil
1 sachet dry yeast
Salt
Sugar
Cherry tomatoes
Capers
Oregano
Rosemary
Preparation: 3 hours Cooking: 20 minutes
Take a bowl and mix the 2 types of flour.
Take a glass and start mixing the water with the yeast, a bit of sugar and 2 spoons of flour until you notice some foam on the surface. This means that the yeast has been activated and the mixture can be added to the remaining flour.
Remember the sugar helps the process of activation of the yeast while the salt stops it and that's why we add the salt only afterwards.
Continue adding water until the dough becomes elastic and sticky. The focaccia dough is not like pizza dough and it should have a much softer consistency, a bit like mozzarella cheese.
Let the dough raise in the bowl wrapped in a towel. I like to place mine in the switched off oven just with the light on for about 2 hours.
Once the 2 hours have passed, take a round or rectangular baking tray and pour some extra virgin olive oil so that tray is all well covered.
The most traditional pan for homemade focaccia barese is iron sheet pan. This pan must never be washed with water to prevent rust. In fact, it should only be cleaned with oil to maintain its usability.
Toppings are: cherry tomatoes, oregano, rosemary and capers
Using some extra virgin olive oil, flatten the dough with your hands in order to occupy the whole surface.
Cover it with a towel again and allow to rest for another hour.
Now wash the cherry tomatoes and cut them in halves. Push the seeds out so that they fall on the dough and place the tomato halves close to each other until we cover the whole focaccia.
Sprinkle some salt on top, oregano, rosemary, capers or olives. I had no olives here so capers were a great replacement.
The focaccia is ready to go in the oven
On the side we mix half a cup of water with 3 spoons of oil and we pour the mixture on top of the focaccia.
Transfer on a preheated oven and cook for about 20 minutes at 220 degrees or until the borders become golden and crispy.
Buon appetito!😋
Green and Red Pesto Sauce
This is a very quick and super easy recipe which is ideal when you really have no time to cook but you still want to make sure that you and your family gets a flavourful and nourishing meal.
As long as you have a food processor, this pesto can be ready in less than 30 seconds and you can add it as a topping to any pasta and job done!
Ingredients (2 adults + 2kids)
1 cup fresh spinach leaves
1/3 cup sundried tomatoes
1/3 cup cashews
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
2 tsp capers
1 garlic clove
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Cashews, capers, spinach, sundried tomatoes.
Preparation: 5 min Cooking time: 1 min
Gather all the ingredients and transfer them in a food processor where you will grind them at high speed.
Your pesto is now ready to eat!
The homemade pesto is ready to eat!
Buon appetito!
Beautiful gluten free penne go perfectly with this pesto!
Crunchy, tasty and fresh. Amazing pesto!
Italian Puffs: Zeppole di San Giuseppe
This is a post about a very versatile recipe because these puffs can be used with both sweet and savoury fillings as they don’t contain sugar or salt in themselves.
A few days ago I used this recipe to make “zeppole di San Giuseppe” which is a typical sweet made for Father’s Day in Italy. It’s covered with cream patisserie and a yummy amarena.
Yummy Zeppole di San Giuseppe
Savoury puffs with scrambled feta and spinach.
Ingredients:
150 ml water
150 gr flour
100 gr Vegetable spread
4 eggs
1 pinch of salt
Preparation: 25 minutes Cooking: 25 minutes
Take a saucepan, add the water, the vegetable spread and the pinch of salt. Stir occasionally and as soon as it boils add at once the flour and turn vigorously.
After a couple of minutes you will get a dough in a ball shape.
Let it cool down for about 10/15 minutes, transfer in a bowl then add the eggs one by one making sure to wait that the first egg is properly mixed before adding the following one. Repeat for each egg.
The dough should be elastic and not liquid. It’s important to keep an eye on its consistency. Once the dough is ready, it’s piped with a star tip on baking foil.
For the zeppole you pipe in circle trying to leave some space in the middle.
Delicious choux pastry covered with cream and amarena
Transfer the tray into the oven. Bake at 190 degrees for about 25 minutes or until the pastries turn fluffy and golden.
Once ready switch the oven off and let the puffs cool down inside keeping just the oven door slightly open using a wooden spoon.
Today I’ve used the extra dough to make savoury puffs and used 2 fillings:
scrambled tofu and spinach
feta, shiitake mushrooms and red cabbage
Which one is your favourite version? Sweet or Savoury?
Buon appetito! 😋
The mini savoury puffs
Savoury puffs with feta, shiitake mushrooms and red cabbage.
Dairy-Free Beef and Lentils Lasagna
I’m very happy to share with you this recipe because it has all the amazing taste of the traditional Italian Lasagna. with the additional goodness of healthy proteins which are perfect if you have fussy kids who are not great fans of lentils or if you simply want to reduce the amount of meat in the lasagna. Trust me, it will go down beautifully and everyone will love it! You could also make it 100% lentils and make it vegan and it will still be delicious.
This is not a very fast recipe and that is why I don’t make it often, but it’s the perfect yummy meal to make when you have guests around or for a special meal with your loved ones.
Preparation: 40 minutes Cooking: 40 minutes
Dry Lasagna Sheets
Bolognese sauce:
600 ml Tomato Passata Sauce
200 gr Minced Organic Beef
200 gr Cooked Lentils
1/2 Onion
1 Carrot
1 Celery Stick
Salt
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Vegan Bechamel sauce
Start by making the bechamel sauce. You find the recipe here.
In the meantime prepare the “soffritto” by transferring the carrot, celery and onion all finely chopped in a saucepan with some extra virgin olive oil and cook them for about 5 minutes.
The soffritto mix, the minced beet and the lentils are mixed together.
Then add the minced meat and cook for another 10 minutes or until the veggies are soft and the meat turns brown. At this point stir the lentils in together with the tomato passata sauce and cook at low heat for another 20 minutes, Your Bolognese sauce is now ready.
The Bolognese sauce is ready!
Once both your bechamel sauce and tomato sauce are ready you can now start the layering. Take a rectangular baking dish and start by putting a spoon of bechamel sauce and tomato sauce at the bottom, then make a layer of lasagna sheets, one next to the other.
Pour on top a bit of bechamel and tomato sauce in order to cover all the lasagna sheets and then start over the layering. I normally make about 4 layers. These are very easy steps to repeat and even kids can easily help out!
Kids loved making their bechamel free lasagna!
Once you are done with the layering, before putting the lasagna in the oven, add some water by the sides of the baking dish, making sure that the lasagna sheets are covered except for the top one.
Cook in a preheated oven at 190 degrees for approximately 40 minutes or until the water will be absorbed and the top layer will look wavy and crusty.
Buon appetito! 😋
The Lasagna is now ready to eat!
Aubergine Tomato Pasta Sauce
Today I’m gonna share with you an amazing pasta sauce recipe which is easy and quick to make and will get the thumbs up from your kids too!
In fact if they are fussy like mine at eating aubergines, then this is a great way to disguise them!
Aubergines are an excellent source of dietary fibre. They are also a good source of vitamins B1 and B6 and potassium. High in the minerals copper, magnesium and manganese, aubergines are also rich in antioxidants and among their incredible health benefits, they:
Prevent cancer
Promote weight loss
Better skin tone
Prevent cellular damage in brain
Lower bad cholesterol
Manage type 2 diabetes
These are all good reasons enough to make sure that aubergines are part of your eating habits.
So today I’m gonna share with you one of the best recipes which work wonders with kids.
My aubergine tomato pasta sauce!
Ingredients for 4
3 baby aubergines or 1 big aubergine
1 glove of garlic
5 basil leaves
2 teaspoons capers
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon paprika
1 chopped tomatoes can
1/2 teaspoon pink Hymalayan salt
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Parmesan cheese (optional)
All fresh ingredients: baby aubergines, garlic and basil
Preparation: 10 min Cooking time: 35 min
Prepare the aubergines
Start by pealing the aubergines. Then cut them in stripes. Transfer them in a pan at a medium heat with chopped garlic, basil, salt and extra virgin olive oil.
The aubergines are pealed and cut into stripes. Chopped garlic and basil
Toss often with a wooden spoon so the aubergines get cooked properly and equally.
Add capers and spices
When they start to soften, normally after 15 minutes, add capers and the spices and keep turning.
The aubergines are now cooked!
Add chopped tomatoes
5 minutes later add the chopped tomatoes and let cook for a further 15/20 minutes, preferably keeping the lid on the pan.
The aubergine tomato sauce is ready!
Once ready you have 2 options. You can add the sauce as it is in your pasta or if you would rather not see the big aubergine chunks and want to make it more fussy kids friendly, then simply transfer it in a food processor and job done. I often do both! I put half of the sauce in the processor so that the smooth result will be better accepted by the kids, but I also leave some sauce with big chunks on the side as my husband and I love to add that on top of the pasta for a fuller taste.
You can add chopped fresh basil leaves and grated Parmesan cheese as toppings (optional).
I hope you enjoy my recipe and please share comments and photos of your creations!
Buon appetito!
Enjoy the aubergine tomato sauce with penne pasta! Mine are gluten free! You can add chopped fresh basil and grated Parmesan cheese as topping (optional).