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Carrot cake

This is not your typical American style carrot cake with cream cheese filling and frosting. But just as delicious and easy to make and a healthy choice with lots of carrots.

prep time 10 min     cook time 50 min
ingredients
  • 4 eggs
  • 175 g sugar
  • 100 ml/g vegetable oil
  • 100 ml freshly squeezed orange juice
  • 300 g flour
  • 16 g baking powder
  • 200 g peeled and grated carrots
  • powdered sugar to garnish

1.  Preheat oven at 180 C. Line the bottom of a 24cm (9″) springform pan with parchment paper.

2. Squeeze the orange. Measure the flour and mix it with the baking powder.

3. Beat the eggs and sugar, add the oil and orange juice. Add the flour in 3 batches continuing to beat. Add the carrots and mix with a spoon.

4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Place in the oven for 45-50 min until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean.

5. Let cool in the pan. Once cooled, transfer onto a serving plate and decorate with powdered sugar and some flowers, preferably the edible kinds. I used flowers from my garden. 🙂

BUON APPETITO!

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Red pepper sauce with pasta

This pepper sauce is as easy as it gets and is delicious. There’s no need to use any kind of dairy cream to make it creamy. Just add a little bit of the starchy boiling pasta water and voilà.

prep time 10 min     cook time 25 min
ingredients for 3
  • 300g pasta of your liking, I used rigatoni
  • 1 big red pepper, sliced
  • 1/2 onion
  • 5-6  cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
  • handful of pinoli
  • extravirgin olive oil
  • salt
  • fresh basil
  • grated Parmigiano

1. Wash and cut the pepper into thin slices. Slice the onion thinly, place it in a large pan with a little bit of oil  and cook on medium heat for a few minutes. Add the pepper slices, tomatoes, some salt and a little bit of water (half a glass) and let simmer about 20 min.

2. In the meantime cook the pasta according to the instructions on the package.

3. Take a few slices of pepper for garnish. Blend the rest of the sauce with an immersion blende adding the pinoli and some oil. Pour the blended sauce back into the pan. Add some pasta water.

4. Drain the pasta, pour it into the pan with the sauce and mantecare (toss with grated cheese for a few minutes while the pan is still hot).

5. Serve adding basil leaves, some more grated Parmigiano and a few pepper slices onto your plate.

tip: you can roast the pinoli in a hot pan without oil for a few minutes and add them on your pasta instead of blending them with the sauce.

tip: you can substitute the red pepper with a yellow one.

BUON APPETITO!

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Lentil salad

Delicious and super healthy Greek style lentil salad with feta cheese and yummy vegetables. This could be eaten as a side dish or a light vegetarian meal. The lentils are simmered until cooked and then coated with an oil and red wine vinegar dressing. So good. Lentils are a wonderful source of protein.

prep time 15 min     cook time 20 min (lentil cook time)
ingredients for 4
  • 400 lentils, picked and rinsed
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2-3 red and yellow peppers, roasted and sliced
  • 1 red onion, chopped
  • 200 g cherry tomatoes, cut in half
  • half a cucumber, sliced or chopped
  • handful fresh parsley or dill, chopped
  • optional: handful of fresh mint, chopped
  • 10 kalamata or other olives, pitted and sliced
  • salt and pepper
  • 200 g feta cheese, crumbled
  • for the dressing:
  • 6 tables extra virgin olive oil
  • 6 tables red wine vinegar
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • salt and pepper

1. Rinse the lentils and cook them in a pot with water, add a bay leaf and salt. Cooking time varies for different varieties of lentils.

2. Cut the peppers into strips or slices, place them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, sprinkle some oil on them and bake them in preheated oven to 200C for about 20 minutes until softened.

3. Whisk the oil, vinegar, minced garlic, salt and pepper for the dressing.

4. When the lentils are cooked, drain them in a colander and let cool for a few minutes. Once cooled, place them in a large serving bowl and toss with dressing. Add chopped onions, roasted peppers, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, olives and crumbled feta andmix . Add the herbs right before serving.

BUON APPETITO!

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Tozzetti alle mandorle

Tozzetti, cantucci or cantuccini are twice baked hard almond biscuits. The biscuits are oblong-shaped made hard and crunchy through cutting the loaf while still warm and fresh from baking in the oven. The name biscotto comes from bis-cotto ie. cooked twice. They are usually served with a dessert wine Vinsanto but they go well with a good Passito or Malvasia.

After the recipe ingredients there’s a link to La pasticceria di Chico where I got the recipe years ago. There’s a video and English “subtitles”.

prep time 15 min     cook time 25 min + 10 min
ingredients for 50/60 biscuits
  • 125g butter, room temperature
  • 200g sugar  Edit: I’d use less, max 175-180 g
  • 100g powdered sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 5g salt
  • grated zest of half a lemon (biological)
  • dash of vanillin
  • 15g aniseed ( I used 8g which was enough for me)
  • 200g raw almonds ( I used half almonds half hazelnuts)
  • 500g flour
  • 15g baking powder

https://www.lapasticceriadichico.it/2013/08/tozzetti-alle-mandorle.html?m=1 

BUON APPETITO!

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Grilled eggplant

Grilled eggplant or aubergine is a fabulous dish, serve it warm as a side dish, cold as an antipasto or chopped in a salad. Eggplants are in season in summer but you can find them all year round in most places. Eggplants can be tricky, using too much oil they become slimey, leaving them too thick gives them an unpleasant texture. The key is salting which draws out the bitterness and leaves them less “spongy” hence they absorb less oil.

prep time 5 min + salting time     cook time 20 min
ingredients
  • 2 medium size eggplants
  • salt
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • parsley

1. Cut the eggplants crosswise into about 0,5cm thick slices, place them in a colander and sprinkle some salt on them. Put a plate and a weigh on top and let sweat/degorge for 20-30 minutes. Rinse them quickly and pat dry with paper towels or a clean kitchen towel.

2. In the meantime prepare a mix of oil and parsley in a serving dish.

3.  Heat a grill or grill pan over medium-high heat and grill eggplant slices until tender and slightly charred, about 2-3 minutes per side.

4. Grill a small patch at a time and place the grilled slices directly in the dish with the oil and parsley mix or you can brush the slices with the mix.

Tip: you can add thinly sliced garlic into the mix

BUON APPETITO!

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Coconut cookies

These must be the easiest cookies in the world to make. And if you like coconut, you’ll love these!

prep time 5 min     cook time 5 min + 5-7 min in the oven
ingredients for 35 cookies
  • 250 g shredded coconut
  • 200 g granulated sugar
  • 4 egg whites

1. Preheat oven to 225 C.

2. Mix egg whites, sugar and coconut in a small pan. Keep stirring at low heat for 5-6 min. Let cool for a minute.

3. Form balls with two teaspoons and drop on a baking tray lined with baking sheet keeping them about 5 cm apart from each other.

4. Bake in the middle of the oven for 5-7 minutes until golden on the edge. The cookies will have a soft chewy center.

5. Cool them on a rack. After cooling you can store them in an airtight container.

BUON APPETITO!

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Roasted Roman broccoli

One of Rome’s most beautiful and distinctive winter vegetables is the broccolo romanesco. A cousin of broccoli and cauliflower, its bright green, pointy spiral florets are bound to catch your eye at local food markets, while the flavor is pleasingly sweet, nutty and delicate.

It is often served as a side dish by simply boiling it and dressing it in a little extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice. But today I made it in the oven.

prep time 5 min     cook time 25 min
ingredients
  • 1 broccolo romanesco
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • salt and pepper
  • bread crumbs
  • grated Parmigiano or Grana

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Line a baking sheet with slightly oiled parchment paper.

2. Wash the romanesco, take off the leaves and cut into 1cm slices. Place on the the baking sheet, drizzle with oil and season with salt and black pepper and other herbs to your liking. Sprinkle bread crumbs and grated Parmesan cheese on top.

3.  Place in the preheated oven for 25 minutes or until tender.

Tip: feel free to use normal broccoli or cauliflower if you can’t find romanesco.

BUON APPETITO!

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Braised lamb in red wine

When this succulent dish is in the making, the smell filling the house is incredible. The preparation is simple, and even if the cooking time is long,  it is so worth it.

prep time 15 min     cook time 3hrs
ingredients for 6
  • 1,3kg (3lbs) lamb shank, neck or shoulder cut into big chunks
  • 3-4 large carrots, cut into big rounds
  • 2 red onions, chopped
  • 1-2 celery sticks, chopped
  • 4-5 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 4-5 cloves
  • bay leaf
  • a few sprigs fresh rosemary and thyme, chopped
  • 500ml good red wine (Barolo, Chianti)
  • 1 can (400g) peeled or crushed tomatoes
  • 400 ml beef or vegetable stock (or water)
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • salt and pepper

1.  Heat oil in a heavy large pan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Working in batches, brown lamb on all sides, about 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a plate.

2. Add onions, carrots, celery and garlic to the pot and sauté 5-6 min until golden.

3. Return shanks to the pot,  add wine, tomatoes, stock, herbs and spices.

4. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer about 2 hrs.

5. Remove lid, check the salt and let simmer uncovered another hour or until the meat is falling-off-the-bone tender.

Tip: Be careful, at the end there might be tiny shards of bone left in the sauce.

BUON APPETITO!

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Salmon zucchini lasagna

A different take on the classic lasagna. This smoked salmon and zucchini lasagna is quick and easy to make. Other benefits: it’s healthy but also rich and creamy and it has  salmon in it – one of the noblest of omega-rich ingredients.  This is the perfect dish to make in the evening and eat again the next day. The leftovers may be even tastier than freshly made lasagna.

prep time 15 min     cook time 35 min
ingredients for 6-8
  • 500g fresh or dry lasagne sheets
  • 1 l milk
  • 70 g flour
  • 70g butter
  • 1 tsp ground nutmeg
  • salt and pepper
  • 300g smoked salmon, diced
  • 2-3 zucchini, diced
  • 50g grated Parmigiano
  • handful of fresh dill, chopped
  • 1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1.  Turn on the oven at 180°C. Coat slightly a large shallow ovenproof dish with oil. I used a 25 x 35cm (10″x14″) glass dish.

2. Heat olive oil in a large pan over high heat. Add zucchini and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes.

3. Make the white sauce/béchamel sauce: melt butter in a (heavy bottom) saucepan then add flour. Stir continuously until a paste forms – this is called a roux. Continue cooking for 2 mins until the roux starts to brown, but only slightly.

4. Add the milk to the roux gradually, whisking vigorously as you go, until you get a smooth sauce. Cook for 5-10 mins, stirring continuously, until the sauce has thickened. Season with salt and nutmeg. Remove from heat and set aside.

5. Mix zucchini and salmon to the white sauce.  Add chopped dill.

6.  Start layering the lasagna: spread a ladleful of the sauce over the bottom of your dish, then a layer of lasagna sheets, another of the sauce and then grated cheese. Continue layers, finishing with béchamel sauce and a good handful of grated Parmesan cheese.

I used fresh lasagna sheets which didn’t need to be cooked first. Choose pre-cooked lasagna sheets or follow the instructions on the package.

7. Place in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until the pasta is fully cooked and the top is golden. Remove from oven, then let stand for 15 minutes before slicing and serving

Lasagne are tastier if allowed to stand at least 15 minutes before serving, so the pasta has the time to “relax” and absorb the sauce

Tip: you want to be careful with salt since the smoked salmon is usually quite savoury.

Tip: if the béchamel sauce thickens too much, add a little bit of milk to loosen it.

BUON APPETITO!

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Stuffed pepper soup

Stuffed pepper soup is a delicious and inexpensive soup. It has a mixture of ground beef, onions, rice, and bell peppers. It’s simmered to perfection in a tomato based broth. It’s like eating a stuffed pepper without all the extra work – easy and delicious.

prep time  15 min     cook time 35 min
ingredients for 6-7
  • 500g lean ground beef
  • 2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 large or 2 small yellow peppers
  • 1 large or 2 small red peppers
  • 1 large or 2 small green peppers
  • 2 carrots
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2-3 garlic cloves
  • 2 cans (400g each) crushed or diced tomatoes
  • 1 can (400g) or bottle tomato sauce
  • 300ml beef or vegetable stock
  • fresh basil, oregano, parsley
  • brown rice or couscous
  • salt and pepper

1. Chop peppers, onion, carrots and garlic.

2. In a large pan or Dutch oven heat 1 tbsp of olive oil and brown the beef on high heat adding a pinch of salt. Transfer to a plate.

3. Add the remaining oil and sauté veggies for 5-6 minutes. Transfer the beef back to the pan.

4. Add in tomatoes + water from rinsing the cans, tomato sauce, stock and season with salt and pepper.

I never ever use cans of tomatoes with added sugar or salt! Read the labels.

5. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat. Cover and simmer on low heat for 30 minutes. Add the chopped herbs in the end.

6. Ladle in soup plates, add cooked brown rice or couscous and serve. Or omit the rice/couscous and serve the soup with crusty bread.

Tip: You can cook the rice in the pot but if you plan on having it for leftovers the next day or freeze it, don’t add the rice to the pot of soup because it will turn mushy.

BUON APPETITO!