Last Saturday we were invited to Leszek and Ewelina’s. There was a lot of good food on their table, 2 types of curry, steamed rice, some chicken for meat lovers, naan bread that made me squeak, as mine is never that good and there were also those beauties. They were already on the table when we arrived, the toothpicks made it easy to pick up and enjoy. They were my favourite thing we have eaten that evening, I asked for a recipe and then also found it on the internet. Just like Leszek said, it is a Georgian dish, veggie, healthy, good for you. Pretty and tasty. I made it last night and ended up scoffing most of it by myself, as husband claimed the texture of aubergines made them ….challenging. Ma che cazzata!! 🙂
Thinly sliced aubergines were first salted and left to sweat for half an hour before being dried off and fried. The stuffing I’ve made a tiny bit differently. The original recipe and the one at Leszek’s used raw walnuts, I simply can’t stop myself from toasting them, there is so much more flavour after 10 minutes of gentle heat! They were then blitzed with a shallot, some garlic ( maybe a bit too much, I decided afterwards), fresh coriander, a pinch of chili and paprika, salt and all this creamed with a good splash of water to make it into a paste. Spread on the aubergine slices, rolled up, stitched with a toothpick and finished off with fresh pomegranate seeds and more fresh coriander. 10 out of 10 for me and I will be making them in a couple of weeks for a planned dinner party. Might play around with a completely different filling.
A delivery came from Bronte yesterday, from Tipici e Food, the place we visited in June. We ran out of everything we bought there long time ago, but signor Antonio ships his quality pistachios all over Europe ( apart from the UK, he said, too expensive after Brexit). So we now have a lovely stash of the most fantastic pistachio products and also 2 bottles of this delicious liquor, quite evil, when one tries to have alcohol free weekdays!
I’ve been looking for a nice recipe for a good pistachio cake, where I could use some of the ground pistachios I just received. So many food blogs out there, not all for me. When I’m after a recipe I don’t want to spend 5 minutes scrolling down somebody’s bloody life story. I don’t want to keep reading if the recipe is written for mentally challenged and explains in details, that they want me to use 2 whole eggs, which means 2 yolks and 2 whites. Next!!! The recipe for pistachio cake which recommends using a green food colourant – no. Why?!
I finally settled this morning on a recipe that called for no butter, no artiticial colouring, tweaked it just a touch and I’ve just finished my first piece.
I’ve had a packet of ground, raw pistachios, which I’ve gently toasted on the frying pan, I used 60g. 150g of plain flour, 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder, 1/2 tsp of baking soda, a pinch of salt. 2 whole eggs I whipped with 120g of sugar, less that in the recipe, some of it was vanilla sugar. Some grated lemon zest went in and a tiny bit of cinnamon. The toasted pistachios. 150g of greek yoghurt and 150 ml of olive oil, all nicely combined, onto the lined baking tray. 175 degrees, 30 minutes, done.
Once cooled I tipped a small jar of pistachio cream from Bronte, which was perfectly sweet and had great consistency to spread, so I didn’t have to mess about with the original recipe’s ideas of dilluting it with water and adding sugar. A final sprinkling of ground pistachio completed the picture. Might share some with Lara. 🙂
Diane and Keith have popped in for a long weekend recently. It was our first get together in 9 years, so it’s fair to say we barely knew each other, but we got along really well. They appreciate good wine and food, which helped! Some Brunello di Montalcino was being enjoyed together on the evening they arrived, we have taken them to Nonna Clara’s in Lucca, which has been a hit. Then, on Monday, on our way back from Barga, which they both liked a lot, we stopped at Il Garfagnino di Nonna Clara, a joint by the main road to Garfagnana. We drove by it many times and always said we need to eat there one day. We did now. We were all decently hungry and all excited by the idea of having some meat. And meat we did have, none other than the famous Fiorentina. Cooked rare, mooing, much more bloody than I’d normally have, but it was spectacular. Diane said she neved had a better beef in her life, so that’s saying something. We had some tomato salad on the side and some chips, a bottle of smooth Chianti( as you do with lunch on a Monday) and the beef ended up defeating us. We didn’t manage the whole thing, but we’ve taken it with us and made Nadia’s dogs very happy indeed. 🙂
“Lasagne”, not Lasagne, as I am still of firm belief that seafood lasagne is not a thing, it is a pasta with seafood. But I did use the lasagne sheets, so, ok, let us say- “lasagne”. 🙂
Recipe from the latest episode of Robert Maklowicz’s vlog, this time from Dalmatia. He said he actually tried it in Italy, but with the access to wonderful fresh prawns and fish he made it while in Croatia.
A first for me, but definitely not the last – I’ve peeled my prawns ( to the loud meowing of Gino who is a dog for prawns) and used all the heads and shells to make a rich, wonderful stock. On a bit of olive oil I have chucked 3 bay leaves and some rosemary, Rob also used some fennel seeds, I had none. Onto this the prawns’ shells and heads. A generous slosh of Sardinian white wine. A little splash of rum( dessert wine or brandy was Rob’s choice), some tomato paste and a whole tomato, gently punctured. Some salt, some water, lid on, 40 minutes on medium heat. Then a laborious process of sieving the stock to get as much out of it as possible and not wasting any of the goodness. With that done I proceeded to make a sauce, similar to bechamel, but instead of milk I used my stock. Ended up with a beautiful, flavoursome sauce that needed hardly any seasoning, it was that good. Into the sauce went the roughly chopped prawns, some fresh cod in small pieces and that was ready to be layered in between the sheets of pasta. Lovely, fresh pasta from Esselunga. On the top a bit of torn mozzarella, we are reasonable people and we don’t do seafood with parmesan. I will use another mild cheese next time, as mozzarella is a bit watery and didn’t look stunning on top, so I sprinkled some chopped parsley.
It eats really well, I love the sauce with that fresh stock with a lovely aroma of bay leaves. I have a feeling it is something my mum might like to try. And she’s arriving on Tuesday. 🙂 xx
A big dream came true, I’ve been to Sicilia. I’ve set my foot on that volcano, walked around, brought a few pieces of lava with me. I’ve been to Taormina, been to Siracusa, walked in the footsteps of Robert Malkowicz in Catania – even tried to go and eat in “U Sapuritu”, but they were closed for ferie. Been to Ragusa, after the stories I’ve heard from Michele. Tried a proper Sicilian cannolo. Tried caponata in 3 different places, all different, all delicious. Tried vino grown on the slopes of Etna, brought 2 bottles home. 🙂 Tried different granitas, including pistachio one, mandorle, limone- that one was excellent. Been to Bronte, saw pistachio trees, brought back a load of delicious things made with their famous pistachios.
The portions they serve are staggering. Our first breakfast in Trecastagni was a cornetto with pistachio filling, the size of a small loaf of bread. Delicious, but I could feel my waist expanding immediately.
On a visit to Bronte we all had a different granita, mine was pistachio, very rich, filling, delicious.
When we took our first look and taste of Catania ( dirty Catania, with piles of rubbish everywhere, the side of the roads where shocking) I wanted a nice tagliata di tonno, ordered one and received it quite overdone. Disappointing. I asked the owner where I could get a proper nice cannoli, he directed me towards a pasticceria with a bunch of rude, ignorant bastards for staff, but the cannoli, at 3 euro per piece were superb.
And then, on our doorstep we discovered a real gem. Well, we didn’t discover it, one of our Etna guides told us about the place and that it wasn’t that good. Therefore, off we went to Nicosia, a vineyard and an osteria. Stunning surroundings, beautiful building, great staff. A young Claudia, who matched some of their own wines to our food. Bread, olive oil, everything was superb.
Caponata served in a cannolo? Sure, why not?
Arancino version posh, amazing, with some rose wine Claudia brought over just to see what we thought of it.
We bought a bottle of their dessert wine to take home, but the next evening, our last evening in Trecastagni we went straight back to them. And one of the best looking and tasting plates during the whole week was their beef carpaccio, topped with everything- pistachio mousse, fresh fruit, ricotta salata, which I tried in different ways and I loved it, bought some on the market in Siracusa. Wild strawberries too, normally I’m not a fan of fruit and meat/fish together, but this was a triumph.
I wish I could have finished my secondo, but I struggled and then the chef came out of the kitchen to say hi and brought me a chunk of vacuum packed ricotta salata, cause Claudia told him we came from Tuscany. One of those will now go to Enrico, I know he will love it.
In the end I manage to not look like that:
When the time comes to revisit Sicilia I would go back to Nikosia in a flash. I’ve not tried a sweet iris, that Michele recommended. I would want a nice tagliata di tonno, but barely cooked. I will run back to mercato, the one in Siracusa was a real treat. Some fresh spices, nuts and herbs were brought home from there.
Sicilia was very much enjoyed, next top destination is up north and hopefully will happen in autumn. 🙂
On return from holidays I found a big bowl of nespole in my fridge, from Anna. Never knew much about them, never tried them, but with the size of the bowl I decided to make them into a jam. And what a pleasant surprise!
After peeling the pulp off the stones I ended up with about 750g of fruit, which I cooked down for about an hour and then still used a blender to improve the texture. About 120 g of sugar and one whole bag of Fruttapec went in, I now have 3 cute little jars of nespole jam. Will be enjoyed tomorrow morning on a toasted brioche.
I wrote the title, took another bite of this thing and I’m thinking how much my palate has changed within the last few years. I used to be obsessed with macaroons, with eclairs, now I barely touch anything that sweet. The idea of having a sweet cocktail, apple martini or something along these lines doesn’t excite me at all. Savoury flavours took over. Only the love for a good red vino remained unchanged! 🙂
I first tasted castagnaccio when Lara made one and brought me the whole thing. I’ve never tasted anything like it. Slightly bitter from the freaky flour, I could put the money on the fact there was no sugar added. It was heavy and stodgy and not a revelation, but then Lara never claimed to be a Masterchef. When Nadia and Cristian brought one to ours, it was a completely different story. The texture was much lighter and it wasn’t a chore to eat. A few weeks ago I obtained some castagne flour and today finally decided it was time to have a go at it. Nadia gave me a recipe long time ago, but I decided to go with Pappagallo, who said he never really liked it, but then he tweaked the recipe a bit and was now converted.
Surprisingly easy thing to make, this. Mine was small, trial round, so I only used 200g of castagne flour, around 300ml of water( more than in the recipe, but when Luca showed what consistency it was supposed to have, I didn’t want to risk a stodgy result). 25g of sugar. 15g of cocoa. A generous handful of raisins, that were soaked in Cointreau( in rum in the original recipe, but I had none, this will change next time we’re in Esselunga, with the mint now in abundance it is time to make some mojitos). A pinch of salt. All this combined with a whisk, while the oven was getting hot at 180 degrees. The tray was generously drizzled with olive oil. I spinkled some pine nuts on top and a lot of fresh rosemary, which I will chop next time, in the current form it is inedible and one keeps digging it out. And that’s it. It baked for 30 minutes until cracked all over.
I gave a chunk to Nadia, waiting to hear what she thinks about it. Ours is nearly all eaten. 🙂
First tasted it at Molly and Enrico’s a couple of years ago and loved it. Enrico was kind enough to make a bowl of it for Florek’s birthday party and it was so popular I barely got to taste it. So I figured it was time to have a go at it myself. Luca Pappagallo was consulted, as was Enrico and this afternoon I made it. And I love it. And Florek loves it too.
I started with a large white onion, roughly chopped , a carrot and a celery stick, gently fried on olive oil, while in a small wok I had some oil heating up and some red and yellow peppers ready to fry. The chunks were not too small, as caponata must not turn into a mush, one needs to see what’s what. After the peppers the whole aubergine went into the oil, also cut into a medium sized chunks.
When the veggies were resting on kitchen towel, I added some passata to the onion and celery, seasoned with salt, added the veggies in, some dry oregano too. Green and dark olives, stoneless. And finally I increased the heat under the pan and added 2 tbsps of white wine vinegar and some sugar. Once the vinegar evaporated I checked the seasoning and it was ready to come off the heat. Final touch should be basil, but I had none and also toasted pine nuts, super delicious, added texture and nuttiness. My own sourdough completed the picture.
The best thing I have put on the Easter table this year. Top. Surely not very healthy, super calorific, expensive, but it was delicious and enjoyed by us and friends. Any excuse will be good to make it again. Before that happens, we have Sicilia to look forward to, I’m told pistachio di Bronte is going to be epic. A few more weeks!…
The recipe comes from mojewypieki.com.
For the base I used 160g of digestive biscuits, 55g of melted butter and a handful of mixed nuts, which I have blitzed all together until I had a grainy mixture, ready to spread and flatten on the lined bottom of a tray. Gave it 8 minutes in the oven at 180 degrees, while I got on with the rest.
500g of Philadelphia cheese, 100 g of pistachio paste, 100 g of Greek yoghurt, 3 whole eggs, 130g of sugar ( reduced by 50g in the original recipe), 1 tbsp of plain flour, all well combined, but not whipped into fluff. Onto the pre-baked base and into the oven in bain marie, 150 degrees, for a bit less than an hour. When I took the cheesecake out it still had a slight wobble to it.
When it was completely cool I finished it off with a topping, pistachio topping, so that there were no doubts what the flavour is. 🙂 50g of pistachio paste, 80 ml of cream and 2 tsps of icing sugar, gently combined and poured all over the cheesecake. Covered with cling film, it spent a cosy night in the fridge.
Before serving I decorated it with chopped, unsalted pistachios and some raspberries. 10 out of 10.
A spontaneous creation on Tuesday morning. We’ve given Izzie a day off today for a couple of reasons, lousy wet weather being one of them, so she was enthusiastically cutting the cookies and even decorated some of them- not that they needed decoration!
Recipe from mojewypieki.com.
150g of soft butter creamed with half a tall glass of sugar and some vanilla sugar too. A zest of one big lemon. Some candied orange peel, always a good idea. 1 egg, 250g of plain flour, 0,5 tsp of baking powder and a good splash of lemon juice ( the recipe called for lemon extract, I don’t use such inventions).
Cookie dough cooled in the fridge for over an hour and then we multitasked- Izzie was cutting the cookies, I was making lunch and baking them. 180 degrees, 9 minutes, until the started catching some colour on the edges.
