In spite of having a good recipe for waffles that always works, I tried a different one yesterday, one with fresh yeast and sparkling mineral water.  Initially I wasn’t blown away, but Florian loved them , said they were lovely and light and that he preferred them to the other ones. There is only 1 tbsp of sugar in this recipe, I did not serve the waffles with whipped cream, as they made our lunch, but I think they will work, when we have them with everything we like. This time it was just berries and maple syrup.

About 180 ml of sparkling water, 210 ml warm milk ( some poured away to prepare the yeast, 6 g, later added back). Some vanilla extract, 2 egg yolks, 1 tbsp of sugar, a sprinkle of salt.  All this made a nice batter, to which I added 270 g of plain flour and 90 of melted butter. While all this sat and proved for about 15 minutes, I whipped the egg whites and added in, then again about 20 minutes resting. And into the waffle maker, as usual. Good waffles, worth the effort.

I had a similar dish for lunch in Italy last month, I thought it was nice, tame, tasty, but I thought I could make it better.  I think I did this evening, what can still improve it would be home grown zucchini, which I intend to cook with next summer.

I grated 2 courgettes, pan fried them with half a red onion, half a tbsp of chili flakes, seasoned with some stock, salt and pepper and a touch of tomato puree.  Made bechamel usual way and layered the dish with the courgettes, topped with grated parmesan and baked for about 25 minutes in 180 degrees. We both liked it a lot, a glass of Romanian pinot noir sealed the deal.

I was thinking about making this while buying truffles in Lucca.  Had great expectations, maybe too great, as we had style over substance for dinner last night. 🙂 It was tasty, satisfying, but as I packed the sauce with minced porcini mushrooms I found it very difficult to make it look appetizing.  There is never a problem when a duvet of bechamel covers pasta, but here I struggled….

The filling was much like the ravioli last time, a good combination of ricotta, parmesan, minced porcini, truffle paste, cooked, riced potato for texture and seasoning. All wrapped into a fresh pasta made by Florek and baked under the sauce; fried shallot, a couple of chestnut mushrooms, yet more porcini, more truffles, mushroom stock thickened with flour and a splash of cream. Tasty, like I said, but not eye catching! Quite heavy too, I found my liver calling me names at about 10 pm….:-)

Ocado delivers our weekly shopping on Tuesdays, so this evening the fridge is quite empty, but clean in anticipation for the goods arriving tomorrow. What to make for supper was an issue only for a few minutes, as soon as I found some arborio rice in the pantry, I knew there would be risotto. Also, there was some of that Argentinian pinot grigio left in the fridge from Saturday, perfect amount to make the risotto. Simple, as usual. Finely chopped onion fried on olive oil, arborio in and after a minute or so bit by bit- chicken stock and wine and like that till the rice was nicely cooked. I added 4 fried cup mushrooms, a handful or porcini and a good dollop of Crema Tarfuffata, before finishing with grated parmesan- in and out, as well as a few drops of truffle oil. Dieting Florek did have seconds, for the first time in 2 weeks. Thumbs up.

Due to Florek’s weight , which is a touch too high these days I’m opting for smaller portions,  dramatically cut down the bread and sugar in our diet and I also bake once a week, not 3. Sacrifices have to be made.  Last night I’ve made ravioli with truffles, which were good, but to be sensational a light mushroom sauce should have been made. I’ve baked an Irish soda bread, which I will make again some time, as this one had a lot of potential, but was slightly underbaked.

Our supper this evening I liked so much that it deserves to be here. Butternut squash, sliced and roasted under olive oil, seasoned and sprinkled with chili flakes.  Served with parma ham, pesto, grated parmesan and fresh rocket. The recipe called for some soft mozarella too, I had none, but will do next time. This plate of simple goodness reminded me of a melon and parma we had in Lucca.  So simple, yet amazing.

We’re in Italy for a week, much needed break after a tough time in Poland. Wandering the cute streets of Lucca I came across a truffle heaven. A shop with truffles in every form. I spent 45 euros and left it very, very happy. Can’t wait to put some of this stuff to work! 🙂

Photo taken on the table on the terrace, this is the view we have every day.

Polish spelling, I’m not even sure where the name came from, but when I think about this hearty courgette stew, I think of my parents’ allotment and all the good stuff it produced over the years. Like courgettes, which Lisa shares with me this summer- produce from her garden.  They were fabulous just chargrilled as a side of the steaks, they make great courgette fritters, which Izzie and Bess devoured on Wednesday and today I thought- let’s go back down the memory lane. I had a decent idea what it should look and taste like, I thought about calling Mum, but she was on hospital run today, so I got cracking using my experience and all I remembered from years ago.

Some pork shoulder, cubed, seasoned and sprinkled with flour quickly browned, 2 chopped shallots, a big fat clove of garlic in. 2 small sweet peppers, a good pinch of chili flakes. Cherry tomatoes, some green beans. All stewing rather quickly, it’s essential that the pork is lovely and soft, tough meat would ruin the whole dish. Finally, towards the end, cubed courgette. It’s to be cooked, but keep its shape and have a bit of a crunch still. A little of coriander to finish with.

I served with freshly baked ciabatta( no, not totally fresh, Waitrose!). It soaked all the lovely juices up nicely. And also I decided next year I’ll be growing courgettes, there will be a greenhouse too, for the tomatoes and cucumbers. Exciting!

Giorgio Locatelli’s.  I’ve made 2 things by that very ragazzo Italiano today, I’ve baked his baci di dama, little cocoa biscuits which I’ve managed to overbake and will most likely chuck them by the end of the day. I mean my teeth are not amazing and attempting to enjoy those particular baci might result in injuries. 🙂

The puffs however are a completely different story. When I tasted the first one I thought- fabulous party food. Not cheap, with all that parmesan in it, but tasty and moreish. The original recipe calls for Grana Padano,  but I happened to have lots of parmesan, so that’s what I used.  First 200 g of potatoes, boiled and squeezed through the ricer, same amount of plain flour. 75 g of grated parmesan- a lot! 9g of fresh yeast, same amount of salt, but not together, as salt kills yeast. 300 ml of water. All this made quite a runny batter, which then gets spooned into the hot oil, I find 2 teaspoons useful in this operation, no need for fancy gadgets. They fry quite quickly, until golden, a final sprinkling of parmesan and onto the table, where some delicious parma ham awaited, a great salad and a bottle of Viognier.

Puffs are rather filling, which is not surprising, as they’re deep fried. I would imagine them as a real treat somewhere on a terrace with a good view, Tuscany maybe. That’s where we will be in 5 weeks. 🙂

I used to pick these in the woods of Poland when I was a teenager and never valued them as much as now.  I was thinking about it when we walked in Forest of Dean last weekend and I happened to find a few common mushrooms, remembering how we used to pick them with mum and dad. I would wish dad will be strong enough again to go mushroom picking, for now I ordered my pack of girolles from Ocado and made a pasta dish this evening, that surprised us both, Florek and me, with how good it was. First of all, girolles and lots of black pepper = taste buds go wild. I chopped them alongside 2 shallots and panfried them quickly, adding a generous handful of cooked and peeled broad beans,  some chicken stock and cooked it down a notch. Fusili in, I think next time maybe orecchiette, lots of parmesan and a drizzle of truffle oil.  A few rocket leaves.  I have to say the broad beans, as much as I love them as a snack- just cooked in a salty water- did not bring anything to the dish, apart from a bit of colour. I’m now thinking about a ravioli filling that would include these yellow beauties.  Yum.