Anna, the lovely lady who lives next door, has given me 2 bowls full of veggies from their garden. The day before we had lunch together in our place, just to thank them for being so lovely to us from day 1. Nadia and Cristian came too, as did Anna’s husband, Francesco, largely responsible for growing all this fantastic produce.
The big tomatoes are on the windowsill for the colour to develop, but the little, sweet datterini were not kept waiting. I turned them into a lovely tomato sauce, spiked with a bit of chili, with lots of onions and garlic and a touch of fresh mint too. We had it with penne, a bit of aubergines and crispy guanciale completed the picture.
With our apetitivo we had some bruschettas, the best ones were those with stracciatella and datterini, the others with Anna’s aubergines, panfried with shallots and garlic. We devoured them with a glass of Santa Cristina bianco.
Next spring I will attempt growing some veggies, the neighbours and Steve set the bar really high!
Nicoise onion tart, which I have first come across while browsing Rick Stein’s book “French Odyssey”. When Moka was here last week , we’ve made one together for lunch one day, but I knew from the first bite that I will be making it again MY WAY. 🙂
This was our joint effort;
We had the ready made pastry from Esselunga, Moka has prepared the onions, I put the whole thing together and baked it. It was very tasty, made a great lunch, but the onions could have been softer. Moka panfried them and wasn’t interested in adding fresh bay leaves or thyme from the garden ( I smuggled some through at the end for garnish), which I found rather surprising.
So yesterday, on a first rainy day in over a month I made the pissaladiere again. My onions were cooked under cover for over 40 minutes with a generous bouquet garni. This made a huge difference. Once I removed the herbs, I gave it another 20 minutes uncovered which made the consistency almost spreadable.
Black olives on top take the 15 minutes in the oven well, anchovies don’t. These should definitely be added after the baking.
Excellent light supper alongside Greek salad and some good chianti.
Another one of of The Places I Really Wanted To See in Italy Soon, has been seen. Moka and Viktor were here last week. We were debating whether to spend Sunday in water park or go somewhere we have not been before. So we hopped across the fence to Emilia Romagna.
The biggest surprise was how quiet the city was. I expected a bit of a massacre, like Siena two years ago, but no; the students were away, there were some tourists (Americans, at the city tour bus booking place “you know, we’re from New York, sooooooooo…..”), but there were no mental crowds, we had a good time and a fantastic lunch in Taverna del Postiglione. It wasn’t cheap, but we tasted two things we wanted to taste in Bologna and some more. Service was fantastic. Wine list very impressive, but we wanted beer.
The board that was brought for us full of local meats( that mortadella!) and cheeses was nicely explained and very much enjoyed, especially the marmalade made of prunes, which tasted great with Grana Padano and Parma ham. I happened to find some in Conad this morning, we’ll see how it compares.
For the mains Moka and Viktor went for some ravioli, I had gnocchi with prawns- who would have thought! Izzie really broadened her horizons and opted for pizza margherita. The winner however was Florek, who had tortelloni in brodo, we all had a little taste and it was the best plate on the table. Clear, meaty broth and homemade, tiny tortelloni, simple, yet mind blowing.
We had no desserts, as were too stuffed and after coffee headed back towards the car, well fed and happy. I’d love a plate of that brodo for myself anytime.
Also, I really liked the parmigiano container that stood of the table, I liked it so much that I sought it out online and I now have one in the fridge, thanks to Florek. 🙂
Dessert was needed for a Sunday lunch with The Blackmore’s yesterday, mojewypieki.com were consulted and the result made us all happy.
The base- 270g of plain flour, 100g of ground almonds, 150 g of cold butter, 80g of icing sugar, a touch of baking powder and then 4 egg yolks, all combined and chilled for an hour, before rolling out onto the lined baking tray. It baked for about 20 mins in 180 degrees, during which I have pitted the plums and dusted them with some cornstarch and cinnamon. For the meringue I used 4 egg whites, a pinch of salt, 150 g of sugar, towards the end 1 tsp of cornstarch. The plums went onto the still warm base, meringue on top, some flaked almonds and immediately after the cake went in, I dropped the temperature down to 140 degrees. An hour of slow baking, then the heat off and I allowed it to cool in the oven.
Molly and Enrico invited us over to dinner last night. As usual it was lovely to catch up with them and spend a few hours with their lovely kiddos, who not only know how to behave at the table, they also eat everything that’s served (salad??!!) and are simply a pleasure to be around.
I offered to make the dessert, sponge cake with whipped cream and fresh pineapple, this time however I’ve made the sponge from a different recipe than my mom’s, I used Dorota’s from mojewypieki.com. 3 whole eggs, 3 tbsps of plain flour, 3 tbsps of potato starch, 6 tbsps of sugar/vanilla sugar and 1/4 tsp of baking powder. After less than 30 minutes in the oven I ended up with a perfect sponge.
I have no picture of the ready thing, sadly, but it was enjoyed and some was left for today, to Elio’s delight!
I tried homemade caponata for the first time and I loved it. And I can’t wait to make it myself this weekend. Sweet and sour, served with crusty baguette and prosecco sfuso. Life is good!
The main were wonderful, light, soft, pillowy gnocchi with pesto. All made fresh! Just how they should be. Might also make some one of these days!
Or, as Marion called it in her video, a Japanese butter garlic fried rice with a mystery ingredient. I saw this video previously and while stocking up on my Asian ingredients last week at oisshiiplanet.it I have added some KewPie mayo, just to try.
Whether this was Japanese, errr, not so much. My rice was a shortgrain, all purpose rice from Conad, but I rinsed it prior to cooking and followed Marion’s tips, so for a mug of rice I added a mug and a quarter of water, so less than I normally would. And texture was perfect, no less! Once it was cooked I tossed it with 3 tbsps of that KewPie, a first for me, but not the last, it gently added to the flavour. I had 2 eggs in the bowl, cracked and gently whipped, 3 cloves of garlic finely chopped and also some peas, as this was going to be our lunch today, so I needed a bit of something more.
A generous knob of butter into the pan, the garlic, not for too long, just to soften it slightly. Rice in. A good splash of soy sauce. After a minute or so, the rice was shoved to the side of the pan and the eggs went in, to scramble nicely, then tossed together with the rice and peas. Marion added some parsley at the end, I opted for finely chopped spring onions. Salt, to finish with, a bit more soy( never enough for Izzie, who would have it in the glass if she could) and we were done.
Nice and simple little dish, I’m thinking it would go well with chicken teryiaki skewers. I invited the Blackmores for Sunday lunch next Sunday, so might just go down that route. 🙂
Oh, and that pretty bowl the rice is sitting in- Maison du Monde. Thumbs up.
Last September, a few weeks after we moved to Lucca, Laura and Dennis were our first guests for dinner in the new place. Last Sunday the situation repeated itself. The garden table and chairs and ombrellone have all been delivered, 98% of stuff is unpacked and finished, it was time to have lunch, or pranzo, as they say here. Italian summer is in full swing, it is bloomin’ hot, the patio resembles a frying pan, if one makes a mistake of walking out barefoot.
I couldn’t decide what to make for lunch; it’s baking hot, so we wouldn’t want anything heavy, but L&D are fellow foodies, so it had to be good. With Florek’s generous financial support I decided on Thai beef salad, but Italian version, without beansprouts ( not seen them anywhere yet!), for mains some grilled chicken of Donal Skehan’s recipe. Beef salad was a winner, the steak we bought in Esselunga was all but cheap and we could taste the quality, it was well rested and delicious, plus Dennis saved the day and brought 2 packs of fresh coriander I could not find on the day. Even Izzie had some and finished it!
Chicken thighs and some breasts, for those who don’t like meat on the bone( one such individual among us!) were marinating for 24 hours prior to cooking. Everyone liked it and it was enjoyed, I would’ve liked more heat, more chili next time. I used some grated fresh ginger, 4 grated garlic cloves, zest of 2 limes, 2 fresh chilis( but it’s always a lottery, these were not very hot), some fresh thyme, coriander, dried oregano, 3 tsps of all spice, some cinnamon, some nutmeg, 6 tbsps of ketchup, salt, pepper and oilve oil to bring it all together.
Chicken was grilled, served with fresh coriander and lime wedges. The only side was a nice, fresh salsa-mango, spring onions, cucumber without seeds, fresh chili, lime, coriander again, olive oil, s&p. Very nice indeed.
Before it was time for desserts, we hopped in the pool for a quick swim and a g&t.
A tasty, great day in an excellent company. Next time Dennis is going to teach me how to cook octopus.
11 months after we have left Winchcombe to embark on our new life in bella Italia, here I am, by the same table, but this table now stands in a house we have bought, after months of waiting, dealing with stuff, another round of packing boxes, then another one of unpacking them. We’ve here. Siamo arrivati. 🙂
There is a Tuscan kitchen, smaller than the one in Winchcombe, but the door the patio opens lots of new possibilities! There is a driveway, on which grows the most frangrant and wonderful thyme, lots and lots of mint on the sides. There are olive trees all around. There are neighbours who grow their own lemons and lots of wonderful looking veggies and also other neighbours above us, who make their own wine. Speaking of wine I must mention yesterday’s visit to a vineria Enrico and Molly recommended to us. Back in the UK the idea of buying and drinking wine from the tap at 2 euro per litre would have amused me, but I quickly changed my mind here. Enrico brought over some locally grown vermentino a few months back, then Molly gave me a bottle with a local sangiovese blend. We drove to Lammari yesterday with a box full empty bottles and filled them all up for less than 29 euro.
And because the wine is great and the service from Igor, the owner, just as good, we will go back when we run out of wine.
One of the nicest things made so far in the new kitchen was tomato sauce made with fresh tomatoes, but spiked with fresh, chopped mint, as there is so much of it around. It was enjoyed with simple pasta for lunch, but also on a pizza.
And then, a few days ago I decided to have a go at making sourdough bread. Florek, true to his word, has treated me to a lovely, brand new oven, first one ever that I didn’t have to scrub before I put food in it.
I’m using Paul Hollywood’s “How to bake book”, which has an entire chapter on sourdough.
Right now my starter is comfortably bubbling away in the bowl, until tomorrow, when I will proceed to stage 2. By the end of the week we should be tasting some Torcigliano sourdough.
The Blackhams are in Italy for the whole of last week. They stay in a cute little place just off the beach in Viareggio, today they came to Lucca, before heading back home to London tomorrow. I booked us lunch in Trattoria Nonna Clara’s, thinking- they need to remember Lucca for fantastic food, so this is the place.
We had a long, 2,5 hour long lunch. We started off with stuffed courgette flowers and a plate of cured meats and cheeses. Proceeded to some lasagne, some stuffed pasta, Alyssa had a mountain of roasted lamb, Louise and I went for today’s special, ossobuco with puree al tartufo.
We all tasted that puree and it was the best thing I tasted in a while, absolutely sensational. Then 3 tiramisu arrived for us to share, followed by a freebie of a wonderful sorbetto al limone, but liquid, in a glass, refreshing and wonderful. And coffee.
Busy times though, as we are preparing to move to Casa Banks in Torcigliano, there is barely time to sit down and enjoy a cup of tea, read a book or cook something really nice and write about it. Last weekend was another one when we dragged two Ikea bags to the car in the morning, filled with stuff so that there was less for the traslochi, then a few hours of work, painting, tidying up the garden, then, as a reward to ourselves, a nice meal at Grumpy’s , as zero energy was left to cook. Grumpy always gives us a discount now and makes sure we have noticed, how he gave us a discount! 🙂
This morning I was awake at 5 am flicking through internet and found this nice little recipe from GialloZafferano. A few hours later in Esselunga I was buying some fresh green peas and made it for us this evening, while thunderstorm was raging outside. Nice little dish, all the Bankses enjoyed it.
First I crisped up some guanciale, which even Dustin likes, but raw, then drained the meat and used the fat to fry up a shallot, half a courgette and a small bowl of peas. Then a bit of chicken stock and after a few minutes the whole thing was ready to puree. Made a risotto usual way, with chicken stock and Santa Cristina, kept on adding the green puree and then a good handful of fresh peas towards the end. Right before serving crispy guanciale went on top and it was ready to be enjoyed. With the remaining Santa Cristina, ovviamente! 🙂
