Caponata

This is a typical sicilian dish that can be served as a cold appetizer or a hot side-dish. It is a cooked salad with eggplants, tomatoes, vinegar, olive, capers and pine nuts. It is one of my favorite summer dishes. Here is the classic version of La Caponata.

Ingredients:
Serve 4

2 medium size eggplants
4 grape tomatoes
1 medium size onion
20 seedless green olive
2 tablespoons capers
50g chopped almonds
2 tablespoons raisins
80g pine nuts
1 celery stalk
1 tablespoon of sugar
30ml good quality vinegar
8 fresh basil leaves
olive oil
salt and fresh grounded pepper


Cut the eggplants in cubes of 1 cm. In a deep frying pan heat the oil and fry the eggplants. Dry them well with kitchen paper and keep them aside.
Chop the onion and celery in thin slices. In a medium size pan pour 3 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the onion, celery and raisins. Mix well to combine the ingredients and let them cook in medium heat.
Peel the tomatoes and eliminate their seeds. Chop them in small pieces and add them to the pan with the vinegar, sugar and basil. Cook it for about 10 min.
Add the eggplants, green olive, pine nuts, and capers. Mix well and let it cook slowly for 20 min.
Place it in a serving plate. Sprinkle with the chopped almonds and a toasted slice of bread.

Home made spaghetti with fish ragù

Ingredients:
Serve 4

For the spaghetti
3 large eggs
300g semola di grano duro De Cecco

Fish ragù
250g red grouper fillet
250g sea bass fillet
2 cloves garlic
10 cherry tomatoes
3 tablespoon Olive oil
1/2 glass Martini

Place the flour  in the center of a wooden cutting board. Make a well in the middle of the flour, add the eggs. Using a fork beat the eggs and incorporate the flour starting from the inner rim of the well. Try to maintain the shape of the well by pushing the flour towards the center. Once half of the flour is incorporated with the eggs you can work the dough by kneading it with your hands. Knead the dough for about 7 minutes until you get the right consistency. You should have a little sticky and elastic dough. Cover it with plastic paper and let it rest for 30min at room temperature.
Roll the pasta and cut it in the spaghetti shape by using a pasta machine.

Boil a salty water in a big pan.
In a medium size pan fry the garlic with olive oil. Add the tomatoes that previously you have cut in halves and let them simmer in a medium heat. Cut the fish in small cubes and add it to the tomato sauce. Cook for 5 min. Add the martini and let it evaporate. Cook the sauce for other 5 min.
Once the water boil cook the pasta. When the pasta is al dente toss with the fish ragù and serve it hot.

Sardine with almonds and mint

ingredients:
serve 4

500g sardine fillet
80g almonds
20g fresh mint leaves
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 lemon zest
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven at 180C°
In a food processor grind the almond and the mint, add the lemon zest and mix to combine the ingredients.  Season the sardine with salt and pepper. Take one sardine fillet, place the almond mix and roll the sardine.
Oil a roasting pan, place the rolled sardine and sprinkle with the remaining almond. Cook the filled sardine for 15 min. Serve them with seasonal salad.

Tomatoes stuffed with Rice and baked Potatoes

This is a typical dish that reminds me of summers in Rome. In July at any market in Rome you find beautiful juicy tomatoes and this is a perfect ingredient to prepare i pomodori ripieni di riso (rice stuffed tomatoes). This dish, apart from being healthy, you can prepare it in advance because it is delicious either cold or warm.

Ingredients
Serve 4

8 medium size grape tomatoes
10 tablespoons rice
24 seedless black olive
20 fresh mint leaves
3 big size potatoes
4 anchovies
salt and pepper
5 tablespoons

Preheat the oven at 200C°.
Cut a thick slice of about 2 cms on the top of each tomato and keep it aside. With the help of a spoon scoop the pulp and the seeds out of each tomato. Chop the pulp in small pieces and along with the juice of each tomato keep it medium size bowl. Add to the tomato, rice, anchovies, black olives and mint finely chopped. Season with 3 tablespoons of olive oil, salt and pepper and toss to combine all the ingredients.
Peel the potatoes and cut them in wedges. Oil the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil a baking dish. Prepare a bed of potatoes wedges, season them with salt and pepper. Toss well to combine the ingredients.
Season the hollowed tomatoes with salt and pepper, spoon the rice mixture up to the top of each tomato. Cover them with the top and place the tomatoes on top of the potato's bed. Distribute the remaining rice mixture on top of the potatoes.
Bake for 1 hour.  Serve them warm or cold

Shrimps with Chickpea puree

A great starter that combine the earthy flavor of the chickpeas with the shrimps. I have to give credit to my husband for this recipe even though here I have my version of his recipe. I think that a little green is missing maybe some rugula salad on the side.  Too late now .....  next time I will add it.

ingredients
serve 4

24 shrimps
1 can of chickpeas
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup of brandy
1 chili
4 tablespoons olive oil
fresh rosemary
salt and pepper

Coat a medium size sauté pan with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add garlic, rosemary and chili and sauté all ingredients for about 2 minutes. Add the chickpeas that previously have been rinsed from their water. Cook in a medium high heat for 5 minuets, cover with water, season with salt and pepper and let it simmer for 20 minutes. Once the chickpeas are cooked and the water reduced, remove it from the fire and let it cool at room temperature.
Put the chickpea sauce in a food processor and puree until you get a velvety smooth consistency.
In a steaming pot mix the brandy with water and steam the shrimps for 4 minutes.
Put a spoonful of the chickpeas puree as a base for your shrimps. Place the shrimps on top of the puree and serve hot.

Orecchiette alle Cime di Rapa

I haven't been able to come up with a right english translation for this dish. I think orecchiette are very famous all over the world. It is a hand made pasta with flour, salt and water cooked in the same water with the cime di rapa (turnip tops) and sautéed with olive oil, garlic, chillies and anchovies. The turnip tops have a sharp bitter taste which combines very well with the saltiness of the anchovies and the spicy chili. It is an explosion of flavors in your mouth.
If you don't find the turnip tops you can use broccoli. It might not be an easy vegetable to find everywhere, therefore it  is better to have an alternative.

Cime di rapa (Turnip top)

Ingredients
Serve 4

400g all purpose flour
1 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
1kg cime di rapa (turnip tops)
2 cloves of garlic
3 anchovies
1 red chili
salt
parmigiano

Place the flour in a bowl with the salt and mix well. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the water little by little and keep mixing with your hands until you get a dough. Place the dough in a working surface and knead it until you get a smooth and elastic dough. Place the dough in a bowl and cover it with a clean kitchen cloth and let it rest at room temperature for about 20 mins.

Cut a piece of dough. Take one piece of dough and roll it in long dowel about 1,5 - 2 cms thick and cut it small flat squares about 1 cm each. Press with your thumb one side of the square and pull it to the other side of your square keeping the same pressure. You should have a pasta that looks like an ear (orecchietta means "little ear" in italian).
Place the orecchiette on a tray and dust them with flour. Cover them with a towel.

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Drop the turnip tops and let them cook for a couple of minutes and add the orecchiette. Cook the pasta until it is al dente for about 4 minutes.
Coat a large sauté pan with olive oil, add garlic, chili and anchovies. Bring the pan at medium heat and let anchovies melt and the garlic golden.
Once the pasta is cooked remove the orecchiette and the turnip tops from the water (keep some water to add if the pasta gets dry) and add them in the large sauté pan with the rest of ingredients.
Cook the pasta for about 1 min.
Serve it with a sprinkle of parmigiano cheese.

Pork Tenderloin with Dijon Mustard and Honey

This is my signature plate. It is so simple to prepare, and at the same time it is always a success. Dijon mustard and honey give a sweet taste to the juicy tenderloin. Normally I like to serve it with red cabbage but this time I had those lovely little baby potatoes so colorful that just looked perfect for my  tenderloin.
This recipe is very versatile. If I have some guests who cannot eat pork I replace it with beef tenderloin and it is equally delicious.

Ingredientes:
Serve 4

500g Pork tenderloin
2 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 lemon juice
1 glass white wine
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 leaves of fresh sage
salt and fresh grounded pepper

BABY POTATOES SALAD

500g mixed baby potatoes
2 teaspoon fresh rosemary chopped
2 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper

Season the Pork tenderloin with salt and fresh ground pepper. In a pan put the oil and the fresh sage and heat on medium high heat. Add the meat and let it cook on all four sides until it becomes golden brown.  In a bowl mix the Dijon mustard, honey and lemon juice. Mix well and cover the meat by spreading the sauce on top of it with a brush. Reduce the heat to medium low. Add white wine and let it simmer for about 20 mins.
Remove the meat and let it cool covered, and put the sauce aside in a bowl to keep it warm.

Meanwhile wash the potatoes and dry them with some kitchen paper. Cook the potatoes by steam. They will be cooked in about 8-10 minuets. Chop fresh rosemary and cut the potatoes in half. Season them with oil, salt, pepper and fresh chopped rosemary.

Cut the tenderloin in thick slices and place them in your serving plate. Pour the mustard sauce on top of the meat and serve it with the baby potato salad on the side.
Ready to go. Now is time to enjoy this delicious plate.

Chicken with Spinach and Pine Nuts

I was looking for an alternative way to cook my roasted chicken when suddenly remembered I once had been brave enough to debone a guinea-fowl. I then said to myself : "If I did it once I can do it again" but this time I decided to try with a chicken. I started my search on the web and found this video, Pepin Debone Chicken Galantine Ballotine, that made the whole process much easier.
Once I had the chicken deboned, the stuffing was a piece of cake: some fresh spinach mixed it with pine nuts. The result: a juicy chicken with an earthy flavor from the stuffing.
Even my son Juan, who usually doesn't eat spinach, served himself three times and would have eaten more if there had been.

Chicken with Spinach and Pine Nuts
Serve 4

Ingredients:
1 medium size Chicken
1kg Fresh Spinach
50g Pine nuts
2 slices of bread
1 glass white wine
1medium size onion
3 tablespoon of Olive oil
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven at 200C°.
Prepare the chicken by washing it and dry it with some kitchen paper. Debone the chicken following Pepin's video .
Steam the spinach, once they are cooked let them cool and keep aside. Put the bread in a food processor and grind it until it has the consistency of fresh bread crumb. Squeeze the spinach and let them drain from their water and chop them. In a bowl mix the spinach, the crumbled bread, the pine nuts. Combine the flavors and season with salt and pepper.
Open the chicken like a butterfly and season it with salt and pepper. Place the spinach mix in the center and close the chicken following Pepin's video.
Chop the onion in big chunks and place it in a roasting pan as a base of the roasting chicken. Add the olive oil and mix well to combine the two ingredients. Place the chicken on the top of the onions in a roasting grill. Roast the chicken for about 1 hour and half. After 30 minutes add the white wine and keep the chicken moist with the sauce of the onions and the withe wine if it tends to get dry. Once the chicken starts to golden brown and it is cooked, remove it from the grill and cover it with aluminum paper. Blend the onion sauce to get a smooth consistency.
Once the chicken is warm, remove the roasting thread and slice it. Place the chicken in your serving plate and pour the onion sauce on top.

Green tea Tiramisù

Lately I wanted to explore new flavors. I was curios to try some recipe with the Japanese green tea. In my shopping excursion at the local central market I found a Japanese store and I was attracted by a small can with the precious green tea powder (matcha) and I thought to use it for a tiramisu. I wanted to substitute the coffee with the green tea to have a lighter flavor. I was pleased by the result and my Italian guest appreciated the little change. Here is the outcome.

GREEN TEA TIRAMISU'

Ingredients:
Serve 4

8 savoiardi (lady fingers)
125g mascarpone
125g wipping cream
100g custard sugar
50g peeled and chopped pistachios
3 yolks
1 1/2 teaspoons matcha
1 1/2 cup of boiled water

In a deep bowl with the hot water mix the green tea and let the powder melt well. Add a table spoon of custard sugar. Prepare 4 glasses to serve the tiramisù.
Beat the yolks with the custard sugar until they are soft and pale. Add the mascarpone and combine well the two ingredients. In a separate bowl whisk the whipping cream without over beating it. Once you got the right consistency mix the whipping cream with the mascapone cream and combine well the ingredients. In your 4 glasses prepare a base with one full tablespoon of the cream in each glass.
Get back to the bowl with the green tea and deep one savoiardo in both sides, cut it in two and lay them in the cream that you prepared in the serving glass. Cover the savoiardi with another full tablespoon of cream, sprinkle with the pistachios and repeat the sequence with a second savoiardo. Once you have two layers cover the glass and put it to the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.
Before serving sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon of matcha and enjoy this decadent sweet.