During summer my mum and I enjoyed cooking and my
daughter joined us from time to time. In July and August we had friends and
family coming and going from Italy so our kitchen was very busy. Here are some
dishes we prepared and particularly liked.
Pasta
with artichokes
For four people you need: 4 artichokes, the juice of
a lemon, 4 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil, two cloves of garlic, salt, pepper
and grated parmigiano; optional: 2 tbsp of double cream; 500 g of fusilli or
penne.
Clean the artichokes getting rid of the hard and thickest
leaves as well as the core. Cut them in slices and soak them in the juice of
the lemon adding some water. Warm the olive oil in a frying pan, add the garlic
cloves peeled and crushed and the drained artichokes, add salt and pepper. Add
water if needed and let them simmer covered with a lid for about 15-20 minutes.
When they are soft and ready, grind them in a blender till you obtain a creamy mixture.
As an option you can add two tbsp of double cream at this stage. Cook the pasta
in water with salt, when it is ready drain it and add the artichoke cream and
some oil if needed. Serve with parmigiano.
Pasta
with asparagus
For four people you need: 500 g of asparagus, half
an onion, four tbsp of extra virgin olive oil, 30 g of butter, two tbsp of grated
parmigiano; 500 g of fusilli or penne.
Cut off the white hardest part of the asparagus.
Boil the asparagus and the onion in water with salt for about 10-15 minutes.
Grind 2/3 of the asparagus and the onion in a blender adding oil, butter,
parmigiano and two tbsp of the water you used for cooking. Keep 1/3 of the
asparagus tips aside. Cook the pasta in water with salt, when it is ready drain
it and add the asparagus cream, the asparagus tips and some oil if needed.
Serve with parmigiano.
Sgonfiotti
alla romana (pancakes in the Roman way)
For four people you need: five eggs, 50 g of butter,
200 ml of water, 50 g of ham, 30 g of grated parmigiano, six tbsp of plain
flour, salt, half a tsp of ground nutmeg, some oil to fry.
Boil the water and the butter in a pan with some
salt. Add the flour in one go stirring till it becomes smooth. Let it cool then
add the eggs, the ham cut in little cubes , the nutmeg and parmigiano. Mix and
let it rest for half an hour. Fry spoonfuls of the mixture in hot oil, they
should be puffy and golden when ready.
Sicilian
pesto
You need: four big tomatoes, two peeled garlic
cloves, 50 g of fresh parsley, 50 g of fresh basil, 100 g of blanched almonds,
two celery sticks, 6 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper and grated
parmigiano; 500 g of spaghetti or linguini.
Soak the tomatoes in hot water and leave them for
ten minutes. Peel the tomatoes and cut them in cubes getting rid of the seeds.
Grind the almonds in a blender then add all the other ingredients. Cook the
spaghetti in water with salt, when it is ready drain it and add the Sicilian
pesto and some oil if needed. Serve with parmigiano.
Tomatoes
stuffed with rice
You need: four big ripe tomatoes, extra virgin olive
oil, parsley, 4-6 tbsp of Arborio or Carnaroli rice, 2-3 potatoes, salt and
pepper.
Cut the top of the tomatoes and scoop out the pulp.
Cut the tomato pulp in small pieces in a bowl. Add salt, pepper and parsley to
the mixture, add the rice as well, about a tbsp and a half per tomato. Sprinkle
some salt and pour some olive oil in the scooped tomatoes and fill them with
the mixture. Cover the stuffed tomatoes with the tomato lid you cut before and
place them in an oiled pan. Peel the potatoes and cut them in cubes, add salt
and spread them in the pan beside the stuffed tomatoes. Cook the tomatoes and
potatoes for 45 minutes covered with a lid. Let them rest for half an hour
before serving.
Savoury
pies
For the dough you need: 500 g of self-raising flour,
one tbsp of melted butter, two eggs, one tsp of salt, 200 ml of lukewarm water.
For the filling you have two options:
1) 500
g of ricotta, one egg, 250 g of spinach or bieda, nutmeg and salt.
2) 500
g of ricotta, two eggs, 2 tbsp of grated parmigiano, 100 g of grated ham,
pepper.
Prepare the dough mixing all the ingredients and let
it rest for half an hour in a cool place. For filling no. 1, cook the spinach
in 30 ml of water with a bit of salt, drain it and cut it roughly. Add all the
other ingredients and mix well. For filling no. 2, grind the ham in a blender,
and mix it with the ricotta and all the other ingredients. Prepare the pie
rolling out half of the dough, line a greased rectangular tin with the dough
sheet and spread the filling in it. Roll out the rest of the dough and cover
the pie. Bake for half an hour at
180° C.
Rice
with nettles
For five people you need: 200 g of nettles leaves,
one litre of vegetable stock, one leek,
half a glass of white wine, 30 g of butter, 350 g of rice, four tbsp of olive
oil, three tbsp of grated parmigiano, salt and pepper.
Harvest the nettles (only leaves), wash them several
times and cook them in some water and salt. Finally grind them in a blender. Pour
the olive oil in a pan and cook the leek (only the white part) finely cut for 5
minutes, add the rice and the white wine. Stir for a few minutes then add the
nettles and the stock little by little. When the rice is ready add the butter
and parmigiano. Let it rest for five minutes before serving.
Melanzane
‘mbuttunate (stuffed aubergines)
This is an old recipe that goes back to my
grandmother, who was from Meta di Sorrento, that you will never find on the
internet. The aubergines are stuffed with biscuits and dark chocolate so that
the taste is a mix of sweet and savoury. My father adored it.
You need: 2-3 aubergines, three tbsp of sugar, one
tbsp of vinegar, five ground rich tea biscuits, 50 g of grated dark chocolate.
Cut the aubergines in half lengthwise and cook them
for 10-15 minutes in some water with a tbsp of vinegar and three tbsp of sugar.
Once soft, scoop them out and put the pulp in a bowl. Add the ground biscuits
to the mixture and the graded dark chocolate. Fill the aubergines with the
mixture and bake for 20-30 minutes at 180° C.
Aubergines
in the Sardinian way
You need: 2-3 aubergines, extra virgin olive oil,
ripe tomatoes, oregano, fresh parsley, salt and pepper.
Cut the aubergines to obtain round slices ¼ of an
inch thick. Set them in an oiled oven tray. Sprinkle olive oil, salt, pepper,
parsley and oregano to flavour them. Add ripe or dried tomatoes cut in small
pieces without the seeds. Let it marinate for half an hour then bake for 20-30
minutes at 180° C.
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