SALUTATION TO 2011

2011
a bit sweet, a bit sour and a bit crunchy!

My RAVIOLONI WITH CRANBERRY AND PINENUTS
represent perfectly the qualities of this year,
that I salute and let go!!!!

Prepare a pastry like the one I use to make a "crostata",
roll it very fine and then cut it with a round cutter.
Prepare some cranberry jam: mix 1 cup of cranberries with
1 TBS sugar, 1 TBS lemon juice and a cinnamon stick and
boil for 15 minutes or till the cranberries pop; let it cool.
Put half tsp of jam in the middle of the round pastry,
add a pinch of pinenuts, then cover with another pastry circle
and press borders with fingers to make them stick together.
Prepare all the ravioloni and then transfer on a baking shit
lined with parchment paper.

Bake for 15/20 minutes or till golden.
Serve with a sprinkle of confectionary sugar!
Bite into it and savour the balance between the sour, the sweet and the crunchy!!!

GOODBYE 2011!!!!

BOOST YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM AND STAY HEALTHY

We love parties!!!!!
We eat, we enjoy sweets, we drink nice champagne, then we drink again wine, we dance and our spirits rejoy.
Our bodies, though, don't agree with our spirits and become stressed!
Let's help them feel stronger preparing a super-healthy-recharging concoction!
Shitaki mushrooms: super antioxidant
Kombu seaweed: detoxifing and full of mineral salts
Ginger root: anti-inflammatory and digestive
Miso paste: super powerful probiotic
Soy sauce: source of good ferments

After drinking it for few days, your body will be ready for all the Holidays fuss!!!!

DEPURATIVE AND RE-ENERGIZING MISO SOUP

Boil 4 cups of filtered water with 1 piece of Kombu, 2 inch fresh ginger and 4 shitaki mushrooms for 30 minutes.
Remove from stove and add 2 TBS soy sauce and 1 TBS barley or rice miso paste (salty taste can be adjusted adding more soy sauce).
Strain and serve only the liquid in a cup.

Get ready for Christmas!!!!

My favourite sweet bake ever is the "CROSTATA"!
I prepare it with different flavours but this time, as Christmas is very close by,
I have decided to fill it in with marmelade (a nice bitter orange jam made with Sevilla oranges)
and dark chocolate.
Perfect ingredients to warm up our Christmas table!
I have just prepared one to offer as a Christmas present to some dear friends and i'm going to share my recepe with you all!

Have a sweet Christmas!!!!

ORANGE AND DARK CHOCOLATE CROSTATA

Ingr. for pastry: 300 g flour
100 g white sugar
130 g butter
1 egg
juice of half big orange
grated orange zest

Ingr. for filling: 1 jar of Sevilla oranges marmelade
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Prepare the pastry forming, on a wooden base, a sort of vulcano with the flour.
Break the egg in the center of the vulcano mouth, add sugar and start mixing the two ingredients with a little flour.
Put cold butter in microwave for 40 seconds (I know, i know! Microwave is not good for you but only for 40 secs sooooo convenient!) to make it soft then add to the mixture into the vulcano mouth and start mixing all the ingredients together with your hands (what a good feeling!) till the dough is smooth.
Transfer dough in a small bowl, cover with the left-over butter paper and let it rest for 10 minutes in the fridge (again.....I know, I know! They say for 30 min. but i don't like to wait and the result is the same!).
Wash your hands, swicth on the oven to 375 degrees in America or 200 in Europe, make a nice cup of tea and go back to the fridge to pick up dough.
Flour the wooden board and with a rolling-pin press on the dough with a gentle rolling movement till obtaining a very thin pastry.
Butter a round baking tray and transfer dough on it.
Cut the overboarding pastry with a dented rolling cutter and cover with marmelade and chocolate.
Use the left-over dough to make thin stripes to dispose on top of the jam forming a grill shape.
Bake at 350 (or 200) for 25 minutes, then high up the heat to 400 (or 250) for 5 minutes, till the top is brown.

"Ecco fatto!" the crostata is ready!

It's advisable to share with friends while sipping champagne or having a nice coffee!

BUONE FESTE!

LA POLENTA

My sister brought me a gourmand surprise from Italy: a shiny, golden corn flour to make our traditional polenta.
We had fun preparing the nice creamy polenta together on a sunny sunday lunch.
Here is the recepe, that you can also find in my book "Memorie d'infanzia".

LA POLENTA AL POMODORO
Ingr. for 4 people

500 gr corn flour (for polenta)
2 litre water
salt

marinara tomato sauce prepared with olive oil, garlic, oregano or basil and crushed peeled tomatoes

Bring water to boil and add 2 TBS coarse salt.
Add flour little by little stirring with a big wooden spoon.
Keep adding flour and stirring for about 30 min.
Let it boil longer if needed.
The polenta is ready when it's sticky but still runny.
Take off stove.
Meanwhile prepare plates with a layer of tomato sauce and pour polenta with a big spoon to cover the sause layer.
Cover with more sauce and sprinkle with grated parmesan.

Tonight....RISOTTO

Today i had a strong desire for risotto, so i decided to make a butternut and onion risotto for dinner.
The other day i went to Arthur avenue in the Bronx, to the cheese shop, and i bought a nice caciocavallo.
I used a slice to make my risotto FANTASTIC!
Here is the recepe.

RISOTTO BUTTERNUT AND ONION

Ingr. for 4 people:
Half butternut
1 onion
1 slice of caciocavallo
2TBS grated parmesan
olive oil, pepper

1litre of vegetable broth prepared with half onion, half fennel, 1 carrot, 2 celery sticks, water and salt

In a pot pour 2TBS of vergin olive oil and cook the thinly sliced onion for 5 minutes, then add the cubed butternut and let it cook till very soft.
Add 4 handful of arborio rice and cook for few minutes till translucent.
Then start adding the boiling broth, 2 ladles at the time.
Stir occasionally and keep adding broth when rice gets dry.
Cook rice for 20 min, then add parmisan, caciocavallo and a pinch of pepper.
Take off the stove and let it rest for few minutes before serving.

DELICIOUS!