BACK HOME!

This summer I spent a long time away from home!
I was very lucky to be able to go on a cruice in Greece and explore some of
the Egean islands; to travel through Italy where I visited amazing places in
Puglia, Lazio and Umbria and, once back in the US, to drive all the way down
from Ney York to South Carolina crossing many American States for the first time.
I feel so gratefull!!!

I'm back home now and I must say that I'm really happy
to be back in my kitchen!

The most enjoyable activities I have done since coming home are:
grocery shopping and cooking!

Yesterday I had my dear girl friends over for lunch and, among other dishes, I prepared for them a Lasagna with Pesto filled with lots of love.

I'm sharing this light, easy recipe with you all!

Ingredients for 12 people:

1 packet of lasagna (I prefer Barilla)
2 cups of basil leaves
2 cups of arrugola
half cup pine nuts
3/4 spoons extravirgin olive oil
2 cups of cherry tomatos
2 cups of feta cheese (2 pieces)
salt and pepper

Prepare pesto chopping in a blender the leaves and the pine nuts,
then add a pinch of salt and enough oil to blend all the ingredients
in a smooth paste.
Put pesto in a bowl and cover with oil so the top doesn't become brown.
Prepare tomatoes washing them and cutting them in halves.
Put 2/3 spoons of olive oil in a pan and sautee tomatoes for 5 minutes
or till they soften. Add salt, pepper and put them aside.
Boil water, add salt and a bit of oil then cook 5/6 lasagna sheets at
the time for 2 minutes.
Remove the lasagna sheets from water, transfer them in a container with
cold water, then drain them and let them dry on a cloth.

Switch on oven to 375 F or 180 C degrees.

Now you are ready to assemble the lasagna!

Put one full spoon of pesto in a cup and add enough water (half cup) to make
it liquid and runny. Spoon some pesto at the bottom of a rectangular baking
dish, then lay the lasagna sheet in order to cover all the bottom of the dish.
Spread the liquid pesto(when this ends prepare another batch)on top of
lasagna, then top it with some tomatoes and feta cheese.
Form another layer of lasagna sheets and repeat the sequence till you finish
all the ingredients.
Possibly end with a layer of lasagna sheets topped with pesto and some cheese.

Cover the baking dish with aluminium foil and bake for 30 minutes.
After then uncover the dish and bake for other 5 minutes.

Remove dish from oven and let it cool down for 15 minutes.

Serve this tasty lasagna with a spring mix salad.

MAHI MAHI MY WAY

The first time I had mahi mahi fish was in Costa Rica.
It's a very nice fish with a firm chair that reminds me of cod.
I have started using it in my kitchen in NY because it's easy to find
it coming from Hawaii or the Carabbeans.

I have experimented this very tasty recipe that reminds me
of my mediterranean sea.

MAHI MAHI MY WAY

Ingredients:
4 pieces of mahi mahi fish
flour
2 cups of cherry tomatoes
1 onion finelly chopped
1 clove of garlic
1 or 2 TBS of fresh chopped origanum and basil
olive oil
1 TBS basil pesto dissolved in half glass of water
salt and pepper

In a frying pan cook sliced onion in oil for 5 minutes, then add halved tomatoes and fresh herbs and cook till tomatoes soften. Adjust salt and pepper and put tomatoes aside in a dish.

Dry fish and dip it in flour.
Add some more oil and garlic and warm up a bit.
Add fish pieces in pan and cook on both sides till golden.
Add salt and pesto. After few minutes add tomatoes and mix well.

It is a perfect dish for summer as fish is a cooling food!