Showing posts with label Vegetarian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vegetarian. Show all posts
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Quick and easy Pumpkin-Potato-Soup with Feta Cheese
Cut pumpkin in pieces, peel potatoes and dice. Heat oil in a big pot, fry pumpkin and potato, than top with boiling water and cook until both are tender. You can add whatever spices you like, such as chilis or ginger. Drain, but save the cooking water!!! Blend potatoes and pumpkin and add cooking water to make a thicker or thinner soup, just as you like it best. Top with feta cheese and serve with bread.
CBC - Fusilli ai peperoni
I wasn't thrilled by this recipe, but I'd make it again. The preparation is kind of a turn-off though...
The cookbook was: La cucina dell'Emilia Romagna in 450 ricette tradizionali; Newton & Compton Editori 1998, page 83
Ingredients (for 6):
400gr Fusilli
400gr bellpeppers
80gr butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 ladle of fine broth
one glass of dry white wine
salt and pepper
Preparation:
Prepare the peppers (cut out the "innards", little white skins ecc.) and put into boiling water for a moment to skin them. I did this step only partially, the skin did not want to come off, no matter what! If you have a better way to do this, please tell me (I think one can put them in the hot oven?). Cut into small pieces and fry in butter and oil. Add wine and simmer until evaporated, do the same with the broth. Salt and pepper, and let simmer on low heat. Prepare the Pasta, drain and mix with sauce, serve immediately.
As you can see from my pic, there was no sauce. There were only single pieces of pepper, nicely cooked in wine and broth. I think I also added a whole lot of broth, because the peppers were still hard and started to burn as all the broth had already evaporated. The dish is also in desperate need of parmesan cheese to top it off.
The cookbook was: La cucina dell'Emilia Romagna in 450 ricette tradizionali; Newton & Compton Editori 1998, page 83
Ingredients (for 6):
400gr Fusilli
400gr bellpeppers
80gr butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 ladle of fine broth
one glass of dry white wine
salt and pepper
Preparation:
Prepare the peppers (cut out the "innards", little white skins ecc.) and put into boiling water for a moment to skin them. I did this step only partially, the skin did not want to come off, no matter what! If you have a better way to do this, please tell me (I think one can put them in the hot oven?). Cut into small pieces and fry in butter and oil. Add wine and simmer until evaporated, do the same with the broth. Salt and pepper, and let simmer on low heat. Prepare the Pasta, drain and mix with sauce, serve immediately.
As you can see from my pic, there was no sauce. There were only single pieces of pepper, nicely cooked in wine and broth. I think I also added a whole lot of broth, because the peppers were still hard and started to burn as all the broth had already evaporated. The dish is also in desperate need of parmesan cheese to top it off.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Gnocchi with Brussels Sprouts, dried Tomatoes and Sage
I saw this recipe on a friend's blog and fell in love with it. Actually, I've discovered my love for Brussels Sprouts recently.....
The "original" recipe is here! As always, I did not stuck to the amounts, but did it by rule of thumb.
For 2:
* one package of Gnocchi (500 gr.)
* 300 gr. Brussels Sprouts
* 50 gr. Pine Nuts (I didn't have any)
* 80 gr. dried tomatoes (drained well from excessive oil)
* fresh sage
* Olive Oil, salt, pepper, nutmeg
Prepare Sprouts (I cut off the "stem" and peel off the dark leaves or the dirty ones). Cut into quarters. Put into boiling salted water and boil for about 5-7 minutes. Take out of water with a slotted spoon so you can use the water to cook the gnocchi. Heat oil in a pan and fry the pine-nuts, then add sprouts, diced tomatoes and sage (leave some leaves for decoration). Salt, pepper and if you like, add nutmeg as well. Cook gnocchi according to package instructions, drain well and add to the pan. Let "fry" for a couple minutes, serve.
The "original" recipe is here! As always, I did not stuck to the amounts, but did it by rule of thumb.
For 2:
* one package of Gnocchi (500 gr.)
* 300 gr. Brussels Sprouts
* 50 gr. Pine Nuts (I didn't have any)
* 80 gr. dried tomatoes (drained well from excessive oil)
* fresh sage
* Olive Oil, salt, pepper, nutmeg
Prepare Sprouts (I cut off the "stem" and peel off the dark leaves or the dirty ones). Cut into quarters. Put into boiling salted water and boil for about 5-7 minutes. Take out of water with a slotted spoon so you can use the water to cook the gnocchi. Heat oil in a pan and fry the pine-nuts, then add sprouts, diced tomatoes and sage (leave some leaves for decoration). Salt, pepper and if you like, add nutmeg as well. Cook gnocchi according to package instructions, drain well and add to the pan. Let "fry" for a couple minutes, serve.
These were the veggies in the pan
Together with the gnocchi it looks a bit chaotic - if you want nice pictures, please go to my friend's blog.
Or do as I did: Cover the mess with a lot of parmesan cheese!!!
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Risotto with Chestnuts
Risotto with Chestnuts
For the Risotto-part, please view my other post!
Chestnuts (about 25-30 pieces)
Sugar
With a sharp knife cut two lines on the flat side of the chestnuts, one vertically and one horizontally.
Bring water to the boil and add chestnuts, let boil for 10-15 minutes. Take out one by one and peel off the hard outer shell and the soft dark skin (it leaves a bitter taste). Leave some chestnuts as a whole, cut the others into small pieces.
In a small pan melt 2 tablespoons of sugar until liquid, then add water (the sugar might become one solid piece upon contact with water, but be patient, it'll dissolve again). Stir until you have a nice syrupy liquid, then add the whole chestnuts and let boil a few minutes until nicely caramelized from all sides.
Add broken chestnuts to the rice about halfway through the cooking-process, continue with ladle / broth / simmering as described above. When the risotto is done, use the caramelized chestnuts to decorate. Here we go:
Three Types of Risotto
My In-laws were coming (again) for dinner and so were two of hubby's nephews. So we were 6 + Baby, and I decided to make different types of risotto. I still had left-over ragù, I had bought mushrooms and had not planned to use them in my weekly menu, and I had the brilliant idea to make chestnut-risotto. So here it goes. Again, unfortunately, I did all of this without sticking to closely to a recipe, so there won't be any indications to grams or Milliliters.
As you might have guessed, the base of all of the risottos is, well, risotto. Who would have thought that???
Risotto
Risotto-Rice (Arborio)
Onion
Olive Oil
Hot Broth (I made it with beef stock-cubes, but of course you can make it from scratch or with vegetarian cubes)
Just so you know, I had about 2,5 liters of broth and 800gr of uncooked rice and there were 5 strong eaters + one picky one and I still have some in the freezer....
Prepare broth and keep hot. Dice onion and fry in olive oil until light golden. Add rice and turn with wooden spoon until glazed with hot oil from all sides. Add a couple of ladles of broth and stir until rice has absorbed all liquid. Continue until rice is done (not too mushy though, the center still has to be "al dente"). You might not have to use all liquid or maybe you need to prepare some more broth. Of course you could add some white wine with one of the broth-ladles.
Risotto ai Funghi
'Shrooms :-))) (champignon or porcini)
Parsley
White Wine
Olive oil
Cut mushrooms in thin slices and fry in oil. Add white wine and let simmer and evaporate most of it. Add parsley and if it's too dry some of the broth.
Risotto with Chestnuts
Chestnuts (about 25-30 pieces)
Sugar
With a sharp knife cut two lines on the flat side of the chestnuts, one vertically and one horizontally.
Bring water to the boil and add chestnuts, let boil for 10-15 minutes. Take out one by one and peel off the hard outer shell and the soft dark skin (it leaves a bitter taste). Leave some chestnuts as a whole, cut the others into small pieces.
In a small pan melt 2 tablespoons of sugar until liquid, then add water (the sugar might become one solid piece upon contact with water, but be patient, it'll dissolve again). Stir until you have a nice syrupy liquid, then add the whole chestnuts and let boil a few minutes until nicely caramelized from all sides.
Add broken chestnuts to the rice about halfway through the cooking-process, continue with ladle / broth / simmering as described above. When the risotto is done, use the caramelized chestnuts to decorate. Here we go:
Risotto al Ragù
Left-Over Ragù (recipe is here or here)
Risotto
Mix. Done. Picture is bad. Sorry.
As you might have guessed, the base of all of the risottos is, well, risotto. Who would have thought that???
Risotto
Risotto-Rice (Arborio)
Onion
Olive Oil
Hot Broth (I made it with beef stock-cubes, but of course you can make it from scratch or with vegetarian cubes)
Just so you know, I had about 2,5 liters of broth and 800gr of uncooked rice and there were 5 strong eaters + one picky one and I still have some in the freezer....
Prepare broth and keep hot. Dice onion and fry in olive oil until light golden. Add rice and turn with wooden spoon until glazed with hot oil from all sides. Add a couple of ladles of broth and stir until rice has absorbed all liquid. Continue until rice is done (not too mushy though, the center still has to be "al dente"). You might not have to use all liquid or maybe you need to prepare some more broth. Of course you could add some white wine with one of the broth-ladles.
Risotto ai Funghi
'Shrooms :-))) (champignon or porcini)
Parsley
White Wine
Olive oil
Cut mushrooms in thin slices and fry in oil. Add white wine and let simmer and evaporate most of it. Add parsley and if it's too dry some of the broth.
Mix well with the cooked risotto, and here's the result
Risotto with Chestnuts
Chestnuts (about 25-30 pieces)
Sugar
With a sharp knife cut two lines on the flat side of the chestnuts, one vertically and one horizontally.
Bring water to the boil and add chestnuts, let boil for 10-15 minutes. Take out one by one and peel off the hard outer shell and the soft dark skin (it leaves a bitter taste). Leave some chestnuts as a whole, cut the others into small pieces.
In a small pan melt 2 tablespoons of sugar until liquid, then add water (the sugar might become one solid piece upon contact with water, but be patient, it'll dissolve again). Stir until you have a nice syrupy liquid, then add the whole chestnuts and let boil a few minutes until nicely caramelized from all sides.
Risotto al Ragù
Left-Over Ragù (recipe is here or here)
Risotto
Mix. Done. Picture is bad. Sorry.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Panzerotti
Panzerotti are little halfmoons of yeast-dough filled traditionally with tomato-sauce and mozzarella-cheese and deep-fried in oil. They are soooo delicious (!!), and all you need is a bit of dough and some fillings - so there are two big advantages:
1. You can use almost every left-over to stuff into your panzerotti. Clearly, there are fillings which are more Italian than others, but we're not picky.
2. Every member of your family can create his own favorite filling.
To make the concept clearer to you, I copy from Wikipedia (Mind you, the picture is mine, showing a glorious "Funghi and Salsiccia"-Panzerotto and a Fior di Zucca):
Panzarotti or panzerotti are filled pastries, different forms of which are popular in Italy and in the United States, especially in Southern New Jersey. Panzerotti originated in central and southern Italy, especially in Apulia. They are small versions of the calzone, but produced with a softer dough. The most common fillings are tomato and mozzarella, but spinach, mushrooms, baby corn, and ham are often used. Another filling is onions stir fried in olive oil and seasoned with salted anchovies and capers, a seasoning that, mixed with bread, is also used in Apulia for stuffed bell peppers.In America the word has come to be spelled "panzarotti", and is regarded as singular (with the plural being "panzarotties" or "panzarotti"). They can come in various sizes from 4" to 12", and are most commonly semi-circular shaped. It consists of a pocket of dough filled with varying amounts of melted mozzarella cheese, tomato sauce, and any reasonable number of fillings, which is then wrapped, salted, and deep-fried. The panzarotti rises during this process, creating a pocket containing a considerable amount of steam which should be partially released prior to eating.
Enough babbling, on to the real thing!!!
Ingredients:
- one ball of yeast-dough (basically the same you'd make for white bread or pizza: flour, water, yeast, sugar for the yeast to rise, a bit of olive-oil, salt)
- fillings as you like, the classic is tomato-sauce and mozzarella-cheese
- sunflower-seed oil for the frying (or equivalent)
For the fillings I prepared and then mixed freely:
Spicy salami in little chunks
Italian salsiccia
Funghi
Tomato-sauce (tomatos, olive-oil, basil; let simmer for a while and then cool off)
Mozzarella-cheese in little chunks
Fior di Zucca (it's the flower of zucchini! You see it here on the left side and above.)
After the dough has risen for the appropriate time you can start preparing the Panzerotti. As quoted above, there's no rule as to the size, but they're often served as antipasto so I wouldn't make them too big. Take a piece of dough, shape it into a ball and roll it flat out. You should obtain a flat and round piece of dough, like a mini-pizza.
Careful not to roll it out too thin as it might tear when closing it. I have a Panzerotti-shaper, so I transfer the piece onto it and then add the filling. Don't use too much filling and leave a "filling-free" border. Close carefully, pressing firmly down on the borders.
It should look like this, but it could also look a lot better! You then heat the oil in a frying pan and just let the panzerotti fry in it, flipping it over after some time. Again, I'm sorry not to be able to give an exact time, but you'll figure it out.
Mine were slightly too browned, I'll try not to heat the oil too much the next time and to cook them a bit slower - well I was hungry while cooking and wanted them to be ready quicklyquicklyquickly....
And here are two more fillings, one is tomato-salami-mozzarella and the other is zucchini-flower and mozzarella (this one was especially yummy!!)
1. You can use almost every left-over to stuff into your panzerotti. Clearly, there are fillings which are more Italian than others, but we're not picky.
2. Every member of your family can create his own favorite filling.
To make the concept clearer to you, I copy from Wikipedia (Mind you, the picture is mine, showing a glorious "Funghi and Salsiccia"-Panzerotto and a Fior di Zucca):
Panzarotti or panzerotti are filled pastries, different forms of which are popular in Italy and in the United States, especially in Southern New Jersey. Panzerotti originated in central and southern Italy, especially in Apulia. They are small versions of the calzone, but produced with a softer dough. The most common fillings are tomato and mozzarella, but spinach, mushrooms, baby corn, and ham are often used. Another filling is onions stir fried in olive oil and seasoned with salted anchovies and capers, a seasoning that, mixed with bread, is also used in Apulia for stuffed bell peppers.In America the word has come to be spelled "panzarotti", and is regarded as singular (with the plural being "panzarotties" or "panzarotti"). They can come in various sizes from 4" to 12", and are most commonly semi-circular shaped. It consists of a pocket of dough filled with varying amounts of melted mozzarella cheese, tomato sauce, and any reasonable number of fillings, which is then wrapped, salted, and deep-fried. The panzarotti rises during this process, creating a pocket containing a considerable amount of steam which should be partially released prior to eating.Enough babbling, on to the real thing!!!
Ingredients:- one ball of yeast-dough (basically the same you'd make for white bread or pizza: flour, water, yeast, sugar for the yeast to rise, a bit of olive-oil, salt)
- fillings as you like, the classic is tomato-sauce and mozzarella-cheese
- sunflower-seed oil for the frying (or equivalent)
For the fillings I prepared and then mixed freely:Spicy salami in little chunks
Italian salsiccia
Funghi
Tomato-sauce (tomatos, olive-oil, basil; let simmer for a while and then cool off)
Mozzarella-cheese in little chunks
Fior di Zucca (it's the flower of zucchini! You see it here on the left side and above.)
After the dough has risen for the appropriate time you can start preparing the Panzerotti. As quoted above, there's no rule as to the size, but they're often served as antipasto so I wouldn't make them too big. Take a piece of dough, shape it into a ball and roll it flat out. You should obtain a flat and round piece of dough, like a mini-pizza. 
Careful not to roll it out too thin as it might tear when closing it. I have a Panzerotti-shaper, so I transfer the piece onto it and then add the filling. Don't use too much filling and leave a "filling-free" border. Close carefully, pressing firmly down on the borders. 
It should look like this, but it could also look a lot better! You then heat the oil in a frying pan and just let the panzerotti fry in it, flipping it over after some time. Again, I'm sorry not to be able to give an exact time, but you'll figure it out. 
Mine were slightly too browned, I'll try not to heat the oil too much the next time and to cook them a bit slower - well I was hungry while cooking and wanted them to be ready quicklyquicklyquickly....And here are two more fillings, one is tomato-salami-mozzarella and the other is zucchini-flower and mozzarella (this one was especially yummy!!)
The sad story of the carrot and the potato
This is the story of the carrot and the potato who wished nothing more than to become delicious baby-food. While the story starts out wonderfully and the carrot and the potato seem to be soooo happy, I can tell you right away that there will not be a Happy Ending. So, if you are of soft heart, stop reading NOW. Do not come and say I haven't warned you about the sad sad ending of the carrot and the potato.
Well, there once were a carrot and a potato. They didn't grow up together, they didn't even know each other, they just had the same wish: to be fed to a little baby and make it become strong and healthy. A lot of veggies have that wish, but it isn't granted to all. As it turns out the carrot and the potato of our story were among the lucky ones. A beautiful and very nice lady (ME! ME! ME!) picked them out in the store and brought them home. At once the carrot and the potato saw the smiling baby-girl in the high-chair, and it was like heaven come true. It made them strong inside to know that their wish would come true in a few minutes. It made them survive the peeler (OUCH!), the boiling hot water (MORE OUCH!) and last but not least the blender. All the while the carrot and the potato smiled at each other and they said: "What's a little pain, if we're going to heaven?" They heard the baby squealing with delight, and their carrot and potato-hearts opened up. Little did they know....
So, in their final bliss, they looked like this. They were ready, oh so ready. But their downfall was rapid, as the baby-girl had very different things in mind. You see, the baby-girl wasn't the least interested in becoming strong and healthy. She didn't know about the carrot's and the potato's wish and had she known, she couldn't have cared less. So, instead of being eaten, the carrot and the potato encountered their not-so-blessed fate I already mentioned above. May they Rest in Peace.
Well, there once were a carrot and a potato. They didn't grow up together, they didn't even know each other, they just had the same wish: to be fed to a little baby and make it become strong and healthy. A lot of veggies have that wish, but it isn't granted to all. As it turns out the carrot and the potato of our story were among the lucky ones. A beautiful and very nice lady (ME! ME! ME!) picked them out in the store and brought them home. At once the carrot and the potato saw the smiling baby-girl in the high-chair, and it was like heaven come true. It made them strong inside to know that their wish would come true in a few minutes. It made them survive the peeler (OUCH!), the boiling hot water (MORE OUCH!) and last but not least the blender. All the while the carrot and the potato smiled at each other and they said: "What's a little pain, if we're going to heaven?" They heard the baby squealing with delight, and their carrot and potato-hearts opened up. Little did they know....So, in their final bliss, they looked like this. They were ready, oh so ready. But their downfall was rapid, as the baby-girl had very different things in mind. You see, the baby-girl wasn't the least interested in becoming strong and healthy. She didn't know about the carrot's and the potato's wish and had she known, she couldn't have cared less. So, instead of being eaten, the carrot and the potato encountered their not-so-blessed fate I already mentioned above. May they Rest in Peace.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Baby: Pasta and Broccoli in Cheesesauce
Since my little one has decided that she's big now, and since I'm fed up with cooking special baby-pap every day and feeding it to the dog because "la signorina" does not like it, I started cooking for her the grown-up way. This way, we both can eat it and I do not have to cook several meals. All I have to do is add salt to my plate afterwards, as i cook without salt. Today we were to use up the broccoli:
broccoli
cream-cheese of any kind you like (we used stracchino), milk
pasta
Cook pasta, at the same time cook broccoli until soft (I did it in water, which pretty much kills all the vitamins, so steaming might be a better idea). Melt cheese in pan, add milk until you have a creamy sauce. Add broccoli and pour over pasta.
Broccoli is good for you!
broccoli
cream-cheese of any kind you like (we used stracchino), milk
pasta
Cook pasta, at the same time cook broccoli until soft (I did it in water, which pretty much kills all the vitamins, so steaming might be a better idea). Melt cheese in pan, add milk until you have a creamy sauce. Add broccoli and pour over pasta.
Broccoli is good for you!
Falafel
I love a good falafel and on several occasions I've (successfully and less successfully) made the chick-pea-dumplings myself. This time I only had time for the ready-to-go ones (mix package with water, form dumplings and fry in oil, and to top it up I burned them. The sandwich was quite good though.Storebought falafelbread, spread with yoghurt and the dumplings, add salad and spices as you like, roll up, enjoy.
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