Rhubarb jam

If you had asked me 7 years ago, what rhubarb is, I wouldn’t have had an answer.

I discovered rhubarb when I lived in Paris. I was in a bakery shop and  I saw some delicious pinky cakes: the rhubarbe tarte…I could not resist to taste them: fruity tang, sweet, hot, sour…a real explosion in  my mouth.
 
In Italy especially in the South rhubarb is little known and in the North is not so easy to find it and the price…oh my gosh…very high around 10-15 Euros per kilo. When I find it, I prefer to prepare jam rather than cakes so here’s below my special and natural rhubarb jam.

500 gr rhubarb
120 gr brown sugar
80 gr sugar
Lemon zest
Grated ginger

The night before cut into slices the rhubarb and mix with sugar, lemon zest and let it covered.

The morning you will find in your bowl a  lot of water. It is very very good because this liquid will be our jelling agent. Grate the ginger and put on the stove over medium high heat for 10 minutes afterwards cook for 30-40 over low heat. Your jam can need extra time to be ready if it is not so dense as it should be (or as you prefer it is).

 

 

Raspberry jam

After summer holiday I am used to prepare jams and preserved tomatoes. Let’s start with this simple and taste recipe that will make your  smile.
 
1 kg raspberries
300 gr sugar
100 gr brown sugar
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
 
Once sterilized your jars, select the raspberries, washing them without rinsing.
 
 Put a pot on medium-low heat with the raspberries, sugar and lemon juice and stir gently. Once on high-boiling, skim the foam off and turn on medium-high heat. Stir with a wooden spoon for 10 min.
 
Your jam is ready when putting a spoon of jam on a cold dish,  It does not start to fall down, otherwise the jam needs more cooking time.
 
Pour your hot jam in the jars and close them.  Store  in a cool, dry and dark place for up to 1 year.
 

Pomodori Confit

This easy preparation is to die for!

Confit  from the French verb "confire" means to preserve. Basically this is a way of cooking fruit and veggies at low temperature in the oven for a long time.

These slow oven roasted tomatoes add a sweet punch to appetizers, pasta and risotto, meat or fish and salad. You could also store them in a sterilized jam, covered with oil.

500 gr  piccadilly or plum tomatoes (or cherry tomatoes too)

1 teaspoon brown sugar

thyme

a clove of garlic

salt

evo oil

Preheat the oven to 100°C. Slice the tomatoes in 4 parts and discard the seed. Put them in a bowl with salt, oil, thyme and the brown sugar, mix them together (you can add also other spices you prefer. I love basil and red pepper flakes too).

Pass and rub the garlic clove on the wax paper in a baking pan. Lay the tomato halves cut side down on the wax paper (be sure that the tomatoes do not touch each other) and bake for 2 hours. Open the oven for just a second every 30 minutes. If your tomatoes are big enough, turn them over at half-time.

Cool the tomatoes to room temperature. Serve for your preparation or transfer them to a jar, pouring enough oil to cover.
 



Confettura di cipolle rosse

This is not a jam, this is a Mrs. Jam. Sweet, savoury and of an intense taste, It definitely belongs to strong people.

 

This condiment is perfect on grilled meats, especially burgers or on crostini as an appetizer. I think that the perfect pairing is with cheese, chiefly with repined one as pecorino, parmesan or smoked cheese.

 

I used the red onion from Tropea (a small city of Calabria in Southern Italy), naturally sweet and very digestible. I know that abroad their prices could be really expensive or It could be quite hard to find them so I guess that this wonderful recipe will be successful with all other red onions too.

 

This is a very easy preparation with a really satisfying result. Please be prepared to cut the onions, even If I put them in the fridge before...a kilo has been quite hard for my poor eyes...unless you have a diver's mask! :)

  

1kg red onions

250 gr brown sugar

150 gr white  sugar

100 ml white wine

2 spoons of brandy

a bay leaf

 

Peel, wash and slice the onions finely (I've used a mandoline slicer).

 

In a large bowl put the onions with the white and brown sugar, the wine, the brandy and the bay leaf and let them marinate for 5-6 hours. Cover and blend from time to time.

 

Discard the bay leaf and simmer in a saucepan for 40/45 minutes (It is ready when It is really sticky and compact on the dish).

 

Save the jam in a sterilized jar once cold in the fridge.