Egg-free ravioli

I hate fresh egg pasta but I did not want to give up on ravioli so enjoy this egg free ravioli recipe.

For the dough

150 gr flour

150 gr hot water

2 sp. oil

Salt

Use a wooden spoon to combine the flour, oil, salt and the water. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 10 min.

For the stuffing

80gr ricotta

80 gr spicy caciotta or other soft cheese

Put into a blender the ricotta and the caciotta cheese and 1, 2 sp. of hot water to get a smooth cream (add other water if needed) ad set aside.

To form the ravioli, cut te dough into 4 pieces and each into 2. Lightly dust the surface and the rolling pin. Working one piece at time (even f the dough is sticky, try to add just a bit of flour otherwise a big quantity of it could make your ravioli very tough), rolling it into squares. Personally, I prefer a thick dough when the stuffing and the sauce are light and fresh.

Place a teaspoon of stuffing and fold the dough over the filling, press down around  the  edge of each of the ravioli withyour  fingertips to seal. Cut them with a mould, a wheel or a knife. Place the ravioli on a baking tray with some flour.

Cook the ravioli on a large pot of salted water and drain when they float.

Freselle

I love freselle! This crunchy twice cooked bread is delicious and It could be baked enriched with spices and served with every kind of food you most enjoy!

200 gr wholemeal flour

200 gr flour OO

250 gr water

8 gr fresh yeast

A pinch of salt

Dissolve the yeast into the water. Mix the flour, add the pinch of salt and then pour in the water. Knead the dough and leaven for 2 hours.

Cut dough into 4 parts and each part in 2. Work this 8 ball into rolls, close them as a circle. Leaven for an hour on the same pan to bake.

Preheat the oven to 170C, put the freselle for 15/20 min.

Cut the fresella into two parts horizontally then put back in the oven for 20/25 min.

Cool down and store in a bag in a dry place.

Pastiera

This recipe is more than a dessert to me! It's family! I prepared pastiera with my grandma not only for Easter as the tradition says in Naples! She was almost a professional. She prepared lots of pastiera each time. The recipe is a bit hard because the preparation is as long as the cooking time but believe me It's worth it.

FILLING

350 canned presoaked grain + ½ spoon of not milled grain (for a 20 cm round pan)

90 gr milk

25 gr butter

550 gr ricotta

300 gr sugar

4 eggs

2 yolks

Vanilla

Orange blossom water

Cinnamon

Lemon zest

 

PASTRY

400 gr flour

3 eggs

100 sugar

110 butter

FILLING

Begin the day ahead by milling the grain to get a smooth texture than cook the grain, adding just 1 or 2 spoon of not milled grain, with the milk, zest and butter over low heat for 10 min, so that the mixture is dense and creamy.

The day after  strain ricotta and stir in sugar, eggs plus yolks, vanilla, orange blossom water, cinnamon and lemon zest. When the cream is very thin, add the grain cream.

SHORTBREAD PASTRY

Make a mound of flour, scoop a well in the middle, and fill it with butter, sugar and eggs. Use a fork or pastry cutter to combine the ingredients, handling the dough as little as possible (don't knead it). Once you have obtained a uniform dough press it into a ball and preserve covered in the fridge. 

Roll out 2/3 of the pastry dough and line the pan. Fill it with the filling. Next, roll out the remaining dough and cut it into strips, which you will want to lay across the filling in a diagonal pattern.

Preheat the oven to 150 °C and cook for an hour or slightly more. The pastry should be slightly brown and the filling firmed up but still soft and moist.

Serve without removing from the pan with some icing sugar.

Pan di spagna

It is time for a moist and fluffy cake that can be eaten plain or with fresh fruit and a dollop of whipped cream or just ice cream.

125 gr sugar

125 all purpose flour

4 eggs

a teaspoon of baking powder

a pinch of salt

vanilla extract

lemon zest

Preheat the oven to 180 C. Sift or whisk the flour with the baking powder and salt.

Separate the egg yolks from the whites in two different bowls. Whip the egg whites until foamy and form stiff peaks and set aside.

Whip the egg yolks with the sugar and gently but quickly fold the flour into the egg yolk batter, once incorporated add the lemon zest and the vanilla extract. Gently fold little by little the beaten egg whites into the batter to lighten. Do not over mix the batter or It will deflate.

Pour the batter into a baking pan and bake for 20/25 min until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Allow the cake to cool completely before unmolding.

Homemade Pizza

I cannot resist to Pizza. I need to eat a pizza at least once per week to be happy: It’s my birthright.

Pizza dough has accompanied my childhood when I was with my grandma and she always gave me the task to melt the fresh active yeast. Tomato, mozzarella and fresh basil, easy ingredients for an easy recipe with many different results…why? As I told you some posts ago, LOVE always makes the difference, especially for kneading and baking.

I enjoy preparing the dough, waiting for its rising and preparing my favorite topping.

Let’s start with the basic recipe with the traditional topping for your own homemade pizza.

500 gr “00” flour (if you can, find the Caputo flour)

10 gr fresh active yeast

Salt

1 tbs oil

Lukewarm water

Topping

500 gr peeled canned tomatoes

300 gr mozzarella

Oil

Salt

Fresh basil

In a bowl mix the flour and the salt then in the middle melt the yeast with the water and oil, adding little by little the flour until you get your dough. Kneading it with some movements from the bottom to the top as you wanted to push the dough on the table. When you get a smooth dough, let it stand covered for 2 hours in a warm place or with some blankets.

Preheat the oven to 250°C. Smash in a bowl the tomatoes and add some salt. Dice the mozzarella and put it into a strainer.

Scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and work it using your fingers or a rolling pin. Transfer the dough on a baking pan, add the red sauce and some oil. Bake for 15/20 minutes then add the diced mozzarella and bake until melted. Garnish with some fresh basil.

Gnocchi

My grandma usually prepared this recipe when during the Second World War there were long bad days without any food supply.

These are gnocchi, just prepared with all purpose flour and water. The texture and the consistency are the same as gnocchi potatoes but much lighter. You can prepare them in a bunch of different ways (with cheese, with butter and fresh herbs, with veggies, with Sunday gravy).

400 gr all purpose flour plus more to knead (serving 4)

300 gr hot/boiling water

salt

Put on the stove a pot with water, when It starts to boil, turn off. Add salt and flour little by little, always turning in the same direction, with a spatula or a wooden spoon.

Once added all the flour, put the ball dough (very sticky) on the table (If still hot, use some gloves). Work it by hand, slapping it into the work surface, stretching it and folding it over itself, adding other flour until dry.

Wash and dry your hands. Dust the dough, your hands, and the work surface lightly with some of the remaining flour.

Cut the ball in 4 parts and each part in 2. Roll each part  (around 1,5 cm width) then cut into pieces (around 1,5/2 cm length). Using your fingertips,  press against each piece of dough and roll it slightly to form an indentation.

Drop the gnocchi into boiling salt water and cook about 2/3 min (If you pass them into a sauce pan or oven afterwards).



Pancakes

When I was in the US, weekend meant a stack of pancakes! Americans do it better and various.  They eat them with bacon, sausages, eggs, marple syrup, jam, butter and dried fruits.

Personally I prefer the fresh version that I usually enjoyed on my American Saturdays: pancakes, yogurt, fresh berries and acacia honey.

If you want, you can mix up the dry ingredients in advance and store in fridge or offer as a gift to lazy friends.

125 gr all purpose flour

15/20 gr sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda
a pinch of salt

20 gr butter, melted  (or 2 Tbs greek yogurt)

200 ml milk

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon white vinegar

Combine the milk and vinegar (the soured milk) in a bowl and set aside. Combine the dry ingredients in another bowl.

Whisk the soured milk, egg and melted butter (or Greek yogurt) together. Pour into the dry ingredients and whisk until most of the lumps are gone.

Let the batter sit for 10/15 min than do not stir again but gently dip a ladle and place the spoonful on a buttered hot skillet.  It will be time to turn your pancake when the top surface begins to form small craters.

Enjoy these tall and fluffy pancakes.