L'inverno incontra l'estate!

Even if  it is already winter in Milan, last Saturday I found some fresh figs at Antonio’s stall. Antonio is an old man from South Italy who has a very nice and fresh stall at my local Milan market. Antonio fills in my fridge every Saturday but buying from him is much more, he is so sweet and he really is my Saturday cuddle.
I did not want to have figs as usual I enjoyed to have, namely with some prosciutto di Parma but I wanted to try something I tasted in a restaurant in Milan: figs and anchovies.

4,5 fresh figs

200 gr anchovies

4 potatoes

150 gr buffalo mozzarella

Lemon zest

Ginger

Brown sugar

Steamed the potatoes with the rind, once cooled them peeled them and cut into pieces and put over medium heat with some hot water (I did not use any dairy products such as butter or milk). Mash the potatoes with a fork and let cook till  you get a homogenous cream. Add some nutmeg.

In a very hot pan put the clean figs cut into pieces, add a spoon of brown sugar and cook till the figs are browned.

Clean the anchovies and put a slice of mozzarella (leave the mozzarella one hour on a napkin to dry the milk) between 2 anchovies. Sprinkle with some evo oil, ginger and lemon zest. Cook into the oven at 180°C for 12/15 min.

Plate some potato cream with the anchovies and the caramelized figs.

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).

 

 

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.

Spaghettoni aglio, olio e peperoncino

After three weeks of holiday, started in the Emirates and finished in Japan, I needed a super Italian pasta dish: spaghettoni aglio, olio e peperoncino!

200gr spaghettoni (I used Gentile pasta)

A clove of garlic, crushed

Fresh hot red chili 

Parsley

Evo oil

Cervia salt

Put a pan with 2 tbs of Evo oil and the crushed garlic over low heat with the fresh hot red chili and let it cook for 8, 10 min.

In the meanwhile cook the pasta al dente and add to the pan 1-2 cup of the pasta boiling water!

Drain the past and toss with the sauce and the fresh chopped parsley! 

My touch:I serve wih lemon zest and some grains of Cervia salt!

Puré di patate

Nothing is more comfort food than mashed potatoes! Children, adults, nice and bad people...everyone enjoys this simple dish!

I love enriching my puré with some herbs or spices. I suggest this paprika and lemon version for stew or for grilled turkey and chicken.

Elbow grease and a lot of love to start!

6 big potatoes (4 servings) 

30 gr butter

180 ml semi-skimmed milk

salt

lemon zest

Wash and boil potatoes in a pot of salted water until very tender (water must cover the potatoes). Drain and set aside to let cool slightly and peel afterwards.

Pass them through a food mill twice. Set a pot over medium-low heat with the mashed potatoes and dry out.

Add the butter and stir until It is fully incorporated. Add some nutmeg and paprika. Whisk in warmed milk, a little at a time till the desidered constitency (You may need less milk than the amount indicated if you want the purée thicker or if the potatoes were very rich in water). Continue to whisk to incorprate air and make your mashed potatoes super fluffy. 

Serve with some lemon zest.

I

Linguine Genova 13

Friends are coming for dinner and your fridge is almost empty...do not worry you can always realize a delicious dish!

I lived in via Genova, 13 in Rome when my beloved flatmate Sergio and I prepared this pasta.

400 gr linguine (serving 4)
200 gr canned tuna in evo oil or in water
breadcrumbs
lemon zest
fresh chili
chives
1 garlic clove
evo oil

Set a skillet over medium high heat with a tbs of evo oil  and the breadcrumbs until golden brown and put aside.

In the same skillet, clean with a paper towel, add 2 tbs of oil, the garlic clove crushed and fresh chili, add the tuna (If in oil, drip well) and cook for 4/5 min.

Drain the pasta al dente and mix with the tuna sauce.

Serve with the breadcrumbs, the lemon zest and the chives.



Bucatini profumati

I know that you can be tired when you come back home after work and especially after this long cloudy week but this is a very easy, express and fragrant recipe to start cooking with me so no EXCUSE!

Go to a wonderful farmers' market or to the closest supermarket and be sure to put into your basket (recipe for 2):

 

200 gr bucatini (spaghetti or spaghettoni)

120 gr ricotta

black pepper to grind coarsely (Sichuan pepper would be the best and finest choice)

chives (fresh or dried)

lemon zest

While pasta is cooking, put in a bowl little pieces of chives or the dried ones, ricotta, salt and 8/10 spoon of the pasta cooking water. Mix to have a soft and plain cream.

Drain pasta, turn the stove off and add the cream. Mix, moving your pot from one side to another and from the bottom to the top.

Serve with lemon zest, the black pepper, coarse ground and a drizziling of evo (extra virgin olive oil).