Warm bread cream and braised artichokes

This end of the year has been crazy. I had a lot of work and a small health problem so I did not take care of you but 2014 is over so new chances, new adventures and surely new recipes.

I was watching a food TV show and I had the idea of this bread cream. As a first culinary experiment I put together my favourite veggie as Mr. Cheese, parmesan. It could be served as antipasto or as a main course, It depends on the quantity you serve.

1 fresella (for 2 people a antipasto)    

3 artichokes

A clove of garlic      

Black pepper

Parmesan 

Put a pan over high heat when hot, add the artichokes cut into thick slices. Pour in 1-2 spoon of oil and a sprinkle of white wine. Cook for 12-15 min over medium heat. In the same (or if you prefer another) pan, put a spoon of oil and a clove of garlic, add the fresella, before sopped up in warm water, cook for 5 min. Turn the heat off and put the smashed fresella into a blender. Mic with some water until you get a soft and a smooth cream.

Serve in a soup plate the bread cream with the braised artichokes as some fresh grounded black pepper and Parmesan flakes.

Liberté d'expression

Tout individu a droit à la liberté d'opinion et d'expression, ce qui implique le droit de ne pas être inquiété pour ses opinions et celui de chercher, de recevoir et de répandre, sans considérations de frontières, les informations et les idées par quelque moyen d'expression ce que soit.

2015

Christmas and New Year's Eve are usually time for balance! Definetevly not for me, at least not this year! Resolutions are boring and useless! I'll give myself the chance of being astonished 365 days on 365 days!

Happy life!

Tavola di broccoli

We had a long week of rain here in Milan. Saturday was really bad it rained for 24 hours so I decided not to go out and take my sofa care of me all day.

For lunch I was so inspired to prepare a good and mainly a coloured lunch to fight against a bit of melancholy. So here’s the result.


Roman cauliflower
Raisins
Almonds
Sheep milk ricotta
Black pepper

Mix the ricotta with 2 spoons of water to get a creamy sauce. Steam the roman cauliflower for 12 min it must remain crunchy. Pan roast some almonds and rehydrate the raisin. Dress the roman cauliflower with some evo oil.

On the plate pour the ricotta sauce, lay down the roman cauliflower (warm) and some pan roasted almonds, raisins and some grain of Cervia salt and fresh grounded black pepper.

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.

Pummaroo&Friends: Golubcy (голубцы) with Viktoria!

Again the page Pummaroo&Friends!

Today with us...Viktoria, a sweet and nice girl from Belarus!

A cabbage
500 gr minced meat
Tomato puree

A cup of rice
2 onions
2 carrots
Sour cream
parsley
thyme
Oil
Salt
pepper

Half boil the rice. In a pan, stir fry onion with carrot and soften the leaves of cabbage (either on a steam or in microwave 10-15 min).

In a big bowl mix the carrots, the onions and the fresh minced meat, the herbs, salt and pepper. Fold the rice in too!

Stuff the cabbage leaves with the minced meat and close them as envelope! Stir fry for 5-10 min. Finish the cooking boiling them in the tomato puree with a spoon of sour cream for 30/40 min. Serve with fresh thyme and parsley.

                 приятного аппетита