Spaghetti alla carbonara per due

Spaghetti alla carbonara per due

Ideale per una serata fredda ma romantica!

Ingredienti:

250 gr spaghetti

1 uovo

120 gr pancetta affumicata a dadini

3 cucchiai da tavola di parmigiano grattugiato

2 spicchi d’aglio schiacciati

Pepe e sale

Olio d’oliva

Preparazione:

Scaldare l’olio in una padella. Far rosolare l’aglio fino a quando imbiondisce. Togliere e eliminare gli spicchi. Aggiungere la pancetta e rosolare bene fino a quando diventa croccante. Nel frattempo cuocere gli spaghetti in abbondante acqua salata come il Mediterraneo, secondo la mitica Anna Del Conte. Nel frattempo sbattere l’uovo e il parmigiano. Aggiungere sale e pepe allo sbattuto. Scolare gli spaghetti e unirli alla pancetta in padella a fuoco lento. Mescolare per bene e aggiungere lo sbattuto su fuoco vivo. Rimescolare fin quando lo sbattuto si è  rappreso. Servire immediatamente!

SPICY KEDGEREE

Ingredients (serves 2)

400 g organic smoked haddock

3 hard boiled eggs

200 g  basmati rice boiled

1 small onion chopped

1 small leek chopped

1 teaspoon of curry powder

Salt and pepper (to taste)

Olive oil

To garnish : paprika and a handful of fresh parsley chopped

Method

Grill the smoked haddock for ten minutes or so and then let it cool down. Flake it with a fork. In a large pan sweat in olive oil onion, leek and curry powder for five minutes, stirring. Add boiled rice and mix well. Add a bit more olive oil or boiling water if need be. Add the flaked haddock and stir. It may need slat and pepper to taste.

Dish out on a large serving dish and garnish with the eggs quartered and the fresh parsley. Sprinkle with paprika and serve straight away!

My Madeira Cake

I have adapted Nigella's version of this classic English tea-time cake and love it!

Ingredients

240g softened unsalted butter

200g caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling

Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

Juice of another half lemon

1/2/tablespoon of poppy seeds

3 large eggs

210g self-raising flour

90g plain flour

 23x13x7cm loaf tin, buttered and lined

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees/ gas mark 3

Method

Cream the butter and sugar, and add the lemon zest. Add the eggs one at a time with a tablespoon of the flour for each. Then gently mix in the rest of the flour and finally, the lemon juice. Sprinkle with caster sugar as it goes into the oven, and bake for an hour or until a cake taster comes out clean. Remove to a wire rack, and let cool in the tin before turning out. Makes 8-10 slices.

Speedy & Tasty Trout Fillets

Speedy & Tasty Trout Fillets

Ideal to beat the Monday night blues…Coming home from work and feeling like you have had it for today? Revive your senses in the kitchen by spending twenty blissful minutes preparing a romantic dinner for two…And do not forget to put the Gavi back in the fridge to chill!

Ingredients (Serves 2)

4 trout fillets rolled in flour

1 clove of garlic (crushed and finely chopped)

1/4 of a glass of white wine (ideally Gavi)

4 table spoons of tomato passata

A handful of capers (preferable Sicilian  and preserved in sea salt)

A handful of flat leaf parsley (finely chopped)

Cooking olive oil, salt and pepper to taste

Method

Warm the olive oil in a large frying pan and fry the garlic in it for one minute. Place the floured fillets in the pan and pour white wine over them gently. Add passata, parsley and capers, pepper, salt and cover with a lid. Cook on a medium heat for about ten minutes. Do not forget to check the pan every three minutes or so and add a small amount of water if need be. You can serve them on a bed of boiled rice, lentils of with a green salad and crusty bread.  

Zuppa dorata di cipolle e sidro

...Perfetta per un sabato d'ottobre e per il compleanno della mia mamma...auguri!!!! 
Ingredienti  per 4 persone

1 kg di cipolle tagliate a fette sottilissime

75gr burro

500ml sidro

1 rametto di timo fresco

1 foglia di alloro

1 litro di brodo vegetale

200ml di panna liquida

Servire con fette di pane casareccio

Preparazione

In una padella, fare soffriggere le cipolle fino a quando diventano dorate/marrone. Aggiungere il sidro e fare bollire gentilmente fino a che si riduca alla meta’.

Aggiungere il timo, l’alloro, il brodo e la panna e fare cuocere a fuoco lento per 30 minuti. Aggiungere sale e pepe a piacere e servire con il pane casereccio.

Buon Appetito!!!!!

TORTA AL PISTACCHIO

TORTA AL PISTACCHIO

This recipe was kindly passed on to me and my colleague John, during our second Sicilian School Exchange, by one of the Sicilian teachers’ mum. It is utterly delicious and it will always remind me of our wonderful Sicilian friends and of the breathtaking beauty of Sicily. I miss Mount Etna!!!!


Ingredienti: Ingredients
4 uova 4 eggs
150 gr. di farina 150 g flour
50 gr. di amido 50 g cornflour
150 gr. di burro( o olio di oliva!) 150 g butter or olive oil
200 gr. di pistacchio 200 g pistachios (ground)
1 bustina di lievito 1 sachet/teaspoon of baking powder
1 bustina di vaniglia 1 sachet/teaspoon of vanilla in powder
1 barattolo di nutella 1 nutella tub


Preparazione

Sbattere le uova con lo zucchero. Aggiungere la farina e mescolare. Aggiungere il burro fuso. Aggiungere il pistacchio (lasciandone un po’ per la decorazione). Aggiungere il lievito e la vaniglia.
Infornare a 180° per circa 30 minuti.
Dopo la cottura, quando è ancora calda, spalmare la nutella e spolverizzare con il pistacchio.

Method

Beat eggs with sugar. Add flour and mix. Add melted butter. Add pistachios (leave some aside for decorative purposes). Add baking powder and vanilla.
Put in the oven 180 for about 30 min.
When ready and still warm, spread nutella on top and sprinkle with pistachios.


Buon appetito!

Carottes à la Provençale

This recipe was inspired by a dish that was cooked for us during our honeymoon by Richard, the owner of the gîte where we were staying near Manosque. You can have it as a side dish or serve it with plain boiled rice or season pasta with it! It was prepared for us to accompany some roasted pigeons that a friend of Richard had shot in the morning…

Ingredients  (Serves 2)

3 carrots sliced quite thinly

A handful of black olives, stoned and sliced

A small red onion sliced thinly

A tin of chopped tomatoes

A teaspoon of dried Herbes de Provence

Salt, olive oil, pepper

A cup of vegetable stock

Method

Heat up a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a shallow pan. Fry the onion and stir for a couple of minutes until soft . Add the olives and stir for a minute or so. Add tomatoes and stir in herbs. Finally mix in the carrots and season with salt and pepper. Pour the vegetable stock over the sauce and stir. Cook on a medium heat until the tomato sauce is ready and the carrots are tender. If need be, add more water a bit at a time.