Pea pancakes

I’ve realized that I’ve been craving vegetables more and more each day, instead of meat: the more I eat vegetables, the more I want to eat them, in all sorts of ways – every time I see a great vegetarian recipe around I want to try it immediately.

(That said, I’ll cook Jamie Oliver’s roast beef tomorrow for lunch. :D My husband saw a bit of the show days ago while I was watching it and has been craving that dish ever since, with all the trimmings, including the Yorkshire puddings – I have made Jamie’s yorkies and they’re oh, so good).

Back to the vegetables, I saw these pea pancakes on Valli Little’s stunning cookbook and right away thought that they would be great for a snack – I had everything in my fridge and pantry to make them, and on top of it all it would take me moments to put them together, even making the ricotta from scratch, which is super easy and I highly recommend you try – I doubt you’ll ever buy ricotta again.

The pancakes turned out delicious, light and fluffy, and I ate them with sweet chili sauce, as per the author’s suggestion – she also suggests the pancakes to be served with bacon, but even though I’m crazy about it I don’t think it was necessary here.

Pea pancakes
slightly adapted from the über beautiful Delicious. Love to Cook

120g frozen peas
2 eggs
200g fresh ricotta – I highly recommend using homemade
¼ cup finely grated parmesan
1 teaspoon olive oil + more for frying the pancakes
¼ cup (45g) all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon baking powder
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 spring onions, white part only, finely chopped

Cook the peas in boiling salted water for 5 minutes, drain and refresh under cold water. Drain well and set aside.
Place eggs, parmesan, ricotta, 1 teaspoon olive oil, flour, baking powder, salt and pepper in a medium bowl and stir to combine. Stir in the peas and spring onions, cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Heat ½ tablespoon of olive oil in a large nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat. Scoop two tablespoons of mixture per pancakes and place onto the pan, pressing each to 1cm (½ in) thickness. Cook for 3 minutes each side or until golden.
Serve immediately.

Makes 6

Carrot pancakes (with chickpea flour)

I find fritters a wonderful way to add more veggies and grains to our meals: they’re delicious served on their own as an appetizer, or with a salad as a light lunch. To me, carrots are a sort of a universal vegetable: I feel that even those people who aren’t into veggies will eat carrots, for they are so sweet. Therefore, carrot fritters (or pancakes) make all the sense in the world. :)

This is a recipe I got from Bon Appétit magazine and I loved the fact that it called for chickpea flour, for it makes the fritters very healthy: nothing better than food that tastes great and is good for you, right?

I served the pancakes with arugula salad drizzled with a simple vinaigrette: I intended to make the salted yogurt from the original recipe, but when I opened the fridge I didn’t have any yogurt around. Next time, then. :)

Carrot pancakes (with chickpea flour)
from the always delicious Bon Appétit magazine

2 large eggs, beaten to blend
250g carrots, peeled, coarsely grated
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
¼ cup chickpea flour*
salt and freshly ground black pepper
olive oil

Mix eggs, carrots, cilantro, and chickpea flour in a large bowl (mixture will be loose); season with salt and pepper.

Heat ½ tablespoon of olive oil in a large nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat. Scoop two tablespoons of mixture per pancakes and place onto the pan, pressing each to 1cm (½ in) thickness. Cook for 3 minutes each side or until golden.

* even though I halved the recipe, I used the whole amount of chickpea flour for the batter was much too liquid

Makes 6

Beetroot, red onion and feta tart with rye pastry

Cooking is a continuous learning process and one thing I’ve learned over the years is that the freezer can be a powerful ally in the kitchen: not only for already made dishes and ice cream, but for stashing and preserving ingredients like stock, vegetables, nuts – you name it.

With some rye pastry in my freezer – I made the entire recipe, divided in half and froze each individually, first well wrapped in plastic, then in foil – I decided to bake a tart for lunch and then started thinking about the filling. I almost made the leek and cheese tart once again – it tasted so good! – but then I saw Dale Pinnock’s beetroot and goats cheese tart and fell in love with it.

My mom loved beets and I ate them quite regularly as a kid, but always boiled or raw. As an adult, once I roasted beets for the first time there was no turning back – I’ve never boiled beets again and don’t intend to: when roasted, their flavor becomes stronger and the texture is less watery. Just delicious.

This is my twist on the recipe, using roasted beets instead of boiled ones and homemade rye pastry instead of puff pastry: it tasted great and I thought it looked beautiful, too, don’t you? ;)

Beetroot, red onion and feta tart with rye pastry
adapted from two great sources: The Medicinal Chef: Eat Your Way to Better Health and Love, Bake, Nourish: Healthier cakes and desserts full of fruit and flavor

½ recipe rye pastry

Filling:
5 small beetroots
olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
½ tablespoons honey
a few sprigs of fresh thyme
100g feta cheese
1 tablespoon pine nuts
1 egg, lightly beaten with a fork, for brushing

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Place the beetroots in a large piece of foil, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Close the foil, transfer to a baking sheet and roast for about 40 minutes or until the beets are soft when pierced with a knife. Cool enough to handle, then peel off the beets (the ones I used were organic, so I did not bother with a bit of skin left on them). Cool completely, then cut into slices.
Heat a little olive oil in a nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the red onion and cook for 4–5 minutes, or until softened. Season with salt and pepper, add the honey and thyme and continue to cook until the onion takes on a caramelized appearance. Cool.

When ready to make the tart, place the dough onto large piece of baking paper and roll into a rough 25cm (10in) circle. Transfer to a baking sheet.
Arrange the red onion on the center of the pastry, top with the beets and crumble over the feta. Sprinkle with the pine nuts, then fold one edge in towards the center of the filling and continue folding all the way round, bringing the edge of the pastry towards and over the filling. Place the sheet in the freezer for 30 minutes – in the meantime, preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.

Brush the tart with the egg wash (only the pastry). Bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown. Top with fresh thyme leaves to serve. The tart is delicious both warm and at room temperature.

Serves 2

Wholemeal pasta with vegetable sauce - food with my husband's suggestion

I’ve always believed that one’s love for food is a growing thing: the more you eat, the more you love food (if it is good, obviously).

My sister, for instance, grew up eating different kinds of food, from salads to cake, and nowadays she is not afraid to try something new – she might not like it, but at least she’ll give it a try before saying no. I like to think that she got that from me, that I played an important part in the past so she hasn’t become a picky adult.

My husband, on the other hand, was picky for many, many years and I’m glad he’s been leaving that behind. I’m glad it’s been a natural thing for him and that I have never forced anything – I think that’s the kind of discovery worth doing on one’s own.

I will say, however, that cooking is nowadays much more pleasant.

He’s come from “I don’t like fish” and “is there cilantro in this???” to making suggestions to recipes: as I flipped through Carluccio's cookbook the other day, I showed him a beautiful photo of spaghetti with a vegetable sauce (I’m not the only visual person in the family), then waited for his reaction – he said “that looks good – why don’t you add some cherry tomatoes to it?”

That coming from the guy who used to avoid tomatoes of all kinds like the plague. :)

So I made the pasta and followed Joao’s suggestion, but roasted the cherry tomatoes till they were soft and tender – that way they would mingle with the spaghetti better. His idea was pretty delicious, I have to say. :)

Wholemeal pasta with vegetable sauce
slightly adapted from the wonderful Pasta: The Essential New Collection from the Master of Italian Cookery

200g cherry tomatoes
extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
salt and freshly ground black pepper
300g dried wholemeal spaghetti
handful fresh basil leaves, torn
60g parmesan, freshly grated

Sauce:
6 tablespoons olive oil
2 onions, finely chopped
4 fat garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and very finely chopped
2 celery stalks, very finely chopped
4 medium ripe tomatoes, seeds removed, finely chopped

Preheat the grill in the oven. Cut the cherry tomatoes lengthwise and place them cut side up onto a baking sheet. Drizzle with the extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill for about 10 minutes or until soft. Set aside.

In the meantime, make the sauce: heat the oil in a large saucepan and fry all the vegetables until soft, 10-15 minutes – season with salt and pepper halfway through the cooking time.

Cook the spaghetti in plenty of boiling salted water for about 8–10 minutes (follow the instructions on the packet), or until al dente. Drain, save some of the cooking water, and mix the spaghetti with the sauce, basil and parmesan (the cheese will make the sauce creamier) – add a bit of the cooking water if necessary. Transfer to warmed plates, top with the cherry tomatoes and serve at once.

Serves 4

Eggplant turnovers and the wonderful Internet

The Internet, this wonderful thing: while reading a text on feminism (too bad it’s not in English, I would gladly recommend it to Shailene Woodley), I got to a video of George Carlin - I don’t know why on earth I did not know this genius man, and I’m really glad that has been corrected now.

On my daily visits to IMDb I learned that Raymond "Red" Reddington is coming back soon, on September 22nd, to be more precise. \0/

I saw the first teaser for the last season of Sons of Anarchy, and it is amazing.

I learned that Jason Reitman might actually make me like a movie with Adam Sandler – I’m in awe with the beauty of this trailer. <3

And I also came across these eggplant turnovers, a recipe by Dan Lepard (someone who usually doesn’t disappoint when it comes to food), and I have to tell you: the husband and I weren’t too thrilled about the filling – it tasted good, but sort of bland – but this pastry is absolutely fantastic: very flaky and tasty. It is made in a similar way to the rye pastry I adore so much, and all that folding and turning really transform already good pastry into something even better.

I might not have been too happy with this eggplant filling (despite my love for the veggie), but this pastry is worth making again with different fillings – it might become my official empanada pastry instead of the one I posted here a while ago.

Eggplant turnovers
slightly adapted from Dan Lepard

Filling:
2 medium eggplants (about 700g total)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
300g ricotta – I used homemade
2 chopped spring onions
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano

Pastry:
200g all purpose flour
100g whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon table salt
1/3 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, packed
1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
100g unsalted butter, cold and cut into 1cm cubes
½ cup (120ml) cold water
1 egg, beaten with a fork, for brushing

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Line a large baking sheet with foil.
Halve the eggplants lengthwise and place them onto the foil cut side down. Prick them all over with a fork, piercing the skin. Bake for 1 hour.
Scrape out the flesh, spoon into a sieve over a bowl with ½ a teaspoon of salt and drain for an hour. Stir in the ricotta, onions and oregano. Let it drain again.

In the meantime, make the dough: put the flour and salt in a bowl, stir in the parsley, and rub in the oil and butter. Add the cold water, coax into a rough dough and chill for 30 minutes. Using extra flour, roll out to a rough 40x15cm (16x6in) rectangle, fold in by thirds (as if you were folding a letter), repeat the roll and fold, then wrap and chill for another 30 minutes. Repeat the double roll and fold steps twice more at 30-minute intervals. Roll the dough about 3mm thick and cut into 12 squares.

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°C. Line a large baking sheet with baking paper.

Season the filling, discard the liquid, and spoon a little onto each pastry square. Seal like pasties, place onto the sheet, brush with eggwash and bake for 30 minutes or until golden and crisp.

Makes 12

Sichuan spiced eggplant - in an eggplant state of mind

I’ve been in an eggplant state of mind lately: I’ve used it in soups, empanadas and my husband and I love eggplant parmigiana – I always make a large batch because the leftovers are great.

And when I’m not cooking with eggplants, the Universe conspires for me to do so: my copy of Save with Jamie arrived and there was a aubergine daal recipe there (withh handmade chapatis, no less) – I almost drooled over the book. :)

As I searched for something good on TV the other day, I bumped into Paul Hollywood making maneesh with baba ganoush. :)

And finally, days after that, while going through the August issue of Delicious UK magazine I saw a recipe for spiced eggplant served with rice and it looked so mouthwatering I had to try it. It is, indeed, delicious and easy to make – you just need some time for the eggplants to roast in the oven before actually cooking them with the remaining ingredients: the soft flesh carries all the others flavors beautifully.

This recipe makes great leftovers, too, and can be served with quinoa instead of rice (I would gladly eat it with bread, too, if you’ll ask me ). :)

Sichuan spiced eggplant
slightly adapted from the wonderful Delicious UK

2 medium eggplants
olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
½ onion, finely diced
½ tablespoon grated fresh ginger
½ red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
1 ripe tomato, processed to a paste
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
½ tablespoon granulated sugar
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 ½ tablespoons sesame seeds
fresh cilantro leaves, to serve

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Line a large baking sheet with foil.
Halve the eggplants lengthwise and place them onto the foil cut side up. Slash the cut side a few times. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast for 35 minutes. Cool completely, then cut into slices.
In a large saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and add the garlic, onion, ginger and chilli. Cook until softened, stirring occasionally. Add the tomato and cook for 1 minute. Add the eggplants, sesame oil, soy sauce and sugar and add ½ cup (120ml) water. Bring to the boil, then simmer uncovered for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thick and glossy. Check the seasoning, add salt and pepper if necessary, stir in the sesame seeds and serve sprinkled with the cilantro leaves.

Serves 2 (with leftovers)

Polenta and ricotta chips and cooking from scratch

As I told you yesterday, I love making things from scratch if and when I have time for that, and the recipe I bring you today is a good example of that: in these delicious polenta and ricotta chips, I used homemade vegetable stock, homemade ricotta and homemade tomato sauce.

The vegetable stock is a precious hint I got from a good friend of mine: she makes her stock with the skins peeled off the vegetables (carrots and potatoes, for example), mushroom stems, parsley and basil stalks, the green end of leeks, that is, all the tidbits that would end up in the garbage. I’ve been making stock her way for a long time and always have some stashed in the freezer, and that is the one I used to cook this polenta.

The tomato sauce is the one I make over and over again, with canned tomatoes and lots of fresh basil, oregano and thyme, and it’s the one my husband eats by the spoonful if left to his own devices – if there’s bread in the house I have to make sure he doesn’t eat the whole batch of sauce with it before I even have the chance to proceed with whatever I was making in the first place. :D

And the ricotta is a recipe from the wonderful Donna Hay magazine I got years ago, 2009 to be more precise, and from that moment on I’ve never used store-bought ricotta again – I’ve been using this homemade ricotta for all sorts of things, always with amazing results. It has great texture and flavor and it is quick to make. Back then I used to line the colander with fine muslin, but a while ago I bought a fine mesh strainer and it does the job perfectly without the cloth.

This post might sound like a nightmare for those of you who don’t like making things from scratch, and I’m not here to preach, but believe me when I say that besides tasting a lot better than the store-bought versions they’re all easy to make – not to mention they’re very budget friendly, especially the vegetable stock.

I know it may seem like a bore to turn each polenta chip after their first 20 minutes in the oven, but that was the way I found to make them crisp and golden without frying (which was called for in the original recipe) – please don’t hate me. :)

Polenta and ricotta chips
slightly adapted from the always wonderful Donna Hay magazine

2 cups (500ml) vegetable stock
1 cup (170g) instant polenta
1 cup (80g) finely grated parmesan
25g butter
salt and freshly ground black pepper
200g ricotta*
canola oil, for brushing
tomato sauce, for serving

Place the stock in a large saucepan over medium heat and bring to the boil. Gradually add the polenta, whisking continuously for 2–3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir through the parmesan, butter, salt and pepper. Allow to cool for 5 minutes. Add the ricotta and fold through to combine. Spoon and press the polenta into a lightly buttered 20cm (8in) square cake pan and refrigerate until set, about 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Line a large baking sheet with foil and brush it lightly with oil.
Remove the polenta from the pan and slice into thick chips. Arrange them on the prepared sheet 1cm apart. Bake for 20 minutes, then carefully turn each chip and bake for another 20 minutes or until golden and crisp.
Serve immediately with the tomato sauce.

* I used homemade ricotta: 3 cups (720ml) whole milk = 200g ricotta

Serves 4

Courgette and feta fritters, a crazy trailer and a versatile young actor

Unfortunately I don’t have time to read all the websites and blogs I like (and I’m sure you don’t either so thank you for stopping by, I really appreciate it), but not a day goes by that I don’t visit IMDb for news on the world of cinema.

Yesterday, in one of those visits, I watched the trailer for Horns and it immediately became one of the most interesting/craziest trailers I have even seen. Daniel Radcliffe’s choices in movies and theater have been very diverse and I find it honorable that he’s interested in doing such different things, stretching himself as an actor: he does controversial, he does dark comedy, and romantic comedy as well – who can forget him staring in Equus years ago? So young, yet so versatile – I really admire that.

Daniel is versatile, all right, and so are fritters: they can be pretty much made with any vegetable in your fridge and it’s a nice vessel for them if there’s any picky eater around. These courgette fritters turned out delicious and tender – they were fast to prepare and vanished even faster. :D

Courgette and feta fritters
slightly adapted from two great sources: A Girl Called Jack: 100 Delicious Budget Recipes and Nigella Fresh

1 large courgette
1 spring onion, finely chopped
handful parsley leaves, chopped
1 egg, lightly beaten with a fork
50g feta cheese, grated
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
salt and freshly ground black pepper
canola oil, for frying

Coarsely grate the courgette and spread it onto a clean kitchen towel. Set aside for 20 minutes to get rid of any excess moisture.
Transfer the courgette to a large mixing bowl, add the spring onion, parsley, egg, feta and flour, season with salt and pepper and stir to combine. If batter is too thin, add a bit more flour.

Heat a drizzle of oil in a large nonstick frying pan. Dollop two tablespoons of batter per fritter, flatten with the back of a spoon and shape the edges quickly to form a rough circle. Don’t overfill the frying pan. Cook for about 2 minutes, then flip and cook until golden. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels. Repeat the process with remaining batter.

Serve at once with lime wedges.

Makes 6

Avocado and lemon zest linguine - becoming good friends with whole wheat pasta

I guess that once we get old and start feeling more comfortable in our own skin what others think doesn’t matter much – what you feel or like or want should come first. I like to believe that.

Back in high school it was all about being trendy and cool or, in other words, doing and saying what others did. I remember going to a concert with my friends a couple of times, it was a cover band that played Elvis Presley’s songs, but I never liked Elvis – I just pretended I liked it so I could fit in, since all the girls kept saying how great Elvis was (lucky for me the concerts were free). I was so bored one of the nights I started doing my Physics homework right there (the concerts were held on Friday evenings, and we would go right after school).

That did not do any good for my “cool reputation”, I’ll tell you that. :)

Up until months ago I would tell everyone how awful whole wheat pasta was, and make faces when people brought the subject up. Then, while reading a recipe that called for that kind of pasta, it suddenly hit me: I was just replicating other people’s opinions. I had, indeed, had my share of bad whole wheat pasta dishes, but as someone who’s been cooking for as long as I have I should know better – I should know that maybe, and just maybe, there was something wrong with what I’d tasted. It could have been a case of bad pasta or bad recipe (or both).

I continue to avoid Elvis like the plague, but I have become good friends with whole wheat pasta. :)

Things we do and say now and then, sometimes without putting much thought to them. I have been there, you probably have, too. We’re humans, we say stupid things sometimes, we follow wrong people. We make mistakes.

Nobody’s perfect.

But this pasta dish is (and I would never have thought of pairing avocado and pasta). :)

Avocado and lemon zest linguine
slightly adapted from the wonderful A Modern Way to Eat: Over 200 Satisfying, Everyday Vegetarian Recipes (That Will Make You Feel Amazing)

400g whole wheat linguine
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons capers in brine, coarsely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
finely grated zest of 2 lemons + juice of ½ a lemon
a handful basil leaves, coarsely chopped
a handful parsley leaves, coarsely chopped
2 ripe avocados
1-2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
freshly grated pecorino, for serving

Cook the linguine in a saucepan of boiling salted water until al dente (follow the instructions on the package).
In the meantime make the sauce: heat the olive oil in a large nonstick frying pan on a medium heat, then add the capers and garlic and cook until fragrant. Add the lemon zest and the herbs, mix to combine and remove from the heat.
Halve and destone the avocados, then use a knife to make criss-cross cuts through the flesh, chopping it inside the skin. Use a spoon to scoop out each half into the pan, and stir to mix all the flavors together. Before you drain the pasta, scoop out half a mugful of the pasta water. Drain the pasta, add it to the frying pan and return it to medium heat, tossing to combine. Drizzle with the lemon juice and extra-virgin olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and add a splash of the cooking water if necessary.
Serve at once, sprinkled with the cheese.

Serves 4

Leek, carrot and potato soup or "my soup", according to my husband

Soups and winter go perfectly together, right? I make soups quite often during the colder months, and when I do I usually make a large batch so we can have it for dinner two days in a row. I have noticed that most soups, and the one I bring you today especially, taste even better the next day, so there’s another reason for making extra soup. :)

I like to vary when it comes to food and soup is no exception, but this is my husband’s favorite soup: whenever he wants me to cook it he says “why don’t you make your soup tonight?”, and I know that by my soup he means the vegetable soup I’ve been making for as long as I can remember. I have made this soup with and without the leek (just onions and garlic), with squashed added in the mix, with and without the pasta and rice replacing it, you name it. The fresh oregano is a recent addition: I’d always made this soup with parsley only, but on a given day I did not want the oregano bunch to go to waste and ended up adding it to the soup – after that, it became indispensable.

This is a very simple, yet versatile recipe and you can adjust it to make it your own. I used butter because I can’t resist using it with leeks, but you can omit that for a vegan soup.

We love having this soup with some crusty bread on the side, but it would be a crime for me not to suggest Barbara Lynch’s grilled cheese, too. :)

Leek, carrot and potato soup
own creation

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
½ tablespoon olive oil
1 leek, white part only, chopped
½ large onion, finely diced
2 fat garlic cloves, minced
2 ripe tomatoes, seeds removed, finely chopped
3 carrots, in small cubes
3 potatoes, in small cubes
boiling water, enough to cover the vegetables
salt and freshly ground black pepper
handful fresh oregano leaves
handful fresh parsley leaves, chopped
1 cup cooked small shaped pasta, such as ditalini*

Heat butter and olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the leek and onion and cook until transparent, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Add the tomatoes and a pinch of salt and cook until they are mushy. Add the carrots and potatoes and stir to combine. Cover with boiling water and season with salt and pepper. When the soup comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover partially and cook until vegetables are tender, 10-15 minutes.
With an immersion blender, blitz the soup for a couple of seconds – you want the mixture to be half chunky, half smooth. Add the oregano and parsley, check the seasoning.
Divide the pasta among the serving bowls, top with the soup and serve.

* Once the pasta is in the soup it won’t stop swelling – that is why I cook it separately and add it only to the bowls when serving and not to the entire batch of soup

Serves 4

Hearts of palm empanadas - great snacks for the World Cup

The World Cup has been a lot of fun, there have been some great matches and I think that soccer aficionados around the world have been biting their nails like there’s no tomorrow. :)

To avoid that from happening, it is a good idea to have something to snack on during the games – I’d always wanted to make empanadas and they seemed perfect for the occasion, but since I’d made sfihas weeks before I wasn’t in the mood for more beef. Therefore, I mixed Argentina and Brazil and filled the empanadas with hearts of palm, making them vegetarian and delicious – those two countries together on the field is a very dangerous thing, but the combo worked out beautifully in my kitchen. :D

Inspired by these beauties I used a 10cm cutter to form the empanadas, and they turned out tiny and cute – you may make them larger if you want, but in the end it doesn’t matter: they were a great treat for the games and went really well with a couple of very cold beers. ;)

Hearts of palm empanadas
inspired by these, dough from Epicurious, filling own creation

Dough:
215g unbleached all-purpose flour
100g whole wheat flour
1 ½ teaspoons salt
½ cup (1 stick/113g) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes
1 large egg
1/3 cup (80ml) ice water
1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar

Filling:
½ tablespoon olive oil
½ onion, finely diced
1 fat garlic clove, minced
300g hearts of palm, chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 ½ tablespoons boiling water
¼ cup parsley leaves, finely chopped

Egg wash:
1 egg, lightly beaten with a fork, mixed with ½ teaspoon water

Start by making the dough: sift flours with salt into a large bowl and blend in butter with your fingertips or a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal with some (roughly pea-size) butter lumps.
Beat together egg, water, and vinegar in a small bowl with a fork. Add to flour mixture, stirring with fork until just incorporated (mixture will look shaggy) – I used the food processor do make my dough, it was quite fast and effective.

Turn out mixture onto a lightly floured surface and gather together, then knead gently with heel of your hand once or twice, just enough to bring dough together. Form dough into a flat rectangle and chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, at least 1 hour.

Make the filling: heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Add the onion and cook until transparent. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Add the hearts of palm, season with salt and pepper, add the water, cover and cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes or until the water has been absorbed. Add the parsley, mix to combine and remove from the heat. Cool completely.

Preheat your oven to 200°C/400°F. Line two large baking sheets with baking paper.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll it out until it is about 6mm ( ¼in) thick. Cut out roughly 10cm (4in) round circles in the dough. Place about ½ tablespoon of filling in the center and fold the circle into a half moon. Pinch and fold the edges to seal them, then transfer to the prepared sheet.
Once all the empanadas are formed, brush them with the egg wash.
Bake the empanadas for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

Makes 22

Orecchiette with squash sauce and spinach balls - quick, nutritious and delicious

Despite my desire to try new things in the kitchen, I feel very lucky for not having serious food allergies and also for not having to give up gluten or dairy – I was a vegetarian for many years and that wasn’t hard, but I don’t think I would last one week without bread or cheese.

Pasta is another staple I’m not willing to eliminate from my diet, not only because it is delicious but also because it is a very versatile ingredient: it can be made in so many different ways, the sky is the limit. When I’m in a hurry to make dinner or the refrigerator is empty pasta always saves the night. That is why I was so eager to buy Antonio Carluccio’s book on the subject and he didn’t disappoint: it is oh, so beautiful, and the recipes look mouthwatering – I want to cook everything from that book.

Still strong with the plan of adding more vegetables to our meals and reducing the amount of meat I thought that a pasta dish with a vegetable sauce would make a light, nutritious lunch, and since my husband had said something about how great the dish on the cover of the book looked it was easy to choose a recipe. Carluccio’s recipe calls for zucchini, but I decided to use the beautiful squash I had in my fridge: not only the food was delish and super fresh, it was really quick to put together – that way I did not miss any of the action on the Holland vs Mexico match (I screamed so hard when Sneijder scored that my throat was sore for the rest of the day). :)

Orecchiette with squash sauce and spinach balls
slightly adapted from the beautiful and delicious Pasta: The Essential New Collection from the Master of Italian Cookery

Spinach balls:
150g spinach leaves
1 small garlic clove, peeled and crushed
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
20g fresh breadcrumbs
15g parmesan cheese, finely grated
1 egg, lightly beaten with a fork
salt and freshly ground black pepper
canola oil, for shallow frying

Pasta and sauce:
150g orecchiette or penne
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped
½ fresh red chilli, not too hot, finely chopped
300g coarsely grated squash*
salt and freshly ground blackpepper, to taste
finely ground parmesan, to serve

Preheat the oven to 120°C/250°F.
Prepare the spinach balls first by cooking the spinach leaves in salted water for a few minutes. Scoop out and leave to cool. When cool, squeeze out most of the moisture and chop the leaves with a knife, but not too small. Then mix in a bowl with the garlic, nutmeg, breadcrumbs and Parmesan. Add the egg gradually, mixing until the mixture comes together (you might not need the whole egg). Season with salt and pepper. Roll mixture into balls (you’ll get about 10) and shallow-fry in a tiny bit of canola oil until they brown on all sides. Keep them warm in the oven while you make the rest of the recipe.

Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling salted water until al dente.
Meanwhile, make the sauce: heat the oil in a large saucepan, and add the garlic, chilli and squash to the pan. Cook quickly in the oil, about 3-4 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Drain the pasta and mix it with the sauce over high heat, to cover and warm everything up, then divide between warmed plates. Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil, sprinkle with parmesan and place four or five spinach balls on top. Serve at once.

* I used a type of squash called “abóbora paulista”, which by photo I found similar to cushaw squash (but a lot smaller in size); feel free to replace it with other types of squash or use zucchini instead (as called for in the original recipe)

Serves 2

Linguine with porcini and vegetable bolognese, soothing simplicity and striking complexity

“Sweet Sixteen” is not the only song I listen to five, six times in a row – I have other old favorites, songs that are so perfect to me that I hit the repeat button as soon as they start playing.

However, not all of them are as simple as Billy Idol’s beautiful creation: there are times when the only thing I want to listen to is Marc Almond’s powerful vocals, backed up with those loud and vibrant arrangements.

“Loving You, Hating Me” is a song I deeply love (as some of you already know), and I think it gets even more fantastic in the last one and a half minutes, with the arrangement going wild and Marc’s voice doing the same – depending on my mood I have to be careful not to sing it at the top of my lungs (which can be tricky if there are other people nearby). :D

There are days for Billy’s soothing simplicity, and there are days for Marc’s striking complexity, just as there are days for good old bolognese sauce and days for this delicious vegetarian version – it took me nine years to convince my husband to eat mushrooms and this was how I managed to do it (for the record, he loved the sauce and could not believe how tasty it was even though there wasn’t one single gram of meat in it). :)

Linguine with porcini and vegetable bolognese
slightly adapted from the amazing Delicious Australia

15g dried porcini mushrooms
400g linguine
2 small carrots, roughly chopped
1 large onion, roughly chopped
200g button mushrooms
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
handful of fresh basil leaves, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves
½ cup tomato sauce – I used homemade
½ cup (120ml) red wine
3 tablespoons water
½ cup sour cream*
grated parmesan or pecorino, to serve

Soak porcini in ½ cup (120ml) boiling water for 10 minutes. Drain, reserving the liquid, and chop.
Whiz carrot, onion, mushrooms and garlic in a food processor to finely chop.
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat and add the finely chopped vegetables. Cook, stirring, for 3-4 minutes until softened. Add the herbs, tomato sauce and drained porcini, then cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until fragrant.
Add the wine, water and reserved porcini liquid. Season with salt and pepper, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes or until slightly thickened. Stir through the sour cream and cook for 2 minutes.
In the meantime, cook linguine in a large saucepan of boiling, salted water according to the packet instructions.
Drain the linguine, reserving a little of the cooking water, and add it to the sauce. Toss to coat, adding the reserved water, if needed (I did not). Serve with the parmesan or pecorino (I used the latter).

*homemade sour cream: to make 1 cup of sour cream, mix 1 cup (240ml) heavy cream with 2-3 teaspoons lemon juice in a bowl. Whisk until it starts to thicken. Cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for 1 hour or until thicker (I usually leave mine on the counter overnight – except on very warm nights – and it turns out thick and silky in the following morning; refrigerate for a creamier texture)

Serves 4

Hasselback potatoes with oregano and lemon crumbs, a great song and simple things

Some songs have been favorites of mine for as long as I can remember, and I never get tired of listening to them.

As I was listening to “Sweet Sixteen” yesterday I kept thinking of the beauty of the song’s arrangement, and of how simple it is, with just a couple of instruments. Then I listened to it four or five times in a row, savoring those chords. It is truly a beautiful song (despite the sad story behind it), one that I first listened to when I was a kid and that I’m pretty sure I’ll be listening to when I’m 70.

From time to time I write here about simple things, how great they are to me. I guess that one doesn’t need much to create something beautiful like Billy Idol’s song, and that can be applied to food. Like cakes, simple savory dishes are also something close to my heart, something I feel like eating on a daily basis, and adding a twist here and there doesn’t change their essence – it just makes them even more delicious.

In today’s recipe, the humble potato, a root veggie I love (the German blood in my veins is probably responsible for part of that love) gets transformed into a flower, with full of flavor petals. The potatoes would be delicious already roasted with olive oil, salt and pepper only, but the zesty crumbs on top makes them extra special and irresistible.

Hasselback potatoes with oregano and lemon crumbs
slightly adapted from the always delicious Olive magazine

8 small potatoes
olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, finely chopped
2 tablespoons dried breadcrumbs
finely grated zest of 1 lemon

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F.
Place the potatoes on a wooden spoon then slice downwards thinly until the knife touches the spoon (don’t slice all the way through).
Place the potatoes cut side up on a roasting pan and brush with some oil – making sure the oil drips among the slices – then season with salt and pepper. Roast for 50 minutes.
Mix the oregano, breadcrumbs, lemon zest in a small bowl, season with salt and pepper, then sprinkle over the potatoes and roast them for another 10 minutes or until topping is golden and potatoes are tender.

Serves 4

Eggplant “meatballs” and Stephen Holder

Some supporting characters have the power of stealing main characters’ thunder in movies and TV shows – for instance, Amy Poehler is super funny but to me Tom Haverford is the highlight of Parks and Recreation.

I finished the first season of the excellent The Killing and was amazed by Mireille Enos’ strong performance, but Joel Kinnaman was the real surprise here: his Stephen Holder is a delight to watch, adding a much needed – and intelligently made – comic relief to a very dark show. He has the best lines and deliver them perfectly, making me laugh like crazy in several scenes – one of my favorites is the one in which Linden tells him that he can’t eat pork rinds if he’s a vegetarian and he tells her that “pork rinds are junk food, don’t count” (here at 1:10 if you want to enjoy it). :D

These “meatballs”, made out of eggplant with no meat whatsoever, are delicious – I served them with pasta and it was a hit. They’re very soft and it took me a while to shape the mixture into balls so I thought of adding an egg to it, but since my husband kept snacking on the mixture while I tried to rolled it I skipped the egg and added more breadcrumbs instead – it worked like a charm and I just had to be careful while frying them to keep them from falling apart.

I believe these eggplant “meatballs” will be a hit at your house as they were in mine - either if you’re a true vegetarian or a Holder-kind-of-vegetarian. :D

Eggplant “meatballs”
slightly adapted from A Girl Called Jack: 100 Delicious Budget Recipes

1 eggplant
1 onion, finely diced
1 far garlic clove, finely chopped
1 red chilli, finely chopped
3 large black olives, finely chopped
2 tablespoons canola oil
finely grated zest and juice of 1 small
about ¼ cup breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons grated parmesan
small handful parsley leaves, chopped
small handful basil leaves, chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
tomato sauce, to serve

Cut the stems off the ends of the eggplants and halve lengthways. Dice the flesh into chunks and pop into a medium nonstick saucepan or frying pan. Add the onion, garlic, chilli and oliver, add 1 tablespoon of the oil and cook on a medium heat for about 10 minutes to brown and soften.

Add the lemon zest and juice, mix to combine, then remove from the heat and transfer to a large bowl. Cool slightly. Add the breadcrumbs, parmesan and herbs. Season with salt and pepper. Shape the mixture into tablespoon-sized balls with your hands. Wipe the nonstick frying pan clean with a kitchen towel and pour in remaining 1 tablespoon. Heat over medium heat, then carefully fry the eggplant balls in batches until browned all over. Remove with a slotted spoon and serve with the tomato sauce.

Makes about 12

Corn fritters with tomato salsa and a TV show you can't miss

With Hannibal still more than a month away and the ages Sony has been taking to air the last two episodes of The Blacklist I started watching another TV series, a very short one – six episodes only for the first season – but immense when it comes to quality: Rectify was a fantastic surprise, and I got to it thanks to the lovely Amanda (thanks, dear).

The show is about Daniel Holden – portrayed beautifully by Aden Young –, a man who spent 19 years on death row and is released because of DNA evidence. Definitely not an easy subject and one that could easily be treated in a foolish and/or corny way, but not here; the writing is superb and so is the cast, and the great news is that there will be a second season, with four more episodes. \0/

Some more great news is that the once picky eater Mr. Scarpin continues to gladly try new dishes (thank heavens it was not something ephemeral linked to the trips to China and NY), and he loved these corn fritters, even though corn isn’t one of this favorite veggies. The idea was to serve the fritters with an avocado salsa just like the magazine suggested but the avocado I’d bought never got ripe, so a simple tomato salsa it was – and it tasted delicious.

Corn fritters with tomato salsa
slightly adapted from the always mouthwatering Delicious Australia

Salsa:
3 ripe tomatoes, seeds removed, diced
1 large onion, finely diced
juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, or to taste
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Fritters:
150g all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
½ teaspoon table salt
½ cup (120ml) whole milk, room temperature
2 eggs
2 large corn cobs, kernels removed
½ small onion, finely chopped
1 red chili, deseeded if too hot, finely chopped
¼ cup fresh parsley leaves, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves
salt and freshly ground black pepper
canola oil, for frying

Salsa: place the tomatoes and onion in a medium bowl, add the lemon juice and olive oil, season with salt and pepper and mix to combine. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate while you make the fritters.

Fritters: sift flour, baking powder, sugar and salt into a large bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together the milk and the eggs. Pour over the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Add the corn, onion, chili, parsley and cilantro, season with black pepper and fold to combine.
Heat a drizzle of canola oil in a nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add 2 tablespoonfuls of batter for each fritter and cook for 1-2 minutes or until golden. Flip each fritter and cook until golden on the other side and cooked through. Keep them warm while you fry the remaining batter.
Serve the fritters immediately with the salsa on the side

Serves 4

Zucchini keftedes and to each their own

Every time I watch “The Great British Bake Off” (thanks to some really nice people who post the episodes on YouTube) I get cranky about the contestants’ lack of hygiene – all that touching of hair, then touching of the floor, then touching the food drives me crazy! I feel sorry for the judges who have to eat the baked goods. There was an episode in which a cake or something was sliced and a hair could be clearly seen on the close up – I think it was one of Cathryn’s sweets (season 3), if I’m not mistaken. Eeew. :S

To make things even more unappetizing for me the last episode I watched had the contestants baking with suet, which is something I wouldn’t eat no matter the amount of sugar and fruit added (that said, I have always wanted to make a roly-poly, replacing the suet for butter or vegetable shortening or using this suet-free version from Gourmet Traveller).

While eating suet is not part of my plans, my husband wouldn’t try anything with zucchini (to each their own, right?), and telling him a hundred times how delicious that vegetable is wasn’t really helping. Things changed when he tried these keftedes – the minute I started frying the balls the kitchen was filled with a wonderful smell, sort of like when someone is making grilled cheese and some of the cheese slips off the bread and touches the screaming hot frying pan; that got him immediately interested – he bit into one fritter, looked at me and said: “I’ll grab the Tabasco and a very cold beer”. :D

Zucchini keftedes
slightly adapted from the beautiful Full of Flavor: How to Create Like a Chef

450g (1 pound) zucchini, trimmed and coarsely grated
2 tablespoons grated onion
100g feta cheese, crumbled
¾ cup finely grated parmesan
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
2 eggs, lightly beaten with a fork
6-8 tablespoons fresh breadcrumbs
salt and freshly ground black pepper
all purpose flour, seasoned with salt, for dusting
canola oil, for frying

Blanch the zucchini in boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain and squeeze dry in a cloth (I let the zucchini cool a little before doing that because it was impossible to handle such a hot kitchen towel).
Place the olive oil in a small saucepan, add the onions with a pinch of salt and cook until soft and translucent. Transfer to a large bowl and let cool. Add the zucchini, feta, parmesan, parsley, oregano, eggs and half the breadcrumbs. Season with salt and pepper, then mix to combine. If the mixture is too wet, gradually add more breadcrumbs. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Taste the seasoning before frying the keftedes. Shape the mixture into 2.5cm (1in) balls, then roll into the flour*.
Heat the oil in a medium saucepan and fry the balls in batches until golden. Drain in paper towels and serve immediately.

* the hubby suggested that rolling the keftedes in breadcrumbs instead of all purpose would make them even nicer on the outside and although I haven’t tried doing that I agree with him.

Makes about 20

Broccolini and white bean soup to celebrate winter

Unlike most of my friends and colleagues I adore the cold weather we’ve been having here lately, and to be honest I really don’t get all the hate: a cold day in the middle of January is a bad thing, but to complain about the cold in July and August seems unreasonable to me.

I love soups and these wintry days are ideal to cook them – I don’t know about you, but cold soups are something I’m not fond of: I have tried several of them but they’re not my cup of tea – I like my soups piping hot, preferably with some nice crusty bread alongside. :)

Martha’s recipe calls for broccoli but as I often do with broccoli recipes I replaced it with broccolini – the problem was my husband loves it, too, and I almost had to hide the steamed florets from him before actually making the soup: every time I looked he was eating one of the florets drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt. :D

Broccolini and white bean soup
slightly adapted from the wonderful and delicious Meatless: More Than 200 of the Very Best Vegetarian Recipes

450g (1 pound) broccolini, cut into florets
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 fat garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 cups cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 ½ cups (600ml) vegetable stock
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted and cooled
shaved Parmesan cheese to taste, for serving

Steam broccolini until tender and bright green, about 1 minute. Let cool slightly. Reserve ½ cup florets for garnish.
Heat oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Sauté onion and garlic until translucent, about 6 minutes.
Add beans and stock and bring mixture to a simmer. Remove from heat and add broccoli; puree in batches in a blender until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Garnish each bowl with the reserved broccolini florets, the pine nuts, and shaved Parmesan.

Serves 4

Ricotta and spinach stuffed shells - a nice idea for lunch on Mother's Day

Nigella promoted her cookbook in several different TV shows here in Brazil and in one of them she baked her chocolate banana muffins – she said that they would be a nice treat for breakfast on Mother’s Day. Her comment reminded me of this recipe I cooked a while ago, the first one I tried from Martha’s wonderful vegetarian cookbook: I find it perfect for a celebration day, since it can be put together in advance and kept covered in the refrigerator; all you need to do is let it come to room temperature, then bake it – easy-peasy.

Unfortunately I no longer have my mom around, but if I did I would probably make her both the muffins and the pasta bake – spoiling people with food is one of my favorite sports. ;)

Ricotta and spinach stuffed shells
adapted from the absolutely beautiful Meatless: More Than 200 of the Very Best Vegetarian Recipes

Tomato sauce:
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ large onion, finely diced
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 400g (14oz) can peeled tomatoes
¼ teaspoon sugar
salt and freshly ground black pepper
handful of fresh basil leaves
handful of fresh oregano leaves

Pasta and filling:
16 pasta shells (6cm each)*
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
100g frozen spinach, unthawed
salt and freshly ground black pepper
pinch of freshly nutmeg
1 ¼ cups fresh ricotta – I used homemade
¼ cup finely grated parmesan cheese
handful of parsley leaves, finely chopped

Make the sauce: in a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook until translucent. Add the garlic, cook for 1-2 minutes, then add the tomatoes and the sugar. Fill 1/3 of the can with water, swirl it around and add to the saucepan. Season with salt and pepper, break the tomatoes with a wooden spoon then cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes or until slightly thickened. Add the basil and oregano, stir to combine, cover and remove from the heat.
Cook shells in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente. Drain and let cool. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.

Filling: in a small saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, cook for about 1 minute or until fragrant. Add the spinach and cook until it thaws, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg and remove from the heat. Cool slightly.
In a large bowl, mix together the ricotta, parmesan, spinach and parsley. Season again with salt and pepper.
Coat a 25x15cm (6x10in) ovenproof baking dish with the sauce. Generously spoon filling into shells and arrange in pan, dipping them into the sauce. Cover with foil and bake until bubbling, about 30 minutes.

* some shells might break in the boiling water, so it’s a good idea to cook more shells than you actually need

Serves 2 generously

Chickpea curry with roasted cauliflower and tomatoes and a trip that changed things up around here

Those of you around here for a while know that my husband is a classic case of picky eater – there are lots of things that he just won’t eat. That makes me sad because he is missing out on several delicious things, but what can I do? I can’t force him – I hated it when my stepmother forced us to eat her disgusting food and that was the reason why I started cooking. I consider it his loss – I eat all the good food myself and call it a day.

Last year he went to China on a business trip and that was one of the greatest gifts the Universe could have sent me: several days and many spring rolls afterwards he came home a changed man – at least in the food department. Yes, he’s still a bit picky and likes to stick to his usual favorites, but he’s been trying things he hated before and without me pushing. He ate this vegetarian curry – one of Martha’s great recipes – which blew me away because he doesn’t like chickpeas. Or cauliflower, for that matter. Because he was being such a good boy I replaced the cilantro with parsley – baby steps, people, baby steps. One or two more trips to China and I bet he’ll become a real foodie – maybe I should give his boss a call and send him a box of brownies. ;)

Chickpea curry with roasted cauliflower and tomatoes
slightly adapted from the wonderful Meatless: More Than 200 of the Very Best Vegetarian Recipes

½ head cauliflower (about 450g/1lb), trimmed and cut into florets
2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons olive oil
2 cups cherry tomatoes
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large onion, finely diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon curry powder
3 cups cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 ½ cups baby spinach*
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro leaves – I used parsley

Preheat oven to 190°C/375°F. Toss cauliflower with 1 teaspoon olive oil and arrange in a single layer on one side of a rimmed baking sheet. Toss tomatoes with 1 teaspoon olive oil and arrange on other side of sheet. Season with salt and pepper. Roast until florets are browned in spots and tomatoes are soft, about 25 minutes.
In a medium saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high. Cook onion, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, and curry powder and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Add chickpeas, tomatoes, and 2 cups water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and simmer 8 minutes.
Add cauliflower and cook until warmed through and chickpeas are tender, about 8 minutes. Stir in spinach and cilantro and season with salt and pepper. Serve with rice.

* I added about 80g frozen spinach instead of the fresh stuff because that is what I had at home; the curry turned green, which to some people might be unappetizing (for the record, it tasted great); right before serving, I added a handful of fresh baby watercress to the curry.

Serves 4 – I halved the recipe above, we both ate generously and there was still curry left, enough to serve one more person