Posts in: 'Italian Food'
Wild rocket with parmesan and balsamic vinegar salad
Posted: 08 February '10 by Kelly
Rocket salad with parmesan and balsamic vinegar
This really isn’t a recipe, but you will thank me for sharing it with you if you don’t already know about it.
Although you only need three ingredients for this salad, the quality of these three elements is very important. We use a mature Parmigiano-Reggiano, wild rocket, and a good quality balsamic vinegar – all of which are easily found in your local supermarket.
You can see more photos hereImage 1Image 2Image 3
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 50g parmesan cheese
- 100g wild rocket leaves
- 4 teaspoons of balsamic vinegar
Method
- Rinse the wild rocket and shake well to dry – place the rocket leaves in a bowl.
- Drizzle with balsamic vinegar and toss the salad leaves.
- Using a sharp knife cut wedges chips of parmesan into the salad, working your way back from the thin end. It’s important that the chips aren’t too thin.
- Serve immediately.
Enjoy!
Other information
Bio-store, which you can find at the market in Belfast’s St. George’s Market on Saturdays, are now carrying some fantastic balsamic vinegar from Modena, with more varieties to come.
Categories: Featured Post > Italian Food > Recipes > Side Dishes > Starter Course
No Comments - Click to Add Yours
Pasta al forno with tomatoes and mozzarella
Posted: 29 January '10 by Niall
Pasta al forno
Pasta al forno means “pasta from the oven” and is a popular dish in Italy.
The method for making Pasta al forno is fairly simple and similar to those for lasange but you’ll see that it is much easier to make and needs far less cooking time.
This recipe for making this Pasta al Form con Pomodorino e Mozzarella is taken from “Jamie Oliver’s Italy” – although his was made with “orecchiette” pasta (“little ears”), we found this type fairly difficult to come by at last minutes’ notice, so we made ours with “conchiglie”, which resemble small sea-shells.
There’s a real rustic feel to this dish and it’s surprising hearty. I think it’s important to get the best mozzarella that you can lay your hands on – the “Taste the Difference” mozza that we tried was worth the extra cost and was a tasty, chewy treat amongst the tomato and pasta.
We served ours with a small rocket salad and home-made garlic bread made with ciabatta – delicious!
You can see more photos hereImage 1Image 2Image 3Image 4Image 5Image 6Image 7
Ingredients
- 1 large onion, roughly chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic, finely minced
- 500g of conchiglie pasta
- 8 fresh, large pomodorino tomatoes
- Some tomato puree
- 3 balls of mozzarella, sliced
- A wedge of parmesan, grated
- A handful of fresh basil, roughly chopped
- Salt and pepper for taste
You also need a large bowl and a kettle full of hot water.
Method
- Cook the conchiglie in a large saucepan of salted water and drain thoroughly when done.
- Place a large saucepan over a low heat, add some olive oil, and add the garlic and onions, sweating them until they are soft and translucent.
- Half-fill the large bowl with the boiling water and add the tomatoes for a couple of minutes.
- Remove the tomatoes one at a time and run a finger firmly down the flesh – you should notice that the skin peels away easily. Remove all of the skin and set the tomatoes aside.
- When all of the tomatoes have been peeled squeeze them into the onion and garlic mixture, adding the soft flesh but disgarding the woody core.
- Reduce the tomato mixture and fully soften the tomato pieces.
- Squeeze some tomato puree into the tomato mixture and stir thoroughly.
- Add salt, pepper and fresh basil and remove from the heat.
- Preheat oven to 180°C.
- Empty the sauce into the drained pasta and mix thoroughly.
- Place some of the pasta into a casserole dish to form a layer of pasta that reaches half-way up the sides.
- Take some of your mozzarella and lay them on top of the pasta to form another layer.
- Place the rest of the pasta on top of this again.
- Complete the dish by laying the remaining mozzarella on top of the pasta, grating a good amount of parmesan on top of this again, and drizzling the top with good olive oil.
- Place the casserole dish in the oven and cook until the top has formed a golden crust.
- Once you’ve spooned out the portions grate a little more parmesan over the top (can you ever have enough?) and drizzle with olive oil.
Enjoy!
Categories: Featured Post > Italian Food > Main Course > Pasta > Recipes
2 Comments
Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni
Posted: 09 December '09 by Niall
Spinach and ricotta canneloni
Here’s the recipe for one of our favourite Italian dishes: spinach and ricotta cannelloni (or is that “canneloni”?). Given that the recipe is suitable for vegetarians, it just shows you that bechamel with melted cheese can overcome all obstacles to enjoyment!
The recipe does take a little bit of effort – stuffing the pasta tubes with the spinach and ricotta mixture requires some patience – but it’s all worth it in the end. The canneloni is also great for mid-week dinners, as it invariably lasts for two nights, and tastes even better the next day.
The dish is great by itself, but we prefer a small rocket salad and warm ciabatta alongside.
You can see more photos hereImage 1Image 2Image 3Image 4Image 5Image 6Image 7Image 8
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion, peeled and minced
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 2 pinches of dried oregano
- 2 pinches of dried basil
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tbsp red wine
- 500g spinach
- 300g ricotta
- 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
- Freshly ground black pepper
- As many cannelloni tubes as will fill your oven dish
For the Napoli sauce
- 25g butter
- 25g flour
- 300ml milk
- Pinch of ground nutmeg
- 60g Cheddar cheese, grated
- 30g Parmesan cheese, grated
To finish:
- 60g Cheddar cheese, grated
- 10g Parmesan cheese, grated
You might also use: a piping bag to put the mixture into the cannelloni tubes.
Cooking Method
Cooking Method – Spinach and Ricotta
- Place a frying pan on a low heat and add some olive oil
- Place the spinach leaves in the pan and cook until they have wilted slightly
- Remove the leaves from the pan and drain in a colander, using the back of a spoon to press the leaves until most of the excess liquid has drained
- Chop the drained spinach leaves until they are quite fine
- Allow the spinach to cool
- Place the ricotta in a bowl and add the cooled spinach leaves, mixing thoroughly
- If you are using a piping bag, spoon the mixture into the bag and squeeze it down to form a continuous mass, ready for squeezing
- Taking your cannelloni tube either: squeeze the mixture into the tube until it is full; or using the back of a spoon, scoop the mixture up and place inside the tube
- Repeat this process until all of the cannelloni has been filled, placing each filled tube into the oven dish as they are finished
Cooking Method – Napoli Sauce:
- Pre-heat the oven to 225°C.
- Heat the olive oil in a hot pan and sweat the garlic and onion down until they are translucent.
- Add the basil, oregano, and black pepper and stir thoroughly.
- Add the wine and cook off the alcohol.
- Add the tomatoes and bay leaf, stirring well before leaving to simmer for a further 2-3 minutes.
- Finally add the tomato puree and allow some time on the heat to reduce the sauce (it needs to be relatively thick, without any excess liquid).
Cooking Method – Bechamel:
- In one saucepan. add the butter and place over a low heat.
- In a second saucepan, add the milk and nutmeg, warming the milk until it is just shy of boiling point.
- Reducing the heat completely When the butter has melted, add the flour and mix together, until you have a thick paste (similar to play-doh).
- Add a third of the milk to the play-doh, whisking to prevent any lumps forming – then add the rest of the milk a third at a time, whisking as you go. You want to get a smooth sauce.
- Allow the sauce to cook out for another minute before adding the Cheddar cheese. Stir and remove from the heat.
Cooking Method – Assembling the dish:
- Spoon the sauce over the filled cannelloni.
- Pour the bechamel on top of this, making sure that you cover the layer below.
- Sprinkle the remaining grated cheese and parmesan over the bechamel.
- Place the oven dish in the oven to bake for 30-35 minutes, or until golden brown.
Wine selection
There’s only one option for me here – a robust chianti compliments the rich, tomato-based cannelloni perfectly.
Categories: Featured Post > Italian Food > Main Course > Pasta > Recipes > Vegetables
1 Comment
Gnocchi with blue cheese sauce and pancetta
Posted: 04 November '09 by Niall
Gnocchi with blue cheese sauce
After reading Sarah’s recipe for Gnocchi Piedmontaise, I had decided to make our own gnocchi, and was just waiting for the opportunity.
With plenty of left-over mashed potatoes from the previous night the time had come – and I was amazed how easy the process is – and how tasty the results! Seriously, the little gnocchi pillows are wonderfully light and make a delicious meal out of those potatoes which were destined to be thrown out.
Needless to say, Kelly loved this recipe – but I have the feeling that I could cover an old tyre in blue cheese sauce and Kelly would ask for seconds! But give it a go – you definitely won’t be disappointed.
You can see more photos hereImage 1Image 2Image 3Image 4Image 5
Serves 4
Ingredients:
For the Gnocchi:
- 150g warm mashed potato
- 1 egg yolk
- 15g unsalted butter
- 55g plain flour
- Maldon sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Fresh nutmeg, grated
For the blue cheese sauce:
- 2 tbsp of good quality olive oil
- 200ml of double cream
- 180g blue cheese (preferably gorgonzola)
- 100g fresh grated parmesan
- freshly ground pepper
To serve:
- Grated parmesan
- 2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
- Some good quality olive oil to drizzle
- Thinly sliced pancetta (optional)
Method:
- Make your mashed potatoes – I’ll assume you know how to do this
- Warm the mashed potato, which can be prepared in advance, gently in a saucepan adding the butter once warmed enough to melt the butter. Once the butter has fully incorporated add the seasoning, a good couple of pinches of nutmeg and the egg yolk. Mix again well. Finally, fold in the flour using your hands to finish the mixing whilst taking care not to over-mix as this shall toughen the dough.
- Split the mixture into three batches and roll into finger thick long sausage shapes on a lightly floured surface. Cut into one inch long pieces and squeeze the middle to create bow-tie like shapes (this helps the middle of the dough to cook through properly).
- Bring a large pan of salted water to a simmer and poach the gnocchi in batches of 8-10 until each rises to the surface of the water. Remove and drain on a clean tea towel. Allow to cool, preferably in the fridge. The gnocchi can be frozen at this stage and pulled out in batches once required.
- Once required, heat a frying pan and add a dash of clarified butter. Gently fry the gnocchi until they are a pale golden colour, seasoning if required.
- Add the cream to a saucepan and bring to a simmer over a low heat
- Add your chopped blue cheese, a pinch of black pepper, a good glug of olive oil, and the parmesan and turn off the heat, mixing the ingredients
- Put some olive oil into another saucepan along with the chopped pancetta and place over a medium heat. When the pancetta has coloured and started to crisp, lower the heat and add the sliced garlic, sweating gently until the garlic becomes translucent
- Place the gnocchi onto your plate, scatter the pancetta and garlic on top, add the blue cheese sauce, dust with the grated parmesan and drizzle some olive oil on top
Buon appetito!
Other information:
Lots of people have trouble pronouncing “gnocchi” – but it’s not that difficult..
- The “gn” makes a “ny” sound with a silent “g”
- The “occh” is pronounced as a hard “k”, as in “ock”
- The “i” is an “ee” sound, as in “three”
Which gives you “nyockee”.
Gnocchi is the plural form of the word. The singular is “gnocco.” So you might order a plate of gnocchi and devour every gnocco on that plate.
Categories: Featured Post > Italian Food > Main Course > Pasta > Recipes
No Comments - Click to Add Yours
Gnocchi Piedmontaise with Basil and Pine Nut Pesto
Posted: 18 October '09 by Niall
Here’s a great recipe for gnocchi Piedmontaise, submitted by one of our newest members. Thanks Sarah!
Serves 4
Ingredients:
For the Gnocchi:
- 150g warm mashed potato
- 1 egg yolk
- 15g unsalted butter
- 55g plain flour
- Maldon sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Fresh nutmeg, grated
For the Pesto:
- 50g fresh basil
- 1 garlic clove
- 30g pine nuts (or walnuts)
- Zest of one lemon
- 40g Grated Parmesan
- 120ml Good quality olive oil
Method:
- The pesto is made, rather simply, by placing all of the ingredients into a food processor and blending to create a rustic pesto, the recipe is easily adapted to suit individual tastes. This can be easily frozen.
- Warm the mashed potato, which can be prepared in advance, gently in a saucepan adding the butter once warmed enough to melt the butter. Once the butter has fully incorporated add the seasoning, a good couple of pinches of nutmeg and the egg yolk. Mix again well. Finally, fold in the flour using your hands to finish the mixing whilst taking care not to over-mix as this shall toughen the dough.
- Split the mixture into three batches and roll into finger thick long sausage shapes on a lightly floured surface. Cut into one inch long pieces and squeeze the middle to create bow-tie like shapes (this helps the middle of the dough to cook through properly).
- Bring a large pan of salted water to a simmer and poach the gnocchi in batches of 8-10 until each rises to the surface of the water. Remove and drain on a clean tea towel. Allow to cool, preferably in the fridge. The gnocchi can be frozen at this stage and pulled out in batches once required.
- Once required, heat a frying pan and add a dash of clarified butter. Gently fry the gnocchi until they are golden brown, season if required.
- To serve, place a spoonful of pesto on the middle of a place and stack 6-10 gnocchi on top. Serve with lightly dressed rocket leaves and shaved parmesan on top.
Simple!!
Suggested Wine:
Laura Aschero Vermentino, Liguira, Italy – crisp and fresh flavour with undertones of aromatic herbs makes it a classic accompaniment to Liguria’s most famous export, pesto.
Categories: Italian Food > Main Course > Recipes
