Chocolate fudge flan

1 cup/can condensed milk1 cup heavy cream
8 tbsp chocolate powder
3 eggs
1 tbsp butter
Chocolate granulate

Mix all the ingredients in a blender.
You can make it individual or in a big tray. Grease the pan with butter and sugar.
Add the mixture and bake in bain-Marie for about 40 minutes.
Take out of oven and let cool down. Serve cold with granulate chocotale on the top.

Linguini alle vongole

Vongole sauce

-1kg fresh and alive vongole (clams)-1/4 cup olive oil
-4 garlic cloves
-Onion, half chopped
-1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
-1 cup white wine
-Italian parsley
-Crushed red pepper flakes
-Salt & Black pepper

In a big pan, fry the garlic and onions until golden brown.  Add the cherry tomatoes and let cook for another 3 minutes. Add the vongole, wine, pepper flakes, parsley and the salt & pepper. Close the pan and let cook until all the vongole is open. When is all open, take the lid out of the pan and let cook a little more to evaporate a little bit the wine! Toss the pasta in and serve it!

Nonna's Summer Pork Roast

• 2 Tb sage leafs, chopped
  
• 2 Tb rosemary, chopped
• 8 cloves garlic, minced
• zest of one lemon
• ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 piece pork tenderloin or pork filet mignon 
• 5 slices bacon, thick cut

1. To begin, preheat your oven to 220C/425 degrees.
2. In a small dish, combine the sage and rosemary, minced garlic, the salt and pepper, the orange zest and the extra virgin olive oil. Stir this together into a soft paste.
3. Place your pork in a baking dish. Slather the herb paste all over the top and drizzle some wine.
4. Lay the bacon slices across, tucking the ends underneath.
5. Bake for 40-45 minutes with a water dish inside the oven.
6. Remove the roast to a platter and let it rest for 10 minutes before cutting.
7. Enjoy!

Risotto allo zafferano con seppie (Risotto with saffron and squid)

Ingredients for five servings:

1kg/2lbs Squid
2 1/2 cup of carnaroli rice
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
A pinch of Saffron
Parsley (Fresh of course, if you have dry parsley trow in the trash!)
Olive Oil
Lemon
Salt & Pepper
Fish stock (To make the stock, boil some fish heads, shrimp with skin, onion and carrots).
White wine

You will need three pans for this preparation. One for the rice, one for the quid and another for the stock.

Use half of the onion and saute the onions with the squid for 10 minutes in high heat and another 10 with low heat. On the first five minutes add as well the cherry tomatoes cut in half.

In another pan, saute the onion and garlic. Add the rice and stock, cook for about 15 minutes. Add the Saffron and mix well until is al yellow. Add the squid, and mix well.

When the rice is cooked, take out of heat and add the lemon and parsley.

Serve with a good glass of prosecco or white wine.

Limoncello sorbet

Very simple and refreshing. Perfect for serving in hot summer days.

Ingredients:
Juice of two lemons
1 shot of limoncello
1/2 cup sugar
4 cups of ice
Lemon zest

Mix the lemon juice, sugar, limoncello and lemon zest. In a blender add the ice and the juices mixture. Blend until homogenic. Serve immediately or keep in the freezer for four hours before serving.

Moqueca de Camarão (Coconut shrimp stew)

1 tbsp palm oil (Dendê oil can be changed for coconut oil)4 tbsp peanut oil
4 cloves of garlic (sliced)
1 tbsp chopped ginger
1 onion (julienne)
1 red pepper (julienne)
1 yellow pepper (Julienne)
2 tomatoes (Julienne)
1 can coconut milk
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 kg/ 2.2lbs Shrimp
Fresh Cilantro leaves
Spice chilli peppers (Add as much as you like all different spices you like)
Two limes

In a big pot, fry the ginger, garlic and onions with the mix of peanut oil and palm oil. After they are getting brown add the peppers and tomatoes. Stir a little bit and let cook with the pot closed in medium/low heat for 5 minutes. Add the coconut milk and tomato paste and let cook for another 10 minutes with the pot closed. Don't stir too much. After the 10 minutes add the chopped cilantro leaves, the spices and the shrimp. Close the pan again and let cook for not more that 10 minutes in medium heat. Open the pot and squeeze the lime. Serve with rice and fried cassava or fried potatoes.

Gnocchi with cheese and almonds sauce

5 tbsp butter
4 tbsp flour4 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup grated Asiago cheese
1/2 cup Parmiggiano or Grana Padano
3 tbsp Gorgonzola (optional)
Salt & Pepper
1/2 tea spoon nutmeg
1/2 cup chopped almonds

In a medium saucepan, heat the butter over medium-low heat until melted. Add the flour and stir until smooth. Over medium heat, cook until the mixture turns a light, golden sandy color, about 6 to 7 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the milk in a separate pan until just about to boil. Add the hot milk to the butter mixture 1 cup at a time, whisking continuously until very smooth. Bring to a boil. Cook 10 minutes, stirring constantly, then remove from heat. Add the cream and cheeses. Season with salt and nutmeg, and set aside until ready to use. In a different pan, toast the almonds with olive oil or butter and add to the sauce.

Gnocchi alla Bolognese

For the Bolognese sauce

5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons butter

1 carrot, finely, diced

1 medium onion, diced

1 rib celery, finely diced

1 clove garlic, sliced

500g veal, ground

500g pork, ground

1/4 pound pancetta or slab bacon, ground

1 tube tomato paste

1 1/2 cup milk

1 cup dry white wine
Parsley

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Parmigiano-Reggiano, for grating

In a 6 to 8-quart, heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat.
Add the carrots and a table spoon of salt and wait the carrots to be brown. Add the pancetta and cook for another five minutes.
Add the onions, celery, and garlic and sweat over medium heat until the vegetables are translucent and soft but not browned, about 10 to 15 minutes. Add the veal and pork and stir into the vegetables. Add the meat over high heat, stirring to keep the meat from sticking together until browned. Add the wine and mix very well, the wine will deglaze the pan. Add the tomato paste, milk and simmer over medium-low heat for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and remove from the heat.
For the GNOCCHI RECIPE CLICK HERE!!!

Gnocchi Alla Sorrentina

-4 cups of can crushed tomatoes

-1/3 cup olive oil

-1 chopped onion

-5 garlic cloves, sliced

-1/2 medium carrot, shredded

-1 pinch crushed red pepper

-Basil

-Mozzarella

-Parmigiano



1 - In a big saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the carrots, onion and garlic and cook until soft and light golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes;



2 - Add the tomatoes and bring to a boil, stirring often;



3 - Lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper;


4 - Drop the gnocchi into the boiling water and cook until floating aggressively, 4 to 5 minutes. Carefully transfer the gnocchi to a baking pan with the sauce, using a slotted spoon.

5 - Tear the basil leaves into a few pieces and add to the sauce along with the mozzarella cubes and parmigiano. Bake for no longer than five minutes. It is just to melting the cheese.

Gnocchi recipe

Gnocchi dough

Gnocchi alla Sorrentina

Gnocchi alla Bolognese

Gnocchi with cheese and almonds sauce

Garganelli

Ingredients:

3 cups Italian 00 flour or all-purpose flour
3 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Add the flour, the salt, nutmeg and cheese in a bowl. Mix with eggs until the texture is similar to a play dough. It cant be to stick, neither to dry. Add more flour or a little bit of warm water if necessary. Let dough to rest for about 15min wrapped in plastic or inside a container.

How to form the Garganelli?

First, divide the dough into 4-6 portions (whatever size is easiest for you to work with.)  Roll each portion through a pasta machine to a very thin dough, about a #7 setting.  Lightly flour the garganelli board.Cut the dough into 3-inch 
wide strips.Cut the strips of pasta into 
1-1/2 inch squares.Place one of the squares on a garganelli/gnocchi board, turn it so it looks like a diamond.Place the dowel at the bottom of 
the dough diamond.Roll the dowel to the to top of the diamond, pressing down lightly on the dough as you roll.Fold the top point of the 
diamond up over the dowel.Roll the dowel back down 
to the bottom of the diamond.At the end, press down to seal the bottom point of dough to the roll.Slide the formed quill off the dowel onto a floured tray.

Continue until all the garganelli are formed.  Set the garganelli aside to dry for 2-3 hours.

Continue until all the garganelli are formed.  Set the garganelli aside to dry for 2-3 hours.

Continue until all the garganelli are formed.  Set the garganelli aside to dry for 2-3 hours.

Quinoa, poppy seeds and lemon muffin

This is a great recipe for who is trying to loose weight or gain muscle. Also gluten free.

375ml (1cup) quinoa flour (if you don't have it home, pretty much using a blender or pesto mortar, blend quinoa until is like a flour texture)
30ml (2 tbsp) Poppy seeds
22ml (1 1/2 tbsp) corn starch
14ml (3 tbs) baking powder
2ml (1/2 tbs) salt
3 eggs
175g (3/4 cup) greek yogurt
60ml (1/4 cup) coconut oil
125ml (1/2 cup) honey
2 lemons (use just the zest)

To make this muffin is very simple. Pretty much mix all the solid ingredients together in one bowl. In a second bowl, using a hand mixer mix all the liquids. Then slowly incorporate the solids into liquids until is homogenised. Bake for 25 minutes in 180C (370F).
Trick: You can juice the two lemons and mix with one tbsp of honey, cook for 2 minutes and using a spoon add on the top of the muffins.

Goes perfect with a cup of tea or coffee! :)

Rucula tagliattelli with Sausage ragu

For the dough:

1 cup arugula
3 eggs
1 1/2 cup 00 flour (cake flour)
1 1/2 cup Semolina flour
1 tbsp olive oil
Pinch of salt

In a blender, blend the eggs with the arugula until is smooth green. In a bowl or on the table mix the eggs with the oil, salt and flour. Mix until the texture is similar to a play dough. Roll the dough in a pasta machine or by hand. If you have a Marcato pasta machine make the tagliatelle until the number 6.

Sausage sauce:
3 cloves of garlic, minced
200g of sausage, taken out of their casings
1/2 cup of tomato paste
1 cup heavy cream (one box of Italian Parmalat Panna)
1 1/12 cup of red wine
Thyme, about a Tablespoon
Olive oil 
Salt & Pepper to taste

Fry the onion, garlic and sausage in a generous amount of olive oil.  Once onions have browned and meat has cooked, add one cup of wine and let liquid reduce half it's amount.  Add tomato paste, and thyme.  Let cook for five minutes and add another half cup of wine.  Cover and simmer the sauce at a low temperature for about 30 minutes then add the cream, stirring occasionally, do not allow to boil.
Serve with a hard cheese, recommended Parmesan (Parmigiano Reggiano).