Focaccia with potatoes and rosemary

Focaccia with Rosemary

·      3 cups 0 Flour (in the USA this would be Bread flour), divided

·      1 cup Warm water

·      ¼ cup Olive oil

·      1 tablespoon Sugar

·      1 tablespoon Fine salt

·      ½ tablespoon Rock salt

·      1 cube Fresh yeast (or 1 Satchel of dry yeast)

·      Rosemary, to taste

·      1 Potato sliced

·      Pepper, to taste

1.     Preheat the oven to 180˚C/350˚F.

2.     In a big bowl, dissolve the fresh yeast with the sugar.  Simply by moving it around with a fork and mixing a bit, the fresh yeast will turn to liquid.  If you're using dry yeast, it will dissolve in the water... Add the warm water.

3.     Sift 1½ cups of flour into the bowl. Mix the water into the flour with a strong wooden spoon. Add the salt and mix with the spoon for about 1-2 minutes.

4.     Add the other 1½ cups of flour and kneed the focaccia dough for about 3 minutes, mixing very well.  Add the dough into the bowl and add olive oil.  Using your hands, squeeze the olive oil into the dough for about a minute.  Simply mixing with your hands, do this for about one minute...there will be extra oil a the bottom of the bowl (this will be poured on top of the dough later).

5.     Make a ball with the dough, and put the dough in a pan with a sheet of baking paper.  Press the dough into the pan with your hands.  Then make dimples in the dough with your fingers.  In a separate bowl, mix the potatoes with olive oil, salt and rosemary. Place the potatoes on the top of the dough.

6.     Let the focaccia rise for approximately two hours.

7.     Bake at 350F/180C for about 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Squash, sausage and mushroom sauce

200g squash, in cubes 200g your favorite mushrooms, fresh (if dry use 50g)
200g mascarpone
300g Italian Sausage
200ml white wine
2 shallots, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
A handful of walnuts
4 tbsp olive oil
Pinch of nutmeg
1 tea spoon of black pepper
Salt to taste
Truffle oil (optional)

In a big pan, fry the garlic and the shallots in olive oil. When is brown add the squash, nutmeg, black pepper and the wine. Cook medium heat for about ten minutes with the lid or until the squash is soft, then you add the mascarpone. Squish everything using a fork or you can even use an immersion blender if you prefer smoother.
In another pan, sauté the sausages without casing with the mushrooms. When is all cooked mix with the squash sauce and serve with pasta.

You can also serve with rigatoni, then after you mix with the pasta add a lot of cheese on top and bake it.

For making it vegetarian, substitute the sausages for broccoli and spinach!

Pizzoccheri

Pizzoccheri

Pizzoccheri are a short tagliatelle made with buckwheat flour. Pizzoccheri is a pasta typical from the Alps bordering Switzerland and Italy.

1/2 pound of pizzoccheri 

3 big potatoes

5 leafs of Swiss chard

1/2 pound of fontina cheese

5 oz of Grana Padano cheese

4oz of butter

A clove of garlic

4/5 sage leafs

Salt and pepper to taste

Clean the the chard and cut a V-shaped cut along the veins of the leaves, then remove the stem.  Cut into sticks of a width of 1 cm so that are cooked faster.  

Peel and cut the potatoes into chunks.  Cook the potatoes and the Swiss chard for 10 minutes in a vegetable stock; in the same pan (with the chard and potatoes still inside) cook the Pizzoccheri pasta for another 10 minutes. 

 After 10 minutes of cooking, drain the pizzoccheri with a slotted spoon and pour some in a hot oven safe pan, sprinkle with grated Grana Padano and Valtellina Casera (you can use Fontina, Puzzone di Moena or Emmental), and continue alternating pizzoccheri and cheese.  In a separate pan, melt the butter with the garlic cloves uncut and sage until the garlic gets brown, remove the garlic and pour the melted butter on pizzoccheri (do not forget to take out the garlic cloves or they will overpower the dish).  Serve the pizzoccheri hot and with a dusting of freshly ground pepper.

Meat Brazilian empanadas

Pastel Dough (Massa para Pastel)
Enough for 25 pasteis


1.1 lb (1/2 kg) flour
1/2 tbsp. salt

1 tbsp. lard or butter

1 bbsp. cachaça (you can also use tequila, vodka or any hard alcohol)
1 cup warm chicken broth, approximately
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Mix the flour and salt, then add lard. Add the cachaça to the warm broth, and add to the dough in 1/4 cup quantities, mixing in thoroughly and stopping just when the dough forms a ball. Do not over mix or add too much broth.

Form into a ball, then let rest for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, dough for the empanadas is ready for rolling out, filling and fried as desired.

Ground meat filling

Ingredients

2-3 Tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil
¼ medium yellow onion, small diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound ( 454 g) lean ground beef
Salt to taste (about ¼ to ½ teaspoon)
⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar or fresh juice of ½ lime
2 tablespoons chopped green olives (optional)
2 tablespoon chopped cilantro, parsley or basil
1 cup cream cheese

*Extra ingredient: Canola or vegetable oil enought to deep fry.

Instruction

1. In a medium skillet, heat the oil and sweat the onion over medium heat for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and let cook for about 1 minute, stirring occasionaly (NOTE: The purpose is to cook the onion and garlic, NOT to brown them).

2. Increase heat to medium-high and brown the ground beef, stirring every now and then. Stir in both the salt and pepper, and then the tomato paste. Stir in the vinegar or lime juice. Let ground beef cook, uncovered, for about 5-7 minutes or until cooked throughout, stirring occasionally. Stir in the olives (optional) and the chopped cilantro or parsley. After out of heat, add cream cheese and let cool a bit before filling the pasteis.

3. Using a rolling pin or a pasta maker roll your dough more or less1/10 inches (0,25cm). Be careful because this dough dries very easy. After you dough is rolled place on the top a wet cloth.

4. Place the pastel wraps on preparation surface. Fill each with ½ to 1 Tablespoon of the cooked ground beef mixture and brush the egg white or water around the edges. Overlay another dough on top on the filling and seal edges well, pressing firmly with your fingers.

5. Using a fork, make a pattern over the edges. Heat a heavy-bottom pot to 350 degrees F (about 180 degrees C). If you don't have a thermometer to measure the temperature, dip a small piece of pastel into the heated oil. If you hear a sizzling sound, the oil is ready.

6. Fry the pastel, a few at a time, turning them while frying so that they brown evenly on both sides. The first and second batches will take about 3-4 minutes while the next batches will only take 1-1/2 to 2 minutes to fry because the oil will be hotter. They should be lightly golden and crisp. They will darken further once they are draining on paper towels.Transfer pasteis to baking sheet lined with a double layer of paper towels to absorb any excess oil. Serve hot with hot sauce.

Pork stew with tomatoes, wine and almonds

1 kg pork loin, cut in cubes
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 celery stick, diced
1 cup almonds, cut in half
2 bayleaves
6 ripe tomatoes or one can of tomatoes
3 juniper berries
1 cup red wine
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt & Pepper

First step is to marinate the pork with the wine and the juniper berries. Then in a big casserole, fry the onions, almonds, carrots and celery until golden brown. Add the meat without the wine, cook until is all seared. Combine the tomatoes, let reduce for 15 minutes. Add the wine with the juniper berries and the bayleaves. Cook in low/medium heat for about 1 hour and 20 minutes. Serve with potatoes, polenta or vegetables.

Semifreddo with Hazelnut chocolate cream, cookies and Amaretto

200g whipping cream
70g Mascarpone
70g Condensed milk
50g hazelnut chocolate cream (Nutella or similars)
1/4 cup Amaretto
1 tea spoon cocoa powder 
Your favourite chocolate cookies

In a big bowl, mix the condensed milk , hazelnut chocolate cream with mascarpone (try to heat the mascarpone on microwave, so is not so hard to mix) until is all incorporated. Then add the amaretto.
Using a mixer, whip the cream until is firm. You can test it turning the bowl upside down.
Fold the whipped cream with the mixture, fold very carefully to make it most fluffy as possible and slowly add crushed chocolate cookies.
You can set the semifreddo in espresso cups in the freezer for about two hours. 
Before serving, dust cocoa powder in the top and add a little bit more whipping cream.
It's possible to keep it for six weeks on the freezer.

Creamy tomato sauce with sausages

3 cloves of garlic, minced
200g of sausage, taken out of their casings
1/2 cup of tomato paste
1 cup Mascarpone
1 1/12 cup of red wine
Thyme, about a Tablespoon
Olive oil for frying the onion
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 mascarpone, stirring occasionally, do not allow to boil.
Serve with a hard cheese, recommended Parmesan (Parmigiano Reggiano).

Chicken with oranges and lemons

Super easy dish to put together when you don't have a lot of time but you want to impress anyway! This chicken with oranges and lemons dish is a quick, inexpensive and healthy option. The chicken will turn out citrusy, tender and will melt in your mouth.



1 whole chicken cut in pieces
1/4 cup olive oil
1 lemon, sliced
1 orange, sliced
1 red onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tea spoon of crushed red chilli peppers
10 fresh sage leaves
Salt & Pepper

In a baking dish combine all the ingredients together. Using your hands or a big spoon, mix all the ingredients very well. Place the chicken skin facing up, so you have a tender and moist chicken. Bake in 200C/390F for about 30 minutes or until the chicken is brown. Serve with baked potatoes, rice or anything you like.

Tip: leave the whole dish marinating overnight. The next day the dish will taste much better.

Zucchini curry with coconut milk, lemongrass and ginger

This Zucchini curry is delicious, healthy and vegan. This is a very easy dish that for sure you will impress all your family and friends! Delicious served with barley, quinoa, buckwheat or rice. Perfect for making on the summer, when you find the best tasting zucchini.

3 tbsp coconut oil
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 tbs ginger, chopped
3 kaffir lime leaves
1 lemon grass leaf
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp tumeric
1 tbsp curry paste (you can pick, green/orange or red)
1 can coconut milk
500g / 1lb Zucchini (smaller the zucchini are better they taste, I used baby zucchini)
4 roma tomatoes
1/ cup orange lentils
Red chilli peppers, by your taste
Fresh cilantro
Lime to serve
Peanuts

Heat the oil on a big saucepan over medium heat and fry the ginger, garlic, onion, kaffir leaves and lemon grass leaf for about 2 minutes.

Add two cups of water and the lentils, increase the heat and combine as well the cumin, turmeric, curry paste and the chilli pepper, keep in high heat for another 2 minutes (this process will help to extract the flavours of the kaffir leaves and the lemon grass leaf. Add the tomatoes, coconut milk and cook in medium heat for 10 minutes.

Add the zucchini cut in sizes not bigger than a cherry, the zucchini cooks very fast so after you add the zucchini, close the lid and turn off the pan. Let rest for five minutes, the heat of the curry will cook the zucchini without getting soggy.

To finalise, open the lid add the chopped cilantro and squeeze one lime. Serve with rice, quinoa or anything else you prefer.

For serving, squeeze more lime on the top of the zucchini curry and serve with some peanuts.

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Cherry tomatoes, Zucchini, Almonds and Tarragon sauce

500g 1,1 pound cherry tomatoes (cut in half)
2 garlic cloves (chopped)3 zucchini, chopped
1 cup chopped almonds
60ml 1/4 cup olive oil
60ml 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
Salt & Pepper
Fresh Tarragon

In a baking dish combine all the ingredients. Mix all very well and bake on convection mode (200C/390F) for about 25 minutes. After baked, if you desire a more saucy texture break the tomatoes using a wood spoon. Mix very well with the pasta and serve with good Parmiggiano on top.
This recipe goes very well with Asiago cheese Ravioli. You can find the recipe in this link. <<<Ravioli with Asiago>>>

Ravioli filled Asiago cheese

For the dough:

3 cups 00 flour (cake flour in USA)
3 organic fresh eggs

For the Asiago filling:

1 cup grated Asiago mezzano
1 cup ricotta
Pinch of lack pepper
Pinch on nutmeg
Pinch of salt

Making the Asiago filling:

Mix with a fork the ricotta and the grated Asiago. Season with the salt, pepper and nutmeg. If the filling is dry, add some milk and olive oil.


Making the Pasta:

Pour the flour into a bowl or table, then the eggs in the middle.
Mix with a fork to thoroughly blend the eggs with the flour. Do not add salt!
Knead the dough with your hands until it is completely smooth and consistent. If the dough is too dry, add some water; if it is too sticky, add some flour. Perfect dough should never stick to your fingers, if the dough stick to your fingers it will stick on the pasta machine, and that will be a disaster!
Continue kneading the dough by hand and break it up into little pieces. 

Set the adjustment knob of the machine to number 0, so that the two smooth rollers are fully open. Feed a piece of dough through the rollers while turning the crank clockwise.

Lightly dust both sides of the pasta sheet with flour and fold it in half. Feed the pasta sheet through the smooth rollers several times, until it is long and regular in shape.
Cut ravioli sheets with a ravioli cutter. Using a brush, brush with egg yolk around each ravioli if the dough is not sticking. Place 1 teaspoon filling in the center, close to expelling the air, sealing the edges properly. Make sure the edges is very well stick together, pinch hard as you would pinch a really bad child.
Boil the Asiago ravioli for about three / four minutes and mix with the sauce you like. I suggest to make the sauce for the Asiago Ravioli with cherry tomatoes, zucchini and almonds.
Click in this link for the recipe! <<<CHERRY TOMATOES, ZUCCHINI AND ALMONDS SAUCE>>>>>