Italian Bruschetta

Classic, With Tomatoes and with Peppers

Bruschetta is a very easy recipe which is mainly used as an appetizer! Some days ago we were at a birthday party, and, since dinner was late, me and my friend prepared a couple of them! It took us 10 minutes. I love their simple taste and how easy you can make them!

Today, I propose three simple variations of Bruschetta: Classic, with fresh Tomato and Basil and with baked Peppers.

Also, please note that the classic Italian Bruchetta, it is not prepared with a baguette!

Basic Ingredients:                With Fresh Tomato                  With Baked Peppers

Durum Wheat Bread              2 Tomatoes                                 3 Peppers
2-3 Garlic Gloves                  4-5 leaves of fresh Basil              4-5 leaves of fresh Basil
Salt
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

 

Procedure: 

Step 1: Cut the bread into medium thick slices. Use a grilling pan to toast the bread. Leave it cool off for 2-3 minutes.
Step 2: Prepare the different bruschettas:

Classic Bruschetta

Step 2.1: For the classic bruschetta you need to  use the lightly rub the piece of bread a couple of times with a cut clove of garlic. Drizzle with some good extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with a tiny pinch of salt.

Bruschetta with Fresh Tomatoes and Basil

Bruschetta with Baked Peppers

  



Step 2.2: For the Fresh Tomato and Basil Bruchetta: chop the tomato into small cubes, remove the water and seeds and mix it with some olive oil, salt and finely chopped basil. 
Then lightly rub the piece of bread a couple of times with a cut clove of garlic. Drizzle with some good olive oil and add the prepared tomatoes.




 Step 2.3: Clean and bake three differently colored bell peppers in the oven (alternatively you can also grill them). Once cooked, peal the skin off and cut them into stripes. Finely grate a garlic glove and add it to the peppers. Finally, add the salt, some finely chopped fresh basil and the oil.
Then lightly rub the piece of bread a couple of times with a cut clove of garlic. Drizzle with some good olive oil and add the prepared peppers.




Let me know if you enjoy this recipe or if you have any questions or suggestions.

You can also watch me prepare the recipe here:

With Love,
Sara

Bucatini all'amatriciana Recipe

This is a tasty and easy pasta which has the down side that the ingredients are not so easy to find in every supermarket worldwide. This is why I will list the original and the possible substitutes for these ingredients. Don't worry, It's going to be very tasty ...even if you use the alternatives.

Ingredients:
350 gr (13oz or 3/4 of a pound) of Bucatini Pasta
100 gr (3.5 oz) of Pork Cheek (Jowl Bacon)
400 gr (14 oz) of mature Tomatoes
2 spoons of Pecorino Cheese
Spicy Pepper and Salt to taste
Substitutes:
Bucatini with Spaghetti
Pork Cheek with Bacon
Tomato with 1 Tomato Sauce Can
Pecorino with Parmesan or Strong Cedar



Steps:

1. If you use fresh tomatoes, which I highly recommend because the taste is much better , put them to boil for a couple of minutes. Then peel them off and chop them into big chunks.

2. Cut the bacon or pork cheek into cubes. Put them to brown in a non stick pan. Cook it in low heat until is golden and crunchy. Then set it aside and add the spicy pepper, cool it until soft and then add the tomatoes! Cook for 10 minutes in medium heat. Add salt if needed.

3. Meantime, cook the pasta in abundant boiling salty water. Then drain the water. Add the bacon/pork cheek to the sauce an then add also the pasta to the mixture. Mix them all together for 1-2 minutes in low heat.

4. Transfer the dish into a plate, add the chosen cheese and serve!

Here is also the video where I show how I make it! Enjoy!

Chickpea Crackers

 My daughter is a picky eater. She does not easily eat chickpeas! This is a fun way to have her used to the chickpea taste...and get her involved into helping me to prepare the crackers. They are not as crispy as commercial crackers are, but, if you use cereal flour, they are close! Also, add some sesame seeds for more flavor.

Ingredients:

Chickpea:    1 can
White or Cereal Flour:    1 cup
Parmesan:    4 spoons
Olive Oil :   3 spoons
Salt:    1 small spoon
Dry Yeast:    1 small spoon
Garlic:    Half a glove

Steps:

1. Patiently Peel of the skin of the chickpeas. It may take a while, but, it is worth it.
2. Place the chickpeas, oil and garlic into the blender and mix it until obtaining a creamy paste.
3. Place the obtained mixure in a bowl and add the parmesan salt and and mix it well.
4. Add half of the flour and mix it until obtaining a homogenous non sticky dough. Add more flour if it feels sticky. Once you are done, divide it in five smaller balls and leave it rest in room temperature for 20-30 minutes. Afterwards, it will be softer but it does not raise.
5. On a clean surface, use some of the remaining flour to roll the dough flat. You want it to be thin so that the crackers are crispy once cooked. In this step you may also add sesame seeds to add more flavor.  Use food cutters to cut the crackers into different shapes, or you can cut the flattened dough into squares.
6. Place all in the oven at 200 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Keep eye on them as cooking times may vary. Once golden, they are ready!

The following video gives you more insides on how to make them. You can also see the consistency of the dough. I hope you like them!

 

How to Make Pizza Dough

I learned how to make pizza from a wonderful lady called Bruna! This is the best dish ever! It's simple and tasty! Plus, if you have one or more little ones who can help you prepare it, its even better!

Pizza Dough Ingredients:
Flour about 500 gr/ 1 pound
7 grams of dry yeast (1/4 ounce)
300 ml (1 and 1/3 cup)  water  and milk (half and half)
1-2 small spoon of salt
2 small spoons of sugar
3 spoons of olive oil




Step 1: Mix the milk and hot/ warm water to obtain a warm liquid.
Step 2: Add almost all the flour in a bowl. You will use the rest to adjust the consistency as needed.
Step 3: Dig a hole in the centre of the flour and add to it the salt, sugar, yeast and oil.
Step 4:  Start adding slowly the warm liquid and mixing all together in slow round motion.
Step 5: Keep mixing and adding the liquid. You need to mix it until you obtain an not sticky dough.
Step 6: After mixing it all, keep pressing and mixing the dough for 10 minutes. How to do this step is better explained in the video linked in this page.
Step 7: Cover the dough and live it raise in room temperature for about 2 hours
Step 8: Place the dough in a plain surface and lay it flat.


You are done!
For the pizza we choose to have two traditional ones:

1. Onion and Tuna
So we will use:
1 Small onion
Tomato sauce
200 gr (less than half a pound) of mozzarella for pizza.
One small can of tuna in olive oil
2. Mushrooms and hum
Here we used:
A bunch of dried porcini mushrooms
4-5 shampignon mushrooms
2 big slices of hum
200 gr (less than half a pound) of mozzarella for pizza and a fresh mozarella

To make the pizza you add first the tomato sauce then the cheese and then all the other ingreedients.

Bake for about 20 min in a preheated ventilated oven at  200 degrees (392 Fahrenheit). Note that times may vary depending on your oven and the amount of water that is created by the ingredients.

Cold Pasta Salad (Grillin & Chilin)

This is an easy recipe that we often use in the hot summer days as an alternative to a hot plate of pasta. The original recipe calls for rocket salad, I used basil simply because I have a basil plant in my garden (well balcony ..and there are only two plants in there). Here is what you need:

Ingredients:
Shells pasta = 250 gr / Half pound
Mozzarella = 2 pieces
Cherry Tomatoes = 250 gr / Half pound
Some Fresh basil or rocket salad
Salt = to taste
Olive oil = 3-4 full spoons
Optional: Canned tuna (best if its in olive oil)
Some Black Olives

Step 1: Cook the pasta following the packaging directions. Adjust also the salt.

Step 2: Meantime, cut all the ingredients to make a salad. Add some salt and remove the liquid that is released by the mozzarella and the cherry tomatoes.

Step 3: Drain and rinse the pasta in cold water and mix all together. Add some olive oil. You could also add tuna and/or black olives to the mix. You can serve it straight away or refrigerate for later (6-12 h max).

                               If you like the video recipes best, you can watch the video too:

With Love,
Sara

Porcini Mushrooms Risotto Rice

The original recipe is called Risotto ai funghi porcini!
This is a delicate dish with a beautiful smell. I like to cook it in fall as this is what it reminds me off. The fresh porcini mushrooms are not very easy to find, however, you can easily find them in their dry version and I guarantee it will be an easy good dish for you and your family. For a vegetarian version, you simply cook the rice using boiling water or vegetable stock instead of meat stock.

Risotto with Porcini Mushrooms

Ingredients (serves 4):

Risotto rice: 315gr / 1 cup and a half
Fresh Mushrooms: 200gr / 0.4lbs / 6-8 pieces
Dried Porcini Mushrooms: 30gr / 1 ounce
Onion: 1 small piece
Garlic: 1 clove
Parsley: 1 brunch
Butter: 2 slices / 50 gr/ less than 2 ounces
White Wine: 1dl /  half a cup
Vegetable/Meat Stock: about  1 l / 3-4 cups
Parmisan Cheese: 50gr/ 2 full spoons
Salt/ Pepper/ Olive Oil

Note: You can substitute the above mentioned Mushrooms with 400 gr (equivalent to 14 ounces / 0.8 lbs) of fresh Porcini Mushrooms. Also, Step 3 can be done in parallel with Step 1 and 2.

Step 1: Place the dried porcini mushrooms in a bowl of warm water for at least 10 minutes. Meantime, clean the fresh mushrooms by removing the dirt with a knife and washing very quickly (do not soak the fresh mushrooms in water). Then chop them finely.

Step 2: Place a slice of butter and the slightly pressed garlic in a frying pan, Add the fresh mushrooms and cook them using high heat. Remove the water from the dried porcini mushrooms (now they should be soft to the touch) and chop them finely. Mix them with the fresh mushrooms. Adjust salt and pepper, salt and add the parsley which you must first finely chop. If you decided to use 400 gr of fresh porcini mushrooms, you clean and cook them in the same way but, you do not need to add the dried porcini.

Step 3:  Finely chop the onion and brown it in a pan using some olive oil (you can use butter or a mixture of the two). Add the rice and toast it until golden. Proceed by adding the white wine and, when it evaporates, add one ladle of boiling stock at the time. Stir until it evaporates and repeat until the risotto is cooked.

Step 4: Mix the cooked mushrooms with the risotto some minutes before it has finished cooking. Mix well then turn off the heat and mix the remaining butter and the Parmesan cheese. Cover the rice for 10 minutes then serve.


You can find more details on how I prepare this risotto by watching this video:

If you try to make this recipe, I would love to know how it turns out!
Also, If you have any Italian recipe request let me know!

You can find some tips on how to clean the mushrooms here.
 

Egg Pasta with Salmon and Cream - Tagliolini al salmone

When I was living in Italy, my mother in law used to buy this plate already made and I tell you, I could eat 3 servings of it. This one is one remains one of my favorite pasta dish and moreover it is very easy and quick to make. You can click on the video for more details or just follow the instructions listed bellow.

Difficulty: Easy  Servings: 4 Preparation: 20 min

Ingredients:

    Fresh egg pasta: 250 gr or half a pound
    Smoked Salmon: 150gr or 5 oz
    Single Cream: 250ml or 8.5 oz
    Fresh Parsley: A small bunch
    Butter: A small piece
    Stock cube: Half
    Olive Oil : 2 full spoons
    Salt and Paper: To taste

Procedure:

Step 1: Put the water for the pasta and add the stock cube
Step 2: Chop the onion and cook it until golden
Step 3: After 2-3 minutes add some of the water from the Pasta
Step 4: Chop the salmon  and the parsley
Step 5: Add the salmon. When it becomes white add some water again. Cook until soft. It takes about 5 minutes.
Step 6: Add the cream and the parsley in whichever order you like
Step 7: Add the butter and salt and cook until dense.  It takes about 5 minutes.
Step 8: Add salt to the water and cook the pasta following the directions on the package.
Step 9: Mix the pasta and the sauce. Give it two minutes and serve

Notes:

Alternatives: Tagliatelle or Spaghetti
Use 250 gr (half pound) If the pasta is fresh or
Use 400 gr (0.85 pound) If the pasta is dry.