Tag Archives: black pepper

Vin Cotto Roasted Rainbow Carrots

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I have an undeniable weakness for heirloom varieties of fruits and vegetables. My heartbeat accelerates at the glorious sight of gnarly shaped heritage tomatoes, miniature beets specked with gold and rippled in pink patterns, or baby carrots painted in vivid yellow and purple hues. I could not resist grabbing a few bunches of these gifts of the heart during my last trip at the farmers market. A splash of oil, a gentle coating of apulian vincotto and a scattering of fresh herbs is all that’s needed to complement their natural sweetness.

INGREDIENTS, serves 4

2 bunches of baby rainbow carrots (or orange dutch carrots)

3 tablespoons of Extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons of Vin Cotto * (replace with balsamic vinegar if needed)

salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste

freshly picked thyme and marjoram leaves (or oregano)

1 garlic clove, bashed with back of a knife

HOW TO

1. Preheat your oven to 200 C (390 F)

2. Wash and scrub the carrots, remove the stalks and the leaves. Place carrots in a large bowl and season with oil, vin cot to, salt, pepper, garlic and herbs

3. Place the seasoned carrots onto an oven tray lined with baking paper and roast in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until nicely golden and slightly blistered.

4. Serve warm or cold as a side or as a salad mixed with peppery arugula leaves.

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*From Wikipedia:

“Vincotto (translated as “cooked wine”) is a dark, sweet dense condiment produced artisanally in the Apulia region of southeastern Italy. It is made by the slow cooking and reduction over many hours of non-fermented grape must until it has been reduced to about one fifth of its original volume and the sugars present have caramelized. It can be made from a number of varieties of local red wine grapes includingPrimitivo, Negroamaro and Malvasia Nera, collected after being allowed to wither naturally on the vine for about 30 days.

Vincotto has a sweet flavor, and is not a form of vinegar, though a sweet vinegar version can be produced using a vincotto as a base. This additional product is called a Vinegar of Vincotto, Vincotto Vinegar, or Vincotto balsamic and can be used in the same way as a good mellow Balsamic vinegar.”

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Roasted Cherry Tomatoes and Cannellini Beans Salad

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Have you been looking for a super healthy recipe that combines nutritional virtues with great flavor? Look no further! In the one bowl you have the antioxidant powers of tomatoes, the good, necessary fats of extra-virgin olive oil, the antibacterial boost of garlic and the mood-elevating kick of rosemary. Add to this blissful mix the low-in-fat-high-in-iron, gluten-free, vegan-friendly and utterly delicious cannellini beans and you have granted yourself a beauty treatment for the insides that is sure to show its mighty benefits on the outside too. Whomever said that Italian food is not healthy ought to think again….

INGREDIENTS, serves 4 as a side dish, 2 as a main meal accompanied with bread

600 gr (1.3 lb) of cherry tomatoes (I used mixed heirloom)

4 tablespoon of EVOO

2 tablespoons of white balsamic vinegar (regular balsamic vinegar or verjuice are good substitutes)

A generous handful of mixed fresh herbs (thyme, oregano, rosemary)

Salt, to taste

freshly ground white or black pepper, to taste

1 teaspoon of sugar

1  tin of Cannellini beans, well drained and rinsed (if using dried-and-soaked beans, 450 gr (1 lb) will be more than enough)

HOW TO

1. If using dried beans, start this recipe a day ahead. Soak the beans in cold water overnight. The next day, rinse the beans, place them in a pot well covered in water, throw in some herbs and simmer for 1 hour or until tender. Cool the beans in the cooking liquid, taste for salt and adjust accordingly. Set aside until ready to use.

2. Preheat your oven to 160 C (320 F).

3. Put the washed tomatoes in a large bowl, leave some whole and cut the rest in half. Season with oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, sugar and herbs. Mix well.

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4. Pour the tomato mix onto a large roasting tray lined with baking paper. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until blistered, but still intact. Add the well-drained beans to the tomatoes while that are still warm, taste for seasoning and fix as required.

5. Serve warm as a side dish or accompanied by toasted sourdough for a more substantial meal.

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Mezzi Rigatoni with Smoked Salmon and cherry tomatoes (or, what happens when your husband returns from a fishing trip with 70 tins of smoked salmon…)

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Yes, I actually do happen to have 70 (70!) tins of privately caught, hot smoked Canadian salmon: bear with me this year, I can anticipate this is the first of very many  -let’s say…70!- posts on what to do with smoked salmon… This is what happens when my lovely husband Richard goes on a fishing trip to Canada with his older brothers, catches a salmon the size of a small whale and decides to have it smoked, canned and sent back to Australia. Lucky for me, it tastes divine. The flesh is succulent and pink and its subtle smoky flavour easily turns it into a delectable ingredient that can shine on its own, accompanied by a peppery rocket, cress and lemon salad, or can be used in innumerable dishes, from scrambled eggs, to potato salad or a main meal of mezzi rigatoni (or any short pasta you prefer) with stewed red onion, zucchini and cherry tomatoes. If you don’t happen to be married to an eccentric man who will forage his main ingredient in the Alaskan waters, don’t despair: most supermarkets and delis stock beautiful fillets of smoked Atlantic salmon or ocean trout and all it’s left for you to do it open up the package and flake away!

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INGREDIENTS

1 red onion, sliced

2 small zucchini, cut into rounds

2 garlic cloves, skin on, bashed with the back of a knife

EVOO

2 handfuls of cherry tomatoes, halved

1/4 cup of dry white wine

2×170 g (around 5 oz) tin of smoked salmon in brine or 1×320 gr (around 10 oz) of smoked salmon fillet

salt to taste

fresh oregano leaves for serving

320 gr (10 oz) of mezzi rigatoni or any short pasta you like

HOW TO

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil.

2. In the meantime, stir fry the vegetables in 2-3 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil for 2-3 minutes on medium-high heat. De-glaze the pan with white wine and allow to bubble away for 1-2 minutes or until the alcohol has evaporated.

3. Add the flaked, smoked salmon and the cherry tomatoes to the pan, toss and stir gently , then turn the heat off.

4. When the water comes to a rolling boil, drop in your pasta and cook for 6-7 minutes or until it’s just before a perfect Al Dente.

5. Turn the heat back on under the salmon and vegetable pan, add the strained pasta along with 3-4 tablespoons of pasta cooking water and cook together with the sauce for 1-2 minutes or until well coated. Taste for salt and adjust accordingly, keeping in mind that the smoked salmon is indeed quite sapid.

6. Serve hot with a drizzle of EVOO and fresh oregano leaves.

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Ricotta and Basil Gnocchi with Fresh Tomato Sauce (Gnocchi di Ricotta e Basilico al Pomodoro Fresco)

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My final days in Italy are, sadly, fast approaching. I have spent 6 weeks back home with my family in the company of my Italian folks, I’ve eaten more than I should, drank way too much Italian red wine, bundled myself and my boys in multiple layers of thermal clothing, scarves, hats and coats, played snow ball fights and I even skiied in the Dolomites for the first time in my life… And after such an intense winter time, I now feel an anchoring for summer, for peeling off a few layers of clothing, for walking barefoot and, more to the point, for vine-ripened tomatoes! The kind you ought to handle with care otherwise they burst in your hands, oozing out  their ruby, sweet liquor, their sticky seeds landing inexorably on the front of your freshly laundered white singlet… In 10 days, back in the Northern beaches of Sydney, I will be able to hit the farmers market and select, pick and eventually turn these summer jewels into Italian’s most loved pasta dressing: Passata di Pomodoro, fresh Tomato Sauce. And as I do that, I’m sure I will be missing my Italian family and the coziness of winter…Such is life!

INGREDIENTS (serves 4)

For the Ricotta Gnocchi (not to be confused with Potato Gnocchi)

450 g (2 1/2 cups) full-cream ricotta (using low-fat ricotta won’t work…Live a little!)

2 egg yolks

1/2 teaspoon salt flakes

1 pinch freshly ground white pepper

100–120 (2/3 cups) g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

2/3 cup (50 g) freshly grated parmigiano

5-6 leaves of basil, finely shredded

For the sauce

850 gr (2 lb) of fresh tomatoes (or 1 tin of good quality tinned tomatoes or your own Passata)

1-2 shallots (or 1 medium brown onion), finely chopped

4 tablespoons of Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

1 garlic clove, skin on, bashed with back of a knife

1 small celery stick, finely chopped

salt flakes, to taste

a few yellow celery leaves

a handful of basil leaves

HOW TO

1. Start by making the sauce. Wash the tomatoes, score the top gently with a knife and blanch them in boiling water for 1 minutes. Plunge them  into cold water to allow the skin to come off easily. Peel the tomatoes, chop them roughly and set aside.

2. Heat up the oil in a large, heavy-based frying pan. Stir fry the shallots, celery and the garlic on medium heat for 1-2 minutes or until the shallots turn translucent and slightly golden and the garlic smells fragrant. Drop in the chopped tomatoes (or tinned tomatoes, if using. Or, if you’ve been amazingly good, your own Passata…), season with salt and cook on medium-low heat for 15-20 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the celery and basil leaves. Cover with a lid and set aside.

3. In the meantime, make the gnocchi. Discard any excess liquid from the ricotta, then put it in a large mixing bowl with the egg yolks, salt and pepper. Add the flour and work with floured hands or a wooden spoon until you have a smooth, soft dough – it should be pliable, a little sticky but not too wet. Don’t be tempted to add lots of flour to make it easier to work the dough as the resulting gnocchi will almost certainly be dense and doughy. The secret to soft and pillowy gnocchi is to go easy with flour, use just enough to make the dough come together.

4. Flour your hands and cooking bench generously and divide the dough into 6 pieces. Take 1 piece, sprinkle it with flour and roll it with your hands to form a log. Cut the log into small rectangles and set them aside on a floured wooden board. Repeat with the remaining dough.

5. Turn the heat back on under the tomato sauce frying pan (on low). Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Drop the gnocchi, in two or three batches, into the pan of boiling water and stir gently.   Cook for 1–2 minutes or until they come up to the surface, then fish them out with a slotted spoon and drop them straight into the pan with the tomato sauce. Repeat until all the gnocchi are cooked.

6. Turn off the heat. Serve as it is or with freshly torn basil leaves and a good grating of Parmigiano.

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Roasted Carrot and Kale Chips Salad

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If you have not heard yet of ‘kale chips’, then, quite frankly, where have you been? The ‘blogsphere’ has gone bonkers over this new healthy fad, and if it weren’t for the fact that I love -LOVE-  kale, I probably would have never had a go at making kale chips just to prove to myself I don’t follow the latest food trends…But the temptation was too high and, here I am, tail between my legs and sticky fingers in my mouth ready to be licked clean, as I gulp down another crunchy mouthful of this new foodie delight. The benefits of keel consumption are beyond good. Not only you will boost your immune system, give your blood a good clean and your insides a beauty treatments, your skin will get a rosy glow, your hair will shine and your DNA will be encouraged to repair damaged cells and  block the growth of cancer cells. So, add this little magic green to your shopping list, please! As much as kale chips have become one of my favorite nibbles to simply serve with a drink before dinner, I have also learnt that they marry happily with roasted root vegetables. Choose you favorite, although I will admit I can’t go past the beauty of the Dutch carrot; its block orange tone and mellow sweetness combined with the dark green and savoury robustness of kale turns this salad into a joy for the eyes, as well as the palate.

Ingredients for 4 people

10-12 medium carrots or 20 baby carrots

6-8 kale leaves, stalk removed, chopped

4-5 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons of white balsamic vinegar (if unavailable, use white wine vinegar mixed with 1 teaspoon of sugar)

1-2 good pinches of salt

freshly gourd white pepper (to taste)

How to

1. Pre-heat your oven to 180 C, 390 F

2. Scrub the carrots clean with a pairing knife or a vegetable peeler. Cut them in half lengthways, place them in a large mixing bowl and season them with the vinegar.

3. Add the chopped kale to the bowl and season with oil, salt and pepper.

4. Put the vegetables onto an oven tray lined with baking paper and bake for 35-40 minutes or until the carrots are soft and slightly sunburnt and the kale is crispy.

Serve as a side dish, with cheese  or however you prefer.

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Basil-Infused EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)

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This may well be the easiest recipe ever.

Grab some good quality EVOO, a generous handful of fresh basil, and there’s your green-hued bottle of goodness ready for you.

To be  just a tad more specific:

In a large pot, bring 500 ml (1 pint, 2 cups) of EVOO and 1 cup of loosely packed basil leaves to a simmer. Immediately turn the heat off and allow to cool in the pot for 30 minutes.

Process the oil and leaves in a blender then strain the precious and viscous liquid through a sieve.

Using a funnel, pour the strained, basil-infused oil into a glass bottle you have previously washed and dried.

I chose to use an old American whiskey bottle with a cork lid we had saved.

A bottle with an attitude, some would say!

This powerfully scented concoction will be very useful as a salad dressing mixed with lemon juice and salt, or simply drizzled on top of your favorite pasta or bruschetta.

Ode to Simplicity!

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Rigatoni with Ocean Trout, Broad beans and Mint

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Whoever said that pasta is fattening ought to look at this and think again…

This dish could not be healthier if it tried… concentrated onto one plate you have the goodness of vibrant green broad beans, the Omega 3 provided by a flaky, succulent ocean trout fillet, the zing of lemon zest, the fragrance of freshly chopped mint and chives, all married with al dente cooked rigatoni, tossed with EVOO.

I dare any health freak with a fear of carbohydrates, to say that this is not good for you….

It s also spectacularly easy to make, this alone is a good thing.

INGREDIENTS FOR TWO PEOPLE

1 150 gr (1/3 pound) fillet of boneless and skinless ocean trout

180 gr (6.5 oz) of short pasta

The zest of 1 lemon

a handful of chopped up mint and chives

freshly ground black pepper

4 tablespoons of EVOO

Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil.

In the meantime, cook your fish.

You can either steam it of pan fry it. Either way, keep it a little under as, when you toss it with the cooked pasta, the residual heat will cook it further.

When you water is boiling, drop a cup of podded broad beans and blanch for 1 minute. Drain and rinse under cold water to arrest the cooking process.

Drop your pasta in the same *boiling water and cook until al dente.

While the pasta is cooking, shell (take the skin off) your cooked broad beans, and mix them in a large bowl with the flaked up trout, the herbs, the oil and salt to taste.

Drain the pasta and reserve 1/4 of a cup of cooking liquor.

Toss the pasta with the other ingredients and mix well. If it’s looking to dry, add a tablespoon or two of pasta water. Sprinkle with lemon zest and freshly ground pepper.

Serve hot, warm or at room temperature as a nice pasta salad.

* Boiling your pasta in the same pot you have cooked your vegetables is a cooking technique often employed in Italy. The pasta will retain the goodness and the flavor of your greens and you don’t have to wash two pots. It’s a win-win!

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An Italian Roast Dinner!

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Here’s the ingredients:

Fine meat, great wine, fun friends!

To be just a little more specific, here is the core ingredient:

* WARNING*: the following image is rated EXMO (Extreme Meat-lovers Only) and it’s not suitable for Vegans and Vegetarians alike…

When it comes to roast dinners, Italians favor simplicity.

What could be better than grilled-to-perfection T-bone (what we call Fiorentina) or Rib-eye, crunchy roast potatoes, a green salad and some Barossa Valley shiraz?

My Top Tips on Meat:

1.

Forget about lean meat for once. Indulge and enjoy the marbling of fat throughout your rib-eye or T-bone knowing that as it roasts, the fat will render out thus basting the meat, keeping it succulent and juicy, and also  creating that irresistible, savory ,charcoaley crust.

2.

Take the meat out of the fridge 20 minutes before cooking.

3.

Broil on a white-hot griddle pan or bbq

4.

Don’t keep turning it. Only flip once.

5.

Allow to rest for half its cooking time before you carve.

In our house, we like to rub the meat with freshly ground white peppercorns and salt flakes, but you can be even more adventurous and make a rub with ground fennel seeds and black pepper, or cayenne pepper and cumin, the combinations are endless and almost always great.

We like our steak on the rare side of medium-rare (well, in fact I like it extremely rare, but Richard is a little more conservative and I’m happy to compromise!). To achieve our desired result, we tend to grill a 2 cm (1 inch) thick steak for approximately 4 minutes on one side and 3 minutes on the other and we rest it for about 4 minutes.




If you like it on the medium side of medium-rare, grill for 5 and 5 and rest for, 4 to 5 minutes.

If you like it medium, 6 and 4,  plus 5 minutes resting time should do the trick.

If you like it well-done, well…I don’t know what to say to you… I don’t think I have ever cooked a well-done steak in my life!

In my world, a succulent steak’s best buddy has to be crunchy potatoes. And plenty, please!

This is my favorite way to pan fry  them to a crisp crust and a soft inside.

A green salad to freshen up the palate is in order too.

The other day I picked some rocket (arugula) leaves and peas out of my garden, added some store-bought asparagus, and coated the glistening green goodies with EVOO, lemon juice and shredded mint.


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lunch is ready! Who’s bringing the wine?

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Roasted Pumpkin, Spinach and Pecorino Salad

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October is that time of the year when northern and southern hemisphere seem to share seasonal similarities.

The temperature is still quite cool and crisp in Sydney, and although the fruit and vegetable stalls are starting to show the first crops of  spring peas, fava beans and mangoes, the wintry sturdiness of spinach and pumpkin is still abundant and inviting.

These ingredients, together with shavings of pecorino cheese, a light lemon and EVOO dressing and a slice of sourdough, constitute the ideal transitional-season salad.

Ingredients for 4 people:

800 gr (1.7 lb) of Japanese pumpkin, cut in slices (skin on)

A few sprigs of rosemary

A handful of sage leaves

3 garlic cloves, skin on

3 or 4 tablespoons of EVOO

200 gr (1/3 cup)  of Pecorino cheese shavings

a handful of fresh pumpkin seeds (optional)

a packet of baby spinach

salt and pepper to taste

How to

Line an oven tray with baking paper, arrange the pumpkin slices in one layer, the pumpkin seeds, and season with the herbs, oil, garlic and salt. Bake at 200 Celsius (395 Farenheit) for 45 minutes.

Wash and dry your baby spinach, dress it with two tablespoons of EVOO, 1 table-spoon of lemon juice and coarse salt.

Arrange the leaves onto a platter, scatter your toasted pumpkin seeds, your pumpkin slices and the pecorino shavings and grind some fresh black peppercorn on top.

Enjoy with toasted Ciabatta for added pleasure…

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Sugo d’agnello (Slow-cooked Lamb and Tomato Sauce)

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My maternal Nonna wasn’t the most sophisticated cook. She would always make the same two or three dishes, but, to this day, my siblings, my cousins and I are  yet to taste anything as comforting and delicious as her sugo di pomodoro, polenta con salsiccia and sugo d’agnello. It was always fascinating to observe her in the kitchen, effortlessly turning everyday, humble ingredients into delightful feasts. She never once measured anything, her only tools were her hands and her eyes. And her exquisite taste buds! For your sake, I have attempted  to provide measurements, but feel free to adjust to your liking, the way Nonna always did.

INGREDIENTS, serves 4

4 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 garlic cloves

2 small onion or French shallots, peeled and left whole

1/4  pepper (capiscum)

1 celery stick

1/2 cup of good red wine

1 table spoon of tomato paste (concentrate)

2 tins of good quality can tomatoes or home-made passata

1 rosemary or thyme sprig

a few origano leaves

500 gr (16 oz) of fresh tagliatelle or tagliolini

How to

1. Heat up the oil in a sauce pan; with the back of your knife, bash the garlic cloves in their skin and add them to the hot oil along with a few large chunks of yellow or red pepper (capsicum), the peeled French shallots (or onion), the celery stalk and rosemary sprigs.

2. When the vegetables have taken a bit a colour, brown a few large pieces of shoulder or shank of lamb. De-glaze the pan with a glass of red wine and cook on a high flame until the alcohol has eveporated.

3. Add the tinned tomatoes (home-made would be my Nonna’s preference, but feel free to use good quality tinned ones, like Mutti or Cirio). Turn the heat right down and cook slowly and covered with a mesh lid for 3 to 4 hours. After that time you can discard the garlic, the peppers and the celery stalks. Turn the heat up and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened. Season with salt and white pepper, to your liking.

Serve generously with home-made tagliolini (pictured below) or any pasta you prefer.

Buon Appetito!

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