Plaice fillets with almonds

A nutritious dish easy to prepare! 

PREPARATION 

2 fillets of plaice

50 grams of shelled almonds, sliced

Juice of ½ lemon

Slices of lime

Extra virgin olive oil

half a glass of water

Sage, salt

In a pan pour a round of olive oil and bring to medium heat. Now put the slices of plaice by adding a few leaves of sage and salt. Let brown well on both sides. Then pour the lemon juice diluted with water and continue for 10 minutes (depending on thickness of fillet).

Just before end of cooking in a skillet, toast the almonds.

Serve the dish now decorated with toasted almonds, sliced lime and a dribble of raw extravirgin olive oil.

Useful information

Ricotta cream with raspberries and strawberries

With this dessert your guests will be surprised because it is tasty, everyone likes and is easy to prepare!  

I did choose local ricotta cheese

The ingredients are: 

500 gr fresh ricotta

250 grams of raspberries

150 gr of strawberries

Juice of ½ lemon

2 tablespoons brown sugar

50 grams of shelled almonds, sliced

Acgua, a few drops 

Remove the ricotta from the box and turn it into a colander. Cover with a cloth napkin and use a weight so that all the whey get out. Let stand a thirty minutes. After that we turn in a bowl and working it out with the mixer until we get a composed cream. Then put it in the refrigerator, covered with foil, for 30 minutes. 

Meanwhile, dice the strawberries, leave the raspberries as a whole. Pour the strawberries and half the raspberries in a bowl, add sugar and lemon juice. Stir and let stand. 

In a small pan, toast the almonds a few minutes and remove from fire. In the same pan over high heat pour a few drops of water, and the mixture of strawberries and raspberries. Cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. 

Now we can proceed to serve the dessert. I chose glass bowls, pour the ricotta cream first, then the compound, a few raspberries for decoration and some sliced almonds. 

As you like you can add some Grand Marnier!

Fish lasagna

PREPARATION

For how to make lasagna and bechamel please see the previous recipe.

Ingredients for this delicious dish are:

3 sole fillets and 2 of pangasius
Extra virgin olive oil
Tomato puree
1 mozzarella
1 clove of garlic
2 dl white wine from the kitchen
50 g sliced ​​almonds shelled
1 small tub of creme fraiche
Sage, basil, thyme, parsley, salt and pepper.

Spice fish fillets, cut the mozzarella into small cubes.
In a small frying pan toast the almonds.
Heat oven to 180 degrees.

In a nonstick pan with the bottom over medium heat to bring a little 'olive oil. Saute the garlic for a few minutes. Raise the heat to maximum pour the white wine. Evaporate half. Then cook the fillets on both sides until they are golden brown. now add the creme fraiche and a bit 'of the past. Turn twice more, remove from heat and mash.

The layers of lasagna prepare them this way: bechamel-lasagna-cheese-almonds-fish-bechamel. The last layer is covered with bechamel alone. Bake in oven for 30 minutes. Bon appetit!

Homemade lasagna with meat ragout

PREPARATION

To see how to make lasagna pls see previous recipe.

Other ingredients are:

1 diced mozzarella
Grated Parmesan cheese.

The ingredients that I used for the meat ragout

500 g ground beef
600 g of tomato puree
2 dl of white wine for cooking
1 clove of garlic
1 medium onion, chopped
2 sprigs of parsley
Extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon of sugar
Prepared spices for meat (rosemary, oregano, bay leaf, thyme, salt, pepper)

Sauté for a few minutes the garlic and onion in a little extra virgin olive oil. When it is golden brown, pour the meat, the other spices and white wine. Cook over high heat, stirring occasionally. Should it becomes dry add a little 'of water. When the color of the meat is well browned, add the tomato puree, chopped parsley and a teaspoon of sugar. Cook for at least one hour.

For the bechamel I used:

50g butter
100 grams of flour
A sprinkle of nutmeg
7 cups of milk

Cliffs butter in a pan. Add with a retina sifted flour stirring constantly. Be careful not to fire too high. Finished flour, pour in the milk and nutmeg always turning until the milk is very thick. Remove from the heat!

The layers should be prepared in this way: bechamel-leaves of lasagna-bechamel-ragout-mozzarella-parmesan-bechamel.

How to do fresh pasta

The preparation of the pasta was always used, even by my grandmother who then passed over the tradition to my mom and then to their children.

'It is common practice but also for a simple reason to use the pastry: the roughness of the wood is better to work the dough: remember to flour always to keep it from sticking.
The ingredients are then. 600 grams of 00 flour, 6 eggs, a round of salt, lukewarm water

Sift the flour and make a mound on work surface. Form a recess in the center and break eggs (kept at ambient temperature). Start with your fingertips to work the eggs with the flour still mixing the flour from the outside. In the case proves hard add more warm water until it will result compact.

Then wrap the dough in a damp cloth and let rest for at least 30-40 minutes in a quiet place. Now the dough is very elastic and we can proceed to work with the pasta machine. Cut into pieces of about 80-100 g. Start working from the maximum aperture (0) by passing it in 3-4 turns. Then gradually decreasing thickness up to number 6. Place the sheets on kitchen towels and flour both sides leaving to dry for another hour.

Cut with a knife sheets for lasagna.

Pizza with buffalo mozzarella

INGREDIENTS for this tasty pizza

500 gr. 00 flour
25 g of fresh yeast
200 gr. tomato sauce
1 Galbani mozzarella
1 buffalo mozzarella
Parmigiano reggiano cheese
Extra virgin olive oil
oregano
1 clove of garlic
Lukewarm water
A teaspoon of sugar
2 teaspoons of salt

In a bowl, pour the tomato sauce, a sprinkling of oregano, a teaspoon of salt  and sugar, a clove of garlic, cut into slices. Mix thoroughly and let stand.


Dissolve the fresh yeast in warm water. Add it to the flour. Add a pinch of salt, a dribble of olive oil and enough water just to get it smooth and firmand work for at least 10 minutes. After that we let it rise for several hours. It is said that the more rises the more it's digestible. I leave to rise at least four hours in a plastic bowl covered with a towel. Meanwhile, cut the mozzarella into cubes but the Galbani only because we need the whole. Dry well with paper towels. When we decide to prepare the pizza, pour the pan and with some butter and heat the oven to 180 degrees! turn the dough onto working surface and roll with a rolling pin in the shape of the pan about 1 inch high! To help you you can even work it with a rolling pin directly into the pan. Now we begin to add the ingredients in this way: Pour olive oil around a coil. Then the tomato sauce, mozzarella cubes and a good sprinkling of parmesan. Bake in oven, in the middle, for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and set the buffalo in the middle of the pan. Bring to the end of cooking for another 15 minutes making sure the bottom of the pizza is very crispy. Then cut four pieces each with an angle of buffalo or use more 'buffaloes as you prefere.

Morsels of fried mozzarella, parmesan and ham

This rich and delicious appetizer I made it yesterday for dinner. My friends are now accustomed that if I invite them to dinner, there's always something new to savor. My goal of course is always having satisfied guests:)

The breaded and fried mozzarella is tasty and everyone likes it. I've made the morsels melt more 'than usual and quickly jumped in extra virgin olive oil  ​​using bread crumbs made at the minute. However, they are many variations of preparation. To the slivers of parmesan cheese I added honey and balsamic glaze as well because, in addition to the vitamins in the cheese those of the honey are added. As ham I chosed sliced ​​cup.

So, as regards mozzarella morsels, dry them well with kitchen paper, then pass them in beaten egg then in breadcrumbs. In this dish, I did not use the flour.

Bring to high heat the oil in a nonstick pan and cook the morsels turning often. When they are golden brown remove them and let them dry on paper towels. After that decorate the dish to your liking, or follow the example in the picture.

Good Sunday to all)

Fried smoked chees with cayenne pepper

DELICIOUS AND EASY TO PREPARE

This smoked cheese brought it to me by my mother it's very tasty and good as it's a local from Marche. Since my father died she now lives there alone and obviously she can't consume more then she needs. I really like cheese, fried or even as a fondue. When you live in a country like Switzerland this foodstuff is part of the main daily specials. 

As I prepared the dish! A slice of smoked cheese with a thickness of one centimeter. 2 pears, pomegranate seeds, 1 peeled orange, 1 teaspoon of honey, cayenne pepper, a few leaves of fresh mint.

Fry in a nonstick pan the smoked cheese without adding oil, nor butter until it forms a crust that is crispy outside. Turn it 2-3 times with a plastic spatula and pour into a dish.

But first we have to cut the pears in half, rattle and cook in just enough water to cover them for 10 minutes without adding sugar. Meanwhile, peel the orange and pomegranate.

The Pomegranate is a well known and popular medicinal plant from edible fruits. For anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anticarcinogenic Pomegranate has been chosen as the symbol of medicine at the Millennium Festival of Medicine.

The smoked cheese is cooked  turn it into a dish  and proceed with decoration adding a sprinkle of cayenne pepper and a teaspoon of honey. Serve immediately.

Scottona slices on a red wine sauce

A TASTY DISH :)

The Scottona is a young female cow that has never been pregnant and aged 15/16 mothi and provides an excellent tender meat. The meat is recognized by the small infiltration of fat in the muscle mass.

Make sure when you buy the meat, that the slices are fresh and have within them the veins of fat so you are sure that it is very soft! I chose the long cooking time (one hour) so that the flavor of the meat with red wine sauce is unique and I used a pan of 23cmx10cm. So the ingredients are:

8 slices (about 600 grams),
800 g of potatoes
1 liter of groundnut oil
2 cloves of garlic,
1 sprig of rosemary,
1 onion,
1 stalk of celery,
3 cloves
7 dl of red wine for kitchen (I chose, however, a Nero d'Avola)
Extra virgin olive oil!
Water, salt, pepper!

Chop onion and celery and peel the garlic. Pour oil around the pan and bring to medium heat. Then fry the garlic and onion for a few minutes. Remove from heat and add now, apart from the meat, the other ingredients. Then boil for five minutes. now add the slices and cover the pan with the lid. Lower the heat and check some time.

Meanwhile, wash and cut the potatoes into strips as in the photo, which are fried in peanut oil for 25 minutes.

Various appetizers

Coming soon! I'll introduce a photographed sequence step by step! 
Some appetizers are quick and easy to prepare and with a bit of imagination we will get amazing results for our guests!

Here I simply used the a roll of puff pastry rectangle (honestly I have not yet familiar to prepare it fresh) that I cut into strips of 3 cm. Then I turned around two fingers, then laid on a work surface with the opening round in the middle, engraved 6 cuts in the edge like the crown of the King. Then I cooked in the oven heated to 180 degrees for 40 minutes. And finally, once removed from the oven and still hot I added on each piece a slice of tuscan lard(collonata).

Another appetizer fast and easy to prepare are the Omelettes that can be prepared in several ways. I simply used: 5 eggs, 50 grams of butter, chopped parsley, a pinch of salt, Parmesan cheese, 50 grams of ham and 50 grams of raw San Daniele. Pour the eggs into a bowl and whip the minimum possible so they can't blend completely. In a nonstick pan, melt butter and then pour the mixture evenly (should be enough for 3 Omelettes). With the plastic scoop loose edges and move the pan back and forward. After a few minutes, take a plate which has been buttered and  in size of the internal dimension of the pan. Place it upside down and placing one hand on the plate, turn the pan so that the compound ends up in the pot. Then turn the part of the raw compound in the pan continuing with the procedure before. Take two more turns and then pour on a half of the Omelette the ham, the San Daniele and Parmesan cheese and fold in two halfs. Continue to move the pan for a few minutes and then put the omelet onto a plate.


                                                       

Rice cake / Arancini / Easter

This recipe is a specialty of the Basilicata region and was already prepared from my mother since she was a young girl. Once cooked you can eat it for five days without problems.

The ingredients are simple: 300 gr flour 00, 200 grams of rice for risotto, 5 eggs, 50 gr of Pecorino and 50 gr of Parmesan cheese, 1 clove garlic, extra virgin olive oil, parsley, water, salt and pepper.

Mix the flour with 2 eggs, water, a trickle of olive oil, salt, for 10 minutes, then spread it evenly with a rolling pin until finely as the cake and set aside. Afterwards you cook the rice in boiling water until cooked and let cool.

Once cooled, add 2 eggs and cheese and mix it in a bowl. After that, on a board, take the dough and lay the rice on one half covering the other. Be sure to close the edges. On the surface brush the egg yolk and bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes



These arancini I have prepared for Easter. They are also easy to prepare and beautiful crispy :) I've baked them in the oven.

The ingredients are: 250 grams of rice for risotto, 1 mozzarella into cubes, 100 grams of peas, 2 egg yolks, 80 g of cooked ham, 2 chopped parsley, 50 g of Parmesan and pecorino cheese, 100 gr of breadcrumbs and tomatoes.

Boil the rice, peas and leave to cool. Then add egg yolks, parsley, ham, peas and cheese. With his hands formed of balls and stuffed with a tomato and a cube of mozzarella, then mash them in bread crumbs. Bake in oven for 20 minutes.

Enjoy your meal and have a great weekend!

Stuffed zucchini and tomatoes in the oven

This dish I made it is pure vegetable. For those of you who can't eat tomatoes
I suggest caramelized fennel insted.

INGREDIENTS
4 Zucchini
4 big tomatoes ( I used the so called ox heart tomatoes. They have a delicious pulp)
1 Buffalo mozzarella
1 medium eggplant
Oregano
2 gloves of garlic
Half a chopped onion
2 stems of choped parsley
Olive oil extravirgin
Pecorino cheese
salt, pepper!

Chop one zucchini and the eggplant. Cut in half the others and with a spoon remove the interior. Cut the tomatoes into wheels and the mozzarella into cubes. 

In a frying pan pour some oil 'oil and bring to medium heat. Saute garlic and onion then add the chopped vegetables. Salt and pepper and cook for 15 minutes.

Heat oven to 180 degrees.

In the meantime, take the baking dish, pour a dribble of oil and place the tomatoes with a pinch of salt and oregano.

Now the vegetables should be cooked. Remove from pan and fill the zucchini halves. Finally add the diced mozzarella and finish with a sprinkling of pecorino.

Use another baking dish and put the zucchini in. Now cook the zucchini and tomatoes in the oven for 30 minutes.
Enjoy your meal:)

Easter day part I

We spent Easter with our family too! Since I’m living in Ticino and my brothers and nephews at Zurich we don’t see us often so we had a great day even if the weather had turned cold with a strong wind!

I started preparing appetizers already the day before as well as the potato salad. At the left you see I have prepared fresh pasta at the early Easter morning!. As sauces I did cook
one with pork rind and one with veal chops.

Then I prepared some appetizers as you can see here such as: tuna mousse, salmon mousse,  vegetable mousse, sticks with cherry tomatoes and mozzarella. For the decoration I chose the pomegranate cause it’s color is giving a nice contrast, walnuts and balsamic glaze.

Fortunately the rain stopped in the early morning so I could lit a fire outside to make nice grilled pork ribs  and homegrown sausages. The ribs were already in the brine the day before cause I left them in white wine all night long to soften. Then I removed them and added garlic, rosemary, sage, mustard and pepper. For the potato salad which I prepared the day before, the mayonnaise is homemade with: 1 egg yolk 1 teaspoon of sugar, two teaspoons mustard, 1 tablespoon of white vinegar, lemon, fresh ricotta. In a pan fry some bacon, chopped chives and mix all together with the potatoes.

The dessert I’ll publish another time. Have a nice day!