Fritters with Apples - Dessert

Italian Food.

This is another traditional Italian recipe that is typical prepared in occasion of Carnival: it is easy to realize and as main ingredients you need only flour, sugar, eggs and the type of apples called Renetta or Stark that are sweet and floury. This fritters are delicious and prepared in all region of Italy in particular in Venezia where there are two different recipes of fritters of apple: one is this presented below, another one is that in which apples is cut as washers, covered with a liquid batter and fry. They are both delicious!

INGREDIENTS (for 4 – 6 people):
400 g of Flour
5 Tablespoons of Sugar
Spout
1 Grated lemon peel
16 g of Yeast for sweet
2 Eggs
300 ml of Water
5 Apples
Icing sugar
Extra virgin olive oil for fry

PREPARATION TIME: 1hour and 15 minutes

COOKING TIME: 20 minutes

WINE: Malvasia

PREPARATION
Mix in a bowl the flour, the sugar, the grated lemon peel, some spout and the yeast
Fritters with Apples
then add the eggs and the water
Fritters with Apples
and knead with a tablespoon in order to obtain a batter not much liquid now let the batter stand for 1 hour.
Fritters with Apples
After this time clean, peel and cut in cubes the apples, add them to the batter and mix.
Fritters with Apples
Preheat the extra virgin olive oil in a frying pan, place in it with a tablespoon some batter and fry it.
Fritters with Apples
When the fritters become golden remove them from the oil
Fritters with Apples
and place them over a sheet of kitchen paper to remove the excess of oil. Sprinkle the fritters with some icing sugar and serve them.
This is the result:
Fritters with Apples

BUON APPETITO!

Carrots with Cream - Antipasto

Italian Food.

The main ingredients used to prepare this delicious Italian appetizer are carrots, cream and speck that are ingredients with opposite taste: the sweet taste of carrots and the spicy taste of speck join by the cream. The best way to cook carrots with cream is on a low flame so the different flavours mix each other, this Italian appetizer can be accompanied with a dry white wine like Grechetto dell’Umbria that is ideal with the sweet taste of this appetizer.

INGREDIENTS (for 4 people):
500 g of Carrots
125 ml of Cream
40 g of Speck in cubes
40 g of Butter
Salt
Black pepper

PREPARATION TIME: 10 minutes

COOKING TIME: 25 – 30 minutes

WINE: Grechetto dell’ Umbria (White Wine)

PREPARATION
Clean, peel and cut the carrots in slices. Let the butter melt in a pan, add the carrots and let them brown on a low flame for about 10 minutes
Carrots with Cream
then add the speck, sprinkle with salt and black pepper,
Carrots with Cream
add the cream
Carrots with Cream
and continue to cook for other 10 – 15 minutes until the carrots become tender.
Carrots with Cream
Serve hot. This is the result:

Carrots with Cream

BUON APPETITO!

Tomato Risotto - Primo

Italian Food.

It is a simple risotto prepared with fresh tomatoes cut in cubes and seasoned with some dry or fresh basil. When you want to cook something with rice easy but delicious this is the ideal Italian recipe. The best result is obtain if you prepare this risotto using: a vegetables broth obtained boiling the vegetables in salted water, sweet cherry tomatoes or san marzano tomatoes typically used to prepare tomato sauce and the type of rice called Arborio that is ideal for excellent risotto.

INGREDIENTS (for 4 people):
320 g of Rice Arborio
1 Onion
1 Carrot
1 Celery
1 Potato
150 g of Tomatoes in cubes
Some basil
3 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Some Parmesan

PREPARATION TIME: 20 minutes

COOKING TIME: 20 minutes

WINE: Barbera Doc (Red Wine)

PREPARATION
Start with preparing the broth: place in a pan the water, the big pieces of half onion, the celery, the carrot, the potato, salt and let the water boils for about 10 minutes.
Tomato Risotto
Now prepare the risotto: cut in slices the other half of onion, place them in a pan with the extra virgin olive oil and let them golden for 5 minutes
Tomato Risotto
then add the tomato and cook for other 5 minutes.
Tomato Risotto
Place in the pan the rice and let it roast for 3 – 4 minutes,
Tomato Risotto
add the white wine and when it is evaporated begin to add one ladle of hot broth stirring until it is absorbed;
Tomato Risotto
continue in this way, adding ladles of hot broth, for about 15 - 18 minutes. During the preparation of risotto continue to let boil the broth. When the rice result slightly firm to the teeth means that it is ready, serve hot sprinkled with some Parmesan.
This is the result:
Tomato Risotto

BUON APPETITO!

Patty-cake of Zucchini - Secondo

Italian Food.

This patty-cake of zucchini is prepared according to the Tuscan cooking: the main ingredients used are eggs, zucchini, Parmesan and the Tuscan Pecorino that is a delicious cheese of medium seasoning with a spicy taste, for these characteristics the Tuscan Pecorino is ideal together with the sweet taste of zucchini. For a good preparation of this Italian recipes it is important the cooking of zucchini: the zucchini should be result a bit dry in order to obtain a more homogenous mixture when you add the eggs, the Italian cheese and the breadcrumbs. This Italian recipe can be served as a vegetarian second course or also in small pieces as a spicy appetizer.

INGREDIENTS (for 6 – 8 people):
1 Kg of Zucchini
3 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
Some basil
Some parsley
1 Clove of garlic
4 Eggs
40 g of Tuscan Pecorino
40 g of Parmesan
4 Tablespoons of breadcrumbs
20 g of Butter
Salt
Black pepper

PREPARATION TIME: 15 minutes

COOKING TIME: 30 – 40 minutes

WINE: Colli di Conegliano Bianco Doc (White Wine)

PREPARATION
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Preheat the extra virgin olive oil in a pan, clean the zucchini, cut them in slices and add them to the pan together with the chopped parsley, the clove of garlic and the chopped basil;
Pie of Zucchini
cook for about 5 minutes then sprinkle with salt and black pepper and continue to cook on a low flame covered for other 5 – 10 minutes.
Pie of Zucchini
When the zucchini are ready place them in a bowl and let them cold in the mean time place a sheet of baking paper on the bottom of a baking pan of 20 – 24 cm of diameter. When the zucchini are cold add the Parmesan, the Tuscan Pecorino,

Pie of Zucchini
the eggs and the breadcrumbs,
Pie of Zucchini
mix all together and pour the mixture in the pan.

Pie of Zucchini
Sprinkle with some other breadcrumbs and small pieces of butter.

Pie of Zucchini
Bake until the surface becomes golden.
This is the result:
Pie of Zucchini

BUON APPETITO!

Lamb in Fricassee - Secondo

Italian Food.

The lamb is the main ingredient of the Italian recipes of the Easter lunch indeed each region in Italy has its own traditional recipe: here I show you the traditional Italian recipe with which lamb is prepared in Liguria, in this delicious recipe the lamb is accompanied with the artichokes and the eggs. It is an easy recipe to prepare: the lamb is firstly brown in a pan with extra virgin olive oil then you add the artichokes and cook for about 30 minutes, when the cooking is end pour on the lamb and the artichokes a mixture of eggs and juice lemon with some parsley and marjoram, the result is excellent and in this way the meat lamb remains tender!

INGREDIENTS (for 4 – 6 people):
1 Kg of Lamb cut in pieces
6 Artichokes
3 Lemons
2 Eggs
1 / 2 Glass of White Wine
1 Clove of garlic
5 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Black Pepper
Parsley
Marjoram

PREPARATION TIME: 30 minutes

COOKING TIME: 30 – 40 minutes

WINE: Rossese di Dolceacqua (Red Wine)

PREPARATION
Clean the artichokes, remove the hardest external leafs, the stalk and the head. Cut them in half remove the internal spiny part and cut each half in three parts and place them in a bowl with water and some lemon juice in order to not blacken the artichokes. Preheat the extra virgin olive oil in a pan, place in it the garlic,

Lamb in Fricassee
let them brown and then remove them. Place in the oil the pieces of lamb and let them brown,
Lamb in Fricassee
sprinkle with salt and black pepper, add the white wine and let it evaporated. Now drain the artichokes, add them to the lamb and cook for about 30 minutes
Lamb in Fricassee
adding some water if necessary during the cooking. At the end of the cooking place in a bowl the juice of 2 lemons with their grated peel; add the eggs, some parsley and salt
Lamb in Fricassee
and mix all together. When the lamb is cooked remove the pan from the flame and add the mixture of egg and lemon, mix and serve hot.
Lamb in Fricassee
This is the result:
Lamb in Fricassee

BUON APPETITO!

Lamb with Potatoes - Secondo

Italian Food.

Lamb is the main ingredient of the Easter lunch, as I said in a previous recipe, so here I describe the typical recipe that is prepared in occasion of Easter in Tuscany. This recipe is simple and fast to prepare: you need the leg of lamb, better if it is boned, some rosemary and garlic that give a spicy taste to this delicious Italian second course and potatoes. It is sufficient that you place the entire ingredient in a baking pan then bake it for about 50 minutes and the lamb is ready. In this way you can also prepare another main ingredient of the Easter lunch that is kid.

INGREDIENTS (for 6 – 8 people):
2 Leg of Lamb (boned)
2 Cloves of Garlic
Rosemary
30 g of Pork underbelly cut in pieces
6 – 7 Potatoes
Salt
Black Pepper

PREPARATION TIME: 15 minutes

COOKING TIME: 1 hour

WINE: Colli Berici Tocai Rosso Doc (Red Wine)

PREPARATION
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Clean and peel the potatoes, cut them in squared pieces, then prepare the legs of lamb: cut in slices and in pieces the pork underbelly, the garlic and the rosemary, place the leg of lamb on a cutting board, make some incisions on its surface and put in them the pieces of porn underbelly, garlic and rosemary.
Lamb with Potatoes
Sprinkle the lamb with salt and black pepper, then place it in a baking pan and place around it the potatoes, sprinkle also them with salt and pepper and bake for about 50 minutes.
Lamb with Potatoes
Serve hot. This is the result:
Lamb with Potatoes

BUON APPETITO!

Artichokes and Parmesan - Secondo

Italian Food.

INGREDIENTS (for 4 people):
4 Artichokes
40 g of Parsley chopped
40 g of Parmesan in flakes
20 g of Breadcrumbs
1 Clove of garlic
1 Lemon
4 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Black Pepper

PREPARATION TIME: 10 minutes

COOKING TIME: 20 – 30 minutes

WINE: Garda Chardonnay (White Wine)

PREPARATION
Start cleaning the artichokes, remove the spines and the hard external leafs, remove from the stalks the hard part and cut the stalks and the artichokes in slices and place them in a bowl with water and lemon in order to not blacken them. When all the artichokes are ready, preheat the extra virgin olive oil in a pan, add the garlic and let it brown then remove it and add the artichokes.
Artichokes and Parmesan
Sprinkle with salt and black pepper, let them cook for about 5 minutes and add the chopped parsley.
Artichokes and Parmesan
Continue to cook for about 15 – 20 minutes and some minutes before the end of the cooking sprinkle over them some breadcrumbs and the Parmesan in flakes,
Artichokes and Parmesan
let them melt and serve hot.
This is the result:
Artichokes and Parmesan

BUON APPETITO!

Small Balls of Aubergines - Appetizer

Italian Food.

Small balls of aubergines can be served as an Italian appetizer, they are simple and fast to prepare and do you need only few Italian ingredients to prepare it: the main ingredient of this delicious Italian recipe is round aubergines that they are more sweet than the long ones, parsley and Parmesan. The preparation is simple because you should only make a puree of aubergines and mix it with the other ingredients, make small ball and fry them and so the appetizer is ready!

INGREDIENTS (for 4 – 6 people):
3 Round Aubergines
1 Egg
40 g of Parmesan
30 g of Parsley
1 Clove of garlic
Breadcrumbs
Oil for fry
Salt
Black pepper

PREPARATION TIME: 15 minutes

COOKING TIME: 15 minutes

WINE: Sambuca di Sicilia bianco Doc (White Wine)

PREPARATION
Small Balls of Aubergines
Clean and peel the aubergines, cut them in squared pieces, place them in a pan with water and let them boil for about 15 minutes.

Small Balls of Aubergines
When they are ready drain them, place them in a bowl and with a fork squash them in order to obtain a puree of aubergines.

Small Balls of Aubergines
Let them cool and in them mean time prepare a chopped of parsley and garlic, add it to the puree of aubergines together with the Parmesan and the egg.

Small Balls of Aubergines
Mix all together and add if the mixture is to soft add some breadcrumbs, sprinkle with salt and black pepper
Small Balls of Aubergines
and with the hand make small balls with the mixture like these in the picture below.

Small Balls of Aubergines
Preheat enough oil in a pan, when it is hot fry in it the small balls of aubergines, cook them until the surface become slightly golden.

Small Balls of Aubergines
When they are ready leave them dry from the oil and serve. This is the result:

Small Balls of Aubergines

BUON APPETITO!

Tortiglioni with 4 Cheeses - Primo

Italian Food.

This is a simple and fast Italian first course to prepare: you should have in your fridge only some delicious Italian cheese and some milk. To make the cheese sauce you can use any kind of Italian cheese except mozzarella because it is a thready cheese and for this reason it is not ideal to make a sauce, in order to obtain the best result you should melt the pieces of the 4 cheeses that you have choose in some milk and simply sprinkle with some black pepper! The Italian cheeses that I choose for this recipe are: Gorgonzola, a typical Italian blue cheese from Piedmont and Lombardy, Toma, an Italian semi-hard cheese typical of Piedmont and Valle d’Aosta, Casera, a typical cheese of Valtellina and Parmesan.

INGREDIENTS (for 4 people):
320 g of Pasta type “Tortiglioni”
1 Glass of milk
30 g of Gorgonzola cut in pieces
30 g of Toma cut in pieces
30 g Casera cut in pieces
30 g of grated Parmesan
Black pepper
Salt

PREPARATION TIME: 15 minutes

COOKING TIME: 15 minutes

WINE: Dolcetto d'Ovada Doc (Red Wine)

PREPARATION
Let salted water boil for pasta. In the meantime prepare the sauce of cheese: place in a pan the milk and the cheeses, let them melt

Tortiglioni with 4 Cheeses
and then sprinkle with some black pepper.

Tortiglioni with 4 Cheeses
When the water boils add the pasta and let it cook as indicated on the packaging, then drain them and pour on it the cheeses sauce.

Tortiglioni with 4 Cheeses
Serve hot and if you want sprinkled on some other Parmesan.
This is the result:
Tortiglioni with 4 Cheeses

BUON APPETITO!

Orecchiette with Asparagus - Primo

Italian Food.

Asparagus are vegetable typical of the spring and summer period in particular from April to June, they are vegetables ideal for the preparation of any kind of Italian recipes. Typically they are used to prepare risotto but very good are also first courses with pasta like the Italian recipes presented below or also second courses and appetizers. Here I prepare a first course made with fresh orecchiette, that is a typical type of pasta from Puglia, seasoned with a sauce of asparagus, cream and walnuts. The preparation of this recipe is simple and fast because the asparagus are an Italian food that need a short time of cooking, indeed only 10 minutes are sufficient in order to make a puree of asparagus, then to obtain the delicious sauce of this recipe it’s sufficient to add some cream and walnuts and so the seasoning is ready. The presence of walnuts give to the sauce a crunch consistency that is well matches with the soft consistency of the puree of asparagus.


INGREDIENTS (for 4 people):
400 of Orecchiette
400 g of Asparagus
30 g of Walnuts crumbled
250 ml of Cream
1 Clove of garlic
Salt
Black Pepper
Marjoram
4 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

PREPARATION TIME: 20 minutes

COOKING TIME: 15 minutes

WINE: Friuli Annia Pinot bianco (White Wine)

PREPARATION
Let salted water boil for orecchiette. Wash the asparagus and remove the hardest and woody part of the asparagus’s stem. Now preheat the extra virgin olive oil in a pan with the clove of garlic and let it brown, in the meantime cut the stems of the asparagus in small discs maintaining the tender head entire
Orecchiette with Asparagus
and add them to the pan, add 1 glass of water and let them cook for about 10 minutes.
Orecchiette with Asparagus
Orecchiette with Asparagus
When the asparagus are cooked, remove from them the best head, that you'll use for the decoration of the dish and place the others in a mixer in order to obtain a sort of puree of asparagus. Re-place the mousse of asparagus in the same pan, add the walnuts, the cream
Orecchiette with Asparagus
and sprinkle with salt, black pepper and marjoram,
Orecchiette with Asparagus
mix all together and the sauce is ready. When water boils add the orecchiette and cooked them for the time indicated on the packaging, when they are cooked, drain them and add them to the sauce, mix, garnish each dish with the the entire head of the asparagus and serve hot.
This is the result:
Orecchiette with Asparagus

BUON APPETITO!

Penne with Eggplants, Mozzarella and Tomato Sauce - Primo

Italian Food.

Eggplants, tomato puree, mozzarella, basil, minced meat and Parmesan: these are the main Italian ingredients that I use to prepare this delicious Italian pasta-based first course. Its preparation is easy: first you should prepare the ingredients separately in this way, you should cut the mozzarella, cook the tomato puree with minced meat and basil, cook the pasta type penne and fry the eggplants then you should simply mix all the ingredients together. This Italian recipe seems to suggest another traditional Italian recipe typical of Sicily that is the famous “Pasta alla Norma” but these two recipes are different. In the next recipes I show you the typical preparation also of this.
INGREDIETNS (for 4 people):
350 g of Pasta type penne
800 ml of Tomato puree
2 Eggplants
Oil to fry the eggplants
50 g of Minced meat of veal
1 / 2 of Onion
4 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
3 – 4 leafs of basil
150 g of Mozzarella
Salt
Parmesan

PREPARATION TIME: 30 minutes

COOKING TIME: 1 hour

WINE: Sambuca di Sicilia bianco Doc (White Wine)

PREPARATION
Let the salted water boil for pasta. Preheat the extra virgin olive oil in a pan, cut the onion in slices add them to the oil and let it brown on a low flame in order to not burn them.
Penne eggplant, mozzarella and tomato sauce
Then remove it, add the minced meat and let it brown,

Penne eggplant, mozzarella and tomato sauce
add the tomato puree and the basil, mix all together and let it cook for about 30 minutes.

Penne eggplant, mozzarella and tomato sauce
In the meantime prepare the eggplants, clean them, cut them as matches and fry them in a pan with hot oil.

Penne eggplant, mozzarella and tomato sauce
When eggplants are cooked, place them over a sheet of kitchen paper in order to remove the oil in excess

Penne eggplant, mozzarella and tomato sauce
and prepare the mozzarella cutting it in cubes.

Penne eggplant, mozzarella and tomato sauce
When water boils, place in it the pasta and cook it for the time indicating on the packaging, then drain them. Re-place in the same pan a part of pasta, pour on it some sauce, a part of eggplant and a part of mozzarella, sprinkle with some Parmesan and mix all together;

Penne eggplant, mozzarella and tomato sauce
continue in this way until pasta finish and at the end mix all together.
Serve hot. This is the result:
Penne eggplant, mozzarella and tomato sauce

BUON APPETITO!

Lasagna with Asparagus - Primo

Italian Food.

This Italian recipe is prepared with typical vegetables of the summer period: the asparagus. With them and crescenza, that is a kind of soft cheese typical of Lombardo, you can prepare delicious summer lasagna. The preparation of this Italian recipe is quite simple: you should to prepare a mixture of crumbled bread and walnuts, a mixture of milk, crescenza, Parmesan and béchamel, lasagna and the asparagus cut in thin slices lengthwise. When all these things are ready you should to make layers of them in a baking pan, bake for about 30 minutes and the lasagna is ready. In this recipe the soft consistency of the mixture of crescenza and béchamel is well accompanied with the crunchy consistency of the mixture of bread and walnuts. BUON APPETITO!


INGREDIENTS (for 4 - 6 people):
400 g of Asparagus
1 Roll
30 g of Walnuts
50 ml of Milk
400 g of Crescenza (kind of soft cheese typical of Lombardo)
40 g of Parmesan
350 g of Lasagne
500 ml of Béchamel

PREPARATION TIME: 20 minutes

COOKING TIME: 30 minutes

WINE: Friuli Annia Pinot bianco (White Wine)

PREPARATION
Let salted water, with a drizzle of oil, boil for lasagne; the presence of oil in the water is necessary so the lasagne don’t stick between them.

Lasagna with Asparagus
When water boils add in it 10 lasagne at a time and cook them for 3 – 4 minutes, drain them with the help of a skimmer paying attention to not break them, and place them on a table in order to let them cool.

Lasagna with Asparagus
Then clean the asparagus and remove the hardest part of the stem, place them in high pan with water and after water boils cooked them for about 10 minutes. It is important that the asparagus remain in vertical position in the pan so that their head is out of water and cook with vapour.

Lasagna with Asparagus
When the asparagus are cooked drain them paying attention to not break their head, let them cool and cut them in thin slice lengthwise. In the meantime prepare the bread and the walnuts, crumble them and put them together in a bowl.
Lasagna with Asparagus
Lasagna with Asparagus
In another bowl mix together the milk, the crescenza and the Parmesan.
Lasagna with Asparagus
Now prepare the béchamel looking the instructions presented here, when the béchamel is ready, mix them with mixture of crescenza, and now begin to prepare the lasagna.
Lasagna with Asparagus
Pre heat the oven to 200°C. Cover with a sheet of baking paper a squared baking pan, place on it some mixture of béchamel and crescenza, a first layer of pasta, a layer of asparagus
Lasagna with Asparagus
and a little of the mixture of bread and walnuts, continue in this way until the pan is full.

Lasagna with Asparagus
Bake the pan for about 30 minutes and cook lasagna until the surface become golden. Serve hot.
This is the result:
Lasagna with Asparagus

BUON APPETITO!

Broad Beans with Eggs and Cream - Second Course

Italian Food.

This is an Italian recipes prepare with another typical vegetables of the summer period: the broad beans. Broad beans are an Italian ingredient ideal to prepare many different type of Italian recipes, they can be served simply raw with a drizzle of oil, some black pepper, and the Italian cheese called Caciocavallo that has a spicy taste ideal with the sweet taste of broad beans, or they can be used for delicious side dish or first course. Here I prepare a delicious side dish simply with broad beans, eggs and cream. The preparation time of this recipe is a bit long because, if you use fresh broad beans, you have to clean them one by one, but the cooking time is very short. To reduce the time you can use broad beans already clean, the most important thing in order to obtain an excellent result is to use fresh broad beans.


INGREDIENTS (for 4 – 6 people):
500 g of Broad beans
60 g of Butter
2 Eggs
125 ml of Cream
PREPARATION TIME: 30 minutes

COOKING TIME: 15 minutes

WINE: Castel del Monte bianco Doc (White Wine)

PREPARATION
Prepare the broad beans in this way: remove them from the pod and then remove also the thin skin that covers each broad bean.
Broad Beans with Eggs and Cream
Preheat a pan with 30 g of butter, add in it the broad beans and let them cook for about 10 – 15 minutes.
Broad Beans with Eggs and Cream
The broad beans are tender legumes that for this reason they don’t need to be cooked for long time, indeed you can eat them also raw. In the meantime mix in a dish the eggs with the cream,
Broad Beans with Eggs and Cream
in another pan melt the rest off the butter,
Broad Beans with Eggs and Cream
add the mixture of eggs and cream, sprinkle with salt and pepper and let it cook for some minutes.
Broad Beans with Eggs and Cream
When the broad beans are ready place them in a platter, pour on them the mixture of eggs and cream and mix all together. You can serve this Italian recipe hot or slightly cold.
This is the result:
Broad Beans with Eggs and Cream

BUON APPETITO!

Farinata of Chickpea - Secondo

Italian Food.

chickpea is a thin pie simply prepared with flour of chickpea, water, extra virgin olive oil, rosemary, salt and black pepper, its preparation and cooking is simple and fast. This is an Italian recipe traditional of Liguria, in particular of Genova, Savona and La Spezia. It can be used instead of bread but also as a second course indeed there are different types of Farinata: farinata with Stracchino that is a soft fresh cheese produced in Lombardy, farinata with sausage or farinata with artichokes. I eat farinata for the first time in La Spezia during my summer holyday last year and now that is summer I decide to try to prepare it at home. The preparation is simple and fast and the result is delicious.

INGREDIENTS (for 6 – 8 people):
500 g of chickpea flour
1,5 L of water
5 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1 branch of rosemary
Salt
Black pepper

PREPARATION TIME: 1 hour and 15 minutes

COOKING TIME: 30 minutes

WINE: Golfo del Tigullio Bianco DOC (White Wine)

PREPARATION
Place the chickpea in a bowl, add little by little the water and stir in order to not make lumps.
Farinata
Add the rosemary, some salt and the extra virgin olive oil,
Farinata
Farinata
mix all together and let the mixture stand for 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Then cover the bottom of a large baking pan with a sheet of baking paper. Pour on it the mixture of chickpea making a thin layer of 1 cm of thickness
Farinata
and bake in the oven for about 30 minutes or until the surface of Farinata becomes slightly golden.
Farinata
Serve it hot accompanied with some slices of ham and some salad.
This is the result:
Farinata

BUON APPETITO!

Apple Cake - Dessert

Italian Food.

Apple cake is one of the easiest cakes to prepare that allows you to obtain a delicious dessert good for any type of occasions. Christmas is coming and apples can be used to prepare traditional Christmas desserts as strudel that is a one of the traditional desserts of Trentino Alto Adige. But if you have apples, not much time and you still want to obtain an excellent result you can follow the steps of this delicious Italian recipe to make your family very happy.
INGREDIENTS (for 6 – 8 people):
150 g of Flour with yeast
200 g of Sugar
2 Eggs
100 ml of Milk
1 Kg of Apples
A pinch o salt
3 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
A piece of butter for the pan

PREPARATION TIME: 15 minutes

COOKING TIME: 40 minutes

WINE: Passito di prosseco (White Wine)

PREPARATION
Beat the eggs and 150 g of sugar in a bowl with a wood-spoon.

Apple Cake Add the flour with salt and extra virgin olive oil to the eggs mixture, mix all together until you obtain homogeneous soft dough.

Apple Cake
Add some milk little by little, stir and now prepare the apples.

Apple Cake
Clean and peel the apples, cut them in square pieces and add them to the soft dough already prepared.

Apple Cake
Now the mixture is ready to be cooked for this reason butter a pan of 24 cm of diameter and flour it removing the excess of flour, pour on it the mixture and sprinkle it with some sugar as shown in the picture below.

Apple Cake
Bake at 180°C for 40 minutes until the surface is slightly golden,

Apple Cake
check the apple cake is good cooked using a spaghetto. Put the spaghetto in the middle of the cake remove it and if it is dry means that the cake is good cooked.
This is the delicious result:

Apple Cake

BUON APPETITO!

Double Color Cake - Dessert

Italian Food.

This is the Italian recipe for a delicious double color cake. It is easy and fast to prepare, it’s enough to create two parts: the milk part and the chocolate part and the cake is ready. You need only few Italian ingredients, 15 minutes plus the time of cooking and you can obtain a delicious cake suitable for breakfast but not only, also for snack and as a dessert after dinner.

INGREDIENTS (for 6 – 8 people):
250 g of Flour with yeast
150 g of Sugar
2 Eggs
A pinch of salt
200 ml of Milk
3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
Yeast
3 teaspoons of Cacao
Butter for the pan

PREPARATION TIME: 15 minutes

COOKING TIME: 40 minutes

PREPARATION
Beat the eggs and the sugar in a bowl until obtain a homogeneous cream.

Double Color Cake
Add the flour and a pinch of salt,

Double Color Cake
and stir until the mixture become a soft dough, add the milk and the extra virgin olive oil to let the mixture more soft.

Double Color Cake
Divide the mixture in two parts: one part is ready and we’ll call it the milk part, instead to the other part, called the chocolate part, add some cacao and stir.

Double Color Cake
Butter and flour a pan removing the excess of flour, pour on it some of the milk part and then some of the chocolate part, do this for 3 times and in this way you can obtain a double color cake.

Double Color Cake
Bake the cake at 180°C for 40 minutes and check the cooking with a spaghetto. Put it in the center of the cake, then remove it carefully without break the cake and if it is dried means that the cake is good cooked.
This is the result:
Double Color Cake

BUON APPETITO!

Lasagna alla Siciliana - Primo

Italian Food.

This recipe is prepared with traditional vegetables of Sicily, the eggplants, and with a tomato sauce of minced meat of veal and peas and the addition of ham and sweet Sicilian pecorino cheese. You can prepare it with lasagna bought or you can decide to make home-made lasgana, here I show the easy recipe to prepare the home-made lasagna with the help of a pasta machine but in the case you don’t have it you can also use a simply rolling pin, the result will be the same.




INGREDIENTS (for 8 people):
1 / 2 Onion
200 g of Minced meat of veal
200 g of Peas
1,5 L of Tomato sauce
4 Round Eggplants
200 g of Sweet Pecorino cheese
200 g of ham
150 g of Parmesan
4 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
Extra virgin olive oil for fry the eggplants

INGREDIENTS FOR LASAGNA PASTA
400 g of Flour
4 Eggs
Salt

PREPARATION TIME: 1 hour

COOKING TIME: 30 minutes

WINE: Santa Margherita di Belice bianco Doc (White Wine)

PREPARATION
Start with the preparation of the lasagna pasta: put in a bowl the flour, a pinch of salt and the eggs.

Lasagna alla Siciliana
Mix all the ingredients and knead the dough until it becomes homogeneous. Let the dough stand for about 20 – 30 minutes so it becomes more soft. After this time start to roll out the dough, you can do this with the help of a rolling pin or more easily with the help of a pasta machine. Here I use the pasta machine.

Lasagna alla Siciliana
Start roll out the dough from the biggest thickness of the machine then little by little reduce it until you obtain a pastry of about 2 – 3 mm of thickness.

Lasagna alla Siciliana

Lasagna alla Siciliana
Cut the pastry in rectangular pieces with about dimension of 15 cm x 10 cm.

Lasagna alla Siciliana
Now start with the preparation of the sauce for lasagna: preheat the extra virgin olive oil in a pan, cut the onion in slices and let them cook for 3 – 5 minutes in the hot oil to make it tasteful.

Lasagna alla Siciliana
When the onion becomes golden remove it from the oil and add the minced meat of veal. Let it cook for 5 - 8 minutes until it becomes slightly golden,

Lasagna alla Siciliana
then add fresh peas and continue the cooking for other 5 – 8 minutes.

Lasagna alla Siciliana
Now add the tomato sauce and let the all sauce cook for about 30 – 40 minutes.

Lasagna alla Siciliana

Lasagna alla Siciliana
In the meantime prepare the other ingredients: eggplants, ham and cheese.
Cut the eggplants in slices

Lasagna alla Siciliana
and fry them in hot extra virgin olive oil until they become slightly golden.

Lasagna alla Siciliana
When they are cooked put them in a dish covered with kitchen paper in order to remove the excess of oil.
Cut the ham in slices and the cheese in small cubes.
Now you can prepare the lasagna: cover the bottom of a rectangular baking pan with the sauce of meat and peas, put over it lasagna,

Lasagna alla Siciliana
pour on it the sauce, make a layer with the fried eggplants, another with the slices of ham and the cubes of cheese

Lasagna alla Siciliana
and sprinkle with some parmesan, re-put another layer of lasagna pasta and continue in this way until the pan in full.

Lasagna alla Siciliana
Bake at 180°C and cook for about 30 minutes until the surface becomes golden.
Serve hot.
This is the result:
Lasagna alla Siciliana
BUON APPETTITO!

Fusilli with Sauce of Cherry Tomatoes, Eggplant and Swordfish

Italian Food.

This is the recipe of an Italian first course prepared with cherry tomatoes, eggplant and swordfish. The preparation is easy and quite fast: first you have to prepare a simple chopped of garlic and parsley, then you can prepare the cherry tomatoes, the eggplant and the swordfish cutting them in small square pieces. When the chopped is ready, put it in a pan with extra virgin olive oil, add to it the cherry tomatoes then the swordfish and separately fry the pieces of eggplant. When fusilli are ready pour on them all the ingredients and the dish is ready. BUON APPETITO!
Fusilli with Sauce of Cherry Tomatoes, Eggplant and Swordfish

INGREDIENTS (for 4 people):
1 Clove of garlic
30 g of Parsley
20 Cherry tomatoes
1 Eggplant
150 g of swordfish in 1 slice
320 g of pasta type fusilli
4 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

PREPARATION TIME: 20 minutes

COOKING TIME: 30 minutes

WINE: Golfo del Tigullio Doc (White Wine)

PREPARATION
Let salted water boil for fusilli. Preheat the extra virgin olive oil in a pan, prepare a chopped of garlic and parsley, add it to the pan and let it cook for 3 – 5 minutes.

Fusilli with Sauce of Cherry Tomatoes, Eggplant and Swordfish
In the meantime prepare the cherry tomatoes, the eggplant and the swordfish.
Cut the cherry tomatoes in half or in quarter, add them to the pan with the chopped and let them cook for about 10 minutes.

Fusilli with Sauce of Cherry Tomatoes, Eggplant and Swordfish
Peel the eggplant and cut it in small square pieces, let them fry in a pan with hot oil and when they are cooked place them in a dish covered with a kitchen paper in order to remove the excess of oil.

Fusilli with Sauce of Cherry Tomatoes, Eggplant and Swordfish
Cut also the swordfish in square pieces and when the cherry tomatoes are ready add them to the pan and let them cook for other 5 – 10 minutes.

Fusilli with Sauce of Cherry Tomatoes, Eggplant and Swordfish
In the meantime if the salted water boil add the pasta and cook it for the time indicated on the packaging. When pasta is cooked, before drain it, take some spoons of cooking water and add them to the sauce of cherry tomatoes and swordfish.

Fusilli with Sauce of Cherry Tomatoes, Eggplant and Swordfish
Now drain the fusilli, add them to the mixture together with the fried pieces of eggplant,

Fusilli with Sauce of Cherry Tomatoes, Eggplant and Swordfish
mix all together and serve hot.

Fusilli with Sauce of Cherry Tomatoes, Eggplant and Swordfish
This is the result:

Fusilli with Sauce of Cherry Tomatoes, Eggplant and Swordfish

BUON APPETITO!

Small Pies with Ricotta and Spinach - Appetizer

Italian Food.

This is an easy and good Italian recipe suitable as a delicious appetizer. You can prepare small pies filled with ricotta cheese and spinach personalized for each of your hosts. It is very simple to prepare them if you use a flaky pastry ready otherwise you will need much more time if you want to prepare a homemade flaky pastry. Also the personalization of the small pies is easy you only need a little bit of creative skill to make the decoration. At the end for the preparation of the filling you have only to boil the spinach, put the others ingredients all together, mix and fill the pastry with this mixture, only 15 minutes in the oven and the appetizer is ready to eat.

INGREDIENTS (for 7 - 9 people):
Flaky pastry
200g Ricotta cheese
200g of Spinach
1 Mozzarella cheese
1 Egg
Parmesan
Salt
Black pepper

PREPARATION TIME: 15 minutes

COOKING TIME: 30 minutes

WINE: Valpolcèvera Rosato Doc (Red Wine)

PREPARATION
Roll out the flaky pastry with the help of rolling pin. Cut it with a cutter-shape or with a glass in order to obtain small piece of flaky pastry with a particular shape.

Small Pies with Ricotta and Spinach

Clean the spinach and let them cook in a pan with salted water for about 10 – 15 minutes. Then drain them and let them cool. Put in a bowl the ricotta cheese, add the spinach, the egg, the Parmesan and the mozzarella cut before in small cubes.

Small Pies with Ricotta and Spinach

Put the pieces of flaky pastry in a pan like this shown in the picture below,

Small Pies with Ricotta and Spinach,

make some small holes with a fork on the surface of the pastry and fill them with the mixture of spinach and ricotta cheese.
If you have some flaky pastry left over use it to make some decoration.

Small Pies with Ricotta and Spinach

Preheat the oven at 180°C, bake the small pie in the oven for 15 minutes until the surface becomes slightly golden.
This is the result:
Small Pies with Ricotta and Spinach

BUON APPETITO!

Chicken Breast with Carrots, Celery and Onion

Italian Food

This is the Italian recipe of a delicious hot salad. To prepare it you need only carrots, celery and onion and the main ingredient that is the chicken breast. The preparation is so easy that you’ll need only few minutes: first you prepare all the ingredients, you clean them and cut them, then you put all the ingredient in a pan with some extra virgin olive oil and let them cook. When they are ready you add some almond to let the recipe crunchier and you serve hot.
Chicken Breast with Carrots Celery and Onion
INGREDIENTS (for 4 people):
2 Carrots
2 Celeries
1 Small Onion
40 g of Almond without peel
4 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
300 g of Chicken breast

PREPARATION TIME: 10 minutes

COOKIN TIME: 15 minutes

WINE: Colline Novaresi Nebbiolo Doc (Red Wine)

PREPARATION
Start with the preparation of the all ingredients: clean and peel the carrots, the celery and the onion and cut them in long slices.

Chicken Breast with Carrots Celery and Onion
Cut the chicken breast in square pieces of medium dimension as shown in the picture below.

Chicken Breast with Carrots Celery and Onion
Preheat the extra virgin olive oil in a pan, when the oil is hot, add the vegetables and let them cook for about 5 minutes.

Chicken Breast with Carrots Celery and Onion
Then add the chicken breast and let them golden.

Chicken Breast with Carrots Celery and Onion
Add the almond

Chicken Breast with Carrots Celery and Onion
and continue the cooking with a cover for about 10 – 15 minutes until the meat is good cooked.
Serve hot.
This is the result:
Chicken Breast with Carrots Celery and Onion

BUON APPETITO!

Risotto with Bluberry and Speck

Italian Food.

To prepare this risotto you just need the two main ingredients: speck and blueberry, and then you can prepare very easly and fast a delicious italian recipes. If you don't have a lot of time you can just prepare the broth with water and stock cube vegetables but if you want to prepare the real italian recipes you should prepare broth with water, salt, and fresh vegetables like onion, carrot, potatoes and celery. The blueberries give to risotto a sweet taste that in this Itlain recipes is joined with the salted and savoury taste of speck.

INGREDIENTS (for 4 peolpe):
350 g of Rice
150 g of Blueberry
150 g of Speck in thin slices
30 g of Butter
1 / 2 Onion
3 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
Water for broth
1 Stock cube-vegetables

PREPARATION TIME: 15 minutes

COOKING TIME: 18-20 minutes

WINE: Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Cerasuolo Doc (Red WIne)

PREPARATION

Start preparing the hot broth: you can easly and rapidly prepare it in a pan with water and the stock-cube vegetables, or you can boil water with carrots, celery, onion and potatoes but this take a bit more of time.

Then wash and cut in half the blueberry.


Chop the onion and put it in a pan with butter and let it cook until it comes golden.

Add the rice and let it roast for some minutes and then add spoon by spoon the hot broth.

Stir the rice time by time and let it cook for about 15 minutes, some minutes before the cooking ends, add the blueberry and stir.

BUON APPETITO!


Cover the bottom of a bwol with speck.

When the rice is ready pour it on the speck like show in the picture below.

In this way the speck will warm and let the rice more tasty. Serve hot.

Ravioli with Salmon - Primo

Italian Food

This is a very easy recipe to prepare. You don’t need many ingredients, just the dough for ravioli and the filling that is made of potatoes and smoked salmon, a very good combination of taste. The preparation of the dressing is also very simple and fast, you just need to melt some butter and add some black pepper. The only thing that is a bit long to do is the preparation of the dough for ravioli but it is also very easy and funny. You can safe some time using the machine for roll the dough instead of using the rolling pin. In both case you will obtain very delicious Italian ravioli with smoked salmon and potatoes.

INGREDIENTS (for 4 people):
300g of Flour
3 Eggs
Salt
2 Potatoes
200g of Smoked Salmon
40 g of butter
Black pepper

PREPARATION TIME: 1 hour

COOKING TIME: 10 minutes

WINE: Cortona Sauvignon Doc (White Wine)

PREPARATION
Mix flour with eggs and a bit of salt until you will obtain a homogeneous dough.

Then lei it stand for 30 minutes, in the meantime prepare the filling. Boil two potatoes and when they are cooked smash it. Cut the smoked salmon in little pieces and mix it with the smashed potatoes.

It’s time now to stand the dough so, roll out the dough, you can do this with the help of a rolling pin or more easily with the help of a pasta machine. Here I use the pasta machine. Start roll out the dough from the biggest thickness of the machine then little by little reduce it until you obtain a pastry of about 2 – 3 mm of thickness. Cut the pastry in long rectangular pieces like shown in the picture. Put in the middle of the pastry the filling and cover it with the rest of the pastry.

Now cut with the help of a star-shape ravioli, put them on a tray with a bit of flour (in order to not them attach each others).

Let the salted water boil for ravioli and cooked them in it for about 10 minutes. Prepare the dressing for ravioli with melted butter and black pepper.

When ravioli are cooked put on them the melted butter and serve hot.

BUON APPETITO!

Mixed Vegetable Pickle / Heftebecer Turshusu

AZERBAIJAN FOOD.

We are going to do some canning today. In Azerbaijan, canning is a sort of culinary tradition. Jars with homemade preserves, jams, pickles, relishes, sauces can be found in almost every household. They are usually prepared in summer when fruits and vegetables are in abundance and consumed in winter when they are in high demand:)

Pickles make a perfect accompaniment to meat dishes, to kebabs, and to what we call call “dough dishes”, or pasta. Pickled stuffed eggplant and bell pepper, pickled garlic, green tomato, pickled sour plums, are among the most popular. I remember as a kid I would make my own jar of pickles with purslane (perpetoyun in Azeri). I think I was about 9 0r 10. We used to live in a house with a small front yard, and wild purslane would grow there. I would pick it and pack it in a small jar, fill it up with vinegar and then a week later tell the world about how delicious my pickles were! It was quite an adventure. Now back to reality.

I like this mixed vegetable pickle, called Heftebejer in Azeri. The recipe is easy. The only “difficult” part is chopping the vegetables, but it doesn’t take that long. Store this pickle in an air-seal glass jar, known as fido jar (See picture at the end), for your convenience. Scoop out as much as you want with your food and snap the seal back tightly to keep the pickle fresh until next time. Now, roll up your sleeves, let’s can! And here’s my new abbreviation - YCC which stands for YOU CAN CAN!!:)

MIXED VEGETABLE PICKLE / HEFTEBECER TURSHUSU

Preparation time: 45 minutes
Curing Time: 1 week
Makes: 2-liter jar

INGREDIENTS

2 medium or 1 large eggplant (about 1 pounds / 450g), chopped in cubes
1 medium cabbage, quartered and thinly sliced (about 2 pounds / 900g)
2 bell peppers, chopped (1/2 pounds / 225 g)
1 chili pepper, chopped (optional, for spicier pickles)
4 medium green tomatoes (about 1pound / 450 g), chopped
4 medium carrots (about 1 pound / 450 g), shredded
1 stalk celery, trimmed and chopped
1 bulb garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 cup fresh chopped mint
1 cup fresh chopped parsley
4 tablespoons salt
1/3 quart (300 ml / 1/3 liter) or more white wine (grape) vinegar

TIP: To save time, prepare the eggplant first. While its bitterness is being removed, chop other vegetables. Eggplant should be ready when you finish chopping the other ingredients.

1. Place the chopped eggplant in a colander and sprinkle with plenty of salt. Put colander in a sink. Place a weight, such a plate or lid, on top, to keep the eggplant lightly pressed down. Leave for about 20 minute, to draw out the bitter dark juices. Rinse the eggplant under cold running water. Drain, and squeeze dry with your hands.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine vegetables and herbs together. Add salt and mix thoroughly with your hands. Set aside for 20 minutes to allow the juices to extract. You will notice the vegetables shrink in bulk.

3. Sterilize a canning jar in boiling water and dry thoroughly.

4. Squeeze the vegetable mixture with your hands to drain the juices and place it in the jar, pressing with your hands to pack tightly. Pour in the vinegar to cover the vegetables.

5. Seal the jar and store in a cool place for 1 week before serving to allow the flavors to develop.

NUSH OLSUN! ENJOY!

Easy Baklava

AZERBAIJAN FOOD

I’ve been wanting to post the recipe for Azerbaijani baklava for a long time. So, for the first time in my life I dared to make baklava myself, but …. it didn’t turn out the way I wanted. It tasted great (we had guests and they loved it) and it had all the flavors you would find in real Azerbaijani baklava, but I was still not satisfied. And since I do not post a recipe if I haven’t tested it a hundred times and if I didn’t like it, I decided to postpone making the real thing until later.

But there was no stopping me. So, the next day I decided to make baklava again, the easy one. The result is what you see in the picture. If you are pressed for time to spend long hours in the kitchen rolling the many thin baklava layers, roasting the walnuts and preparing the syrup for the most delicious Azerbaijani baklava - this recipe is what you need. My friend Emel helped me work on the recipe, too. Thank you, Emel!

So… it is still a baklava, but a lazy one (or for lazy cooks?). No kidding. The name from Azeri translates as Lazy Baklava (Tenbel Pakhlava). In Azerbaijan, this baklava is also known as Sochinskiy Pirog (Pie a la Sochi). It is comparatively easy to make, is close in taste to the real Azerbaijani baklava and is also delicious in its own special way. So soft, it simply melts in your mouth. Perfect for your Novruz table. Enjoy!

EASY BAKLAVA

Preparation Time: 15 minutes, plus 1-hour refrigeration time
Cooking Time: 35 minutes
Makes about 25 pieces

INGREDIENTS

For the Dough
3 cups flour (15 oz / 465 g)
8 oz / 250 g butter or margarine, cut into small pieces
1 cup (7 oz / 200 g ) sour cream mixed with 1 teaspoon baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)
2 egg yolks

For the Filling
2 cups sugar
2 egg whites
2 ½ cups (10 oz / 300 g) walnuts, finely chopped (they should be somewhat crunchy in the pie, so do not grind finely)

To Brush
1 egg yolk

YOU WILL NEED: 8 x 12-inch (20 x 30 cm) baking pan. If a rectangular pan is not available, use a round or a square pan. Non-stick is preferable.

TIP: If you are counting calories and prefer a less sweeter baklava, reduce the amount of sugar for the filling and increase the amount of walnuts , if desired. Or, you do not have to have more walnuts either, if you prefer less filling in your pastry.

1. Prepare the dough. In a large bowl, combine flour and butter. Using a fork, or a knife (or pastry blender, if available), cut in the butter until the mixture forms large crumbs the size of large peas.

2. Add sour cream/baking soda mixture and egg yolks and continue tossing until the dough comes together in a mass (See the picture below). It should be gentle to touch.

3. Divide the dough into 3 equal parts, forming each one into disks. Wrap each disk in a plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for 1 hour.

4. In the meantime, prepare the filling. In a mixing bowl, combine sugar and egg whites. Using a balloon whisk or electric mixer, whip vigorously until well blended. Add chopped walnuts and mix well with a spoon.

5. Lightly grease the baking pan with oil or butter. Preheat the oven to 350F (180C).

6. Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Lightly dust your work surface with flour. Using a rolling pin (I used ball-bearing rolling pin, and it was great!), press firmly to roll the dough from the center in all directions until you obtain a rectangular (or round, if you are going to use a round baking pan) about 8 inches (20 cm) in width and about 1/8 inch (3 mm) thick, or just the size to fit your pan. I found this pastry dough very easy to handle - it rolled in no time for me.

7. Carefully transfer the round into the pan, pressing it against the bottom and the sides. Baklava releases juices when baking, so slightly stretching the dough to the sides and sealing them tightly will keep the juices inside. If there is any tear in the dough, repair by pressing a small piece of dough over it.

8. Spread half the filling over the layer.

9. Roll the second disk in the same way and place it in the pan on top of the walnut filling. Spread the remaining filling over the second layer.

10. Roll the third dough disk and place it on top of the walnut filling. Brush this layer with egg yolk. Using a sharp knife or a pizza cutter (it worked wonders for me!), carefully cut the baklava in cross-hatching diagonals to make diamond shapes, cutting through the filling all the way to the bottom. Place a whole or half a walnut in the middle of each baklava piece.

11. Bake in the oven for about 35 minutes or until golden on top. Times may vary, so take extra care not to overbake - baklava will harden and will not be that juicy if baked for too long. Remove the pan from the oven. When cool enough to handle, remove the baklava diamonds from the pan and serve with tea or coffee. Baklava gets even softer when stored in a covered container.

YOU CAN USE ALMOND ON TOP AND INSIDE IT TOO EXCEPT WALNUT.

Enjoy!

Shekerbura - Making a Novruz Dessert Step by Step

AZERBAIJAN FOOD

If Samani is a green symbol of Novruz, two desserts, Pakhlava (baklava) and Shekerbura, are the spring holiday’s sweet symbols. No Novruz table is complete without these delicious nut filled delights.

I have posted the recipe for Easy Baklava before and time has come to pair it up with Shekerbura to complete a Novruz table.

Shekerbura is a sweet pastry filled with ground nuts and sugar. In Azerbaijan, making shekerbura usually involves a team-work. Relatives and neighbors get together at somebody’s house and all contribute to the making of this and other Novruz treats. Baked shekerbura is put on the table on a khoncha, a special holiday tray, filled with Novruz desserts, nuts, dried fruits and colored eggs.

Making shekerbura is not as difficult as it may seem or sound. I have never baked shekerbura in Baku, but have done here in the US, all by myself, without any team to help me out:) So, if I could do it, you can do too.

Let’s begin, shall we?

Shekerbura consists of 3 major elements: the dough, the filling and the pattern, and I’ll discuss each element in details.

THE DOUGH

The dough for shekebura can be prepared in several ways: with yeast that makes the dough rise, without yeast, with whole eggs or with egg yolks only, with milk or with water added and so on. In Azerbaijan, every family has its own special recipe. The recipe below is my favorite, courtesy of my cousin in Baku whose shekerbura is simply the best in the family. It yields the softest shekerbura that almost melts in your mouth. Plus, the recipe doesn’t require waiting for the dough to rise (a small amount of yeast is added for softness), or refrigerating it overnight.

THE FILLING

Shekerbura filling is made by mixing ground nuts (hazelnuts, or almonds, or walnuts) with granulated sugar and powdered cardamom. Hazelnuts and almonds are preferred over walnuts for their light color and subtle taste. I personally prefer walnuts for their rich taste. Nuts must be skinned before they are mixed with sugar and cardamom. In the US, you can buy skinned nuts sold in packages. In Azerbaijan, women skin raw nuts themselves using the techniques described in the recipe below.

THE PATTERN

What makes shekerbura really special is the patter that is made on them with a special type of decoration tweezers, called maggash (see picture below). Mine came all the way from Baku. The most traditional decoration called chanaghi (I learned this from Gullu who runs a great web site on Azerbaijani food) is what you will see in the pictures below. However, simple patterns, such as trees, flowers, and even names and initials can be made with these tweezers too. If you don’t have a maggash, leave the top of your pastries plain - once they are baked, coat them with powdered sugar.

This is how a maggash looks.





SHEKERBURA

Makes 36 shekerbura pastries

For the Dough:

1 kg / 2.2 pounds first grade wheat flour (white only) + 1 tablespoon (for step 3)
400 g / 14 oz unsalted butter, cut into large chunks
5 egg yolks
250 g / 9 oz sour cream
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla powder (optional)
1/2 teaspoon dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup / 125 ml lukewarm milk

For the Filling:
700 g / 1.5 pounds skinned hazelnuts, or almonds or walnuts (See recipe for how to skin if readily skinned nuts are not available)
700 g / 1.5 pounds granulated sugar
2 teaspoon, or to taste, ground cardamom

You’ll also need: mixing bowls, baking sheets, and a maggash (tweezers)

1. Prepare the dough. Put the flour and the butter in a large mixing bowl. Using your hands, rub them together until you obtain fine crumbs. Make sure there are no large crumbs left.

2. In a small bowl, using a spoon, mix the eggs yolks, sour cream, salt and vanilla powder.

3. In another small bowl, put the yeast, 1 tablespoon flour, 1 tablespoon sugar. Fill it with 1/4 cup of lukewarm milk. Let stand for about 2 minutes.

4. Add the egg-sour cream mixture (#2), the yeast mixture (#3), to the flour-butter mixture (#1).

5. Using your hands, mix the ingredients until fully incorporated and a rough and inconsistent dough is obtained. Transfer the dough to your work surface. Put the remaining 1/4 cup of lukewarm milk in a separate bowl. Constantly wetting your hands with milk, knead the dough for a few minutes to make it smooth.

6. Shape the dough into a ball. Put it back in the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and leave aside to rest for about 30 minutes.

7. In the meantime, prepare the filling. If you are using already skinned nuts, grind them finely in a food processor. In a mixing bowl, combing the ground nuts with sugar. Add the ground cardamom and vanilla powder. Mix until fully incorporated.

To skin hazelnuts and walnuts at home: Place raw hazelnuts in a large frying pan, and roast over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the skins crack and begin to flake off, about 10 minutes. Take care not to burn the nuts. Working with small batches of nuts at a time, place them them on a kitchen cloth and rub with it to remove the skins. Most of the skins will come off although some will still cling to the nut (especially on walnuts). Do not worry, a little skin will not be that visible in the filling.

To skin almonds at home: Put the almonds in a pot and pour boiling water over them to barely cover their tops. Let the almonds sit in the water for about 2 minutes (do not keep them there for too long, or they will lose their crispiness and will be too soft). Drain off the water, pat dry the nuts and slip the skins off by squeezing the almonds between your thumb and fingers.

8. Divide the dough into 36 balls, each weighing 50 g.

9. Work with one ball at a time, and cover the rest. Roll each ball into a 4 inch (10 cm) circle.

10. Place the circle in the palm of your hand, slightly folded, and put 2 tablespoons of the filling in the center.

11. Starting at one end, begin sealing the left and right edges towards the center to obtain a half-moon shape. Sealed shekerbura must be somewhat chubby from the filling and never flat.

12. Using your thumb and index finger, start pinching and twisting the dough along the seal to decorate the edges.

13. Arrange the pastry on a baking sheet, lined with parchment (baking) paper. Continue working with the rest of the dough balls, arranging them on the baking sheet as you are finished decorating their edges.

14. Now decorate the tops. Holding a pastry in one hand, and a maggash (tweezers) in the other, pinch the dough with the maggash at an angle and slightly lift it upward (see the picture below). Continue until you obtain a row of pattern. Create similar rows, each at an angle to the next one, until the entire surface is decorated.

You finished pattern should look like in the photo below.

If maggash is not available, leave the top of shekerbura plain, without any patterns.

This is how shekerbura pastries look before they go in the oven.

15. Bake on the middle rack of the oven preheated to 150C (300F) for about 20 minutes, or until the edges just begin to change their color and the bottom is light brown. Take care not to overbake the pastries - their tops should be light color when baked. If you did not decorate your pastries with the tweezers, coat them with powdered sugar once they cool off.

NUSH OLSUN! ENJOY!

Potato or Meat Pies a.k.a PIROJKI

AZERBAIJAN FOOD

This is a hands down winner in our family. Pirojki. They are believed to have originated from Russia, but have well blended into the cuisine of Azerbaijan and are popular both among the grownups and children alike. These dough pockets, stuffed with savory fillings such as cabbage, mashed green peas, potato or meat, can be either deep fried or baked in the oven. Usually deep fried “pirojki” is sold as fast food in bakeries, cafeterias and by street vendors.

I am posting the recipe for the baked pirojki with 2 fillings to choose from - one is a vegetarian delight and the other is sure to satisfy meat lovers. Follow this recipe to make potato OR meat pockets, and enjoy them with a cup of hot sweet tea or just plain! I know one thing for sure, once ready, these golden delights go fast! So… don’t miss your share!

PIROJKI

Preparation time: 30 minutes, plus 1 ½ hours dough rising time
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Makes 22-25 pies

For the Dough
½ cup (4fl oz / 125ml) lukewarm water
1 package active dry yeast (1/4 oz / 7g)
3 cups (15oz / 470g) all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon sugar
½ cup (4fl oz / 125ml) milk
1 egg + 1 egg white (reserve the yolk for glazing)
½ cup oil (4fl oz / 125ml)

For the Filling

Potato filling:
3 tablespoons oil
1 small onion, chopped
4 medium potatoes, boiled and peeled
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro (coriander), or parsley or dill
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste

Meat filling:
3 tablespoons oil
1 small onion, chopped
13 oz (375g) ground beef
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste

For Glazing
1 egg yolk

VARIATION: Another delicious variation would be to stuff the pockets with crumbled white cheese, such as feta, mixed with chopped fresh parsley.

COOK’S TIP: For the yeast to work best, all ingredients should be at room temperature. Remove the eggs from refrigerator about 30 minutes prior to adding them to the dough.

COOK’S TIP: If you used up all of the filling and still have some dough left, you can make small dinner rolls. Brush the remaining dough ball with egg yolk, sprinkle with some poppy, nigella or sesame seeds and bake in the oven for about 25 minutes or until golden.

1. Prepare the dough. Dissolve the yeast in lukewarm water and let stand for about 5 minutes. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt, sugar, and mix. Add the yeast mixture, milk, eggs and oil and stir using your hands until a rough ball forms. Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5-6 minutes. Put the dough into a large bowl, cover with a kitchen towel or a plastic wrap and leave to rise in a warm place for about 1 ½ hours, or until doubled in bulk. The dough should look puffy and be soft when poked with a finger.

2. In the meantime, prepare the filling. To prepare the potato filling, in a medium non-stick frying pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for about 7 minutes, or until lightly brown. In a mixing bowl, mash the boiled potatoes (I like to leave it slightly coarse). Add the fried onion, fresh herbs, season with salt and pepper, and mix well.

To prepare the meat filling, in a medium non-stick frying pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for about 5 minutes or until translucent. Add the meat and stir-fry together for about 10 minutes, or until the meat is brown. Season with salt and pepper to taste. If you prefer a smoother filling, grind the mixture in a food processor until you obtain a desired consistency. (That’s what I usually do and I love the result).

3. Gentry press down on the dough to release the gases that have built up during the rising. The dough should not be sticky. Divide the dough into small balls about 1 ½ inches (3.8 cm) in diameter You should be able to make 22-25 balls.

4. At this stage you can use either method to shape your pirojki- whichever you are comfortable with. Method A: Using a wooden rolling pin, roll out each ball into a circle about 4 inches (10cm) in diameter. Place a tablespoonful of filling on the circle, lift the edges towards the center and press to seal. Gently pat the pocket to flatten it slightly. Continue with the rest of the dough. Method B: Since the dough is very elastic, it is easy to handle with hands. You can flatten, stretch, fill and seal the dough, holding it in your palm and using your other hand. Just like in the pictures below. I use this method. It’s quick and easy.

5. Place the dough pockets on a baking sheet seam side down, about 1 inch (2.5 cm) apart, and allow to rest for about 15 minutes.

6. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 350F (180C).7. Brush the pockets with egg yolk and bake for about 25 minutes or until golden.

NUSH OLSUN! ENJOY!

Tandir (Tandoori) Bread / Tendir Choreyi

AZERBAIJAN FOOD

Nothing wrong about it but … honestly, I do crave Tandir Bread sometimes. Tandor or Tandoori as it is better known in the US. Nothing comes close to the taste of fresh bread baked in clay ovens. In Azerbaijan bread is eaten almost with any food, it is always there on the table. I love hot Tandir Bread with white cheese. Try it with fresh herbs on the side. Yum!

On the side note, bread is considered a sacred food in Azerbaijan. It is a symbol of abundance, prosperity. We don’t throw it in a trash can. If you see a piece of bread on the street, you would pick it up and put it aside, somewhere where nobody would step on it. Some people would even kiss it and touch the forehead with it. It’s the sign of respect to bread that feeds us.

Back to Tandir bread now. Although there are many varieties of bread sold in Azerbaijani bakeries, tandir bread is usually preferred over others on special occasions, such as weddings, birthday parties and holiday celebrations. Typically, warm slices of tandir bread are placed next to individual serving plates. Although nothing can replace the flavor of a real tandir bread I ate in Azerbaijan, here in the United States I use the following recipe to bake my favorite bread in my own kitchen. Are you ready to try it too? Here we go. And on’t forget to have fun too!

TANDIR (TANDOORI) BREAD / TENDIR CHOREYI

Preparation time: 2 hours
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Makes 1 medium bread

INGREDIENTS
1 package (1/4 oz / 7g) dry yeast
1 ½ cups (12 fl oz/375 ml) warm water
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups bread flour, plus extra for kneading
1 egg yolk, for brushing
1 teaspoon poppy or sesame seeds (black or white)

1. In a small bowl, mix yeast with water until the yeast is dissolved.

2. Sift flour into a large bowl. Add salt and mix well. Gradually add the yeast-water mixture and stir in using your hand until a rough ball forms.

3. Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Press any loose dough pieces into the ball and knead the dough, punching it down with your fists, folding it over and turning. Knead for about 8-10 minutes, or until smooth and elastic.

4. Shape the dough into a ball and put it back into the large bowl. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel or a plastic wrap.

5. Leave the dough to rise in a warm spot for about 1 ½ hours, or until doubled in bulk. The dough should look puffy and be soft when poked with a finger.

6. Punch down the dough, then transfer it onto a lightly floured surface.

7. Shape the dough into a ball, and with your hands flatten slightly and stretch it lengthwise. Using a rolling pin, start rolling the dough beginning at one end until you obtain a long flat bread about ½ inch thick (1.27cm), 14 inches long (35cm) and 8 inches (20cm) wide.

8. Carefully transfer the bread onto a non-stick baking sheet, fixing the shape as necessary. Leave the dough to rest on the sheet for another 15 minutes before baking.

9. Preheat the oven to 400?F (200?C).

10. Using a knife, make shallow crosshatching slashes on the bread, 4 from right to left and 4 the opposite way, each at a slight angle. Brush the bread evenly with the egg yolk and sprinkle with seeds.


11. Place the baking sheet on the middle rack of the oven and bake the bread for 20-25 minutes, or until it is golden on top and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.

NUSH OLSUN! ENJOY!

Spinach With Eggs / Ispanaq Chighirtmasi

AZERBAIJAN FOOD

Spinach is good for you. It’s healthy. I always knew it was good but if you asked me the specifics of its benefits, I would be clueless as to what to say. But after reading a bunch of “spinach”-related articles over the Internet (it saves, doesn’t it), I learned one thing for sure - Need more Iron? Go for spinach! I can’t say I am in love with spinach, but I buy it more often now (yeah, after I discovered the iron thing:) Good advice to those of you who like me don’t like the long picking over, washing and draining part - Buy packaged spinach, already cut and washed (I prefer triple washed!, thank you for doing that) and voila! you saved your valuable time!

Today on the menu is Spinach with Eggs. This colorful and flavorful dish is great when served as a light lunch or dinner meal. Although traditionally the eggs are poured over the spinach, I also like to make wells in several places in spinach mixture and beat the eggs into each. If opting for this version, cover the pan and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the eggs are set. Top your masterpiece with garlic and yogurt sauce, and you have that authentic touch! Enjoy!

SPINACH WITH EGGS / Ispanaq Chighirtmasi

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves 4

INGREDIENTS
2 pounds fresh spinach, thoroughly washed and drained
5 tablespoons butter or oil (olive, vegetable, corn)
1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
½ teaspoon salt, or more to taste
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
4 eggs, lightly beaten

Yogurt-garlic sauce
1 cup plain yogurt, mixed with 2-3 gloves peeled and crushed garlic

1. Fill a large pan with water and bring to a boil. Toss in spinach and blanch for about 3 minutes, or until just wilted.

2. Remove from heat, and drain well in a colander, pressing with a slotted spoon to squeeze it as dry as possible (or wait until it cools off and squeeze dry with your hands). Place the cooked spinach on a cutting board and chop coarsely.

3. In a medium non-stick frying pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add onion and sauté for about 5 minutes, or until soft and lightly brown. Toss in the spinach, mix well and stir-fry for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Pour the eggs evenly over the spinach. Tilt the pan to distribute the eggs evenly. Cover and cook for about 7-10 minutes, or until the eggs are well set.

5. Serve immediately with bread and topped with yogurt-garlic sauce.

NUSH OLSUN! ENJOY!

Layered Rice Pilaff With Dried Fruits and Chestnuts / Parcha-dosheme Plov

AZERBAIJAN FOOD

Eziz Qonaqlar, Meclisimize Ash Gelir! Ok, no panicking, it’s in Azeri, I’ll translate, word by word: Dear Guests, Pilaff is Entering Our Ceremony! This is how the Tamada, a Toastmaster always announces the appearance of a festive Pilaff at the Azerbaijani wedding ceremony. Royal treatment, you would say? Now, listen to this. Beautifully presented and mouth-watering pilaff is literally escorted to the reception area with one person at the head (a dancer in a national costume or a waiter) carrying the pilaff plate and others following with torches in their hands. This plate is placed on the bride and groom’s table. And of course, all this is accompanied by beautiful music and a happy cheering of the guests. Now, this is royal!

Yes, Rice Pilaff is the king (or the queen:) of all foods in Azerbaijan. It is not prepared on a daily basis, but there is hardly any celebration, ceremony that would not have pilaff on the menu.

Azerbaijani cuisine boasts countless versions of it, with every region having its own special recipe. Typically, long grain rice is steamed with saffron on top and a layer of golden crust called Gazmag (in Azeri: qazmaq) on the bottom. Traditionally, a crust is prepared from eggs, flours, butter and yogurt. Or, if you are pressed with time, simply lay peeled sliced potatoes or flat bread - lavash on the bottom, then scoop the rice on top and steam it.

Usually this type of Pilaff is served with additions, known as ashgara (ashqara) or khurush, prepared separately from the rice. Meat, dried fruits, fresh herbs, fish, vegetables and aromatic spices are cooked in many different ways to make the addition, which, when ready, is piled on top of the cooked saffron rice on individual serving plates.

Some recipes call for the addition to be cooked with the rice, inside the same pot. Like the one I am posting today. It is a simplified version of a layered rice pilaff called Parcha-dosheme Plov in Azeri. The origianal recipe requires a crust on the bottom before other ingredients are layered on top. In our family the following simplified version of it is cooked more often. No crust, but still delicious! Make it a part of your Novruz table!

LAYERED RICE PILAFF WITH DRIED FRUITS & CHESTNUTS
Parcha-Dosheme Plov

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour
Servings: 4 to 6

INGREDIENTS
3 cups long-grain white Basmati rice (you can also use long-grain American rice)
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup peeled chestnuts*
½ cup pitted dried apricots (you can half them, too, if they are too big)
1 cup dried sour plums, pitted
½ cup pitted dates
½ cup golden raisins
1 ½ (700g) pounds skinless, boneless chicken cut into 2-inch (5cm) cubes
1 medium onion, peeled, cut in half lengthways, then thinly sliced in half-circles
1/3 teaspoon ground saffron threads*, dissolved in 3 tablespoons hot water
salt
ground black pepper

VARIATION 1: You can also use lamb in this recipe instead of chicken. Boil the lamb it in a pan with water for about 5 minutes, skimming the froth with a slotted spoon, then drain and use as directed in the recipe. This is done to remove the unpleasant smell and to get rid of the excessive froth lamb releases.

VARIATION 2: You can substitute dried sour plums with dried barberries (in Azeri: zirinc) or dried pitted sour cherries.

1. Pick over the rice carefully, removing any stones or other extraneous particles. Place the rice on a fine-mesh strainer or colander and wash thoroughly under lukewarm water until the water runs clear (as close to clear as possible). The rinsing process removes the starch so that the rice grains will remain separate after cooking.

2. Soak the rice in a large container filled with lukewarm water mixed with 1 tablespoon of salt.

3. While the rice is soaking, prepare fruits and chestnuts. In a medium frying pan, heat 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add peeled chestnuts and stir-fry for about 3 minutes. Add dried apricots, plums and dates and stir-fry for another 3 minutes. Add raisins (add them last because they brown fast and can be easily burned) and stir-fry for 1 more minute. Remove from heat.

4. In a large non-stick saucepan, combine 10 cups of water and 2 tablespoons salt. Bring to a boil. Drain the soaked rice (do not rinse) and add it, in batches, to the pot. Boil for about 7 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, to prevent rice grains from sticking to the bottom. Watch the rice closely so as not to overcook. The rice is ready once it surfaces to the top. Try one grain to see if it’s ready - it must be barely done - not fully cooked and not too soft (VERY IMPORTANT). Drain the rice in a large fine-mesh strainer or colander. Set aside.

5. Rinse the pot you boiled the rice in. Melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat. Tilt the pan to distribute it evenly. Arrange meat in one l layer at the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt and pepper, to taste. Follow with the layer of sliced onions. Simmer over medium heat uncovered, without stirring, for about 3 minutes to let the flavors develop.

6. Place half of the rice in the pot over the onion. Arrange the dried fruits and chestnuts in one layer on top of the rice. Pile the rest of the rice on top of the fruits, mounding the rice nicely in the shape of a pyramid. Pour 1 tablespoon melted butter over rice.

7. Place a clean dishtowel or 2 layers of paper towel over the pot and cover firmly with a lid to absorb the steam. Lift the corners of the towel over the lid as shown in the picture below.




8. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 30 minutes. Then open the lid and sprinkle the saffron water on top of the rice.


9. Cover again and simmer for another 30 minutes. When ready, meat should be cooked and lightly golden on the bottom. The onion will almost melt into the meat and will not be that visible. Rice grains should be separate and fluffy, and not sticky.

10. When ready to serve, gently take 1 spatula full of rice, fruits and meat at a time, placing it on the large serving platter. This Pilaff is delicious served with pickles, vegetable salad or fresh herbs. Nush Olsun! Enjoy!