The 'sfoglia'

La Egg fresh pasta is the secret ingredient of many 'national' Italian dishes, from cappelletti to ravioli, from fettuccine to lasagne, the  pasta all'uovo è il segreto di molti piatti 'nazionali' della cucina italiana, dai cappelletti ai ravioli, dalle fettuccine alle lasagne, the 'sfoglia' (dough used to prepare egg pasta) is the main ingredient of holiday recipes and of traditional menus with some kind of fresh pasta on the table. There are as many possible variation of 'sfoglia' as the culinary tradition of eaach family, this is the one handed down for generations in my family and it's a good recipe to elaborate the basic 'sfoglia'. Clearly the dough, the quantity annd the quality of flour change depending on the weather, the humidity in the air and the size of eggs.

Eggs (approx. one egg per person)
Flour (as needed)

Make a well in the centre of the flour, break the eggs within the well, stir energically with a fork till incorporating all the flour, when the dough is tiffer than the dough for the white bread but still soft, work with the hands and a movement that starts from the wrist till obtaining a pat well thick and omogeneous. Slice it in 2cms slices, spread out with the rolling pin or preferably with the pasta maker to obtain a 'sfoglia' as thick as desired, in a pasta maker with bottons from 1 to 7, pass it 3 times in the 1, then 2 times in the 2,  then once in the others till 5 for malttagliati, pizzoccheri, sagnette, 6 for fettuccine, quadrucci, lasagne, filled pasta (ravioli, cappelletti, etc.), 7 with fine fettuccine and capellini.

©2010.2020

Lasagne parmigiane

Lasagne are a distinctive trait of Italian cuisine. If abroad we were not to be known as 'maccheroni' or 'pizza, mafia, mandolino' we would probably be nicknamed lasagne and fettuccine. Just think of a holiday, any Italian family has its typical traditional recipe handed down for generations with some variations that make any dish asbsolutely unique. My granny has at least three recipes, the classical, meat based, and two elaborated upon request: with mushrooms and with artichokes. When I was not a vegetarian I elaborated several recipes, from the one with shrimps to the one with porcini mushrooms and Italian 'salsiccia', or with radicchio and South Tyrol speck. Actually it's a versatile and can be cooked in many vegetarian variations, among which one that mix three traditional dishes, lasagne, aubergines parmigiane and the 'pasta alla norma' 

Cherry tomatoes
Sfoglia 5
Rounded aubergines/eggplants fried
Dried tomatoes

Onion

Fresh basil

Chilli
Salt

(Ricotta salata al forno)

(Mozzarella)

Extra virgin PDO olive oil

Prepare a light tomato sauce browning a mince of onion and chilli in oil, add the cherry tomatoes chopped in three or four, cook at high heat for a few minutes, when almost cooked, add fresh basil. On a side wash and slice (less than 1 cm) the aubergines, put on a tray, salt and cover with a heavy something (e.g. a pot full of water) for at least one hour, squeeze, dry on a cloth and deep fry in olive oil, dry on paper, rpughly chop and add to the sauce. On a side prepare the sfoglia or buy the ready to use in pasta shops and supermakets asking for the 'sfoglia grossa', not the thin one.  Oil a baking tray, pour the sauce, add pasta, then sauce. If using ricotta salata al forno and mozzarella, grate the ricotta, chop the mozzarella in cubes and add a layer of cheese. Then a layer of sfoglia, one of sauce, eventually one of cheese, for approx. 3, 5 layers of sfoglia, the latter being of sfoglia and a dipper of sauce and some fresh cherry tomatoes chopped in two, three, basil leafes and some piece of aubergine. Bake in the warm oven (400°F/200°C) for about 30'.

©2010.2020

Pomodori col riso * Rice filled tomatoes

Oomodori col riso, rice filled tomatoes, are one of the great resources of Italian summer cuisine. Delicious and relatively low-calorie, always keeping in mind that rice has a high quantity of calories so it's perfect especially because it's rich in nutritious but if on a diet controlling the quantity is a good habit, great eaten cold, tepid or just out of the oven. The most tasty aspect of the rituals to cook the typical holiday dish is in the preparation. Eating till the last spoon of sauce needed for the filling is one of the must-do at least once in a lifetime. All the preparation, from choosing the tomatoes till the oven becomes even nicer if using kitchen garden tomatoes or if going to 0miles markets at the sunrise to have a first choice. Wonder of wonders, it's  a completely vegetarian recipe, if excluding the regional variations with minced meat, that non purists nostalgic can always replace with soy granular rehydrated with spicy vegetable broth.

Parboiled Rice
Tomatoes for rice, big, rounded and a bit large

Potatoes

Salt

Extra virgin PDO olive oil
Parsley (a lot of)

Basil (a lot of)
Garlic

Carefully select the tomatoes, cut the upper part that will be used as a lid, empty the inner part paying attention not to cut the external walls mince the internal with the grinder to eliminate the seeds. Chop the basil and the parsley with the two handled chopping knife on a chopping board generously pre-wiped with garlic, Add the mince to the raw tomato juice obtained with the internal part of the tomatoes. On a side, boil approximately one spoon of rice per tomato (depending on how big they are), better a bit more than a bit less, in salty water for a few minutes, approximately 4'-5' if the cooking time is approximately 12'-15', .Drain, put under cold water and pour the rice in the tomato juice seasoned with the mince, salt, and extra virgin olive oil, Fill the tomatoes lightly salted internally, cover with a leaf of basil and the lid, indulge in the joy of eating the remaining rice. Peel, wash and chop in a clean cloth potatoes and put them in the oily baking tray with the tomatoes, Cook in warm oven at about 430°F220°C for about one hour. Serve with the potatoes garnishing with fresh basil flowers.

©2010.2021

Vegetarian low-calorie yogurt cake

Gluttony  respect the four seasons and sweet tooth varies depending on climate. A gorgeous slice of hot strudel sided with an apple and cinnamon herbal tea is just perfect for the first winter cold but in the middle of a hot summer doesn't sound that tempting as a big bowl of hand-made gelato. Gelato cannot be the only choice for a gourmand, sometimes a refreshing cake might be the best option, especially if not too hig-proteine. And in this case the recipes of the contemprary anglosaxons tradition, that apparently have completely Mediterranean roots, probably Roman or Greek, are a good solution, with a variation of the cheesecake in low-calorie vegetarian version, the yogurt cake. Almost all the recipes I read use some meat or fish based ingredient, such as gelatin leaves (or fish-glue), but with a bit of imagination and some modification the result is a great fresh cake relatively low-calorie, delicious for the hot summer days. The cake doesn't require to be cooked but a long time for the preparation, so it's advisable to prepare it in the morning for the evening or a day before.

Light yogurt, white or flavoured with the fruit you prefer

Whipping crean or light spray whipping cream

About 2oo gr 7 oz of mixed biscuits, similar to Digestive (in Italy grancereale or sim. and oro saiwa or sim.)

Fresh fruit
Butter, about 1oo gr 3.5 oz

Honey, one spoon

Cake garnishing depending on the kind of fruit

Mince the biscuits to obtain a raugh chop, melt not completely the butter, mix it with the honey and pour it into the mince to obtain a dense kind of dough, spread out on a baking tray with the edges that can be opened, covered with baking paper. Press, cover with a film, a heavy object and refrigerate for at least two hours. Whip the cream with the yogurt paying attention not to curdle, or if using the light spray cream mix it with the yogurt to obtain a still and soft. The taste can vary, natural to flavour with cinnamon powder or cocoa or strawberry, peaches, raspberry, cherries or other fresh fruit, or light yogurt with fruit to combine with pieces of fresh fruit. Refrigerate for some hours before covering with the dough prepared earlier and refrigerate for at least two hours.
©2010.2020

Friggitelli bell peppers with juniper and pennyroyal

Bell peppers, especially the green ones, are really low-calorie and have a lots of vitamins and minerals. Actually they are a bit difficult to digest but Mediterranean cuisine found a variety of ways to make them more digestible, using a mix of herboristic knowledges and practices  rooted in the popular tradition and in the ancient sciences.  This is the recipe of 'friggitelli' pan fried with wild juniper and pennyroyal, tasty, not high-calorie and good also for the more delicate stomach.

Friggitelli bell peppers

Extra virgin PDO olive oil
White wine for cooking

Wild juniper

Pennyroyal

A small onion

Salt

Wash and dry the friggitelli, eliminate the seeds and the beginning of the stem chop in small rounds. Mince a small slice of onion, better if fresh. In a pan warm the oil with the onion mince and some juniper, add the friggitelli and the pennyroyal, salt, when softened add the white wine, saute for some minutes on high heat, then evaporate the alcohol, lower the heat and keep cooking. Perfect as a seasoning for passta, as a side dish, for cous cous, to flavour quinoa or the millet.

©2010.2020

Costata romanesco zucchini and new potatoes cake

Zucchini are a must of the hot season, in cubes, rounded, baked, in oil, filled. If you ever had  a kitchen garden you know that a dozen zucchini plant can fill the pots  for an entire season and the vegetable can be cooked in as many ways as you can think of. And you need a lot of imagination in cuisine during summer time. But what can you do when you haven't noticed that zucchini are growing a bit too much? Pickled in oil and vinegar is a great solution, when there's more than one as it's a very long process. Surely panfried is not an option, the skin is hard and they are mushy inside, not very tasty. Cooked in the oven are just delicious. Not alone but with big new potatoes easy to find in summer time, seasoned with a provinciali herbs mince.

Costata romanesco zucchini, big, one or two

Extra virgin PDO olive oil
New potatoes, big

Herbs provinciali freshly picked

Salt

Wash and dry the zucchini, peel, wash and dry the potatoes. With a kitchen knife finely chop (approx. as the rounded thin chips), the big zucchini, cutting out the most part of the 'soul' the internal spongy part with seeds. Finely chop the potatoes. Wash the provinciali herbs, savory, peppermint, pennyroyal, avoiding sage, rosemary, basil, parsley. Prepare a first layer of zucchini in a oiled baking tray, add the mince of herbs, then a layer of potatoes, salt, add, herbs, to obtain four or five layers. At the latter add oil, put in the warm oven at 220°C428°F for about one hour. 

Filled friggitelli

Italian summer is as beautiful as hot. Undoubtely the fresh dishes of Mediterranean cuisine help with the heat not forgetting the pleasure of food. The variations of the so many seasons products are really a lot, if you ever had a kitchen garden, you know for certain that at a certain moment you'll have the kitchen packed with two or three vegetable to cook or store with a bit of imagination. If eating zucchini and tomatoes every day can be tiring, Italian culinary creativity can create an almost infinite number of dishes with a few fresh and good ingredients. Let's start with the fritggitelli, small bell peppers easy to find in the kitchen gardens, shops and markets at this time of the year and with a vegetarian recipe good also for those who hate soia, tofu and seitan.

Fresh, sun ripened tomatoes
Extra virgin PDO olive oil

Friggitelli

Fresh peppermint

Fresh savory

Salt

Rind of lemon for garnishing

Wash and dry the friggitelli, cut an upper slice and clear the little seeds out leaving the beginning of the stem whole. On a side finely chop the tomatoes. Mince with the grater the upper part of the friggitelli with fresh peppermint and savory, mix with the tomatoes. Put the friggitelli filled with the mix on an oiled baking tray, put in the warm oven 430°F220°C and serve tepid garnished with tops od peppermint and ribbons of lemon rind.

©2010.2021