Potato Dumplings

I don't know if you ever fell like ... "shrunken", in the mind as well as in the body. Like if someone or something has compressed you and you are waiting for the time to scratch yourself and begin something new. Well, more or less is my sensation, now. It's not that easy to explain. I'm a little worried, but people around me just tell me that "moments of transition" are normal and I should "enjoy" them . Not sure about this, so, in the meanwhile, I try to cheer me up at least with some food!

The recipe I'm gonna show you need a little "introduction".

You should know that my boyfriend has a wonderful memory of the gnocchi dish that his Grandmother, Nonna Ines, used to cook when he was a child. Unfortunately we can't find her recipe. His brother has tried once, achieving a very good result, but I have never ate this dish and I was sooo curious. "They (gnocchi) were sooo soft, they melt down in your mouth, they were amazing, oh, I would like so much to eat them again, they were unique! They made me so happy!"

Perfect for me! And, of course, my taste buds could not resist to such a temptation!

We call his brother in Italy to know something about the ingredients. Turned out: no eggs and just a liiiitle of flour. I wasn't convinced at all, I mean, how can they remain compact with little of flour and no eggs?

Well. They can. And they are something I have never taste before. My taste buds went crazy. I can't describe it, but they melted, literally, leaving a delicate taste, so, simple and so ... they brought me the reassurance I needed in this wired day.

Gnocchi di Patate

TOOLS:

• 1 pot
• a surface where to knead and shape the dumplings

TIMING:

• 1 hour and a half

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 yellow potatoes, about 25 ounces (circa 700 grammi patate)
• 9 ounces flour, but it depends on several factors such as humidity, kind of potatoes, ... (circa 250 grammi di farina, ma dipende da molti fattori, umidità, tipo di patate usate, ...)
• salt
• some butter and fresh sage for seasoning

FIRST STEP:

• cook potatoes in their skins until they turn soft, about 40/45 minutes. To cook them put in cold water and than bring to boil

cuocere le patate con la buccia in acqua fredda finchè non diventano morbide, circa 40/45 minuti

SECOND STEP:

• when they are still hot, peel them and put them through a fine sieve (or just use your fork to smash them)

quando sono ancora calde pelatele e passatele in un setaccio o usate una forchetta per schiacciarle bene. Attenzione che non rimangano pezzi non schiacciati!

THIRD STEP:

• put potatoes on your work surface, add 1/2 tsp of salt and the flour. Mix well. As soon as the dough comes together stop adding flour. The secret is to add just the bare minimum of flour!

aggiungete alle patate un pizzico di sale e la farina e lavorate. Quando l'impasto rimane insieme non aggiungete altra farina. Il segreto è mettere solo la farina necessaria, non un grammo di più!

FOURTH STEP:

• shape the dumplings. To do so shape little spheres of 0,6 inches diameter. Than, dusting with flour all the time, gently push each piece of dough on a fork with your thumb, so that it take the classical shape: lines on the top, little dig on the bottom

formate gli gnocchi. Create delle piccole sfere di circa 1,5 cm di diametro. Infarinandov spesso le mani, spingete con il pollice la pallina su una forchetta così che si crei la classica forma dello gnocco. Piccole strishe sopra e una piccola scavatura sotto.

FIFTH STEP:

• Cook them in boiling and salted water. Be careful to immerse them one at a time. When they surface let them cook another 3 minutes. to drain them use a skimmer. Season with melted butter, frash sage and grated Parmigiano!

cuocete gli gnocchi in acqua bollente e salata. Quando vengono a galla fateli cuocere altri tre minuti e poi scolateli con una schiumarola. Condite con buro fuso, salvia e un bel pò di parmigiano!

Enjoy! Buon Appetito! ... and Grazie Nonna Ines :-)

Cook the book! - 2 -

Buongiorno!

Welcome to the second "Cook the Book" column of this blog. The book I want to propose you today is written by an amazing Italian chef who owns a restaurant in London: Giorgio Locatelli.

I first bought this book in Italy, by chance. I was wandering about in the cooking section of a bookshop when I saw this book, with an extra discount (it's written in English ... ). The title caught my attention, it's "Made in Italy. Food and Stories". And in fact it is about that, food and stories.

As I truly believe, cooking is not only a matter of ingredients, but it's also a fact of memories. We cook what our mothers and grandmothers thought us. Every recipe brings in itself a memory of a definite person, place or time, and cooking is like recreating all that through flavors and smells. This is what you will find in Giorgio's book. It is a wonderful cookbook, and it's also the story of his Italy. Every chapter analyzes a part of the meal, from "Antipasti" to "Dolci" and for each section there are several in-depth examination of the ingredients, the techniques, and the Italian customs.

I'm sure you will fall in love with this book ...

"la Convivialità - (...) is the word I use most to explain the way Italians feel about food. For us the sign of welcome is to feed people. At the heart of all cooking, whether you are rich or poor, is the spirit of conviviality, the pleasure that comes from sharing a meal with others. And there is no enjoyment of food without quality."

Giorgio Locatelli

Asparagus pesto!

What a wonderful day here in New York! People are all sitting in the restaurants' porches eating their brunch.

Indeed, this morning I woke up in a bad mood and, to cheer me up, I decided to buy a new little plant: a "Lemon-Thyme". It has a wonderful smell and I'm eager to use it in a new recipe.

In the meanwhile enjoy this Pasta made with an Asparagus pesto. The lemon add a fresh taste and the result is very interesting. Hope you like!

Conchiglie al pesto di Asparagi

TOOLS:

• a pot
• a food processor

TIMING:

• 25 minutes

INGREDIENTS: (as usual, for 2)

• 5,6 ounces Conchiglie Pasta (160 gr. pasta conchiglie)
• a bunch of asparagus (un mazzo di asparagi, circa 200 gr.)
• 1/2 lemon
• 1,8 ounces grated Parmigiano (50 gr. parmigiano grattuggiato)
• 1 ounce pine nuts (30 gr. pinoli)
• nutmeg
• extra-virgin olive oil
• salt

FIRST STEP:

• wash the asparagus and than cook them in boiling and salted water for not more than 10 minutes (depending on the size) being sure that the edges are over the water although they will cook too much. Cover the pot with a lid. If you can't cook them in this way just cut the edges and take them off the water some minutes before the rest of the asparagus

lavate gli asparagi e cuoceteli in acqua bollente e salata facendo attenzione che le punte rimangano fuori dall'acqua e chiudete con un coperchio. Se non riuscite a tenerli su, per esempio legandoli, taglaiete le punte prima di metterle a cuocere e toglietele dall'acqua qualche minuto prima del resto degli asparagi.

SECOND STEP:

• Set aside the asparagus' edges

Tenete da parte le punte degli asparagi

• Put the asparagus stalks in the food processor with the Parmigiano, 1/2 a lemon's juice, pine nuts (just set aside some of them for the garnish) , a pinch of salt, 5 tablespoons of oil, a pinch of grated nutmeg

Mettete i gambi degli asparagi nel mixer con il parmigiano, il succo di mezzo limone, i pinoli (tenetene alcuni da parte per la guarnizione), un pizzico di sale, 5 cucchiai di olio, un pizzico di noce moscata tritata

• Whisk at medium speed until all the ingredients are melted together and become a cream

Frullate e media velocità finchè tutti gli ingredienti non sono ben mescolati e avete ottenuto una crema

THIRD STEP:

• Cook pasta al dente (!) in the same water were asparagus were cooked. It's tastier and the water is rich in the vitamins released by the asparagus

Devo tradurre?! Cuocete nell'acqua degli asparagi, che è gustosa e ha le vitamine rilasciate dagli asparagi in cottura

• Drain pasta and dress with the asparagus pesto. I suggest you to dress pasta in the pot where it has been cooked, with the fire turned off, so that also the pesto will get warm. Arrange in a plate and garnish with asparagus edges and some pine nuts.

Scolate la pasta e conditela con il pesto di asparagi. Conditela nella pentola in cui la pasta è cotta, ma fuori dal fuoco, in modo che anche il pesto si scaldi senza cuocere. Sistemate in un piatto e guarnite con le punte degli asparagi e alcuni pinoli

Torta della Nonna

Torta della Nonna means "Grandmother's cake" and, in this case, I'm referring to my grandmother Maria. Making a grandmother cake, to me means regain that "comfort" I felt when I was a child. It means remember of those days when play and discover were the main activities of the day, just spaced out by tasty "merende" (afternoon snacks). I ate slices of fresh bread just spread with some good extra-virgin oil, vinegar and salt ... or home made cake like this one.

This is not a super chic recipe of a fancy cake , it's "just" a simple act of love!

TORTA DELLA NONNA

TOOLS:

• 1 bowl
• electric whisk
• 1 cake pan

TIMING:

• 1 hour

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 1/2 cup flour (300 gr farina)
• 2 cups sugar (200 gr zucchero)
• 3,5 oz butter (100 gr burro)
• 2 tablespoons baking powder (una bustina di lievito vanigliato)
• 1/2 tbs vanilla
• 3 eggs (3 uova)
• 3 golden delicious apples (3 mele delizia)
• the juice of 1 lemon + 1 mandarin (il succo di un limone e un mandarino)

Preheat oven at 350 F

Scaldare il forno a 180°C

FIRST STEP

• peel the apples and cut them in slices of 0.2 inches

sbucciare le mele e tagliarle in fette di mezzo centimetro circa di spessore

• drizzle with the lemon&mandarin juice

irrorare con il succo del limone e del mandarino

SECOND STEP

• beat the eggs and the sugar all together until the mixture become light and soft

sbattere le uova con lo zucchero finchè il composto non diventa più chiaro e spumoso

• add to the mixture the melted butter (room temperature) and beating

aggiungere al composto il burro fuso a temperatura ambiente e continuare a sbattere con le fruste

• add, spoon after spoon, the flour and the baking powder winnowed (+ vanilla), keeping beating

continuando a sbattere aggiungere la farina e il lievto setacciato

THIRD STEP

• put the apples into the mixture and gently mix

mettere le mele nel composto e mescolare delicatamente

FOURTH STEP

• transfer in the cake pan (covered by a sheet of parchment paper), sprinkle sugar on it and cook for about 40 minutes

trasferire il composto nella teglia foderata con carta da forno, spoleverare con zucchero e cuocere per circa 40 miuti (dipende dal forno)

Enjoy, and maybe you'll find out that life is still playing and discovering ...

Straccetti al Marsala

Hi everybody! Today I am going to show you one of my boyfriend's favorite recipes ... it's so simple, and so comforting that I'm sure you are gonna love it! Enjoy!

STRACCETTI AL MARSALA

TOOLS:

• 1 frying pan

TIMING:

• 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

• 7 oz beef escalopes, (about 0,2 inches of thickness) (circa 2 etti di scaloppine di vitello)
• 1/2 glass of Marsala wine (mezzo bicchiere di vino Marsala)
• rosemary (rosmarino)
• 1 tablespoon of butter (burro)
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil (olio)
• salt (sale)
• flour (farina)

FIRST STEP:

• cut the escalope in little "straccetti", which means little stripes of more or less ¼ inch of width and for the length the shorter one of your escalope. Ok, did you get something? Well, maybe a picture is better!

tagliare le scaloppine in straccetti, cioè piccole strisce di carne

SECOND STEP:

• Lightly flour the straccetti

infarinare leggermente gli straccetti

...In the meanwhile...

THIRD STEP:

• Put some butter and two spoons of oil in a pan, medium heat

mettere olio e burro in una padella su fuoco medio

• Gently shake the meat to remove the flour in excess

scuotere delicatamente gli straccetti pe eliminare la farina in eccesso

• When the butter is melt add some rosemary and the meat

quando il burro è sciolto aggiungere il rosmarino e gli straccetti

FOURTH STEP:

• Cook straccetti for 4/5 minutes on medium heat. Be careful to melt them frequently.

cuocere gli straccetti per 4/5 minuti avendo cura di girarli frequentemnte

• Salt

salare

• When they are lightly brown add half a glass of MARSALA and let it evaporate

quando sono dorati sfumare con il marsala e quindi servire

Buon appetito!

Cook the book! - 1 -

Well, not literally, of course! This time I'm not going to show you any recipe. Instead I want to share with you some good ideas for your culinary readings. It's not so easy to move among the huge offer of cookbooks and kitchen guides. Several are just amazing, other are just awful. For what concern Italian Cooking, the question is even more difficult. So you can find book written by some man who are Italian just in their last name. They try to put sandwiches everywhere, and in that kind of book you can easily find wrong Italian words (what the hell is "capicolla"? and, are you sure that Gnocchi & Meatball and Pizza Burger are real Italian dishes? I'm not! by the way, here I'm referring to the book "Carmine's Family Style Cookbook": Avoid it, please!)

So let's try to make some order. Obviously I haven't read all the Italian cookbooks, but I can suggest you some good texts to start your researches. So from now on I am going to start a new "column": Cook the Book! in which you will find some advices for good readings to do in your kitchen!

The first book I recommend you is La scienza in cucina e l'arte di mangiar bene, by Pellegrino Artusi. Yes I know, it's not the most recent cookbook, it was written in 1891, but it's one of my favorite texts about the Italian cookery. In fact it is much more than a cookbook, it's full of anectodes, stories about the post-unification Italy and many advices about how to keep yourself healthy. Artusi had an idea on almost anything! I love his approach to the cookery, it so comforting:

The art of cookery is like a naughty child who often drives you to distraction; however it can also give great satisfaction, either when a dish is a success or when you master a skill. Then you feel please and cry out victory.

So never give up!

In this book you will find some of the most famous recipes of the Italian cookery. It's important to keep in mind that he wrote this book when Italy just started feeling a nation itself. In fact he helped to establish a national cuisine and to unify an incredibly diverse country.

I think this book is an amazing reading for lovers of both Italian cookery and culture.

NOTE:

Here in New York there is an amazing bookstore "devoted exclusively to food and wine". I love independent bookshops (frankly I prefer them to the anonymous chains of bookstores...) and I heartily recommend you to visit it!

Kitchen Arts & Letters , 1435 Lexington Avenue, New York

Dried Tomatoes

Buongiorno a tutti!

Today I have been in Chelsea Market, a place that I loooooove so much!. I bought some dried tomatoes. Well, probably you are asking yourself "why!?" "What are they for?". Dried tomatoes are an healty and versatile ingredients of the mediterranean cuisine. They are typical of Southern Italy, where the women dried San Marzano tomatoes under the powerful summer sunshine. Once dried, they are easy to prepare. Just follow these instructions:

TOOLS:

• a pot (una pentola)

TIMING:

• 15 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

• 7oz dried tomatoes (200gr di pomodori secchi)
• 1/4 cup of wine vinegar, better if white (4 cucchiai di aceto di vino, meglio bianco)
• some capers (alcuni capperi)
• 2 garlic cloves (2 spicchi di aglio)
• some leaves of bay (alcune foglie di alloro)
• salt
• extra-virgin oil

FIRST STEP:

• boil tomatoes in about 6 cups (1,5 litres) of boiling water and 1/4 cup of vinegar for about 7 minutes

bollite i pomodori in acqua bollente e aceto per 7 minuti

• strain and dry very well with a paper cloth

scolate e asciugate bene

SECOND STEP:

• in a pot dispose tomatoes, some capers, little slices of garlic, some laurel leaves and a little pinch of salt

mettete i pomodori in un barattolo e aggiungete capperi, fettine di aglio, foglie di alloro a un pizzico di sale

• repeat the layering until you finish your tomatoes

continuate a disporre i pomodri a strati con gli ingredienti come indicato

• cover completely with extra-virgin oil

coprite con olio

• close the pot and keep it in the refrigerator. It could be preserved for about 2 weeks

chiudete il barattolo e conservate in frigo. Può essere conservato per due settimane.

You can use the tomatoes so prepared for several dishes: with some walnuts to enrich your salad, with cream goat cheese as an appetizer, chopped with ricotta as a delightful sauce for your pasta. Don't be afraid to use so many oil. It's essential to preserve tomatoes and you can use it to dress your dishes as well. Remaining with tomatoes for days it will become absolutely delicious.

Another important fact to remember while preparing this recipe is that dried tomatoes contain a good amount of Iron for your body...I remember my doctor recommended them to me when I was vegetarian...

Soon I think I'm gonna write a post with some advises for kitchen lectures ... I'm doing some researches and I want to share them with you!

So, write you soon!

Spring salad!

NOTE: I have added some basic indications in italian for italian readers and for people who are interested in learning some italian cooking words!

Hey HI!

I have to begin my post confessing you that I thought about this recipe yesterday, when the weather was warmer than today. As a matter of fact this is a salad that I used to cook with my mother to welcoming the spring on the Easter Day. Anyway, I ate it today for lunch and I can assure you that even with a lower temperature it works so well!

The main ingredients are asparagus and salmon, if you wish you can also add quail eggs ...

You can cook the salad as an entrée or, as I did today, as a main and complete dish, depending on the occasion. It's light and healthy.

Asparagus is a seasonal vegetable. It contains vitamins A, B, C, folic acid (very important for pregnant women) and it is diuretic (oh-oh!). Salmon is a fish rich of omega3 fatty-acids. So this recipe is very good both for your taste and for your body.

Before starting another little info: I have tried the DE CECCO pasta bought here in Manhattan, and I think it's ok. I mean, I was afraid for the quality because often Italian brands use different standards for the production of ingredients for the foreign market, but I have to admit that this one isn't bad at all! In the next weeks I'm going to try other brands.

And now let's start!

INSALATA PRIMAVERILE DI ASPARAGI E SALMONE (spring salad with asparagus and salmon)

TOOLS:

• 1 frying pan (padella)
• 1 pot (pentola)

TIMING:

• 1 night for the marinade (1 notte per la marinatura)
• 30 minutes for the recipe

INGREDIENTS:

• a little head of lettuce (una piccola testa di lattuga)
• a bunch of asparagus
• 7oz of salmon fillet (200gr)
• 1/2 avocado
• white wine (Chardonnay)
• fennel seeds (semi di finocchio)
• lemon
• oil
• salt

FIRST STEP:

• cut salmon into little cube

tagliare il salmone a cubetti

• marinade it with the wine and some fennel seeds for a night (also a little more it's ok!), keeping in the fridge

marinare con vino e semi di finocchio per una notte in frigo

SECOND STEP:

• after having washed the asparagus, boil them in boiling and salted water for not more than 10 minutes (depending on the size), being sure that the edges are over the water, although they will cook to much.

cuocere gli asparagi in acqua bollente e salata per non più di 10 minuti

...in the meanwhile...

THIRD STEP:

• warm up a frying pan and, when it's warm, add the salmon drain from the wine. Let it cook for 10 minutes without seasoning (so that the salmon will lose its fat: oh yeah it's ok also for your figure!!!)
• when cooked let it colder in a plat

scaldare la pentola e quindi aggiungere il salmone scolato dalla marinatura. far cuocere circa 10 minuti

FORTH STEP:

• prepare a citronette: 5 spoons of oil, 2 spoons of lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Beat it!

preparare la citronette con 5 chucchiai d'olio, 2 di succo di limone e sale sbattuti

FIFTH STEP:

• put together salad, asparagus, salmon and avocado and dress with citronette!

unire gli ingredienti e condire con la citronette

Buon appetito!

What to do with the remnant of your ricotta?! (and chicken!?)

How many times do you left food, and than forgot it in your fridge for days until the only thing to do is throw it away (unless you want to experience a visit to the nearest hospital!)?

Considering that it's understandable that you don't feel like eating the same food for days and considering that throw food away it's a bad act here I am with an easy recipe! I made it yesterday for dinner to use remnant ricotta and chicken!

(I apologize for the bad quality of the photos, but it was night and my boyfriend was very very hungry "I don't wanna photos....I want to eat!" Yes sweetheart, can you just hold the white paper more on the left so that the light would be better?" "...")

POLPETTE DI POLLO E RICOTTA (Chicken and ricotta meatballs)

Tools:

• 1 pan
• 1 frying pan

Timing:

• 35 minutes

Ingredients (for 2):

• 7 oz ricotta (200 gr)
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 lemon
• 1 egg
• 4 spoons of breadcrumbs
• a pinch of parsley
• salt
• 3 spoons of oil

FIRST STEP:

• in a pan of boiling and salted water, boil the chicken for about 10/15 minutes

...in the meanwhile...

SECOND STEP:

• put ricotta in a bowl
• add salt, minced parsley, the grated lemon zest
• in a little bowl whisk the egg

THIRD STEP:

• Mince the chicken breast and add it to the other ingredients
• Melt

FORTH STEP:

• shape meatballs
• pass them in the egg and than in the breadcrumbs
• fry on low heat in hot oil until they become slightly brown
• adjust with salt
• dish with a fresh green salad!

Buon appetito!

Buona Pasqua! Happy Easter to everyone...

I just wanted to wish everyone a wonderful day!

I have read the post I wrote yesterday and suddenly I have realized that I have published a pasta recipe without saying nothing about the most important ingredient: PASTA!

Next week I promise I will make up for it with a post about pasta: which rules to follow for a perfect dish, which brands are better to buy here in the USA and some other tips.

And now let's just enjoy this day of relax...

Buona giornata!

Ricotta time

Ciao!

I'm so happy we are going to start with the recipes! Here is the first one. It's an easy dish, very good to comfort oneself in a sunny day. I have done it today at lunch and it took me really few minutes: I'm talking about Pasta con la Ricotta.

Before starting with the directions I want to spend some words on this wonderful cheese.

To be accurate ricotta isn't a "cheese". In fact it's obtained by the re-cooking (ricotta=re-cooked) of the siero (whey) produced during the process of making cheese. For this reason ricotta it's already LOW FAT and you don't need to buy the skim or low fat type.

Remember: less process had undergo the food, the better it is for your health!

Another advice to buy a good product is looking at the ingredients on the pack.

Yesterday I have been in Wholefood in Union Square and I have found many kinds of "Ricotta". I had to discard some because of the ingredients. Ricotta ingredients must be Whole Milk, Salt and Curd. That's it. No vinegar or other weird stuff in it!

And now ... let's start with the recipe, at least!

PASTA CON LA RICOTTA

Tools:

• 1 pot
• 1 bowl

Timing:

• 15 minutes

Ingredients (for 2):

• 5 onces of ricotta
• 1 tomato (costoluto is in season, and it's very tasty ... soon a post about this too!)
• 5 onces of pasta (short is better, like "mezze penne")
• 2 spoons of oil
• salt
• basil

FIRST STEP

• put water in the pot and bring to a boil
• add salt when boiling
• add pasta in the pan and cook it ... al dente!

...in the meanwhile...

SECOND STEP

• put the ricotta in a bowl
• cut the tomato in little parts and add it to the ricotta
• melt

THIRD STEP

• add 2 or 3 spoons of hot water from your pasta pot into the ricotta
• add oil, salt and basil
• melt

FORTH STEP

• strain pasta and, once strained, put it in the hot pot but not on the stove
• add your sauce and melt
• dish

A tavola!

Buona appetito!

Welcome everyone!

Today it's Spring in New York. Spring means begin again after months of grey skys, freeze wind and snow. So here I am, ready to start a new chapter of my life with this blog. Before starting I would beg your mercy for my english: I'm very sorry, but I'm italian and I will need some time to improve the language. Please be patient!

And now: let's start!

What about this blog? Primarily here you will find recipes, italian recipes, easy and simple way to comfort yourselves and your family and friends with food. I know that everyone has a job and lots of things to do every day. I know that many times it's easier order food, buy prepared food or going out, but I want to show you that cooking something good, tasty and natural it's not that difficult. It could also be a relaxing and enjoyng moment of your day.

Talking about recipes means also talking about ingredients. Ingredients are the most important thing for cooking a wonderful meal. For this reason I will go with you all around New York to find good places where buy exceptional ingredients for a fair price. I will suggest you useful books and web sites in which you could find infos and ideas for your everyday cooking-life.

Don't expect a blog full of beautiful pictures about chic dishes. I love that kind of blogs, but this is not my purpose. I want to give you practical infos and suggestions that you could really make again in your home.

That's all, I mean for now! I hope we could cook together soon ... enjoy!