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 ...