Posted on:pasta vegetarian verdure

RAVIOLI DI MAMMA

My favourite pasta dish EVER ! This is the dish that I would crave the most and the one that would make me feel at home

A wholesome, fresh and super tasty recipe and an ideal alternative to meat or ricotta ravioli. The potato filling makes the whole dish a perfect main course! This is a recipe that I learned from my Mamma and it took me a long time to “master” the fiddly dumping shape ( although I still don’t think I have completely mastered it)

As a child I loved making this delicious recipe and as well as kneading the dough I would help rolling the filling into small balls and ….. secretly eat them, I can still remember what they tasted like 🙂 …

In Italian we say:

FARE LA PASTA /FAH-REH LAH PASH-STAH/ = making pasta (verb + feminine noun)

IMPASTARE /EEM-PAH-STAH-REH/ = to knead, verb


PATATE /PAH-TAH-TEH/ = potatoes, feminine noun (plural)


MENTA / MEN – TAH/ = mint, feminine noun (singular)


POMODORO /POH-MOH-DO-ROH/ = tomato , masculine noun (singular)

Serving 6 

Ingredients 

For the Ravioli:

Plain Flour Tipo  “00”       250g

Semolina     250g

White Potatoes   5/6 large

Mint, finely chopped    1 bunch

Spring Onions    2

Garlic Cloves   1 whole

Extra Virgin Olive Oil     4 tbsp

Water 1 glass

Salt, large pinch   1

Parmesan, grated     50g

For the Sauce:

Tomato Passata      2 bottles (680g per bottle)

White Onion, half, finely chopped

Basil, finely chopped      1bunch

Olive Oil, 2 tbsp

Salt, 1 pinch

Filling : Peel the potatoes and cut them in small chunks. Boil them until soft, put them into a large bowl and mash them until creamy and smooth.
In a small pan put the olive oil, the spring onion finely chopped and the garlic clove. Put it on the heat until simmering. Take the pan off the heat and the mint. Let the oil cool down.
Take the garlic out and pour the oil in the mash, add the grated parmesan and a pinch of salt. Stir it until soft and smooth. Add some more salt if needed.
Pasta: Place the flour and the semolina on a board or in a bowl and make a well in the centre. Add some water and mix it together
Once it is all combined, knead until you have a silky, smooth, elastic dough. You are aiming to achieve a play dough texture.
If your dough is crumbly (too dry) add a teaspoon of water. If the dough sticks to your hands (too wet) add a little extra flour or semolina. Cover with cling film and rest for 30 minutes.
Take a tennis ball-sized amount of dough, squash it flat with your fingers, push it through the pasta roller on the widest setting. Fold into thirds, then repeat 3 times. Once you have a rough square shape, start working it through the machine, taking it down one setting at a time, until the thinnest setting.
You should end up with a long sheet of pasta about 8-10cm wide. Place this on a flat surface with flour underneath to stop it from sticking. Use a circular cutter (8/10 cm diameter) or a glass of the same size.


Gently press the mould in the pasta to form lots of round shapes. Place about a small ball of filling into each circle and very gently try closing each dumpling in the shape of drop. Please watch the video for the tutorial, hope it will be helpful 🙂

https://youtu.be/Zg5dxdwdRUo

Make as many ravioli/dumplings as possible, using up all the filling and the dough.
In a large saucepan bring 1/1.5l water to the boil and add a table spoon of coarse salt. As the water is boiling gently place your ravioli into the water, 5 at the time. They will cook pretty quickly ( as soon as they floating you know they are cooked). Use a small colander to get the out and gently place them on a serving dish.
Sauce: In a large pan put the olive oil, the onion and some of the basil. Put it on the heat until simmering. Add the passata, a pinch of salt and cover with a lid, cook on a low heat for 10 minutes. Add the rest of the basil before serving.
Now pour the sauce on your ravioli , sprinkle some parmesan and enjoy !!!

BUON APPETITO !

Posted on:carne Uncategorized verdure

PEPERONI RIPIENI – Stuffed Peppers

Hot or cold, same day or the next… you are going to LOVE this dish ❤️

This is what us Italians call:

“UN PIATTO COMPLETO” a complete dish ☺️ it’s complete as vegetables and meat are combined together but there’s also a veggie option for my vegetarian friends 🌱

Ingredients

(Serving 4/5 ) 

4/6 peppers ( yellow/red or orange)

500g beef mince

One boiled potato 🥔 (medium size)

2 garlic cloves , one garlic clove finely chopped; the other clove left whole

Handful of fresh Parsley 🌱

Bread crumbs ( handful) 

One egg 🥚 

Olive oil 

Salt, tsp 🧂 

Plain Tomato Passata 300g

Dried Oregano 🌿 , tsp

Parmesan or cheddar

Vegetarian option ( Swap mince for Rice)

150g Plain rice 🍚 (boiled) 

Handful of cherry tomatoes (diced)

Basil 🌿, handful, chopped 

1 garlic clove 🧄, halved

Cappers (optional)

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees 

In a large bowl mix the mince with chopped garlic, chopped parsley, an egg and a handful of breadcrumbs. Add a tsp of salt 🧂and mix everything in. 

Halve the peppers, take the seeds out and place the mince inside the peppers (starting with a tablespoon of mince first and keep filling the peppers until they are completely full). If you have some mince leftover you can make some meatballs and cook them in the sauce.

Place them on a tray and bake them for 20 minutes at 190 degrees 

In a large pan add a couple of tbs of olive oil, add the oregano 🌿 and the whole garlic, put the pan on a medium heat. Add the passata 🍅, season with salt and cook on a low heat for 5 minutes.

Take the peppers out the oven, place them in the pan and keep cooking them in the pan, with the lid on.

Sprinkle some cheese and keep cooking until the cheese melts completely 

Veggie option:

Boil 150g of rice.

Mix the tomatoes 🍅 ,capers, basil 🌿 and the rice together.

Fill the peppers and sprinkle some breadcrumbs ( breadcrumbs will avoid the rice to dry up once in the oven), drizzle with olive oil 

Place the peppers on an oven tray and bake for 20 minutes at 190 degrees or until the peppers are softened 

You can add some grilled asparagus or courgettes as a fresh side dish to go with it

Buon appetito ☺️

Posted on:pasta verdure

PASTA PER ANNA

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Pasta Per Anna

  • Servings: 4-5
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ciao a  tutti! I hope everyone is well and safe during this difficult time where we need to support and help each other to face probably one of the most challenging times we have ever experienced. Once, I heard my Nonna saying that Food is LOVE made visible and of course, it is also the main ingredient of our meals. I hope today I managed to “hug” you and share some AMORE with this dish 🙂 This recipe is inspired by someone truly amazing, a fighter whose energy and positivity are infectious, she is one of a kind and I wanted to share my support by doing a dish that is full of goodness and nutrients, a combination of healthy ingredients to help her fight the biggest battle. Due to a shortage of food I created this dish using what we found in the supermarkets so you can swap some of the ingredients if you need  to. 
Beautiful and fresh for lunch and dinner, this is perfect to eat hot or cold 🙂

Ingredients

150g Kale, finely chopped  (or Greens)

150g Cavolo Nero, finely chopped (if cavolo nero is not available in the shop you can use Spinach)

1 garlic clove, halved ( take the core out to prevent indigestion)

Handful of fresh flat leaf parsley (or Rocket)

Handful of fresh basil

Handful of nuts (pine nuts are traditionally used in Pesto but any type of nuts will be just fine)

4 to 6 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil ( a good quality)

Salt

250g Pasta (Short type like Penne, Fusilli…)

Parmesan Cheese 

Directions

     

    1.Bring 1 to 1.5 lt of water to a boil in a large sauce pan.

    Add a tablespoon of course salt into the water as it’s starting to boil, pour the kale and the cavolo nero in and cook for 5 minutes.

    If you are using spinach, don’t add it into the water as we’ll eat it raw.

  1. Have a hand blender ready. Add to the blender the spinach, basil, parsley, garlic, nuts, olive oil (4 tbs to start with, you can add some more if the paste is too thick), salt and a sprinkle of parmesan. Wiz everything up until the ingredients are all evenly mixed. 
  2. Drain half of the cavolo nero and kale, add it into the blender and mix into the paste.
  3. Keep the rest of the cavolo nero and kale still in the water and add the pasta in. The pasta will cook nicely in the same water absorbing the properties of the vegetables.
  4. Cook your pasta following the time given on the packet but don’t over cook ( we like our pasta to be Al Dente)
  5. Drain the pasta together with the cavolo nero and the kale, place it on a large serving dish, add the green paste and mix.

    6. Sprinkle some parmesan and enjoy…. BUON APPETITO 🙂

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Posted on:verdure

Melanzane -Vi Amo- I Love You

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What’s your feel good food? That kind of food that can lift your spirits immediately, that doesn’t only feed your body but your brain 🧠 too with positive vibes and awesomeness 😍 Everyone has one, no matter what our age is, we all have that special food that we crave, that we love and that will put a smile on our face straight away 💕 mine has to be MELANZANE 🍆 /MEH-LAN-TSAH-NEH/ Aubergines 🍆 I would choose them over everything else 💚 here they are:  “Baked Aubergines with Garlic Breadcrumbs” 👌🏻super easy, fresh and delicious 💚 this is a vegetarian dish that can be eaten hot or cold, with rice, with a fresh salad, even in a bun as a substitute to burgers 🙂

 

Melanzane - Vi Amo - I love You

  • Servings: 4-5
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Nonna has always taught us to eat as many vegetables as possible and no many people are familiar with aubergines, please give it a try and let Nonna know what your feedback is 🙂 this recipe is just perfect for everyone to be eaten hot or cold. 

Beautiful and fresh for lunch and dinner with a side dish or just on its on

Ingredients

  • 2 aubergines, sliced (1.5cm thick) 
  • 100g of home made breadcrumbs – great to use some stale bread and make your own breadcrumbs… as you know we don’t waste any food 🙂 
  • 1 garlic clove, finely chopped or crushed
  • handful of parsley, finely chopped
  • 4tbs olive oil
  • 2tsp salt  

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven at 190 degrees. Slice the aubergines length ways (1/1.5 cm thick). Place them on a non stick tray, sprinkle a pinch of salt and some olive oil (the olive oil keeps them moist). Bake for 15 minutes.
  2. In a bowl, mix together the breadcrumbs, the garlic, the parsley and a pinch of salt. Mix in a little olive oil and a table spoon of water ( it’ll be easier to spread the breadcrumbs)
  3. Turn the aubergines over and with a teaspoon place the breadcrumbs evenly on each one. Add a little more salt and bake for another 15 minutes until golden.
  4. Pronte!! Enjoy them hot or cold, I love them either way