food – BringNonnaBack

April 30, 2020Uncategorized

Ali con i Peperoni e Bruschetta

So much flavour in a very simple dish made with a very few ingredients.

The secret? A very few ingredients 🙂

We love chicken POLLO /POH-LOH/ but we prefer to eat it on the bone and wings are one of the most flavourful part and fantastic for this delicious recipe.

PEPERONI /PEH-PEH-ROH-NEE/ not to be confused with PEPPERONI the sausage you put on pizza, except when you are in Italy of course, because if you ask for a Pepperoni pizza you’ll get a pizza with peppers on top. Yes! Peppers, beautiful peppers… red, yellow, orange!

So far we only have two ingredients: wings and peppers…..wait! that’s exactly what this dish is called!! The truth is that you don’t need to add anything else a part from 4 tablespoons of olive oil and a good pinch of salt.

To accompany the wings I would recommend a beautiful BRUSCHETTA AL POMODORO …. correctly pronounced /BROO-SKEH-TAH/

A little trick for you to master the best Italian pronunciation is remembering that the letters “C” and “H” together sound the opposite to English, CH = /K/ just like in the word CHIANTI (which I am sure you are familiar with)

So…are you ready? SIETE PRONTI?

🙂

Ingredients:

A packet of chicken wings (roughly 12 wings, halved as they will cook quicker)

3 peppers, red / yellow / orange (sliced quite chunky)

NOT green peppers

Olive oil, 4 tbs

Salt

One large non-stick pan with lid

A punnet of cherry tomatoes 🍅 (diced)

Garlic (finely chopped )

Fresh Basil 🌿 (finely chopped)

Bread ( baguette 🥖or any type of bread available 🍞)

Put a large non-stick pan on a medium heat, pour the olive oil in and add the wings. Add the salt, cover with the lid and cook for 10 minutes. Add the peppers and keep cooking for another 10 minutes, stirring every now and again. Add a little more salt if needed. Cook until the wings are golden and the peppers are soft.

In a bowl mix the tomatoes, garlic, basil, olive oil and salt. Let it marinade for 5 minutes before serving on slices of bread

BUON APPETITO, SONO SICURA CHE VI PIACERÀ 🙂

February 21, 2019February 22, 2019dolci

Torta D’Amore e Mele

Torta D'Amore e Mele

Servings: 8
Time: 50mins
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Nonna has always taught us that baking is good for your mind, it’s creative and makes other people happy. LOVE – AMORE /AH-MOH-REH/ is the main ingredient for every recipe and this one has plenty of it.

A wholesome cake, perfect for any occasion or just because today you want to make someone happy ❤️

Ingredients

– 300g plain flour

– 150g sugar

– 60g butter, soften

– 3 eggs

– 60g milk

– 3tbs ground cinnamon

– 1 tbs natural yoghurt

– 3 apples, skin on and finely sliced

– 15g baking powder

– juice of 1 lemon

– cup of water

– icing sugar for decoration

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Grease and line a deep 20cm cake with baking parchment. Core and cut the apples into thin slices and soak them in a little water with lemon juice.

2. Using an electric mixer beat the egg whites until stiff and put them aside. Beat the yolks and the sugar until pale and fluffy. While still mixing add the butter, the flour, the milk, the egg whites, the yoghurt and the cinnamon. Finally add the baking powder and mix well.

3. Pour the mixture into the tin. Drain the apple slices and carefully place them with their skin up on the mixture starting from the centre towards the edges. Sprinkle some sugar.

4. Bake for 35/40 minutes or until golden and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool in the tin for 15 minutes and then carefully turn out onto a wire rack to cool further. Before serving sprinkle some icing sugar

November 19, 2018November 19, 2018pasta

Ravioli di Nonna Pasqualina

Servings: 4-5
Time: 60minutes
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This wholesome recipe brings back some of my childhood memories, I am lucky I am able to share them with my children

Have you thought how much food can have an impact on your memory? The taste, smell, and texture of food can be extraordinarily evocative, bringing back memories not just of eating food itself but also of places and settings. Food is an effective trigger of deeper memories of feelings and emotions, internal states of the mind and body.

We all have food memories and this recipe from my Nonna brings back some of mine…..

…. I grew up on the island of Sardinia coming from quite a large family with lots uncles, aunts and cousins. We all lived very close and our family life was ruled by traditional meals and wholesome food. I learned to cook from an early age, cooking was like a game for us children, some days instead of playing with dolls, we used rolling pins and wooden spoons …. BEI TEMPI! Good old times !!

I was around 7 years old when on a sunny afternoon after school I helped my Nonna make Ravioli for the first time. Making Ravioli was (and still is in our family) a proper gathering, so all my cousins, aunts ( and uncles too) would be there to help Nonna… actually Nonna would make it very clear that she was in charge and that everyone had to follow her instructions. Apparently I was spending more time in tasting the filling and playing with that edible play dough than kneading the dough and filling the pasta. For a little girl that was all that mattered at the time! and that recipe is a memory that I will treasure forever.

My Nonna Pasqualina /PAH-SKOO-AH-LEE-NAH/ was born on 11th April 1922 in small town called Bolotana

She was recently interviewed about her healthy life style and upbringing in Sardinia, at 96 years old she is still an inspiration for all of us and we can only look up to her and learn lessons on the way she lives her life ❤️ Grazie Nonna

You can read her beautiful story all in Italian in Chentannos. Thanks to the amazing Laura Mele for bringing back the memories of the centenarians in Sardinia.

https://www.chentannos.net/it/pasqualina-casula?fbclid=IwAR1u2c_peXbLaznEU5YToGL03tYUZ2gtDElqH8_0QYY-JDtEDGnMSzQh7Ys

Ingredients

For the Ravioli:

250g Plain Flour Tipo “00”

250g Semolina

1 kg good quality of Ricotta cheese

Handful of Parsley, finely chopped

Water 1 glass

Salt, large pinch 1

tbs of Lemon zest

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

Directions

Filling :

Mix the ricotta cheese and the parsley. Add the lemon zest and salt. mix all. 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. Flour the ravioli mould and place one sheet of pasta over the ravioli maker. Gently press the pasta into the depressions of the mould to form cups. Place about a tablespoon of filling into each pocket Place another sheet of pasta over the ravioli filling. Use a rolling pin to press the two layers of pasta together. Start with gentle pressure to press out any air and to form a seal. Then use more pressure to cut the pasta into individual ravioli. Peel off excess dough from around the ravioli. Turn the ravioli maker over and give the mould a shake. The ravioli should easily fall out of the mould. Dust the ravioli with some flour so they won’t stick together. 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 !!!

July 16, 2018September 25, 2018verdure

Melanzane -Vi Amo- I Love You

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
Time: 35mins
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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

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.
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)
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.
Pronte!! Enjoy them hot or cold, I love them either way

July 15, 2018July 15, 2018Uncategorized

Insalata di Tonno e Cannellini

Insalata Tonno e Cannellini

Servings: 4-5
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Summer we missed you so much! To celebrate the beautiful sunshine I would like to share a very simple and versatile salad dish that you can have as a starter, a main or a side dish. I learned that freshness and simplicity are always the key to a successful meal….most of all if you are feeding some hungry teenagers 🙂

I made this salad for a few events that I held in our local community, the exciting thing thing for children is to prepare all the ingredients and to assemble together but the best thing is that children (and grownups) LOVE this dish as it’s full of flavour, freshness and colours.

If you are a vegetarian and you don’t eat fish, you can leave the tuna out and add a handful of cherry tomatoes 🙂

Nonna has always taught us to keep our dishes simple and fresh, this recipe is just perfect for everyone to be eaten in a hot day like today.

Beautiful and fresh for lunch and dinner, this is perfect as a side dish for a BBQ

Ingredients

one red onion, chopped
400g Cannellini beans, rinsed
1 red or yellow pepper, diced
handful of fresh basil, chopped
3tbs olive oil
salt
2tbs balsamic vinegar

160g Tuna chunks in spring water
handful of olives ( I used Nocellara olives but any good quality olives will be fine)

Directions

In a serving dish mix together the cannellini beans, the diced pepper, the diced onion, the tuna, the olives, the basil, the salt, the olive olive oil and the balsamic vinegar.
Ready !!! 🙂
Enjoy on its own or with meat or fish