risotto – BringNonnaBack

May 16, 2021October 1, 2021pesce

RISOTTO ALLA PESCATORA

After 14 months I can’t believe this is going to be our last CookAlong
It all started at the beginning of the lockdown to keep people connected and focused on something positive and uplifting. I remember the very first one I felt extremely nervous trying to set up my phone on top of a pile of books  to keep it still while I was getting the few ingredients available in the shops at the time, will people watch? Is it going to work? So many questions?
Yes It worked
The 2/3 people in the first class doubled up very quickly and more people were tuning in week after week.
I wasn’t just talking to my phone, I was talking to everyone behind my camera and I was pretending I could hear everyone interacting (well in my head “seeing” faces behind the camera was the best way to hold a 60 minute class talking away about recipes and food stories).
I did try to avoid dishes using “dangerous” vocabulary like sheets …. but the temptation was too strong I gave in a few times (I guess that was part of the show )
The truth is that the CookAlongs were supporting you as much as they supported me, they were the highlight of my week, something to look forward to and to get excited about.
As the lockdown was bringing more isolation and lack of connection, I loved getting ready to cook and to see everyone, family from overseas, family here, friends, neighbours, people that I didn’t even know that became virtual friends ….. every single weekend …. for the past 13 months
My dear friend Lesley was my number one supporter from the very beginning (from the start of my cookery journey when I was working as a volunteer for MrJO ).
Lesley was not just a lovely friend, she was also an Italian student and her love for Italy  and Italian food was exceptionally profound
Sadly she passed away before I got to see her again and give her a big hug
I am/ we are going to miss her, I know she’ll be looking down with a big smile telling me how to chop the garlic  or telling me off for my silly jokes I hope you can join me to celebrate her life
Please if you cannot make the CookAlong can I ask if you could make a small donation to our just giving page in honour of Lesley and everyone else who has been touched by this dreadful illness

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/bring-nonna-back

Grazie di cuore ❤️

Ingredients:

Serving 4

500g mussels or clams ( can be fresh or frozen, need to be cleaned)
250g prawns  ( with shell or without), or any shellfish available
350g risotto ( arborio rice)
Handful of cherry tomatoes, halved
1 litre vegetable stock
Garlic  one clove, halved
1 small dried chilli  or half of a small fresh chilli, chopped (without the seeds for less heat)
Handful parsley  flat leaves
Olive oil, 2 tbs
Salt , 2tsp

A large non stick pan with lid
A chopping knife
A chopping board

Thank you for holding the horses and cooking with us

Preparation:

Pour the oil in the pan and put on a medium heat, add the garlic and the chilli. Gently simmer.

Add the mussels (or calms) and cook until they are fully opened. Add the prawns (with or without the shell) and cook for 4/5 minutes with the lid on. Remove the mussels (clams), the prawns, the garlic, the chilli and some of the juice from the pan, and place inside a bowl to rest.

Add the tomatoes to the pan and simmer in a little juice. add the rice and stir it in. The rice will start roasting and it’s important that it doesn’t burn. Season with a teaspoon of salt. Have you stock ready and gradually add it in the pan, keep stirring the rice. Repeat until the rice doubles in size. Add the seafood and all the juice back in the pan, stir everything in, keep cooking on a low heat and let it rest with the lid on for another 4/5 minutes.

Sprinkle some finely chopped parsley 🌿 before serving, Pronto! ☺️

P.S. You can use calamari instead of prawns and you can add half glass of white wine whilst the rice is roasting.

May 18, 2020Uncategorized

Risotto agli Asparagi e Limone

Hands up who loves Risotto?

We doooooo!!! It’s that kind of comfort food, creamy, warm and full of goodness beautiful food that will take you back to Italy, … the best way I would describe it is it’s like receiving a hug on a plate 🙂 and who doesn’t need a hug right now?

You can use any of your favorite vegetables but today we are using ASPARAGI /AH-SPAH-RAH-JEE/ Asparagus (a great source of nutrients, including vitamins A, C and K), with the freshness of a lemon.

Are you ready? PRONTI?

Serving 4 people

Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

350g Arborio rice

500ml vegetable stock or 500ml hot water (1 gelatine type chicken cube to mix in the water)

white onion, half, finely chopped

50g butter

150g asparagus, sliced (tips left whole)

zest of one lemon ( do not grate the white pith which is bitter and should not be eaten)

2tbs extra virgin olive oil

handful of rest parsley, finely chopped

fresh parmesan, as much as you like!!!!!

Preparation

Place the butter in a non-stick pan and melt it on a low/medium heat, add the onion and simmer until golden , add the rice and stir it in. The rice will start roasting and it’s important that it doesn’t burn. Add the asparagus (just the stems, sliced) and mix them with the rice. Add half of the lemon zest and a pinch of salt, stir everything in. Have your stock ready and make sure it’s hot, alternatively melt the gelatine cube in the hot water and mix it thoroughly. Gradually add the stock in the pan and keep stirring the rice, repeat this until you have used all the stock. Add the tips of the asparagus and mix them in. The rice is starting to grow and absorbing all the liquid, add more stock if it looks too sticky or turn the heat up if it’s too wet, keep mixing it throughly. In a separate bowl mix the rest of the lemon zest, olive oil and the parsley and put it aside.

The rice will look creamy and will taste “al dente”.

Serve it with some fresh parmesan, shavings or grated and pour the olive oil, lemon and parsley dressing. Pronto!

P.S. Rice takes 14/15 minutes to cook, should you have used all of your stock and the rice feels still quite hard, I would recommend to add a little water but don’t over cook it! Never cook your rice for longer than 15 minutes !

January 29, 2018Uncategorized

Risotto allo Zafferano e Asparagi

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This is a little different to my previous recipe 🙂

It’s my first cooking video and I wanted to share it with you.

I am cooking for my friends and I am Bringing Nonna to their home sharing with them all her precious advice.

I must say it was harder than I thought, being in front of the camera and trying to be as natural as possible….. Hope you’ll enjoy 🙂

Serving 3 people

Ingredients

250g Arborio rice

800ml Vegetable stock

pinch of salt,

knob of butter

tbs olive oil

half onion

handful of asparagus, sliced

a tsp saffron

Preparation

Place the butter on a no-stick pan, the olive oil and melt in on a low heat, add the onion and simmer until golden. Add the rice and stir it. The rice will start roasting and it’s important that it doesn’t burn. Have your stock ready and make sure it’s hot, alternatively melt the gelatine cube in the hot water and mix it thoroughly. Gradually add the stock in the pan and keep stirring the rice, repeat this until you have used all the stock. Add the asparagus Sprinkle the saffron and mix it throughly. Cook for another 2 minutes. The rice will look creamy and will taste “al dente” . Serve it with some fresh parmesan, shavings or grated. Pronto!

March 25, 2017March 25, 2017Uncategorized

I am just a girl….

I am still buzzing and overwhelmed by the most mind blowing experience.
I was picked as a volunteer for the UK CEO CookOff where 30 top chefs, 60 CEOs and 600 everyday heroes from schools and hospitals teamed up for the most amazing banquet, raising money to tackle food waste, obesity and malnutrition. A lifetime evening of cooking, fundraising and feasting. The money raised ( over £500.000) will be divided equally between the food education programmes of Jamie Oliver Food Foundation and UKHarvest’s food waste reduction initiatives. It was just incredible!

If you know me in person you can just imagine how excited I was (and I still am) to be part of this lifetime experience and to have the honour to meet and work with my fellow Food Revolution Ambassadors!

Alex from Cheltenham, Thomas from Germany, Jaroslav from Switzerland and myself from Essex ( well, with my Italian /Essex accent!!). We all helped and worked together in teams with the chefs and CEOs to create some of the most amazing dishes, using the freshest and the finest produce and saving the leftovers…. yes, we did get to taste the most delicious food too.

Being in the heart of London amongst the biggest names in the British culinary world, the UK’s top business leaders, Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall who attended the CEO CookOff as a Patron of UKHarvest and Jamie, of course! My dream came true, I always wanted to meet him and tell him I am fighting against child obesity and that I’m bringing Nonna Back to the modern families’ tables…and yes I also had to tell him I come from Essex!! well, Sort of 😉

When I saw him in the flesh I realised it was not a dream ……

I have been following Jamie Oliver since I moved to the UK in 1999, he inspired my cooking and I learnt from him that I need to be myself even when I am cooking. This is how I started sharing a few recipes on social media among my friends and writing a food blog was the beginning….. When I joined his Food Revolution 2 years ago and I become an Ambassador for my area I did not know that I would have received all the support from the community and the local school. The concept of Food Revolution really works and it brings people together.

As I walked into Old Billingsgate on Tuesday I felt more energised and inspired than ever, everyone was there for the same reason: the love and passion for food! I am not a chef by all means, but that day I felt like one, the solidarity and the support that everyone showed was indescribable. When you see people smiling, laughing, having a good time you know there is something pretty special about an event like this. I am grateful I experienced such an amazing day, I met some awesome people and I will never forget how it made me feel.
It brought something into my life, that extra boost …
What’s next?

I am just a girl with dreams and I am a believer in dreams do come true….

Please support the CEOCookOff cause http://www.ceocookoff.co.uk

My recipe today is inspired by the colour yellow (just like the #UKHarvest van)

Risotto allo Zafferano Facile Facile

Serving 4 people

Ingredients

300g Arborio rice

500ml chicken stock or 500ml hot water (1 gelatine type chicken cube to mix in the water)

white onion, half, finely chopped

70g butter

saffron, 1 bag

fresh parmesan, as much as you like!!!!!

Preparation

Place the butter on a no-stick pan and melt in on a low heat, add the onion and simmer until golden. Add the rice and stir it. The rice will start roasting and it’s important that it doesn’t burn. Have your stock ready and make sure it’s hot, alternatively melt the gelatine cube in the hot water and mix it thoroughly. Gradually add the stock in the pan and keep stirring the rice, repeat this until you have used all the stock. Sprinkle the saffron and mix it throughly. Cook for another 2 minutes. The rice will look creamy and will taste “al dente” . Serve it with some fresh parmesan, shavings or grated. Pronto!

P.S.2. I like to use the same basic recipe with other flavour combinations: Asparagus and Mushrooms, Broccoli and Sweet corn, Asparagus and Salmon, Prawns and Courgette……and so many more……..

February 5, 2017Uncategorized

LARAncini Facili

What do you do your your left overs rice? I make ARANCINI 🙂

Arancini are originally from Sicily, one of the islands in the Mediterranean. I come from Sardinia. What’s the link between the geographical reference with this dish? Well, I am taking a traditional Sicilian recipe to another level by following the same idea of rice balls covered in bread crumbs and fried but adding a little twist! I am a strong believer of No Food Waste, (my Nonna taught me well) and this dish is great if you have some left overs rice. What type of rice? Any rice, I tried with Risotto, boiled rice or even basmati rice. It always works ! #FoodRevolution #BringNonnaBack

This recipe is made with both mushroom risotto and boiled rice left overs.

Serving 2-4 people

Ingredients

250g rice left overs

150g bread crumbs ( I made my bread crumbs with some stale bread, pinch of salt and a handful of preferably fresh or dry rosemary)

1 large egg beaten

home made pesto ( I always make my own fresh pesto, I have my fresh herbs by my kitchen window, handy for all the emergencies!! Basil and Parsley are my favourite)

olive oil

salt

Preparation

Make up 6/8 medium size rice balls. Make a small hole with a skewer and fill with fresh pesto. Close the hole, dip the rice balls in the egg and cover them with the bread crumbs. Gently fry them in hot olive olive on a flat pan. Keep turning them until golden. Leave to rest on a paper towel, season with a pinch of salt and pepper if you wish….Pronto!!! Enjoy with some salad or dip them in pesto. They are great for pack lunches or snacks.

February 15, 2015May 18, 2020Uncategorized

Riso ai Funghi senza Funghi

Yes, I know the title doesn’t leave much to the imagination (mushroom rice without the mushrooms?????) but this was my first attempt to make Risotto. It all started at Uni when I was a language student and between one lecture and another I would experiment my cookery skills nearly every day. My flat mate Rita would make her famous VOV for dessert ( a creamy liquor made of eggs). Although it was actually a quite strong liquor, the fact that it was home made it made it completely legitimate!!!! I, on the other hand was responsible for the main. The intention was to make a earthy mushroom risotto, but I didn’t get to go out to buy the mushrooms and the only thing that tasted like a mushroom was some “knor” mushroom cubes!!!! Hence why the mushroom flavour without the mushrooms 🙂 After that episode I would carefully add “propel” mushrooms!

Serving 4 people

Ingredients

300g Arborio rice

500ml chicken stock or 500ml hot water (1 gelatine type chicken cube to mix in the water)

white onion, half, finely chopped

70g butter

saffron, 1 bag (optional)

150g mushrooms (any type, I would use chestnut mushrooms), sliced

fresh parmesan, as much as you like!!!!!

Preparation

Place the butter on a no-stick pan and melt in on a low heat, add the onion and simmer until golden. Add the rice and stir it. The rice will start roasting and it’s important that it doesn’t burn. Add the mushrooms and mix them with the rice. Have your stock ready and make sure it’s hot, alternatively melt the gelatine cube in the hot water and mix it thoroughly. Gradually add the stock in the pan and keep stirring the rice, repeat this until you have used all the stock. Sprinkle the saffron and mix it throughly. Cook for another 2 minutes. The rice will look creamy and will taste “al dente” . Serve it with some fresh parmesan, shavings or grated. Pronto!

P.S.2. I like to use the same basic recipe with other flavour combinations: Asparagus and Mushrooms, Broccoli and Sweet corn, Asparagus and Salmon, Prawns and Courgette……and so many more……..