Courgette Capers

Remember the giant courgette?

Well, if you don't (shame on you), just take a quick peek here to become well and truly informed about said giant courgette.

Anyway, I was a little unsure what culinary treats I could whip up using this larger than usual vegetable. So, I did the following:

First, some simple grilled slices of courgette with olive oil, salt, mint and garlic. Served cold, of course.

Then, I whipped up (I say whipped up, that gives the false impression of culinary expertise which I most certainly do not have) a pasta dish, creating a sauce from chopped/blended courgette, salt and pepper, olive oil and garlic. I then cooked some spaghetti, added it to the pan of courgette for a few minutes, before chucking in some chopped walnuts and roughly chopped mozzarella. This was a massive experiment and although it was tasty, I would try a slightly stronger tasting cheese such as Parmesan next time.

It was great to eat such delicious, fresh produce, but I think I give courgette a miss for a week or so- I may have reached my limit! :D

Have a great day!

Sausages and Spuds: Italian Style

Every part of Italy has its own sausage.

The other evening, we picked up some yummy Pugliese sausage, and decided to do something exciting with it. So, this is what we did, and I suggest you try it too:

1. Take a baking tray, and add some chopped onion and a garlic clove split into 4 (don't forget to remove later. Not that I've ever forgotten..ahem)

2. Chop some potatoes (we used 4 or 5 medium sized ones for two people) into wedge-sized pieces. You can see there's no uniformity with mine. Add the potato to the baking tray, and drizzle with olive oil.

3. Then chop up the sausage into pieces. Add to the tray, along with a little chopped tomato, salt, pepper, rosemary and another drizzle of olive oil. Mix it all up.

 4. Put in the oven at about 200, but after about 5 minutes, remove from the oven, add half a cup of water and half a cup of white wine. Add half a crumbled stock cube.

5. If the ingredients are looking a bit dry, add another cup of wine/water and mix. You may need to do this a couple of times. Keep a watchful eye on that sausage!!

6. It should take about 40 minutes in the oven, but this may vary slightly. When the potato is cooked through and the sausage is browned, you're ready to go! You can also grill for an extra 5 mins to make it nice and crispy on top.

 This is a perfect dish for Autumn- hot and filling. Buon appetito!

And finally.....

This weekend I'm taking a trip to Assisi for a Christening. I've never been before so will write a full report when I return on Tuesday. Have a smashing weekend!!

Food Friday: Sweet and, err, not so sweet....

It's Friday. (Yay!)

And I have a lovely little food post for you.

Firstly, have a look at these mouthwatering photos of cannoli (the Sicilian speciality which I have gone on about/taken many photos of before). My boyfriend recently went on another trip to Sicily and, being the wonderful person he is, he bought some fresh cannoli back for me. Yes, I know what you may be thinking, fresh ricotta after 10 hours on a hot bus?? Don't worry, there was a fridge. (I know! A fridge on a bus! But no time to go into that now.)

He had kept the 'shells' separate from the ricotta mixture, not only so we could have fun 'building' them ourselves, but also so that the shell would stay nice and crunchy. Needless to say, they were AMAZING:

On a healthier note (because yes, shock horror, cannoli are not what you would call a 'light' option...) here's what I had for lunch today:

This is 'pancotto' (I do hope I've spelt that correctly...writing in Italian is not my strong point...), which is basically made using mixed vegetables and bits of bread, with oil, salt and garlic. A lot of people aren't too fond of it to be honest, but I think it's great. I adore veggies so it's perfect for me. 

Hope you have a fantastic food filled Friday!!

Pasta con pomodori e melanzane

I haven't done a pasta recipe for a while. So, here's one! This is, like most of the other recipes I put on my blog, is really simple. But it tastes so good! I asked the boyfriend if it has a special name. Unfortunately it doesn't, so it just translates as 'pasta with tomatoes and aubergine'. Original.

Here's what you need:  

 (I forgot to write on 'pasta' (it's the heat), but by then it was too late...so you also need 'pasta'.... :D )

1. First, chop up the aubergine into very small pieces.

2. Put the aubergine in a pan with the garlic (chopped) and oil. Add a little water to the ingredients and cook until the aubergine almost becomes a sort of puree. (You can always puree the aubergine in an electric mixer if you want. I don't have one of these. *Wish list*)

3. Chop the tomatoes into small pieces and add to the pan. Cook for another minute or so.

4. Add salt, a handful of chopped parsley, a little grated Parmesan and if you fancy a bit of a kick, a little chili too.

5. Boil the pasta in salted water, add to the pan and cook for a minute to get the two nice and mixed up.

6. Eat! I sprinkled an extra load of Parmesan on mine. Mmmm...

This week, I have been mostly....

1. Cooking. Mostly with aubergines, actually...

2. Entertaining. Cooking Italian food for Italians?! Tricky. But not if you've got a great Italian man to help you (watch out for his ridiculously good Parmigiana recipe in the future!). I'm proud to say that the antipasto and dolce were all my doing though...

3. Drinking nice wine. This is a lovely Rose from Salento..

4. Reading- in Italian! A lovely birthday present which I've just got round to reading now. I've read some of Sophie Kinsella's books before, and this one is really good so far!

5. Watching friends feed my terrapins pineapple. Apparently it's something that should be given 'very rarely...as a treat'. Well, let's just say that several chunks of the stuff were fed to them. 

The (not so secret) pineapple feeding taking place

6. Looking forward to my UK trip. I leave on Thursday morning. Yaaaay!

please please let it be like this...

 7. Writing an article on teaching in Italy for expat arrivals. Watch this space!!

Hope you've had a great weekend!

FOOD FRIDAY: awesome antipasto

Yes, it's Friday again!

Are you looking for an easy, light lunch/dinner option?

Do you fancy something that doesn't require much cooking?

Are you rather lazy like I am?

Well, here's a solution for all of the above:

Easy Antipasto!

Whether you are making something for yourself, your family, or have agreed to host a load of guests (eek!), antipasto is the way forward. I've been eating lots of it recently, because I'm golosa, and because these light dishes are perfect for when it's hot outside. Slaving away over a hot stove? Errm, no thanks. Have a look at these simple antipasto ideas:

Mini Bruschetta 

Chop up some tomatoes (into small pieces), add some salt, olive oil and oregano. Then add a garlic clove (whole, but remember to remove later!) and leave in the fridge for an hour or two. Serve on small slices of fresh, crusty bread.

Fried Mozzarella Balls

Take some small balls of mozzarella, dip into egg and then roll in breadcrumbs (don't forget to add a little salt). Heat up enough olive oil in a pan to almost fully immerse these mozzarella balls, and then fry them for a minute or so. Any more, and they will start melting and lose their shape. As you can see, mine are not perfect!! Definitely a learning process... and be careful of the hot oil!

Pear in Prosciutto

I'm not a fan of melon, which is usually the fruit of choice to go with prosciutto, so I decided I'd try pear. It's really good! You could serve these in more 'bite size' portions, with cocktail sticks.

Wrap bites

I made these using rocket, Galbanino cheese, prosciutto and pesto. You could also try them with cooked ham and mayonnaise/philadelphia instead of prosciutto and pesto. Make a normal wrap, leave in the fridge for half an hour (wrapped in clingfilm to keep the shape), and then cut into slices before you serve. 

Grilled aubergines

These you may have seen before. If not, have a look here. This is where the most cooking is involved. If you call grilling some aubergine slices cooking, that is ;)

Finally, have a look here for my tomato and mozzarella spears. These are ridiculously simple but look pretty impressive. Watch this space for more antipasto ideas in the future!

Buon appetito!!

Caprese creations!

What is a 'caprese'? A bit of mozzarella, some tomatoes and some basil arranged nicely on a plate, maybe with a bit of oil drizzled over in an artistic fashion? Well, it can be. Or, it can be a little more interesting than that. I'm all about the simplicity factor when I'm cooking/making a mess in my kitchen, so doing things based on a caprese salad is perfect. Here, I've got two easy ideas for you. Both are light and tasty, and definitely no-fuss.  

• This light lunch couldn't get any more simple if it tried, and it's perfect for a hot day. If you prefer to up the carbs, add some nice crusty bread on the side...

Take your fresh mozzarella and tomatoes, put into a bowl and add some salt, olive oil and basil (fresh or dried works fine, here I've used dried).

 Cook some chicken with a little oil, garlic and salt (don't chop up the garlic, leave it whole, but don't forget to remove it later!), leave to cool, then add to the caprese.

You could try some pesto with it too, to make it a bit more flavoursome.

•  Now these lovelies are way more impressive on the aesthetic front. Perfect for a starter, and too simple for words. So I'll let the photos speak for themselves...

I have recently bought an actual basil plant, so I'm trying to think of interesting ways to use these tasty leaves in my cooking/making a mess in the kitchen. These caprese creations are the perfect way to make use of them. And look how Italian they are, all red, green and white. Dunk these in olive oil or in pesto to make them even more scrummy. But watch out...the tomatoes have a tendency to spurt everywhere when you bite into them. So don't forget your napkins ;)

Buon appetito!

pizza, anyone?

I do tend to go on..and on and on about how fantastic the food is here. It's simple, tasty, fresh and not laced with preservatives like a lot of the food in the UK. I don't know anyone here who eats ready meals, and we have more greengrocers than you can shake a stick at in this small town of mine. Sauces and vegetables are not usually taken from cans and containers. Instead, vegetables and meat are bought that morning and prepared at home. And while ready meals or jars are easy and convenient (I sometimes use jars of pesto or tinned tomatoes), I am trying my best to adapt to this tastier and healthier way of cooking (and eating!).

But there's one thing that I have to buy 'ready-made'. And that's pizza. Fresh, tasty and oh-so-good. Most people label pizza as being fast food. Yes, it's fast, but it's also fresh, and definitely not dripping with grease like some pizzas I've had at home. Take a look at these photos, and I challenge you to not want a slice...

From 'Il Gufo', my favourite pizzeria. The owner is friendly, chatty, and makes the best pizza in town. He does lots of different toppings, my favourite being the one on the left at the back- 'Buffalina'. Fresh tomato with big piece of mozzarella di buffala. There's also the spicy sausage, potato and sausage, and caprese, to name but a few. I do belive I have tried all of them....

easy on the sauce!!

I've been told by the Italians who have had the pleasure to sample the 'delights' (yes, the inverted commas are needed here) of the UK's take on Italian food, that we 'over-sauce' our pasta dishes. We have pasta SWIMMING in sauce. Positively drowning in it. And I must admit, I tend to agree with their opinion. Sometimes less IS more. There's nothing worse than having to actually search for the pasta on your plate. And so, in my own 'cooking' (inverted commas definitely required here), I have attempted to reduce my need to over-sauce things. After much observation and sampling of various pasta dishes (much more sampling than observation if I'm honest), I am now able to put together something simple and pasta-like. All. By. Myself. I thought I would share my recipe with you. And I consulted with an ACTUAL Italian whilst putting this together. It's wonderfully simple. So, here goes! You will need: 

 The pasta that works best with this is orecchiette, which is a pasta specific to my region. It translates as 'little ears', and is absolutely delicious, especially when fresh (hence why I have scribbled 'fresh' on my little blackboard). 

'Little ears' (image from www.bonappetit.com)

Take a medium sized pan and add a lovely glob (yes, this is an official measurement, I'll have you know) of oil. Pop in the garlic (leave it whole or cut in two- don't chop it up) and then add the pancetta. I use the smoked kind as it has more taste to it. Chop your baby tomatoes into quarters and throw them in the pan too (literally, throw them. You aren't cooking anything unless you make SOME mess). I like to add some oregano too, and a bit of basil, but don't worry if you don't have these. It tastes lovely even without. Let this heat up nicely. I like to start squishing the tomatoes with a fork too, to make more of a 'sauce'. You don't have to do this, but I would  recommend it as it's quite enjoyable. But watch they don't squirt tomato juice all over your clothes (yes, it HAS happened to me). Tomatoes and oil are exquisite in this region but my WORD they are a hazard when cooking/eating them. (TIP: bicarbonate of soda removes oil stains. Chuck a load over the stain and the powder draws out the oil. I have used it more times than I can count.) 

While your tomatoes and pancetta are cooking nicely (don't forget to add your salt- you need to taste  frequently and add as necessary), boil up some (salted) water and when it's bubbling furiously, add your pasta. It takes a very very short amount of time to cook the pasta if it's fresh. Make sure you taste test that too! I like the pasta to still have a bit of bite (although it does take practice. I've unfortunately served up mushy pasta more than once.) Once the pasta is cooked, drain and add to the pan. Mix together (don't forget to remove your garlic clove- might not be a pleasant surprise mid-chew!) and put into bowls. Forks only- knives are not invited to this pasta party. There's only one more thing: don't forget to say buon appetito before you eat!