Italian Kitchen Secrets: potadoes

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11/12/2012

Potato gnocchi with leeks and blue cheese fondue.

Yesterday I spent the day visiting a big fair in Santarcangelo di Romagna: many many sellers, clothes, home clothing, underwear and...Food.

Food, food, food with producer from the whole country, from Trentino Alto Adige (North of Italy) to Sicily (the deep South) with great cheeses, breads, sweets, meats...

As usual I bought some fresh black truffles then I found a producer from Vallecamonica ( near Brescia, Lombardia) with some cheeses...

They were so smelly and tasted sooo good I had to bought them!

I had a Fatuli' (smoked goat cheese) and a Blu di capra ( blue cheese half goat milk half cow).

I used the last one to make this recipe, I don't think you can find it easily outside Italy but you can use Gorgonzola cheese or a blue cheese.

2 servings:

1 medium leek

14 oz. potato gnocchi

1 tablespoon butter

2.5 oz. blue cheese your choice

Put on stove a big pot full of water, bring it to boil then add a pinch of salt.

In a large pan put butter and finely sliced leek, let it golden, add a little water if needed.

When the leek is soft turn off fire and add the blue cheese in little dices, cover with a lid.

Cook the gnocchi into the boiling water then drain them and pour in the pan.

Pan-fry for a minute, be careful not to broke gnocchi then serve hot.

With my blu di capra I didn't add any salt to the sauce, it depends on taste so try it before seasoning your gnocchi!

Serve hot.

10/13/2012

Pumpking hot soup.

This is a great treat for the incoming season: it's easy and smooth, it's light but you can enrich it with bacon or cheese or whatever you like.

I made it for two-three persons, I added some bacon and a slice of fatty cow cheese 'cause I had some leftovers in the fridge but you can toast some country bread or add any spice or herb you like.

3 medium potatoes

12 oz. pumpkin pulp

2 shallots

2 tbspoons extra virgin olive oil

salt & pepper to taste

Dice the shallots and stirfry them in a pot with olive oil, add diced potatoes and diced pumpkin.

Mix a little and add a 2-3 cups of water and let it simmer untill the vegetables are tender.

Add salt and pepper and the spices you like then blend untill smooth.

You can choose the thickness of the soup adding more or less water but pay attention to add water enough to cook the vegetables completely!

I always prefer thick soups as you can see in the photo. :)

Serve hot or warm alone or with something you like as cheese and/or bacon.

A nice Italian touch?

Add once the soup is in the serving dish a small amount of good and thick balsamic vinegar, its taste is great with pumpkin.

I usually don't specify what kind of herbs/spices I use, this is because I usually use an aromatic salt called in Bolognese vernacular "salarol" that's made of sea salt, pepper, garlic, rosemary, sage and more.

Maybe I'll give you the recipe one day. ;)

11/26/2009

Thanksgivings' little roasts (Arrostini del Ringraziamento).

As I told to a blog reader in a comment in Italy Thanksgiving is not a holiday: we just celebrate Christmas.

This doesn't mean we don't know about this very important U.S.A. holiday and today on tv I saw a Thanksgivings' recipe really easy and fast that could be loved abroad.

Turkey is surely the main dish served during this day, turkeys are really big and I heard U.S. ovens are so big just to cook things like turkeys.

Is it true? :D

Our standard ovens are probably too little to cook a whole turkey, so this is my version of a classic recipe!

You need:

turkey's thin slices, 2 per person

some bacon in a single slice, how much depends on how many you are

1-2 red onions peeled and sliced

half a spoon of sweetcorn per person

a little dried prune without kernel per person

extra-virgin olive oil

salt

rosemary

white dry wine

all pourpose flour

string to tie meat on

Chop bacon in tiny pieces, put them in a pan with onions and stirfry for a while, then add sweetcorn and prunes and cook untill tastes are well amalgamated: this is the roasts' filling.

Spread a turkey slice and put a spoon of filling in it, close the slice with string, do it with every slice.

Pass the little roasts into the flour, then in the same pan where you stirfried the filling, add extra-virgin olive oil, heat it and put roasts in.

Let it cook with a glass of white dry wine and rosemary, add salt if needed.

Cook softly for about 25 minutes, then serve with mashed or creamed potadoes.

Happy Thanksgiving everybody!!

9/13/2009

Grilled squid with potadoes and lemon aromatic sauce ( Seppia con patate e salsa al limone aromatica)

Easy recipe I did just last evening, it's tasty and light and squids are a kind of seafood that don't cost that much.

The photo you see is mine, I'm trying to getting better with food photographs but it's not easy at all.

For 2 serves you need:

2 squids, cleaned and without tentacles

1 lemon

salt and pepper

2 big potadoes (or more, up to you)

extra-virgin olive oil

chopped parsley

Stew potadoes untill they're soft, pell them off and slice.

Open the squids and cut them in 3 pieces each.

Make diagonal cuts on the pieces with a knife, being careful not to cut too deep: they are just a way to avoid squid curling during the cooking; make the cuts the way to obtain a nice grid.

In a little bowl squeeze the lemon, pay attention to seed of ourse.

Add extra-virgin olive oil, chopped parsley, salt and pepper and mix energetically, let it rest for about half an hour.

Grill the squid slices on a hot griddle 3 minutes on each side, put the sliced potadoes on the serving dish, add squids and pour the sauce after another energetically mix.

Enjoy your seafood!

9/02/2009

White veal stew (Spezzatino di vitello in bianco)

Back with a recipe today.
You could say it's good because for too long I missed my duty. ^^
This recipe is good to warm the first chilly autumn days, I love it so much!
Be sure to have bread enough to mop up the sauce from the plate!

For 4-6 serves:

3-4 pieces of veal for each serve

4 carrots

4 potadoes

1 glass white wine

flour

2-3 sage leaves

meath broth (canned one is ok)

2 oz. butter

salt and pepper as you like

Peel and chop carrots and potadoes in pieces big enough to avoid melting douring the cooking.
Pass the veal pieces in the flour, in a big pan melt the butter, add sage then meat.
Brown the pieces, add the wine glass, let it evaporate then add carrots and potadoes too.
Pour two dipper of meat broth, cook untill it's absorbed then add two more.
Continue untill the meat is ready and the vegetables are soft.
Pay attention: don't let the sauce too liquid, it must be thick; if needed let it condense on fire at the end of the cooking, taking off the meat and vegetables.
Serve hot with a plain salad or, even if it's not an Italian tradition at all, with steamed rice.
I prefer salad and bread of course! ;)

6/18/2009

Potado cutlets ( Patacotolette)

I'm back!

Tired and sick of this hot wheather (hot douring the week then raining on the week ends I plan to spend to the seaside...Lucky me) but relaxed enough to translate and post a new recipe.

This is quite unusual but funny, nice for children and quite healthy if you use a good frying oil and don't let it burn.

For 4 serves you need:

4 chicken breast's slices

1 potado, grated raw

2 eggs

7 oz. breadcrumb

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan

salt

frying oil

Prepare the crumble mixing grated potado, breadcrumb, cheese and salt.

Beat the 2 eggs apart then dip the slices in.

Once they're egg-covered pass them in the crumble, then once again in the beaten eggs then a last time in the crumble pressing a little with hands to stick the crumble at best.

Fry in a lot hot frying oil, serve with a green salad and a lemon slice.

So easy and quick!

You can of course change the kind of meat: turkey, veal or pork are suitable; you can also use grated Pecorino cheese instead of Parmesan.

4/16/2009

Cuttle fish and potadoes in red (Seppia con patate in rosso)

Great fish dish, not too expensive and good for children or elders because it's quite soft (if cuttle fish are cooked well).

You can use also squids, they're bigger, maybe a little less tasty but (here at least) even less expensive.

For 3-4 serves:

18 oz. little cuttle fishes

18 oz. podadoes

7 oz. peeled tomatoes

1 garlic clove

extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 glass of white wine

cooking salt

pepper (if you like)

black olives chopped (if you like)

chopped fresh parsley or thyme

Wash and clean cuttle fishes, cut it in tiny stripes.

Peel potadoes and chop them in pieces (not too big).

In a saucepan pour oil and add garlic, stirfry it for few minutes then add peeled tomatoes and their sauce.

Cook for about 5 minutes, add potadoes, cooking salt ( be carefull, not too much!) and let it cook for about other 10 minutes then add wine and let evaporate.

Now add cuttle fishes and thyme or parsely and cook again for about 20 minutes: it should be enough but it depends on how big are cuttle fishes so check them if they're still hard.

3/29/2009

Vegetable burgers ( Hamburger di verdure)

This is a great recipe for vegetarian and for children who don't love vegetable.

It's easy, quite quick and tasty, you can prepare mixture in advance.

For 4-6 serves you need:

about 2 lb mixed vegetables ( carrots, leeks, spinach, courgettes, green beans...)

7 oz. potadoes

2 eggs

1 egg white

4 tablespoons grated cheese

breadcrumb

basil

salt and pepper

frying oil

Boil potadoes in salted water.

Clean vegetables, chops them in pieces and boil "al dente".

Drain them then mince and let the remaining water drain.

Pass potadoes in the potadomasher.

Mix vegetables with potadoes, add eggs , cheese and minced basil plus salt and pepper.

Create little burgers, pass them into the egg white then in breadcrumb.

Heat oil in a pan then cook burgers untill they're gold on both sides.

Serve hot with a plain salad or into a sandwich like a meat hamburger.

2/24/2009

My special pizza toppings (Condimenti speciali per pizza)

As told in the post before it's time for my special pizza toppings.

The first two com from my husband's family (grandma and mum), they're great for buffets and parties because the pizza must be room temperature so you can prepare it when you want and just add topping minutes before serving.

Consider just a piece for each person because these topping are really really "heavy" and you can't really have a full meal only with these so prepare something else or more different pizza's type. :P

The third is great hot from the oven but is really easy to prepare and so tasty!

First topping:

for a rectangular baking tin

2 tin canned tuna

1 red onion

mayonaise ( enough to mix ingredients and have a creamy mixture)

a little ketchup

Ina a bowl put the tuna (drain exceeding oil), break it into small pieces, cut the onion in thin slices, add it to tuna then add mayonaise enough to make a creamy mixture.

Along with mayonaise add ketchup enough to make cream pink coloured.

Spread this mixture on a pizza base at room temperature baked with only tomato sauce (no mozzarella cheese).

Cut small squares and serve.

Second topping:

for a rectangular baking tin

a bounch of fresh arugola washed and dried

mayonaise

ketchup

Cut arugola to reduce leaves in pieces, mix mayonaise with ketchup (some more ketchup than in the recipe before).

Put arugola on a red basic pizza at room temperature then pour the "cocktail sauce" on .

Cut in small squares and serve.

Third topping:

for a rectangular baking tin

1 potado

1 pack robiola cheese (if you can't find it you can use any kind of creamy cheese like philadelphia)

4-5 slices smoked cooked ham

Before baking the pizza put on top, instead of tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese, thin slices of potado (use raw potado, at least pass the slices some minutes into microwave) then add creamy cheese (it's not important if you can't spread it, when it will be hot will be soft enough to be spread easily).

Bake like a normal pizza, once it's out of the oven spread cheese and add smoked ham.

Serve hot!

12/28/2008

Potado gnocchi (Gnocchi di patate)

Potado gnocchi are a quite famous Italian dish: it's prepared in the whole peninsula but more often in the North of Italy.

They could be dressed in many ways, the most commons are: tomato sauce, genovese pesto, bolognese sauce.

To make gnocchi you need (for about 4-5 persons):

2 lb whole potatoes unpeeled

2 cups flour

1 egg

1 tablespoon salt

Place washed potadoes in a large stock pot filled with water and bring to a boil.

Cook until the potatoes are soft.

Peel immediately while potatoes are still hot (ok, I know it's not funny but the peeling is easier) then mash them on a work surface using a food mill.

When the potatoes are still warm (but cool enough to be handled), shape them in a mound with a hole in the middle and add inside the flour, the egg and salt.

Draw the ingredients together and mix to form a dough.

If the dough is sticky sprinkle a little more flour and work the loaf of dough. add flour and work again untill the dough is no longer sticky.

Cut the dough into four pieces. Sprinkle the work surface with a little flour, and place the first piece on it.

Roll the dough into one or two long sticks approximately 3/4 inch in diameter.

Cut the sticks in little pieces (about 3/4 inch each).

Roll the pieces along the the surface of a cheese grater.

Work this way every piece of dough, work always on a lightly floured surface.

Fill a stockpot with water, bring to a boil, and add salt.

When the water is at a fast boil, drop the gnocchi in.

The gnocchi will fall to the bottom of the pot: after about 2-3 minutes the gnocchi will come up to the surface, this mean they're cooked.

Drain them then saute' for few moments in a pan with the choosen sauce.

Add a spoon of fresh grated parmesan and enjoy your gnocchi!

9/30/2008

Perch fish with lemon sauce (Pesce persico al limone)

Today I have a very quick and easy recipe, light and tasty, a great solution for dinner when you don't want to cook for hours.

Take a perch fish fillet (one per person), flour it on each side, put it in a pan where you melted a little butter with a garlic clove, let it golden then add the juice of two lemons and salt.

Let it cook for a while (perch is really quick to cook), keep off garlic and at the end add a little parsley if you like.

Here you are the dinner!

So fast and so good...Isn't it easy?

If you don't like lemon you can do the same with white wine.

Of couse you can serve it with any kind of side dish, boiled potadoes and carrots are the best according to me.

9/23/2008

Pot roast with porcini mushrooms ( Arrosto ai funghi porcini)

To celebrate Fall today I post the recipe of a great "sunday special": pot roast with porcini mushrooms.

You can use any other kind of mushrooms of course but porcini are definetely the most yummy according to me!

I often prepare this pot roast when I've friends for dinner: it's always loved.

Ingredients:

2 lb beef roast

2 garlic cloves

2 tablespoon butter

2 tablespoon extravirgin olive oil

1/5 oz dried porcini soaked in warm water

1/2 lb fresh porcini, chopped or frozen chopped porcini

1 tablespoon of finely chopped parsley

1/2 cup white dry whine

1/2 cup meat broth (or canned broth)

salt

pepper

Sprinkle meat with salt and pepper, in a saucepan put the butter, the oil and the garlic cloves turn the heat (medium) and when the fat starts foaming add the meat.

Brown the meat on each side add wine and let it evaporate.

Drain the soaked porcini and chop them, filter the brown water and add it to the roast with broth and mushrooms.

Add also fresh/ frozen porcini and turn the heat to moderate.

Turn the meat a couple of times during the cooking, let it cook covered until the meat is tender, near the end add parsley .

To slice the meat you must let it become cold or at least warm: then put it again in the pan with sauce and warm it, then serve.

So good with roasted potadoes or potadoes puree!

Have a nice fall!

Italian Kitchen Secrets

11/12/2012

Potato gnocchi with leeks and blue cheese fondue.

10/13/2012

Pumpking hot soup.

11/26/2009

Thanksgivings' little roasts (Arrostini del Ringraziamento).

9/13/2009

Grilled squid with potadoes and lemon aromatic sauce ( Seppia con patate e salsa al limone aromatica)

9/02/2009

White veal stew (Spezzatino di vitello in bianco)

6/18/2009

Potado cutlets ( Patacotolette)

4/16/2009

Cuttle fish and potadoes in red (Seppia con patate in rosso)

3/29/2009

Vegetable burgers ( Hamburger di verdure)

2/24/2009

My special pizza toppings (Condimenti speciali per pizza)

12/28/2008

Potado gnocchi (Gnocchi di patate)

9/30/2008

Perch fish with lemon sauce (Pesce persico al limone)

9/23/2008

Pot roast with porcini mushrooms ( Arrosto ai funghi porcini)

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