Technicolor Kitchen - English version

Summer here is over, however someone forgot to tell Mother Nature about it: the weather continues to be hot leading to uncomfortable nights for those who like me do not own an air conditioner at home.

While I look forward to cooler days and nights, I felt like sharing with you one of my favorite soups, sort of like Kevin Costner in Field of Dreams: maybe if I post soups on the blog, fall will actually come. :)

This lentil soup is comforting, delicious and freezes well if you keep the fresh oregano out. If you want to keep it vegan it is just a matter of omitting the salami – I love it because it adds a crunchy, salty touch to the soup.

Lentil soup with crispy salami
own recipe

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 leeks, sliced in half lenghtwise for easier washing, then sliced in half moons
½ onion, finely diced
1 small carrot, finely diced
1 large garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup (200g/7oz) dried green lentils, soaked in cold water for 20 minutes before cooking, then drained and rinsed
3 cups (720ml) vegetable stock, hot
2 cups (480ml) boiling water
2 bay leaves
handful of fresh oregano leaves
salt and freshly ground black pepper
100g (3½ oz) salami slices – if they are too large, cut them in half

In a large saucepan over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Add the leeks, onion and carrot and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are soft, about 8 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute only. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Add the lentils, cook for 1 minute, then add the stock, water, bay leaves and oregano. When it starts to boil, cover partially, turn the heat down and cook, stirring occasionally, for 20-25 minutes or until lentils are soft, but not mushy. Season with salt and pepper, remove the bay leaves and remove from the heat.
Now the salami: heat a nonstick flying pan over high heat and grill the salami slices for a couple of minutes or until golden on both sides. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels to remove excess fat. Cool completely.

Pour the soup into bowls and top with the salami slices. Serve immediately.

Serves 4-5

At home we like nibbling very much, especially on weekends, and that came to my mind as I set up a plate of bread, cheese and fruit last Saturday for dinner: a glass of wine and the meal was perfect.
Sometimes we have guacamole with homemade tortillas, and of course there are days I don’t even want to enter the kitchen: those are the days for pizza. :)

If you are feeling a bit more enthusiastic than me lately please have a go at these grissini: they are absolutely delicious and great for the cheese/fruit platter (and with wine, too). :)

Gorgonzola and fresh oregano grissini
own recipe

1 teaspoon dried yeast
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
200ml lukewarm water
2 cups (280g) all purpose flour
1/3 cup (46g) whole wheat flour
3 tablespoons olive oil + a bit extra for brushing
1 teaspoon table salt
2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves, packed
50g gorgonzola, coarsely grated or crumbled if too soft
3 tablespoons finely grated parmesan

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook, mix the yeast, sugar and water with a fork. Set aside for about 5 minutes or until foamy. Add the flours, olive oil and salt. Mix on medium for about 8 minutes or until mixture turns into an elastic and smooth dough – if mixing by hand, 10-12 minutes should do it. Mix in the oregano and the gorgonzola, shape the dough into a ball and transfer to a large bowl lightly brushed with olive oil. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside to prove for 1 ½ hours, or until doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Line two large baking sheets with foil and brush it with olive oil.
Punch the dough to remove the excess air. Divide dough in 24 equal portions e roll each of them into a 30cm (12in) sausage shape – if dough is too stick, lightly flour your counter, but avoid too much flour or the dough will be tough and dry. Place the grissini onto the foil leaving 2cm (little less then 1in) between them. Brush them with olive oil, sprinkle with parmesan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
Transfer the sheets to a wire rack and cool completely.

Makes 24

Those of you who have been around here for a while know that I love cold days and that I also complain a lot about the hot summer temperatures – well, my dear readers, people can change their mind, can’t they? Not sure what happened in the last year, but as of now I no longer like the winter weather – I have felt miserable in the last days waking up to 9-10°C degrees days.

The ones in colder countries are probably laughing out loud now of me calling 9-10°C “cold”, I know. :D

I was never an outdoorsy person (not even as a kid), but in the past months I have been enjoying being outside a lot, especially taking long walks in parks – the smell of the trees brings me a mix of comfort and happiness. Maybe that is the reason why I am so upset with the winter – I miss spending time outside and I am not brave enough to go to the park on a 12°C evening.

A piping hot bowl of soup has been the best dinner option for me lately, and today I bring you a recipe I created with Spain in mind: I found that roasting the squash instead of only cooking it in the stock makes it creamier and adds another dimension of flavor, more caramelized. And who can say no to small bits of crispy chorizo? I certainly cannot – I might not be crazy for pork like my mother was, but bacon and chorizo make my heart beat faster. <3 I was a vegetarian for eight years and during that time the only meat I actually missed was bacon. :)

Roasted butternut squash, bell pepper and chickpea soup with chorizo
own recipe

1kg (2 pounds) butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into cubes
1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 garlic cloves
5-6 sprigs of fresh oregano
100g Spanish chorizo, cut in small dice
½ large onion, finely diced
1 small red pepper, finely diced
3 cups (720ml) hot vegetable stock
1 ½ cups (300g) canned chickpeas

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Line a large baking sheet with foil and brush it slightly with some of the olive oil. Transfer the squash to the foil, add the oregano and the garlic and drizzle with the remaining olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and mix well with your hands to make sure all ingredients are covered. Spread the pieces of squash and the garlic cloves throughout the foil and arrange the oregano sprigs on top of the squash – make sure the oregano sprigs are coated in olive oil to avoid burning. Roast for 30-35 minutes or until squash is tender. Remove from the oven and when garlic cloves are warm enough to be handled remove the pulp from the skins. Set aside.

In a large saucepan, cook the chorizo over high heat, stirring occasionally, until golden and crispy. Using a slotted spoon, remove chorizo pieces from the pan and set over paper towels. In the rendered fat, cook the onion and the bell pepper, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the squash and cook for 3 minutes. Pour in the stock and once the mixture comes to a boil turn the heat down and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and using a stick blender, blitz the soup until creamy. Stir in the chickpeas, check the seasoning and serve sprinkled with the crispy chorizo bits.

Serves 5-6

Certain foods have a very special meaning for me: it might be something my mom cooked when I was a kid that takes me back in time, something I cooked for someone I love or something I ate at a special place. I first ate pasta with pesto sauce in Rome, and it was also the first time I ever traveled abroad, many years ago, so it holds a very dear place in my heart.

I make pesto quite regularly at home, for my husband have learned to enjoy it as well, and sometimes I switch the basil for other options, such as arugula, for example. This time basil was replaced by a mixture of broccolini and fresh oregano leaves, with a fiery touch of dried pepper flakes and a bit of sweetness from roasted peppers – a wonderful combination of flavors is the work of the man behind the best gnocchi I have ever made. To make things ever better, this is really easy to put together, and you can even roast the peppers in advance and keep them refrigerated in a bowl or glass jar with some olive oil to avoid them from drying out.

Pasta with broccolini pesto and roasted peppers
slightly adapted from the always delicious Urban Italian: Simple Recipes and True Stories from a Life in Food

2 small red peppers
olive oil to drizzle over the peppers
200g broccolini florets
½ cup (120ml) extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup pine nuts
1 fat garlic clove, minced
½ cup grated parmesan
pinch of red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves
salt and freshly ground black pepper
400g long dried pasta – I used fusilli lunghi

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°C. Line a baking sheet with foil, brush it with olive oil and place the peppers onto the foil cut side down. Drizzle with olive oil and roast for 30 minutes or until skins are blistering. Remove peppers from baking sheet and place in a large bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and set aside for 20 minutes. Remove the skins from the peppers and cut them into thin slices. Set aside.

Pesto: bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil – you’ll cook the broccolini and the pasta using the same water. Blanch the broccolini the boiling water for about 30 seconds, then remove them using a slotted spoon and place in ice water to stop them from cooking (keep the water boiling too cook the pasta). Use your hands to squeeze out as much excess water from the broccolini as possible and transfer to a blender. Add the olive oil, pine nuts, garlic, parmesan, red pepper flakes, oregano and blitz to a paste. Season with salt and pepper and blitz again. Add 2-3 tablespoons of water if pesto is too thick.

Cook the pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water. Toss pasta with pesto, adding some of the water if necessary to loosen the sauce. Stir in the roasted pepper and serve at once.

Serves 4

Choosing what to cook is not always an easy task around here: I want to cook lots of things, which is not feasible at all (not to mention expensive), so I have to refrain myself and be reasonable. Sometimes I’m tired and want something simple that doesn’t get me standing on my feet too long – those are the days when decision making is a lot quicker.

There is, however, something that changes every now and then: my mood.

There are days when I flip through certain cookbooks for hours and find absolutely nothing that appeals to me – I start wondering why I bought the book in the first place, that it was a waste of money, and so forth (hello, PMS). Then, weeks later, maybe even days, I grab the same cookbook and I want to eat each and every recipe on it – everything looks delicious.

No, I’m not completely mad, guys, I promise. :D

A while ago I had Maria Elia’s cookbook on my lap as I had a cup of tea and as I turned each page of the book I kept trying to remember why I’d bought it because I did not feel like eating any of those recipes. None. A week later I got the book again and it made my mouth water so hard I couldn’t decide what to cook – everything looked so tasty! I went for the eggplant mull because I had everything in my fridge and it was such a lovely meal it has become a favorite – it’s a great weekday meal.

The paprika I used was on the hot side and I’ve toned it down a little after that first time, using half of the amount called for in the recipe below – that is very personal so I suggest you adapt it to make it to your liking.

Eggplant mull
slightly adapted from the delicious Full of Flavor: How to Create Like a Chef

1 large eggplant, cut in halve lengthwise, then into 5mm slices
olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 plum tomatoes, deseeded and coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon cumin
pinch of cayenne pepper
juice of half a lemon
handful of chopped parsley
3 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Line a large baking sheet with foil and brush it generously with olive oil. Lay the eggplant slices on top of the foil, drizzle with a little olive oil, season with salt and pepper and roast for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven.

In a large nonstick frying pan, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Add the tomatoes and spices and cook for 5 minutes or until tomatoes soften. Stir in the eggplant and cook for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Remove from the heat, stir in the lemon juice and herbs and serve.

Serves 2

Despite my love for fish I don’t eat it as often as I should or would like to, which is such a shame – if my mom was around she would certainly be mad at me for that. When we were little she made sure we ate fish at least once a week – mom was a health nut, over thirty years before that became fashionable. :D

My favorite way of eating fish as a kid was rolled in corn flour (very fine cornmeal, not corn starch) then deep fried – the thought of it makes me drool already. Crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, it was probably my favorite meal when it was served with a simple tomato salad (with loads of lime juice) and fluffy rice – very simple, yet delicious, especially when cooked by mom. <3

These days, however, I rarely deep fry anything: besides the health issues, I live in a small apartment and I don’t want every piece of fabric in my house (or my hair, for that matter) smelling like fried food. :P Therefore, the oven is always a good ally – I don’t use it for sweet things only, you know. :D


This recipe is really, really simple: fish fillets baked in a bed of potatoes. Nothing much, you might think. I thought so, too, until I tasted the salsa verde: I’d never tried that sauce before and my goodness, it is delicious –it transformed the simple dish into something special and very flavorsome.


I hope you give this recipe a go – if tasty and healthy don’t convince you, this is also quick and easy to put together. :D


Baked fish with salsa verde and potatoes
slightly adapted from the always fabulous Delicious Australia

300g small waxy potatoes, thinly sliced (a mandoline is ideal)
1 lemon, thinly sliced
handful fresh oregano leaves
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 x 120g firm white fish fillets – I used flounder

Salsa verde:
1 small garlic clove
½ cup flat-leaf parsley leaves
½ cup basil leaves
2 tablespoons capers, rinsed, drained
finely grated zest of 1 lemon¼ cup (60ml) extra-virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°C. Toss potato, lemon slices and oregano with the oil, season with salt and pepper and spread in a lightly oiled 20x30cm (8x12in) baking pan, in a single layer. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until potatoes start to golden.
Meanwhile, to make salsa verde, whiz garlic, parsley, basil, capers and lemon zest in a food processor until finely chopped. With the motor running, slowly add the olive oil and process until mixture is a drizzling consistency. Transfer to a small bowl, season with salt and pepper and set aside.
Remove roasting pan from oven and place the fish on top and season the fillets with salt and pepper. placing a lemon slice from the pan on top of each fillet. Return to the oven for a further 8 minutes or until the fish is cooked through.
Serve drizzled with salsa verde.

Serves 2

As I finished watching season 5 of Sons of Anarchy, I started thinking about favorite characters in TV series – I have some favorites myself, characters I supported and cheered for (or still do) even if they’re not the nicest people around (hello, Walter White). :)

When it comes to SoA, for instance, it is agonizing to have a favorite character – let’s just say that Kurt Sutter and George R. R. Martin could easily be best friends – but even so Chibs is the one I like the most, I just adore him and his accent. <3 Samantha Jones and Peggy Olson are my favorites in SATC and Mad Men, respectively, and although everyone in Seinfeld was really funny George Costanza was and will always be my #1. :)


Do you have favorite TV characters? I would love to hear about it.


I have favorites when it comes to food, too: meatballs have a very special place in my heart, and the hubby loves them too. I am always interested in trying new meatball recipes, especially ones with a twist like Ottolenghi’s leek meatballs I made the other day. The ones I bring you today are delish, very easy to make, and here the cheese acts both as seasoning and binding agent – no need to add breadcrumbs and eggs. I served them with tomato sauce and Andrew Carmellini’s polenta because it was a very cold day, but I am sure the meatballs would be great as a snack with a bit of Tabasco and a glass of very cold beer on a summer day.

A bit of a warning, though: all that cheese melting in the oven will smell so good you’ll want to dive in as soon as the meatballs are ready – trust me on that. :)

Beef, lemon and pecorino meatballs
slightly adapted from the delicious Olive magazine

400g beef mince
½ red onion, grated
1 garlic clove, minced
finely grated zest of ½ lemon
handful fresh oregano leaves, chopped
30g finely grated pecorino
salt and freshly ground black pepper – I used ½ teaspoon of salt, be careful because pecorino is already salty

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Line a large baking sheet with a double layer of foil. Brush the foil with vegetable oil.
Place the beef, onion, garlic, zest, oregano, pecorino, salt and pepper in a large bowl and mix to combine (I prefer to use my hand to do that). Shape mixture into balls (the job becomes easier if you lightly wet the palms of your hands). Place the meatballs onto the prepared sheet and bake until golden and cooked through (about 20 minutes).
Serve with tomato sauce or whatever strikes your fancy. :)

Makes about 18

When I look at this recipe I think of the phrase “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade”, but in a slightly different way: if your husband tried mushrooms for the first time and liked it, add them to your food every chance you get. :D

After the success I had with the vegetarian bolognese, I could not wait to cook with mushrooms again, and the inspiration came right from the first pages of this wonderful cookbook – I am the kind of person so crazy for mince that buys a cookbook on the subject. :)
After I finished cooking the filling, it smelled and tasted so good I felt like eating it with some bread, sloppy joe style, and it could have been tossed with some spaghetti, too, for a very quick meal (just some ideas if you’re not in the mood for rolling cannelloni).

For years my husband did not understand my love for TV series, and of course he wouldn’t because he had never given the shows a try. That changed when I got him to watch The Blacklist with me – he got hooked on Raymond Reddington’s adventures as much as I did, and he liked the show so much we now watch Resurrection together as well.

I guess that in life one should try things before knocking them, either if they’re food or TV shows – and this dish I bring you today is well worth trying.

Beef and mushroom cannelloni
adapted from the great Mincespiration!

tomato sauce, made with 1 ½ cans (400g each can) peeled chopped tomatoes (save the remaining ½ can for the filling), warm

olive oil
200g button mushrooms, wiped and chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
300g beef mince
1 onion, finely chopped
3 fat garlic cloves, crushed
80ml white wine
½ can peeled chopped tomatoes
handful fresh oregano leaves
500g fresh lasagna sheets
about 50g Parmesan cheese, finely grated

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F.
Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan and fry the mushrooms until browned. Season with salt and pepper. Remove the mushrooms from the pan and set them aside. Using the same pan, add a little more oil and fry the beef for 4-5 minutes until browned. Add the onion and garlic and continue cooking for 2-3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Pour in the wine and cook until the liquid is reduced by half, then add the chopped tomatoes and the oregano and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Put the mushrooms back in the pan and cook for 1 minute or until liquid is almost completely absorbed. Remove from the heat and cool slightly.

Spread half the tomato sauce on the bottom of a 20x30cm (8x12in) baking dish or pan.
Lay a sheet of lasagna on a board, spoon on some filling, top with a little parmesan and roll up, forming a cylinder. Repeat with the remaining pasta sheets and filling. Place the cannelloni in the baking dish on top of the tomato, the cover with the remaining sauce and sprinkle with the remaining parmesan. Bake for about 30 minutes or until bubbly and pasta is cooked.

Serves 5-6

Some songs have been favorites of mine for as long as I can remember, and I never get tired of listening to them.

As I was listening to “Sweet Sixteen” yesterday I kept thinking of the beauty of the song’s arrangement, and of how simple it is, with just a couple of instruments. Then I listened to it four or five times in a row, savoring those chords. It is truly a beautiful song (despite the sad story behind it), one that I first listened to when I was a kid and that I’m pretty sure I’ll be listening to when I’m 70.

From time to time I write here about simple things, how great they are to me. I guess that one doesn’t need much to create something beautiful like Billy Idol’s song, and that can be applied to food. Like cakes, simple savory dishes are also something close to my heart, something I feel like eating on a daily basis, and adding a twist here and there doesn’t change their essence – it just makes them even more delicious.

In today’s recipe, the humble potato, a root veggie I love (the German blood in my veins is probably responsible for part of that love) gets transformed into a flower, with full of flavor petals. The potatoes would be delicious already roasted with olive oil, salt and pepper only, but the zesty crumbs on top makes them extra special and irresistible.

Hasselback potatoes with oregano and lemon crumbs
slightly adapted from the always delicious Olive magazine

8 small potatoes
olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, finely chopped
2 tablespoons dried breadcrumbs
finely grated zest of 1 lemon

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F.
Place the potatoes on a wooden spoon then slice downwards thinly until the knife touches the spoon (don’t slice all the way through).
Place the potatoes cut side up on a roasting pan and brush with some oil – making sure the oil drips among the slices – then season with salt and pepper. Roast for 50 minutes.
Mix the oregano, breadcrumbs, lemon zest in a small bowl, season with salt and pepper, then sprinkle over the potatoes and roast them for another 10 minutes or until topping is golden and potatoes are tender.

Serves 4

Every time I watch “The Great British Bake Off” (thanks to some really nice people who post the episodes on YouTube) I get cranky about the contestants’ lack of hygiene – all that touching of hair, then touching of the floor, then touching the food drives me crazy! I feel sorry for the judges who have to eat the baked goods. There was an episode in which a cake or something was sliced and a hair could be clearly seen on the close up – I think it was one of Cathryn’s sweets (season 3), if I’m not mistaken. Eeew. :S

To make things even more unappetizing for me the last episode I watched had the contestants baking with suet, which is something I wouldn’t eat no matter the amount of sugar and fruit added (that said, I have always wanted to make a roly-poly, replacing the suet for butter or vegetable shortening or using this suet-free version from Gourmet Traveller).

While eating suet is not part of my plans, my husband wouldn’t try anything with zucchini (to each their own, right?), and telling him a hundred times how delicious that vegetable is wasn’t really helping. Things changed when he tried these keftedes – the minute I started frying the balls the kitchen was filled with a wonderful smell, sort of like when someone is making grilled cheese and some of the cheese slips off the bread and touches the screaming hot frying pan; that got him immediately interested – he bit into one fritter, looked at me and said: “I’ll grab the Tabasco and a very cold beer”. :D

Zucchini keftedes
slightly adapted from the beautiful Full of Flavor: How to Create Like a Chef

450g (1 pound) zucchini, trimmed and coarsely grated
2 tablespoons grated onion
100g feta cheese, crumbled
¾ cup finely grated parmesan
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
2 eggs, lightly beaten with a fork
6-8 tablespoons fresh breadcrumbs
salt and freshly ground black pepper
all purpose flour, seasoned with salt, for dusting
canola oil, for frying

Blanch the zucchini in boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain and squeeze dry in a cloth (I let the zucchini cool a little before doing that because it was impossible to handle such a hot kitchen towel).
Place the olive oil in a small saucepan, add the onions with a pinch of salt and cook until soft and translucent. Transfer to a large bowl and let cool. Add the zucchini, feta, parmesan, parsley, oregano, eggs and half the breadcrumbs. Season with salt and pepper, then mix to combine. If the mixture is too wet, gradually add more breadcrumbs. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Taste the seasoning before frying the keftedes. Shape the mixture into 2.5cm (1in) balls, then roll into the flour*.
Heat the oil in a medium saucepan and fry the balls in batches until golden. Drain in paper towels and serve immediately.

* the hubby suggested that rolling the keftedes in breadcrumbs instead of all purpose would make them even nicer on the outside and although I haven’t tried doing that I agree with him.

Makes about 20

I might be the owner of too many cookbooks, that is true, and still one of my favorite sources for great food is Gourmet Traveller: the photos are crazy beautiful and the recipes are delicious and never disappoint. With a long holiday ahead and the urge to bake bread I went straight to GT’s website for some inspiration and there I found the perfect recipe: it was yeasted, as I wanted, and it called for cheese and salami, two ingredients I had in the fridge that needed to be used with some urgency. While the bread was in the oven my husband – the salami eater of our house – kept telling me how good it smelled, and after tasting one of the rolls he told me that next time he bought salami he would bring home some extra on purpose so I could make these rolls again. Indeed the bread turned out fantastic but I would do two things differently next time: amp up the amount of cheese and double the recipe – 8 rolls were gone in no time. :D

Salami and cheese rolls
adapted from the always stunning Gourmet Traveller

Sponge:
1/8 teaspoon dried yeast
pinch of sugar
125g all purpose flour

Dough:
½ tablespoon olive oil
½ large onion, finely diced
1 ¼ teaspoons dried yeast
pinch of sugar
2 cups + 2 tablespoons (300g) all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon table salt
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
30g unsalted butter, softened
70g salami, finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves, coarsely chopped
100g fresh mozzarella, grated

Make the sponge: combine the yeast, sugar and 1 tablespoon warm water in small bowl, stand for 10 minutes or until foamy. Add 1/3 cup (80ml) warm water and the flour and stir for 2 minutes or until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and stand for 3 hours or until doubled in size. Starter can be refrigerated at this stage and brought to room temperature before using.
In the meantime, heat the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook until fragrant and beginning to brown. Remove from the heat and cool completely.

Dough: combine yeast, sugar and 2 tablespoons warm water in the large bowl of an electric mixer and stand for 10 minutes or until foamy. Add starter and, using the dough hook, mix for 4-5 minutes or until smooth. Add butter and combine. Add onion, salami and oregano and mix until well combined. Add the flour, salt and pepper and knead for 3 minutes or until shiny and elastic. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, turn to coat, cover with plastic wrap stand for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F. Lightly brush with oil a 25cm (9in) round cake pan.
Knock back dough, turn onto a floured surface and roll out dough to a 50x30cm (20x12in) rectangle, scatter the mozzarella over the dough, then roll into a cylinder beginning with the longer side. Cut into 8 pieces and place, cut-side down, onto the prepared pan. Cover with plastic wrap and stand for 30-40 minutes, then bake for about 25 minutes or until golden. These are delicious warm drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil and reheat really well – keep in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

Makes 8

I have a couple of friends and a brother who are salad haters – they simply can’t stand the sight of leaves piled up on a plate (it’s pretty much what I feel about Michael Bay’s movies, so I can relate). :) I personally love salads because I grew up eating vegetables by the bucketfuls since I was never a fan of meat, and the salads I make nowadays are packed with interesting ingredients such as fruits, nuts, eggs... There’s nothing boring about them. I believe that this panzanella, a recipe I adapted from Jennifer Perillo’s beautiful and delicious book, will please both salad haters and lovers: it was a hit with me, the girl who can’t live without cheese and bread, and the hubby, a.k.a. Mr. Picky Eater. :D

Roasted tomato and mozzarella panzanella
adapted from the wonderful Homemade with Love: Simple Scratch Cooking from In Jennie's Kitchen

300g roasted cherry tomatoes, recipe here

Parmesan croutons:
2 heaping cups cubed day-old baguette
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley leaves
2 heaping tablespoons finely grated parmesan cheese
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

For assembling the salad:
1 ½ tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon honey
salt and freshly ground black pepper
100g fresh mozzarella, cut in small cubes
handful of fresh oregano leaves
handful of fresh basil leaves

Croutons: place all the ingredients in a large bowl and toss until the bread cubs are coated.
Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the bread and cook turning occasionally, until golden all over, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
In a large, deep bowl whisk together the oil, lemon juice, mustard, honey, salt and pepper. Adjust seasonings to taste. Add the croutons, mozzarella, tomatoes, oregano and basil and toss to combine. Let the salad sit for 5 minutes so the croutons can absorb the flavors – do not let it sit more than 15 minutes or the bread will be soggy.

Serves 2 generously

I do not understand people who don’t like olives – don’t get me wrong, I have my own food pet peeves (won’t eat liver for the life of me), but olives are so juicy, so meaty and tender... I find them completely irresistible. ;)

That is why, while setting up the ingredients for this delicious bread, I pulled 20 olives out of the jar. :D

Olive and herb focaccia
slightly adapted from The Weekend Baker

Dough:
3 cups + 1 tablespoon (430g) all purpose flour
1 tablespoon minced fresh oregano or thyme
2 ¼ teaspoons (7g) dried yeast
2 teaspoons table salt
1 teaspoon superfine sugar
1 ¼ cups (300ml) warm water
1 tablespoon olive oil

Topping:
12-15 black olives, pitted and roughly chopped
1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons fresh oregano or thyme leaves
1 teaspoon coarse salt – I used Maldon

In a large bowl, combine flour, oregano, yeast, salt and sugar. Stir to combine. Drizzle with the water and the olive oil and stir with a wooden spoon until a shaggy dough forms. Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and no longer sticky, about 10 minutes – resist the urge to add more flour; the dough is really soft so I preferred to use my Kitchen Aid with the dough hook to knead the dough.
Shape the dough into a ball and place into a lightly oiled large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.
Lightly oil a heavy cookie sheet. Turn the dough onto it and press gently to deflate. Shape into an oval about 2cm thick - the oval will be about 25cm (10in) long. Lightly brush the dough with olive oil and loosely cover the surface directly with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise again in a warm spot until puffed and almost double, about 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 220°C/428°F. Remove the plastic wrap from the dough. Lightly coat your middle 3 fingertips with flour and press into the dough down (but not through) the bottom. Repeat this dimpling all over the dough. Scatter the olive pieces over the surface, pressing them into the dimples. Drizzle the dough evenly with 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle with the oregano and the coarse salt.
Bake until the top of the focaccia is golden and browned, 25-30 minutes. Remove from the pan and, using a large metal spatula, transfer the focaccia to a wire rack, drizzle with the remaining ½ tablespoon of olive oil. Serve warm (I found it delicious cold, too).

Makes 1 large focaccia

Do you remember my homemade ricotta? That recipe is wonderful – I’ve received comments and emails from many of you who have tried it too, with great results. I have made it dozens of times already and used it in both savory and sweet dishes. I thought it was about time I tried another recipe from Donna Hay’s cheese making spread (issue 35), especially after seeing the wonderful cheeses my friend Ana Elisa has been making lately.

If you liked the ricotta, you’re gonna love the labna: it’s even easier to make – no cooking involved, no need for a thermometer – and tasted really good. I highly recommend it.

Labna (yogurt cheese)
from Donna Hay magazine

2 cups (520g) plain, full fat yogurt
1 teaspoon sea salt flakes
olive oil to cover
¼ cup fresh oregano leaves
½ teaspoon black peppercorns

Place the yogurt and salt in a bowl and stir to combine. Line a sieve with fine muslin and place over a deep bowl – the bottom of the sieve should not be in contact with the liquid released from the yogurt. Pour the yogurt mixture into the sieve. Cover, set aside in the refrigerator and allow to drain for 5 days, removing the liquid every once in a while.
Roll 2 teaspoonfuls of the mixture into balls and place in an airtight jar. Repeat with the remaining mixture. Add the oregano and peppercorns and cover with oil*. Store the labna in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

* the olive oil coating may solidify in the refrigerator so allow the labna to return to room temperature before you serve it.

Serves 4

Thank you all for your comments and concern – your positive thoughts and kind words were very important for my getting better, for sure!

I have been thinking a lot about sweets lately – due to Christmas coming and the gifts I want to make for my friends and colleagues. I have so many recipes bookmarked I don’t even know where to start, really...

I found this recipe going through cookie and candy recipes for the holidays. I have no idea why it was filed in my sweet folder, but I considered it a sign. I’d rather have a sign like this than the one Francesca had in Tuscany. Eeew! :)

Polenta-crusted roasted ratatouille tart
slightly adapted from here and here

Crust:
1 cup (155g) instant polenta
½ cup (70g) all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon + a pinch of salt
3 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, in cubes
3 tablespoons olive oil
4-5 tablespoons water

Filling:
3 tablespoons olive oil
½ large onion, thinly sliced
1 small eggplant, sliced
1 small zucchini, sliced
2 tomatoes, sliced
salt and freshly ground black pepper
dried oregano
fresh oregano leaves, to taste
1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese – I used the yellow mozzarella we have here, made with cow’s milk and that looks similar to Monterrey Jack cheese
3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan

Start with the filling: preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºC. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a pan over medium heat; sauté onion until soft, about 5 to 6 minutes. Spray 2 baking trays with cooking spray. Arrange the eggplant, zucchini and tomato slices on the trays in a single layer and brush with the remaining olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle the tomatoes with dried oregano and roast the vegetables until soft but not browned, about 15 minutes. Remove the vegetables from oven and cool.

Now, the crust: lower the oven temperature to 180ºC/350ºF.
Combine polenta, flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor – I used my Kitchen Aid with the paddle attachment. Pulse to incorporate. Add butter and oil and pulse about 20 times, until mixture resembles small pebbles. Add water and pulse until mixture forms a loose dough. Remove dough from processor and press into bottom and sides of a lightly oiled 24cm tart pan with a removable bottom (my pan doesn’t have very high sides).
Press aluminum foil or baking paper over the dough weigh down with uncooked rice, beans or pie weights. Place tart pan on a baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and remove rice and foil. Return to oven, rise the temperature to 200ºC/400ºF and bake for an additional 5-8 minutes, or until no longer shiny and wet. Remove from oven and let cool.

Lower the oven temperature to 180ºC/350ºF.
Lay the eggplant slices on the bottom of tart; cover with 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese and some of oregano leaves. Add the zucchini and onion, top with another 1/3 of the mozzarella and oregano, then the tomatoes. Top with rest of the mozzarella cheese, oregano leaves and the parmesan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until cheese is melted and vegetables have further wilted.
Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes before unmolding it. Serve warm.

Serves 6

I have certain preconceptions, must admit it. That feeling of “haven’t seen it but don’t like it already” – I’ve tried going against that, but it didn’t work out... and I think it is worse now that I’m older - I’m more intolerant.

I read something the other day about Clint Eastwood’s new movie (hey, Mark, more imdb links for you!) :). Angelina Jolie is on it, so I won’t even bother - no time to waste. If the Oscar buzz involving her drives me nuts already, watching all that “talent” in action will do me no good.

But I’m not a bad person. I also have “haven’t seen it but like it already” moments. Or, in this case, “haven’t eaten but love it already”. :)

And what a great recipe this is! I slightly changed the filling and was really pleased with the result. Running late and starving, I pulled the crepes out of the oven the minute the filling puffed and firmed – that’s why mine don’t have a gorgeously golden crust like the ones Leila made. It's OK: I’ll solve that next time, when I make the crepes filled with hearts of palm soufflé. ;)

Savory crepes filled with broccolini cheese soufflé

Crepes:
125g all purpose flour
1 egg
1 egg yolk
300ml milk
generous pinch of salt
oil for brushing the pan

Filling:
225g broccolini florets
salt and freshly ground black pepper
45g unsalted butter
45g all purpose flour
300ml milk
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
120g cheddar, grated – I used yellow mozzarella from here, made with cow’s milk (it looks like Monterey Jack cheese)
fresh oregano leaves, to taste
4 tablespoons parmesan, finely grated
4 eggs, whites and yolks separated

Start by making the crepes: sift the flour in a large bowl and make a hole in the center. Add the egg, egg yolk, salt and a few tablespoons of the milk. Whisk well. Gradually add the remaining milk, whisking between additions, until you have added all the milk and the batter is smooth (it will be a rather thin batter).

Heat a 22cm non-stick frying pan over medium heat and brush it lightly with oil. Pour 3 ½ tablespoons of batter into the pan, swirling to cover the bottom completely. Cook for 1-2 minutes, until golden; flip the crepe and cook for further 1-2 minutes. Slide crepe onto a plate. Repeat process with remaining batter, coating the pan again if necessary – you’ll get 8 crepes.

Now, the filling: cook the broccolini florets in a pan of salted, boiling water for 1 minute. Drain, cover with cold water and drain again*.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat, then add the flour, stirring constantly; cook for 1 minute.
Remove the pan from the heat and gradually add the milk, whisking constantly to avoid lumps. Put the pan back over heat, add the mustard, mozzarella, parmesan, salt and pepper, whisking until the cheeses melt. Remove from heat again and set aside to cool completely.

Pre-heat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF; lightly brush a non-stick large baking sheet with oil.

Add the egg yolks to the cooled cheese mixture and mix well. In another bowl, beat the egg whites until firm peaks form. Carefully fold in the egg whites into the cheese mixture, then add the broccolini florets and oregano leaves.

Divide the filling in the center of the open crepes and fold them to encase the soufflé. Place the crepes in the prepared sheet, sprinkle with the extra parmesan (I forgot!) and bake for 15 minutes or until the soufflé is puffed and golden and the crepes are crisp.
Serve with a simple salad.

* I steamed the broccolini florets until al dente

Serves 4

Apparently, it’s still winter here – after a week of 33ºC (91.4ºF) days, we’ve been having much colder ones.

I know that tomatoes are much tastier in the summer, but I would never be able to wait that long to make Pille’s wonderful tart. Would you? :)
The only change I made was to use fresh oregano instead of thyme - just because I happen to grow it.

I used to have a hard time digesting garlic but is all in the past now: my friend Clarice told me to remove the central root off the garlic cloves before using them and it has worked like a charm.

Oh, and a little side note: remember my sake panna cotta? It was the most voted recipe on the event I made it for! Yay! :D

Roasted tomato and goat's cheese tart with fresh oregano

500g puff pastry, rolled
150g soft and creamy goat cheese*
4 teaspoons fresh oregano leaves
2 fresh garlic cloves, minced
500g ripe plum tomatoes
extra virgin olive oil
freshly ground black pepper
sea salt

Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF.

Roll out the puff pastry to 30x40 cm rectangle and place on a slightly oiled baking sheet. Carefully score a line about 1 cm from the edge along the pastry, but do not cut through! This will help the filling to stay inside the pastry and the edges to puff up nicely.

Mix the goat cheese, minced garlic, oregano leaves, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Spread the mixture evenly on the puff pastry sheet (remaining inside the scored line).
Cut the tomatoes into 3-5mm slices and place nicely next to each other on top of the goat cheese. Sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper and drizzle some olive oil on top.

Bake for 45-50 minutes, until the pasty is golden and tomatoes have dried up a little.
Before serving, scatter some more oregano leaves on top. Cut into squares and serve.

* my cheese was a bit crumbly, so I added a bit of olive oil and mixed it all with a fork

Serves 6-8

I have read that food can bring people together. I think it’s true – many celebrations involve family and/or friends around a table. And one doesn’t need an established occasion at all – having friends over for dinner for no apparent reason is equally wonderful.

Joao and I make our Sunday lunches a special part of our life. Work and traffic jams already keep us apart on weekdays and there’s barely any time for cooking. That’s why I love cooking and baking on weekends – my way of having fun. I’m lucky the hubby shares that with me.

Weekdays are all about what I have to do, so weekends are all about what I want to do. I want to have fun. And is it fun making pasta while Joao takes pictures? You bet!

We laughed like two kids – there was flour all over my kitchen when we finished our “pasta making session”. And after that, we had delicious, fresh pasta for lunch. A pretty good Sunday, if you’ll ask me.

This is my entry for the Weekend Herb Blogging, this time hosted by the lovely Kalyn, the blogger who created the event.

Bacon and fresh oregano homemade pasta
from Donna Hay magazine

400g (14oz) fettuccine, linguini or any long pasta you prefer
1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
¼ cup fresh oregano leaves
2 tablespoons salted capers, rinsed and drained
2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
60g (2oz) unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup olive oil, extra – I used a little less
crispy bacon, to serve
grated parmesan, to serve

Cook the pasta in a large saucepan of salted boiling water until al dente. Drain, return to the saucepan and keep warm.
Meanwhile, heat a non-stick frying pan over high heat, add the oil and oregano and cook for 30 seconds or until crispy. Drain on absorbent paper. Add the capers and garlic and cook for 1 minute or until crispy. Add to the pasta with the butter and extra oil and toss to combine. Divide between plates and top with the oregano, bacon and parmesan.

Serves 4.

I had a few oregano sprigs left from this dish and did not want them to go to waste. Add to that the fact that I love baking bread and hadn’t baked any in ages. So there you have it: my first focaccia!

This dough is great to work with and I really liked the result – the focaccia smelled wonderful while in the oven and waiting for it to cool down a little was pure torture… 5 minutes (yes, I could not wait for longer) that seemed like 50. :)

I was browsing my favorite food blogs while translating the recipe to Portuguese and saw that Eva and Xiao Zhu had made beautiful focaccias, too. I love these delicious blogging coincidences!

Focaccia
adapted from Williams-Sonoma Collection: Bread

- metric and imperial measurements found in the book

1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1 ½ cups (12fl oz/375ml) warm water (40 to 45ºC/105 to 115ºF)
½ cup (4fl oz/125ml) olive oil, plus more for greasing
1 ½ teaspoons table salt
4 to 4 ¼ cups (20-21 ½ oz/625-670g) flour plus more if needed – I used 630g total
3-4 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves
freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the flat beater, sprinkle the yeast and a pinch of the sugar over ½ cup (4fl oz/125ml) of the water and stir to dissolve. Let stand at room temperature until foamy, about 10 minutes.

Add the remaining 1 cup (8fl oz/250ml) water and the remaining sugar, ¼ cup (2fl oz/60ml) of the olive oil, the table salt and 1 cup (5oz/155g) of the flour. Beat on medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Add 1 cup (5oz/155g) of the flour, reduce the speed to medium-low and beat for 2 minutes.

Switch to the dough hook. On low speed, beat in the remaining flour, ½ cup (2 ½ oz/75g) at a time, until a soft, shaggy dough forms that starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Knead on low speed, adding flour 1 tablespoon at a time if the dough sticks, until moist, soft and slightly sticky, about 6 minutes. Cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap and let rest for 20 minutes.

Line a heavy rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and brush the paper lightly with olive oil. Turn the dough out onto the prepared sheet. With oiled fingers, press and flatten the dough into an oval 2.5cm/1 inch thick. Cover loosely with oiled plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. It will be at least 2 inches thick.

With your fingertips, make deep indentations 2.5cm/1 inch apart all over the surface of the dough, almost to the bottom of the pan. Drizzle with the remaining ¼ cup (2fl oz/60ml) olive oil*. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Place a baking stone on the bottom rack of an oven and preheat to 220ºC/425ºF – I don’t have a baking stone, so I used the loosen bottom of a very large square cake pan (40cm/15in); that’s how I bake my Saturday night pizzas.

Sprinkle the bread with the oregano leaves, pepper and parmesan. Place the pan on the stone and bake until the bread is lightly browned, 20 to 25 minutes. Check the bottom and, if the bread is pale, bake for a few minutes more. Slide the bread onto a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature, cut into squares or wedges.

* I used only half this amount

Makes 1 large oval focaccia.

A couple of weeks ago I watched "Jamie at Home” for the first time – it was an episode about potatoes. I love potatoes – who doesn’t? – and all the recipes were mouthwatering. Joao must have thought so too, because he asked me to make this chicken for lunch on the following day – and he is a beef guy. BEEF.

I didn’t have a pen at the moment to take notes, and I don’t really remember him giving exact ingredient amounts, so this is my version of his roast chicken tray bake with tomatoes and potatoes.

The food was really good and I like the idea of using fresh oregano – a nice herb change to a basil addict like me.



This is my entry for the Weekend Herb Blogging, this time hosted by Erin, from The Skinny Gourmet.

Roast chicken tray bake with tomatoes and potatoes
from Jamie at Home

8 chicken pieces – I used thighs, wings and drumsticks
1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
salt
freshly ground black pepper
juice of ½ lime
400g new potatoes
100g cherry tomatoes
¼ cup (60ml) olive oil
1 large handful fresh oregano leaves + 2 extra sprigs

Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF.
In a large pan over medium-high heat, heat the 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil. Add the chicken, garlic, season with salt and pepper and cook until nicely browned.
Meanwhile, boil some water in a large saucepan and rapidly cook the potatoes – drain and set aside. If there are potatoes much bigger than others, cut in half.
Squeeze the lime juice over the chicken, mix well and remove from heat.
Place the handful of oregano leaves in a mortar or food processor – Jamie used his crazy shaker - and lightly smash/process. Add the olive oil, salt and pepper and smash/process again, until you get some delicious green oil.
Place the chicken, potatoes and tomatoes in a baking dish, drizzle with the green oil, add the oregano sprigs and mix.
Bake for 25-30 minutes and serve immediately.

Served very well the hungry couple on a Sunday lunch. :)