Insalata di arance

The 'Fresh Produce of the Month' event that I host myself is themed on oranges this month (as a reminder, the deadline for participation is March 2nd!)
I love oranges by themselves as a fruit. I found it amazing that such a wonderful, juicy and colorful fruit peaks in season in wintertime, when everything is kind of dark, and most of the fresh produce is earth-colored..
So I wanted to celebrate this fruit with a dish that just shows it in its delicious beauty. I remember that when I was a child, my grandma used to make every once in a while a super simple orange salad. She would simply slice oranges and add olive oil and salt on them. So here is my slightly modified version of it..

Insalata di arance / Orange salad

Making it is the easiest thing in the world: slice oranges, juicy and sweet ones, and then sprinkle with pieces of raw sweet onions, black olives and parseley. Season with olive oil and salt. It's really delicious, if you've never had it, you should try it. I found out it's also a typical Turkish food (there was a very similar version on the Turkish cookbook I used recently).
I think this entry could also be a good one for the 'Waiter, there's something in my...' event, themed on 'seasonal salads' this month.. there's nothing more seasonal than oranges. I'm not sure if they'll be ok with not being greens in it, but.. we'll see. :)

Due torte salate

I've been wanting to write this post about savory tarts in a while. I like to make savory tarts. They're super easy and usually impress the guests for how good they taste. They also make a wonderful party food, not messy, and which can be eaten warm or cold.. you may want to think about making one for the next party you're invited!!
I have a few pictures of savory tarts I recently made and I wanted to put them all together for a special issue on the subject.. and just now, Jeanne announced the new theme for 'Waiter, there's something in my..' as being.. Topless tarts! What could be a better occasion to share the recipes and pictures of two 'topless' savory tarts I made? So, here we are: Asparagus and Goat Cheese Tart, and Green Beans, Gorgonzola and Cheddar Cheese Tart.

Torta salata con asparagi e formaggio di capra / Asparagus and Goat Cheese Tart
This recipe was taken by the great 'San Francisco Flavors' cookbook I love. To make it, you need to have some puff pastry ready. I usually buy the frozen one and thaw it a few hours before I need it. Then I roll it down on a floured surface and I cut enough to cover the baking pan all the way up to the borders, and a little bit more, and I place it on the the buttered and floured baking pan. For this recipe, then, you have to spread 8 oz fresh goat cheese on the dough (or you can finely cut some feta cheese, like I did). On top, add 12 asparagus stalks, cut into 1" pieces (I bought the very thin asparagus you can see in the picture), and small stripes from one bell pepper, previously roasted. Toss one tbsp olive oil on it, add salt and pepper. Fold the borders of the pastry over the topping, and brush them with a mixture of 1 egg yolk beaten with 1/2 tsp water. Bake at 450F for 20 min. The original recipe says to scatter pieces of prosciutto on the tart once cooled down, but due to my semi-vegetarianism, I avoided this part. It was super delicious!

Torta salata con fagiolini, gorgonzola e cheddar / Green beans, gorgonzola and cheddar cheese tart
This is a tart that I made up, according to my mom taught me when I was a child. To make torte salate (savory tarts), in Italy we usually simply beat 2-3 eggs (depending on how eggy you like it) with vegetables or meat of choice (in this case, I had previously cooked some green beans in a pan with olive oil, salt and garlic) and with add whatever type of cheese in the amount we like. This is why I'm saying it's simple to make savory tarts.. In this case, I put a total of 1/2 cup of a mixture of pieces of gorgonzola and cheddar cheese (these were the cheeses I had in the fridge). If you don't like cheese, you can also avoid them at all. Then, you'll need to add some salt (~2 tsp) and pepper to taste. And if you're really into cheese, grate some more parmigiano on top. Pour this mixture in the pastry dough, set in the pan as discussed above, and fold borders on top. My mom used to make her tarts covered (the dough would go on top of the whole tart), but I kind of like to show some of the filling, to tempt the guests. When you're done with this simple preparation, bake at 400F for ~20-30 min (until borders are golden and the stuffing seems firm). Everyone was a big fan of this tart and of its companion which I prepared with zucchini instead of green beans.

Tanti auguri Sonya!

Yesterday it was my friend Sonya's birthday. We had dinner in a 'fancy restaurant' (her definition :) ) on 4th street, in Berkeley, and then we went to our place for a small after dinner party with cake, candles, and birthday song! I love this part of birthdays - otherwise I feel like something is missing! So, it was really nice to be able to host this in our new place.
The cake is a chocolate-rum layered cake that I made on purpose knowing Sonya's taste. :) - Keep reading for recipe and more pictures!

Torta a strati al cioccolato e rum / Chocolate-rum layered cake
(I found the recipe online here. Notice how it's said to be 'Martha's chocolate and rum cake' :) )
(Notice the nice dish the cake is on - it's a gift from Stefano, it has also a super-nice glass lid, very high, for super-tall layered cakes :)

Ingredients
1 oz. unsweetened chocolate for dough + 3 oz for filling
1/2 cup butter + 1/4 cup for filling
1 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
3 eggs
1 3/4 cake flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/3 cup rum + 1/2 cup for filling
4 cups confectioner sugar for filling (I used 2 cups of regular sugar)
1 tsp vanilla extract for filling (I used powder)

Procedure
Melt 1 oz chocolate with half a cup of water (I did this in the microwave). Let cool down. With a mixer, cream butter, add the brown sugar to it, then eggs. In another bowl, mix flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda. Add this to the butter mixture, alternating with the rum (add 1/3 cup total).
Originally the recipe says to divide this into three 8 inch pans, lined with waxing paper, and bake separately for ~20 min each. I had only one 9 inch pan, and the amount of dough didn't seem enough to make 3 disks, nor my patience. So I baked it altogether for ~30 minutes, and cut later. I'd think if you baked the three disks separately they'll probably raise more. In the future, I'll try to buy some smaller pans on purpose for this type of cakes.
Make the filling by melting 3 oz chocolate with 1/2 cup rum in a pan over low heat, then add the sugar, a little at a time (the regular sugar that I used gives kind of a nice crunchyness to this, but if you want a smoother version, go for the confectioner sugar. Not sure if 4 cups would be too sweet or not, in that case). Then add the vanilla and the butter, let it melt, and use warmish to fill and frost the cake.

The cake was really good: rich, but not excessively sweet, and very rummy! I served it with some whipped cream made on the spot, which I also used to (try to) decorate. I'm really happy that Andrew at Spittoon extra accepted this as a super late entry for 'Waiter there's something in my layered cake' event, but I'm really past the deadline. You can check out the wonderful roundup and be inspired with even more amazing layered cakes!

And here is Sonya cutting the cake:
And here are the other party friends: Robyn and Megan, and Al and Lucas.
I really enjoyed the evening.. again, happy birthday, dear Sonya!

Waiter there's something in my.. meatless barbecue!

Wow, luckily enough I found out that the deadline for 'Waiter there's something in my...' event is today! So I'm still on time.. I have the perfect entry for the 'meatless barbecue' dish that Cooksister suggested:
Bruschette con verdure e tofu grigliati e salsa al mango e tomatillos/ Grilled veggie and tofu bruschette with mango and tomatillo salsa!

I made this dish for a quick lunch with Lucas some time ago, and never had an occasion to post about it.. but it's so colorful and it was so good, that it's worth writing about it!
I used the wonderful grill I gave Lucas when he moved in, all alone, in Berkeley.. It's a 'panini grill', with two grills, that can be open, or kept at various heights, so that one can grill vegetables, meat, bread, or toast panini.. it's wonderful, and I love to grill veggies on it.
This time, I grilled asparagi and zucchini and tofu, I sprinkled them with olive oil, and added finely cut garlic and parseley. Then, I toasted some pieces of bread on the grill, and I nicely arranged the veggies and the tofu on them, adding some of the good olive oil/garlic/parseley mixture on top (see picture above).
To complete the delight, I made a quick mango/tomatillo salsa to go with it, by chopping in small pieces 4 tomatillos (see this post for more info about them), one Manila mango, half an onion, one Fresno chili, and adding some finely cut cilantro and olive oil. It's on top of the bruschetta in the middle of the picture above, and at the bottom of the plate to eat with some more bread!
It was a nice and simple Saturday lunch. :) Thanks Cook sister for bringing up this great theme and giving me an occasion to remember about this!

Waiter there's something in my... sauce!

This month's Waiter there's something in my.. event is dedicated to sauce! I found out I'm really late, but apparently they're still waiting for entries... yeeeh!
So, I'm posting the recipe for a Mexican mole, which we made a few nights ago at a Mexican dinner we cooked at my place. It's a really special one: 'Pipian Verde' / 'Pumpkin Seed Sauce'!
To make it, you have to boil 12 chiles serranos in water, for 8 minutes, then add 1 kg of tomates verdes (green tomatoes), husks removed, and boil for ~5 more minutes. Drain, remove the stem from the peppers, if there were some, and blend in a blender. Add 1/4 of onion, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 cup of cilantro, 1 leaf of lettuce (I didn't add this), and blend altogether.
Then, heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a pan, add 1 1/2 cups pumpkin seeds, and toast for a few minutes. Grind in a blender or nut grinder, then add 1/4 cup unsalted peanuts and blend together.
Heat up 2 tbsp olive oil in a pan, add the grounded nuts and cook for ~2 minutes. Add the blended tomates verdes stirring constantly. At this point, add a chicken bouillon and 1 cup water (or 1 cup chicken stock) and simmer uncovered for ~10 minutes. It's ready! (recipe from 'Mexico, The beautiful cookbook')
This mole is usually served with chicken. So, we had also boiled 3 chicken breasts with 1/4 onion, 3 cloves garlic and 3 springs of parseley for 20 minutes, and then simmered the chicken breasts in the sauce for another 15 minutes:
But we had a huge amount of mole for the chicken we made.. and it's so good: creamy, nutty and spicy at the same time! My Mexican friend who cooked with us suggested to use it later with white rice, or with fish, or just breaking some eggs and cooking them in it.. I'm looking forward to trying some of these suggestions!

Thanks Andrew for organizing this round of 'Waiter, there's something in my..' - looking forward to the roundup!

Waiter there's something in my.. dumplings!

I _almost_ forgot about the deadline of this month's 'Waiter there's something in my...' event. It's themed on 'dumplings', i.e. anything stuffed, and cooked by boiling, steaming or baking. I wanted to make ravioli, but I was thinking to make them with Nicola, and I couldn't arrange it for today. So, I decided to do something less Italian and more strange. I was inspired by the Indian Modak dumplings, sweet dumplings made with rice flour and a coconut and spices or coconut and raisin filling. Still, instead of rice flour, I used a mixture of garbanzo flour and regular wheat flour. I was curious to try a 'garbanzo dumpling', I never found any recipe for something like that! So, here is my creation:

'Gnocchi' di farina di ceci ripieni di pistacchi, uvetta e rum / Garbanzo dumpling with pistachio, raisin and rum filling
Ingredients
1/2 cup garbanzo flour
1/2 cup white wheat flour
1 pinch of salt
1 cup water
~2 tbsp butter
~2 tbsp turbinado sugar
1/2 cup roasted and shelled pistachios
2 tbsp raisin
1 tbsp rum
powder sugar and cinnamon for decoration

Procedure
Prepare the filling: blend the pistachios, add the raisin, the sugar and 1 tsp butter. Warm in the microwave till the butter melts. Add rum and mix.
Prepare the dough: put some water in a pot, add the two flours, mixing to avoid clumping. Add the salt. Heat while stirring continuously. Add 1 tsp butter. Keep heating till the dough is of a somewhat workable consistency (neither too sticky nor too dry). Add flour if necessary.
Butter the palm of your left hand, place a ball of dough in it, flatten it, add some filling in the dough, and close the dough around it. When done with all the dumplings, place in a steamer and steam for ~10-15 minutes.
Place the dumpling on your serving plate. Melt the rest of the butter and pour it on top. Mix the powdered sugar and the cinnamon and sprinkle on top. Eat warm or cold.
Lucas and I enjoyed them a lot! The garbanzo bean flour give them quite an unusual taste. The filling was especially good. Next time, I'll experiment with a different type of flour!
Come back here for a link to the roundup of the event... I'm really curious to see all the great recipes!
Also, stop by later if you want to see the Italian ravioli creation. I'll make them soon!!!

Melanzane ripiene turche

This month's event 'Waiter there's something in my...' is themed 'stuffed vegetables or fruit'. So I decided that I will post the recipe for the Turkish stuffed eggplants that I helped Elif to prepare at our Turkish dinner. Elif told me that the exact name for it is Imam Bayildi, which literally means 'The Imam passed out'!!! She thinks it's becuase they're so good. :)

Imam Bayildi / Turkish Stuffed Eggplants
Ingredients
Six eggplants. Buy the small, elongated ones.
Six garlic cloves
Four big tomatoes
1 large red onion
3 small 'Italian' peppers
parseley, sugar, salt
Procedure
Peel the eggplants 'in stripes' (leave one stripe of skin and one stripe with no skin, for a total of 2 stripes with and 2 stripes without skin). Make a deep incision in them on one of the unskinned stripes, along the length (to open up a pouch to stuff them). Spread some salt on them, included inside the incision, add water on them, and set aside. Cut the tomatoes, the onions, and the garlic. Sautee onions and garlic in olive oil, and add tomatoes, a little sugar and salt. Add a few leaves of cut parseley. Remove from stove when finished sauteing. After ~ 30 min, drain the eggplants, and stir fry them, whole, in olive oil, for ~ 10 min, turning them often. Cut the eggplants along one of the skinless 'stripes', making a dip incision. With a spoon, remove the pulp. Mix the pulp with the sauteed tomatoes. Place the eggplants on a baking pan and fill them with the tomato/eggplant mixture:
Cover them with a piece of aluminum foil, and put them in the oven preheated at 350 F. Cook for ~40 minutes. In the meanwhile, stir fry the peppers, cut into halves. When the eggplants are ready, cover each of them with half pepper.
Serve them hot. They're absolutely amazing.
Check back on this post, I'll let you know when the roundup for the 'Waiter there's something in my...' is up!

Waiter there's somethin in my bread basket - roundup

The great bread roundup is up! Check it out over here. There are so many recipes! I already tried the oatmeal bread, which turned out good. I will try the beer bread for sure, and a lot more!!!!!