Good Friday

What did you eat today, Good Friday?   Although Good Friday in Italy is not a day of celebration as such, it is a day where Catholics do not consume meat (some fast altogether).  An alternative is fish, and I normally take the opportunity to make "spaghetti alle cozze" (spaghetti with mussels).  This has become my own little tasty tradition, and enjoyed with my family and friends (sometimes randoms too). I thought I would share this with you, recipe to follow!

Buona Pasqua (Happy Easter)

Gemma cutting the Easter bread "Colomba".

Buona Pasqua- Happy Easter.  I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of my followers for your support and enthusiasm.  It is great to hear from you and to know that the information I am putting out is being well received.  I love to hear of your cooking stories.  It has been great to receive messages about what recipes you will be using for this Easter weekend. It has also been exciting to know that various work places are talking about my blog and using it productively. One thing I do ask is that you continue spreading the word about my blog and asking your friends and family to join- it only takes a minute.  Ideally I would like to find a sponsor, so the more supporters the better.

I wish you and your families a happy and yummy Easter!

Ciao e un bacino (bye and a little kiss),

Kara

Making colourful Easter decorations for the table

Cannoli Siciliani (Sicilian Cannoli)

I don't even know how to describe my love for these little treasures.  For me when I eat them they remind of many fond childhood memories.  To this day, not only do I eat them with fondness and  nostalgia, I truly enjoy the flavour.  The crisp outer pastry filled with creamy ricotta mixed with tangy fruit peel, nuts and chocolate is truly a wondrous combination. There is nothing more Sicilian than "cannoli" however each household varies the ingredients slightly (some omit the nuts and fruit peel).  Today I am sharing with you a recipe that I hold close to my heart, and a recipe I helped make on many occasions with my boyfriends Nonna!  I had barley more than a few euros in my pocket on my first trip to Sicily many years ago, however I made sure I bought myself a 'cannoli'.  It did not disappoint! The streets in Sicily are lined with pastry shops selling mountains of 'cannoli' decorated in various ways, all as equally beautiful and colourful.  To me eating a 'cannolo' is a symbol of family, celebration and love and needs to be shared with others. Although lengthy to prepare they are actually quite simple to make and so rewarding.    Enjoy with a nice strong coffee or a glass of sweet desert wine (although sometimes we would have grappa)!

What you need:

To make the cannoli:

250g white flour tipo 00

30g white wine vinegar

30g marsala wine

30g icing sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

5g cocoa powder

one egg

50g lard

For the filling:

750g ricotta cheese

300g icing sugar

1/4 cup candied mixed orange peel

1/4 cup pistachio nuts chopped

75g 70% cocoa dark chocolate finely chopped

Peanut oil for frying

How to make:

1:  Sift flour, icing sugar, cinnamon, salt, and cocoa into a large bowl, make a well in the centre.

2: Add lard  to the centre of flour combination and mix in with finger tips.  Pour in the marsala and white wine vinegar, use finger tips to combine, then transfer to bench top and lightly knead together.  Once kneaded to a ball, wrap in cling wrap and place n fridge for 1/2 hour.

3: To prepare the ricotta mix place the ricotta in sieve and push through with a metal spoon.  This will help give the ricotta a creamier texture.  Sift and stir through icing sugar.

4: Add the chopped fruit peel, chopped nuts and chocolate to ricotta mix.  Place in fridge until ready to use.

5: Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface.  Roll the dough as thin as possible.  Use a large round cutter to cut roughly 16 circles.

6: Take one circle and wrap around a metal "cannoli" tube.  Use a little milk wash to join overlapping dough.  Continue process until all circles have been wrapped (or take in turns depending on how many "cannoli" tubes you own).

7: Place 4 'cannoli" tubes into pre-heated peanut oil for approximately 1-2 minutes.  Remove dough from metal tubes and allow to cool on absorbent paper.  Be careful of your hands, the tubes will be extremely hot

8: Once all of the "cannoli" have been cooked and cooled use a piping bag to fill the "cannoli" with the ricotta mix.

9: Finally to decorate place one glazed cherry at one end and a thinly sliced orange peel at the other.  Alternatively, you can  dip in finely chopped chocolate or pistachio nuts.
10: Dust lightly with icing sugar

Buon Apetito!

Treccia Pasquale (Easter bread)

"Buona Pasqua a tutti" (Happy Easter to all)!  There is nothing more festive than the smell of baking this bread.  The poignant colour from the symbolic red eggs the rich yellow dough derived from using saffron.  The most common bread made and sold everywhere around Italy at Easter time is the "Colomba", a sweet bread shaped as a dove.  Similar to the famous bread sold all over Italy at Christmas time, the "Panettone".   There are various stories to the actual origins for both of these breads, but there is a solid case to Milan being the birthplace.  I choose to make this "Pane di Pasqua" over the more popular "Colomba", only because I like the overall festive effect.  Due to strong Catholic virtues, the red colour of the eggs is to symbolise the blood of Christ.  The bread is quite dense and the aroma and taste of saffron is pure decadence.  A handy tip is to wear gloves before dying eggs, speaking from experience!!

What you need:
1kg tipo 000 flour
50g fresh yeast (purchase from bakery)
6 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
one 1/4 cup of warm milk
one teaspoon of sugar
salt 
four eggs
pinch of ground saffron 
fennel or anise seeds to taste

                                                  

How to make:

1: Sift flour in a large bowl and create well in centre

2: Warm milk, add fresh yeast and sugar and whisk.  Set aside for a minute so that the mixture starts to froth (this is the yeast activating).  Crush the saffron treads as fine as possible and add to mixture

3: Pour the mixture into the centre of the sifted flour.  With a fork start to fold the flour in from the outside and start mixing together.  Once combined with a fork, use your hands to combine and knead on a floured bench for 5-10 minuets.  Add a little more warm milk, oil, or flour to desired texture.  The dough should be shiny and elastic and should spring back when pushed with finger

4: Set dough aside for 1 1/2, covered with a tea towel in a warm, dark place

5: Use oiled hands to re-knead the dough for 2-3 minuets. Cover again and set aside in a warm, dark place for another hour

6: Put dough on bench, use oiled hands to quickly knead, cut into three equal parts and roll each part into a long sausage like shape.  Also hold the dough up and let it naturally fall and stretch.

7: Place three separate pieces of dough on oven tray lined with baking paper.  Plait the dough to desired shape.  Brush dough with milk/oil wash.  Sprinkle with fennel seeds

8: Place pre dyed eggs in desired position

9: Bake in pre-heated 220 degrees oven for 30-40 minutes

10: Allow to cool on rack and enjoy warm

Use food colouring to dye eggs.  Although traditionally eggs were dyed using various vegetables.

Buona Pasqua

Insalata di fichi (fig salad)

        

Fast, simple, quick and easy but insanely delicious.  When adding figs life just becomes instantly decadent in my opinion.  My instant association and probably most Italians is to enjoy figs with prosciutto.  I like to eat figs picked straight from the tree as they have just been ripened from the summers sun.  Most Italian  households with serve a bowl of lettuce and tomatoes as a salad option with most meals, however this salad is a little more special.  Enjoy it on it's own and soak up the remaining juices with some crusty bread or present it as a side dish.  The figs can  be lightly grilled if desired however I like to enjoy them fresh.

What you need:

4 fresh figs cut in quarters 

100g of goats cheese crumbled

1/2 cups fresh walnuts (crack from the shell)

100g fresh rocket leaves

1/4 cups in total (half olive oil, half balsamic vinegar)

100g prosciutto di Parma (optional)

1: Mix the oil and vinegar together.  Toss the rocket though the dressing until thoroughly coated.  Present the dressed rocket leaves on a large platter

2: Place the prosciutto on top then arrange the remaining ingredients in layers.  Alternatively serve the prosciutto on a side plate and serve with salad (or omit)

Insalata di rape rosse e noci (beetroot and walnut salad)

I apologise for the lapse between recipe sharing.  In fact I have found myself spending an extended amount of time in my hometown Melbourne.  In saying that, I enthusiastically have continued cooking for my friends and family.  Some of my followers have asked for some easy salad recipes, so now I am going to share some amazingly easy but more importantly tasty salads I have made during my summer.  This particular beetroot salad is really easy to make and offers a diverse range of flavours. I love the contrast between bitter and sweet and the creamy and crunchy textures. I remember the thrill of seeing huge bunches of dirty beetroot being sold by street vendours in Italy with the lovely bushy leaves intact. Beetroot has been used in Italian cooking for centuries and was first commerically cultivated along the Mederteranian coast.  This recipe is in no way traditional and I have not witnessed it on any menus in Italy, however I have seen similar variations in Italian cookbooks (generally always including a cheese, fruit or nut).  This is my interpretation and I hope this will make my Italian friends proud (I am sure they would happily eat it, and that's saying something)!.  A perfect accompaniment with a chicken or meat dish.

What you need:

three large organic beetroot

100g of goats cheese crumbled

1/2 cups fresh walnuts (crack from the shell)

100g fresh rocket leaves

handful fresh mint leaves

1/4 cups in total (half olive oil, half balsamic vinegar)

How to makes:

1: Remove leaves from beetroot but leave about 2cm of the steam as this will help retain the colour of the beetroot during the boiling process

2: Add beetroot to a large pot of boiling water, make sure the beetroot is covered in the water.  Simmer for about 20-30 minutes.  The time will vary slightly depending on how large the beetroot is.  Cook until a skewer easily pierces the beetroot.

3: Once the beetroot is cooked run under cold water.  Use your hands to gently rub and remove the skin whilst running under cold water

4: Mix oil and vinegar together and toss though the rocket leaves.  Place dressed rocket on a large platter

5: Add roughly chopped beetroot, and remaining ingredients

Gelato alla nutella (nutella ice-cream)

What is there not to like about Nutella?  It infuses the perfect combination of creaminess, sweetness, yet bitterness. Which is no doubt why Italian's are proud to claim Nutella as their own, originally from Piedmont.  You will probably find a jar in the pantry of most Italian households.  Also some coffee shops have massive five litre jars sitting behind the counter, quite a sight!  I do actually have the recipe to make my own Nutella but for the purpose of making this ice-cream I am using the original tried and true version- purchased from the store! This gelato is SO yummy and is so simple to make.  It possess all of the words I used to describe Nutella, but is amplified in a frozen delicious version!  I remember on my first visit to Italy many years ago this was one of my favourite gelato flavours, and  still is!!

  

What you need:
300 ml full cream milk
200ml fresh full fat cream
1/2 cup caster sugar (anti freeze agent)
300 gr Nutella

How to make:
1: Add the milk, cream and sugar in a medium size bowl and whisk until the sugar has absorbed.  Using a hand held whisk add the Nutella in small batches to the cream mixture and blend
2:  Once all of the ingredients have been combined pour slowly into a frozen ice-cream churn.  Churn for approximately 45 minutes or until the mixture has thickened
3: Pour the thickened mixture into a metal container and place covered in the freezer

               

Buon gelato!