lunedì 29 settembre 2014

15 minutes Nutella tiramisù


Yes, it is another tiramisu variation!
I love the classic and plan tiramisu but I like also to play with it and make different versions. Also because it is easy, there is no baking and I can taste on the way to adjust everything.
This is a great recipe if you need to prepare a yummy dessert for an occasion and you are running out of time because it needs short preparation time and almost no rest time.
Or also it is a great recipe if you are a chocolate or a nutella lover :-)
You can use the same nutella cream also for other creations, for example to fill a cake

200g Ladyfinger (Savoiardi) biscuits
500g Mascarpon
400g Nutell
3 espresso or 1 cup caffee (cold)
Cocoa powder

Prepare the café and let it cool down in a soup plate.
Blend the nutella in the mascarpone with a wood spoon until pretty uniform.
Dip the biscuits shortly in the cold caffee and align them in a tray to create a first bottom layer.

If you plan to eat the tiramisu in short time (few hours) make the biscuits pretty wet, if indeed you plan to eat the dessert the day after dip the biscuits only quickly because anyhow they will get the moisture from the cream and the few café will have plenty of time to get spread.

Cover now the biscuits layer with half of the cream. Create a second layer of biscuits and finish with the rest of the cream.
With the help of a spoon shape the top of the cream in small waves. Sprinkle with cocoa powder and store in the fridge until moment of serving.




martedì 2 settembre 2014

This is not carbonara! Panna e prosciutto


Few posts ago I was complaining about how carbonara is so often mistreated aboard.
The funny thing that I noticed is that the normally foreign served carbonara is actually an Italian food, it is just not carbona. It is the so called “panna e prosciutto”, i.e. simply cream and ham. A very easy and simple recipe often used like quick and easy dinner if the fridge is empty and I am late.
Let´s see how a panna e prosciutto sauce is prepared so that you can see the big difference by yourself with a carbonara.
Remember, the key ingredient in the carbonara sauce is the eggs! Now read the recipe below and compare. 

For 2
250g pasta
80g ham cut in a thick slice (3-5mm)
200ml fresh cream
Nutmeg
Salt
Parmesan

Start heating the salted water and when boiling add the pasta and cook according time on the package 

In the meanwhile place ham pieces on a nonstick pan and after couple fo minutes add the fresh cream. sprinkle a pinch of salt and cook at low heat until the sauce get thick. Take care to not let the cream reach the boiling point (like indeed in the picture below :( )





When ready grate some nutmeg and remove from fire.
  

Strain the pasta and blend with the sauce. If too dry add 1 or 2 spoons of noodles water.
Add generously parmesan and enjoy!



Good noodles for panna&prosciutto are penne. An other very classic (and very good!) combo is with the tortellini!

lunedì 25 agosto 2014

Strawberries tiramisù

Before the strawberry season is definitely over, I absolutely have to share the recipe of this easy tiramisu variation which makes it a colorful and fresh dessert.

If available I prefer to use bio strawberries, because it is not a fruit that you can peel or that you can wash for too long. So most of the pesticide and the preservatives are laying on the outside and you cannot get rid of them. Due to this I like to go for bio strawberries in the hope that they are less poisoned. And also eggs especially when are used raw I always take them organically growth.

The recipe itself is absolutely not complicated since it is a simple variation of the basic tiramisu recipe that I presented some posts ago. But the outcome is spectacular and you can use it also for a special occasion.


I used a small oval pan, about 25cm long.
4 portions

2 eggs
200g mascarpone cheese
3tbs sugar
aprox 150g strawberries
savoiardi
1 glass milk
1tbs rum (based on taste)
red coloring
salt
pistachio

Give a look to the previous tiramisu post, and prepare the cream according exactly the same directions, just in half amount. (2 eggs, 2tbs sugar and 200g mascarpone, pinch of salt)

















Then prepare the liquid to wet the bisquits by adding 1tbs sugar to the milk, the rum and the red coloring.  



A small variation can be done on the syrup. If you plan to serve the dessert to children just stay on the milk and sugar version skipping the rum, but if you like a more fresh variation substitute the rum with limoncello (or lemon base liquor).

Chop the strawberries in halves or quarters depending on the size of them. 

Now wet the biscuits in the liquid and align them on the pan. Pour gently half of the cream on the biscuits layer and place half of the strawberries

Repeat the operation a second time or until you finish the cream amount. In the last strawberries layer align them gently and create a small decoration (eg wheel spokes shape), finish with a pistachio sparkle. 



lunedì 19 maggio 2014

Let's see how a carbonara looks like

Me that I am living abroad, I can really see how Italian cooking is daily “misunderstood” or sometimes even mistreated. There are few recepies moreover which is almost impossible to find prepared in a reasonable way. A very emblematic one is the “carbonara sauce”.
This sauce is so easily and commonly prepared in italy, but at the same time so badly approached abroad that I have never saw anything served as per carbonara looking similar to what it should be.
I have to admit that also in Italy there are different approaches to this preparation, more or less close to the tradition, involving different ingredients, like the pecorino cheese instead of the parmesan or the use of the yolk rather than the whole egg.
I then want to state very clearly that I do not claim to explain you here the authentic and original carbonara. But never the less, this is a very popular version, the same that my mom has always done and that for sure it is much closer to the original recipe than all the versions that I saw around the world with my eyes so far!
The main ingredient for the carbonara is the eggs which are served raw, so be sure that they are properly fresh. If you want to prepare for more than 2 calculate like following: 1 egg per person +1 egg for the bowl. 

For 2
2 eggs (for me always fresh bio eggs)
80g bacon, speck or guanciale (whatever cold meat from pork, expect salami or sausage you are able to find where you live) cut in a thick single slice
50g parmesan
250g spaghetti
Salt
Pepper

Start heating the salted water and when boiling add the pasta and cook according time and procedure on the package.
Cut the meat in small cubes (about 0,5-1 cm) and roast it at medium-high heat until it starts to get brown.
 
Place the eggs in a big bowl (where you will serve the noodles) with a pinch of salt and beat shortly with a fork (approximately 30 seconds) until you have a foam.

Add the grated cheese and mix gently. Now add about 2 spoons of noodles cooking water and mix again.

Collect a couple of tbs of the fat released by the meat, add it to the cream and beat again shortly with the fork.

Finally add the meat and pepper to taste, but keep in mind that in this recipe the pepper is a strong taste so add generously (better freshly grinded one).


Strain the pasta and blend with the sauce