Category Archives: Italian food

Fruit, Italian food, Soups and stews

Early Autumn Minestrone and Tarte Tatin

Last week, an old friend came to visit from London for a long weekend with his wife and baby daughter. As we were all eating dinner one night, he told us that he’d recently made such a big pot of soup that not only did they eat it for lunch and dinner for four days straight, but when he put it in the refrigerator, the pot was so heavy it cracked the shelf. We all laughed about it, even my friend, but the next day I asked him why he didn’t freeze some of the soup instead of eating the same thing for the better part of a week. “I’ve been really busy lately and it means dinner is one less thing I have to worry about,” he said, and I couldn’t fault him there. A big pot of soup does make for effortless leftovers — though maybe not such a big pot that it makes four days’ worth. Still, you could do worse than to eat this soup for a few days running, seeing as how it’s packed full of veggies, beans, some greens and carbs, with a glass of red wine to elevate it into something a little more sophisticated than your usual minestrone. So Adrian, this recipe is for you — the next time you need something to see you through a busy patch, try this soup (though try not to make so much it breaks the fridge shelf again).

early autumn minestrone

Early Autumn Minestrone
adapted from Jamie’s Italy by Jamie Oliver

Serves 4 to 6

To make this suitable for vegetarians, just leave out the bacon and use vegetable stock.

olive oil
4 slices of smoked pancetta or bacon
2 small red onions, finely chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 sticks of celery, chopped
1/2 head of fennel, chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
a small bunch of fresh basil, finely sliced (set aside some to garnish at the end)
2 x 14-oz (400‑g) cans of good-quality whole plum tomatoes
a glass of red wine
2 small zucchini, quartered and sliced
7 oz (200 g) chard or spinach, washed and roughly sliced (including stalks)
1 1/4 pints (600 ml) good-quality chicken, ham or vegetable stock
1 x 14-oz (400‑g) can of cannellini or borlotti beans
2 handfuls (2 oz/60 g) elbow macaroni, or other small pasta shape
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
freshly grated Parmesan cheese, to serve
crusty bread, to serve

Heat a good splash of olive oil in a saucepan and add the chopped pancetta or bacon, onions, carrots, celery, fennel, garlic and basil. Sweat very slowly on a low heat, with the lid just ajar, for around 15 to 20 minutes, until soft but not brown. Add the tomatoes, zucchini and red wine and simmer gently for 15 minutes, breaking up the whole tomatoes with the back of a spoon.

Now add the chard or spinach, stock, beans and pasta. Stir and continue to simmer until the pasta is cooked, about 15 minutes.

If you think the soup is looking too thick, add a little more stock or water to thin it down a bit. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve sprinkled with the reserved basil and freshly grated Parmesan cheese and some good crusty bread on the side.

***

Tarte Tatin
adapted from Gourmet, March 2001

Serves 8

You can also make a Tarte Tatin with 4 pears, peeled, cored and halved. The tart can cool in the skillet for up to 30 minutes. It can also stand, uncovered, for up to 5 hours, then be heated over a moderately low heat for 1 to 2 minutes to loosen the caramel. Shake the skillet gently to loosen the tart before inverting. If you need to let the tart stand for any length of time before serving it, leave it in the skillet and don’t invert it, otherwise the caramel will make the puff pastry base turn soggy.

1 frozen puff pastry sheet
1/4 cup (60 g) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup (100 g) sugar
7 to 9 Gala apples (3 to 4 lb/1.4 to 1.8 kg), peeled, quartered lengthwise and cored (or use any firm dessert apple, such as Golden Delicious)
whipped cream, crème fraîche or vanilla ice cream, to serve

Note: You will need a well-seasoned 10-inch cast-iron skillet or an ovensafe 10-inch skillet

Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C).

Roll the puff pastry sheet into a 10 1/2‑inch square on a floured work surface with a floured rolling pin. Brush off the excess flour and cut out a 10-inch round with a sharp knife, using a plate as a guide. Transfer the round to a baking sheet and chill.

Spread the butter thickly on the bottom and side of the skillet and sprinkle the sugar evenly over the bottom. Arrange as many apples as will fit vertically on the sugar, packing them tightly in concentric circles. The apples will stick up above the rim of the skillet.

Cook the apples over a moderately high heat, undisturbed, until the juices are deep golden and bubbling, which will take about 18 to 25 minutes. (Don’t worry if the juices color unevenly.) It’s important not to stir the caramel while it’s cooking, otherwise it might crystallize.

Lay the pastry round over the apples and tuck it in around the edges. Put the skillet in the middle of the oven over a piece of foil to catch any drips. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, until the pastry is browned. Transfer the skillet to a rack and cool for at least 10 minutes. Be careful when handling the skillet from here on out — don’t forget that the handle will be very hot!

Just before serving, invert a platter with a lip over the skillet and, using potholders to hold the skillet and plate tightly together, invert the tart onto the platter. Replace any apples that stick to skillet. (Don’t worry if there are black spots; they won’t affect the flavor of the tart.) Brush any excess caramel from the skillet over the apples. Serve immediately with whipped cream, crème fraîche or vanilla ice cream.

Italian food, Rice

Risotto with Roasted Butternut Squash, Bacon and Blue Cheese

Risotto has an undeserved reputation for being hard work. It’s true that you do have to hang around in the kitchen to add stock and stir every five minutes or so, but it doesn’t need constant stirring and attention the way, say, polenta does, so it’s not as if you’re chained to the stove. Just put on a good CD while you cook. It took me a few tries to find a risotto recipe I liked as much as what I used to have in restaurants, and for me, the wine or vermouth (I always use vermouth) is the key ingredient — without it, I always think the dish is missing something. I always have a bottle of extra-dry Martini in the house, not only because I like to use it in place of white wine in most recipes, but mainly because I make risotto so often.

In the September 25 entry of The Kitchen Diaries*, Nigel Slater says of risotto, “I insist this warming, gooey rice dish has a season, just as porridge does,” and I agree (though I make a lemon risotto in the early Irish summer, when the days are still cool). It’s one of my go-to recipes for the colder months, plus both my kids love it — and why wouldn’t they? It’s total comfort food — creamy and savory — open to endless variations, and easy for my 17-month-old to scoop up with a spoon to feed himself. This is Matt’s favorite version, and it’s just right for autumn. You can expect plenty more risotto recipes from me in the coming months, now that the season for it is well and truly upon us.

*Amazon.com is selling The Kitchen Diaries in hardcover at a bargain price for only $16 (list price is $40). This cookbook is one of my favorites, so you might want to snap it up at this price.

risotto with roasted butternut squash, bacon and blue cheese

Risotto with Roasted Butternut Squash, Bacon and Blue Cheese

Serves 4

If you want to make a vegetarian version of this, just omit the bacon, and perhaps add some chopped toasted pecans when serving (much like this squash side dish).

1 large butternut squash
olive oil
4 tablespoons (60 g) unsalted butter
3 shallots or 1 small onion, very finely chopped
2 sticks of celery, very finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
1 1/2 cups (300 g) risotto rice (Arborio rice)
1 cup (240 ml) dry white wine or extra-dry Martini
2 pints (1 liter) good-quality vegetable or chicken stock
6 slices of bacon or pancetta
1/2 cup (50 g) grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup (about 1 1/2 oz/40 g) blue cheese, crumbled
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).

Peel and halve the squash and scoop out the seeds. Cut the squash into 1‑inch cubes (you don’t need to be precise, just keep the pieces uniformly small). Place the squash in a roasting tin or casserole dish and drizzle with olive oil. Roast for 30 to 45 minutes, or until tender. Set aside and keep warm.

Heat the butter, shallots, celery and sage in a wide, deep saucepan and cook to soften, about 5 minutes. Mix in the rice, stirring to give it a good coating of the butter. Allow it to cook for a minute or two, until the grains of rice start to turn translucent. Add the white wine or Martini and let it bubble away for a few minutes. Meanwhile, heat the stock in another saucepan and keep it at simmering point.

Once all the wine or Martini has been absorbed into the rice, pour a ladleful of the stock into the rice and keep stirring until the stock is absorbed. Then add another ladleful and stir again. Continue doing this until the rice is al dente. You may not need all the stock; equally, you may need to add a bit more hot water. Don’t rush this process — allow the rice to fully absorb each ladleful of stock before adding the next one.

While the risotto is cooking, heat a separate frying pan and cook the bacon or pancetta until crisp. Drain on paper towels, then chop into bite-sized pieces. Set aside.

When you’ve added almost all the stock, test the rice — the risotto is ready when the rice is tender but still has a little bite. When the risotto is done, mix in the grated Parmesan. Divide between 4 serving bowls or plates and top with the roasted squash, bacon and blue cheese. Serve with more grated Parmesan if you wish, add seasoning to taste and serve immediately.

30-minute meals, Italian food, Pasta and noodles, Salads

Tortellini with Spinach and Toasted Garlic and Caprese Salad

This is my go-to weeknight meal. You can prepare the whole menu in about 15 minutes, yet it’s tasty enough to serve at dinner parties. I frequently serve it alongside a broiled or grilled steak for extra protein. I made this menu for my good friend and first-time mom, Christie. Anabelle and I had the pleasure of visiting her and her darling daughter, and instead of showing up empty handed, I brought along the makings for this simple meal. Cooking is the last thing a new mom needs to worry about.

Tortellini with Spinach and Toasted Garlic

Serves 3

1 x 13-oz (370‑g) package cheese tortellini (Barilla recommended)
1/4 cup (60 ml) olive oil
3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
7 to 12 oz (200 to 280 g) baby spinach, washed and drained
freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Cook the tortellini until it’s al dente, according to package directions. Drain the tortellini (but do not rinse) and rinse out the pan. Add the olive oil and minced garlic to the pan and heat on medium, stirring occasionally, until the garlic is golden. Watch the pan carefully, as the garlic will go from golden to burnt in a matter of seconds. If the garlic burns, start over with new olive oil and garlic. Just as the garlic turns golden, add the spinach to the pan. Saute the garlic and spinach together over a medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until the spinach is just wilted. Return the tortellini to the pan and toss with the spinach, garlic, and olive oil. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese.

***

IMG_6762

Caprese Salad

Serves 3

2 vine-ripened tomatoes (about 1 lb/450 g), sliced 1/4 inch thick
1/2 lb (225 g) fresh mozzarella, sliced 1/4 inch thick
8 to 10 large fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Arrange the tomato, mozzarella, and basil leaves on a serving platter, overlapping them. Drizzle with olive oil. Season the salad with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

30-minute meals, Cakes, Fruit, Italian food, Potatoes, Vegetarian main dishes

Gnocchi with Tomato, Spinach and Ricotta and Brandied Plum Cake

One of the great things about cooking is that the more you do it, the easier and faster it gets. (Though I’ve also become my own worst enemy in that regard — I do almost all the cooking, even on weekends when I could otherwise have a break from it, because I’m so much faster at it than my husband.) When you know that you can pull together a dinner in the time it takes for water to boil and some pasta to cook, or that you can cook some fresh fish in less than 10 minutes, frozen pizzas start to lose their appeal.

But even though I love to cook, there are plenty of days too when I don’t have the energy or am pressed for time to get something on the table for two hungry little kids. And as much as I prefer to cook from fresh, unprocessed ingredients, there are certainly worse convenience foods to have in your pantry than a jar of pasta sauce and a packet of potato gnocchi. Store-bought potato gnocchi cooks in 2 or 3 minutes, making it the ultimate fast food, plus a nice change from pasta. Check out all the quick and easy recipes for gnocchi from the UK’s Olive magazine for more inspiration.

If you like the sound of brandied plums but don’t have time for the cake, just make the plums on their own, which takes only 10 minutes. Serve them with vanilla ice cream, with the syrup drizzled over — no one will complain about not having them in a cake.

IMG_9243

Gnocchi with Tomato, Spinach and Ricotta
adapted from Olive, November 2005

Serves 6

You could vary this recipe by using your favorite pasta shape instead of gnocchi, and stirring 1 tub of ricotta cheese directly into the sauce along with the spinach to make it nice and creamy. Do I even have to say that bacon would be good in this too?

2 x 18-oz (500‑g) packs store-bought potato gnocchi
2 x 14-oz (400‑g) good-quality jars of tomato sauce
7 oz (200 g) baby spinach, washed
2 x 9‑oz (250‑g) tubs of ricotta cheese
a handful of freshly grated Parmesan, to serve

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Cook the gnocchi according to packet instructions and drain. Meanwhile, heat the tomato sauce, add the spinach and stir until wilted. Put the gnocchi in a lightly oiled ovenproof dish, pour the sauce over and dot with blobs of ricotta. Scatter the grated Parmesan over and pop into the hot oven until bubbling and golden, about 10 minutes.

***

Brandied Plum Cake
inspired by The Kitchen Diaries by Nigel Slater

Serves 12

This cake is very moist, so it doesn’t really need the brandy syrup drizzled over it at the end, though it’s a nice touch. Instead, you might like to save it in the fridge to drizzle over vanilla ice cream another time. If you have any leftover plums that won’t fit on top of the cake, save them to have with yogurt for breakfast.

for the brandied plums:
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons brandy
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
16 ripe plums, stoned and quartered

for the cake:
3/4 cup (160 g) butter
3/4 cup (150 g) sugar
3 large eggs
3/4 cup (90 g) all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup (100 g) ground almonds
1/2 cup (50 g) walnuts, finely chopped

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease a 9‑inch springform pan and line the base with a piece of parchment paper.

To make the brandied plums, combine the sugar, brandy and cinnamon in a frying pan. Cook over a high heat, stirring often, until the sugar dissolves. Reduce the heat, add the plums and cook until they are soft but still hold their shape, about 5 minutes. Transfer the plums to a bowl with a slotted spoon and set aside. Reserve the brandy syrup left behind from the plums.

Beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time to the butter and sugar. Sift the flour and baking powder together and fold them gently into the mixture with a spatula. Fold in the ground almonds and chopped walnuts.

Scrape the mixture into the lined springform pan. Place the quartered plums on top of the cake mixture (they will sink into the cake as it bakes). Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. If you think the top of the cake is browning too much, cover it with tin foil. Remove the cake from the oven and leave to cool in the pan for 15 minutes before releasing the sides of the pan. Serve with some of the reserved syrup spooned over the top of each slice.

30-minute meals, Desserts, Fruit, Italian food, Pasta and noodles, Vegetarian main dishes

Spaghetti alla Genovese and Lemon Blueberry Buckle

How can you resist an article with a title like “Gourmet’s Guide to Cobblers, Crisps, Crumbles, Bettys, Buckles + Pandowdies”, if only to find out what in the world a pandowdy is? (For the record, it’s sliced fruit baked with sugar and spices in a deep dish, with a thick top crust.) It’s just too bad they didn’t include grunts and slumps in the article title to really round things out. The article included a link to a recipe for lemon blueberry buckle, which sounded like something nice to make while there’s still some blueberries left. But “nice” doesn’t do this recipe justice. And don’t let its humble, coffee cake-like appearance fool you either. It wound up being the best thing I baked all summer. It was so good that as soon as I finished my first piece, I went online to see what I could find out about the book the recipe comes from, Rustic Fruit Desserts. Once I had a look at the index on Amazon, I was sold — apple cobbler with cheddar cheese biscuits, cherry almond bars, fig and honey cream galette, pear sauce bundt cake with pear brandy butter … oh my. I might even have bought it just for the brown sugar rum glaze alone. Hurry and make this buckle while you still can with in-season blueberries — then see if you aren’t tempted to buy the book too.

Spaghetti alla Genovese
adapted from Avoca Café Cookbook 2

Serves 4

4 small new potatoes, peeled and cut into thin slices
8 oz (225 g) green beans, ends trimmed
1 lb (450 g) spaghetti (or fettuccine or linguine)
3 or 4 tablespoons pesto (or more, to taste)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
freshly shaved Parmesan, to serve

Blanch the peeled, sliced potatoes in boiling salted water for 5 minutes, or until cooked. Refresh in cold water and set aside.

Cook the trimmed green beans in boiling salted water until tender but still al dente. Drain and set aside.

Cook the pasta in boiling salted water until al dente. Drain, reserving a cupful of the cooking water. Toss the pasta with the potatoes, green beans and pesto. Taste and adjust with more pesto if needed, and thin the sauce with some of the cooking water if you think it needs it. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately with thick shavings of Parmesan scattered on top.

***

Lemon Blueberry Buckle
from Rustic Fruit Desserts: Crumbles, Buckles, Cobblers, Pandowdies, and More by Cory Schreiber and Julie Richardson

Serves 6 to 8

Covered in cling film, the buckle will keep at room temperature for 2 to 3 days (though in my house it was all eaten up in less than 24 hours).

for the crumb topping:
1/2 cup (60 g) all-purpose flour
1/3 cup (75 g) granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
zest of 1 lemon
1/4 cup (60 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cubed

for the cake:
1 1/2 cups (180 g) plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (or a pinch of dried nutmeg)
6 tablespoons (90 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar
zest of 1 lemon
2 eggs
1/2 cup (120 ml) buttermilk
2 cups (320 g) blueberries, fresh or frozen

for the lemon syrup:
1/3 cup (75 g) granulated sugar
juice of 2 lemons

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Butter a 9‑inch-square baking pan.

To make the crumb topping, mix the flour, sugar, salt, and lemon zest together in a bowl, then add the butter and use a fork or your fingers to cut in the butter until the size of peas. Place the topping in the freezer until you mix the cake batter.

To make the cake, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg together in a bowl. Using a handheld mixer with beaters or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugar, and lemon zest together on medium-high speed for 3 to 5 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Sir in the flour mixture in 3 additions alternating with the buttermilk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients and scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally. Gently fold in half the blueberries, spread the batter into the prepared pan, and distribute the remaining blueberries over the cake.

Sprinkle the chilled crumb topping over the berries, then bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until lightly golden and firm on top.

To make the glaze, combine the sugar and lemon juice in a small saucepan and whisk until blended. Cook over a medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes, until syrupy. The glaze will bubble while cooking, so you may need to remove it from the heat to check that it’s thick enough.

Pour the glaze over the cake as soon as it’s removed from the oven. Reheat the syrup briefly if it has become too thick to pour.

Appetizers, Entertaining, Italian food, Pasta and noodles, Salads, Soups and stews, Vegetarian main dishes

Pasta Fagiole, Sausages with Peppers, and Assorted Antipasti

I love having people over for dinner. I love planning a menu around their tastes and dietary restrictions. I love shopping for high-end special occasion ingredients and flowers for the table. I love seeing how many place settings I can squeeze onto my dining table. I love the rush of preparing a big meal while trying to keep my kitchen intact. But mostly, I love sharing good food and good conversation with friends and family. There are few things that please me more than a home-cooked dinner and lively, loud conversation (usually after a few bottles of wine have been opened), except maybe the hush that sometimes falls over my guests if I’ve made something particularly good and they have no time to speak between mouthfuls.

This week my husband Reuben’s lovely grandmother, Ellie, visited Milwaukee. I invited her, Reuben’s parents, my grandparents, my parents, and my sister to join us for dinner. Since I had to prepare enough food for 10 adults with two small children underfoot, my menu was simple. Most items could be prepared in advance, during the kids’ nap time. Note that I doubled the soup and sausages recipes below to serve 10 adults. And in case you were worrying that I let my guests go home without dessert, I also served the blueberry crumb bars Kristin posted three weeks ago.

Pasta Fagiole
from an unknown magazine card that’s been in my recipe box for as long as I remember. My apologies to whatever source I took it from years ago.

Serves 4

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
4 cups (1 liter) chicken broth (Swanson Organic Chicken Broth recommended)
1 x 14 oz (400 g) can stewed tomatoes, with Italian seasoning (note: if seasoned tomatoes aren’t available, use regular stewed tomatoes and add 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano and 1/2 teaspoon dried basil)
1 x 19 oz (540 g) can cannellini or great northern beans, rinsed well and drained
6 oz (170 g) tubetti or ditalini pasta
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large saucepan over a moderate heat until hot but not smoking, then cook the garlic, stirring until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the broth and tomatoes with their juices and bring to a boil, breaking up the tomatoes with a fork.

Add the beans, pasta, 2 tablespoons basil, and Parmesan and boil, stirring frequently, until the pasta is al dente. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving. (Pasta will continue to absorb liquid.) Stir in the remaining basil and black pepper to taste. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil and serve immediately.

***

Sausages with Peppers

Serves 6

1 tablespoon olive oil
6 hot and/or mild Italian sausages
2 bell peppers (one green and one red, yellow, or orange), sliced into thin strips

In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over a medium heat. Add the sausages and cook for 10 minutes, turning the sausages halfway through the cooking time. Add the pepper strips and cook until the peppers are soft and the sausages are fully cooked, stirring frequently, about 10 more minutes. If the sausages take on too much color early in the cooking process, lower the heat or cover the skillet with a lid for a few minutes. Serve with a crusty baguette or good Italian bread.

***

Assorted Antipasti

Antipasti refers to the traditional first course in an Italian meal. Cheeses, cured meats, marinated vegetables and salads are typical. Antipasti selections are also perfect for picnics. For my dinner, I served the following (all at room temperature):

cheeses (one soft, one semi-soft, one hard, one goat’s cheese, and fresh mozzarella balls)
olives (I love the bitter taste of black, oil-cured olives, but you can use any type)
1 jar of sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil, julienned
marinated hearts of palm and artichokes (see recipe below)
2 baguettes, one plain and one seeded, sliced

Marinated Hearts of Palm and Artichoke

Drain and rinse 1 can of hearts of palm and 1 can of quartered artichoke hearts. Mix with 1 clove garlic, grated, 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, 3 tablespoons olive oil, and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Let sit for at least 1 hour before serving.

30-minute meals, Desserts, Fruit, Italian food, Pasta and noodles

Zucchini Carbonara and Peach and Blueberry Sour Cream Cobbler

It turns out I’m not the only one around these parts with a weakness for American bacon. We’re having our house repainted at the moment, and today the painter was working inside to do the window frames. He spent 15 years living in America and only moved back about five years ago, and was chatting with us in the kitchen as I started to fry up the pancetta for this dish. “That’s not streaky bacon, is it?” he asked, streaky bacon being somewhat closer to American bacon than rashers, but still too thick cut to get as crispy as I like it to be. So he got the whole story of how much I’d missed bacon and then finding the pancetta at the grocery store. He told me how his oldest daughter prefers American bacon too, and how he’d have to get her some now that he knew about it. He was also eying up this cobbler as I made it and dropping hints about how good it looked, so he was pretty pleased when he was still around when it came out of the oven and I gave him some to have with his coffee.

It’s true that carbonara isn’t for the calorie-conscious, but even so, once you break it down per serving, there’s “only” one or two tablespoons of cream, one egg yolk, a couple tablespoons of cheese and a few slices of pancetta per serving, so for being a decadent dish, it’s not all that bad, though certainly not something you’d want to have every day. But as for the cobbler, there’s only two tablespoons of sugar in the entire dessert, making it the kind of treat I don’t at all mind giving my kids.

zucchini carbonara

Zucchini Carbonara
adapted from Jamie at Home by Jamie Oliver

Serves 4

6 medium green and yellow courgettes
1 lb (450 g) penne
4 large free-range or organic egg yolks
1/2 cup (120 ml) heavy cream
2 good handfuls of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
salt and freshly ground black pepper
olive oil
12 thick slices of pancetta or smoked streaky bacon, cut into chunky lardoons
a small bunch of fresh thyme, leaves picked and chopped (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)

Put a large pan of salted water on to boil. Halve and then quarter any larger courgettes lengthways. Cut out and discard any fluffy middle bits, and slice the courgettes at an angle into pieces roughly the same size and shape as the penne. Smaller courgettes can simply be sliced finely. When the water boils, add the penne to the pan and cook according to the packet instructions.

To make the carbonara sauce, put the egg yolks into a bowl, add the cream and half the Parmesan, and mix together with a fork. Season lightly and put to one side.

Heat a very large frying pan (one that will be able to hold all the sauce plus the pasta later on), add a good splash of olive oil and fry the pancetta or bacon until dark brown and crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and to a plate lined with a paper towel to drain. Drain off all but 1 tablespoon or so of the bacon fat.

Add the courgette slices and 2 big pinches of black pepper, not just to season but to give it a bit of a kick. Sprinkle in the thyme leaves, give everything a stir, so the courgettes become coated with all the lovely bacon-flavoured oil, and fry until they start to turn lightly golden and have softened slightly. Crumble or chop the bacon and add it back to the pan.

It’s very important to get this next bit right or your carbonara could end up ruined. You need to work quickly. When the pasta is cooked, drain it, reserving a ladleful or two of the cooking water. Immediately toss the pasta in the pan with the courgettes and bacon, then remove from the heat and add a ladleful of the reserved cooking water and your creamy sauce. Stir together quickly. (No more cooking now, otherwise you’ll scramble the eggs.)

While you’re tossing the pasta and sauce, sprinkle in the rest of the Parmesan and a little more of the cooking water if needed, to give you a silky, shiny sauce. Taste quickly for seasoning. Serve and eat immediately, as the sauce can become thick and stodgy if left too long.

***

peach and blueberry sour cream cobbler

Peach and Blueberry Sour Cream Cobbler
adapted from The Kitchen Diaries by Nigel Slater

Serves 4

4 ripe peaches, sliced
about 3 cups (400 g) blueberries
juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon flour

for the crust:
1 1/3 cups (150 g) flour
pinch of salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 heaped tablespoon sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
zest of 1 lemon
6 tablespoons (90 g) butter
1/2 cup (140 ml) sour cream
ice cream, cream or custard, to serve

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).

For the cobbler crust, put the flour, salt, baking powder, sugar, lemon zest and butter in a food processor and blitz for a few seconds, until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Tip into a bowl and set aside.

Put the sliced peaches and blueberries into an ovenproof dish. Toss them with the lemon juice, sugar and flour.

Mix the sour cream into the crumb mixture to make a soft dough. Break off walnut-sized pieces and flatten them lightly. Lay them on top of the fruit. Sprinkle the rounds of dough with sugar, then bake for 25 minutes, till the cobbler is golden and the fruit is bubbling. Serve with ice cream, a drizzle of cream or some warm custard.

Cakes, Italian food, Poultry

Chicken Cacciatore and Chocolate Zucchini Cake

I do a lot of baking with my four-year-old daughter, so much so that by now she can tell you the basic ingredients of a cake: flour, sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla. So on Saturday, when she was helping me make this Chocolate Zucchini Cake, she couldn’t understand why I was grating two zucchini (or courgettes, as we call them here, though they will always be zucchini to me). When I told her we were putting them in the cake, she gave me a confused look before saying, “But courgettes don’t belong in a cake, Mommy.”

“Don’t worry, it’s going to be good,” I said.

She gave me another long, puzzled look before finally saying, “You’re joking me, Mommy.”

“No, really,” I said as I started grating the second zucchini, at which point she burst into tears.

“It’s going to be disgusting!” she cried, and couldn’t be convinced otherwise until I let her taste the batter, when she quickly changed her mind. But I can understand her confusion. Zucchini bread is about as American as apple pie, but the idea of using them in baking is practically unheard of in Ireland. The zucchini in this cake simply adds moisture and soaks up the cocoa. Not only can you not taste it, but you actually can’t even see it either once it’s baked. Make it and ask people to guess what the secret ingredient is. At any rate, it’s a wonderful chocolate cake to have in your repertoire, not to mention a great way to use up some zucchini if they’re starting to get the better of you in your garden. It’s definitely one of my favorites, and I even made it for my mother-in-law’s birthday a few years ago. It really is that good. My little girl will even tell you so now.

chicken cacciatore

Still looking for ways to use up tomatoes? Try Tomato and Goat’s Cheese Tart, Ravioli and Tomato Salad, Oven-roasted Ratatouille, Spaghetti with Fresh Tomato Sauce or Spaghetti with Roast Cherry Tomatoes, Chili and Basil.

Chicken Cacciatore

Serves 6

I only make this recipe in the summer, when tomatoes are at their best. As such, it’s an ideal way to use up tomatoes from your garden if you’re overrun with them. I’ve tried making it in the winter, with those awful pale, hard, imported tomatoes that never ripen, and believe me, it’s not worth it. I’ve also tried making Nigella Lawson’s quick version of this dish, using canned tomatoes, but it was a disappointment after having had the real thing. The fresh rosemary is another key ingredient here.

Sometimes I find it hard to peel tomatoes because they’re too hot after just being in the boiled water, even after I run some cold water over them, so if I think of it, I blanch them earlier in the day, then drain them and set aside to cool in the fridge and peel them when the onions are cooking. To get 3 1/2 lb (1.5 kg) of tomatoes, I used 14 medium tomatoes, so you can use that as a guide, give or take a couple.

2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 large chicken breasts
3 large onions, peeled and thickly sliced
3 large cloves garlic, chopped
1/3 cup (80 ml) dry white wine or vermouth
3 1/2 lb (1.5 kg) vine-ripened tomatoes
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary
2 bay leaves

Heat the oil in a large pot over a medium-high heat and season the chicken breasts liberally with salt and pepper. Add the chicken to the hot oil and brown well on all sides. Remove the chicken to a plate and set aside.

Add the onions to the pot, lower the heat to medium and cook for about 10 minutes, until the onions have softened.

Meanwhile, skin the tomatoes. To do this, cut a shallow X in the bottom of each tomato with a sharp knife, then pour boiling water over them and leave until the skin around the X starts to curl away, about 1 to 2 minutes. Drain and allow to cool, then slip off their skins. Cut into quarters or roughly chop them – it doesn’t matter too much since they’ll break up during the cooking anyway.

When the onions are done, add the garlic to the pot and cook for 1 minute. Next add the wine or vermouth to deglaze the pan. Add the tomatoes, rosemary and bay leaves. Crush the tomatoes with the back of a wooden spoon as best you can (again, don’t worry too much about this, as they’ll break down on their own.) Add salt and pepper to taste and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and let the sauce bubble and reduce without covering to about half its original volume, which will take around 20 minutes.

Add the chicken back to the pot, pushing the fillets down into the sauce so that they are mostly submerged. Cover the pot partway, leaving the lid slightly ajar, and simmer gently for at least 40 minutes (though I find 1 hour is even better). Stir the sauce now and then with a wooden spoon, crushing up the tomatoes as you do so. I like to shred the chicken in the pot with a fork, though you could also just serve them whole. Serve with pasta, rice or good crusty bread to soak up the juices.

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chocolate zucchini cake

Chocolate Zucchini Cake
adapted from Simply Recipes

Makes 10 to 12 servings

for the cake:
2 1/2 cups (340 g) regular all-purpose flour, unsifted
1/2 cup (60 g) cocoa, sifted
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup (170 g) soft butter
2 cups (400 g) sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
zest of 1 large orange
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder (optional)
2 cups (250 g) coarsely shredded zucchini (about 2 small/medium zucchini)
1/2 cup (120 ml) milk
1 cup (100 g) chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

for the glaze:
2 cups (225 g) powdered sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease a 10-inch tube pan or bundt pan and dust lightly with flour.

Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.

With a mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until they are smoothly blended. Add the eggs to the butter and sugar mixture one at a time, beating well after each addition. With a spoon, stir in the vanilla, orange zest, espresso powder and zucchini.

Alternately stir the dry ingredients and the milk into the zucchini mixture, including the nuts with the last addition.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake in the oven for about 50 minutes (test at 45 minutes), or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then invert and turn out on a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the glaze, mix together the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla. Beat until smooth, then drizzle over the cake. Cut in thin slices to serve.