Category Archives: Recipes

Sweet and Sour Orange Salad

Oranges are filled with Vitamin C, Potassium, Calcium and fiber.  This dish has everything to fight the common cold, or can be enjoyed at anytime of the year that oranges can be found in your local market.

Oranges, Olives, Onions to create variety in a salad

1 Red Onion thinly sliced
1 1/2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
1/8 tsp salt
1/3 c  Olives
4 Blood Oranges peeled and sliced into round circles

In a bowl, add onions or leeks with balsamic vinegar and salt, set aside for 5-10 minutes.  Meanwhile, peel oranges and slice into round circles.  Add olives and oranges to bowl with onions or leeks. Toss all ingredients together.

Serve at end of meal, topping off with mint sprigs for presentation.

Fava Bean Soup

Flavorful soup that is ideal  for lunch or dinner. Fava bean soup is made up of  resistant starches that will also assist in keeping a body healthy and strong and promote weight loss.

Fava Bean Soup

150 g Fava Beans
4 cups water

2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 leek finely sliced
4 cups water
2 bullion cubes
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Directions
4 cups water and 150 g  fava beans added to a large pan.  Bring to a boil for 15 minutes and then remove from heat. Drain fava beans in a colander and allow to cool.  Pop beans out of their jackets. Discard fava jackets.

In a large pan add oil, leeks, fava beans, water bullion cubes, barley, pepper flakes, nutmeg and salt. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to allow beans to simmer for an hour over low heat.  Stir often, beans will gradually fall apart and the soup will become creamy. Add more water to liquify soup if it becomes to dense.

Presentation, top off each dish with the following:
1 Tbsp fresh cream
1 tomato diced centered on top of cream
thin slices of fennel or green leaf lettuce

Risotto Milanese (with Saffron)

Throughout the centuries saffron has been a symbol of wealth and elegance. Cleopatra used saffron water to keep her skin soft. Roman Emperor Nero sprinkled the streets with saffron water to honor his return to Rome. Persians considered it a tonic for the heart as it was thought to alleviate melancholy.  The  spice was introduced into Spain by the Arabs, and later cultivated in Mediterranean regions and  throughout Europe.  Today we use it for the Health Benefits of Saffron .

Rice was introduced into Italy during the Middle Ages by Venetian or Genoese merchants, who traded with the east. The earliest documentation of rice cultivation in Italy dates to 1475. Risotto is specific to northern Italy where rice paddies are abundant.

The secret to Risotto is the constant movement of rice being stirred with a wooden spoon. The outward grain breaks away from the rice and a creamy effect is quickly noticeable.
4-6 Servings
3 Tbsp Olive oil
1 onion peeled and minced
300 g. Arborio Rice
1/2 c white wine
2 cups broth (vegetable or chicken)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp Saffron or 1tsp Tumeric
1/2 c parmesan cheese`

In a small sauce pan, add water and 2 bullion cubes and bring water to a simmer.  Turn off water.  In a separate frying pan add olive oil and onion.  Allow to saute` over medium low heat for 5 minutes. Add rice and slowly incorporate into oil and onion. Add white wine, all while stirring the rice. Continue to stir rice for about another 5 minutes. Add salt. Slowly add in 2 ladles of  broth at a time always stirring . As water is absorbed by the rice add in additional broth. From the time the rice is added to the frying pan to the end of preparation will be about 17 minutes.  Add in Saffron all while stirring rice and the rice becomes  yellow.  Stir in cheese.  Rice should be barely al dente and creamy in texture.

Florence Italy’s Peposo

A very simple Italian recipe that anyone can make!  Place ingredients into a pot and allow the savory flavors come together. This recipe has been handed down through the generations from a small town of Impruneta on south side of Florence.  Many Florentines will gladly tell a story of their family’s recipe, or  how it was linked to the construction of the beautiful Basilica in the center of Florence, or how it was tied to the Medici family, when they where amongst the few that could afford the spices to make the dish during the years of 1300-1700.  Either way, you can learn how to bring a piece of Florence, Italy to your table and enjoy this delightful stew.
May be served with roast potato’s, rice or pasta!
Preparation 5 minutes. Cooking time 3 1/2 hours.
Serves 8.
  • 4 1/2 pounds (or 2 kilo’s) cubed roast beef, roast pork, or roast wild boar
  • 1 onion minced
  • Three cloves of Garlic, peeled and left whole
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 cup olives
  • 1/4 cup capers
  • 4-6 whole Cloves
  • 1/2 cup (125 ml) or more, to taste, freshly ground pepper
  • 1 quart (1 liter)  of stewed or peeled Roma tomatoes
  • Coarse sea salt to taste
  • 1 bottle (750 ml) Chianti or similar dry red wine

Place meat and onions and garlic into a pan with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Allow to brown for about 10 minutes. Add wine and allow to simmer for 5 minutes. Add olives, capers, peppercorns, cloves and stewed tomatoes into cooking pot. Place cover and REDUCE temperature to low heat. Allow to simmer for another 3 1/5 hours. Peposo is finished when the meat is fork tender.

Quick Chocolate Cake

Quick Chocolate Cake! Even better on the second day!

Yield: 12 servings   Top off with Powdered Sugar and Pomegranate Seeds for a festive appearnace and delicious taste (in place of using frosting).

 

 

 

Ingredients

1 + 1/2 cup (170 g) all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (dutched/dark) or Dense Chocolate Drink Mix (Ciobar)
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 pinches salt
1 cup (220 g) sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
3/4 cup (1.8 dl) milk
3/4 cup (1.8 dl) vegetable oil (flavorless)
2 eggs

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 deg F ( 180 deg C)

  1. Grease a 9 inch (23 cm) cake tin.
  2. Mix flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, sugar and vanilla essence in a bowl.
  3. Add milk, vegetable oil and eggs.
  4. Mix everything together until smooth, either by hand or by using an electric mixer at slow speed. If the batter is too runny you may add slightly more flour.
  5. Transfer to bake tin and bake at 350 degrees until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, approximately 35 to 45 minutes.
  6. After the cake has cooled, slice the cake through the middle to make two layers (easier if the cake has been in the fridge).

 

Frosting

Ingredients for frosting

1 stick (1/2 cup) + 3 tablespoons (160 g) softened butter
3 cups (7.2 dl) powdered sugar or confectioner’s sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 to 5 tablespoons lukewarm milk

  1. Cream the softened butter with powdered sugar in a bowl. Add cocoa, vanilla and 4 tablespoons lukewarm milk, and mix until smooth. Do not over-mix. If necessary, add some more milk.
  2. Use one 1/3 of the frosting between the two layers, 1/3 on top, and the rest around the cake.
  3. This cake should have room temperature when served.