Sunday, May 11, 2008

insalata di fagiolini e uova sode!!!

                                      

Can't talk, too busy getting a tan so I can look like an Italian:) Just a quick salad recipe for this lovely weather we are having, I love this salad with fish or meat or simply on it's own with some crusty bread!!!

what you need:

 - fine green beans I used a 250g pack from Superquinn (surprise, surprise)

 - 3 hard boiled eggs

 - 2 boiled potatoes cut into cubes

 - sea salt and black pepper

 - 8 tbsp olive oil

 - 3 tbsp red wine vinegar

what to do:

 - bring a pot of water to the boil, add salt and cook your beans until tender. Drain and rinse under cold water and leave to cool down.

 - cut your eggs into quarters and scatter over the beans.

 - add your potatoes, season and dress with olive oil and vinegar.

 - serve and enjoy the sunshine!!!!:)

                                   

buon appetito!!!

p.s I got my new camera last week and it's still in the box, I haven't even used it yet it's been so busy:(

p.p.s. the princess is with the grandparents so mama and papa' are off on the town - yahooooooo!!! Bring on the hangover!!

Ciao!!

Posted by LOR&BRU at 21:00:48 | Permanent Link | Comments (11) |

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

italian greens!!!!

                                      

One thing I always love when I'm in Italy is the sauteed greens, I would eat a plate of them on their own with just some crusty bread which I often do when I can't fit a "secondi"(meat or fish)!! They do a really good version in Bru's aunt's restaurant Il Viccolo in Atina. We were actually watching some old home movies on Sunday in Bruno's house of his Nonno and Nonna's 50th wedding anniversary when he was about 10. It was so nice to watch as the whole family were there, about 30 of them all dressed up in their 1980's finery and of course the whole video was taken in a restaurant in the local hotel which is where they still go even now to celebrate family birthday's etc. This is what I love about Italy as an outsider - the family traditions whereby all generations of the family come together frequently to eat good food and spend quality time together, maybe I have a romantic image of it from the outside looking in or that it just didn't happen in mine, either way I like it!!. 

That same hotel hasn't been updated or modernised since and it only costs about €25 a night, my own family stayed there a couple of years back. We've eaten there lots of times and to this day they still don't have a menu or much staff, the dining room is as simple as you can get, no candles or music, the atmosphere is provided by the local families and their "loud" conversations!! It's run by a local couple, he serves and she cooks and you basically eat whatever she has made that day which for some reason always seems to be an antipasto of parma ham and mozzarella, pasta fagioli and then rabbit done in white wine which I love, bring on the holiday!! I am now counting the days until "I'm leaving on a jet plane" lalalalala (sorry couldn't help it) - I bet you sang along though;)

As most of you know I live near Superquinn so it is where I do most of my shopping, they all know me at this stage with all the requests and questions I'm always asking. The veg guy just laughs when he sees me on Monday mornings as most of their stock isn't on the shelves yet so there is always something he has to find for me. My latest request is purple sprouting broccoli as it's in season and they had it last year so I asked for it last week so I'm waiting in anticipation!! I was delighted to see Kale in stock last week so teamed with spinach I decided to make this dish that I love to have as a "contorno" with fillet steak. 

what you need:

 - spinach & kale  - you can also use swiss chard and purple sprouting broccoli!!!

 - 1 chilli finely chopped

 - 1 garlic clove finely sliced

 - juice of 1 lemon

 - sea salt and black pepper

 - olive oil

what to do:

 - wash your spinach and kale thoroughly, the large leaf spinach tends to be quite dirty.

 - bring a a pot of water to the boil, add salt and cook your greens for 3-5 mins. Drain and rinse under cold water, squeeze out excess liquid and chop.

 - heat some olive oil in a pan, add your garlic and chilli and cook over a low heat until soften. Add your greens, season and saute until heated through.

 - add your lemon juice and serve!!!


                                       
buon appetito!!
Posted by LOR&BRU at 21:48:31 | Permanent Link | Comments (8) |

Friday, November 30, 2007

funghi ripieni!!


                                       

Now, before any Piccola customers get too excited this is NOT the recipe for the stuffed mushrooms in the family restaurant La Piccola Italia. The stuffed mushrooms on the restaurant menu are famous, there was even an article about them in one of the Irish newspapers a while back. They also do them in the family restaurant in Atina "Il Viccolo" and Italians come from far and wide for them as they are a family recipe developed by The Mil and Bru's Zia Theresa so you won't see them on any other menu in Italy!! They are basically mushrooms stuffed with a meat mixture and served in a creamy red wine sauce, so many people have asked for the recipe over the years but only the family know it and we have all been sworn to secrecy. 

This stuffed mushroom recipe from Ursula Ferrigno is a great accompaniment to a piece of grilled fillet or lamb, it features under the antipasti section but I wouldn't like them on their own, a piece ot meat compliments them perfectly. I've noticed I haven't featured any meat recipes for a while, my next of couple of posts will be vegetarian but meat will be back on the menu, lamb shanks perhaps???

WHAT YOU NEED:

 - 50g porcini mushrooms

 - 4 large field mushrooms - I used the large breakfast mushrooms from Superquinn.

 - 2 anchovy fillets in oil, drained.

 - 1 garlic clove chopped finely.

 - 100g fresh white breadcrumbs.

 - pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

 - 2 tbsp olive oil

 - handful of chopped flat leaf parsley.

 - sea salt and black pepper.

WHAT TO DO:

 - soak the porcini in warm water for 10 - 15 mins. Drain and pat dry with kitchen paper.

 - pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees.

 - remove the stems from the mushrooms.

 - chop the porcini, mushroom stems, anchovies and garlic together. Put in a bowl and add the breadcrumbs, nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste. Don't add too much salt as the anchovies are quite salty.

 - heat the olive oil in a frying pan and add the mushroom and breadcrumb mix and saute for 5 mins.

 - lay the mushroom caps on an oiled baking sheet, hollow side up. Fill with the breadcrumb mixture, sprinkle your parsley on top of each mushroom and drizzle with olive oil.

 - bake for 10-15 mins until soft and serve at room temperature.

                                                 
                              
Posted by LOR&BRU at 21:34:27 | Permanent Link | Comments (8) |
1 2 3 4 5 6 7