ITALIAN FOODIES

                                     

The title does sound pretty fancy doesn't it??,  but today I'm basically giving you " fancy beans on toast - Italian style"!! I will be the first to admit I'm not adverse to the odd can of heinz on a couple of slices of Brennan's "big toast" smothered in some Kerrygold and when I was in college it was one of the main staples of my student diet along with the pints of heineken:) Seeing that I have come a long way since even though this could be questioned some days I decided to share this more gourmet version with you!!

One thing I always have in my cupboard is a couple of tins of cannellini and borlotti beans, cannellini for this recipe and the borlotti for my scrambled eggs on toast recipe, yes I know, we are posh!! These 2 recipes are great when you've nothing to cook and want to use some leftovers to produce something quick and tasty!! I bought lots of prawns to make "spaghetti al cartoccio"  but as usual things didn't go according to plan so rather than throw them out we had them this way!!

what you need:

 - prawns (fresh or frozen) I got shelled tiger prawns in Superquinn even though I suspect they are frozen, defrosted, fresh as they didn't have a great flavour!! The full prawns in their shells were much better but do require a bit of cleaning and work but it's worth it if you have the time!! If you don't have prawns this recipe would be fine without or use Maz at Style Treaty's recipe with bacon!!

 - 250g ripe tomatoes - Irish tomatoes are really good at the moment so I used Irish plum tomatoes!! If you can't get your hands on any good ones you could use a tin of tomatoes or leftover tomato sauce!!

 - 1 garlic clove finely diced

 - 1 tsp dried chilli (optional)

 - 1 x 400g can cannellini beans

 - 1 tbsp flat leaf parsley

 - 1 tbsp basil(optional)

 - juice half lemon

 - sea salt and black pepper

 - olive oil


                      

what to do:

 - if using fresh tomatoes blanch your tomatoes in boiling water for 1 min and drain, peel off the skin and roughly chop.

 - fill the base of a pan with olive oil and fry the garlic and chilli for a couple of minutes until softened but not browned, add your tomatoes and cook for 5-7 mins. If you are using a tin of tomatoes I would leave it cook a little longer and maybe add a tsp of sugar!!

 - add your prawns and cook for another 5-10 mins until cooked through, add your herbs and mix through.

 - season and add your lemon juice.

 - heat a grill pan and cook your bread on both sides and rub some garlic on 1 side and drizzle with olive oil.

 - serve your prawns on your garlic bread and serve with some fresh parsley on top and a cup of tea if you live in Ireland:)

                                


buon appetito!!

                                   

So, the novelty of sleeping with my award has worn off and I only shine it every 2 hours instead of every hour now;) and it has been returned to La Cucina and put in it's place of pride on the shelf  beside the Mulino Bianco biscuits for everyone to marvel at! I don't think anyone has even noticed it, they are too distracted by Laura's damn cupcakes:) The princess is better even though she's about half the size she was last week from not eating and she has passed it onto Bru so he was on dry toast and boiled risotto rice yesterday so I was eating alone!! I always notice this about Italians, they always know what to eat for different ailments whereas I stay in denial and still have chocolate biscuits when I'm sick just to cheer myself up whereas Bruno won't even put butter on his toast but I still would. Bruno's family always eat boiled risotto rice with just a drop of olive oil for an upset tummy whereas I still want to add Parmesan but they aren't even tempted because it will disagree with their stomach, they cure everything with food before medicine whereas we tend to go straight to the chemist!!

 I was in the mood for pasta but not interested in doing anything too difficult when cooking for one so I had a quick look through my selection of cookbooks, the majority purchased in Tk Maxx at a quarter of the price. My newest addition is "Fresh Italian" by Marina Filipelli which is a good enough book, the photos are very good and she gives nutritional analysis and healthy tips on all the recipes but I just didn't find anything new or very exciting about it but it's still a good one for the collection!! 

I spotted this recipe and it's very similar to a recipe we do with prawns but I liked the idea of using sea bass for a change as it is a fish I would never put with pasta. I have to say it was absolutely delicious and I loved it and will  definitely be making it again for 2 the next time. Bruno looked a bit depressed to be honest while I was ooing and ah-hing while stuffing my face beside him while he drank some more flat 7up!!:)

                                           

what you need for 2:

 - 2 sea bass: I got mine in Superquinn and got them to fillet them for me so I would use 2 fillets per person as they were not that big. Remove the meat from the skin and chop into small chunks.

 - 250g sweet tomatoes: I used the San Marzano plum tomatoes from Italy available in SQ which are really good, sometimes Dunnes have them too!! If you can't get your hands on any you can use a tin of tomatoes, the De Cecco pomodorini are really good but add a teaspoon of sugar if using tinned tomatoes.

 - 1/4 tsp dried chili

 - 1 garlic clove

 - tbsp flat leaf parsley chopped

 - 125ml dry white wine

 - olive oil

 - salt

 - pasta: I used Cordellia fresh tagliatelle that we sell in packets in La Cucina but you can use dried spaghetti or tagliatelle too.

what to do:

 - if you are using fresh tomatoes you need to skin them so bring a small pot of water to the boil and put your tomatoes in for about 2 minutes and drain. Leave to cool and peel the skin off and chop.

 - bring a pot of water to the boil, add salt and your pasta and cook until al dente.

 - fill the base of a deep pan with olive oil and cook your garlic clove until brown and remove, add your chili flakes and remove from heat for a couple of mins.

 - add your tomatoes and put back on heat, add your wine and a little sea salt and cook for about 10 mins over a medium heat until sauce thickens up.

 - when your pasta is almost ready add your fish and parsley to your sauce and cook for about 3-4 mins. The fish cooks quite fast so don't cook for too long.

 - add the drained pasta and a little of the water to the sauce and mix together and cook for a couple of mins and serve.

 - I served mine with a little rocket on top and a squeeze of lemon juice which added a nice bite and flavour to the dish. Just to really annoy him I washed it down with a big glass of chilled Pinot Grigio:)


                                           

buon appetito!!

                                       

I'm afraid I won't be able to make the blog awards this Saturday as my sister's future "hubbie's" stag is on in Dublin this Friday and Saturday and we have no baby sitter so I'm afraid the italian foodies will be absent:( I would love to have gone as it would be great to meet everybody and put faces to all the Irish food bloggers but I'll just have to wait until next year!! I just wanted to wish everyone the best of luck, the shortlist finalists haven't been announced in the food blog category yet but best blog has been and Kieren is in there so I'll be rooting for him - best of luck Kieren!!! I'll be thinking of you all while watching Turbridy on Saturday night so have a few for me:)

The lovely people at Taste Italia magazine have started sending me a free copy of the magazine every month????? just out of the blue which was a nice surprise!!! They have a great section on what's in season so I'm going to post about it every month because if you are anything like me I never have a clue as to what's in season.

 - prezzemolo (flat leaf parsley) - this is one of the main ingredients in salsa verde.

 - pesce san pietro (john dory) - really nice served simply dipped in flour, cooked in butter and served with mangetouts.

 - cipolline  (spring onions) - I have to admit I love mashed potato with spring onions like my grandma used to make:)

 - sedano rapa (celeriac) - mmmmm celeriac puree in Locatelli's!!

 - ostriche (oysters) - I've never had them but interesting recipe in the Silver Spoon with hard boiled eggs of all things??

 - carciofi (artichokes) - the MIL's artichoke tart, mmmmmmm!!

I'm promoting Superquinn again (what's new) but they have a great range of fish in at the moment because the weather has been so good, I was like a kid in a sweet shop the other day as they had fantastic tuna, squid, sole, swordfish, clams, I didn't know what to buy so I bought some tuna and squid. I often make this tuna recipe as it is so simple and I love the flavours of the salsa verde with the tuna and of course the main thing is it's quick and easy!!

what you need:

 - 2 fresh tuna steaks

 - flat leaf parsley ( I used 40g)

 - anchovies ( I used a small Italian jar which are absolutely delicious from SQ, you can use tinned if you can't find a jar!!)

 - tbsp capers 

- 1 garlic clove 

 - 10 basil leaves

 - salt and black pepper

 - olive oil

 - red wine vinegar 

 - 1 lemon

what to do:

 - a lot of recipes use a pestle and mortar for salsa verde but I just finely chop everything, place it in a bowl and add the red wine vinegar and olive oil. You could also use a mini food processor for a smoother finish but I like mine "rough and ready";)

 - heat up your grill pan, season your steaks with salt and pepper and pat with olive oil, cook on each side for about 2-4 mins,  I like my tuna rare.

 - serve your tuna with a squeeze of lemon juice on top and some salsa verde on the side or drizzled over your steaks. We had a simple rocket salad with cherry tomatoes dressed with olive oil and balsamic vinegar on the side, btw the Italian plum and cherry tomatoes in SQ are really, really good at the moment!!



                                            

buon appetito!!