ITALIAN FOODIES

                                         

We’re off to Genova on Thursday and the weather isn’t looking too good at the moment, they’re having pretty bad weather up the north - it’s probably because we’re coming;), The forecast for Thursday when we arrive is really bad thunder storms and Genova airport is bad enough for landings as it is, so I’m really looking forward to that. As you may have noticed there hasn’t been much cooking going on around here with everything that’s going on but I did manage to make this simple tart on Saturday which is so quick and easy and probably takes the same time as making a toasted sandwich. My 2 new finds this week were individual puff pastry rounds, why did nobody tell me about these???, they are soooo handy and Superquin are now stocking sliced pancetta. It’s not the best I’ve ever had but at least they have it in stock, I know this might be hard to imagine but it was impossible to buy sliced pancetta in Limerick up until now. 

                              

what you need, I’m not going to give measurements as it is so simple so I’ll leave it up to you:

- puff pastry

- cherry tomatoes

- goat’s cheese

- thyme

- pancetta(optional, it’s lovely without too)

- pesto or tapenade (optional)

 - beaten egg or milk

 - sea salt and black pepper

- olive oil

                                            

what to do:

 - pre-heat your oven to 200 degrees.

 - prick the base of your pastry with a fork and layer your sliced goat’s cheese on top making sure to leave space at the edges.

 - arrange your tomatoes on top, season and sprinkle with thyme. Egg wash the edges of your pastry.

 - cook for 20 mins until the pastry is risen, crisp and golden brown.

 - heat a frying pan and cook your pancetta for a couple of mins until crisp and serve on top of your tart.

 - sprinkle some goats cheese on top, drizzle with a little olive oil and serve with a simple rocket salad.

 

                                                

buon appetito!!

p.s. see you soon and try not to miss me too much:)

Ciao
xxxxx

                                           

The new place is slowly coming along, we still haven’t signed even though we are nearly there. It’s amazing how much is involved on the legal side and how long it takes. Alessandro is getting impatient as he is dying to get stuck in and get started but it will be another couple of weeks. Once we have signed we are going straight to Rome for 3 or 4 days to meet a couple of wine suppliers and equipment companies. We met with our interior designer and architect last week and they have the restaurant and kitchen layout completed which was really exciting to see. We will be able to seat 80 people inside and about 30 people outside, we want to have an open kitchen and grill so the next step is to meet with the health board and fire chief to see if this is possible. We’ve never used a designer before so it’s really interesting to see how it all works, she had 5 mood boards with different restaurant styles, it’s quite a complicated process and I think we are probably driving her a bit mad as we keep jumping ahead while she is trying to go through the whole process stage by stage, whereas we’re picking chairs off the Internet  etc and we don’t even know what  our theme or style is yet so we’ve calmed down a bit and are leaving it to the experts. This setup is a lot different to La Cucina as it is so big, everyone we have contracted is doing all the work so we are just meeting with them to discuss everything which feels a little strange for us but I’m sure this will all change as we get closer to the time, then the stress begins:)

I have to admit I’m not very adventurous when it comes to salads, I tend to stick to the old reliables likes rocket and Parmesan, french bean & egg, cherry tomato and red onion and Italian green salad. In the summer we rarely cook potatoes and always have a salad with meat or fish so the above can become a bit boring, I recently picked up a copy of Maxine Clark’s “Italian Salads” in Tk Maxx so you’re going to be seeing a lot of salads around here for a while. It’s coming towards the end of the asparagus season so this recipe is great if you are looking for a new way to get your fill before the season ends. I really liked this recipe as it was really simple and I had most of the ingredients in the cupboard already so there is very little involved. This would work great as a starter or just on it’s own with some crusty bread for a light lunch. If you are not a lover of anchovies a simple Italian dressing of olive oil and red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar would work perfectly too!

                                      

what you need:

 - 500g asparagus

 - olive oil

 - 4 free range eggs hard-boiled

 anchovy dressing

 - 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

 - 4 anchovy fillets in oil, rinsed and drained.

 - 1 tsp salted capers, rinsed.

 - 1 tsp balsamic vinegar

 - freshly ground pepper

what to do:

 - cook your asparagus until tender, drain and rinse under cold water, mix in a little olive oil and set aside - you might be able to see from my pictures that mine are a bit over-cooked, blame the 18 mth old:)

 - to make the dressing mix all the ingredients in a mini- blender until smooth. Season to taste with black pepper.

 - arrange the asparagus on a serving plate, cut the eggs into quarters and place on top with the dressing drizzled over the top.

 - serve and enjoy:)

                                            

buon appetito!! 

“foodie watch”
 Superquinn have fresh oregano plants in stock and they are also stocking fresh marjoram in the pre-packed herb selection. My favourite Italian biscuits have also returned “Tortina” - yummmmmmmm!!

p.s what is your favourite biscuit???

                                  
                                         

How nice has this weather been and it’s coming back on Sunday - yahoooo!! It’s been a pretty hectic week here, we are finally moving in to our new house next week so it’s all about the final touches now, going accessory shopping the weekend, Bru is very excited as you can imagine - cushions and candles are his favourites;) I will probably have to watch extra football as punishment:)

The new place is also keeping us busy, how nice to be moving house and opening a new business and running the old business at the same time, I’d recommend it to anyone, no stress involved at all - I DON’T THINK SO!!:) I think there is so much going on that I actually am not getting stressed at all but then me and Bru are pretty laid back, probably a bit too much sometimes but it helps in times like this!! I hate this stage of the new business as it’s all the legal and engineering stuff which I’m a bit allergic to, I prefer the nicer stage of doing the menu, design, PR, sourcing wine etc etc but it has to be done! We met with the engineer last week and one thing I’m really bad at is reading a plan so I was so confused by the end!! The thing is they think you understand all the architect and engineering jargon so I had to tell him to stop him at one stage and explain what the hell ME was as he kept saying it, for anyone who doesn’t know it’s Mechanical Engineering. He thought it was funny so I asked him what were the ingredients of pesto????? he got the message:) They are doing the plans for the layout of the kitchen, toilets etc and the main specs for the fire cert!! When opening a new restaurant the Fire Cert is the most important part in the initial stages and it takes 2 months so the pressure is on!!

We also met with the solicitor yesterday for the initial reading of the contracts so that’s all been sorted out next week, once that’s through I’ll start posting some pics so you can get an idea of the place. We also met an Interior Architect yesterday as we are going to need some help with the design as it is such a big space, we will bring all the furniture and bar from Italy but we need someone to put it altogether and make it look good and not something we threw together ourselves!!

With the busy week we’ve had and the lovely weather there hasn’t been a huge amount of cooking but we had this bruschetta the other day as I got some lovely bread at the french market and really good sliced gourmet mushrooms in Superquinn.

                                           

what you need:

 - 400g mushrooms - sliced

 - 250g sliced gourmet mushrooms(optional)

 - crusty bread

 - 2 tbsp flat leaf parsley finely chopped

 - juice of half lemon(optional)

 - 2 garlic cloves finely chopped

 - half white onion finely chopped(optional)

 - olive oil

 - sea salt and black pepper

 - 50g unsalted butter (about 2 tbsp)

 
what to do:

 - toast your bread under the grill on both sides.

 - melt your butter over a low heat, add the onions and garlic and cook for a few minutes until softened. Add your mushrooms and cook for about 10 mins. If you like cream you can add some here if you like but I’m watching the hips;)

 - add your lemon juice and parsley and season well. 
 
 - serve the mushroom mix on your toasted bread and dine “al fresco” with a glass of “vino bianco”!!!

                                         

You can vary this recipe by adding some pancetta, parma ham or a poached egg on top!!

buon appetito!!!

p.s. there is something wrong with blog.com so apologies for the layout and to anyone trying to use the tag list or read older posts!! I have to move but I don’t even know where to start, a friend of mine has promised he’s going to move me to wordpress so hopefully it will happen soon!!

                                          

I thought it time for a recipe after all this talk of Italy so something simple and very easy and in season on the cards today. I ventured into the market on Saturday and picked up lots of veg, cheese and duck eggs. I often make this recipe but normally with free-range eggs so I thought it perfect for my first experience as a duck egg virgin!! I’m plagiarising from Taste Italia again to bring you some of their seasonal selection but I’ll add in my own recipes just to give it the Italian foodie stamp!

lamb(agnello) - I’ve talked about lamb numerous times on this blog:

 - noisettes of lamb with rosemary and garlic

 - roast lamb with anchovies and herbs

 - rack of lamb with a mustard and rosemary crust

 - lamb chops with rosemary and garlic

carrots(carote) - tbh I rarely cook carrots on their own, I mainly use them in soups or the base for tomato sauce or bolognese.

new potatoes - roast potatoes feature quite regularly in the italian foodie house.
 
asparagus(asparagi) - another fave in our house even if it is from Peru and the likes most of the time:(

 - asparagus and parma ham

 - asparagus bruschetta

and today’s recipe:

                                 

I’m loving Channel 4 at the moment with the amount of foodie programmes they are showing!! The big food fight is proving to be one of the most informative pieces of TV I have ever seen about food and the direct relationship with our bodies and health. I thought I knew a lot about the food I eat but after watching “Chicken Out” and Jamie’s “Fowl Dinners” I realise I still have so much to learn. I know we all hear about battery raised chickens etc but it’s not until you see it in real life do you realise the extent of what goes on. I couldn’t believe the factory where all the little chicks were processed like cans of beans along a conveyor belt. In my innocence or ignorance I presumed they were all born on farms with their mothers and everything was natural and as it should be. I even shed a little tear when the little male chicks were gassed on Jamie’s show because we are so far removed from the whole meat process that we have no idea what actually happens. The chicken out campaign is continuing and you can sign up here

                                          

Jamie’s “Eat to live” programme last night was another informative piece of TV with lots of shock value with the corpse being cut up but if that’s what it takes for people to wake up and start questioning what we are eating then so be it! Ready meals and convenience food seems to be the biggest problem today, I can’t believe that some people never cook and only eat junk food all the time and most of the people on the show seemed to do this. It was interesting as well that the thinner guy was actually the least fit and had a much higher body fat ratio than the heavier guy who played rugby and who was considered obese. This kind of fits in with my last post, we all focus on weight so much and although it is very important I think what we put into our body is of greater importance. I couldn’t believe the amount of sugar and salt that was in a simple jar of tomato sauce, a lot of people would probably think they were being good by having pasta with a jar of tomato sauce and not realizing that there was 8 teaspoons of sugar in it so once again the message is make your own and he demonstrated how easy and fast it was using a recipe very similar to this one. There is another programme on tonight about eating out and what the food contains so I’ll be glued to the telly again with a bottle of water and an apple;)

I saw this recipe in Taste Italia magazine recently, it’s a great healthy snack that takes 5 minutes to make and is delicious. It’s great to have in the fridge and use with crostini, grissini or some veggie sticks.

what you need:

 - 400g can of cannellini beans drained and rinsed

 - 2 sprigs of thyme, leaves picked.

 - 1 small garlic clove.

 - olive oil

 - juice of 1 lemon

 - sea salt and black pepper

what to do:

 - put everything into the food processor and mix together!! It’s that easy:)

                                     

buon appetito!!

                                     
Hi, my name is Lorraine and I really don’t like polenta!! Ok my confession is out, I think it is probably the only Italian food I don’t like - shock horror:) The first time I had it was in Rome, we were staying with a friend and his family and his dad wanted to cook us his speciality which was polenta. At the time I had never heard of it but assuming that I would love it as I do all Italian food I was really excited but I couldn’t stand it. It was quite difficult actually because there is probably nothing more insulting to an Italian than not liking their food so I put on my bravest face and munched my way through. I rarely saw polenta mentioned in Ireland until recently and it seems to be in all the food magazines and seems to be making guest appearances on a lot of restaurant menus. I recently had chocolate polenta with quail as a starter but wasn’t too fond of it to be honest so I decided with all this new found fame it’s getting in Ireland I would actually make it myself at home to give it one last try. I have to admit not going into this wholeheartedly and used the instant polenta that we have in La Cucina but I just wasn’t prepared to give it my all and then not eat it so instant polenta it was - please don’t hate me;)

I’ve seen a lot of people enquiring as to what polenta is on a lot of forums recently so here’s a little background on it courtesy of the Silver Spoon and Carluccio:

In Roman times polenta was a porridge made from the flour of various grains and pulses such as broad beans, spelt etc. Today polenta is actually made up of yellow or white maize flour, there are 2 types of polenta: fine grained, pale straw coloured Veneto polenta or large grained, bright golden-yellow Lombard or Piedmontese polenta. The former is always served all’onda( with a consistency like mashed potato and the latter is served firm like this recipe. Vicenza in Veneto is actually the best place to eat polenta e baccala which is air dried cod cooked in milk with polenta and another speciality in Veneto is polenta e osei, polenta with sparrows - don’t think I’ll be making that any time soon;) 

Polenta is best made in a copper pan by cooking the maize flour with water until it achieves a fairly solid consistency. It takes about 40 minutes to cook and requires consistent stirring to prevent it sticking. Due to the effort and time required an easy cook variety called polenta svelta has been created for the likes of me;), it is made by pre-cooking ordinary polenta which is then dried and milled again. The results are not as tasty and this is why lots of butter and grated Parmesan are required when using this type of polenta.
 
what you need:

 - 5 tbsp olive oil

 - 1 small onion, finely chopped

 - 1 garlic clove, finely chopped

 - selection of mushrooms, field and wild if you can get your hands on some. I find it quite difficult to find different variety of mushrooms in Limerick, if anyone knows where let me know. Superquinn have just begun stocking a gourmet mushroom selection in their superior range which are really good so I used 2 packs of these.

 - 1 tbsp of fresh chopped flat leaf parsley and basil.

 - 120ml dry white wine  

 - poletna: make according to packet instructions if using instant polenta, I used 250g for 2. Add about 25g butter and lots of parmesan cheese to taste. If you are looking for polenta flour Susan in Olio e Farina has it in stock!!

what to do:

 - when your polenta is ready pour it into a round shallow tin and spread it evenly into a layer of about 1 cm. Leave to cool until set.

 - heat your olive oil in a pan, add the onion and garlic and fry for 5 mins until soft and just starting to brown. Stir in the mushroom and parsley and cook for another 5 mins until golden brown. Season, add your wine and simmer for 5 mins. Remove from the heat and stir in your chopped basil.

 - cut the polenta into wedges and heat a griddle pan. Brush your wedges with olive oil and place on your pan grilling both sides for 2-3 mins.

 - put a polenta wedge on a serving plate and serve your mushrooms on top and sprinkle with some basil leaves.

                       
THE MILLION DOLLAR QUESTION - DID I LIKE IT?????? NO!!!! I have to say as a dish it looks amazing and so appetising BUT I took a couple of forkfuls and that was it, I ended up making a sandwich with my leftover lamb and the mushrooms. The mushroom mix was absolutely delicious and would be great as a side to meat so I’ll definitely make them again but the polenta I’m afraid I will leave to the Italians;)

Buon Appetito!!!

                                       

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.

                                                 
                              

                                 

I can’t believe Christmas is around the corner, I say this every year and tell myself that next year I will be more organised but of course this will never happen, I will still be doing my shopping on Christmas Eve as usual. I can’t even use the princess as an excuse as I’ve always been the same:) I actually miss the restaurant this time of year as December is a great month in the restaurant calendar, mainly for the turnover;) but also the atmosphere and buzz of the party dining season. Everyone is glammed up to the nines, the vino is flowing freely and everybody eating out is there for enjoyment and celebration which makes the restaurant a happy place to work in at this time of year! The Christmas season doesn’t really affect La Cucina as it’s a take-away so we don’t actually get much busier, if anything the weekend’s get quieter. We close from the 22 Dec until Jan 3 just to give ourselves a break and give us the option of going to Italy if we want to. We’re not going this year as everybody is staying put so there will probably be up to 25 of us at the MIL’s again this year - BRING ON THE FEAST:)

I’ve been dying with the flu for the last few days so I’ve been trying to incorporate more veg into my diet at lunch instead of the regular ham and cheese ciabatta so I made this yesterday after having a big bowl of minestrone. I know asparagus isn’t in season but I’m forced to buy it from my local supermarket and it never was in season as it was coming from Peru during the summer and still is! This bruschetta is great for a light lunch or a simple starter and is quick and easy to make.

WHAT YOU NEED:

 - 1 bunch asparagus spears

 - 2 slices bruschetta bread or ciabatta

 - 1 garlic clove

 - extra virgin olive oil

 - sea salt and black pepper

 - balsamic vinegar

 - shavings of Parmesan cheese

WHAT TO DO:

 - snap off the hard woody bases of asparagus about halfway down the spear.

 - season spears and brush with some olive oil

 - heat a griddle pan and cook your asparagus until it has the charred marks on it. Put a heavy pot or pan on top and press down to cook faster.

 - using the same grill pan or a second one cook your bread on both sides until lightly browned and charred.

 - rub your garlic on one side of your bread and drizzle some olive oil.

 - arrange your asparagus on the prepared bruschetta, sprinkle with the balsamic vinegar and garnish with shavings of Parmesan cheese.

                     

  Buon Appetito!!

p.s. there is another great new Limerick food blog on the blogging scene, Sarah has always been a great Italian Foodies commenter and is a big foodie,  if her recipes so far are a taste of what’s to come, we are in for a real treat!! Check her out here!!

p.p.s - I’m trying to organise my sister’s hen party in Dublin in Feb and have no idea where to eat, I was thinking Eden or Venu, would love some suggestions if anybody has any ideas??? HELP MEEEEE!!!!

                           
Anybody who has been to Italy would be familiar with the big “antipasto” buffet selection in most restaurants, I’m like a kid in a sweet shop trying to decide what to have and of course I always fill my plate with too much (spot the Irish person) that I can never fit my pasta and meat course! I love marinated aubergines and courgettes, they are so simple but so tasty and versatile, my favourite way to eat them is on their own with some crunchy bread but they are great on a bruschetta, pizza or in a sandwich. We use them for one of our most popular sandwiches “Grigliata” which is a ciabatta filled with pesto, aubergine, roast peppers, rocket and mozzarella cheese.

I’m going to give you the recipe for “melanzane arrosto” but the courgettes would be done more or less the same way!!

WHAT YOU NEED:

 - 3 aubergines sliced

 - 2 garlic cloves thinly sliced

 - 1 tbsp flat leaf parsley finely chopped

 - 1 chilli finely chopped (optional)

 - white wine vinegar

 - olive oil

 - sea salt and black pepper

WHAT TO DO:

 - place the aubergine slices in a colander, sprinkle with salt and leave to drain for about 30 mins.

 - in a bowl mix all your ingredients together and season.

 - rinse the aubergine slices and pat dry with kitchen paper.

 - heat a grill pan and cook aubergine slices on both sides giving a nice charred look.

 - remove from the heat and leave to cool.

 - arrange the aubergine slices in layers on a serving dish and spoon some of your mix over each layer.

 - leave to marinate for a few hours before serving.

                       

BUON APPETITO!!

LA CUCINA NEWS!!

We have these aubergines and courgettes for sale in La Cucina and also in the deli counter this week

 - spinach & ricotta cannelloni
 - pasta al forno
 - parmigiana
 - meat lasagna

All of the above serve 2 and take about 20-30 mins in the oven at 190 degrees.

This weeks:

pasta special - fettucine served with italian sausage and porcini.
risotto special - prawn risotto
pizza special - buffalo mozzarella, cherry tomato on the vine, basil and oregano.

 

We are officially starting our new take-away meals this week, we had a trial run last week and we used ourselves and our neighbours as guinea pigs and it went down really well!! We had a porcini encrusted rack of lamb served with baby new potatoes with rosemary and garlic and a side of cabbage “Italian style”. It took 15 minutes to heat in the oven and it was as good as you would get in any restaurant if I say so myself. I’ve roped in 4 of the Munster team to try them out tomorrow night even though I have to say, it didn’t take much persuasion. I will post the menu towards the end of the week and because it is a new concept and I’m feeling rather generous I’m going to give one of my Limerick blog readers a meal for 2 with a lovely bottle of Italian wine compliments of Alfredo and you can let us know what you think??? - I know, I know I’m too kind:)

All you have to do is leave your name in the comment section, just your first name if you prefer or send me an email, La Cucina customers can enter in the shop!! This isn’t going to happen again so take advantage;)

Monday night is always lazy on the cooking front so bruschetta often features, I found this recipe in my latest book purchase Ursela Ferrigno’s “Complete Italian Cookery Course” , the book is really good and I have bookmarked lots of  recipes!! My cookbook collection is starting to grow by the week - damn TK MAXX;)

WHAT YOU NEED:

 - 4 red onions

 - 1 bay leaf

 - 1 sprig rosemary, leaves chopped

 - 2 tbsp red wine vinegar

 - 55g soft brown sugar - I used light muscovado

 - 4 slices bruschetta bread or ciabatta/country style bread

 - pecorino cheese

 - 2 tbsp olive oil

WHAT TO DO:

 - heat the olive oil in a pan, add the onions, bay leaf and rosemary.

 - brown the onions well over a low to medium heat, stirring regularly.

 - add the vinegar and stir well.

 - add the sugar and cook over a low heat for 20-30 mins and leave to cool.

 - heat a grill pan until hot and cook your bread on each side until lightly toasted and charred at the edges.

 - place your onions on top of your bread and serve with shavings of pecorino.

It was absolutely delicious and so easy to make so add it to your menu plan this week:)

Buon Appetito!!!

p.s. if any La Cucina customers want to buy a little loaf of bruschetta bread, just let me know and we can make it for you. At the moment we just make huge loaves of bread but it’s no problem to make the small ones too but we will only do them to order!! Just send me an email or let me know in the comments!!