Italia – Page 4 – Aroma di cannella

SAVORY STUFFED PANDORO

Although I am know to be sweet tooth, I cannot deny that I felt in love with this SAVORY STUFFED PANDORO 🤩 A perfect idea for a yummy appetizer for your NYE’s dinner 😋

Simply slice a savory pandoro and fill it with your favorite ingredients. See a great version created by my mamma thai Xmas for some ideas of a mixed fish & meat filling 🐟🐷

Enjoy 😋

#recipe

•Slice the pandoro lengthwise to obtain 8 slices, including the top. Lay the bottom slice on a serving plate; spread with mixed fish salad. Cover with salmon, lettuce and walnuts.

•Press second slice on top; add third slice. Spread goat ricotta cheese on top and cover with Italian prosciutto crudo, lettuce and sun-dried tomatoes.

•Press fourth slice on top; add fifth slice. Spread Philadelphia cream cheese with herbs on top and cover with Italian salami, fresh cherry tomatoes and lettuce.

•Press sixth slice on top; add seventh slice. Spread tuna & radicchio salad and cover with lettuce.

•Cover with the top slice and decorate with a few walnuts, sun-dried tomatoes and lettuce leaves.

•Sprinkle with pistachio crumbles.

•You can serve the pandoro by cutting it into small sandwiches.

PANETTONE AL PISTACCHIO e LIMONE

Happy holidays and Merry Xmas! 🎄🤗

For you this year, one of my absolute favorite revisited versions of the most Italian Xmas bakes: the Panettone with pistachios and lemon 💚🍋

Panettone al pistacchio e limone (fast recipe)

Ingredients

For the dough
550 gr Manitoba flour
100 gr sugar
150 ml water
100 gr butter
5 gr salt
15 gr fresh yeast ( or 5 gr instant dried yeast)
2 eggs
1 yolk
2 lemon zest
1 tsp vanilla extra (o vanilla powder)
100 gr chopped pistachios

For the pistachio glaze
80 gr pistachio cream
100 gr white chocolate
20 ml fresh liquid (to whip) cream for cakes
20 gr finely chopped pistachios

Additionally, you need:
kitchen machine (alternatively you can prepare the dough by hand)
1 Paper panettone mold 750gr
2 knitting needles or the specific panettone skewers

Prepare the dough

In the bowl of a kitchen machine, put the flour, crumbled yeast, sugar, butter (chopped in pieces), vanilla, the eggs, the yolk, lemon zest and half of the water. Stir for a few minutes using the k-beater. Then, add the remaining water and salt. Knead with the dough hook for about 15-20 minutes. Make sure to remove the dough from the hook every 7-10 minutes.

Next, add the chopped pistachios and a tir the dough using slow speed, making sure the pistachios are well incorporate in the dough.

Rising

Remove the dough from the bowl and knead the dough for a few minutes using your hands. You might do this on a floured workspace. The dough should be very soft and still sticky. Cup your hands around the dough to round the ball, place it into a big bowl and wrap it with kitchen film. Let it rise for 3 hours in a warm place (it should triple its size). Usually, I pre-heat the oven at 50°, then I switch the oven, leave the light on and place the bowl on the bottom.

Then, knead the panettone again with your hands and place it into the paper panettone mold. Let it rise in the oven until the panettone dough is above the mold of about 1-2 cm.

Bake & cool down

Bake the panettone in the bottom part of (pre-heated 185°/static mode) oven for about 45 minutes. If after 30 minutes it’s already brown-colored, you can cover it with aluminum foil.

Let cool the panettone completely suspended by the knitting needles in a large pot.

Prepare the pistachio glaze and decorate

Melt the white chocolate in a pan or at bain–marie. Then, low the heat and add the liquid cream for cakes and the pistachio paste. Stir with energy for a couple of minutes, then pour the glaze in a bowl and stir until all ingredients are well combined, and the glaze is smooth. This will also help with cooling down the glaze a bit. Don’t wait too much otherwise it will start to thicken as it gets colder.
Pour the glaze on the top of the panettone and decorate with the finely chopped pistachios.

Enjoy 😋🎄

RISOTTO WITH SCALLOPS & GREEN ASPERGES

Dinner time? What about going Italian? 🇮🇹😉

RISOTTO WITH SCALLOPS & GREEN ASPERGES

InstaRecipe (for 2 servings)

In a pan, add 6 tbs of olive oil, 1 chopped onion and cook until golden colored. Then, add 200gr of scallops (cleaned and washed well) and cook for 5-7 minutes. Then, add 200gr of green asperges (heads removed) and let them brown a little bit. Next, add 150gr rice for risotto (I used the Arborio type) and toast it for a few minutes.
Now, it’s time to cook the rice with the vegetable stock (made of 1 water + 1 cube of vegetable bouillon). Add 1 cup of stock at time and stir gently while the risotto absorbs the stock. Keep adding the vegetable stock and stiring, while cooking the risotto (about 15-20 minutes). When it’s about 5/7 minutes left to the cooking time of the risotto, add the asperges heads. Last, add some parmesan cheese and stir until it melts.

Pronto!

COFFEE-FLAVORED YOGURT CAKE

Always time for coffee ☕️ also in a cake 🙃Check the recipe of this very simple COFFEE-FLAVORED YOGURT CAKE ⬇️⬇️⬇️

Ingredients

2 cups (1 cup = 125 gr) lactose-free coffee-flavored yogurt

1 cup sunflower oil

1 cups brown sugar

4 cups baking flour (00)

15 gr baking powder

2 eggs

Sliced almonds

Procedure

First, mix the yogurt with the oil. Then, add sugar, flour, baking powder and the eggs, one at time. Pour the batter on a baking tin (remember to spray with non-stick cooking product or cover with greaseproof paper) and sprinkle the sliced almonds on top. Bake in preheated oven 175°C for 35/40 minutes.

Enjoy!

COURGETTE/ZUCCHINI FLOWERS RISOTTO

Up for some risotto for lunch? This colorful and delicate RISOTTO WITH COURGETTE (ZUCCHINI) FLOWERS is perfect in these summer days ☀️🏖🌼

InstaRecipe (for 2 people)

Start with cleaning the courgette flowers. Gently wash them in a bowl of water, then trim the base near the stem to remove the flower and the stamen or pistil from within the blossom. Carefully, slice the flowers in small pieces.

In a pan, add 4 tbs of olive oil, 1 chopped onion and cook until golden colored. Then, add the flowers and 150gr rice for risotto (I used the Vialone Nano type), and toast it for a few minutes.

Now, it’s time to cook the risotto with the vegetable stock (made of 1 L water + 1 cube of vegetable bouillon). Add 1 cup of stock at time and stir gently while the risotto absorbs the stock. Keep adding the vegetable stock and stiring, while cooking the risotto (about 15-20 minutes). When the risotto ready, add some Parmesan cheese and stir gently until the cheese melts.

Pronto!

PASTA “ALLA CARBONARA” VEGETARIANA

Let’s go Italian for today’s lunch? 🇮🇹 what about some lighter vegetarian PASTA “ALLA CARBONARA”? Quotes are mandatory because this one has little to do with the original version 😉

#recipe (for 2 people)

You need:

160 gr penne or spaghetti

2 eggs

200 gr “rice” courgette (alternatively, you can grate them into small pieces)

30 gr Parmesan cheese

olive oil

salt & pepper to taste

Procedure

In a big pot, heat the water for the pasta (and please, add the salt only after the water starts boiling🙏😉). Cook the penne or spaghetti as indicated in the package).

In the meantime, in a pan cook the rice courgette with some olive oil and salt until tender (it won’t take long). Lightly beat the eggs with the Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper in a bowl.

When it’s ready, put the pasta in the pan with the courgette, add the beaten eggs and stir well for a couple of minutes until the eggs cook. Serve with some more Parmesan cheese on top, if you like.

Buon appetito!