Three-flavour Pizza

Today I decided to try something different so I prepared it with three different toppings and also another dough recipe: 

Pizza Dough (Jamie Oliver's basic bread recipe):
400 g. strong white bread flour or Tipo "00" flour
10 g of baking powder
15 g of honey
300 ml of lukewarm water
15g of salt

Start by mixing the dry ingredients: the flour, baking powder and the salt and open a hole in the middle. Dissolute the honey in half of the lukewarm water and pour it in the middle. Slowly cover the liquid with the flour, add the rest of the water and knead it for about 5 minutes, (correcting the ingredients quantities if needed). Let it rest for about 1 hour.

After Shaping and flatten the dough it was finally ready to add the topping:

Start by adding the tomato sauce, (see the recipe in the previous post here on the blog) and than the mozzarella cheese.  Then add the ham, (right low corner of the image), the tomatoes covered with a splash of extra virgin olive oil and oreganos, and finally the ricota cheese.

Take it to the pre-heated oven, (250ºC) and let it cook, for about 10-12 minutes. Finish with some leafs of hedge mustard, I used some baby leafs from my kitchen garden and it's ready! 

Breakfast Pancakes!

Pancakes is always a great surprise for kids or your couple for a weekend breakfast... Today you can find here Jamie Oliver's Recipe. It's so easy that it was cooked by his daughters...

The main tip for this recipe is to use the same quantity of flour and milk, so whatever measure that you use, you just need to maintain this proportion...

You will need:

1 cup of self-raising flour

1 cup of milk

1 egg

1 pinch of sea salt

1 pear (you can try it with multiple alternatives)

butter

honey,fruit jam, natural yoghurt,... to serve

Put the flour, milk, egg and salt in a mixing bowl and whisk until smooth. Once combined, grate in the pear, core and all then stir it through with a spoon. you may want to add sugar because of your kids, just add a bit and taste, I don't recommend to add too much as you will serve it with jam or honey...

Put a large pan on a medium heat and add a knob of butter. Once that melts, add the batter, a spoonful at a time to the hot pan. You'll need to cook them in batches, cooking them for a few minutes until golden on the bottom, then flipping over and cooking for a few minutes more until they're done.When they are golden and fluffy, serve them right away with different fruit jam, natural yoghurt and/honey

Try it tomorrow!

5 minutes avocado Salad

If you are one of those who doesn´t cook because you have no time, this is the ideal recipe for you...

Every Fridays I leave the office at 15.00H and I am so hungry that I must eat something immediately .. So yes, it is true, today I took a bit less than 5 minutes to prepare this simple but tasty salad, (a small variation of the one you can find also here in the blog in tataki recipe)

You will need:

1 avocado

2 tomatoes 

oregano

parmesan

salt

extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice or balsamic vinegar

Cut the tomatoes into quarters, remove the seeds and then chop into small cubes, chop the avocado into cubes, add the oregano and season with salt vinegar or lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil.

Finish with grated Parmesan cheese on top and enjoy ...

Homemade "Spaghetti alla bolognese"

Following my last post, my first homemade spaghetti was a very easy Spaghetti alla bolognese, which is a bit different from what you are used to, but this is why you shall not get bored with gastronomy as there are thousands of ways to prepare some dishes...

You will need:
- Basic Tomato Sauce, (please find the recipe on my previous post - here)
- beef mince 
- Mushrooms 
- Salt & Pepper 

In a pan with a splash of extra virgin olive oil, cook the previously seasoned with salt & pepper beef mince with the mushrooms. Add the basic tomato sauce and let it cook. 

Meanwhile, with the help of your Imperia cut your fresh homemade pasta into Spaghetti and cook it in boiling water for about 45 seconds or a minute and it is ready.

Mix with the sauce, grate some parmegianno and it is ready to eat! Do you cook it differently? share your recipe!

Cook your own Fresh Pasta!

I must confess that till a couple of years ago, I was that kind of guy that always changed  pasta for a risotto or any kind of rice dish...

You may think, specially if you are Italian: what a fool!!! And I must recognize I was... If there was still any doubt it disappeared when I went to Sardinia two years ago... In which planet did I live till then? In fact it has most of the things I love when you talk about cooking, it can be quick and easy to prepare but also challenging to your creativity as there are millions of possible combinations and flavours. Everyday you may mix what you have at home and get an excellent pasta!

So, I got so in love with it that I decided to start cooking my own pasta...

Fresh pasta is one of that myths that most of the people believe in without ever questioning it... Cook it on your own? you are crazy?! Said a friend of mine when I told him that in last christmas I received an Imperia, that I wanted to buy before but I didn't get the greenlight at home...

Once more, this is really easy... 

Per person You will need:
100 gr of flour
1 egg

Put the flour in a clean surface and leave a hole in the middle for the egg(s), mix it till you have your compact and soft dough. cover it with clingfilm and let it rest for about 30 minutes. 

Then with the help of the imperia just stretch it till you get the thickness you are looking for and cut it in the way you want... 
If you don't have a machine don't give up! use the rolling pin!

Enjoy it!

Chicken Stroganoff with leek

Some of you may think, is there anything special about a recipe of stroganoff, is it anything m more than cooking some chicken strips? ...

It may be parcially true, but it is also true I'd never eaten it prepared with leeks... which I had at home almost losing its freshness so that I've decided to try this alternative 

You will need:

Free-range Chicken breast (if you still have doubts, compare the colour and flavour of the meat ...)

1 large leek

mushrooms

white wine

extra virgin olive oil

cream (optional, you could substitute milk for a lighter version)

cheese (optional)

Parsley (optional)

Salt & freshly ground black pepper

rice

Wash the leeks, cut into pieces and sauté with a splash of olive oil. Add a glass of white wine and a bit of water, cover with aluminium foil and cook on high heat to let alcohol of the wine evaporate. Meanwhile chop the mushrooms, cut the chicken breasts into strips and season with salt & freshly ground black pepper, and, although this time I did not used, chop a hand full of parsley. 

Add mushrooms, the chicken meat into strips and part of the parseley let it cook.

I'd say now is the crucial moment of decision: maximize the flavours or the "lightness" ... use cream or milk ... use cheese or not...

Add the cream, when everything is cooked remove from the heat, add a bit of grated cheese, (I used grated parmesan) and mix well ...

To avoid losing the creamy aspect serve immediately with white rice ...

Did you like it?