Simple Chocolate Cake

What do you do when you are craving chocolate? I usually make this very simple and light chocolate cake.

Ingredients:

  • 3 medium eggs
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • ½ cup water
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  •  5.3 oz plain Greek yogurt
  • 1 ½ cups flour
  • 1 tbsp. baking powder
  • 3.5 oz dark chocolate, finely chopped
  • Powdered sugar to taste

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350 F/180 C.

In a large bowl mix eggs and sugar. Then add water, oil and yogurt. Mix the ingredients well and add sifted flour and baking powder.

Place the finely chopped chocolate in a microwave safe bowl. Then microwave until the chocolate melts (for about 1 min). Add the chocolate to the mixture.

Grease a loaf pan with cooking spray and then, pour in the mixture.

Bake in the oven at 350 F/180 C for about 40 min.

When ready, remove the cake from the pan and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Buon appetito!

 

Linguine and Clams

Today I went to the grocery store and bought fresh clams. I opened the bag and smelled the ocean. “Oggi per pranzo” (today for lunch): linguine and clams!

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes, diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 lb. clams, rinsed and scrubbed
  • 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 lb. linguine
  • 1/3 cup chopped Italian parsley
  • Salt to taste
  • Black Pepper to taste

Preparation:

In a wide skillet or saucepan combine minced garlic and olive oil. Let it cook until the garlic becomes a yellow color. Be careful to not burn it. Then add parsley, diced cherry tomatoes, salt and pepper. Cook for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, rinse and clean the clams. You don’t need to scrub the clams, just make sure to buy clams that have been previously cleaned and scrubbed. Then place them in a large pot, cover and cook until they open up. Do not add any water as the clams will release their own liquid. Remove from the stove and let them cool.

Then with a strainer drain the clams and keep the liquid. Add the liquid to the tomato sauce. Remove the clams from the shells (keep a few clams in their shells to use later to decorate your dish).  Bring large pot of water to boil to cook linguine. Add salt when the water is boiling.

In the meantime, add the clams to the tomato sauce. Cook for an additional 5 min careful to not overcook.

Cook linguine in the boiling water. Check the cooking time on the pasta box and cook the linguine only for half the time required. Then drain the pasta and add it to the tomato and clams sauce. Cook everything together until linguine is al dente.

Once linguine is al dente, remove from the stove, add the remaining parsley and serve right away! Place the reserved clams with the shells for decoration on top of the dish.

Buon Appetito!

 

Roasted Broccoli

Here is a healthy and tasty recipe, just a small variation from the the roasted cauliflower recipe. We are using broccoli and a little bit of red wine!

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound broccoli cut into bite-size florets
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup Grated Parmiggiano Reggiano
  • Black Pepper to taste
  • Salt to taste
  • Nonstick Olive Oil Cooking Spray
  • Red wine, just a sprinkle

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Spray the nostick olive oil cooking spray on a baking pan. Toss the broccoli with salt and olive oil on a baking pan; sprinkle with grated parmiggiano reggiano and red wine. Bake until golden and tender, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve.

Buon Appetito!

Baked Meatballs (Polpette)

I love polpette (meatballs)! I make meatballs at least one time a week and usually, I bake them. Fried meatballs are very savory, but baked are healthier. After baking the meatballs I usually transfer them into a creamy tomato sauce and use the sauce for pasta, and the meatballs as second course. But first, let’s make the baked polpette!

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound ground turkey or lean ground beef
  • 1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
  • 1/4 cup grated parmigiano reggiano
  • 1 egg
  • 2 cloves fresh garlic, diced
  • 1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced
  • Salt to taste

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

Combine ground meat, egg, bread crumbs, diced garlic, and parsley together in a bowl. Roll mixture into palm-size meatballs and place 2 inches apart on a baking sheet.

Bake in the oven until no longer pink in the center and is brown on the outside, 15 to 20 minutes.

You can eat them warm with a salad or add tomato sauce. Next week we will prepare an authentic tomato sauce that goes well with polpette and pasta!

Buon Appetito!

Cavatelli with Shrimp and Black Chickpeas

Last weekend I wanted to try making something new and came up with a blend of fish and legumes. This dish truly brings together the taste of the seafood and the earthiness of the chickpeas. It’s a blend of Indian spiciness and Mediterranean flavors.

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups of black chickpeas soaked overnight in water with 1 Tbsp. of baking soda (you can also use 2 cans of ready chickpeas)
  • ½ pound shrimp
  • 3 tomatoes on the vine, diced
  • ¼ cup fresh Italian parsley, minced
  • ¼ Tsp. red chili powder
  • Black pepper
  • 2 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 garlic clove

Preparation:

Place black chickpeas in a container with water and baking soda to soak overnight. Once the black chickpeas are ready, discard the soaking water and rinse them with regular water. Then, place them in a pot and add enough water to cover the chickpeas. Cook until chickpeas are al dente. Do not add salt as this will make chickpeas harder.

In the meantime, in another pot add olive oil and garlic, and cook until garlic becomes of a golden color. Discard the garlic, let the olive oil cool down and then add the red chili powder. Add shrimp and cook for a few minutes until they are pink and ready. Next, add the tomatoes, salt and black pepper. Cook until tomatoes are soft and you have a nice sauce.

Once the sauce is ready, add the chickpeas with their cooking water. Cook for a few more minutes, and then add the pasta. Cook until the pasta is al dente. At the end add parsley and serve the dish warm.

Buon appetito!

 

Savory Crostata with Prosciutto Cotto (Ham) and Ricotta

Last  weekend I felt inspired to bake. I had some ricotta cheese in fridge and I did not want to make the usual sweet pie. So I decided to make a savory crostata, and here is the recipe!

Ingredients

For the pastry:

  • 2 cups of flour (I mixed whole wheat and white flour together)
  • 1/4 pound (1 stick) butter
  • 2 eggs
  • Salt
  • 1 Tsp. baking powder

For the filling:

  • 2 cups ricotta cheese
  • 1 egg
  • ¼ cup prosciutto cotto (ham), diced
  • ¼ cup parmigiano reggiano
  • Salt
  • Black pepper
  • ½ cup Italian parsley, diced

Preparation

For the pastry, place the butter in a large container and warm it up in the microwave for 30 seconds.

Remove the container from the microwave and add two eggs. Mix eggs and butter together using a fork to make it fluffy. Then, add a pinch of salt, the sifted flour and the baking powder to the mixture.

Use your hands to knead the dough into a ball shape. (Do not work the dough too much otherwise the butter will melt even more and the dough will break).

Then, wrap the dough in parchment paper and put it in the freezer for 20 minutes.

For the filling, combine ricotta and the eggs. Add the diced prosciutto, parmigiano, salt, black pepper, and parsley. Mix all the ingredients together.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. With a rolling pin roll the pastry into an 11-inch circle on the parchment paper.

Then, transfer the pastry and the parchment paper into a pie pan. Remove the overflow extra dough from the pastry and trim the parchment paper if needed.

Pour the ricotta filling in the dough using a fork to make the filling even. Use the extra dough to make strips to put on top of the crostata (see picture). If you have any dough left you can make small decorations to place in the center of the crostata.

Bake the crostata for 40 to 45 minutes, until the crust is golden. Allow to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Buon appetito!

 

Linguine and Mussels

I love weekends because it’s my time to unwind and cook fresh meals. On Saturday or Sunday morning, I usually go the grocery store to shop for fresh food to cook for lunch. This is the perfect time to buy and cook fresh fish. I love fish! I always try to buy it fresh, wild caught and local to cook right away. I don’t want to lose the freshness of the fish by leaving it in the fridge for too long.

Today I am going to share one of my favorite recipes:  linguine and mussels.

Ingredients:

  • 4 tomatoes on the vine, diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 lbs. mussels, rinsed and scrubbed
  • 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 lb. linguine
  • ½ cup chopped Italian parsley
  • Salt to taste
  • Black Pepper to taste

Preparation:

In a wide skillet or saucepan combine minced garlic and olive oil. Let it cook until the garlic becomes a yellow color. Be careful to not burn it. Then add parsley, diced tomatoes, salt and pepper. Cook for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, rinse and clean the mussels. You don’t need to scrub the mussels, just make sure to buy mussels that have been previously cleaned and scrubbed. Then place the mussels in a large pot, cover them and let them cook until they open up. Do not add any water as the mussels will release their own liquid. Remove from the stove and let them cool.

Then with a strainer drain the mussels and keep the liquid. Add the liquid to the tomato sauce. Remove the mussels from the shells (keep a few mussels in their shells to use later to decorate your dish).  Bring large pot of water to boil to cook linguine. Add salt when the water is boiling.

In the meantime add the mussels to the tomato sauce. Cook for an additional 5 min careful to not overcook the mussels.

Cook linguine in the boiling water. Check the cooking time on the pasta box and cook the linguine only for half the time required. Then drain the pasta and add it to the tomato and mussels sauce. Cook everything together until linguine is al dente.

Once linguine is al dente, remove from the stove, add the remaining parsley and serve right away!

Buon Appetito!

Mini-Bell Peppers, Black Olives and Capers

Ingredients:

  • 1 bag of mini bell peppers
  • 15 pitted dry black olives, chopped
  • 1 Tbsp. capers
  • 2 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • Salt to taste
  • Black pepper to taste
  • 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh Italian parsley
  • ¼ cup of plain unseasoned bread crumbs

Preparation:

Wash and clean the bell peppers. Remove the seeds and cut in long strips. Place mini-bell peppers, olive oil, minced garlic, and salt in a skillet on the stove. Mix and cook for ten minutes. Then add the chopped olives and capers. Cook for an additional 5 minutes. Add the bread crumbs, black pepper, and parsley.

Serve warm.

Buon Appetito!

Pasta and Mushrooms

I love cooking during the weekend. Last Saturday with the nice weather I felt like making a nice light spring dish with fresh mushrooms and tomatoes.

Ingredients: (4-6 people):

  • 1 lb. penne or rigatoni pasta
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 8oz portobella mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
  • salt to taste
  • black pepper
  • 4 medium tomatoes on the vine, diced
  • fresh basil leaves
  • parmigiano reggiano, grated (optional)

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