Hi guys!
It is monday and I haven't forgotten about you the past two weeks, I needed a tiny break to relax after finishing my exams before summer and keep my eyes open for a few new recipes to introduce you to in the following weeks. Today's recipe screams "summer" for me and I love the bright colour this brings to your plate. The recipe is from Nigella Lawson's "Nigellisima", a perfect cookbook for summer in my opinion with lots of italian inspired dishes.
Here's the recipe:
200g (7 oz) short pasta (like penne, farfalle, casarecce)
2 tablespoons garlic oil
4 scallions
500g (17.5 oz) courgettes
60ml (4 tablespoons) dry white wine or vermouth
1 bunch italian parsley
freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
10g (a small tablespoon) unsalted butter
1) Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Finely slice the scallions, cut the courgettes into small cubes (I quartered them first and cut the quarters in thick slices). Chop the parsley and grate the parmesan.
2) Cook the pasta according to packet directions. Once everything is prepared, heat the oil (I substituted olive oil) in a medium saucepan. Cook the scallions for 1 minute. Add the cubed courgettes and cook for 5 minutes at medium heat.
3) Add the vermouth or white wine and and bring to a boil. Add two tablespoons of chopped parsley and season to taste with a little salt. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover with a lid and cook the vegetables for 5 more minutes or until soft.
4) Before draining the paste, reserve 1 cup of pasta water. Drain the pasta, put it back in the pot, add 3 tablespoons of grated parmesan and 4 tablespoons of pasta water along with the cooked vegetables, stirring nicely. Season to taste with pepper, more parmesan or pasta water. Add the butter and remaining parsley and serve.
Serves: 2 according to the recipe, easily 3 if you're me
Active preparation time: about 10 minutes
Total preparation time: about 25-30 minutes from heating the pasta water to serving
© Copyright: Nigella Lawson, "Genießen auf Italienisch", p. 19.
Here's how it looks:
I love the bright colour of the courgettes that almost highlight the yellow of the pasta along with the bright, fresh green from the parsley. This recipe was included in the accompanying TV series "Nigellissima" on BBC. So if you want to have a look at the recipe to help your decision process, you can either find a clip on BBC or watch the whole episode (the recipe is at 23:30min) on youtube following this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huHwNTnO4Fs
This dish combines the sweet, yet earthy taste from the courgettes with a slight saltiness from the parmesan, a little fire from pepper and scallions and a hint of the flavour from your wine. I felt like I would have summer on my plate - although the sun to go with this dish doesn't want to help me out today...
Anyway, have fun trying and enjoy!
Hi guys!
I don't know about you, but the weather in Switzerland has been crazy the past few days. It's been more than 30°C (or above 90°F) - in the shade that is -, bright sunshine included. Dont' get me wrong, I'm not complaining. I am super happy the good weather started once I was done with my exams so I could enjoy the sunshine on a couple of days off before starting my summer job. I don't have any special tips and tricks for those hot summer days, but I know one way how to get a refreshment and it is better tasting than pool or lake water... I first baked or rather prepared this cake for a friend's birthday in August - a very hot summer day and as I saw herself and her family indulge in the cake I knew it was a hit. Especially as they have been asking me to make it for them every time I visit. The recipe comes form a book called "Neue Torten" or "new cakes" and it includes a lot of very yummy looking cakes. Some of them are rather advanced, but I promise you, this cake isn't. And you don't have to have an oven - just room in your fridge.
Here's the recipe:
For the base:
100g (3.5 oz) unsalted butter
250g (9 oz) biscuits like ladyfingers or Leibniz biscuits if you can get hold of them
For the filling:
6 sheets white gelatin (10g)
350g (12.3 oz) cream cheese
150g (5.3 oz; 2/3 cup) white sugar
2 eggs
2 organic limes
300g (10.5 oz) whipping cream
lime quarters and lemon balm, to decorate (optional)
1) Grease a 26cm (10 inch) spring tin. Place the butter for the base in a saucepan or small pot and melt it over low heat. Place the biscuits in a freezer bag and crush with a rolling pin. Add the crumbled biscuits to the melted butter and fill in the tin. Try to level as evenly as you can and press with your hands.
2) Place the spring tin in the fridge for about 1 to 2 hours.
3) Soak the gelatin sheets in a little cold water. Grate the zest from the limes and squeeze the juice in a small pot. Add the cream cheese and sugar to a large bowl and mix. One by one, add the eggs and lime zest. In a separate bowl, whip the cream until stiff.
4) Squeeze the soaked gelatin and place it in the pot with the lime juice. Dissolve the gelatin in the lime juice over low heat, constantly stirring.
5) Add the lime juice with the dissolved gelatin to the cream cheese-mixture while stirring or with the motor of your kitchen machine running. Fold the whipped cream into the rest of the filling. Put the filling on the cold bottom and try to level it creating a smooth surface. Put the cake back in the fridge for at least 2 to 3 hours until completely set. Decorate with quartered limes and lemon balm, if you like to.
Yield: 12 to 16 slices, depending on how you cut
Active preparation time: about 30 minutes
Total preparation time: 5 hours 30 minutes
© Copyright: Neue Torten, Zabert Sandmann, p. 20.
Here's how the cake looks:
I am sorry, the picture was taken at night as I had friends over for a belated birthday party and as we wanted to dig right in, I couldn't get hold of a better picture, but trust me, this cake is absolutely amazing. The recipe I shared with you is my slightly adjusted version. The original recipe calls for letting the cream cheese mixture with the added gelatin sit for 30 minutes before folding in the whipped cream. When I tried it this way, the cream cheese mixture had started to firm up and folding in the whipped cream was not an option. So the version I share with you in this post, is my tried-and-tested version of it. I hope you have fun trying this recipe and relish eating it as much as my friends and I did.
Have fun trying and enjoy!
Hi guys!
It's Monday again already - time flies at the moment, but I'm not doing much else besides studying, sports and eating - and the occasional baking to relax of course. Today, I want to share a recipe with you I've made during the weekend to wake up to something that would instantly cheer me up in the morning and get me ready for a long day. The recipe is from Cynthia Barcomi's latest book "Let's bake" and the results are just wonderful, so have a go yourself!
Here's the recipe:
1kg (35 oz; 6 + 2/3 cups) flour
14g (0.5 oz, 2 sachets) dry yeast
45g (2 tablespoons) sugar
15g (1 small tablespoon) salt
530ml (18 fl. oz) warm water
1 tablespoon cinnamon powder
100g (3.5 oz) raisins
1 tablespoon sugar
40g (2 tablespoons) sugar, to add to the cooking water
4 tablespoons polenta, for the baking tray
1) In a large bowl, combine the flour, dry yeast, 2 tablespoons sugar and salt. Add the water.
2) Using a kitchen machine or hand-held mixer, knead the dough with kneading hooks for about 4 minutes. Turn the dough onto your kitchen surface and knead it with your hands for a little bit. It will be a little stiff, but it has to be this way, so don't worry.
3) In a small bowl, combine the cinnamon, 1 tablespoon of sugar and raising with 1 tablespoon water, add to the dough and mix until everything is combined.
4) Put the dough back into the bowl, cover with a kitchen towel and let rest for about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
5) Preheat the oven to 215°C (420°F). Fill a large pot with water add 2 tablespoons of sugar and bring to the boil. Split the dough into 110g (3.9 oz) portions. Roll each part until it is a long roll and you can wrap it around you hand with a little excess. To close the circle, roll the end under your hand with a little pressure. Make sure you enclose them nicely, otherwise your bagels will start opening while boiling. Place the bagels onto a baking tray and let them rest for another 15 minutes.
6) When the water is boiling, put as many bagels in as will fit without them touching each other. Cook for 2 minutes. Take out of the water and put on the baking tray. Repeat until all bagels are cooked.
7) Bake the bagels for 15 minutes or until golden.
Yield: 14 bagels
Active preparation time: about 30 minutes
Total preparation time: about 2 hours
© Copyright: Cynthia Barcomi, "Let's bake", p. 66.
Here's how mine turned out:
I didn't find it too hard forming the bagels, it took a bit more determination to close the circle though. Don't be too hazardous or they are going to open. With a little rolling and pressing, you will be able to close them. I hope you'll love the results as much as I did - I couldn't resist trying them warm and spread with peanut butter.
Have fun trying and enjoy your week!
