A-Norm pasta

First of all, I would like to say that this is NOT the traditional " Pasta alla Norma" as you know it ( i.e. a Sicilian Pasta dish with fried eggplants, tomato sauce and ricotta cheese)..so as to avoid any comments or critics that might come from " purists" defending this delicacy. 

Since I really love eggplants, I wanted to try to reinterpret this delicious dish. Of course, You can try the traditional recipe:  fry eggplants,  the sauce and eat it steaming hot dish without feeling 


Ingredients
250g chiocciole ( seashell shaped pasta)
1 eggplant
200ml tomato sauce
basil
parmesan
extra-virgin olive oil
salt

Cut the eggplant in small dices. Then toss them in a hot pan with some oil and some salt. Meanwhile, cook the pasta ("al dente" preferably). Add the tomato sauce and some basil to the eggplant and let it simmer for 10 minutes. Then, drain the pasta and toss it into the pan with the sauce. Put some grated parmesan and some basil on top.

spaghetti and meatballs

Do you remember the famous Disney classic " Lady and the Tramp" where two dogs seating at a table prepared just for them by a goodhearted cook, eat a steaming plate of spaghetti and meatballs?

For years and centuries, this dish has been associated with Italy by Americans, being the best expression of a long tradition. But at a closer look, this was not the traditional meal of Italian households, the one you would find at midday on the table. It was mostly a clever invention, created by Italian housewives who migrated to the USA, in order to feed their exhausted husbands who had been working hard, while bringing that homely touch to their meal. They had, thus, created the perfect mix between spaghetti with tomato sauce and meatballs, two mains in one, source of energy and taste. But, let's say it, that plate of spaghetti, eaten by those two dogs madly in love, made us drool. So, I decided to take a stab at cooking spaghetti and meatballs. 

Ingredients (4 people)

300g spaghetti

200ml tomato sauce

1 shallot

parsley

1/2 glass of white wine 

oil

salt

for the meatballs:

200g minced meat

50g breadcrumbs

1 egg

150g stale bread 

salt

chopped parsley

Mix the meat with breadcrumbs (leave a bit on the side), parsley, stale bread (previously soaked in water)  and add some salt. Then add one egg and mix it again. Make small meatballs and roll them in the breadcrumbs. Put them on a baking tray, pour some oil and put it in the oven for 15 minutes at 180°. Meanwhile, put the shallot with some oil in a pan and leave them to cook. Then, after 5 minutes, add the wine. Add the tomato sauce and salt. Let it simmer for 10 min. Then add the meat balls and cook for 2-3 min. Cook the pasta until it is " al dente" and then, after draining it, add it to the sauce and cook for 1 minute. If you wish, you can add some parmesan on top when you serve it. 

focaccia

I have always wanted to make pizza. It might seems hard, kneading and waiting for the dough to rise for hours. But, you'll see it's quite easy, and while you wait, chill out and listen to some music. 

This is a simple focaccia (basically it's a white pizza, with oil and salt). You can add any topping you want, before and after you baked it. Just be aware that some types of cheese (i.e. mozzarella) are quite watery, so just add them on top at the very end and put the tray on top in your oven, so it becomes crispy. 

Ingredients

300g flour (65% whole wheat)

8-10g yeast 

80% water (200ml)

coarse salt

extra-virgin oil

In a large bowl stir together flour and yeast (previously dissolved in warm water). Then gradually pour in water (it should be 80% of the total weight of the flour). Add some salt and oil, and then knead to form a smooth dough. Put it back in the bowl, cover it with bee's wrap or with a towel and leave it to rise for 12 hours in a closed space (your oven or a fridge) . Then stretch out the dough on a floured surface. Put it on a baking tray covered with reusable baking paper, and stretch it out again. Season it with oil and salt. Preheat the oven at 200-250° . Put the baking tray in the lower part of the oven, then lower the temperature a 180° and bake for 15 minutes. 

You might want to try out these options.

with nuts and seeds ( toss them in the dough)

with mushroom / courgette/potatoes and rosemary/ laminate kale/ cherry tomatoes ( add them when you stretch the dough and season with a fair amount of oil)

with vegetables ( stir fry your veggies beforehand and then add them last minute)

with pumpkin and mozzarella (cook diced pumpkin, then blend until creamy)

Pasta with "my" pesto

It's a simple but tasty recipe. Actually, it's a a new version of an Italian classic, that I simply adore: the pesto sauce from Genoa. I just changed the original recipe according to my own taste ( that's why I called it "my" pesto) and to the ingredients available ( in this case, Rosemary, since I always have a lot of it).

Ingredients
320g pasta (types: trofie, trenette, linguine)
2/3 branches of rosemary with its flowers
200g almonds
50g Parmesan
coarse salt
extra-virgin oil

Wash the rosemary and keep the flowers. Then put the rosemary in the mortar and with a pestle pound  it with the almonds, grinding carefully both ingredients, and pestle until smooth. Add some coarse salt. Then add the oil and blend all the ingredients. Once it is well mixed, add the Parmesan you had previously grated. Meanwhile cook the pasta in hot boiling water and drain it when it's "al dente". Add the pesto sauce and use the flowers as a decoration.