Carrot parmigiana

I had seen this recipe some time go, so I finally decided to give it a go. Well, parmigiana (baked layered aubergines with tomato sauce and cheese, like a lasagna) is already a very tasty dish, so you just need to change the vegetable, according to seasonal and local availability. Result guaranteed!

Ingredients
6 carrots
100ml tomato sauce
150g Gouda
oil
salt
breadcrumbs

Boil the carrots. Cut them vertically and put them in a baking tray with some oil. Add some sauce and slices of gouda. Repeat for every layer 'till you reach the top. Add some breadcrumbs and some more oil. Bake at 180° for 20 minutes. Broil under preheated grill for 5 minutes.

Malfatti

According to tradition, the origin of this dish is the stuffing of ravioli or tortelli ( homemade pasta filled wth ricotta cheese and spinach), called " gnudi" ( naked) in Florence, which you need to cook in boiling water or bake in the oven, and then serve it with butter and sage.

Obviously I gave my own version of this traditional Tuscan dish, so that it could be lactose free and more delicate.

Ingredients
500g spinach
100 ml cottage cheese (lactose free)
1 egg
parmesan
oil
salt
sage
flour

Cook the spinach. Leave them to cool down, and then add an egg, parmesan, cheese (homemade cottage cheese), salt and some flour, so as to make it homogeneous and sticky. Shape it into small balls and roll them in the flour. Put them in a baking tray with some oil, then put a leave of sage on the top and add some more oil. Bake for 15 minutes at 180°. Then broil under preheated grill for about 5 minutes.

Kale, it's pici

During the holidays, I didn't want to cook something heavy for my guests, but still I wanted to satisfy their tastebuds, that's why I decided to make this simple sauce. While on the one hand it enhances homemade pasta like pici ( for those of you who don't know what they are, it's a fresh handmade pasta like spaghetti but made of flour and water only), on the other hand it adds value to local resources, like the  omnipresent Lacinato kale. A very Tuscan dish!

Ingredients :
1/2 kg pici
300g Lacinato kale
1 shallot
stale bread (q.s.)
pecorino cheese
oil
salt

Chop the shallot finely and toss it in a pan with some oil. Meanwhile, boil Lacinato kale in hot boiling water for about 5-6 minutes. Then chop it and toss it in the pan, adding some boiled water if needed. Add some salt and leave it to simmer for 10-15 minutes. In the meantime, fry some stale bread, diced into cubes, in a pan until crunchy. Cook pici in hot boiling water, previously used to boil the kale, adding some salt. Drain them after 4-5 minutes and toss them in the pan. Finally, add the croutons and some pecorino.