Gnocchi Pomodoro Panna Pesto

This is a copycat recipe of a fabulous gnocchi dish I got in a restaurant.

As I tasted this delish, I knew that in some way I would bring this to my family. Yes, the decision was right and it was a pleasure to see how much these gnocchi were appreciated.

• Servings: 4
• Time: 30mins if with ready made ingredients
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

Ingredients

Gnocchi

• Gnocchi according to my recipe (https://artandkitchen.wordpress.com/2015/02/02/gnocchi-di-patate-italian-potatoes-dumplings/) or store bough. About 125-150 g per person.

Tomato and Cream Sauce

• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small onion
• 1 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes (pelati are great as well) or passata)
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• Salt and pepper to taste

Pesto (alternative store bough), you will need only a few teaspoons of pesto

• 1 cup basil leaves
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 garlic clove chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt

Additional

• Grilled vegetables, I used zucchini (optional)
• Cream of balsamic vinegar
• Parmesan cheese, thinly sliced, quantity to taste
• Herbs for decoration (optional)

Procedure

1. Prepare the gnocchi according to the recipe, but wail for cooking them
2. For the sauce: fry onions in olive oil until tender, add tomatoes, cream and blend shortly. Adjust to taste with salt and pepper. Keep warm.
3. For the pesto: blend together the ingredients.
4. Check you have the additional ingredients ready. I grilled the zucchini and arranged them on dishes and kept warm in the oven (80°C) until the gnocchi were done.
5. Boil the gnocchi, when they come to the surface they are ready.
6. Drain gnocchi and place them in a bowl. Add as mucho tomatoes sauce as you like and toss well.  You do not need to use all the quantity of tomatoes sauce, only to your taste.
7. Arrange the gnocchi on the plates drop 2-4 teaspoon of pesto around, drizzle some cream of balsamic vinegar, add some slices of parmesan cheese and decorate with herbs
8. Serve immediately still hot.

Author: https://artandkitchen.wordpress.com/

Dolmades me Avgolemono – Stuffend Wine Leaves with Egg-Lemon Sauce

Spring, sun, flowers, herbs and missing Crete!

During my walk through the garden I noticed that the fist wine leaves were almost big enough to be used for one of my favourite Greek dishes: dolmadakias (diminutives of dolmades)! Now in early spring the leaves are very light, tender and even if even still small, I decided to try to make this without meat (lamb or beef

As the same times I had some asparagus on hand, I decided to prepare also the egg-lemons sauce, which is perfect for both preparations!

Usually for this recipe, we use pine nuts, but as did not have such of them just now at home, I decided to uses some previously roasted pumpkin seeds; and WOW! This was real great!

I collected only about 30 leaves about 10-12 cm wide (yes real small, but tender!) and these made 3-4 cm sized dolamadakias.

Note: this dish often served lukewarm and the lemon leaves would taste even better the next day.

• Servings: 2-4
• Time: 90 min
• Difficulty: medium
• Print

You need:

Leaves:

• 30 young tender fresh grape leaves (double the filling and the sauce if you have big leaves), washed and stem removed

Filling:

• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small onion
• ½ cup rice
• 1 cup vegetal broth (or simply the hot water you used to prepare the leaves + salt)
• 1 tablespoon fresh mint, chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh dill, copped
• 2 tablespoons, chopped roasted pine nuts (or roasted pumpkin seeds)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Sauce

• 1 egg
• 1 lemon, juice of
• 1/2 lemon, grated peel of
• 1 cup water (I used drained liquid form the stuffed leaves +  the blanching water for the leaves)
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Additional lemon juice

Procedures

1. Bring about 1 liter of water to boil and place the leaves in hot water. Drain the leaves after 3 minutes (preserve one cup of water). Set aside and don’t discard the water.
2. Fry the onion in the oil just until translucent, add the rice and the broth. Reduce to simmer.
3. Add the herbs and seed, cook until the water is adsorbed for about 6-8 minutes, the rice will not be cooked through, but this just fine. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
4. Place a small amount of this filling (about 1 teaspoon or more if the leaves are big) on the backside of the leaf near the stem and then close it. For this step, I first fold the left and right side of the leaf toward the center and I roll it up starting from the side of the stem (like the spring rolls).
5. Place one tablespoon of olive oil on the bottom of you pot, and then place the stuffed leaves one by one, near each other, opening side down so that they don’t move. If you have more leaves you some leaves to cover the bottom of the pot or (even better) a few thin sliced potatoes (addition to your meal)!
6. Try to make two layers of the leaves in the pot (size depends on the leaves and the pot!)
7. Grate le lemon zest, set aside; juice the lemon and set this aside as well.
8. Place parts of the peel or additional lemon slices over the stuffed leaves, cover with the water (add to the water previously salt to taste), add about 1 third of the lemon juice as well.
9. Cover with a small plate the stuffed leaves, so that they don’t move while cooking. Cover with the lid and simmer for about 40 minutes (adding some more water if needed). Drain out the liquid and use it for the sauce.
10. If you have rice leftovers, cook them in a small saucepot with water as a risotto until done.
11. For the egg-lemon sauce blend together the egg, the lemon juice the lemon zest, the drained liquid from the stuffed leaves, the cornstarch and the olive oil.
12. Very slowly heat the sauce in a small saucepot until it thickens (do not let it boil but add more water if needed). Adjust salt and pepper. If you need add more lemon juice to taste.
13. Serve the stuffed leaves with this sauce.

Autor: https://artandkitchen.wordpress.com/

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Light Eggplant or Zucchini Parmigiana

For all those who have a lot zucchini in the garden (or eggplants), those who love to eat light food, those who love tasty food and those who love Italian food… this is the perfect recipe.

I love to prepare my tomatoes sauce myself (marinara sauce), for this reason I have always some self-made canned one on hand, but you can buy some or take a few minutes and prepare it yourself while you are roasting the zucchini.

This eggplant and or zucchini parmigiana is a fat reduced version of the traditional Parmigiano, almost no oil is necessary and you will not miss it for sure.

For this reason instead of frying the vegetables in a lot of oil, you will roast them in the oven or grilled in a non-stick grilling skillet.

You need

• 2 kg eggplants (and/or zucchini)
• salt to spread over eggplants
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 200 g fat-reduced mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced or roughly grated
• 150 g parmigiano cheese, thinly sliced (parmesan cheese)
• 2-3 cups marinara sauce (if possible with basil and oregano)
• 1 teaspoon basil pesto sauce (or 10 fresh basil leaves)
• 1 tablespoon oregano

Procedure

1. Slice your vegetables lengthwise, the slices should be about 5 mm thick.
2. If you use eggplants place them in a big bowl and spread salt on them. Stir to coat them well. After 30 minutes rinse them and press out the water. This step is not necessary for zucchini.
3. Turn on your oven to high broil or preheat your non-stick grilling skillet.
4. Pour oil over the vegetables and coat them with your hands.
5. Place one layer of eggplants or zucchini on your baking try (I use a silicon map for this as it is easier to clean) and broil on both sides until they change the color to light brown. Repeat with all vegetables. The same procedure with the skillet.
6. Place your vegetables slightly vertical in your mold (or single portion molds) and add mozzarella and parmesan cheese between the layers.
7. Combine marinara sauce with oregano and pesto and pour over the zucchini
8. Bake 30 minutes 350°F/180°C or until sizzling but not burning.
9. Enjoy this warm or cold with rustic bread.

Imam Bayildi with Feta

This eggplant dish is one of the most famous Turkish dishes and you can find many variations on them. İmam bayildi means “the imam fainted”. This is very popular in Greece under the same name: Ιμάμ Μπαϊλντί.

A legends tell that an imam (Muslim priest) swooned because he had too much of this delightful dish.

Some recipes added green peppers and most are prepared in the skillet. In my variation we used the skillet only to prepare the filling as we baked the dish. We also added some feta and potatoes to the mold. In this way we have a delicious full meal.

You need

•  4 medium eggplants (ca. 600-800 g)
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 500 g onions, sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 500 g tomatoes, chopped (or 1 can of 450 g)
• 2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
• Salt, taste
• pepper to taste
• 200 g feta (cut into 4 portions)
• 600 to 800 g potatoes, peeled in cubes (optional)

Procedure

1. Wash the eggplants and make a big long cut for the filling.
2. Place the eggplant in a baking mold and broil turning them from time to time until soft. Set aside. Some people remove strips of the skin and place them in salted water to remove the liquid that may be bitter and then they fill it directly.
3. In the meanwhile (but keep an eye to the eggplants!) fry the onions in the remaining oil, when they are soft add the garlic and fry 3 more minutes.
4. Add the half of the tomatoes, parsley, and pepper. Adjust salt and pepper  to your taste.
5. Adjust the eggplant in a mold (cut side up) and fill them with the onions mix, but reserve at least 3 tablespoons of filling in the skillet.
6. Arrange the potatoes (if used) around the eggplants.
7. Add the remaining tomatoes to the onion in the pan. Add some salt (about 1/2 teaspoon) and cover your eggplants and potatoes with this tomatoes sauce.
8. Place the feta over the filling and press the pieces partially inside of the sauce.
9. Bake for about one hour at 170-180°C or until the potatoes are ready. From time to time check if it is not drying too much, if necessary add 1/2 cup of water.

Exotic Shrimps on a Zucchini and Pasta Bed

The marinating time is the secret of this tasty, beautiful and light dish!

The ingredients were fast assembled and the cooking time were very short.

You need

o    4 garlic cloves

o    2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger

o    1 teaspoon turmeric

o    1/4 teaspoon Sichuan pepper, roasted and grinded

o    2 tablespoon light soya sauce

o    Pepper to taste

o    400 g shrimps, uncooked peeled and tail on

o    400 g Zucchini

o    2 teaspoons salt

o    8 tablespoons olive oil

o    400 g Chinese noodles (substitute spaghetti)

o    2 tablespoons brandy, alternative 4 tablespoon coconut milk

o    1 tablespoon fresh coriander chopped

Procedure

1. Combine in a bowl garlic, ginger, turmeric, Sichuan pepper, soya sauce and pepper.
2. Add shrimps and let marinate for about one hours.
3. Cut zucchini in long strips, place in bowl and toss with salt. Let soak water for 30 minutes.
4. Rinse zucchini under current water and place on a sieve to drop down.
5. Bring salted water with the addition of two tablespoon olive oil (you don’t need to use olive oil for this step) and cook pasta according instructions. When it’s ready add zucchini to the water and drain immediately. Place on a bowl and toss with 2 tablespoons olive oil.
6. During cooking (ore after the pasta is ready if it’s for you easier) time heat remaining oil in a skillet. Stir fry shrimps until they change their color on both sides.  Add 2 tablespoons water, bandy and coriander.
7. Serve springs over pasta-zucchini mix.