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
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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/

Preserved Tomatoes with Basil in Jars

Do want to keep the taste of the summer for the winter?

This is a simple but easy way to preserve the full flavour of your tomatoes and at the same time to have quick ready dish when you feel you are missing the sun and your fresh tomatoes from the garden.

This year we got a wonderful tomatoes harvest and we are still harvesting every day. We exchanged seed with friends and so we got an incredible variety of tomatoes and other vegetables. Now the winter is approaching, we all have to save electricity and with this method you will prepare great pasta dishes without spending a lot of time in cooking your tomatoes sauce.

Important! For sterilization with a pressure canner, please follow the instruction for the equipment. Depending on the Country you live, you will find completely different safety instruction about canning and possible botulinum poisoning.

Processing time for canning articles:

• https://www.recipetips.com/kitchen-tips/t–1396/canning-temperatures-and-processing-times.asp
• https://extension.umn.edu/preserving-and-preparing/canning-quick-reference-chart
• https://food.unl.edu/article/tomatoes-and-tomato-products

• Time: 1-2 h
• Difficulty: medium
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Ingredients

All quantity to taste and according to your harvest J

• Ripe tomatoes
• Olive oil (about 4 tablespoons per kg tomatoes)
• Garlic, chopped to taste
• Balsamic vinegar (4 tablespoons per kg tomatoes), this is needed for longer storage
• Salt (about 1 teaspoon per kg tomatoes)
• Basil leaves or flowers to taste

Preparation

1. Clean and dice tomatoes according to their size. I did not dice wild tomatoes, I halved cherry tomatoes and the other tomatoes in 1- 1.5 cm big sizes.
2. Heat oil and add the garlic. Roast only a few minutes until fragrant.
3. Remove garlic-oil mixture and pour it over the prepared tomatoes. Add vinegar and little salt.
4. Combine gently and let sit for about 2 hours. They will release some juices.
5. Add basil and stir well.
6. Place the tomatoes mixture into the jars. Fill jars, leaving 2 cm headspace. Press gently down the tomatoes in order to cover the pieces with their juices.. Slide a nonmetallic spatula (a plastic knife works well) around the inside edge of the jar, pressing back gently on tomatoes to release any air bubbles. Do not add water.
7. Use a clean, damp cloth to wipe any tomato residue from the outer rim of the jar. This is necessary in order seal tight the jars. Screw lid evenly and firmly, but not too tight; just until resistance is met and lids are fingertip tight.
8. I performed the “heat treatment” of the canned tomatoes in water bath. Place the jars into big pot (or use a canner). Fill with warm water. The water must cover the jars by 2 cm. Bring to a rolling boil, cover the pot and boil for 60 minutes if using 250-500 ml jars. Let cool down completely before removing the jars from the pot. Check if the lid is tightly closed after cooling down.  For heat treatment, please follow the instruction of your equipment (for example the pressure canner) and the following link: https://extension.umn.edu/preserving-and-preparing/canning-quick-reference-chart.

Suggestion: place the jar in water bath or shortly in microwave and serve over hot pasta with fresh grated Parmesan cheese and fresh basil Autor: https://artandkitchen.wordpress.com/

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Small Chili Peppers Stuffed and Preserved in Oil

Early this year we saw indoors many kind of peppers and chilies, now in September many of them are ready and it’s a challenge to use them all.

We love to prepare them in the oven (see also……) as still green; we do not use only the “Pimientos de Padron” peppers for this recipe, we found that most peppers are great for this preparation.

I bought also some small round peppers called “ciliegia piccante” peppers, which are very often served stuffed and preserved in oil.

This time I used to prepare this recipe and as we had different kind of small (chili) peppers, we decided to use them in this way.  The “pimientos de Padron” I got are quite hot (may be as we had a hot and dry summer), and with this preparation we can reduce the heat and prepare something which can be enjoyed in winter as well.

We prepared two kinds of stuffing: one with tuna fish and the other with cream cheese.

As pepper we used: hot “cherry peppers”, some “aji amarillo”, “Bishop’s Crown” Peppers, small mini peppers (as for snacks), “pimientos de Padron” peppers and some simply sweet small round peppers.

All peppers where precooked in a vinegar solution and the jars were sterilized for longer storage.

Try these stuffed pepper recipe, this makes a truly impressive antipasti dish. These small peppers are bursting with flavour, thanks to the herbed fillings.

Small Chili Peppers Stuffed and Preserved in Oil

• Servings: prepare as much as you need
• Time: 1-2 h
• Difficulty: medium
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Ingredients

All quantities of the recipes are only a reference, you should adapt it to your taste

First step: Boiling

• Mini peppers or chilies, stem and seed removed
• 250 ml white wine vinegar
• 50 ml water
• ½ teaspoon salt

Second step: tuna stuffing

• Drained tuna fish in oil
• Capers to taste
• Chopped green olives to taste
• Salt to taste
• Dried basil to taste
• Pepper to taste to taste

Third step: cream cheese stuffing

• Cream cheese with herbs
• Pitted big green olives
• Herbs or bay leaves, optional

Fourth step: preservation in oil

• 200-450 ml jars
• Olive oil or sunflower oil (or mixture) as needed

Procedure

1. Remove carefully the stem and all seeds from the peppers using surgical gloves.
2. Bring to boil vinegar, water and salt.
3. Boil the peppers in bathes for 2 minutes, drain them quickly and place them on a towel cut side down to dry until next day (or at least 4 hours).
4. Mix the ingredients for the tuna fish mix in bowl, blend shortly to make them smoother
5. Fill peppers with tuna fix mixture and top with one additional capper. Place them into a small jar (filling looking outside).
6. Fill peppers with herbed cream chess and close the opening with halved olives. Place them into a jar and add some herbs (I used thyme and bay leaves).
7. Fill the jars with oil trying to release the air bubbles from the gaps. Close well the jars.
8. Place the jars into big pot (or use a canner). Fill with warm water. The water must cover the jars by 2 cm. Bring to a rolling boil, cover the pot and boil for 30 minutes if using 250-450 ml jars. Let cool for 20 minutes before removing the jars from the pot.
9. Enjoy after at least one week. If correctly canned this can be stored for a few months in the fridge or a cool and dark place.

Suggestions:

• Remains of the oil can be added to your tomato sauce recipe.
• Do not throw away flesh and seeds, soften them gently in olive oil for about 15 minutes, and place them into a teabag, transfer with the oil into a jar and cover with more olive oil. Keep cover with oil. You will get a wonderful hot and spicy olive oil for you dishes. During the storage this will turn hotter.

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

Cassis (Black Currants) and Lemon Cake

One of our absolute beloved, fresh and spongy super quick cake!  

The source of this recipe is a popular recipe which we got in Spain and we adapted it reducing the oil and the sugar only for personal taste. We use Greek plain yogurt + fresh lemon instead of yogurt with lemon taste. In Spain this cake is also called “bizcocho 1 2 3 “.

We prepare if you are traveling into holidays apartments (yes, we I carried the empty tin with us) for a fast breakfast and a snack for our road trips.

For the easiest version you may use the container of your yogurt as the measure of 1 cup.

See also the Spanish version on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgdaD_EJX-E&ab_channel=Elrinc%C3%B3ndelpancasero

The combination of cassis and lemon gives to this cake a very strong and refreshing flavour.

We tried also these great variations:

• Limes instead of lemons
• Black berries, blueberries or “josta berries” instead of cassis
• Skip the berries and convert this cake into a lemon cake

Black Currants and Lemon Cake

• Servings: about 12
• Time: 1h + cooling time
• Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

Batter:

• 1 cup yogurt (any yogurt but for us Greek plain yogurt is the best)
• ½ cup oil (original recipe: 1 cup)
• 1 ½ cups sugar (original recipe 2 cups)
• 3 (if you use the size of the container of the yogurt instead of “cup”) or 4 eggs (if using the official “cup”)
• 1 lemon, zest grated
• 1 lemon, juice
• 3 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder (1 envelope)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla (1 envelope)

Fruits:

• 1 cup black currents (cassis)  or other berries

Topping (optional)

• Sugar pearls

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F and line you mold (about 30 cm of length) with baking or aluminum foil.
2. In a big bowl combine all the ingredients for the batter.
3. Fold under the berries.
4. Pour the dough into your prepared mold and add the topping.
5. Cook for 50-60 minutes at 180°C/350°F or until done (toothpick test)
6. Let cool down and serve.

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

Easy Pizza Rolls from Scratch

These pizza rolls are surprisingly easy to be prepared, but you need to start about 3 hours in advance as the dough need some time for rising. If you do not have time, skip the homemade pizza dough and try with a good quality store bough pizza dough.

The proposed filling is very simple, but you any other ingredients you like on pizzas.

• Servings: 24 pieces
• Time: 3h
• Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

Pizza Dough

• 500 g flour
• 300 ml water, lukewarm (about 30°C)
• 1 teaspoon dry active yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4-5 tablespoons olive oil (or as needed), this for the dough and for rolling

Filling

• 1 tin chopped tomatoes (pelati), drained
• 1 tablespoon tomatoes concentrate paste
• 1 tablespoon pesto
• ½ teaspoon oregano, dried (quantity to taste)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 250 g shredded mozzarella cheese (store bought)
• 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
• Additional ingredients to taste: dried onions, olives, capers….

Preparation

1. Dissolve the yeast in about 100 ml water and 50 g of flour. Wait until yeast is active and foamy.
2. Now all the remaining flour, water and salt. Mix well and set aside for about 20-30 minutes.
3. In the meantime place drain the tomatoes over a sieve in order to eliminate excessive water.
4. Stretch and fold about 5 times or until dough becomes elastic and smooth. For this step I add about 1 tablespoon of oil on the sides of the bowl. Cover and set aside until doubled.
5. Roll out the dough on a well-floured surface to the size of about 40 X 60 cm.
6. Combine the drained tomatoes with the tomatoes paste, the pesto, the oregano and adjust to taste with salt and pepper.
7. Spread the tomatoes mixture over the dough letting about 3 cm of the long side free (you will need the border to close the roll). Sprinkle mozzarella and parmesan. Top the cheese with additional ingredients to taste.
8. Start rolling the dough from the long side to a tight log. Seal the end by pinching the dough free of filling.
9. Spread about 3 tablespoons of olive oil over the log and coat it well with your hands or a baker’s brush.
10. Using a super sharp knife slice the pizza dough log into equal rolls, placing them onto baking tray lined with parchment paper.  For this step I made 24 pieces for 4 x 6 rolls in my baking tray. We prefer to bake these on a tray quite near to each other so that while rising they will fill the tray completely; the oil will make the step of separating them super easy.
11. Brush the top rolls with little olive oil.
12. Let the rolls rise for about 1 hour or until you see the dough is filling the gaps of the tray between the single rolls before baking.
13. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
14. Important: just before baking splash about 1/2 cup of water into the oven (if not possible place a flat bowl with boiling water into the oven)  in order to increase the humidity. Place immediately the tray into the oven and bake for about 25 minutes or until the dough appears golden.
15. Remove from the oven and cool the rolls for 10 to 15 minutes before serving or let cool down partially, cover with parchment foil and serve when desired.  We love them lukewarm.
16. Store any leftovers in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days and kept frozen for up to three months.

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

Guacamole con Tomates

Guacamole is very popular Mexican dip with many variations.

This variation, which includes also the use of tomatoes, is the most appreciated in our family and every times is comes out a bit different as we do not measure the ingredients, we change it a little bit depending on what we have on hand.

This is great as appetizer with tortilla chips, but also with wraps or other dishes.

• Servings: 2
• Time: 15 minutes
• Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

• 50 g chopped onions
• 1 avocado, ripe
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 pinch of salt, to taste
• 1 medium tomato or about 10 cherry tomatoes, diced
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (optional)
• 1 dash chili powder or other little chili sauce or some paprika powder (optional)

Procedure

1. Place the chopped onions in a small bowl with cold water (this for about 10 minutes)
2. In a small bowl mash the avocado with the fork
3. Drain the onions and add them to the mashed avocado along with the other ingredients.
4. Combine very well and season to taste

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

Carciofi alla Romana – Roman Style Artichockes

This is a traditional Roman (Italian) dish which can be severved as appetizer or as a side dish.

Now, that we are approaching the spring and in southern Countries the spring is already there, artichokes appear in the shops and I really don’t want to miss them!

The kind used for this preparation is called “Mammole”, they are quite big sized artichokes and the leaves are rounded shaped.

The mint used for this dish is usually the “mentuccia romana”, in my case I used Turkish mint in my garden, from which I can find some leaves even in winter. I think that the Greek mint (diosmos) would fit also perfectly; for this preparation I would avoid pepper mint, chocolate mint or mint kinds intended for drinks or cocktails. Spearmint would be good as well.

I prepared 3 artichokes, but give you the recipe for 4 of them.

• Servings: 4
• Time: 60 min
• Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

• 1/2 cup thinly sliced mint leaves
• 4 tablespoons chopped parsley leaves
• 2 garlic cloves chopped
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 4 Artischockes (Mammole kind)
• 100 ml olive oil
• 200 ml water (more or less)
• 1 lemon
• Salt and pepper to taste

Procedure

1. In a small bowl combine the herbs and the garlic, add ½-teaspoon salt and 2 tablespoons olive oil.
2. To clean the artichokes prepare some lemony water (using the juice of half lemon) and rub your and with some lemon as well in order to prevent blackening.
3. Remove the outside leaves which appear woody and without pulp. Peal the stem and cut it but leave a small piece. If the remaining stems appears soft, do not discard them, but add it to the preparation.
4. Cut the top of the artichokes (depending on the size, about 4 cm). Open the center of the artichokes and remove the filaments with spoon, a knife or better with the vegetable carving instrument. Place the artichokes in the lemony water; this will prevent them from darkening.
5. Open the artichokes with your fingers and stuff them with the prepared herbs mixture.
6. Place the artichokes head side down in pot where they can fit tightly. Add the stems.
7. Pour the remaining olive oil and the water.
8. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, open the lid and let reduce the liquid.
9. Serve them hot n on a serving plate.

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

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Chicken and Potatoes Casserole with Fig Sauce

An extraordinary warm autumn permitted to our figs three to produce the send bath fresh fruits and add in this way rich genuine ingredients to our table.

Inspired by the oriental kitchen I created this dish and I’ve already reproduced a second time for the pleasure of my family.

The figs three is still producing figs, and it’s already late October. For this recipe I’ve also prepared a few small jars of preserved figs, so that this dish will be among the Christmas delish again.

Note: There are two fig seasons a year – a smaller harvest in early summer and a larger harvest in late summer to early fall. At our latitudes, we expect the first harvest in summer (where here it is the main harvest) and sometimes, if we have a warm autumn, we get the second harvest end of September to October; this is a big gift it it happens!

• Time: 1 hr
• Difficulty: easy
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You need

For the potatoes

• 500 g small potatoes, washed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

For the chicken with figs

• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, chopped
• 400 g chicken, breast, diced into 2-4 cm pieces
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 8 medium sized figs, peeled and cut into quarters (here you may also use preserved figs)
• 1/2 cup water or better white wine
• 2 rosemary springs
• 1 thyme spring
• Salt and pepper to taste

Topping (optional)

• Fresh figs, washed cut into flowers
• 1 short rosemary spring

Procedure

1. Preheat the oven to 250°C
2. Place the potatoes in your baking mold; add the oil, sprinkle with salt and place in the oven. Bake for about 45 minutes or until you see that the skin turns light roasted and the potatoes are done (check with the point of a knife).
3. In the meantime, fry onion, garlic and ginger until fragrant, add the chicken pieces and fry until roasted. Don’t let burn the onion mixture.
4. Add the balsamic vinegar and the figs. Cook until figs are lightly caramelized, add the water or the wine and stir to dissolve the fond.
5. Add the herbs, and adjust with salt and pepper. Let simmer slowly (if necessary add more liquid). When potatoes are ready, add the chicken-figs mixture to the potatoes.
6. Arrange the figs for the topping and bake until figs are warm. Place the reserved rosemary spring over the dish and serve immediately.

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

 

 

Cretan Summer 2018

Souvenirs of our beloved Crete

Dried Figs stuffed with Almonds and Orange Zest

This year we had a very warm summer and the garden gave us a lot delicious figs, which we shared with friends.

However, it was only during our holidays on Crete after noticing that most of the figs fall on the floor and, as I hate food waste, I decided to try to dry some figs and prepare a great souvenir of the summer in a jar.

The good thing we had for this, beside the figs of course was the sun; the strong Greek sun is best to preserve these figs and for this reason, I searched in the internet how I should proceed.

To make them more special, I decided to modify an Italian recipe (from the *Puglie* region) and so I started to collect ripe but still firm green and black figs and to dry them in the sun!

Figs can be dried halved or cut in two pieces; I opted to cut them into two halves as the effect of the sun would be stronger drying the figs quickly and the rays would destroy all possible parasites.

The best way to dry them would be on a grid, but since I did not have this, I used my normal baking try with a black baking foil, which attracted the sun and kept the heat; in two days, the figs were dry enough, some of them almost to dry! J

If you don’t have the opportunity to collect and dry the figs, you should opt for the dry figs from the store and halve them with a scissor taking care to keep them partially attached.

These figs are an unusual addition to the holiday table and make a unique Christmas gift from the kitchen!

• Time: 1 hr
• Difficulty: easy
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You need

• 50 dried figs, butterflied
• 1 orange, peel only removed with a vegetable peeler and cut into small pieces
• 50 almonds
• 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
• 1 pinch o cinnamon
• 10-20 bay leaves

Procedure

1. Add a piece of orange peel on one side of the butterflied fig.
2. Add an almond on each it and cover with the other side. Press them well together.
3. Bake for 10 minutes at 180°C/350°F, Check on the color and temperature as cooking time may vary from oven to oven!
4. In the meantime, combine the powdered sugar with the cinnamon.
5. Switch off the oven, take out the figs out, dust with sugar and place them in the oven for other 5 minutes.
6. In order to store them for a long time, place the still warm figs into sterilized jars layered and with several bay leaves between the layers for added flavor. Store the jar in a cool dry place.

Tip1: After sun drying the figs, some of them resulted very dry, too dry for this preparation, for this reason I placed them in bowl, sprinkled them with water (about tablespoons for 5 cups of dried figs) covered them, and placed in the microwave for 2 two minutes. After resting for about 10 minutes they were ready for this preparation.

Tip2: Quartered walnuts and orange zest by lemon or tangerine zest may replace Almonds!

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

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