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/

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
• Print

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/

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

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
• Print

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/

Day 36 Stay at Home or In the Garden: Quick Salmorejo

Salmorejo is a fresh, thick, pink-orange soup consisting of tomatoes, bread and garlic witch is topped with hard boiled eggs and diced jamon serrano (serrano ham). A few days ago I posted the original recipe; now it’s time to post my super quick version for the days you may not have time to wait, but you wish this something fresh and tasty. In these days we try to avoid going out (Coronavirus lockout) and going shopping, we use what we have in the pantry and we adapt the recipes to the ingredients we have on hand.

Salmorejo Cordobés

• Servings: 4
• Time: 15 min (no chilling time)
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

Ingredientes

• 1 tins canned crushed tomatoes (400 g)
• 1 cup ice cubes
• 100 ml oilve oil
• 1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
• 3 tablespoons tomatoes paste, to taste
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 small white bread, diced of about 150 g
• More water or ice cubes, as necessary
• 10 g salt, or to taste
• 2 eggs, hard boiled, peeled and diced
• 100 g ham or bacon, diced
• Olive oil to drizzle

Preaparation

1. Place all the content of the tin in the stand mixer, add the ice cubes, the oil, the vinegar, the tomatoes paste and the garlic; pulse until smooth.
2. Add the bread piece by piece and pulse until smooth. During this step add more water or ice cubes if necessary.
3. Add salt and more tomatoes to taste if necessary.
4. In a frying skillet roast the ham or the bacon to taste.
5. Season with salt and vinegar to taste. Pulse shortly.
6. Pour the salmorejo in bowl, top with egg and ham or bacon and drizzle a few drops of olive oil.

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

Day 34 Stay at Home or In the Garden: Salmorejo Cordobés

Salmorejo is a fresh, thick, pink-orange soup consisting of tomatoes, bread and garlic witch is topped with hard boiled eggs and diced jamon serrano (serrano ham). We enjoyed this for the first time in 2014 (see photos!) in the house of our friends in Cordoba and we really loved it. For the preparation we used the light white bread witch, combined with the red of the tomatoes, gave to the dish this nice orange-pink color. The ham was already prepared diced and sold as jamon serrano for salmorejo, but you may simply dice some jamon serrano. Ana used quail eggs, but, as these are mostly not available, normal commercial eggs are suitable for this recipe.

Salmorejo Cordobés

• Servings: 4
• Time: 20 min + chilling time
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

 

Ingredientes

• 150 g white bread, with light colored crust (or do not use the crust)
• Water to soften the bread (more or less 100 ml)
• 1000 g tomatoes, ripe, washed and diced
• 100 ml oilve oil
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar, optional
• 10 g salt, or to taste
• 2 eggs, hard boiled, peeled and diced
• 100 g serrano ham, diced
• Olive oil to drizzle

Preaparation

1. Dice the bread and add some water to soften it. Let sit for about 10 minutes.
2. Place tomatoes, olive oil and garlic in a food processor, pulse until very smooth and the skin of the tomatoes in not visible. If you know that you food processor is not strong enough, you should remove the skin prior dicing them.
3. Remove excess water from the bread (simply drain it) the bread and pulse again until smooth.
4. Season with salt and vinegar to taste. Pulse shortly.
5. Place in the fridge to chill.
6. Pour the salmorejo in bowl, top with egg and serrano ham and drizzle a few drops of olive oil.

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

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Cheesy Vegetable Stew

This dish created for a cooking game where the ingredients are restricted from a selected list came out very tasty and delighted my family very much. I made a selection of the ingredients, which I had on hand and picked some winter savory (satureja montana) from the garden. For the cooking way I decided to create a new dish inspired by a vegetables stew with cheese, we got in Gran Canaria called “pisto”. Usually this dish is served with eggs, but in this case the cheese took the most important part and a so simple dish turned out in a great stew!

I’ve served this recipe as single portions in clay pots, but you can also place this is only one bigger oven proof mold. Serve with croutons or with a slice of rustic bread.

 

 

• Servings: 4
• Time: 30 min
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

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

You need (for 4 potions):

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 big onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves chopped
• 1 cup champignons mushrooms, diced (I used only stems as I used the caps for another recipe)
• 4 cups diced tomatoes
• 1 cups chicken broth, more if you prefer
• 4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce (quantity to taste)
• 2-4 tablespoons fresh herbs to taste (I used winter savoury but also thyme, oregano or marjoram would work as well)
• Salt and pepper to tater
• 1 cup grated gruyere cheese (or another cheddar cheese)
• 4 savory spring, or thyme or rosemary (optional)

Procedure

1. Fry in a saucepot the onions and the garlic for a few minutes just until translucent.
2. Add the mushrooms and fry until they begin to change the color and they smell “roasted”.
3. Add tomatoes, broth and Worcestershire sauce, bring to boil and reduce the heat, simmer for about 15 minutes or until the most of the liquid is adsorbed.
4. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 220°C (430°F).
5. Add herbs, pepper and if needed salt to taste. Add more Worcestershire sauce if you like.
6. Transfer in the molds for the oven, top with cheese and insert as savory spring.
7. Bake in the oven at 220°C (430°F) for about 5-10 minutes until the cheese begins to change the color.

 

 

Tortilla Soup – Sopa de tortillas

This year the summer seems still far away, rain and low temperature inspired me to prepare a soup for dinner. Since years I wanted to prepare a tortilla soup and finally today I made it, we loved its strong and wonderful taste. It’s simply, rustic and very comforting recipe, exactly as need during these bad weather days!

To prepare a real special soup I decided to roast the veggies in the oven before preparing this soup and used those for the base of the soup. I did not add chicken and avocado as I did not have them on hand but I certainly would do it next time if available.

• Servings: 3-4
• Time: 30 min
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

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

You need

• 500 g tomatoes,
• 2 red peppers
• 1 small Green pepper, or red pepper
• 1 small onion,diced
• 1 garlic clove
• 1/2 tablespoon or 1 tablespoon cilantro
• 1 cup wáter
• 1 teaspoon of bouillon paste (broth paste concentrate, chicken, beef or vegetables), to taste
• Salt, pepper, lime juice and chili flakes to taste
• 1/2 cup cooked chicken, bone, skin and fat removed, diced (optional)
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 4-8 corn or wheat tortillas, cut into thin strips
• 1/2 avocado, diced (optional)
• 1/2 cup shredded cheese, to taste
• 2-4 tablespoons cream cheese softened with 1-2 tablespoons cream or milk, optional, to taste

Procedure

1. Place tomatoes and peppers to roast under the broiler or roast in non-sticky skillet (use an old one!). Roast on all sides. Place the veggies in a bowl, cover and let for 15 minutes. After this time it’s easier to remove the skin. Save their liquids.
2. Blend the veggies together with onion, garlic, cilantro, water and bouillon until smooth.
3. Pour mixture in a pot and bring slowly to simmer, adjust with salt, pepper, lime juice and chili flakes to taste.
4. Add chicken if desired. Simmer for about 20 minutes.
5. While the soup is simmering roast the tortillas in a non-sticky skillet stirring constantly with the oil until crisp as desired.
6. Serve the soup in the single plates, top with avocado pieces, hot tortillas and the cheese. Dot with the cream cheese mixture. Serve immediately.

Hot or Cold Grilled Eggplants or Zucchini Appetizers

This versatile recipe is a simple way to prepare light appetizers to be served hot or cold with only a few ingredients. In my project I supposed to use only my white eggplants and serve them with something like a bruschetta topping, but as I saw the small Zucchini and I had tomatoes leftovers I made a second warm variation which was surprisingly delicious and simple as well as cute.

I prefer not to give specific quantities as this depends on the size of the eggplants and on your taste.

• Time: 30min to 1hr s
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

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

You need

• Eggplants or Zucchini
• Olive oil
• Garlic, crushed
• Ripe tomatoes
• Basil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Mozzarella (mini mozzarella, mozzarella slices or shredded one)

Procecedure

1. Slice Eggplants in 5 millimeters slices and place them in a big bowl, sprinkle little olive oil and the garlic over them. Toss with your hands.
2. Halve the tomatoes and remove seeds and liquid. Dice them into 2-5 millimeter pieces.
3. Chop basil, add to the chopped tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Place the chopped tomatoes on a sieve over a bowls while grilling.
5. Grill you vegetables in a grilling pan, under the broiler or on the BBQ on both sides.
6. For the cold version: place the grilled vegetables on a dish, cover with the drained tomatoes and top with mozzarella.
7. For the hot version: place the slices in single portions baking molds, cover with the drained tomatoes and top with mozzarella. Bake at high temperature or place under the broiler until mozzarella is melted and begins to turn golden.

Gazpacho

This world famous soups was created in Spain after the discovery of the New World and its vegetables. Like many other old World Specialties the gazpacho traveled back and became popular there as well.

Sometimes gazpacho is served as chilled soup, sometimes served as appetizer chilled drink, but is also used to describe a type of salad of Spanish origin.

This recipe is based on New World foods: tomatoes and peppers, and it is supposed to be a variant on a much older recipe.

Ajo blanco, or white gazpacho. It is a creamy chilled soup containing ground almonds, cucumbers, yogurt and garlic. The addition of yogurt and almonds can be found in Arabian but also in Indian drinks as well.

Green gazpacho does gets its color from spinach, lettuce, parsley and other greens with the addition of yogurt or chicken broth.

Red or tomato-based gazpacho can be blended or crushed or the vegetables can be finely diced to add more texture and make the soup more salad-like.

Red gazpacho, also known as gazpacho Andaluz, usually includes sweet peppers and cucumber, but no yogurt,.

Traditional gazpacho was flavored with cumin, a spice beloved in the Middle East and in South America.

In the US we can find red gazpacho with cilantro and a dollop of sour cream.
The soup is traditionally served with toasted bread, but would also be excellent accompanied by warmed fresh tortillas or tortilla chips.

You need:

• 1 pound fresh tomatoes, diced
• 1/2 cup sweet red peppers, diced
• 1 garlic clove
• 2-4 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 2-4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 diced chili, optional to taste
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup ice cubes, optional

Preparation:

1. Reserve some diced vegetables and dice them finely.
2. Add all the ingredients to the blender and pulse until smooth.
3. Poor in cups or glasses and top with diced vegetables

 

Artichokes with Tomatoes and Fresh Herbs

Fresh artichokes would be the best choice for this dish, but with canned artichokes it works as well and it is really very fast to prepare.

Serve this as tapas, over pasta or as side dish, but don’t forget to use a lot of fresh herbs like thyme, marjoram, savory or oregano.

If have fresh artichokes, you should trim and clean before and place them in a bowl with water and little lemon juice.

Arrange and serve still warm or at room temperature on a plate for serving.

You need

o    2 tablespoon olive oil

o    5 garlic cloves, minced

o    300 g fresh baby artichokes or 300 g canned artichoke hearts

o    300 g fresh tomatoes, seeds removed, diced

o    Chili flakes, to taste

o    1/2 cup white wine

o    salt and pepper to taste

o    3 tablespoon fresh herbs, as thyme, marjoram, savory or oregano.

Preparation

1. First of all prepare all your ingredients including the artichokes.
2. In a large skillet heat the oil and fry garlic until fragrant.
3. If using fresh artichokes add them to the skilled with the water, cover and simmer until tender. If using canned fry them 2 minutes with the garlic.
4. Add tomatoes, chili flakes and wine.
5. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Add herbs, stir ones and simmer for 2 minutes.
7. Arrange on a plate or simply serve them on pasta