Pasta alla Genovese

Modern trofie seems to originate from Golfo Paradiso, a strip of land in the Riviera di Levante including maritime towns like Recco, Sori, Camogli and other comuni in the area. This pasta shape was not so common in Genoa until the mid-20th century, though the term trofie was already in use here and referred to gnocchi as a whole: Genoese trofie was traditionally made with either wheat or chestnut flour and, from the beginning of the 19th century, with the addition of potatoes also.

Today trofie is a staple of modern Ligurian cuisine and it also comes in a small version called trofiette in Italy.

Trofie is shaped by rolling a small piece of dough on a flat surface to form a short, round length of pasta with tapered ends, then twisting it to form the final shape. It is around 2–3 cm (0.8–1.2 in) long with a diameter of roughly 4 mm (0.2 in). The average cooking time is 15 minutes.
In Italian cuisine, it is most typically served with a pesto sauce.

 

What you need

For the pasta

• 400g-450g trofie or another kind of dried pasta, such as spaghetti
• large pinch salt
• 3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut roughly into 1cm chunks
• 2-3 carrots, sliced thickly
• 110g green beans, cut into half
• 50 g pecorino cheese, grated

For the pesto

• 75g fresh basil leaves
• 60g pine nuts
• 60g parmesan
• 2-3 garlic cloves
• 100-125ml olive oil

 

How to prepare it

1. To make the pesto, put the basil leaves into the bowl of a food processor. Add the pine nuts.
2. Chop the parmesan into small chunks and add to the food processor.
3. Roughly chop the garlic and add to the food processor.
4. Turn the processor on and process until the basil and cheese are chopped finely. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula and ensure there are no large chunks remaining - if there are, blend again briefly.
5. Turn the food processor on again and, with the motor running, add the olive oil in a thin stream through the funnel in the lid.
6. Check the consistency - it should be thick and just drop off a spoon.
7. To cook the pasta, bring a large pan of well-salted water to the boil then add the pasta.
8. Trofie pasta takes about 15 minutes to cook so, after 8-9 minutes, add the potatoes and carrots and bring back to the boil (if your pasta takes less time to cook you'll need to add the carrots and potatoes sooner).
9. Allow to boil for a further two more minutes then add the beans and cook for another three minutes.
10. By the time the trofie is perfectly cooked but still firm (al dente), the vegetables will be nicely cooked. Drain the pasta and vegetables and reserve somes liquid. Mix the pasta and vegetable with the pesto and reserved liquid. 
11. Serve with pecorin.

Barley with juicy Ostrich

Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 13,000 years ago. 

What you need:

• two pieces of ostrich
• 75g butter
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 800g-1kg butternut squash, peeled, seeds removed, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 litre vegetable stock (made from a stock cube)
• 250g pearl barley, rinsed
• 50 gr parmesan cheese
• coriander
• salt and black pepper

How to prepare it:

1. Heat a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add 25g of the butter and, once melted, add the onion and squash along with a pinch of salt. Gently fry for 10 minutes, or until the onion is translucent and the squash is softening. Add the garlic and continue to cook for two minutes, or until aromatic.
2. In a separate pan, warm the stock.
3. Add 25g of the butter to the onion and squash and, once melted, add the pearl barley. Turn up the heat and cook for 2-3 minutes. Turn down the heat to medium and add a ladleful of warm stock. Stir well to mix and, once absorbed, add another ladleful, stirring now and again. Repeat this process until the stock is used up and the pearl barley is tender (about 30 minutes). 
4. Meanwhile heat a pan and melt some butter.
5. Take the ostrich and use some some black pepper and when the butter is heated put the ostrich in the pan.
6. Fry for a few minutes untill heated inside. 
7. When ready put the ostrich apart and put in some foil to rest.
8. Once the barley is tender, taste and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the remaining butter and the parmesan to the pan and stir through. 
9. Sprinkle with fresh coriander and serve with the ostrich.

Indian style Lamb Chops

This is a barbecue or grill dish with lamb chops. Great tastes with sweet and sour flavour and easy to make.

What you need:

• 12 lamb chops
• 250 ml yogurt
• 3 cm fresh turmeric (grounded in a morter)
• 4 cm ginger (grounded in morter or very finely chopped)
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp sweet pepper
• 1 squeezed lemon (for the juice)
• handful corianderleaves (chopped)
• salt and grounded black pepper

How to prepare it:

1. Mix all the ingredients, except the lamb chops.
2. Put the lamb chops in a plastic bag and add the mixture.
3. Mix well and leave the bag (overnight) in the refigerator.
4. Heat the barbecue until very, very hot.
5. Put on the pieces of lamb. They must be browned in short period of time.
6. Turn them and they are ready while browned on both sides, but the meat is still soft and pink inside.
7. Enjoy!

Pisang Goreng

Fried banana........the best Indonesian snack

Best to use a plantain banana


What you need:

• a ripe plantain banana
• 1 dl. Sprite or 7up
• 70 gr self rising flower
• salt to taste
• 2 tsp sugar
• oil

How to make the pisang goreng

1. Peel the banana and slice it in thin pieces of about 10 cm.
2. Heat oil in the pan to fry the banana. There must enough oil to let the banana float.
3. Mix the flower with the Sprite, salt and sugar to a smooth batter
4. Dip the pieces of banana in the batter.
5. Slide the peices in the hot oil. When golden brown, take them out and dry them on a paper tissue.
6. Serve the banana with  powdered sugar.
7. Enjoy!

Traditional lepur çomlek

This is a traditional mediterranean slow cooked rabbit dish. the next day it tastes even better. The remaining sauce you can use the same week for example chicken. 

  

What you need:

• 2 rabbit legs
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 50ml/3 olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, grated
• 4 whole allspice berries
• 1 small cinnamon stick
• 150ml red wine
• 250 chicken stock, hot
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• 5 ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 400g shallots, peeled and left whole
• 1 tbsp sugar
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation method

1. Put the dry rabbit legs in a plastic bag with the bay leaves and pour over the vinegar. Close and set aside to marinate for 2 hours in the fridge.
2. Preheat the oven to 160C.
3. Heat a couple of tablespoons of the olive oil in a casserole pan over a high heat and fry the rabbit legs in batches until they are well browned all over. Return all the legs to the pan along with the bay leaves from the marinade.
4. Add the garlic, allspice berries, cinnamon stick and red wine. Bring to the boil. Add the chicken stock, tomato purée, tomatoes and oregano. Season with salt and pepper and reduce to a simmer. Cover the pan, transfer to the oven and cook for 1½ hours until the rabbit is tender.
5. Heat the remaining oil in a frying pan and fry the baby onions gently, stirring frequently, until just golden-brown all over. Add the sugar after 5 minutes through to help them to caramelize. Put the onions into the pot containing the rabbit just before it’s done and stir through.
6. Serve with mashe potatoes, rice or pasta.

Snowy white, heavenly Asparagus

A refreshing entree for a romantic dinner in the garde.

Asparagus are a tipical western european vegetable

How is it with this delicatesse in the rest of the world? 

• 200 gram small shrimps
• 20 long asparagus
• 50 gram black fish roe (caviar)
• 200 gram sour cream
• 6 tbsp olive oil
• 25 gram chive (fine chopped)
• black pepper en salt to taste

Step 1: Peel and cut the foot of the asparagus and put in cold water

Step 2: Cook them for 12 minutes and leave them in the hot water for 10 minutes

Step 3: Mix the sour cream, black roe, olive oil and two third of the chive

Step 4: Bring to taste with black pepper and salt

Step 5: Take the asparagus from the warm water and leak them well

Step 6: Put the asparagus on the plate, put on the small shrimps and pour the white sauce around it

Step 7: Garnish with the rest of the chive and serve.

Risotto with fresh Mushrooms

A high-starch (amylopectin), low-amylose round medium- or short- grain white rice is usually used for making risotto. Such rices have the ability to absorb liquids and to release starch and so they are stickier than the long grain varieties. The principal varieties used in Italy are Arborio, Baldo, Carnaroli, Maratelli, Padano, Roma, and Vialone Nano. Carnaroli, Maratelli (historical Italian variety) and Vialone Nano are considered to be the best (and most expensive) varieties, with different users preferring one over another. They have slightly different properties. For example, Carnaroli is less likely than Vialone Nano to get overcooked, but the latter, being smaller, cooks faster and absorbs condiments better. 

What you need:

• 350-500g mixed fresh mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 125g butter
• 350g arborio rice
• 1 litre good stock (I used homemade vegetable stock)
• 150g fresh parmesan, grated
• 1 tbsp best olive oil
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

How to prepare it:

1. In a large pan bring the stock almost to the boil and keep hot on a the lowest flame.
2. In another pan melt the butter and sweat the onion until softened. Be sure it will not be browned.
   Add the sliced mushrooms and cook for a few more minutes.
3. Add the rice, stir well and cook until well coated and slightly translucent.
4. Add a ladle of hot stock and let it simmer gently until absorbed by the rice. Add another, and so on, until the rice is cooked. And the rice is done when tender but still just a tiny bit chalky in the middle.
5. Check the seasoning and stir in the olive oil, remaining butter and a couple of spoonfuls of grated parmesan.
6. Serve at once with the rest of the parmesan on the table.