Balsamic glazed onions - Cipolline con Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena

These lovely and aromatic little onions can be served hot or cold, as an antipasto or side vegetable.

I should have used little Italian flat onions, like the borrettane, but they don't sell them in NZ so I used some normal pickling onions. Peel the onions, soak in water for two hours, drain and then cook very slowly with a dollop of salted butter (vegans use extra virgin olive oil), a few fresh sage leaves and a pinch of salt for a long long time. I cooked them in a Le Creuset pot, with the lid on, stirring often. Check to see if you need to add just a little water half way through, but personally I didn't need it, mostly they cooked in their own steam (Le Creuset pots have great lids!!) and they caramelized a little too, becoming sweet and fragrant. All in all they took about 2 hours. Once they were cooked I turned the element off and added a drizzle of Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena Extra Vecchio (25 year old), covered them again with the lid, and let them rest for 20-30 minutes before serving.

Popular variations include adding cloves, or grilling the onions instead of simmering them (obviously the flat onions are easier to grill than the round pickling onions!).

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Bence makes strawberry risotto

 Bence and Judit are visiting from Japan (btw, they are Hungarians, not Japanese), and last night Bence made us a yummy strawberry risotto. He chopped half a onion and cooked it in butter and olive oil, then added 500g of carnaroli rice and a glass of white wine. He chopped a punnet of strawberries and added them to the rice and, always stirring, added about 1.5l of vegetable broth, ladle by ladle. At the end he added some grated parmesan cheese and topped the risotto with chopped parsley. More parmesan and some freshly ground black pepper were added to the plates. It was a super delicious risotto, thank you Bence!

Recipe by Bence Kovács,

Photos by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Walnut and Nutella (optional) cupcakes, plus little cupcakes baked in walnut shells

Did you ever play with walnut shells as a child? I spent many hours making little boats, and recently I have been dreaming about baking inside them... not very practical, I admit it, and difficult to eat, but absolutely adorable to look at!!

Walnut and Nutella cupcakes

Ingredients

120 g butter

3 eggs

130 g sugar

1/2 tsp lemon zest

200 g self-rising flour

60 ml milk

15 walnuts

A little nutella (optional)

Topping (optional):

mini cupcakes baked inside walnut shells, and topped with royal icing

Makes 12 cupcakes

Preheat the oven to 175°C. Line a 12-muffin tray with cupcakes paper cups.

Melt the butter in a jug, either in the microwave or in the oven (while the oven is warming up for the cupcakes). Place the eggs and sugar in a mixing bowl and whisk, using an electric beater, until the mixture looks light and pale yellow in colour. Slowly add the melted butter and the lemon zest. Keep beating at a low speed now; add half of the flour followed by half of the milk. Add the rest of the flour and milk and keep beating making sure that there are no lumps. In the meantime crack the walnuts and break the kernels. Keep some halved walnut shells aside, if you can. Fold the kernels into  the mixture. Grease the inside of the walnut shells with butter and add a little cupcake mixture, place the shells onto a mini cupcake tray to keep them upright, then bake for about 10 minutes or until the top looks golden. Divide the rest of the mixture between the 12-cupcake cases, if you like add a little nutella to each one and mix it in lightly with a toothpick to make a spiral motif. Bake for about 18-20 minutes, until golden brown at the top. You can also check by inserting a toothpick into the cupcakes: if it comes out clean the cupcakes are ready. Remove the cupcakes from the tin and let them cool down. Place the walnut shell cupcakes on top, decorated with some frosting (I just used some royal icing) and a cupcake flag (they are little boats, after all).

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Pineapple and mint flavoured water

Just an idea for a healthy drink. Instead of juices or sweet stuff I like to put fruit in water, and then store it in the fridge. Refreshing and no calories!! Pineapple and mint is a good combo, although I leave the mint in only for a couple of hours (I think that my garden mint is particularly strong...). And it looks good too!

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Kakiage with mixed vegetables from the garden and carrot leaves

I have a lot of carrots in the garden, but because the soil is 'pottery quality' clay, they rarely grow long, and I have to start using them now before they get too knotted! I picked a few, including the tender leaves (yes you can eat carrot leaves) and a couple of thin celery sticks, plus two leeks that never managed to grow beyond spring onion size. I washed, peeled and chopped the lot and then I made a batter with some tempura flour and water. Kakiage is a kind of tempura where more vegetables are mixed together, a bit like a fritter, but lighter, and if you use tempura flour also easier (no need to whisk eggs).

Add the chopped veggies to the batter (in a proper Japanese kakiage the vegetables should be cut into strips, here they were just roughly chopped) and spoon into hot oil to fry on both sides. Sprinkle with salt and serve. Very very simple and perfect for those kids who don't eat vegetables: they will probably eat any kind of veggie if it is hidden in a delicious kakiage fritter!!

Leftover kakiage can be added to a bowl of hot noodle soup, it tastes even better!

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Focaccia made with the water from mozzarella and no yeast

I saw it done several times in Italian blogs, and since the other day I had some mozzarella from Massimiliano I wanted to try it too. I think that I will need to work on it but as a first attempt it was brilliant and I will never throw away the water from mozzarella again!! Please read carefully because I think that some of you may be really interested in this one!

I had 200 ml of mozzarella water (you know that whitish water that you get in the bag when you buy mozzarella? Yes, that one!), I put it in a 900ml yogurt container, then I added 1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil, one pinch of salt, 1/3 tsp of brown sugar and 200 g of high grade flour. I though that it was wise to start with an equal water to flour ratio. I stirred the lot with a fork and covered it. I didn't expect it to rise so much, after 24 hours it was doubled! Maybe it is because I covered it with a good top? I decided to put it in the fridge overnight to slow the process, but the morning after the dough had gone down :-(. Still, half a morning in the sun and it was already bubbly again!

Just look at it! I thought that it could have handled a bit more flour, but I didn't really have time to experiment, so I poured it directly on a baking tin, without touching it! 

Then I placed it inside the cold oven for a couple of hours to see if it was going to rise some more, but it was too soft, it just spread out instead!! So I turned the oven on and baked it. When I thought that it was nearly done I brushed it with olive oil and added some rock salt and cumin seeds on top and then baked it for other 5 minutes.

I think that it is too early for me to give you a proper recipe for this, I am not quite sure how long it is best to bake it for, but one thing is sure: Please do try and experiment!! Don't through the water from the mozzarella away, it is an amazing starter for a sour dough type of bread and focaccia, especially if you are like me and don't fancy keeping a sour dough starter going for months and months (sorry sour dough, I travel too much for this!). Look at the cut focaccia! It was so soft and tasty... I will make it again and again and if you try I am sure that you will be pleased too!

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Chocolate and cardamom pudding with berries

An easy recipe with chocolate, cardamom and berries, and the kids loved the glasses!!! These are quite cute grappa glasses that sit on the side and can roll around like a spinning top, in fact I don't use them much because they are quite wobbly, but they do give that 'ship-in-a-bottle' feel to food, and are perfect for verrines and fancy dinners.

I made a chocolate cream with one egg, 1/2 tbsp flour, 2 tbsp sugar, 50 g dark chocolate and 250 ml milk. In the end I added a few seeds of cardamom. I poured the chocolate pudding into the glasses and when it was cold I added raspberries, strawberries and other berries... but I have to say that this part wasn't that easy, I should get myself some long and skinny tongs!

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Roast potatoes with red onion and thyme

Busy month this one! I wonder if I will manage to post every day like I did last December! Anyway, I have a lot of Xmas decoration ideas to publish and recipes too, this is a good one for the roast potato side dish (to accompany a Xmas roast, nut or other!). 

Cut the potatoes in small cubes. Chop one or two red onions, and some good olive oil and mix.

Place on an oven try lined with baking paper and sprinkle with salt. Bake on high for about 30-40 minutes, shaking the potatoes from time to time (I do this by lifting the baking paper). When the potatoes are ready add a few thyme sprigs and mix well (I like to add the thyme at the end, it will smell lovely!). I also like to use thyme with red onion, but sage could be a good alternative.

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Strawberries and kiwi, so good together!

Just a quick idea for a vitamin C boosting salad: slice strawberries and kiwis, add a bit of lemon juice and a couple of teaspoons of sugar. Stir and let the fruit marinate for a couple of hours at room temperature, the place in the fridge and serve cold. Super yummy! Otherwise, to maximize the vitamins, just skip the marination bit and eat straight away!

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Fresh As raspberries, lychees and feijoas dipped in dark chocolate

I like dried apricots, nuts and other dried fruit dipped in dark chocolate, but this time I used Fresh As freeze dried fruit. The flavour is really intense, and the texture completely different, crispy and fresh! I used dried raspberries, dried lychees and dried feijoas. I had friends around and everything disappeared in no time. Most people preferred the raspberries, but I preferred the lychees and Max the feijoas. I did the mandarins already here, and I am pondering about the next fruit to try!

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

This recipe is for Sweet New Zealand, this month of April hosted by Monica of Delissimon. 

Quinoa and cauliflower pie, gluten free

I got the idea from this Italian blog and although I changed almost everything in it, I kept the main ingredients: cauliflower and quinoa. I liked this idea because A: I really wanted to do something else with quinoa that didn't involve a salad or a risotto-type-of-dish, and B: I had cauliflower.

Ingredients

1 cup quinoa

1 small cauliflower

200 g feta cheese

2 free range eggs

Half tsp cumin seeds

salt and pepper to taste

olive oil

Wash the quinoa, then place in a good pot with 2 cups of water. I also decided to cook the cauliflower at the same time (save gas, flavour and nutrients). Cut and wash the cauliflower florets and place over the quinoa. Simmer for 20 minutes. turn the heat of and let it rest for 15. Cube the feta and add to the quinoa and cauliflower, mixing very well. Add the eggs and mix well. With a mortar and pestle lightly crush the cumin seeds and add to the mixture. Adjust with salt and pepper. Brush a terracotta or other oven dish with olive oil, them pour the mixture in, patting it down well. Level the top and drizzle with more olive oil. Bake at 180°C for 30 minutes. Let it cool down lightly before serving, so that it will cut well. 

Even better the day after, re-heated.

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Capsicums (Bell peppers) with capers

Ingredients
2 yellow capsicums (Bell peppers)
2 orange capsicums (Bell peppers)
1 red capsicum (Bell pepper)
1 garlic clove
half carrot
1 small celery stalk
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (plus more to drizzle at the end)
1 tbsp tomato puree
A little water
1-2 tbsp capers
salt to taste (if the capers are not too salty)
chopped Italian parsley to finish






Wash and cut the capsicums into thin strips. Peel the garlic and cut into two. Wash and chop the carrot and celery into small pieces. Heat the olive oil in a pan and sauté the vegetables, then add the tomato paste, a little water, the capers (rinsed) and a little salt (unless the capers are already too salty). Cover and simmer on low for 30 minutes, stirring from time to time, and adding more water if necessary. Adjust with salt at the end, if necessary, and finish with some freshly chopped parsley and another drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Serve hot or cold, with some nice crusty bread or bruschetta, or even to dress pasta.

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Fregola with zucchini and halloumi, and over 2000 page views

Yesterday I had another record page views: 2,040. Funny, as I don't have much time to post these days, but I like to thank you all for visiting!

Fregola with zucchini and halloumi

Ingredients:

2 zucchini

1 garlic clove

2 tbsp olive oil

1 block of halloumi cheese

1 cup fregola pasta

500 vegetable stock

chopped parsley

lemon to decorate

Wash the zucchini and cut into thick strips. Peel the garlic and cut into two pieces. Heat the olive oil and the add the garlic, zucchini and the block of halloumi. Sauté stirring constantly and turning the halloumi often. When the houllumi start to become golden remove from the pan and set aside. Add the fregola and stir with the zucchini until toasted. Add a little vegetable stock, lower the heat and cover. Stir from time to time, adding more stock when necessary, until cooked (about 20 minutes). Cut the halloumi into slices and place back over the fregola, then add chopped parsley and lemon slices. Serve hot. If you don't have fregola use Israeli cous cous or risoni pasta.

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Mountain pawpaw with lemon and sugar

This is a sweet smelling mountain pawpaw. Apparently you can eat the seeds like for passion fruit, but I planted mine (unfortunately it has been really dry and I think that they didn't survive!). For the flesh I just added a few drops of lemon juice and a tiny bit of sugar, and then I let the fruit marinate for a few hours. Very nice!

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Bergamot Orange Cupcakes

The other day I bought a jar of candied Greek Bergamot peels in syrup, they looked really attractive and bergamot oranges are not something that seem to be well known in New Zealand (even if many here drink Earl Grey tea!). I confess of having eaten some just by themselves (a bit of an indulgence really), but mostly they are perfect for topping cakes (and cupcakes). 

Bergamot Cupcakes

Ingredients

120 g butter

3 eggs

130 g sugar

1/2 tsp lemon zest

200 g self-rising flour

60 ml milk

Topping:

Bergamot orange peels in syrup

Makes 12 cupcakes

Preheat the oven to 175°C. Line a 12-muffin tray with cupcakes paper cups.

Melt the butter in a jug, either in the microwave or in the oven (while the oven is warming up for the cupcakes). Place the eggs and sugar in a mixing bowl and whisk, using an electric beater, until the mixture looks light and pale yellow in colour. Slowly add the melted butter and the lemon zest. Keep beating at a low speed now; add half of the flour followed by half of the milk. Add the rest of the flour and milk and keep beating making sure that there are no lumps. Divide the mixture between the 12-cupcake cases.

Bake for about 18-20 minutes, until golden brown at the top. You can also check by inserting a toothpick into the cupcakes: if it comes out clean the cupcakes are ready. Remove the cupcakes from the tin and let them cool down. Brush a little bergamot syrup on top of each cupcake and the top with one piece of bergamot peel (I had to cut my peels as they looked to big for the cupcakes). Simple and delicious!

This recipe is for Sweet New Zealand, the monthly blogging event (and we are now at Sweet New Zealand #20!!) for Kiwis and bloggers living in NZ, this month of March hosted by Lesley at eat, etc.

I also would like to remind all Sweet New Zealanders that:

April 2013 host is Monica from Delissimon

and
May 2013 host is Bridget from After Taste

Please leave me a message if you like to book for June or a another month.

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©