lunedì 22 aprile 2013

Calamari with Spinach in a fresh garlic tomato sauce

This dish its amazing, you can serve it has appetizer or you can even add the sauce to the pasta... But i like to serve it with bread. Start by boiling the fresh spinach in water with a pinch of salt. Also boil the fresh calamari for 5-10 minutes then place them aside in some ice water, so they can stay soft. In a pan start by cooking the tomatoes. Peel the fresh tomatoes, chop finely and add them to a pan with some olive oil and garlic, season with salt and pepper. cook through for 10 minutes, add some hot pepper if you like, and then add the cooked spinach with a bit of the cooking water, and also add the calamari, a bit of white wine and combine all together. Cut you some fresh bread, place in oven for 5 minutes if you like it nice and crispy or you can simply use it soft. Serve on top of a piece of bread and let the bread soak all that beautiful sauce. Its amazing. ENJOY!!

Risotto ai frutti di mare

This is one of my favorite dishes, actually i love all kinds of risottos. I went to a fish market in Viareggio, in the Tirrenio coast with a good size cooler full of ice, a bought some great fresh fish, i like to this sometimes to enjoy cooking and eating some great fresh fish. You will start my making a Fumetto, which is like fish broth. Clean the shrimp, put the heads on the side and start boiling some water with a carrot, 1 tomato, 1 zucchini, 1 onion, 1 cellery, add all the heads of the shrimp and the skin, some salt and herbs, (parsley). Take some muscles and cook them in pan with olive oil garlic and parsley, add the white wine and cover. When ready take them out of the pan and place them in a bowl and keep the cooking liquid, thats where all theyr flavor is. Prepare the rice, chop some shallots finely, add olive oil to a deep pan, add the shallots and let it cook then add the rice and a pinch of salt, let the rice toast, add some white wine and let it evaporate, then start adding little by little the fish broth (Fumetto), when the rice its almost ready, add the shirmp the muscles and the cooking liquid from the muscles, and a bit of butter, and spoon of tomato paste, combine all together and when nice and creamy serve and add some fresh parsley. Dont let the rice overcook, and always make sure that its nice and creamy, if it gets too dry add some more broth. ENJOY!!!

venerdì 5 aprile 2013

Spaghetti alla chitarra with scallops and zucchini in a scent of lemon zest and basil

This is a great fresh dish, perfect for the upcoming spring and summer, served with a chilled glass of white wine. Start as usual by boiling the water for the pasta and add the salt, in a separate pan add a finely chopped shallot and butter, when melted add the cleaned scallops season with salt and pepper, let them cook on both sides, when nice and golden take them out, and add the chopped zucchini some basil to give it a nice fresh flavor in the same pan where you cooked the scallops, and add some white wine, let them cook for 10m, I like the zucchini to stay nice and crunchy. When the pasta is ready add it to the sauce witness a bit of the cooking water and sauté together and add the scallops back in as well. When nice and creamy serve with a bit of fresh basil and lemon zest to give it a final touch of freshness... Enjoy.