31 August 2014 -- Cake al cocco e gocce di cioccolato (Coconut flour cake with chocolate chips)

I've had this recipe waiting for me! I found it on the blog for Alice.tv.  I love the Alice cooking magazine and buy it whenever I'm in Italy.  Alice is pronounced 'a lee chey' not like the English, Alice in Wonderland.

I made a special trip to Trader Joe's to buy coconut flour.  Coconut flour smells heavenly, if you love coconut. It's marked as a 'super-food.'  Really? I need more information.

The cake is fabulous.  I did make one change, as I did not want to use 1 cup of olive oil. Instead, I used 1/2 cup good olive oil and 1/2 cup water. I did use Italian 00 farina (flour), now that I know I can buy it whenever I need to.  The original recipe calls for self-rising flour.  I added baking soda.

Also, the cake must be baked the full 40 minutes, until golden brown. The outside texture looked different to me.  I almost under-baked it, as the toothpick test for doneness, indicated the cake was ready.  I confess.  I cut a slice and then decided to return it to the oven.  Next time I would use a small loaf pan.

 

I took the picture, then I realized I needed that extra 1/2 cup of liquid, which I added.

Breakfast!  A warm piece of cake with a fresh raspberry smoothie.

Coconut flour cake with chocolate chips 

2 eggs

150 gr sugar

125 gr yogurt

150 gr 00 Farina (white flour)

1 t baking soda

1/2 C olive oil

1/2 C water

100 gr coconut flour

50 gr milk chocolate chips

Dried fruit (optional)

Mix the eggs and sugar.  Beat in the oil.  Add yogurt and flours, sifted together with baking soda.  Butter a cake pan or small loaf pan.  Dust pan with flour. Pour in the cake batter.

Bake cake at 350 for 40 minutes.  Dust with powdered sugar.

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Cake al cocco e gocce di cioccolato 

Che buoni i cake! E anche semplici da preparare! Cosa c'è di meglio per soddisfare un languorino pomeridiano o una allegra colazione? Potete anche provare la versione solo cioccolato, eliminando il cocco....O, al contrario, eliminare il cioccolato per ottenere un ottimo cake alla noce di cocco....Ma veniamo alla ricetta.

Ingredienti:

2 uova

150 gr di zucchero

125 gr di yogurt al cocco

150 gr di farina autolievitante

100 gr di olio di semi bio

100 gr di farina di cocco

50 gr di gocce di cioccolato

canditi ( facoltativo )

Procedimento:

In una ciotola montate le uova con lo zucchero. Aggiungete lo yogurt e la farina. Mescolate per bene. Unite l'olio a filo, il cocco e il cioccolato. Imburrate uno stampo da cake e infarinatelo per bene, versate l'impasto e cuocete a 180° per 40 minuti. Spolverizzate di zucchero a velo.

 

Copied from:  Cake-al-cocco-e-gocce-di-cioccolato

29 August 2014 -- Pollo alla cacciatora (Chicken Cacciatore)

A three day weekend!  Time to catch up and finally cook, after 2 months of traveling for both work and helping my mother with her cataract surgery.

It's Friday afternoon and we were let out two hours early for the Labor Day holiday.  I planned ahead and was ready to make one of my favorite dishes:  Pollo alla cacciatora, from a FaceBook friend, Letizia Mattiacci.  She owns Madonna del Piatto, a cooking school and Bed&Breakfast in her native Umbria.

I had Chicken Cacciatore as a child and still can't bear the thought of it.  It was made with chicken and a tomato sauce. To this day, I cannot eat chicken in any tomato based sauce.

But this recipe is fabulous! The ingredients are simple. One cannot shorten the time this takes to cook.  I've tried before to shortcut the time but the dish suffers.  I've also tried it with chicken parts and/or chicken breasts but I prefer using only legs. Don't forget the lemon zest and balsamic vinegar at the end.

I serve mine with mashed potatoes.

 

The glorious finished product.  I dislike eating out. 

 Eating at home is so much more fun and the food is fantastic. 

Copied from Madonna del Piatto:

Recipe

• 1/2 free-ranging chicken cut into serving pieces
• 1 onion, sliced
• 2-3 cloves garlic, very finely minced
• 1 tablespoon capers,
• 4 tablespoon spoon good quality olives, not pitted
• 1 sprig rosemary,
• a handful sage leaves
• 1 cup dry white wine
• zest of 1/4 lemon
• juice of 1/4 lemon
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• extra virgin olive oil

Using a large thick bottom or non stick pan, sear chicken pieces in one tablespoon olive oil until golden on all sides. Good quality chicken should not produce any fat, but if it does drain it and wipe clean the pan before proceeding.

Turn heat to low, return chicken to the pan, add onion and stir frequently until caramelized.  Add minced garlic cloves, capers, olives, rosemary and sage leaves.

Please don’t use the inexpensive, pizza style, bland black olives. They are generally unripe green olives that have been dyed with iron salts (ferrous gluconate) after artificial ripening.

Season with just a sprinkle of salt and black pepper.

When everything is fragrant add one cup of wine, cover and simmer very slowly until the chicken is tender. This might take 45 min to 1 and 1/2 hours depending on size and quality of the bird. Add some water if the sauce gets too dry while simmering.

When ready to serve add the lemon juice and zest and balsamic vinegar. Taste and add more lemon if desired as it brings out the flavor of all other ingredients.

This dish is lovely with a side of steamed greens dressed with a fruity extra virgin and a splash of lemon juice if you like. If you need your starch, accompany it with homemade potato puree or polenta. Italians would never serve it on pasta or rice.

Serves 3-4 depending on initial size of chicken.

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Letizia: 

Former scientist, I now run B&B and cooking school Alla Madonna del Piatto in Assisi, Umbria, central Italy, together with my husband Ruurd, daughter Tea and truffle dog Google. We love good food and wine, travel, beautiful handicrafts like textiles and pottery. We feel fortunate to be able to share our magical mountain with many friends from all over the world.

Madonna del piatto -- Pollo alla caciattore

26 July 2014 -- Risotto degli innamorati (Lover's Risotto)

During the Advanced Italian class, we discussed this recipe today, after watching a YouTube video of its preparation from Giallo Zafferano, one of my very favorite places to find authentic Italian recipes. 

Risotto degli innamorati  (Lover's Risotto) is actually for Valentine's Day. Since everyday is a day I remember and celebrate love, I decided to go right home and prepare it.  A serving for one.

I'm sure it's chock full of calories, but for a special occasion dinner, it would be perfect. I loved the extra tang if the peperoncini and the delicate taste of fresh thyme. This recipe is a keeper!

 

Measured rice for one serving.

Toast rice and add pepperoncini

Add white wine.

Cook rice for 10 minutes, adding boiling water as needed. 

Set aside shrimp from its sauce and add the sauce to the cooking rice.  Cook an additional 10 minutes, adding boiling water as needed, stirring very frequently. 

Plate and top with fresh thyme. Buon appetito! 

   

Serves 4-6

For the risotto

160 gr Carnaroli rice

½ liter fish or vegetable broth, heated

½ onion, finely diced

Peperoncini flakes

2 T. olive oil

1 C white wine

10 g butter

Sale to taste

Sauce for the shrimp

1 T butter

100 ml cream or half and half

½ onion, finely diced

2 sprigs of fresh thyme

300 g fresh shrimp, cleaned

40 ml of brandy

2 T olive oil

4 T tomato sauce

Prepare the shrimp

Over low heat, melt the butter with the olive oil.  Sauté the onions until limp.  Add thyme and shrimp and cook for a minute.  Add white wine and cook down, stirring often.  When the wine has evaporated, add in the tomato sauce and cream.  Cook for a minute and turn off the fire.  Set aside.

Prepare the risotto

In a large sauce pan, sauté the other half of the onion until limp.  Add rice and stir until the rice has been toasted.  Add white wine and cook another minute.  Add the broth, 1 ladle at a time.  Cooking and stirring and adding liquid as needed.  After 20 minutes, the liquid should have been used and the risotto ready.  Test and add more hot water, if the risotto is not ready.  Add the peperoncini flakes.  Beat in briskly the butter. 

Add the shrimp and its sauce to the risotto.  Top with a bit of fresh thyme and serve hot.

Buon Appetito! 

 

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Ricetta -- Risotto-degli-innamorati 

Video (In Italia)