Italian Creative Cooking

SUSHI

2010-08-23T15:36:00.000-07:00

Ingredients & Preparation

Take 4 cups of sushi rice, wash & drain it, then pour in a pot.

Add 5 cups of cold water in the pot and leave to settle

P.S. In winter 30 minutes but in summer 20 minutes

Then cook the rice (never remove the lid) until water boils at full heat
Bring to boil, lower the heat to minimum and let it cook for another
10 minutes max.

In the meantime prepare the King prawns;
Wash them, add a pinch of salt and cook them and remove shell.

At the same time slice the salmon for a different filling

Take the sushi matt, lay over a sheet of sea weed and wet your hands!

Now spread the rice either with your hands or with the wooden spoon

P.S: try to keep the rice off the border of the sea weed sheet!

Add the salmon along the border and start rolling by pressing the wooden
matt and your finger to create a tight roll.

P.S. Roll the matt with the Sushi roll only for the first round then use your
fingers and apply a light push with your hands

Add avocado, prawns, onion, eggs & mayonnaise or whatever you
fancy in your sushi rolls as long as it is fresh.

Roll tight cut in half and then in half and in half again so to get 8 rolls
per sea weed sheet.

P.S. Remember to wet the knife!

Lay down some leafs to keep the sushi fresh, add soya sauce and serve!

Buon appetito!

Lasagne

2010-03-15T00:18:00.000-07:00

Recipe 4 -6 people:

*400 gr pasta of Lasagne
*500 gr minced meat (either only beef or half pork or half beef)
*3 tinned tomatos
*Onion & carrots
*Salt & Pepper & Nutmeg
*50gr butter
*4 spoons of white flour
*400 ml warm milk
*Grated parmesan

The making of:

In a non-sticky pan fry the onions and the carrots sliced really thin. When golden, add the minced meat with salt & pepper and pour half a glass of white/red wine.

Let evaporate the wine and add the tomato sauce (tinned tomato). Whilst the sauce cooks, you can start preparing the besciamella sauce.

Heat/ melt 50/ 100 gr of butter or margarine an add slowly the flour whilst stirring. Continue stirring whilst adding slowly the warm milk.

Salt, pepper and nutmeg are recommended to be added to the besciamella sauce if you like it more Mediterranean taste.

As soon as it starts boiling, lower the heat and let it cook until it becomes thick.

Separately cook in boiling and salted water each lasagna layer for few minutes.

When soften but not fully cooked remove it and place it in an oven resistant casserole (at the bottom of the casserole for the first layer please place some tomato sauce).

Now start layering the tomato sauce, some besciamella and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Continue layering until casserole capacity allows. Now place in a pre-heated oven and cook for 25 -40 minutes at 180- 200' degree C.

Enjoy hot, warm or even the day after at room temperature. Lasagne it's healthy and great kid's recipe!

If you have to re-heat it, please pour some milk on top of the lasagne so that the pasta doesn't dry out and place in the oven at 100 degree C. for 20 min.

Buon appetito!

Yogurt Cake

2010-02-21T07:25:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

1 or 2 yogurt (200gr each)

3 large eggs

300 gr sugar

500 gr flour

yeast (10 gr.)

1 glass of full milk or cream

1 glass of sunflower oil

1 table spoon of vanilla flavouring

The making of:

Put the 3 eggs yolk with the sugar in a bowl.

Mix well with until a whitish cream is formed.

Add the yogurt, the oil, the flour. Mix well.

Towards the end mix the yeast with the flower and add it to the compost together with one table spoon of vanilla flavouring and mix it again.

Aside mount the white of the eggs with a pinch of salt.

When fully firm, mix with a wooden spoon to the compost.

Be very cautious as the white compost easily looses its foam if mixed too fast.

Butter and flour the baking container and put in the compost then place it in the oven pre-heated to 200 degrees.

Lower to 180 degrees and cook for 40 min.

Once out of the oven, if you so wish, sprinkle some powder sugar on top of the cake or just eat it as it is!

Buon appetito!

Tiramisu

2010-01-31T10:19:00.000-08:00

Ingredients for 4 to 6 person:

· 4 eggs

· 100 gr. sugar (brown sugar advised)

· 400 gr. mascarpone cheese

· 300 gr. or 30 savoiardi biscuits a.k.a finger biscuits

· coffee & rhum

· Cocoa powder or coffee powder

Step by Step Recipe:

Separate the yolk of the eggs from the white and place them in a large enough bowl with the sugar. Whip them long enough until a smooth cream is formed.

Note: Approx one large table spoon per each extra egg yolk if you need to add more eggs.

Whip 2 out of the three eggs white in a tall container; stay extra still and whip until it turns solid.

Note: if you add a little pinch of salt and you do not move the mixer, the egg white will become solid really fast.

Now put the 400 gr. mascarpone cheese in the bowl and mix slowly with a wooden spoon at first then use the mixer to smooth the cream. Add the whipped egg white really slowly.

Start brewing a strong coffee, poor it in a bowl wide enough for the finger biscuits to fit in it as they need to be soaked in the coffee as soon as it cools off.

Note: You can add a bit of rhum or any other spirit you like. Sugar is not needed as savoiardi biscuits have sugar already on them.

Dip the biscuits on both sides really fast in the coffee mixed with rhum and lye them close to each other in a bowl.

Place the cream on the first layer and repeat layering.

Finish up the Tiramisú by sprinkling cocoa powder, coffee powder or chocolate chips on the dessert.

Note: Do use only dark chocolate or bitter cocoa powder as the garnish needs to be bitter.

Keep refrigerated over night, it will taste better the day after.

Before serving leave it an half hour to warm up.

Buon appetito!

Polpettone - Meatloaf

2010-01-29T07:29:00.000-08:00

Ingredients
300 gr. beef minced meat
300 gr. pork minced meat
20 gr. Parmesan cheese
20 gr. Pecorino cheese (goat hard cheese)
50 gr. bread or bread for toast
3 full eggs
Nut meg - salt & pepper

Filling
3 thick slices of Provola Piccante or any melting cheese
100 gr. mortadella (or ham)
3 hard boiled eggs

Step by step preparation:

Mix the 2 different minced meats and add salt & pepper

Soak the bread with a mix of water an milk, squeeze the excessive milk out and mix it with the minced meat.

Add 2 full eggs and 1 yolk; grate parmesan, pecorino and nut meg on the compost and mix well with your hands.

In an oven tray (either on oven paper or on flour) spread the minced meat compost and spread it with the filling - mortadella & provola cheese and lay the 3 boiled eggs

Wet your hands, roll the minced meat over make sure no filling is sticking out.

Cover the meatloaf with either bread crumbs or flour and the egg white previously whipped.

Put it in a pre-heated oven to 180 degree, let it cook for 20 minutes, drill little holes to get some of the liquid to come out of the meatloaf: serve hot or cold and enjoy it!

Buon Appetito!