Semolina Gnocchi (Gnocchi Alla Romana) Recipe

Semolina Gnocchi

Until recently I didn’t realize gnocchi’s can also be made from semolina. According to Wikipedia, “in Roman times, gnocchi were made from a semolina porridge-like dough mixed with eggs, and are still found in similar forms today, particularly the oven-baked gnocchi alla romana and Sardinia's malloreddus (although these do not contain eggs).”

The semolina gnocchi was baked, giving it a slight crunch. I made extra dough and froze it. It froze well, didn’t affect quality.

Adopted from Emeril Lagasse

Ingredients

1½ to 2 cups (00-grade) semolina flour

1 litre milk

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces

3 large eggs

¾ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground white pepper

1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

½ cup grated Parmesan

Method

1.      Grease a 9-inch square baking pan with butter.

2.      Grease a small baking sheet with butter

3.      Combine the milk, salt, pepper, and nutmeg in a pot. Bring to a boil. Add ¼ cup of the semolina, and whisk constantly until the mixture begins to thicken. Lower the heat to medium-low.

4.      Add the remaining semolina flour, ¼ cup at a time and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is very stiff, about 12 minutes.

5.      Remove from the heat and let it rest for 5 minutes.

6.      Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Add ½ cup of the semolina mixture to the eggs and whisk well to incorporate. Add the egg mixture to the remaining semolina mixture and mix well.

7.      Add ¼ cup of the cheese and mix well.

8.      Turn out the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet and spread evenly. Refrigerate until completely cooled, 20 to 25 minutes.

9.      Heat oven to 220°C/425°F

10.  Cut the batter into 24 equal pieces, about 1½ -inches square, dipping the knife in hot water as needed to cut cleanly.

11.  Place the pieces on the prepared 9-inch pan. Dot the top with the remaining butter and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

12.  Bake until the top begins to brown and the gnocchi are puffed, about 25 minutes.

Piadina Recipe

Piadina

Before I come across this recipe I didn’t know that Italians also had flatbread. Piadina or piada is a thin Italian flatbread, typically prepared in the Romagna region (Forlì-Cesena, Ravenna and Rimini). It is usually made with white flour, lard or olive oil, salt and water (source: wikipedia).

The recipe is quite simple and basic, and easy to prepare and eat! I made extras and froze them.

Adopted from An Italian Cooking in the Midwest

Ingredients

1 cup flour

1 tablespoon lard (I used olive oil)

Pinch of salt

Water

Method

1.      Knead the flour and salt with the lard (oil) and enough water to make a smooth and pliable dough.

2.      Form a ball, wrap in plastic and chill in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes

3.      Divide the dough into two and form two round balls. Flatten and roll until about a ¼ inch thick 

4.      Cook on a hot non stick pan, turning often and flattening air pockets as they form.

Piadina

Sticky Blueberry Cake (Pudding) Recipe

Sticky Blueberry Cake (Pudding) 

The color is all natural. The cake is made from blueberry jam and the jam is thoroughly mixed in the batter, hence giving the uniform color.

Blueberry is considered a health food, so perhaps you can have an extra slice without guilt.

Sticky Blueberry Cake (Pudding) 

Ingredients

1 cup sugar (use 1½ cups if you prefer your cakes to be sweeter)

115 g soft unsalted butter

60 ml (¼ cup) blueberry jam

1 egg

250 ml (1 cup) milk

2 teaspoon white vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

150 g (1 cup) plain flour

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

Pinch of salt

60 ml (¼ cup) hot water

250 ml (1 cup) cream or evaporated milk

Method

1.      Heat oven to 180°C/360°F. Line with baking paper or grease a 2 litre baking dish.

2.      Beat ½ cup (or 1 cup if you prefer sweeter) of sugar, 15g of the butter, the jam and egg, until well combined and the sugar has dissolved.

3.      In a separate bowl mix together the milk, vinegar and vanilla.

4.      In a separate bowl sift together the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt.

5.      Alternately, fold the flour mixture and milk mixture into the egg mixture until thoroughly combined. Pour into prepared baking dish, cover with lightly oiled foil and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until just firm.

6.      When cake is nearly ready, make the sauce. Stir the hot water, cream and remaining sugar and butter in a saucepan over medium until the butter melts and sugar dissolves. Bring to just below the boil, then pour over the pudding in the dish.

Guacamole Spaghetti Recipe

Guacamole spaghetti

If you have some guacamole sitting in your fridge and need ideas for a quick lunch or dinner, try guacamole spaghetti. Just mix guacamole and spaghetti and your meal is ready to rock and roll.

Until very recently I was not a big fan of avocado but guacamole prepared using the recipe below is nice. The recipe may not be authentic. For example it uses oil whereas I think no oil is used in the authentic recipe. Also cilantro is missing. Even though this may not be authentic guacamole, it is still delicious. If you prefer, you can even use authentic guacamole with spaghetti.

Ingredients

2 avocados, pitted

½ red onion, minced

1-2 chilies, minced

3 tablespoons olive oil (optional)

1 tablespoon of fresh lime or lemon juice

½ teaspoon salt

½ tomato, chopped (optional)

½ kg spaghetti or any other pasta

Ingredients

1.      Prepare pasta as directed on package

2.      In a food processor add all the ingredients except the tomatoes. Blend until creamy. Add tomatoes and mix well.

3.      Mix the sauce with hot pasta.

Guacamole spaghetti

Gnocchi Recipe

Gnocchi

It is amazing how so few ingredients produce something quite delicious, if done right. Aristotle was right when he said “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” However I have a slight suspicion that he did not have gnocchi in mind when he came up with the saying. But stranger things have happened. After all apparently an apple inspired Newton to formulate his theory of gravity.

Anyway, I’ve made gnocchi a number of times, sometimes not strictly following the recipe, but the result always turns out to be edible. So if you are afraid of trying it, don't. And the shape does not really matter.  

I haven’t given the recipe for tomato sauce. I made it without a recipe, its tomato paste, garlic and oil cooked together. Doesn’t get any simpler than this.

Recipe Source: Martha Steward

Ingredients

2½ pounds russet potatoes

1¾ cups flour, plus more for dusting

1 large egg, lightly beaten

2 teaspoons salt

Ingredients

1.      Bring potatoes to a boil in salted water, then simmer until potatoes are tender, about 35 to 40 minutes.

2.      Lightly dust two baking sheets with flour. Set aside

3.      Drain potatoes and peel while still hot. Immediately pass potatoes through a ricer onto a work surface. Let cool completely.

4.      Sprinkle potatoes with flour and 2 teaspoons salt, then top with egg. With your hands, work flour and egg into a dough.

5.      Knead dough until smooth but not elastic, dusting with flour if it becomes too sticky, about 4 minutes. Do not overwork dough.

6.      Divide dough into 8 portions. Roll each portion into a rope (1/2 inch thick and 24 inches long). Cut each rope into 1/2-inch pieces.

7.      Gently roll each dough piece against the back tines of a fork to make ridges, then arrange in a single layer on prepared baking sheets.

8.      Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. In batches, add a few handfuls gnocchi and cook until most have floated to top, 2 minutes. With a wire-mesh spider or a slotted spoon, transfer gnocchi immediately to a sauce.

Gnocchi

Homemade Wholewheat Tortilla Recipe

Homemade Wholewheat Tortillas

I never realized tortillas were so simple to make. And cooking it is straight forward and quick.

Tortillas are usually round, and if you are good at rolling, it will be round. In my case I made a dozen and about half of them were round, if we stretch the definition of round! The unround ones were just as delicious. They deserved some attention too. Lets call these the rustic tortillas!

Homemade Wholewheat Tortillas

Recipe adopted from Daily Dish

Ingredients

2¾ cup wholewheat flour (or white flour if you prefer)

5 tablespoons butter (diced), or a mixture of butter and oil

¾ cup warm water

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoon baking powder

Directions

1.      Sift together flour, baking powder and salt

2.      Add butter to the flour mixture and mix until it looks like bread crumbs. Its easier to do this using your food processor or pastry cutter

3.      Add water and knead until the dough comes together

4.      Break the dough up into 12 separate balls and place them on a tray. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for an hour

5.      Sprinkle some flour on the work surface and roll out the dough until quite thin. Keep the rolled dough covered until ready to cook

6.      Cook tortillas on a hot ungreased pan. As soon as the underside gets dark brown spots, flip over. This may take about a minute.

7.      Cook until the other side is done.

8.   Keep the cooked tortillas wrapped in a tea towel, to keep soft.

Homemade Wholewheat Tortillas

Caramelised Onion Sourdough Bread Recipe

Caramelised Onion Sourdough Bread

Caramelised Onion Sourdough Bread Recipe

The few times that I had onion bread, I loved it. I wonder why it is not more popular considering that onion is not an expensive ingredient. 

Caramelised onions add nice flavor, aroma and moistness to bread.

I've read about two ways of preparing onion bread. One method involves sautéing the onions. The other method involved baking the onions in an oven until it turns dry and golden. 

I have only tried the first method but the second method sounds pretty appealing as well since the onions may retain a bit more texture. 

Caramelised Onion Bread

Adopted from Food.

Ingredients

2 cups proofed sourdough starter

1 onion, chopped

1 tablespoon oil

¼ cup water

3 cups flour (plain, whole wheat, oat or a combination)

1 teaspoon salt

Directions

1.      Add oil to frying pan and heat over medium high heat. Add onions and sauté, stirring regularly, until onions start to turn soft. Reduce heat to medium low, cover and cook until onions turn golden. Let it cool

2.      Mix all the ingredients together

3.      Knead the dough on a floured surface until well combined and dough is slightly elastic 

4.      Shape into a loaf or place in a loaf tin

5.      Let it rise until it has doubled in size. It may take a couple of hours, or longer

6.      Make diagonal slashes in top of loaf with a razor blade or very sharp knife.

7.      Bake at 190°C/375°F until done, about 40 to 50 minutes

Caramelised Onion Bread