Shrimp, fennel and orange salad

I ate this salad the first time in a famous restaurant many years ago; this is a fresh salad or, as I prefer to serve it, a very colourful appetiser I usually serve with the drinks while waiting for dinner or for a happy hour. In this case cut the ingredients a little bit smaller and serve in spoons or small bowls.

More than quantities, here I suggest proportions!

Ingredients

2 oranges peeled, all zest and pips removed

2 tbl spoons of orange juice

2 fennel bulbs, finely sliced (reserve the feathery fronds)

300 grs. of cold boiled shrimps

4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 spoons orange juice

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1.   Wash well the oranges. Cut off the skin (orange and white part) with very sharp knife and cut out the segments from between the membranes, discarding the pips and any pith still attached. Cut the oranges into pieces and place them a bowl.

2.   Wash and dry the fennel. Discard the hardest parts and slice the vegetable very finely and make small pieces. Add to the bowl with the boiled shrimps - whole or cut into pieces. Season with salt and pepper. Mix in the olive oil and orange juice, leave to marinate for 1 or 2 minutes and before serving.

  

TIPYou can prepare it in advance, just seasoning with the oil. Add salt and orange juice to taste before serving. Decorate with the green feathery leaves from the fennel.

Zucchini and puff pastry roses

I haven't posted for nearly a month, I realize, because the few days off I had during the Christmas holidays  were maily spent in Rome. Few recipes will follow in the next days...

But of course I had the pleasure to have family and guests for lunch or dinner during week ends, and this post, and the others which will follow in the future, take inspiration from these festive dishes.

This appetiser, anyway, can be made any time of the year, it is deliciuos with a glass of cold prosecco to welcome your friends before a meal or during a cocktail reception.

You know I like finger food and bite size recipe. 

4 ingredients, very little fuss, and a great appeal.

Puff pastry shoud is better served warm and fragrant, so prepare these roses few hours in advance, keep them refrigerated and put them in the oven half an hour before.

Ingredients for about 20/22 roses

1 square store bought puff pastry about 38X25 cm (15x10 inches)

1 green zucchini (medium) 

150 gr/ 7 oz provolone (mild one) in one piece

1 egg yolk

Preheat your oven 160°C / 320 F

Wash your zucchini an slice it very finely. The thiner the better.

Slice the cheese as well into long, thin  stripes.

 Cut your puff pastry in half (obtaininig 2 long rectangles), and then in small pieces about 4 cm high (1.5 inches) and 12 cm (5 inches) long.

Put 5-6 slices of zucchini on one piece of the puff pastry, and then put some cheese on them.









Roll the pastry around the zucchini and the cheese.




 



 Slightly open the petals.

Close the bottom well.

 The original recipe suggests to put the roses on parchment paper and then in the oven. I prefer to put them in a very small silicone moulds (about  3-4  cm / 1-1.5 inches large) on a oven tray so that they do not collapse when cooking. 

Put them 30 minutes in a convection oven 160°C/ 320 F.

Serve warm with or without the little moulds.

Ham Mousse

Ham mousse reminds me of the sixties, when "bon ton" and home entertaining were a must!

Yet I like it, and it is so uncommon nowadays that it always surprises my guests and family.

It takes less than 5 minutes to make and you can refrigerate it for up to a couple of days, if it lasts!

As in many of my dishes, you can serve it in a single bowl or in smaller portions.  A small bowl and one special small bread will make an elegant starter.

As an appetizer it serves lots of people, but you can use to stuff your sandwiches if you like.

Enjoy!

Ingredients for 8-10 people

300 gr ham cut into pieces

100 gr heavy cream

200 gr. soft cheese (Philadelphia light will be great)

50 gr. almonds (or more to taste)

 2 tablespoon of Marsala (fortified wine) or brandy.

Salt and pepper to taste (very little though, as ham is already salted.

How to:

1) Cut the ham into pieces and put it with the other ingredients, except almonds, in the food processor.

2) Process it until very smooth. 

3) Add the almonds and process for 1 minute or less, and taste it, almonds should remain in small pieces and be detectable when you eat it.

 

Refrigerate for at least 1 hour and serve with toasted bread or slices of French baguette.

It keeps well in the fridge for 2 days, cover it cling film.

  

Pinzimonio

A refreshing and healthy appetizer to cool off the Summer heat! Cheap, light, colourful, easy to prepare and suitable for everybody!

Enjoy this informal way of starting a meal, it will be great while you wait for your barbecue!

You can put all the vegetable in a large bowl and prepare small bowls with a little dressing for each guest to dip the vegetables in, but also you can make single portion using a large glass and putting the salt/oil/pepper on the bottom.

Ingredients for 4 (adjust quantities by your taste)

1 cucumber

1 fennel

8 radishes (if you like them)

2 carrots

2 stalks celery

1 red/yellow pepper

2 endives

2 Long tomatoes or cherry tomatoes

Salt and pepper

Extra Virgin olive oil

How to: 

1) Wash, trim and cut the vegetables according to their type: the carrots, celery, cucumbers, long tomatoes and peppers should be cut into sticks. Cut the fennel and endive apart into sections.

Remove the roots and leaves from the radishes, making sure to leave a little bit to the stems, which will be useful for picking them up with your fingers.

2) Prepare the dressing: pour in each small bowl a tea spoon of salt, 2 table spoons of extra virgin olive oil, and sprinkle with fresh ground pepper.
(If you do not have small bowls use your imaginations, these are Ikea candle holders...)

3) Serve it to your guest who will dip the vegetables in the condiment.

Keep more salt/extra virgin olive oils and pepper ready for refill...

Fresh tuna with mint pesto

My family simply goes crazy for this recipe and I really love it too!.
It is a sophisticated dish, but at the same time it is fresh, delicious and very fast to prepare...

Please remember that if the fish is not completely cooked- just like in this case -, you should freeze it for at least 48 hrs to kill any parasites, and let the fish defrost slowly in the fridge. (When you cook it very well there is no need because heat kills everything...)

Ingredients for 4

600 gr / 1 lb 1/2 fresh tuna, cut in 1 inch slices
For the mint pesto
200 ml  Extra virgin olive oil 
about 20 fresh mint leaves - washed and dried with a cloth
25 + 25 grs/ 2+2 ounces pine nuts (2 to garnish)
For the marinade
1/2 a cup Extra virgin olive oil
juice of 1/2 a lemon
chives (finely chopped)
1 clove garlic (sliced)
salt and pepper


1) In a deep, flat container pour the oil, the sliced garlic, salt, pepper, chives and the lemon juice.
Put the tuna in the marinade and let it get the flavours for max 1/2 hour, turning it now and then. Refrigerate it.
Do not keep the fish any longer because the lemon could "cook" the tuna (or add the lemon juice at the very last minute).


2) Put half of the pine nuts in a pan and let them brown few seconds, in order to make them crunchier.






3) In the meanwhile, prepare the mint pesto; you can do it in your mixer, putting the mint and the pine-nuts together with little oil, salt and pepper and after a short processing adding all the oil. 
You should obtain a thick cream. Do not over process it, when eating you should taste the crunchiness of the pine-nuts



4) Warm up your pan, drain the tuna, and cook it uncovered for about 3 minutes on each side. The insider part of the slice must remain dark red. 

5) Put the tuna on a cutting board and cut pieces about 1/2 inch.

6) Put the tuna pieces on a serving plate and spread the pesto on them.
Garnish with the toasted pine nuts.

Enjoy!!

Oyster mushrooms

Oyster mushrooms (pleurotus) are very easy to find (at least in Italy) because they are widely cultivated and you can buy them all the year. (and of course they are safe to eat!)

I usually cook them in the oven: I clean them, cut the stems off and put them in a baking pan, dress with salt and extra virgin olive oil, and cook, covered with foil, until soft (180°C  for half an hour/45 min.)

They can also be grilled, and then served with olive oil, salt and finely cut parsley

Today, I decided to use the whole of them, and make a dressing for my pasta. It can be cooked in advance, and warmed up when your pasta is ready.

Ingredients for 4 people:

500 grs / 1lb. of oyster mushrooms

1 clove garlic

2-3 table spoons chopped parsley

Extra virgin olive oil

Salt

How to:

1)       Clean the mushrooms by gently removing all soil residue with a wet cloth.

2)       Cut the stems in very small pieces and the wider mushrooms into pieces.

3)       Put 5 table spoons of extra virgin olive oil in a frying pan over the medium heat, add the garlic and let it fry for few minutes, until blond and soft.

4)               Add only the stems in the pan and let them cook for at least 10 minutes, the add all the mushrooms, salt and let it cook over the high hit for 10/15 minutes. They will dry a bit and reduce their volume. Remove the garlic. Put a lid on the pan and let it cook for an other 5 minutes, or until soft.

          5)    Add the parsley and switch the gas off. Put the lid again on the pan.

Done!

Now you need some nice fresh pappardelle or tagliatelle (but bought ones can be a quicker solution).

Boil the pasta in salted water as long as stated on the packaging, drain it “al dente” in a colander and pour it in the pan with the sauce. Mix it well without braking them and serve immediately.

If you have some mushrooms left, why don’t try them on a crostino?

Cut some slices of rustic bread, grill it until light brown, put a little bit of salt, and a spoon of mushrooms. Serve as a warm appetiser!