Halloween and Pumpkin Risotto recipe.

Although Halloween does not belong to our tradition, it's not unusual to see it being celebrated here in Italy where on the 1st of November the catholic church celebrates All Saints, the following day it commemorates the dead and therefore the first two days of November are considered religious festivities. Nowdays our population is becoming more and more multicultural and influenced by culture and traditions of other countries. It is only natural, isn't it?

And Halloween means pumpkin. How about a delicious Pumpkin Risotto?

Ingredients for 3-4 servings
2 cups diced pumpkin
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
2 tblsp olive oil
chopped parsley
1 1/2 cups short grain rice
stock ( chicken, meat, or made with your favourite stock cubes )
2 tblsp grated parmesan cheese ( or your favourite mature cheese)
2 tsps butter ( optional)
salt and pepper to taste. ( you will probably find that you will not need to add salt because the stock is already very sapid and the cheese will add extra salt to the dish)

Sautee’ onion and pumpkin with the parsley and the oil until cooked and soft, adding a little water when needed. Add rice, stir for a few minutes, add stock gradually until the rice is cooked (absorbtion method), stirring often. Turn off the heat, add the cheese and the butter, stir well and serve hot.
Enjoy!! :)

Knit, crochet, cook.

One of the things I have neglected very much lately is cooking. I obviously cook every day, lunch and dinner, but nothing special. Being in Italy means eating pasta very often and I have plenty of personal recipes for tasty pasta sauces which are made in a jiffy. Which comes handy especially when it's hot or when I'm too taken by my work.
Although I like hot soup all year round, the rest of the family enjoys it only in the cold season with the exception of my "Peas and prawns pasta soup" which can be eaten hot or warm. It is delicious.
Here on the coast I can get the freshest seafood and I can assure you that using fresh prawns is the secret for making this dish a masterpiece!


Made it yesterday. And a banana - nut bread for which I didn't follow a recipe. I used my bread machine and the recipe for white bread with milk and one egg instead of water, a small piece of butter, a little honey, 2 mashed ripe bananas, raisins, chopped walnuts and hazelnuts, cinnamon.


Quite good. Plan to make another one tomorrow, but I will add a couple of tbls of sugar to the mixture this time.

Here's the recipe I promised!

Zucchini quiche.

Ingredients:

zucchini 600 gr.
emmenthal cheese (or your favourite semi-mature cheese) 180 gr.
s.r. flour 100 gr.
cream 200 ml.
milk 5 tbsp.
eggs 3 large
salt
pepper
a good pinch of your favourite herb.

Grate the zucchini and the cheese.
Beat the eggs with the milk, salt, pepper and herb. ( I used fresh parsley)
Add the cream to the egg mixture.
Add the cheese and the flour to the zucchini in a large bowl, add egg mixture and mix with a spoon very well. Add a little more milk if it looks too dry.
Pour in a greased 11-12 in. (27-30 cm.) dish and bake in moderate oven for 45-55 min.
Serves 4-5

Recipe: Orecchiette Primavera.

Just as I promised here's the recipe for Orecchiette Primavera.
For 4-5 servings you will need:

400gr. pasta (orecchiette or some other type)
1 tbsp finely chopped onion (possibly spring onion)
3/4 cup frozen baby peas
3/4 cup potatoes in small dices
1/4 cup chopped Parma ham ( bacon or plain ham will do)
1 tblsp butter
2 tbsps olive oil
200 ml cream
2-3 tbsps grated parmesan cheese ( or any tasty mature cheese)
parsley
salt
pepper

Melt butter in a casserole, add oil, peas, potatoes and saute' gently adding a little water when needed
add salt ( use little salt because the ham and the parmesan cheese will add a lot of sapidity to the sauce) and pepper and continue cooking till the vegetables are just tender.
Add the parsley and the ham.
Cook for further 2 minutes, add the cream ( here in Italy we use a very thick cream for this type of recipe which has the consistency of cream cheese)
fold the cream with the rest of the ingredients and turn off the flame.
Cook the pasta in penty of water and a little salt " al dente" and drain well. I have used orecchiette but other types are just as good , such as pennette.
Put the casserole back on the stove on a low flame, add the pasta and the parmesan cheese
mix everything
serve hot.
This dish is delicious and it can be made in less than 30 minutes! Try it and let me know what you think. Enjoy!