This morning a sweet neighbour brought a basket full of delicious flavorful tomatoes. Just can’t wait to transform them into a fantastic caprese salad with mozzarella cheese, bake them filled with rice and basil leaves or eat them just as they are with salt, pepper and drops of Montegiove olive oil.
May is the Elderflower season in Montegiove and it is the first sign of spring turning into summer.
When the beautiful flower is blooming, it looks just like a ballet tulle skirt, ready to be worn by an Elderflower Fairy.
The Elderflower Cordial is one of the most refreshing drinks for the summer.
20 Heads of Elderflower (preferable without bugs)
Sugar 1 kg
3 Organic lemons (Juice from two and one lemon in slices)
1 l boiling water
Preparation:
1. Shake the heads of the elderflowers well, picking off any bugs.
2. Place the elderflowers, sugar, lemon juice and lemon slices in a large bowl.
3. Add the boiling water and stir.
4. Leave in a cold place to infuse for 2-3 days stirring occasionally.
5. Strain through clean fine muslin cloth into a clean bowl.
6. Fill the cordial into clean sterilized bottles. Store in a cool dark place or freeze in plastic containers to keep for longer.
Drink cold or hot diluted with water, -also delicious combined with lemon juice in a sorbet.
Cin Cin!
Easy and quick recipe, you can also use chicken or turkey, instead of veal scallops.
Serves 4
Ingredients:
8 Veal scallops
Asparagus 1 big bunch
1 glass of white wine
2 dl cream
Olive oil
Butter
Flour
Salt
Pepper
Clean the asparagus and cook them in salted water for about 5 minutes, don’t let them overcook. Drain and put them aside.
Heat up a pan and add the olive oil and butter.
On a plate stir together flour with salt and pepper, dip the scallops into the flour mix.
Cook the scallops until browned and just cooked through, 2 to 2 1/2 minutes on each side. Transfer to a serving plate and keep them warm while you make the sauce.
Add the white wine to the hot pan and let it simmer for 3 to 5 minutes, add the cream and let it heat up until it is reduced. Meanwhile cut the asparaguses into smaller pieces and add them to the pan with the simmering sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Pour the warm sauce with the asparaguses over the veal scallops and serve.
Buon Appetito!
A delcious way to use the overripe bananas no one likes to eat from the fruit basket.
Ingredients:
3 Eggs
170 g Sugar
2 teasp Vanilla sugar
125 g Flour (if gluten free use bread flour)
1 teasp Baking powder
100 g Butter melted (cold)
1-2 Bananas overripe (mashed)
150 g Chocolate chopped into small chunks
1. Preheat the oven to 175 degrees C. Butter a loaf tin (ca 1 l.) or use baking paper.
2. Beat the eggs with the sugar and vanilla sugar until light and fluffy. Mix the flour with the baking powder and fold it carefully into the egg mixture together with the cold melted butter. Add the mashed banana and chocolate chunks.
3. Pour mixture into the loaf tin and bake in centre of the oven for around 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
4. Remove cake from oven and let it cool in the tin for a few minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely before serving.
Buon Appetito!
Soup Season.
This winter carrot soup is easy to make and full of vitamins.
Serves 4 Persons
1 kg carrots grated roughly in a food processor
1 Onions chopped
2 Garlic cloves, minced
1,2 l boiling water
Vegetable stock granules or 1 cube, dissolved in the water = Broth
Olive oil
Cream or cream cheese
Fresh thyme leaves
Salt pepper
1.Heat the oil in a pot over a low heat, add the chopped onion and garlic and fry gently for about 5 minutes. Add the grated carrots and the broth.
2.Let the soup boil until carrots are completely tender (from 30 to 50 minutes). Remove from the heat and let cool down a bit. Puree the soup in batches in a blender until smooth add more water/broth if the soup is too dense.
3.Transfer the soup back to the pot and heat up again, add the thyme, when warm add a splash of cream or cream cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Serve with toasted whole wheat bread.
Buon Apetito!!!
Serve with a nice cup of black tea on a cold winter afternoon.
Ingredients:
Cake:
250 g Butter softened
250 g Sugar
4 Eggs
2 tblsp. Zest of 1 orange
1 ¼ dl Orange juice
100 g Corn flour (fine)
150 g Gluten free flour (or normal flour)
Orange Butter Frosting:
250 g Icing sugar
3 tblsp. Butter softened
3-4 tblsp. Orange juice
Strips of Orange zest for decoration.
The cake:
1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Butter a cake tin and dust it with fine corn flour.
2. Beat the butter with the sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, add the orange zest and juice. Add the two types of flour to the egg mixture a tablespoon at a time, stirring well after each addition.
3. Pour mixture into the buttered cake tin and bake in centre of the oven for around 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
4. Remove cake from oven and let cool on a rack.
Orange Butter frosting:
Gradually beat the icing sugar into the softened butter. Beat until light and fluffy. Beat in the orange juice to bring to spreading consistence.
Place cake on a serving platter, and frost the cake with the orange butter frosting, arrange the strips of orange zest on top of the cake.
Buon Appetito!
Chicken liver mousse for Christmas Lunch or Appetizer
300 g Chicken liver (cleaned and chopped into small pieces)
1 Onion, small chopped
1 Garlic clove, minced
100 g Butter chopped into chunks
1-2 Anchovies
1/2 tblsp. Capers
2 tblsp. Mascarpone
Marsala wine (as much as you like)
Fresh thyme chopped (as much as you like)
Salt and Pepper
Cook the onion, garlic and thyme in a knob of butter. Add the chicken liver and the anchovies and let it cook for around 5 minutes, make sure everything is cooked. Add salt pepper and Marsale and let it simmer for 1 minute.
Transfer everything into the food processor together with the rest of the butter, the capers and the mascarpone and blend until smooth.
Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour into a nice crock and place in the fridge for at least 3 hours.
Serve on toasted bread or crackers!
