Snacks and tapas

Preparing vegetarian balls needs time. During my cooking classes I hear many people who declare that they do not have time to stay in the kitchen; but I am sure, they could find it 😉 The real problem is that we give priority to other activities that are often not so important for our lives. If we really feel that cooking something, for us or our family, with high quality food is a good habit, we can create moments to do it. For these long preparations, you can, for example, organize cooking evenings with some friends, sharing the shopping, and making a lots of tasty balls for everyone. It can be a way to spend pleasant hours together and do something useful: you can then freeze your balls and create a good food supply. Here is the recipe for potato and spinach vegetarian balls … I hope you enjoy it 😉

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For a light and fast brunch, a shortcrust pastry, no butter, only extra virgin olive oil, filled with soft tofu, pumpkin and toasted nuts. To give more color to the dish, we will cover our cake with violet and orange sweet potatoes: and here it is a vegan quiche to eat or put in the freezer and use when you don’t have time to stay in the kitchen 😉

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With just a few ingredients and some inspiration collected by browsing a cooking magazine, really tasty recipes with a great visual effect are born. Small raw veggie finger food with seasonal vegetables, enriched with fresh basil pesto. Perfect for an outdoor dinner on a warm summer evening.

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These beautiful round zucchini are perfect to be stuffed. You can use a classic gratin filling with breadcrumbs, egg and cheese, or making a version like this one, vegan and gluten-free, using almonds and teff.

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When I buy green leafy vegetables like beets, spinach or turnip tops, I wash them immediately and cook in boiling water to reduce their volume. This helps me to find them in the fridge ready for use. In this way I can quickly prepare a side dish by sautéing them in a pan with garlic and extra virgin olive oil, or use them to prepare green flans. In this recipe, I will fill a quiche.

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A simple and quick recipe to prepare: colorful and tasty, to serve as an appetizer. The encounter between chicory, a bit bitter, and sweet pumpkin on a slice of good homemade toasted bread. Here it is a nice bruschetta enriched with pecorino cheese and a few drops of extra old balsamic vinegar from Modena.

Enjoy your meal 😉

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Passatelli are a typical dish of two regions of Italy: Marche and Emilia Romagna; traditionally served in meat broth, we can also taste this recipe in different vegetarian versions, without broth, with the most varied seasonings: with vegetables, with truffles, with a cream of legumes or, as in this case, with baked mushrooms on tasty green spinach bechamel. This version has an extra feature: instead of wheat flour, it contains chestnut flour. I hope you like them 🙂

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The Jerusalem artichoke also known as German turnip, is a tuber that we can find at the market in the winter season: many are its properties (it has few calories, suitable for diabetics, easy to digest, if consumed raw, it keeps intact its vitamins and mineral salts content). Today I share this first simply recipe. With few ingredients you will obtain a tasty and special side dish: baked Jerusalem artichokes with hazelnuts and thyme pesto.

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Two dishes of different traditions meet together: linguine with pesto and sushi … what do you think, do you want to try?  I am attracted by harmony and beauty of all Japanese dishes. In any Japanese restaurant, dishes will always be served with great care and attention to beauty. This aspect interests me a lot, because as I said in one of the last posts, it is important to take care of aspects like beauty and harmony. Today I would like to combine two traditions: I was in Liguria and I was looking to a book specialized in Japanese cuisine; this is how “Mediterranean sushi” was born. The difficulty is quite high: you will need patience to learn how to make these rolls well … but if you like the idea, I hope you will be excited enough to try and try again until you will reach a good result. If I made it, you can make it. Enjoy the path 😉

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When the heat comes but it’s no time yet for holiday, we feel more and more the desire to travel and to see new places: those who are still at work can only use their imagination or, as I do in the kitchen, prepare ethnic dishes that makes us think about exotic countries 😉 This aubergine cream is inspired by the Baba Ghanoush, typical sauce of Middle Eastern regions, today revisited for you: the garlic is rubbed directly on bread, to flavor it, and, instead of mint, I’ve used a mixture of sage and thyme leaves, fresh from my small aromatic garden.

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