CROSTATA DI PESCHE FRESCHE

(Fresh peaches tart)

Desert - Vegetarian


For the dough:
1 1/3 cup of Italian 00 flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 extra large egg
3 tbsp butter, diced and chilled
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 pinch salt

For the filling:
2 big yellow peaches, peeled and sliced
3 tbsp sugar
6 amaretto cookies, crumbled
2 tbsp pinenuts


Prepare the dough: in a bowl arrange all dry ingredients and mix them to combine evenly. Add butter and mix it roughly with flour mixture; form a well and put the egg in it.
Mix all ingredients well but quickly in order not to warm up butter too much (which would result in a "hard" dough), you have to obtain a smooth "ball".
Wrap it in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes at least.

Prepare the filling: place butter and peaches in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat and sautee for about 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat and add 2 tbsp of sugar, along with pinenuts.

Preheat oven to 375.

Grease and dust with flour a 9" tart pan (or line it with parchment paper).

Remove dough from refrigerator and roll it on a lightly floured surface until you obtain a disc about 1/4" thick.

Place dough in the tart and punch the bottom with a fork in order to allow steam to escape.

Line bottom of the dough with half of the crumbled amaretti, pour peaches over them, then finish with the remaining amaretti crumbles and sugar.

Bake on central rack for about 35 minutes (or until edges become golden brown).

Remove from oven and from pan and let it cool down on a rack.

You can serve it as is, dusted with a little cocoa powder or with some ice cream.


It will serve 8 people at least.


- If you want, you can use sliced almonds instead of pinenuts.

- You can use 1 large egg, adding 1 tbsp butter or 2 tbsp chilled milk

- White peaches are sweeter, if you use them, consider adjusting sugar: 1 tbsp in the skillet and 1 on top should be more than enough.

TUNA AND EGGPLANT ROLLS

Appetizer - Celiacs safe - Lactose intolerant safe


8 slices eggplant, about 7 oz. total
1 big tomato, ripe
20 black olives
8 oz tuna, packed in olive oil
4 basil leaves, chopped
salt and pepper
Extra virgin olive oi


Brush eggplant slices and grill them until desired doneness. Set aside to cool.

In the mean time, remove seeds from tomato and dice it; arrange it in a bowl along with basil and tuna, drained and crumbles.

Chop the olives and add them to the tomato mixture, season with salt and pepper and mix well to combine.

Spread this mixture on the eggplant slices, roll them and arrange on a platter lined with lettuce leaves.

Keep refrigerated until it's time to serve.

This recipe serves 4.



- You can grill 8 more slices and spread them with some pesto, alternate them with the tuna filled ones on the platter and serve in a mixed appetizer.

VITELLO TONNATO

Meat entree

Veal tenderloin in tuna sauce

3 lbs veal tenderloin, in a single piece
2 cans tuna in olive oil, drained
2 tbsp capers, packed in salt and rinsed
3 anchovy fillets, packed in olive oil
2 hard boiled eggs
warm broth, at least 1 qt
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil


Tie meat with butcher's string in order to retain its shape.

In a saucepan with lid, over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil and brown all sides of your meat. Add broth, cover with lid, lower heat to minimum and simmer for about 1 hour; a longer cooking at low temperature will have a tender meat as result. Season with pepper (if desired) and salt, carefully because of the other ingredients.

Let meat cool down into the pan.

Peel eggs and cut them lengthwise, remove yolks and save the halved albumen.

Prepare the tuna sauce.

In a food processor combine tuna, capers, anchovies and yolks. Blend, adding meat cooking juices little by little, until you obtain a smooth cream. You shouldn't need salt in this sauce, due to tuna, capers and anchovies.

Thinly slice meat, not thicker than 1/4", and arrange slices on a serving platter, slightly overlapping them.

Cover with tuna sauce, reserving a little to be usedto fill the halved albumen served as appetiser.

Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, in order to allow meat to absorb the tuna sauce flavor.

Serve with a fresh green salad.


I can't actually determine how many servings are in this recipe, I suggest to slice the meat, use the amount you need and freeze the remaining in airtight plastic container, along with some of its cooking juices, so you'll have a dinner ready when you haven't time to cook.


- You can use beef or pork tenderloin, as long as they're lean and tender

- You can use 2 tsp of anchovy paste instead of anchovy fillets

_ You can use about 1/2 cup mayo (or a mix of mayo and plain yogurt), instead of the hard boiled eggs with the cooking juices; the original version is obviously lighter.

PANZANELLA SALAD

Salad - vegetarian - lactose free

This is a Tuscan peasant style dish, created to get rid of stale, old bread during summer time; the winter version is a soup called ribollita that you can find in our blog.



1/2 ciabatta, dry and cut into 4 parts
2 onions, thinly sliced
2 big and ripe tomatoes, diced
10 basil leaves
1/2 cup red or white wine vinegar
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt


Fill a bowl, big enough to contain all bread, with cold water and vinegar and soak bread in it.

When bread is soaked enough to be handled, pull it out and squeeze it really well, in order to remove all water, crumbling it and arrange it in a different bowl.

Add all vegetables and basil, season with olive oil, salt and some more vinegar if desired.

Refrigerate for 30 minutes and serve.

This recipe serves 4.


- This is the original recipe, you can add any other vegetable you like: cucumbers, lettuce, celery stalks, etc. all thinly sliced.

- To have a complete meal you can add tuna in olive oil or hard boiled eggs; I avoid mozzarella because of vinegar.

- The more ingredients you add, the more people you'll serve; you might also need to add some more bread.

- Use only high quality extra virgin olive oil and wine vinegar in oder to give a better flavor and taste to your dish.

SHRIMP, CANNELLINI AND CHICK-PEAS SALAD

Appetizer - salad - gluten and lactose free


1 lb shrimp, boiled and peeled
1 can Italian cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 can Italian chick-peas, drained and rinsed
2 medium tomatoes, diced
4 tbsp parsley, chopped
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 lemon, juiced
salt and pepper (optional)


First of all, prepare the salad. In a bowl, combine shrimp, cannellini and tomatoes, season with salt, pepper (optional), half of the olive oil and lemon juice. Mix well to combine all ingredients; sprinkle with 2 tbsp parsley and set aside.

Prepare the chick-peas cream. In a blender, arrange chick-peas with the remaining oil and blen until a smooth cream forms; if it's too thick, add a few tbsp of chicken or vegetable broth to thin it, do not use more oil and do not add too much liquid: you need to have a cream.

To serve: line 4 individual small plates with the chick-peas cream and top with the salad, evenly distributed.

Sprinkle with the remaining parsley and serve.


This recipe serves 4.

CAVATAPPI WITH VEGETABLE SAUCE

Pasta entree - first course - vegetarian


1 lb. Cavatappi shaped pasta
12 black olives
12 small leaves swiss chard, julienned
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
1 cup peas, frozen
1 cup green beans, french cut, frozen
1 tbsp capers, packed in salt, rinsed
1 cup strained tomatoes
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp cream cheese (optional)
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped


Put a large pot of water to a boil.

In a large skillet, warm the olive oil and sautee onions until translucent then add swiss chard, peas, green beans, strained tomatoes and a few tbsp of water to help cooking the vegetables. Cook for about 5 minutes.

Now add olives and capers and reduce heat to low, season with salt and pepper (optional) and simmer for 10 more minutes.

To have a creamier sauce, add cream cheese along with a couple tbsp milk to help cheese melting.

When water boils, add salt and pasta and cook for about 7 minutes; drain, reserving some of the cooking water, and arrange in the skillet with the sauce.

Sautee for 1-2 minutes, tossing to coat evenly; add a few tbsp of the cooking water to thin sauce, if it's too thick.

Sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately.

This recipe serves 4.


- If you use fresh peas and green beans, it is better to "pre-boil" them in the same water you'll use to cook pasta.

- Since we're in summer, you can use fresh tomatoes instead of strained ones: in this case you'll need at lease 2 big ones.

- If you use fresh tomatoes, I would avoid cream cheese.

EGG FETTUCCINE WITH WALNUTS AND RICOTTA

Entree - first course - vegetarian


Ingredients:

1 lb dry egg fettuccine
1 cup walnuts, crumbled
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup milk
4 big sage leaves, roughly chopped
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil


Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

In the mean time, warm the oil in a large skillet and sautee walnuts and sage for a couple minutes, stir in ricotta diluited with milk and season with salt and pepper (or hot pepper flakes), if desired. Simmer for a few minutes until the sauce thickens a little.

When water boils, add salt and fettuccine, stir and cook for 5-7 minutes; drain them a minute before being "al dente" and reserve some of the cooking water.

Arrange pasta in the skillet with the sauce and toss to coat, cooking for about 1 or 2 more minutes; if sauce thickens too much, thin it with the pasta cooking water.

Serve immediately sprinkled with some grated Parmigiano and/or chopped parsley.

This recipe serves 4


You can use any nuts you like: almonds, hazelnuts, etc. instead of walnuts.

If you use low fat milk and ricotta you obtain a lighter dish, in terms of calories.