MariRecipes » Starters

Stuffed Sardines

MariRecipes — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 10:49:26 +0000

Sardines are fishes very rich in Omega 3 , which can help fighting the“bad” cholesterol and if you can prepare them without frying it will be even better … I agree that they are hard to clean, but if someone gives us a hand, everything becomes faster and easier …:)) I do carve a boxcutter on the belly, take out the entrails and head, take off the backbone and also leave it like an open book. Then wash, and leave to dry or use paper towel to dry them a little. Living them open, I put salt and freshly ground pepper in small quantities. Preparing the filling:

. 2 slices sandwich loaf (don’t use the zest of the bread)

. 1 cup cold milk

. chopped parsley

I let the bread soak in milk for 5 minutes. Then squeeze well and add the chopped parsley on a plate. With this mix I’m going to stuff the sardine (1 teaspoon of filling might be enough) , and cover with another sardine (becomes a sort of sandwich of sardines). The next step is to pass them over the breadcrumbs, in both sides and arrange them in a baking tray lined with baking paper. Add a drizzle of olive oil and take them to bake in a preheated oven at 180-200 ° C for about 15-20minutes (depends on the oven and the “size” of sardines). I let them cool slightly before serving. You can serve warm or cold with a fresh salad.

Focaccia

MariRecipes — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 12:33:30 +0000

Focaccia with Cherry Tomatoes

MariRecipes — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 08:52:15 +0000

This is one of the many recipes you can find of the Ligurian focaccia … I made it also adding cherry tomatoes, which are very sweet and delicate … but you can use onions, black olives, or nothing, the only flat bread is delicious. ..

. 400 g of wheat flour

. 20 g of dry yeast

. 1 / 2 glass of warm milk to dissolve the yeast

. 1 / 3 glass of extra virgin olive oil

. 2 teaspoons of salt

. 2 medium potatoes, cooked and mashed . (Keep aside the cooking water, you will need it for the dough)

Dissolve yeast in warm milk (if you want you can add 2 teaspoons of sugar). Slowly stir in the sifted flour, stir in the potatoes, salt, olive oil and knead, adding warm water (the water you set aside after cooking the potatoes) if needed. I added a little semolina flour to give consistency to knead the dough. Make a ball and let the dough rest covered by a cotton cloth for about 45 minutes – 1 hour. After this time, roll the dough into a large baking sheet greased with olive oil or covered with baking paper and leave to stand another hour. Afterwards make small holes with the fingertips, sprinkle with olive oil (I brushed the oil … the recipes say to use 2 / 3 cup of olive oil over it … I tried to make it a little ”lighter”) and sprinkle with coarse salt. (Even better if you use the fleur de sel, which is more aromatic). (If you use the cherry tomatoes cut them in halves and leave to drain its water for a few hours before using them … I cut them just after making the dough and let them drain well, so they do not release water to the dough, while baking). Bring to bake in hot oven at 200 degrees for about 20 minutes, until golden and beautiful …. even better if you cook in a convection oven …it is delicious warm, but the one without tomatoes is also good the next day …: P

Courgettes and Potatoes Omelette

MariRecipes — Mon, 30 May 2011 16:46:57 +0000

Basic for the summer …

. 5 eggs

. 1 courgette , cut into large cubes

. 1 large potato, diced

. 1 / 2 tablespoon butter

. 2 tablespoons of grated parmigiano cheese, or grana padano cheese or pecorino cheese

. 3 sticks of parsley, chopped

. salt and pepper

Cook in a pan with a small quantity of boiling salted water, potato and courgette for about 5 minutes until you can stick a toothpick but they remain still firm. Remove them from the water and let cool slightly. Meanwhile, beat eggs with salt, freshly ground pepper, Parmigiano cheese (or any other cheese chosen) and chopped parsley. Heat a non-stick pan and add the butter until it is dissolved. Add the potato and courgette and cook for few minutes.Add the beaten eggs and cook the omelette over medium low heat. When it is firming, flip it over onto a plate and return to pot in order to cook the other side. Continue until it is ready. This omelette is good both warm and cold, with fresh green salads (such as valerian) or tomatoes …:)

Pizza with Fresh Tomatoes, Mozzarella and Speck

MariRecipes — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 12:42:21 +0000

Making this pizza I’ve used 350g of the baguette dough (see the homemade baguettes recipe). I didn’t use the rolling-pin to spread the dough but I’ve used my own hands to make it very thin. Then I distribute 125 g of mozzarella cut into cubes, 5 small tomatoes without seeds cut into cubes with some salt and oregano. I baked it for 15 minutes in the pre heated oven (220°C)…regulate yourself according to your oven and your personal taste…When I took it from the oven I distributed over the pizza thin slices of speck…(you can use smoked ham if you don’t have speck…)…it was delicious…

Moroccan Cous cous with Vegetables and Grilled Chicken Breast

MariRecipes — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 17:06:07 +0000

The cous cous is originated in Maghreb and nowadays it’s very apreciated in the international cookery, easy and fast to prepare and it’s great with vegetables, meat or fish. My father is an expert in preparing it and as he always says you can use almost whatever vegetables you have in the kitchen, according to your personal taste (you can use red and/or yellow pepper, yellow courgettes, eggplants, onions…you decide!). For this recipe I use the pre cooked cous cous (from semola di grano duro). Serves 4 to 6 persons.

. 1 cup of pre cooked cous cous

. 1 cup of boiling water with 1 teaspoon of salt

. extra virgin olive oil

. 2 greeen courgettes grated in the large grater

. 1 carrot grated

. 1 clove of garlic minced

. mint leaves

. 1 chicken breast marinated with 1 glass of white wine, salt, pepper, thyme and origano.

In a glass bowl pour the pre cooked cous cous and add 1/3 of the boiling water at a time. Mix well and “husk” with a fork until all the water has been absorbed. Let it stand for 7 minutes and in the meanwhile heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a non stick pan and add the garlic until golden. Add the carrot, cook for 5 minutes. Add the courgettes, salt, cook for another 5 minutes and take it off the heat. Add the vegetables to the prepared cous cous and mix well. Allow to set for a while and add the mint “crumbled” with your hands.

At this moment heat a pan (add a little quantity of butter if you want with some sage leaves) and grill the chicken breast until golden. At this point take it from the pan, cut into slices and return them to the pan. Add the wine of the marinata if you want, and allow it to evaporate completely. When it’s done add the slices of chicken to the cous cous that you have divided into the plates, to serve. It’s tasty, light and very nutritive at the same time. You can enjoy it in the summer or in winter…

Frayed Codfish with Cherry Tomatoes and Black Olives

MariRecipes — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 14:46:23 +0000

This is a plate you can serve as an hors d’ouvre or as a unique plate with boiled nouvelle potatoes, seasoned with extra virgin olive oil, salt, ground pepper and chopped parsley…

. 1 portion of dissalated and frayed codfish

. 2 cloves of garlic chopped

. extra virgin olive oil

. ground pepper

. 200 g of cherry tomatoes

. 3 tbsp of stoned black olives

. spanish “colorau” if you have it (it’s a kind of paprika)

As always you must dissalate the codfish for 72 hours. Afterwards fray it with your hands. Add the chopped garlic, the entire cherry tomatoes, the olives and season with salt (if necessary, it’s better taste first…), pepper, olive oil, the colorau if you have it by hand…Mix well and let it stand for one hour before serving…it’s very tasty also if served with “casareccio” bread and olive oil…:))

Egg Plant and Black Olives Hors d’ouvre

MariRecipes — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 15:35:39 +0000

You can prepare this starter in advance and it matchs very well with grilled meat.

. 3 firm egg plants cut into slices strewed with salt and let rest for 30 minutes in a colander. Afterwards wash the egg plants, let them dry and cut into sticks or little triangles.

. 1 onion (white or red one) cut into slices

. 3 cloves of garlic unpeeled (you will throw them away in the end of the cooking time)

. 4 tbsp of black olives unstoned cut into slices

. salt, black pepper

. fresh thyme and oregano

. 1 tbsp of red wine vinegar

. 3 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil

In a big bowl mix the egg plants, the onion, garlic, olives, salt, pepper, herbs, vinegar and olive oil. Mix with a spoon until very well mixed. Pour this mixture into a non sticking baking tin and bake in the pre heated oven (180°C) for 1 hour, mixing a little every 20 minutes, until the egg plants are cooked and “dry”. Serve with “crostine” of heated bread or with grilled meat.

Zucchini, Ricotta and Asiago Quiche

MariRecipes — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 15:02:46 +0000

Sorry, this entry is only available in Brasileiro and Italiano.

Stuffed Aubergines

MariRecipes — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 14:05:05 +0000

This aubergines can match with meat or be a veggie main course… Ingredients:

. 4 little aubergines. Wash them, cut each in halves along the lenght and extract the pulp. The pulp you dice into cubes. The aubergines’ halves you put into the colander and sprinkle with salt. Let them stand for 30 minutes, wash them and put in a baking pan.

. 2 mozzarellas diced into cubes

. tomato sauce or 3 big tomatoes diced into cubes

. salt, pepper

. leaves of thyme

. olive oil

. 1 clove of garlic chopped

. bread crumbs

Mix the aubergines’ pulp with the mozzarella, salt, pepper freshly ground, garlic (if you like it), thyme, olive oil and stuff the aubergines. Cover with the tomato sauce, a trinckle of olive oil and some bread crumbs. Bake in the pre heated oven (180°) for 30-40 minutes (control if they’re well baked, it depends on the oven…). Serve them hot or in ambient temperature…