It was only fitting that I made Barolo Risotto with Radicchio and Fontina this week. First off, the color is perfect for an upcoming romantic Valentine’s Day dinner, and secondly, there is wine involved. Every since I passed the AIS Italian sommelier exam last week, I have been finding every excuse I can to open a bottle of wine :: vino and analyze the liquid inside. Studying is absolutely important, but to really get to know wine, a lot of field work is required. Poor me. 🙂
Although any good red wine can be used for this recipe, I’ve selected Barolo as my wine of choice. Why? For starters, what they taught us during the wine and food pairing part of the sommelier course, is that a recipe made with wine should ideally be paired with READ MORE
Although love :: amore should be celebrated 365 days a year, I think it is more than merited to have one special day dedicated to making a conscious effort to show your affection, love, and gratitude for another person. Today we should take a moment to think about all of the love we have in our life: family, friends, significant others, pets and even that kind stranger who did something nice to make your day. So, go wild with love this Valentine’s Day!
To start with, I would like to thank all of you for the support you have showed me during this past year. I always feel overcome with gratitude :: gratitudine each time someone leaves a kind comment, or just simply reads these words. Without each of you, this blog would not exist, so thank you. 🙂
I have some exciting news to share with you! I am returning back on the Italian national TV cooking show, La Prova del Cuoco, with Antonella Clerici. I have been invited to participate in a new segment of the show: “Master Blog” where I will be competing against another food blogger. I leave for Rome :: Roma tomorrow and will be on live TV on Monday February 16th from 12:05-12:20. You can vote on the Facebook page of La Prova del Cuoco during that time frame. Just find my picture on the page while I am live, and click “like”. I am so excited for this opportunity. I really enjoyed my experience the last time I was on La Prova del Cuoco and I was truly thankful for all your kind comments and support during that week.
Back to today. One simple thing you can do to show your appreciation for another person is to cook them a special meal. This quinoa flatbread with roasted beet heats, spinach and goat cheese is the perfect main course for your Valentine’s Day dinner. The preparation is super easy to do, and can be topped with anything you like. I used blended cannellini beans, fresh spinach, beets :: barbabietole, walnuts and goat cheese. To make the beet hearts just peel the beet, slice it into rounds, use a heart cookie cutter, place everything on a baking sheet, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and sea salt and roast.
This Valentine’s Day meal idea is perfect for a romantic dinner for two where you can split the heart down the middle and share. It is also great for a family because it’s something you can easily make with the kids :: bambini and they can have fun choosing their own toppings and making their flatbread hearts.
Wishing you all a Happy Valentine’s day filled with love and happiness.
Xoxo
Italicana
Quinoa Flatbread with Roasted Beet Hearts, Spinach and Goat Cheese
This quinoa flatbread with roasted beet heats, spinach and goat cheese is the perfect main course for your Valentine’s Day dinner.
Serves: 2
Ingredients
For the beet hearts:
1 large beet
Extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt
For the flatbread:
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
½ cup (90g) quinoa
1 cup + ¼ cup water, divided
1 teaspoon (4g) baking powder
½ teaspoon (3g) sea salt (I use unrefined sea salt)
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
½ teaspoon dried rosemary
1 can cannellini beans or other white beans, drained and rinsed
5 walnut halves, broken up in to pieces
Instructions
For the beet hearts:
Preheat the oven to 425°F (218°C). Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Peel the beet and slice into rings. Use a heart cookie cutter to cut out the hearts. Put the heats and the rest of the beet cut outs on the cookie sheet. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt. Bake for 30 minutes, flipping the beets halfway through.
For the quinoa:
In the meantime, put 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a medium sized pot and add the quinoa. Toast over medium high heat stirring continuously until the quinoa is slightly golden and there is a nice toasted perfume in the air.
Add 1 cup of water and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. The water should have all absorbed, if not, drain any excess water.
Line another cookie sheet with parchment paper and drizzle a little olive oil on top and spread it out to distribute it. (You could also use cooking spray).
When the quinoa is cooked add it to a food processor along with ¼ cup water, baking powder, 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, garlic and rosemary. Blend for 2 minutes until the quinoa it is smooth. (This step is important because if it is not smooth enough, the mixture will crumble when you try to form the heart shape.)
Take the mixture out of the food processor, set it on the oiled cookie sheet and form it into a heart, or any other shape. It should be about ¼ inches high. Bake for 10 minutes.
In the meantime, blend the cannellini in the food processor with 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper.
Take the quinoa crust out of the oven, spread the whipped cannellini on top followed by a handful of fresh baby spinach, walnuts, goat cheese and roasted beet hearts. Now, go ahead and share your heart with someone you love. Happy Valentine's Day!
Valentine’s Day is fast approaching, why not make a sweet dessert that will surely win over your loved one’s heart? Here’s a spin on the classic chocolate chip cookie, only much, much bigger and layered with gooey salted caramel.
I’ve made this recipe for Mr. Italicano once before, and although he typically doesn’t like desserts :: dolci (besides cheesecake and gelato) he raved about this one. The chewy chocolate chip cookie dough layered with salted caramel sauce creates a heavenly combination that even a person without a sweet tooth will love.
This dessert is super easy to make and you may not even have to go to the grocery store :: supermercato. Most of the ingredients you will already find in your pantry. Got to love convenience.
Gorgeous presentation is another benefit of this salted caramel cookie dough cake. Just look at the photo::foto. Does that not look elegant and hard to make? Like I said, it’s ridiculously easy. We’ll keep that secret safe here though and you can just collect the compliments on your delicious and “difficult” work.
I used a round springform cake pan, if you have a heart::cuore shaped one it would be even more fitting for the sweet day.
You can also get festive with the colors by substituting the brown chocolate chips::gocce di cioccolato with their colored counterpart or throw some sprinkles on top.
Here’s a spin on the classic chocolate chip cookie, only much much bigger and layered with gooey salted caramel.
Serves: 16-20 slices
Ingredients
For the Salted Caramel Topping:
1 cup granulated sugar
6 tablespoons (85g) butter
½ cup (120ml) heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or seeds from half of a vanilla bean
½ teaspoon coarse salt
For the Cookie Dough Cake:
2¼ cups (281g) flour
½ teaspoon (4g) baking soda
¼ (2g)teaspoon salt
¾ cup (170g) butter, melted
1 cup (238g) firmly packed brown sugar
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
3 large pasteurized eggs
2 teaspoons (10ml) vanilla extract
1 cup (182g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
For the Salted Caramel Sauce:
Evenly add the sugar to a medium saucepan and heat over medium heat, whisking continually as the sugar begins to melt. The sugar will form clumps but keep whisking as they will eventually melt into a deep amber colored liquid.
Slowly add the butter and be super careful in this step as the liquid will ferociously begin to boil up. Continue to whisk together until the butter is completely melted.
Drizzle in the heavy cream. Be careful in this step as well as the mixture will also bubble up. Whisk until thickens enough to coat the back of spoon, about 2-3 minutes.
Stir in the salt and vanilla.
For the Cookie Dough Cake:
Preheat oven to 325°F (160°C).
Line a 9 x 2½ inch springform pan with aluminum foil then spray with nonstick cooking spray or butter.
In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the butter and sugars then add the eggs and vanilla. Mix well.
Add the flour mixture and mix until just combined.
Stir in the chocolate chips.
Spread ½ of the batter in the prepared pan followed by the caramel sauce, distributing to all corners and edges.
Spread the remaining batter over the caramel layer.
Bake for 40-50 minutes. The top should be golden. Cool on a rack for at least 30 minutes then carefully remove the aluminum foil and transfer to a cake plate.
Want to put together an easy, yet elegant looking meal for Valentine’s Day? Try out this recipe for striped red mullet, a delicate white fish that is stewed with juicy red tomatoes, tangy capers and salty black olives; it’s an Italian specialty.
Striped red mullet :: triglia di scoglio is found in the Mediterranean and Black Seas as well as the eastern North Atlantic Ocean. It has been considered a delicacy since antiquity, especially among the ancient Romans. If you are not able to find striped red mullet in your local grocery store you can also substitute it with red snapper.
I have never cooked with striped red mullet and the vibrant :: vibrante red and yellowish scales enticed me to try something new. The fish monger was all too kind to supply me with a typical Italian recipe called “Triglia alla livornese.” Triglia, as you can imagine, means striped red mullet; “alla Livornese”, on the other hand, basically means Livorno style. (Livorno is a port city on the Ligurian sea.)
While the fish monger scaled the striped red mullet, he quickly told me the ingredients for this beloved dish. Unfortunately, he was extremely quick at his job and finished before I could ask him the quantities :: le dosi. Seeing a long line behind me, I didn’t want to bother him so the recipe you find below may not be true Livorno style, but dare I say the presentation is more beautiful following my recipe while the taste is equally delicious.
While doing a little researchon the traditional recipe, it appears that this dish is mostly served with the whole fish (instead of fillets), topped with green olives (not black) and covered with purèed tomatoes (not whole). Feel free to try out the more traditional method, although I usually prefer eating fillets of fish since it’s much less work to eat and I liked the presentation :: presentazione with the tomato pieces as you can still see the fish underneath.
Capers :: capperi are commonly used in Mediterranean dishes as they are native to the area. In this recipe they add a nice tangy burst of flavor.
When making seafood dishes, I like to use few ingredients :: ingredienti to keep it healthier and quicker to prepare. Just like my Italian baked sardine and easy blood orange sole recipes, this dish was on the tablein under 30 minutes.
I hope you enjoy this recipe:: ricetta, and I look forward to hearing what you think!
Want to put together a easy yet fancy looking meal for Valentine’s Day or any special occasion? Try out this recipe for striped red mullet, a delicate white fish that is stewed with juicy red tomatoes, tangy capers and salty black olives; it’s an Italian specialty.
Serves: 2
Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion
1 glove garlic
2 cups datterini or grape tomatoes
6 fillets of Striped Red mullet, deboned (or Snapper if you aren’t able to find striped red mullet)
2 tablespoons capers
½ cup black olives, finely chopped
Instructions
Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat then add the onions and garlic. Sautè them until they’ve softened and have turned slightly brown.
Add the tomatoes and cook for 10 minutes.
Add the striped red mullet fillets and cook until the meat is white and flakes away, about 5-10 minutes.
Add the capers and black olives, reduce the heat to low and continue cooking for 5 minutes. Serve warm.
Although any good red wine can be used for this recipe, I’ve selected Barolo as my wine of choice. Why? For starters, what they taught us during the wine and food pairing part of the sommelier course, is that a recipe made with wine should ideally be paired with READ MORE
To start with, I would like to thank all of you for the support you have showed me during this past year. I always feel overcome with gratitude :: gratitudine each time someone leaves a kind comment, or just simply reads these words. Without each of you, this blog would not exist, so thank you. 🙂
