Cavatelli with Eggplant, Arugula, Olives, Pine Nuts and Pecorino Cheese

Ingredients (4 people):

Cavatelli or other kind of short pasta 1 lb.

1 medium eggplant

Arugula

Pine nuts 1 tbsp.

Black pitted olives 12-15

Grated pecorino cheese 1 tbsp.

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

1 garlic clove

Wash and cut the eggplant lengthwise, in ½ inch thick slices, then cut the slices in small cubes. To do things by the book, before cooking the eggplants you should sprinkle them with abundant salt and put them in a colander with a plate on top to press the eggplant. This way they will release the juice that sometimes give them a bitter taste. To tell the truth, I never do this whole process and I usually cook the eggplant right away. I haven’t had any problem and I like the taste anyway. Fry the eggplant cubes in abundant olive oil. The olive oil is perfect to fry eggplants because it has a high smoke point and also because eggplants absorb a lot of oil and it is important to use oil with a good and delicate taste. Yes, I know what you’re thinking: it’s not exactly a law-fat recipe! It is also important to put the cubes in the pan when the oil is very hot and to use abundant oil. Abundant oil will tend to keep a high temperature when you put the eggplants which will form a nice crust limiting the amount of oil absorbed. If you don’t have much oil, cook the eggplant cubes in two or three rounds. Once brown, drain the cubes and let them rest on kitchen paper, without covering them, to release part of the oil. Add a pinch of salt.

Once you’ve cooked the eggplant you are more or less done with the recipe. Wash and dry the arugula and set it aside. Bring abundant water to a boil in a large pot, add salt and the pasta, stir immediately and then once every 3-4 minutes until cooked. Check the cooking time on the box but also taste it a couple of times. After you add the past to the water, sauté the garlic with the pine nuts and olives in olive oil for a couple of minutes in a large skillet. 

Drain the pasta setting aside about one cup of its boiling water. Transfer the pasta in the skillet and add the arugula and the eggplant cubes. Mix well, adding some of the water that you set aside, and additional olive oil if needed. When all the ingredients are well mixed add the pecorino cheese and some freshly ground pepper.

My Grandma's Apple Cake

I inherited this recipe from my grandmother. She made it for my two sisters and me because it is a delicious low-fat and healthy cake (she didn’t know that we ate it all in a couple of hours – and it was big!). The other thing I inherited from her is the recipe of the crème caramel, that she called “latte alla portoghese”, milk the Portuguese way (to be posted here soon) -- for some reason, she only made that one in a small portion, for my grandfather’s exclusive delight. I remember that when I visited them, almost everyday in the summer when I was a child, I used to look at that special pot, my mouth watering. But I’d soon forget about it when I was offered a sugar cube and a few cookies or a slice of the marvelous apple cake!

160 gr (0.35 lb) unbleached all-purpose flour

150 gr (0.33 lb) sugar

2 eggs (separate the yolk from the white)

½ pack (one small teaspoon) of yeast

Water

1 pinch of salt 

Grated lemon zest

5 medium to big apples

½ lemon (to be squeezed)

½ cup pine nuts

½ cup raisins

½ cup chopped hazelnuts

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp powdered sugar

Pass the flour through a sieve. In a large bowl combine sugar, flour, the egg yolks (set aside the egg whites), lemon zest and salt with a mixer adding gradually about ½ cup of water. The exact amount of water needed depends on how big the eggs are and how dry is the flour. The mixture is supposed to be quite thick, but well blended. 

Add the cinnamon and the yeast and mix.

Peel and cut the apples in small pieces and add one tablespoon of brown sugar. Pour the lemon juice on the apples and toss in the pine nuts, raisins and hazelnuts.

In a small bowl beat the egg whites until stiff. Egg whites should be beaten when they are at room temperature, adding a pinch of salt. The bowl and beaters should be perfectly clean and dry. If there is a little water or oil residue in the bowl or a little hint of yolk in the whites, it will interfere seriously with the formation of air bubbles.

Slowly incorporate the egg whites into the mixture, folding about ¼ of beaten egg whites into the mixture with a flexible spatula, stirring normally. This will lighten the mixture. Then pour in the remaining beaten egg whites and fold in gently with a vertical movement (instead of round and round), with the bowl tipped on its side.

Add the chopped apples to the mixture and pour into a 10-inch round baking pan. 

Bake in a pre-heated oven to 350ºF (180ºC) for 45-60 minutes. Pull out of the oven and let the cake cool off. Just a few minutes before serving cover with sifted powdered sugar.

Shrimp and Scallop Tartare Risotto!

320 gr (0.7 lb) rice (possibly Carnaroli, or Arborio)
450 gr (1 lb) shrimp with shell
8 whole scallops
100 gr (0.11 lb) butter
a shallot
3 cloves of garlic
parsley
chive
1 glass dry white wine
one bay leaf
Salt and pepper
Extra virgin olive oil

Wash, pat dry and cut the scallops with a heavy knife into 1/8-inch dice.
















Put the tartare in a bowl and season with pepper, chives, salt and a drizzle of oil, let it marinate in the refrigerator.

Bring to boil a liter of water in a saucepan with the bay leaf, 2 cloves of garlic and a little salt. Add the shrimp, cook for 3 minutes, then drain the shrimp with a slotted spoon and remove the shells. Set aside the shrimp and put the shells back in the boiling water for 10 minutes obtaining a broth that will be used to cook the risotto. Strain the broth and keep it on low heat.

For the risotto I like to use nonstick pans, possibly ceramic-coated. They are a great advance over traditional nonstick pans, and safer because they are made without the toxic chemicals used in the manufacture of teflon nonstick pans. In a large pan heat half of the butter, add the finely chopped shallot and sauté for 4 or 5 minutes or until it starts to brown. Add the rice and stir it with a wooden spoon so that the grains are coated with the melted butter. Sauté for another minute or so, until there is a slightly nutty aroma, but don't let the rice turn brown.










Pour half of the wine and stir.










When the wine is absorbed, cover with the strained hot broth. If you are using a nonstick pan you can stir every 3-4 minutes, otherwise stir continously, and continue adding broth when you see that the rice has absorbed most of it.

When the rice is almost cooked (the grain is soft outside but still hard inside) and the broth almost all absorbed, turn off the heat and stir in 2/3 of the scallop tartare, the shrimp (except two or three for the serving dish), the remaining butter and wine, a finely chopped garlic clove, parsley and salt, if necessary. Set aside the risotto for 3-4 minutes, then stir once more and serve it with the remaining tartare and shrimp, freshly ground pepper and parsley.

Back to Basic: Cream Tart with Pine Nuts and Powdered Sugar a.k.a. Torta della Nonna!

The flaky pastry and the crème pâtissière are amongst the very first recipes I tried as a little kid, a very gluttonous little kid. When, after climbing our kitchen’s cabinets to get three or four spoonfuls of Nutella I found out that my mum had stopped buying Nutella, I realized that I had to make my own desserts to ensure my daily share of sugar, chocolate and cream. I was 6 or 7-year-old and started with a cake mix made by Fattorie & Pandea called “Miscela Nove Torte”. I’m sure my sisters remember it because we were all very fond of it! One could earn points buying the mix, and after having made a certain number of cakes one could mail the points and receive a cookbook – a cookbook that became my first source of recipes of all kinds of cakes and cookies. It was called “Scacciapensieri, Ricettario della Signora Amelia” and it was cloth-bound with floral decorations. It’s still somewhere in my parents’ house in Rome. Thanks to Ms. Amelia I started enjoying cooking so much I never stopped!

For the Crust (flaky pastry)

200 gr (0.45 lb) unbleached all-purpose flour

2 egg yolks
100 gr (0.22 lb) sugar
100 gr (0.22 lb) butter

1 pinch of salt

Grated lemon zest

220 gr (0.5 lb) dry beans (they can be re-used)

For the Cream

½ liter (2.1 cups) milk

6 egg yolks

125 gr (0.27 lb) sugar

40 gr (0.09 lb) unbleached all-purpose flour

Lemon peel

1 pinch of salt

50 gr (0.11 lb) pine nuts

One tablespoon powdered sugar

Prepare the pastry combining sugar, flour, salt and lemon zest in a food processor and running it for about 10 seconds. Cut the butter into ½ inch chunks and, with the machine off, scatter in the dry ingredients. Let the food processor run for a few seconds. Then, with the machine off, add the egg yolks and run the processor until the dough begins to clump into small balls. Pour the dough on a baking mat or in a bowl and press it together with your fingers until it easily forms a uniform, smooth ball. Wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Pull out the dought from the fridge and roll it out thinly on a floured board or a silicone baking mat with a rolling pin. Flour the pin often and abundantly. 

To transfer the rolled dough in the baking pan (it should be 10 or 11 inch wide) cover the dough with a sheet of parchment paper, turn it upside down and put it on the baking pan. 

Remove the silicone baking mat as shown in the picture and gently press the dough against the edges of the pan. Cut the exceeding dough. To form the traditional “crown” around the crust press down on the top of the sides with the thumb and the index finger of one hand while pressing against the inside edge with the index finger of your other hand. Repeat multiple times going around until you’ve molded this way the entire edge.

Another way to put the dough in the pan is to make an even 4-inch disk out of your dough ball and place it in the center of the pan. Always working from the center out, press down on the dough in all directions until it covers the entire bottom of the pan in an even layer. To form the sides of the crust, again press the dough from the center of the pan until an even ring of dough builds up against the pan’s sides.

Cover the baking pan, including the sides of the dough, with a piece of foil, prick it with a fork, fill it with dry beans and put the pan in the fridge while you prepare the base for the cream. Heat the oven to 180ºC (350ºF).

Pour the milk into a saucepan with the lemon peel, bring to a boil and turn the burner off. Beat the egg yolks in a bowl with sugar and salt, add the sifted flour, beat some more and slowly pour in the hot milk. Put the cream in a heavy bottomed saucepan passing it through a mesh strainer.
Pull the dough out of the fridge and put it in the preheated oven for approximately 35 minutes. While the dough is in the oven, put the pan with the cream on low heat stirring gently the mixture. Stir with more energy if you see lumps which might result from uneven condensation of the cream and should disappear if you keep stirring. After the cream condenses, stir for 10 more minutes, remove it from heat and cover it.

When the crust is cooked, pull the baking pan out of the oven, remove the beans and the foil and, pour in the cream, passing it through your friend mesh strainer.

For the pastry to be well cooked but not hard it is important to put the cream over the crust when the latter is still hot.

Distribute the pine nuts evenly over the cream and let the tart rest. 

Cover with sifted powdered sugar only a few minutes before serving.

To exalt the simple and full flavor of this recipe enjoy with a glass of Feudi di San Gregorio’s Privilegio. Try it and let me know!