This is not the first recipe I’ve posted for eggplant and mozzarella, and it probably won’t be the last because they work really well together. What makes this version special is that the eggplant is smoked. I served this as … Continue reading Smoked Eggplant with Mozzarella (Involtini di Melanzana Affumicata)
Sometimes the inspiration for a dish comes from a wine that I wanted to drink with it. Sometimes it comes from what is in season. Sometimes it comes from what I see at the market (which is often the same … Continue reading Duck Breast with Garden Peas, Chanterelle Mushrooms, and a Red Wine Sauce
One of my favorite dishes at Aqua*** was “squid cut into the shape of tagliatelle and cooked in a stock of smoked sturgeon with Beluga lentils, imperial caviar, sauce of smoked sturgeon and samphire”. I really liked the combination of … Continue reading Squid, Caviar, and Lentils
This is hardly a recipe, but it is very good and so I wanted to share it with you anyway. In Italy this is called a “salad” of strawberries and parmigiano. To make this work, you will need high quality ingredients: … Continue reading Strawberries with Parmesan and Balsamic Vinegar (Insalata di Fragole e Parmigiano)
At seafood restaurant Angiolina in Pisciotta, south of Naples, I enjoyed a wonderful seafood and vegetable soup. Back home I made my own version. You can easily adapt it to what is available and seasonal, in terms of both seafood … Continue reading Seafood and Vegetable Soup (Zuppa Mediterranea)
Tarte Tatin is a famous French tart that is often prepared with puff pastry, but the original is made with more of a shortcrust kind of pastry. In this variation I used pears instead of apple, and I used a … Continue reading Tarte Tatin aux Poires (Pear Tarte Tatin)
Oxtail is one of those meats that can be prepared sous-vide in a way that it could never be without sous-vide. By cooking it a whopping 4 days (96 hours, give or take) at 60C/140F, the meat becomes as tender … Continue reading Oxtail Sous-Vide Served In A Portobello Mushroom With Stir-Fried Spinach
Lamb and asparagus are very seasonal, but what is really the star of this dish is the goat cheese sauce. I used a French artisan raw milk goat cheese, a Selles sur Cher appellation d’origine protegée. I used neck of … Continue reading Lamb with Asparagus and Goat Cheese Sauce
This is a nice example how you can make a great looking and delicious appetizer with only a few ingredients and little time. The combination of sea scallops and parsnip works very well. The hardest part by far of this … Continue reading Sea Scallops with Parnsip Puree
These hare and savoy cabbage ravioli are similar to agnolotti from Piemonte, which are also stuffed with a mixture of braised meat and greens. I had some left over hare, which had already been cooked sous-vide (2 hours at 60C/140F). … Continue reading Hare and Savoy Cabbage Ravioli (Ravioli di Lepre e Verza)
This asparagus salad can be made with either white, green, or a combination of white and green asparagus. I made a Dutch-Italian version using a vinaigrette and lightly toasted pine nuts, combined with hard-boiled egg and boiled ham. The flavor … Continue reading Asparagus Salad (Insalata di Asparagi)
If you like dark chocolate, you will love this dark chocolate crème brûlée. Compared to regular crème brûlée the flavors are hefty and although the chocolate version has the same contrast between the creamy custard and the crispy caramel, there … Continue reading Chocolate Crème Brûlée
The season for asparagus has started, and so it is time for a nice risotto. The delicate taste of asparagus calls for a recipe with few ingredients, which does not even include pepper. Parmigiano reggiano should be used with restraint. … Continue reading Asparagus Risotto (Risotto agli Asparagi)
Usually when we go on vacation, I come back with a lot of ideas for new dishes to try. In fact, I still haven’t finished cooking and blogging all the ideas I had after our trip to the South of … Continue reading Peruvian Ceviche
Thanks to the warm weather we’ve had lately, Dutch white asparagus are available some weeks earlier than other years. I was shopping for a dinner party and had realized (1) that I wanted to add some more vegetables to the … Continue reading White Asparagus with Goat Cheese and Honey
I like ‘refrigerator cooking’ and I like blogging what I’ve just prepared and eaten. This post hits the spot both ways, as I had some leftover sweet potato, lettuce, cilantro, lime, and jalapeño, and decided to pick up some fish … Continue reading Sweet Potato Fish Cakes with Lime, Cilantro, and Jalapeño
There are already two other recipes for lobster ravioli on this blog (here and here), but I like them so much that I couldn’t resist posting yet another variation. This is now my favorite version, as the lobster bisque that … Continue reading Lobster Ravioli (Ravioli all’Astice)
Since I had more foie gras than I needed to prepare Tournedos Rossini, I decided to use the leftover foie gras to make a simple appetizer of faux Brussels sprouts filled with cream of foie gras, inspired by a more … Continue reading ‘Brussels Sprouts’ Stuffed with Cream of Foie Gras
At a restaurant in the mountains of Calabria we had cherry ice cream in which the cherries were coarsely chopped. I really liked the texture, and so decided to make my own version of it. Amarena cherries are cherries from … Continue reading Amarena Cherry Ice Cream (Gelato di Amarene)
Our main course for Christmas dinner was this hare stew. The recipe I followed was very similar to that for lepre alla cacciatora, but adapted for sous-vide. An important aspect of any stew is concentrating the flavors by allowing water … Continue reading Hare Stew Sous-Vide komt
If you are looking for something delicious and elegant yet vegan for your Christmas dinner, look no further. The holidays are often about eating a lot of meat, but this vegan dish has all the flavor and all the protein … Continue reading Delicious Vegan Pumpkin Ravioli
Sarde a Beccafico is a famous traditional dish from Sicily. The sardines are stuffed with breadcrumbs, raisins, pine nuts, and baked in the oven with orange juice. At Cala del Citro the chef made a dish with red mullet that … Continue reading Stuffed Red Mullet with Pistachios and Orange (Triglie ripiene)
If you like having a great red wine with the Christmas dinner main course, but you would also like to have fish, this is the perfect solution for you! I used yellowtail, which is a great tasting fish that is … Continue reading Yellowtail with Truffle, Mushrooms, and Red Wine Sauce
We’ve been back home for more than two months, but I am still enjoying the inspiration from our three weeks in Southern Italy. At Cala del Citro we had a wonderful dinner, that ended with almond ice cream. I loved … Continue reading Almond Ice Cream
Eggplant is a prominent ingredient in Italian cooking, and it is prepared in many ways. These eggplant balls are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, with a lot of flavor, and are a great vegetarian appetizer or … Continue reading Eggplant ‘Meatballs’ (Polpette di Melanzane)
This dish was inspired by another dish we had at Don Alfonso. It could be made with any kind of white fish and any kind of green peppers, as mild or as hot as you like. The Italian green peppers … Continue reading Cod with Green Peppers and Yogurt-Lemon Sauce
One of my favorite inventive dishes from our trip to Italy was the eel ice cream at Don Alfonso. There it was served with rose-flavored pasta, but I thought it would also work very well with beets. Eel is most … Continue reading Eel Ice Cream with Beets
The most famous Italian meat sauce for pasta is of course the one from Bologna: ragù alla bolognese. And with reason: if made properly it can be divine. Outside of Italy (or inside of Italy in tourist traps) it is … Continue reading Ragù alla Bolognese Sous-Vide
At the organic market I discovered a great ingredient, which is partially defatted pumpkin seed flour. Pumpkin seed kernels have 49% fat, 8% carbohydrates, and 30% protein, and so they are quite fat. Pumpkin seeds are pressed to get out … Continue reading Pumpkin Seed Flour Pappardelle with Roasted Pumpkin
This delicious pasta dish is the result of serendipity. I had cooked and smoked too many eggplants to serve as antipasto with mozzarella and tomato confit, and I was in the process of experimenting with lamb ragù in the sous-vide. … Continue reading Orecchiette with Lamb Ragù and Cream of Smoked Eggplant (Orecchiette al Ragù di Agnello e Crema di Melanzana Affumicata)
