POTATO PIE

Potato cake is a tasty dish and simple to prepare, and to secure success in the family and other guests. 

Ingredients: 

-700 Grams of potatoes; 
-1 Clove of garlic; 
-3 Tablespoons of bread crumbs; 
-Extra virgin olive oil: 
-a sprig of rosemary; 
-salt and pepper.

Preparation 

Let's start peeling the potatoes, then rinsing them under running water. Cut them into thin slices, with a maximum thickness of 5 mm, maybe helping with the aid of a cutter. 

Proceed by chopping the rosemary and peeling the garlic, which we are going to rub the bottom of a small casserole dish. Subsequently adding some olive oil. 
Now we're going to place the potato slices in the pan, add salt and pepper evenly. Sprinkle with bread crumbs and spread all the chopped rosemary. Finally, a generous sprinkle of olive oil. 

Bake in a preheated oven at 190 degrees for about an hour, until the potatoes are perfectly golden and crisp. 
Take off our scalloped potatoes and let it cool, then garnish with a sprig of rosemary. 
The end result will be very similar to a crisp but cooked in the oven: a delicious side dish can serve hot or cold.. 

Serves: 4 people; 
Cooking time: 1 hour; 

Difficulty: Easy.

NOODLES WITH TOMATO AND MUSHROOMS

NOODLES WITH TOMATO AND MUSHROOMS 

Tagliatelle with mushrooms are a first dish of Italian culinary tradition. It is a very light and tasty dish, suitable for vegetarians and those who follow a low-calorie diet, easy to prepare when you're in a hurry and have a little time or desire to cook. 

Ingredients for four people: 

- 300 grams of fresh mushrooms 
- 200 ml vegetable stock 
- 500 grams of chopped tomatoes into cubes (or type of cherry tomatoes) 
- 380 grams of noodles 
- A medium sized onion 
- One tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil 

- Salt and pepper (freshly ground) to taste 

After putting water on to boil for the pasta in a pan large enough to prepare a sauce with olive oil, chopped onion and tomatoes diced (tomatoes or fresh cherry cut in half type) and wash carefully mushrooms, dry and then cut into thin slices. Cover and simmer for about ten minutes. Meanwhile, when the water has reached the boiling point, pour the noodles and boil to 'firm bite' and drain, a couple of minutes before the cooking time written on the package. Pour the noodles into the sauce along with a few tablespoons of the cooking water, pepper and taste and leave to cook uncovered for another ten minutes, stirring often.

Dish for children - FRUIT AND PALM TREES

Do not know how to make  your children to eat fruit ? Presenting to the table in a whole new look such as a landscape or palms that recall the summer. Following the preparation shown here, you can realize the palm trees that definitely entertaining. Kids will eat without resistance. 

Ingredients: 

- a large banana 

- a kiwi 

- two slices of orange 

Peel the banana and divide it in half lengthwise. Place the two halves on the side of a plate. Cut on the plate with a knife and cut them into pieces without moving from their position. In this way, you just format the trunks of two palms. 

Peel the kiwi fruit and cut into slices not too thin. Divide them into two and place them at the top of each palm forming fronds . 

Finally put orange slices under two trees  with the peel. At this point your dish of fruit is ready to be served to your children. 

To give a touch of originality to this dish,  from a carrot cut a round shaped peace a with a boxcutter, creating a bright sun. Place this decoration over the palm trees. with this you can serve fruit to your children in a band new way.

RECIPE FOR THE SPANISH FLAN

RECIPE FOR THE SPANISH FLAN

The Spanish Flan is a typical  dessert not only in Spain but also in the countries of Central America. Basically it's the equivalent of Italian pudding: a simple dessert , delicious and aromatic. 

Ingredients: 

- 500 Ml of fresh whole milk (chilled); 
- 150 Grams of sugar; 
- 2 Egg yolks; 
- 1 Teaspoon of essence of vanilla extract; 
- 1 Stick of cinnamon; 
- An orange-peel; 
- Lemon zest; 
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch; 
- Caramel sauce for garnish. 

Preparation 

Let's start by putting two egg yolks in a bowl with  sugar, vanilla, cornstarch and one part cold milk (a couple of ladles); beat the mixture well with an electric mixer. Let the remaining milk heat on the fire, soaking the cinnamon stick, orange peel and lemon. Bring it slowly to  boil and remove the cinnamon stick and citrus peel, carefully filtering the resulting liquid. 
Then mix it with the previous egg yolks mixture, stirring constantly with a whisk. Keeping over the heat, stirring constantly, and bring it to boil. Then immediately turn off the heat and pour the mixture into 6 ramekins with aluminum or silicon. Let it cool and put it in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. 
Serve the Spanish flan with caramel sauce. 

Serves: 6 people; 
Cooking time: 10 minutes; 
Difficulty: Very Low.

GRATIN VEGETABLE CASSEROLE

GRATIN VEGETABLE CASSEROLE

The vegetable casserole au gratin is a dish belonging to the Mediterranean culinary tradition, ideal to prepare during the summer, when it is easy to find fresh , ripe and tasty vegetables. It is a dish that can eat hot or cold, as an appetizer, cut into mini portions, or as a side dish or main dish. 

Ingredients for four people: 

- 2 eggplants 
- 2 zucchini 
- 2 tomatoes 
- 1 red pepper 
- 50 g of grated Grana Padano 
- 40 g Emmenthal cheese, cut into thin slices 
- 30 g flour 00 
- 20 g of butter 
- Extra virgin olive oil 
- Salt to taste 

The first thing is to prepare the vegetables:
Clean the eggplant, cut into thin slices (about half a centimeter thick), sprinkle with salt and place in a colander so that they lose their bitter taste; then rinse and gratinate a couple of minutes per side. Wash, clean and cut into slices the other vegetables (peeling the peppers). Season with salt all the vegetables. Blanch the peppers lightly, stir-fry the tomato pieces and grill the zucchini, then start preparing the dish. Sprinkle a baking pan with butter and flour, place the vegetables in layers, each layer Emmenthal and Parmesan, and drizzle with olive oil and pepper. Bake in preheated oven for about twenty minutes. Serve hot or warm serving vegetables.

Dishes for children - BUNNY

If you want to introduce to your children  a fun nice dish , try to make this bunny. To your great surprise, they will eat also the vegetables that contain without being too much to ask. 

Ingredients: 
celery 
two radishes 
two thick slices of fontina 
a slice of toasted bread 
30 g of fresh cheese 
Extra virgin olive oil 
salt 

First, carefully wash the vegetables and place them on a clean cotton cloth, so to lose all the excess moisture. Remove celery filaments harder parts by using a vegetable peeler or alternatively with a sharp knife. Cut into small cubes and leave aside some celery that will serve to create the smiley bunny. 
By using a small box cutter, cut a radish into two parts with a zig zag: you will get two stars. 
Spread on toasted bread soft cheese and sprinkle with the celery that you have previously seasoned with olive oil and a pinch of salt. 
From the slices of fontina create a circle as wide as the slice of bread and two elongated triangles. Lay the round part on the bed of celery over the bread and the two triangular shapes in such a way as to form the face and ears of the rabbit. 
Complete the work by placing two slices of radish that will form the cheeks and strips of celery for a mustache. Made eyes always with celery and teeth with a pair of rectangles derived from radish. Place the other star-shaped radish to give life to a bow tie and serve your children this cute bunny.

RISOTTO WITH STRAWBERRIES

Risotto with strawberries is not a sweet preparation, it is a delicate flavor and refined dish, combining the unmistakable scents and colors of strawberries to the goodness of rice. 

Ingredients: 

- 300 Gr of Carnaroli rice; 
- 350 Grams of strawberries; 
- 2 Shallots; 
- 1 / 2 cup of white wine; 
- 1 Liter of vegetable broth; 
- 25 Grams of Parmesan cheese; 
- oil to taste; 
- salt to taste. 

preparation

Let's start by frying the chopped shallots in a pan with olive oil. 
Add the rice and let them toast, then degrease with wine. 
Then add the vegetable stock to cover the rice completely, taking care to add more when it evaporates. 
In the meantime, wash the strawberries and cut them into small pieces: a part of it is advisable to blend it with the mixer, so as to make them blend better, getting even more creaminess. Add strawberries and blended those into half-cooked risotto. 
Mix gently, always adding a ladle of broth if it becomes too dry. We finish cooking the risotto and add salt. 
Turn off the flame and cream with parmesan cheese, stirring with a wooden spoon. 
Put into plates risotto with strawberries garnishing with "cubes" of fresh strawberries.