GARLIC BREAD

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Garlic bread may be not a typical tuscan recipe but, made in the way I prepare it makes it’s good presence on the table, a nice surprise and it is also perfect to be eaten with everyday meals…

Ingredients for 1 kilo bread:

1 kilo of white flour
400 ml warm water (about 37° Celsius)
25 grams of fresh yeast
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of sugar
1/2 cup of evo oil
3 teaspoon of minced garlic
2 teaspoon of minced parsley
1/2 teaspoon of chilli powder (if you like)

Put the flour in a large bowl and add salt, sugar and oil than pour the water with the yeast and mix all well, add a couple of tablespoon of flour more if after 5 minutes you are working it the dough is still sticking. Let it than doubling it’s volume.
After 1-1/2 hour put the dough on a working top sparkled with some flour and, using fingertips, give to it the shape of a flat rectangular (about 10 inches x 15 inches). Sparkle minced garlic, chilli and parsley on the dough than make a roll and put it in a round mould like a big donut. Let it rest for 2 hours than bake it for 15 minutes at 200°C than for other 45 minutes of 180°C. Rit emove immediately for the owen and let it cool for at least 1 hour before removing it from the mould and cutting it than…Enjoy it!!!!

SUPER HEALTY BREAD

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Once I’ve tried to prepare my own bread and from that day I can’t wait for sunday baking!!! Bread in Tuscan is very important and mine has something special that makes it even better as it is a mix of taste and wellness, it is like a traditional bread in shape and looking but it has a lot of seeds like German breads and an indian spice that really gives a huge help to our health, this is turmeric…the magic turmeric.
These are the ingredients for 1 kilo of bread:
1 kilo of whole flour
650 grams of warm water (37°Celsius)
1 1/2 teaspoon of salt
3 tablespoon of “sweetener” (use any honey or agave syrup or maple syrup or any other natural sweetener but PLEASE do not use any kind of sugar this time!)
25 grams of fresh yeast (or natural dried yeast or 200 grams of sourdough)
from 10 to 15 table spoon of mixed seeds (buckwheat, oatmeal, flaxseed, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds…)
1 tablespoon of turmeric
1 teaspoon of cumin (if you like the taste)
1 tablespoon of wheat germ
Put the flour in a large bowl and put all the seeds, sweetening, turmeric and cumin.
Warm a little the water (37° Celsius) and dissolve the fresh yeast in it, than pour it into the dry mixture. Mix all well with the hands and continue untill you’ll have a nice workable dough (it maybe still a little sticky at the end but not too much, in case add 1 or 2 more tablespoon of flour). Let the dough rest in a quite place for 1 hour at least, then work it again for few minutes and put it in a owen tray on a baking sheet. Give it a shape of a cylinder and let it to increase his volume for 1-2 hours. Bake it now for 15 minutes at 220° Celsius than for other 45 minutes at 180° Celsius, take it immediately off the owen and wait 1-2 hours before cutting it, then…Enjoy it!!!

Pan fried potatoes (Vegan)

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This easy recipe it is so good to me, maybe because it remind me when my grand mather was used to prepare it for me and my cusins that, all around the table were unable to remain seated as everyone of us tried to take as much potatoes as possible while they were still so hot to burn fingers but…we just wanted to eat more and more…they are soooo good that you must try them.

Ingredientes:

Boiled potatoes (at least 200 grams per person cut into dices — boil into water the diced potatoes for 4 minutes, no more )

Rosemary (a little bit)

Sage (a couple of leaves per person)

Garlic (1/2 clove per person)

Salt

Pepper

Oregano

Frying oil (I’m used to use peanut oil — ½ cup per portion) 

Put the oil in a frying pan with the garlic, sage and rosemary and, when you see that there are little frying bubbles around these vegetables, it’s time to put potatoes.

Cook the potatoes for 10 minutes or until well golden.

They must be very hot inside and well cruncy outside, do not take the fire too high otherwise the potatoes will burn outside and the inside will remain quite raw.

Once ready take them off the oil and season with salt,

pepper and oregano and…enjoy it!

Meat Patties with Wine Sauce

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Meat Patties with Wine Sauce

500 gms assorted minced meat (better if minced at home)

1 sausage (if available)

1 handful of grated cheese

1 tps fennel or coriander seeds

2 eggs

salt and pepper

flour

Peanut oil

red or white wine, or tomato sauce

Mince the meat and add to the well drained and squeezed bread. Add all the other ingredients and hand mix until it is all well amalgamated. From into apricot sized balls, roll these in flour and then fry in abundant, but not toodeep, oil until golden on all sides. Drain on kitchen paper. At this point, if you want to serve them with a wine sauce, put them in a frying pan with extra virgin oil. When they start to sizzle add ½ glass of wine, ½ glass of water and a good lump of butter and continue cooking. When the sauce has a dense, velvet consistency the patties are rady to serve. If you prefer to use a tomato sauce, put 1 glass of water, salt and pepper and extra virgin olive oil in a frying pan and cook for 5 mins. Add the patties and continue cooking until the sauce is to your preferred thinckness.

Crostini with Chicken Liver Patè

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Leave the chicken livers marinating in the wine for 12 hours mixing occasionally. Drain the livers, keeping the wine marinade to one side. In a high sided saucepan, slowly cook the onions in the oil with salt and pepper until pale golden.

Add the chicken livers and sage and cook for 10 minutes until the livers are browned. Pour in the wine and reduce.

Continue cooking, adding small amounts of water or broth from time to time, for another 20 minutes.

Draw off the pan from the stove and add the capers and anchovies. Blend all together with an immersion liquidizer. Taste for extra salt or pepper, mix in the butter, and your patè is ready to serve.

Tomatoes and Bread Soup

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This is the exellent classic Touscan soup-simple, tasty and always enjoyed, whether in winter or served tepid, with a beautifully perfumed basil leaf to enhance the flavour, in summer. I make it with:

300 gr day old, unsalted touscan bread cut into thin slices                                                     2 medium onions cut in thick slices or 2 good leeks if in season                                                           1 kilo peeled tomatoes, squashed with fork                                                                                             2 tps garlic paste                                                                                                                                   6 tbs extra virgin oil                                                                                                                   bunch of fresh basil                                                                                                                                   1 chili pepper (fresh if possible)  salt and pepper

Gently fry the onion in the olive oil with a good pinch of salt and the chili pepper until pale golden. Add the tomatoes, 1 large glass of water and the garlic and continue cooking over a medium flame until ready (when the oil and tomato start to separate). Taste and add additional salt if necessary. At this point, begin adding the finely slices bread, a layer at a time, mixing bread and tomatoes together very well as you go along. The Pappa is ready when the tomatoes have absorbed all the bread while the mixture is still soft but thick. Serve a drizzle of oil in an “O” and a beautiful basil leaf…and enjoy.

Fresh Tomato Crostini

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Very ripe tomatoes
Clove of garlic pressed through garlic press
Origano
4-5 tbs extra virgin olive oil
Salt and Pepper
Slices of lightly toasted unsalted touscan bread

Cut the tomatoes in very small cubes and dress with salt, a little pepper, garlic (i’ve become vampire proof since i first started using garlic paste) and origano. Leave a few hours for the ingredients to amalgamate well. Toast the slice of bread, dampen the top with a little of the juice which will have formed in the tomato mixture. Spoon an abundance of the tomatoes onto the toast and dress with basil and oil (it’s an exellent idea to always have some made up as it goes well with so many dishes). Buon Appetito.