RUSTIC CHERRY TART

I am falling in love with Summer fruit pies, that means you are going to see a lot more of them this summer. This tart is special for me because I know exactly where the cherries came from,my neighbor’s back yard. when You know where your ingredients come from it just makes your food taste a lot more better.

After you make the tart dough, the rest of the recipe is a very easy and fast. Combine the cherries with some sugar and a bit of cornstarch and the filling is complete. These are free form tarts, meaning that the dough is rolled into a circle, the filling placed in the center and the edges of dough folded and pleated around the edged for a rustic look.

 

Ingredients

For the chocolate tart

• 150grams(2/3 cup) butter
• 150grams(3/4 cups) white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 250grams(2 cups) white flour
• 25grams( 1/4 cup) cacao powder
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• pinch of salt

For the filling

• 1 and 1/2teaspoon cornstarch
• 150ml (2/3 cup) cold water
• 60grams (1/3 cup) sugar
• 500grams( 3 cups) halved and pitted cherries
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Garnish

• Icing sugar

procedure

For the tart

1. Preheat oven to 150c/302F.
2. Spray a 20cm/8″ round tin with oil or line with baking/parchment paper.
3. Mix the butter and the sugar in a big bowl until homogeneous
4. Beat the egg with the vanilla,  baking powder and pinch of salt.
5. Add them in the bowl with the butter and mix
6. Now add the flour and the cocoa powder sifting, a bit at a time and mix well till it is a dough.
7. Then roll in a film and put in the fridge for 30 minutes.
8. In the mean time lets make the filling.

For the filling

1. Dissolve the corn starch in the cold water and add the sugar, mix well
2. Then in a medium pan over low heat add the above ingredients and bring to a boil.
3. Add cherries, mixing gently boil again until cherries are slightly softened.
4. Remove the filling add the lemon juice mix well and let cool.

Now

1. When the dough run its course, roll it out on the counter with a little bit of flour 1/2 an inch thick.
2. Put it in the tin make sure the boards are higher and irregular. pour in the cheery filling then fold back the border over the filling
3. Cook  the tart in preheat oven for an hour, let cool for 30minutes, dust icing sugar and ENJOY

FRENCH TOAST

 

I dedicate this delicious FRENCH TOAST to one of my dearest friend TIGIST BAYLEYEGN.  You have already asked me for a simple recipe, and I have promised I would write a post about it. Now here it is, beautiful, enjoy with love. It is absolutely one of my favorite breakfast/ brunch too. I love the simplicity of preparing it and the delicious out come.

The cinnamon( one of my favorite spice on earth) gives you the nutty flavor. This French toast is also sweet, crunchy and buttery. All in all it is a mixture of good flavors working in harmony.

I made mine with a day old bread so that when I sock the bread in the egg mixture it wouldn’t absorb all the liquid. And I cut it thick enough to have a really good bite.

Yield – 2 to 3 servings

Ingredients

• A day old half loaf of bread cut thick
• 2 whole egg beaten
• A dash of milk
• A dash of cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla powder
• Pinch of salt
• Enough butter to toast

Garnish

• Fresh fruit of your choice
• Maple syrup

Procedure

1. Heat a big pan with a bit of butter over medium heat.
2. Mix the eggs, the milk, the cinnamon, vanilla and salt. Beat with a fork or a hand mixer until well combined.
3. Then deep the bread in the egg mix for two seconds on both sides and lay on the hot pan.
4. Cook for two minutes on both sides or until the bread is golden brown
5. Take them out on a plate garnish with maple syrup and freshly fruit. ENJOY.

 

STEAK SALAD

Steak salad is such a great way to enjoy steak! You can easily put it together with steak leftovers. At a minimum it is simply thin slices of steak over salad greens with your preferred salad dressing.

This salad is fresh fresh and fresh.It is a quick and easy meal for hot summer days. I’ll take a common dressing any day, but for this one, I went for yogurt with a little bit of sweetness ( honey ) and currant ( which I collected from my garden) with a dash of sugar.

I tend to personalize mine up a bit with whatever I might have on hand—avocados, cheeses, tomatoes, pomegranate seeds, carrots …..

 

Ingredient

• Lettuce
• 1 beet boiled and sliced thinly
• 1 carrot cleaned and sliced thinly
• 1/2 avocado peeled and sliced
• 1/2 cucumber sliced
• Left over steak ( sliced thinly )
• yogurt
• Currant add 1/2 teaspoon of sugar set aside
• Dash of olive oil
• pinch of salt

Procedure

• We have two options

1. Toss together every ingredient in a bowl, except the steak. Mix every thing together add also the yogurt mix again. Add the steak, drizzle olive oil and ENJOY.
2. Put every ingredient over separate lettuce. Add the yogurt and the steaks. At the side put the cucumber and avocado. Drizzle the olive oil and a pinch of salt. ENJOY

CINNAMON APPLE TART

Pasta frolla ( tart/ pastry dough ) is one of the basics of pastry. And this recipe will make impeccably difference in your recipe collection! There are several variants of the preparation on the basis of the proportion of liquid and dry ingredients or the working method. What ever the method, you are going to end up with a dough that can end up being enjoyed by your loved once.

You only need eggs, butter, sugar and flour to prepare this pastry pasta. By all means you can use an electric mixer for the dough, I made it by hand, you only have to do it as fast as you can so that the butter doesn’t melt. The fact that we are going to use an icing sugar is going to make the dough even more crumbly and great. For this specific apple tart the dough is going to be a little bit more. So I made some cookies with the remaining dough. And it was delicious.

 

As you can see in the photos I enjoyed my piece of apple tart with a vanilla ice cream which gives it more character and deliciousness. I suggest you do the same cause you will find it pleasurable.

Ingredients for the crust

• 500grams white flour + some more flour for dusting
• 250grams cold and chopped butter
• 200grams icing sugar
• 2 eggs
• Lemon zest of 1 lemon
• 2 teaspoon of honey
• 1/2 teaspoon  baking powder

Filling

• 4 tablespoon strawberry jam
• 5 gold apple
• 2 teaspoon cinnamon powder
• 1 lemon juice
• 4 teaspoon brown sugar
• 20grams of butter

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 150c/302F.
2. Spray a 20cm/8″ round tin with oil or line with baking/parchment paper. This is done.
3. In a big bowl add the flour, the butter and mix them together (with your hands) as fast as you can ( you will have a sandy consistency)
4. Add the icing sugar and mix well again
5. Beat the eggs in a small bowl. Add the lemon zest, the honey, the baking powder and a pinch of salt then beat again
6. Add the eggs in to the bowl of the flour and mix them till homogeneous( if it gets sticky take it out on a counter dust some flour and mix again until a smooth dough)
7. Cover the dough with film and put in a fridge for half an hour
   
8. Now let’s do the filling, clean, peel and cut the apple thinly.
9. Cook them in a pan over medium heat for 10-15minutes adding the cinnamon, the lemon juice and half of the brown sugar.
10. Take out the dough and spread it on a counter putting under it a little bit of flour
11. Put it in the tin that we have prepared earlier, and cook only the dough for 15 minutes
12. When it is cooked take it out and spread it with the strawberry jam, the cooked apple and the rest of the brown sugar. cook for another 20 minutes.
13. When finished take it out and let it cool for 30minutes and ENJOY.

COLD PASTA WITH LIME MARINATED ZUCCHINI

Hear in Trento the heat is over the roof and it definitely turns off the desire to stay on the stove, now the only answer is : cold pasta! Light, easy to prepare and fresh. This cold zucchini pasta is really special, because the zucchini is marinated with lime juice, which flavors the pasta with fresh and pungent notes of lime and mint. It does not end here: cherry tomatoes, celery, olive and feta cheese marry perfectly with marinated zucchini and make this cold pasta a colorful and inviting dish. You can prepare it with your favorite pasta and make this cold pasta a tasty dish at home or for a day out.

 

 

Yield: 4 serving

Ingredients:

• 300grams ( 2 cups )zucchini
• 1 lime
• 20 cherry tomatoes ( 1 cup)
• 1 medium celery with the leaves
• 1 medium fresh pickle
• A hand full of green olives
• 10grams(1 cup) feta cheese
• some mint leaves
• Salt and pepper
• Good quality olive oil

Pasta:

• Salted boiling water
• 320grams small dry pasta

Procedures:

1. Clean the zucchini and slice them very finely with a mandolin, to obtain a thickness of about 1 millimeter.
2. In a bowl ( not aluminum) add the zucchini, lime zest, lime juice, chopped mint, olives and olive oil. Add salt and pepper mix well and marinate in fridge for an hour.
3. Cook the pasta in the boiling water and drain al dente
4. Pour into a bowl season with a little bit of oil and let it cool.
5. In the mean time clean the strings and cut the celery in small pieces including the leaves
6. Cut the cherry tomatoes in four pieces
7. Cut the feta cheese in square pieces
8. Take out the zucchini from the fridge, mix every ingredient together well. Add more oil and ENJOY.

HAMBURGER WITH EGG

I have already posted on the hamburger that we usually eat on Saturdays. This is  almost the same recipe but really different result.  The sun side up egg and the speck give it the moist and the crunch with the particular taste of smoked flavor.

 

Ingredients

• 3 burger bread
• 1 small red onion
• 1/2 celery with out the strings
• 300grams (1 and 1/3 cups) red meat
• a mixture of 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme and 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 egg
• 30g ( 1/3 cup) bread crumbs
• 3 lettuce leaves
• 6 slices of tomatoes
• salt
• extra virgin olive oil

Procedure

1. chop the red onion and celery
2. heat a non stick pan with a little bit of oil and cook the onion and the celery till transparent and soft
3. season with salt and set aside
4. put the meat in a bowl, beat one egg in a separate bowl and add to the meat
5. add the cooked onion, the dried herbs, some salt and mix well
6. then add the bread crumbs and mix again (if the meat is sticky on your palms add more bread crumb)
7. take a hand full (about 70g/0.15lb) for each hamburger make a ball and flatten it between the palms of your hands
8. heat a big non stick pan with a bit of oil on a medium heat
9. cook the burgers for 5 minutes on each side turning it every now and then
10. cut the burger bread, put it on a hot grill to give it the smoky flavor and the beautiful look. You can also sear the speck next to the bread
11. on another pan with a little bit of oil cook the sun side egg
12. Assemble first the lettuces then tomatoes, the burger, the egg and the speck. Fill free to add ketchup or mayonnaise as you please. ENJOY

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FETTUCCINE ALFREDO WITH SAFFRON

Fettuccine  means “little ribbons” in Italian. Fettuccine is a type of pasta popular in Roman and Tuscan cuisine. It is a flat thick pasta made of egg and flour (usually one egg for every 100 g of flour), wider than but similar to the tagliatelle typical of Bologna.

Fettuccine Alfredo or fettuccine al burro is a pasta dish made from fettuccini tossed with Parmesan cheese and butter. As the cheese melts, it emulsifies the liquids to form a smooth and rich sauce coating on the pasta. Adding saffron and heavy cream is going to make it even creamier and colorful.

Its simplicity makes it the perfect dish for weekdays and/or for busy weekends. If you have to prepare a delicious pasta in less than 10-15 minutes this is your to go recipe. you can also add bacon or speck for flavorful result.

For example, if you spend a whole morning preparing a succulents roasted chicken, delicious Italian TIRAMISU and the perfect salad. Now it is already lunch time Fettuccine Alfredo with saffron will save the day.

Ingredients

• 30grams( 1/8 cup) butter
• 200ml ( 3/4 cup) heavy cream
• Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon saffron powder
• Salt and pepper
• Chopped chives

Pasta

• 400grams dry fettuccini pasta
• Salted boiling water

procedure

1. In a big non stick saucepan melt the butter, add the heavy cream and stir.
2. After a minute add the saffron and let it dissolve completely.
3. In the mean time cook the pasta which probably will take 5-6 minutes.
4. Now add the Parmesan cheese and make a velvety cream.
5. when the pasta is al dente drain and mix directly with the sauce.
6. Incorporate well and serve immediately with chopped chives on top. ENJOY.