My Italian Cuisine

After a long absence here I am again with a bread recipe that's super easy and very tasty, the best for your summer garden party or BBQ. Focaccine are usually filled with Parma ham and cheese or tomatoes and mozzarella or... whatever you like! You can also add herbs to give additional flavour, I like to sprinlkle fresh rosemary (from my herbs garden) on the top! But now...let's start! Makes 8-10 focaccine Ingredients: 250 gr. white bread flour (organic) 200 gr 100% whole wheat flour (organic) 200gr water 5 gr dry yeast 10 gr salt 4 Tbsp of Extra virgin olive oil a little fresh or dried rosemary and corse salt  Instructions: 1. Mix the 2 flours, add the dry yeast and the salt. 2. Add the olive oil and the water, start to mix with your hands. Make a ball out of the dough. 3. Flour your worktop and knead the dough for about 15 minutes, till it gets soft and even (you also use a kitchen robot to knead, in this case mix 10 min. speed one or 2 using the hook). 4...

  The content and pictures of this post are copyright registered & protected ©myitaliancuisine I didn't know that Gnocco Fritto was famous all over the world, I just realised that reading this article from the webzine "Seriouseat" . Apparently in NYC you can find a very good one at "Bianca".... Anyway if you are not from NY or you can't find Gnocco fritto in your town: here is the recipe! But first let me explain what we are talking about: Gnocco fritto is a traditional (Emilia Romagna) fried appetizer, a square piece of fried kind of bread dough which can be served with italian deli meat, Parma ham, mortadella, culatello, salami or cheese or  with veggies like fried Cicoria or  Cime di rapa. The souther version of gnocco fritto could be the so called "Pizza fritta" but this is another story...... Preparing Gnocco fritto at home is very easy, you just need few ingredients and a little time. It's such a plasure to eat a warm ...

Perfect for your parties, delicious mini bread rolls filled with italian Parma ham, salami or anything you like. I use to hand make my brad rolls (find one of my bread rolls recipes here ), but you can also buy them and fill them with plenty of good ingredients...here some ideas... You will need: 20 sesam/poppy seeds or simple mini bread rolls 10 dries tomatoes in oil 50gr of rucola (roquette, salad rocket, arugula) few slides of italian provolone piccante 100 gr of salami Milano /Parma ham Few slides of smoked salm Few tbs fresh cream cheese (Philadelphia type) 2 tbs of olive oil 20 nice party tooth picks Directions: Cut the bread rolls in halfs, fill 7 of them with a quarter slice of provolone, half slice Parma ham, 1 dried tomato, few leaves of rucola, top with few drops of olive oil. Cover with the top half and fix with a tooth pick.  proceed exactly in the same way with the salami. For the smoked salmon breads : spread some cream chee...

Days are getting longer and warmer here in the north...soon the berbecue season will start... I am already preparing... mentally! This nice and simple appetizer is perfect to start a nice garden party and barbecue. Speck is a distinctively juniper-flavored ham originally from Tyrol, an historical region that since 1918 partially lies in Italy (Alto Adige). Speck's origins at the intersection of two culinary worlds is reflected in its synthesis of salt-curing and smoking. You can find the "Speck" in Italian grocery shops as well as the "bocconcini mozzarellas", very small mozzarellas, the same size of a cherry tomato. Have fun preparing and eating these delicious bites! Makes 20 bites 10 slices of Italian speck 20 Bocconcini mozzarellas few branches of fresh Thyme Unrefined Grey Sea salt to taste  Freshly grounded pepper 2-3 stbs of very good quality extra virgin olive oil 20 toothsticks Preparation: Drain the mozzarellas in a colander....

I was really amazed by the colour of these potatoes, when I bought them didn't know exactly what to do with... then I found this recipe for a beautiful and tasteful appetizer.... Very simple just fried slices of potatoes, zucchini and small aggplant...one up on the other. The result is a very colorful mini millefoglie. Perfect as a starter to impress your guests. Serving 4 Ingredients: 2 vitelotte potatoes 1 small zucchini 1 small eggplant 1/4 liter of frying oil unrefined grey sea salt to taste     Heat the frying oil in a small frying pan. Cut the potatoes and the veggies in very tin slices, dry eachsilce with a towel, dip them in the very hot oil, be carefull slices must be chruncy but not burned! Drain on kitchen paper. Set as a millefoglie, one different slice up on the other on a serving plate. Top with a potato slice. Serve immediately. Buon appetito!

I am spending my holidays in Italy, on the Adriatic sea cost. Here you can get the best seafood of the region.... I am trying some starters for the New Year's eve dinner... here is a suggestion for you if you manage to get fresh seafood in your region... this is the best... simple and easy! Serving 2 Ingredients: 8 Oysters 4 "Fasolari" or small scallops (coquilles Saint Jacques) 8 Venus clams (Tartufi di mare) 4 Lemons Pepper to taste Carefully open the seafood shells and place them on a serving plate, cut the lemon in quarters, cut the quarters in half. place them on the serving plate, sprinkle some pepper on the top of the opened seafood. Eat each shell with lemon juice..... Buon Appetito!

This is my revisited mini version of the original "Panzerotti" from my auntie Maria. They remind me my childhood in Italy, those kind of things I will never forget... today I love to make these bites for my friends. The main ingredients are the wine pastry (made of flour, olive oil and white wine), ricotta and mortadella with a sprinkle of marjoram. A perfect appetizer, surprisingly tasty!  Makes about 12 bites Ingredients: - For the pastry 200gr all pourposes flour 70 dry whiteh wine 50 Extra virgin olive oil A good pinch of salt - for the filling 200gr Italian Ricotta (better if sheep's milk ricotta) 150gr Mortadella chopped 2 eggs 50gr Grated Parmigiano Reggiano 1 teaspoon of dried or fresh marjoram A pinch of freshly grated nutmeg Salt and pepepr to taste - For the glazing 1 egg 1 teaspoon of marjoram  Preapare the pastry Add all the pastry ingredients in a mixing bowl or in a food mixer and mix till you get the a mixture as you see it in t...

    Not much time left for cooking and your guests will be there in a moment?  This is the recipie for you! A"quick&easy made" version of the Italian Scarola (endive) Pie, also perfect as appetizer. I used black olives and added few cherry tomatoes and anchovies to give more taste, you can skip them if you like or use green olives. Serving 6-8 Ingredients: 2 Packs ready rolled puff pastry 1 Bunch Scarola (Endive) 1 Cup pitted black olives  1 Garlic clove, finely chopped 2 or 3 Cherry tomatoes, cut in quarters Red chili (to taste) 3 Tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil 1 or 2 Anchovies Salt to taste 1 Egg for glazing Preheat the oven at 180C°. Cut and Wash the scarola. Bring to a boil a pot of salty water. Add the scarola in the water and cook for just one or two minutes. Drain the scarola in a small colander and cut it in pieces with a kitchen scissor. Pour the oil in a pan add garlic, chili, anchovies, let it fry then add tomatoes olives et ...

 Pizzettine is one of my favourite appetizers. They have a big success wherever I propose them. A real pizza taste, a tender heart of mozzarella and tomato, a crusty pastry around....delicious, best if served warmish. You can also add a small piece of anchovy or anything else you like, you can even make a "Pizzettina Bianca" (without tomato) for example using spinach, gorgonzola cheese and walnuts (See an exemple at the bottom of this post). Pizzette are so quick and easy to make so why don't delight your guests with Pizzettine for this weekend aperitif ?  Makes 20 pizzettine Igredients:1 roll of fresh Puff Pastry (you can easily find it in grocery stores) Half Cup of tomato puree 1 Medium Mozzarella  2 Tbs Extra virgin olive oil 1 Tbs origan Salt to taste Instructions: First of all cut the mozzarella in small cubes and let drain in a small colander. Add1 Tbs Oil and a good pinch of salt  in the tomato puree. Pre-heat the oven 180°C (360°F°) Wit...

  This appetizer will delight you and your guests! Easy and quickly done once you have prepared and frozen the mini crust cups in advance. To prepare the mini cups please see the instructions in the "Mini soft fruit tarts" post . The only difference is that you will need to mix white and whole wheat flour (50/50), the rest of the process remains the same! Makes 12 Mini Cheese Tarts Ingredients: 12 mini crust pie tarts as described in the "Mini soft fruits tarts" post NB: use mixed white and whole wheat flour for this recipie 1 small pack of Cream Cheese (Philadelphia, St. Moret or other, you could even use fresh goat cream cheese if you like it, in this case the taste will be much stronger) 3 Tbs Liquid Honey Half Cup of Pistachios crushed 12 Mini cupcake paper cases Once you have prepared the Mini crust pie cups, place them in the paper cases. Fill them with 1 teaspoon of cream cheese, pour half teaspoon of honey on the cheese, sprinkle a pinch of cr...

 Caprese is the italian word to define a simple dish made of fresh tomato slices and mozzarella cheese slices topped with extra virgin Olive Oil, salt and fresh basil leaves. This is my finger food version of it. You can dress it an a llarge servng plate ot make mini single portions (finger food portions, see photos at the end of the post as a suggestion). Enjoy!  Ingredients for 14 mini portions: 14 mini mozzarella cheese balls 14 freshly cut basil leaves 14 small cherry tomatoes 14 tooth sticks 3 to 4 Tbs of exra Virgin Olive Oil 1 Tbs of Gey unrifined Sea Salt grounded  in a mortar 1/2 Teaspoon of origan (facultative) Instructions: Wash the basil leaves and the cherry tomatoes, take a tooth stick and start to compose the Mini Caprese with in the order: the basil leave folded in 2, the mini mozzarella ball, the cherry tomato. Place it in a tray and keep on doing the same for all the tooth sticks. Top with the olive oil, salt and powd...