My Italian Cuisine

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 cheese o

 The content and pictures of this post are copyright registered & protected ©myitaliancuisine This is a traditional recipe from the region of Rome. You can find rice filled tomatoes (Pomodori ripieni di riso alla romana) in every "Rosticceria" a kind of italian "to take away" small restaurant in every street of Rome. They are traditionally baked together with potatoes and served warmish or cold. This is the original recipe but feel free to add veggies or meat if you like. Enjoy! Ingredients: • 8 large Tomatoes • 160 gr parboiled rice • 10 gr basil leaves • 5 gr parsley • origan • 2 garlic cloves • 4 tbs extra virgin olive oil • 1 teaspoon salt • pepper to taste Instruction: Wash and dry the tomatoes, Cut the top (about 1cm)and keep aside. Empy the tomatoes with spoon, keep the pulp aside in a bowl. Put a little salt inside each empy tomato.  Set the salted tomatoes to rest for  at least 30 to lose some of the water. Me

 Here is an an exception to the Italian cuisine..... as the Key lime pie is one of my favourite dessert ever! What to say about the key lime pie? For those who don't know it yet...  Key lime pie is an American dessert made of key lime juice, egg yolks, and sweetened condensed milk in a pie crust. Is the official pie of the state of Florida, named after the little Key lime very common in Florida, more tart and aromatic than the common "Persian limes". Of course in Europe is impossible to find key limes... I always use common limes but the result is not bad.... for the topping we have two options: wipped cream or meringue...I prefer the first option. Ingredients: - For the crust: 1 1/4 cups graham cracker (US) or digestive biscuits (EU) crumbs  2 tablespoons sugar 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted - For the filling:  1  can sweetened condensed milk (Nestlé) 4 large egg yolks 3/4 cup fresh lime juice (about 4-5 limes) The grated peel of 1 lime - For

This is a perfect summer dish: fish, sea fruits, olives and veggies all in one dish....easy to prepare it will delight your summer evenings. Serve with a good Italian white wine! Serving 4 Ingredients: 1 large sea bream, cleaned 2 handfull of mussels (cozze) 2 handfull of clams (Vongole italiane) 2 cups of small potatoes (pommes grenaille) or 2 large potatoes in small cubes 1 handfull of green or black olives (as you like best) 2 cups of cherry tomatoes 2 yellow and red paprikas 6 tbs of olive oil Half cup of dry white wine 2 garlic cloves 1 bunch of fresh italian parsley 1 stalk of fresh rosemary Pepper and salt to taste Instructions: Keep the clams in salted water for at least 2 hour before to cook. Clean up the mussels shells and remove the "beard", rince under cool water. Peel the potatoes and cut in small cubes if necessary. Wash the tomatoes, wash and cut the pepper in small pieces. Finely cut the parsley and the rosemary. Pre heat your oven on

Finally here is my Italian version of the famous american cheese cake! Ricotta and mascarpone replace the original Philadephia cheese....the rest is almost the same. The crust is made with the traditional American Graham crackers got from my dear friend Bernice just back from the US ;) Thank you Bernie, the cake was so good!! The soft fruits are from my garden....in this season the back of the garden is coloured of these delicious little fruits every evening I can get one full cup at least. Enjoy this recipe...you will love it! Serving 10-12 Ingredients: 200gr "Graham" Crackers or "Digestive" biscuits or "Petit burre cereals" 120gr  melted butter 250gr italian ricottacheese 250 gr Italian mascarpone cheese 4 medium eggs 180gr white granulated sugar For the soft fruit jam 3 full cups of mixed soft fruits 4 Tbs white granulated sugar Instructions: Preheat your oven on 175C°.  Place the graham carckers (or other biscuits) into a mixer a

What to say about Carbonara? It's one of the most traditional and simple Italian dish from Rome, where it is also made with Rigatoni instead of spaghetti. Travelling all over the world I have seen so many "strange" versions of this pasta: with cream, with 1 egg on the top with peas...I cannot recall them all. I do not say they are not good but they are not Carbonara. Here you have the easy and real Italian Carbonara recipe. Buon appetito! Serving 4 120g Italian "guanciale" (or bacon if you cannot find "guanciale") 3-4 Tbs extra vergin olive oil 360gr spaghetti 4 eggs 35 g Grated grana padano or parmigiano cheese 35 g Grated pecorino romano cheese Salt Pepper Instructions: 1. Cut the Bacon in small cubes or rectangles (7-8 mm.) 2.  Beat the 4 eggs in a large bowl, add pepper and half of the grated cheese mixture.  Mix well. 3. Place the Spaghetti in a pan full of salted boiling water. 4. In the meanwhile place the bacon in a l

Gnocchi are one of favourite italian dishes. When I was a child, my mother used to handmake gnocchi every Sunday morning. The good smell of the tomato sauce used to wake me up every Sunday morning and I knew what we were going to eat for lunch... Today when I can I make my gnocchi at home, when I can't I buy some fresh gnocchi at the italian crocery shop...  I prepare gnocchi with a very simple bolognese sauce, the original "Bolognese sauce" is very fat (using pancetta, butter and milk or cream) and has a very long cooking time. Try this recipe, you will not be disappointed  ; ) Makes 4 servings Ingredients: 500 gr fresh Italian Potato Gnocchi 400gr of beef mince 3/4 liter of tomato puree "Passata" Half glass of dry white wine (red will also do  but I prefer the white one) 5 Tbs of extra virgin olive oil 1 small onion 1 carrot 1 celery stalk 2 cloves Salt and pepper to taste 5 liters of salty boiling water Preparing the bolognese sauce:

I am a big fan of Italian expresso coffee of course, there is no way to start my day without a good expresso, but in the evening I like to have my cup of tea. My favourite is the Dong Ding Oolong tea (from the Dong Ding region in central Taiwan) which due to its low theine content is a good tea for an afternoon or evening break. Only recently I discovered this marveillous green powder called Macha tea. Macha is uniquely Japanese, it is the highest quality tea available in Japan. Macha is traditionally used for the Japanese tea ceremony. Benefits of green tea are well known, with Macha tea the actual entire tea leaf is consumed wich gives even higher concentrations of antioxindants, catechins and vitamins. Consider reading this for more info about Macha tea. Macha is also widely used for cooking: cookies, micho and a large variety of food preparations. I love Macha tea special taste... so today I will start a new recipes category: "Cooking with Macha". Here is

Making pizza at home is nice and much more healthy (less salt, less fat and you know what you eat!) and more: you can make your own pizza on your taste ;) It's funny to do it with children: they love preparing and decorating their own small pizzas in a funny way. Last week I had a pizza party at home. I prepared a variety of my handmade pizzas...with olives and salami, Speck ham and mushrooms, asparagus and cherry tomatoes and a classic Margherita with oregano. Here you have some pictures and you can use them as suggestion for your own Home made pizza parties. For the pizza dough please see our basic pizza recipe here . Makes 4 round Pizzas: Ingredients: 1 portion of Pizza dough, see recipe here devided in 4 parts For the " pizza with green olives, mushrooms and salami ": 1 medium mozzarella 2 Tbs of tomato puree 1 cup of green olives 1 cup of finely sliced fresh mushrooms Few slices of salami Milano 1 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil Pepper to taste

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!

These croissants briochés with apricot jam filling are perfect for the traditional Italian breakfast: Cornetto e Cappuccino ! WOOOW I feel back in Italy already! Freshly baked they are delicious and the good baking smell will go all over your house...so what are you waiting to bake your own cornetti? The basic dough is the same of the French braided brioche Ingredients: 1French brioche dough  see recipe here 1 cup of apricot jam 1 beaten egg for the glaze 1 tbs of milt for the glaze few tbs of pearl sugar for decoration Instructions: With a rolling pin start to roll out your brioche dough till you get a large circle. Try the get a perfect circle like the one above. Cut the circle in 16 triangles. Make a small cut at the base of the triangle. Fill with a teaspoon of jam. Roll the croissant starting from the large base. Roll all the croissants.  Place them on an oven tray with parchment paper and make them rest for one hour. In the meanwhile p

This delicious salami bites are so easy to make....the secret is the italian Salami: " Salame schiacciato aquilano" from the Abruzzi... an excellent product made in Torano (Italy) . Of course you can use any other traditional italian salami instead. Perfect for your parties and "Aperitivi" ;) Ingredients: 1 piece of simple focaccia 8 cherry tomatoes 1 cup of creamy cheese with herbs 1 spring onion few drops of extra virgin olive oil Cut the focaccia in half (lenghtside). Cut each half in small rectangles. Cover each rectangle with the layer of cream cheese. Cut the salami in slides. Place the salami on the cheese, finish with a cherry tomato and a ring of spring onion fix with a wooden stick. Place in a serving plate and pour few drops of olive oil on the top. Buon appetito!

Probably one of my favourite Pizzas. Funghi Porcini are so tasteful...we do not need any other ingredient  to be added on this pizza...except mozzarella of course and if you like a taste of white trufle oil (olio al tartufo bianco). Una delizia! Enjoy! For the dough and the cooking method please see the basic pizza making instructions here For 1 round pizza Ingredients: 1 ball of pizza dough follow recipe here:  how to make a great pizza at home 2 medium fresh Porcini or a small package of frozen Porcini 1 medium mozzarella Few basilic leaves 2 tbs Extra virgin olive oil half garlic clove chopped 1 teaspoon of finely cut parsley White Truffle oil (optional) Instructions: Preheat your oven 230-250C°. Pour the olive oil in a frying pan, add the chopped garlic, cook on medium heat till golden, add the Porcini, cook for few minutes, add the finely cut parsley and salt to taste. Keep aside. Place the pizza dough ball on  floured worktop, roll it out till you g

In Italy  the 8th of March, La Festa della Donna (Women's Day) is celebrated with bouquets of yellow mimosas. Mimosa cakes are also baked and can be found every Italian bakery. The Mimosa cake I propose here is filled with Chantilly cream and fresh ananas covered  with sponge cake crumbs as by tradition. Decoration is up on you. I use powdered sugar, hard sugar roses and leaves ;) Even if this recipe can be difficult for beginners, I can tell you that it is not as difficult as it seems, the most difficult part is to make the sponge cake, which you could also buy already prepared in some bakeries or grocery shops! Serves 10-12 ingredients: 1 sponge cake see recipe here   - for the filling: 1 portion of Italian Pastry cream see recipe here 500ml of 35% fat cream (to whip) 1 fresh ananas or 1 can of canned chopped ananas in syroup  - for the: "Bagna" (the syroup)  2 cups of water (or 2 cups of ananas syroup) 1 cup of your favo