The following days will be hot. Our Belgian guests are already getting used to that kind of weather. A fresh lunch outside is a nice welcome to old friends. A green cold soup (cfr blogpost Green gazpacho), a cold pasta salad, a simple green salad, a simple caprese (tomato, mozzarella and fresh basil) and some … More Lunch in the shade
Tomorrow the ‘busy’ summer starts for real. I need to be prepared for a lot of cooking, for familiar and not so familiar guests, I love it (although not all the time ;)). What to eat today? Or what to prepare with the fridge leftovers? A round radicchio, 8 large carrots, shallots..all prepared in tasty … More Trio of side dishes as main dish
After two years of being here in Italy and not having an official job yet I understand that cooking is so much more relaxing if you can do it ‘slowly’ and for certain recipes it is so important to take your time. Remove the skin of 400 grams of salmon filet. Cut the fish in … More Fried fish
Although I know it’s not the most healthy ingredient, I love the local sausage meat. Meatlove for 2 is impossible, but a leftover is also nice cold as lunch. For a ‘summer’ version, it’s important to add some color. Chicken and Italian sausages contain already enough salt and certain other spices. Mix 400 grams of … More Meatlove docV /Italian style
Not that I want to be a fancy cook, but I try to find some variations on classical recipes, avoiding lactose. Half 2 medium sized eggplants. Make some incisions and spread some olive oil. Bake for 30 mins in the oven at 180°. Cool down. In the meanwhile, prepare a tomato sauce with 1 chopped … More Small kitchen, perfect organization, although 😉
I discover some fresh pasta made of farro flour and will give it a try. Spelt is a nice alternative and is a healthy ingredient. If the fresh version is tasty I can try it myself for another occasion. Today filled squid, vongole in a tomato sauce with spelt pasta. For the filling soak 1 … More Farro or spelt pasta
Risotto can be really rich and heavy. It’s is not so difficult to make a lighter version if you use less butter, less cheese and more vegetables. Heat 350 ml of water. Add some ready made vegetable stock powder. Heat 1 teaspoon of butter and the same amount of olive oil. Chop and fry 1 … More Light risotto
Pistou is like a pesto, but without the nuts and cheese is optional. Prepare the pistou in a mortar to fortify your arms ;-). Put 4 garlic cloves and a lot of basil in the mortar and start (you can spread this activity to give your arms some rest). Add olive oil until you obtain … More Soupe au pistou
It’s a pity to see so many good fish parts ending up in the garbage,thus this time I ask the fishmonger to keep the heads and bones of a large fish to make some fish broth. Nothing difficult about that, so handy, even for a later recipe. Use a large casserole. Wash the fish parts … More Fish broth to make a simple fish dish special
Certain days pass by so quickly that it’s time to start your evening meal and you didn’t even have some proper lunch. Mix 200 grams of light ricotta with a handful of chopped parsley and basil, 4 chopped garlic cloves, pepper and salt. Spread on a rectangular puff pastry (on baking paper). Spread 2 sliced … More Just an easy day
Doc V's Healthy Kitchen 