Figs Au Gratin With Goat Cheese And Crisp Prosciutto

Figs Au Gratin With Goat Cheese And Crisp Prosciutto

This dish reminds me of the wonderful years we spent in Italy.

It brings back the memories  of sun kissed, soft hills in Tuscany and the smell of rosemary and lemon blossoms.

So, if you want to bring a bit of an Italian holiday feeling on your table, this is the perfect dish!  

You need:

6 ripe green or black figs, halved lengthwise

6 thin slices of Prosciutto , halved

1 ½ teaspoon of honey

1 spoonful of extra virgin olive oil

200g of mild, soft goat cheese (or mild Gorgonzola)

1 teaspoon of finely chopped Rosemary

Rosemary sprigs for decoration

Salt, freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

Preheat oven to  250 °C

Crisp prosciutto (as described in  post: Poached eggs with spinach and crisp Prosciutto)

Place Prosciutto on a baking sheet. If you want the Prosciutto extra crisp brush with a bit of olive oil.

Bake in preheated oven at 200°C (375 F) for about 15 minutes or until Prosciutto starts to crinkle.

To drain the excess fat, place the baked Prosciutto on a paper towel.

The Prosciutto will crisp after cooling down.

Mix Goat cheese, olive oil, rosemary, pepper and  salt (if necessary) until creamy.

Cut fig halves carefully crosswise and fill with the goat cheese mixture.

Sprinkle with a bit of honey.

Place in a baking dish.

Bake for about 15 minutes or until goat cheese begins to bubble slightly.

Remove and decorate with crisp prosciutto and rosemary sprigs.

Serves 12 portions. Enjoy!

See you next Tuesday.

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Surprising Fusion: Scallops a la Bloody Mary

  
Who would think of marinating seafood with a very well known cocktail (!) and get as result an amazing appetizer?
This recipe has become very popular in the Peruvian nouvelle cuisine and I must admit it was a total surprise for me when I tried it at first.
I didn't expect it would taste so good but the result of this fusion is superb.  The marinade is not exactly the recipe of Bloody Mary because it’s necessary to modify a bit in order to get a richer texture and softer flavors but basically it is very similar to the cocktail.
I adapted the recipe further by adding Tabasco (as you know, some like it hot ;) ) to round up the flavors and  chopped celery to make it a bit crunchier.

You need:

1 dozen fresh scallops (make sure they are as fresh as possible)

5 spoonful of tomato sauce

2 spoonful of tomato juice

2 spoonful of ketchup

¼ teaspoon of lime zest

½ teaspoon of lime juice

1 teaspoon of Worcester sauce

Some drops of Tabasco (optional)

2 spoonful of finely chopped celery

2 ½ spoonful of Vodka

Salt, pepper

Spring onion (the green leaves) for decoration 

Preparation:

Clean the scallops carefully and dry them with a paper towel.

Mix the tomato sauce, the tomato juice and the ketchup in a glass bowl.

Next, add the celery

  
then the fresh lime zest and juice as well as the Worcester sauce and Tabasco.

Stir well.

Finally, add the Vodka and stir again until all ingredients are blent.
Mix the scallops with the marinade, cover and refrigerate for  about 1/2 hour.

Put the scallops in spoons or a Cocktail glass and decorate with spring onion (the green part) or chives.

Serves 12 individual portions.

Enjoy! See you next Tuesday!

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The Joy Of Easter

The Joy Of Easter

Easter is one of my favorite celebrations, a new awakening for mankind and nature and a celebration of life.
In Austria, it marks the beginning of springtime as well.
Even now that I live in the southern hemisphere and we are approaching the end of summer I still associate it, curiously enough, with springtime.

As they say: Old habits die hard :)

I love to bring this spirit of joy and celebration to our home and would like to share these pictures with you.
It was not easy to find a special dye  for Easter eggs, so in the end, after looking in many shops and supermarkets, I had to boil the eggs and simply paint them afterwards with food dye and not dye them during boiling as usual.

This is why the coloring is a bit irregular but it adds a little bit of personality to it, don't you think? :)

Most of my adornments miraculously survived the transport from Italy to Peru, so I was able to arrange a little easter tree.

Sadly, some of the most precious adornments, which were hand-painted  by my grandmother, didn't make it.
Here is one of the "survivors"

And here is one of the less fortunate ones

Anyhow, on Sunday we will enjoy a nice Easter Brunch "Al Fresco" with still warm weather and (hopefully) sunshine.

We will be enjoying these cupcakes we found at a local pastry shop, which are all handmade and really cute.

Only this little Bunny needs a bit of a cheer up :)

So, my dear friends, I wish you all a happy easter and a wonderful celebration with your loved ones!

See you next Tuesday!

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La dolce vita at its best: Tiramisu

La dolce vita at its best: Tiramisu in a glass

There are many versions of  this Italian classic and many families like to add their personal touch to the preparation of Tiramisu.

This dessert comes originally from the northern Italian region of Veneto but  it became soon very popular in and outside Italy's borders.

Tiramisu is an easy and elegant dessert and can be served  as a  big non bake cake or in individual portions.

I prefer to serve it in small portions, presented in a glass because I think it simply looks prettier that way.

To prepare Tiramisu you need:

250 g (8oz ) of Mascarpone

1 spoonful of thickened cream, lightly whipped

2 egg yolks

2 spoonful of caster sugar

1 teaspoon of lemon zest

1/8 of cold espresso (or strong black coffee)

2 EL of Amaretto or another almond liqueur     

100-150 g (4.8 oz ) of sponge fingers

2 spoonful cocoa for dusting

1 cup fresh raspberries and some mint leaves for decoration

Preparation:

Pour coffee and Amaretto in a pot and set aside.

Beat egg yolks, sugar ,Mascarpone and lemon zest with an electric beater until thick and creamy.

Add the whipped cream, combine gently with the other ingredients.

Place sponge fingers in a large dish and brush generously with the espresso Amaretto mix, until  soaked.

Break sponge fingers into smaller pieces, fit them into a martini glass, pressing down gently.

Cover the layer generously with the Mascarpone mixture.

Repeat layers once.

Dust with Cocoa, top with fresh raspberries and a mint leave.

Serves 4
Enjoy!

See you next Tuesday  :)

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Breakfast De Luxe

Poached Eggs with Spinach and Crisp Prosciutto

Easter is near and at this time of the year there is nothing better than to enjoy a relaxed brunch with family and friends.
I love to celebrate this special occasion and try to surprise my guests with little treats and traditional, seasonal dishes.
Today's suggestion is a delicious, timeless recipe and by using crisp prosciutto instead of bacon it's lighter and healthier than the classic version.

You need:

2 extra  fresh eggs
200g (6.4 ounces) fresh spinach
1 teaspoon of vinegar or rice vinegar (optional)
2 slices of prosciutto
1/2  teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper

Preparation:
Spinach
Wash the spinach and in the meantime boil water in a large pot. Cook the spinach for only 1 minute.

Once done, drain the water and press out excess liquid from the spinach. Then, chop the spinach roughly.

Lastly, add salt and pepper.

Crisp Prosciutto

Place the prosciutto on a baking sheet. If you want to make the prosciutto extra crisp, brush it with a bit of olive oil. Afterwards, bake it in a preheated oven at 200C (375 F) for about 15 minutes or until the proscuitto gets a darker color. To drain the excess fat, place the baked proscuitto on a paper towel.

The prosciutto will crisp after cooling down.

Poached eggs:
For the eggs, heat water in a medium pot until it is about to boil. Add a bit of salt and the vinegar if you wish.
Break an egg into a cup and put a ring mold in the water.

Then, drop the egg carefully into the ring mold. This way, it will keep a nice round shape.

You can also slide the egg gently into the water and, with the help of a spoon, push the eggwhite gently
towards the yolk until done.

Don't panic if the whole procedure looks a bit messy. This is happens but in the end everything will work out fine. Cook in almost boiling water for about 4 to 5 minutes until the eggwhite should is cooked, but still a bit wobbly.

Serves 2
Enjoy, see you next Tuesday!

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Discovering markets and hidden treasures

Whenever I travel to a new country one of my first visits is always  to a market.
It somehow reveals you the spirit and atmosphere of the place as well as the way people are living their daily lives.
Organized tours are OK but they only show you the sights people would like you to see and that makes you  just a tourist, not a traveler.
Or, to quote G.K. Chesterton, : "The traveler sees what he sees, the tourist sees what he has come to see"

Markets here are fantastic places to discover. There are so many products I've never seen before a and when you ask people about their origin and use they are friendly and very proud about the interest shown.

Usually I go with my shopping list and then end up often with some totally different products, but it's great fun to learn something new about the local cuisine and sometimes other shoppers even passed on some their favorite recipes.

At this market stall I found an incredible variety of potatoes in different shapes and colors: yellow, purple, pink... side by side with purple corn. What looks like harmless Capsicum at the right side of the picture is a devilishly hot chili called "Rocoto". 

Between the apples and oranges you can see  gorgeous Chirimoyas, great for light desserts and juices.

Exotic fruits and peeled Grenadines, ready to be prepared in fresh juice or for  decorating, laying side by side with apples and raspberries.

An old man, selling traditional medicinal herbs like Lanten (a great anti-inflammatory ), Coca leaves (excellent for altitude sickness. It's also used as a mild anesthetic and to damp excessive appetite), Eucalyptus ( for respiratory problems and influenza) and many others which I still need to investigate.
More about it in one of my next posts.

At the end of the day we went to a beach restaurant where we tried a delightful " Pulpo al Olivar" or Octopus with Olive Mayonnaise.

 And encountered "The Three Graces" enjoying the sunset under their colorful umbrellas.

Have a great week ahead,see you next Tuesday!

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