Recipe: La Parmigiana #2

If you can't have glutten this is a great recipe for you. My Sicilian friend showed me how to make this. It's how his mother prepares it.

1 large eggplant or 2 medium eggplants
Pot of tomato sauce (homemade is best :) obviously )
250 grams of grated mozzarella
2 hard boiled eggs cubed
200 grams of prosciutto or ham diced
100 grams of mortadella diced (I don't like it, so I choose to omit this ingredient)
parmigian cheese
fresh basil shred into bits
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 350*-400*.
Slice the eggplant into thin slices and salt lightly. 
In a pan, heat some olive oil and fry each piece of eggplant lightly. When the eggplant comes out of the pan, drain the excess oil on sheets of paper towel.
In an oven proof casserole dish, ladle a thin layer of sauce into the casserole. Lay down a layer of eggplant, cover with mozzarella, ricotta, basil, egg, the meats and a fresh grating of parmigian cheese. Season with salt and pepper and then cover with another layer of tomato sauce.  Repeat the layering until you run out of all ingredients.
Finish by coating the top layer  of eggplant with sauce and extra parmigian cheese.
Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until there is a lightly golden crust.
Let sit for 10 to 15 minutes. Cut and serve!

 ~Raspberry Truffle

How to Make the Most of Leftovers

I don't know about anyone else, but I really do love leftovers.  I usually only cook for me (sometimes for friends and roommates) so I always wind up with leftovers because I cook in bulk all the time.  I always have a lot of leftovers for several different reasons...

1. I'm not used to cooking for only 1 person.  In college I used to cook all the time for my roommates, friends or family. If I ever wound up preparing something just for me, it was ramen... or a dish using the leftovers from other dinners.
2. I love cooking but I don't want to cook for myself every single night.  I would wind up eating out a lot more if I had to depend on my own ingenuity constantly.
3. I really dislike making single portions of food.  You waste time portioning out everything exactly to make a meal for a single night, but what happens if you're more hungry that evening, or you've made something AMAZING that you would like to eat again. You would than have to cook again which would utterly defeat the purpose. You lose time and well, inevitably the dish will not be exactly the same as the first time you prepared it. 
4. I really, really like sharing food. If I were to cook only just enough for myself, I wouldn't be able to offer some to the roommate who passes through the kitchen. There wouldn't be enough to offer an exchange, "Here try some of this." "And you try some of this!"  It's a lot of fun  when you get to exchange bits and pieces of meals and to try different things.
5. I find that a lot of food tastes better the day after. Some spices become richer after a day or so. Making enough for leftovers is a great way to see which flavors will deepen and stregthen and which stay relatively the same. The flavors blend and mesh, individual spices become less individual. They become one unique flavor (as opposed to 6 unique flavors fighting for superiority).

But leftovers do present an interesting challenge for me. I make enough food in one evening for 4-6 people. I am one person, meaning it takes me 3-5 days to finish all of the leftovers!  That can get really boring, really quickly. A dish is wonderful the first time eaten. It's a novelty and special. It's often something new that you've never eaten before. The second day you eat the dish, it's better. The flavors aren't so crisp.  They have blended and in a way become more potent in their combinations. By the third day the flavors have settled. The dish is still good, but your palate is looking for something new. You pick at the food while wishing for something else. The fourth day, the dish is okay, but let's face it, you've had enough. The fifth day, well either the dish has gone bad, or you just don't want anything to do with it. You either wind up throwing it away or avoiding it; meaning you gaze at the container for a moment, shake your head and grab something else... This means that in a week or so, you'll find a very disgusting container in your refrigerator... All in all something will be wasted which is a shame (especially if it was really, really good lol).

Soo how do you deal with this leftover madness?
Well, the easiest solution is to invite someone to come eat with you. Hahahaha It's a wonderful solution. You get rid of your leftovers and generally you get lots of compliments, which is always a lot of fun.
But let's face it, guests aren't always a possibility. Sometimes you live in the middle of nowhere and it's hard for guests to get to you (welcome to my life here in Sesto Fiorentino! lol). So what do you do then?

How do you avoid throwing out perfectly good food just because you're sick of eating it?

I've found a solution that is actually kind of fun. Get creative. Turn you're leftovers into something else entirely.

For example I made curried turkey last Tuesday.
Day 1: Curried turkey with mini puff pastries (That night I also ate a half portion of pasta carbonara made by my roommate but that got finished by all of us.)
Day 2 lunch: Curried turkey with a simple risotto and mini puff pastries
Day 2 dinner: Curried turkey with risotto, salad dressed with lemon juice, oregano and salt
Day 3 lunch: Cold Curried turkey and peas sandwich on fresh Italian bread
Day 4 dinner: Curried turkey reheated with peas with plain white rice, salad with tomatoes, mozarella and balsamic vinegar
Day 5 lunch: Curried turkey with peas and plain white risotto, salad with balsamic vinegar and baked onion rings with mayonnaise or balsamic vinegar.

Mind you, the curried turkey is kind of heavy in its cream sauce and also has a lot of strong flavor components making it difficult to pair with a lot of ingredients (if I had made an excess of grilled or roasted turkeyI would probably maked a grilled chicken and turkey sandwich with tomato soup on the side). My goal was to lighten the meal and finish up the leftovers. I still have quite a bit left though... Soo I'll just keep updating this until it's all gone. Luckily I'm very, very good at creative.

~Raspberry Truffle

Recipe: La Parmigiana #1

Eggplant Parmigiana is slowly becoming one of my favorite things to eat, and one of my favorite things to make, even though it takes forever to make. I have a couple of amazing variations on this recipe. The first is the one I traditionally use.

1 large eggplant or 2 medium eggplants
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup breadcrumbs or flour
Pot of tomato sauce (homemade is best :) obviously )
Grated mozzarella
250 grams of ricotta
parmigian cheese
oregano
salt
pepper
fresh basil (to put in the layers)

Everyone says Parmigiana is complicated... but I think it's pretty simple if a little time consuming...
Preheat the oven to 350*-400*.
Slice the eggplant into thin slices and salt lightly.  Beat the eggs with the various spices. Dip each piece of eggplant into the egg batter and then coat evenly with the breadcrumbs.
In a pan heat some olive oil and fry each piece of eggplant. When the eggplant comes out of the oil, drain the excess oil on sheets of paper towel.
In an oven proof casserole dish, ladle a thin layer of sauce into the casserole. Lay down a layer of eggplant, cover with a layer of mozzarella, ricotta and a fresh grating of parmigian cheese. Season with salt and pepper and then cover with another layer of tomato sauce.  Repeat the layering until you run out of all ingredients.
Finish by coating the top layer  of eggplant with sauce and extra parmigian cheese.
Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until there is a lightly golden crust.
Let sit for 10 to 15 minutes. Cut and serve!

~Raspberry Truffle

A New Year, A New Start

I originally created this blog around two years ago as a way to share food ideas with two of my best friends. It was supposed to be a way to keep us close even though we'd be far apart. BUT, well, none of us was especially good at keeping it updated.  And as much as we all love food, we were only posting pictures of food and talking about cravings (in the 2 months that we actually kept it updated regularly). We were able to stay close to one another even without the blog.
But over the last couple of years I've discovered that I really do love food.  I love eating. I love making food. I love the experience of dining with friends either at home or out at restaurants.
So I've decided to keep going with this blog. I want to talk about food, cravings, share recipes and even talk about some of the amazing dishes that I've found here in Florence. I keep finding new foods. I keep finding new ways of mixing tastes and flavors and new ways to present foods (pretty food makes it taste even better... at least most of the time!). 

Mangiare= To eat

Edible= Good for eating 

Mangiable= All things that are good for eating

And so that's what this blog is. It's a place to talk about all the things that are mangiable. 

~Raspberry Truffle

Recipe: Curried Turkey with mini puff pastries

Curried Turkey
500-600 grams of turkey cut into cubes
200 mL of cream (recipe calculated with heavy cream)
1/2 a medium onion diced
1 tsp olive oil
curry powder
nutmeg
paprika

Saute the onion in a small quantity of oil using a low heat. When the onion begins to wilt add the turkey. Let cook on all sides and add the spices to taste (I like things spicy so I tend to add around 1 1/2 tbs of curry, 1 tbs of paprika, and 1 tsp of nutmeg). When the turkey is almost cooked through add the cream. Let simmer until the turkey cubes are fully cooked (do not let the cream come to a boil).

Serve over rice or with mini puff pastries. 

Puff pastries
1 cup water
1 cup butter
1 tsp salt

1 cup flour

Preheat the oven to 220* C (sorry I live in Italy right now and don't know the Farenheit :( ).

Combine first 3 ingredients in medium saucepan.
Heat and stir on medium-high until the mixture starts to boil and the butter is completely melted.
Reduce the heat.

Add flour. Stir until the mixture is fully incorporated and begins to pull away from side of saucepan/ It will now resemble a soft dough. Remove from heat and let cool for about 5 minutes.

Add the eggs1 at a time. Beat until well combined and the dough becomes thick and glossy.
Drop (about 2-3 tsps) for each onto a baking pan lined with parchment paper (you can also place them onto a greased baking sheet... but I prefer the easy cleanup of parchment paper).
Bake for around 30 minutes until dry. It should make about 36 puffs. (1 is 1 serving)


This came out really delicious!  And tomorrow I'm going to eat the leftovers with rice!

Recipe: Tortellini Soup...

It's not exactly soup.... There was definitely less broth than I had anticipated, but it was absolutely delicious anyway. :)
It was wonderful for the "snowstorm" that kept me trapped in Sesto Fiorentino. Warm with a little kick of goodness.

Tortellini Soup
5-6 carrots, peeled and sliced
4-5 stalks of celery, washed and sliced
1/2 a large onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, diced
3 medium sized potatoes, cubed
Olive oil
1 boullion cube (follow package to make broth)
1 package of prosciutto tortellini
nutmeg
red pepper flakes
oregano and basil
salt and pepper


Saute the onions and garlic over a low heat until the onion begins to wilt (approximately 5 minutes). Add the spices and cook for 1 minute before adding the carrots, celery and potatoes. When the veggies are almost half done pour in the boullion cube broth (about a quart). Cover and let simmer for about a half hour (the potatoes should be almost fully dissolved). If adventurous, and legally of age, add in a liberal amount of whiskey for flavor. (Don't worry the alcohol will cook off).
Uncover and add the tortellini.  Cook according to package time.

~Raspberry Truffle

Recipe: Spicy Chickpea Stew

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp curry powder

1 tsp paprika

1 cup chopped ripe tomatoes (the ones I used were almost overly ripe)

1 can cannelloni beans, drained and rinsed

2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed

2 tsp sugar

1 quart vegetable broth

salt and pepper
pasta

1. In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat.

2. Add the garlic and cook until the garlic begins to brown (2-3 minutes).

3. Add the spices and cook for one minute.

4. Add the tomatoes, beans, chickpeas, sugar, broth, a pinch of salt and black pepper to taste. Stir well.

5. Bring to a simmer and let cook for 30 to 45 minutes. Add more liquid if the broth evaporates too much.
6. Boil water with some salt. Cook pasta according to package instructions.

7. Crush about half of the beans and chickpeas, then stir the soup well before serving.
8. Pour the soup into a bowl and serve with a small helping of pasta on top.  Decorate with a sprig of parsley or basil (I didn't have either, so my plate had no decorations).



This came out absolutely delicious!  Thanks to Oh, Mishka for the wonderful idea!!
(spicy moroccan chickpea soup recipe)
I haven't been to the supermarket in ages so I had to get a little creative. I used Mishka's recipe as a base and then adapted it to what I had in my kitchen!   Next time I might add some potatoes to the mix as well. 
I ate it with a piece of foccaccia on the side with cream cheese to counter the spicy.  SOooo Delicious!!!

~Raspberry Truffle