Recipe: Asparagus Pancetta Quiche

I love quiche because it's quick and easy and because you can throw just about anything into it.  A couple of Easter's ago I made an Asparagus and Canadian Bacon Quiche and it was a delicious hit at the party.  Of course, when I was making my quiche last week, I forgot all about that recipe, so I made a new recipe using ingredients that I had in my kitchen (which were considerably different than the ingredients I'd had that Easter.  Rather than ricotta I used pecorino and stracchino cheese, a rich creamy spreadable cheese. It has a lovely flavor and tang and really kicked up the flavor of my quiche. I also used pancetta (the Italian equivalent but less fatty, cubed version of bacon) instead of Canadian bacon (also healthier than regular bacon).  I like pancetta because it isn't overly salty but still rich in flavor. I also made a few other changes, like the crust and sauteing the asparagus instead of boiling it.
I love making quiche on lazy Sundays. It's definitely a great use of time!

Ingredients:
1 pie crust (I used a pre-made non frozen crust, but anything will do. You can even make your own!)
1 tbs olive oil
2 small shallots
150 g pancetta
1 bunch of asparagus
4 eggs
200 g stracchino
100 g soft pecorino, in small pieces

what everything should look like sauteed

red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 350°F.
Lay your pie crust in an oven proof pan.  If you're using a frozen crust, just remove it from the freezer.

mixing it all together

Dice up your shallots.  Heat a bit of olive oil in a pan and when the oil is hot add in your pancetta (or if you prefer, bacon or Canadian bacon, in which case just skip the oil).  When the pancetta is sizzling add in the shallots.  Sweat the shallots over a low flame while you clean and then cut your asparagus into inch long pieces. Keep an eye on your pan and stir periodically. When the shallots become transparent and the pancetta has gotten some color, toss in the asparagus. I used really thin asparagus so I only sauteed it for a minute or so before removing everything from the heat. They cooked the rest of the way in the oven.

Gorgeous before baking

 If you are cooking with thicker asparagus, saute them for 2 to 3 minutes or until they are just about fork tender.
Let the mixture cool for a few minutes and in a separate bowl whisk the eggs, stracchino, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper together.  Do not use a lot of salt because the pancetta is already
salty enough.  If you're using bacon, don't use any salt at all. Carefully fold in the sauteed asparagus mixture and pecorino into the egg mixture.

When the asparagus is well coated with egg, pour evenly into the pie crust and fold the edge of the crust over onto itself.

Beautiful

Bake for about 45 minutes. The quiche is done when the crust is golden brown and when the egg
has risen and set all the way.

Good Friday Salad in a Jar

I made another salad in a jar on Good Friday for my day trip to Ostia Antica. I figured that it would be a great picnic lunch.
I'm not really a practicing Catholic although I usually do follow the traditions of Lent.  I usually give something up. One year it was the elevator in my building (which was great because I still don't use elevators unless I'm actually completely wiped out). Another year I gave up ice cream. That one didn't work out nearly as well.  I kept forgetting that I'd given up ice cream and wound up deciding to tack on days to my lent to make up for it.
This year, Lent seems to have flown by and I never actually got around to giving up anything. And since my awarness level wasn't particularly high, I'm sure that I also ate meat on Fridays as well. I've never been a stickler for these things, but I do try to follow along... This year I seem to have dropped the ball.
For Good Friday, however, I decided to follow tradition and have no meat all day.

So my salad was vegetarian.
My first layer was fresh olive oil, balsamic vinegar reduction and some oregano (grown and dried by one of my roomie's family).  Then I added white cannelloni beans with a little salt. Then came a layer of strawberries (I'm seriously starting to enjoy my roommates reaction when I put fruit into salads, it's utterly hilarious). Then a layer of delicious Asiago cheese because I really love its creaminess and how well it pairs with strawberries. Then I added a 1/4 of a small red onion diced coarsely because I adore the bite that the red onion adds to the salad. It adds a bit of kick and texture at the same time. Finally I filled the rest of the jar with mixed greens. I got an extra large package at the super market that has arugula, lettuce and some dark green and purple leaves that I don't know the name of. It's seriously one of my favorite mixes of salad.
Voila. My salad was amazing as I sat among the ruins of Ostia Antica. It was a truly memorable and delicious picnic lunch.

The Amphitheater and Temple

Recipe: Grilled Turkey with an Orange and Fennel Salad

This particular meal is a tribute to my last roommate Roberta, who just moved back to Campobasso. She always cooked a lot of grilled chicken and turkey.  She had a very healthy style of eating. Usually I am too lazy to get out the grill pan or have other recipes in mind. But for this meal I decided to stop being lazy and I pulled out the grill pan to grill up some turkey. 

Only the white is edible

I decided to also make an orange and fennel salad because we had talked about it one night when she was cutting up some fennel. I don’t have much experience with fennel. I’ve had it a couple of times at Bruschetta’s since they have a beautiful pear and fennel salad. But the majority of the salad isn’t actually fennel. I’ve also had it baked in the oven with cheese and butter (thanks to some of my Florentine roommates back in the days of Florence).

 I, however, had never actually cooked with fennel before so it was really interesting for me as I watched her make a fennel and apple salad. It was simple. Thinly sliced green apple and fennel, salt, pepper and olive oil. She explained to me that her salad is traditionally made in Sicily with oranges but that the green apple worked as well because they have little more bite to them than an ordinary red or yellow apple.

I was fascinated and promptly bought a fennel… and then being me, did nothing with it for over a week. Luckily, fennel holds well in the refrigerator.

A traditional Sicilian Salad

Now for anyone who doesn’t know what fennel is, it is a vegetable, larger than celery but similar in appearance except they are white and much larger at the bulbous root tip. You only eat the white, either raw or cooked.  It is crisp and delicious and tastes a bit like licorice. It tastes more strongly of licorice when cooked. If you don’t like vegetables, but like licorice, I highly recommend it. I normally don’t like licorice candy and that’s why I’ve shied away from fennel for so long. It turns out I like licorice if it’s not candy!

This salad with fennel and oranges is really light and utterly delicious. It’s a little sweet but savory at the same time.  The simplicity and acidity of the salad goes really well with the simple grilled turkey. Or you could easily substitute the turkey breast with chicken breast.

The turkey should cook quite quickly so I would recommend prepping the salad first so you can eat the turkey while still warm.

Grilled Turkey

Sliced turkey breast partially or fully defrosted

Salt and pepper to taste

Red pepper flakes if you like spicy

Olive oil or pam spray

I always coat the grill pan with a little olive oil or nonstick spray so there’s less likelihood of the turkey sticking to the pan (which inevitably leads to easier clean up!).  Use a medium flame and let the grill pan get really hot. In the meantime, sprinkle both sides of the turkey with salt, pepper and red peper flakes. When the pan is hot put your turkey on long ways, so that the length of the turkey gets grill marks. I failed at this the first time, but it still tasted good (just looks a little cooler with beautiful grill marks).

Leave the turkey alone for a few minutes and flip when you have clear grill marks on the one side. This works a lot better if the pan is hot, hot when you add the chicken and not just warm.  If your turkey slices are particularly thick, you can flip again for a crosshatch pattern.

Orange and Fennel Salad (one large serving)

1 whole fennel

1 or 2 whole oranges (I used blood orange for the color)

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp olive oil

Remove any dark spots from you fennel and wash the leaves thoroughly. Remove the branches and very bottom of the plant. Then cut the white into thin slices (if you want them really, really thin, like in restaurants, you can use a grater to slice them, but I prefer them thicker for some crunch to contrast the orange). Put the slices into a bowl and then cut your orange in half.  Slice out the wedges and add to the salad. Dress with salt, pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. Mix and serve.

You can also squeeze some extra orange into the salad for an extra

kick of orange flavor. 

Serve.

I served mine next to the turkey but you can also serve it directly on the turkey since it adds some moisture and flavor to the basic grilled turkey. 

Salad in a Jar

I really enjoy a good salad, especially at lunch. However, it can be a big pain trying to bring a salad from home.  If you put the dressing on in the morning, the spinach or lettuce leaves will wilt by the time you eat it. It’s terrible and disgusting when you  have wilted salad.

I’ve brought vinegar with me, but bottles get bulky and heavy in a bag.

Then I remembered seeing a brilliant idea somewhere online. I really wish I could remember where I had seen it because I would definitely thank the originator of salad in a jar. 

It’s a brilliant solution. All of your salad ingredients go into one tall glass jar and everything stays fresh. There is a trick to it of course. You can’t just throw the ingredients in all willy nilly.

Liquids have to go closest to the bottom. I started my first salad in a jar with a little olive oil, balsamic vinegar reduction, salt pepper and oregano. Then I added a healthy layer of chickpeas and then quartered cherry tomatoes. On top of all that, I placed a couple of thin slices of pancetta and then I tore up fresh spinach. I almost entirely filled my jar to the top. I left just enough space for a hardboiled egg sliced and dosed with a little salt and pepper.  Then I sealed it and put it in the fridge for the next day.

At work all I had to do was shake and eat. I chose to pour the salad onto a plate since I had filled the jar to the utter brim.

It was delicious and the spinach still amazingly crisp. When I go back to work after break I'm definitely going to have to try all sorts of variations and see how they come out.  

Recipe: Cauliflower and Speck Quiche

I really enjoy making quiche.  It doesn't take much effort and a quiche can feed me for a couple of days since I'm on my own. But it makes a great side dish for a family as well. And it can also very easily hide any number of vegetables from a picky eater.
At the market last week, I found individual cauliflower heads and thought they'd be great to add to a quiche.
I also bought some speck which is a dry-cured, lightly smoked ham (similar to prosciutto crudo). It is lightly cured, and then is alternatively exposed to smoke and fresh air. It is smokier, drier and saltier than a prosciutto crudo.
To go with the speck, I also got a smoked scamorza cheese (scamorza affumicata). Scamorza is similar to mozzarella but generally drier and more elastic. It can either be sold after a two week drying process, or it can be smoked. The smoked scamorza has a wonderful, subtle flavor that has a light caramel note that I really enjoy.

Ingredients

3 single small heads of cauliflower (or 1 regular sized cauliflower)
1/2 small onion, finely diced
1 or 2 pats of butter
200 gr speck
1 small smoked scamorza, diced
4 eggs
1-2 tbs whole milk
basil
pepper
parmesan cheese
1 pre-made pie crust

Pre-heat the over to 350°.
Cut the cauliflower into pieces and add to boiling water. You can add a pinch of salt, but not too much

because the speck acts like bacon and is full of flavor and salt. When the cauliflower is cooked, drain and put to the side to cool.
Slice up the speck evenly.  If you don't have speck, you can also use prosciutto crudo or bacon. If you decide to use bacon, be sure sure to drain the excess fat.
Sweat the onion in butter and then add the speck into the pan as soon as the onion starts to become transparent. Let cook for a minute or so (so it just barely starts to change color) and remove from the heat.
In a bowl, beat 4 eggs, milk, pepper, basil and parmesan together. When it's blended well, add in the scamorza, cauliflower and speck/onion mixture.
Pour into the pie crust and bake for 30-40 minutes. The crust should turn golden the the egg should be cooked all the way through.

Recipe: Spinach Pie

Growing up, spinach pie was absolutely one of my favorite things to eat. Yes, I admit it. I was a weird child. But what can I say? I just wanted to be like Popeye.
This recipe is a variation of the spinach pie my grandmother made. It's semi homemade (basically because I'm too lazy to make my own crust everytime I want to eat it).  I love how simple it is to make! Just be careful not to eat all of it at once!  Goodness know I have to be careful not to.

My Spinach Pie

1 premade pie crust
1000 grams frozen spinach
250 grams of ricotta cheese
2 large eggs
Salt and pepper to taste
Red Pepper flakes

Preheat the over to 350°.
In a large saucepan defrost the spinach over a very low heat with a little bit of salt.  Heat covered until most of the excess liquid has cooked off.  If necessary use a strainer to remove any other water.  Put aside to cool.
In a bowl, mix the ricotta, eggs, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes until well-blended.  When the spinach has cooled, add to the ricotta and stir well.
Place the pie crust into a pie pan and use a fork to make a few holes so the crust does not bubble.  Fill with the spinach mixture and bake for 30-40 minutes or until the crust has lightly browned.
This can be served warm or cold.


There are several other variations I make of spinach pie.  Sometimes I'll add a layer of thinly sliced pancetta to the crust before pouring in the spinach mixture.  On other occassions I have added a layer of mashed potatoes and spinach.  When making a simple pie sometimes I will add in a spoonful of honey and a dash of nutmeg for a slightly different feel.
Grandma's spinach pie used no ricotta, but instead utilized more eggs.

The possibilities are endless, so play around until you find your favorite version!

-Raspberry Truffle

Recipe: Stuffing to beat all stuffings...

So for Thanksgiving, there are generally only a few things that I'm in charge of (although when I'm here in Italy I'm pretty much in charge of everything lol) one of which is stuffing.  But usually we use premade... Stovetop or one of those things and I just add in other things.  My favorite things to mix in are apple, sausage, onion, carrot and celery (sometimes mushrooms) all cooked down in some butter... mmmm yummy... seriously my mouth just started watering thinking about all of the delicious flavors...

And then yesterday for the first time I decided to make stuffing from scratch!  I was a little stressed out so I needed something time consuming to make.  So of course my brain still semi being on thanksgiving decided that stuffing was the way to go.  So how do you make stuffing in Italy when no one has sent you a package of stuffing? 
Tis a very good question.  One that I shall answer.

STUFFING FROM SCRATCH
1 very large round loaf of Italian bread
olive oil
butter
4-5 carrots
1/2 a whole stalk of celery
1/2 a large onion
1-2 apples or pears (a combo of both would also be great)
around 200-250 grams of sausage
1 boullion cube
salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, oregano, garlic flakes, and nutmeg

Remove the crust of the bread and cut into fairly even cubes.   Put into a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, salt, and oregano.  Bake for a half an hour to an hour and check periodically (don't let the bread burn!!). 
In the meantime, dice the carrots, onion, celery and apples into small cubes.  Keep the onion in a separate dish. 
Heat some olive oil in a pan and sautee the onions.  Add garlic flakes (or fresh garlic finely diced).  When they begin to turn clear add in the other diced vegetable and fruit.  Simmer and stir for about 10-15 minutes.  When the vegetables start to lose their crispness add in the sausage and stir rapidly so it spreads evenly through the mixture.  Sprinkle with salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and a good dose of nutmeg.  When the sausage is almost cooked all the way through add in butter to taste (the more the better). 
In a small pan boil water and a boullion cube.
Remove the bread from the oven and place into a large bowl.  Pour in the sauteed mixture and stir well. Very slowly add in the broth making sure that the bread does not become too soft.  When the bread has absorbed enough water and the vegetables are mixed well, put the mixture into a large baking tin. 
Cover with alumnum foil and bake at a moderate temperature for 1-2 hours.  Check periodically to make sure that it hasn't dried out.

mmmm goodness right there :D

You can't really see the stuffing clearly, but that's my first version from Thanksgiving.
Yummo!!

~Raspberry Truffle