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

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