Red Onion Compote, Sun Dried Tomato, Black Olive and Stilton Tartlets

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Two weeks already!

Not that I forgot…to eat.

Where was I? Just on a WiFi break really. At the farm.

To make up for my time off, I made these light, sweet and savoury tartlets. In this recipe, I decided to experiment with olive oil for the pastry, instead of using butter. I was pleasantly surprised by the result. Not only was it extremely easy to make, but it also turned out light and crisp. Very much like a sablé. For the filling, I took advantage of the natural sweetness of red onions by preparing a compote, which I used as a base for the tartlets. To complement the sweet filling, I topped the onions with sun-dried tomatoes, Moroccan black olives and creamy Stilton.

A perfect summer meal, served with some garden lettuce.

Ingredients for 6 tartlets:

Olive oil pastry

200 g all-purpose flour

6 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons water

½ teaspoon Kosher salt

1 large red onion

¼ cup butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup red wine

¼ cup sugar

½ cup sun dried tomatoes

6 ounces stilton cheese

½ cup Moroccan black olives

Salt and pepper to taste

Fresh basil leaves

1. In a bowl, stir together flour, olive oil and salt until obtaining a coarse meal.

2. Add in the water and form a ball.

3. Chill the dough in the fridge for at least ½ hour.

4. In a saucepan, heat butter and olive oil over medium high heat.

5. Mince and stir in the onion.

6. Let cook for about 20 mins until soft.

7. Add the wine, sugar, salt and pepper.

8. Let simmer for another 30 mins, until all the wine has evaporated.

9. Remove from heat and let cool.

10. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
11. Line the tartlet pans with parchment paper.

12. Press the dough into the lined pans.

13. Bake blind for 20 mins, until golden.

14. Let cool on a rack.

15. Layer the crusts with red onion compote.

16. Coarsely chop tomatoes and olives and spread over the compote.

17. Crumble the cheese over the tartlets.

18. Bake for 15 mins, until the cheese has melted.

19. Garnish with basil leaves and serve with porchetta and garden salad.

Strawberry Ricotta Charlotte

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Strawberry fields forever.

I don’t know why, but whenever I see this many strawberries I cannot help but think about the song. As I hear Lennon’s dreamy voice, I can see myself walking down fields of strawberries, stretching to infinity. Picking as many strawberries as my basket can hold, tasting the juiciest and sweetest along the way.

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Well, not quite there yet with my hanging baskets! But our real, sun-bathed berries taste just like in my strawberry field dream, as sweet as candy and no trace of red 40. Just like the traditional shortcake, strawberry charlotte makes a perfect dessert on a warm summery evening. I lined a springform pan with ladyfingers moistened with kirsch-flavoured syrup, added a layer of sliced strawberries and cream, repeated with another ladyfinger-strawberries-cream layer to finish with ladyfingers. For a lighter dessert, I decided to use ricotta cheese sweetened with honey instead of making the rich, traditional custard filling. I hope that you will enjoy it as much as I did!!!

Ingredients for 6-8 servings:

1 cup ricotta cheese

1/2 cup honey

1 pound strawberries

24 (2 packages) large ladyfingers (Pick the largest ladyfingers!!!)

1 cup water

½ cup sugar

¼ cup kirsch

1. Rinse and slice the strawberries.

2. In a bowl mix the ricotta with honey using a fork.

3. In a small saucepan bring sugar and water to a boil over medium heat.

4. Remove from heat and add the liqueur.

5. Dip the ladyfingers in the warm syrup to moisten.

6. Line the bottom and the sides of a springform pan with one layer of ladyfingers.

7. Layer half of the cheese mixture on the ladyfingers.

8. Layer half of the strawberries on the cheese.

9. Add a second layer of moistened ladyfingers.

10. Layer with the rest of the cheese and the strawberries.

11. Cover with the last layer of moistened ladyfingers, making sure that the sugared side faces up.

12. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hrs.

Snacky Dinner and Gardening Weekends

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Finishing up with our garden just in time for Victoria Day, the official birthday of the Queen installed in honor of Queen Victoria! The weather was so warm and sunny the past two weeks that I could not hold off until unofficial beginning of summer in Canada, especially after reading the New York Times article on city farmers.

Our fourth year gardening and it seems to get easier!

I started with our vegetable garden first, digging up and cultivating the soil then planting the seeds for our snap peas, green and yellow beans, plenty of mesclun, green leaf lettuce, spinach, curly parsley and dill in the North beds, Yukon gold taters in the South trenches.

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We also decided to experiment with potted root vegetables, i.e. radishes, carrots and beets, this year. Some pickling cucumbers also joined the pots with our fresh herbs, and as I commented on David Lebovitz’s post on Arthur Schwartz's Dills, I am looking forward to get enough to brine and can myself.

With all that activity, I got my favourite quick fix: a snacky dinner with rosemary porchetta, bresaola, rosemary Manchego, Crotonese, St- Jorge! Cold cuts and cheese from Italy, Spain, and Portugal! In the meantime, I hope I got you inspired to start your own garden this year, maybe with in of Edmonton’s Community Gardens !?

Chipotle Sausage Macaroni Casserole

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As I have come to realise, the simplest dishes are often the tastiest and casseroles are one of them. I understand that spring has definitely arrived, and barbecue season with it, but if you live in Alberta, expect the unexpected.

Just like last week in Calgary: warm and sunny Wednesday, blustery and snowy Thursday!

With days like that, skip the salad and welcome a bowl of chicken soup or a warm, comfort meal with a cheesy crust on top!

In this all-in-one comfort food, I just precooked the macaroni, added zesty capers to the vegetables I had in my crisper. The chipotle peppers add both heat and smokiness to the tomato sauce. Before baking, I snipped the Italian sausages allow the spicy tomato-vermouth broth to infuse the meat and speed up the cooking process. Everything to make the King of Casseroles happy!

Ingredients for 6-8 servings:

2 ½ cups macaroni

1 celery heart

1½ cup cremini mushrooms

1 yellow pepper

1 small red onion

1 small jar capers

4 to 6 chipotle peppers

4 Italian sausages (Note: Omit for the vegetarian option)

1 28-ounce can tomato

1 cup dry vermouth

2 bay leaves

1 tablespoon Italian herbs

½ cup freshly grated pecorino

Salt and pepper

1. Precook the macaroni in salted boiling water for 2 mins then drain. (The pasta should be firm to the touch)
2. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
3. Chop celery, mushrooms, yellow pepper and red onion and add to a casserole dish.
4. Stir precooked pasta, capers and chipotle into the vegetables.
5. Snip the sausages into 2 inch morsels using scissors and add to the dish.
6. Coarsely chop the tomatoes and stir into the vegetables with herbs and seasoning.
7. Cover and bake for 40 mins until the sausages and the pasta are cooked, stirring in the vermouth after 20 mins.
8. Top with cheese and brown for 5-10 mins.

Sweet Macadamia-Chocolate and Savoury Cheddar-Sun Dried Tomato Scones

Le weed-end, c’est sacré! Sacrebleu!

Weekends are sacred! Is it just me or do you also live for your weekends? A gorgeous, sunny Saturday afternoon and nothing to worry about - unless you are a grad student stuck in the lab, trying to complete the last experiments that will set you free from your slave-driving boss!

Friday, 4 pm…no 3:30 pm. Traffic is already backed up, but for once this week, nothing will take that smile off your face. Not mine, anyway. Shut the car door, put my sunnies on. Turned CKUA on. Already cruising off the office politics, planning for a well-deserved glass of wine and a relaxing fin de semaine.

This weekend, you might have planned for afternoon tea with you girlfriends or a brunch with your in-laws, and scones are an easy treat to make. They are best freshly baked, but they barely need any kneading to achieve flakiness and lightness. I just simply wanted to treat myself with something other than muffins for brunch, plus I got to snack on the leftover for goûter instead of cheese and crackers. The buttermilk dough I found in Chatelaine is not only light but, but also slightly tangy. I decided to divide my dough into two portions for sweet and savoury scones, but you can easily make two separate batches to scale it up.

These scones are decadent enough to be enjoyed on their own, but feel free to enhance your experience with simple yogurt dips! A berry yogurt is the perfect match for the rich and sweet macadamia and chocolate scones. For the cheddar and sun-dried tomato scones, a plain yogurt spiked with lime juice and a pinch of salt. YUM!

Ingredients for 12 scones:

2 cups baking or all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

¾ teaspoon salt

¼ cup cold unsalted butter, cubed

1 egg

½ cup buttermilk

2 tablespoons milk

For 6 sweet scones:

1/3 cup macadamia nuts

1/8 cup dark chocolate chips

For 6 savoury scones:

½ cup grated yellow cheddar

¼ cup sliced sun dried tomatoes

1 small red onion (about ¼ cup)

1. Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl.

2. Stir in sugar using a fork.

3. Cut the cold butter into the flour until crumbly.

4. In another bowl, whisk egg with buttermilk.

5. Make a well in the flour mixture and pour in the egg mixture.

6. Mix with a wooden spoon. Divide the dough into two bowls at this point if you want to make sweet and savoury scones.

7. With floured hands, add in chopped macadamia nuts and chocolate chips for the sweet scones; cheddar, sun dried tomatoes and red onion for the savoury scones.

8. Preheat the oven to 400 F.

9. Line one or two baking sheets with parchment paper.

10. Gently knead the dough for 10 secs, just enough to mix the filling in.

11. Gather and pat the dough onto a floured board to form a ½ inch-thick disk.

12. Cut out scones using a floured small glass.

13. Place the scones about 1 inch apart on the lined baking sheets.

14. Lightly brush with milk and bake for 13 mins, until light golden.

15. Cool on a rack and serve with yogurt.

Oyster Mushroom and Zucchini Quiche with Strawberry Frisée Salad

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Bacon bits, melted cheese chunks, cream and onions in flaky puff-pastry, anyone? The quintessential French comfort food - mac n’cheese-style. Very tasty for sure! But with spring at our door, as I was browsing through Helen’s fresh-looking salads, I thought that a lighter, tart-like version would be more appropriate! Of course, I did not forget any bacon, cheese or onions, but the stars of this quiche are oyster mushrooms and zucchini. I would have gone for cremini mushrooms, I just could not resist their velvety and delicate texture when I saw them. The small zucchini were also too tempting to ignore.

The highlight of the vinaigrette is Angostura bitters, which are an essential, sweet and not bitter at all, ingredient in the perfect Manhattan. Their sweetness, combined with fresh, juicy strawberries and savoury celery, moderates the mild bitterness of the frisée, making a perfect counterpoint for the quiche.

Ingredients for a 9x13 inch quiche:

1 package frozen puff pastry (No time to mess around this time!)

2 cups oyster mushrooms

1 red pepper

3 small zucchini

1 small red onion

1 medium onion

4 slices pancetta

2 tablespoons capers

1 teaspoon nutmeg

4 eggs

1½ cup milk

¼ cup grated parmesan, preferably grana padano, or gruyere

Fresh Italian parsley

Salt and pepper to taste

Ingredients for the salad:

A few leaves of frisée lettuce

1 cup strawberries

2 stalks celery

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

1-2 drops Angostura bitters

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Line a 9x13 inch baking dish with parchment paper.

2. Roll the puff pastry and transfer into the paper.

3. Slice mushrooms, pepper, zucchini, red onion and scatter over the dough.

4. Heat a non-stick pan over medium-high heat.

5. Brown then drain the pancetta on paper towel.

6. Slice, sauté the onion in the pancetta drippings, until caramelized.

7. Scatter pancetta and caramelized onion over the vegetables.

8. Preheat the oven to 350 F.

9. In a bowl, lightly beat eggs, milk, nutmeg, salt and pepper using a fork.

10. Pour the egg mixture onto the filling and spread on the cheese, out to the edges.

11. Bake for 30-45 mins, until the filling is set and begins to brown.

12. While baking the quiche, wash, tear off and let drain the frisée.

13. Wash and chop strawberries and celery.

14. In a salad bowl, whisk together vinegar, bitters, olive oil, salt and pepper.

15. Before serving, toss the frisée, strawberries and celery into the vinaigrette.

16. Bon appétit!

Victoria Rhubarb Mascarpone Sponge Cake

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Goodbye Mr. March, welcome Ms. April!

In the old saying, if March comes in like a lion, it will go out like a lamb. This year, March came in warm and sunny, early signs of spring were everywhere surrounding us. Beautiful skiing in Fernie’s powder bowls, tulips and daffodils poking out in our yard….Just like a lion! But, then it left us with snow, fog and frigid temperatures last week. Not a lamb, instead a reminder that summer cannot be here yet!

I cannot wait any longer, and I had to make this very easy, fabulous dessert to bring spring back to my table. In my version of this sponge cake sandwich, Queen Victoria’s favourite treat for afternoon tea, I substituted the traditional sticky and sugar-laden jam and whipped cream with a sweet-and-sour orange and rhubarb compote and an unctuous orange-flavoured mascarpone cheese.

Ingredients for 8 generous servings:

Sponge Cakes:

1 cup butter

½ cup sugar

4 large eggs

2 cups cake or all-purpose flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1½ Kosher salt

½ cup candied lemon rinds

Cream Filling:

½ pound mascarpone cheese

2 tablespoons icing sugar

1 orange

Rhubarb filling:

3 cups frozen rhubarb

½ cup sugar

2 oranges

1 stick cinnamon

2-3 tablespoons triple sec

1. In a bowl, cream together butter and sugar using an electrical mixer, until light and fluffy.

2. Add the eggs, one at a time to give a homogenous cream.

3. In another bowl, resift the flour with the baking powder and the salt.

4. Fold the flour mixture into the butter cream, then the candied rinds.

5. Preheat the oven to 350 F.

6. Line the bottom of two 8-inch round pans with wax paper, butter and dust the sides with flour.

7. Divide the batter into two and spread each half into the pans using a spatula.

8. Bake for 20-25 mins, until a toothpick comes out residue-free when inserted into the cake.

9. Let cool in the pans for 5-10 mins, then transfer on a rack.

10. To prepare the rhubarb filling, place rhubarb, sugar, orange juice and zest, and cinnamon in a saucepan.

11. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat while stirring, and lower the heat to a gentle simmer, until the fruit is tender.

12. Let cool slightly and stir in the liquour.

13. In the meantime, whisk cheese, icing sugar, orange juice and zest in a bowl until smooth.

14. To assemble the dessert, spread the rhubarb filling on one of the sponge cakes.

15. Poke the cake with a fork and wait 1-2 mins to allow any liquid to permeate and moisten the sponge.

16. Spread the cheese on the rounded side of the other cake.

17. Place the cakes right on top of each other, gently pressing to contact with the cheese with the rhubarb.

18. Sprinkle the top with icing sugar and enjoy without moderation!

Homemade Fennel Squash Ravioli with Creamy Madagascar Green Peppercorn Sauce

Another one of my pasta favourite are ravioli. They can be served as a main dish, but here I used them to accompany my Italian herb oven roast beef.

All you need to make ravioli is a basic pasta dough and the pasta machine, but you do not have one, a good rolling pin should work to get a thin dough (and it is excellent exercise too!). To cut the ravioli out into squares, I used a knife, but a cookie cutter also works for fancier designs - I just wanted mine to be as big as my appetite!

From then on, the only thing you need to decide is the filling. The sweet licorice taste of the fennel complements with the smooth and creamy squash, a perfect combination for my whole wheat ravioli. The creamy Madagascar peppercorn sauce is just hot enough to give a kick to this pasta dish.

Ingredients for 3 generous servings:

1/3 basic pasta dough using whole wheat flour

Ingredients for about 2 cups of fennel and squash filling:

1 small acorn squash

1 small fennel bulb

1 small onion

½ cup dry white wine

1 cup romano cheese

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Green peppercorn sauce:

½ cup Madagascar green peppercorn (I actually found some at the Italian store, but a gourmet food store should do!)

1 small onion

½ cup cream cheese

1 cup dry white wine

1 lime

Olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Prepare the basic pasta dough.

2. While the dough is resting, prepare the filling.

3. Preheat the oven to 350 F.

4. Cut the acorn squash into two and remove the seeds.

5. Place cut-side down in a baking dish, add 1 inch of water and bake for 1hr.

6. In the meantime, finely chop onion and fennel bulb, grate the cheese.

7. Heat one tablespoon olive oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat.

8. Stir fry the onion and the fennel until soft.

9. Add the wine and let simmer for 5 mins until all liquid is evaporated.

10. Once the squash is soft, let cool slightly and scoop into the fennel.

11. Stir in the cheese, remove from heat and season to taste.

12. Let cool to room temperature.

13. Roll the pasta dough as thin as possible and cut into 3 in. x 6 in. rectangles.

14. For each ravioli, spoon some filling on one half of the rectangle, leaving a ¼ inch border along each side. NB: The filling should be cool and hold together to prevent any tearing of the dough.

15. Moisten the border with cold water using a brush or your finger.

16. Fold the rectangle over to cover the filling, pressing the borders together using a fork.

17. Place each ravioli side by side on a floured surface, making sure not to overlap them.

18. Cook the ravioli in boiling salted water for 3 mins.

19. Before serving, heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a saucepan, over medium-high heat to prepare the sauce.

20. Stir in the onion until translucent then the cream cheese.

21. After 1 min stir in the wine to loosen the cheese and reduce until creamy.

22. Drain and add the peppercorns.

23. Season and reduce the heat just to let the sauce warm to a low simmer.

24. Serve immediately.

Eggnog Tiramisu

Well! Happy belated New Year! I had the most amazing Christmas break – in my native country, Madagascar. Just got back from the hot and humid Island and ready to brave the cold Alberta winter – in the kitchen, of course. I will make sure to share my most delicious adventures in my next posts. Until I get all my photos sorted out, I hope you can try this surprisingly light and fluffy tiramisu. The secret’s in the eggnog!!!

The recipe is inspired from the Epicurious recipe, without having to make your own eggnog. Bon Appétit!

Ingredients:

1 pound mascarpone cheese

1 cup eggnog

1 ounce dark rum

2 teaspoons grated nutmeg

1 cup whipping cream

1 cup strong espresso coffee

30 ladyfinger cookies

1 cup chocolate shavings

1. In a large bowl, mix mascarpone cheese, eggnog, nutmeg and 1 tablespoon of rum.

2. In another bowl, whip the cream until forming soft peaks.

3. Gently fold the cream into the cheese mixture.

4. Prepare the hot espresso.

5. To assemble, dip the ladyfingers in the hot coffee and layer at the bottom of a serving dish.

6. Sprinkle with rum and chocolate shavings.

7. Spoon some mascarpone mixture over the ladyfingers.

8. Repeat with one or two more layers of cookies, rum, chocolate shavings.

9. Finish with one layer of cheese covered with chocolate shavings.

10. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 6 hrs.

Homemade Cremini Ricotta Cannelloni with Sweet Basil and Tomato Sauce

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If you need a change from vegetarian lasagna, go for these whole wheat cannelloni. Instead of being layered with the pasta, cremini mushrooms and ricotta cheese make a substantial filling for these square pasta crepes. The sweet fragrance of purple basil infuses not only this pasta dish but also your kitchen, making it warm and inviting. Perfect comfort food after shoveling your snowy sidewalks!

Ingredients for 3 generous servings:

1/3 basic pasta dough using whole wheat flour

Cremini and ricotta filling for 6 cannelloni:

1 cup cremini mushrooms

1 small onion

1 tomato

1 cup fresh purple basil

½ cup ricotta cheese

½ cup dry white wine

Sweet basil tomato sauce:

6 anchovy filets

1 16-ounce tomato can

1 carrot

2 celery stalks

1 small onion

½ bunch fresh purple basil

1 cup romano cheese

Olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Prepare the basic pasta dough.

2. While the dough is resting, prepare the filling.

3. Chop onion, mushrooms, tomato and basil.

4. Heat one tablespoon olive oil in a non-stick pan over medium-high heat.

5. Stir fry the onion and the mushrooms until soft.

6. Add the tomato and the purple basil. Let wilt for 2 mins.

4. Add the wine and the cheese and let simmer for 5 mins until all liquid is evaporated. Season to taste.

8. Chop onion, carrot and celery for the tomato sauce.

9. In a saucepan, heat one tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat.

10. Stir in the onion until translucent then add anchovies, carrot and celery.

11. When the vegetables are soft, add the canned tomatoes.

12. Slightly mash the tomatoes with a wooden spoon to liberate the juice.

13. Add the purple basil to the pan and season to taste.

14. Cover, reduce the heat to medium and let simmer until serving.

15. Preheat the oven to 350 F.

16. Roll the pasta dough and cut into 4 inch squares.

17. Cook the pasta squares in boiling salted water for 3 mins.

18. Plunge the squares into cold water and drain on paper towel.

19. Spoon some filling on the first third of each square and roll.

20. Place the rolls in a baking pan, with seams underneath.

21. Cover the rolls with the tomato sauce and freshly grated cheese.

22. Bake for 20 mins and serve immediately.

Tomato Cream Cheese Almond Tarts

Guess I am on my tart and pie kick this month! These tomato tarts are another easy way to enjoy my almond pastry, especially if you have extra dough from the chocolate tart recipe. The savoury cream cheese enhances the sweetness of the baked tomatoes, matching the cookie-like tart shell. Perfect as a first course or side dish!

Ingredients for one dozen tartlets:

For the pastry:

1 cup all purpose flour

2/3 cup almonds

1/4 cup sugar

½ cup cold butter

1 egg yolk

3 tablespoons cold water

1 pinch of salt

For the filling:

1 bag of two dozen cherry tomatoes

1 package light cream cheese

¼ cup Dijon mustard

1. Chop the almonds in a food processor until ground.

2. Mix the ground almonds, the sugar and the salt with the flour in a bowl.

3. Cut the butter into small cubes and, using your hands, rub the butter into the flour mixture until obtaining coarse grains.

4. Slightly beat the egg yolk and stir into the flour mixture with a fork.

5. Add the water and knead for 1 mins to form a ball.

6. Wrap the dough in clingfilm and chill for at least 30 mins.

7. Preheat the oven to 325 F.

8. Line tartlet pans with parchment paper.

9. Roll the dough on a floured board.

10. Cut the dough and drape it over the lined pans.

11. Bake blind for 20 mins, until golden.

12. Chill in the fridge for 15 mins.

13. Generously brush the tart shells with mustard.

14. Slice the cream cheese and lay on the mustard.

15. Halve the cherry tomatoes and place on the cheese with their skin up.16. Bake for 15 mins, until the tomatoes are browned.

17. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and serve immediately.

Homemade Gnocchi

My first gnocchi take me back to my first year of college, my first year away from home. I was a real geek or a lazy cook then. Just like my fellow students, all I wanted was something quick and easy for supper, so that I could go back to my books ASAP.

Sure enough, I found them in the fresh pasta section of the local Franprix: all I had to do was get a saucepan of salty water boiling, drop the gnocchi in and wait for them to float. All that in less then 5 mins!!! Quicker than spaghetti or tagliatelle, full of creamy goodness!

I rediscovered the potato dumplings at our favourite Italian shop last year and I finally decided to take up the challenge and make my own with Adam’s potatoes. Nothing compares to homemade gnocchi! The keys to light and fluffy gnocchi are sieving, instead of mashing, the potatoes and adding as little flour as possible.

To enjoy with a sprinkle of parmegian or a spicy tomato sauce! Yum!

Ingredients for 4 servings:

1 pound baking potatoes

½ to ¾ cup all purpose flour

¼ cup romano cheese

1 large egg

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F.

2. Wash and prickle the potatoes with a fork.

3. Wrap the potatoes in foil and bake for about 1 hr, until tender. You can also boil the potatoes but you will loose the flavours in the water.

4. When the potatoes are soft, peel their skin off.

5. Press the hot potatoes through a sieve using a spoon.6. Spread the fluffy potato strands onto a floured board.

7. Let cool to room temperature.

8. Sprinkle the flour and the cheese on the potatoes.

9. Make a well in the middle. 10. In a small bowl, lightly beat the egg with the nutmeg. Season to taste.

11. Pour the egg mixture into the well.

12. Lightly knead the potato and egg mixture for 1-2 mins to form a ball.

13. Divide the ball into six smaller balls with floured hands.

14. On a floured board, roll each ball into a one-inch thick rope.

15. Cut the ropes into one inch segments and shape the gnocchi with a fork.

16. To cook, heat some salted water to aboil and drop the gnocchi into the water. The gnocchi is ready to serve when they reappear at the surface. You can also keep the gnocchi on floured parchment paper until you are ready cook them.

Blue Cheese and Walnut Fig Antipasto

I was so surprised to find flats of figs this late at our Italian centre…and, of course, one of them had to join the hot cherry bombs, capicollo, and mortadella!

Figs are such sweet and fleshy delicacies, that sharp cheese and earthy walnuts balance perfectly!

Simple and delicious!

Ingredients for 2 servings:

4 fresh figs

100 grams Blue cheese

8 Walnut halves

Fresh rosemary

Olive oil

1. Cut the figs across.

2. Slice the cheese and place one slice of each fig halves.

3. Top with one walnut halves and one sprig of rosemary.

4. Drizzle with olive oil and serve immediately!!!

Hot Chilli Chocolate Cheesecakes

These individual cheesecakes are to die for! Once you have tasted the heat of the chillies against the creamy chocolate, we won’t be able to settle for vanilla or cinnamon anymore.

Ingredients (12 to 16 servings):

For the crust:

1 cup chocolate cookie crumbs

½ cup walnuts

¼ cup butter

For the filling:

1 pound cream cheese

2/3 cup sugar

3 large eggs

¾ cup yogurt

¾ cup whipping cream

1 tablespoon cocoa powder

8 ounces dark chocolate

1/3 cup hot water

½ teaspoon crushed hot chillies

For the coulis:

½ cup frozen raspberries

½ cup simple syrup

1. Melt the butter in a small bowl. 2. Chop the walnuts and stir into the butter, along with the cookie crumbs.

3. Mix well with a spatula and evenly transfer into the muffin tins. 4. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese with the sugar until creamy. 5. Beat in one egg at a time to give smooth mixture.

6. Add the yogurt, whipping cream and cocoa powder.

7. In a small bowl, mix the chocolate and the hot water using a whisk until the chocolate is all melted.

8. Pour the chocolate into the cheese mixture and lightly beat until just blended.9. Stir in the hot chillies.

10. Preheat the oven to 350 F.

11. Place a bread pan full of water in the oven to keep the air moist.

12. Pour the batter into the muffin tins and bake for 40 mins.

13. Let cool on a rack and chill in the fridge at least 6 hrs.

14. Serve with the raspberry coulis.

Creamy Havarti and Pimento Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Grilled cheese sandwiches are the best comfort food. Easy as can be, all you need are a chunk of cheese, a few slices of bread, and some imagination. This version is extra yummy, with two layers of oozing warm cheese!

Ingredients for 2 sandwiches:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

4 slices rye bread

½ pound havarti cheese

1 orange pimento pepper

1 or 2 sprigs oregano

1 sprig thyme

1. Slice your cheese and pimento pepper.
2. 
   
3. Butter your bread and turn it over. On the unbuttered side, add a first layer of cheese.
4. Add one slice of pimento pepper and sprinkle some fresh herbs.
5. Set the stove to medium. Transfer the sandwich to a non-stick pan.
6. Add a second layer of sliced cheese.
7. Cover the sandwich with a buttered slice of bread.
8. Let the bottom slice of bread brown for about 2 to 5 mins.
   
9. Press on the bread using a spatula. The bottom layer of cheese should be melting.
10. Flip the sandwich to melt the second layer of cheese.
11. Brown the other side of the sandwich for another 2 mins.

Enjoy!