I Heart Cooking Clubs : Benvenuta Giada ! - White Beans and Roasted Eggplant Hummus

A whole new season has started at I Heart Cooking Clubs as we are cooking with Giada De Laurentiis.

I must confess I had never heard of her as most of Italians (we know of course about her Grandfather and wonderful Grandmother) but no one knows about her and as I searched some italian news about her I did find only two not kind comments.

Anyway I'll try what she makes and we'll see, I'm not searching for real Italian food anyway !

As a benvenuto (as noun, instead if it is an adjective it is benvenuta if female) (I'm really a bore tonight !!!) I chose a fast starter which sounded great in taste and fridge availability I found the recipe here and even if SOMEONE stole part of my wonderful eggplants I loved the results.

As you can see I roasted three garlic cloves and used them instead of the raw one, I also substituted borlotti for cannellini and basil for parsley... Hope Giada won't mind !

Please visit the other cooking clubs lovers !

Daring Cook's Challenge : Mezze

The 2010 February Daring COOKs challenge was hosted by Michele of Veggie Num Nums. Michele chose to challenge everyone to make mezze based on various recipes from Claudia Roden, Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Dugid.

I was so happy with this challenge but I made it yesterday evening !!!! Sorry to be late !

But we had a great dinner, I couldn't make more mezze but we bought some kebab and had some salad so we all had great fun filling the pitas !!

Please visit the blogroll for more mezze and Michele who had many interesting suggestions !

RECIPES

Pita Bread – Recipe adapted from Flatbreads & Flavors by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid
Prep time: 20 minutes to make, 90 minutes to rise and about 45 minutes to cook

2 teaspoons regular dry yeast (.43 ounces/12.1 grams)
2.5 cups lukewarm water (21 ounces/591 grams)
5-6 cups all-purpose flour (may use a combination of 50% whole wheat and 50% all-purpose, or a combination of alternative flours for gluten free pita) (17.5 -21 ounces/497-596 grams)
1 tablespoon table salt (.50 ounces/15 grams)
2 tablespoons olive oil (.95 ounces/29 ml)

Directions:
1. In a large bread bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water. Stir to dissolve. Stir in 3 cups flour, a cup at a time, and then stir 100 times, about 1 minute, in the same direction to activate the gluten. Let this sponge rest for at least 10 minutes, or as long as 2 hours.
2. Sprinkle the salt over the sponge and stir in the olive oil. Mix well. Add more flour, a cup at a time, until the dough is too stiff to stir. Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 8 to 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Rinse out the bowl, dry, and lightly oil. Return the dough to the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until at least doubled in size, approximately 1 1/2 hours.
3. Place a pizza stone, or two small baking sheets, on the bottom rack of your oven, leaving a 1-inch gap all around between the stone or sheets and the oven walls to allow heat to circulate. Preheat the oven to 450F (230C).
4. Gently punch down the dough. Divide the dough in half, and then set half aside, covered, while you work with the rest. Divide the other half into 8 equal pieces and flatten each piece with lightly floured hands. Roll out each piece to a circle 8 to 9 inches in diameter and less than 1/4 inch thick. Keep the rolled-out breads covered until ready to bake, but do not stack.
5. Place 2 breads, or more if your oven is large enough, on the stone or baking sheets, and bake for 2 to 3 minutes, or until each bread has gone into a full balloon. If for some reason your bread doesn't puff up, don't worry it should still taste delicious. Wrap the baked breads together in a large kitchen towel to keep them warm and soft while you bake the remaining rolled-out breads. Then repeat with the rest of the dough.

Hummus – Recipe adapted from The New Book of Middle Eastern Food by Claudia Roden
Prep Time: Hummus can be made in about 15 minutes once the beans are cooked. If you’re using dried beans you need to soak them overnight and then cook them the next day which takes about 90 minutes.

1.5 cups dried chickpeas, soaked in cold water overnight (or substitute well drained canned chickpeas and omit the cooking) (10 ounces/301 grams)
2-2.5 lemons, juiced (3 ounces/89ml)
2-3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
a big pinch of salt
4 tablespoons tahini (sesame paste) OR use peanut butter or any other nut butter—feel free to experiment) (1.5 ounces/45 grams)
additional flavorings (optional) I would use about 1/3 cup or a few ounces to start, and add more to taste

Directions:
1. Drain and boil the soaked chickpeas in fresh water for about 1 ½ hours, or until tender. Drain, but reserve the cooking liquid.
2. Puree the beans in a food processor (or you can use a potato masher) adding the cooking water as needed until you have a smooth paste.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Adjust the seasonings to taste.

I Heart Cooking Clubs : Potato Cakes with Smoked Salmon

The theme of the new group I heart cooking clubs for this week is Family Favourites and I can't really say I have made these Potato Cakes many many times before, but Anita loves very peculiar and special eating (sushi or smoked salmon, for instance) which compared to Carlo's taste (white pasta and frittata) sounds more challenging for a cooking freak. So, looking for something that would surprise her in these sad first days of the real school, I found this very fast and easy recipe (you can find it here) . I must say it will become a family favorite: plain for Carlo and with loads of salmon for Anita.

The salmon I used was smoked in a thick slice, different but very good !

Fiori di Zucca con Ricotta e Pancetta (italiano a seguire)

In Italy it's quite common to find 'fiori di zucca fritti' (fried summer squash flowers), they are filled with mozzarella and a little anchovy, dipped in a egg and flour batter and dip fried in olive oil. My version (I stole the idea from a restaurant) is the flowers filled with sheep's ricotta whipped with a little cream and grated parmigiano and then wrapped with pancetta's strips. I cooked the flowers in a moderate oven for about 15 minutes and if necessary I turned on the grill.
I'm submitting this recipe to Sara of I like to Cook who is hosting the Weekend Cookbook Challenge 35 Appetizers.

Questa idea l'ho rubata ad un ristorante vicino a casa (Osteria Pistoia , piazza Madonna della Salette a Roma) . I fiori così mi sono piaciuti così tanto che li ho rifatti più volte da quando ho trovato delle confezioni di fiori di zucca nel reparto insalate di un supermercato di zona.
Il procedimento è semplicissimo: si monta con una frusta della ricotta di pecora con un po' di panna e parmigiano e si mette nei fiori (con una sac a poche è velocissimo), si riveste il fiore con mezza fettina di pancetta e si passa in forno per 15 minuti accendendo il grill alla fine. Fatemi sapere ! Se avete delle ricette di antipasti partecipate alla raccolta di Sara di cui parlo sopra !!