Tag: Italian

Cous cous: the 10 best recipes – Italian Cuisine

The cous cous, symbol of North African gastronomy, is the tasty protagonist of this top ten of Salt & Pepper recipes: a product that boasts a long tradition, a long history of about eight centuries that led it to spread and take root in Europe, particularly in Italy, Spain and France, where it mixed with local gastronomic traditions. Today the cous cous it is known and appreciated all over the world, as well as often declined in completely creative ways. The secret of his success? Versatility and ease of preparation!

The cous cous it is made of durum wheat semolina which, when processed with water, forms small grains to be steamed. On the market you find it easily already processed and pre-cooked, just bring the salted water to a boil and pour it on the couscous. Then covered, in a few minutes the grains swell and are ready to be seasoned

It is an alternative to pasta with which it shares the same nutritional properties in addition to the type of grain, but has a higher satiating power, for this reason it is an ideal food for those who follow a low calorie diet

The classic cous cous North African is often characterized by the presence of vegetables, legumes (especially chickpeas) and one spice mixture really explosive: cinnamon, saffron, cumin and fennel seeds, paprika, chilli and harissa (a spicy sauce based on chilli and oil); which gives the dish its characteristic taste. The dish is then completed with meat or fish or wrapped both, both in small pieces and in meatballs. But, if you don't like strong flavors, you can decide to reduce the doses of spices or to taste the cous cous in a different way closer to your tastes and traditions

With the couscous you can, in fact, have fun preparing from light and fresh dishes ideal for the summer, to the richer and more elaborate ones perfect for the colder season. If you season it or serve it with meat, with fish, vegetables or legumes, it is essentially a single dish appetizing! But, inflated in milk or in sweet boiling water, it is also an unusual base to prepare original and delicious desserts from fresh ones with fresh or dried fruit to chocolate cake with cous cous

If you are looking for original ideas to bring to the table a dish based on couscous with Mediterranean flavors and colors, Salt and pepper has selected for you in this top ten "the best recipes with couscous": a collection of appetizing and simple recipes but also suitable for inviting friends over for dinner. Do not hesitate to try them all!

Summer cookery courses – The School of Italian Cuisine – Italian Cuisine

While you wait to go in holiday, jump in The School of Italian Cuisine to Milan. June and July are full of events and courses that will make you enjoy the best of summer, even if you are not on holiday yet.

First of all, if you want a little taste of our school, we are waiting for you lunch break "Midday Kitchen", available on selected dates. Click here to read the menus and book.
If instead you want to get into the heart of it, here are the four summer courses + one themed dinner that you absolutely can't miss. After all, summer is also in the scents and flavors of the kitchen!

Semifreddi & Parfait

A course to learn how to prepare fresh desserts perfect for the summer, using preparation techniques that can be replicated at home and using irresistible ingredients: mango and vanilla semifreddo; pistachio parfait with chocolate sauce and crunchy; coffee parfait; Strawberry Meringue. Book by clicking here.

Soups and creams: summer

Who said that soups are eaten only in winter? Discover here our proposals for fresh, light and tasty soups and creams.

Hamburger & CO

One of the most popular courses to learn how to prepare comes back for some special dates meat and fish burgers. It starts with homemade bread, to then find out which are the most winning combinations. Check out the dates by clicking here.

Regional cuisine: Sardinia

Sardinian cuisine arrives in Milan with some of its best traditional recipes. culurgiones, rut, seadas: impossible to resist! Book by clicking here.

Theme dinner: Sicily on the table

Not a cooking class, but a real one dinner prepared by our chefs, to say goodbye before the summer holidays with the flavors of Sicilian cuisine.
The menu is still secret: keep an eye on this page to find out as soon as it is revealed!

If these summer course proposals are not enough for you, we remind you of some dedicated to fish that will make you breathe sea air immediately: Fish menu, Fish appetizers, First courses of fish, Main courses of Fish and Sushi and Sashimi.
The best techniques to enhance fish according to the Italian tradition, but also to prepare raw fish according to the Japanese one.

You can find them all in the complete calendar, to consult here.

What to eat to prepare for exams – Italian Cuisine

With the end of schools this year too the dreaded begins for thousands of students exam period. In the previous days, also crucial for the preparation of small and large students food is a crucial factor to better face the study and the burden of tiredness and tension that inevitably accompanies the checks to be faced. To understand how food choices can help we talked to Alessandra Bosetti, clinical dietitian of the nutrition center and pediatric diabetology of the Vittore Buzzi Children's Hospital ASST FBF Sacco di Milano.

The first thing that needs to be clarified is the type of food to choose to get the right load, because (as opposed to what you might think) energy does not go hand in hand with food wealth: "It is very important to avoid large meals, rich in fats and sugars, which instead of supporting the body in the study make it heavy, thus lowering performance and making the learning process difficult", explains Bosetti. “No then to soft drinks and packaged juices, excessively rich in sugars, to cold cuts, to dishes that are too elaborate. Better to prefer small split meals, which more help the student to face a long study. Yes to water, perfect for maintaining the right hydration, and ai shakes prepared only with fresh seasonal fruit and water. Only in the case of inappetent children can the smoothie be enriched using milk or yogurt together with fruit ".

How to appease in a healthy way the sudden hunger, often even late at night, in the middle of study hours?
Fresh fruit and dried fruit are certainly the ideal foods for an afternoon snack, which you will regenerate without weighing down your body and mind. Even it night snack it is not to be demonized, but the ingredients must be carefully chosen. The classic sandwich that's fine, as long as it's prepared with wholemeal bread or cereals, fish (eg smoked salmon, a source of noble proteins and rich in omega 3) and naturally vegetables. To avoid, instead, the classic combination "salami and cheese" because it is two proteins together. For those who prefer sweet flavors an excellent snack is made up of whole wheat bread with dried fruit; also the traditional bread and chocolate it's fine if we choose wholemeal bread and a square of dark chocolate, or chocolate with almonds or hazelnuts that – rich in magnesium – fight psychophysical fatigue. Let us remember that chocolate contains tryptophan, a precursor of melatonin that helps support mood, so it can be an ace up its sleeve for days of stress from exams!

From elementary to university, there are so many students involved in this period. Should food choices be differentiated according to the age of the students, considering that exams for high school and university students continue for several weeks?
The guidelines for proper nutrition do not know age, instead the amounts of food to be taken at different times of growth vary. The student's dish will therefore also change in relation to age. If, for example, the correct portion of whole wheat pasta for a 10-year-old child is 60g, at 18 he will go up to 100g. In addition, older students, for whom the study period is extended to the warm weeks of July, will have to pay even more attention to hydration. I advise them to look for the charge in smoothies to be enriched with dried fruit to fill up with magnesium, which also promotes restful sleep.

Here comes the fateful day of the exams, is there an ideal breakfast to do before sitting at the school desk?
The day of the exam la breakfast is that of the heart, which helps keep the mood high for the test to be taken. The classic cappuccino and brioche combination is also good, if it is a question of breakfast which makes you feel good, in this case we also combine a banana which gives a charge of power and a contribution of potassium. Savory lovers should try wholemeal bread or cereals with scrambled eggs. To all students, small and large, I suggest always prefer i Whole grains Because I am rich in vitamin B6 and we know that B vitamins are linked to cognitive performance, they help them.

Claudia Minnella
June 2017
updated June 2019

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