Tag: variations

Tomato soup: recipe and variations – Italian Cuisine

In addition to the traditional recipe, there are many ways to make this dish even better. For example by adding turmeric, carrots or even pesto

Long live the Pasta with tomato. But also the soup based on this vegetable, with Italy as the leading exporter of pulps and peeled tomatoes in the world, it defends itself well. Indeed, very well. But how do you prepare the tomato soup? And what are the ingredients with which to vary the traditional recipe? Here are all the answers.

How to prepare the classic version

To prepare the tomato soup in your own home kitchen, the first thing to do is to finely chop one Red onion and let it dry in a saucepan together with one clove of garlic and a little extra virgin olive oil. Meanwhile, cut them in half i tomatoes reds (about 400 grams for two people) and, once the garlic has been removed, they are added to the sauce. Pour half a liter of water, rule of salt and mixes well. While the tomatoes are tenderizing in the casserole, halfway through cooking, add a glass of passed. Continue to stir gently for a few more minutes and then all that remains is to serve the tomato soup, perhaps with a leaf of basil on the plate and some croutons.

Tomato and turmeric soup

To the tomato, a food rich in water, vitamins, minerals and low in calories, can be combined with turmeric, a spice with notes property antioxidants is anti-inflammatory. Two teaspoons are enough, to be added to the pot when the halved tomatoes are poured, to obtain an even tastier and more fragrant soup.

Tomato and turmeric soup with pesto

It may seem like a risky combination, but it's not. Because even the pesto it is an excellent ingredient to add to tomato soup. At the end of the traditional preparation, just let the soup cool for a few moments and then add a spoonful of pesto and, if desired, also of sour cream. Sprinkle a little oregano on top and then serve, of course, together with the inevitable croutons of bread.

Tomato and carrot soup

Here is another tip for making an original tomato soup. The first step is to cut the tomatoes into quarters and cook them in the oven for about 20 minutes at 180 degrees together with four carrots and a half Red onion. Meanwhile, one and a half liters of vegetable broth. When cooking in the oven is complete, blend everything with a mixer and here's a soup dense and homogeneous. To give the dish a touch of fantasy is taste in addition, you can serve this tomato and carrot soup with a spoonful of fresh spreadable cheese in the center. The contrast between the ingredients will be delicious.

Baked lasagna: 5 variations (you must try) – Italian Cuisine

Baked lasagna they are one of the most cooked dishes of all time, a cult of tradition, whose recipe is handed down from mother to daughter. This happens because baked lasagna is not just a dish: it is the comfort food par excellence, the reason to get together at the table. The traditional version includes the filling made with meat sauce, but for a touch more, try to indulge yourself with seasonal cheeses and vegetables, such as pumpkin and artichokes.

Radicchio and smoked scamorza

Take a head of radicchio, clean it and cut it into strips. In a pan, brown a clove of garlic in a little oil and then add the cut radicchio. Let it dry for a few minutes and then set aside. Prepare a béchamel with 1 liter of milk, one and a half tablespoons of flour and 50 grams of butter. Mix the flour with the butter and then, always stirring, add the milk, salt and a little nutmeg. Let the cream thicken, then grease a pan and start composing the lasagna, alternating sheets of pasta, bechamel, radicchio and smoked scamorza cut into cubes. Finish with a sheet of pasta covered with grated Parmesan. Bake the pan at 180 ° and cook for 20-25 minutes, until you see a crust forming on the surface.

Pumpkin and porcini mushrooms

To prepare this filling, cook the peeled and chopped pumpkin in a pan with a little oil and a clove of garlic. When the garlic is golden, add a little water and cook for about 20 minutes, adding water if necessary. When the pumpkin is cooked, pass it to the mixer to obtain a homogeneous cream and add a little bechamel, so that the mixture is softer. Separately clean the mushrooms and slice them. Put them in a pan with oil and garlic and let them cook for about ten minutes. Salt them. In the meantime, butter a baking tray and roll out the sheets of pasta, alternating them with the pumpkin cream and mushrooms. Finish with the pasta and a sprinkling of grated Parmesan cheese. Bake at 180 degrees for 25 minutes and then serve.

Artichokes and brie

A perfect match, this with artichokes and brie cheese. To prepare the lasagna, clean the artichokes and leave them in a bowl with water and lemon until you cook them. Once all of them are cut, stew them for a few minutes in a pan with oil and a clove of garlic. Let them cook until they become soft. Salt them and add them to slices of brie. Add the béchamel to this mixture and then compose everything by alternating the sheets of pasta, the artichoke cream and brie, finishing with a layer of béchamel and a sprinkling of parmesan. Bake at 180 degrees and cook for 30 minutes.

Pistachio and mint pesto

For this version of the baked lasagna you can choose the common pesto, made of basil and pine nuts, or the version made with pistachios (unsalted and not toasted), pine nuts and fresh mint. The dish will have something fresher and more unusual. To prepare it, chop the pistachios and pine nuts in a mortar. Then add the fresh mint, grated Parmesan cheese and oil. Chop everything up. Mix well to prevent lumps from forming, season with salt and then make up the lasagna, alternating the sheets of pasta with the pesto. If the mixture is too thick, dilute it with a little warm water. If you like, you can add fiordilatte mozzarella cut into thin slices to the pesto. Finish with the pasta and a sprinkle of grated Parmesan and bake at 180 degrees for 25 minutes.

Leeks, smoked salmon and camembert

For this version of baked pasta, wash the leeks, remove the outer sheaths and cut away the greenest part. Make them into slices and then leave them to dry in a pan with extra virgin olive oil. Once ready, add salt and the leeks with the smoked salmon cut into strips. Start composing the lasagna: grease a baking tray and place a first layer of pasta. Add the leeks and salmon and top with the sliced camembert. Alternate pasta and stuffing until the end. Bake at 180 degrees for 25 minutes and then serve.

Lentil soup in 10 variations – Italian Cuisine

Let's give the lentil soup a twist! Vegan ragout, but also velvety, ethnic dish and soup. Which one inspires you the most?

There lentil soup is a very versatile dish, do you know? It can be done all year round in many different ways.

Lentil soup: the classic recipe

Meanwhile, decide whether to buy lentils which require soaking for a few hours or peeled lentils, usually ready to cook.
Then prepare a small sautéed with celery, carrot, onion, a clove of garlic and extra virgin olive oil and once the vegetables are gently browned, add the lentils, well drained if they have been soaked, or simply rinsed.
Let them go for a couple of minutes to flavor them and then add as much vegetable broth or water as enough to cover them with a finger, a bay leaf, a couple of cherry tomatoes, if you want to add a touch of color and acidity, and a sprig of rosemary.
Cook for about 15-20 minutes and add salt only at the end.
Don't add the vegetable cube, please!
Pour from time to time water or broth if you notice that the lentils are absorbing too much liquid.
You can cook a little while leaving them crunchy, or continue cooking until they become one cream. To you the choice!

Here are some interesting variations of the basic recipe.

Lentil soup with spices

Add some curry and a grated fresh ginger to your lentil soup to give it that slightly ethnic taste that makes the difference. A little bit of coriander freshly chopped with a knife would add further aroma and flavor, but not everyone likes it!

With coconut milk

This variant is very tasty and particularly creamy thanks to the presence of coconut milk which, be careful, is not the liquid one found on the plant milk shelf, but is the much denser and tastier one packaged in can.
Add the coconut milk almost at the end of cooking to make the soup more enveloping.

With black cabbage

This recipe is perfect in the fall and winter when I give the black cabbage it's in season and it's nice and crunchy.
Add it to the soup halfway through cooking, cut into thin strips, or bake only the tender part of the leaves in the oven to obtain chips to accompany the soup.

With mushrooms

Another very tasty idea is the combination with mushrooms.
If you want a very tasty dish, use the porcini mushrooms, otherwise they'll be fine too champignon and chanterelles.
Prepare a small pan with carola, chopped onion and garlic and then add the mushrooms. Roll them together with the lentils for a couple of minutes and then add the broth and bring to a boil.

Lentil soup with herb croutons

Legume soups with croutons are a classic, but they are better if i croutons are homemade and scented with aromatic herbs.
Cut and cubes some stale bread and brown it in a pan with extra virgin olive oil, oregano and chopped parsley.
If you like, add some garlic to the pan.

Vegan ragout

You can prepare a ragout without meat? Yes, with lentils.
Cook them as per the basic recipe, adding some tomato puree during cooking and let them tighten well in order to obtain a sort of real sauce for the pasta.
The ideal combination is with durum or whole wheat semolina pasta.

Lentil soup and broken pasta

This variant is very popular with children because it is simple and light.
Cook the lentil soup by adding more water than expected and, almost at the end of cooking, add some broken spaghetti or tubes and cook for the cooking time of the pasta, about 8-10 minutes.
Serve with plenty of Parmesan.

With the pumpkin and in the pumpkin

You can also add cubes of lentils to the lentil soup pumpkin, or during cooking, or separately after having cooked the pumpkin in the oven with garlic, oil, bay leaf and rosemary.
You can then serve the soup inside small empty pumpkins if you want to impress your guests.

Lentils cream

Obviously, once the lentil soup is ready, you can serve it more elegantly in the form of velvety.
Then blend it by adding two tablespoons of fresh cream and serve it with raw oil or sour cream and decorate with chives or other aromatic herbs.

Gordon Ramsay Recipes