Tag: variations

the recipe and many variations – Italian Cuisine

Crunchy on the outside but with a soft heart, the eggplant meatballs will win you over at the first taste

We can make them parmigiana, stuffed, fried, in fricassee, in oil: the eggplants they are undoubtedly among the most popular and used vegetables of the summer, for their flavor, but above all for their versatility. There are infinite ways to cook them: they lend themselves to the preparation of sauces, side dishes, appetizers and even less immediate dishes, such as eggplant meatballs, crispy outside and soft inside, ideal as a main course or as a tantalizing finger food. Fried or baked, they will win you over!

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Round, long, dark and violet: all the varieties of aubergines

They are a lot the varieties of aubergines grown in Italy, from round ones with lighter skin to more elongated ones, with a more pungent flavor. Among the most used are the Violet of Naples, with an elongated shape and a spicier taste: for this reason, before cooking it, it is left to drain with coarse salt for at least 30 minutes. Instead, with a more delicate and sweet aroma there is Violetta from Messina, excellent for the preparation of parmigiana. Then there is the Palermo, round, with a dark skin and a more neutral flavor: it is suitable for both baking and frying.

Spices and herbs for a more intense taste

If you are not afraid to experiment, add herbs and freshly ground pepper to mix your eggplant meatballs. Among the former, those that are most suitable for this preparation are the thyme (especially if they limonino), the mint, the fennel and the marjoram. Chop them and put them together with the egg and cheese: if you use them fresh they will have a more delicate flavor, but if you put them dry, their aroma will be stronger.

The recipe for eggplant meatballs

Get yourself 4 medium-sized eggplants, wash and peel them. Cut them into cubes, put them in a colander, sprinkle them with a handful of coarse salt and let them lose their water for 30 minutes, then wash them and dry them with a sheet of absorbent paper. In a pan put a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, a clove of garlic and cook for 5 minutes. At this point add the aubergines and cook until the pulp falls apart. Add a drop of water from time to time. Once cooked, mash the pulp with a fork and let it cool. Add 1 egg, a pinch of salt, some chopped basil leaves and 100 g of Parmigiano Reggiano. Knead and form meatballs that you will pass in breadcrumbs. In a pan, heat some'peanut oil and when it is hot, fry the eggplant meatballs a few at a time, turning them until golden. At this point remove them, drain them on a sheet of absorbent paper and then serve them with a chicory salad.

In the tutorial, discover some more ideas for your eggplant meatballs

Pepper pesto. One recipe, many variations! – Italian Cuisine

Do you prefer it simple or rich? On hot or cold pasta? And what about the bread?

Maybe when it comes to pesto are you used to thinking about Genoese recipe made with basil, garlic, pine nuts and parmesan.
But you know that you can make a delicious pesto, as well as with aromatic herbs, also with vegetables?
We offer you a perfect pesto for summer based on Red peppers.

Pesto all year long

The pepper pesto it is easy to prepare and we suggest you make a nice quantity because you can keep it for a long time, in sterilized jars. You put it in the pantry and then you can consume it all year round bringing with you the flavor and aroma of summer vegetables even in the winter months.
Much more simply, you can even freeze it!
You can flavor it with the basil like classic pesto, or you can also enrich it with dry tomatoes, almost like a Sicilian pesto.
It is excellent on pasta, both cold and hot, and can also be used for stuffing sandwiches, sandwiches and bruschetta.

pesto-of-peppers

Cooking peppers

Peppers go cooked and you can do it in three ways: in the oven, in the microwave or on a plate (grill).
We recommend the third way because it is very fast.
Heat a cooking plate or a non-stick pan and then cook quickly whole peppers until the skin is almost burnt and will easily go away.
Many people also do this directly on the stove, in contact with the flame.
The process is very effective, but be careful!

How to make pepper pesto

Once cooked and peeled about 2 peppersalso deprive them of the seeds and cut them into pieces.
Let them cool and then blend them with 50 g of pine nuts, 50 g of almonds, 100 g of grated Parmesan cheese, a clove of garlic and plenty of fresh basil.
You can use an immersion blender by adding the oil flush until a soft cream is obtained.
If you don't like almonds, use only pine nuts or vice versa. Some also like it very much with nuts.
It is important that there is some dried fruit to obtain a perfect pesto.
What about garlic? You decide. We put it!

Variations for a richer dressing

As we said, pepper pesto can be enriched with dried tomatoes in oil if you want to make it more tasty.
On the toasted bread and with a drizzle of oil it is the end of the world.
It is also very well with the ricotta cheese, whether fresh mixed inside, or salted sprinkled on a plate of pasta.
Finally, if you want a really tasty first cold dish, combine pesto with peppers and tuna in oil and then add some rocket salad which gives that touch of bitter taste that doesn't hurt at all.

Vinaigrette, one recipe and four variations – Italian Cuisine

Without the salad it is like a summer without sun: here is the vinaigrette in unusual interpretations

Seasoning of Mediterranean cuisine, the vinaigrette owes its name to vinegar, in French vinaigre, which prevails with its flavor despite being an emulsion based on mounted oil such as mayonnaise. Unlike the latter, however, it is unstable: that is, it tends to disassemble if left to rest, due to the separation from the fatty part from the watery part.
The coded proportions provide 1/3 of vinegar and 2/3 of oil for a sour and consistent sauce.
Decreasing the vinegar to 1/4 results in a less acidic and more fluid vinaigrette. Ideal for dressing salads, boiled vegetables, meats and fish, it can also be used to marinate meats and fish before cooking.
Below, the recipe for about 150g of sauce: generally about 25g per head, but half a salad can be enough for a salad.

Vinaigrette

The flavor of the vinaigrette

In addition to the choice of the acid element (different vinegars or citrus fruit juices or sour fruit) and mustard, you can intervene on the flavor of the sauce with the aromatic herbs: mint, basil, chives, marjoram, thyme, parsley.

Texture of the vinaigrette

The faster it emulsifies, the more full-bodied the sauce: the fat particles made smaller by mechanical action bind more easily with the aqueous part. For vinaigrettes that have a higher percentage of pain, therefore, it is advisable to use the electronic mixer.

Acidity

By following our dosage instructions, use more acidic vinaigrette to marinate or flavor meat and fish, less acidic for vegetables

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