Grilled Canaderli with Chanterelle mushroom sauce

Canaderli (also called Knodeln in German) is a traditional Tyrolian dish, very tasty dumplings based on bread chunks. Traditionally they are boiled and served in a broth, however I found this new idea in Cucina Italiana magazine a few months back, which quite appealed to me. I added a newly invented sauce with Chanterelle mushrooms, another alpine specialty, which came out a smashing success! Chanterelle mushrooms can be very hard to find, you can also substitute with Porcini (fresh, frozen or dry) or another type of aromatic mushrooms.

Grilled canaderli
for 6(super size)-8(smallish) canaderli

160g day old bread, semi dry, cut into small cubes
120ml milk
2 shallots, finely chopped
2-3 slices of speck, finely shredded
30g of grated trentingrana (or grana padano, or parmigiano reggiano)
handful of parsley
1 egg
pepper

-cook the chopped shallots in butter, until they are tender.
-soak the bread cubes in milk, mix well to coat each pieces evenly, and let it stand for half an hour, remixing occasionally.
-add everything else to the bread, mix thoroughly and knead well.
-make 6-8 patties in hamburger-like shape. (don't worry if they are quite soft, they will solidify as they are grilled)
-spread a thin layer of olive oil on a hot plate, and pre-heat.
-when the hot plate is hot, place the patties, cook until it takes on the "grilled" colour* (4-5minutes on each side)
*if they are too limp or sticky to flip, let them cook further until the bottom side is solid and

easily slide on the surface.

Mushroom sauce
500g roughly chopped/stripped chanterelle or porcini mushrooms**
1 small onion, chopped
1tbsp butter
25g powdered fondo bruno mix (msg-free version is recommended), or enough for 300ml of liquid according to the package instruction***
200ml white wine
200ml water
1 bayleaf
150ml bechamelle
**or as little or as much as you like... I can never get enough of shrooms I tend to use even more...
***if you have real fondo bruno in stock, please do use it instead of the mix, naturally...


-sautè the onion and mushrooms in butter, until onions are tender, about 10 minutes.
-stir the fondo bruno mix in the water, mix well.
-Add the fondo bruno liquid, wine and bayleaf into the onion/mushroom mixture. Bring to a boil and let it simmer, until the sauce thickens, about 20 minutes. Stir occasionally.
-Stir in the bechamelle, mix thoroughly and keep on cooking until the sauce is completely blended, another few minutes.

Cottage Pie

This is a lovely comfort food for a wintry evening, a classic dinner number from Great Britain. It is almost identical to the famous Shepards pie but beef mince is used instead of lamb here, thus it turns into "Cottage" Pie. Make sure to use a lean mince, as the fatty one will make the dish look and taste too greasy. As usual I couldn't help but doctoring the traditional recipe just a wee little bit and adding a little sultanas and pine nuts, which gives a subtle but particular Mediterranean touch, which would be an optional addition. Below is a dose for about 5-6 with regular appetite(though 3 of us easily finished it off in one go.. :-p).

Cottage Pie

800g lean beef mince
800g potatoes
2 tbsp butter
freshly grated parmigiano reggiano or grana padano, as needed
little milk
1 tsp nutmeg
2 onions, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
100g green peas (fresh or frozen)
1 tsp powdered vegetable bouillon
extra virgine olive oil
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp thyme
25g sultanas(optional)
20g pine nuts(optional)
worcestershire sauce
pepper
1 egg

-soak the sultanas in just enough water.
-lightly toast/dry roast the pine nuts.
-peel the potatoes, boil or steam them until they are fork tender.
-Mash the potatoes, mix the butter and parmigiano (you can as cheesy or less cheesy as you prefer) while hot, adding a small amount of milk to smoothen the texture. Set it aside.
-Saute the onion and carrot in just enough olive oil. When they are tender add the mince, peas, bouillon and nutmeg. Season with salt and pepper, cook until the mince are thoroughly browned.
-Add the sultanas, pine nuts, pepper and splash (not pour) the worcestershire sauce to your taste, add a little more bouillon powder or salt if needed.
-Let the ingredients blend well, cook for another 3-4 minutes.
-Pour the mixture into a baking dish, even out the surface.
-Add a generous layer of the mashed potato mixture on top, smooth out the surface.
-Using a tip of fork, draw ridges across the surface.
-Beat the egg, and brush lightly and evenly the entire surface.
-Bake the cottage pie at 180°C for about 30 minutes, or until the surface takes on a golden colour.

Brussels meatballs

Well, it is not exactly a recipe from Belgium, I sort of invented the name. I always feel sorry for brussel sprouts as so many people vehemently detest them. For me it is a delicious versatile vegetable which go well with so many flavours and ingredients, and I always suspected they are hated because of unimaginative poor preparations to which they are subjected to. Surely they are not so attractive when they are simply boiled to death to the point they become greyish brown!! This is one of my favourite brussel sprouts recipes which are quite fun to eat also as an idea!!

Brussels Meatballs

for 4 people

24-30 (approx,depending on the size) brussel sprouts, cleaned and the bottoms cut off
500g lean mince, beef
1egg
1/4 cup fine bread crumbs
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp garlic powder
pepper
2 tsp Lea&Perrin worcestershire sauce

Sauce*:
500ml passata (tomato puree)
100ml. red wine
1 onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
olive oil
1 tsp herbs of provence (or mixture of oregano, thyme and majoram)
1 bayleaf
pepper
salt
1 tbsp brown sugar
(alternatively a tomato based pasta sauce, homemade or store bought, can be used for a shortcut)

Steam the brussel sprouts with little water in the microwave, until al dente (about 4-5 minutes) let them cool. Brussel sprouts should be on the firm side, but not too much. Test with a toothpick for the texture and if it is still too tough, cook further for another minute or two. Let them cool.


Mix all the rest of meatball ingredients, just as you do with regular meatballs/meatloafs.
Take each brussel sprouts and wrap them with the meatball mixture. Meatball part should be about 5mm thickness or little less.

To make the sauce, sautè the onion and garlic in olive oil, until they are softened.
Add the herbs, pepper, and wine and cook until the major part of wine is evaporated.
Add the passata and brown sugar. Bring it back to boil and simmer, stirring often for about 15 minutes. If needed add a pinch of salt.
Combine the meatball ingredients until blended in well.

Arrange the meatball wrapped brussel sprouts on a buttered baking dish, pour the sauce over, covering each meatballs completely.

Cover the dish with aluminum foil. Bake in the oven at 180°C for 25-30minutes.

Pan fried Catfish fillet alla mimosa

A spur of the moment improvisation turned out so very well! The name is given because the bright yellow coconut/lemon/saffran condiment reminds me of the glorious spring flower, which also gives this dish a nice choreographic effect, thus a dish delicious both to your appetite to your eyes. Catfish can be substituted with any firm white-fleshed fish like haddock or ocean perch.

2 catfish fillet (200-250g a piece)
butter
flour
salt
60-80g fresh coconut flesh chopped in small pieces
2tbsp liquid from coconut
1 lemon
1 packet of saffran

Carefully peel the lemon.
In a food processor or hand mixer grate the coconut and lemon zest with the coconut liquid and the juice of the lemon, until they are small flakes.
Pat dry the fillets, and coat them with the flour.
Heat about 2tbsp of butter in a large skillet (enough to generously cover the surface)
lightly sprinkle a little salt over the butter (not necessary if the butter is already salted)
Fry the fillets in the butter until thoroughly cooked, about 10 minutes turning them over about half way.
Scoop out the fillet, let them dry on an absorbent paper and keep warm.
Add another 2tbsp of butter in the skillet and lightly sautè the coconut/lemon zest mixture for a few minutes.
Add a packet of saffran and distribute well in the mixture, continuing to cook for about another minute.
Return the fillets in the Skillet and gently coat them with the condiment.
Serve hot with the extra condiment heaped onto the fillets.

Lasagne di Pane Carasau

Lasagne di Pane Carasau (Sardinia)

Pane Carasau is a Sardinia's answer to the Mexican tortilla, just as versatile and typical. It is a large, round paper thin crunchy sheets of bread, also called "Carta da musica", or music sheets. It is great munching on as it is, or some condiments, however it is also famous for making an alternative lasagne.. Some people use ragù, or bolognese type meat based sauce, but I personally prefer this without meat, as it goes perfectly well with the light texture of pane carasau!

5-8 sheets of Pane carasau (depending on the size), or as needed
300-400g of fresh mozzarella
coarsely ground fresh bread crumbs*
grated parmigiano reggiano or grana padano, ideally pecorino sardo

Sauce
2 onions, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
1 small stalk of celery, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed or minced
2 bay leaves
Tomatoes, for a quick recipe you can use about 800ml-1lt of mixture of crushed tomatoes from a tin + passata/tomato puree, but using ripe, fresh tomatoes in season (chopped) greatly improves the flavour. I usually take the happy medium and use about 5-6 fresh tomatoes then add 1 tin (400ml circa) of crushed tomatoes. (Note) Fresh tomatoes does also take longer to cook until they thicken.
Salt, black pepper
Handful of fresh basil leaves (or dash of dried, flaked oregano+basil)
olive oil.

*for bread crumbs, the best option is crushing some slightly stale dried bread in a food processor, however the commercial bread crumbs can used also.

Prepare the sauce by sautèing the onion, carrots, celery and garlic in just enough amount of olive oil. When they are completely softened, add the tomatoes and bay leaves, season with salt. (also add the oregano-basil at this point if dried herbs are used.)
Cook the sauce until it attains a consistent, thickened texture, about an hour. Add chopped fresh basil leaves and black pepper towards the end of cooking.

Chop or slice the mozzarella into small pieces.

Grease the bottom of a baking dish (about 20x30cm), then pour some of the sauce just to thinly cover the bottom.
Take pane carasau, sheet by sheet, dip quickly (but thoroughly) in a lukewarm water and lay evenly to cover the surface of the baking dish, breaking the bread as needed to fit into the dish. (of course some overlapping is expected!)
Cover the surface of the bread again with the sauce, not too heavily.
Arrange the pieces of the mozzarella on top, not completely covering but evenly dotted throughout the surface.
Repeat the procedure with pane carasau-sauce-mozzarella twice over. finishing with the mozzarella.
On the fourth layer, after the pane carasau and the sauce, sprinkle generously with the bread crumbs, then the parmigiano/grana padano/pecorino.
Cover the surface with the foil and bake in the oven for about 15 minutes at 180°C, then take off the foil and continue cooking in the oven, cranking up the oven to 200°C. Cook another 10-15 minutes or until the surface is golden brown.

Serve hot!

Chicken Pot Pie

This is my own improved version of the blast from KFC Chicken Pot Pie :-) My partner Cristiano was rather dubious at the look of it, but quickly changed his mind once tasted it :-D The fresh, quality ingredients do make a lot of difference!! The given amount will feed 3 or 2 hearty appetites, have 2 or 3 portion sized (about 12-16cm diametre) baking dishes ready, or you can use disposable aluminum trays to bake in as well!!

300g boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into strips
1 large carrot, diced
1 large onion, chopped
200g fresh mushrooms, diced
100-150g frozen green peas
salt & pepper
nutmeg
butter

500ml bechamele sauce*
puff pastry dough, enough to cover the dishes/trays.

Steam cook the diced carrot in microwave for about 3 minutes (full power), or until cooked al dente, set aside
Steam cook the green peas in microwave for about 6 minutes (full power), or until cooked al dente, set aside
Sautè the onion and mushrooms in butter, until golden.
Add a pinch of salt, nutmeg and pepper to taste.
Add the chicken strips and continue to cook until the chicken is tender and cooked through.
Mix in the peas and carrots, and the bechamele*, toss thoroughly until they are evenly heated and blended.
Bring the mixture to the room temperature.
Pour the mixture into the portion sized baking dishes, cover the surface with the puff pastry sheet cut to fit to the shape of the dishes.
Press the edges with a fork to secure, then poke several holes on the surface, and cut a criss crossed slit in the centre.
Bake the pot pie in the oven at 200°C (400°F) for about 10-15 minutes, or the pastry turns puffed up and golden.

*Bechamele sauce
500ml whole milk
1 tablespoon of flour
30g butter
pinch of salt

Vigorously beat the milk at the room temperature and the flour until they are blended. Heat the mixture in a double boiler with the butter and a pinch of salt, continue to cook until it attains a right consistency. Alternatively you can use a ready made bechamele easily found in supermarkets.

Baccalà Portuguese

Baccalà, fillets of cod preserved in salt is widely consumed in Italy, but even more popular in Portugal. My partner had this dish when he visited Lisbon earlier this year and wanted to recreate it back home and here we are. We added the smoked provolone on top on a whim (which was not on the original version), and came out extremely nicely!!

Baccalà Portuguese

baccalà 600-700g
1tbs butter
Extra Virgine Olive Oil
1 Onion, finely chopped
1kg potatoes
about 1/3 cup of chopped fresh flat leaved parsley, or as needed
breadcrumbs
*300g of smoked provolone, thinly sliced (Optional)
coarsely ground black pepper

1. Soak the baccalà in lightly running water and leave it for 1-2 day.
(alternatively soak in a generous amount of still water, changing the water several times)
2. Pat dry and clean the baccalà, removing the bones and skins, then cut in cubes (slightely bigger than bite sizes)
3. Bring to boil a pot of water and boil the baccalà for about 10 minutes. Drain well.
4. Sautè the onion in butter, until they are completely softened and lightly golden.
5. Peel and slice the potatoes about 5mm thickness, sautè lightly in sufficient amount of olive oil until the surface turns lightly golden. Dry the slices on an absorbent paper.
6. Generously butter a good sized casserole dish, dust the surface with breadcrumbs.
7. Put down a layer of potato slices on the bottom of the casserole, then sprinkle the pepper and parsley, then lay half of the baccalà pieces evenly over the potatoes, then spread half of the sautèed onion over. Repeat the procedure, finishing with the onions, then more parsley, peppers and breadcrumbs on the surface.
8. Cook the dish in the oven at 325°C for about half an hour, or until the surface is well coloured. To add the provolone, take out the dish after about 20minutes and lay the cheeses over, put it back in the oven and bake until the cheese is golden.
Great served with homemade hollandaise sauce. (see the recipe below)

Hollandaise sauce
3 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 dried bay leaf
2 eggs, yolks only
125g butter, softened
lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste

Method
1. Put the vinegar in a small pan with a bay leaf. Reduce the vinegar over a high heat until there is only 1 tbsp left. Remove the bay leaf.
2. Blend the egg yolks in a food processor with the condensed vinegar.
3. Add the butter into the food processor.
5. If the sauce is too thick, add a little hot water.
6. Season to taste with salt and pepper and a little lemon juice.

Mimosa of the Ocean

This is another example of our invention on the whim turning out as a big success, when we had the following ingredients on hand. It also looks extremely lovely esthetically (the coconut-lemon-saffran condiment does look like mimosa, where we invented the name from!), another dish which could easily win over the usual anti-fish bunch!! :-)


4 fillets of haddock, ocean perch or cod (any ocean fish with firm white flesh)
salt & pepper
flour enough to coat the fish
1 egg + milk for dipping the fillets
bread crumbs
olive oil
flesh of 1 coconut
1 large lemon
50g butter
1 sacket of saffran

Slice the fillets into bite sizes or strips, season with salt and pepper.
Dust the fish evenly with the flour
Beat the egg with about 1/4 cup of milk to make a coating for the fillets.
pour sufficient amount of bread crumbs into a large plate.
Dip each pieces into the egg mixture, then coat them with bread crumbs.
Fry the fillet pieces in sufficient amount of hot oil, until they are golden.
Place the fish on an absorbent paper and keep warm.
In a mixer/food processor shred the coconut into fine flakes.
Grate the lemon zest.
In a separate plate lightly sautè the coconut flakes and lemon zest in butter.
Before turning off the heat, add the saffran and mix well to distribute the colouring.
Distribute the coconut mixture over the fish fillet strips.
Squeeze the lemon juice over and serve hot.

Chicken with un "tocco di marocco" (touch of morocco)

This dish bursts with a wonderfully exotic flavour, the original idea was taken from La Cucina Italiana (the best of Italian cooking magazines) a couple of years ago, it was a lamb dish but since I don't eat lamb I substituted with a chicken breast. I also added some pancetta to give a savoury kick, which worked wonderfully although perhaps not a traditional option for this dish originated from northern africa. Pancetta can be left out to stick with the tradition, of course!

100g smoked bacon/pancetta, diced
70g crushed almond
150g dried prune, deseeded and chopped
30g brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Orange zest from one orange
100ml freshly squeezed orange juice
100ml water
500g boneless skinless chicken breast, sliced or pounded thin.
evoo

Sautè the bacon/pancetta and almond in just enough evoo until golden.
Add the prune, sugar, cinnamon, orange zest and orange juice and the water, lowering the heat once starting to boil.

Let it simmer on low heat for about half an hour, adding a little amount of the water if necessary,
until it forms a thick sauce.

Brown the chicken in evoo in another skillet (ideally on a cast iron or barbeque grill for maximum
flavour), then slice them into strips.
Smother with the sauce, serve over a hot cooked bulghur or couscous.

Ocean Perch fillet Orange Blossom

We invented this when we wanted to try a new flavour apart from the usual tartar sauce, and we had a lot of extra oranges on hand. Choreographically it looks great, and its rich yet fresh, mild and fruity flavour can be a great way to convert someone who usually don't care for fish!!

4 hearty Ocean Perch fillets (150-200g each), or of any firm white fleshed fish fillets, like flounder, sole, catfish etc.
50g flour or more as needed
100g butter
3 oranges
60-70ml of milk
salt
fistful of chopped flat leaved parsley (optional)

peel the orange part of the orange, as thinly as possible (less white pulp the better)
in a mixer/food processor grind the orange peal finely to make fresh orange zest.
squeeze out the juices. (take care to remove the seeds)
On a large plate coat the fillet with flour evnely.
Melt the butter in a large skillet.
Fry the fillets in the heated butter, until the surface is golden and crunchy, salt to taste .
Carefully scoop the fillt out with a slotted spatula, drain the excess grease, and keep warm.
Add the squeezed orange juice,the zest and milk into the same skillet.
Lower the heat and continue to cook to attain a thicker consistency.
Arrange the orange sauce over the fillets, sprinkle the parsley over and serve hot.

Boeuf Bourguignon

Frankly not sure of the authenticity about its origin, but this dish does have a nice Frenchy touch, magically turning a tough sinewy cut of beef into a melt in your mouth delicacy. It does take a lot of wine to attain a right flavour and nice depth, no need to use an expensive wine but make sure to use the kind of wine also pleasant to drink (a golden rule for using a wine for cooking...)!! The rest will nicely accompany the dinner at the table!


Roughly 700g/1lb & half of beef, sliced in small pieces.
2 medium size onion, roughly sliced
1 large or 2 smaller garlic cloves, chopped or crushed
1 small stalk of celery, finely chopped (or you can chop up some leaves and mix them into the liquid during the boiling process)
2 med. or 1 big carrot, sliced
500ml(1/2 pint +) of red wine, or preferably burgundy wine
1 bayleaf
thyme, majoram, black pepper
100ml/3,5 oz tomato puree, or more as needed
200g mushrooms, roughly chopped
150g smoked bacon or pancetta, diced
2 bunches of green onion, chopped
handful of fresh flat leaved parsley, chopped.

In an ample pot/skillet sautè the onion, garlic and celery until the onion is golden brown.
Sautè the beef separately, with just enough oil, coat the surface with about 1 table spoon of flour. Cook until the surface is browned.
Unite the cooked beef into the onion mixture.
Pour the wine, add the carrot, the herbs and pepper, bring to boil then cover, turn down the heat and let it simmer for 2 - 2 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. During this process, add tomato puree as needed.
Sautè mushrooms, bacon and green onions together in a separate skillet.
At the end of the two hours of cooking add this mushroom mixture to the main pot. Let it cook for another half an hour.
Garnish with the parsley.

Great served with a fresh baguette and a garden salad to complete the meal!