Saturday 27 March 2010

QUICK RECIPES

EASY PEASY TAGLIATELLE

This is a very quick and tasty recipe. The real Italian version includes Parma ham and hand-made tagliatelle. The recipe below is a shortcut that can be prepared even on a week night after coming back from work :)
For 4 people you will need:

  • 400g of egg tagliatelle
  • 250g of frozen peas (I like petit pois)
  • 60g of butter
  • 1/2 chopped onion
  • 1 cooked gammon steak
  • 40g of grated parmesan cheese
  • salt & pepper

Defrost the peas by cooking them for 5 min in hot water. Drain them and put them aside. Dice the gammon steak and chop the half onion finely. Melt the butter in a pan, add the onion and the gammon and fry for 5 min. Add the peas, salt and pepper and cook for another 5 min. In the meantime cook the tagliatelle in a big pot of salted, boiling water. Cooking time varies. Follow the instructions on the package. Drain the pasta and dress it with the sauce in a big serving dish. Mix it well, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and serve!

Tips: you could add a bit more butter while mixing. I like this dish with a little extra pepper, as it goes really well with the sweetness of the peas :)

TOMATO EGGS

This dish is great for a lazy weekend brunch. I took inspiration from my granny's recipe, but I made some changes. In her version the eggs were scrambled in with the tomatoes, but I prefer not to break them, so I can dip my bread in the yolk :) My granny's eggs were delicious because she kept her own hens and the eggs were always fresh. Well, no room for chickens in my flat... Also there was no chilli in the original recipe.
Again this recipe serves 4.
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 tins of chopped tomatoes
  • 1/2 chopped onion
  • 2 chopped cloves of garlic
  • vegetable oil
  • 40g of grated parmesan cheese
  • salt & pepper
  • dried chilli flakes
  • very fresh crusty bread. I like multi seeds baguette.

In a pan with some vegetable oil fry the chopped onion, the garlic and a pinch of chilli flakes. Cook it for a couple of minutes and then add the chopped tomatoes and some salt to taste. Cover with a lid and let it simmer gently for 10 min. Remove from heat. Uncover and with the back of a spoon press down the sauce to create 4 little craters for your eggs. Nestle one egg in each hole gently. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and black pepper. Cover again with the lid and put the pan back onto the stove. Let it cook at minimum heat for another 4/5 min. Remove from heat and let it rest for a couple of minutes before serving.

Warning: I like my eggs very runny. Adjust the cooking time to your own taste.



Thursday 4 March 2010

どうして :'(

Ponyo (Gake no ue no Ponyo) is the latest animation by Miyazaki-san. Its theme song is so sweet and catchy :)



I've also found an Italian version of it, which is also super sweet...



What the hell is going on with the American version?! This is really terrible. Why ruin something so perfectly magic and turn it into this? Atrocious... no words... booo!!!