Lycopene from tomatoes has a antioxydant property but as Lycopene is fat-soluble we need to add some oily ingredient to our salad to help absorption of this precious substance . What can be better than avocado that is very rich in oil being a fruit. Avocado is also a source of antioxidants and many vitamins. Avocados are considered to be a rich source of fat and protein more easily digestible of all the foods. In fact, they are made of 80% of healthy fats and 15% of protein. They provide more protein than cow's milk and contain all the essential amino acids.
So, let's roll up our sleeves and prepare this healthy and also very tasty salad.
INGREDIENTS:
Servings: 2
1 avocado
1 small red onion
10-12 cherry tomatoes
1 bunch of rocket salad
fresh parley
fresh basil
salt
chilli powder
lemon
EVO oil
1. Cut avocado into halves and remove the nut.
Note: If the nut is not coming out easily, hit it with a big sharp knife, then twist the knife , the nut will come out as easy as 1,2,3...
2. Slice avocado in about 1cm thick sticks.
3. Cut red onion into thin slices and sprinkle it with some lemon juice to reduce the bitterness.
Note: It is not necessary if you like the pungent taste of the onion or your onion is of a sweet taste.
4. Cut cherry tomatoes into 3-4 wheels.
5. Wash rockets salad and cut it in two.
6. Chop the fresh herbs.
7. In a large bowl gently mix all the ingredients and season with some salt and EVO oil.
Note: If you are a spicy person add some chilli powder to your salad.
8. You may serve the salad as a light main dish, a side dish or as a filling to non-yeast Pita bread serving it as a roll. You may also use normal yeast Pita bread.
ENJOY!!!
Fresh and fragrant, relatively fast to prepare...
The secret to the fullness of the flavour is to keep the water from the mussels and to prepare a stock with the shrimps shells. The precious liquids will contribute enormously to the flavour.
Usually the fresh parsley is added but I advise to use both parsley and basil. This hint will assure a further unmistakably Mediterranean flavour.
INGREDIENTS:
Servings: 2
160g spaghetti
100g mussels (without shells)
10-12 shrimps
10-12 cherry tomatoes
2-3 garlic cloves
chilli
fresh basil
fresh parsley
salt
EVO oil
1. Peel the shrimps and devein them, keep the shells.
2. Pour a couple of tablespoons of olive oil into a frying pan and add 1 garlic clove cut into halves.
3. Fry the shrimps shells and heads till they get orangey.
4.Add half a glass of water and cook for 2-3 minutes over a high heat.
5. Pour the mussels water to the pan and keep cooking for 2-3 minutes more.
Note: If you were using the fresh mussels, cook them till they are open in another pan and keep the water.
Note: I usually use the frozen mussels for this recipe, so I unfreeze them and use the water.
6. Make a little cut over the cherry tomatoes' peel.
7. Cook spaghetti half way (if the package indicates 14 minutes of cooking, cook for about 10) and while you are boiling spaghetti, boil cherry tomatoes for 2-3 minutes, then peel their skin.
8. Pour 2-3 tbs of EVO oil in a pan and heat it with a garlic clove.
9. Filter the shrimps stock and add it to the pan.
10. When spaghetti are almost ready drain them, keeping some of their water and finish cooking in a pan with the shrimps' stock.
11. Cut peeled cherry tomatoes into halves and add them to spaghetti along with the peeled shrimps and mussels. Cook till spaghetti are ready.
Note: If it gets too dry add some water that you kept from boiling of spaghetti.
12. Chop some fresh parsley and basil finely and add the herbs to the dish.
BUON APPETITO !!!!
You may cook this dish with just mussels or you may mix mussels with clams...
You may also remove all the mussels out of their shells or keep some mussels WITH the shells, the dish presentation will be much more dramatic!!!
You may even avoid using the cherry tomatoes....
The result will still be very rewarding !!!
INGREDIENTS:
Servings: 2
~700-800g mussels
160g linguine
cherry tomatoes
2 garlic cloves
chilli
parsley
salt
EVO oil
1. Put pasta (linguine) into salted boiling water and cook them till almost ready: if the package instructions indicate 11 minutes of cooking, then cook for about 8 minutes and drain.
2. While the pasta is cooking, pour 2-3 tbs of EVO oil into a large pan and add garlic cloves cut into halves and some chilli.
3. Add washed and cleaned mussels to the pan, splash with some white wine and cover with a lid. Cook over high heat till the mussels are open.
Note: If you buy uncleaned mussels, you need to clean their shells from the seaweeds and tear the "beard" of the mussel away: hold the mussel firmly and tear he beard away with a sharp yank towards the hinge end.
Discard any mussel that is broken or opened.
Cleaned mussels are to be cooked immediately.
4. When the mussels are open drain their water into a bowl and keep it.
5. Remove half of the mussels out of their shells and keep aside.
6. When the pasta is halfly ready drain it and keep some of it's water.
7. In the same pan you used to open the mussels, pour the mussels water back and add drained pasta, cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes.
Note: If the sauce gets too dry, add some water from the pasta cooking.
8. Wash and cut cherry tomatoes into halves and add them to pasta.
Note: Don't cook cherry tomatoes too much as their skin will become harder and the pulp will secede from the skin and it's not nice....
9. Add the unshelled mussels to pasta and stir.
10. At the end add the mussels with their shells to pasta to heat them up a bit.
Serve with some finely chopped parsley and a glass of chilled white wine.... cheers!!!
Buon Appetito!!!
Very fast and very Italian dish with the colours of the national flag... This dish can be served warm as a Main dish or cold as a Salad.
An the use of the fresh basil will add a Mediterranean touch to dish.
INGREDIENTS:
Servings: 2
160g farfalle pasta
100g cherry tomatoes
100g buffalo mozzarella
fresh basil
salt
EVO oil
1. Bring water to boiling, salt it and cook pasta for the time indicated on the package.
Note: It's nice to use Farfalle pasta for this dish but you may also choose from Fusilli, Penne, Rigatoni or other short types of pasta.
2. While pasta is cooking, wash cherry tomatoes and cut them into halves.
3. Drain mozzarella from it's whey and cut the cheese into cubes with 1.5cm side.
4. Drain pasta and transfer it to a big bowl.
5. Pour 3-4tbs of EVO oil over the pasta and stir.
6. Add mozzarella and tomatoes to pasta.
7. Chop some fresh basil and season the dish.
Note: You may use the home-made frozen basil, check it out how to freeze the herbs HERE.
Buon Appetito!!!
This is really a full-flavour dish... Very poor in calories but substantial . You may serve it as a main course or as a sauce for short pasta, the best type of pasta for this dish is Paccheri.
INGREDIENTS:
Servings: 2
600g calamari rings
handful of black olives
couple pinches of capers
8 cherry tomatoes
2 garlic cloves
1/4 lemon
OR
50ml white wine
salt
chilli
oregano
EVO oil
1. Remove the bones from the olives. If the olives are soft you may just press them gently to separate the bones from the meat and then it will come out by itself.
2. Cut tomatoes into halves or if they are quite big into quarters.
3. In a large bowl marinate calamari rings with either 1tbs of lemon juice or same quantity of white wine for 5 minutes.
4. Add tomatoes, olives and capers. Season with some salt and oregano. You may also add some lemon peel for flavour.
5. In a frying pan heat some EVO oil and add garlic cloves cut into halves and chilli to taste.
6. Add calamari with other ingredients and cook for 5 minutes.
7. There will be too much sauce , so drain calamari with a skimmer and put them in a bowl in which you will serve them.
8. Reduce the sauce in the pan for about 5 minute.
9. Add the sauce to the bowl with calamari to season.
Note: In case you want to use the dish as a sauce for pasta, cook any short type of pasta, like Penne, Farfalle, Tortiglioni, Rigatoni... But the best one for the dish is Paccheri.
In this case the quantities of Ingredients will become for four people.
Mix calamari with pasta and serve without cheese.
Buon Appetito!!!
The name of this dish is really bizarre !!! Translated it literally means "Spaghetti in a whore style" Yeah!!! That's right... hmm... exactly!
The origin of this name is not sure but they say that it comes either from the whorehouses in Naples where this dish was frequently served to the clients or to the prostitutes after their "hard work"... Or, as a nice story tells, it was invented by an owner of a restaurant in Ischia, and island near Naples shore. Now I'll tell you the story.
One night at the restaurant called Rancio Fellone, when the chef was already gone home, a group of friends appeared. The owner, who was not a chef but an architect, advised that the kitchen was already closed. So the fellows, who were really hungry, asked him to bring any possible "puttanata", that in Italian means kind of "piece of nonsence", but comes from a word "puttana", that, I bet, doesn't need to be translated... In short, they asked for any kind of simple dish, just to have something to soothe their hunger. So the owner checked in the kitchen and found these simple ingredients that are always stored in any restaurant, out of which he invented this dish, that was called Spaghetti alla Puttanesca.
This dish is not famouse only in Italy, it became a classical Italian recipe known worldwide.
INGREDIENTS:
Servings: 2
160g spaghetti
handful of black olives
2-3 pinches of capers
3-4 anchovies
2 garlic cloves
10-12 cherry tomatoes
chilli
oregano
salt
EVO oil
1. Pour some oil into a frying pan and add garlic cloves a bit smashed and anchovies and adding by a wooden spoon let the anchovies melt
2. Add chilli, olives, capers and oregano, splash everything up with some wine.
3. At the end add cherry tomatoes cut in halves and heat everything up.
4. Cook spaghetti "al dente", drain and add to the sauce.
5. Mix gently and serve.
Note: Please remember: Pasta = Fish - Yes => Cheese - NO
1 small red onion
