This appetizer just resembles the famous sushi but doesn't have anything to do with them... Rice is substituted for cheese and fish for ham... But the result will pleasantly surprise you!
The recipe is easy to prepare and gives you fantasy a great opportunity to choose from your favourite ingredients: spread cheeses and different cold cuts.... The ones I suggest are just an option.
INGREDIENTS:
Servings: 3
3 zucchini
1 Robiola cheese with truffle (90g)
50g Prosciutto Crudo
1. Wash zucchini and cut the ends of them.
2. Using a Mandolina grater slice zucchini into 4mm slices.
3. Heat a non-stick pan up till it's almost fuming. You may also use the grilling pan.
4. Grill zucchini slices on both sides and keep them aside on a plate.
5. Cut Prosciutto into smaller stripes to fit over zucchini: just a bit wider than zucchini stripes.
6. When zucchini slices get cooled, spread some Robiola cheese over zucchini slices and cover it with Prosciutto, one side of Prosciutto should be wider than zucchini.
Note: My Robiola cheese was flavoured with truffle, if you got plane Robiola, you may add some finely chopped fresh herbs, olive or sun-dried tomatoes spread...
7. Make a roll with the filling inside and zucchini outside and place it over a plate with the end of zucchini down.
8. Prepare all the rolls and refrigerate them for 15-20 minutes before serving: you will be able to serve them like the real sushi rolls as the cold filling will keep them rolled perfectly.
Enjoy your perfect Italian style appetizer!!!
ENJOY !!!
Recipe of curry mix is a secret of every chef-cook... I buy the already ready one but... I mix three different types of curry mix: yellow mild one (bought in a supermarket next to home), roasted brown one (bought from a Sri Lankan grocery) and hot red one (bought in Seychelles). In any case you may try to buy curry mix powder of different colours from different shops, better form the ethnic groceries, and I may assure you, the taste will be different...
INGREDIENTS:
Servings: 4
500g chicken breast
2 carrots
2 zucchini
1 medium onion
2 garlic cloves
2.5tbs yellow mild curry
0.5tbs hot curry
0.5tbs turmeric / curcuma
0.5tbs roasted curry
1can (400ml) coconut milk
1 bay leave
fresh parsley
fresh basil
fresh coriander
1tbs flour
salt
8tbs olive oil
To accompany:
350-400g (about 2 glasses) Basmati rice
440-500ml water (25% more than rice)
1. Chop garlic and onion finely.
2. Pour olive oil into a saucepan and add onion and garlic, and all the spices.
3. Lightly fry the spices stirring over low heat till the flavour enhances.
4. Cut chicken breast into stripes and add them to the spicy mix, stir well.
5. Peel carrots and cut them into wheels, add them to curry and stir.
6. Cut zucchini into chunks and add to curry.
7. Cook chicken with the vegetables for 5 minutes over medium heat. Add a pinch of salt and a bay leave.
8. Shake the coconut milk can well before opening as it tends to splitting.
9. Pour all the coconut milk to curry and stir.
10. Cook for about 15 minutes or till the vegetables get ready.
11. Adjust the salt.
Note: Curry should be a bit salty as you will cook rice without any salt.
12. Mix 1 non-full tablespoon of flour with 1tbs of oil to prepare a vegetable roux (thickening mix for sauces) and add it to your curry to thicken it, stir well.
13. Chop fresh herbs finely and add them to your curry at the very end of cooking.
14. While curry is being cooked, pour cold water in a separate pan and add Basmati rice. Stir well in order for rice not to stick one grain to another.
15. Cover with a lid and bring to boiling over a high heat, then reduce the heat to low and cook for about 10-12 minutes (necessary for Basmati rice to be cooked) or till the water is all gone.
16. Swith off the heat and let the rice sit: keep the pot covered to finish cooking with the steam.
17. To nicely serve the rice, take a small bowl and spread a drop of oil over the inner surface.
18. Press rice inside the bowl pairing it to the edge.
19. Turn the bowl upside down over the plate and it's done.
You may serve two or three of these rice "domes" per serving, it just depends on the bowl size.
Note: I would like to specify that this method produces the Asian style cooked rice, as it will result in being a bit sticky. I prefer it this kind!
Note: If you like the Indian style rice, you need to wash the rice thoroughly 4-5 times and let it soak for about 10 minutes in cold water, then discard the water and add fresh water to cook the rice....
ENJOY!!!
This recipe is not a typical dish of the Asian cuisine... My dear Asian friends, please forgive me if I did something wrong.... This is just my way of cooking the wide rice noodles.
This recipe is fast to prepare and it's also really healthy. If you use the wok pan to cook, it will also be a low-cal dish as the use of woke reduces the use of the oil. I personally adore the wok cooking!!! I always use it for stir frying and for deep frying as well...
INGREDIENTS:
Servings: 2
150-160g wide rice noodles
1 zucchini
1 carrot
6-8 mushrooms
1 handful of soy beans sprouts
100g shrimps
2 garlic cloves
1 tbs fish sauce
1 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs grated ginger
vegetable oil
Note: You may substitute some veges for the others if you like them better...
1. Soak the rice noodles for 5-10 minutes or as it's indicated on the package.
2. Peel the carrot and wash a zucchini. Cut them into thick sticks, I do it with the use of a Mandolina grater.
3. Slice mushrooms finely.
4. Pour 3-4 tbs of any vegetable oil to the WOK pan and heat it up over the high heat.
5. Stir fry the carrots for a couple of minutes.
6. Add mushrooms and fry for a couple of minutes more.
7. Next it's zucchini's turn to be cooked for two more minutes.
Note: Keep stirring constantly as cooking in wok requests stirring!!!
8. Add the soy bean sprouts and shrimps and stir.
9. Drain the noodles and add them to the wok with vegetables.
10. Squeeze garlic cloves, grate ginger and add them to the noodles.
11. Pour 1 tbs of each soy and fish sauces. Taste the noodles and if needed add some more soy sauce for saltiness.
ENJOY !!!
Who sometimes doesn't have time to cook? But I'm sure if you are reading this blog you don't mind having a nice meal, right?
You won't need many ingredients and the preparation won't take much time, so this recipe can become your "save the dinner" dish!
INGREDIENTS:
Servings: 2
160-200g fresh fettuccine
2 medium zucchini
150g peeled shrimps
2 garlic cloves
chilli
salt
5tbs EVO oil
1. Boil water for pasta, salt it and start cooking your fetuccine half time that is indicated on the pack.
Note: Minimum 1 litre of water for each 100g of pasta.
2. Meanwhile wash zucchini and cut them into disks, 0.7-0.8 cm thick.
3. Pour some EVO oil into a frying pan and and add some chilli to taste and 2 garlic cloves without the skin, cut into halves.
4. Add zucchini disks to the oil and fry them both sides till a nice golden colour.
5. Transfer fried zucchini to a large plate, do not salt them as they may release their juice and become too watery.
6. In the same pan pour some water from pasta and add drained fettuccine.
7. Add peeled shrimps and cook till pasta is almost ready, if it gets too dry add some more water.
8. If you prefer the sauce to be a bit more "sticky" you may add half a teaspoon of Roux.
Note: "Roux" in cooking slang means a mix of butter and flour used to thicken sauces. You may read more about Roux HERE.
9. When past is ready add fried zucchini and mix well, add salt if needed as you didn't salt zucchini...
Buon Appetito!!!
Udon is a type of thick Japanese noodles that are usually sold fresh in vacuum packs. They may be prepared as a soup or stir fried with meat and vegetables.
I prepared udon according to this recipe many times and it always came out with a great taste. Even my husband, who is Italian, likes this kind of noodle...
INGREDIENTS:
Servings: 2
1 pack (100g) Udon noodles
1 zucchini
1 carrot
1/2 leek
100g beef
1 handful soy sprouts
1 garlic clove
1 tbs grated fresh ginger
Seasoning:
1 tbs flour
1 tbs Mirin
1 tbs rice vinegar
some drops of fish sauce
2-3 tbs soy sauce
2 tbs sesame oil
oil
Note: Don't get dispirited !!! The ingredients' list looks really long, but you need just half an hour to prepare this dish!
Note: The seasonings are the typical asian ones, so if you like this kind of cuisine I suggest to find the right ingredients. You can easily find them in the Asian food groceries.
1. Cut the meat into sticks 0.5cm thick.
2. Season the meat first with flour, then with Mirin, rice vinegar, some drops of fish sauce, 1 tbs of sesame oil and 1 tbs of soy sauce. Mix well and keep aside for marinating while you are preparing the other ingredients for cooking.
3. Cut carrot and zucchini into thin sticks, it is easily done with a Mandolina grater.
4. Cut leek into thin rounds.
5. Grate some ginger.
6. Clean and squeeze a garlic clove.
7. Soak Udon noodles in hot water for 2-3 minutes and drain well. Or precook as per the package instuctions.
8. In a wok pan heat up some vegetable oil (I use the olive oil).
Note: How to cook/stir fry in the wok pan:
- heat the oil well, till it is about to fume,
- use chop sticks or, as I do, tongs to stir,
- constantly stir the food,
- use high heat.
9. Add carrot first, then after 3-4 minutes add zucchini, stir well. Cook for 3-4 more minutes.
10. Add squeezed garlic and ginger. Stir!!
11. Add soy sprouts and after you stir it well add marinated meat with it's sauce and leek.
12. Cook stirring till the meat changes it's colour.
13. Add Udon noodles, 1-2 tbs of soy sauce and 1 tbs of sesame oil, stir and switch off the heat.
14. Serve the dish with some leek cut into very thin rounds to decorate.
Itadakimasu!!!
Enjoy your meal!!!
