Beef fillets with Olives and Tomato Sauce

It’s a quick and easy recipe and comes out tasty every time “Alla pizzaiola” literally means "pizza style" because of the tomato sauce and origano.

As for many Italian recipes you can find different variations , depending on family’s taste

Straccetti alla pizzaiola

4 beef fillets

200g tomato pulp

100g black olives

20g capers

4 anchovy fillets

Extra vergin olive oil

Oregano

Salt and Pepper

Chop the anchovy fillets ,the capers and the olives. Gently fry them in extravergin olive oil. Add the tomato pulp and cook at a moderate heat for approx. 15 minutes (add a few spoonfuls of warm water if this mixture becomes too thick).In the remaining oil gently fry the beef fillets on both sides. Add salt when they are cooked. Then add the tomato sauce and cook a little more. Serve immediately.

Suggestion: Instead of beef you can use turkey or chicken or pork.

Ricotta Cheesecake Gluten Free

Today during the Hands on Italian Cooking class , Sonia , a guest from Arizona, asked for a cake with Ricotta cheese. I  remembered two days ago  Krista’s request for our Ricotta Cheese cake .And so here it is  for you our simple recipe,  without flour so perfect also for  Gluten Free friends .

Dolce di Ricotta

1 Kg ricotta 

300gr sugar

7 eggs

50 gr dark chocolate

Salt

Breadcrumbs

Oil

Decoration Icing /confectioner’ssugar sugar

Drain the ricotta cheese and mix it with sugar and salt.Place in the refrigerator for all the night.

The day after  add eggs and grated chocolate. Grease and sprinkle with breadcrumbs a cake tin. Pour the mixture in the cake tin. Bake it in the oven at 160°c for 1 hour.

To decorate,sprinkle the top with the icing/confectioer’s sugar.

Another excellent cake recipe is Crosta di Ricotta

Tuscan Sausages an Potatoes

Dedicated to a young Knight !!!The first historical evidence on the use of   pork meat  bagged in its gut with spices and salt goes  back to  ancient Rome time.

The sausages  are the potatoeseasiest  cold meat to produce and the types are virtually endless, ranging from  spicy sausage typical of southern Italy to the  north east smoked ones. They can  be heavily seasoned with chili pepper or fennel.

Tuscan Sausages and Potatoes

1 kg of sausages 

1 kg of potatoes 

half a glass of dry white wine

rosemary 

olive oil

salt

pepper 

6 cloves of garlic

Peel potatoes, wash and cut into chunks .Punch the   sausages with a fork on both sides.

 In a baking dish pour on a little oil , lay the potatoes and sausages.
Add salt and pepper, sprinkle with rosemary, garlic cloves with the skin and more oil .

Bake  in preheated oven at 200° C for 20 minutes ,add a glass of white wine, cook for other 20 minutes.

If you like you can also add in the pan fennel seeds
Serve hot. 

Easter Chocolate Nest

It's Easter !  An excellent  tradition in our Northern Italan family is a chocolate dessert, also perfect in Tuscany

Nido Pasquale al Cioccolato

200 gr. white flour

150 gr sugar

100 g butter, softened

2 eggs

150 ml milk

1 teaspoon baking vanilla

grated zest of lemon

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 pinch of salt

chocolate

chocolate chips

apricot jam

small chocolate  eggs

Mix sugar, butter, add all the other ingredients. Pour into a mold donut. Bake at 180 ° C for 40 minutes.

Let  it cool. Cover with a thin layer of jam and then let stick coarsely grated  chocolate and  chocolate chips. Garnish with small chocolate eggs in the middle.

Spinach Frittata : a family recipe

When I was a  child,  our  mother used to prepare  frittata  several times a month :sometimes   with freshly  prepared  ingredients, sometimes with leftovers of vegetables  or pasta. Anyway we were always happy to eat  it .Now  I know while we had it  so many time: best  way to recycle  leftovers…

Frittata di Spinaci

• 300 gr. spinach
• 3 eggs 
• 2 spoons parmigiano reggiano
• Salt and pepper
• Olive oil     1 spoon 

Cook the spinach in water with a pinch of salt. When they are cooked, squeeze  them well and chop them  with a mezza luna. In a bowl, beat the eggs, add the Parmesan and season with salt and pepper. Add spinach and mix them well in.

In a pan heat the oil, pour the mixture and cook for 10 minutes until the mixture is well cooked on one side. 

Turn it into the pan and cook the other side for 5 minutes.

Serve hot or cold. A slice is also excellent in a sandwich!