Polenta Lenta - Polenta with Radicchio and Sheep Cheese

Did you know that the Slow Food movement started from a Piedmontese town called Bra, and did you know that polenta is one of the traditional dishes here in Piedmont? And did you know that "lenta" means "slow" in Italian? Well, now you do.

Anyway, a while ago, I went to a mountain refuge where I had gorgeous polenta with radicchio and cheese. This recipe is inspired by that polenta that I had at Rifugio Levi (which is also a great place to go bouldering, by the way).




POLENTA LENTA (FOR ONE PERSON)

3 dl water
slow-cooking polenta flour
140 grams of semi-soft sheep cheese (I used a local "Toma di Pecora")
about 8 medium-sized leaves of red radicchio (Italian chicory)
1 large clove of garlic
sea salt

1. Pour the water in a pan and heat it until it's about to reach boiling point. Turn the heat low.

2. Mix polenta flour with the water, little by little, using a whisk - to make sure that the polenta does not become lumpy. Add polenta flour until you feel like the the mixture is starting to get thicker - not so thick that it becomes heavy to mix but enough to make sure that it is not fluid.

3. Add salt, and let the polenta cook under a lid for about 20 minutes.

4. In the meantime, chop the garlic finely, cut the radicchio into fine strips, and cut the sheep cheese into small cubes.

5. When the 20 minutes have passed, mix the garlic and the radicchio with the polenta, and let the polenta cook under the lid for about five more minutes.

6. Add the cheese cubes, and let the polenta cook for 5-10 minutes, or until the sheep cheese has melted and the radicchio is not too crisp anymore.

7. Enjoy.

Annika

Che Cavolo! – Cabbage-Turnip-Leek Soup

The idea for this lovely soup came from one of my workmates who told me that he had made a tasty soup combining leeks, turnips and green cabbage. This is what I came up using those ingredients, and some more.





 
CHE CAVOLO!

half a small, green cabbage

2 medium-sized leeks

2 medium-sized turnips

small red pepper

3 cloves of garlic

fresh ginger

gluten-free bouillon powder

½-¾ teaspoons of cardamom

freshly ground pepper

sea salt

extra virgin olive oil

1. Peel the garlic and the fresh ginger, and chop them in small pieces.

2. Peel the turnips and cut them in smaller chunks.

3. Wash the leeks, the red pepper and the green cabbage and cut them in smaller chunks.

4. Put the bouillon powder, the salt, the cardamom, the garlic and the ginger into a medium-sized pot together with some water and bring to a boil.

5. Add the turnips, the leeks and the red pepper, turn down the heat and leave the soup simmering under a lid for about five minutes.

6. Add the cabbage, and leave the soup simmering until all the ingredients are soft enough to blend.

7. Blend until the soup has become a creamy puree.

8. Serve with extra virgin olive oil and freshly ground pepper.

Annika

Sweet Cabbage of Mine - Cabbage Casserole with Raisins

Another cabbage dish that I make several different variants of. Its roots can be found in what once used to be my favourite dish: "kaalilaatikko" ("cabbage casserole") - a traditional Finnish oven dish with cabbage, rice, minced meat and syrup.

SWEET CABBAGE OF MINE

5 dl of water
2 dl of green lentils
3/4 dl of red quinoa
a small green cabbage
5 dl of thinly sliced leek
1 small fennel
3 cloves of garlic
1-2 handfuls of raisins, depending on the size of your hands
gluten-free bouillon powder
1.5 tablespoons of fresh thyme
2 tablespoons of parsley
0.5 tablespoon of oregano
freshly ground black pepper
sea salt
2 tablespoons of sunflower seed oil

0. Rinse the lentils and soak them overnight.

1. Chop the garlic finely.

2. Pour the water into a large pot and bring it to a boil.

3. Add the lentils, the garlic and the bouillon powder into the pot, adjust the heat to low, and let it simmer under a lid.

4. Remove the outer leaves of the cabbage, cut the rest of the cabbage into short stripes and add the stripes into the pot together with the thyme, the parsley, the oregano, the pepper and the raisins. Mix well.

5. Wash the leeks and the fennel, slice the leek thinly and cut the fennel into small pieces.

6. Wash the quinoa well.

7. After the other ingredients have been cooked for a minimum of 20 min, add the leek, the fennel, the quinoa and the sunflower seed oil, mix the ingredients well and let the mixture simmer until the quinoa is ready (about 15 minutes).

8. Serve either hot or cold.

Green Quisquis Salad – Quinoa Salad with Fresh Herbs

When I lived in Holland and was still blissfully unaware of my gluten problem, I sometimes used to get some lovely couscous salad from a Turkish corner shop down the road. This quinoa salad is inspired by that couscous salad.





GREEN QUISQUIS SALAD (Pronounced 'Green Kiss Kiss Salad')

3 espresso cups of white quinoa
6 espresso cups of water
2 Italian-style small cucumbers or 1 large cucumber
1 green pepper
2 medium-sized red onions
2 cloves of garlic
bunch of fresh coriander
bunch of fresh parsley (about twice as much as coriander)
gluten-free bouillon powder
lemon
olive oil
freshly ground pepper
sea salt

1. Wash the quinoa well. Add bouillon powder and sea salt to the water, and boil the quinoa in it until ready.

2. Wash the cucumber, the pepper, the coriander and the parsley and chop them finely.

3. Chop the onions and the garlic finely.

4. When the quinoa has cooled down a bit, mix it with all the chopped vegetables and herbs.

5. Add pepper, salt, olive oil and lemon juice, and serve either chilled or when the quinoa is still a bit warm. You can serve this salad either as a main course or a side dish.

Kiss kiss,
Annika

Medimix - Cabbage Stew with Mediterranean Herbs and Veggies

Cabbage makes for a great, healthy base for many dishes. It keeps much better than most other vegetables, so it's a good idea to always keep a cabbage in the fridge. Here is my latest cabbage dish. It was quick and easy to make and turned out so well that I'll definitely be making it again.





Medimix

1/2 medium-sized Savoy cabbage
1 yellow pepper
1 very large tomato (or 2 smaller tomatoes)
1 courgette
1 leek
6-8 large leaves of fresh basil
fresh dill
fresh ginger
3-4 cloves of garlic
sea salt
pepper
gluten-free tamari sauce

1. Cut the cabbage in half. Remove the exterior leaves of the half that you intend to use, and cut it in narrow strips.

2. Wash and cut the tomato, the pepper, the courgette and the leek.

3. Peel the ginger and the garlic, and cut them in small pieces.

4. Wash and cut the basil and the dill in small pieces.

5. Sautee the ginger and the garlic in sunflower oil in a large, deep frying pan or a large pot.

6. Add the vegetables, the herbs, the salt and the pepper. Mix well while keeping the temperature high. Then let the mix simmer until the cabbage is soft and until all the tastes have had enough time to blend with each other. As with any cabbage dishes, they only get better as the cooking times get longer (I think).

7. Add some tamari sauce and serve.

Annika

Ruby Soup – Beetroot Soup with Fresh Herbs

This lovely soup should be tried by anyone who says that they hate beetroots. I used to hate beetroots, too, until I actually started using fresh beetroots in my cooking. Give beetroots another chance!

Ruby Soup

4 beetroots
2 carrots
2 small red onions
3-4 smallish cloves of garlic
fresh ginger
fresh coriander
fresh parsley
gluten-free bouillon powder
sea salt

1. Peel the beetroots, the carrots, the onions, the garlic and the ginger, and chop them coarsely.

2. Wash the coriander and the parsley. I used a generous amount of coriander!

3. Put all the ingredients – including the bouillon powder and the salt – in a large pot, and add enough water to cover all the ingredients.

4. Cook until the beetroots and the carrots are ready.

5. Liquidise and serve.

6. Let me know if you still hate beetroots.

Annika

Soyotto - Veggie Risotto with Soya Beans

Instead of always buying processed soya products, I've decided to start experimenting with soya beans in my dishes. This was my first experiment, and I was quite happy with the result. I'm sure the result will be just as good with any other mix of veggies.





Soyotto

risotto rice
black soya beans
green soya beans
6 courgettes
fennel
1-2 stalks of celery
2 carrots
pea pods
1 onion
4-5 cloves of garlic
fresh ginger
gluten-free bouillon powder
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
tamari sauce

0. Soak the soya beans overnight.

1. Peel the onion, the garlic and the ginger, and chop them finely.

2. Cook the risotto rice and the soya beans together with the onion, the garlic and the ginger (please check the cooking times of the rice and the soya beans as they might differ from each other). Even though it's a "soyotto", there should be (a lot) more veggies than rice and soya beans in the final dish!

3. Peel and wash the carrots, wash the rest of the vegetables and cut them all in smallish pieces.

4. 10-15 minutes before the end of the cooking time of the rice and the soya beans, add the vegetables, the bouillon powder, the salt and the black pepper. Let the soyotto cook until the vegetables are ready.

5. Add the tamari sauce, and enjoy.

Annika

Hot Chicks - Hot Chickpea Salad

Moving house tomorrow, so need to get rid of my chickpeas, too! So, this lovely, filling salad is what I'll be having for dinner tonight (except that I obviously won't be using tinned chickpeas): http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/recipes/5355420/Hot-chickpea-salad-with-spring-onions-and-parsley.html

Annika

Risindiano - Risotto with an Indian Touch

I am about to move house, and have realised that I have a cupboard full of food that I neither want to chuck out nor take with me. One of the things that I found in my cupboard was a good amount of Italian red rice. I'm not big into starchy foods but I decided to make an exception and try to cook a risotto, using up the rice and some cumin seeds that I got from an Indian ex-workmate a few months ago. I was quite pleased with the result - a spicy risotto with an Indian touch. However, I must say that the strong taste of the red rice and the spices overshadowed the much more subtle taste of the veggies that I decided to use - asparagus and courgettes. Next time, I might try to replace the asparagus and the courgettes with veggies that better complement the taste of the red rice (an alternative for those of you who use white rice might be to stick to the asparagus and the courgettes but use white rice instead).

So, here is what I used and did today.

Risindiano

4.5 dl Italian red rice
10 dl water
1/2 kg asparagus spears
3 large courgettes
1 medium-sized onion
4-5 cloves of garlic
fresh ginger
extra virgin olive oil
gluten-free bouillon powder
cumin
~2 tablespoons of paprika powder
~1 teaspoon of ground pepper
sea salt

1. Peel the onion, the garlic and the ginger, and chop them finely.

2. Wash the asparagus spears and the courgettes, and cut them into small pieces.

3. Heat some olive oil in a large pot, and saute the cumin, the onion, the garlic and the ginger.

4. Add the water, the rice, the bouillon powder and the rest of the spices. Let it cook for 5-10 minutes.

5. Add the veggies. Stirring every now and then, let the risotto simmer under a lid until a) the rice is soft enough and b) the water has been absorbed into the rice.

6. Enjoy.

Annika

Leeky Lentils - Leek & Lentil Soup

So far, this has been my favourite variant of the leeky lentil soup inspired by one of our (two) followers. In fact, it's one of my favourite soups.

Leeky Lentils

5 leeks
1.5-2 cups of green lentils
2 stalks of celery
a huge bunch of parsley
gluten-free bouillon powder
loads of garlic
sea salt
black pepper
extra vergine olive oil

0. Soak the lentils overnight.
1. Let the lentils cook while you're preparing the other ingredients.
2. Wash and cut the leek and the celery into smaller pieces, peel and cut the garlic in small pieces, and wash the parsley.
3. Add the leek, the celery, the garlic, the parsley, the pepper and the bouillon powder.
4. When the lentils are almost ready, add the salt.
5. When the lentils are ready, blend the soup until smooth.
6. Serve with a bit of extra vergine olive oil.

Annika

Eggy Brekkie - Vegetable Omelette

I started the day with one of my favourite breakfasts... Eggy Brekkie. Quick, easy and tasty.






Eggy Brekkie

organic free-range eggs
courgette
leek
(spinach)
sea salt
pepper
paprika
extra virgin olive oil

1. Mix the eggs and the spices with a fork. To get an idea about the proportions, veggies are the main ingredient! I typically use two eggs and loads of veggies.
2. Cut the courgette and the leek.
3. If you intend to use a lot of spinach, you might want to steam it first so that it'll all fit in the frying pan!
4. Heat the oil in the frying pan, add the veggies and pour in the egg mixture. Let it all cook under a lid, mixing the ingredients every now and then. Don't let it cook too long, though; it's nicer if the courgette remains a bit crisp.

Annika

Red Roots - Beetroot Casserole

What's on the menu tonight? A casserole made with 'red roots' and other goods (when translated directly from the Finnish word 'punajuuri', 'beetroots' become 'red roots').

This one is simple but does take a while to prepare. What I usually do is that I prepare a huge portion and then eat it either hot or cold for a few days.

Buon appetito!


RED ROOTS

beetroots
red onions
Brazil nuts
potatoes

Dressing:
extra virgin olive oil
paprika
pepper
sea salt

1. Wash, cook, peel and slice the beetroots.

2. Cut the onions in half and slice the halves.

3. Peel the potatoes and slice them as thinly as you can. To get an idea about the proportions of the ingredients, I usually use four or five times as many beetroots as potatoes.

4. Mix the ingredients of the dressing. Be generous with the paprika!

5. Arrange layers of the ingredients in the casserole and bake in 180 degrees for about an hour.

6. Let me know if you have ideas on how to improve the dressing!