Italian Lemon Tarte - Crosata di Limone

Someone who is very thoughtful gave me an Italian recipe book for Christmas...I'm not sure who, but thank you!
This recipe is the first the book opened to and it was amazing - like lemon curd in a tart. Not surprising really as the ingredients are similar to lemon curd apart from there being cream in this and butter in lemon curd.

We had it warm, but I also ate lots of left overs cold from the fridge.
The pastry shell is beautifully short and has a subtle lemon flavour. I loved making the pastry on the bench rather than in a bowl - it felt like 'traditional Italian cooking'.

I used baking beans to keep the tart shell in shape and chilled it again once I had it in the tin.
The mixture came right up to the top of the baked tart shell before it was cooked but shrunk back during cooking which didn't look quite as I imagined but it was still one I will make again.
My tart was very yellow compared to the book...that might have been because the eggs came from our chickens and the yolks are very yellow.

Italian Lemon Tarte - Crosata di Limone

Ingredients
200g plain flour
250g caster sugar,
    plus 2 tbsp
5 egg yolks
grated peel and juice of 2 lemons
1 pinch of salt
100g chilled butter
3 eggs
150 ml double cream
2 tbsp icing sugar
oil for greasing

Method
Sift the flour onto a work surface, blend in 7 tablespoons of caster sugar, and make a well in the centre. Add 4 egg yolks, half the lemon peel, the salt and the butter cut into small pieces. kneed everything together into a smooth, supple dough. From the dough into a ball, cover in cling film and chill in the fridge for an hour.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C and grease a 25cm springform tart tin. Roll out the pastry very thinly on a floured work surface and use to line the base and sides of the tin. Use a fork to prick several holes in the pastry, then lay a sheet of baking paper over it. Chill in fridge again for 30 minutes. Fill with baking beans and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the beasn and baking paper and leave the pastry to cool.
Reduce the oven temp to 160 degrees C.
Beat the remaining egg yolk, whole eggs and the rest of the sugar and lemon peel into a thick pale cream. Stir in the lemon juice. Whip the cream and fold into the egg mixture.
Pour in into the case and spread evenly, then bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. I added about another 5-10 minutes.
Dust the surface with icing sugar, then return to oven until golden brown.

Potato Gnocchi with Tomato Sauce

This recipe is one we have made several times in our family. While it takes a bit of time, it really is easy and very yummy. My gnocchi is always really rustic looking - no perfect little discs in sight!

I never use pre-made pasta sauce because it really is pretty easy to make your own and home made is always so much better. My recipe for a tomato pasta sauce has no precise measurements but you can guarantee it will always have tomato, onion and loads of garlic.


Potato Gnocchi
500g of cooked floury potatoes (ideally baked with skins on to keep them really dry, but peeled and boiled is fine too)
1 egg yolk
1 cup of flour
3 tablespoons of parmesan (I use a bit more)

Mash and measure 2 cups of potato into a large bowl. Mix in yolk, parmesan, 1/4 tsp of salt and some black pepper. Slowly add flour until you have a slightly sticky dough.

Knead for 5 minutes, adding more flour if necessary, until the dough is smooth.

Divide the dough into 6 portions and roll each portion on a lightly floured surface to form a thin sausage shape about 2cm thick.

Cut rolls into 2.5 cm thick shapes. Press into an oval in palm of hand against a floured fork.
As you make them place on a lightly floured baking tray and cover with a tea towel until ready to use.

Cook gnocchi in batches in a large pan of salted boiling water for about 2 minutes. Gnocchi will float to the surface when cooked. Drain well before serving.

Tomato Sauce

2-5 cloves of garlic crushed or finely chopped

1 onion finely chopped

1 stick of celery finely diced

1 anchovy fillet

olive oil

2 tins of crushed tomatoes

2 tbs tomato paste

1 tsp of sugar

chopped fresh herbs - basil, thyme, oregano

salt and pepper to taste

Slowly sweat the garlic, onion, celery and anchovy in oil until soft. Add tomatoes, paste and sugar and salt and pepper. You may want to blend it at this stage or leave it chunky.  Add fresh chopped herbs just before serving.

Chicken Lasagne - recipe

I've got a time coming up in about a month where I am not going to be able to do too much cooking so I have been slowing building up frozen meals in the freezer in late foil dishes. This weekend I have made a chicken potato pie for dinner and one for the freezer and a couple of large chicken lasagnes which should do us for about four meals with vegetables or salads.

The lasagne recipe comes from a great recipe book my mother in laws gave me several years ago called 'Everyday Italian'. while I have not cooked my way through it, the recipes in it all get made again and again. My very favourite tiramisu recipes comes from this book too.

This recipe has mozzarella and cream ( I used ricotta) as part of the topping. I was able to use the cheese I made the night before as part of this dish.

Lasagne Recipe

Topping
250g lasagne sheets
1/2 cup grated mozzarella
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup cream
3 tbs parmesan

Cheese sauce
60 g butter
1/3 cup flour
2 cups of milk
1 cup grated cheddar cheese

 Meat sauce
1 tbs olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, crushed (I always use way more garlic)
500g chicken mince (or beef mince)
2 x 400g cans of tomatoes
1/4 cup red wine
I added about a cup of chopped mushrooms
1/2 tsp of ground oregano
1/4 tsp of ground basil (I used a couple of cubes of frozen pesto)

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Brush shallow oven proof dish with melted butter or oil. Line with dry lasagne sheets, breaking them to fill any gaps and set aside.

2. To make cheese sauce, melt the butter in a pot. Add the flour and cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat and slowly add the milk stirring until smooth. Return to heat and cook while stirring over a medium heat until sauce boils. Reduce the heat and simmer for 3 minutes. Stir in grated cheese, season and set aside.

3. To make the meat sauce, heat the olive oil in large pan. Add the onion and garlic and stir over a low heat until the onion is tender. Add the mince and brown well, breaking up with a fork as it cooks. Stir in the tomatoes,  (mushrooms), wine, herbs and salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

4. Spoon one-third of the meat sauce over the lasagne sheets. Top with one third of the cheese sauce. Arrange another layer of lasagne sheets over the top.

5. Continue layering, finishing with lasagne sheets. Sprinkle with combined mozzarella and cheddar cheeses. Pour the cream over the top. Sprinkle with parmesan. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden.

Broad Bean Risotto recipe...not a hit with everyone

I've never grown broad beans before and to be honest haven't eaten them that much either. They were one of the earliest things that could be planted late winter/spring so I gave them a go. It also gave me an excuse to buy two willow obelisks for my vege garden to grow them on...they look great.

Bella and I picked a heap of them this afternoon and had broad bean risotto for dinner. I love any opportunity to take things straight from the garden to cook them rather than leaving them sitting in the fridge for days!

I have to admit though that as excited as she was about risotto, she gagged when I insisted she try the board beans!
I really enjoyed the meal and just loved the incredibly vibrant green of the beans.


I made a risotto without really using a recipe...although I have included a nice easy 'no stir' one from Sabato below. I shelled, steamed and then pealed the board beans and then added them to the risotto at the end.
I was amazed at how easily they shelled after they were cooked.

Ferron No Stir Risotto

serves 4 as a main

2 cups Ferron Carnaroli or Vialone Nano risotto rice
4 cups Sabato stock, simmering (available in vegetable, beef, porcini, fish and chicken from our showroom)
1 onion or 2-3 shallots, chopped
1-2 cloves of garlic, chopped (optional)
extra virgin olive oil 
salt and pepper 
Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano cheese, grated (optional)

Heat oil in a heavy-based pot and cook the onion & garlic until soft. Add the rice and stir for a couple of minutes (this is called ‘toasting’ the rice).

Add the simmering stock all at once and bring to the boil. Turn down to a simmer, add salt, cover, and cook for 15 minutes. While the risotto is cooking, prepare any other ingredients of your choice – see our suggestions below.

Once the rice has cooked, remove from heat and check the seasoning. You may want to add additional salt and pepper to your taste.

Stir in some Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano if desired. The amount depends on how ‘all’onda’ (creamy) you prefer your risotto.

Seasoning Mixes - Recipes

After posting my Mexican Spiced Tomato and Lentil soup recipe I had intended to quickly put up the Mexican Spice mix recipe but found I didn't have one of the ingredients (amazing considering the huge array of herbs and spices I have in my pantry). So apologies to Lynn (who wanted the recipe to make the soup), here it is now...with some added recipes.

These recipes are from Sophie Gray's 'Enjoy'. It's just as well I am transfer in these to my blog for future reference since this page of the recipe book looks a bit worse for wear due to regular use!

I use these all the time...the Mexican and Cajun in wedges (a regular for family meals) and the Italian herbs in the focaccia bread I make regularly and in a range of other dishes. The Tandoori mix is a good alternative to the hideous 'curry powder' mixes available from supermarkets.
Making these is significantly cheaper than buying ready made spice mixes (especially if you buy the herbs in the cheaper boxes). I just wash and reuse the jars that individual spices come in.

Mexican Spice Mix
1 heaped tbsp cumin
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp oregano
1tbsp chilli powder or flakes

Italian Herb Mix
3 tbsp dried oregano
2 tbsp dried thyme
2 tbsp marjoram
2 tbsp dried parsley
1 tsp black pepper

Cajun Seasoning Mix
1 1/2 tbsp paprika
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp sugar

Tandoori Mix
1 tbsp ground ginger
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp coriander
1 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp tumeric
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp garam masala

John's / Jamie's Prawn and Pea Risotto with Basil

Tonight's dinner was cooked by John (my husband). This recipe is one he has made a number of times before. His inspiration was from a Jamie Oliver iPhone application, a similar recipe can be found here. The iPhone and now iPad application is a great one to cook by. It is broken into an initial list of ingredients and then step by step set of instructions. Well worth the investment!

Every one had a very clean plate at the end of the meal and even Isabella (3) wanted more after devouring her first serving.

Focaccia Bread - My Recipe

When we are going somewhere for a meal or event and I ask "what I can bring?", the answer is usually the same...focaccia bread. I'm not sure I want to have this as my 'signature dish' but I have to admit it is a pretty easy request to fulfill and it always gets gobbled fast.

I make bread at least once a week, often more, and yes, I use a bread maker. The purist in me sometimes thinks I should be kneading it by hand but the realist in me knows I don't have time!

There are a couple of things I have learned through trial and error when making bread (and there have been some pretty major errors/disasters), is to make the dough in the bread maker and then let it rise in a slightly warm oven. The rising needs several hours...bread making needs around 6 hours from start to finish. A long time but minimal effort is needed in this time.

The secret to my focaccia bread is to put a frozen cube of home made pesto (this recipe will come next summer when my basil is growing again) into the bread mixture at the start. Again not authentic Italian Focaccia, but really yummy.

Focaccia Bread

1 1/2 cups of warm water

2 tablespoons of olive oil

4 1/4 cups of bread flour (high grade)

2 tsp of salt

2 tsp of sugar
2 tsp of yeast

1 cube of frozen pesto (or Italian Herb Mix)

Fresh rosemary, thyme and flaky sea salt

Optional: cherry tomatoes or olives

Put wet ingredients in first, followed by dry and pesto.

Set bread maker to 'dough setting'

Once dough is made, spread on oven tray lined with baking paper and sprinkled with flour in a large flat oval shape and leave to rise in a slightly warm oven for a few hours (or over night).

Once it has risen, rub gently with more olive oil, sprinkle with fresh rosemary and thyme and a lot of flaky sea salt. Press cherry tomatoes or olives gently into dough to decorate.

Bake for about 20 minutes at 200 degrees.

The smell in the house when this is cooking is amazing. The fresh herbs make a huge difference.

The biggest challenge is to keep it uneaten if we are taking it somewhere!