Recipe

More on Zucchinis – Pickled Zoodles

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I know… my last post was about zucchinis – but when one has zucchinis, one must share.

Inedible – Zucchini Preserved in Oil – How can it taste so bad when it looks so good!

Last year I was on a quest to find a way to preserve zucchinis, one that would provide me with an ingredient to use in a variety of ways throughout the year.  Canning just overcooks them, dehydrating works well with grated zucchini, but I wanted something a little different, so I turned to a reputed Italian preserving book that I had, it had a simple recipe that I thought would be perfect – the zucchinis were generously salted, weighted down for 24 hours before being drained, white wine vinegar added, weighted down for 12 hours, drained again before being packed in oil.  I followed the recipe to the letter, the end result was nothing short of inedible!  So salty, I asked others for their opinion, and they agreed, there was no way you could eat it, the salt level was over the top.  I tried again, this time heavily reducing the salt, followed the same process, again, inedible!  One more time, using minimal salt, and still it didn’t work.  I gave up.  But they looked so beautiful in the jar. Continue reading →

Ravioli Ignudi (Naked Ravioli)

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These delicate little pillows of ricotta and Swiss chard / silverbeet were given their wonderful name because they are not blanketed in fresh pasta like the ravioli that we all know and love.  This dish is fast becoming a favourite in our home – it is delicious, surprisingly simple to make, very economical and has very few ingredients.  I love making it because it means I get to make use of produce from our vegie patch.  It is so rewarding to take your basket and fill it with the ingredients needed to prepare your next meal…

Ravioli Ignudi - 20

Ravioli Ignudi (Naked Ravioli)

Ingredients

  • 300 g ricotta
  • 400 g Swiss chard, leaves only
  • 1 1/3 cups freshly grated Parmesan
  • 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
  • 2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
  • 1/2 cup gluten free flour blend
  • 90 g unsalted butter
  • 16 whole fresh sage leaves
  • Salt

Directions

  1. Bring a large saucepan filled with salted water to a boil.
  2. Add the Swiss chard and boil until tender, about 5 minutes.
  3. Drain thoroughly, wrap in a cloth and squeeze until the chard is very dry. Chop very finely.
  4. Gradually combine the Swiss chard with the ricotta. Add about two-thirds of the Parmesan, the nutmeg and egg yolks. Mix thoroughly.
  5. Scoop up a small quantity of the mixture with a spoon and, with well-floured hands, form it into a little oval pillow about 3cm long.
  6. Dredge the little pillow lightly with some of the flour and set aside.
  7. Continue forming little oval pillows with the remaining ricotta mixture.
  8. Bring a large saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil.
  9. Meanwhile, melt the butter with the sage leaves in a frying pan and keep warm.
  10. When the water reaches a rapid boil, add the ravioli, a few at a time, and cook until they rise to the surface (as you would for gnocchi).
  11. Remove the ravioli with a slotted spoon, draining well, and place them into the warm melted butter and sage.
  12. Continue cooking the remaining ravioli in the same manner.
  13. Arrange the ravioli in a serving dish and drizzle with the melted butter and sage. Dust with the remaining Parmesan and grind over a little black pepper.

Notes:

  • I like to bake some tomatoes and add them together with a few shards of crispy prosciutto to the plate when serving, just for colour, flavour and texture.
  • We also like to crisp some of the Ignudi up a little in the butter.
  • While I have used my Gluten Free Flour Blend, this recipe was originally made with normal wheat plain flour, so either can be used, depending on dietary requirements.
  • Adapted from a lovely old book, Tuscany – The Beautiful Cookbook (1996) L De Medici, p78.
  • I make my own soft ricotta style cheese.

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Nana Mac’s Potato and Orange Salad

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My mum has been telling me about Nana’s potato salad for the last few months, and with the oranges on hand, I called and got the recipe… It was boiled potatoes, diced; orange, diced; white salad onion, finely diced; and the dressing was the only dressing I knew when I was growing up – cream, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper. Of course there were no quantities given.  Mum and I chatted a little and I told her I planned to change the dressing, add fresh herbs and use some different potatoes – she wants me to let her know how it went.

A delicious, refreshing salad of potatoes, oranges and fresh herbs.

Nana Mac's Potato and Orange Salad

This recipe was inspired by my grandmother's recipe for potato salad.

Ingredients

  • 250 g Purple Avon potatoes (or similar)
  • 250 g Sebago potatoes (or similar)
  • 4 oranges
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped mint
  • 1/3 cup finely chopped chives
  • 2 handfulls of baby rocket

For the dressing

  • 2 tsp Dijon Mustard
  • 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
  • 2 tsp white wine vinegar
  • 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • sugar, to taste
  • salt and pepper

For Serving

  • 1 tsp finely chopped mint
  • 1 tsp finely chopped chives

Directions

  1. Peel the potatoes and place into a saucepan. Cover with cold water and add a little salt. Bring to the boil, reduce heat to medium and continue to cook until just tender.
  2. Meanwhile cut top and base from each orange. Use a sharp knife to remove skin and white pith. Holding each orange over a bowl to catch any juice, cut along either side of the white membranes to remove orange segments and set aside. Using your hands, squeeze the off-cuts of the orange over the bowl to get as much juice as you can from them, discard the off-cuts.
  3. Prepare the dressing by adding the mustard, white wine vinegar and 3 tablespoons of olive oil to the juice and then whisk to combine, season with salt and pepper and add a little sugar if needed.
  4. When the potatoes are cooked, drain them and cut them into wedges, while they are still hot. Add the potatoes, mint, chives and oranges to the dressing and, using your hands, gently toss to ensure the potatoes and oranges are well coated in the dressing and herbs. Set in the fridge to cool.
  5. Just before serving, drain any excess dressing from the salad into a small bowl, add the remaining tablespoon of olive and whisk together. Add the rocket and toss to coat with the dressing.
  6. Place half the rocket into the base of a serving dish.
  7. Add the remaining rocket to the salad, and, again, using your hands, gently toss through.
  8. Arrange the salad on top of the rocket in the serving dish and scatter with the finely chopped mint and chives.

Notes:

  • Purple Avon potatoes are a purple fleshed potato.

Until next time…

Bon appétit!

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Source: Nana Mac’s Potato and Orange Salad

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