Panzanella bread salad

Crunchy Tuscan “panzanella” (bread salad)

Ingredients for 4 people:

4 ripe tomatoes

10 basil leaves

4 slices of Tuscan bread (slightly stale, few-day-old bread)

1 cucumber

1 red onion

Salt and pepper

White wine vinegar

Olive oil

Peel and thinly slice ​​the ​​onion, then soak it in a bowl with water and vinegar in equal parts for at least  an hour. Peel the cucumber, slice it thinly and keep aside. Wash the tomatoes, cut in half, remove the seeds,  cut into small pieces  and keep aside. Cut the bread into cubes, put a small swirl of olive oil in a non-stick pan and heat for a minute or two, pour in the bread and let it toast for some minutes, stirring. Drain the red onion from its soaking water and put it into a large salad bowl, add the tomatoes, cucumber the hand torned basil leaves. Season with olive oil, salt and pepper and a few tablespoons of vinegar. Mix all the ingredients gently with a spoon, taste and, if necessary, add more vinegar. Now add the bread and mix again. Let the panzanella rest in the refrigerator for at least an hour. Take it out of the fridge 15 minutes before serving. You can add some other ingredients (mozzarella, olives, bresaola, etc.) according to your taste. 

Autumn minestrone soup

250 g cooked cannellini or borlotti beans (canned beans, drained and rinsed will be fine)

75 g fresh or  50 g frozen spinach

200 g of cabbage

200 g pumpkin flesh

2 potatoes

1 zucchini

1 carrot

1 celery stalk

1 onion

1 leek

150 g tomato puree

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Grated Parmesan cheese

Peel the potatoes and carrot and then clean, wash and cut all the vegetables into small pieces.  If you use canned beans, drain them and rinse them under running water.

Put all the vegetables in a very large and high pot, add the tomato puree and plenty of water so that all the vegetables  are covered.

Add a handful of coarse sea salt and bring to a boil. Cook for about 45 minutes over medium heat , covered.

Adjust salt (fine) and pepper  and season with a swirl of good olive oil and a generous sprinkling of Parmesan cheese. The minestrone can be eaten, accompanied with bread croutons,  as it is or blended.  If you wish. and according to your taste,  you can add other vegetables. Instead of bread croutons you can also use small pasta for soups.  

Puttanesca sauce

1 clove garlic

1 shallot

3 tablespoons olive oil

80 g of oil-packed tuna

6 small anchovy fillets

8 tbsp tomato puree

1 tablespoon pickled capers

6 black olives

a pinch of hot chili powder

salt

Finely chop the garlic and the shallot and fry gently in a pan with the olive oil.  Shred  the drained tuna and add to the mixture along with the anchovies, the chopped capers and olives. Mix well and after a few minutes  add the tomato puree, a pinch of chili  powder and  salt to taste.    Cook on medium/high heat for about 15 minutes, stirring often, until the sauce thickens. 

Garden vegetables preserve

Sweet and sour garden vegetables preserve

A perfect appetizing mix to accompany salami, cold cuts, cured meat, cheese,  boiled meat.

Ingredients:

1 kg of mixed vegetables (green beans, celery, carrots, cauliflower and zucchini)

1 liter of white vinegar

4 bay leaves

10 g peppercorns

500 g sugar

Olive oil

coarse salt

Clean, wash and cut into pieces all vegetables, collect them in a large bowl, sprinkle with 100 g of coarse salt, stir and let  stand  for 3 hours. Then rinse the vegetables under running water to remove the salt, drain them well, put them back into the bowl, cover with vinegar and marinate for an hour stirring occasionally to  flavor.

Bring to a boil 2 liters of water with a tablespoon of coarse salt, sugar, the washed bay leaves and the peppercorns, let  simmer for 10 minutes, add the vegetables drained from the vinegar and, when the boiling resumes,  cook for 10 minutes. Drain the vegetables very well, lay them on a towel, gently dab with a paper towel and let them dry for a few hours.

Transfer the vegetables in airtight jars perfectly clean and dry, pour sufficient olive oil on the top to cover the vegetables well and twist on the lid tightly. Wrap the jars  in a cloth and place them in a pot; cover them with warm water, bring to a boil, reduce heat and sterilize for about 20 minutes.

Let the jars  cool in the water, then  store in a cool, dark place (light makes the oil rancid). Once the jar is opened the preserve should be consumed within 15 days and stored in the refrigerator.  

Leek and red wine risotto

Leek and red wine risotto (Cabernet, Bonarda, Barbera or any  dry red wine that's good enough to drink)

Ingredients for 4:

400 g (about 2 ½ cups) of “vialone nano” rice  (round shaped medium length grain rice)

1 leek

2 glasses of red wine

1,5 liters vegetable broth http://irissrecipesvicenza.blogspot.it/2015/12/vegetable-broth.html

3 tablespoons olive oil

30 g butter

50 g Parmesan cheese

Put a pot of vegetable broth on the heat.  Cut away the green end of the leek because very tough and trim the other end. Rinse under running water and slice finely. Put the oil in a pan, add the leek and let simmer for a few minutes until soft. Raise the heat and soon afterwards pour in the rice and toast it for two minutes, always stirring with a wooden spoon. Add the wine and stir. After a minute lower the heat and stir till the wine evaporates. Add two ladles of warm broth and continue to cook the risotto on medium heat. Add more broth only when the other has evaporated and so on until the risotto is done. There is no need to stir constantly, but it is essential to do this every time you add broth. Risotto will take about 18 minutes or more to cook, according to one’s taste. When almost done (after about 16/17 minutes), turn off the heat, blend in the butter and the grated cheese and adjust salt, stirring until all the butter has melted. If the risotto is too dry add some broth. Cover the pan and let the risotto stand for about a minute or two before serving. 

Vegetable broth

1 large potato

1 white onion

1 stalk celery

2 carrots

1 zucchini

1 tbsp tomato puree

A few sprigs of parsley

2 liters of water

Coarse salt

  

Peel the vegetables and cut them into pieces. Place them in a pot with the water, add the tomato puree and some salt and bring to a boil. Add the parsley (including stems) and cook for about an hour over medium heat, covered with a lid. If necessary, season with salt or vegetable granules  and strain the broth through a sieve.

Boiled rice with peppers and prawns

Serves 4:

350 g rice

300 g  cleaned prawns

1 red bell pepper

1 yellow bell pepper
1 clove of garlic
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
4/6 tablespoons olive oil
Salt
pepper

Wash and clean the peppers and cut into dices or strips. Heat the oil in a large non-stick pan and gently fry the garlic for a few minutes. Remove the garlic, add the peppers, salt and pepper and cook over medium heat for about 10/15 minutes until the peppers soften. In the meantime, wash the prawns under running water, remove their head and carapace. With a toothpick or sharp knife make a small incision on the upper part of the body to remove the intestines, or black thread, which contains sand and makes the crustacean bitter. Once cleaned, dry the prawns with kitchen paper. When the peppers have softened, add the prawns and the chopped parsley, stir to blend well and cook for another 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and set aside. Boil the rice, drain it and toss it in the pan with the sauce. Adjust salt and pepper and serve immediately.